A Ministry of Truth and Faithfulness

Transcript

GRM 505
11/17/1996
Ministry of Truth
I Thessalonians 2:1-14
Gil Rugh

I thought tonight we’d look at a passage relating to the ministry and particularly the way Paul carried out his ministry. In I Thessalonians chapter 2. As I thought about Mike moving to take on his responsibility in Hammond, Indiana, I thought about my ministry here, our ministry together as a church. I reflected back on I Thessalonians 2 where the apostle Paul shared something of his ministry and how he carried it out, the context in which he carried it out. And chapter 2 comes in the context of a defense of his ministry. And yet as he defends his ministry he shares with us how he carried out that ministry and what motivated him, the love he had for God’s people in the carrying out of God’s ministry. Interestingly as Paul defends his ministry he simply tells the Thessalonians, think about the ministry I’ve had with you, and what God has done in the ministry that I carried out among you. That would help to resolve the questions of the attacks that would come and they come in every ministry. Mike will experience them in the ministry he moves to. Everyone in the ministry experiences the personal attacks. And one of the ways the devil attempts to undermine the ministry is to undermine people’s confidence in the man that God has called and appointed to lead the ministry and teach his word. And the apostle Paul experienced that repeatedly in his ministry. We find his defense is going on in various letters and God uses that to bring to our attention what the ministry is all about and how it is to be carried on.


We pick up in chapter 2 as Paul says, “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.” Let me go back and reiterate to you the ministry that I had when I was with you. The “for” that starts this chapter and starts this verse connects immediately back to verse 9 of chapter 1. “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” The testimony of the church of Thessalonica was widely known. God had used the apostle Paul as he had come and shared the word with them. Their lives were changed and the reality of the work of the spirit of God in them had spread abroad. In fact he said in verse 8 that he didn’t need to tell people about the Thessalonicians. Wherever he went people were already talking about them and their testimony. What a glorious thing to be said about a church, to have that kind of testimony, that kind of love for the Lord, that kind of transformed life. “You yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.” There is a warmth and a love that he has and he wants that love to be reciprocated. “We didn’t come to you in vain.” You know the apostle Paul’s ministry, and he had a concern about this wherever he went, was one based upon the word of God, one carried out in the spirit of God. It was not a hollow ministry, not void of content, not void of power. You know when Paul evaluates his ministry and gives evidence of its effectiveness before God, he doesn’t give us numbers. But he will share what the heart of his ministry was, and how it was carried out. And that marks its effectiveness. “...It was not in vain,? He said back in chapter 1, verse 5, “our gospel did not come to you in word only.” I think it is basically the same thing. I just didn’t come talking, but it was in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. He came proclaiming the gospel as he will unfold further in chapter 2. Paul was always concerned that his ministry would be one of substance, not empty, not hollow. I Corinthians 15:58 he mentions not wanting to have ministered in vain and to have run in vain. Galatians chapter 2, verse 2 says the same thing. Philippians chapter 2, verse 16 emphasizes the same thing. Paul was concerned that he have a ministry with a substance and the substance was the living and abiding word of God.

What he does now is take them back to remember how he came to be at Thessalonica, “but after we had already we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel amid much opposition.” We don’t have time to go back to the account in Acts chapter 16, but Paul had ministered the word in Philippi. And he suffered greatly there. He was publicly flogged. A very severe punishment, in fact it was of the nature that it was forbidden to flog a Roman citizen unless he had been formerly tried and sentenced. At Philippi they bypassed that not knowing that Paul was a Roman and he endured this indignity, this suffering, this pain. Out of it came the salvation of the Philippian jailer you remember. He had been mistreated in Philippi, then he moved on and came to Thessalonica. It was coming out of that kind of context where he had been insulted, slandered, physically abused, imprisoned. Now he comes to a new city. You might think that this was an R and R kind of occasion, just to get away, retire, be quiet. But Paul comes in and had boldness. He says in verse 2, “we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.” I thought of this, I didn’t want it to be misunderstood since Mike is going on to ministry, I wouldn’t want to think that he is going to Hammond and say, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Lincoln, as you know, we had the boldness to speak to you. I trust you’ll have the boldness. For Paul it came out of a difficult situation. A hard ministry but an effective ministry. We still share the testimony of the Philippian jailer, the marvelous conversion of his family, but you understand that Paul had to go through very difficult situation for God to bring about that result. Now he is at Thessalonica.


