The one God uses to share the Gospel

I Thessalonians 2:1-12

October 10, 1999

Introduction: Scott Smith, in Investors’ Business Daily, writes in an article this past week the following: “To the Romans, the young man Arminius was just another barbarian they had civilized—an ungrateful one at that. Their arrogance—and his studied determination—changed the course of world history.” Arminius, who only lived 37 years, from 18 B.C. to A.D 19, had been sent away to Rome from Germany as a young boy to be brought up in Roman ways. His father, one of the chiefs of the Cherusci tribe in northern Germany, wanted to know how to relate well with big brother to the south, Caesar Augustus and his Roman empire. Arminius learned Latin, he wore clothes like his peers, he adapted to his new culture, and even trained as a Roman soldier. In time he came to hold a position of Roman citizenship and rose in rank to that of Roman knight. He returned to his home country at the age of 25 and assumed the role of German prince, an ally of the Empire. But soon he became angry at the conditions he saw his own people living under. They suffered oppression and the burden of heavy Roman taxes. Knowing Rome’s weaknesses from his years spent living as a Roman, he set out to set his people free. He knew the Empire was not as strong as it appeared to be. He lived a double life for a number of years, on the one hand regularly visiting the army camps, spending time with his Roman friends, laughing and drinking, and then on the other hand, traveling to the various German tribes, trying to persuade them to settle their differences and unite against their common oppressor. In the course of time, Arminius brought his plans for liberation to the fore at the Battle of Teutoburger Forest where some 25,000 Roman legionnaires, support personnel, and other foreign auxiliary soldiers were annihilated. Rome launched several huge campaigns to quash the rebellion, but the efforts would be called by Der Spiegel, the German newsmagazine, “Rome’s Vietnam”. The Roman historian Tacitus called Arminius “the liberator of Germany”.
There are more details in Smith’s article, but for now here’s the point I want to make by way of introduction to this morning’s message: Arminius held a certain position in the Roman empire: he was both a citizen and a warrior knight. But he didn’t live according to the expectations of that status and role. He lived pretending to be a loyal servant of the emperor, but in reality, he was just the opposite.
With the image of this man, Arminius, in our minds, let’s turn to I Thessalonians 2. In the text before us today, Paul wants to drive one main point home to these Thessalonian believers. He wants it to be crystal clear to them that God’s steward of the Gospel must be one who lives worthy of God’s kingdom and God’s glory. The one who has been entrusted with the Gospel must be on the face what he is on the inside. The Romans thought Arminius was someone he was not. What God thinks of us, His beloved, we must also be! Paul is going to tell the Thessalonians how he has lived as an example for them so that they might imitate him, so that they know how it is to be done, so that they might know it is possible to measure up to God’s expectations.
And I want the same for us. I want us to be on the outside what we are on the inside. I want us who know the Lord Jesus as our personal savior to be known as those who know the savior. I don’t want us who know God in a personal way to ever be seen in any other light! We never want to be people of the church of Jesus Christ who say one thing with our mouths and do just the opposite with our actions.
If indeed the Thessalonians are all the things we’ve said they were in weeks past… (see bulletin insert)
*they faced life securely as His beloved,
*they served Him faithfully in two worlds,
*they lived in the presence of God…
if it was the Gospel that opened the door for them to experience this relationship with God, then we want to see how they also can be messengers of that same Good News for others. God uses a particular kind of person to be the messenger of His Gospel. Paul was one of those, and he wants to be sure that these disciples know the importance of also being that kind of peculiar messenger.
In our text today, Paul describes the character of those who have been called by God into His kingdom and His glory. In fact, he is describing his own experience of living what he expected these believers to live. And by developing these four traits in our own lives, we can be assured we are living a lifestyle worthy of God, worthy of our calling, worthy of His glory, able to be used to introduce others to this same treasure.
Our text is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
For you yourselves know, brethren that our coming to you was not in vain, 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. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 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.
For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness—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. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.
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.
For you recall, brethren, our labor 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.
You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
Do you see Paul’s goal there in verse 12? “…so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory”. He wants these believers to remember again what their position before God is—citizens of God’s kingdom and inheritors of His glory. Knowing their position, he has expectations of how they should live—in a manner worthy of that kingdom and that glory. Leading up to this goal, he shares 4 steps out of his own life that will enable any follower to live as God expects him to and thus be a worthy messenger of God’s good news.

