Missing Virtues In Gospel Ministry

1 Thessalonians chapter 2, just two verses this morning, verses 7 and 8, okay?

1 Thessalonians 2 · chapter mention

But we were gentle 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.

There's a man who attends our Wednesday morning Bible study group with the men.

We call it Men's Advance on 6.30 every Wednesdays when there's not an election on Tuesday nights.

Most people are there on Wednesday morning at 6.30.

His name is Larry. Larry, some of you know him. You went to church with him for many years.

Larry doesn't belong to our church. He belongs to another church in Huntersville,

but he attends our Bible study on Wednesday mornings, and he's a wonderful Christian.

He and Terry always bring an amazing amount of biblical knowledge and wisdom to our discussions,

and we all kind of lean on them during those times.

He's a faithful Christian. We love having him there.

His church is without a pastor right now,

and Larry is one of the men that's been tasked with the responsibility of trying to find the next pastor

and who the Lord would have and make those connections.

And some of you have been in positions like that before at other churches,

and you know how daunting of a task that is.

That's not an easy thing.

And when you don't have a leadership structure that has a plurality of elders that can kind of shoulder that load,

it falls to people in the congregation to do it, and that's a very difficult thing to do.

And Larry's in one of those positions, and a few weeks ago we were chatting about that in our Bible study,

and I don't think he was referring to this particular church, but maybe a church years ago in his life where he had been in a similar role,

and he mentioned a survey that had been issued to the congregation,

basically asking them,

what are things that you care about?

What do you want to see in your next pastor?

And I got to thinking about that,

and I thought, you know, that's an interesting question.

I wonder how most Christians, the average Christian, would respond to such a survey.

And so I want you to think about that.

Don't answer this out loud.

Just ponder it in your head.

I don't need my feelings getting hurt right here at the beginning of the sermon.

If I asked you to list the qualities you most want in a pastor,

what would be on your list?

What would headline the list?

Maybe three, four, five things.

Like, these are the things that matter most,

the things I care about most in a pastor.

Or maybe we're just thinking in discipling relationships within our church.

Like, if there's going to be somebody that comes and is personally discipling me as a spiritual mentor in my life,

these are the qualities that I want them to have.

This is how I want them to lead me and help me.

And there are so many ways we can answer that question, right?

There's an abundance of good answers that we might have.

Most of us would likely begin at the qualifications for a pastor in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1,

and that would be exactly the right instinct to go.

What is the Bible saying a pastor is supposed to be?

What is the bare minimum that the scriptures say an elder qualifies a man to be an elder in a church?

And that's the right instinct.

That's where we would go, and maybe we would start to fashion our list that way.

Other of us may think in more practical terms.

We may think about things like education.

You know, have they actually been trained theologically so that they're properly prepared to teach us the Bible?

We might think about experience.

Like, what kind of experience do they have in pastoral ministry?

Are they equipped to do this work?

Do they have a leadership ability?

Do they have an administrative prowess?

Yes.

And so long as those things are ordered properly as secondary to the biblical qualifications,

those are actually really good things to consider.

We want to have those things on our list, don't we?

Then, of course, we get to personality dynamics, which for sure are tertiary issues.

But they're still going to show up on some of our list.

Probably we want somebody who has a certain kind of charisma,

or that might would be on some of your list.

Most of what we would put on our list will rightly portray strength and aptitude.

We might even come to a letter like 1 Thessalonians and look at how Paul describes himself here and think,

I want whoever is discipling me to be bold, not afraid to speak the truth, even when it's unpopular to do it,

even when it's unpopular for me, to me for them to do it.

I want somebody who's going to be bold anyway, who's going to give me the truth.

And oh, what a almost rare blessing that is to have sometimes in spiritual leadership these days.

The point of this exercise, the reason I want you to think about this for this moment,

isn't really to think about what would be on your list,

but it's after kind of compiling that list, stepping back and observing it and thinking,

what might be missing from your list?

I wonder how many of us would have a description that actually matches Paul's here.

Look again at verse 7.

Now be real honest.

How many of you in your mind, your mental mind, just a moment ago when I was asking that question,

how many of you raised your hand if you had maternal affection as one of the qualities on your list?

Probably none of us, right?

No one probably thought a minute ago, you know, when I think of someone I want discipling me and pastoring my church,

my first thought is that they look like a mom nursing her baby.

