The Church in Spiritual Warfare

Read Acts 17:1-9

It seems really interesting to me that Paul preached Christ’s suffering more among the Thessaonian church. There was certainly more open persecution in for Paul, Silas, and Timothy during their time there, and even after they left, those who hated them followed them seeking to make trouble for them in Berea as well. This is certainly not the situation anyone sharing the good news of Jesus Christ ever wants to walk into. Paul however, seemed to expect this type of reaction both for him and for the church there.

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

There are a couple of things that we should look at in regards to what we already know now about Paul’s time in Thessalonica. 1) Paul mentions at least five times in that short passage that him and his co-workers tried to go see the church there and were stopped numerable times. Only Timothy ended up making it back to Thesssalonica to encourage the new believers there. What exactly was is that kept them from going back to visit the new church there? Their persecutors? You might think so. However, Paul said it was Satan. I think this is important for us as believers to realize. When you come under attack for your faith and there are other people involved who are criticizing you, the problem isn’t always them. There is a bigger battle at stake that we may not even be physically able to see. God was using Paul to bring the gospel to places it had never gone before and Satan was trying his best to make sure that those churches don’t persevere. How do we fight against things that aren’t flesh and blood? Prayer, prayer, and always prayer. We’ve been talking in youth group about the Lord’s prayer and part of the prayer is that God’s kingdom come and his will be done, and that happens through prayer, and Jesus even demonstrated that our prayers should reflect this.


The other thing we should note is that Paul was concerned for the perseverance of the church at Thessalonica. They didn’t have all that much time before people threw the city into an uproar over Paul and Silas and they had to leave. They were new and they were quickly left on their own and Paul and his co-workers were prevented from coming to them. They were a church born in suffering. Paul even preached suffering with the gospel there, in his letter he mentions it as well, that they should expect it. All of it makes for a really difficult situation for anything to thrive, including a church and Paul is trying to make it back so they are encouraged and their faith and persevering. We, like Paul, need to be in prayer and looking for ways to encourage and uplift the parts of the church that suffer, whether they are near us or in other places. Faith is not a game, we can’t just put it on hold and come back later when we have the time. Our brothers and sisters are facing things that we may never face, and they need us to pray on their behalf. Someday it may be you who is called, and when it is your time, you will need the prayers of others to cover you.

Dear God,
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Be with our brothers and sisters who are bringing your good news into difficult places. God before them and open the way for them to share you with others. Be with our brothers and sisters who live in difficult places, help us to know how to encourage them, and protect their faith. Provide for them. Amen