The first step we could call (1) Getting used to trouble and being bold in it…
We see this characteristic in verses 2. “ For you yourselves know, brethren that our coming to you was not in vain, 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.” Paul had known suffering and mistreatment and much opposition in his ministry.
And my friends, that is our lot as well. As we said in a previous week, paraphrasing Bart Giamatti and what he said about baseball, “Christianity will break your heart, it was meant to break your heart!” Trouble is a fact of life; it breaks our hearts in order to keep our hearts from becoming too attached to the things of this world. But too often, trouble handcuffs us.
As stock prices turn downward, we get uneasy. The farther the price falls, the more likely we are to place a call and sell. But for some, the farther the price falls, the more likely they are to buy! Far from being handcuffed, these bold ones are poised to take advantage of trouble! The bold ones are buying!
In trouble, we become handcuffed and turn inward and become ineffective in the work of the Kingdom. Paul saw opportunity in crises. He had said in a Corinthian letter that afflictions are working for us a mighty weight of glory. James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, had written to Jewish believers that they were to count it all joy in all their trials, knowing that their trials were producing something for eternity! So, if we are to walk in a manner that is worthy of God, we have to get used to trouble. We have to accept the fact that we have an enemy, that we have been called to serve on the Lord’s side. Being on His side means that we are in a battle and that we are on a battlefield. That always spells trouble. If the Lord Jesus was called a ‘man of sorrows’, and if we have been called to follow Him, what does that make us? It makes us ‘men of sorrows’. It makes us ‘women of sorrows’. It means TROUBLE.
For Paul, trouble was always an opportunity for boldness. In the context of suffering, opposition, and mistreatment, Paul says in verse 2, “…we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel…”
It’s apparent here, isn’t it, that boldness comes from God. He is the battlefield commander Who dispenses to His soldiers all they things they need to continue the fight. Boldness is one of His resources in huge supply that is available to each one who will ask.
In our next experience of trouble, let us look to Jesus for the boldness to act in it, and let us try to find the opportunity that lies disguised in the noise and confusion of the battle. There is probably a lost soul nearby that is wide-open to the Good News of the gospel! And if we don’t turn inward and become focused upon ourselves, we can reap fruit for all eternity.
The second step toward the goal of living worthy of our calling and future glory is moving to please God rather than ourselves or other men. We see this concept in verses 4, 5, and 6.
“…we speak,…not as pleasing men…”
“…we never came with flattering speech…”
“…we never came with a pretext for greed…”
“…nor did we seek glory from men…”
Clyde Cook, the president of Biola University, likes to remind himself of this quote by Herbert Swope: “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is : try to please everybody.” In his 18 years as the leader of Biola, Clyde Cook has given regular thought to this principle. He writes, “Only the president has a 360 degree responsibility for the organization. Everyone else has a slice of it, but the president has the whole. After being in office for a while you will have offended almost every department as some decision you have made for the good of the whole is perceived negatively by a particular part of the organization. Since you cannot please everybody, it is futile to try to do so.” (Lessons in Leadership, Randal Roberts, Editor.)
No one ever walked worthy of the Kingdom of God who failed to learn this lesson.
As an illustration, I’m reminded of the life of Thomas Lipton. Yes, he’s the man behind the Lipton Tea company. He was the son of Irish parents who had moved to Scotland and opened a small store in the poor section of Glasgow. At the age of 18, newly returned from America with the fortune of $500 in his pocket, he became excited about the prospects of opening more stores. He figured, if one store was profitable, two stores could be doubly profitable. His parents were neither excited nor open to his idea. Why, the store would make a fine inheritance for anyone! Inspite of his parents, he used his savings to open his first store on Stobcross Street in Glasgow on his 21st birthday! In time he owned more than 200 stores and shops. Each of his stores would eventually sell a ton of tea each week, tea that came from his own plantations in Ceylon, plantations he had bought to cut out the middleman and make his tea affordable to his primary customers, the poorer families of Scotland.
If Thomas Lipton had sought to please the parents he dearly loved, there would never have been Lipton Tea!
I’ve told you before of the statistic that 40% of any congregation would change the thermostat on any given Sunday if it could be reached. Some members are too cold, some are too warm. As the pastor with some heating and air-conditioning experience, I set the thermostat. It has to be cooler than comfortable when people first come in, because their body-heat will warm this room. And if it is too warm, people start dozing off during the sermons. Since it is impossible to please everyone, I do what seems best for us all.
Anyone who wants to walk worthy of God and the glory He wants to share with us must be able to put the task of pleasing God ahead of all others. Sure, sometimes that means being Joshuas and Calebs, standing against the vast majority. But in the end, the courage to stand for God will be richly rewarded.
My friends, when we are next faced with making a decision, let’s pause a moment and consider what God’s desire might be. When we have understood that, let’s move ahead with abandon, with no fear, committed to being His servant in this world. On that day, He will commend us for walking worthy of Him.
