Not In Vain

Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Kids, you are excused to your King's Kids classes.

!

For you yourselves know, brothers, sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain.

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know,

we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive.

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak.

Not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed, God

is witness.

Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have

made demands as apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you, like babes among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her

own children.

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel

of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

For you remember, brothers, sisters, our labor and toil.

We work night and day, but that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaim

to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses.

And God also, how holy and righteous and blameless we conducted our conduct towards you believers.

Was our conduct towards you believers.

For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you

and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and

glory.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which

you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is,

the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are

in Judea.

For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who

killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out and displeased God and opposed

all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved.

So as always, to fill up the measure of their sins, what wrath has come upon them at last.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

Lord, is anybody changing?

Has all my sacrifices for the advancement of the kingdom been all for naught?

Have all my efforts in my ministries or marriage or parenting or attempts to share the gospel

with non-Christians, have they all been gospel efforts in vain?

Maybe you're a teacher in King's Kids or a mentor in King's Place or a leader in our youth ministry.

Maybe you are serving on the worship team, on the Connect team.

You're involved in the Sunday breakfast, in the women's or men's ministry.

You're a life group leader or you're a deacon or you're teaching a TDI class or you're an elder.

Maybe you've been wondering, am I making any kind of difference in anybody's life for Christ?

Has all this sacrifice been for nothing?

Maybe you're serving on multiple ministry teams.

You go to life group.

You gather Sunday after Sunday.

You're trying to share the gospel with non-Christians in your life.

But has it all been worth anything?

Have you found yourself asking that question?

If you look at chapter 2, verse 1,

For you yourselves know, brothers, that are coming to you was not in vain.

Not in vain.

1 Thessalonians was originally a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica

around 4951 A.D.

He probably wrote it from Corinth.

And what you need to know about this letter that is now the book of 1 Thessalonians

is that this letter was to a brand new church just months old.

And right out of the gate, this church suffered hardship.

They were being afflicted because they were followers of Jesus.

And they were being afflicted by those who rejected the gospel.

They were hindering them.

Making life hard for them.

And on top of it all, just weeks, maybe months, after this church has been established,

Paul, Silas, and Timothy, this apostolic band, PST,

they leave all of a sudden under the cover of night.

So just imagine it.

This, these baby Christians of a brand new church in a hostile environment

are now experiencing an abrupt leadership vacuum.

It's ripe for all sorts of challenges.

Maybe there are influencers from those who had rejected the gospel,

and they're influencing this church,

and people in the church are maybe,

well, maybe they are right.

Maybe, maybe the gospel of Jesus Christ isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

Maybe it's not the only way to salvation.

Maybe they have a point.

Maybe Jesus isn't who Paul, Silas, and Timothy claimed him to be.

Or maybe you're in this church, and you're like,

why did they leave?

Were they in it for themselves?

Or maybe you're thinking,

you know what?

Were we just being naive?

Maybe there's more to the story than what we're hearing.

Here's what I want to convince you of this morning.

Our gospel efforts are never in vain.

Our gospel efforts are never in vain.

And from this passage, there are three reasons.

Reason number one, the gospel of God is the power of God.

That's reason number one.

Reason number two is that the gospel shapes how we go about gospel ministry.

Reason number three is the gospel shapes even how we receive the word of God.

It's all about the gospel.

So what I want to do is help you.

If you are wondering if your efforts are all in vain,

you're discouraged, disappointed, frustrated,

you're like, maybe I just need to be less involved.

Your gospel efforts are never in vain.

Because the gospel is God's power unto salvation.

So let's look at this first point.

The gospel of God is the power of God.

In verses 1 through 16, 1 through 12 primarily,

there are a number of things said about the gospel,

and it serves us well to be reminded of what the gospel actually is.

So the first thing I want you to notice is a prepositional phrase.

And I need your participation.

Here's the prepositional phrase.

It's just two words.

Of God.

Can you say that?

