Good morning. Thank you so much for the invitation to be with you this morning to be able to open God's Word with you and to be able to study it together. Thank you for the introduction, Dr. Phelps. Thank you to the lady who ministered just now in music with the clarinet. Our firstborn, our daughter, she plays the clarinet. She would have loved to have heard that. And The hymn, Like a River Glorious, happens to be my wife's favorite hymn. Such soothing words of comfort when we think about the Lord and his many graces to us. Thank you, Pastor Smith and the staff here at Bethel Baptist for showing such great hospitality. Thank you for all the attention to detail and the spirit of excellence. Thank you, Pastor Vaughn, again for the opportunity and the invitation to be with you today. It must have really, really hurt. Lots of pain shooting up through his back. And not only his back, but also the back of Silas. When Paul and Silas would sit down and even just try to reach with their hands past their knees to tie up their sandals. It must have been very painful. They had been beaten there in Philippi and had been horribly mistreated. Little wonder then that after the salvation of the Philippian jailer and all of his household that Paul and Silas were attended to there in the house of Lydia, the seller of purple of Philippi. But they didn't really have too much time to attend to their wounds. They would have been bandaged up and sent along their way. It would have taken those first painful steps down the Ignatian Highway onto Amphipolis and then onto Apollonia. And then from there onto Thessalonica, the great city, the capital city of Macedonia. Even by modern standards, it was a large city, some 200,000 inhabitants. But by ancient standards, it was the fourth or the fifth largest city in the entire Roman Empire, the city of Thessalonica, capital of Macedonia. Cicero writes in his Pro Palantio, When he describes Thessalonica, he says that it was a city that was posita in gremio in parigi nostri, meaning it was situated in the bosom of our domain. Thessalonica was a strategic city located along the banks of the Aegean, really on the Thermaeic Gulf that opens out to that great waterway, the blue waves of the Aegean. Paul arrived at this bustling port city, still probably experiencing some of the pain from the recent beating in Philippi. It was a bustling port city, but it was also a strategic city because it was located on the Ignatian Highway, one of the major superhighways of the Roman Empire. And he would have come in from east to west, and he would have entered in through the Arch of Galerius, which still stands to this day in the modern city of Salonica with all of its many-tiered relief of the Roman culture there that's portrayed on that important arch. He would have come into the city. There he found the synagogue. Unlike Philippi, which was a predominantly Roman city, And there were not enough Jewish people to form a quorum, so they could not have the mignon for the synagogue services. But here in Thessalonica, there was a large and important Jewish community. And with its synagogue and with its important scrolls there in the Geniza, in the cabinet where they would bring the scrolls out, Paul, having the rabbinic credentials, would be called to the bema, to the pulpit. And after the scriptures were read, We are told in Acts chapter 17 that he would reason with those people who were there, those Jewish people. His fellow Jewish people would listen to the Apostle Saul of Tarsus as he would explain to them the truth of the Gospel. And we're told exactly the nature of his message, that for the better part of a month, the Apostle Paul stood up and he reasoned with the people from the Scriptures that Messiah must need suffer and that he must rise again from the dead. And there were those who professed faith in Jesus of Nazareth. as Messiah. And there was a large number of devout Greek speakers who joined with those Jewish people who placed their faith in Jesus of Nazareth. And, in fact, the inroads of the Gospel were so dramatic that the Apostle Paul found that the invitation had been terminated, and he had to move close by to the house of one named Jason, where they continued, for a short time anyway, preaching the gospel, Paul and Silas, and discipling those infant Christians as they were taking their baby steps and following Jesus Christ. Well, with that in mind, I would like for you please to open your Bibles with me to the first epistle to the Thessalonians in chapter 2. First Thessalonians and chapter 2. Here we see Paul reminiscing as to his entrance and ministry there in the great city of Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 2 beginning at verse 1. When Paul thinks about Thessalonica, he not only thinks about this great city that was situated in the bosom of Rome's domain, but he also thinks about the way that the Gospel came into the very heart and the bosom of so many there in Thessalonica and how he had the opportunity to teach them through apostolic pure doctrine. And when we study these first 12 verses of this