The Gospel and Integrity

Well, good morning, everyone.

I've met you before, my name's Steve, lead pastor here at St Paul's,

! and we're continuing on in our series in Thessalonians.

You may have heard a statement, you hear it in social media,

in the media a little bit nowadays.

The statement, the question is, where are all the leaders?

Where have they gone?

In fact, it's a statement which has been given a rise really since the 1990s

as people, there's this perception as you look out in society,

you look in business world, other things like that,

is where are the leaders in a traditional sense, the leaders,

people of integrity, people of vision,

people who actually are not in the position of leadership,

a personal gain, but for the overall good of society,

where are those leaders?

You look in the political realm, there's a great deal of distrust

in institutions and the political realm because of the sense

that we're in this role and the extent of our vision

is the next election campaign to ensure that we stay in power.

Where are the leaders?

And that's certainly the case as well when you look at the Christian church.

Where are the leaders in the Christian church?

In fact, in recent weeks, a Christian pastor and his wife in Denver, Colorado,

have been accused of a cryptocurrency scam

and using the proceeds to pay for home renovations and vacations.

The couple were indicted on 40 counts of theft, security fraud and racketeering.

Prosecutors in Colorado say that the couple solicited $3.4 million, US dollars,

from investors for a business venture that they'd set up,

but only a very small amount of that money actually went to the business venture,

which actually failed.

Instead, they spent at least $1.3 million on personal expenses, home renovations,

because in their words, to their defence, God told them to do it.

They spent the money on airline tickets, hotel rooms, high-end merchandise

and other personal expenses.

Where are the leaders?

You see, when Christians, let alone Christian leaders,

when Christians live lives that is inconsistent with what they believe,

they believe this great stuff and yet they behave in this particular way,

what it does is it drags the credibility of not just the Christian church,

but in particular the Christian faith, into the gutter.

And it weakens the faith of so many people.

So you may recall from last week,

the Apostle Paul took the message of Christianity to the city of Thessalonica

about 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus.

People became Christians and the city went into a riot.

And so Paul and his team had to escape under the cover of darkness for their life.

And so what this did was, Paul's gone,

small church in Thessalonica is being hammered,

and it gave Paul's opponents some ammunition.

They attempted to undermine the faith of these new believers

by discrediting Paul.

And so reading between the lines,

you can imagine them saying something like,

Paul, really?

You want to believe what he'd said to you?

He ran.

Haven't heard from him since.

He wasn't sincere.

He was just one of those phony philosophers

that come through Thessalonica

as part of the empire,

dropping in.

He's a charlatan.

He's in it for what he gets out of it.

He was looking to raise funds from you.

He was looking for sex,

for prestige,

for power,

for money.

And at the first sign of trouble,

he's gone.

On to the next town to do exactly the same thing.

He doesn't care about you at all.

Why would you give yourselves to the message

that he brought

when he himself is gone?

And so what we have here

is Paul's defence

of his ministry and his gospel.

So three points up there on the screen,

Paul's argument,

Paul's appeal,

and Paul's approval.

That's what we're going to journey through

in the first 12 verses here.

So as Paul defends himself,

and he's doing it really in chapters 2 and 3,

what he's doing here,

he's not just giving us

a philosophy of Christian ministry

and what might be expected

of those in Christian service,

but he's also giving us

a pattern for the Christian life.

You know,

as I go through this,

and you know,

I already feel

this passage challenges me a lot

and in the past week,

but it's not just about,

ah,

that's what we expect

of our pastors.

It's also a challenge

for all Christians.

They have a lot to say

of what it means

to live the Christian life.

Now,

the way he defends himself here,

his argument

is simply by reminding

the Thessalonians

what they already know.

Six times,

verses 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, and 11,

Paul says,

you know,

you remember,

you are witnesses.

He is simply reminding them

of what they actually saw,

what they heard,

what they experienced from Paul.

A life that was in fact consistent

with the message

that he proclaimed.

He is open,

he's transparent.

So,

there's three things.

So,

the first thing we notice

in terms of his argument,

he really points to three things

in terms of consistency.

Number one,

his courage.

Verses 1 and 2,

you know,

brothers and sisters,

that our visit to you

was not without results.

We had previously suffered

and been treated outrageously

in Philippi.

As you know,

with the help of our God,

we dared to tell you

his gospel

in the face

of strong opposition.

The word dared there

means that he spoke

freely,

openly,

and fearlessly.

It is to be outspoken.

It is to be frank.

It is to use clarity

in his speech.

That is,

it is to speak

with courage

regardless of consequences.

