All right, so go ahead and open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians type will be in chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. Next week, I will be gone. I'll be at the GRN conference. but you'll have a very adept substitute. Dr. Van Doodaward has agreed to teach. I believe some of you may know him. He'll be covering the next section of 1 Thessalonians chapter two, but tonight will be in verses one to 12. So let me go ahead and read that for us. For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God, who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed. God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom. as far as the reading of God's word. As we've discussed the last couple times we've been in this study, Paul is writing this letter along with Silvanus and Timothy to a congregation that's facing much persecution. And he spent the opening chapter first reminding them of exactly who they are and how he knows that to be the case. They are those who are in Christ. And he knows that by several evidences that he lists. First of all, he knows that by their works of faith. He speaks of this in verse three. And their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope. And by the way, that is a triad. That's three words that Paul often uses together, faith, hope, and love, to describe the Christian life. Most famously, in 1 Corinthians 13, 13, but he uses it several places and in various different orders. And he's describing, he's saying, I know y'all are the real deal because you're bearing the marks of Christians in this faith, hope, and love that you have. And it's also interesting, and we didn't have a chance to get into this when we covered this passage, but I'll mention it now, that in these opening verses, there's also a Trinitarian formula. All three members of the Godhead are bearing witness to who they are. You see this, remembering before our God and Father, your work of faith and labor of love and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ that has been come to you in power with the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity are there. And so he's saying, I know y'all are the real deal because you bear the marks of a Christian and all three members of the Godhead are testifying, are bearing witness to that fact. And before I get to chapter two, I just want to note that the confidence that he has in their spiritual state is closely tied to the work of the triune God in their lives. And we see that as he really hammers in, in verse five, that it is the triune God who makes Christians specifically by the preaching of his word. God builds his church by accompanying the preaching of his word with the power of his Holy Spirit. And this will actually be a theme that we'll cover a fair bit on, on Sunday when we studied the book of acts, that's a, that's a really big theme in that book, but it's also here. Uh, secondly, he wants, he, he knows they're the real deal because their actions are changing. He speaks to this invert in chapter one, verse six, that they're becoming imitators of Paul as well as of the Lord. They're also evidencing a joy that is only explainable by the Holy spirit. Now, this doesn't mean that they're like, so deliriously, uncomfortably happy all the time, right? Have you guys ever been around people that like, you're so happy right now, you're making me scared. That's how I felt for about, I don't know, five or six years of my teenage and early twenties going into Chick-fil-A. I'm like, you guys are like, it is not your pleasure and I know it, but you sound like it is. And that's, I don't get it. That's not what Paul is talking about. He's not talking about an irrational happiness. Rather, he's talking about a happiness in the face of dire circumstances that is only explainable by God. They're in circumstances that ought not to produce happiness, and yet they are happy. They do have joy. But not only are they following Paul's example, They also have themselves become examples to other believers. Chapter one, verses seven to eight. And finally, they are marked by their ultimate hope being in the return of the Lord Jesus, which is how he ends chapter one. They wait for the son from heaven. So that's where we've been so far in the letter. And tonight we're going to look at Paul providing assurance for another matter these Christians are distressed about. Because remember, with them, Paul plants the church. You can read about this in Acts chapter 17. He plants the church, and in a very short time, he's run out of talent by a riot. And so the first temptation that they face is to wonder, was any of this real? And he's kind of answered that question. It is. The second temptation that they might face. Well, what, what do you guys think might be the second temptation or the second question that might be in their mind? They have this, this guy come and preach to them from the scriptures about Jesus being raised from the dead and newness of life and all these things. And as soon as things get hot, he's gone. What do you think they might be wondering about Paul specifically? If he follows Christ as he says it. What's that? If he follows Christ as well as like he claims to be a good teacher. I was like, I don't know if that would put it up wrong. Okay. Yeah. What were you, what were you gonna say? He's a coward. They want to know, is he the real deal or is he a coward? I think that's what you were trying to get at. What was he, was he the real deal? Is he, is he the real thing or is he a phony? And John Stott actually sums it up pretty well. He writes, the brief mission in Thessalonica had been brought to an embarrassing end. The public riot and legal charges against the missionaries were so serious that they were persuaded to make a humiliating night flight from the city. Paul's critics took full advantage of this sudden disappearance. In order to undermine his authority and