What is the by-product of pressure in your life?

II Thessalonians 1

Introduction: I was reading this week part of the life story of Mike Schmidt. If you are not a baseball fan, you may not know of him. Mike played 18 years for the Philadelphia Phillies, and out of that career he would win 10 Gold Gloves as a third baseman, he would be selected 3 times by the National League as its Most Valuable Player, he would win a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, and he would be chosen for the starting position at third base on baseball’s All-Century team. During his career, Schmidt would lead the National League a record 8 times in home runs, finishing with a total of 548!
It might interest you to know that Mike Schmidt, known for a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, had a rocky start to his baseball calling. In his rookie year of 1973, he appeared to be headed into the tank. His batting average was just .196 and he struck out 136 times in 367 at-bats. After that initial season, he went to Puerto Rico to play in the winter leagues, enduring rattletrap old buses, sub-standard hotels, and dirty, drab ballparks. Even with all that, his spring training in 1974 was still nothing to write home about.
The Phillies manager, Danny Ozark, intended to send Schmidt down to the minor leagues before the regular season opened. With opening day a month away, he asked for, and was granted, that month to show dramatic improvement in his playing ability. He kept practicing, kept looking for a way to relax and allow his natural ability to flow through, and kept experimenting with his swing. On opening day, he hit a game-winning home run and never looked back. 1974 would be the first year Mike Schmidt would lead the National League in home runs.
What might we say was the by-product of pressure in this young believer’s ballplaying life?
Mary Lou Retton’s accomplishments are probably known to all of us. Her picture has graced many of the Wheaties boxes I’ve opened for breakfasts over the years. As a gymnast, she won an Olympic Gold Metal in 1984 in Los Angeles, the first American woman to ever do that. What many of us may have forgotten about Mary Lou is that just six weeks before those ’84 Olympics, she injured her knee. She was told that she would need surgery and a minimum of 3 months recovery and rehabilitation before she could hope to compete again. She went ahead with the surgery but refused to consider taking 3 months for recovery.
Mary Lou, 16 years old, got out of bed the day after her operation, and two days later she began jogging. The rest of the story is Olympic history.
In her new book coming out this month, she writes: “You can always avoid taking risks and meeting new challenges. Avoiding them is, without question, the easy way out. But it’s only by taking those risks and meeting those challenges head-on that you can ever break out of your personal comfort zone and reach new levels of… personal satisfaction. In sports terminology, it’s called raising the level of your game, In life, it’s called growing.”
What might we say was the by-product of pressure in this young gymnast’s life?
Now I know, friends, that none of us are baseball stars or world class gymnasts, BUT we are living life that does not discriminate between the big people and the little people. What Miss Retton and Mr. Schmidt experience on their level is not intrinsically different from what all the rest of us face in life where we are.
When we come to the book of 2 Thessalonians, we meet a group of young believers who find themselves in the vise of adversity. Their adversity is squeezing them in ways they’d just as soon not experience. Their hardship is a clamp that is applying painful pressure in ways they would not choose if they had a choice in the matter. Their afflictions are a vise that is putting them under tension and burdens that are extremely uncomfortable.
Perhaps that is where we find ourselves today. Certainly Teresa Smith and her family would rather not be battling cancer. Certainly the situation I have to tell you about his evening is one none of us would want to be experiencing. There are marital situations and parental challenges some of us are facing that we could wish would just go away.
For all of us experiencing life like this just now, the Scriptures offer us hope and a light for our path and the prospect of resolution and glory. As we begin our study in this little book of just 47 verses, I’d like you to imagine what would be the difference in outcomes if we were to crush a marble and a grape. When a marble is crushed, the result is shards and splinters of glass that would be dangerous to fingers and feet. The broken glass would be fit only for the trash can. On the other hand, when a grape is crushed, the result is both juice for drinking and pulp for making jam.
Pressure produces different outcomes, doesn’t it. Depending on the nature of the character of the object being squeezed, we might see something beneficial from pressure or we might see disintegration and destruction.