Now at Thessalonica we have the boldness in our God. And this word “boldness,” a word that denotes a freedom of speech, denotes the ability to speak the word confidently and clearly. It is a word that is used, if fact the verb is always used in the New Testament of preaching the gospel. And that context when it is truly preached, its preached with a freedom and a confidence, a boldness that is given by God. That is what he says, “we have the boldness in our God.” The world will give you courses and instruction; you can read books on how to be confident, how to speak with confidence, how to be bold. I’m not saying there is not something to be learned, but we’re talking about a holy boldness, a God given boldness, a supernatural boldness. This is a boldness with the gospel. And only God can give that. After 27 years in the ministry I can find myself intimidated when it comes to speaking forth the gospel. I need to remind myself I must do it in the strength and power God provides. There can be no alterations, no adjustments. I must speak freely in my God. Find my strength and sufficiency and boldness. Often when I am sitting on the front row here, waiting to come up, I will remind myself that the difficulties of the past week, the problems you may have, the insecurity you may feel, all of that is irrelevant. You are not here to represent yourself; you are here to speak as clearly as you can the truth of God and your feelings, your problems are of no moment and of no importance. Paul says, “I speak with boldness in our God.” What did he speak? “We speak to you the gospel of God.” The gospel of God, the truth of God. That truth’s focus in His son, Jesus Christ. But, it is an encompassing message. I remember the apostle Paul told the Ephesian Elders that “I am free from the blood of all men because I have told you the whole counsel of God.” The truth of God is his good news. That truth has at its core the person and work of His son, Jesus Christ in providing redemption. We spoke to you the gospel of God in boldness, amid much opposition. You know this singleness of focus of Paul brought much of the dynamic to his ministry in the power of the Spirit. Remember with the Corinthians he said, “when I came to you I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Anything I have to say, all that I teach will be tied to this glorious anchor. Jesus Christ and Him crucified; He is the savior. That is the message I bring, so he said I come and bring the gospel of God. How important it is for we who minister the gospel to remember what we are about. We’re not here to build great churches, we’re not here to accomplish social work, we’re not here to organize communities, we’re here to present the truth of God. To present His revealed truth.

Paul had to do that again amid much opposition. At the end of verse 2. You know Paul’s difficulties didn’t stop when he left Philippi. You know why? He didn’t stop doing what he did at Philippi. What did he do at Philippi that caused so much problem? He brought to them the glorious message of Jesus Christ. And he would only have that presented in its purity and clarity and when the demon possessed girl wanted to announce, listen to these men, they are servants of the most high God, they are telling you the message of salvation. He’d have none of that support from that realm. He turned and cast the demon out. You analyze that in Philippians 16, there was nothing theologically wrong with what that demon said. But the source that it was coming from is not an acceptable testimony. So he cast the demon out. It could only be the gospel of God presented by a servant of God. And Philippi goes bananas and Paul goes to Prison. Well, here we are at Thessalonica. What happens? He preaches the word, he teaches the word, and there is opposition, opposition, opposition. “Amid much opposition.” Word used translated opposition is a word that is an athletic word. We get the English word agony from it. There was intense conflict. There was intense struggle that took place at Thessalonica even as there had been at Philippi. You know it is one thing that we as the servants of God and particularly those who are called to the pastorate must keep in mind. We tend to think we ought to have a good and comfortable life, everybody ought to love us, everybody ought to think well of us, everybody ought to respect us. But it’s just not so, it’s just not so. You know I remember Paul said to the Corinthians, oh now you reign, of course you reign. The kingdom must have started for you. We apostles, were the ones that are what, the dregs of society, the outcast of society. Something is wrong, something is wrong today in the same way. The idea the way certain ministries are carried out, that you know we’ve got one foot in the kingdom and it is all good in glory. And you know that’s just not the true ministry of the word of God. It can’t be true here at Indian Hills and it won’t be true for Mike in Hammond. The word of God stirs opposition because it is the word of God. And that is found unacceptable and offensive.


