HOW TO BE A BLESSING INSTEAD OF A BURDEN
1 Thessalonians 2:6-12 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 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 had become so dear to us. 9 Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
I. HOW TO BE A BURDEN IN THE CHURCH
A. LOOK FOR PEOPLE TO PRAISE YOU verse 6
1. Everybody enjoys being encouraged for a good job
2. Nothing wrong with encouragement
a) God encouraged people – Joshua for example
Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 3:7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
3. We become a burden when we begin to seek out encouragement rather than letting encouragement come to us.
a) Our activities and focus changes to elicit praise
b) We begin to do things for the response of others rather than the response of God
c) Cannot serve two masters and cannot seek the to please both
Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
WHEN GET CAUGHT UP WITH SEEKING THE PRAISE OF PEOPLE WE BECOME A BURDEN BECAUSE WE ARE NOT SEEKING TO DO WHAT GOD DESIRES FIRST.
B. GET CAUGHT UP IN YOUR POSITION – verse 6
1. Sometimes it seems as though position is everything
2. How many times have you heard that it is not what you know but who you know
3. Paul says he could have used his position to be a burden on the church but he did not
4. We need to be careful that we do not use our position in the church as a burden on someone else in the church
a) We can be overly critical of someone in our Sunday School Class
b) We can be unconsciously prejudice in our practices – this is exactly the reason why I do not want to pick the first table up for fellowship dinner and why I like to eat last!
WHEN WE THINK WE DESERVE BETTER ANYTHING BECAUSE OF OUR POSITION WE BECOME A BURDEN
C. SERVE LESS AND NEED MORE – verse 9
1. Paul says that he served day and night
2. Paul wanted to be as little burden as possible and in order to do that he needed to do more
a) Paul toiled – means to wear oneself out in battle
b) Paul had hardship – means to labor with effort
3. Paul’s purpose in doing what he did and how he did it was to be less of a burden while doing God’s will
Maybe this is where we get the saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
More importantly, Pauls’ activity was a result of his belief in God’s all sustaining power, comfort, and protection.
Philippians 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
WHEN WE NEED MORE TO COME INTO OUR LIVES THEN WE ARE POURING OUT OF OUR LIVES WE BECOME A BURDEN
D. LIVE AN INCONSISTENT LIFE – verse 8
1. A consistent life towards others are based on love
2. Paul writes about a delight to share the gospel and themselves with the church of Thessalonia
a) Delight means to have a willingness to share
b) To make sharing a habit of life
3. A way that we become a burden in the church is when we live an inconsistent life – we exist in the church without having a delight or willingness towards people.
a) Fellowship and ministry have not or are not a habit of our lives
b) The church has not become “dear” to us
c) So, we are here in body, but not here in spirit
WHEN WE ARE INCONSISTENT IN OUR LIFE WE BECOME A BURDEN TO THE CHURCH. WE BRING A SPIRIT INTO THE CHURCH WITH US THAT HINDERS OTHERS AROUND US
II. HOW TO BE A BLESSING IN THE CHURCH
This is what we should be striving for – to be a blessing in the church
A. SERVE THROUGH RELATIONSHIP NOT AUTHORITY – verse 7,11
1. Twice Paul invokes an image of RELATIONSHIP
a) The relationship of a mother
b) The relationship of a father
2. Both of these images are images of authority, but they are also images of relationship
a) Authority is a low level of interaction – People will do things because of who you are. “Do it because I said so.”
b) Relationship is a higher level of interaction and influence – people will do things based not on your position but based on who you are to them
THE HIGHER LEVEL OF INTERACTION WE HAVE WITH OTHERS THE GREAT A BLESSING WE CAN BE!
B. HAVE A TWO SIDED CONCERN – verse 7
1. We are to be like a nursing mother
2. One of the things about a nursing mother is that biologically a mothers body will give priority to the child
3. So in order for the mother to satisfy the child the mother must also be nourished.
4. The diet of the parent reflects down to the children
TWO SIDED CONCERN MEANS THAT WE MUST HAVE AS MUCH CONCERN FOR WHAT IS NOURISHING US AS FOR WHAT WE ARE NOURISHING OTHERS WITH!
C. SET YOUR BAR HIGHER – verse 10
1. We need to set our sights higher than we think
2. Paul invited others to observe -- “you are witnesses” means “see our behavior”
3. Paul encouraged both “righteous” and “blameless” character
a) Righteous means that we have measured up to God’s standard
b) Blameless means that what we are is able to stand up to scrutiny
THE HIGHER WE SET OUR SIGHTS THE GREATER THE BLESSING WE CAN BE. WHEN EVER GOD TALKS ABOUT LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE HE LOOKS MOST AT OUR CHARACTER.
1 Timothy 3:1-13 1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
D. PUT SPIRITUAL EFFORT IN OUR LIVES – verse 9-10
1. Paul uses words like toil, hardship, work, righteous, and blameless
2. Paul is saying that living a life that is a blessing takes effort. It does not just happen
THE MORE EFFORT WE PUT INTO OUR OWN SPIRITUAL LIFE THE GREATER BLESSING WE WILL BE TO THE CHURCH
E. ENCOURAGE GODLY LIVING BY EXAMPLE AND WITNESS – verse 12
1. Paul says that as a father he:
a) Encouraged --- gave advice
b) Comforted – called someone to your side
c) Urged – means witness
2. There is a time to advise and comfort but not at the expense of being a witness of what it means to be a Christian
3. Living a life worthy of God is caught more than it is taught
Nobody says it better than God:
Proverbs 4:18 (MSG)
18 The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.
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