Welcome back to Books of
the Book, we are studying
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1 Thessalonians and
we are in Chapter 2.
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Doctor Pauline why
don't you bring us back
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into the passage here.
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Alright, 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6,
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- Um! Love that passage.
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So you see he's digging
deep into this whole issue of
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motivation, how do you go
about testing, letting God
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test your heart?
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You know it is so important
that I have an active and
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dynamic connection with God.
Specifically through scriptures.
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I think it is obvious that
Paul was so connected to God,
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walked closely with God, I mean
so much so that he was willing
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to take beatings for it.
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And so that connection with
God is what really tests our
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heart, the Bible itself
says that it is like a surgeon's
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knife, it divides
between bones and morrow.
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So God's Word is really
the only true thing that can
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really convict our hearts and
really test our motivations and
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help us grow by the grace that
comes from His word to transform
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our lives that we are more
hungry to please God then to
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please people, because that's
constantly a tension for all of
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us preachers, congregation,
all of us we struggle with that.
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The battle pleasing people
and pleasing God, so that time
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with Jesus, leading Him
master us when we are with Him.
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That really for me checks
my motivations and my wife.
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She always keeps me in check,
the kids and of course your
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church family and
those you have around you.
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If we are listening, I think
that word access back at the
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beginning of this chapter,
the Thessalonians were open to
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correction, they were open
to counsel and if we are open
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to God's council directly
through Scripture or through
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other people it
makes a big difference.
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We'll come back to that
at the end of this program.
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But I want to point out
right now that in verses 3
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through 6, Paul has a
list of six false motivations.
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Two pairs of three,
a pair of three each.
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In each case it is a word
about falsehood of some kind
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encircling a word on sexual
uncleanness, or greed in the
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case of verses 5 and 6.
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Money can be a
motivation for a ministry.
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Sexuality can be a
motivation for ministry.
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Pride in our own ideas can
be a motivation for ministry,
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Paul says no, my motivations
are what God thinks of me.
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That is the primary
motivation that he has.
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This I think is a
good balance, to something
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we did a couple of programs
ago where we talked about the
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missionary impulse, where
you meet people where they are.
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That means kind of shifting
the message and that can seem
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like compromise at times.
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You balance that with
authenticity, balance that
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with being real,
balance with letting
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God test your hearts.
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Shifting the message
isn't compromise if God is
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approving along the
way, God Himself meets people
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where they are.
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Our hearts are being tested,
we can make the adjustments in
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the message that people
need in order to get it.
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We can do that safely with God.
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Compromise happens when
you lose that touch with God,
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when you lose that authenticity
and then you begin making
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changes that please you
or please the people that
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you are trying to reach,
and that is a temptation where
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you want to fit the
message into something that
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will make them happy.
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That is not God
testing out your message.
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And you don't see
that with Paul. - No!
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Otherwise he wouldn't have
gotten the beatings he got.
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He definitely was not
preaching to please the people.
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You can see that he really
was preaching to please God,
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and to honor God.
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I like that you brought
out, sometimes we confuse the
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method with the message
and we think it has to be
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a certain method all the time.
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But we see from Paul,
and what we've read before in
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1 Corinthians 9 that
that is not the case.
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You can be true to the message.
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Thessalonica, Athens and
Corinth, he did a completely
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different approach, three
different approaches and he was
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willing to adjust to how it
came, but he was walking with
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God as he was
making those steps.
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I think that is the
crucial point. - Yeah!
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Now in verses 7 and 8
of 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8.
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Here is that a motion, he
says I have two motivations
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you guys, first of all I
want to please God, and second
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of all, my love for you
motivates me to stay straight.
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Motivates me to give you
the message that you need,
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rather than the
message you want.
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This concept of loving God,
loving people, it seems to me
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you are doing a sermon
series on that right now.
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Yeah! we are focusing on
what is called the Jesus Creed.
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When a scribe came to Jesus
and said, what is the greatest
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commandment? He said the
Schema from Deuteronomy 6,
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love the Lord with all your
heart, mind, soul and strength.
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And he said the second was
like it, love your neighbor as
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yourself, so we really see
Paul living out what Jesus said
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was the greatest commandment.
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Loving God with all
your heart, mind, and soul.
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I am living to please God
not people, I'm loving people,
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I'm loving my neighbor.
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So you really see God's
law written on Paul's heart,
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actually living that out.
It is so great to see that.
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But you know that is
interesting that you mentioned
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responsibilities here, he
is carrying out these things,
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we can focus on rights
sometimes as Christians,
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we have these rights, but
yet really when God calls us
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and He saves us He
gives us responsibilities.