Back up to I Corinthians 16. You know that doesn’t mean that we ought to be discouraged by this, we just need to realize that it is often in the midst of tremendous conflict, in the face of the greatest difficulties, the most unpleasant situations that God does His greatest work through us. In I Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 8, the apostle Paul says in writing to the Corinthians, “but I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.” Why? “For a wide door for effective service has opened to me.” Now that ended there, you know what we would think. That means here is a place where finally God’s removed all the obstacles, all the difficulties, all the persecution, all the hardships. Paul has the liberty for a real ministry now. Then we read the last part of the verse. “And there are many adversaries.” An open door for ministry doesn’t mean a lack of adversaries, often it means intense adversity, increased adversaries. Because obviously if the word of God is going to be proclaimed in its purity and you are the opponent of the living God, the opponent of His truth, where will you marshal your forces and intensify your opposition? You think the devil lacks wisdom in this area. So here there is a wide door open and there are many adversaries. You just cannot measure the effectiveness of the ministry by the difficulties unless it is a reverse measure. Often it’s is greater difficulty means greater ministry, and so Paul acknowledged it, that’s why-. Thumb over to Timothy, just after Thessalonians, a letter to the Thessalonians. In I Timothy, chapter 6, Paul encourages the young man Timothy in ministry and he says in verse 12, I Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith. Interesting, fight the good fight of faith. Be totally involved in the battle Timothy. Be unrelenting in the warfare. We like to play down this today. We don’t want to use fight analogies, warfare pictures. You know we want it to be more of an acceptable ministry in a broader way. We have to decides whether we want what the world wants or what God wants. Over in II Timothy, chapter 4, verse 7, Paul doesn’t ask Timothy to do anything he himself didn’t do. So he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” Note that, right up to the end the process has already begun that will culminate in his martyrdom. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” Paul doesn’t say, “I wish I hadn’t made it such an issue. If I only hadn’t made it a battle.” No regrets. Thankfulness to God that he had been faithful. Popular, no. Faithful, yes. You are aware in chapter 1 of II Timothy, verse 15, that the apostle Paul had the said experience that all those who had experienced his ministry, stood with him when it came time to stand with him, who were from Asia, abandoned him. Verse 15, “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. What a sad testimony. It’s that apostle Paul’s abrasive personality perhaps. Perhaps he didn’t go about it right. No, for apostle Paul the truth is the truth, and I preach the truth. That is too much for some people, that is too much even for some believers. The cost gets too great, too many friends lost, too many family members antagonized, I can’t take it any longer. All those who are in Asia walked away, I just can’t go on Paul, it’s too costly.


