The perfect harbor for every storm

II Thessalonians 3

Introduction: “The Perfect Storm” is a new movie just released. I haven’t seen it yet, but I have seen the advertisements, and I’m impressed with the scene of a fishing boat headed almost straight up into a tsunami-size, monster wave. The boat is completely dwarfed by the size of that wave. I would not want to be on that small a boat in that kind of storm! I suppose ‘the perfect storm’ would have to have those kinds of waves.
Let’s leave the perfect storm behind for a moment and, on the other hand, consider some of the magnificent harbors that our Creator God crafted when He was creating the world. I haven’t been to Pearl Harbor yet, but from the pictures I’ve seen, it is a dazzling jewel perched just above the surface of the mighty Pacific. Some of us have been to Lake Tahoe in northern California, and we remember that small harbor on the west side of the lake that has the small gazebo built on the tiny island in the center. What a place of calm surrounded by incredible beauty! Suzie and I are planning a trip later this summer up to Copper Harbor in northern Michigan. We’ve seen pictures and heard stories of the area, and we want to see it with our own eyes. Copper Harbor was a place of calm for ships from the storms that could blow up on the Great Lakes.
In Acts 27 Luke records the journey of Paul to Rome as a prisoner, accompanied, interestingly, by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. In his travelogue, Luke tells of a harbor on the south side of Crete called “Fair Havens”. Verse 12 tells us it was “not suitable for wintering” so the captain put out to sea from there, “if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.” Of course we know the rest of the story. A violent wind, called Euraquilo, rushes down upon them and they find themselves caught in the grips of a devastating storm, one so bad that “…since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.” (Acts 27:20) Sounds to me like Paul and Luke and Aristarchus got caught in the “Perfect Storm”.
Great storms and magnificent harbors….when we come to our text in 2 Thessalonians today, we come to a passage that is best understood in the light of these two distinct images – the storm and the harbor. These two images are inseparably linked, and they offer us great encouragement for living well today.
We all have had experiences with storms, and we all know how precious a harbor is in a storm. Some of us have experienced literal storms, like tornadoes, hurricanes, violent thunderstorms, earthquakes, hail, and the like. I have vivid memories, even at my age, of being in a ‘storm cellar’ in Oklahoma in my youth, hearing a radio with more static on it than weather reports, feeling the tension in the air at the prospect of an approaching tornado. I was just glad at that time to be in a place that afforded protection from what sounded like and felt like something really terrible.
When Suzie, Toby and I went to Indonesia, we stopped in Taiwan along the way and spent a night in the Grand Hotel in Taipei. During our stay there a huge earthquake occurred on the northern end of the island, and I remember being in the lobby of this fine hotel watching the giant panes of glass on the ground level vibrating back and forth. I wondered if our missionary career might end before it really began. But the hotel withstood the shock and we were safe.
But let’s move beyond the literal this morning. All of us have experienced the reality of other kinds of storms. All of us who are married, I would guess, have known stormy times in our relationships. All of us who have lived very long at all have known the storms of suffering and rejection, the tempests of pain and opposition, and the squalls of grief, disappointments, and failed expectations. Well, that’s where Paul is when he pens this passage, and the harbor, the refuge, the sanctuary that he retreats to is also the harbor, the refuge, the sanctuary that we can withdraw to as well.
Friends, I don’t know what tomorrow holds or what next week may bring in the way of storms. Life certainly dispenses plenty of disappointments; debilitating disease is an ever present reality; and who hasn’t known the sorrowful pangs of death? But regardless of the nature of the storms, I know where the harbor is, and it’s important to me that you do as well.
It is a pitiful sight to see Job sitting in his pile of ashes, but how much more saddening if he never found a safe harbor from the storm of his trials.
It is a pathetic sight to visualize Jonah sinking into the depths of the sea and being entangled in seaweed to the point of drowning, but how much more depressing if he never found a place of safety.
How unnerving to see Joseph languishing unjustly in a dark, foul prison, but how much more disheartening if he never found release!
Harbors were made for storms, and storms have no real impact on those who are safely moored in a harbor.
