FIGHTING FROM VICTORY

Series: 1 Thessalonians

Title: Fighting from Victory

Text: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

Message Summary: We don’t fight for victory, we fight from the victory of Jesus.

Date: 10/18/26

Good morning! My name is Matt Martinez and I am the pastor here at Renovation Church Shoreview.

Sri Lanka update

Message

Sometimes life feels like a fight.

“You gotta fight for your right to party.” (Beastie Boys, for all the ’90s kids.)

But more seriously, I often feel like I have to fight for courage when there’s so much scary stuff happening in the world. I gotta fight for this church in prayer because many of you are going through some big things right now. I gotta fight for my family to grow and become all that God has for them.

Some fights are good fights. Others are bad ones, brought on by our own actions. Other fights come from other people or the circumstances in the world.

But today, I want to focus on another kind that isn’t always talked about: the fight against the enemy of our souls, Satan.

Satan means “adversary.” Satan opposes God, God’s plans, and God’s people. As Ephesians 6:12 says, our struggle is not ultimately against people, but against Satan and the spiritual forces of evil.

We have an enemy who opposes God’s work and wants to keep people from following Jesus.

And when we talk about the enemy of our souls, we need to understand a few things:

First, Satan and his demons, oppose God’s work in this world. But that doesn’t mean every difficult circumstance is a direct attack from Satan.

Second, following Jesus doesn’t mean a pain-free life. Jesus tells us to expect trouble in this world.

And third, here’s the Good News: Satan is not stronger than God. God has won the victory over sin, death, and the enemy. And as followers of Jesus, we can live in that victory.

That’s what I want us to see today. No matter how powerful the enemy’s lies may seem, God is more powerful.

Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:5. Our passage can be found on page 807 of the Bibles underneath your chairs, if you're using one of those.

The apostle Paul, who wrote 1 Thessalonians, teaches us about recognizing the enemy’s work and how we can stand firm in what God has done. We will begin reading our passage starting at the small number 17.

"But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. "So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God's service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,”

Paul hated seeing the enemy work against the ministry of God and the people he loved. And as your pastor, it angers me to see the enemy stealing, killing, and destroying people’s lives- that includes yours. I’m tired of seeing him take ground.

Paul experienced Satan blocking him from the Thessalonian Christians. The enemy tries to do the same thing in our lives.

Recognizing the work of the enemy

1- The enemy isolates us.

One of the enemy’s strategies against us is to isolate us: to cut us off from the very relationships God can use to strengthen us.

That doesn’t mean every season of loneliness is caused by Satan. But it does mean the enemy can use our struggles to push us away from the people who can help us follow Jesus.

I’ve noticed that there can be shame attached to struggling. You don’t want people to know what’s going on, you think you can handle it yourself, and so you retreat. When we’re struggling, it’s tempting to pull away instead of reaching out for help.

The enemy uses our struggles to isolate us, but God uses relationships to strengthen us.

Embracing the work of God

1- God surrounds us.

Paul was blocked from returning to Thessalonica, but that did not stop him. He just sent Timothy because he knew these believers needed someone to strengthen and encourage them in their faith.

And the same is true for us. We need to know that:

God surrounds us with his presence and with people who will help us follow Him.

And that the enemy’s “blocks” should not hinder or discourage us from being in community together.

For the six months we have been a church, some of you have raised your hands and made a decision to follow Jesus. That's amazing! But you need more than a moment of decision. Following Jesus means turning from sin and learning to live God's way. But your old way of life can be tempting. That's hard to navigate alone. That's why we encourage people to take our eight-week discipleship process. Your discipler can be like a “Timothy,” someone who walks alongside you and helps strengthen and encourage your faith.

Others of you are carrying some really heavy burdens, but you're too ashamed to come down front at the end of the service and ask for prayer. But our prayer team is here, so you don't have to carry those burdens alone. Let someone pray with you and encourage you.

And some of you are lonely. You're struggling in your faith, trying to do it all on your own. Get connected with other believers. That's why I keep encouraging you to practice the first five and last five. In the five minutes before service, look for someone you don't know and introduce yourself. Do the same in the five minutes after service.

Because we all need people who know us, care about us, pray for us, speak God's Word to us, and remind us of the gospel when we're struggling to see clearly. The goal isn't simply to get you involved in more church activities. It's to make sure you have people in your life who help you follow Jesus.

Christian relationships can help keep us in the game.

You may feel alone, but you are not abandoned. In Jesus, you are surrounded by his care.

Sometimes, we can still feel alone in a sea of people. We can feel like we have no one. The first step you should take is to pray. Ask God for people, then open your eyes to who is in front of you. Sometimes, the next step to take is to be the friend you hope you would have. And third, followers of Jesus in this church: God is in us. Let’s make sure we surround one another with the presence of God by being present with one another.

But the enemy of our souls does not give up easily. He attempts to use other parts of life against us. Let's keep reading.

"So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God's service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know."

Recognizing the work of the enemy

1- The enemy isolates us.

2- The enemy unsettles us.

Remember, the Thessalonians are suffering at the hands of other people because of their belief in Jesus. Paul is worried that these trials will unsettle their faith.

Now, you might be thinking, “Of course trials unsettle me! They’re hard. They’re painful. They turn my life upside down.” And that’s true. Paul isn’t saying that Christians shouldn’t feel pain or that hardship shouldn’t affect us. Paul is concerned about something deeper.

