Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 23rd October 2022
Call to Worship
“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those who have young.” Isaiah 40:11
Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
As we continue our series on 1 Thessalonians this morning we will see the Apostles used their authority not to ‘lord it’ over the believers, rather they were gentle- like a mother caring for her children. In so doing they reflected the Lord’s own gentleness, compassion and faithfulness towards his people. Deeper than any mother’s love for her own child. Let us sing of his love for us:
Hymn
“Great is thy faithfulness” MP 200 (Piano)
Thomas O Chisholm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKIqmdfHSk
Opening Prayer
Your strength and faithfulness Lord are all around you. You founded the world and all that is in it; your hand is mighty, your right hand lifted high; your throne is founded on righteousness and justice; love and faithfulness are in attendance on you. Happy the people who have learnt to acclaim you. Blessed be the lord for ever and ever.
Loving God, in the security of quiet prayer we confess to you that we have failed to live up to the reasonable expectations of others; we have fallen short of our own modest standards and we are far from being all that you would have us to be
We have hurt our fellow men and women, disappointed ourselves and added to your suffering. In the name of Jesus Christ who welcomed sinners and lifted up the downcast, we ask you to forgive us for what we have done and what we have made of ourselves.
Refresh our faith in your willingness to accept us, help us to enjoy our standing as your much loved children, and enable us to live lives in which you can take delight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Father God, we offer to you this time of worship. We pray that you will be pleased to lead us by your Holy Spirit. May all that we say or think be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Hymns
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow” MP 557 (Piano)
Thomas Ken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxQgW2pXBis
“Father God I wonder…” (Piano) MP 128
Ian Smale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QymsM5axoEc
Prayers
“Father we praise you for your compassion and mercy shown towards us- a love that we know you have for us because we see it in your Son. We see Him and we see the Father.
(So) we thank you for every good gift we enjoy from you. Every created blessing. All your provision. For the air we breath, the beauty of our surroundings, our food and drink, our clothing and shelter. Thank you for the way you provide for us and care for us.
Thank you for our families and homes. For parents and the love which brought us to birth. For mothers who have cherished and nurtured us. For fathers who have loved and supported us. For teachers and guardians who have cared for us. We thank you for brothers and sisters with whom we have shared our home. For children entrusted to our care as parents. For other relatives and friends who have been with us. We thank you for all who first spoke to us of Jesus and have drawn us into the family of our Father in heaven. It is your plan that we be surrounded by faithful, compassionate, gentle love from the beginning and throughout our lives, and that we show this same love to those you have given us. This plan itself speaks powerfully of your own goodness, love and gentleness towards us.
But catching a glimpse of your love and good purposes only reveals how we have abused your good purpose for us. We have acted selfishly and arrogantly even towards those dearest to us. Please forgive us our foolishness. We rely on your compassion and mercy, but are sometimes reluctant to show these qualities ourselves. Keep us from blaming others or even you. Help each of us to come in true repentance and be open to be changed by your Spirit. Re clothe and refashion us so we show the fruit of your Spirit- gentleness, compassion, patience, longsuffering. To be made more like the Lord Jesus.
You do not merely call us to live in a certain way. You show us the way. You give yourself. Though almighty, all powerful, you stoop down in humility and gentleness. You give your only Son. He had done no wrong but he suffered and sacrificed his life for us. What wonderful love. Deeper than that of the most faithful spouse, more devoted than the best father or mother.
Father, we commend to your blessing all who suffer in mind or body according to the pattern of Christ’s greater pain
We pray for those who feel forsaken or betrayed, and for people who, having worked or struggled, have nothing to show for it except the signs and penalties of failure.
We pray for the victims of injustice, for all who must endure the scorn and mockery of lesser men, and for those whose friends have gone.
We pray for any who face a martyr’s death.
We remember all who weep and thirst.
Make it true for them that the suffering of Christ has transfigured all suffering, and the death of Christ has transfigured death and that the victory of Christ can be our victory through his grace.
Quiet. Those facing sickness or bereavement or other painful circumstance.
Heavenly Father, so close to our brothers and sisters for whom we pray, may they find you in their pain and sharing their sadness and finding you may they find healing for their hurt, love for their fear and peace for their distress. To the glory of your name. Amen
Reading. I Thessalonians 2:1-8. Joyce Sait
You know, brothers and sisters that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.
For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.
You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.
We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
Hymn
“Your love, shining like the sun.” MP 1384 (Guitar)
Stuart Townend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWOsA5Ba9LM
Sermon. “Like A Mother”.
This chapter provides us with some fascinating insights into Christian leadership. There are lessons not just for full time missionaries or pastors but for leaders of all kinds within the Church.
