In the sermon titled 'Thanksgiving for the Work of God in Believers,' Jason Dohm emphasizes the duty of believers to recognize and thank God for His mighty work in others. He warns against being too self-absorbed or busy to notice God's work, stating that it robs God of His due glory. Dohm illustrates his point using the example of Antioch Baptist Church in Blantyre, where God is doing extraordinary work. The sermon highlights two specific reasons for thanksgiving: the exceeding growth of faith and the abounding love among believers, as exemplified in the Thessalonian church. These two are interconnected, as true growth in faith should result in increased love. Dohm introduces the concept of 'strategic boasting,' where believers boast about others' progress in faith and love to inspire zeal and glorify God. He contrasts Christian perseverance with Stoic patience, noting that the former relies on faith in God. The sermon concludes with applications, urging believers to be more thankful, encouraging, and to practice strategic boasting to stir up love and good deeds.

If we have a duty to thank God when He works mightily and faithfully in the lives of our brothers and sisters, if we're too self-absorbed to notice, you are robbing God. If you're too busy to notice how God is working mightily and faithfully in the lives of your brothers and sisters, you're robbing God of the glory that He intended to get from it. You're not giving credit where credit is due. It would be an interesting exercise. Do you think you're busier than Paul and Silvanus and Timothy?

They're spreading the gospel to the known world. What's on your plate? But they're not too self-absorbed and they're not too busy to notice that God is working mightily and faithfully and giving disproportionate fruitfulness to these people. And they know that that incurs a debt. God is intended to glorify Himself by doing that.

Let's continue to apply this to us. There are brothers and sisters outside of our fellowship. And God is just working in their lives in an incredible way. And we should notice, here's an example. I think about this every time we pray for Antioch Baptist Church in Blantyre.

It's not abstract to me. I see faces when we pray for them. I know the names there. Many of the names. And I see their faces when we pray for them.

And there are ways in which God has them way above the average trajectory. And so we're bound to notice and to thank God for that. We have, now here's a harder one, We're continuing to apply this to ourselves. Here's a harder one. We have maybe spouses or children in our homes.

And this is a hard one because for two reasons. One, the growth is so incremental, meaning you see them every day. So disproportionate growth, good growth, solid growth can be happening under your nose, but because you're seeing it day by day, it's not as stark. It doesn't jump out at you because it's happening what seems like slow to you because you know them so well. You live with them every day.

And the increase from one day to another isn't that much but the increase from one year to another is astounding but you've missed it day by day. Doesn't that happen? Doesn't that happen because we know each other so well? Hey, the other part, the other reason, the other part of knowing each other so well is you know in the areas where they're not growing very fast, maybe regressing. So it makes you lose sight of these areas that God is working faithfully and mightily and producing something wonderful, but you know the other side of the coin as well.

And so You rob God of the thanksgiving that's due to Him. The point of all this is I think God is telling us we have a duty to notice. And then to give credit where credit is due, and God Himself is where the credit is due. That was number one, the duty of thanking God asserted. Number two, The reasons for this specific Thanksgiving given.

Now let's look at the second part of verse 3. Go to the halfway point of verse 3, or the second part. Because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Starts with because we are given the reason. This caused that.

They are giving thanks because of what He now says. Now remember this from 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 6. Listen to this, But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and then it continues, so just remember back to the first letter, they couldn't stand being parted, They weren't able to all go back together so they send Timothy because they can do that. And then Timothy comes back with a report. They've been worried that their labor might have been in vain, but They find out it wasn't in vain at all.

Timothy brings back good news of their faith and love. So this is sort of a continuation of that. They keep getting good news of their faith and love. This is just more of the same from 1 Thessalonians 3 verse 6. So there are these two things that are specific objects of the Thanksgiving.

Number one, their faith grows exceedingly. When we get to verse 4, we'll see that there's a specific demonstration of their faith. They're being assailed by hardships and they're enduring. So in verse 4 we're coming to a demonstration of their faith. In other words, they don't have to guess that their faith is growing exceedingly.

You've got all these hardships assailing them and they're enduring and it's proof positive that their faith has grown exceedingly. This is the first thing for which they are giving thanks. Often The growth of faith is little by little. Through most stretches of your life, the growth of faith is going to be little by little. But not the Thessalonians, not during this stretch of their lives.

Is exceeding growth of their faith. When we see that in the life of a brother and sister, that they are outside of the normal trajectory of experience, even within the Lord's people, we have to say God's fingerprints are on that. God did that. God should have the credit for that. Not just in the beginning of faith, the giving of saving faith, the saving of the sinner, but then the growth in faith afterwards.

