If you have your Bible tonight, would you open to 1 Thessalonians chapter number 3? 1 Thessalonians chapter number 3. I want to read tonight and I want us to think about verses 1 through 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 1 through 5 tonight. Paul, in writing to this church, he says, Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone. And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith. that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain." If you'll remember from our previous studies in the book of 1 Thessalonians, we've been learning that the Apostle Paul is dealing with some and battling against some negativity that came to these Thessalonian believers as a result of his departure from Thessalonica. Remember they were persecuted, they were run out of town and he had to leave. And so the particular negativity that was taking place, and perhaps these seeds were sown from other people that didn't like the Apostle Paul, or maybe these new believers just didn't fully understand why the Apostle Paul had to go, but the particular negativity was that Paul didn't really care about them. That's what they were most likely thinking about, and probably what was on their mind was, if Paul really cared about us, then he would have stayed. He wouldn't have left town. And so he's having to think about that. And that's a tough situation to deal with, isn't it? Of course, Paul has left. He did have to get out of town. As we learn in the letter, he ends up sending Timothy there to check on the believers later. And this letter is the response to the report that Timothy brought back to him. And so Paul is in a tough situation as he's thinking about this brand new infant church. And what am I going to do? How am I going to help them? What's going to go on? You know, it's just a reality in life that tough situations require leadership. to face it and to deal with it. And problems make leadership necessary. And the job of the leader is to face brutal reality, confront the problems, look at the problems as they stand, and not put the head in the sand, but to fix it, to work on it, to do whatever is necessary to be able to turn the thing around so that a more profitable and a fruitful situation can come from it. So that's what we're finding here from the example of the Apostle Paul. He's faced with these hard problems that we see here from the text, and he employs loving spiritual leadership with these Thessalonian believers to deal with it. And so what I want to do tonight by using the Apostle Paul as an example, I want to give you tonight five leadership lessons from the Apostle Paul. Five lessons, listen, that's not just for ministers. not just for those who are in the ministry, not just for an elder or a deacon, but five leadership lessons that will help all of us become better leaders in whatever the spheres of life we live in. So these lessons tonight, they are for elders, they are for deacons, but they're also for the guy at his business, or the guy at his work, or the mother at home taking care of her children. All of us are called upon to lead in some form or fashion again, in the spheres in which we live our lives. And so leadership is facing problems and dealing with them. Have you had to do any of that this week? Alright, so if you did, then that means you exercised a certain amount of leadership as you dealt with those things. So I want to give you five things tonight I hope will be an encouragement to you as we look at the Apostle Paul as an example. The first thing tonight, first leadership lesson. Leaders love. Leaders love other people. Look there in verse 1. Paul says, when we could bear it no longer. And then also you look in verse number 5, kind of the same language. He makes it very personal. He says, when I could bear it no longer. And you see from this text, these two verses, that the Apostle Paul is expressing deep concern for these believers at Thessalonica. And so again, think about the situation for Paul. He had been driven out because of persecution, and so now he's separated from them. He got a brand new church. They need teaching. They need instruction. He had some time there with them to help them and to give them some truth, and he refers to that here in this letter. But he didn't have enough time. He wanted to continue teaching and instructing and helping them, but he's been driven out. He's separated from them. And then with the ongoing separation over that amount of time, he's beginning to grow anxious about them. He's concerned about them. He's thinking about them. And primarily, you know, the Apostle Paul is not so much concerned about their health and their wealth. He's concerned about their spiritual well-being. He's wanting to know how are these new believers doing in the faith. And so, the text reveals to us that the Apostle Paul was longing for information about them But as you can imagine, his patience was wearing thin. He really wanted to get back to them. He wanted to know certain things about them. You can understand this, can't you? Perhaps if you've, maybe as a parent, if you've ever sent your child off. Maybe they're going on a long trip with some other friends. Maybe it's a pretty good way away from home. And as a parent, you're probably most likely going to be a little bit anxious until you hear from that child that they've arrived safely to their destination. You're just not going to do real well if you're a careful parent and a loving parent until you know that the child is in a safe situation or perhaps if they're supposed to be home at a certain time at night. You're probably not going to