chapter together this morning, we will be encouraged in the Gospel ministry. We'll be strengthened by the Spirit and by the truth of God's Word. Before we read, would you bow your head with me, please, and let's ask for the Lord's special blessing on our time of study together. O Holy Father, we thank you for the fellowship that we enjoy here with fellow believers and fellow soldiers. Thank you for calling so many here to the vocational gospel ministry. We thank you, Father, for the strength that we will find in your word. We pray that you would build us up in our most holy faith. May the truth of the scriptures drive away any incorrect thought. May it convict us of any impure motive, we pray, so that when we leave this session and as we continue through this conference and then return to our places of ministry, Father, we would beseech You, please, with the good gifts that come to us from You, would You please so motivate us, so work in our hearts We'll be eager and ready to return to the various pulpits and places of ministry, we pray. We ask this, Lord, not simply for our benefit, but most importantly, we ask it so that You might be glorified. For You are a great God and worthy of all praise and adoration. Thank You for listening to us this morning as we speak to You in the authority of Your Son, Jesus. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 2, beginning at verse 1. For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you that it was not in vain. But even after that, we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated. As ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much contention. In these first two verses here, we see how that the Apostle Paul, in the Gospel ministry, he conducted a profound ministry in the face of persecution. Even though he faced resistance and worse, the mistreatment of Philippi, the Apostle Paul in no way watered down his message. He continued to preach the Gospel of God. And that is a profound message. He calls it the Gospel of God here in chapter 2 and verse 2. The Gospel of God. But he also calls it the Gospel of God in verse 8 where we read, So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, Not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls because He were dear unto us. And then also again in verse 9, Paul refers to it there at the end of verse 9 as the Gospel of God. The Gospel then is a message that does not come from some mere human committee. It wasn't a message that people came together and wrote up. It's not even a great resolution from the FBFI. The Gospel is something that comes from God Himself. That's why the Apostle Paul, when he was reasoning with the Jewish people there in Thessalonica, he was preaching from the Scriptures, because it's a message that comes from God. The revelation of God Himself to sinful humanity. It's a message that comes from God. It's also a message about God, is it not? It tells us about how God is holy and righteous and just. And it's a message from God that tells us so much about ourselves. We, as human beings, we are sinful. And we are deserving of God's righteous wrath. That's how holy God is. That's how sinful we are. But God in His love sent His Son, Jesus Christ, from heaven's glory into this earth. He was born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus, the Son of God, being fully God and perfectly human. He never sinned once. Not once and could not even sin. And in spite of His sinless perfection, He was crucified. Crucified, and there on that cross, He experienced God the Father's righteous punishment that you and I deserve. Jesus did not deserve that punishment, but as the substitutionary Lamb of God, the One who bore upon Himself, took upon Himself the punishment, the wrath that we deserve, He, in that substitutionary death, satisfied God's righteous demands. Placated God's wrath so that now the Gospel goes out throughout all the earth. And whoever will believe in Jesus of Nazareth and receive Him by faith as Savior is born again. Think of it. That the Messiah must need suffer, but that He also must need rise again from the dead. And His resurrection is proof positive that God the Father is satisfied with Jesus' sacrifice. And that the offer of eternal life, of resurrection life, is freely made available to everyone who places his or her faith in Jesus alone for salvation. That has to be good news. That has to be the Gospel. And that has to be good news from God Himself. It's not a method that you and I can improve upon. Any change to it would be a lessening of that good news that comes to us from God. Well, of course, the Apostle Paul preached that good news from God, and he preached it in the face of persecution. Our text begins by explaining, for you yourselves, and the you is emphatic in the Greek, you yourselves, Thessalonian believers, you brothers in Jesus Christ, you brethren, you know, and Paul makes much of the knowledge here of believers, in 1 Thessalonians multiple times. In chapter 1, verse 5, here in 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, and 2.11, just for starters, Paul