The character of the Thessalonians is on trial as Paul writes this short book. These young believers are feeling some very real pressure, and as we read, we might wonder what the outcomes will look like: will they be like juice and jelly or will they be like splinters and shards?
Let’s consider this morning the situation of these Thessalonian believers; let’s see what behaviors they exhibit in that situation, and let’s consider how Paul encourages them. Then let’s draw some lessons we can take home with us.
Our text this morning is the first four verses of chapter one. 2 Thess 1:1-4 “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.”
Now, what does the text tell us of the Thessalonians’ situation? We see a couple of clues: First, they are “the church of the Thessalonians in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Like we saw in our study of I Thessalonians, these are believers who live in two worlds. It is clear that they live in Thessalonica. This was a chief city of Macedonia, a free city in the Roman Empire. Its main street, according to William Barclay, “was part of the very road which linked Rome with the East. East and West converged on Thessalonica; it was said to be ‘in the lap of the Roman Empire’.
Trade poured into her from East and West, so that it was said, ‘So long as nature does not change, Thessalonica will remain wealthy and prosperous.’” So the Thessalonians were citizens with feet firmly planted in this world. But it is also clear that these folks live in the kingdom of God. Our text tells us they are ‘in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ’. The Thessalonians were part of our physical world and they were a part of the spiritual world known as the kingdom of God.
What we can conclude is that the Thessalonians lived in the presence of God and they lived in the lap of the Roman Empire. What becomes patently clear from these introductory verses regarding their situation is that living in this world, in the presence of God, did not keep them from experiencing the vise of adversity. To be the church of Christ, walking in His presence, did not keep them from the pressure-producing clamps of hardship. Their situation is then, secondly, one of pain. Verse four has Paul saying, “…so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure…”
Now we can understand some of the nature of these persecutions and tribulations from comparing this second letter of Paul’s with his first one. In I Thessalonians 5:2-6, Paul had written, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
Now here in II Thessalonians, 2:1-2, Paul writes, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you…”
Some of the afflictions these believers are suffering are mental! Someone has communicated to them that the day of the Lord has already past and they have been left behind. This false report has brought their spirits to the edge of a precipice. Paul hints that they are on the verge of losing their composure and becoming disturbed. They are suffering emotionally, in this case, a form of persecution and tribulation by means of untrue reports.
Now it’s important to note the behavior of these new believers up to this point. Paul makes reference to three good things that have marked this assembly of Christ’s.
First, they trusted God more. We see that in verse three where their faith is greatly enlarged. In the process of coming to accept the Savior, they have come into persecution and tribulation, and those external pressures have moved them to trust God more and more.
Secondly, they have grown more deeply in love with one another. Again, verse three states that their love for each other has grown ever greater. The pressures of adversity have not shattered them or divided them; on the contrary, they have been squeezed more closely together, and for them, that’s fine.
And thirdly, this vise of hardship has enabled them to stand steadfastly together. In verse four, Paul makes reference to their perseverance seen in the midst of all their persecutions and afflictions which they are enduring. ‘Perseverance’ is a word that means to bear up under a heavy load; it portrays one taking on a heavy pack and remaining standing. This church family has banded together under the burden of trials and they are standing fast.
Chuck Swindoll, the former Marine, describes these saints in this way: “Like soldiers on a long march, the Thessalonians were enduring the windswept rain of persecution and sloshing through the mud of affliction. But these were no ordinary soldiers. Up till now, they had been neither fainting in their tracks nor faltering along the roadside; these soldiers had been singing in step – songs of camaraderie and triumph, songs of love and faith.” (Steadfast Christianity )
If we were to assign an image to these believers and their character, we would do better with the grape than we would with the marble. Though they are on the edge of what they feel they can bear, what is oozing out of them in this vise of adversity is not brittle sharpness nor fragile tempers, but rather the fruit of faith, love, and steadfastness.
