Pray for your pastor

Scripture Reading

Well, you turn in your Bibles with me now to the book of 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, keep going, Genesis, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, then you get to the Ts, 1 and 2 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, and the sermon today will be coming from verses 1 through 12. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, you can find that on page 1048 if you're using the Pew Bible. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, give ear now to God's perfect word.

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness. God is our witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, neither from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. but we were gentle among you. Just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children so affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil. for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. We preach to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe. As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Prayer for Illumination

Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and we pray now for your Holy Spirit. Father, we pray that you might give us eyes to see and ears to hear. We pray, Lord, that you might impress these truths upon our hearts, that we might live worthy of the calling that you have given us. In Jesus's name, amen.

Sermon

Well, I'm going to read a list of things to you, and I want you to think, what do these things have in common? A private Cessna jet, a $10 million home, a 100,000 square foot second home, driving a Rolls Royce, and a net worth of $760 million. What might those have in common?

Each one of those describes a so-called preacher in America. Each one of those describes a charlatan who does not fit what God says here in 1 Thessalonians chapter two. Each one of these describes American culture and not biblical Christianity. Whether it's Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Myers, or whatever other self-proclaimed televangelist celebrity pastor, we have a problem in the American church and in the church at large. Go talk to our brothers and sisters in Pakistan, and this isn't just an American problem. Go talk to our brothers and sisters in India, it's not just an American problem.

Because people have been peddling the gospel, since the time the New Testament was written. That's not the way it's supposed to be. That's not how Paul, Silas and Timothy brought the gospel. So your call today, your call today is to take note of the type of preacher you're listening to. To take note of the type of preachers you are listening to. Pay attention to their life. So first Paul starts with, Verses 1 and 2, their courage. We should be praying for pastors of courage. Pray for pastors of courage. For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you is not in vain. But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. When we go back to Acts chapter 16, we find that story of when Paul was in Philippi and he was sharing the gospel and they got really upset with him. And they, without a trial, beat him and then throw him in jail, something that was illegal to do to a Roman citizen. And then they try to just let him out the back door quietly when they find out that he's a Roman citizen.

In front of the entire town, he's beat. In front of the entire town, he's thrown into that jail. In front of everyone. And when he finally leaves, after a little while, he goes to Thessalonian. And while he's there, the trouble doesn't just stop. But even as he preaches first in the synagogues, as Acts chapter 17 tells us, he preaches first in the synagogues. But then he continues to go out from there. Many people oppose what he's doing.

So when he comes, he and Silas and Timothy, they're preaching the gospel with boldness in God. They're coming and they're saying everything you've learned your entire life about the idolatry, about who made the heavens and the earth, all these idols you have all over your town, they're false gods. But there is one true living God and He has made a way to be right with Him through Jesus Christ, His Son. That's the gospel. That's the good news. They did it with courage. They did it with boldness.

I remember reading a story about George Whitefield, a famous preacher in the 1700s. When he was preaching, he was not well liked. He was an Anglican pastor preaching the gospel. And as he was going from church to church, as they would invite him to preach, people were not happy about it. They would throw rocks at him and they would beat him, they would threaten him.

And one day while he was up in the pulpit, he was preaching the gospel and a man came up next to him and he said, be quiet or I'll shoot you. And he pulled out his sidearm and he put it next to his head. And this is the day when there was still flint on the trigger. on the firing mechanism, and he wouldn't stop preaching the gospel. And so the man, instead of shooting him, put it next to his face, pulled the trigger so it would singe his face. And George Whitefield continued to preach.

We need men of courage. That doesn't happen. Something like that doesn't happen by a man just picking himself up by the bootstraps, but we need to be pleading with God that he would raise up godly men who would not kowtow to the culture, would not bow down to the pressures that are upon them, but we need to pray and plead with God that he would be gracious and fill the pulpits of his church with men who are faithful to the gospel. Pray for courageous pastors. It doesn't just stop there, they don't just stop there.

It's interesting as we read this passage four times, Paul says, you know this. Four times the word comes from the Greek word oida, which means y'all know this. You all saw this, you need to remember these things. Two times he tells them that they are witnesses along with God and two times he says that they are tested and approved. This is one of the ways in which they were tested. that they were approved was in their suffering. But they were also proved in their character.

