1 Thessalonians 2:8-13 (Part A)

Laboring night and day, says your mother's work is never done.

Pastor's work is never done.

Even his work is never done till got all that is how we are supposed to approach life hard to do it that way. It's hard not to do it that way. I think to be a Christian to be hounded by a sense of guilt that I'm not, at least, desiring the things that God has for me is don't underestimate the power of desire in Christ.

This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of first Thessalonians. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick is. He teaches through the book of first Thessalonians chapter 2 of this edition of cross reference radio turn in our Bibles to first Thessalonians chapter 2 wrong ideas about God have dominated the earth. It seems since the fall of Satan and his arrival here on the planet to tempt man and man's way is to be saved according to man's way, leaving little space for God, but God's way is to save men, according to God, leaving little space for men reversal and have a funny old story to tell of funny to me and hope I don't mess it up for you but there is this chap mountain climbing and he loses his grip and he starts his slide is not tied off and just as he's about to fall to the bottom of the canyon of thousand feet below. It reaches out and grabs hold of a branch, and it saves us skin for the moment, but he realizes that he can't get back up to the top and the scripts not going the last book for so long was in a religious fellow so he thought now was a good time to get religion so he looks up and he says, is there anyone in heaven who can help me voice came from heaven said, I am here. I can help you but you have to let go of the branch man said, is there anyone else in heaven who can help. That's how we are as sinners, we want salvation on our terms to get into a mess fall into sin.

We want God to do what we want him to do. That's not the gospel, the good news is that God is God and he will save men and he will do a better job of saving men than men could ever do. When Paul arrived in Thessalonica that we read in this first chapter in the in the bottom part of the second verse he says we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict will conflict with those who did not like the message God had to give to him and then he continues down in verse five he says, for neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know your cloak of covetousness God is witness. We didn't use flattering words, the Thessalonians would've been the first one to tell you that did not come to say to them what wonderful people you are as you are. You don't need God you're so decent and kind. Quite the opposite. He told him the hard truth that they were lost. There were sinners that their religion was junk that they need a Savior.

His name is Jesus Christ. There was no one else. That's the message he gave to them and when he says I didn't flatter you, you meant it.

They did not want to be flattered they did not need to be flattered whether they knew it or not what they needed was the truth and they got it they recognize it, and the truth set them free and so as he was so effective in sharing the gospel in Thessalonica that a riot was caused try to shut him up.

Try to stop him from making converts. So what we find in this little letter and Thessalonians in the second chapter especially is a template for sharing the faith with the lost wellies chased out of Thessalonica as we have been careful to mention as we move through these two chapters, but he loved them, love them because of the Holy Spirit because it would God was doing his life. He says in verse eight we resume now.

So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. Perfectionist cared is an expression of care what's in the heart and so he says we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel now this is something that I think many of us can benefit from being reminded from the Scripture that it's not enough to share the gospel. There are those that think well enough. I just sow the seed that's all I have to do the easy work. Many times depends if you're afraid to sell so the sealer can be very difficult but is not enough to just share the good news. That's what he says to them is not a drive-by approach. We want to present ourselves to you. Make ourselves available and visible. You can see how we live. You can see were living up to the things we say we believe in or not. Many Christians are not comfortable with sharing their faith. I think one reason why is it not passionate about the faith they agree with it.

They enjoy benefit from additional passion you know when someone falls in love with someone the quite irritating. They won't stop talking about the other one was all just getting the truck driver will then want to walk on water, sarcasm, we don't say that. Hopefully, because we've all been there more. Most of us have been you love someone, you can help.

Talking about them because should you notice everything, there's passion. This is the idea behind the song of Solomon. The passion that belong to the bride and the groom, the Lord and his church, and so when you find a Christian that is shy, not willing to let people know I believe most cases, you find someone who has allowed the fire of the flame to die down, say, how do I get back we can start by asking you can start by recognizing it. When you sing to the Lord.

Is there any passion doesn't mean you cannot yet onset go back and forth in body has to move that some folks are like that and that's fine. But what's in the heart. You know, Elijah the prophet said bring me a musician. I think I think one reason why was pretty upset with the 3 Kingswood Lost Their Way to them being lost spiritually.

One very confused about who he was, spiritually, but save. Nonetheless, Jehoshaphat, Elisha says bring me a musician because if I don't tone it down. I'm going to call fire on you guys doesn't say that that's what I read into it and the musicians come and they they singsong ministers to me. Probably just sat there.

Let's just soaked it in and then he delivered the word and the power of God. Peter writing to the Christians under persecution.

In his first letter said why would likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word they without a word may be one of the conduct of their wives when they observe your Chase conduct accompanied by fear. Peter is saying the loss to watching you.

