APPROVED AND ENTRUSTED GODLY MESSENGERS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“It’s all about the Benjamins.”

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase before, one that suggests that everything in life is really about money with the “Benjamins” referring to $100 bills where you will find the picture of Benjamin Franklin. It originated from a 1996 rap song by Puff Daddy and later ended up being the title for a movie in 2002.

Of course, before this catchphrase became prevalent we had this one:

“Follow the money.”

This saying came from the movie “All the President’s Men” in 1976 and implied that all corruption and evil can be exposed by tracing the flow of money.

What’s the point?

Well, unfortunately this idea of greed and cash flow has entered the Christian church, and it’s not just a present day phenomenon.

Go back to the Bible in the Old Testament and you will find kings doing evil in plain sight of the Lord, using the riches He provided for sinful purposes.

And then there was Judas Iscariot, the treasurer for Jesus and his disciples. Before he would decide to sell Jesus out for 30 silver coins, we learn this in John’s Gospel:

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”

He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (12:4-6).

Finally, we come to a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who decided to lie about funds they held back for themselves instead of giving to the Lord. We read about them in the fifth chapter of Acts:

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. (Vv. 1-10)

Countless kings of Israel and Judah, Judas Iscariot, and the couple, Ananias and Sapphira. All biblical examples of people who were “all about the Benjamins” and committed sins that could be found by following the money.

Today, there are many churches who are also more concerned about what they bring in financially than what they provide spiritually. Many pastors only preach what their congregants want to hear, sermons that will make them feel good before being convicted. Ungrounded promises of wealth and health are transmitted with regularity. And the ways of the world, sinful as they are, are not only integrated into the church but accepted.

Indeed, in many churches today, pastoral and doctrinal integrity needs to come back to the forefront and this is only going to happen when the Lord and the authority of His inerrant word is uncompromisingly preached and taught in all completeness.

In other words, we need to ensure our Gospel and Bible messengers are genuinely approved and entrusted by God to do the work they are doing.

As we look at our passage for today from our continued study of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, we find the Apostle Paul speaking to the subject of authenticity within in ministry work as he writes to the believers in Thessalonica. Look again at his words here:

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority (Vv. 3-6).

Here, we find Paul verifying the Gospel credibility that he and his fellow missionaries carried.

First, he and the others came with motives that were true and pure. They didn’t go to Thessalonica or anywhere else with the plan to trick people. Rather, their only goal was to make sure that everyone knew about God’s plan of salvation for all people, whether Jew or Gentile, through belief in His Son Jesus.

That was it.

They weren’t interested in getting rich but rather helping others gain the riches of eternity and they did so as people “approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel”.

Second, their ministry work wasn’t carried out to “pleased people”. Paul and the others didn’t water down their messages so their listeners would feel good about where they were as they lived in sin. They didn’t patronize others and use false flattery to get what they wanted. Rather, they held themselves as accountable to the God who appointed and anointed them to carry out His will and way, knowing that He would test their hearts.

Finally, Paul and his fellow missionaries didn’t cover up greed. Arguably the greatest evangelist after Jesus ascended to Heaven, Paul wasn’t wealthy by any means. Like many missionaries today who are willing to leave their comfort zone to bring the Gospel to the unreached, Paul and the other missionaries relied on donations from the Christian churches to have enough to just get by.   

Ultimately, with God as their witness, Paul and the others with him were only interested in pleasing God, the One who appointed and entrusted them with the Gospel. As we work to carry out the Great Commission every day, let us follow their lead and not only serve with integrity but demand it from others, especially our church pastors and leaders.

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

PERSEVERING SERVICE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel in the face of strong opposition.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Paul was on his second missionary journey when he visited Philippi, described in the scriptures as a “Roman colony and the leading city” of the district of Macedonia (Acts 16:12). You may recall he went there after experiencing a vision while in Troas where a man was “standing and begging him” to “Come over to Macedonia and help us. (16:8).” Paul interpreted the vision as God calling him and the others to go and preach the gospel in Macedonia and this is what led him to Philippi (16:10).

Here’s what happened during his visit there:

1. He met a woman named Lydia.

There wasn’t a synagogue everywhere that Paul visited and it’s evident this was the case in Philippi. And so the Apostle went to where you would usually find believers, in a place of prayer near a river (Acts 16:13-15).

The scriptures tell us that it was the Sabbath as Paul discovered a group of women gathered together. One of them was a “woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia”, a merchant dealer of “purple cloth”. Thyatira was located in Asia across the Aegean Sea from Philippi so it’s obvious Lydia had relocated and set up to set up business.

Now, today we wouldn’t think there was any more value in purple cloth as found in red, blue, orange, or any other color but in biblical times, it was an item of luxury and people paid greatly for it. What made Lydia’s success story even more impressive was that she was a businesswoman operating in a culture that was male dominant. It’s obvious the God she worshipped was blessing her.

As Paul spoke to the group and taught them about the Gospel, God’s word tells us that “the Lord opened” Lydia’s “heart to respond to Paul’s message”. She and “the members of her household were baptized” and she then persuaded Paul and those with him to stay at her home, an offer they accepted.

2. The slave woman with a spirit within her.

Things didn’t stay peaceful long for Paul, Silas, and the others.

For as they were heading back to the place of prayer, they were “met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future” (Acts 16:16-24). The woman was profitable for her owners who used her for fortune telling.

Well, the scriptures tell us the woman followed Paul and those with him shouting:

“These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

We read where this went on for many days before Paul became annoyed. He turned to the woman and said to the spirit within her:

“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”

Immediately, the spirit departed and the slave’s owners lost their hope of making money. Angered, they “seized Paul and Silas”, dragging them “into the marketplace to face the authorities”. A crowd formed and “joined in the attack” on Paul and Silas as the magistrates ordered them to “be stripped and beaten with rods” before being thrown into prison. The jailer was “commanded to guard them carefully” and so he “put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks”.