We need to pray for proven pastors. Look with me at verses three and four. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. Even so, we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. The word there for approved by God is the Greek word dakemadzo, which means putting through a testing that you might find out whether something is true or not. And as they are tested, they are found approved to carry out the gospel. And it's shown that they're not teaching error.

This is what Paul praises the next church he would go down to. After he leaves Thessalonians in Acts chapter 17, when he's ushered out of town because persecution comes and the church says, dude, you got to get out of here, he goes to Berea. And when he's in Berea, he brings the gospel to them. And he says that they read, they heard his message and they went home and they read the scripture to find out if these things were so.

They weren't teaching error or teaching the truth. They didn't just come and teach the truth with ill motives, though. There are many who will go about and they'll preach the gospel, but their endgame is they want to line their pockets. Their endgame isn't for the glory of God, but because they want to get rich. Paul says he's no peddler of the gospel. They don't have impure motives. They're not trying to steal from people.

They had lives that were clearly godly. They weren't people who were coming and saying, do, do, do, here's all these things that you have to do to be made right with God, and by the way, I'm gonna live however you want. But indeed, they lived pure lives. In the New King James, it says, error or uncleanness. They weren't living dirty lives. They were morally upright.

Man, we need to be praying for proven, clean pastors. This is especially true at this time. This is a difficult topic to talk about, but during this time, this is when what's called cult prostitution was a thing. When you went to the temple, there was nefarious stuff going on. There was, remember a lot of the ancient idols were fertility cults.

And so Paul is saying, we didn't bring you one of those types of religions. We didn't come to you with uncleanness. We came to you with the purity of the gospel. They didn't come either with deceit. No, they didn't come with treachery. They didn't come to play tricks. They didn't come with a bait and switch.

They didn't come with a gospel trying to say, oh, here's this good news, and we're going to do these things. But really, there was a catch at the end. We need you to do X, Y, and Z now. We're going to tell you that there's good news, but in reality, no, there's actually, it's all by works. No, it wasn't like that. We're going to preach to you the good news, and that's it. These men were tested and approved by God. God entrusted them with the gospel. This doesn't mean that Paul was sinless.

You might read this and you might hear this, you might think, oh, Paul was a perfect guy. Go read Romans chapter seven. This is the same one who said that the things that I want to do, I do not do, and the things that I do not want to do, yet I do, oh wretched man that I am. Paul knew what it was like to know the good things he ought to do and yet not have the courage to do those things. This isn't saying that Paul or Silas or Timothy were perfect Christians. But time and time again, they were seen as true servants. true ambassadors sent to carry the good news of the King. We need to be praying for these types of proven pastors.

Brothers and sisters, this was This is a difficult thing for a pastor to preach about pastors. I am begging you to pray for your pastor. I am unabashedly saying, please hold me to these standards. Please pray for me about this. The Lord would love to sift me out, as my former mentor George Sipioni would say, men, you have a bullseye on your back. The Lord would love nothing more, or no, Satan would love nothing more than for my family to be destroyed. Pray for me, please. Pray for proven pastors. And I need to tell you, brothers and sisters, point three, do not be prey for the wolves. Do not become prey for the wolves. Verses five and seven, look with me there.

For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak of codiciousness, God is our witness, nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. There are pastors, preachers, charlatans out there who will go out and they will never say the forbidden three-letter word to you, S-I-N. Famous pastor, over 40,000 people in his church down in Texas will never say the word sin and will never say the word repent in any of his sermons because it will make people turn off the TV. There are pastors who will come and they'll use flattery words. They'll smile a lot. They'll make you feel good. They'll make you feel real good.

I mean, they're great motivational speakers, but they never tell you to repent for the way of death is before you if you keep going on this path. That's not how Paul, Silas, and Timothy came. No, they didn't come with flattery words just making you feel good. They didn't just bring fluff. But they were sincere with their words. They didn't just bring slick eloquence, but neither did they use the gospel as a pretext for greed. Again, look with me at verse five. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness.

God is witness. It's not about getting rich. Brothers and sisters, I'm telling you, you have been in a reformed church, some of you, your entire lives. And you might be shocked if you turn on a TV and you'll hear some person pull on emotional heartstrings and say things like, if you'll only sow a seed of faith, if you'll only give $1,000 and see what the Lord will do with it. Brothers and sisters, it's a cloak for covetousness. This is what men do with their greed, wanting more and more and more.

It's so important that it's in the RPCNA elders' ordination vows, that you're not doing this for any selfish gain. Not out of greed. They didn't come to them with a cloak of covetousness, not wanting, sucking more and more. It's not just about financial gain, though.

