Our Glory and Joy - 2022-08-28

“Our Glory and Joy”

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Message #6 in 1 Thess. Series

McEwen Bible Fellowship

28 August 2022 

INTRODUCTION:

There are all kinds of honours that we humans confer on one another. In school we recognize scholastic achievements. We use words like, “valedictorian,” and “salutatorian,” etc. In business we give honours such as “Salesman of the Year,” or “Project Manager of the Year.” In sports we recognize the “MVP-Most Valuable Player,” and “Heisman Trophy” winner. In the military we award honours for uncommon valour, such as the “Medal of Honour” and the “Bronze Star.”

Do not get me wrong. These are all wonderful awards and honours. We should celebrate excellence and award those who do well. However, in a sense the human race is somewhat like the Annual Academy Awards, when a bunch of bad actors all get together and give themselves prizes and “atta boys” without really consulting the people who matter most, i.e., those of us who go out and pay good money to watch their stupid movies. It is an “in house” awards show.

That is what humans do all the time. We judge our conduct, good or bad, on the sliding scale of how we stack up to other human beings. However, there is a day coming when every one of us will be judged by a different standard, one that we did not establish and one that will be arbitrated by a Perfect Judge. The Bible says that all of us will stand before God to give account of how we have lived our lives. That goes for believers and unbelievers alike. That should be a sobering thought.

TRANSITION:

The apostle Paul was always conscious of the fact that God was watching him. He talks often in his letters about the fact that he sees life as a race to be run, with a prize to be won for finishing well. He wanted to finish well, to bring glory to God and to be an honour to Christ’s name.

Here in 1 Thessalonians Paul talks about his values, the things that were most important to him and the things that would last through eternity. Right at the top of that list was the group of people that he had led to faith in Christ. He says that of all the things that he valued in his life, his children in the faith were the most precious, and would bring him the greatest joy on the day when he would enter the Lord’s glorious presence. Let’s read 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20. 

¹⁷ But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. ¹⁹ 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? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

MAIN BODY:

Verse 17: But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

·        “When we were torn away from you” – aporphanidzo, this is a very powerful word picture. The Greek word Paul uses here means to be left orphaned. The feeling Paul describes is that of being left alone when your parents suddenly die—feelings of lostness, aloneness, with deep sadness. He says that this is what he felt when he had to be separated from the Thessalonian believers. Was he overstating his feelings? I do not think so. He was trying to put into words a sentiment that was profound in him.

·        “…in person, not in thought” [lit. “in face, not in heart”] – Genuine love is not diminished by distance. If you have had a son or daughter serving overseas in the military, you know what Paul means here. Even though many miles separate the two of you, you still think of your child all the time, wondering how he/she is doing, praying that they are safe, and loving them even though you cannot see them.

·        “…out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.” = “Intense longing” in Greek is just one word, epithumia. The word is most often used in the N.T. for “lusting” or “coveting.” However, here Paul uses the word in a very positive sense. Paul’s strong desire, his intense longing to see them again led him to make several attempts to return to Thessaloniki but to no avail.

Verse 18: For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.

·        Paul missed these dear people and longed to see them. He uses the literary plural, “we,” but he is speaking personally. Apparently, he made more than one attempt, but his plans did not work out.

·        “…again and again” His expression here is interesting. Literally it means “both once and twice,” meaning repeatedly.

·        “…but Satan stopped us” = Paul states clearly what his desire was but credits Satan with being the one who hindered him. He says that Satan cut him off at the pass. He uses a word that means to make a road impassable by cutting off access. It is a technical word for putting up a roadblock calculated to stop a military expedition on the march. It is Satan’s work to throw obstacles into the Christian’s way, and it is our work to break through them. God always provides a way around the devil’s roadblocks.

·        But how much influence does Satan have on the outcomes of our daily lives? How was Paul hindered, specifically?

o   By illness? – 2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 4:13

o   By opposition of the Jews in Corinth to his plans?

o   By the bond paid by Jason in Thessaloniki guaranteeing that Paul would not return? – Acts 17:9

·        Although Paul believed in God’s sovereignty, he never minimized the reality of evil or the power of Satan (1 Thess. 3:5; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2, 6:12). 

Verse 19a: 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? 

