Participants: Jon Paulien & Jon Ciccarelli
Series Code: TBOTB
Program Code: TBOTB000005B
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00:00 Welcome back to Books of the Book, we are studying
00:03 1 Thessalonians and we are in Chapter 2. 00:05 Doctor Pauline why don't you bring us back 00:07 into the passage here. 00:09 Alright, 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6, 00:42 - Um! Love that passage. 00:43 So you see he's digging deep into this whole issue of 00:46 motivation, how do you go about testing, letting God 00:49 test your heart? 00:51 You know it is so important that I have an active and 00:56 dynamic connection with God. Specifically through scriptures. 01:00 I think it is obvious that Paul was so connected to God, 01:05 walked closely with God, I mean so much so that he was willing 01:08 to take beatings for it. 01:09 And so that connection with God is what really tests our 01:13 heart, the Bible itself says that it is like a surgeon's 01:17 knife, it divides between bones and morrow. 01:20 So God's Word is really the only true thing that can 01:24 really convict our hearts and really test our motivations and 01:29 help us grow by the grace that comes from His word to transform 01:33 our lives that we are more hungry to please God then to 01:36 please people, because that's constantly a tension for all of 01:39 us preachers, congregation, all of us we struggle with that. 01:42 The battle pleasing people and pleasing God, so that time 01:46 with Jesus, leading Him master us when we are with Him. 01:49 That really for me checks my motivations and my wife. 01:53 She always keeps me in check, the kids and of course your 01:57 church family and those you have around you. 02:00 If we are listening, I think that word access back at the 02:03 beginning of this chapter, the Thessalonians were open to 02:07 correction, they were open to counsel and if we are open 02:11 to God's council directly through Scripture or through 02:15 other people it makes a big difference. 02:17 We'll come back to that at the end of this program. 02:20 But I want to point out right now that in verses 3 02:24 through 6, Paul has a list of six false motivations. 02:28 Two pairs of three, a pair of three each. 02:34 In each case it is a word about falsehood of some kind 02:39 encircling a word on sexual uncleanness, or greed in the 02:44 case of verses 5 and 6. 02:46 Money can be a motivation for a ministry. 02:49 Sexuality can be a motivation for ministry. 02:53 Pride in our own ideas can be a motivation for ministry, 02:58 Paul says no, my motivations are what God thinks of me. 03:04 That is the primary motivation that he has. 03:07 This I think is a good balance, to something 03:11 we did a couple of programs ago where we talked about the 03:14 missionary impulse, where you meet people where they are. 03:17 That means kind of shifting the message and that can seem 03:20 like compromise at times. 03:21 You balance that with authenticity, balance that 03:25 with being real, balance with letting 03:27 God test your hearts. 03:29 Shifting the message isn't compromise if God is 03:32 approving along the way, God Himself meets people 03:35 where they are. 03:36 Our hearts are being tested, we can make the adjustments in 03:40 the message that people need in order to get it. 03:43 We can do that safely with God. 03:46 Compromise happens when you lose that touch with God, 03:49 when you lose that authenticity and then you begin making 03:53 changes that please you or please the people that 03:55 you are trying to reach, and that is a temptation where 03:59 you want to fit the message into something that 04:01 will make them happy. 04:03 That is not God testing out your message. 04:05 And you don't see that with Paul. - No! 04:07 Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten the beatings he got. 04:09 He definitely was not preaching to please the people. 04:12 You can see that he really was preaching to please God, 04:14 and to honor God. 04:16 I like that you brought out, sometimes we confuse the 04:19 method with the message and we think it has to be 04:23 a certain method all the time. 04:24 But we see from Paul, and what we've read before in 04:27 1 Corinthians 9 that that is not the case. 04:29 You can be true to the message. 04:31 Thessalonica, Athens and Corinth, he did a completely 04:34 different approach, three different approaches and he was 04:38 willing to adjust to how it came, but he was walking with 04:41 God as he was making those steps. 04:43 I think that is the crucial point. - Yeah! 04:46 Now in verses 7 and 8 of 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8. 05:28 Here is that a motion, he says I have two motivations 05:31 you guys, first of all I want to please God, and second 05:36 of all, my love for you motivates me to stay straight. 05:39 Motivates me to give you the message that you need, 05:43 rather than the message you want. 05:45 This concept of loving God, loving people, it seems to me 05:49 you are doing a sermon series on that right now. 05:51 Yeah! we are focusing on what is called the Jesus Creed. 05:55 When a scribe came to Jesus and said, what is the greatest 05:59 commandment? He said the Schema from Deuteronomy 6, 06:02 love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. 06:05 And he said the second was like it, love your neighbor as 06:08 yourself, so we really see Paul living out what Jesus said 06:11 was the greatest commandment. 06:12 Loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul. 06:14 I am living to please God not people, I'm loving people, 06:19 I'm loving my neighbor. 06:20 So you really see God's law written on Paul's heart, 06:25 actually living that out. It is so great to see that. 06:28 But you know that is interesting that you mentioned 06:32 responsibilities here, he is carrying out these things, 06:35 we can focus on rights sometimes as Christians, 06:39 we have these rights, but yet really when God calls us 06:42 and He saves us He gives us responsibilities. 