Okay, so I'm going to point you to a series of little phrases,

and then I'm going to look to you like this.

And then you're going to say, of God.

You ready?

There's a test.

2-2.

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi,

as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel.

Excellent.

Look at 2-8.

So, being affectionately desirous of you,

we were ready to share with you not only the gospel.

Oh, excellent.

Verse 9.

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil,

we work night and day,

that we might not be a burden to any of you,

while we proclaim to you the gospel.

Oh, we've got a pattern here.

Verse 13.

And we also thank God constantly for this,

that when you receive the word which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men,

but as what it really is, the word of God,

which is at work in you believers.

That of God is talking about the source of this message.

The Christian gospel has not been conceived originally in the minds of men.

The Christian gospel originated in the mind of God.

The source of the gospel is God.

It is His message, His announcement of salvation to all of mankind.

That's why in 2 Corinthians 5.20,

the apostle Paul, in talking about his own ministry,

he talks about the gospel as God making His appeal through us.

When we're talking about the gospel,

we're talking about God addressing people through the gospel,

calling for a response.

So what I want you to see in this first little prepositional phrase is

that the gospel is of God, not of man.

The second thing I want you to notice is that this is an appeal.

Did you see in verse 3?

For our appeal?

Our appeal!

This is a spoken appeal.

The Christian gospel is something that you proclaim,

something that you speak.

It's heard.

It calls for a response.

Maybe you've heard the St. Francis of Assisi quote,

preach the gospel always and sometimes use words.

Sounds great.

It's not true.

No matter how good your conduct is,

it will not save anybody.

There's only one thing that can save a sinner,

and that is the good news,

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's the only thing that can save.

Now, your conduct matters.

We'll get to that in a little bit.

But you need to understand that this gospel calls for a response.

It's spoken, and it's to be responded to.

It's not just to fall empty.

The third thing I want you to notice is what this gospel of God actually is.

Just a little background.

That word gospel, the Greek word, you want to know it?

Euangelion.

Can you say it?

Euangelion.

English speakers aren't used to saying things like that.

You know what a eulogy is?

That means a good word.

That little eu at the beginning of euangelion, that means good.

It means good news.

And back in antiquity, it was bigger than a religious use.

So, for example, there are these ancient records of the gospel being proclaimed,

the gospel of the birth of Caesar,

the gospel of the birth of a new Roman emperor.

And so they would send out messengers all around the Roman Empire,

and they'd go into towns,

hear ye, hear ye, I have good news of the gospel,

of the birth of a Roman emperor.

Emperor.

Or let's say the Romans,

they send out a legion to battle the barbarian horde in the area of Goth.

And they'd defeat the barbarian horde.

They would send messengers out to different places in the empire,

announcing a victory.

It was good news.

It was the gospel of a victory.

It was used in a variety of ways, this word gospel.

We even see it around World War II in these announcements of VE Day,

victory over Europe.

Can you imagine that on a picture of a newspaper?

That's the announcement of good news, victory over Europe.

VJ Day, victory over Japan.

It's good news.

It's a declaration of something that has happened.

Here's what that means.

There can be a variety of gospels.

There are different gospels.

There are different good newses.

And our world is full of man-made, counterfeit gospels.

If you were to sum up the gospel of Jesus Christ,

you could sum it up in four moves, with four words.

God, man, Christ, respond.

If you want to unpack it more, I would recommend this book by Greg Gilbert.

It's a Nine Marks book, What is the Gospel?

It talks about God as your creator.

It talks about man as sinful, that our Savior is Jesus Christ,

and that the response is repentance and faith.

That's the gospel.

That's the gospel of God.

But we're living in a culture of different man-made, counterfeit gospels.

There's the political gospel.

The good news of conservatism.

The good news of pragmatism.

My concern about the MAGA movement is that it's being presented as a gospel.

There's moral gospels.

The gospel of what is right in your own eyes.

The gospel according to, if it's not hurting anybody else, don't worry about it.