·        I am sure that you have all watched the Olympics. How exciting it is to see those athletes step up on that platform to receive their medals of honour. How proud their friends and families must be of them. However, there is an honour much greater than any that men can confer. Paul is looking forward to the day when Christ Himself will give out the prizes for those who have been faithful in His service.

·        In Greek there are two words for “crown”: (1) diadema is used almost exclusively for the royal crown; (2) stephanos is used almost exclusively for the victor’s crown given to the victorious athlete in the Greek games. It is stephanos that Paul uses here.

·        Paul’s hope is that those who began well in Christ will continue in Him. His joy is to see these new converts growing strong in faith and in Christian maturity. His “crown of glorying, rejoicing, or exultation” will be when he stands with them before the Lord to present them to the Saviour. The apostle John echoes the same thought in 3 John 4 when he says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.” Paul would have said “AMEN” to that.

·        “…when He comes” = literally, “at His coming.” Parousia, the Greek term normally used of Christ’s Rapture or His Second Coming (see here and 3:13; 4:15; 2 Thess. 2:1, etc.). 

Verses 19b-20: Is it not you? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

·        Paul sees the people that he has led to Christ, including the Thessalonian believers, as the greatest joy of his life.

·        In verse 20 Paul makes doubly sure that the Thessalonians know the answer to his question.  He uses an emphatic construction with emphasis on the pronoun, YOU. “YOU are our glory and joy!”

CONCLUSION:

What will be your crown of glory and your greatest joy on the day when you stand before the Lord? How many people have you introduced to the Saviour and mentored in the faith? How many people because of your testimony and godly lifestyle have you influenced to become Jesus followers? On that day when you stand before the Lord will you have tears of joy or tears of embarrassment and regret? Will you be running toward Jesus or looking for a place to hide your face? It is worth thinking about. 

The Word That Works - 2022-08-21

“The Word That Works”

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

Message #5 in 1 Thess. Series

McEwen Bible Fellowship

21 August 2022

INTRODUCTION:

In the Scriptures we learn that the Lord God brought the worlds into existence merely by speaking words. The Bible also confirms that He created the heavenly host of angels by speaking them into being. God has the power to make things appear out of nothing, to bring things to life just by speaking a word. Psalm 33:6-9 says, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.  ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses.  ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him.  ⁹ For He spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm.” 

For centuries humans have tried to figure out how to make things happen just by using words. Wizards and sorcerers especially have tried to discover the secrets of using magic words to make things happen. There are some famous ones that come instantly to mind:

Ø  “Abracadabra!” - The word is now commonly used as an incantation by stage magicians. In ancient times, however, it was taken much more seriously as an incantation to be used as a cure for fevers and inflammations. The first known mention was in the 2nd century AD in a poem called De Medicina Praecepta by Serenus Sammonicus, physician to the Roman emperor Caracalla, who prescribed that the sufferer from the disease wear an amulet containing the word “Abracadabra” written in the form of an inverted cone.

Ø  “Open sesame!” – In the adventure tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” part of The Book of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights,  Ali Baba, a poor woodcutter, happens to overhear a group of thieves—forty in all—visiting their hidden treasure in the forest where he is cutting wood. The thieves’ treasure is in a cave, the mouth of which is sealed by magic—it opens on the words “Open, O Simsim” (commonly written as “Open Sesame” in English), and seals itself on the words “Close, Simsim” (“Close Sesame”). When the thieves are gone, Ali Baba enters the cave himself, and takes some of the treasure home with him.

Ø  “Hocus Pocus!” – According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica in all probability these commonly used magician’s words are nothing else but a corruption of the Latin version of Jesus’ words, “…this is my body…” found in Matt. 26:26, “hoc est corpus meum,” which every Roman Catholic priest recites in his “transubstantiation” blessing when the common elements of bread and wine supposedly change into the literal body and blood of Jesus. Of course, the average peasant sitting in the back of the church, not knowing a lick of Latin, just knew that something important and magical was going on when the priest held up the Host and spoke those strange Latin words. Over time, the phrase was corrupted from “hoc est corpus” into “hocus pocus” while retaining its association with magic.

