The Beauty of Mutual Ministry • 09.07.25
Nick Lees   -   September 7, 2025

The Beauty of Mutual Ministry

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

Delighting in God’s plan to establish His church

  1. Embrace God’s pattern of using people to minister to people
  2. Pray fervently for God’s will to be done

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Good morning, church family! It is a blessing to be together, worshiping the Lord with you. (Welcome guests + introduce self)

We’re picking back up in our study of 1 Thessalonians today. I’m excited to dig into chapters 2-3 with you this morning!

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (1 Thess. 2; page 1173)

Our sermon today is titled The Beauty of Mutual Ministry.

How many of you have had the privilege of experiencing the beauty of mutual ministry with fellow Christians? I assume most of you, especially if you’ve been around this church for any length of time.

By mutual ministry I mean the kind of one anothering relationships that we’ve learned about over the summer. A relationship where you are committed to doing good to one another, that is characterized by humility, sacrificial love and service.

This past Thursday through Saturday, our pastor team plus our wives were able to get away to Wildwood Hills Ranch for a little retreat. (Photos – Auto advances) This was a sweet time of mutual ministry. The intent with this year’s retreat was to love one another well and seek to bear one another’s burdens. There was a lot of laughter, sweet times singing songs of worship around the campfire, hiking through the woods, breaking bread together and an extended time of pouring out our burdens to one another for prayer. It was a life-giving few days and I left with a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord.

In many ways, what we experienced, and what you’ve likely experienced in Christian relationships, reflects what we’ve seen in Paul’s relationship with the church in Thessalonica. There was mutual ministry between them. First, Paul and his companions brought the Gospel to them so that they could believe and be saved! And, by God’s grace, they responded in faith and began bearing much fruit. The Thessalonian believers became very dear to these gospel ambassadors as they worshiped God together and served one another over the few weeks that Paul and his friends were in town. Even after they were run out of town, the Thessalonians’ ongoing faith and fruit continued to encourage these men in their ministry.

Which makes sense, if you think about it. These men were their spiritual fathers in the faith. They were thankful for the privilege to share the Gospel and even more thankful to see the Gospel believed and lived out amongst the people. This love for the saints is the posture of every good pastor and Gospel ambassador. You care and have concern for the people you’ve invested in. This heart of mutual ministry is what we seek to model as a pastor team and cultivate within our church at Harvest. I hope that has been your experience at our church.

Today, as we pick back up in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13, we are going to witness the beauty of mutual ministry on display. My hope is that this passage encourages you in your faith as much as it has me over the past week. Let’s read it now. (Read passionately and with love!)

1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:13 (ESV)

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

I hope I read the text with the passion and love that it is seeking to communicate! If you listen closely, you can hear the agony of Paul and his friends as they describe how hard it was for them to be separated from the Thessalonians like they were. They were “torn away” – it wasn’t what they desired! They were separated “in person not in heart” – meaning they hadn’t forgotten them or moved on from them in their inner man/woman. They even “endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see them again face to face” – they put repeated effort into trying to figure out a way back! But it was not to be… There was satanic opposition to that path! But that would not stop them from communicating their love and desire to the church through Timothy. They wanted to make sure the Thessalonians knew their heart towards them and to establish and exhort them in their faith. Paul and his companions could not bear the thought of the devil tempting any of them to forsake their professed faith in Jesus due to suffering.

As we work our way through this text today, our objective is…

Delighting in God’s plan to establish His church

God has a plan to establish His church. We heard of this in verse 2 with Timothy being sent back to establish and exhort them in their faith. We also heard of it in verse 13 as Paul reveals the aim of his prayer – “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus…” God will establish or strengthen his church to stand firm in their faith so that they are blameless in holiness when he returns for them! This spiritual truth is beautiful to behold, and it should be a source of great joy for believers as we consider it. So, how do we see God establishing his church through this text?