be able to go to bed too well until you know that they're home safe and sound. And so I think that's what's going on in Paul's mind. He's very anxious about what's going on. And he wants to know how his own spiritual children are faring. Think about it. These were Paul's spiritual children. He calls them in previous texts that we've looked at. He says, I think of myself towards you like a spiritual mother and a spiritual father. And I mean, Paul's the one who brought the Gospel to these people. They're living in paganism. They hear the Gospel. They're saved. And so these are important people to the Apostle Paul. He cares for them. He's anxious over them. He's concerned about their welfare. And I think the point you get from that is when you have concern for someone, Or when you're anxious over someone or you have real interest in other people, what does that reveal about your affection for them? It reveals that you have real love for them. When you're anxious over someone or troubled about what's going on in their life, it's because you love them. It's because you care about them. And the Apostle Paul certainly did love these people. And he has this great desire for knowledge about their spiritual welfare because of his love for them. He wants to make sure that they're doing well. And so the lesson that you learn from that tonight is that a genuine leader, a true leader, is going to really love the people that he leads. Paul loved and we need to love as well. And furthermore, when we think about love, our understanding of love needs to be informed by the Scriptures. I'll just refer you to it tonight. I want to just read it. I'm not even going to make any comment on it, but just let this sink into the fiber of your being tonight. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. The way of love. The great love chapter. You know it well, I'm sure. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It's not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they'll pass away. For tongues, they'll cease. As for knowledge, it'll pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, and I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in the mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." So now faith, hope, and love abide. These three. But the greatest of these is love. And so our love needs to be informed from the Holy Scripture. So the first leadership lesson that we learn from the Apostle Paul is that true spiritual leadership is loving. Leaders love. Now secondly, leaders also delegate. Leaders delegate. You see here from the Apostle Paul, that leaders delegate responsibility to others when they can't personally tend to an important matter. The Apostle Paul was detained. He couldn't get back to Thessalonica. There were too many problems. And so for him to communicate genuine concern and genuine love for the people that he was leading, he had to delegate someone to go in his place to go check on them and to deal with them. Really, when you think about delegation, what you could actually say that's behind delegation is you could say it's a form of serving other people when you delegate someone to do what you can't do yourself. So really, leaders serve. They love, and love by definition is always going to be serving. Isn't that right? So Paul's main intention, he wanted to serve these people. He personally wanted to be there. Because he wanted to serve them, and he wanted to serve them because he loved them. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't go back, and so he delegated. Paul loved those believers. Couldn't get back to them, couldn't be there with them, so he decided to do the next best thing that he could do, which was what? He decided to send Timothy as a delegate. Look there in the text. When we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the Gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in the faith that no one would be moved by these afflictions. So, let's talk about this for a minute. Think about the situation that is going on here, and I'll point out some things about delegation. When you think about Paul sending Timothy to go back, now remember, they left Thessalonica. They were going down, they went down to Athens. So they went down south from the position of Thessalonica. They were going to go to Corinth. And for them to send Timothy back, this was a sacrifice for the Apostle Paul. On this missionary journey, you've got to remember there's a team. It's a ministry team. It's not just Paul going into the region of Macedonia to do all that took place there at Philippi and also at Thessalonica. It wasn't just Paul alone. It was Paul and these other men. And they went together. And it requires... Ministry work is labor. And it requires many people to pull the load. If you've ever done any ministry, you know that. God has set it up for it to be a team effort, hasn't He? And so this would have been a personal sacrifice for the Apostle Paul, sort of to be separated, for Timothy to be separated from the ministry team. That would have been costly for the Apostle Paul. But Paul knew that it had to be done practically. So we could also call it a practical sacrifice because to send Timothy back was an act of prudence on the part of the Apostle Paul. It was the wise thing to do. It's as if Paul is saying, you know, I'm thinking about this situation and I can't help, but Timothy can. I can't be there to do anything, but He can. Paul knows what the need is, doesn't he? He's very much in tune with the needs of these Thessalonian believers. And so he's providing for that need through sacrifice, through