Can You Trust It?

Text: 1Thessalonians 2: 1-12
How much you risk your life for the gospel will be determined by how much you trust it.

What kind of handshake do you have, is it one that is firm but brief in duration, is it soft but hangs on, do your eyes meet their eyes, do they shake your hand or just hold it, do men and women have different kinds of handshakes? Seems like a bunch of silly questions, but when you meet a person for the first time what is it you do almost automatically?you extend your hand to them. For our culture it is the first point of connection and one that conveys more information than we realize. Just withhold your hand next time you meet someone to see the significance of that. Really what we are talking about is how we leave an impression on people, whether we wanted to or not.

In today's sermon Paul speaks at length about the impression that the Christians of Thessalonika had upon he and Timothy and Silas. He also speaks about the impression he hopes that these three have had upon the Thessalonians. The kind of impression you make upon a person comes from many things, your personality, your appearance, your speech, but ultimately the greatest impression comes from what you most trust in. It is this very thing that Paul points the young believers of Thessalonica to. Read with me the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians, verses 1 to 13.

I. A Persevering Confidence Is Trust in the Gospel.

Just look at the first two verses, do the themes of perseverance and confidence or boldness seem evident? Paul hopes that he has left the impression of a persevering confidence in the gospel upon the Thessalonians. That's why he starts out by saying? ?For you yourselves know brethren??. You know we were mistreated in the previous town of Philippi , you yourselves know we suffered there physically. You know that we were opposed in your town too, but still we spoke out boldly the message of the gospel. We had to leave sooner than we would have liked because of this pressure, but you yourselves know of all the transformation which happened among you in regards to the gospel. What is Paul after in these two verses, what is it he hopes the Thessalonians will see and agree with? What he wants them to see is that it hasn't all been in vain, they shouldn't be quick to throw up their hands and say ?I quit? because Paul has left them or because now the Jewish leaders persecute them or because times are difficult. Essentially it is a trust that what God has directed them to do is greater than what the crisis is directing them to do. Paul has deliberately placed his trust in God's purposes, and those are directly connected to the gospel. That's what he trusted in and that is where the persevering confidence came from. It's the impression he hoped they had left on the Thessalonians because now the Thessalonians needed to do the same. They needed to persevere with boldness because of their trust in the greater purposes of God the Father. What do those purposes look like in terms of your perseverance and boldness? look at the next verses.

II. A Gentle Diligence that Glorifies God is a Trust in the Gospel.

A ?gentle diligence that glorifies God ?, what does that look like? Perhaps you remember times when someone has come along side of you, they had a way connecting with you, they helped you to see what you needed to see. I think this capability comes from two things, an absence of certain sinful traits and a presence of godliness.

Look at the absence of sinful things listed in verses 3,5,6 :

1. Error ? defined in verse 6 as seeking glory from men. A gentle diligence that glorifies God has to have the glory of God as it's first thirst. If you have the glory of men first what will you be diligent to do? How gentle will you be with those who resist you? In what do you trust? The reason why you were able to be led by those who came along side was that there was an absence of this error in them.

2. Impurity ? defined in verse 5 as a ?pretext for greed?. Impurity is about motive, where you appear to want the best for others but what you really desire is your own prosperity or gain.

3. Deceit - defined in verse 5 as ?flattering speech?. A gentle diligence that glorifies God seeks to avoid deceiving others, that requires truth. Flattery will look like love but in actuality it disrespects both people and God, belittling the former and misrepresenting the latter.

Look at the presence of godliness, listed in verses 10,7,8,9:

1. Being Devout ? defined in verse 7 as a gentle caring essential for life. Typically we think of the term devout meaning self disciplined, religious and even extreme. Would you use these terms to describe the care of a nursing mother her child? No, she does what she does out of love not discipline, she cares because without it they will suffer and even die if neglected, her diligence is natural not extreme. It's what is normal, even desirable, and brings great joy. Being devout like this glorified God and came from a deep trust in both Him and His word.

2. Being Upright ? defined in verse 8 as responding to the precious value of people by giving more than was required. I remember when we were taking scuba diving classes that we were required to descend to depth with one tank of air, and we had to share that one tank with a diver that had none. You took a breath and then gave them the regulator, they took a breath and handed it back. It was good news for them to get air, but the deeper you go, it was your life to take that regulator out of your mouth and surrender your air supply for another. Paul not only told these people of God's love for them, he became God's love by making himself vulnerable for them. Godliness reflects the sacrifice of Christ, only ever being a type but always a confession.

3. Being Blameless ? defined in verse 9 as an evidential self-denial that proclaims God. Night and day, labor and hardship, witnessed by those he sought to reach, actions that did not go unnoticed, actions that spoke of the gospel of God. To be blameless is to be unapologetic about the motives of God in the midst of the action of your own self sacrifice.

The gentle diligence that glorifies God is an expression of trust in the gospel, it trusts that by such thinking and such actions God will call those who we seek to reach into His kingdom. Paul uses the terms of a nursing mother and an imploring father to describe the diligence demanded of a Christian. It is a diligence founded within the word of God and it places it's trust completely upon the worthiness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Can you trust it? Absolutely!

Rev. Spence Laycock pastors at Church of the Open Bible, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada.
www.churchoftheopenbible.ab.ca