Ø  “Shazam” - Traveling across the country in an RV, teenager Billy Batson and his adult alien companion, Mentor, would encounter various situations that would require their help. Whenever their help was needed, a flashing light on the dashboard of the RV would start beeping and blinking and would summon the cosmic elders (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury), who would give him some cryptic advice needed for the emerging situation. By yelling the word, “Shazam”, which is an acronym for all of the elders’ names, Billy would turn into Captain Marvel, an adult hero with the power of flight, super speed, and super strength. As Captain Marvel, he would use his powers to capture criminals, save those in distress, and right any other wrongs that came up.

Ø  (And now… for my personal favourite) “Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches!” – These were the Amazing Mumford’s magic words on the Sesame Street television series. 

But some words really do have power. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” In our text for today in the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he makes this very same claim in chapter 2 verse 13. But before we go there let’s read once again the verses leading up to it to refresh our minds of the context. I am reading 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 from the NASB.

TRANSITION:

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, ² but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition.  ³ For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.  ⁵ For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— ⁶ nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.  ⁷ But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.  ⁸ Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.   ⁹ For you recall, brethren, our labour and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.  ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; ¹¹ just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, ¹² so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 

MAIN BODY:

Verse 13: For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. 

·        This is a rich verse. Notice that there is a four-stage progression laid out here:

Ø  First, they truly heard the Word of God. The word Paul uses means to listen intently, not merely hear as background noise. They paid attention to the Gospel message that was preached to them.

Ø  Secondly, they received the Word of God, as a gift and recognized it as truth. This is the same Greek word we find in John 1:11-12, “…He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

Ø  Thirdly, they accepted/welcomed the Word of God, allowing it to penetrate deeply into them. The word Paul uses here is déchomai, which means to receive by deliberate and ready reception, to welcome energetically. Notice that Paul uses two synonyms to describe the way the Thessalonians received the message of the Gospel. In the KJV, however, both are translated as, “received.” But the first, paralambáno, means to accept formally and outwardly. The second, déchomai, means to receive willingly and inwardly, to welcome it. Those believers did both.

Ø  Fourthly, they allowed the Word of God to energize them—they applied it to their lives. Here Paul uses the Greek word, energéo, literally meaning, “to work in,” and from which we get our word, energize. God is the source of the power; the Word is His instrument.

·        Paul gives thanks to God for all four of these things. 

Verse 14: For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,  

·        Paul says that the Gentile Thessalonian Christians have something in common with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem—namely, both groups have suffered greatly at the hands of their own countrymen simply because they believed in the Gospel.

·         This word, “imitators,” is the same one Paul used up in 1:6. The imitation he is speaking of here however, consisted in their suffering the same things from their neighbours as the Judean Christians suffered from theirs.

Verse 15: who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 

·        Here Paul indicts his own countrymen with an obvious anger and sense of outrage. He says that the Jews, his own people, killed the prophets that God sent to them to call them to repentance. Not only that, but they also killed the Messiah Himself. To add emphasis Paul uses an odd word order in the title of Lord Jesus saying that they killed the Lord, the sovereign over creation and history, and Jesus, the human Saviour [cf. same idea in Acts 2:36]. And as if that were not enough, they drove off the apostles as well.

·         From a cursory reading verses 14-15 could give you the idea that Paul was anti-Semitic. That, however, would be a ridiculous assumption because Paul himself was a Jew and he loved his fellow Jews. But he was honest in speaking out about their spiritual blindness and unbelief in relation to Christ. In our day, nobody wants to say who was responsible for killing Jesus. However, the Bible is clear. But does that give anyone the right to persecute Jews? Of course not. Had we been there I am certain that we would have been as blind and guilty as they proved to be.

·        His statement, “they are not pleasing to God,” is an obvious understatement. The Bible says that God wants all men to come to repentance and to salvation. He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance to the point of turning from sin to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

·        By opposing the Gospel, the Jews were working against the good of mankind, which so desperately needs salvation. NOTE: It is an awesome and fearful thing to be the one to cause others to reject Christ and the Gospel because of our selfish opposition to it. Think of those religious and military tyrants down through the years who have forbidden their subjects from hearing the Gospel. I believe their doom is sealed and they will occupy the deepest, darkest, and hottest pits of Hell. 

Verse 16: hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.   

