Gary Gleans

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.    Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others,   though we could have made   demands as   apostles of Christ.  But we were   gentle among you,   like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.    So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God   but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.   For you remember, brothers,   our labor and toil: we   worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.    You are witnesses, and   God also,   how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.    For you know how,   like a father with his children,   we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and   charged   you to walk in a manner worthy of God,   who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.   Ministry r

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our   coming to you   was not in vain.    But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated   at Philippi, as you know,   we had boldness in our God   to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much   conflict.    For   our appeal does not spring from   error or   impurity or   any attempt to deceive,   but just as we have been approved by God   to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not   to please man, but to please God   who tests our hearts.   The successful ministry described in the previous chapter does not happen by accident or with ease.  There is a price to pay for the advancement of the Gospel and we must be willing to pay that price.  As Paul reviews his ministry in the city, there are two qualities that stand out as essential prerequisites for successful Gospel advancement.  These are worth both consideration and emulation.   PREPARE FOR CONFLICT: There is a battle raging for the hearts and souls of men.  

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of   reception we had among you, and how   you turned to God   from idols to serve the living and   true God,   and   to wait for his Son   from heaven,   whom he raised from the dead, Jesus   who delivers us from   the wrath to come.   The Gospel changes everything about our lives in the present and the future.  When we come to Christ through faith, we are given a living hope, and we are set free from enslavement to sin.  The ministry Paul had was bearing fruit because the reputation of the believers in Thessalonica was one of complete transformation.  These same changes should be evident in the lives of all believers.   TURN TO GOD FROM IDOLS: Repentance literally means to turn, and that is exactly what Paul describes as being the reputation of the new believers in Thessalonica.  There were worshiping idols and they turned from that to worship the one and only God that had been revealed to them in Christ.  Idols take on all different

And   you became imitators of us   and of the Lord, for   you received the word in much affliction,   with the   joy of the Holy Spirit,   so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  For not only has the word of the Lord   sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth   everywhere, so that we need not say anything.   We have a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I would like to suggest that being worth of imitation is the most effective means of discipleship.  In the previous passage Paul talked about his ministry being empowered by the Spirit through both his words and his works.  The result of that ministry is evident in this passage and should be the goal of every church and missionary endeavor.     BELIEVERS FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF OTHER BELIEVERS: Paul and his team were following the Lord with all their heart.  They were far from perfect, but they were providing an example worthy of imit

For we know,   brothers [ b ]   loved by God,   that he has chosen you,   because   our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and   in the Holy Spirit and with full   conviction. You know   what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.     Evangelism is really the only Christian responsibility that is limited to our life on this side of heaven.  Everything else that believers are called to do, such as prayer, study of Scripture, worship, praise, fellowship, we will do for eternity and much better than we currently do.  However, there will be no evangelism in heaven for obvious reasons.  As we will see in the verses ahead, the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica was amazing.  The key to the success of his ministry there can be seen in this short passage that describes Paul’s evangelistic efforts.  These three components are vital to any evangelistic effort.   THE PREACHING OF THE SCRIPTURE: St. Francis of Assis said: “Preach the Gospel every day

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.     We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.     For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. God has called us to minister to one another.  Paul gives us a great example of the kind of ministry to which we should aspire.  He shows us the basic ingredients of ministry to young believers.  These three components should be present when we are seeking to serve the people around us. PRAYER: One of the most effective ways that any of us can minister to others is through prayer.  No matter what kind of health or giftings we have, prayer is a ministry all of us can do.  As we pray, we can ask for God’s grace and peace to be experienced by others.  Every person everywhere needs

Tychicus will tell you   all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.    I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,   and with him   Onesimus, our faithful and   beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.    Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark   the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),   and Jesus who is called   Justus.   These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and   they have been a comfort to me.    Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always   struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand   mature and fully assured in all the will of God.     For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in