calls the Thessalonian believers to remember his ministry. And just as an aside here, this is why I do think that the gospel ministry is always best tied to the local church. If for the simple reason there's this accountability, and good ministry takes place in many different venues, don't misunderstand what I'm saying, but when we minister through local churches and in partnership with local churches, then born-again believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, are able to stand witness and have accountability for the ways in which ministry is conducted. And here I see the humility of the apostle himself. Saul of Tarsus saying, you, yourselves Thessalonian believers, you know what kind of ministry we had among you. That this entrance that we had to you, and it wasn't just the entrance through the gate of Galerius, which I've mentioned, but I do think he's referring more to his entrance of the ministry itself, the inroads of the Gospel, the way that the good news came there to Thessalonica. You know our entrance in unto you that it was not in vain. Now, it is true that Paul's ministry was not fruitless, and some take that word vain in that sense. It wasn't fruitless. To be sure, we know of at least one convert by name, Justin. He's referred to in the account there by Dr. Lucan Acts in chapter 17. Justin. But we have a strong, and I think a good guess would be that there are others who are named who were also converted there in Thessalonica, people like Demas, who later on would leave Paul, and there was Gaius, who is mentioned in Acts 19, and Secundus, and others even in Acts chapter 20. So we know some of these by name, people who placed their faith in Jesus of Nazareth. And then there is a host of people, of course, who placed their faith in Jesus, and they're not named. These would be the Jewish people and the devout Greek speakers, and as Dr. Luke is accustomed to describe, and not a few of the prominent women who also placed their faith in Jesus Christ. And so it would be correct to say that there were results to the Apostle Paul's ministry, but It is not the Greek word that's used here. When it says that it was not in vain, he's not referring to the fact that it wasn't fruitless. To be sure, there was fruit. But what Paul is saying instead here is that it was not empty. It was not devoid of content. No, he did not have a hollow message. In fact, as he says later in chapter 2 and verse 13, for this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when he received the word of God, which he heard of us, he received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. It was not a hollow message in its content. It had, in fact, the very words of God that Paul communicated. It was not lacking in its earnestness either or in its zeal. That's seen in chapter 2 and verse 14. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews. The Apostle Paul taught the gospel, and the gospel had an impact, and people's lives were changed, and they became earnest and zealous just like he was. So it was not hollow in its content, it was not lacking in its earnestness, and it was not devoid of purpose. It was not an empty kind of an entrance that Paul had among the Thessalonians there. Verse 2 explains, but even after that we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated. And that's a special word. To be shamefully treated means that they were publicly humiliated. Back in Philippi, to the east there down the Ignatian Highway, Paul and Silas, as you know, they were unjustly, unlawfully treated. Their robes were torn off. They were beaten with rods. They received many stripes. They were put into the innermost part of the dungeon there in Philippi. Their ankles were put in the stocks, not just to confine them, but I think also to torture them. But in spite of all of that mistreatment, and it's a strong word, which means to be outrageously, insolently treated, especially with a view toward public humiliation, when they were treated that way simply because they set free a slave girl from demonic possession. That that night, as you know, Paul and Silas had their prayer meeting, and they sang songs of praise, and everyone was listening in, and the earthquake came, and God set them free, and because of the advance of the Gospel, no one ran free, but people were set free from their sins that night. And then Paul and Silas were taken care of there in the house of Lydia, and they were sent on their way down the Via Ignatia. Oh, Paul says, even though we were mistreated insolently, we did not diminish the content of our message. We didn't try to step back from this teaching of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humanity. No, just in boldness more, God gave us courage that was not of human origin. Because it says in verse 2, we are bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention, or in the face of much opposition. And that opposition then also took place in Thessalonica because Dr. Luke explains in Acts that as the number of Christians increased, that some of the religious opponents of the Apostle Paul