·        Here Paul qualifies what he means by the Jews being “hostile to all men” in the previous verse. He is speaking specifically of certain Jews, not of all Jews. Like I said, he is not speaking anti-Semitically because he himself was a Jew. He is referring to those Jewish leaders who did everything possible to keep him from preaching the good news of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

·        Anyone who does such a thing is doing the work of Satan. Here is how I get there. Listen to what Paul says about his own people, the Jews in 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:4.

Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, ¹³ and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. ¹⁵ But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; ¹⁶ but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. ¹ Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, ² but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness, or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

·        “But wrath has come upon them to the utmost” – What does that mean? Paul is just emphasizing the completeness and certainty of judgment. Wrath for them was inescapable (cf. Romans 1:24, 26, 28). The wrath of God can be seen in two stages: sometimes He pours out His judgment on evil men in this life, although not always; however, in the end He will surely judge sin and all unbelievers will experience the full weight of His divine wrath. 

CONCLUSION:

The theme of God’s wrath runs all through Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonians. But if you take the time to study it carefully you will discover that he repeatedly makes the point that God’s wrath is reserved for the unbelievers who reject Christ and the Gospel. It is not for those who belong to Him.

Ø  1:9-10, “For they themselves [i.e., the new converts in Achaia and Macedonia] report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead—that is, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

Ø  5:9, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ø  2 Thess. 1:6-10, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels.  ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.  ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power ¹⁰ on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you because you believed our testimony to you.”

Walking Worthy - 2022-08-14

“Walking Worthy”

1 Thess. 2:9-12

Message #4 in 1 Thess. Series

McEwen Bible Fellowship

14 August 2022

INTRODUCTION:

Those of you who are hunters or outdoorsmen know how important it is to learn to read tracks. Trailcraft includes being able to recognize an animal by the prints it leaves. Moreover, a good hunter learns to tell how long it has been since the animal made those tracks. He can also tell if the animal was running, standing still, or sauntering along.

A good tracker can do the same thing by reading the footprints of people. He can tell if they were running, or walking, or strolling, or sightseeing, just by looking carefully at their tracks. He can also tell if the person was a man or a woman or a child, drunk or sober, walking normally, or hobbling along.

But can footprints tell you about the character of a person? Can prints in the mud or the dust tell you if the person is a Christian or not? Of course not. But there is another kind of print that each of us leaves as we go through this life, a clear print that can be read by anyone willing to take the time to observe our life patterns. In the passage for today, Paul tells the Christians in Thessaloniki that they need to “walk worthy of their calling.” But exactly what does that mean? Let’s find out.

TRANSITION:

First, to refresh our minds about the context, let’s read the verses leading up to our text for this morning. I am reading 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 from the NASV.

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, ² but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition.  ³ For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.  ⁵ For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness-- ⁶ nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.  ⁷ But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.  ⁸ Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

MAIN BODY:

Verse 9: For you recall, brethren, our labour and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. 

·        This is an especially rich portion of God’s Word, and it has much to teach us today. First, look at the word “labour.” In Greek, as in English, there are several synonyms for work. The most common word is ergon, (e.g., English energy, erg, ergonomics, synergy, etc.) which is usually translated “work,” and often refers primarily to what is produced through the work, i.e., the product. However, the word Paul uses here is not ergon but is kopos, the same word he chose to use back in 1:3 where Paul commended the Thessalonian believers for their “labour of love.” Paul will also use this word later in 3:5 to say, “For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labour would be in vain.” You may recall that I told you when we were in chapter 1 that this word primarily denotes “a striking, or a beating;” thus it implies, “hard work resulting in weariness, laborious toil, backbreaking labour.” It puts the emphasis on the gruelling process, rather than on the product produced. This is not office work but digging ditches kind of work. For example: You return home after a hard day putting up bales or stringing fences and you say to your wife, “Honey, I’m beat.” Or in Ireland they say, “Love, I’m totally knackered.” That is the idea of kopos. Paul and the others worked hard in Thessaloniki, to the point of exhaustion.

·        The second word, mochthos, here translated “hardship,” carries the idea of “painfulness, hardship, or distress.” Paul pairs these two words three times in the NT—here, and in 2 Cor. 11:27 and 2 Thess. 3:8. So the two words together, “labour and hardship,” give the picture of night and day kind of hard, back-breaking work, resulting in extreme weariness. Paul says that he and his team members did that so as not to be a burden on the people in Thessaloniki. I believe Paul is saying that they worked at their own jobs (perhaps tent-making [Acts 18:3] or something else) during the day, and then went out doing ministry at night. They supported themselves as bi-vocational missionaries, which is exceedingly difficult indeed.