There's the self-helper therapy gospels, which make counselors new priests.

There's the gospel of, I just need to be the best version of myself.

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What is the gospel of God?

It's very simple.

It is God is the creator.

Man are sinners.

Christ is the Savior.

And then we must respond in repentance of faith.

You know, brings me to the last thing I want you to notice.

And that's got to do with power.

These man-made gospels, one of the things that is a problem about them is that, well, they're conceived in the minds of men.

And they have absolutely no power to rescue you from your sin.

None.

And another way that you can spot a false gospel is by paying attention to what that gospel is telling you to trust for your rescue, for your deliverance, for your salvation.

If that gospel is telling you to trust in an organization, or a human being, or yourself, there's no power there.

But if that gospel is telling you to trust in the God of the Bible for your salvation, we're getting to the gospel, the real gospel, the genuine gospel.

So none of these counterfeit gospels has the power to convert a sinner who is worshiping idols into a worshiper of the one and true God.

There's no man-made gospel that can transform your heart from living for things that are made to living for the creator.

There's no man-made gospel that can change a rebel to God into a child of God.

Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can do that.

The gospel of God is the power of God.

And so if you're like, hey, I'm just wondering if what I've been doing is all in vain.

The answer is no.

No!

Not if you're preaching this gospel.

It is the power of God to change people.

And to change people's eternity, change their standing with God.

It is radical in its power.

You know, when my dad taught me how to drive a golf ball,

he would say, Michael, let the club do the work.

The power is not in you, Mike.

The power is let the club do the work.

In a similar way, it's the gospel of God that does the power in changing people.

Not in our ability to persuade people.

Not in our ability to win an argument.

It's in the plain facts of the gospel.

It's in the plain facts of the gospel.

That God is our creator.

That man are rebels.

That Jesus is the savior.

And that our response is repentance and faith.

It's that simple.

It's that simple.

There's nothing in vain about that.

The second area, second reason why our gospel efforts are not in vain,

is what the gospel does in us.

The gospel shapes how we go about gospel ministry.

The gospel shapes our motives of why we tell other people about Jesus.

You see, this same gospel that saves us shapes the way we proclaim it.

There's the gospel message itself.

God is the creator.

Man is a rebel.

Jesus is the savior.

Our response is repentance and faith.

And then there's the way we communicate it.

One of the things we need to be aware of when we're talking to other people about Jesus

is we need to get the facts of the gospel right.

And we need to make sure our motives are right.

In verses 2 through 12, we have a listing out of different kinds of motives

in sharing the gospel.

You can lump them into two categories.

Not this way, but this way.

Don't share the gospel this way.

Share the gospel this way.

Let me just point them out.

In verse 3,

for our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive.

This is having to do with the content of the gospel.

We're not going to present a false gospel.

We're not going to present a partially true gospel.

We're not going to intentionally deceive people.

No, that's not how we do that.

One of my concerns in our telling other people about Jesus

is that we are doing some kind of adjustment, modifying of the gospel.

For example, there is a temptation for us to tell other people about Jesus,

but leave out sin.

To leave out our rebellion.

To leave out the consequences,

the eternal consequences of sinning against a holy God.

And we leave it out

because we don't want to offend people.

The sad thing, though, is

when you present a modified gospel like that,

it leaves people thinking,

well, what's the point?

What do I need to be saved from?

If there's no danger, if there's no rescue,

what's the point?

We face a huge temptation in our culture

to soften the gospel,

to make it palatable,

to make it unoffensive.

But that's not the gospel of God, gang.

The gospel of God will be offensive to people

because we're confronting people

in love for them with their sinfulness.

Here are some other not this ways.

In verse 5,

for we never came with words of flattery,

as you know.

Words of flattery,

you're using your words to manipulate people.

You're trying to praise someone

in order to gain some kind of credibility with them.

You're flattering them

so that you can be well thought of

with the hope that you will be less offensive.

Flattery is a manipulation.