And yet that's what Paul describes his ministry as, isn't it?

It's quite amazing.

What he describes here, it seems to us more like weakness than strength.

These qualities even almost seem contradictory to some of the other things that have been displayed in his demonstration of ministry in the letter.

Things like the boldness and the courage.

And as we continue on in chapter 2 in a couple of weeks, we're seeing exhortation and discipline and all of these things.

We think this almost seems backward.

Almost seems like it doesn't fit.

But I think not only are the qualities in verses 7 and 8 consistent with a right understanding of the other traits,

I want to suggest actually that what's listed for us in verses 7 and 8 are the virtues that get to the very heart of what faithful gospel ministry is.

Each of them is modeled perfectly and instructed explicitly by the Lord Jesus.

And I don't want them to be missing in my ministry.

I don't want them to be missing in our ministry to one another as a congregation that endeavors to disciple one another to be faithful to Jesus Christ.

There's three of them here that I want to bring to your attention.

First, I want you to see gospel ministry should be gentle.

Gospel ministry should be gentle.

Again, verse 7, we were gentle among you.

Like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

Of course, gentleness in this verse, it's contrasting with the negative features of unfaithful ministry that are listed in verses 5 and 6.

Particularly the last one.

Let's just read them together.

Look at verse 5.

Paul says,

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.

That's the context with which he is now using this transitional word in verse 7.

But that's referring back to something else.

It's a negative and positive, right?

The negative is, this is how we did not come to you.

The positive is, but we were gentle among you, like a mother nursing her own children.

Now, when we get to that last phrase in verse 6, Paul says,

We could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

But he's not saying that he had the right to kind of throw around his apostolic weight and just simply chose not to do that.

That's not what he means.

He doesn't mean that it would have been permissible for him to minister in that way,

and he just felt like being a nicer guy at the time that he was in Thessalonica.

That's not what he means.

He meant that his unique authority as an apostle of Christ made it possible for him to justify spiritual abuse

and lord over people in a demanding way.

But that's not the way that he did it.

He's essentially saying, look, I could have come in and I could have said, look, Christ called me to this.

He personally commissioned me to do this.

Now, you listen to what I say and you do what I tell you to do.

He says, I didn't come in like that.

I didn't minister to you like that.

Instead, he was marked by the gentleness of a nursing mom.

Now, I've watched my wife live this out, this illustration, with our three girls.

Charlie's seven months.

She's about to be eight months old now.

And there's still nights when she gets up.

Last night, it wasn't too bad.

It was about five o'clock and it was about time to get up anyways.

And so it worked out.

But there's still nights where she just decides, you know, two o'clock in the morning,

I think I'm just going to start screaming my head off.

And she does that.

And, you know, to this point, after eight months,

I've never one time rolled over and looked at Julie and heard her say,

you know what, this time, Jared, I'm going to teach this little brat a lesson.

She hasn't done it yet.

Why?

Because she's gentle with her.

I've watched her countless times, actually, approach our girls,

even in moments of correction, when she needs to discipline them

and she needs to correct them and she needs to steer them in a different way

based on the decisions that they've made.

I've watched her countless occasions do that,

clothed in the kind of gentleness that seeks to nurture them,

not to beat them down.

And that's how Paul describes his demeanor toward the Thessalonian Christians.

And it should describe the demeanor that we have toward one another

and toward the lost world around us.

Jesus is the perfect example of it.

In fact, Jesus even describes himself this way in Matthew 11.

Remember, when he invited people to come to him, what he said,

he said,

take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart.

Meekness.

And he says,

if you will do that,

what you'll find from me is rest for your soul.

Rest for your soul.

Now, you can't come to Jesus

without acknowledging the correction

and the discipline of Jesus for your sin.

And yet, the thing that he says is that he's gentle

and that when you come,

even despite the correction and the discipline

and the acknowledgement of our sin

and the reality of judgment,

what you find is rest.

Why?

Because he's gentle and lowly.

It's who he is.

Gentleness is a virtue that God supplies

as we walk in the Spirit.

We get that from Galatians chapter 5

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

and that famous passage about the fruits of the Spirit.

We're told very explicitly,

the fruit of the Spirit,

the things that God does in us

through the sanctifying work in his Spirit.

These are the things that he supplies to us.

And one of them right in the middle is gentleness.

