This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Ignite the Light Ministries radio and podcast. It is our mission to help listeners develop a deeper relationship with Jesus by sharing what the Bible says and what it means. We aim to encourage and equip you to serve others, share the gospel, and reflect Christ in every aspect of your life. I'm Pastor Wyatt Cudd.
Thank you for tuning in. with our Thessalonians series that we've been doing. Today we're going to be in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Chapter 2. Verses 1 through 12.
And I'm just going to jump in right here. We're just going to do a clean read-through and let scripture speak for itself, and then. We'll talk about it.
So verse 1. You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and had been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know. But with the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel. We are not trying to please people. Yeah. who tests our hearts. You know we never use flattery.
nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed. God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people. Not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ, we could have asserted our authority. Instead we were like young children among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much. We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship. We worked night and day, in order not to be a burden to anyone.
while we preach the Gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God. of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you. Who believes? For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children.
Encouraging. comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God. who calls you into his kingdom, And glory.
So the Thessalonian Church is the model church. They are no pushover. This is a strong Church. And it's important for us to remember that this church was under quite a bit of persecution. The Jewish people had risen up against Paul and the church and they were seeking to destroy them.
They got as many people involved as they could and caused massive riots. They wanted to convince people that the freedom in Christ Paul was preaching. would actually destroy their freedom. How much is it like the devil to take something that is good and try to spin it on its head?
Now, even though Paul had fled the city, he had left under the cover of darkness, the persecution continued. This church was still. dealing with this. And Paul saying to them, You know, we weren't trying to trick you. We weren't trying to please people.
We were aiming to please God. And you know that we never used flattery. We never tried to deceive you to cover up some kind of hidden greed. We weren't looking for praise or attention from people. but from God.
Now Paul is saying all this. likely because the persecution, the Jewish opposition, had spread nasty lies and rumors about Paul. trying to discredit him and discourage anyone from listening to the gospel. And Paul says, but you know us. You remember, we didn't do any of that.
We approached you with the humility of a child. and loved you like a parent.
So stand firm in the faith and stand firm in what is true because you know. We weren't conning you.
Now, Paul addresses this because he wants to build and strengthen the believers in Christ. He's wanting to set the record straight, correct the charges that have been made against him. Because gossip and rumors can easily influence us and just uh exponentially exaggerate.
Now Paul wants no question or misunderstanding these people's minds about him or Jesus. In fact, a true minister he was a true minister and a strong leader. Of the gospel of Christ. And he doesn't want them worried or concerned whether or not their faith is valid. It is valid.
Now the past two sermons we've talked about a strong church. and a strong conversion. And in both of these topics, I have found myself talking about the necessity of a strong minister. This is the pastor in the pulpit, but it is also the congregation of ministers in the pews. Here I find myself on a similar subject today, but I want to broaden it a little bit.
This week, we're going to be looking at how Paul is not only a strong minister. but a strong leader. What are the qualities that make for a strong leader? that we can notice from Paul.
Now, I know there's many among this congregation that. are leaders in their field. leaders in the church and leaders in their family. And I know from the young adults that I have met that there are certainly those who will be leaders. Christ 2.
So what makes for a strong leader? And one of my mentors has told me You know you are a leader when you walk in the direction of what is right and you look behind you and you got people walking alongside you heading in the same direction. But if you are walking in a direction, you turn around and there ain't nobody there, you ain't leading nobody. You're on a walk. That's all you're doing.
It's kinda goofy, but Yeah, that tracks. Um So, verse 1, it says, You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without. Results. A strong minister will have a strong. A fruitful ministry.
A strong leader gets results. And this should be obvious. How can a minister be strong without the evidence of having a fruitful ministry? How can a leader be strong without evidence that, yes, they do indeed get things accomplished? If I'm trying out a new restaurant or if I'm going to buy something on Amazon, if I'm going to get my haircut from somebody new, I want to know their reputation.
I get on the Internet, I Google it, and I look for the reviews. I look for the voice of the satisfied customer because, man, I want to be a satisfied customer. I also look for the bad reviews. 'Cause some of them are kinda funny. Uh you know, you might come across one that says I'm a thirty year old female, I was looking to get a simple haircut, but this stylist, she smelled like eggs and gave me male pattern baldness.
My husband won't look me in the eye. One out of five stars. Like Yeah. I don't think I'm going to that person to get my hair cut. I'd rather do it myself with a hatchet, you know.
A strong stylist or strong barber should be able to present results of their skill. Likewise, a strong leader gets results and a strong minister should have a fruitful ministry that follows.
So Paul's addressing rumors here that may say his ministry is in vain. The Greek word for vain implies empty, ineffective, or worthless. They may say this gospel is empty and worthless, but no, you are the evidence. Has your life, Thessalonians, not been completely changed? You've clearly gained the endurance to withstand any and all opposition.