The word ‘unsettle’ Paul uses here carries the idea of something that catches our attention and distracts us from what matters most.

Think about what happens when life gets hard. We want relief. We want to escape the pain, the stress, the uncertainty, or the disappointment. And sometimes we turn to things that distract us from what we’re facing.

We can spend hours scrolling through shorts and reels because we don't want to think about what's happening in our lives. Substances, relationships, and entertainment can seem attractive because they promise to fulfill our longings.

Even the busyness of our lives can distract us from God. We say we want more of God, but there is no room in our lives for him.

Here is what I am getting at: the enemy doesn't always come at us with something obviously evil. Sometimes he just puts something attractive or entertaining in front of us, and we look away from Jesus.

And if he can get our focus just a little off Jesus, that slight change in direction can take us way off course as time goes on.

But we can find strength to stay the course in the most unlikely of places.

Embracing the work of God

1- God surrounds us.

2- God strengthens us.

Verses 3 and 4 of the passage are so important when it comes to enduring the distractions of the enemy.

Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they shouldn't be surprised by trials and temptations of the enemy. In fact, he says, “We kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.”

Knowing that temptation is coming doesn't make it painless. But it does help us face it without thinking that something has gone wrong in us.

I was watching the final baseball game between the Brewers and Dodgers last night. The Brewers fell behind in every game of the series before coming back to win.

Imagine how different those games would have felt if the players knew the outcome ahead of time. They would still face the same challenges. They would know that they would have to endure some setbacks and hardships, but they could keep going with confidence because they knew how the story would end.

Followers of Jesus can have that same confidence.

We don't know how every struggle in our lives will turn out. We don't know when our suffering will end or how God will work through every difficult situation. But we do know that we will face those things, AND we do know how the ultimate story ends. Jesus has won.

Think about Jesus himself. He knew he would have to suffer and die. And His suffering and death on the cross looked like defeat. But through his death and resurrection, he accomplished our salvation and won the victory over sin and Satan. Jesus has won the war over your sin.

Your struggles with sin, your suffering, and the attacks you face are real. The enemy may try to discourage you and draw your eyes away from Jesus.

But we can face them knowing that Jesus has overcome sin and death. We can keep trusting him even when life is hard, because our hope isn't based on everything going the way we want it to. Our hope is based on what Jesus has already done and what he has promised to do.

Let's come back to the final part of our passage.

"For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain."

Recognizing the work of the enemy

1- The enemy isolates us.

2- The enemy unsettles us.

3- The enemy tempts us to give up.

Sometimes, the enemy can work to distract us, taking our focus away from Jesus little by little. But other times, our enemy goes in for the big attack to get us to give up.

Think about the temptation these young Thessalonian Christians were facing. They were experiencing hardship because of their faith. Paul worried that they would be tempted to try and stop the pain by turning away from Jesus and returning to a life that didn't bring them the same opposition.

The enemy wants us to believe that immediate relief is worth more than the eternal grace and peace we have in Jesus. He tries to get us discouraged enough to give up. But God gives us hope.

Embracing the work of God

1- God gives us people who strengthen our faith.

2- God strengthens to remain faithful through trials.

3- God gives us hope.

Paul wants the Thessalonians to remember that the pain they were experiencing, the temptation they were battling, and the isolation that was overwhelming them wasn’t all there was. Earlier, he called them his hope, joy, and crown when Jesus returns. Paul’s eyes are fixed on something beyond the temporary struggles of this life.

And that's where we need to fix our eyes, too.

Paul couldn't return to Thessalonica. Satan had blocked his way. But Paul didn't give up on these believers. If he couldn't be there in person, he would send Timothy. If he couldn't be there himself, he would write to them and encourage them through his letters.

Many scholars consider 1 Thessalonians to be the earliest surviving letter Paul wrote to a church. We can't know whether the roadblock he faced was the specific reason he began writing letters, but we can see how God used Paul's love for these believers to strengthen the church through this letter.

What looked like an obstacle to Paul's ministry did not stop God's work.

And God continues to strengthen his church through these letters to this day! Here we are on a Sunday morning reading this letter again. What Satan intended as an obstacle did not prevent God from accomplishing his purposes and encouraging believers for generations.

God knows and sees things that we don't know, and that we don’t see.

Tim Keller has a quote that says, "God will either give us what we ask for in prayer, or give us what we would have asked for if we knew everything he knows."

That is an incredibly comforting truth when we're going through hard circumstances. We may not understand what God is doing, and we shouldn't pretend to know all his reasons. But we can trust that God sees what we cannot see and that the enemy does not have the final word.

God can work in circumstances we would never choose. He can bring good out of situations that seem like nothing but setbacks.

So when I feel alone, God is with me.

When trials unsettle me, Jesus will help me stand firm.

When I'm tempted to give up, I remember that my present circumstances are not the end of the story.

2 Corinthians 4:18: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

The things we're facing today are real. Our pain is real. Our struggles are real. We don't need to pretend otherwise.

But they are not the whole story. The enemy may use hardship to isolate us. Suffering may unsettle our faith. We may even be tempted to give up on Jesus. But the enemy does not have the final word. Jesus does.

We don’t fight for victory, we fight from the victory of Jesus.

Direct toward the final song and then pray.