Don't underestimate the power of this witness make it or turn it into a testimony, the witness is living the life.

The testimony is the story that follows the results about living the life course. Peter knew you could not just live the life that was not enough, had also preaching so he goes on to say we are to preach the word meekness in respect to every man an answer. He says now of your Savior come to church and you say what I'm not passionate. What do you understand your salvation you have to be able to articulate it. You can do that through love, not a fan of 20 ways to share your faith.

I'm a fan of one-way love on the Lord, truly love him. He will do it. He will fill you, you would tell the other person about the one you love.

What is your beloved that you so charge us. They say in the book and the song of Solomon and she starts up and she doesn't shut up. My beloved is talks about his teeth's hair. Everything about him attention to detail. This should be the Christian witness. I fear as a pastor that when I get to share the gospel with a stranger in it private setting which doesn't happen so often anymore that I may have lost that passion with the lost and they want to get to them in our deeper understanding of the Scripture, that would be a mistake.

So I remind myself to when it's my chance to share the gospel share it like a new love new believer does so, he says, but also our our lives now there are false prophets who want to say do not judge our ungodly living. They won't say it like that with their they are saying stop judging me where you live you the way you live is judging you. I'm just pointing it out.

They'll say don't judge bad teaching bad doctrine. Just understand that I am right.

Believe me, because the crowds, they sit through my heresy again. They won't say it that way but this is what is taking place.

How do we know what they have departed from the Scripture and then out saying their own thing and the people lapping it up, whether they know what they want their lost and so we are to give not only a verbal witness but a visual witness that's called discipleship. Isaiah the prophet wrote to the law to the testimony.

They do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And so God Paul says, because you had become dear to us. God had put love in the hearts of the Thessalonians. Also, verse nine, we continue for you. Remember, brethren, our labor and toil for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you we preach to you the gospel of God.

We live it. We talked it.

You need the two of them together. They knew how Paul was they sought. They witnessed it, they were there laboring night and day.

He says your mother's work is never done a pastor's work is never done a believer's work is never done till gutters come home. That is how we are supposed to approach life. It's hard to do it that way. It's hard not to do it that way. I think to be a Christian to be hounded by a sense of guilt that I'm not, at least, desiring the things that God has for me. It's don't underestimate the power of desire in Christ you can say I want to be a better servant. I want to be more pure, clean in Christ. I keep failing. Do you want yes then you must learn to fight and to work at the same time not one at a time or else you will just have guilt punish the devil how work work for the Lord. Live as best as you can.

Don't take it lightly.

Prayer is very difficult. Most of us don't like doing now. It doesn't help that God's way is is way higher than our way and sometimes he doesn't seem to respond to listen to our prayers, but he does.

We don't pray because we want something ideally we do.

That's part of it but ideally it is because we want God we want his will.

We don't know what his will is less he share with us in the usually shares that through dialogue and interaction with this people of no faith in prayer whatsoever. I have faith in Jesus Christ. I don't know why Christians have a hard time with that state. I don't trust my prayers. I trust the one I'm praying to. Now you remember Moses praying over Joshua and the armies as they fought there in the valley against the Amalekites and Moses grew weary. They had to prop them up with the stone and Erin and a man named her unfortunate name in the English had to hold his arms up because when you let them down. Joshua's army would be turned back when he held them up. Joshua's army would turn the enemy back in one of the lessons out of that is prayer is wearisome. It's hard it's difficult sometimes you need someone to help hold you up Paul in his first letter to Timothy speaking about here, he says, laboring night and day. He says let the elders who ruled well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in doctrine. So he's saying that I Paul know what it's like to work, labor, night and day to work with my own hands in the world to provide a living for myself and to also be ready to preach the gospel in a way that it is a active and engaging in fruitful in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

And then he says to the churches into the assemblies from the point. He writes it to this present day, you take care of those men who God is sent to you.

The laborer is worthy of his work wages. You shall not muzzle the while it treads out the grain. Do the math.

Think about it. We talked about this earlier. The cult shame Christians and how they care for their churches and their clergy and how they give of themselves and of their means is not a pitch. It's a point if you don't take care of those men of God.

Why should God take care of you and he develops the thought later but the point is here he was when he was in Thessalonica. He worked when he moved on the car.

He worked even more. In fact, I think when he got the car it he was so charged up by the victory in Thessalonica from where he writes this first letter is in current writing this letter. He says men of this is a bigger city if I can just have the results in Corinth that I had in Thessalonica think what would happen and I believe that help Paul stay in the fight in Corinth so when he finally says I wanted to come back to you in Thessalonica when I was chased out of wanted to come back. Satan hindered us in the broad meaning, but part of the meaning is, I'm here in current and I cannot get to Thessalonica because if I leave the work here in Corinth. Satan's going to get the victory site and stay here deal with this.