So then we would understand that text to mean

that as we are faithfully walking in step with the Spirit,

what will be the natural byproduct of that

because of his gracious work in us

is a demeanor of gentleness toward other people.

Gentleness is required of those who serve as elders in the church.

We can go to different places for this.

I want to look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 verses 24 through 26.

2 Timothy 2:24–26

It's on the screen.

You can turn there if you'd like.

This is not the qualifications for a pastor.

That's 1 Timothy chapter 3.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

In 2 Timothy chapter 2,

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Paul is instructing Timothy on how to deal with false teachers

in the church, false doctrine in the church.

And listen to what he says.

He says,

The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome,

but kind.

Kind to everyone.

Able to teach.

Patiently enduring evil.

That's perseverance.

And then notice this.

Correcting his opponents with gentleness.

And here's what Paul says will happen,

what might happen by God's grace,

when the elders of the church serve the church,

even in correction with gentleness.

He says,

God may perhaps grant them repentance,

leading to a knowledge of the truth,

and they may come to their senses

and escape the snare of the devil

after being captured by him to do his will.

Not only is it a qualification for elders,

but it's actually necessary for effective gospel ministry.

You've heard people say,

it's not always what you say,

it's how you say it.

Well, sometimes it's what you say

when it comes to the gospel.

Sometimes we don't even really get a chance

for people to hear us

because they can't get past the way that we're saying it.

And Paul says,

No, the Lord's servant shouldn't be that way.

Correct with gentleness.

Gentleness is an essential characteristic of a congregation.

That is unified in the gospel

and pursuing the work of Christ

through mutual discipling.

We studied this a few months ago

in Ephesians chapter four,

the first three verses.

Paul says,

I therefore urge you to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

And if you remember back to that study,

what is that calling?

It is the calling of Christ in the gospel

that's related to our adoption into God's family.

So basically the name to which we have been called

to serve and to take on

that has been given to us by God

is God's name,

that we belong to him.

And Paul says,

I want you to walk in a manner

that is worthy of that calling.

And how does he say we are to do that?

With all humility and gentleness.

This is the context of our relationship to one another.

That as we are serving together,

as we are doing life together

in the context of a covenant in this local church,

that the disposition with which we have toward one another

in those discipling relationships

is characterized by gentleness and humility,

bearing with one another in love,

patience, eager to maintain the unity

of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Gentleness is essential to that.

Now some clarifications are necessary, aren't they?

To be gentle doesn't mean

that you avoid telling people the truth

about sin and judgment.

That's not what gentleness means.

Gentleness doesn't forsake correction and discipline.

We just quoted several verses

where gentleness was paired with correction and discipline.

Gentleness doesn't neglect confrontation.

However, gentleness is the spirit-enabled,

Christ-mimicking, God-glorifying virtue

with which all of our discipling efforts

are to be carried out.

Whether that be in making disciples

through personal evangelism

or helping other Christians

who have already come to Christ

grow more faithful to Christ,

our efforts are to be clothed with gentleness.

Our demeanor, even in the most solemn moments of ministry,

should be like a nursing mother

tending to her child.

Galatians 6.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression,

this is church discipline here.

You who are spiritual

should restore him in a spirit of gentleness,

meekness.

Now, I want you to think about that.

What's the instruction?

Church discipline.

What is church discipline?

Well, when it's carried out to the fullest extent,

it includes a congregation

coming around someone

who is refusing to repent of sin

and is dishonoring the name of Christ

and showing that they may not even be a true Christian.

And the congregation is saying,

we must exercise discipline here

as far as your membership is concerned in our church.

And yet, Paul says here in Galatians 6

that even when it comes to that,

that a spirit of gentleness

should pervade that process.

That the goal there

is not to hopefully rid ourselves

of a pain in the neck,

but the goal is to restore them

to faithfulness to Christ,

and that is to be done

through gentleness.

Now,

why don't we prize gentleness

the way that God does?

Why is it that

harshness

can sometimes be the thing

that brings us

delight?

Why is it that

when we're thinking about that person

that really just grades on our nerves

and

we never fantasize about

having an opportunity

when they

sin against us

or do something really annoying against us.

We never fantasize about

how we can show them love

in that moment,

do we?

What do we do?

We drive down the road

and this person pops in our mind

and we think,

you know,

I would just love one day

for them to say this to me

because I'd love to say this back

in response.

Harshness.

Why do we do that?