got a big mob together and this crowd broke into The house of Jason. I think I might have called him Justin earlier, but I meant Jason. And to Jason's house. And they were looking for Paul and Silas, and they didn't find them. And the mob worked its way over to the magistrates of the city. And again, it's interesting. God's Word is always true. Always true. And when Dr. Luke refers to those city magistrates, those aldermen of Thessalonica, we learn from the secular extra-biblical accounts that there were always five or six in number. And they had a special name. Those leaders did in the Greek language. And that name was unique throughout all of the Roman Empire. And guess which word Dr. Luke uses in Acts? That very word. Which, by the way, had been recorded in Greek on the West Gate, the Varlar Gate, which was destroyed back in 1876. It just all comes together. They were trying to to intimidate Paul with the mob violence and with the charge that were brought before the magistrates of the city. And I love the charge that they brought to those magistrates. Do you remember it? These men who have turned the world upside down have come here to. Paul and Silas have turned the world upside down. They had not diminished the content of their message in any way, even though they were facing persecution at each and every stop along that Ignatian Highway. I think that's a source of encouragement for us this morning, isn't it? Even if people say no to the Gospel, that we do not in any way water down its truth. We don't adulterate it. smooth it over or make light of it. I would never even joke around about the Gospel, would you? It's serious business. It's a message of eternal consequence. And it is good news. Good news. May we find courage then just as the Apostle Paul found courage from the Lord himself. Now, in the next paragraph, we see a development here because the Apostle Paul is not only conducting a ministry that is content rich, that's profound in the face of persecution, but he also conducts a pure ministry. Not only is it profound because it comes from God, but it's also pure. It's pure in its message, yes. There's no deceit as we will see. It's also pure in the sense that his motives are all about Christ and not about himself. And it's pure in its methodology. There's no misleading, no trickery, no cunning involved in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. And we'll learn from this as well. Now, let's pick it up again in verse 3. Paul writes, for our exhortation was not of deceit. I think that refers to the message itself. There was no error in the message. Our message was not one of deceit, nor of uncleanness. Now, specifically, this may refer to a charge that his detractors may have brought against Paul after he left Thessalonica. There may have been some who said, yes, the Apostle Paul tries to gather a crowd around himself, and maybe he's like those many traveling charlatans who attract a crowd in order to have some kind of a sexual conquest. That might be the exact reference here, but more generally and perhaps even more correctly, when he talks about nor of uncleanness, it may not be of a sexual nature, but instead it may be just generally referring to his own motives, the purity of his motives. And to be sure, in verses four and five, he does speak about his motivations. And so if you'll just let me homiletically, because I have three M's here, if that would be all right. We do see that Paul has a purity in his message. There's no error. There's a purity in his motive. There's no uncleanness. There's nothing about self. He's not preaching the gospel simply to build a crowd. He's preaching the gospel because people need to hear it. He's not preaching the gospel because he's wanting to become famous. or known. It's not about popularity or he's not doing it in order so that he might have persuasion for himself to get his own will accomplished in the name of Jesus. It's all about Jesus from start to finish in the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. That's the motive. that we see in his proclamation of the gospel. So he says, nor of uncleanness. And then he says, nor in guile. And that refers to the purity of his methodology. The Greek word at the time was used to refer to a lure that was used by fishermen. Some of you like to fish and you know about lures. Paul says we didn't We didn't bait and switch. We didn't try to bring people in for one thing and then try to surprise them with the gospel. Paul says it was a gospel ministry from start to finish. People knew what they were getting into. And I find this a challenge, don't you? That when we evaluate the ministries that God has given to us, when we Assess them. When we think about why we do what we do and how we do what we do, whether it be in a church here in America or on the mission fields of the world, that our methodology must be wedded to the message. There has to be a strong cohesion. We need to be creative. Don't misunderstand. We need to be creative in our methodology, but not creative to the point that it's detracting from the message or