Walk in wisdom toward   outsiders, making the best use of the time.    Let your speech always   be gracious,   seasoned with salt,   so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.   God has called us to reach unbelievers with the Gospel.  Evangelism should be a part of everything we do.  It is the only reason believers are left on earth after salvation.  Every other aspect of our Christian walk we will do better in heaven.  However, once we are in heaven our opportunity to evangelize is over.  As we saw in the previous passage, evangelism should mark our prayers.  This passage gives us two important instructions as to how our walk and our talk should be used to engage with the world with the goal of evangelism.    HAVE A WISE WALK: As we seek to impact the world around us, it is important that we be wise in the way we live.  Jesus instructed His disciples to be wise like serpents while living as sheep amongst wolves.  As we live in this fallen world, we must understand that

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it   with thanksgiving.    At the same time, pray also for us, that God may   open to us a door for the word,   to declare the mystery of Christ,   on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.   Prayer is an important part of the teaching of Scripture and was modeled by both Jesus and the Apostle Paul. This passage includes instruction on how to pray as well as what Paul’s specific prayer requests were.  There are important lessons for us to learn as we seek to follow these instructions about prayer.    PRAY INTENSIVELY: There are basically three instructions in this passage about how we should pray.  First, we should be consistent in prayer.  Paul says that we should continue and be steadfast in prayer.  In order to continue something, it must first be a habit in our lives.  Certainly, the greatest enemy to prayer is our lack of prayer.  Often this lack of prayer is based on a mis underst

Bondservants, obey   in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.    Whatever you do, work heartily,   as for the Lord and not for men,   knowing that from the Lord   you will receive the inheritance as your reward.   You are serving the Lord Christ.    For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.   Everything we do is important to God.  This includes both our actions and attitudes.  God works, and created us in His image to be workers.  Work was not a consequence of the fall of man into sin.  The productivity of our work is certainly diminished by sin and the motivation behind our work is affected by sin.  God calls us to work diligently out of a desire for God’s glory and the eternal rewards He has promised.   WORK SINCERILY OUT OF FEAR OF THE LORD: We are always under some sort of authority, especially when we are working.  Our bosses may n

Wives, submit to your husbands, as   is fitting in the Lord.    Husbands, love your wives, and   do not be harsh with them.    Children, obey your parents   in everything, for this pleases the Lord.    Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.   The family is a vital part of God’s mission in this world.  It is through the family that we understand and experience many aspects about God and His relationship with us.  We are members of the family of God as a result of salvation through faith in Christ.  Our families are to be used as instruments to expand God’s mission by reproducing image bearing children and evangelism.     MARRIAGE MATTERS: Submission is one of those teachings that has fallen out of favor in the modern world. However, it is a vital part of the Christian life.  We are all called to a life of submission to the Lord and to one another.  The call for wives to submit to their husbands is not some denigrating teaching that was invented by male chau

Put on then, as   God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,   compassionate hearts,   kindness,   humility, meekness, and patience,   bearing with one another and,   if one has a complaint against another,   forgiving each other;   as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.    And above all these put on   love, which   binds everything together in   perfect harmony.    And let   the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called   in one body. And   be thankful.    Let   the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,   singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,   with thankfulness in your hearts to God.    And   whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,   giving thanks to God the Father through him.   There is a tendency to think that the Bible is all about telling us what not to do.  However, the focus of this passage is all about the attitudes and actions that should

Put to death therefore   what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity,   passion, evil desire, and covetousness,   which is idolatry.    On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.    But now   you must put them all away:   anger, wrath, malice,   slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.    Do not lie to one another, seeing that   you have put off   the old self with its practices   and   have put on   the new self,   which is being renewed in knowledge   after the image of   its creator.    Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is   all, and in all.   Our new life in Christ involves replacing the sinful practices with those that are aligned with our identity as image bearers of Christ.  Unbelievers are enslaved to sin and cannot escape in a meaningful way.  Believers are made new in Christ and have been set free from sin and are united togeth