Why do we value that

over the gentleness

that God prizes

in the scriptures?

And there's only one answer for that.

It's indwelling sin.

God calls us to gentleness.

Not only should we expect

that of those who are in leadership,

but we should seek

to pursue it personally

in the way that we interact

with one another

and the way that we interact

with the world around us.

Gospel ministry

should be gentle.

Number two,

gospel ministry

should be

affectionate.

Affectionate.

Look again at verse eight,

just the first phrase

and then the last phrase.

So being affectionately

desirous of you

and then look at the last phrase,

because you had become

very dear to us.

affection,

love,

care.

What is it that drives

a mother to care

for her child?

Love.

What drove Paul

to faithfully minister

to the Thessalonians?

Love.

Your gospel ministry

to the world

and your gospel ministry

to one another

in discipleship

will be carried out

in direct proportion

to your love

for others.

I've heard Alistair Begg

say so many times

to his church in Cleveland

and listening to his preaching,

he'll say something

to this effect,

however,

I do or do not meet

the many expectations

that you may have

for me as a pastor.

You'll know

that I've stopped

loving you

the way that I should

when I cease

to preach to you

the gospel of Jesus.

And I think there's

something significantly

true about that statement.

We minister the gospel

to those we love best.

Why?

Because we recognize

that the relationship

with Christ

is the supreme need

of their life.

That greater than anything

else that they need,

greater than any other longing

that they have.

What they need is Jesus.

What they need is

reconciliation with God

through the cross of Christ.

And those whom we love most

are those whom we're

most willing

to care for in that way.

Why did Paul preach

this gospel there?

Why did he do it

in the midst of so much conflict?

He says here,

because we love you.

But from where

does this kind of

affection arise?

You see,

this is the hard question,

isn't it?

Because it's not like

we can just flip a switch

in our hearts

and suddenly

we just like people.

It doesn't work that way.

We should work that way.

It doesn't work that way,

does it?

Some of you might actually

really be struggling

with this particular thing.

You find it difficult

to feel affection

for the people

that God has put

in your life.

Maybe in relationship

to your family.

Maybe you just have

family members

who just like you,

you just struggle

with them so much

and especially

when it comes to

talking about Jesus

and talking about the gospel

and things like that

and it's just,

it's becoming more

and more difficult

for you to feel

any kind of affection

for them.

Maybe it's for coworkers

or for other relationships

that you have.

Let's be honest,

there's probably

some people here

or people that are

connected to our church

at some point

that your struggle

in discipling

in this congregation

is a struggle

of affection

for people

that you feel like

are difficult

for you to even

get along with.

So how can we do this?

Like how can we just

love people

like Paul loves people?

Well if you were

at Laurel last night

I touched on this

to some extent.

Paul's love

for the Thessalonians

wasn't based

on who they were.

It wasn't based

on their ethnicity.

It wasn't based

on gender.

It wasn't based

on what they could

do for him.

It wasn't based

on personality.

It wasn't based

on anything about them.

It was based

on Christ's love.

And we get that

from 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

when Paul says

the love of Christ

controls us.

The older translations

say constrains us.

It grips me.

Paul says

as I think about Christ

as I think about the cross

as I think about his love

it compels me.

It grips my life

so that everything

that I now do

it seems to be

an overflow

of what I've seen

to be true

in the Lord Jesus.

It was the love

of Christ

on the cross

that compelled him

to love others.

Indeed the more

we gaze at Christ

and his cross

the more we

will be compelled

by his love

to display

his love

to other people.

And by the way

this is exactly

what he taught us.

John chapter 13

John 13 · chapter mention

you know the passage well.

Speaking to his disciples

Jesus says

a new commandment

I give to you

that you love

one another

just as I have loved you.

He is the example.

In other words

he is saying

if you are trying

to figure out

Simon the zealot

who is one of the disciples

with Matthew the tax collector

who were mortal enemies

if you guys are trying

to figure out

how to love one another

just stop looking

at each other

for a minute

and just look at me.

He says

the way that I

have loved you

that is how you need

to love one another.

And then he makes

this really

really bold statement

Jesus says

this is the way

that the world

will know

that you are

my disciples.

This is the way

that they will know

that you belong to me

is when you love

one another.

That's amazing

isn't it?

Jesus says

your love

isn't to be based

on what you think

about each other

your love is to be based

on what you think

about me

and what I think

about you.

Loved ones.