When you see it growing, we have to say, God's fingerprints are there, and He is due the credit. Listen to what Matthew Henry says about this. I think Matthew Henry hits the nail on the head. He says, We may be tempted to think that though when we were bad we could not make ourselves good, yet when we are good we can easily make ourselves better. But we have as much dependence on the grace of God for increasing the grace we have as for planting grace when we had it not.

Right on. Here's what he's saying. There's a temptation to look back to the granting of saving faith to ourselves or to a brother or sister in Christ and say, we know they couldn't take themselves from that state to this state. God gets the credit for it. But now that we're in this state, now that we're children of God, growing in grace is easy.

We can do that unassisted. He's pointing to how foolhardy that whole notion is. God begins it, gives it at the start, but God is still responsible for the increase of it. Here's what Paul says in Galatians chapter 3 verse 3, are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit? Are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

It's the exact same topic. You begin by the Spirit, and if you continue, you continue by the Spirit. And if it was the Spirit to start with, you do continue. When God is working mightily in your life, then you are learning to trust Him more. Then you are learning to depend upon him more hour by hour, minute by minute than you used to.

You are growing in faith. And the inverse is also true. The flip is also true. When you are learning to trust God more, when you are learning to depend on Him hour by hour and minute by minute more than you ever have, when you are growing in faith, then God is working mightily in your life. Period.

Amen. You have the signs of it. You have the fingerprints of it. So this was the first thing that they're giving thanks for. Their faith grows exceedingly.

The second thing they're giving thanks for is their love for one another abounds. They love each other a lot more than they used to love each other. They love each other more. The love for each other used to be at this level, and in 1 Thessalonians they're actually commended for it. But now they love each other a lot more than they used to love each other.

It's even better than it was then. And look, it's pervasive, meaning it is throughout. Listen to the words, the Love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. At the church in Thessalonica, no one has been left out of the love revolution. There's a love revolution towards one another that's happening in Thessalonica, and it's pervasive.

No one's left out. It's growing together. Not just a few people are loving each other more. It's pervasive. The love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.

Abounds toward each other. It should be said that these two, faith and love, of course are intimately connected. On the commands to love God and love your neighbor hang all the law and the prophets. Right? It's Matthew 22.

Jesus says it. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22.

Love is the fulfillment of the law, all the law and the prophets hang on these two commands to love God and to love your neighbor, and that is true, then when we're truly growing in faith, we should expect to see a corresponding growth in love. Otherwise, what we were saying was growth in our faith is suspect. If you're saying, I'm growing in faith, but I'm not growing in love, what you've labeled as growth in faith is suspect. We should always suspect our thoughts of growing faith, if there's not a corresponding increase of love. Because what you're saying then is, I'm more humbly dependent on God, but I don't love my brothers more.

What? I'm more humbly dependent on God. My fellowship with him is sweeter, but I don't love my brothers more. Impossible. Tear yourself away from that thought.

I want you to see this. That flip back to 1 Thessalonians. We have a lot of history with Paul and Silvanus and Timothy and the Thessalonians on the topic of love. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 12. 1 Thessalonians 3 12.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you." It's almost the same words. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had been praying for this. It's an answer to prayer. Now turn to chapter 4 verses 9 and 10. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 9 and 10.

But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you brethren that you increase more and more." Paul and Silvanus and Timothy had exhorted them explicitly to an increase in brotherly love. They prayed for it. God answered their prayers. They exhorted the Thessalonians to it.

The Thessalonians heard them and acted on that exhortation. Both of these things worked together. Their prayers for it and their exhortation towards it to produce a harvest of fruitfulness. We've got a fruitful harvest here. And when we see that, you have to say God's fingerprints are on that.

We prayed for it and it happened. That was God. We exhorted them, we urged them to it, and they received it, not as the words of men, but as the words of God, and they heeded it. God's fingerprints are on that. That was God.

God should have the credit for that. Major point number one was the duty of thanking God asserted. Major point number two was the reasons for this specific thanksgiving given. Major point number three is now the resulting boasting explained. You're filling in blanks on the handout.

Boasting. The resulting boasting explained. Let's read verse 4 together. So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. Now, aren't we just supposed to boast in God?

They're boasting in the Thessalonians. Are you sure that's okay? Listen to Jeremiah 9 verses 23 and 24. You can note it down if you want to. I'll probably be done by the time you could turn there.

So it's Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord." Paul actually quotes that, Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 to make the same point. We are supposed to glory in God. We are supposed to set aside all other glorying just to glory in God. To that question, aren't we supposed to boast in just boasting in God?

The answer is they are. They are just boasting in God. In boasting in the things that they have explicitly thanked God for, their boast in the Thessalonians is actually a boast in God. They have explicitly acknowledged God's fingerprints are on this, God gets the credit for this. But why?

Why not just go direct and boast in God directly? What is the benefit of boasting in God by boasting in the progress that they see in the Thessalonians. I think 2 Corinthians 9 answers that question. So please turn to 2 Corinthians 9. He's at it again.