Central to all else Paul says in Chapter 2 is that a Christian leader must be a parent. Later in this chapter he says the Christian leader is like a father. But in verses 1-8 we see Paul teach that the Christian leader is like a mother. Paul describes himself as a father and mother to show his deep pastoral concern for these Thessalonian believers. Pastoral concern distinguishes true Christian leadership.
The first leadership quality we see in Paul is his courage
We see Paul’s courage in his willingness to suffer. He says in Verse 2: “We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition”. Paul and Silas had already been beaten and humiliated at Philippi before arriving at Thessalonica. But despite all they had endured, they continued to boldly proclaim God’s Word when they got to Thessalonica. Most people would have been tempted to take a holiday after what happened at Philippi! They would not want to risk any possibility of further suffering. But not Paul. He wasn’t someone to give up when life got tough. He persevered. He showed great courage and continued to preach the gospel. Notice it was God who gave him that courage- “with the help of our God we dared tell you this gospel”. Paul wasn’t naturally fearless. He drew the courage he needed from God.
Are you still bold in speaking about Christ? For many of us we remember early on in our Christian experience how we spoke boldly for him. For my own part I had no fear of talking about Christ and my Christian experience to anyone who cared to know. I was like that during my school years, at University and throughout my twenties when I was a school teacher. No problem. Actually I looked for opportunities to do so. I remember when I was a sixth former going into school one day with a rather large, garish luminous green badge which had the words “Jesus Christ Has Changed My Life” written on it in large print. Now I do remember feeling self-conscious about that by the end of the day! But I enjoyed speaking to others about Jesus. Ironically after I went to Bible College and became a Pastor things changed.
I became more fearful about the ill will of others. So feelings of fear would sometimes suppress my thoughts about outreach. No doubt that is part of the spiritual battle. The devil doesn’t want the gospel to go out. But the Lord does! I suppose that’s where courage comes in. Acting on the good we know we should do despite initial feelings of fear. In recent times I had that initial struggle about doing outreach work on Rustington high street, sending devotional materials to members of the table tennis club of which I am a member, and even in the showing of evangelistic films as we are again this term. The Lord has blessed all these things. But my initial fear would have robbed me of seeing that blessing if I had given in to it. It could only be God who overcame my fear.
May be something like that has happened to you. You’ve rationalised away speaking up for Christ. Maybe you’ve suffered for doing so. Members of your family have taken a delight in saying they do not believe and decided to point out your inconsistencies. People at work have been warned to steer clear of you in case you “might try to convert them”. Maybe in open air or door to door work you have met with rude reactions. How can you regain your courage? Well, Like Paul it must be “with the help of our God” Ask him. Draw your courage from the Lord.
Next we see that Paul had integrity. Verses 3 and 4: “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God, to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God who tests our hearts.”
The temptation for the Christian leader is “to please men”. To tell people what they want to hear. If Paul had wanted to please his hearers- he would have distorted his message. He would have been acting out of deceit rather than integrity.
Most young people are black and white. As we get older we tend to see things in shades of grey. But we need to ask ourselves is that the result of maturity or is a good deal of it to do with our wanting to be accepted? We want to please men and women. That’s what lay behind my reluctance to witness when I hit my thirties, I didn’t want to offend anyone. We want to please men and women, so we have convinced ourselves of views that are actually wrong. “People pleasing” lays behind the suggestion that all religions lead to God. That people will get to heaven by embracing Islam. “People pleasing” says that homosexual practise is okay or that living together is the same as marriage. We don’t want to be unpopular. We don’t want to be criticised, so we speak to please our hearers. But in so doing we lose integrity.
“People pleasing” is an unworthy motive. Paul describes other unworthy motives opposed to integrity. He writes that his appeal does not spring from error, impure motives or trickery. Error is when we ourselves begin to believe a lie. Paul wasn’t going to deviate from the truth. Impure motives here can refer to sexual impurity or wrong motives in general. Paul wasn’t going to justify impurity in any shape or form. Neither did Paul want to trick anyone. Trickery is when we know the truth and withhold it from people. We try to pull the wool over their eyes.
Flattery is another unworthy motive and symptomatic of a deceitful spirit. Paul insists that he and his companions never used flattery (verse 5). Someone defined the difference between flattery and gossip as “Flattery is what we say to someone’s face which we would never say behind their back”, but “Gossip is what we say behind someone’s back which we would never say to their face!” Flattery is telling people what they want to hear in order to try and gain influence over them. Neither did Paul “put on a mask to cover up greed” (verse 5). Paul was very sensitive about money matters. He didn’t want anyone to have a reason to accuse him of being a religious salesman. As an apostle, he had the privilege of receiving support. But he gave up that right in order to be free from any possible blame that would disgrace his ministry. Every Christian must be above reproach in the area of finance.