delegation. Now also it's interesting here as Paul talks about Timothy. Now remember this is a letter that he's writing to the church. So they're receiving the very letter that we're reading here tonight. And it's as if Paul gives a bit of his stamp of approval on Timothy. He gives some descriptive statements about Timothy. And I think it's important that he would do that, and I'll show you why. But look at what he says about Timothy. What does he call Timothy? He says, Timothy our brother. It's an important statement. And God's co-worker in the Gospel of Christ to establish and exhort you in the faith. So when Paul says that Timothy is our brother, What is it that he's actually saying about Timothy? No need to worry, because I'm sending you a converted man. You know, I think one of the great problems in our country today is that so many of these pulpits are occupied by unconverted men. That should be a concern for a local church. You think of a local church. Perhaps it's without a pastor, and they're going to call a pastor to come to that church. The first order of business is to find out if this man is a converted man. One of the greatest dangers is to have an unconverted pulpit. Because then you're in a situation where you have the blind leading perhaps the blind. It's a very dangerous situation. And I think Paul is thinking about that. Maybe he's already trained the Thessalonian believers enough to understand something of the nature of true conversion and the importance of regenerated church membership. And he points this out about Timothy. Timothy is truly a converted man. I'm sending you back. I'm sending another Christian to you. Furthermore, Timothy is also a co-worker. He's God's co-worker. He's working with God in the gospel. He's God's man. This isn't just any Christian, but this is a man who has the call of God upon his life. This is a man who is a gospel man. He's a minister. He's a Christian and he is also a minister. And so Paul, with his introduction of Timothy, kind of putting this stamp of approval on Timothy, it's as if Paul is saying, I want you to know that I love you, and that I'm concerned for you, and I care for you, because I'm not just sending anyone to you. I'm sending someone who is important. I'm sending you the best that I have. I can't be there, so I'm sending you the best that I have. I'm using great caution in whom I'm sending to you. Because I know that this person is going to be there speaking to you. And so you need someone who can do the job. You need someone to come and minister to you so that it will be a safe environment for you. And you need the right man to do that. And Paul says, I'm sending Timothy. He is the right man for the job. Timothy is going to help you. Timothy is going to bless you. And you can put your trust and your confidence in Timothy in my stead. You know, if you engage in the act of delegation, there's a couple things I think that are important to remember. You need to be careful who you put in a position of delegation. Be careful who you delegate to do a job in your place. And I would say that the criteria, if we use the biblical qualifications for leadership, what are they? It's that the person would be a person of character and competence. that they would have virtue, that there would be a moral quality about them that demonstrates Christ's likeness. But then also competence. You have to have somebody who knows what they're doing. So Timothy, he had these things. He was a Christian. He was a man of virtue. But he was also a called man. He was a minister of the gospel. He was competent. He could end up doing the job. There's another important lesson that you learn from Paul when he talks about Timothy. Timothy, our brother, and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, Paul is edifying Timothy. It's not just that he is introducing and giving some descriptive words about Timothy, but what you find from the Apostle Paul is edification. This is such an important tool, so to speak, to be used. And we don't use it flippantly or to manipulate, but edification is such an important thing to do. Why was it that Paul was edifying Timothy so much? Because if Timothy is going to go back to these people to speak to them and to minister to them, they need to esteem him as a leader. They need to esteem him as a man of character and a man of competence. If they're going to be influenced, then they need to esteem Timothy. And so Paul, what does he do? He's giving edification. I'm holding this man up. You know there's a lot of people who are afraid to do that with other folks because they think somehow it robs from them. You know, to compliment someone else or to build someone else up or to give credit to someone else. Have you ever met people like that? They're afraid to do that because they think somehow it detracts from, you know, the spotlight maybe being on them. There's envy and things like that that end up taking place. But one of the best things that you can do is edify other people. For example, if someone respects you and you introduce them to someone else and you edify that person, guess what you've done? You've just given instant credibility to that person. And if you trust this person, that means your influence has just extended to those people through that person that you've delegated to do the job. But you'll never have that if you don't practice the art of edification. How could you possibly use that in a local church setting? Well, let's suppose that you're out and about in your own circles of influence and you run into people. Maybe you find somebody who's looking for a church or maybe it's