The third step toward our goal of walking worthy of Him is a combination of images. We see them in verses 7 and 11, where the nursing mother and the exhorting father are found. This step could be called being gentle as a nursing mother, bracing as an exhorting father.
Paul had become a master observer of people and what motivated them. Sometimes those he came into contact with needed gentle nurturing. At other times they needed bracing exhortation. We all much prefer the gentleness that is illustrated by the nursing mother. We all much prefer the care and selflessness, the sacrifice and giving that is best portrayed by a nursing mother.
But sometimes what we need is not what we prefer! Sometimes we need the bracing exhortation, the solemn warning that more characterizes a dad. We see Paul doing this in 4:6, “…just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.”
Love, the kind of love that God expresses, is sometimes gentle. Sometimes it’s tough!
I talked with a nursing mother this week as part of my preparation for this message, having no personal experience in this arena. This mom shared with me the picture of a mother as 100% nurturing as opposed to the picture of the baby, who is 100% consumed with his one selfish, self-centered, me-centered need, the need to nurse. In the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, I read this week about the Biblical nurse. She isn’t so much a picture of medicine or aiding in the recovery from illness as she is a picture of “the maternal connotation of suckling an infant child or caring for a growing child.” And that is exactly what Paul is doing for these new Christians of Thessalonica. They are new in the faith, and he is concerned that they grow up strong and mature, able to walk in a manner worthy of their Lord. Paul sees himself like a Rebekah who went to bat for her Jacob, like a Bathsheba who requests that Solomon be the successor of King David, like the mother of Rufus who was like a mother to Paul himself (Romans 16:13—“Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.”) Paul acts contrary to some of the prevailing philosophy of his day that said gentleness was “the technique of a flatterer.”
The other part of the imagery here is of a father who encourages and exhorts his children. The father in the Scriptures is primarily the teacher, the instructor, the one who administers discipline. He of course is a protector, a leader, and a provider, but as Paul suggests here, he is also the picture of a standard, a pacesetter, a model, and perhaps most clearly here, a motivator. He may be gentle, but more clearly, he is one who presses his children toward the high mark of walking worthy of God and His glory.
My friends, if we are to walk in this manner, we must be open to relationships that are sometimes gentle like a nursing mother, sometimes harsh like a father who dispenses tough love, who holds us accountable to God’s standards. I know it is easier to receive gentle nurturing; but it is critical we also receive bracing exhortation.
The fourth and final step in this passage toward a worthy walk before God is one we could describe as sharing a life of blameless behavior… We see this is verse 10: “…how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers…” Paul knew he could “sell” his product, the Gospel, if it came with integrity, innocence, and blamelessness.
I’m reminded by way of illustration of a Swede by the name of Ingvar Kamprad. Mr. Kamprad founded a company called Ikea (Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd—the family farm—in Almhult, Sweden) that sells furniture directly to customers by mail order. So that his customers would know exactly what they were getting, Kamprad put a label on every piece of furniture in his stores telling what it was made of, how much was used, where the materials came from, and where the item was made. In a sketch by Meghan Cath, Kamprad “always tries to keep his word—at any cost. Once the price of a piece (of furniture) is set in the Ikea catalog, the price is good for a year. Kamprad refuses to go back on it. When the Berlin Wall fell, contracts with Eastern Bloc nations were still fixed in the old currencies. To pay for the furniture ordered at the old prices and keep the factory solvent, Ikea was going to have to take a big hit… (True to his character), Kamprad said that he’d back the factory and honor the old prices. Ikea took on increases in price up to 40% but kept its price in the catalog.”
Integrity and blamelessness—features of the life of Paul, the representative of God and the messenger of the Gospel.
Nothing hampers our witness to the lost and the unchurched as much as hypocrisy, as much as deceit, as much as inconsistency. To make a promise and not fulfill it is a huge error. To say one thing and do another is shameless conduct. Blameless behavior is a critical badge to achieve on the road to living worthy of God and His glory.
We must make it our goal, friends, to keep our word, even to our hurt. We must make the Gospel attractive by being attractive ourselves, attractive with virtues of honesty, innocence, and trustworthiness.
Conclusion: If we had only one goal in life, one primary desire to fulfill, it ought to be to walk worthy of the calling of our God.
The Marines are the only branch of the military services that made their goal of recruitment and retention for this year. In part, their success is built on the higher standards they set for their members and the expectation that those standards will be adhered to. If the Marines can succeed, then surely Biblical Christianity can also, for in Christ, we have greater resources, a perfect leader, and a higher calling.
Let’s make it our goal to walk worthy of Him by getting used to trouble and being bold in it, by seeking to please God above all others, by being gentle some times and bracing at others as God would lead, and finally by sharing our lives of blameless behavior. Then God will be pleased to use us often as messengers of the greatest news in all the world. That was Paul’s experience, and it can be ours too.

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