In Christ, you are the evidence that this ministry is fruitful. Verse 2. It says, With the help of our God, we dared to tell you his gospel. in the face of strong opposition.
Now the Greek reads kind of like, we had boldness in our God. to speak the gospel to you. God did not merely offer assistance. to Paul's boldness. No, Paul was the very source Or no, God was the very source of Paul's boldness.
Now here we see another characteristic. of what makes a leader strong. A strong leader is bold. Other words we might use is that leaders in all fields stand out for their confidence. their courage and their decisiveness.
Now maybe the decisions aren't always the popular ones, but the direction they head is clear. Despite the opposition and resistance Paul faced, Every single time he preached. And taught the gospel, he continued always, no matter the cost. His direction that he was heading was crystal clear, and eventually it would cost him. his life.
Brothers and sisters, doing what is right. will always have A cost. It may not make it popular. It may be painful. It may be inconvenient.
It may cost us our lives. But God honors those who do what is right. over what is easy. And our reward is in heaven. And that reward is worth any cost.
So Paul faces opposition every time he proclaims the gospel, and this is because. The enemy, Satan, he hates to lose territory. And he will fight. every single time. But Paul is not discouraged.
Frankly, persecution, if we face persecution in our lives, means we're doing something right. Because Jesus promises that we will face persecution. And Paul, he just continues on. boldly.
Now, the Greek word for boldness means to speak freely. and publicly with courage.
Now this is not the same as having no fear. There can be very real things to fear. This is doing what is right despite our fears and despite risk. It might be very real risk, but doing what is right despite this.
Now, I believe today that the American church has seen a good bit of loss when it comes to boldness. We can fail to witness for fear of ridicule, mockery, or embarrassment, or Persecution. And I believe much of this loss of boldness comes from uh trading the hard and right path for comfortability. And that isn't a one time decision that anybody makes. Like none of us wake up in the morning and decide, ah, well, you know, I'm going to do what's easy today over the right thing, and then that's it.
Like, none of us decide that. It's small, little moments in our day that Catch us off guard. that we're not prepared for, you know? It's little opportunities that present themselves that We see the risk and we're just unprepared for it. And I say this because I very much see this in myself.
times. And a fixed to this, easy in principle, is we return to the fundamentals. of our faith. We return to prayer. God, I have this lost coworker.
God, I have this friend that they're on the wrong path, Lord. And God, I have this family member, son, daughter, sister. I I don't know, Lord, where they're at with you. And God, I just want to lift them up to you. And I ask God that you reveal yourself to them in a way that's absolutely undeniable, God.
Raise up believers around them. Surround them with a godly love that's undeniable. And, God, if you're willing, Use me. I mean, and I would say God, but I ask you use me. We return to prayer.
Because there's so much power in prayer. And let me just say: if you're not sure the words to say, We don't need to have fear. I mean, we look at the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the believers. I mean, they were surrounded by people that did not speak their same language. I talk about not having the words to say, how do I share the gospel with somebody that doesn't even share the same language with me?
And they opened their mouths, and they spoke without fear. Anyways, And the words that that they spoke in Um They spoke in the um oh what is it called? blank in here. Oh my goodness. This is unacceptable, y'all.
Yes, thank you. Thank you. My gosh, I was hitting a brick wall there. Yes, they spoke in tongues understood by dozens of different languages. And we have the same Holy Spirit in us today.
There's nothing in Scripture to suggest. That God has ceased doing these kinds of miracles. They stepped out of faith, and God showed up boldly. We don't have to have the logistics. figured out.
to be good witnesses. We just have to step out of the boat. in face. and expect that God's going to have us walking on water. We had boldness in our God to speak the gospel to you.
Boldness comes from God. And if we want to be bold, we need to be as close to Him as possible because God is the source. of boldness. And that looks like being in the word daily. in prayer and practicing the spiritual disciplines.
A strong leader is bold. And boldness is from intimacy with God.
Alright, moving on to verse three here. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor were we trying to trick you. Again, Paul is clearing up the lies, the rumors, the gossip, setting the record straight. And his actions and motives are pure. A strong leader leads with integrity.
Now, there are two parts to integrity here. There is the talk, what we say, and then there is the walk. what we do. A strong leader speaks the truth and they live the truth. What they speak and how they live should be in alignment.
They practice what they preach.
Now, Paul certainly was this leader. He spoke boldly. He did not tiptoe around issues. He didn't bypass controversy for fear of opposition. Nor did he focus only on what people wanted to hear.
He spoke the truth with no deceit, as clear as he possibly could, because Paul was this man of integrity. The truth about the gospel did not belong to Paul. Paul did not make it up. It was given to him, and he was simply a messenger. It was not his message to change.
Therefore, he just preached it as purely as he could. Verse 10 it says, You are witness, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. He spoke truth. He lived the truth and was blameless. Paul lived a pure and clean life and If we are free from the shackles of sin, So should we.