a lost person. And you really want to get them to church, to get them around the believers. You know, one of the best things that you can do is edify your brothers and sisters in Christ and the things that take place at the church. Hey, let me tell you about Brian down at the church. Hey, let me tell you about Glenn. Hey, listen, man, you're going to love Joy. You're going to love Paige. You're going to love Jimmy Lynn. You've got to come down here to the church and you need to meet these people. Do you see that? And then you introduce the person, you take this new person and you introduce them to the people that you've edified, talked about. And then if that person is thinking about edification, guess what they're going to do? They're going to turn right back around and they're going to edify you because you're the person who's directly dealing with that person. So if you've edified them, And they meet that person, and that person throws edification back your way. Wow, look at the impact that you can have of influence going both ways. But you know, if you're jealous, and if there's envy, and if there's those kind of things, you're not going to edify. Paul wasn't afraid to do that. Paul wasn't afraid to edify Timothy, thinking somehow that it was going to take away some kind of credit from the great apostle. No. Here's Timothy. Here's a brother in the faith. Here's a man who's a true Christian. Here's a man who's competent. He's God's man. He's a co-worker in the gospel. He is a gospel man. He's going to be able to help you. He's going to be able to shepherd you. He's going to be able to lead you on to places that I didn't have the time to lead you on to because I was booted out of town. So you need to listen to Timothy. Furthermore, not only was this delegation a sacrifice for Paul, but this delegation had a purpose. What was that purpose? Look here in verse number 2. We sent Timothy, our brother, God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ. Here it is. To do what? To establish and exhort you in your faith. Two words. Establish and exhort. Paul is saying, Timothy is there to establish you. This is the idea of building up something. Maybe if you can think of a construction project. You think of a house or a building that's being built, but it isn't finished. The job needs to be finished. The task needs to be completed. So Timothy is coming along to help complete the building up of your spiritual house, so to speak. Also, he's coming there to exhort you, because you've been under persecution. There's some tough stuff that's happened to this early church. And so the idea of exhorting them has the idea of encouragement. You know, fathers at home, you train your children, you teach your children, you instruct them, you build them up, you train them. But also you have to come alongside that training and that instruction and what do you do? You also have to encourage. Because maybe you're going to try what it is you've been telling them to do and they mess it up royally. Well, what are you going to do? Chastise them and beat them down? Well, that's going to work out real good for you. No. What do you do? You come alongside and you exhort. You encourage. You come alongside. You motivate them. You assist them. You give them the tools that they need to do the job. You encourage them to press on. That's what Timothy's doing. I'm coming back because there's teaching that needs to be done. You haven't had a full-orbed Christian discipleship yet, so I'm going to do that. But then I'm also going to come along and I'm going to exhort you and encourage and press you on and assist you in your walk with the Lord. And the goal there, you'll see in verse number 2, I want to exhort you in your faith. And also that no one would be moved by these afflictions. So these believers are suffering too. It wasn't just Paul and the ministry team that was suffering persecution. Imagine all these pagans that are around in Thessalonica. And here's these new believers. They're saying, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. Ha! What's that? What's that all about? And then all of this persecution that takes place. And so Paul is concerned. Paul is concerned that they're not quite stabilized enough in the faith and that maybe they would falter somehow. They would fall away because of the persecution, because of those present circumstances of affliction that were upon them. So that's why he's sending Timothy to establish, to exhort, to press towards the goal of a firm faith. A faith that wouldn't be fickle. A faith that wouldn't fade out somehow because of the pressures that were upon them. You know, when you look at discipleship, you can really learn a lot from what Paul is saying here about God's plan in our own lives. I want to give you four G words, okay? I think these are really helpful. To think of a chronological progression of the Christian life. What is God doing in your life if you're a Christian? Go back to when you first became a Christian. I think one of the first things God does in the life of a believer is He wants them to come to a point of seeing that their faith is genuine. That's the first G word, that it's genuine. The genuineness of your faith. And what I'm talking about there is assurance of salvation. Assurance that you belong. And we know that this is God's intention. Why? Because the promise of the Holy Spirit. You've been adopted when you believed, and God gives the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit testifies to your sonship. So God wants His people to know that they're His people. If you've ever struggled with assurance, you