Well, let’s consider Paul’s counsel to the Thessalonians and learn some lessons we can take home and put into practice. Our passage is 2 Thess 3:1-5 “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; (2) and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. (3) But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (4) We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. (5) May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”
The first image we want to see and understand is that of a storm. We see this mental picture of ‘storm’ in what Paul refers to as the opposition of evil. In verse two, he makes mention of evil and perverse men that he wanted to be rescued from. In verse three, he references the enemy, the evil one, that the church would need protection from. And in verse 5, he uses the word ‘direct’ (“May the Lord direct your hearts…”) which suggests the removal of obstacles or hindrances from growth in the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.
Paul is corresponding with the Thessalonians about those elements of life that constituted what we can easily see as storms. He had experienced the high winds of opposition to his work of sharing the Gospel. Evil and perverse men had sought to cut his legs out from under him at many points along his journey. The expression in verse one, that “the word of the Lord will spread rapidly”, means “to have free course.” Paul knew what it meant to have the spreading of the Word blocked. He knew what it was like to be blocked himself. Though the word had spread rapidly and had been glorified in the Thessalonian context, it wasn’t that way everywhere! Paul’s desire was that the storms of evil hurdles, perverse barriers, and depraved ‘construction zones’ would not be effective in limiting the Gospel’s progress.
I was driving through Arkansas recently on I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis when the traffic was squeezed down from two lanes into one lane each way, eastbound and westbound. I lost a lot of time sitting in neutral as a lot of traffic had to be reordered along a five mile stretch of highway.. When I finally passed the construction zone, you can imagine my chagrin to find no work taking place, not even any workers in sight. It is an understatement to say that a storm cloud passed through my mind!
Paul had known these kinds of storms that stifled the progress of the life-giving Gospel. He had suffered the hurricanes of evil that sought to destroy his mission of bringing salvation to the lost. He knew the spiritual tornadoes that the devil was able to whip up to create havoc and destruction upon the newly established church in Thessalonica. Paul was wise to the stormy schemes of the enemy that sought to keep these believers from growing stronger in the love of God and in the endurance of Christ.
Spiritual storms in the forms of evil opposition were a fact of life for the great apostle as he sought to accomplish his calling from the Lord. They are a reality for all of us just as well.
But there is another image here in our text, and it is a comforting one. It is the image of a harbor, a safe place, a sanctuary of refuge. The harbor is seen here in the dynamic relationship between Paul the apostle, the Thessalonian believers, and the Lord Jesus, the head of the church.
Paul asks in verse one that the church pray for him (“Finally, brethren, pray for us…”). In verse 5, we see Paul praying for the church (“May the Lord direct your hearts…”). In verse one, Paul had shared the word with the Thessalonians. In verse 4, it is clear that the church had responded to the word from Paul and was continuing to respond. The church had a good track record of obedience to Paul’s teaching and he expected that they would continue in that same path. (“We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.”)
Verses 3 and 4 also state clearly that the Lord Jesus was involved in this dynamic relationship. It would be He Who would faithfully strengthen and protect them all. It would be the Lord Jesus Who was the source of Paul’s confidence in the Thessalonian church. It would be the Lord Jesus Who would direct their hearts into a growing love for God and into a growing capacity for endurance like Christ’s.
This image of a safe harbor grows out of what we see of the life of this church. The Lord Jesus as the Head of the church was imparting His life to the members. He was providing protection from the evil one and removing the barriers of evil men. The apostle Paul, as the church planter and pastor/teacher, was imparting his life and the Word of God to the members. He was praying for them and encouraging them and instructing them and expecting their positive response. The church members, as the unique and gifted individuals of the Body, were responding and obeying and praying and growing in love and endurance.
The three parts of this dynamic circle of life – the Lord, the apostle, the church members --, interacting together, made for the perfect refuge from every storm. Of course the wings of demons would stir up terrifying storms; of course the evil one would howl and roar like a tornado; of course perverse men would threaten and mock and ridicule like the blast of a raging forest fire; of course enemy agents of destruction could appear like a flash flood… but the church was a harbor where piers would be sturdy and hawsers or mooring lines would hold. The storms would be real, but the harbor would be safe.
