Seeking to make people happy is not power--it is performing.

Our Ministry Call is to The Freedom of Pleasing God, Rather than The Bondage of Trying to Please Men

1 Thessalonians 2:1-6

(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon)

Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 2. As you are turning there, I want to ask you if you realize that sometimes, when we are in ministry, we may find a need to defend our calling and activity for the Lord. It is not that we are trying to please men. It is that we are trying to please God in serving Him; but what happens is that there are a lot of folks out there who will question your activities in your service for the Lord, and so there may be a need to contend against the opposition and malcontents in asserting your call in your specific ministry. Now, there is a certain level of scrutiny that should occur so that we can discern false teachers in our world. God also wants us to examine the Scriptures to see if what is being taught lines up with God's word; but God wants us to be making sure that we are also rightly handling the word of truth ourselves when attempting to do so. God will hold everyone accountable for what they do. This means that God will hold you accountable for any criticisms you have. Keeping this in mind, we need to recognize that there is also false discernment. Sometimes it is based upon religious convictions. There is also personal judgementalism, and when it is wrongly applied to what God is doing with His ministers, it is sin. Non-Christians should be expected to sin like this. Unfortunately, Christians will do these things too. Worse, they will seek to justify it. They will even do this with the area of lack of grace. And so, it's doubly difficult to minister, in this short time we have on this planet, when you have both the world, and other members of the body of Christ holding your ministry in the Lord in contemptuous scrutiny. Paul the apostle experienced the same things I am describing. As we come into chapter 2 of 1 Thessalonians, Paul shifts to defending himself against those who are trying to discredit his ministry according to dozens of specious attack points of slander. Paul does this in many of his epistles because sin-filled people, (who falsely claim that they have discernment), attack God's ministers relentlessly. They did it with Paul based upon carnal standards of legalism, paganism, and even their own personal opinions on how they think things should be done. Some people did it because they were merely jealous, or they just didn't like Paul. These people attacked Paul's ministry out of anger. They did it out of Satanic lack of grace. Like I say; The same things go on today--even from people who claim to be Christians. One thing that Paul was accused of was teaching antinomianism. Antinomianism, is to live without God's law. The reality is that Paul taught supernomianism, which is Christ's higher law with the higher standard of Christ. Paul was also accused of being a money-grabbing con man. Sometimes, he was accused of simply being greedy. He was accused of blasphemy. Paul's character was maligned. He was painted by those who attacked his ministry, as a power hungry, and arrogant man. If you've ever experienced slander that even remotely looks like any of this, then you know how heavy this kind of junk drags on you. It wounds your service to the Lord. Paul would minister the gospel; people would get saved; the church would be stabilized in the faith; there would be discipleship, and then Paul would leave the area. Before long, Paul would find out that he was being slandered in those same places. Because of the slander, Paul would defend his apostleship in his letters he sent back to the churches. In God's providence, Paul's statements of defense are all part of God's word for us to learn from. What the devil means for evil in slandering Paul, God means for good in recording Scriptural lessons for eternity. It is what we are studying today. Please read it with me now, starting in chapter 2,

"1 For you yourselves know, brothers, 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 good news of God in the midst of much opposition [conflict ESV]. 3 For our exhortation [appeal ESV] 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 good news, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines [tests ESV] 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." 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6

Let's prepare our hearts to learn from the preaching of God's word, in this sermon titled,

Our Ministry Call is to The Freedom of Pleasing God, Rather than The Bondage of Trying to Please Men
[pray]