He courageously spoke

the gospel of Jesus Christ

to them

and he did it

despite,

in his words,

previously suffered

and being treated

outrageously

in Philippi.

So,

what he's saying here is,

when I turned up

in Thessalonica,

as you know,

I was bruised,

beaten.

He would have had

potentially broken bones.

The bruises,

the damage to his body

were obvious

because he was humiliated.

He was stripped naked.

He was beaten.

He was flogged.

He was thrown into prison

in Philippi.

He would have turned up

with the damage

to his body

and he preached

the gospel to them

again and again.

The thing that,

that caused him

so much pain

and humiliation

in Philippi,

he turns up

to Thessalonica

and does it again.

And when he left there,

he did it again.

There's his courage.

That's against the accusation

that he's in it for himself

and as soon as trouble hits,

he's gone.

The second thing

that Thessalonians

know about Paul

is that he did not

exploit them

for personal gain.

Verse 3,

for the appeal we make

does not spring

from error

or impure motives,

nor are we trying

to trick you.

He did not call them

to faith in Jesus Christ

to gain a following

for himself,

to mislead them,

to get sexually involved,

which is what impure motives

means here,

to get sexually involved

with anyone

or to try and deceive them

in any way

to make him feel like

he's more powerful.

He gave the truth

and he kept himself pure.

He wasn't driven

to please people.

Verse 4,

we're not trying

to please God

who tests our hearts.

Verse 6,

we were not looking

for praise

praise from people,

not from you

or from anyone else.

You see,

people pleasing

usually comes

from a place

of deep insecurity.

A people pleaser

won't give themselves

freely to others.

they only give

an angle

of themselves

in the hope

that the angle

that they give

would result

in them

receiving

some form

of approval.

And therefore,

as a people pleaser,

you never really know them.

You only know

what they want you

to know about them

in order to extract

praise from them.

And a people pleaser

therefore uses people.

They exploit people

so that they feel

approved of themselves,

pleased with themselves.

And so Paul

did not flatter

or position himself

for money.

Verse 5,

you know we never

use flattery

nor did we put

on a mask

to cover up greed.

God is our witness.

Flattery is using language

not for the sake

of truth

but for the sake

of manipulation.

You want something

and in this case

Paul's being accused

of buttering up

the Thessalonians

in order to extract

money from them.

The accusation is

that Paul wanted

their money

not their souls.

And according to verse 9

that's not the case.

Surely you remember

brothers and sisters

our toil

and our hardship

we work night

and day

in order

not to be a burden

to anyone

while we preach

the gospel

of God to you.

He was not

after their money.

He was after

their souls

for their good.

So the Thessalonians

know of his courage.

They know

that his pattern

of life

was not to

exploit them.

But thirdly

it wasn't just

the things

that he did

not do.

it's what

he did

do

in his

pattern

of life.

He gave

himself

in the

service

of others.

Verses

6

to 8

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 care

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.