·        Paul and his colleagues took evangelism very seriously. It was not just a hobby for them. It was the most important thing in the world.

Verse 10: You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers.  

·        Paul calls on the Thessalonian Christians as his witnesses, as well as God Himself, that what he is saying is the absolute truth.

·        Then he uses three adverbs to describe their behaviour toward the people of Thessaloniki. The first adverb is “devoutly.” In the KJV it is translated as “holily.” The word means “righteous, and unpolluted, separated from moral uncleanness,” and is often applied to God. Paul is saying that he acted in a holy and morally clean way toward the people in Thessaloniki.

·        The second adverb Paul chooses, in the NASV is “uprightly.” In the KJV we have “justly.” The Greek word indicates “a state of being right, or displaying right conduct,” whether judged by the divine standard or by the human standard. Paul is saying that their conduct before the Thessalonians was just and righteous, leaving no room for accusations of any kind.

·        The third descriptive adverb Paul uses here is translated “blamelessly” in the NASV and “unblameably” in the KJV, thus stating the same truth negatively. It is a compound Greek adverb with a, the negative preposition, coupled with the verb memphomai, meaning “to find fault.” Paul uses it here to signify that no charge could be maintained, whatever charges might be put forth. Paul and his friends were Teflon. No matter the charge thrown against them, nothing would stick.

·        Paul is not bragging but is simply stating the truth. He and his teammates were careful of their words, their conduct, their attitudes, their looks, their aside comments to one another, etc. We should be just as careful if we truly want to be used by God to bring people to the Saviour, because people watch us closely to see if our message is for real or if it is just words.

Verse 11: just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, 

·        Here again Paul uses three synonyms, three present participles, which are -ing words, to describe how they were treating the Thessalonians. You will remember from high school grammar that a present participle shows continuous, ongoing action. In other words, when Paul and his colleagues were in Thessaloniki, they were constantly doing these three things. That is his point. They did these things continuously and habitually.

·        First, however, before we look at these three key words, notice the last phase of the verse: “…as a father would his own children.” This is the second word picture Paul uses in this chapter. It is a striking simile. The first one was up in verse 7 where Paul wrote: “But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.” Now he takes up the father’s role in child rearing. Fathers and mothers are both important in raising kids, but they have different roles to play and different ways of relating to their children. Mothers tend to be gentler, more feelings-oriented, more relational, and more discussion-based. Fathers, on the other hand, are not always big on discussion. They are more action-based, results-driven, and goal-oriented. Both approaches, when balanced together, help a child to develop into a sensitive, caring, hard-working, productive adult. That is why the 2-parent home is so important. Children need both a mother and a father.

·        Paul uses three words that are similar in meaning yet not precisely the same. Each has a different shade of meaning.

1.      “Exhorting” [cf. 2:3] – from para-kaléw, exhorting (preposition to the side + the verb to call).  Means “to call a person to one’s side; to call on; entreat; to urge someone to decisive action or to pursue some positive course of conduct.” The word is always forward looking.

2.     “Encouraging” – from para-muthéomai, comforting, consoling (with or by the side of +verb to counsel, advise, hence a speaking closely to anyone). The word is used of soothing, consoling, encouraging [cf. 5:14]. 

3.     “Imploring” – the present participle of the verb marturéo, which means to testify or to give witness [cf. “affirm” in Eph. 4:17]. Fathers tell their kids important truths. They seek to impart knowledge and insight. Paul and his colleagues were doing this with the new believers, bearing witness of the truth and encouraging these new converts to apply the truth to their lives. {N.B. The English word martyr comes directly from the noun form martur, which means a witness or a testimony. It is interesting to realize that down through the centuries, to be a witness for Christ has often resulted in the person giving up his/her life as a martyr for the cause of Christ.}

Verse 12: so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own Kingdom and glory. 

·        All this testifying, encouraging, and exhorting was for the purpose of getting the Thessalonian believers to begin living/walking/acting in a way that was consistent with who they had now become, “new creations in Christ”.