Coming into our passage, we see Paul saying,

"1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain," 1 Thessalonians 2:1

Paul has been saying this from the beginning. He's reminding the Christians of this fact that they already know. The miraculous ministry of the apostles was clearly fruitful. The fruit is undeniably evidence of the work of God in their midst, rather than just the mere work of men. So, Paul is doing a couple of things. Paul is, in a sense, defending and asserting the authority and authenticity of the apostolic team, (which is himself, Silvanus, and Timothy), and Paul is also encouraging the Thessalonians in their persecution. He's reminding them that he is positive that they are saved, and stable. They would not be saved, and stable, if Paul did not come with God's Hand upon Him, and in Him, and with conviction. He came with the kind of conviction of a martyr. Paul knows that He and the Thessalonians are serving the God who matters enough to experience persecution for. These things are real fruit of the authenticity and sincerity of the apostles as true servants of the One true God. They were out to please God rather than men. The Thessalonians reflected the same authenticity. God does this drastic change in people that even the unsaved notice is real. Paul says,

"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," 1 Thessalonians 2:9

@1 Christians are people who have turned from false gods, to serve the living and ________ God in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 2:9)

Paul's ministry is real. He points to the fruits which seek to please God in spite of the views of people who wish to criticize. In Thessalonica, you were either an idol worshipper, a Jew, or you were a god fearing gentile convert to Judaism. If Paul had wanted to please men, he would not have preached against the idols, nor against the error of the Jews. He would not have urged all to repent and turn to the One true God through Jesus Christ. If Paul acted like Idol worship was no big deal to God, or acted like the present course of the Jews was not a damning issue, then Paul would have been impotent in both word and Spirit. If you don't want your ministry to be in vain, then being straightforward with the facts is what you are going to have to do. If you want power, and you want your ministry to be authentic, fruitful, and God glorifying, then you must act like you believe God's word. You must teach, and live for God through the actual words of God. It doesn't matter what others think of you. What matters is what you bring to their thinking. Our job is to confront their thinking. The power comes in pleasing the Lord according to His word. But God wants us to be faithful. That part is our job that we have been called to do. God will provide the fruits of the ministry part, and the harvest, according to His hand in using you. But it is His power. It is Him as the Holy Spirit. And it is you and me who are His true people, and so God is calling you to be the true minister no matter what the outcome is. Paul encouraged the Corinthians with similar words ,

"58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58

@2 God wants me to always be abounding in the ____________ of the Lord, knowing that my toil is never in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Our ministry is not in vain when we seek to please the Lord in the work of the Lord, in the Lord, for the Lord. Now, you might get discouraged. You might get beaten down; and when this happens you might be really tempted to think you are a failure. In such wasteland experiences, you look around you, and you are not thinking you are abounding in the work of the Lord; but the truth of the matter is that your ministry is never empty when you are seeking to please God according to the truth. The shift comes when you start trying to please men. Once you start this, then you are starting to try to please the wrong audience. Now think about this simple fact:

When whatever you are doing is being done to please the Lord, then you are glorifying Him; and if you are pleasing to Him Biblically (according to New Covenant doctrine), then your toil is never in vain. No toil for God in Christ, in seeking to please Him in truth, should ever be thought of as being in vain. It is so vital for us to recognize that if we get to the point of thinking that what we are doing is futile, then what has happened is that we are having a faith issue with God. Let's call it what it is! We are not being steadfast, right? And so we need to tell God that we apologize for our shift, where we started walking by sight and not by faith. We were moved off kilter because we were trying to be men pleasers. And so, to get back on kilter, all it takes is a Holy Spirit led adjustment. Get your eyes back on God and being faithful to Him no matter what else you see going on around you. It is okay to look at results, but the results we should be looking for are our faithfulness to glorify God in ministry even though it seems like what we wanted to happen, isn't happening like we wanted it to. When we are God pleasers, then what we are looking for, is glorifying Him. Here's the principle:

Pleasing Him by doing all for His glory is worship--Christian ministry is worship.

