Fruitful Ministry

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Jason)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

____ announcements:

1) Announcement 1

What to do and how to respond

2) Announcement 2

What to do and how to respond

3) Announcement 3

What to do and how to respond

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Isaiah 55:6-11)

Prayer of Praise (___________)

Reformation Song

The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built)

Prayer of Confession (Cowardice), ______________

Assurance of Pardon (Jeremiah 31:34)

There is One Gospel

How Firm a Foundation

Scripture Reading (1 Thess. 2:1-12)

You can find it on page _________ in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Jason)

Prayer for PBC—Finance Team (prepping 2025 budget)

Prayer for kingdom partner—Carrollton Baptist Church (Lee Hess)

Prayer for US—Governor

Prayer for the world—Tajikistan*

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

What does the perfect minister look like? Consider this tongue-in-cheek description...

“[The Perfect Pastor] condemns sins, but never upsets anyone.

He works from 8:00 A. M. until midnight and is also the janitor.

He makes $60.00 a week … and gives about $50.00 a week to the poor.

He is 28 years old and has been preaching for 30 years.…

The Perfect Pastor smiles all the time [and has] a straight face....

He spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched and is always in his office when needed.” [1]

Thankfully PBC doesn’t have those kinds of impossible standards for its pastors, and yet the weight of gospel ministry still often feels unattainable.

I’m convinced the Apostle Paul often felt the same way.

In his second letter to the Corinthians he talked about the weight of gospel ministry and he asked, “Who among us is sufficient for these things?” [2]

And the answer to his rhetorical question is, of course, that nobody is sufficient to carry the weight of gospel ministry.

Turn to 1 Thessalonians 2:1

Less than 20 years after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the Apostle Paul began his second missionary journey.

SHOW PAUL’S 2ND MISSIONARY JOURNEY SLIDE

Shortly after Paul and his co-worker Silas were beaten and arrested in Philippi, they traveled to Thessalonica.

Some responded positively to Paul’s message in Thessalonica and a church was formed.

But it didn’t take long before the persecution began in Thessalonica as well.

So Paul and Silas moved on from Thessalonica to Berea.

And as quickly as Paul moved out, the accusations moved in.

People began to whisper to the Thessalonian Christians, “You can’t really trust this Paul guy can you? After all, he didn’t stick around very long!”

So when Paul writes his first letter to these Christians, he takes some time to defend his ministry.

Paul is NOT defending his ministry for the sake of his own name and reputation. Paul doesn’t really give a rip about that.

Paul defends his ministry for the sake of the gospel.

If the Christians in Thessalonica are tempted to doubt Paul’s ministry, then they’ll also be tempted to doubt the gospel he preached.

So in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul defends his ministry, and in so doing we get a Spirit-inspired picture of what fruitful gospel ministry is supposed to look like.

In our text we’ll see Three Ingredients of fruitful gospel ministry:

1) Fruitful Ministry Proclaims the Right MESSAGE

2) Fruitful Ministry Possesses the Right MOTIVES

3) Fruitful Ministry Practices the right METHODS

But before we begin, I want to convince you this sermon is not only for pastors and elders, or people serving in some sort of vocational ministry.

If you’re a husband, you have a responsibility to lead your home to worship Jesus. That’s gospel ministry.

If you’re a father or a mother, you have a responsibility to lead your children to know and follow Jesus. That’s gospel ministry.

If you’re a church member, you have a responsibility so speak the truth in love and build up the local church. That’s gospel ministry.

If you’re a Christian, you have a responsibility to spread the good news to unbelievers around you. That’s gospel ministry.

ALL CHRISTIANS have been called to engage in fruitful gospel ministry.

That’s the Big idea I hope to communicate today with God’s help.

A thriving local church engages in fruitful gospel ministry.

Maybe today you’re primarily thinking of your responsibility to lead your home, or your children. Or maybe you’re focusing on someone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus. Or perhaps your priority is faithfulness as a church member who helps other members follow Jesus.

Whether it’s one of these responsibilities or all of them, we have much to learn from this passage.

Let’s begin by exploring how...

1) Fruitful Ministry Proclaims the Right MESSAGE.

1 Thessalonians 2:1—For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

Even though Paul and Silas weren’t able to remain in Thessalonica very long, Paul is confident that his visit wasn’t futile.

He wasn’t just spinning his wheels in Thessalonica. His visit was fruitful.

But how does he know?

1 Thessalonians 2:2—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 was outraged by the way he and Silas were treated in Philippi. They were beaten and thrown in prison! And when he and Silas arrived in Thessalonica, the outrageous treatment continued. He says they ministered “in the midst of much conflict.”

But conflict alone is not reason to be confident your ministry is fruitful.

I remember when I was a kid a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses visited our door, and when we refused to entertain their message we heard the mom say to her kids, “That’s how we know what we’re doing is right. Because people reject us!”