compromises the message. It makes people wonder, do they really believe that gospel stuff when they have all these other things going on? In other words, less of a circus mentality, more of a holy proclamation, a serious explanation of the gospel. That's what he's talking about here a ministry that has no guile in it. Very, very convicting for all of us here that we would leave this place and desiring with Paul to have a purity of ministry for our exhortation, he says, was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. And then continuing in this vein of the motivations of the heart versus four and five and the motivation of the heart are so difficult, aren't they? The heart is deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, so it was a sacred charge, a sacred trust, even as he explains this ministry as a stewardship in 1 Corinthians 9.17, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God which trieth our hearts. And even though the Apostle Paul repeatedly here says, you Thessalonian believers, you remember how we ministered the Gospel among you. But when he comes to the motivations of the heart, he has to appeal to God as witness. Because we can only inspect fruit. We can only see the outward actions and results. But God knows the heart. He knows. He is the One who assays our hearts who tries our ways. The omniscient One who knows exactly why we do what we do. Sobering. And Paul, with his great solemnity, calls Almighty God in as witness. The Lord knows that even though there be some in Thessalonica today who are detracting from that ministry, who are critical of that church plant, God knows The pure motives of our hearts. Oh, to be able to say that. We have received a sacred trust. The message of the Gospel. And we've been entrusted with the ministry of that Gospel. And one day we will stand before the Lord Jesus at the bane of judgment. And each one of us will give an account for the things that we have done in these our bodies, whether they were good or whether those things were worthless. Only what is done for Christ will last. So serve Christ with purity of heart, purity of motives, with that pure, unadulterated message of the Gospel. Find strength in today's text, pastor, missionary, Christian worker. May we serve the Lord with gladness. He says in verse five, for neither at any time used we flattering words. As you know, Paul writes here, we didn't use any flattering words, nor a cloak of covetousness. And then again, he calls God in as witness. God is witness. They weren't using any cajolery. You know this, he says. There were no insincere words. We weren't trying to exploit you so that you would do our own bidding. We weren't trying to line our own pockets. We didn't put a mask on to cover any kind of hidden greed. But it's more than just a love of money, like that which is spoken of in 1 Timothy 6.10. It's greed in the general sense. Any self-serving motivation, anything that has to do with self-gratification. There was no self-seeking in Paul's ministry of the Gospel. There was no cloak of covetousness. God is witness. Verse 6, nor of men sought we glory. We didn't seek the praise of other people. We weren't worried about what people thought about us so much as we were concerned about what Christ would think about the way we handled the gospel. Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. As it says in 1 Timothy 5.18, and that's a special verse, the Scriptures in the plural explain, quoting from the Old Testament, also from the words of our Savior in the New Testament. Scriptures explain, do not muzzle the ox while he's treading out the corn. In Jesus, our Savior said that the laborer is worthy of his hire. Paul explains here and elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 9 and in 2 Corinthians 11 that those who minister the Gospel have the right to expect financial remuneration. There's an obligation placed upon those who are recipients and beneficiaries of that ministry to take care of their pastors, of their leaders in the local assemblies. And Paul does not in any way detract from that right. He says we have the right as apostles, but he wanted to make a point, a special point there in Thessalonica and in some other places, that he would not become burdensome to those in Thessalonica. Perhaps he was going out of his way to contrast himself with those traveling charlatans, which I've spoken to you of earlier. These people who would travel throughout the Greco-Roman world with their various religious and philosophical nostrums, and they would try to gather a crowd, and by that, they would make a living at the expense of their deceived listeners. Perhaps Paul, therefore, is saying, I'm not in any way like those traveling charlatans. Also, Paul knows that he's as a church planner, that the assembly would be small and just getting started. And so a gift comes down the Via Ignatia, that Ignatian Highway, from Philippi. I mentioned in Philippians chapter 4, even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent once and again a semi-necessity. And he's able to live a little bit