This is the key right here this morning. This is what matters. These things will empower you for effective ministry as a tool in God's hands that is sold out to Him (the One God you are standing in front of at every single moment) with your life message as a living testimony of His grace. The point is, God is what matters. Look to Him, and your ministry will be to others, through Him, but not the other way around. This is why we need to walk by faith and not by sight. When you walk by sight, you may be doing a lot of things. You might be spinning your hard working wheels, but your eyes may see nothing but opposition. But it doesn't matter. We must seek to abound in the work of the Lord, for the Lord, to the Lord, in the Lord, no matter what, because something grand is taking place in the midst of the opposition, even though nothing in the flesh looks like it is. In the spirit realm, you are a God pleaser, and so your toil is never in vain in the Lord. This is biblical Christianity. So, when Paul says you and I need to be knowing this, he means that we need to be recognizing that we are always, always, always, being uniquely used by God in the midst of our obedience. Make a note of this:

Your very obedience is you being used by God.

Again: The fact that you are being obedient is the fact that you are being used by God in effective ministry. We are being used by God, even if we lose everything and are thrown in prison, or we suffer and are mistreated; or everyone walks away from us. Your very obedience itself is you being pleasing to God. And so this is really the way things are, and it is really, truly, a win-win situation, where we are pleasing to God, whether we are rich and filled, or we are in need, or happy, or sad; or hurt, or not. Paul said that he was content in each and every circumstance. Paul was content because he knew that he was both obedient, and pleasing to God. This is the same revelation that you and I need to embrace because if we don't have this revelation, we will doubt, and we will give up. You won't be steadfast and immovable in your ministry call, and each of us in the body has some kind of ministry calling, whether it be to our family, or whether it be from women to women, or from men to men, or friend to friend, or from Pastor to the flock, or evangelists to the lost. Again, the key is to think past the opinions of people. Their opinions are not the standard of your success and calling. Keep your eyes on God who called you in the first place. This is true freedom. Remember, the theme of our sermon is, Our Ministry Call is to The Freedom of Pleasing God, Rather than The Bondage of trying to Please Men; and this is what we want to be--freed up to minister in focus and power, instead of weighed down in bondage and impotence because of fear of man, or seeking to make people happy all the time.

Seeking to make people happy is not power--it is performing.

Get that, and you have half the revelation. Paul goes on,

"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 good news of God in the midst of much opposition [conflict ESV]." 1 Thessalonians 2:2

Paul suffered a lot for pleasing God. When Paul says that they had suffered and had been mistreated in Philippi, he means that they were whipped severely by the authorities, plus they were beaten by mobs. They were not merely ignored. The people did not simply sneer at what the apostles were saying. Paul means that in seeking to please God rather than men, he suffered physical wounds that damaged his body. It was damage that stuck with him. He truly suffered. Then they were thrown in jail after the beatings. Paul also says that they were mistreated along with the suffering, (as if everything else wasn't mistreatment) But what Paul means is that they were falsely accused, and wrongly treated like criminals. All this happened because they sought to please God rather than men. We think about this, and we could naturally think that they did not have freedom. But they did. If Paul was out to please men, he would be in bondage to men. He would have been in bondage to saying things that make people feel good. He would have been in bondage to saying things that would get him comfort, and even money. Oh, listen to me--This is the great crossroads that we all face when it comes to that moment where God wants us to please Him by taking a stand for what pleases Him. Think about the bondage that occurs when you are in a situation where the door is wide open for you to share the good news; but then something happens. You start to think about how the people are going to flow with the conversation. We are pretty creative, and so we can immediately play out a scenario in our minds. You begin to think about how weird they are going to think you are. You start to think about how an argument might get started--(and it might) or feelings will get hurt (and they might); but you entertain of all of that kind of thing in your drama script. Consider, though, what is really going on when we do this:

Are we creatively thinking about how we will please God in our ministry to Him?