need to understand that the biblical testimony is that God wants you to know. God doesn't want you to live your whole Christian experience wondering whether or not you're actually a believer. Now I know there's times and there's seasons where we go into examination and we think about it and sometimes we can fall into sin and that can harm our experience of feeling whether or not we're a Christian. I get that. I understand that. Assurance is a thing that fluctuates up and down, isn't it? Some days you're more assured than others. That happens, certainly. But God wants you to be certain. There's a genuineness, working out the genuineness of your faith. I think that's kind of the first ABC step. And then once you come to the point where you realize your faith is genuine, the next thing God does is He wants you to be grounded. That's your next G word, grounded. What do I mean by that? We're talking about firmed in the faith. You're settled, you're grounded, you're rooted deep. You're placed firm. Things are beginning to take on more of a settledness. Maybe the old double-mindedness going back and forth, waving to and fro between opinion. Maybe those things are beginning to go away because your mind is being informed by the Scripture. You're seeing principles from the Word of God. You're seeing imperatives from the Word of God. You're developing convictions. Your conscience is being trained by the revelation of God's Word. And so there's a groundedness that begins to take place. Now why is it that you would want to be grounded? Why does God want us to be grounded? Because what takes place after that? Well now you're in a position where you can grow. That's your next G word. This is the chronological plan, right? So there's genuineness, there's groundedness, and then there's growth. And my friend, that continues on until we die, until we step out of this world, and then the last G would be glory. Glory is the final stage. Actually, we could add a fifth G word and go back to the beginning. Even before Jenyan was... I can't believe I left this one out. Grace! Let's throw that one in there, right? You're saved by grace. Sorry, smacked me on the head over that one. Did you just think of that one? Just now, yeah. Just now, thought of it. So that's the Bible way. The Bible way is we have an experience of God's grace, don't we? And then there's genuineness, groundedness, growth, and then ultimately glory. And I think that's what's on Paul's mind as he sends Timothy back. He recognizes these people have experienced grace. They're gaining some assurance, perhaps, of their salvation. They're getting that part of it, and they're being grounded, and they need to grow. And so, there needs to be help along the way. And so, Paul is showing us by example that leaders love in the first place. And then that leaders also delegate. Now, third thing. Leaders remind. Leaders remind. Look here in verse number three and four. I don't want anybody to be moved by these afflictions, he says. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith. So hear from Paul. Paul is... Engaging here in the responsibility of the leader to remind their community, now listen to this, of fundamental and vital truths, especially fundamental and vital truths that are applicable in the moment. Now what's the fundamental truth that the Apostle Paul is talking about here? What's going on in the life of these believers? Well, they're under affliction. They're dealing with the same kind of persecution that the Apostle Paul dealt with. I'm telling you, I told you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction. And so Paul is wanting them to see that what they're experiencing and what's happening to them, it's not some unusual thing. And that this is in fact the lot for the Christians. So he reminds them then of that fundamental lesson. And then also it's interesting in verse number four that he reminds them of when and how they learned it. He goes back to the time. It's almost like he says here, look, when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand. It's almost like Paul is trying to call their attention back to maybe the home that they were meeting in, or maybe the shade tree that they sat under, or maybe somewhere in the town that they had a place where they just kind of hung out together. And he's calling to their memory, don't you remember the lessons that I gave you? You know, fast forward to modern times. Suppose you as a Christian were struggling with something and you called me or one of the other elders. Part of the responsibility would be, hey, don't you remember when I was preaching through that series of sermons when I told you about this thing? Don't you remember that doctrine that we talked about at the Friday night Bible study? Don't you remember the midweek meeting? Don't you remember the prayer meeting when we talked about that specific issue? We talked about that particular thing. I want you to go back in your mind and I want you to remember the instruction. And by the way, I remember when you were in that meeting and I remember when the light bulbs were going off and you were joyful and you were excited because you were learning all of these great truths, all of this great Christian doctrine. And so Paul is reminding them. He's taking them back to that time. And furthermore, there in verse number 4, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction just as it has come to pass. Look at this. And just as you know. It's not that you don't know this. You've just maybe forgotten it. And Paul is telling them, this is part of your concrete knowledge as a Christian. This