What they

knew of

Paul

is he

exchanged

a

relationship

of

authority

and

power

that is

the

apostle

to

a

relationship

of

no

rights

surrendering

of rights

a relationship

of gentle

tender

affection

and service

instead of

wielding

authority

he became

like a

child in

the first

century

without

rights

he didn't

just come

to them

with a

message

but he

also gave

himself

to them

the

messenger

not just

words

but a

life

not just

doctrines

but a

heart

what he

says in

verse

7

is quite

startling

just as a

nursing mother

cares for her

children so

we cared

for you

not just

the reference

to any

mother

it's

specifically

nursing

mother

the breastfed

infant

is

dependent

on the

mother's

milk

for

nourishment

of life

it's a

very

powerful

image

that Paul

uses

of

Christian

ministry

but also

the

Christian

life

the

nursing

mother

is an

all

consuming

role

baby

requires

milk

six to

ten times

a day

and

we're

not

feeding

the

child

the

mother

is

caring

for

the

other

needs

of

the

child

and

refueling

herself

for the

next

round

of

feeding

it

requires

around

the

clock

personal

sacrifice

diet

time

physical

discomfort

sleep

deprivation

emotional

strain

24 hour

commitment

gives

herself

away

mentally

physically

emotionally

and so

what Paul

is saying

here is

they know

this

the

Thessalonians

know of

his

gentleness

his

tenderness

his

love

and his

care

for them

was so

deep

you see

the

Thessalonians

are not

just a

set of

employees

that need

to be

trained

not just

a group

of friends

that he

needs to

he has

some shared

experiences

with

he

empties

himself

for the

sake

of these

new

disciples

in

Jesus

that

they

might

grow

and

flourish

and so

verse 9

again

surely you

remember

brothers and

sisters

our toil

and our

hardship

we work

night and

day

in order

not to

be

burdened

to any

of you

while we

preach

the gospel

to you

and then

he

summarizes

his

defense

in verse

10

you are

witnesses

and so

is God

of how

holy

righteous

and

blameless

we were

among

you

who

believed

and so

with that

statement

he raises

the bar

of

Christian

discipleship

and ministry

don't balk at

this

as though

he was

saying

you know

Thessalonians

that I'm

completely

sinless

that's not

what he's

saying

here at

all

that's

not

what he

means

what he

means

is

we

honoured

God

in

boldly

courageously

preaching

the truth

of the

gospel

we

treated

people

rightly

with

the

gospel

and

we

gave

no

one

a

legitimate

reason

to

accuse

us

of

bad

behaviour

or

lacking

in

integrity

what we

said

we

believed

and the

way

it

enacted

and lived

out in

our life

were

consistent

he was

above

reproach

that's

his

argument

which

then

leads

us

to

his

appeal

he

was

courageous

not

for

personal

gain

he

answered

himself

for

them

now

the

most

common

way

that

these

verses

are

replied

when

you

look

at

commentators

and

others

is

this

get

preached

at a

clergy

conference

for instance

these

are

words

for

the

pastor

these

are

words

for

Christian

leadership

and

pastoral

ministry

and

anyone

involved

in

ministry

at all

and

it's

true

there

is an

awful

lot

to be

said

here

and

great

insights

not

just

in

the

manner

of

Christian

ministry

but

the

motives

of

Christian

ministry

but

also

the

manner

and

motive

of

the

Christian

life

you

know

just

leaving

it

with

the

pastoral

staff

and

Christian

leaders

is

not

the

only

application

here

Paul

is

writing

these

words

to

a

bunch

of

new

Christians

under

the

sway

of

people

who

wanted

them

to

abandon

their

trust

in

Jesus

and

they

were

doing

that

by

undermining

the

person

who

brought

the

gospel

to

them

and

he

is

writing

this

letter

because

he

is

concerned

that

it

will

be

in

vain

if

they

believe

the

lies

and

give

in

to

the

pressure

it

would

be

a

vanity

empty

of

no

value

if

they

not

only

believed

the

scandal

makers

but

if

they

didn't

follow

his

pattern

of

life

that

would

be

a

vanity

that

is

it

would

be

a

total

vanity

just

to

say

I

believe

in

Jesus

but

I

don't

live

like

Jesus

so

having

laid

out

his

defense

this

is

my

life

you

seen

it

then

he

calls

them

to

follow

suit

verse

11

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

again

it's

a

first

century

image

of

the

father

son

relationship

where

in

the

first

century

sons

followed

their

fathers

into

the

family

business

if

the

father

was

a

farmer

so

was

the

son

if

the

father

was

a

carpenter

so

was

the

son

until

you

become

the

Messiah

so

was

the

son

that

you

followed

in

the

family

business

and

so

Paul

saying

to

the

Thessalonians

I

am

your

father

you

follow

me

he

was

tender

as he

encouraged

and

comfort

these

new

believers

faint

hearted

under

pressure

but

he

was

also

uncompromising

!