his gospel, they determined to discredit him. In other words, they acted like 20th and 21st century American politicians. There's an opportunity to pounce on somebody, and so they take it. In order to undermine his authority and his gospel, they determined to discredit him. So they launched a malicious smear campaign, and by studying Paul's self-defense, it's possible to reconstruct their slanders. And so what he's employing here is a hermeneutical method called mirror reading. And it's not certain, but it's pretty reliable. Mirror reading is, you look at what somebody says to defend themself, and you have a pretty good idea of what they're being accused of. Does that make sense? Like, we don't have the writings of Paul's critics, but we know what Paul was defending himself, so we have a pretty good idea of what they were arguing against him. It'd be pretty weird for him to defend himself on things that he's not being pressed on, right? So, they might say he ran away. They might say that he's obviously insincere and impelled by the basest motives. He's just one of those many phonies who tramp up and down our region. In a word, he's a charlatan. He's only in this job for what he can get out of it in terms of sex and money and prestige and power. So when opposition arose and he found himself in personal danger, he took his heels and ran. That's what is being said about Paul. Something along those lines. Like Ethan said, he's a coward. It's not the real deal. And so that's the charge. And Paul in this passage, in these opening verses of chapter two, is going to give us a tenfold defense. And my goal for you guys tonight is that you would take note of these traits, take note of these things that he says about himself for a couple of reasons. One, so that you can evaluate ministry leaders, both those that you have now and when you go somewhere else. So you know what you're looking for in a faithful minister, faithful elders, faithful pastors, et cetera. And secondly, Lord willing, I'm looking at a room of future ministry leaders. Lord willing, one day some of you men will be officers in the church, elders, deacons, pastors, missionaries, whatever. You ladies will be leaders within women in the church circles, Missionary endeavors and things like that Lord willing I'm looking at future ministry leaders And if nothing else Mothers and fathers and leaders in your home and people that have children that you care for and and these are Characteristics that a Christian leader in whatever their capacity should aspire to hold now. I want to make clear I'm not trying to mix these with qualifications for office those are and Titus and Timothy and things like that. First Peter five. These are just basic virtues that Christians who are in a position to be example should cultivate among themselves. The first one, and I'm going to, I'm going to run through this list and we'll talk about each of them individually, uh, with the verse references, but we're going to do this pretty quick. The first one is, uh, endures conflict, endures conflict. And you see that in verse two, the second one, is that he's approved and entrusted by God, verses three and four. And for those of you that are taking notes, feel free to see me after and I'll give you all of these. Three, that he's not greedy or a smooth talker, and we'll talk about that in a minute. Four, that he's not egotistical. Five, he's gentle. Six, loving. Seven, personal. Eight, hardworking for spiritual profit, nine, godly character, and 10, a God-centered and gospel-centered ministry. So we'll run through each of those, but also one other thing before we get into those about Paul's argument here is he's appealing to the reality of what they already know. Look at what he says in verse one, for you yourselves know. He's emphasizing, this is stuff that you already know, and the point that I wanna make from that is that he's already been living this way, and so all he has to do is point to past experience, past behavior. Would somebody please read for me, for us, 1 Peter 3, verses 14 to 16. 1 Peter 3, verses 14 to 16. So Paul's demonstrating well this principle. Mr. Johnson. Yet you do with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame." Notice Peter says there, when you are slandered. Live in such a way up to that point that those who slander you will be shamed. Right? So you should expect to be misunderstood. You should expect to have people say bad things about you, but you should live in such a way that when people try and say mean things about you, the people that are hearing it are like, that doesn't sound like them. That doesn't sound right at all. Now, it's not always going to work perfectly, but that's the goal, right? And that's what Paul is doing here. He's saying, you know, these things aren't true. And he's going to point to all this stuff. So first of all, enduring conflict, that's the first thing that he points to. that they should know that he's the real deal because he persisted in preaching the gospel despite much conflict. It's not like he skipped town during the riot and went into the witness protection program and was never heard from again. He was just kind of laying low. No, he rightly fled for his life to the next town to do the very same thing that started the riot in the last town. And he keeps going from there. He continues ministering the gospel, enduring conflict. He endured suffering and shameful treatment also as a result of his ministry. And especially in our day and age, you all need to know that that's something you'll be preparing to endure. People saying nasty, slanderous things about him. I don't mean to make myself an example here but I can only speak from my experience or rather I can speak from my experience best. I've had some of my best friends from high school and college send me emails and direct messages on social media and stuff like that in recent years calling me all kinds of horrible