Well, we have seen it through his pattern of using people to minister to people. Have you noticed the pattern in this letter? First, God sent Gospel ambassadors to the Thessalonians. In previous weeks, we heard and observed how Paul and his team shared the Gospel with the lost sinners of Thessalonica. Through their faithful evangelism and life-on-life gospel ministry, they were able to see God transform lost sinners into fruitful saints through faith in Jesus Christ! And, as we’ve heard today, these Gospel ambassadors cared deeply for these people, even though they had only known them for about a month.

Ponder that for a moment… How much time would you say is necessary to develop deep, committed relationships with fellow Christians at Harvest? 3 months? 3 years? How about 3 weeks? Paul and his team’s deep commitment and love for these people after 3 weeks is both challenging and convicting!

I believe this letter ought to challenge and convict our church to go deeper in relationships faster. To commit to loving one another at a depth that is unexplainable outside of the grace of Jesus Christ at work in us.

You see, we delight in God’s plan to establish His church as we…

  1. Embrace God’s pattern of using people to minister to people

Professing faith in Jesus Christ ought to immediately bring us into a deep, committed relationship with the family of God, the church! Christians in our day need to behold this pattern that has existed long before us, as displayed in this letter, and embrace it for our own lives today.

The evidence laid out in our text today shows that God uses Gospel ambassadors to protect one another from the enemy’s schemes. The reason Paul and Silas sent Timothy back was to check in with the Christians and to exhort or encourage them along in their faith. These men knew that they had departed under affliction and suffering and that it would continue to come against the Thessalonian believers even after they were gone.

Put yourself in Paul’s shoes for a moment. He knows that Satan has been opposing their attempts to return to Thessalonica. If that is happening to them, then what might the enemy be seeking to do to these young Christians?!

These concerns felt like an unbearable weight to the missionary team, so they finally sent Timothy back to see how these people were doing. Whatever it took, they were going to seek to protect the church against the assault of the enemy! They cared for these people too much to sit by and let the tempter continue his work without their opposition. Do you recall what Paul said in verse 19? “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”  

These people were an incredible delight to them. They eagerly anticipated standing before King Jesus at His return to rejoice in the Thessalonian believers. This is how deep their love and commitment were to this church. So, they exhorted them. They encouraged them. They fervently prayed for them. That God would hold them fast and that they would not give into temptation and affliction. They knew that while God is ultimately the one who sustains the Christian, he often uses brothers or sisters in the faith as the means.

The Gospel ambassadors ministered to the formerly lost sinners who were now fruitful saints. There is one direction of the mutual ministry. But it wouldn’t be mutual if it wasn’t reciprocated! And it was!

Notice in verse 6 and following how Paul speaks of the good report that Timothy had brought back to them.

1 Thessalonians 3:6–9 (ESV)

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,

Just as the Gospel ambassadors care for the Thessalonians, so they have a deep love and commitment to Paul and his team. God edifies the ambassadors through fruitful saints! God uses people to minister to people.

Paul and his friends had endured much harsh treatment for the sake of the Gospel. Though we don’t know the exact distress and affliction he is speaking of in verse 7, there is a segment from another of Paul’s letters that gives us a vivid summary of the types of pains he endured for the gospel:

2 Corinthians 11:24–30 (ESV)

24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Anyone who has labored for the sake of the gospel will face sufferings and persecutions for Christ’s sake. That was a promise given by Jesus. And Paul experienced it to a degree that many of us never will.

But do you hear what comforted him in his afflictions? The good news of their faith and love and that they longed to see him, just as he longed to see them. He even said, “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” Their standing firm in the faith gave Paul/Silas/Timothy the strength to carry on, it was a breath of fresh air in their lungs, it gave them renewed stamina for the race of faith.

As one of your pastors, I can wholeheartedly agree with these men. It is so incredibly life-giving when members of our church are standing fast in the Lord. It brings me and the rest of our pastor team so much joy to hear of your ongoing growth in Jesus. There are few things that bring me greater joy than to watch God work in someone’s life to overcome patterns of sin and to walk in holiness. That is true whether it is one of my children or someone in my church family. It spurs me on to keep running the race!