Nor with a pretext for greed,

God is witness.

At this time that Paul's writing this,

there were charlatan preachers

cruising around the empire,

preaching a counterfeit gospel

with the hope of making a quick buck

and then moving on to another town.

They exist today.

Some are religious,

some are non-religious.

They're declaring to you

some kind of false hope.

It's not God is the creator,

man is a rebel,

Jesus is the savior,

and we must respond in repentance of faith.

Paul's very clear here.

We weren't there

to make money from you.

We'll see that come up

in a little bit again.

Verse 6,

nor did we seek glory from people,

whether from you or from others,

though we could have

made demands as apostles of Christ.

We did not seek glory from people.

We weren't in it for fame.

We weren't in it for power.

We weren't in it to get likes.

We weren't in it

in order to get some kind of esteem

and be well thought of.

You see,

all of these motives

that we're looking at here,

this flattery and greed

and vain glory,

it's all selfishness.

It's all a preaching of the gospel

for your own gain.

Fear of man would be another one in here

related to flattery.

And usually the fear of man shows up

in our not telling people about Jesus.

We don't proclaim the full gospel

because we fear being rejected.

And what that amounts to

is a quiet shame

over the gospel.

So we modify it.

Or we just stay quiet about it.

We are not to speak the gospel

in error

or from selfish motives.

Those are not of faith.

There's a better way.

But this way.

Verse 2.

Though we had already suffered

and been shamefully treated

at Philippi, as you know,

we had boldness

in our God

to declare to you

the gospel of God

in the midst of much affliction.

Boldness.

Not shame.

Spirit-born courage.

Remember what Paul said

Romans 1.16?

I am not ashamed of the gospel

for it is the power of God

unto salvation.

His confidence

in his unashamedness

was because he was convinced

of what the gospel was

and is able to do.

There's another reason

to make you bold.

If you look at the end

of this passage

in verse 16,

Paul is actually trying

to comfort the Thessalonians

and saying,

hey, those who oppose you,

God's wrath will fall upon him.

Vengeance is God's.

But it's a reminder for us.

God's wrath is coming.

There is a judgment day

when Jesus returns.

This is Matthew 25.

He will sit upon his throne

and all billions of the people

that have ever walked the earth

will be gathered before him

and he will divide them

into two massive groups.

The sheep and the goats.

One group are those people

who believe that Jesus

is the Christ for salvation

and the other group of people

are those who rejected it.

There's coming a day.

Most of the eight point

whatever billion people

on the planet right now

aren't typically thinking

that God's wrath is coming.

But we are.

And it makes us bold.

It helps us to cut through

the hype,

the distractions

to what matters most.

In verse 9,

there's another,

but this way.

For you remember,

brothers,

our labor and toil,

we work night and day

that we might not

be a burden to any of you.

The work that he's talking about

is being a tent maker.

The apostle Paul would travel

and he had a skill

of making tents.

Apparently,

people needed a lot of tents

at this time.

But he would set up

kind of a shop

and he would make tents

out of leather

and canvas apparently

or other things

and people would come

into the shop,

share the gospel with them.

Silas would share

the gospel,

Timothy.

And when they weren't

making tents,

they were out sharing

the gospel.

But the reason why

they did that

was to provide

for themselves

so they didn't charge

those hearing the gospel

any kind of a fee.

It allowed them

to stay very clear

of an accusation

of being for the money.

They were sacrificial

in their hard work

to not be a burden to them.

Verse 10,

we learn of other motives.

You are witnesses

and God also,

how holy and righteous

and blameless

was our conduct

toward you believers.

Holy, righteous, blameless.

Don't misunderstand that

as a claim to perfection,

but it's claiming

that they've been changed

by God.

That they are being conformed

to the very image

of Jesus Christ.

Holy, righteous,

and blameless.

And that kind of life

validated the gospel

that they were preaching.

That's where the Francis

of Assisi quote

is helpful.

Preach the gospel always

and make sure your life

adorns it.