He's boasting again. But he tells us why he's boasting again in chapter 9 verses 1 and 2. Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you, for I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that a kale was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority." That's why, that's why Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, as they write other churches, as they visit other churches, as they talk to other churches, they boast in the progress that God has wrought in the Thessalonians. To stir up zeal in others among the Lord's people. Look at that.

For I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority." The Corinthians were ready to give, in an exemplary way, to an exemplary extent. So Paul is boasting back to the Macedonians, probably the Thessalonians. It's the preeminent church in Macedonia. So there are some things that are exemplary about the churches in Achaia, and he's boasting to the Macedonians about it. There are some things that are exemplary about the churches in Achaia, and he is boasting to the Macedonians about it.

And there are some things that are exemplary about the churches in Macedonia, and he is boasting to the Achaians about it, to stir each other up for continued progress for the kingdom of God. Isn't this how it works? You hear about God's mighty, faithful working among His people, and you think, I want in on that. I don't want to be left out of that. I want more of that.

Here's an example. Back to Blantyre in our minds. An Antioch Baptist Church there. And evangelism there. So, some are all talk no game.

Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, but nothing really substantial there. In the category of evangelism, I would say Antioch Baptist is the reverse of that. They don't promote themselves at all, but when you're with them, they're always headed out to share the gospel. They're all game, no talk. They're not promoting themselves, but when you're there, you see they're excelling.

So now I'm boasting about them because I've been there and I was stirred up to reach out more. And I think if I tell you about them, you might be stirred up to reach out more too. It's strategic boasting. That's what Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are engaging in here in 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 4. It's strategic boasting.

It's intended to glorify God for what He's done, and to stir up other believers to go and not be left out of it, but to partake of it, to enter into it. So Paul and Silvanus and Timothy aren't worried that it's going to go to the Thessalonians' heads, and they'll be lifted up in pride. In fact, exactly the opposite. They expect the effect to be exactly the opposite. It's not uncommon when someone boasts about you for you to want to go further.

Doesn't that happen too? You get wind that somebody said, hey, he's really on top of it there. It makes you just want to go further. Hopefully it doesn't make our heads too large and make us hard to live with. Hopefully it makes us want to excel still more.

Now, what was the boast? The boast was this. The boast was of their patience and faith in the persecutions and tribulations that they were enduring. Lots of pressure, and instead of that pressure squeezing out their faith, it's enduring. They're steadfast.

That's what they're boasting about. Now, a minute on the words. The word that is rendered patience in our text, here's what you find in the Greek lexicon for that word. A patient steadfast waiting for. That's what's behind it.

So patience is a good rendering. But I think what the Greek lexicon has is fuller. A patient, steadfast, waiting for. That's why the NASB renders it perseverance. That's why the ESB renders it steadfastness.

They're all right. They're all good translations, but you get the fullness when you look at the range of translation. They're unmoved. That's the patience that's being spoken of here. Lots of pressure, unmoved.

They can bear it. They can hold up under it. They can wait patiently for it. Wait on the Lord for his deliverance. Here's another word that we should look at more closely.

Tribulations. The word here rendered tribulations in the New King James. Here's what you find in the Greek lexicon. A pressing. Pressing together, pressure.

So tribulation isn't a bad rendering of it, but it's just the metaphor for the literal. Meaning the literal just means pressing. Life is pressing on them. Life is bringing pressure on them. So They're being hated for the faith and people are acting on that hatred.

They're facing persecution. Life is pressing on them. There's pressure from many angles. They're in a time of tribulation. And even so, they are trusting God, they are depending on God, they are having an increase in faith.

And they are remaining steadfast. They are unmoved by all the pressure. And that's exemplary. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy think that's an excellent excuse for some boasting to stir up some zeal among the churches. The Thessalonians were something like Moses in Hebrews 11.

This is the last place we'll turn, but turn to Hebrews 11. It's not far away. Hebrews 11 is what? It's the great faith chapter. A recounting of great men and women of faith and great acts of faith sprinkled throughout scripture.

He doesn't hit them all, but he hits a lot, the writer of Hebrews does. Now look at Hebrews 11 verses 24 through 26, which speaks of Moses, a man of great faith. Hebrews 11, 24, By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward." Isn't this what's happening at Thessalonica? They can back out. They can back out.

We're sorry. We didn't realize All the problems this exclusive religion that rejects all the other gods on the mantle and sweeps the mantle clean. We didn't realize this was going to be so offensive to the rest of you. We relent. They could do that.