3. The jailer’s conversion.

The Lord always has a purpose for everything, even after a flogging and imprisonment (Acts 16:25-40).

God’s word tells us that it was “about midnight” when “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” with the “other prisoners...listening to them”. All of a sudden, a “violent earthquake” shook “the foundations of the prison” and all the jail cell “doors flew open” and “everyone’s chains came loose”.

The earthquake jarred the jailer awake from his sleep and when he saw that the prison doors were open, he assumed the prisoners escaped which would have led to his execution for failing to guard them as ordered. The jailer was so distraught that he “drew his sword and was about to kill himself”. Thankfully, Paul intervened, shouting to the jailer:

“Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

After calling for the lights to be turned on, the jailer rushed in and immediately fell at the feet of Paul and Silas, asking them:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

To which, Paul and Silas replied:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

And with that, Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord” to the jailer and “all the others in his house”. The jailer “washed their wounds” and then “he and all his household were baptized” immediately before the “jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them”. The scriptures tell us the jailer “was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household”.

At daylight, “the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer” with the following order:

“Release those men.”

And so the jailer told Paul:

“The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

But Paul was indignant, saying to the officers:

“They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

Paul’s insistent request went from the officers to the magistrates who became alarmed after learning that “Paul and Silas were Roman citizens”. And so we read where “they came to appease the apostles and then “escorted them from the prison” before “requesting them to leave the city”. Paul and Silas would first go to “Lydia’s house” to meet with and encourage the “brothers and sisters” there before departing Philippi and heading to Thessalonica.

Going back to our verses for today, you can see what Paul meant when he tells the Thessalonian Christians that he had “previously suffered” and was “treated outrageously in Philippi”.

Now consider that this was one stop of many in Paul’s Gospel spreading tour. He would go onto do two other missionary journeys after the one he was on when he went to Thessalonica and every stop seemed to have its own set of troubles.

And yet, Paul pressed on because he was a persevering servant. The cause of Christ was more important to him than any opposition or adversity.

Why did Paul share this with the Thessalonian believers and why have his words been preserved over the ages for us to study today?

Because Paul wanted those who would serve like him, and all Christ followers have been given the same Great Commission he received, to dare to tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ” anywhere or anytime, even in the face of strong opposition. Friends, being an evangelist is not for the faint of heart. Jesus was crucified for it. Paul was severely persecuted for it. And neither of them gave up.

We can’t either so let us adopt this life attitude of Paul, the life attitude of a persevering servant, a life attitude ironically shared with the Christian believers in Philippi:

“...what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Philippians 1:19-21, 27-29).

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

THE ELEMENTS OF PROPER GOSPEL SHARING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

All Christian believers are called to share the Gospel and help make disciples of Jesus.

We know this because of this very command given by our Savior:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus had absolute authority over all creation when He gave this order to carry on the work that He began and note that He is always with us so we are accountable to Him for what we do and don’t do.

I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to let Christ down after all He did to save me.

And so, we are to go and make disciples, ensuring they are baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit while teaching them to obey everything that Jesus commanded but as we see in today’s passage from 1 Thessalonians 1, there are some important components that need to be present as we carry out Jesus’ demand for evangelism. Look again at these words here:

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. Vv. 4-5a

First of all, note that those we bring the Gospel to are chosen by God for salvation. He so loved everyone that He surrendered and sacrificed His one and only Son Jesus so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but rather gain eternal life (John 3:16).

Paul reminds his Thessalonian brothers and sisters in Christ that they had been chosen by God the Father to receive the Gospel about Jesus, His Son, a Gospel delivered by Paul and his fellow missionaries. That Gospel wasn’t just a collection of mere words but rather there were three critical elements in play that ensured proper delivery of God’s message of salvation through Christ. These elements included:

1. Power.

When Jesus introduced the Gospel through Himself, you may recall how people marveled over the authority by which He spoke. That’s because there was a special, divine power within the words that He spoke, a power from God Himself. That same power that was in Jesus comes to dwell in us as well when we share the Gospel with others. Paul affirmed as much when he wrote this in the first chapter of his letter to the Romans:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (v.16).

2. The Holy Spirit

Jesus knew He would be crucified, resurrected, and then brought back to Heaven where He would sit in authority over all creation at His Father’s right hand. And so He wanted His disciples to know that they would not be abandoned after He departed for God would send someone who would walk alongside them in life to lead and guide them to His purposes. Here’s what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, the sixteenth chapter:

“...very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you.” Vv.7-15

As we carry out the Great Commission, Jesus is with us through the end of the age via the Holy Spirit through which He leads and guides us in our Gospel-sharing work. It’s a wonderful comfort and assurance for us when sometimes we feel ill equipped to carry out the salvation work we are called to do.

The bottom line is that Jesus is always with us, no matter what we are called to do as Christians. The scriptures which are grounded in absolute truth assure us of this and so we can go forth to share the Gospel with this third and final important element.

3. Deep conviction.

At its core definition, a conviction is simply a firmly held belief. In other words, when we are going forth to share the Gospel, it is because we firmly believe that the salvation we are talking about through belief in Jesus is true.

It’s true, right?

No one is going to buy into God’s offer of salvation if we present it with unsurety, showing uncertainty and insecurity over what we’re saying. After all, if we don’t really believe it, why would someone else?

This is where the power of God within the Gospel message, the leading of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and the complete inerrancy of the scriptures are so important for we are sharing the opportunity of salvation for others with full holy support, a support that provides us with the bold confidence to go forth and carry out our calling.

Thanks be to God for the way He equips us to help others get saved.

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com