06:45 I mean what greater responsibility is there than 06:47 to be given the responsibility of sharing 06:49 God's love with people? 06:51 That is such an awesome responsibility and He gives us 06:54 the grace to that, but sometimes as Christians we can 06:57 lean towards we have these rights as a Christian. 07:00 I'm getting all these wonderful things that Scripture 07:03 promises me, which is great, but we have to remember we 07:06 have an awesome responsibility and you see that Paul 07:08 understood that responsibility, and he was willing to 07:10 handle that responsibility faithfully. 07:12 We say I'm an apostle, I can tell you what to do. 07:16 I'm authorized by Jerusalem. - Right, yeah! 07:18 Like I said, he can throw his weight around. 07:21 Yet, instead he chose to approach the way a mother with 07:26 a little baby would function. 07:28 So that to me is pretty amazing about this text. 07:32 The area in which he released his rights becomes very, 07:37 very clear in verses 9 to 12. 07:39 Why don't you read those for us? 08:13 So here we see Paul worked every minute, day and night, 08:18 you see. He was working to support himself, as an apostle 08:23 he deserve to be paid, but he chose not to for their sake. 08:28 That is because with all these popular philosophers 08:31 overcoming around who are there just to have an easy living, 08:33 the Gospel would be tainted by him taking a salary from 08:38 the people that he was preaching to, that's how Paul felt. 08:42 And more than this, he must have been aware at some point 08:46 that there was an element among the Thessalonians that 08:49 it was a little bit lazy, a little disruptive and so working 08:54 was to set an example. 08:56 In 2 Thessalonians will come back to that very, very 08:59 strongly, that I sent you an example, I worked day and 09:02 night so that you wouldn't get the idea that being in 09:06 Christ is an easy life. 09:07 So let's talk about authenticity project, how do you let 09:14 God test your hearts? What are some practical ways? 09:17 You have talked about some of those, in my experience 09:20 one of those is reading the Bible. 09:23 But we are looking for two things, first of all looking 09:26 for the Gospel, I need encour- agement if I'm going to test 09:30 myself, if I'm going to let God test me because there is 09:34 so many flaws there, and it could break me up to really 09:38 look at that too clearly. 09:40 But when the Gospel comes in and I know that I am safe 09:43 with Him, when I'm solid with Jesus Christ then there is maybe 09:47 a little bit of courage to open a crack and let Him in 09:50 to actually work on that mess inside. - Go easy on me God. 09:53 The other thing is that in the Bible there are so many 09:56 characters that are totally flawed, you see. 09:58 David, Peter and so on, you get these flawed characters 10:02 and yet they were in the house, God loved them and worked 10:06 with them and they were missionaries you see. 10:08 Another one is prayer, I think if in our prayer lives 10:12 we just open ourselves to God, and I think you have done this 10:16 too was a notepad, sometimes just ask God the question. 10:19 What is going on in my life right now? 10:22 What are you seeing Lord? And just write, 10:24 just begin writing. 10:26 Just open yourself to God and ask God to guide you. 10:29 Some of that may not be all that relevant but usually 10:32 after half a page I'm hitting stuff that I know is from God 10:36 and I know it is right on. 10:38 I mean it is just solid, so praying in a way that 10:42 you open yourself to God's leading. 10:44 Another one I would suggest, is accountability. 10:48 That is when you let other people, you have talked about, 10:51 you talked about your group in the church, 10:53 I have had several men in the course of my life. 10:55 One of them is about 300 pounds and he is not intimidated 11:00 by me at all and he can get in my face and say I think 11:04 your losing it on this point, I'm really concerned by the 11:07 way you are talking, or the way you are behaving. 11:10 Are you sure everything is all right with God? 11:12 I think all of us need that. - Yeah! 11:15 To have a friend, a hard-nosed friend that will get in your 11:19 face, small groups, you sort of combined that. 11:23 You have a group of men that could talk to you and 11:26 intervene and make sure that your head is straight. 11:30 That is very, very good. 11:32 I think women in particular find accountability in small 11:36 groups, because when another woman is describing her 11:39 struggles, the first woman is saying, yeah I can relate 11:42 to that, I have the same issue. 11:44 And you find encouragement in addressing these things. 11:48 But you know what is tragic I think as a Pastor? 11:51 Through the years I have discovered there is a lot of 11:54 Christians out there that don't have any friends. 11:57 Nobody that they are really close to, I would say 12:00 if that is the case in your life, don't be afraid 12:03 of going to a counselor. 12:05 Some people say Christians don't do that, and yet I think 12:08 a little lady that both of us admired who said, 12:35 All a counselor is, is somebody trained to listen 12:38 without putting you down. 12:39 We all need that somewhere, sometime. 12:42 Jon this has been a great study, Paul it so great 12:46 to see his authenticity and his love for God. 12:49 Not to be a people pleaser but a God pleaser. 12:53 We just want to encourage you as we have been 12:56 studying this to just let God work on your hearts and 12:59 live authentically before people and let His message of 13:02 love come to you. 13:03 God bless. We will see you again! |
Revised 2023-01-25