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I mean what greater
responsibility is there than
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to be given the
responsibility of sharing
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God's love with people?
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That is such an awesome
responsibility and He gives us
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the grace to that, but
sometimes as Christians we can
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lean towards we have
these rights as a Christian.
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I'm getting all these
wonderful things that Scripture
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promises me, which is great,
but we have to remember we
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have an awesome responsibility
and you see that Paul
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understood that responsibility,
and he was willing to
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handle that
responsibility faithfully.
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We say I'm an apostle,
I can tell you what to do.
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I'm authorized by
Jerusalem. - Right, yeah!
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Like I said, he can
throw his weight around.
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Yet, instead he chose to
approach the way a mother with
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a little baby would function.
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So that to me is pretty
amazing about this text.
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The area in which he released
his rights becomes very,
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very clear in verses 9 to 12.
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Why don't you read those for us?
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So here we see Paul worked
every minute, day and night,
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you see. He was working to
support himself, as an apostle
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he deserve to be paid, but
he chose not to for their sake.
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That is because with all
these popular philosophers
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overcoming around who are there
just to have an easy living,
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the Gospel would be tainted
by him taking a salary from
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the people that he was preaching
to, that's how Paul felt.
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And more than this, he must
have been aware at some point
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that there was an element
among the Thessalonians that
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it was a little bit lazy, a
little disruptive and so working
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was to set an example.
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In 2 Thessalonians will
come back to that very, very
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strongly, that I sent you
an example, I worked day and
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night so that you wouldn't
get the idea that being in
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Christ is an easy life.
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So let's talk about authenticity
project, how do you let
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God test your hearts?
What are some practical ways?
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You have talked about
some of those, in my experience
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one of those is
reading the Bible.
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But we are looking for two
things, first of all looking
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for the Gospel, I need encour-
agement if I'm going to test
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myself, if I'm going to let
God test me because there is
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so many flaws there, and
it could break me up to really
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look at that too clearly.
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But when the Gospel comes
in and I know that I am safe
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with Him, when I'm solid with
Jesus Christ then there is maybe
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a little bit of courage to
open a crack and let Him in
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to actually work on that mess
inside. - Go easy on me God.
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The other thing is that in
the Bible there are so many
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characters that are
totally flawed, you see.
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David, Peter and so on,
you get these flawed characters
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and yet they were in the
house, God loved them and worked
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with them and they
were missionaries you see.
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Another one is prayer, I
think if in our prayer lives
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we just open ourselves to God,
and I think you have done this
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too was a notepad, sometimes
just ask God the question.
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What is going on
in my life right now?
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What are you seeing
Lord? And just write,
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just begin writing.
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Just open yourself to
God and ask God to guide you.
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Some of that may not be
all that relevant but usually
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after half a page I'm hitting
stuff that I know is from God
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and I know it is right on.
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I mean it is just
solid, so praying in a way that
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you open
yourself to God's leading.
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Another one I would
suggest, is accountability.
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That is when you let other
people, you have talked about,
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you talked about
your group in the church,
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I have had several men
in the course of my life.
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One of them is about 300
pounds and he is not intimidated
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by me at all and he can
get in my face and say I think
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your losing it on this point,
I'm really concerned by the
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way you are talking, or
the way you are behaving.
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Are you sure everything
is all right with God?
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I think all of us
need that. - Yeah!
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To have a friend, a hard-nosed
friend that will get in your
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face, small groups,
you sort of combined that.
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You have a group of men
that could talk to you and
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intervene and make sure
that your head is straight.
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That is very, very good.
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I think women in particular
find accountability in small
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groups, because when
another woman is describing her
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struggles, the first woman
is saying, yeah I can relate
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to that, I have the same issue.
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And you find encouragement
in addressing these things.
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But you know what is
tragic I think as a Pastor?
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Through the years I have
discovered there is a lot of
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Christians out there
that don't have any friends.
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Nobody that they are
really close to, I would say
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if that is the case in
your life, don't be afraid
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of going to a counselor.
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Some people say Christians
don't do that, and yet I think
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a little lady that
both of us admired who said,
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All a counselor is, is
somebody trained to listen
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without putting you down.
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We all need that
somewhere, sometime.
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Jon this has been a
great study, Paul it so great
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to see his authenticity
and his love for God.
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Not to be a people
pleaser but a God pleaser.
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We just want to
encourage you as we have been
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studying this to just let
God work on your hearts and
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live authentically before
people and let His message of
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love come to you.
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God bless. We
will see you again!
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