isn't some foreign thing. You know what concrete knowledge is, don't you? When I talk about concrete knowledge, I'm talking about things that are so ingrained in you. Things that are just part of your fiber, part of your being, you're never going to forget. That lesson's always there. Oh yeah, there may be moments when you're fuzzy on it, or maybe you forget certain things for a moment, but then when it's brought to your remembrance, you're like, oh yeah, yeah, I know that. That's happened to me a million times. And I think Paul is, in doing this, I don't necessarily think this is so much a rebuke against them as it is an encouragement to them. I think he's trying to encourage them because you're always encouraged when reality measures up with the truth that you've been told. Right? That's an exciting thing, by the way, as a Christian. Listen. This is one of the most beautiful things about Christianity. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, claims to be the Word of God and also claims that everything that it says is true. How do you know something is true? Well, it corresponds to reality. The Bible is the map that describes the territory accurately. And as a Christian, when that comes to you experientially with a particular thing, when you've been told a particular truth, and then you're out here in your daily life, and the reality of that becomes now your experience, that is an encouragement, isn't it? You go back and you read the Bible and you say, God said it would be that way. And that's exactly how it is. And it's a faith builder. And I think what Paul is doing is masterful, really, if you think about what he's doing in the letter. He's saying, you already know this. You already know it. I told it to you back here. Remember the time. Remember the place where we had the lesson. You know this to be true. We've revealed to you God's Word. And if you connect the dots, you Thessalonian believers, if you put it all together, You should be encouraged by the fact that reality is lining up with the truth propositions that we gave you. And so your faith then should be built up and you should be encouraged by that. We also need to be reminded tonight, brothers and sisters, of the same lesson that Paul is teaching them. This lesson about affliction, primarily affliction that comes because of persecution. You know, this is a little bit foreign to us, isn't it? In our American context. I mean, our experience, by the way, as Christians in our American context, at least as of right now, and at least in this region in which we live, is not really the normal experience of our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world. Other believers are persecuted far more than we are here. I mean, really, it's true. Just look around and think about other countries and think about the real experience of most Christians. Oh, I understand. You can endure some persecution by someone mocking you or making fun of you or ridiculing you because you speak something from the Bible. But that's nothing in comparison to what some of our brothers and sisters experience, right? And so we need to be reminded of this. I mean, our Lord Jesus Himself said it, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you. It says, when others revile you and persecute you, not if others revile you and persecute you. And utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely on my account. And He follows that up and He says, but you need to rejoice when that happens. And you need to be exceedingly glad. For your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Also in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12. I think I've mentioned this verse in our study of 1 Thessalonians. But in verse 12, chapter 3, 2 Timothy. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. That's the real experience. I mean, that is a lesson that we need to get a hold of. This wasn't true just for the Thessalonian believers. This is a message for all time concerning Christians. And so we need to get that lesson. Also, like the Apostle Paul, and furthermore like the Apostle Peter, both of these brothers agree and teach that we need to be reminded of certain fundamental truths and certain doctrines, things that we already know. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 12 and following, Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of a reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me, and I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things." Peter says, you have got to remember. I'm going to stir you up to remember. I'm going to press it upon you. Here's the idea, and by the way, think of this in the context of ministry. The job of a pastor or multiple pastors or elders in a church is to teach comprehensively the Christian faith. In other words, we could say it this way, over a course of so many years, the fullness of Christian doctrine should be spoken in the church. Over the course of, say, three to five years, there really should be no Christian doctrine that has not been spoken at some point in the church. Well, I heard one pastor say one time, He said, you know what, I've been at this church for eight years. I don't have anything else to tell these people. I've already told them everything. Ah, he missed a vital point, didn't he? Listen, you teach comprehensively and then you remind. You teach comprehensively and then you remind. And you know what's going to happen? There's a cycle that's going forth. New people are going to be saved and the older saints who are being reminded, the new saints at the same time are going to be instructed. There's