Some men want to get behind a pulpit because they want the praise of other people. Some people want to become a teacher because they want all eyes on them. Some people, when they'll come before a Presbyterian and they say that they want to be taken under care of Presbyterian, it's clear what they really want is they want power, they want prestige, and they want to run the show. And they want the praise, the accolades, the glory from men. Paul, Silas, and Timothy are saying, it's not how it goes, buddy. No, we didn't come to you wanting your praise. We didn't come to you wanting you to bring glory to us. We didn't want it from you. We didn't want it from anybody.

This is one of the, again, one of the horrible problems. I know it sounds like whoa, whoa, whoa, but I'm telling you evangelicalism and the world of charismaticism and health, wealth, and prosperity, and the world of Christianity, when the world looks at American Christianity, it's either it's all liberal or it's all money grabbers or it's all fundamentalists. I'm telling you, the world is so full of celebrity pastors who have these big, huge ministries and these big, huge names, and they'll do anything to protect their reputations. So much so that it brings you to tears when you hear of this.

Elders who were able to run amok. Pastors who were able to run with no authority over them. Whatever possible, just protect this man's, this one person's reputation, even though they might be a womanizer or a child abuser, brothers and sisters, may it never be. We cannot be those who are seeking glory from men. We don't need a social media influence pastors or celebrity pastors, we need godly pastors. Pray for godly pastors.

Paul also says how they conduct themselves here is interesting as well. Those guys who are all about their own reputation and flattering words and stuff like that, they also tend to be authoritarian in the church, throwing their weight around. It's my decision. I'm telling you right now, brothers and sisters, I am so thankful for men like John and Jim, for a plurality of elders, where the session works as a team. If you ever ask, if you ever hear anybody say, oh, that's Pastor Brian's church, stop them right then and there and say, no, this is Jesus's church. This is Jesus's church.

Even the apostles themselves, what do they say about their conduct here? When we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. Paul could have thrown around his authority, he could have said, hey, suck it up buttercup, you need to do what I say. I'm gonna lay down law and you're gonna follow after me, my way or the highway.

There are a lot of authoritarian pastors like that, that should not be the case. How does Paul talk about how they cared for this church? They were faithful and loving. Pray for faithful and loving pastors. Pray for faithful and loving pastors. Look with me at verses seven through 12. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

I know moms, you've been through this before, but I was amazed. I was amazed how tired I could be when Nathan was born. It's like you get the first couple nights of sleep when a baby is first born and you're like, oh, this is great. It's not too bad. And then you get to the end of that first week with a kid and you're like, I haven't slept for six days and I'm 14 cups of coffee in today. I'm just surviving. And that's how I felt, and then I would look at Olivia, and she'd be smiling at Nathan, smiling at Deborah, smiling at Daniel, smiling at Ellie, and I'm sitting there going, you've had like two hours of sleep, how are you like so nice to them?

But that's how Paul talks about how he cared for the church there. Right, yeah, okay, there's messes to clean up. It's tiring, but I love you. That's the heart of the pastors that we need. It's more than that. Look with me at verse eight. Self-affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart with you the gospel of God. When it says at the end, but also our own lives because you have become dear to us, A literal translation would be more, you became beloved to us. You became love to us. Paul had a genuine affection. Silas had a genuine affection. Timothy had a genuine love for the people in this church. When we were Going into our last year of seminary, we had a neighbor across the street from our house.

Her name is Meg Morton. Some of you might know her. I know some of you actually do know her. She's been your professor. But she was also one of our best friends, her and her husband, Jonathan. And I remember one day, our kids were playing at the park, and we had been talking about the different churches we were visiting as I was candidating. And she just made an offhanded comment that I never forgot.

She said, you know I've been praying for you all. That's interesting. I said, what have you been praying for? She said, I've been praying. I've been praying that the Lord would work in the congregation you're gonna get called to. This is love, I swear.

That they might love you guys, and that you might love them. I can't tell you the privilege it is to serve you. But they didn't just love them, they worked. and they worked hard. In verse eight, it says that they shared their own lives with them. Verse nine, for you remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.

We preach to you the gospel of God. It worked. They worked as missionaries, they went into this new town and they worked. Paul set up shop, he was a tent maker by trade and he worked day and night laboring, toiling for them, laboring both selling and laboring as well as in preaching.