If you consider that you are going to minister no matter what happens, then the answer is "yes." But the answer at the crossroads is too typically "No" where we can easily be creatively thinking about how we are going to please men, and so we succumb and we go that route. All those thoughts chained you to bondage to fear. Your freedom in pleasing God becomes held captive to fear of men. But notice the underlying tone of what Paul is saying. According to a human view of things, Paul could have kept quiet, or changed the message a little. Typically, the reaction of people when they have been persecuted and they flee from one city to another, is that they are not going to continue in the same activity that just got them rejected, beaten, imprisoned, and mistreated. Paul did not need to be creative in expecting the same things to happen over and over again. But think about what Paul says. Paul is on the task of pleasing God, so Paul says,

"... we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the good news of God in the midst of much opposition [conflict ESV]." 1 Thessalonians 2:2

Paul was free from the bondage of men. So, instead of going over to Thessalonica in fear, weakness, and lack of power, his team goes with boldness and the confidence that comes from knowing that they are being God pleasers. This is the freedom kind of boldness that you and I will have when we step up to minister the same way. We will stand with

"... power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." 1 Thessalonians 1:5

@3 God's apostles were sent to speak the good news of Christ in power and in the Person of the __________ __________. (1 Thess. 1:5)

But suffering awaits us. This is the thing about God's ministry calling. God doesn't paint a soft fluffy picture of ease and comfort. God tells us that when we desire to live godly in Christ Jesus we will suffer persecution. This is why our ministry call is to the freedom, rather than the bondage. First, you learn the principle; then we should begin to make it our ambition to please God by remembering the biblical principle as our standard. Suffering and opposition awaited Paul everywhere he went, but Paul operated according to the principle. Paul said to the Corinthians,

"I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; 9 because a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." 1 Corinthians 16:8-9

Something that we must be keenly aware of in our own thinking is something that is so common. It is common, but it is not right. What I mean is that a lot of people pray for open doors for ministry, or they will speak of how God made an opportunity for effective service; and what they mean is that everything just fell into place in one big peaceful storybook kind of flow. So what happens is that peace, and ready reception, are things that are wrongly thought to be the wide door for effective service. Peaceful flow may never even come, but they have this high ideal that it must come for it to be an open door from God. But notice what Paul says. He says that the wide door for effective service that has opened for him is one in which there is opposition and persecution awaiting from more than one adversary; in fact many.

We must be very careful to make sure that we truly realize that much of our greatest service for the Lord that we will ever accomplish will be in the wide door opening that will be in the midst of the fiercest opposition.

But a lot of folks get this wrong. And yet, the fact that there are adversaries does not mean that God hasn't opened up a clear ministry opportunity. Actually, the fact that there are adversaries means that they are the clear ministry opportunity. You see folks, classic biblical Christianity does not leave us alone. When we look at what God is saying, we see that classic Christianity takes away all our trite little spiritualized statements that we have been force-fed from our culture. Classic Christianity tells us that the real problem is not that God has not opened the door, but rather, what lies beyond the door is scary. And so we just need to admit it. We stop because we are afraid; don't we? We don't typically stop because we do not recognize the open door that God has provided for ministry. Doors are opened everywhere, every single day. This is why our ministry call is to the freedom of pleasing God, rather than the bondage of trying to please men. But, we can close the door in other ways too. We can close it by being tempted to water down the good news of God. Whenever we are tempted to water down the good news of God, then we are still trying to be men pleasers. So we want to be freed up to not water down the message that matters to Him. Paul explains the way we should walk through the door without compromise. He says,

"3 For our exhortation [appeal ESV] does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; ... 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." 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6

Okay, so taking this, we see that our message can be compromised on six important fronts.

/1/
The first, Paul mentions is error. It is easy to compromise the good news with error. At this point I am not talking about purposefully being deceitful. We can be very sincere, and yet we can be very wrong in our sincerity. Many people who are proclaimers of false religions are sincere. But, our faith is not built upon error. When the apostles preached exhortations from God, they brought out the facts. What pleases God is stating the fact that all men are born in sin. Being in sin, all are separated from God, and all die. It is a fact that to be spiritually saved, it is necessary to embrace the ministry work of Jesus Christ. It is a fact that Jesus Christ is the prophesied Messiah seen in the prophecies all throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, born of a virgin. Jesus Christ came to call the lost sheep of the house of Israel to repent and follow him. A remnant of Israelites embraced Him as the Messiah. The prophesied Messiah, was rejected by Jews. These are all facts of the good news. It is a fact that Jesus Christ was crucified as an execution. It is also a fact that His execution was God's prophesied means of saving sinners, where Jesus was both High Priest, and sacrificial Lamb in willingly delivering Himself up to be killed. It is a fact that Jesus rose from the dead three days later in a glorified state to live forever as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is a fact that both He, and the prophets, foretold these events. It is a fact that all who are saved, are His elect who are transferred out of the domain of darkness into His kingdom. The way anyone is saved is by grace through faith in Christ's work alone, as Christ's work alone. Spiritual salvation is eternal, and once saved you are always saved. There is no error in this proclamation. It is a proclamation that has power by the Holy Spirit. It is simple. It is God's will. It is well pleasing to God. Servants of the King have proclaimed the truth of this message in freedom. Martyrs have died with the facts of this proclamation as the last words to come out of their mouths in true freedom. The church was birthed upon these truths, and it pleases God for the church to protect it, preach it, and preserve it. Why?--Because it is a fact that the church is the household of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth, 1 Timothy 3:15. Folks, you preach these facts and you will have fruitful ministry that breaks through the fear of man and will manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in your midst.

/2/
Secondly, Paul mentions impurity--sometimes translated as uncleanness. It is easy to compromise the good news with impurity. The Greek word used by Paul here is akatharsia. It is sexual impurity. Paul was accused of this. Think about how many false religions have been founded by men who were filled with ambition to fulfill their sexual appetites. We know this to be true from the reports that have come to light concerning their sexual activities in their false religions. It is man pleasing sensuality. Men will start polygamy cults because they see it as a way to have multiple sexual partners. Other kinds of cult leaders will sleep with willing followers as a kind of requirement. Homosexuals will try to call themselves pastors in an attempt to legitimize their perversion and sin from the Bible. They even have what are called by the misnomer, homosexual churches, or gay churches. True ministry that pleases God is far from any of this impurity. But we all have to be careful. There are Christian singles who do the missionary dating game, or the missionary courtship game. Now, I realize that they are not starting out with impurity on their minds, but what they think is that if they have a dating or courtship relationship with someone that isn't saved, that somehow, they will coax the other person into being saved. The practice is wrong on way too many fronts to list, but to be involved with the unsaved in this manner is to be involved with someone who is dead in their sin, and so impurity is not something that their lost hearts recognize as truly wrong from God's standard. They may have a humanistic religious standard, but it is still deficient because it is a standard that is based upon their false religion. Even if impurity is not seemingly and issue, the relationship is an unequal yoking together of the unsaved with a child of God, and the missionary part is a farce, and so the bottom line is that it is the practice of pleasing people instead of pleasing God--and that is bondage. Then there are the snares that occur where Christians minister to the opposite sex in lack of wisdom and propriety. They may not start out wanting this, but it can happen. A Christian man should not meet with a Christian woman alone, away from other Christians who do not know that ministry is taking place. If such a scenario happens for some unusual reason, then every attempt should be made to let others know what is going on. There will only be accountability if others know, but even then, measures must be taken to keep romantic feelings--sensual feelings--from developing at any point. If you are married, then have your spouse with you if you are ministering to the opposite sex. You say,

"I would never develop sensual feelings for someone I am ministering to."