comprehensive doctrine that has to be taught and then there is the reminding ministry. The secret to a long and fruitful ministry is that combination. Teach comprehensively and then remind. Teach comprehensively and then remind. How do you think a man like John MacArthur stayed at a place for 50 years? You teach comprehensively and then you remind. And you say, well, it took him something like 40 years to make it all the way through the New Testament. Oh yeah, that's true. But do you know how many times he taught and reminded of the very same doctrines just in different books of the Bible? Listen, do you understand that you can teach Pretty much everything in the Christian faith, if you take time and just teach through one book of the Bible. Martin Lloyd-Jones, he preached 270 or 280 sermons, I think, something like that, in the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians! Six chapters in the Bible! It took him years to do it. Now why do you think he did that? Because he was going so slow through that book that he was taking all of the rest of the Bible and he was pouring it through the verses in Ephesians. So you can do it that way. You can go really slow through a small amount of Scripture. Or you can go faster and you can cover more Scripture. But the point's the same. You're going to teach the same doctrines. They're going to be reminded. They're going to be unfolded. Maybe in more light, more understanding. But the job is to teach comprehensively and then remind. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Paul teaches this. Peter teaches this. So leaders remind the community. The fourth lesson from the Apostle Paul. Very important. Leaders are flexible. Leaders are flexible. Verse 5. Paul says, for this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith." Once again, remember, Paul is wanting to get back to the Thessalonian church personally. But he could not do that, and so what had to happen? If the need was going to be met, if the problems that were there were going to be faced and dealt with, the plans had to change. He couldn't do it. He couldn't be there. He couldn't meet all of the issues himself. And so the lesson is that leaders remain flexible when things don't go according to plan. Sometimes you just have to rearrange your plans to keep things on track so as to reach the intended goal. There's an old saying, an old quote, blessed are the flexible for they will not be bent out of shape. I like that. Blessed are the flexible for they'll not be bent out of shape. We need to get hold of that truth, don't we? That's true for all of us. How many times have you noticed that your day didn't go exactly like you thought it was going to go? How many times have you gotten out your day planner and tried to plan your day? I think it's so funny. You go to Office Depot and you buy one of them day calendars and the day's divided up into 15 minute increments. Are you kidding me? Never happens, does it? Never works that way. You have to learn to be flexible. Leaders are flexible. Now fifth and final leadership lesson from Paul. Leaders stay focused. Leaders stay focused. Verse 5 again. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. Paul says there's this progression of thought that's going on. So think of how Paul would be thinking. My love and concern for you pressed me. Once my patience ran out, I was pressed to get accurate knowledge of the situation, so I sent Timothy. I did this because of my focus on the goal. And that goal is that you would have steadfast and growing faith. Furthermore, I have a realistic view of the problems and the dangers that would hinder the goal, namely satanic opposition. You see that there in verse number 5, don't you? I had fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you. Paul was concerned about that. And he says, I didn't want our gospel labor to be in vain. And so a diagnosis had to take place so that the needed action could follow. I had to have some knowledge. I needed some information. So I had to send Timothy to get it all figured out. You know, leaders are focused on those kind of things, aren't they? The particular way in which they get to the goal may change, but they never lose sight of the goal. And what was the goal for Paul? The goal for Paul was the settling and the maturing of these believers. This is what he wanted. Let me say it to you this way. Leaders focus on the mark, and they focus on means that help them reach the mark. You focus on the bullseye. You focus on the mark. You have to keep believers in our setting, the church setting. You have to keep believers on track. They need a steadfast and a growing faith. The work of the ministry has to continue. People have to be prepared for the things that they're going to face that might get them off track. And here no leaders are in Thessalonica. And Paul knows this. And what's he thinking automatically? He's recognizing that we have a great foe as Christians, don't we? The wolf prowls. The sheep are helpless. They need a shepherd with his rod and a staff to do the necessary work. These people are shepherdless. And Paul is thinking, oh my, what exposure that they're having right now, perhaps to satanic opposition. And if the enemy gets a hold, it's always gonna be his job to try to scatter the sheep, to try to get them to move away from their steadfastness, to get them off guard, to get them in a place where they don't need to be. And so Paul says, oh, we have to get them prepared. We have to be there. Something has to happen because we want them steadfast and growing in the faith. And so the leader, He has to