Let’s draw some lessons out of what we’ve learned from our text this morning.
Lesson One, Prayer is one element that makes a church life dynamic. The Lord Jesus, the only One Who can provide real security and real protection, the only One Who can remove obstacles and barriers, the only One Who can nurture love and endurance, the Lord Jesus is moved by our prayer. Nothing expresses a sense of dependency like prayer does. As Paul was dependent upon the Lord Jesus (the one to Whom he is praying here), so he also is dependent upon the prayers of this church on his behalf.
Never ever let it be said in this church that we as pastors and elders, the spiritual leaders and teachers in the Body, do not need your prayer support. Some tell me regularly that they pray daily for me. Nothing in the world means more to me! Nothing in the world makes me more effective. Nothing in the world makes a greater impact through me. Paul knew the Thessalonians would pray for him. The praying church is the safest harbor in the world.
Lesson Two, Obedience to the Word is another element that makes a church a harbor. When we take seriously the counsel, the admonition, the challenge of the Word of God, we develop relationships like those described in Ecclesiastes 4:12 that are not easily broken. You see, the 32 ‘one another’ passages in the New Testament require that we forgive one another, that we love one another, that we serve one another, that we confess our sins to one another, that we not complain against one another, that we stimulate one another to love and good deeds, that we be at peace with one another, that we be devoted to one another, that we give preference to one another, that we not judge one another, that we be of the same mind one with another, that we build up, accept, admonish, and encourage one another, that we bear with one another, that we comfort and show tolerance to one another, that we be kind, hospitable, and subject to one another, that we not lie to one another, and a few more ‘one anothers’.
Who would not want to be a part of a church like that? Who could not weather any storm with friends in the church like that? Friends who would not judge, who would accept, comfort, bear with, be kind to, not complain against, etc., etc.? Who would not want to be in that kind of harbor when the storms of life are raging?
One widow in our church was so cared for after the sudden death of her husband and the father of her children, her sister, not yet in the household of faith, was heard to say, “When I get sick, I want to come here and be cared for by your friends.” The Thessalonian church had a reputation and a track record of doing what Paul instructed. The obedient church is the safest harbor in the world!
Lesson Three, Harbor churches keep in sight the character of God, not the strength of the enemy. Paul reminds his friends here that ‘the Lord is faithful’. He is the One who will strengthen them, and He is the One who will protect them. He is absolutely dependable, 100% responsible, fully committed to their welfare, their growth, their victories.
Of course the enemy is evil and perverse; of course he throws up road-blocks, hurdles, and obstacles. Of course we who are buffeted by him find it easy to be focused on the elements of the storm swirling about us. When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water to the Lord Jesus, he was doing just great… until he was distracted by the elements of the storm. When he became focused on the wind and the waves, when he lost sight of the Master, he began to sink.
And we begin to sink when our grief becomes that which fills our horizon instead of the glory that the faithful Lord has promised to us who suffer. We begin to fall when the insults of ungodly, unprincipled people capture our minds and displace the Lord’s encouragement to follow Him through that kind of opposition.
But the Lord is faithful, and the great storms of the enemy are no match for the harbor that is the pure character of the Lord Jesus. The faithfulness of God and His loyal-love are to be our focal point as we seek to be the kind of church that provides sanctuary to all those buffeted by the storms of life. Harbor churches keep in sight the character of God, not the strength of the enemy.
(Conclusion)Well, friends, since storms are a fact of life, it’s so very important that we know where the harbor is. Paul knew that the Thessalonians would fare well in the dynamic relationship that was the church, the Lord, and the apostle. We will cope well with what life dishes out to us if we too retreat often into the relationships that make us this church great – our relationships together, our relationship together with the Lord, and our commitments to follow the leadership and the teaching of our spiritual leaders.
It would be good today to spot check this relationship I’ve been talking about. Are there any ‘one anothers’ we need to mend? Are there elements of focus that need to be sharpened? Are there commitments to prayer and obedience that need strengthening? Let’s don’t get caught in a storm out of reach of the harbor! And perhaps worse, let’s not fail those storm-tossed by failing to be the harbor they need when their storms are raging.


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