I have a few words of advice for you: First of all, you are not being wise in respect to God's warnings, such as in 1 Corinthians,

"8 Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, ... 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;" 1 Corinthians 10:8-12

Paul goes on to say that God will provide a way of escape from sexual temptation, but the point is that we can not deny that it can happen to the best of us. If we do deny it, then we are only thinking we will continue to stand. We are not taking heed to not fall, because we pridefully think it won't happen to us, as if we are somehow uncommon. But then again, you may be right, in which case you need to ask yourself why you have not considered the feelings of the other person! I can not tell you how many ministers have fallen into sexual sin, and then later they say that it was the other person's fault. The other person made the sexual advance first; as if that is some kind of excuse. The point is that this happens way too many times, so we should personally be taking steps to keep such things from happening to the best of our ability. Let's do all we can to please God rather than men and women.

/3/
Thirdly, Paul mentions deceit. It is easy to compromise the good news with deceit. Perhaps millions of false religions have been invented out of thin air in purposeful deceit by con men. Also, multitudes of false doctrines have been propagated under the banner of Christianity. Originally, this Greek word that Paul uses here for deceit referred to bait that was used to catch fish. The word later began to be used to mean something that was cunning or deceitful. Paul could have resorted to using tricks or craftiness to gain converts if he was a fake, or if he did not fear God. But Paul was free, knowing that the God of truth is pleased with the truth. There is no other option. But, even in true ministry endeavors, we must be careful not to resort to gimmicks to try and coax people into the kingdom. You see a lot of what is so-called strategy in our age of ministry methodology is really just humanistic stuff, based in Arminian and Pelagian errors that are covered with the tight clothes of trendiness. People pleasing churches cater to the felt needs of the masses in a cleverly shrouded attempt at manipulation to get the unsaved to be absorbed into Christianity, or to buy into their own particular brand of interpreting what church is supposed to look like based upon what is trendy, exciting to the flesh, cutting edge, and comfortable for the big group because of the so-called bigger picture. And here is the irony:

They cry out,

We have freedom!

but they are really in bondage to men.

Why? Because they are men pleasers. You see, the reality is that the bigger picture is really God, and pleasing Him. Salvation is a miracle--not the result of a gimmick. Who cares what people think? God doesn't. We are to minister in such a way that we repulse those who God has not elected by the power of the Spirit in the clear presentation of the gospel. And in that same ministry, we will draw those who God has elected by the same power of the Spirit. It is miracle. The point:

Be painfully honest with the will of God without compromising the clear mandates from the Bible. It may offend, and turn away, but then again, the painful honesty, may just be the sharp sting of God's shot in the arm that He uses to bring true spiritual healing. Who knows?--God does.

/4/
Fourthly, Paul mentions flattering speech. It is easy to compromise the good news with speech that seeks to appeal to people's pride and self importance. When it comes to presenting something that we are hoping people will embrace, we must be careful not to use this technique. Flattering speech manipulates people. It appeals to their pride, and need for acceptance. It is man pleasing at its worst. But the good news never flatters.

Grace by its nature, can not flatter you. Grace flatters no one.

The gospel has power, and it comes with the Holy Spirit. And in the power of the Holy Spirit, the good news glorifies God--not men. Instead of the impotent power of manipulation that can never change a man's heart, Paul thanks God for being the Savior of sinful, wicked, lost people, and so should we. Flattering speech seeks to please people. Proclaiming the gospel will offend people. Eternal damnation is not something that is flattering. The exclusivity of the gospel is also offensive. To tell people that Christ Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father accept through Jesus, is to them something that will not be accepted through flattery. How silly to say:

You are a wonderful person. You have great talents that God can use. And oh, by the way, you are going to burn in hell if you don't repent, and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Flattery is empty and meaningless in light of the stark reality of sin and damnation, and the cross. God, on the other hand, tells us at the outset what a sinful, prideful, dirty mess we are, even when we think we are clean and acceptable to Him. Then He tells us that nobody is acceptable to Him without believing in the gospel. Since when did God think He needed to flatter anyone?

