Title: Pleasing God
Text: I Thessalonians 2:1-12
Introduction
The Apostle Paul was a gutsy guy. He did not hesitate to encourage people to imitate his life. He often said, “follow my example” or “imitate me.”
• Therefore I urge you to imitate me. II Corinthians 4:16
• Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. Philippians 3:17
• For you know that you ought to imitate us… II Thessalonians 3:7
I guess it is probably a good idea to be a good example if you want to be imitated.
At an annual meeting of The American Heart Association, 300,000 doctors, nurses, and researchers met in Atlanta to discuss, among other things, the importance a low fat diet plays in keeping our hearts healthy. Yet during meal times, they consumed fat-filled fast food—such as bacon cheeseburgers and fries—at about the same rate as people from other conventions. When one cardiologist was asked whether or not his eating high fat meals set a bad example, he replied, "Not at all, I took my name tag off."
This might play into the old adage, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t teach.”
The Apostle Paul chose to live and act in a certain way so as to model behavior fitting a devoted follower of Christ. This text is an example of how he chose to live and the specific behaviors he wants his readers to copy or imitate. This morning we will be reflecting on three things we might like to emulate from Paul’s life and teaching.
The first thing we learn from Paul is that we please God when we live into our priorities.
I. We please God when we live into our priorities
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. I Thessalonians 2:4
Life is a series of choices, some of which will shape the course of our lives. Choosing begins with the realization that we cannot have it all. So we opt for those things that are hopefully our best choices: matters of faith, education and occupation, life partner, family, friends, interests and hobbies, faith community, neighborhood, habits, financial planning, etc.
And ultimately woven into all of those choices is the all-encompassing desire to please and glorify God in all we think, say and do. “Whatever you do… do it all for the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31
Of all the things that are important to us… pleasing God is right up there at the top as a priority or value in our lives.
On September 8th, 2015, a British Airways jet caught fire at the Las Vegas airport, sending smoke billowing into the air, after suffering what the pilot described as a "catastrophic failure" of the left engine. The plane—a Boeing 777 heading from McCarran airport to London Gatwick—could be seen with flames around its fuselage.
But as the plane burst into smoke and flames, some observers saw something even more startling: People stopped during their evacuation to grab their luggage.
Imagine the cabin filling up with smoke and an eminent fuel explosion and fire… a one-minute evacuation time turned into a seven-minute evacuation time.
One veteran pilot with a major U.S. airline said, "We're always shaking our head. It doesn't matter what you say, people are going to do what they do." Or as one blogger summarized this news story: "People love their carry-ons more than life itself."
I would like to think one’s desire to please God in all things would be right up there with saving one’s luggage from a burning plane…
Paul made a point of stressing the importance of pleasing God rather than being concerned about pleasing other people. Ultimately, it is God alone who judges the motives of our hearts.
Q. With that truth in mind we would do well to weigh every choice by asking the question: Will this choice be pleasing to God?
A second thing we can learn from our text today is:
II. We please God when we practice integrity
So you can see we were not preaching from deceit or impure motives or trickery. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. I Thessalonians 2:3 an 5-6
Paul knew what the Prophet Jeremiah warned about motives, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
In our text he acknowledged that it is possible to be deceitful and have impure motives and be manipulative in our actions. That’s why he speaks to assure his readers that he lived a life of integrity among them. He did not flatter anyone. He did not pretend to be a friend in order to get something from them and the last thing on his mind was to get them to praise him or say nice things about him.
Paul made it his practice to live a life of authenticity and integrity in the world and among his Christian friends.
Christians and churches need to be very careful about maintaining integrity in life and ministry.
In one congregation I served I was encouraged to befriend a man in the congregation because he was good about contributing to special interest projects.
On another occasion an attorney contacted me and asked me to stop by his office. He was very torn and wanted advice. An elderly man in our congregation was giving substantial amounts of money to a televangelist. The man was elderly and he was concerned about his judgment. No sooner had the man sent a check to the televangelist he would receive another urgent letter asking for contributions for another grave need and so on and so forth. With the arrival of every letter the gentleman felt he had to do something to alleviate the suffering of starving children somewhere in the world.
His attorney wondered, “Should I let the man’s family know what was happening to their father?” It was in fact a case of elder abuse and my sense is, God was not pleased with the televangelist and his manipulation of his donors.