What we also see, lastly, in this introduction is Paul’s encouragement to them. He affirms them in two ways: (1) He reminds them that he always thanks God for them, verse 3. And (2) he speaks proudly of them among the churches, verse 4. I don’t know of anything more encouraging to anyone than for these two things to be said of him/her. To know that someone is grateful to God for you, for your life, for your testimony, for your ministry, for your faith, for your love, for your steadfastness… that is an awesome affirmation.
And to know that your traveling friend speaks proudly of you everywhere he goes, that he sings your praises to others, that he trumpets your strengths, that he honors you with praise before others, that he extols your virtues in the presence of other people…. these things are impressive affirmations.
You know, folks can put up with a great deal of unpleasantness if they have someone in their camp singing their praises and thanking God for them. Affirmation of this nature is better than any medicine, it is finer than any shield or flack jacket, and it is better than any other form of protection or defense.
That brings us to several lessons we can take with us today.
Lesson One, God allows confusion in life and sometimes chooses to remain silent in it. God knows these Thessalonians are new believers. He knows they have been told lies about the day of the Lord. He knows they have been placed in the vise of adversity by their enemies and may be reaching the edge of their ability to endure. He knows all this and He doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it.
So it very well may be with you and me… when we find ourselves in the C-clamp of hardship, when we feel we are being squeezed beyond measure, let’s not be surprised if God is quiet as a little church mouse! This has been the testimony of saints throughout the ages, from Joseph in Potiphar’s prison to John on the isle of Patmos. The great majority of the Psalms are David’s questions: Where are you, God? Why don’t you answer me, Lord? God, can’t you see my distress? Why don’t You respond?
There is great spiritual benefit to our being confused and not having an immediate way out of it.
Lesson Two, Having a relationship with God guarantees persecutions and afflictions. Paul had already been through many of the things these Thessalonians were beginning to experience. If the world hated the Master, it will hate the followers of the Master. If the Lord Jesus learned by the things He suffered, suffering will be our teacher as well.
I am not surprised that our two college students, going to secular universities, have faced opposition and ridicule. I’m not surprised when Kate tells us of friends writing Bible verses on notepads on their dorm-room doors and later seeing them defaced.
Lesson Three, Faith, love, and endurance grow best in the soil of trials. Faith is never required more than when we are being stretched. We hate being stretched! Our son Toby is finishing his college career, graduating next month from Purdue. He is also finishing his work as a counselor, overseeing Tarkington Hall’s first, northeast. As many of his immature residents also near the end of a school year, they are pressing the boundaries of the rules of dorm life. It’s been a huge headache for Toby; in the course of assessing fines, issuing warnings, and facing retaliation, he’s learning a lot of leadership lessons that will be helpful later in the airline world, dealing with immature staff, handling cranky passengers, etc., etc.
He would have preferred a different experience as he wraps up this final semester, but how do we learn to trust God more and more if we are not pushed farther and farther? Nothing presses us more toward selflessness and love for others than the pain of adversity. The stamina to stand comes from being burdened more and more. As much as we want a life of comfort and comfort zones, as much as we shy away from risks and danger, we need these elements in order to grow.
Lesson Four, Affirmation is the best fortifier of afflicted brethren. These Thessalonian believers were truly blessed to have an experienced apostle beating the drums of their virtues. It is so easy in the valley to forget what the peaks look like! We so often need someone else to remind us of what is important, of what lengths we have already come, of what victories we’ve already tasted. Our forgetters are too efficient. Affirmation stokes the fires of our endurance.
(Conclusion) So a final question: Does pressure make us sharp and cutting or more faithful and loving? Why fume when nothing goes right tomorrow? Even if God chooses to be silent, that cannot take away from the truth we know that He is present with us and we are present in Him. With what creative ways will we start affirming our brothers and sisters in Christ? How long will it be before we tell someone we thank God for them? When shall we start speaking proudly of our brothers and sisters in Christ to others?


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