1 Thessalonians 2:1-20

Paul continues to describe his ministry in Thessalonica.  He provides us with a great model that we should follow as we seek to work in the lives of the people around us.  It is not always easy to work with people and the results might not always be what we hope, but certainly if we follow the pattern that Paul demonstrated, we will have far greater chances for success.

PAUL’S MINISTRY WAS MARKED BY PURE MOTIVES AND METHODS: Paul was not out to please men with his ministry.  He desired to see the lives of men changed, but the overriding desire of his heart was to please God and help others live for His glory.  It is easy for us to measure success in numbers and popularity, but those are not the criteria that Paul used.  His sole focus was to please God and help others to live to that end as well.  For that reason, Paul did not use flattery and other questionable methods in his ministry.  He was not out to make others feel good about themselves so that they would, in turn, build up his own ego.  We must not be deceived into believing that our job is to pack the pews and build impressive ministries that provide wealth, power and prestige.  Our job is to proclaim the truth of God’s Word to men and women who desperately need the Lord.

PAUL’S MINISTRY DEMONSTRATED DEVOTION, DEDICATION AND DISCIPLINE: The minister wears many different hats and performs different roles in the service to his people.  However, these characteristics should mark the relationships that all believers have with one another.  God desires that we be devoted to one another with the love of a mother.  It is hard for us to love some people, but a mother’s love is unconditional.  We must develop compassion for one another and treat each other with kindness and gentleness.  God also wants us to be dedicated to the act of serving one another.  Relationships will always require some form of personal sacrifice.  God has called us to a life of dedicated service that involves working and an investment of time and effort.  We must be willing to roll up our sleeves and serve one another in practical ways.  We often talk about the need to love but we have a much harder time demonstrating that love in sacrificial acts of service to one another.  Finally God desires that we demonstrate the discipline of a father.  There are times in our relationships where we need to have the courage to correct one another and call each other back to obedience.  We must stand firm in the defense of the principles and practices of Scripture.  We must not simply stand by and watch as others flounder on the paths of disobedience, but as loving fathers, call our brothers and sisters in Christ back to the will of our Lord.  It is hard to find the balance between all of these roles in our relationships, but all three of them are vital.

PAUL’S MINISTRY RESULTED IN AUTHORITY AND AUTHENISITY: As a result of Paul’s willingness to minister in this way resulted in an authoritative ministry where his hearers did not see his teachings as simple suggestions, but as having divine authority.  It is vital that we learn to submit to the authority of God.  However, in today’s man centered ministries, divine authority seems to have vanished into the abyss of relativism where everyone seems himself as his own ultimate authority.  The final result of Paul’s ministry was that he was able to present to the Lord and the body of Christ authentic believers who were fully devoted to Christ and the principles of God’s Word even in the face of great suffering.  May God give us the grace to be and produce these kinds of believers as we serve and interact with one another for the glory of God and the growth of the kingdom.