Now a genuine question you should ask here is, all right, so Brian, why do we pay you? Valid question. Paul actually talks about this when he's writing to Timothy when he becomes a pastor in Ephesus. In 1 Timothy 5, verse 16, or verse 17 through 18, he talks about how the higher is worth his wages, right? If you got an ox who's working, feed the ox. But there is a reality. There is a reality here. Thank you for feeding me. Thank you for feeding our children. I really appreciate it. It's wonderful.

But there's a reality that Sometimes a pastor can get overpaid. I remember hearing a pastor I admire a great deal. He's a pastor who's written scores of books. And somebody asked him, they said, well, you probably live a pretty good life because of all the royalties that you make with your books and you pastor this large church. And he said, and this is the first time I'd ever heard this man speak about his income.

He said, every single cent from my book sales goes straight to missions. There's a corporation that's set up, a non-profit that's set up, that even though it's my name on the books, all the money goes straight to missions. And at their church, they set a salary cap. I would encourage you to do this for me. They set a salary cap for this pastor. Well-known pastor, travels all over the country, finished his ministry well, retiring without scandal. And he said that whatever the average income for the congregation was, the elders decided that would be his salary cap. Pastors can't get paid too much.

I'm just gonna put it out there. Y'all, I'm telling you, we feel like we live in the Taj Mahal. You guys have made an amazing home for us to live in. Please, please be careful with the income. Please be careful with the things that the Lord's entrusted us with. Make me work. Make me work, I guess is what I'm saying. We need to be praying for pastors who will work. We don't need CEO pastors. We need working pastors. We need men who know how to get their hands dirty, love people. But we also need devout, just, and blameless men. Look with me at verse 10.

You are witnesses, and God also, how we devoutly And justly and blamelessly we have behaved ourselves among you who believe. This is what it's talking about when it's talking about proven pastors is that when Paul, Silas, and Timothy went, when they were going into this city, they didn't act in a way that was out of accord with what they were preaching. But when they went, they lived their lives of righteousness.

It's so important that we look at the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and in the book of Titus, and look at what are the qualifications for an elder, and actually hold men to those qualifications, to be men who are just, devout, and blameless. That's why Paul says an elder needs to have a good reputation, even amongst unbelievers. Paul wasn't writing this saying this because he didn't fit the bill. He's saying this out of his own life. Pray for faithful pastors who are devout, just, and blameless.

Lastly, pray for faithful pastors who love like a father. Look with me at verses 11 and 12. As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." Paul loved them. Loved them like a nursing mother, but he also loved them like an instructing father.

He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty with the reality of saying, here's the way of life. Jesus has freed you from bondage to sin and has made you a servant of righteousness. You don't have to serve sin anymore. Now out of your love for God, you get to do good works.

So they would teach this, that he would exhort He would comfort, he would charge, just like he would a child. Notice these three parts, it's so important. As fathers, we could spend a whole hour preaching just this one verse. But a father who doesn't just implore his kids, doesn't just say do, do, do, do, do, but also encourages. Again, I'm gonna ask you as a pastor, I love sermon feedback, and if you feel like from the pulpit you're just constantly getting a list of do, do, do, do, do, and not encouragement that you can, you can, you can because of Christ in you, let me know that something's gone out of whack. Fathers should be exhorting, but they should also be comforting, and they should also be charging. This is the way to go, now walk in it.

This is Paul, Titus, Timothy, and Silas' desire for the church in Thessalonica. This is the desire I have for you, that in verse 12, that you would walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Living a righteous life isn't something that you're just gonna do in heaven, but it's something that by God's grace you get to do now. Walk in righteousness. Walk worthy of the calling that you have in Christ Jesus. Not walk so that you will be worthy, but because you are called. Walk. Don't do good things because you want his spirit, but because you have his spirit, do good. He's already admitted you into his kingdom. So here and now, let's walk like we're citizens of that kingdom.

Closing Prayer

Brothers and sisters, pray. Pray for pastors of courage. Pray for proven pastors. Do not fall prey to wolves. Pray for faithful and loving pastors. Let's pray now. Oh Father, we thank you. We thank you for raising up faithful leaders in your church for over 2,000 years. Father, we pray. We pray that you might raise up faithful laborers to work in your harvest. Father, I pray that you would work in my own life, that these things might be said of this congregation's pastor. Lord, I pray. Pray, Lord, that your kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen.