The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 25th November 2007 by Robin Hawkins
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How Paul Kept Going
- so that our sins could be forgiven,
- and so that we could be with God forever in Heaven.
1Thess 2:1-6a
The world in Paul's day, like our modern world, had grown cynical about almost everything. You know how it is: if a letter arrives offering me a wonderful free gift, I know it's a trap to lure me into paying for something I don't really want. If someone offers to do something wonderfully kind for you, it's all too easy to ask what's in it for them. When a holiday company tells me I've won a free w/e in one of their holiday homes, I know it's because they want to persuade me to rent one on a permanent basis.
There were travelling salesmen and itinerant preachers in those days, people who tried to make a living by offering their hearers fresh wisdom, some kind of magic cure, a new philosophy, or whatever. Whenever Paul and his friends arrived in a city and began to tell their strange story, many people must have thought that's the sort of people they were. The knowing ones in the crowd would have been waiting for the moment when the speakers produced a money bag and requested contributions, or invited people to pay to hear more in private. The cynical ones would have been expecting worse: for the speakers to single out those (of either sex) who were physically attractive. At the very least, new speakers would have wanted to get a good reputation and be well-liked around town.
Usually when Paul says things like he does in v.3 - refuting impure motives, deception and trickery, it's because some have been going round accusing him of just that. So Paul reminds them what really happened. He points them to the truth. He's saying, "Come on, you were there. You were witnesses of the fact that what we told you was the truth about:
- what God has done in sending His Son, Jesus to reveal what God is really like;
- to tell us that God loves us and wants a covenant-relationship with us.
- We told you the truth that Jesus gave his life freely - dying a horrific death
This is the Good News of God. This is what 'Gospel' means: 'Good News'. This message is God's Good News. I find this something of an understatement. When we really understand that the alternative is Hell; that there is life-after-death for all of us. It's not just oblivion. When we really understand that this world is heading for the eternal pain and torment of Hell, then this is the most fantastic news that we will ever hear in our lives. England beating Croatia would have been the most trivial piece of irrelevance compared with this news. A cure for cancer or AIDS would be helpful for now, but of no relevance at all in eternity.
It was the importance of this message - this Good News - that kept Paul going. Paul suffered for this message - suffered in ways that would have caused most of us to be a lot more cautious, if not actually give up altogether. If someone does something and gets paid handsomely for it, the next time they do it, we can assume that part of the reason is the money. But if they do something and get beaten up and thrown into jail for it, yet still carry on, we rightly assume they have some reason so compelling that it makes them willing to run the same risk. So it was with Paul; he arrived in Thessalonika with physical and emotional scars of his shameful treatment in Philippi. But he kept on doing the same thing even though there was once again much opposition.
Guess what happened? He found himself able to speak with even greater freedom and excitement than he had known before. That little phrase in v.2 "with the help of our God" was not just a trite phrase for Paul. This was our covenant-keeping God stepping in to give Paul victory over all the evil that was around him. Many people got saved. A church was planted. The battle was the Lord's, and King Jesus got the victory.
This should be sounding familiar. Those of us who went to Reloaded last week will have been struck at the similarity of Colin Potter's message to Ray Samme's in the morning. Paul was up against overwhelming evil that thought nothing of resorting to violence and injustice, as was David, as was Gideon.+ All of them were insignificant and weak - humanly powerless in the face of it. But God uses the weak to shame the strong, the foolish to shame the wise. God sent all of them out in the strength that they had - and that wasn't much physically or intellectually. What each of them - David, Gideon & Paul - did have was a conviction that they were about God's business, and that our covenant-keeping God would honour them with all of heaven's resources.
It is no different for us today. We are weak and insignificant. We too are facing the overwhelming forces of secularism and indifference. There's more than a hint of violence out there. We too are called to go in the strength that we have and trust God for the breakthrough. Our battleground is different. Too often we feel like Peter: "Master we have worked hard all night and caught nothing." Our battle is to keep going against indifference and unbelief, to push for the breakthrough. "Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." That's our covenant promise. We've got to hold onto it. The message is too important for us to let up for a minute.
We've got all these opportunities coming up to go out with the gospel. Take them and go out expecting God to be with you and to give us breakthrough.
But that's not all. Paul speaks as one who has been entrusted by God to take this fantastic message to the world. Who here feels similarly entrusted with this message? Is there any Christian here who doesn't feel thus commissioned by God? Today we have couriers that we trust to take valuable documents from A to B. We don't send them by ordinary mail - unless you're a government department. You and I are God's couriers - entrusted with this vital message that will save the lives of thousands.
He then says in effect, "Did we look as if we were trying to impress you, or curry favour by using flattery. We're not trying to please men, but God. He goes on: "We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else." This is such an important principle that it's worth thinking about it for a minute. If I asked every Believer here, do you live your life to please God, or to please men, I'm sure I'd get the same answer from everyone. However, if you want to know what I really believe, you have to look at what I do rather than what I say.
Have I at times, held back from sharing the gospel because I didn't want to give offence, or because I wanted to be accepted by this person. Have I been more concerned about what they thought of me than what God thinks of me? None of us wants to give unnecessary offence, but the gospel is an offence, and people will be offended by it. Now it's going to be difficult to get a balance on this because we really want to win people, and sometimes coming on too strong with the Gospel too soon will alienate them unnecessarily. So it's really important we are guided by the Spirit in this area. I suspect there are a lot more occasions we could be up front with the gospel than we realise; and our holding back may be because we're more concerned about what others think of us than God.
But I have a suspicion this happens inside the church as well. Do you sometimes feel moved to fall on your knees before God in worship, but hold back because you'd feel embarrassed to do it in front of others? Maybe there are times you'd like to dance in worship, but you don't because you feel too self-conscious. But we're not supposed to be conscious of self at all. We're supposed to have died to self. The fact is we're worried about what others will think of us - more than the pleasure it will give God. Maybe there are times you'd like to have prayed out loud, but you're afraid of getting it wrong, or drying up, and so you don't say anything. Now it's true that Peter still gets a lot of stick for that time he got out of the boat and took his eyes off Jesus. But listen, Peter walked on water! Peter led the church on the Day of Pentecost. Peter was the one Jesus used to heal the cripple at the Gate Beautiful. The fact is we learn by our mistakes. Do you think for a moment that God is disappointed by a slightly off-beam or faltering prayer, any more than a father is by the faltering first steps of his child? I know it's difficult. I dare say we'll sometimes dry up or get the words wrong, but I want to tell you this: God is thrilled to bits when he sees you wanting to please Him more than other people. He will bless you in it. I can promise you that on His behalf.
So these are the two things to remember from this passage:
1. However, tough it gets in the battle, remember we have a covenant-keeping God who will give us victory and breakthrough if we don't give up.
2. Stop worrying about what others think of you, and think rather about what's going to give God pleasure.
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1