We all know

what happens

when your life

communicates

a different message

than the gospel itself.

you will be either

thought of as a fraud

or the gospel

will be thought of

as a fraud.

One of the things

we need to pay attention to

is how we're living

our lives.

We're not perfect,

but are we striving

to be holy

and righteous

and blameless?

Are we striving

to be like Jesus?

It will adorn

the gospel.

people.

In verses 7, 8,

and 11,

Paul shifts gears.

He makes a different

kind of appeal.

He talks about

their relationships.

In verse 7,

he says,

but we were gentle

among you.

Now,

that word gentle

in the original language

actually means infant.

It actually means

we were babes

among you.

We were infants

among you.

And the way

it's being used

is saying that

we were innocent

among you all.

We're blameless.

And then we read,

like a nursing mother

taking care

of her own children,

so being affectionately

desirous of you,

we are ready to share

with you not only

the gospel,

but also our own selves

because you'd become

very dear to us.

And so here is this picture.

We've gone from

an innocent baby

among you

to now a mom

who's affectionate

and desirous,

a nurturer,

trying to help

and grow

her own children.

It's quite a picture.

And then,

verse 11,

for you know how,

like a father

with his children,

we exhorted

each one of you

and encouraged you

and charged you

to walk in a manner

worthy of God

who calls you

into his own kingdom

and glory

like a stern father.

So we have

innocent baby,

nurturing affectionate

mother,

stern dad.

God.

And it's not just

one of these

that characterized

their relationship

with the Thessalonians,

but all of them.

It was rich

and it's familial.

It's family.

It's loving.

It's good.

And so what Paul

is getting at here

is how the gospel

shaped his interactions

with the Thessalonians

to adorn the gospel

preaching.

There's one more

aspect of this

I want you to see

and it's the driving

motive

for sharing the gospel.

You ready?

Verse 4.

But just as we have

been approved by God

to be entrusted

with the gospel,

so we speak.

Not to please men,

but to please God

who tests our heart.

Who is Paul?

What's motivating him

to share the gospel

with people?

To please God.

God.

He's the one

who tests hearts.

He's the one

who will hold Paul

to account one day.

That is why Paul

is sharing the gospel.

We see it again

in verse 5.

But we never came

with words of flattery

as you know,

nor with a pretext

for greed.

God is witness.

He is very aware

that God

is witnessing

all of his actions

in terms of

representing God.

God.

Verse 10.

Again,

we read,

you are witnesses

and God also.

Another reference

to God as witness.

That is really unusual

in the New Testament.

12.

We exhorted each one

of you

and encourage you

and charge you

to walk in a manner

worthy of God

who calls you

into his own kingdom

and glory.

Again,

what was driving Paul

in his faithful

proclamation

of the gospel

was not what men

thought of him.

It's what God

thought of him

and moving people

to live their lives

for the glory of God,

advancing his kingdom.

That's what was driving Paul.

It was not selfishness,

not that way.

It was God's glory

that way.

And if you

are engaging

in gospel ministry,

pursuing your marriage,

raising your kids,

and your motives

are for God

to be exalted,

it is never in vain.

It's never in vain.

God is our witness.

We proclaim

the gospel of God

in the way

that pleases God.

The last reason

is that the gospel

of God

shapes

how it's received.

And I'm going to be

brief here

just for the sake of time.

Have you ever wondered

what to be looking for

when someone

hears the gospel

of whether or not

it actually resulted

in their conversion?

Have you ever wondered that?

Parents,

have you ever wondered,

hey,

what should I be looking for

in my children

to know whether or not

they've become Christians

or not?

Well,

we've got

two pieces of evidence

in verses 13 through 16.

I'm not saying

that they're the exhaustive,

but we've got two.

Let me point them out

to you.

The first

in verse 13

is,

and we also

thank God

constantly for this,

that when you receive

the word of God,

which you heard from us,

remember the gospel

is a spoken appeal,

you accepted it

not as the word of men,

but for what it actually is,

the word of God.