·        This reminds me of Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

·        There is something else interesting in verse 12 of our text.  The phrase, “…worthy of the God who calls you…” is in the present tense, indicating that He continually calls us, repeatedly calls us to walk worthy. That is the Spirit’s work, to conform us to the image of Christ and make us holy. He never ceases to call us to this high standard.

·        This verse begs the question: Can we ever be truly worthy of our calling or of God himself? In a sense we cannot. However, Christians are children of the King, thus we should live to bring the King honour, not dishonour. As saved people we are called to be ambassadors for Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, we should do everything possible to represent Him well, leaving no room for shameful accusations coming from the enemies of the Gospel.

·        This verse has a definite eschatological sense at the end when it looks forward to both the Messianic Kingdom and the eternal state when Christ’s full glory will be revealed. We are to live with our eyes always searching the horizon for Christ’s appearing, while at the same time we go about our assigned duties, being faithful until He comes back.

CONCLUSION:

I think that if Paul could pop in on us here this morning, he would tell us that the point he was trying to get across to the Thessalonian Christians was simply that we need to take the evangelism of the lost way more seriously than most of us do. No other task in life compares with it. It is a 24-hour a day job and needs to permeate everything else we do. We must live 24/7 Christianity. It is not merely a Sunday thing; it is a full-time job. And the eternal welfare of other people will be affected by how well we carry out that task. If we do not walk worthy, other people will suffer the consequences—our children, our neighbours, our co-workers, etc. There is a song that sums this up beautifully… 

Find Us Faithful

Lyrics & Music by Jon Mohr (sung by Steve Green)

1.      We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way;
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,

Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace. 

2.     Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race, not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us, let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.

CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.

3.     After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift through all we've left behind,
May the clues that they discover, and the memories they uncover,
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.

Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.

The Gospel in Skin - 2022-08-07

“The Gospel in Skin”

1 Thess. 2:1-8

Message #3 in 1 Thess. Series

McEwen Bible Fellowship

7 August 2022

INTRODUCTION:

The Bible says that all of divinity was in Jesus. He was God in a physical, human body. The apostle Paul says it this way in Colossians 2:9, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” And you will remember that when His disciples asked Jesus to let them see the Father, He told them, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. I and my Father are one.” John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh, and He made His dwelling among us.” The theological term for that event is “the Incarnation” of Christ. Jesus is God Incarnate. Our word “incarnate” comes directly from the Latin word incarnatus, which means, “in flesh.” So, Jesus was God in flesh, clothed in human skin. All that God is, was clearly visible in Jesus.

But there is a second kind of incarnation that the Bible talks about. When we trust in Christ as Saviour and Lord He comes into our heart, our mind, and our life and He abides in us. John 15 explains this abiding relationship in detail. But to summarize, we are to be Jesus incarnate in the same way that He was God Incarnate. We are Christ’s hands and feet. We are His eyes and mouth. When people see us, they should be able to see Jesus. When they hear us speak, they should be able to hear Jesus speaking. When they experience compassion from us, they should know that it is Jesus’ love and compassion flowing through us. We are called to be Jesus in flesh, Jesus incarnate.

TRANSITION:

By way of review and to put today’s study in context, listen again to Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10: You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word [i.e., the truth of the Gospel] in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.  ⁹ For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to SERVE a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to WAIT for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

So, according to verses 9 and 10 what are we Christians supposed to be doing?

Answer = loyally serving God while patiently awaiting Christ’s return.

MAIN BODY:

Verse 1: For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, 

·        Here Paul refers to the back story of what occurred when Paul, Silas, and Timothy first carried the Gospel to the city of Thessaloniki, as recorded in Acts 17.

·        The word “vain” today is most often used to mean “selfish, full of one’s self-importance” (e.g., Carly Simon’s song, “Your so vain, you prob’ly think this song is about you…”) However, Paul here uses the term to mean, “empty, hollow, fruitless, without effect.” His point is that the Gospel did bear fruit in Thessaloniki, and the recipients of this letter are proof of that wonderful harvest. God’s Word never returns void—it always has effect; it always returns a harvest. God Himself makes this claim in Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,  ¹¹ so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  

Verse 2:  but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition. 

·        Again, here Paul simply tells it like it was. They were very badly treated in Philippi. They did time in jail there. They were publicly flogged and held without trial. They were accused of sedition and stirring up a movement against the Roman authorities, which was totally false. After all that, any sane person would have given up and caught the first boat out of there headed toward Jerusalem.