/5/
Fifthly, Paul says that they did not come with a pretext for greed. Being a minister for the purpose of gaining a lot of money is the motivation of a lot of false teachers. There are those who wave the banner of Christ, and they do it to fleece God's flock in greed. Paul did not come with a pretext of greed. He wasn't serving God to get rich. Greed is the furthest thing from pleasing God. We must be very careful about this area, because when we minister, we realize that there are feel-good, watered down things with a bunch of Jesus language mixed in that we can speak that tickle people's ears, and so they will respond by giving money. There are huge organizations who have their leaders who preach this way. They write their self help books this way; and they draw in millions of victims who will give, give, give, and it was all part of the effect of the contrived presentation. These people make us sick, but we must be careful, because we can be just as guilty as they are by compromising the message and becoming men pleasers.

/6/
The last thing Paul mentions, is seeking glory from men. Seeking personal glory is an easy way to compromise the good news. Paul's concern was to glorify Christ. Paul considered Himself to be a tool in God's hand for this. This is the substance of this whole sermon. If you make your standard of ministry to seek the glory of Christ instead of the glory of men, then you are on the success track. Paul reiterates the important concern of all of these areas in 2 Corinthians 4, where he says,

"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." 2 Corinthians 4:2

@4 The word of God is the manifestation of the _____________. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

When we deal with the message that God has entrusted the church with--revering it, handling it, and presenting it--it is imperative that we be found to be faithful, sincere, ministers who have renounced everything that we don't want to talk about because they are so shameful, and sinful. In our proclamation of the good news, we need to speak with childlike faith. We need to rely upon simply being obedient, which means being bold, which means trusting God with the result, while we proclaim the message in truth. The result is pure glory to God. Paul sums up our mandate in 2:4,

"4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the good news, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines [tests ESV] our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Freedom is knowing that God is the one who approves us. Always keep this in mind while in this world. God is the one who entrusts you with the good news. We are the ones who put a mouth to the body of Christ to proclaim the excellencies of the great God who has called us and saved us. Our speech is not meant to be pleasing to men. It is meant to be pleasing to God. And how do we do this?

"11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God;" 1 Peter 4:11

@5 When I ___________, I should try to ___________ God's words as are given to me in the Bible. (1 Peter 4:11)

God knows all who are sincerely working for Him in truth. He examines everyone's heart at all times. God knows those who are His true ministers for the moment. He knows who the tools are that He has taken out of His tool box and is using. The questions all of us need to ask ourselves this morning are:

Have I been speaking as if I am speaking the utterances of God?

If you start out pleasing God by speaking those words that are His words, then you are already on the right road. Let's ask ourselves;

Am I seeking to proclaim the truth in the first place?

If we are not already doing so, let's make it our ministry habit to do so starting right now.

Am I seeking to please men with a watered down message?

If so, you need to stop immediately and get on the path of freedom. Finally,

Am I ministering out of a desire to glorify Christ, even if it means that I get nothing out of it but rejection?

This is a tough one, isn't it. It's tough because rejection is tough. But God wants us to know that He is the one who is patting us on the back and approving of us when we are unapproved by others.

Folks, God is urging us to think about the basics of ministry. True ministry has always been to please God. If we have been moving into the ways of seeking to please people in ministry, then we have gone further off course than we can imagine. We are to be gentle in our speech--yes. We are to be kind and loving--certainly. But we are not to compromise the meat of the message with the moldiness of man-pleaser methods. Please pray with me that God will use us as effective tools in His hands in our deceived generation. Please pray with me that God will use us more and more as ministers who operate in the freedom of pleasing God, rather than the bondage of trying to please men.


@1 Christians are people who have turned from false gods, to serve the living and ________ God in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 2:9)

@2 God wants me to always be abounding in the ____________ of the Lord, knowing that my toil is never in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

@3 God's apostles were sent to speak the good news of Christ in power and in the Person of the __________ __________. (1 Thess. 1:5)

@4 The word of God is the manifestation of the _____________. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

@5 When I ___________, I should try to ___________ God's words as are given to me in the Bible. (1 Peter 4:11)