This letter from Paul to the Thessalonians is a reminder that there is a real spiritual war going on all around us and in us. I so appreciated the focus of our High Five camp this summer on the Armor of God in Ephesians 6. So many Christians fail to appreciate the necessity to put on the armor of God each day to protect themselves from the enemy’s temptations and assaults. But Paul understood. He knew that Satan was a real foe. So, he fervently prayed to God about it.

1 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV)

10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

Paul knew that though Satan was a fierce enemy, he is nothing in comparison to a Holy God. If Satan was effective in blocking his return, it was only because God had allowed it to be that way. Satan must submit to God’s authority and rule. If you want to see examples of that, just look at the book of Job.

Paul did not discount the reality of spiritual warfare, and he went directly to the throne room of God to ask for God to intervene – God, please let us return to the Thessalonians. And why did he want to return? To continue to teach them and help them mature in their faith. To protect them from their enemies. They still needed help to know how to live in a manner worthy of God. We’ll hear more specifics about what they needed to grow in over the last two chapters of the letter. But for today, I want to encourage you to behold God’s pattern of using people to minister to people and EMBRACE the pattern!

How do we live this out in contemporary days? I’m glad you asked! 😊

  • Commit deeply to God’s family from the moment of conversion.

The pattern on display in Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians is a deep commitment to one another in a very short amount of time. I do not believe this is an exception in the Christian life but the rule. Jesus himself said:

John 13:34–35 (ESV)

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus commanded that the way Christians interact with one another must be radically different from the rest of the world. We are to be known for our Christlike love for one another. And how did Christ love us? By laying down his life for us.

From the moment you trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are called to a sacrificial, servant-hearted love for others. This kind of love is not something you have to conjure up within yourself, but it is a fruit of the Spirit as God works in you. He will produce this love as you faithfully follow him.

So, to make this practical, if you call yourself a Christian but are not deeply committed to your fellow Christians in a local church, then either you are not a Christian or you are a disobedient Christian. There is no middle ground. Stop denying God the glory that would be his if you loved your fellow Christians the way he intends. Which brings me to my next practical application of embracing God’s plan…

  • Cultivate a deep love for one another by spending time together and investing deeply in one another’s lives through spiritual truths. Exhort one another in the faith.

This is the kind of lifestyle we see modeled for us in the Scriptures by Jesus and those who follow him. Deep love comes through that deep commitment we just spoke of and that is lived out in intentional relationships. I say intentional because just spending time together isn’t going to do anything if we’re not actively pursuing holiness together! Plenty of people spend all kinds of time together but are never spurred on in their faith or to go deeper in their love for one another, because they keep things superficial. Don’t be that person. Go deep by talking about the things that matter. Talk about Jesus. Talk about his work in your life. Exhort one another in the faith by sharing truths that have deeply impacted you and that you’re seeking to live by.

This is what we observed Paul and his team doing with the Thessalonians. They spoke of Jesus often and lived out their faith as they co-labored in their trades throughout the week. They surely broke bread together with fellow Christians and those whom they were trying to evangelize with the Gospel. They were intentional to fill their days with relationships that reached the lost with the gospel and spurred one another on in the faith. Speaking of that, another practical application of this person-on-person ministry model is…

  • Walk through inevitable afflictions together, side-by-side.

Paul made it very clear to the Thessalonians – Christians will suffer. It is a guarantee. In 3:3-4 he said, “we are destined for this…” and “we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass…” You may not recall the details behind Paul’s own salvation, but here is what was foretold by Jesus about him:

Acts 9:15–16 (ESV)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Paul knew firsthand the reality of suffering for the sake of Jesus’ name. As I shared with you from 2 Corinthians earlier, he suffered much for the sake of the Gospel in his lifetime! This was not a unique scenario to Paul. Jesus taught during his life and ministry that those who follow him will face persecution and affliction in this life just as he had. This is simply the reality of following Christ in a world that is influenced by an enemy whose mission is to oppose the gospel and is filled with people who hate God.