off of the gift there from the Philippian believers, people who didn't have much money themselves. But that wasn't enough to take care of his needs. So you know the rest of the story. The Apostle Paul set up a tent-making shop. He either sewed tents and constructed them. Others think perhaps he made tent-like material which would be used in the wars. In Thessalonica, that material would be needed because the soldiers were marching from the west to Thessalonica. Then they would turn at the great intersection in Thessalonica and they would go on the north-south road and march way up north to the Danube River to fight in the northern wars there in Dacia and in Dalmatia. At any rate, there we find Paul. He doesn't want to become a burden to the Thessalonian believers. He could have, but he chose not to. And he worked either making the tents or making the tent material. And that's why he works night and day. He works throughout the day. Both to take care of his own needs and the needs of those men who travel with him. And then as the opportunities arise, and he made sure that he had opportunity, he proclaimed the Gospel of God. This then was an outward demonstration of a purity of motive. And it's exemplary for us as we consider the Apostle Paul. He says here, for neither at any time use we flattering words. We didn't have a cloak of covetousness. There was no mask covering our greed. I'll prove it to you. Verse six, he says, we didn't become burdensome to you, even though we might have been burdensome. Verse seven, but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children. And this verse then brings us to the final section of this morning's text of Scripture. The Apostle Paul, just to rehearse for you, he continued in his profound ministry, because it's the Gospel of God kind of a ministry, in the face of persecution. He didn't change the message in any way. Secondly, we have learned that he had a purity of ministry, notwithstanding his detractors. Notwithstanding the complaints or the criticisms of his detractors, the Apostle Paul had a proven track record of purity of ministry. And now he kind of summarizes it for us here in verses 7 through the end of the passage by explaining to us that in his gospel ministry, Paul also had a parental approach, and I would add in to this in spite of himself. Everything we read about Paul, we find he was a type A personality. Okay? Maybe type A on steroids kind of a thing. It must have been at times extremely difficult to work with the Apostle Paul. Can you imagine that? Get up! Get up! We've got to get going. We've got morning Bible studies. Sir, it's early in the morning and you were preaching through the night. Well, we're only here for a short period of time, and eternity is forever, so let's go. You can imagine it must have been very, very difficult. But as Paul continued to walk with Jesus, he gradually was changed. I don't think he ever lost any of the zeal. I don't think he ever lost any of the earnestness. But I do think when we read, not just between the lines, but we actually read the lines themselves, that as Paul ministered more and more, he added to that type A, driven, goal-oriented ministry, he also added the softness and tenderness of our Savior. He had it all. Because he had Christ. And this is also convicting for all of us. Especially for those of us who are strong. But we learn now that in the gospel ministry, it's the communication of truth. But the gospel ministry involves people. And so when we reach out to people, we need to keep that in mind also. And Paul looks to the roles of parents to provide him the paradigm for a full-fledged, God-honoring gospel ministry. And we pick it up now in verse 7. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. You were beloved by us. He says we were gentle, like a nurse Or even, because it says, her own children, we might translate that as, but we were gentle among you even as a nursing mother who cherishes her own children. In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a wet nurse would enter into a contractual obligation with a wealthy family and she would take care of the infant that would be born into that home so that the mother wouldn't have to nurse the baby. But that was the extent of the relationship. It was a contractual obligation. The wet nurse might have a personal relationship then with the baby throughout the baby's life, throughout the coming years of development. But the Apostle Paul says we weren't simply like a wet nurse who would enter into a contractual obligation with you. No, we were like a nursing mother who cherishes her own children. We were selfless. We were without guile. We held nothing back. We gave to you even our own souls, the innermost core of our beings. Paul and Silas did, because ye, Thessalonian believers, ye were beloved by us. We loved you, even as he says later in verse 17, that we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. When we minister the Gospel in our various places of assignment, we must minister the Gospel in truth, but we also must minister it in love. People have to sense that we genuinely love them. Jesus loves them. We need to love them. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's difficult. And humanly, sometimes it may even approach the impossible. But that's when, as we yield ourselves over to Jesus, and as His indwelling Holy Spirit works through us and produces the virtue of the risen Lord, There is within us the resurrection life, and we are divinely enabled not only to be emboldened in the face of persecution, but also we are divinely enabled to be loving as the Savior loves. And so as a nursing mother would cherish her own children, so Paul cherished those who are committed to his charge. Verse 8, so being affectionately devoted, or desirous he says, We know that you were dear unto us. Now verse 9, For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail. We were wearied because we worked so hard, and there was much hardship there. For laboring night and day, because we made tents, and because we preached the Gospel, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you. We didn't shy away from hard work like so many other Jewish men of the era. We learned to trade. Paul says. But beyond that, we wanted to make a statement, and it was necessary within that Thessalonian context, that we had pure motives. For you remember, brethren, see how continually he calls the believers of the church to account. You remember, brethren, our labor and surveil for laboring night and day because we would not be chargeable unto any of you. We preached unto you. There it is again. The Gospel of God. So he ministered like a mother, but he also ministered like a father. Verse 10, ye are witnesses. Again, he appeals to the Thessalonians. Ye are witnesses, and God also. Bringing God in as witness. How holily. This would be how devoutly and justly, that is, righteously, according to God's expectations for ministry. That's how we conducted ourselves. It was a truth-based ministry. Content-rich ministry. And we were unblameable. It's not that people couldn't criticize us. They do. That's why the Spirit of God was directing Paul to write 1 Thessalonians 2, verses 1-12 as a defense of his ministry. But it's that their criticisms were baseless because he was, in fact, blameless. How wholly and justly and unblameably we behave ourselves among you that believe. As ye know, there it is again, as ye know, how we exhorted. That is, we encouraged and we urged And then he tells us the full array of his ministry approaches. And we comforted and we charged every one of you as a father doth his children. And then verse 12, that ye would walk worthy of God who hath called you into His kingdom and glory. The Apostle Paul exhorted with those positive urgings and those encouragements. He also comforted where comforting was necessary. He soothed those who were hurting. He cheered those who were downcast. I think he inspired those whose hands had fallen down and felt like the match was over if they were in a boxing match. He was there also, though, because he had a breadth of ministry. He was there to charge them. He gave them the solemn and earnest entreaties. He had certain issues that he really insisted on. His speeches, his sermons, his Bible studies, they were strong with their encouragement. I think that they were soothing with their comfort and that they were also very serious and solemn in the way that he charged the Thessalonians there. And he did this as a father. Reaches out to his own children. Individually, a father gives attention to his own children. Sometimes a child needs the word of comfort. Sometimes a child needs the word of rebuke. And Paul gave both. as a father would. He gave that individual attention. So he has this full array of appeals. And he's very fatherly in his teaching, in his exhortations, like a mother and like a father. And that's where we find the parental gospel ministry in spite of himself. This wasn't natural for Paul, I don't think. It was supernatural. And it was God honoring. And we learn from this, don't we? We all do. Those of us who aspire to proclaim the good news of Jesus. And then, after they had trusted in Christ, then of course, He called them to account that they would walk worthy, they would conduct their lives in a worthy manner of God. God has called us unto His kingdom and glory. And we do celebrate the sovereignty of God. And we look forward to the future eschatological era when Jesus Christ will reign upon the earth. We are premillennialists, right? Don't you look forward to that future age of glory? Now, there is the temptation when we grow weary in service to say, I can't wait to serve the Lord in the Kingdom when I'll have a glorified body and the commands will come straight from His mouth and He'll tell me what to do and I'll hasten to do it with joy. And we do look forward to serving the Lord in the future eschaton. But we ought to be serving Him here and now in the very same way. So, the Gospel. Years ago, someone shared a little quote with me about it. Maybe you've heard of it too. Do this and live. The law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word