Paul steered clear of all these unworthy motives instead he acted with integrity. He was loving and straight. He spoke the truth.
So what kept Paul from people pleasing and these other wrong motives? What will keep us from these things? How do we maintain integrity?
First by realising that we have been given a trust by God. Paul says “We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel” (verse 4). The gospel was not a message that Paul made up or that he received from men. God had picked Paul and trusted him to speak that message faithfully. Here we come to the important principle of stewardship. Of being entrusted with something by a higher authority. Paul was a steward of the message entrusted to him. We too are stewards. The message Paul proclaimed has been entrusted to us. And like Paul our job is not to tamper with or change it. Rather we are faithful to the message our Lord and Master has given us. This is why we must not speak to please people. This is why we still proclaim the gospel even if we know we will offend and hurt people’s feelings. This is why we must speak of sin and judgment and hell to warn people as well as forgiveness, grace and Heaven to win them. It’s not our message. It’s God’s message entrusted to us.
Joseph was a steward in the household of Potiphar (Gen. 39:1-6). He managed his Master’s affairs and used his master’s possessions to promote his Master’s welfare. Like Joseph we must take this treasure of the gospel and invest it as our master has directed us. “Go and make disciples of all nations” Jesus said. He has commissioned us and as we obey and proclaim his word we will see his truth multiply in effectiveness.
The second reason why Paul spoke with integrity is because he was a God pleaser. “We are not trying to please men but God who tests our hearts” (verse 4b) He was conscious that God saw into his heart. He knew that superficially men and women can be successful even though inside they act out of unworthy motives. But the knowledge that God saw into his heart and deepest motivations was far more important to Paul. And so it should be for us. No one can pull the wool over God’s eyes. God sees all and knows all. He sees into your heart and he sees into mine:
Abraham was a God- pleaser. The Lord tested Abraham’s heart. He asked Abraham to offer up his only son. Isaac was Abraham’s only son, and the future of the covenant rested on him. He was a miracle child, the gift of God to Abraham and Sarah in response to their faith. Abraham and Sarah loved Isaac very much and had built their future around him. When God asked Abraham to offer his son it looked like God was wiping out everything Abraham and Sarah had lived for
C S Lewis in his book “A Grief Observed” states how “You never really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you” He admits it was easier to entrust other Christians to the Lord when they died but when it came to the death of his wife he wondered if faith was there to really do so. He uses the analogy “It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?” Are we willing to please God above everything else, even when it means surrendering to Him what is most precious? God tests our hearts.
Abraham was a God pleaser. God looked into his heart and saw faith there. This testing made possible Abraham’s great example of faith and prefigures how our Heavenly Father was willing to give up his only Son- the Lord Jesus Christ- for us.
Both Abraham and the Apostle Paul were God pleasers. They showed integrity.
For the last part of our passage, Paul says that love is essential to ministry.
He uses the image of a mother caring for her children to describe his own ministry among the Thessalonians. “As apostles of Jesus Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her children.” (Verses 6, 7).
As an Apostle Paul was a man of authority. He was a leader, but he always sought to use his authority in love. Stories of Christians treating others with lack of love or respect ought not to be. Paul was an authoritative leader. He had a clear sense of purpose and vision. He had strong convictions. But that didn’t mean he thought he could throw his weight around. Here he shows he did not make unjustifiable demands on others, even though he was an apostle. We should follow his example. There is no place in the Church for what has been called “heavy shepherding”, where a leader or leaders appear to try and take the place of Christ in a person’s life and tell them what to do for every decision they make whether it’s what car they buy or who they should marry. The Christian leader is not to bind a person to themselves or make them into their own image. Of course there’s room for mentoring and discipleship, as there was between Paul and Timothy. This helps in understanding biblical principles and how they apply to life. But essentially each person must be given freedom to make their own decision before the Lord once they are aware of all the relevant information before them.
Instead of being a burden to the believers Paul says “we were gentle among you like a mother caring for her children”. Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit. In 2 Timothy 2: 24, 25 Paul says the “Lord’s servant must be kind…not resentful.” and “Those who oppose him he must “gently instruct”. So gentleness is the opposite of bossiness or being argumentative. Gentleness is linked with kindness and has a deep pastoral quality about it. The young believers must have sensed Paul’s tender loving care for them since he says his care for them was like that of a mother for her children. When my children were young if one of them fell over and hurt themselves they didn’t want me, they wanted their mum, they wanted Liz. There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love for her children in imparting that maternal warmth and security they need.