I implore you

be so immersed

in Christ's love

and in the gospel

that you cannot help

but look at one another

and say

you are so very dear

to me

I love you.

Gospel ministry

should be affectionate.

Thirdly

gospel ministry

should be self-sacrificing.

self-sacrificing.

Self-sacrificing.

Look again

at the middle portion

of verse 8.

We were ready

to share with you

not only the gospel

of God

but also

our own

selves.

Our own selves.

John Piper

called this

mutual

soul sharing.

Mutual soul sharing.

And it is the

essence

of congregational

life

as it's described

in the New Testament.

All those

one another commands

that we

see in the Bible.

There is a

depth

of

relational

commitment

that is implicit

in the scriptures

and explicit

in the scriptures.

It has to do

with the teaching

about the church

that

few people

seem ready

to acknowledge

or pursue.

I read this

great statement

recently.

I think it was

Matt Smathers

that said it

that the church

is where

quote

it's none of

your business

goes to die.

There is this

relational

commitment

that is implicit

and explicit

in the scriptures

teaching about

the nature

of the church

that involves

this intentional

affectionate

gentle

self

sacrificing

relational

commitment

to the people

that you have

chosen to covenant

with

as a local

church.

But it is

this self

sacrificing

commitment

like that

of a nursing

mother

Paul underscores

as the

central

to his gospel

ministry here.

Now it's

important to

note that

Paul wasn't

adding something

to suggest

that gospel

proclamation

is in and of

itself

insufficient.

That's not

what he's

saying.

He's not

saying that

on one hand

we have this

piece of our

ministry that

involves gospel

proclamation

and then on

the other hand

we have this

kind of relational

thing where we

just like to

really love on

people and

we're hoping

that between

those two

things God

might use it.

No it's

the gospel

is the power

of God

unto salvation

for all

who believe.

We know

that.

Paul believed

that.

What he means

here is he's

saying that

the way

that we

shared the

gospel of

God with

you was

this way.

He's

emphasizing that

his ministry

to them

wasn't cold

or distant.

It was

actually up

close.

It was

warm.

It was

self-sacrificing

soul care.

In other

words self-sacrifice

is the

manner with

which he

shared the

gospel with

them.

That's the

way he

shared the

gospel.

By giving

of his

own self

to these

people in

Thessalonica.

And we

see it all

through what

we've studied

so far in

the letter.

He sacrificed

his time

and his

privacy

living and

ministering

quote among

them.

We see it in

chapter 1

and verse 5.

Our gospel

came to you

not only in

word but in

the power of

the spirit

with full

conviction.

You know

what kind

of men we

proved to

be among

you for

your sake.

In other

words we

lived and

ministered.

We were

with you.

We were

with you.

And we

were with

you in

such a

way that

you could

truly observe

our lives

and you

know us.

You know

about the

nature of

our ministry.

And then he

says that

again here

in verse

7.

We were

gentle among

you in the

midst of you.

sacrificing his

time.

Sacrificing his

privacy in

order that he

might share the

gospel with

them and

encourage them

in the truth

of the gospel

even after they

came to

faith.

He sacrificed

his energy.

If you follow

along in

verse 9

you'll see

that he

reminds them

that he

worked night

and day

as a tent

maker to

finance his

ministry so

as not to be

a burden to

the people

or cast

doubt on

the genuineness

of his

ministry.

Sacrificed

time.

Sacrificed

privacy.

He

sacrificed

energy.

He didn't

just give

them a

sermon.

He gave

them all

of himself

in order

that he

might build

them up

in Christ.

As we

study the

rest of

the New

Testament

we find

that the

Thessalonians

imitated

him.

we see

that because

of the way

that they

lived out

their own

Christian

faith.

In 2

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 8

Paul reflects

on the

Macedonian

churches

and their

generosity.

He says

for they

gave according

to their

means and

as I can

testify and

beyond their

means of

their own

accord.

They were

begging us

earnestly for

the favor of

taking part in

the relief of

the saints.

And this

not as we

expected but

they gave

themselves

first to

the Lord

and then

by the

will of

God they

gave of

themselves

to us.

Do you

see?

Paul comes

in mimicking

Jesus and

he gives all

of himself to

these people

in Thessalonica

and that

catches fire in

Thessalonica

through the

power of the

gospel so

that the

Thessalonicans

then turn

around these

Christians and

they begin to

give of

themselves to

people who are

in ministry

giving of

themselves to

those who are

struggling in

other places in

their generosity.