names because I'm willing to stand with the Bible on matters of gender and sexuality and marriage and all these things. People that know I'm not a hateful bigotous person but they hate what I believe about those things. And they actually say, some of them that know what I do, that I'm abusing you guys by teaching you what the Bible says about those things. Whereas I'm like, but their parents brought them here to learn what the Bible says about them. The point is, people have an irrational hatred for the word of God. And as you grow, you need to be willing to understand and bear that conflict. Secondly, they've been approved and entrusted. The point is, at least in Paul's case, it's clear that he was called by God. There's no other reasonable explanation for his sudden shift in life. He went from a persecutor of the church to a servant of the church. And those in Thessalonica would have known this well about him. Next, he's not greedy or a smooth talker. Are you guys familiar with the stereotype of a used car salesman? Reese, what does somebody mean when they say that guy's a used car salesman? They like to play it off like it's amazing and everything's nice about it, but underneath there's nothing nice about it. Yeah, yeah. Anyone else want to add to that? What do you think of when you hear a used car salesman? That's a great description. They scream at you. They scream at you? You got to find better used car salesmen. Deceitful. Deceitful, yeah. Dusty. Well, like a sleazy guy. Right right there sleazy, and they're trying to tell you that it's great, but it's really a piece of garbage There's there's swarming there. They're fake charming right and Generally the older you get the better. You'll be able to spot that and Paul's saying You know that I'm not that You know that I'm sincere that I didn't come to you with flattering words about Now, by the way, flattering words in and of themselves aren't necessarily a bad thing, but what he's saying is, you know I didn't charm you to trick you. You know I was sincere. Not egotistical. I didn't exercise my full authority as an apostle. I didn't tell you you have to do X, Y, and Z because I'm Paul the apostle and I said so. Rather, I served alongside with you and I sacrificed many of those privileges so that I wouldn't be a burden to you. I could have called you to do these things, but I didn't. He's not egotistical, gentle, affectionate, and personal. I'm combining these just for the sake of time. They're all worth meditating on individually, but the point is, leaders in Christian communities ought to be approachable, ought to be easy to talk to. You shouldn't fear asking them a question or clarification. We wanna cultivate a spirit of gentleness, affectionate. This can sound uncomfortable, but it's not. If we understand, it's important that leaders know that those who are being led, or excuse me, it's important that those who are being led know that their leader cares about them, like outside of these walls. Like, I have a vested interest in you guys Thursday afternoon, but I'm not gonna see you, but I'm praying for you. I'm thinking about how I can better craft this lesson so that you'll get more out of it. That kind of thing, right? It's an appropriate sense of affection. It's well illustrated by, I have a former seminary professor who I only had my first year. And every time I see him, he asks me how I'm doing. Anything you guys want to share? Okay. Every time I see him, he asks me how I'm doing and lets me know that I'm still on his prayer list. He's not my professor anymore and I'm not his student anymore and yet he still cares. He still, uh, is invested in what's going on in my life. And we talk about kids and marriage and all sorts of stuff, goals for the future because he actually cares about me. And that's, that's something that you should look for and aspire to be a one day as leaders yourselves. Hard-working for spiritual profit this should be pretty obvious as opposed to material gain, right? I don't know if you guys have ever seen my car. It's not super nice, and I'm not My house is modest at best like we're not in this for the money. We're in this for your Spiritual profit right that's that's the kind of thing that you're looking for and then lastly Godly character and a gospel centered ministry And again, I'm combining these together, but the point is, you want a leader, you want a pastor, you want elders who are preaching the gospel faithfully and clearly from the scriptures. That's a big part of their time with you. And then here's the second part. They're actually living a life that backs up what they say. It would be a really wonderful thing to be able to say I believe God is gracious and merciful and therefore I will be gracious and merciful with others. I believe that God hates sin, so I also hate sin, but I also believe that God is long-suffering with sinners and so I will be patient in trying to help people out of their sin. I believe that God is sovereign over all things, and so I will not be given over to fear of things being out of control. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if people could infer what we believe from how we act? And that's what Paul is saying here, that you are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless my conduct was, that I exhorted and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of that same God. who I am following, who I am trying to honor with my life. That's the idea of what we're looking for here. So I'm gonna pray and then I'll dismiss us. God in heaven, we thank you for this letter to the Thessalonians. We thank you for Paul's godly character and the model that he gives us of a faithful ministry. And we pray, Lord, for all of my young friends future ministries that you may have for them in your church, in their homes, wherever they might be, that you would make them such as these. I ask in Christ's name and for his glory, amen.