So, as sobering as this reality is, it needs to be said – Christians will suffer. But Christians should never suffer alone. First and foremost, we know that Christ is with us. He never leaves or forsakes us. But beyond that, we also see from this letter that we are blessed to walk through afflictions together. Paul and his team endured with the Thessalonians and later actively sought to establish and exhort them when they couldn’t be present face-to-face. This is a fantastic model for us as modern-day Christians.

When your brother or sister is going through suffering, walk with them, bear their burdens in love. And when you are going through suffering, invite fellow Christians in to do the same with you. That is what we were privileged to spend time doing this week as a pastor team. It is what we all ought to be doing with one another, in our small groups, in our families, and in our church family at large.

Which means you have to open up about your afflictions and struggles. There were things shared amongst our team this week that required vulnerability. But it was worth it! If our pattern is to clam up and keep things to ourselves and try to handle them in our own strength, we will falter and be more likely to fall. The tempter wants to isolate you so that he can deceive, divide, and destroy you. Don’t let him do that. Invite community into your life. Speak up about your struggles and ask for help. Invite your small group to pray for you, to speak truth to you, and to walk with you in the days ahead… This is how we…

  • Protect one another from the tempter who seeks to deceive, divide, and destroy faith.

It is too easy in our humanistic, western culture to ignore the spiritual realities of the Devil and his very real opposition to God and people. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been set on disrupting God’s plan to make a people for himself and be in relationship with those people. He seeks to deceive, divide, and destroy faith wherever it may be found. Which is why we must be on guard and spiritually alert to his devices – to protect ourselves and one another.

Paul sent Timothy back to them to remind them of what is true and to speak truth into any lies they may have believed. That is exactly what we can do today to protect one another from the tempter. We know how prone we are to believing lies. Every single day there are things you either tell yourself or someone else tells you that are simply not true.

“Life would be better if I got my way.”

“God isn’t good – look at what he has allowed into your life.”

“If only you had _________ then you would be satisfied.”

“No one loves you. You are worthless.”

“You are justified in your lust/anger/controlling behavior/laziness…”

These are lies that we need to refute with truth from God’s Word! But that can be quite difficult to do on our own. We are easily deceived, which is why God has given us the church, so that we can protect one another! I think of Paul’s words to the Colossians that we studied in the One Another’s series:

Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

This teaching bleeds over into the next practical application…

  • Encourage one another by sharing good fruit of God’s work in your life. Speak of your mutual love for one another. Share the ways God is helping you stand fast in the faith.

As you embrace mutual ministry you must open your mouths and speak about God. You share what he is doing in you, and you want to hear of what God is doing in others. These conversations are encouraging for all parties! You reaffirm your love for one another through such conversations. “I’ve got your back. We’re going to stand firm in the faith together!”

I am so thankful for the men and women that God has put in my life to help me stand fast in the faith. These people are in my life week in and week out and when we are together we are often speaking of the things of the Lord. We share the deep things of life because that is what matters and where growth in godliness happens! We love to spur one another on to love and good deeds. It is exhilarating to run the race of faith together. And we not only do that for ourselves, but we seek it for our spouses and our kids and our church family too!

Do you realize that we are all in this together?! Church is a community project. God is using each of us to work on all of us. He has a beautiful plan to mature us in our faith through this mutual ministry to one another. What I’ve been seeking to do here is the next application…

  • Give thanks for the way God has used others in your life.

Praise God for Jack Flaherty! He has been used by God to encourage me to keep running the race of faith. Praise God for Randall Baber! He has been used by God to encourage me to keep running the race of faith. Praise God for the pastor team and my small group guys and gals, they have been used by God to encourage me to keep running the race of faith. They are essential instruments in God’s hands for my sanctification. This is the way he intended the church to function. Who are you giving thanks for? Who has God used in your life to mature your faith? All of us ought to give thanks, whether you’re young in your faith or have been walking with God a long time! Let us give thanks like we see Paul and his friends giving thanks for the Thessalonians! And let us also…

  • Pray earnestly for one another.