Back up to Thessalonians. “For our exhortation does not come by error or impurity or by way of deceit.” And we won’t delve into the details of this, we’ve just spent some time studying II Peter. There we see the character, the motives of false teachers, and his exhortation doesn’t come from error, impurity or deceit. “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts.” You know, no crafty message. You’ll note that last word there, Paul did not resort to craftiness or trickery to try to win converts. He was accused of this, oh he’s manipulating you, he’s using you, Paul’s recourse was always, I taught you the word of God, I taught you the word of God, I taught you the word of God. I didn’t use deceit. I didn’t alter the message. He said in II Corinthians 2 at the end of that chapter, I wasn’t a huckster with the word of God, I didn’t make adjustments with the word. I didn’t hold back from teaching you anything. That’s not the way I carried on my ministry, and its not the way I want to carry on my ministry. It’s not the way any of us who are committed to the word of God want to carry on our ministry. You’ll note the connection in verse 4. “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.” I have underlined in my Bible, “approved to be entrusted.” “Approved to be entrusted.” Paul’s ministry was a result of divine appointment. And I take it, any ministry that is to be used and empowered by God must be. I’m not an apostle, I don’t receive the gospel from direct revelation as Paul did. You know the uniqueness about him, but for all of us who carry on ministry there is a sense as God has placed His hand upon us, called us to ministry, appointed us to His service, in the place of His appointment. We have been entrusted with the gospel. He placed me here over 27 years ago with a responsibility. He entrusted to me His word to teach to you. Mike will go to Hammond entrusted with the gospel with one, soul driving purpose above everything else to faithfully communicate God’s truth to those people. We have been “approved.” This word means to be put to the test and found approved or genuine, used of testing metals or coins. The picture here is God selects His messenger. He refines them and tests them, ultimately approves them.

It’s in the perfect tense here, “approved” which indicates it has happened and the impact of that continues. Entrusted with the gospel we see the sovereign, divine responsibility that has been placed upon a person in this position. “Approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.” We proclaim it as a result of having passed, if you will, the divine test. God calls us, tests us, and approves us. That is why it was Paul’s intention to constantly be faithful. He had been approved as a minister of the gospel to be entrusted with the gospel. So what does he do? “So we speak,” “so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who examines our heart.” The test is not over. The approval stands, but there is an ongoing evaluation in my ministry and I cannot deviate. It is not enough to have been faithful. He examines our hearts. I must speak so that I stand before you with a clear, pure conscious, before God. It may or it may not be pleasing to you, but I am not called to be pleasing to you. I am called to please the One who appointed me to service. That’s the call of the ministry.

Now it is pleasing to those if it is a ministry of the word, then those who are responsive to the word, submissive to God, find that ministry pleasing. Jesus told the people of His day, you don’t want to hear what I have to say because you’re not interested in the message of my Father. So to say that we come desiring to be offensive. I realize when people don’t respond to the word it is more difficult in ministry. I acknowledge that I have an easier ministry in many ways than many people do, because many have responded to the word, and many take it in and assimilate it into their lives, and are thrilled by it, and encourage me. But were that not so my responsibility is simple in one sense, I am to minister the truth. I am to do it in season and out of season, but I am to minister the truth, we speak not as pleasing men.

That’s why it is such a travesty that we have ministries that are oriented to people in the sense we take surveys to find out what people want. The kind of sermons they would like, we want people to be comfortable. That is not my role. My role is to say what God has said. If you are not comfortable with that then you have to resolve that with God. If I say what God has said and you are comfortable with that, praise God for the agreement He has brought about.


“For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed, God as a witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others.” So three areas he denies were influential in his ministry. He didn’t use flattery, he wasn’t motivated by greed, he didn’t seek glory. We never came with flattering speech as you know. Greek word here has the idea of using of words, pleasing words as a means of gaining an end. Saying nice things to people so that you accomplish your goals. I mean I want you to like me, so I want to say to you what you would like me to say to you. That’s flattery. I’m trying to be pleasing to you in the wrong sense. Not pleasing to you by being willing to serve you as a representative of God, but I am trying to curry your favor. I try to say the things I know you want to hear and that way you will like me. Paul said that never was a motivating factor in my ministry, I never used flattery. I never tried to adjust my words and say things so that people would like me.

“Nor did I come with a pretext for greed, God is witness.” This becomes a matter that is often hard to tell what is in the heart. You know it is money that changes hands. I am privileged to be supported financially in the ministry. If I do it for greed and so Paul says God is my witness that wasn’t my motive. We have to examine ourselves. If there were no pay in it what would I do? I would preach the word. What did Paul do? Preached the word.