And as children encounter growing pains and problems as they grow into adulthood the mother’s love for her children remains passionate and strong. It’s not that the father doesn’t care for his children but for the mother it’s like the umbilical cord is still attached! She can’t stop thinking about her children and their welfare. The word for caring here is strong, it’s “deeply caring” or “yearning for” A profound attachment. It’s that kind of attentiveness and sensitivity Paul says he and his companions showed towards the Thessalonians. Always concerned for them, showing them patience, kindness and long suffering. It’s the same yearning we see in Jesus “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” That’s the kind of care and heart sensitivity Christian leaders must develop. And as with courage this is something we can pray for. Paul says at the end of verse 8 “You have become so dear to us” It’s a love that can develop and grow.
Perhaps most striking is that the original word in the Greek to describe mother here is that of a nursing mother. Why does Paul stress this nursing aspect? Well it’s the feeding parallel that is important. The nursing mother eats food for herself and that is transformed into milk for the baby. So too Christian leaders must feed on the Word of God and then share that nourishment with younger believers so they can grow in the faith. A nursing child can become ill through reaction to something the mother has eaten. Clearly we Christians who are feeding others must be careful not to feed on wrong things ourselves. We must feed on the Word of God and give it out to those for whom we are responsible.
The final leadership quality suggested by this image of a mother caring for her children is described in verse 8: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because you have become so dear to us”. The quality of Sharing. Paul and his companions shared their very selves with these believers. They gave themselves for the Thessalonians.
There have been many Christians throughout twenty centuries of church history who have given themselves to proclaim Christ. They have shared of their very selves to nurture new believers as Paul did. Their preaching of Christ, despite ignorance and opposition, is a challenge to us all. Satan would whisper that such a life is miserable. That is far from the truth. Gladys Aylward, after a life time of missionary service in China said: “I have not done what I wanted to; I have not eaten what I wanted or worn what I would have chosen; I have lived in houses that I would not have looked at twice; I longed for a husband and babies, and security and love, but God never gave them; instead he left me alone for 17 years with 1 book- a Chinese Bible. I don’t know anything about the latest novels, pictures and theatres. I live in a rather outdated world and I suppose you would say it’s miserable isn’t it? Friend, I have been one of the happiest women who stepped this earth. I have known the heavens opening and the blessing tumbling out.”
We who are Christian leaders must not hold back. A mother would not hold back from her children, she would share her very self with them. So too we must learn to give of ourselves within the sphere of responsibility God has given us. As we do we will not only be a blessing to those we lead, but we will also be richly blessed ourselves
Working through this passage it’s clear that Paul has given a defence of his ministry. Paul is responding here to those who have sought to discredit him. His mission to Thessalonica had been brought to an abrupt end when a crowd had been stirred up against him and his companions, and they had to flee the city. As soon as Paul was absent his critics decided to conduct a smear campaign against him. They wanted to undermine Paul’s authority and the gospel. It appears they said he had run away so he couldn’t really of cared for the Thessalonians. He was a false teacher, only in it for what he could get- sex, money and power. It seems some of the Thessalonians believed these lies. Paul has been careful here to set the record straight. In so doing he has given the Thessalonians evidences of authentic Christian ministry and leadership shown by Timothy, Silas and himself.
And as you seek to live as a Christian you too will encounter hostile voices. Voices that beckon you to follow them rather than Christ. And when that happens you must always remember it’s not what they say that counts. It’s what God says. What counts is that God loves you, yearns over you and that you belong to Him because you are in Christ. That He will declare to all that you belong to Him, you are his precious child on account of Christ.
We will not have to give a defence of the way we have lived our lives to the Thessalonians, but each of us will have to give an account to God about what has motivated our lives and influenced our relationships. And when that happens we will want our Father to take pleasure in what He sees. We will want Him to see something of these qualities exemplified by Paul, Silas and Timothy. We will want Him to see courage- in a willingness to suffer reproach and a boldness to speak for Him. Integrity- derived from a faithful stewardship of God’s truth and consciousness that He sees into our hearts. And Love, a love like that of a mother for her children, not domineering but gentle and caring; a love that has come to mean the sharing of our very lives with those who we have influenced. With those we have led in our families and in the church family. With those who we have sought to win for Christ- With those we have come to love dearly.
Prayer
Lord Jesus. When we think of the cross we see your courage, despite the unjust opposition. We see your integrity- speaking of and living out the truth of the mission you knew was yours from the beginning. And we see your love- the grace and mercy that you should serve us in our great need through your amazing sacrifice. Help us then to reflect something of your leadership, as we have seen with Paul, within the areas of responsibility you have given each of us. Amen
Hymn
“The Lord’s my shepherd” MP 1008 (Piano)
Stuart Townend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZExb9cbkK8
Blessing
May the everlasting Father himself take you
In his own generous clasp
In his own generous arm.
David Barnes 19/10/22