·        However, Paul and Silas and Timothy were not normal. They were filled with zeal for God, and with a holy boldness to share the Good News with anyone who would listen. They took the Great Commission personally and responded without question to the Spirit’s clear direction to preach the Gospel in Thessaloniki. So, despite the opposition, they did not do the “normal” thing, but pressed on to accomplish their mission. 

Verse 3: For our exhortation does not come from error, or impurity, or by way of deceit. 

·        “For our exhortation…” This word is the Greek noun paráklesis, related to the more familiar word, parákletos used to describe the Holy Spirit, our “Paraclete,” our Advocate and Comforter, who comes alongside to help us in our time of need. Both words come from the Greek verb, “parakaléo,” which means “to call one alongside to help, to entreat, to urge.”

·        Here Paul is talking about the appeal that he and his two fellow ministers made to their listeners in Thessaloniki to respond to the Gospel, to come alongside them and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus be saved. He is talking about the invitations they gave to the evangelistic sermons they preached, urging people to believe in Jesus as their Saviour and to follow Him as their Lord.

·        Then he delves into their motivation in making such an appeal. He says that they did not do it out of trickery, or to pick up girls, or to get rich. The New Living Translation puts it this way: “So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery.” People often accused Paul and his colleagues of having impure or at least mixed motives for preaching the Gospel. So, to not leave any room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation they went out of their way to lead an exemplary life and to give no one any grounds to point a finger at them. They took seriously the command of Scripture recorded in 1 Tim. 3:2 that an elder must be “above reproach.” This is an interesting Greek phrase literally meaning “without handles.” We are to live in such a way that no one can find a handle to accuse us, meaning a fault in our life where they can grab hold and make an accusation of sinfulness or impropriety. No one is perfect but Christians and especially leaders should make every effort to live honestly, honourably, and transparently, with an emphasis on sexual purity, integrity, and personal holiness.

Verse 4: but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. 

·        Look at this phrase… “approved by God.” It was particularly important to Paul to know that he had been approved by God. He lived his life for an audience of One. The approval of men is nice, but the approval of God is far better. The approval of men is fleeting and always comes at a high price; but the approval of God brings health to the soul and courage in the face of danger. In 2 Corinthians 2:17 he wrote: “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.” Later, Paul wrote to Timothy these words recorded in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

·        Then look at the next phrase in verse 4, “entrusted with the Gospel.” To be entrusted with something implies that the “something” is of great value. Brinks Security Company is one of the foremost security companies in the United States. To get a job with them as a guard, a driver, or as a warehouse worker you must jump through quite a few hoops. That is because they protect other people’s money and valuables. To work for Brinks, you must go through a rigorous background check like the one police departments require for potential officers. You also must be bonded. This means the company guarantees that you are honest and can be trusted to protect their clients’ money and valuable documents. It is a guarantee that affirms that you have been vetted and approved.

·        Paul never got over the fact that despite the bad things he had done in the past as a persecutor of the Church, Christ had forgiven him and saved him and then entrusted the Gospel to him to carry to the Gentiles. He spoke of this often. Come with me for a short stroll through Paul’s writings:

Ø  1 Corinthians 9:16-17, “When I preach the Gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.”                                

Ø  Galatians 2:7, “…but on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised (i.e., the Gentiles), just as Peter with the Gospel to the circumcised (i.e., the Jews).”

Ø  Where Paul really develops this concept is in his two letters to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 1:11 we read, “…according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

Ø  2 Timothy 1:14, “Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

Ø  2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

·        In the last part of verse 4 of our text Paul makes it clear that his purpose in life was to please God, whether men approved or not. We can fool people. We can lead people on so that they believe we are holy and spiritual. But God knows the truth. We cannot shine Him on and pull the wool over His eyes. The Bible says, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”  Paul wanted to please God by having correct behaviour operating out of right motives.

Verse 5: For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 

·        Paul was an articulate and expert speaker. He was fluent in probably five or six languages, maybe more (Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Assyrian, Arabic). He was well-educated in the finest Rabbinic schools. He was a student of Gamaliel, one of the most respected rabbis of that time. He was a Roman citizen, born to a noble family.  Had he chosen to do so Paul could have come across in a very impressive way. However, he made every effort to present the Gospel without a hint of pride or manipulation. He makes this point beautifully in his testimony given in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of [human] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 

Verse 6:  …nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.

