Well, at first reading, this may seem like it would be better suited for a room filled with pastors than for a church family. And certainly, Paul defends the ministry that he did among them when he was in Thessalonica, and he's also defending his apostolic authority in general. And so there are clear applications to pastors. But I hope you'll also see that much of what Paul says about himself could be said of any of us and really should be desired by any of us. And so whether you're a church leader or you simply enjoy attending church, I hope you'll be able to see that this is an encouragement to you and your desire to bring glory to God and to walk in a manner that's worthy of the calling that you've received in Christ. I mean, after all, the goal of any pastor, really the goal of any human being is to bring glory to God. Our Westminster Shorter Catechism says, what is the chief end of man? What is the chief purpose for all men? To bring glory to God and to enjoy Him forever. That's our goal, regardless of who we are or where God has put us. Paul says in verse 6 that they were not seeking the glory of man, clearly implying that they were seeking the glory of God. And then in verse 12, he charges them to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So for our purposes today, as members of New Hope, how can we learn from the Apostle Paul what it looks like to bring glory to God by walking in a manner that is worthy of the gospel? How do we bring glory to God so that we will walk worthily? Well first, we bring glory to God through our own ministry, or work, or service. Paul had a very clear understanding of the work or service that God had given him to do. He said in verse 4 that he was approved by God and was entrusted with the gospel. That word entrusted is fascinating when it's a gift from God to Paul. The word means that you're given something because the giver is confident in you. Paul knew that God gave him the gospel to be proclaimed. Therefore, he was not going to perform this ministry in order to please men, but only to please God. Although he doesn't begin 1 Thessalonians like this, many of his letters, he takes the title for himself not as apostle, but as servant. a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how Paul viewed himself. Certainly he recognized his apostleship. Certainly he recognized the authority that God had placed upon him, but he saw himself foremost as a servant of God, performing a ministry that God had given to him. The Thessalonians knew, and Paul says this several times, doesn't he? You know. You know. Well, the Thessalonians knew that Paul was willing to work hard at this task of the ministry of the word, even if it meant that he would face persecution, which he did face in nearly every city that he went to. He was not going to perform this ministry to please men. Even if it meant persecution, he was going to be faithful to the service of which God had called him to perform. He did not do it for the praise of man, especially not the false praise of man. In a couple different letters, Paul warns about this sin of flattery that he mentions here. There's a subtle difference between encouragement and flattery, between affirmation and false praise. Affirmation and encouragement are wonderful strengths within a body. Flattery and false praise are divisive. Encouragement unites. Flattery divides. Encouragement is truth spoken in love in order to increase the faith and hope of the other person, in order to build them up. That's encouragement. Flattery is selfish. It's a lie disguised as encouragement, but from a selfish motive to manipulate someone in order to gain benefit for yourself. It appears, possibly, that Paul was accused of seeking flattery. In verse 5 he says, He reminds them that his work and service was all about the glory of God, not the praise of people. Seeking the flattery of others is an insidious form of selfish pride. And in the local church, It is so tempting to seek flattery, to seek the praise of people, to seek the affirmation of others. It's a fine line that we need to walk as we serve. As we perform a ministry among one another, we of course need encouragement and affirmation from others. It fuels our service in many ways, but it should not be our goal. It should not be that which we seek. We should seek the glory of God. We should seek His honor. We need to resist the apparent need of being admired and praised by people. But rather we should do all things so that God is glorified, so that people rejoice in Him. So do we serve to be praised? or that our brother be encouraged? Do we serve to be appreciated by others or to strengthen others? I know that so many of you that have jumped in already on vacation Bible school while Todd and Mandy were on their road trip, you're doing it to bless them because you love them. You genuinely were doing it for their benefit. so they could come back and understand running, but you did so much work for them. And it's a wonderful example of how you ought to serve, not for your own benefit, but that others would receive strengthening and encouragement, and most importantly, that our Father would be glorified, that He would be praised as well. But really the first question that we need to answer in regard to this is what is the work that God is calling us to do? How are we gifted? It's easy to see how God called Paul. He's the apostle to the Gentiles. It is laid out quite plainly how God called Paul to serve the church, the kingdom, the world. How has he called us? How are you supposed to serve in the body, in the ministry of the church? Well, there's some clear, I think, general tasks to which all of us are called. Worship and Bible study, prayer and fellowship, evangelism and hospitality, just to name a few. There's generic callings that we have all received. But specifically, how do you know what you are called to do? Sometimes I'm amazed at how God works in our lives and puts us in a common place at a common time to serve alongside one another for a common goal. I'm so thankful that God has allowed me to serve with Tim and Todd and Mandy and recently Mariah. I'm so grateful that God has put us here at this time in our lives that we can serve this church we love so much. We're all very different in our gifting, some similarities and then many differences. And it's a wonderful team that God has placed together to serve alongside one another, to encourage one another and strengthen one another. We attempt, and I hope we do, bring glory to God by obeying his call, by obeying his commands as we serve the church. But it begins by understanding You are a gift to the church. It's one thing to try to figure out how you are gifted, but you also need to recognize that you are a gift to this church family. And that enables other members of the church to perform the tasks that God has given to them. There's so much more I think we could consider down that rabbit trail, but let's look at the second way in which we can bring glory to God as a church. We do it through our ministry, our service, our work. Secondly, we bring glory to God through our motives. Again, several times Paul in this passage says, you know. They knew him