The language translated “most earnestly” in 3:10 is a word that communicates “to an extraordinary degree”. It is hard to capture the intensity of it in English. It gives the idea of praying in excess of what would be expected. Paul and his companions were unswerving and unceasing in their prayers for the Thessalonians! They desired so badly to come back and see them face-to-face and to help them continue to mature in their faith.

Is that the kind of intensity we feel burning within us regarding prayer for one another? *pause*

Let’s be honest here. Many of us struggle to pray this passionately for our own souls or our own family, let alone those outside of it! And that needs to change. We cannot rest contentedly in an apathetic prayer life.

If you truly understand what is at stake in this spiritual war that we are all engaged in, then you cannot remain silent. YOU MUST KNOCK DOWN THE DOORS OF THE THRONE ROOM OF HEAVEN BY YOUR PRAYERS! And I say that to my own rebuke!

Who among us prays with such passionate intensity? LORD HELP US! Help us to understand the seriousness of what is at stake. Souls are going to eternal condemnation EVERY SINGLE DAY. Our friends, our family, our community members are facing God’s wrath. MAY WE NOT CEASE TO PRAY FOR THEM! MAY WE CONTINUE TO CAST OUR CARES AND CONCERNS BEFORE THE THRONE OF MERCY AND GRACE.

Do you know what Paul taught about prayer when he was instructing Timothy?

1 Timothy 2:1–4 (ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God’s people should pray for all people, especially those who are in authority. When God’s people are busy with prayer, they live peaceable, godly lives. When we forsake prayer, we get ourselves into all kinds of trouble as we occupy ourselves with foolish or sinful past times!

How much time do I waste outside of prayer!? What good comes from watching another YouTube video when I could be praying for the salvation or sanctification of the people in my life!? Church, what do we value?! May we grow in earnest prayer as we discipline ourselves to value eternal matters!

This brings me to our concluding opportunity to delight in God’s plan to establish His church…

  1. Pray fervently for God’s will to be done

Let us delight by praying fervently for God’s will to be done. This is what we see Paul and his companions modeling for us in verses 11-13. He has been bringing his desires before God, submitting them under his holy will. Here is the prayer that Paul brings before God at this point:

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 (ESV)

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

It is no secret that Paul desires to get back to Thessalonica to see them and help them, but he knows that God will do what is best. He submits his desires before God, and this is a great model of prayer for us.

As you pray, pray in a manner of humble trust in the Lord. But bring your requests and desires to him. Pray that ‘if he wills’ it will be done. Then rest in the knowledge that God knows what is best and he always does what is best.

Notice how Paul prays for the good of others. Verses 12-13 are a beautiful prayer on behalf of the Thessalonians. He desires for the Lord to increase their love for one another and for all. He wants them to abound in it. Remember they are already known for their love! Why would Paul pray for the Lord to make them increase and abound in it even more? Verse 13 is the answer, “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness…” Paul knows that this is God’s plan for their spiritual growth. God perfects holiness in his people by growing them in their love for one another and for all! This is part of the process of preparing us for heaven.

How’s that for a takeaway? Each one of us needs to be praying fervently (with passionate intensity) that God would make us increase and abound in love for one another and for all in the days ahead. This is God’s will for us. This is his plan for our holiness so that we can stand before him at the return of Jesus Christ and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Will you commit to praying toward this end? I want to challenge you to create a plan to faithfully pray about these matters. Start a prayer journal. Seek out prayer requests from others. Begin praying through Scripture as you read it each day. Or perhaps do the prayer study on our website. (/prayer)

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to learn more about God’s plan to establish His church. The book of 1 Thessalonians has become so rich to me as it reveals the beauty of mutual ministry. I want our church family to have the kind of relationships that Paul and his team had with the Thessalonians. I hope that we are characterized by this deep commitment and love for one another. I look forward to growing in my own delight in God’s plan as I commit to praying fervently for you and our community. I look forward to the ways God will work in each of us to make us blameless in holiness through his work.

Thank you for the privilege of pastoring this church and partnering with you in this process of sanctification.

Let’s pray.

Pray