But they're not doing that. The pressure comes and they're unmoved. You can't move them a millimeter like Moses. Moses had the opportunity to enjoy the riches and the passing pleasures of sin in Egypt, but he would rather bear the reproach of Christ and look to the reward of God. Moses had to choose and he chose because the beauty of God had been revealed to him and he said, I'd rather have that in this life and the life to come and forgo the riches and the passing pleasures of Egypt.

Moses was faced with a choice. He chose God. The Thessalonians, they believe there's the euphoria being brought into the kingdom and then the persecution and the pressing comes, and They got a choice. They make the same choice Moses made. We'll pass on your riches and we'll pass on your passing pleasures to have God.

This is what separates Christian perseverance from the patience of the Stoic. This is really important. I never would have thought of this. I'm glad for the commentators on this. There's a version of this in the world.

You can find patience and even steadfastness among unregenerate and even steadfastness among unregenerate people. But it's not the same thing. Stoicism is a school of thought that says, I can't change things, so I just accept it. It's a form of patience and steadfastness where you just don't rage against your circumstances. You say, whatever will be will be, and I can't change it so I'm not going to get all worked up about it.

It's a form of patience. That is not Christian perseverance. That is not what is on display among the Thessalonians. They're looking to God. They're patiently waiting for God, knowing that God might not show up in their timing, but God will show up.

And He will deliver them in this life or the next. And they'll throw all their chips down on the table and bet on that. We are not stoics. We are Christians. We don't say, well, just whatever is going to be, whatever is going to be.

We say, God will come at the right moment. He's wise. And he will come. It's like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King, our God is able to save us, but even if he doesn't, we will not bow down to your idol.

That's not stoicism. That is faith in God. That is looking to the reward. So this was the boasting of Paul and Silvanus and Timothy in their converts. A boasting designed to give glory to God and a boasting designed to stir up others.

To grow in faith and love too. And probably designed to stir up the Thessalonians to more of it. Strategic boasting. Applications, I have three. Number one, are we sufficiently thankful to God?

The answer is no. I'll give you the question and the answer. Are we sufficiently thankful to God? No. In your prayer times this week, search your memory, Identify ways in which God is working mightily and faithfully in your brothers and sisters, and give credit where credit is due.

Thank Him for it. That's your assignment for the week. In your prayer time, search your memory banks, find where God has worked mightily and faithfully, and thank Him for it. Exalt His name for it. And say you're sorry for not noticing sooner.

We have a duty to notice. Number two, are we sufficiently encouraging each other? Are we sufficiently encouraging each other? This letter, go back and compare it, the beginning of 1 Thessalonians. Two letters, they both start almost exactly the same way with the same words.

It wasn't just last week where the greeting was exactly the same except for one single word. But it continues to be almost identical. Now in both letters, Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are going to get around to the challenges that need to be addressed. They're not writing to perfect people, no. They are writing to a people who have a set of problems and challenges.

They're going to get there. They get there in the first letter and they're going to get there in the second letter. But they don't start there in either letter. High Thessalonians, Why haven't you dealt with the disorderly yet? You can change the order of the letter and it changes things a lot.

They're going to end the letter with that. Why haven't you dealt with the disorderly yet? Here's how you must deal with the disorderly. They're going to get there. There are challenges.

There are problems. They're not writing to a perfect people. They don't start with the challenges and the problems. They start by giving thanks for the good things that God is doing in their lives. They start with an overwhelming torrent of encouragement.

So, how are we interacting? So, how are we interacting? With each other? With our spouses? If you have one?

With your children? Can we see beyond the problems that need fixed? You better be able to, or you're going to crush the people around you. Or I'm going to crush the people around me. When you take the time to count your blessings one by one, you find there's a lot to count.

So we should take the time to count our blessings and start with an overwhelming torrent of encouragement, and then in time we'll get around to the problems that need to be fixed. They'll always be there. Number two, are we sufficiently encouraging each other? The answer is no to that too. Number three, consider strategic boasting.

Consider adding that to your life. This is a new tool in the toolbox that is being handed to us by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Consider strategic boasting. How can I acknowledge the mighty and faithful work that God is doing in the life of my brother and sister and boast in such a way that God gets the glory and that others are stirred up to love and good deeds? I think we should get good at this.

I think this should be an oft-used tool from our toolbots. God, every time we come to Your Word we find something profitable, oftentimes many things that are so profitable. I thank You for these two verses. God, there's so much more that could be said. Your word is such a deep well.

We take a little off the surface and then it occurs to us that there are things deeper and when we think on those things that are deeper we can see a little further down, God we can never get to the bottom of this well that You've given us. Thank You for this great treasure and deposit that You have entrusted to Your people. I pray that our church would be a pillar and ground of the church in the world. We would acquire the wisdom that's to be had here and that we would declare it so that people might know Jesus Christ. And so that we might make disciples who have been taught all things that He commanded.

May it be so in Jesus' name, Amen.