focus on his mark and he has to employ the proper means to help his followers reach the intended goal. It's real simple. The leader, in a spiritual setting, in a church setting, what does he do? He teaches, he reminds, and he warns. And in so doing, prepares the people for what might come. Well, what do we think tonight as we close? I think it's obvious that the world needs leadership. We need people who can properly diagnose problems and then bring forth the needed solution. Just go home and try to organize one of the rooms in your house tonight or this week. You'll face a lot of problems, won't you? Practice your leadership skills in your own bedroom. It's a good place to start. diagnose problems, find the solution. That's what we do. And that's not just for somebody else out there, that's for you. It's not just for pastors, that's for you. All of us can take time to identify problems and provide leadership to that. And you grow in your leadership. Many lessons about leadership, but tonight we've looked at five pretty important ones. If you have followers, if you have a community, you have to love those people. You have to learn to delegate. You have to remind people. You have to be flexible and you have to stay focused. Ask yourself a few questions tonight in relation to these five truths. Here's a good one. Do we actually love and show concern for other people? Just think of your own life. Think of the people that are in your life and ask that question. Start in your own house. Think about it with your kids. Do I show love? Would my child think, based on what I say and what I do, that I'm actually concerned for them? Maybe you don't have kids. Maybe you just, you and your husband or you and your wife. Does my spouse recognize that I have concerns for them and that I actually care about them? Do we serve others through delegation if we're unable to meet the need? You know, obviously we personally want to serve as many people as we can, but sometimes we just can't. And you have to delegate. Do we sacrifice for other people? Is there a cost involved in what we do when we help other people? Do we operate with specific intent and with a strategic plan? Do we have a realistic view of potential and actual problems around us and the dangers that other people that we know face? What's one of the most loving things you can do as you deal with people? gently, lovingly, point out things that are dangerous in their life, maybe that they don't see, maybe that they're not paying attention to. You just kind of take time and say, hey brother, hey sister, can I kind of put this on your radar? I think this is something maybe you're not aware of. It would be helpful for you to think about this. Do we prepare others in our communities by teaching and reminding and warning and encouraging them? Be honest about this one. Are we really flexible when plans don't go according to the way they think they were gonna go or should go? Do we stay focused on the mark and the methods that we must employ in order to carry out God's purpose for our lives? Walk away tonight with a resolution to lead yourself and to lead others. And like Paul, do all the good that you can in this world until the Lord calls you home, amen? All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you tonight for this simple passage of Scripture that gives us profound truth. Lord, I'm so thankful for these lessons from the example of the Apostle Paul. And Lord, I pray tonight, first, that I would apply these things to my own life. But Lord, all of us here tonight, that we would take note of these things and recognize that this instruction, this example of Paul, this isn't just for ministers. This is for all of us, Lord. Whatever spheres that we operate in, Lord, we can use these principles to make the environment around us better and more godly and more holy and more glorifying to You, Lord. And that's why You've left us in this world to be salt and light. And part of the way that we do that, Lord, is we diagnose the situations that are around us and we provide the remedy. And Lord, that remedy is always from Your Word. So Father, I pray that we would be Bible-wise in our lives, Lord. that we would understand this book, and Lord, that we would see its sufficiency, and that we would live off of it, and that we would understand that this Bible, Your revealed truth, Lord, trumps all other opinions and all other thoughts of fallen men. It reigns supreme. It is the throne, Lord. It is the high point. It'll instruct us, it'll help us, it'll teach us. And Lord, may we remember, keep in remembrance the things that You've taught us, the things that You've shown us. Help us to have the right view of things. We need a Bible mind, Lord, and I pray that You would give it to us. Lord, thank You for our church. I pray that You would continue to bless us, Lord, as I think about the Thessalonian church and all of the struggles that they went through, Lord. Every church struggles with certain things. But Lord, in the midst of that trouble, all of us, because we have the instructions, all of us can be a model church, just like they were. They did exactly what they should have done. We read that opening section in Thessalonians. how Paul commended them for so many amazing things. We want to be that kind of church. Lord, even in the midst of persecution or trouble or hardship, Lord, we never want to be overcome by those things. We don't want to be moved off of the foundation that we stand upon. We want to be settled and we want to be growing and we want to give you glory. And I pray that this would be the case. In Christ's name, Amen.