This isn't only

to be true of

elders in the

church.

This must be

true of all

of us.

This giving of

ourselves to

one another.

This is the

essence of

congregational

life in the

Bible.

We all expect

people to be

willing to

sacrifice.

to meet our

needs to some

extent.

How many of

us are willing

to sacrifice for

the spiritual

benefit of

others?

Now I know

you well enough

to know that

many of you

are very

willing.

You're prepared.

You want to

do this.

This is not a

correction this

morning.

It's just an

edification.

But it's worth

the analysis,

isn't it?

Are you willing

to sacrifice

some time to

help someone

else know and

follow Jesus?

Whether that's

in an evangelistic

way,

intentionally

developing a

relationship with

an unbeliever,

in order that you

might be able to

more faithfully

share the gospel

with them,

see them come to

Christ?

Are you willing

to sacrifice some

time just to

kind of put your

arm around that

other lady in our

church that may be

a struggler,

maybe seems to be

drifting and just

say, hey, can we

just spend some

time together?

Love on them,

encourage them,

maybe correct them

with gentleness if

that's what's

necessary.

What about this?

Are you willing to

sacrifice your pride

when you're the one

that that other

person in the church

is coming and

kind of putting

their arm around

and saying, hey,

why don't we go

to coffee this

week?

Are you willing to

sacrifice your time

for correction when

you're the one that

needs to receive it?

It's part of this.

It's this vulnerability.

It's this affection.

It's this self-sacrifice

for the good of others

and for the glory of

Christ in our lives.

Are you willing to

lay aside things that

you care about if it

means being faithful

to worship on Sunday?

I mean, of course you

are.

Look at you.

You're here.

Are you willing to

sacrifice things that

you care about in

order to share the

gospel?

Are you willing to

sacrifice things that

you really care about

to fund a mission

work or encourage a

struggling Christian?

This is the kind of

virtue that we should

pursue because it's

exactly the virtue that

Jesus modeled for us.

It's this humility that

Shane mentioned in the

Sunday school class this

morning.

Humility towards others.

Isn't that what we find

in Philippians 2?

Paul says, let each one

of you look not only on

his own interest.

Oh, it's so easy to do

that, isn't it?

That's kind of our default

setting, right?

We're just constantly,

we've got like tunnel

vision.

It's not always that we're

trying to ignore other

people.

It's just we've got tunnel

vision.

Like this is all the

things that I've got

going on in my life.

These are all the needs

that I have, that I need

to be met.

These are all the interests

that I have in order for

my life to work and for

my growth to work out just

the way that I want it

to.

And we start to, maybe

even inadvertently, stop

to think, start, stop

thinking about other

people around us.

And Paul says, let each

of you not only think

of his own interest, but

on the interest of

others.

Have this mind among

yourselves, and here it

is, which was in Christ

Jesus.

How did Jesus display

this?

In his humiliation, in his

condescension, who though

being in the form of God

did not count equality with

God a thing to be grasped.

That is the benefits of

being with the Father in

heaven, the benefits of

being the second person of

the divine Godhead.

They were not so much him

that he was unwilling to

put those things aside in

order to condescend to us

and become a man in order

to save our souls.

That's what Paul says.

He's in the form of God.

He didn't count equality

with God a thing to be

grasped to hold on to at

all costs, but he emptied

himself by taking the form

of a servant, being born in

the likeness of men, and

being found in human form.

He humbled himself and

became obedient to the

point of death, even death

on a cross.

This is the model that

Christ has given us.

Self-sacrifice for the

good of others.

Now these are not the only

ways to describe faithful

gospel ministry, but I do

think it's true that we

cannot call our ministry

faithful without these three

virtues.

It's not the only thing.

There's more.

But we can't take these

things away and then still

consider ourselves to be

faithful in the ministries

that God has given us.

As we've seen, the key to

embracing and possessing

them is to know and believe

and meditate on the gospel

of Jesus.

We talk about this all the

time that we preach the

gospel to ourselves every

day.

We live in light of the

gospel in every moment.

Because the more we gaze at

Jesus, the more the spirit

works in us to fashion us

into his likeness.

And if we are becoming like

Jesus as his people, our

lives will inevitably be

marked by gentleness,

affection, self-sacrifice.