·        If you try and live your life to get glory from men, you will find yourself on a treadmill going nowhere. Think about it, if you could get glory from every human on earth, where would that take you in the end? It might get you a couple of statues in the park and maybe a footnote in a history book. Big deal! The praise of men is fickle and very fleeting. Look at how many get their 15 minutes of fame only to slink back off into the darkness of obscurity and public forgetfulness, never to be heard from again.

·        In passing Paul observes that they did not use any kind of leverage to gain an advantage or to manipulate people. They did not lead from their position as apostles (i.e., messengers sent from God). Rather, they led by example. They had authority but they did not use it, they did not rely on it. 

Verse 7:  But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

·        This is the first of two powerful word pictures that Paul uses to describe his and his colleagues’ relationship to the Thessalonian Christians. [N.B. The second word picture is in verse 11, which we will look at in our next study.] Paul reminds the folks that when his team arrived in Thessaloniki, they were gentle, the way a nursing mother tenderly cares for her infant. You know what he means. We have all seen nursing mothers cradling their babies in their arms while they nurse. They do it with gentleness and love.

·        Paul and his colleagues did not cram the Gospel down people’s throats. They did not beat them down with theological arguments. They did not resort to high-sounding words and grand oratory. They simply shared about who Jesus was and what He had done in their lives. There are two ways to get a horse to drink: (1) You can stick a hose down his throat and pour water into his stomach through a funnel; or (2) You can feed him salt. Paul and his buddies gave their salty testimonies, and shared their salty lives, and preached the salty Gospel, and presented a salty Saviour. Then they simply pointed people to the One who is the Fount of Living Water. It works every time!

·        Evangelism was described by Bill Bright as… “¹ Taking the initiative to ² share Christ ³ in the power of the Holy Spirit, ⁴ leaving the results up to God.” That is what Paul, and his co-laborers did—with gentleness, respect, and love.

Verses 8: Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 

·        Here we come to an enormously powerful and instructive verse, for it holds the three-fold key to successful evangelism:

1.      First, he speaks of the positive attitude he and the others felt toward the Thessalonians. They liked them. They enjoyed being with them. They saw them as friends, not enemies. They were not threatened by them. They did not feel embarrassed to hang out with them. They did things together. They shared their lives, their thoughts, and their dreams and forged genuine friendships. Paul states his feelings twice in the verse: “…having so fond an affection for you,” and “…you had become very dear to us.” Perhaps you are thinking, “Yea, they felt that way after the people became Christians, but surely not before.” But look at the verse again. Paul does not say that. In fact, he says, “We liked you so much that we not only shared the Gospel with you but our personal lives as well.” You will never be effective in sharing your Christian faith if you are fearful or standoffish of non-Christian people. Jesus was a true “friend of sinners.” We must be too.

2.     Secondly, they shared the Gospel, the pure Gospel. They did not water it down and they did not try to dress it up. They gave it straight. The Gospel message is simple, although not simplistic. It is easy to understand if we do not muddy up the water and add stuff to it. Even a child can understand the Gospel and respond to the love of God.

3.     Thirdly, they shared their lives with the people, not just their message. The people accepted the Good News because first Paul and his buddies were good news. That is so important! We must win the right to be heard. We must earn credibility. The best salesmen are those who genuinely like people, who trust their product, and who are totally transparent. The same is true for witnesses. If we want to lead people to Jesus, we must be willing to let people get close enough to us to find out if we are for real. 

CONCLUSION:

The church I pastored in Portland for 20 years adopted a simple mission statement that said: “Our mission is to reach people for Christ and help believers grow to be like Him.” Paul and his buddies would have agreed with that mission statement. But more importantly, they were practicing it, every day! When they went to Thessaloniki their first goal was to win some people to Jesus. Their second goal was to help those people begin to grow in their newfound faith toward spiritual maturity and Christlikeness.

It is not enough for a church to have a great, well-worded, clear, concise, understandable mission statement. If we are not doing it, then what good is it? May God build a fire under us to be about His business of winning souls and building His Kingdom. Amen.