In Walt Disney's Pixar-animated movie, called The Incredibles, Mr Incredible is a super-hero in hiding. Mr Incredible saved a guy from an exploding building, but the guy sued Mr Incredible because the guy’s neck was slightly strained during the rescue. The guy was about to die! The guy exchanged certain death for a slightly strained neck, and yet he sued Mr Incredible. Unbelievable! Incredible! Mr Incredible is the good guy, but the public don't want to know. Mr Incredible wants to save people, but the public don't want to know.
That's the issue we're looking at today. That's the issue I want God to help us with as we look at Paul's letter to the Thessalonians.
We're the good guys. We want to save people, but the public don't want to know.
In Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2 verses 1 to 16, there are three examples of his team's behaviour that I want to use as models for us - examples of behaviour that will help us to save people:
? Trust the gospel message and deliver it
? Do it for God
? Draw people to Christ through a Godly lifestyle
Trust the gospel message and deliver it
When I was a youngster at boarding school, another pupil (who was older, and bigger) asked me, ordered me to pop down to the local shop and buy him a Battenburg. I'd never heard of Battenberg and I didn't know what it meant. I thought it was a joke, a rude word - "na na na na na, you're a Battenberg" - and I expected to be embarrassed when I said "Battenberg" to the shopkeeper. Of course, I wasn't. It was a simple message, and all I had to do was deliver it - trust the message and deliver it.
Paul's team were the good guys because they trusted their message and delivered it.
They trusted the gospel message and delivered it.
Look what they went through to deliver that ‘good news’ message.
1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 2, "But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict."
Paul and Silas were "shamefully treated", "shamefully treated at Philippi".
They were dragged into the marketplace, stripped naked, beaten with rods, and shackled in prison.
I just had to suffer the potential embarrassment of saying a rude word, "Battenberg", and the potential pain of a clip round the ear.
Paul and Silas were stripped naked, beaten with rods, and shackled in prison.
What happened next to Paul and Silas? God was with them. God was with them in Philippi because an earthquake unfastened their chains and opened the door. What a chance for them to escape. But they didn't run away. Why would they? God was with them, so they stayed and ended up converting the jailer and his family.
Shameful treatment didn't matter to Paul and Silas. They cracked on to Thessalonica and delivered the gospel message. And it was a tough message for the Thessalonians.
When I spoke to the shop keeper, he just had to decide whether or not to give me a Battenburg. When Paul spoke to the Thessalonians, they had to decide whether or not to give themselves to Jesus.
They were getting a tough message. Paul was telling them that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. The Thessalonian Jews didn't want to hear this, so they formed a mob and started a riot. Paul and Silas had to sneak out under the cover of darkness.
Would you put up with that sort of treatment for a message that wasn't true. Of course not!
Paul's team were the good guys because they trusted the gospel message and delivered it.
Every year, thousands of people take part in the World Championship of public speaking. Winners of club competitions go through to area competitions. Winners of area competitions go through to division competitions. Winners of division competitions go through to district competitions. Then there are inter-district competitions, semi-finals, and finally the final. It's a big event. It's a huge event.
There are strict criteria for judging. But, 70% of the marks, 70%, go on content. 70% go on the message.
Many eloquent speakers are time and time again humbled by losing to outwardly 'rubbish' speakers. They don't understand why their extremely polished deliveries come second to speakers delivering their message through "fear and much trembling". But it's the winning speaker's message that woos the audience and the judges. Amazing delivery will not win the event. It's down to the message.
Paul admitted he wasn't a great speaker. When he wrote a letter later to the Corinthians, he said "... I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, ..."
And yet, when he did speak, he got results. There were no believers in Thessalonica when Paul first went there. But by the time he left, there was a strong, healthy, growing church, that was an example to believers across the world.
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 8 to 9, Paul praised the Thessalonians by writing "For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God."
Everyone, everyone, was talking about the Thessalonians.
The Thessalonians got it. But how did they get it if the speaker wasn't confident and the speaker wasn't eloquent? It's down to the message itself and the Holy Spirit working through the message deliverer.
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1, Paul wrote "For you yourselves know brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain."
And that's because the Holy Spirit worked through Paul - with God's power doing the work and not Paul's.
Paul often walked into synagogues and told the Jews that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. How brave is that? Can you imagine doing that today? I can't. It was hard enough for me walking into the shop to ask for a Battenburg. But despite Paul's "fear and much trembling", the message got across to the Thessalonians. It's a message we can trust, and the Holy Spirit will work through us when we deliver it.
When he wrote to the Corinthians, Paul said "... I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, ..." and he added "... but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
It wasn't stylish dress sense, theatrical delivery, or celebrity status that brought the Thessalonians to Christ, it was simply the message of God - the gospel message.
Paul's team were the good guys because they trusted the gospel message and delivered it.
Do it for God.