the Gospel brings, it bids me fly and gives me wings. There were those in Thessalonica who were preaching law and self-righteousness. Paul came into town. He was hurting. He could barely lace up his own sandals. But he didn't change the message. Right away, he started to reason from the Scriptures because it was a message from God that Messiah must need suffer. in the place of sinful humanity and must be raised gloriously from the dead. And that, in fact, Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Savior, the Messiah of the world. He ministered with a pure message, with pure motives, and with a pure methodology. He was bold in all of this. But then Paul hastens to conclude with the morning passage by saying, We also served like a mother and like a father. Like a mother, we cherished you. And like a father, we trained you. Someone has told the story about a certain Joe White who was in a car accident and he had to be taken to the hospital. And his wife stayed outside until the doctor came out and the doctor said, Mrs. White, I don't like the looks of your husband. And she said, I don't either, but he's good to the kids. A loving father is good to the kids. He's firm, serious at times, but soothing when necessary and gives those words of comfort and consolation. And Paul says we did that, all of that for the glory of God and for the right reasons. And so it was that the Gospel came not only into the bosom of Rome's empire, but the Gospel came into the very bosoms of Jewish people and Gentile people, and together they formed a local assembly of this one new entity, the body of Christ there in Thessalonica. I hope when we get to heaven, I know it won't be, but it would be kind of fun if it were, if they had like a DVD library. I'd like to check the one out that shows What happened there in Thessalonica? No, the heavenly librarian will say, we don't have that kind of a video library. But if you remember, you can check the book out. And all those details that you need to know about what happened in Thessalonica are forever inscripturated. We're studying that today. We're almost to the end of the service. And each and every one of us is called upon now to make a decision. This has been a powerful text of Scripture. Very convicting. If any one of us has been tempted, maybe even recently, to backpedal from the Gospel, to think of ways to restate it so it's not quite so offensive, to diminish the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humanity, to turn people away from the ugliness of the crucifixion, then right here, right now, in your heart, make the decision. It'll only and always, from here on out, Be the truth of the Gospel of God. And if you would think with me about the way that we conduct ministry, there are a lot of pressures. Pressures maybe even from some of our own dear sheep they put upon us. Not all change is bad, but some change is. We need to be careful. How do we minister the Gospel? And then, Why? And only you can answer that in the presence of an all-knowing God. Just exactly why are you ministering the Gospel? And do we do it with a mother's tender touch and a father's firm hand? Louis Pasteur was, as you know, the pioneer of immunology. He had lived at a time when many people died from rabies. Pasteur had worked a long time on a vaccine. I know you know this story, but you may not know the rest of the story. Just as he was about to experiment on himself with a vaccine, a mother brought in a nine-year-old boy, Joseph. Joseph Meister. And the mother pleaded with Pasteur, would you please, please, Do your experiment on my son." And so Pasteur injected Joseph for the ten required days. And the boy lived. Decades later, when Pasteur himself died, he was put to rest. His body was in the ground and there was a headstone put above his body. And the headstone read, and reads only three words, in English, Joseph Meister lived. He thought that would be the way to summarize his legacy. Joseph Meister lived. The vaccine worked. The years in immunology paid off. Now we look at the Gospel ministry before us. In just a few days, we return to our places of assignment. We have been entrusted with the Gospel. We go back now and we serve the Lord with gladness. We know that God is witness. in addition to the people who are around us that they too are witnesses. We do not involve ourselves in immunology. We're not giving out vaccines. But the good news that we proclaim brings life now and forever. And people live because of the Gospel of Christ. We must be faithful, true and pure. Make the right decision now for the glory of God. And make it only and always for Christ Himself. Our Father in Heaven, we commit now these decisions into Your keeping. May the thoughts of our hearts, the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O God. For You are God above all. Thank You for Your Gospel. Thank You for calling us into Your service. Thank You for the places of ministry You have assigned to us. Continue to bless in this conference. Bring glory to Yourself and to Your Son, for we ask it in His name. Amen.