There were hucksters and charlatans in the days of the early church and they are still at it today… devoted followers of Christ have unwittingly built mansions and bought planes and luxury automobiles and financed luxury lifestyles for many religious leaders who lack integrity.
We've all heard the old adage, "You are what you eat."
This isn't a new school of thought. Aristotle wrote, "We are what we repeatedly do." A recent TED talk declared, "You are what you tweet." Each one of these proclamations carries a significant nugget of truth.
Frank Zappa got it right when he said: "You are what you is." In other words, it's not what we do that determines who we are; rather, who we are determines what we do.
In the Western film 3:10 to Yuma, the notorious outlaw Ben Wade (played by Russell Crowe) tells the good guy Dan Evans (played by Christian Bale) why he (Wade, that is) has never started down the path of goodness. Wade tells Evans, "Yeah, that's why I don't mess around with doing anything good, Dan. You do one good deed for somebody… I imagine it's habit-forming. Something decent. See that grateful look in their eyes, imagine it makes you feel like Christ Hisself."
The fictional Wade isn't exactly a philosopher but he's on to something. Aristotle basically said the same thing: "Virtue is not an act, but a disposition (a habit)." Who we really are determines what we do. And when we are people who please God and bless others, we do things that please God and bless others.
Q. A second question we might well ask ourselves is: Is what I am thinking or about to say or about to do, coming from a pure heart or a place of integrity?
Third, we please God when we are mindful of others.
III. We please God when we are mindful of others
…but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. I Thessalonians 2:7 and 11
Notice how carefully and effectively the Apostle Paul weaves familial images into his letter…
• When we think of children we think of innocence and vulnerability… we do not think of children as being threatening.
• When we think of a mother feeding her children we think of that maternal image of a mother lovingly and gently nursing her child.
• When we think of a father we think of that paternal image of a father lovingly guiding and protecting his children.
Children are not a threat. Mothers are not a threat. Fathers are not a threat. The imagery of a family is that of a loving and caring home. And if there is a lesson here it is to see ourselves as people fully engaged in gentle, loving, caring, instructive, and protective relationships with others.
Fred Rogers was the creator of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," a children's television show that began airing in 1968 and ran until 2000—that's 895 episodes. In 1997 Mr. Rogers won the Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.
This is an excerpt of his speech.
“So many people have helped me to come to this night. Some of you are here. Some are far away. Some are even in heaven. All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, 10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are? Think of those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. 10 seconds of silence. I'll watch the time.
“Whomever you've been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they've made in your life.”
All of us have special ones who have loved us into being children of God. Some here. Some far away. Some are even in heaven where they join the saints around the throne still praying and offering intercession for us.
If we take just a few moments to reflect, we all have had spiritual mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters.
Q. So perhaps an appropriate question we might ask ourselves today is this: How am I being mindful and engaged in the nurture of others as they grow in their faith? Who will one day look back and remember me for the contribution I made in their life?
Conclusion
We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. I Thessalonians 2:12
Earlier this week I read that a relative sold Paul Newman’s Rolex watch at auction for $17.8 million. It was a gift from his wife, Joanne Woodward. You will understand why I mention the watch in a moment.
A man in our congregation spent his winters in a Texas town near the border with Mexico. When he came home in the spring he would talk about the dental care he could get in Mexico that was just as good and for a fraction of the price of dental care in the U.S. He often brought grapefruit and oranges and antibiotics and vanilla and the like that he buy at greatly reduced prices in Mexico.
One spring he brought me a Rolex and Bonnie a Gucci purse.
I don’t know if you know this but no one in Mexican border towns is selling Timex watches and Payless purses… they sell Rolex watches and Gucci purses for Timex watches and Payless purses prices.
It should always be noted that the more excellent something is the more likely it will be imitated. There are many false diamonds and rubies, but who goes about making counterfeit pebbles? However, the more excellent things are the more difficult it is to imitate them in their essential character and intrinsic virtues. Yet the more variable the imitations are, the more skill and subtlety will be used in making them an exact imitation.
The challenge for us is to be real deal Christians. The challenge for us is to not be knock-off Christians but the genuine item.
Be:
• People who make it a priority to always please God.
• People who make it a priority to demonstrate genuine integrity in all we do.
• People who make it a priority to genuinely engage in loving and caring relationships with others.