Because we can live in the freedom of Christ. And when we sell It gets in the way of our intimacy and fellowship with God. It's not going to break our relationship with God, but it certainly can break our fellowship with Him. And when we do sin, we ask for forgiveness on account of the cross. A strong leader leads.
with integrity. Verse 4-5, it says, On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts.
So it says, we're not trying to please people, but God.
So I'd say here, a strong leader Aims high.
Now, we may see this quality in leaders in the world and call them. Visionaries. They can picture a brighter future and inspire people towards it. And that's truly, that's a God-given talent. That's not something everybody can do.
But we know, in light of the gospel, The gift of having vision, being able to see where we're going, it's just a stepping stone. It's not the highest aim.
So what is the highest aim of all?
Well Verse 5 to 6, we see it's not flattery, it's not getting a pat on the back. It's not greed or money. It isn't praise or approval. The highest aim that we can aim for. It's to please our Creator.
And when I pass on from this life, I want to be able to hear those words from him.
Well done. good and faithful servant. Enter into your master's joy. I want to be able to hear those words, don't you? If this is not our ultimate aim, Every vision cast, everything we build, every good work we do is completely in vain.
this is not on our radar. If we're not aiming to please God, Isaiah 64, it says, All of us have become like one who is unclean. and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.
Now, Isaiah is using a simile here. Uncleanness that he's referring to is likely leprosy. The highest level of physical uncleanness, so we see described in the Old Testament. And he's using it to describe our moral state. It's like we have a leprosy.
festering in our soul. And all our attempts to do good works is just like using rags to try to block the lesions as they grow. It doesn't fix anything and it can't save us. The only thing that can save us is the one who can take leprosy away. and hang it on a cross.
Our ultimate aim must be to know this person, to know him, to please him, our creator, Jesus. This is exactly what Paul has his eyes set on. He has been entrusted with the gospel. He is not concerned with other people's opinions. He only desires to please God.
This is his aim. A strong leader aims high. and the highest aim. It's to please God. It's God's desire We love People.
So we get another leadership principle here just that just kind of naturally follows. A strong leader, is focused on others. How can I invest in people? How can I help other people reach their potential? I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the name John Maxwell.
but he's written a lot of books on leadership. And he says that you invest in yourself so that you can invest. In others. Apprenticeship, discipleship, whatever you want to call it, investing in others is the thing with the highest return. But we cannot do this if we are only focused on ourselves.
A father and mother are role models and disciplers to their children. And if they do their job right, And the kids listen. Uh then they should generally expect that their kids are going to reach greater heights than they did. Why? Because the kid will apply all of their parents' wisdom that they've been taught and all of their own life experience that they gain along the way.
Investing in people like this across the generations leads to this upward spiral. Or to put it in biblical terms, it leads to this generational blessing. Verse 7 says that Paul cares for the Thessalonians like a nursing mother cares for her children. And then verse 11 and 12, for you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom. And glory.
Now Paul loved this church. Like a mother. And Paul pushes and encourages them. Like a father. And anyone wanting to be a leader We take the same posture.
We love people and we push them and encourage them to be the best they can possibly be. A strong leader focuses on others. Paul leads. With love. And the encouragement of a mother and father, but he approaches them, we see, he approaches them like a young child among other children.
Rather than swinging around his authority that was given to him as an apostle, he approaches them like a young child among peers.
So, what do we see in this? Like, what's the significance of that?
Well, he's approaching them as as equals. And a good minister like Paul. He lives above no one. He's not living as if he is floating above the ground. He lives above no one.
and a strong leader Leads. With humility.
Now, confidence is a good trait to have, but man, I think the worst leaders, bosses, managers is the person that you can't tell anything to. You know, they're so assured that they got everything figured out, and Lord forbid that it's not them that come up with a solution, and then they have to give credit to their team. You ever had a boss like that? Like, they just, they're prideful, and they just know that they know everything. Ah, I don't like people like that.
You know. Equally so, let's take the opposite example here. A leader. Who is too scared, too petrified to make a mistake that they sit paralyzed and they can't decide on anything? You know, now their team has to carry them across the finish line.
Yuck, like why are you here? Just go home, you know? Both examples both are bad leaders. We want confidence and boldness, yes. But we don't want arrogance and pride.
We want humility, yes. But we don't want someone who's timid. Its confidence and boldness and humility. They balance each other out. Hey there, I hope this sermon has enriched your day.
If you like this message, I want to personally invite you. to join us for Sunday worship. We have two locations in Virginia, Trinity Methodist Church in Concord and Mount Comfort Methodist Church in Appomattox. Come join us Sunday morning at 9.45 and we will help you get connected. As always, I'm Pastor Wyatt Tud.
Thank you for tuning in.