I want to get to you but I can't prioritize bit of triage says here again in verse nine that we might not be a burden to any of you pastors must be careful to not be a weight on the flock.

First Corinthians chapter 11 Paul writes in everything. I kept myself from being burdensome to you and so I will keep myself again. He writes to them in his second letter and currently writes to them, he says for the third time I'm ready to come to you and I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek yours, but you for the children ought not lay up for the parents but the parents for the children in our understanding of leadership in Christ Jesus. He says here in verse nine of the Thessalonians were back to our text again. He says we preach to you the gospel of God, he would rather die than contradict the faith in the message. The good news of God again. First Corinthians 915 better for me to die than that anyone should make my posting void and I love this section. He starts out first Corinthians with with these is my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration power of the spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit that status the way to go about ministry not just for pastors but for all Christians. I have noticed that many great Christian man of our time when they get tied up too much in the Reformation and the apostolic agent.

After the apostles. They get too much into the philosophies and the arguments of the faith, and that he stopped, drifting from the word a little bit and they get a little dull, kooky to begin to uphold doctrines that have much good in them, but assistance something missing from them and we like to learn all of us would love for someone to give us a new tidbit on something especially if it's and if it's an anecdote about you and also mixes some event in life story that that took place that makes the point. Now I'm not saying all of this is that not by any means, but I what I am saying is I have noticed that much learning can make you mad if you're not careful you can make you it's it's Dean on the extreme side, but the can take something from us when we step out of the word of God, and we been going through this in Lamentations and in Thessalonians, the Jews had gotten rid of the Scripture of Moses and the prophets and in its place. They were now teaching what the rabbis taught until finally the rabbis teachings were about Scripture anymore but about tradition. You might remember fiddler on the roof when we do that is why we whether prayer cloth. Why do we go to Sabbath tradition whose tradition rabbinical the rabbis the teachers the pastors had become the dominant force in Judaism.

What was the result of this happen after they came back from the captivity of 70 years in Babylon.

They came back and they develop this rabbinical form of authority within Judaism and when the temple was finally destroyed, what would it ended. They did not recognize the Messiah the district the temple was destroyed, and then it's supercharged to this very day. Certain sects of Judaism. They actually prayed to Ted rabbis said they don't better don't have the basics of the Scripture. Don't they know that God said I killed Saul because he dared to talk to the dead do they know that no they don't. They don't read the Scriptures and so we are supposed to look at this Christmas will act like I learned something before the Lord because he taught me. That's why he's given us the Holy Spirit. Thank you God for sending Jesus, thank you Jesus that you came Holy Spirit want to teach us more about his lovely name Peter writes about the same thing. This honorable conduct. We look now in verse 10 Thessalonians chapter 2, your witnesses, and God also has powerful how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe man I wish I could say that devout just blameless warming going to be wrong, but as I was said of me. I feel I have violated these things, but I think humility was to have a lot of not allow any of us to boasting these things your witnesses. God also this devoutness. This dedication this this just to be just involves not only doing the right thing, but understanding it, appreciating it blameless.

Now you know a tendency of whoever Christian who struggles with legalism. Legalism is always judging the other person and always thinking about itself. The legalist is always self-centered when it comes to thinking and it always is, is over is always critical of others.

That's how it lives it thrives off of that Paul was not that type E was a saying we were devout we were just we were blameless because were better than you need to change everything and conform to us he was just saying you are there you know that we dedicated ourselves to the gospel. That's the devoutness you know that when we spoke to people about their ways. You know in the early church there were people who are polygamists that come out of the Gentile is not an endorsement of polygamy but they were, they had multiple wives and they would get converted or could they do send their wives and children out into where Paul said, you know, this is an awful situation to deal with this. They dealt with and it must've been very difficult patients in the love of God we think about and song of Solomon again.

It speaks of Solomon and his concubines is not an endorsement.

It's how it was God's superior. He's wise and merciful and he knows how to deal with these things and he too has to apply triage when the Jews said we are not weighted when three to have five items that we do not want to enter the promised land that you promised us. We like this other side more.

Can we have God's mercy. That said, I'll give it to you.

You parents. You know sometimes you don't like something your child is doing and you just can't slam down your fine find out find out the hard way. You have to, let it go, lest you be viewed as a tyrant and so what were talking about is a holy and righteous God, and messed up human beings were sinners whole called entire cultures and societies ruined by sin, then the gospel shows up. Legalist says run from get rid of it magic. Paula said well you are polygamists that stop that now not saying he endorsed anybody prohibitions on the but he did not shoot that take. Well, you gotta take your two lesser wives and their children and just drawn out on the streets move thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of first Thessalonians cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry.

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