The heart desire of Christians must be for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience. This statement seems so obvious and elementary that you may be tempted to assume that it does not need to be stated or given much attention. It is indeed obvious and elementary, but it needs to be said and given attention because it often conflicts with your flesh's natural desires.

 Often, what is celebrated are temporary and fleeting achievements. Often, what is rewarded is what the world loves and not the things of God. Often, what your heart desires are rewards that have only momentary value. As a result, what you pray for is too often from the desires of the flesh rather than the will of God.

How can you train your heart to desire, above all other things, for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience? This passage models two areas that you must give the attention of your heart and mind to in order to train your heart to desire that other Christians grow in faith and obedience.

1. Be encouraged by what God has accomplished. (6-10)

2. Pray for what only God can do. (11-13)

The passion of God's servants must be to strengthen and exhort the church to stand firm against the attacks of Satan.

In chapter three, verse 2, we have the key verse for this passage. Timothy was sent to establish and exhort the church in their faith that they might stand firm against the temptation of Satan. The question that we consider with this passage is: What does the church need to stand firm against the attacks of Satan?

When sinners receive the gospel as the word of God and are saved, it is not the result of man's work or ability but a testimony to God's power and sovereignty alone. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians' testimony and how it testifies to the power and sovereignty of God to save whom He wills. This passage reminds the church that salvation does not come and is not dependent on the work or ability of man but the power and sovereignty of God alone.

This passage teaches three perspectives that will keep your heart and mind focused on the power and sovereignty of God.

Gospel work is motivated by conviction of truth and a desire to honor God.

There have always been those who teach and preach false doctrine or use the preaching of the gospel for selfish gain. There have also been those who, though they proclaimed the true gospel, did not lead the church to faithfully live according to the righteousness of God. Paul reminds the church that his ministry among them was faithful to the gospel and unapologetically led them to live righteously before God. His testimony is not one that is unique to him, church leaders, or those with special giftedness in the church. This testimony is one that every faithful Christian should have.

This passage teaches two testimonies that a life governed by the conviction of truth and a desire to please God will bear.

Faithful gospel ministry must be God-directed, God-honoring, and God-pleasing.

In these verses, Paul reminds the Thessalonian church of the circumstances that brought him, Silas, and Timothy to them and how they conducted themselves in the community and among the church. Paul recounts these things not to brag but to testify and remind the Thessalonians that gospel ministry is not about the preacher, the church member, or the church as a whole. The gospel ministry is about God and bringing greater glory to His name. How do you ensure that the work of the church and your personal service to God is God-directed, God-honoring, and God-pleasing? This passage teaches three characteristics of a ministry that is God-directed, God-honoring, and God-pleasing.

The evidence of true salvation is more than words; it is evidenced by a life transformed by God, a rejection of sin, and obedience to God.

One of the struggles for the church in a post-Christian culture is rediscovering what it means to be saved. In a Christian culture, salvation was often assumed rather than evidenced. Now that we live in a post-Christian culture, many are no longer compelled to obey the most fundamental commands of God, like gathering with the saints on the Lord’s Day, but still claim to be saved. Today, the church must rediscover a biblical understanding of the evidence of conversion.

Romans 6:20-23 is about the consequence of sin and the hope of the gospel. It is a precious passage that I have often preached in no small part because of the great gospel promise of verse 23. Generally, when preaching this passage, the majority of attention is given to the hope of salvation, which is the main idea of the passage. However, with this sermon, I want to give attention to the warning concerning sin.

All sin leads to death, both physical and spiritual.

In the confusion and brokenness of this world, the consequence of death is sometimes ignored but more often celebrated and even encouraged. Abortion brings death but is celebrated as a way to preserve sexual freedom, ensure individual autonomy, and provide gender equality. Abortion, as with all sin, is presented by the world as good and desirable, but it produces the rotten fruit of death.

The sanctity of human life is not first a political issue; it is, first, a theological issue. Christians must be clear concerning the cost and destruction of sin. Only then will you appreciate the great and glorious hope of the gospel.

This passage exposes sin’s necrotic nature and the remedy of the gospel.

The only hope of salvation is in Jesus Christ.

There is no hope in the wisdom of man or the works of man. However, since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, the common struggle of man is to attempt to attain righteousness apart from God.

The question that this psalm is wrestling with is the relationship between God and man. How are you to understand the relationship of man with God? Psalm 14 teaches three fundamental truths that define man's relationship with God and testify to the hope of salvation found only in Christ Jesus.

Feelings are not facts, and emotions often obscure the truth. However, this does not negate the seriousness of feelings and the dramatic impact emotions have on how you see the world. God created you with emotions; however, because of the fall and the corruption of this world, emotions can be destructive and deceptive. Psalm 13 is a psalm of David that deals with his feelings of spiritual abandonment. David feels like God has forgotten him, refused to respond to him, and left him to be shamed by his enemies. David feels abandoned.

Psalm 13 is written in three stanzas. Stanza one contains David's despondent questions, which flow from his fear of God's abandonment. Stanza two is David's prayer for God to see him and answer his pleas. Stanza three is a response of faith in God's goodness. Psalm 13 teaches three ways to respond when you are struggling with feelings of abandonment.

In a day when words are used to confuse, distort, manipulate, and misdirect, hope is found in the eternal, never-changing word of God and His faithfulness to keep His word to every generation.

The foundation of the Christian faith is that God is truth, and the Bible is His inspired inerrant word. Every believer is called to believe in faith and stand firm in God's truth. Psalm 12 teaches three requirements for standing firm in God's truth.