You've probably heard of employees being asked to 'dress properly and smarten up'. Back in 2006, a consultant was brought into an oil company, by the guy at the top, to spread a ‘good news’ message about a new programme of work. The high-flying consultant was from a high-flying consultancy and wore handmade suits with braces, stripey double cuff shirts, and shoes from Church's. One day he was pulled aside by the guy at the top and told to 'dress improperly and scruffen down' - improperly and scruffy, not properly and smart. The employees on the programme felt intimidated and belittled whenever he was around. He needed to get them on his side, not swan around all self righteous flashing his consultancy badge.
Paul was an Apostle, a high-flying consultant from a high-flying consultancy, a specially chosen follower of Jesus, tasked by the guy at the top with spreading the gospel message. Like the other high-flying consultant, he could have swanned around all self righteous flashing his Apostle badge, but he didn't.
Chapter 2 verse 6, ".... we could have made demands as apostles of Christ."
They could have made demands as apostles of Christ, but they didn't.
Paul's team were the good guys because they were doing it for God.
Being Christians doesn't make us any better than anyone else. We're still sinners. We still deserve death and judgement just like those we're sharing the gospel with. So, we should always remember that we're spreading the gospel to please God, not ourselves.
Chapter 2 verses 3 to 4 "... just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts."
We should "speak... to please God."
And verses 5 to 6 "For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others... "
Paul's team were the good guys because they were doing it for God.
What do you imagine the Thesalonians thought when Paul and Silas snuck out of the city at night to avoid the riot and the mob? Charlatans, fraudsters, tricksters? Con artists? Battenburgs?
Paul's team were being bad-mouthed by the Thessalonian public.
Paul's team wanted to save people, but the public didn't want to know.
Did this stop Paul's team? No. Were they doing it to please the public? No.
They were doing it to please God.
Paul's team were the good guys because they were doing it for God.
Draw people to Christ through a Godly lifestyle
Perhaps I'm just growing old, but the other day I was horrified to discover I was wearing the exact same trousers as my Dad. I was turning into Mr Clive, fuddy, duddy, Broadbent. Lifestyle is infectious. We may not realise it, but the way we live affects the effectiveness of our message.
My Dad was a Christian, and his lifestyle of constant prayer and Bible reading have affected me and drawn me closer to Christ. But, I still have many changes I need to make to my own lifestyle.
Is your lifestyle drawing people to Christ? Do people want to be like you because of your car, your house, or your job? Is it because of the idols in this world or the extraordinary and wonderful things in the next?
Look at the way Paul's team lived. Look at their lifestyle.
Chapter 2 verses 9 to 10, "For you remember, brothers, our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct towards you believers."
Paul's team supported themselves whilst in Thessalonica, working during the week and preaching on the Sabbath. They were a burden to no-one, urging and encouraging the Thessalonians to live the perfect lifestyle - to live like Christ.
Paul's team were the good guys because they drew people to Christ through a Godly lifestyle.
Not so long ago, I found myself getting angry. Those of you who know me, will probably regard me as quiet, calm and diplomatic. But, like Doctor Robert Bruce Banner (AKA The Hulk), don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
I was trying to explain the gospel to my brother, and felt personally hurt every time he dismissed what I said with naive retorts.
Instead of loving and caring for him though, I got angry, raised my voice (a lot) and started ramming gospel stuff down his throat (and this was in the middle of an Italian restaurant). It was no longer a clear and loving message.
I only realised this when he asked me why I was being so aggressive and threatening with him.
I’d turned my brother off, not on. I should have encouraged him, just like Paul’s team:
Chapter 2 verses 11 to 12, “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
Like a father with his children, Paul’s team encouraged the Thessalonians.
I’d turned my brother off, not on. I should have been gentle, just like Paul’s team.
Chapter 2 verses 7 to 8 “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”
Like a nursing mother with her children, Paul’s team were gentle with the Thessalonians.
Paul’s team were the good guys because they drew people to Christ through a Godly lifestyle.
So, following the model of Paul’s team, will it be easier for us to save people, to bring people to Christ? I don’t know. I think so. It think it will be easier if we act like Paul’s team.
It worked for the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians got it – they received the word of God and became believers.
Chapter 2 verse 13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
The gospel message is the word of God, not the word of men.
Trust it, deliver it, do it for God, and do it in a gentle and encouraging way.
And the Thessalonians trusted it, delivered it, did it for God, and did it in a gentle and encouraging way too - suffering just like Christ.
Chapter 2 verse 14 “For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, …”
It’s hard to spread the gospel. Many people won’t welcome the message with open arms. Many people will be suspicious of us and our motives. And, many people won’t view us as the good guys.
It’s hard to be the good guys because the public don’t want to know.
It’s hard to save people, because the public don’t want to know.
So, act like Paul’s team.
? Trust the gospel message and deliver it
? Do it for God
? Draw people to Christ through a Godly lifestyle
Let’s pray …
Heavenly Father,
Help us to live the perfect lifestyle - to live like your son, Jesus.
Help us to trust the gospel message, and deliver that good news, and do everything in our lives for you, the living and true God.
In your name, Amen.