I had to come to the point in my life, I remember talking to the Lord. I said Lord, if I am never paid a dime, I have to preach your word. I trust that was the desire of my heart and continues to be. We must examine ourselves. We’re not in it for material things. We’re in it for faithfulness to God. Not as a pretext for greed. Self-seeking, self-satisfaction wouldn’t have to be just limited to money here but for selfish ends. There is glory in the ministry. I mean people come and hear you, they respect you and so on. Paul said, that didn’t drive me. Nor did he seek glory from men, glory from men. He wasn’t motivated by the desire to have the praise of men. You know what he says? I didn’t seek praise from you or from others, neither one. Even though as apostles I could have claimed the right to respect and honor. I didn’t seek glory, I didn’t seek praise from men.

You know when you start wondering what people think about you, when you start worrying whether they think well of you, when you start fretting because they are not holding you up or giving you the honor that you think you deserve, your ministry is in trouble. I have to constantly ask myself, Gil did you faithfully teach that passage in the word today. Did you honor God by faithfully handling His word? There is always the sense that you could have done a better job. But I ask myself was that my goal? Gil, honestly, did you say things in that sermon that weren’t said to clarify the word, to help in that passage, but you did it for selfish reasons? Ultimately Paul says, and he writes to the Corinthians, in those motives I have to leave that with the Lord, because I can’t even trust my sinful heart. God will judge my motives at the appointed day. We didn’t seek glory from men, either from you or for others.

Then he goes on to talk about how he carried out the ministry. We’ll just highlight a few things here. He uses a comparison of a mother and a father caring and nurturing for children. There is not a harshness about this, the word is ministered, and it is in purity and truth because you love those you minister to. Like your children, you feed them good, healthy food, and that little one you feed him healthy, nourishing food. Not because that may be what he really wants at this time but because it is really what he needs, and you love him. You don’t want to just stuff junk food down him. That may be what he wants every day, Big Mac for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wonderful, wash it down with a milkshake. You say no, that wouldn’t be good for you, but it is what I want. But what you want is not what’s good for you. It’s not because you don’t love them, it’s because you love them and want to nurture them and nourish them as you should. So Paul says in verse 7, “but we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.” That is a picture of tender love and concern. That mother with that infant and the wellbeing of that infant is everything. A nursing mother, tenderly cares for her own children. There is a warmth and a love in that relationship.

Verse 8, “having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not only the gospel of God, but our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” You know we have a fallacious comparison sometimes that Paul was the hard hearted one and Barnabas was the soft, loving one. I assume there were differences in the personality of Paul and the personality of Barnabas, but there was not less love in Paul’s heart for the people he ministered to than there was in Barnabas.” And so here he says, we had a fond affection for you. There is a depth in his love for them.

We were well pleased, it was a privilege, the word denotes a deliberate choice. It wasn’t something I have to do it, and Paul says he did. He said that you know he had to preach the gospel whether he wanted to or not, but he was doing it because he wanted to, this was God’s call and it was the desire of his heart. “We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives.” Our souls is the word literally, our very being. They gave themselves in the ministry. You know if you are going to have an effective ministry you just can’t do it at a distance. That’s why I believe the most effective ministry is in the context of a local church, and over time. You know I don’t want to just be a professional, traveling teacher. Oh, there are times that I do want to do that, but I mean I really don’t want to do that. Because all that is involved in the pastorate, being and belonging to one group of people, one family over time, is a blessing and a privilege. So Paul says “We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives.” In other words, whatever it took in the ministry of God, Paul was willing to do. And I say, well that would be too costly for me to do that, that would be too great a sacrifice. But I did it because you had become very dear to us, we loved you. And Paul did have a traveling ministry, but he loved these people. When he was with them he devoted himself to them and he goes on to give an example.

When he ministered with them he labored, verse 9. And you recall brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. Was it necessary he took a job. He had done that at Thessalonica. Supported himself, especially in a new ministry when you are reaching out with the gospel to the lost you don’t want to have one hand out for their money, while with the other hand you are giving them the gospel. Paul was very careful about that, that there be no question about his motives, particularly as he went to a new place and established a new ministry. And he was willing to pay the price. And it may be a little different, but I believe that every man who goes into the ministry, ought to go into it with his eyes open. I sometimes tell young men, think about how hard you think the ministry is going to be and it is going to be much harder than you think, much harder than you thought it would be. There is great blessings, there’s great joy, but we ought not to be thinking this is going to be a nice, comfortable job. I ought to be willing to pay the price and that means hardship and often difficulty. So, “Working night and day as to not be a burden to any of you, we proclaim to you the gospel of God.” That was his goal. Why? To proclaim the gospel of God, if I got to work in the day and do it at night then I’ll share the gospel of God at night. I am driven by this one purpose, I came to share the gospel of God with you.


“You are witnesses and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers.” You know after a period of time people ought to have confidence in the ministry. I’ll look and say, he has faithfully taught us the word, he has behaved himself, he has conducted himself properly. It ought not be enough to have innuendos and a underhanded comments in the ripples to undermine a ministry. That is what was happening to Paul’s ministry. Paul says look at my ministry, I taught you the word, and I behaved in a godly manner. There are always rumors, there are attacks going on, that is why Paul is writing the letter here and defending himself. But he says all you have to do is say what is their concrete, what is there. Look at my ministry, I ought to be able to say that to you. Have I taught you the word? What doctrines have I corrupted? In my life have I behaved myself in a godly way? If that is not so it should be dealt with if it is so then there ought to be no room for the rumbles and the undercurrents. That’s what I would desire for Mike as he goes to a new ministry, that those people will have that heart to evaluate his ministry on that level. Now you have to realize that when people sit under the teaching of the word, they thought they wanted the teaching of the word, they hear it over time, some of them may not like it. “Its more convicting, more penetrating than I expected it to be,” but you don’t think anyone in that new ministry is going to stand up and say I don’t like the word of God. You know what they’ll find, something they don’t like in the person. They try to undermine the confidence in the ministry. We ought to be alert to that. I would hope for him in his new ministry the blessing that I have enjoyed here of people who have functioned in that manner.

Verse 11, “Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.” Exhorting, encouraging, imploring, a series here to indicate his ministry as a father. You note the distinction. He used the analogy of the mother, and the warmth of the mother and her caring. Here you have the role of the father, exhorting, encouraging, imploring that is why you know in the home you would always rather have a difficulty with mom at home than dad. Why? Mom ends up putting her arm around you and saying, “Its alright.” Dad would come home and say, “Sit down, I want to talk to you.” He exhorted, he encouraged, he implored, and then he spanked. As a father would his own children. There was this area in Paul’s life, each one of you.


“So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory, that is the end of it.” That is the goal. You want to reach out with the gospel so God in his grace will draw some to salvation. And you want to nurture and nourish them in that gospel, that biblical truth. So that they will learn to walk. You know I’m a grandparent now, I can use grandparent illustrations. And so our grandson Micaiah is starting to take a couple of steps, so today Bobby holds him out and I step back, and you know how to do it. He says, “Now walk to grandpa.” Then you know you see him, starting to take those steps. And I think of that as I read a passage like this. That’s what it is, you take this new baby, and you are helping them develop now, you are nurturing them and bringing them along. And that is what is going on. You don’t walk over and say, “Ah dumb kid, look at him, he can’t even walk yet.” We start out the door and what does he do? He falls down on his hands and knees and takes off on the crawling up the hall. We don’t say, “Ah, let’s give up, he can’t learn.” No that is part of what-the parent. That is the nice thing about being a grandparent, it’s the parent’s responsibility. And that is the analogy he uses here. That’s what we have here. To nurture and bring along and develop, so that they learn to walk and conduct their lives in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory. That is the goal. Oh, it is a simple ministry. Simple in the standpoint my responsibility couldn’t be any clearer. Mike’s responsibility couldn’t be any clearer. Those called and appointed to ministry couldn’t have any clearer and simple, simpler obligation. I must proclaim the word of God in its simplicity, in its purity as clearly as I can, to the best of my ability, I can’t do it to the best of someone else’s ability. I have to do it to the best of my ability with a love for the people that I minister to. Desiring in the depths of my heart and soul that God will take this truth, impart it through an imperfect servant to be sure. But to carry it to hearts and implant it in their minds, so that together we will walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us.

You know the joyous thing for Paul at Thessalonica and the joy that I have in ministry, the joy I covet for Mike in his new ministry. Verse 13, “and for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message you accepted it, not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. And you became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, they endured and suffered.” What a joy and blessing it is to be privileged to minister the word of God among a receptive people. Paul had to minister at times among the people who weren’t receptive. What a blessing it is to minister this word to a people that are receptive. That is my joy, that is my ongoing privilege here, week after week to minister the word of God to a people that accept it as the word of God, respond as such and become imitators of those churches that are indeed committed to Jesus Christ and His truth, even when it means enduring the same sufferings that others who have been faithful have endured. May God grant us by His grace that strength of commitment to continue to be faithful to Him. May God by His grace grant that to Mike and Becky in their new ministry, to that fellowship of believers that he has called together in that place may the ministry of the word there be fruitful and multiply to His honor and glory. What a privileged people we are to be entrusted with God’s truth, to be privileged to represent Him. May we have a testimony like the Thessalonians did. That in other places where they hear of us, they will know that we are a church who loves the Lord above all, that is committed to be faithful to him, whatever faithfulness will entail. May God be glorified. Let’s pray together.


Thank you, Lord, for the great God that you are. We are indeed honored and humbled to have been called by you to salvation in your son, Jesus Christ. To have had our eyes opened so that we might understand and believe that indeed He is the Savior of the world, that only by turning from sin and trusting in Him can there be forgiveness. Thank you, Lord, for the work you do in your church in these days. Thank you for the faithfulness of Paul and others like him down through history. Thank you, Lord, that you continue to call men to yourself, put them to the test, approve them and appoint them for ministry. Thank you, Lord, for calling me to this ministry, appointing me to service as the pastor of these people. Lord, how richly I have been blessed in ministry over the years. Lord, my desire and commitment of heart is to be faithful to you, to indeed take your truth, the bread of life and break it for your people week after week. Lord, thank you for the blessings of ministering to a people that receive your word as your word. Who take it into their hearts, allow the spirit to mold and shape their thinking and their conduct. Lord, who have been willing to endure suffering, difficulty and conflict, the loss of friends in the ministry of the truth. Lord, I pray again for Mike and Becky as they take up the ministry in Hammond, I pray for Mike as he stands week after week in the ministry of your word before your people. Lord, keep him close to yourself, may he be a faithful man as he has already demonstrated faithfulness in ministry. And may the trials and difficulties that will come not be disheartening, that even in the midst of opposition and trial, Lord I pray there will be a great door opened for him. Lord, I pray that the people of that congregation might rejoice to have a pastor who loves your word, who loves them, and is committed to a ministry of truth. And may they together be a testimony for you, may their testimony be noised abroad. The people will rejoice and be encouraged to say there is a church that is committed to Christ, committed to be faithful, committed to pay the price to honor Him. Again, it is our great privilege and an overwhelming blessing to enjoy the service of the living God. Bless our fellowship now as we enjoy refreshments together, as we share together as a church family, as we again rejoice with Mike and Becky in the ministry you have called them to. Lord, we want them to know the depth of our love for them, we want them to know that we stand with them and behind them in the ministry you have called them to. We pray, in Christ name, Amen.















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