well. They knew what he had done. They knew how he had worked. The Thessalonians knew what Paul was called to do. But they also knew the way in which he worked, the motives of his heart. They knew the way in which he went about his duties. They knew his heart, how he walked in obedience to God's call unselfishly, putting himself in danger if necessary. He says in verse 10 that they knew the conduct of Paul and his fellow missionaries was holy and righteous and blameless. What a great description of one's heart as they seek to serve their Savior. No one could accuse Paul of being a poor example. Even more important, Paul said that God was a witness. Paul called on God as witness of his life. He was not afraid to call on God as witness because he knew he had lived a dedicated life to the gospel. His life was holy or pure. In this case, to be holy speaks not only about the job being well done, but also the heart of the person doing the work. Paul not only knew the work that he was called to do, His heart, His walk lived up to that work. They also knew that Paul was blameless. That doesn't mean that Paul was sinless, but that he could not be accused of sin when it came to his preaching and the ministry of God's Word and even the motives of his heart. He could not be accused. Now we're not all called to preached like Paul, but we are all gifted by God to serve within the body. And just as God has called each of us to use the gifts that he has given, so also God is concerned with the motive through which we serve. To the Galatians, Paul listed a group of heart attitudes as being fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us. Love, joy, peace, patience. Apply all of those to your service. Do you serve out of love? Out of the joy that it gives to others? Do you serve patiently? Et cetera. Do these characterize the way in which we serve? Is our walk above reproach, blameless. It may be tempting for some to think, you know, the motives aren't really that important as long as the ends get reached. As long as we produce, the motives aren't that important. But motives and methods must be worthy of the gospel. We have to resist the man-centered and worldly ways that we are tempted to achieve. The way we do the work that God has given us must be worthy of the calling that we received. We bring glory to God through our work, our ministry. We bring glory to God through our motives. We have to check our hearts often. And then thirdly, we bring glory to God through even the message, even through our words, the way in which we speak to one another. In verse 11 to 12, Paul uses three words to explain his method of fulfilling the work that God had given him to do. He says that they've exhorted, encouraged, and charged. I think a better translation of those three is encourage, comfort, and urge. They build in intensity. To exhort or to encourage means to come alongside someone in order to build them up. Exhortation leads one to a truthful and positive way to do something willingly. You exhort them, encourage them. The second word in the ESV is encourage, but I think it better translate as to comfort. And comfort can mean to console someone, of course, and the Thessalonians could certainly use some consolation since they were being persecuted for their faith. But comfort can also mean to admonish someone. Given the context, I think Paul probably is using the word in that way. And to admonish is to give a strong encouragement toward an action. And so these words are increasing. to encourage you, to come alongside and build you up, to admonish you, to strongly encourage you. And then thirdly, he says that he charged them or urged them, which means exactly what you think it means. You push them. At times, Paul was very challenging. He was not afraid to be bold with other believers and challenge them to live up to their profession. But at the same time, he could be very comforting and consoling. He would lift them up with words of true and sincere praise, no flattery, just genuine words of affirmation. I mean, just read Romans chapter 16. Just about the whole chapter is written as a way to encourage and build up those that worked with him. Oftentimes I think Paul is merely considered as one that was bold and brash and blunt, and he could be, but he's also incredibly encouraging and comforting to people. Yes, at times he was very challenging, but at the same time he could be very comforting and consoling. This is an area of life, I think, in our own church where we ought to be commended. I'm sure there are times when we allow words of flattery to slip through, but for the most part, there appears to be a genuine love for one another that flows from your mouth when you talk about one another. Some of you don't realize this, some of you do, but as your pastor, I see and I hear a lot more than you realize. And I have the blessing of hearing you talk about one another sometimes. For example, Every month at our elders meeting, we spend the first portion of that meeting every time the same way. We talk about you. We talk about your needs, prayer requests that we've heard about, concerns that we have for you. And it's so encouraging to hear these men that they've had conversations with you and they know different needs that you have. And again, we're not perfect. We miss things sometimes, of course, but they really do care about you. And I've also heard on a couple occasions where they were more encouraged by their conversation with you than they probably encouraged you. You built them up. My point is our words have an impact on one another. And you are exceptional at encouraging one another with your words. Encourage, build up. Sometimes you have to step in and really admonish with those that you're close to. And it may even be times where you've got to challenge them, urge them toward faithfulness. We bring glory to God as we faithfully do the ministry, do the work or service to which He has called us. We do so as servants. We bring glory to God as we faithfully keep our motives in check. We guard our hearts. We bring glory to God as we faithfully use our words to build one another up. This week is a important week in the life of our church. Ministry to our children that has been growing each year a little bit more and more. And it's just been so much fun to watch young families in our church, But then families return year after year because they know the quality of a Bible school and the ways in which you pour out into these young lives. And yet also this week can be a real challenge to us because it gets exhausting. And by Wednesday, these volunteers really need your prayers. They're tired. They want to leave early at the end of the night, get out of here, they're worn out, pray for them. Spend time, whether you're volunteering or you're at home, pray every night this week for these children and for these volunteers, that they would serve with the gifts that they have, that they would serve as servants, with hearts that are devoted to Him. not seeking the praise of others, but seeking the glory of Christ. And pray that they also will use words that will build one another up as an encouragement to one another throughout the week.