his charge

to them

is to

live

lives

worthy

of

God

who

calls

you

into

his

kingdom

and

glory

Paul's

appeal

here

is

exactly

the same

as

what

he

wrote

in

chapter

1

verse

6

we

looked

at

last

week

you

became

imitators

of

us

and

of

the

Lord

and

in

these

last

two

verses

here

he's

appealing

to

them

to

continue

to

imitate

lest

their

faith

be

in

vain

and

he's

appealing

to

his

pattern

of

life

as

the

very

thing

that

they

should

be

imitating

not

the

thing

that

they

should

be

the

reason

to

reject

him

but

the

reason

that

they

should

imitate

him

he

has

lived

amongst

them

in

such

a

way

that

he

can

point

to

his

life

and

he

can

say

I'm

following

the

pattern

of

Jesus

he's

saying

to

them

that

his

pattern

of

life

is

a

life

that

is

shaped

by

in

step

with

the

gospel

that

brought

them

into

God's

kingdom

this

is

crucial

for

us

because

for

decades

in

the

western

world

as

the

gospel

has

been

preached

there

has

been

this

assumption

I

suppose

or

one

of

the

consequences

is

that

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Christ

is

a

message

of

sin

management

come

to

Jesus

have

your

sins

forgiven

and

get

heaven

a

gospel

of

sin

management

you've

been

what

Paul's

saying

here

is

the

Christian

has

been

rescued

from

the

kingdom

of

this

world

and

its

future

judgment

and

brought

into

the

kingdom

of

God

you

haven't

just

had

your

sins

forgiven

and

you

get

the

promise

of

consolation

prize

of

heaven

at

the

end

you

have

transferred

from

one

realm

to

another

from

one

rule

to

another

from

one

allegiance

to

another

you

have

turned

away

from

serving

idols

to

serve

the

living

God

the

Christian

is

in

Christ

which

means

they are

wrapped up

in him

in his

kingdom

a new

creation

and waiting

the final

glory

of it

to be

revealed

and the

life we

now

live

is the

life

of

Jesus

Christ

being

lived

out

in

us

and

so

if we

make the

assumption

well I

become a

Christian

have my

sins

forgiven

and all

this other

stuff

about

you know

rhythms

of patterns

of life

and discipleship

and that's

just all

optional

extra

you have

a gospel

of sin

management

and it's

not

the

Christian

gospel

it's

significant

that Paul

writes to the

Thessalonian

Christians

and says

to them

God

calls

you

into

his

kingdom

and

glory

glory

he's

writing

to

Christians

and he

says

God

calls

you

into

his

kingdom

and

his

glory

in the

original

language

that

is in

the

present

tense

in

other

words

to the

Christians

in

Thessalonica

to you

at

St.

Paul's

Chatswood

who are

in

Christ

God

calls

you

into

his

kingdom

oh

hang on a bit

aren't I

already

in

his

kingdom

it's

in

the

present

tense

in

other

words

God

never

stops

calling

both

the

non

Christian

and

the

Christian

into

his

kingdom

he's

called

to you

right

now

as the

text

of

scripture

is

opened

by

his

Holy

Spirit

into

his

kingdom

he's

calling

you

into

his

kingdom

and

that

call

never

ceases

and

it's

a

call

that

means

to

consistently

live

lives

worthy

of

the

kingdom

every

moment

to

know

who

your

king

is

he's

calling

you

into

his

glory

true

glory

ultimate

glory

2

corinthians

4

we

looked at

this

very

briefly

last

week

that

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

displays

the

glory

of

Christ

in

other

words

the

sacrifice

of

Jesus

displays

the

glory

of

Christ

the

glory

of

God

the

word

glory

means

weight

it

means

value

it

means

magnificence

it

means

worthiness

of

Jesus

Christ

and

to

have

glory

is

to

have

prestige

to

have

power

to

have

influence

you

see

the

reason

why

Paul

did

not

see

glory

from

others

is

because

he

already

had

ultimate

glory

in

Jesus

and

the

constant

call

of

God

in

all of

our

lives

is

to

enter

his

spectacular

glory

under

the

rule

of

Christ

that's

the

essence

of

his

appeal

in

verse

12

to

live

lives

worthy

to

call

that

literally

means

walk

worthily

!

17

he

didn't

say

to

Abraham

Abraham

somersault

before

me

Abraham

do

gymnastics

in

front

of

me

he

didn't

even

say

Abraham

run

a

marathon

in

front

of

me

he

called

him

and

this

is the

first

words

of

calling

walk

before

me

faithfully

walking

is day

in

day

out

praying

it

is

day

in

and

day

out

hearing

from

God

in

the

scriptures

it

is

day

in

and

day

out

obeying

building

and

loving

Christian

friends

it

is

corporate

worship

it

is

committing

yourself

fully

completely

participating

in the

life of

the

church

it

is

generosity

it

is

service

it

is

entrusting

the

gospel

to

others

it

is

rhythmic

and

it

is

on

and

on

and

on

to

walk

with

God

is

a

metaphor

that

symbolizes

slow

and

steady

progress

walking

with

God

means

it's

treating

God

as

God

and

as if

he is

there

walking

with you

day

by day

and so

I

commend

to you

our

seven

rhythms

of

grace

as

our

expression

here

at

St.

Paul's

of

Christian

living

to see

each

other

please

God

worthy

of

him

to

live

lives

worthy

of

him

and as

we

practice

these

seven

rhythms

they

both

remind us

of the

gospel

and

cause

us

to

walk

with

the

God

in

a

gospel

shaped

life

so

God

is

calling

us

together

at

St.

Paul's

into

the

life

of

courage

of

sacrifice

and

service

that

Paul

models

you see

his