When you are

talking to people

about Jesus,

what you are

paying attention to

is how a certain person

is hearing this news.

Who are they hearing it from?

We know that the

Thessalonians,

that they had received

the gospel message

in 1.5

with full convictions.

They were fully convinced

that it was God

appealing to them

through Paul's preaching

to repent

and believe the gospel,

that this was

God at work.

If someone

hears the gospel

of God

and they think,

this is interesting,

but you know what,

this is just one more take

on the whole religion thing

and it's just another attempt

man is trying to make sense

of his own life

in this world.

They're not hearing it

as from God.

The Spirit apparently

is not at work

in them.

But if a person,

having heard the gospel,

becomes acutely aware

of their real guilt

for their real sin

against a real holy God

that has a real punishment

for eternity

by that God.

And then they hear

what God has done

in his love,

sending Jesus

to pay

for their sins

in full,

not in part,

but the whole.

And they realize

that this is God

appealing to them

in love.

That this is God

speaking to them.

This is God saying,

come to me.

Be reconciled to me.

I want to be

in a relationship

with you.

When they are hearing

that and experiencing

the Spirit of God

is at work

drawing them

to himself.

And if it's a true

work of the Spirit,

they will repent

and believe

in this gospel.

And at that moment,

they've crossed

from death

into life.

They've gone from

being in the domain

of darkness

and being rescued

into the kingdom

of the beloved Son.

So one of the things

that you're trying

to pay attention to,

one of the evidences

of whether or not

someone is saved or not

is are they hearing

this message

as from God?

That's who we're

representing.

We're ambassadors.

The second piece

of evidence

is at the end

of verse 13.

But as what it really is,

the Word of God,

which is at work

in you believers.

You see,

not only does the gospel

make this initial

converting impact

in our lives,

the gospel continues

to work in us.

It's like a nuclear reactor

on a submarine.

It just keeps on

generating power,

God's power in us

to bring about

lasting change.

And the lasting change

that the Apostle Paul

points to here

is that the Thessalonians

suffered gladly

for Jesus.

even as babes

in Christ.

That's why he can

give thanks.

He's fully confident

that his coming

to them was not in vain

because the power

of the gospel,

because of the way

that it was presented,

and because of the way

that it was received.

If you're in the room

and you've been wondering,

hey,

is my gospel effort

in vain?

The answer's no.

Not if you're preaching

the gospel of God

as the power of God.

Not if your motives

are being shaped

by this gospel,

and certainly not

if it's being received

in humility.

these are the things

that we're paying

attention to.

Now,

if you're not

a Christian,

and you're in the room

this morning,

the question is,

is God making

his appeal

to you today?

Is he calling you

to come to him

through Jesus?

And if you're like,

yes,

come find me

after the service.

We'll seal the deal.

Help you move

from death to life.

And live for him

forever.

Will you pray with me?

God,

we're so grateful

that this gospel

isn't just

a nice little

add-on to our lives.

That this gospel,

the gospel of God,

the true gospel,

the only gospel,

this is your power

of salvation

to all who believe,

and it radically

changes us.

It makes us

those who

once

lived for ourselves

into those

who now

live for you.

God,

forgive us

for

our fears.

Forgive us

for

modifying

your gospel.

Forgive us

for

shamefully

keeping silent.

Forgive us

for

thinking that

our salvation

is enough

and

all will be well.

God,

we are so grateful

for the work

that you are doing

around the world

at this

very moment.

Father,

would you pour out

your spirit

upon us,

Christ the King Church,

that you would

give us

clarity.

clarity of what

matters most

and that you

will give us

power,

boldness

to speak

and let the chips

fall where they may,

to live for you.

God,

would you build

your church?

Would you add

to your kingdom?

Would you bring

more and more

worshipers

into relationship

with you?

And we ask

this in the name

of Jesus,

our confidence,

our sufficiency,

our joy.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.