Facing conflict doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something right. You might be facing conflict because you’re a jerk!

Paul isn’t confident because he faced conflict. He is confident because he proclaimed the right message.

Look again at what Paul says in verse 2, “we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God.”

What is the gospel?

There is only one gospel, but there are multiple ways to remember it.

Some use four key words: God, man, Christ Response.

I’ve often used the four C’s: Creator, Curse, Christ, Call.

Here’s the way our children learn it in Sunday School at PBC:

God Rules. The Bible tells us God created everything and He is in charge of everything He created.

We Sinned. We all choose to disobey God, and as a result we all deserve God’s punishment.

God Provided. The Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to rescue sinners.

Jesus Gives. Jesus rescues us by giving His life for us. He lived a sinless life and died a sinner’s death in our place.

We Respond. Anyone who turns from their sins and trusts in Jesus will receive this gift of salvation.

Martin Luther used to say "We need to hear the Gospel every day because we forget it every day."

You may not forget a basic outline of the gospel. But you forget to live and act like it’s TRUE.

So every week we work to remind each other about the gospel!

And here’s the deal: your ministry—whether it’s being a faithful parent, a faithful church member, or a faithful evangelist—will never be fruitful unless you proclaim the right message.

Moms and Dads, are you teaching your children the gospel? Do they understand that Christianity isn’t about a bunch of rules but a relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus?

Church members, when you help each other through our struggles do we begin by offering each other good advice, or do we begin by reminding each other of the good news?

Christian, when you have conversations with your friends and neighbors about your faith, do you ever get around to actually talking about the gospel? Or do you only talk about conservative values or church?

A thriving local church engages in fruitful gospel ministry.

Which means we will proclaim the right message.

But also...

2) Fruitful Ministry Possesses the Right MOTIVES.

There is a growing trend in the West of people who call themselves ex-vangelicals.

An ex-vangelical is someone who once identified as an evangelical Christian, but does no longer.

All of us know people like this.

Perhaps they grew up in the church, maybe they grew up in this church, but they’re no longer here.

And it’s not because they’re worshipping Jesus somewhere else. It’s because they’re not worshiping Jesus at all.

If you were to survey these men and women, many would say they no longer identify as Christians because of the behaviors of other Christians.

They might say “Christians CLAIM to be followers of Jesus, but they don’t LIVE like it.”

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe the reason you’re on the fence about Christianity isn’t the message. It’s the messengers.

Let me ask you friend, would you judge Beethoven’s music because sometimes it’s performed poorly?

Would you stop drinking water entirely because it sometimes flows through rusty pipes?

Don’t reject Jesus because of the sins of His people! If Jesus really rose from the dead, you need to respond to that message, even if God’s people sometimes live hypocritical lives.

But to the Christians in the room, we need to take these objections seriously...

We will undermine the gospel—even if we get the message right—if our lives doesn’t match the message you proclaim.

Which means it’s not enough to get the message right.

We need to make sure our motives our right as well.

In verses 3-6, Paul addresses two false motives for ministry:

1 Thessalonians 2:3–6—For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but 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. 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, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

First, we shouldn’t be motivated by man’s approval...

Paul wasn’t in Thessalonica in order to win friends and influence people.

He wasn’t seeking glory for himself.

He wasn’t trying to please people, He was there to please God.

If you are motivated by approval, you will be tempted to tamper with the message.

Wouldn’t it be much easier to gain a crowd if we told people that God doesn’t care how we live?

Wouldn’t it be much easier to evangelize our neighbors if we didn’t have to talk about sin? Or the fact that Jesus is the only way?

But it’s not our gospel. It’s God’s gospel. And our goal is not to win the approval of man, but the approval of God.

Second, we shouldn’t be motivated by greed...

Paul says he wasn’t there under “a pretext for greed.”

In other words, he’s not in this for the money.

Paul gives more details in 2 Thessalonians 3:7–8—… we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.

It needs to be said here that Paul is not against ministers making money.

1 Timothy 5:17–18—Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

It is right and good for a church to pay at least some of its pastors. The text says “especially” those who are regularly involved in the church’s preaching and teaching ministry.

I’ve pastored in a church that wasn’t able to pay me enough to minister full-time, and let me just say it is an incredible blessing to be able to devote my entire workweek to the ministry. Thank you for your faithful giving that allows me to do that!

Just like it’s appropriate for a pastor to be paid by his church, there was nothing wrong with an apostle receiving financial support from the churches.

In verse 6 Paul says that he “could have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

But Paul was careful NOT to receive any financial support from churches when they were just getting established.

Kind of like we wouldn’t want our Spanish-speaking church plant to be responsible to cover Carlos’ salary right away. Instead, we’ll have a group of more established churches work together to support him.

Paul’s goal in ministry was to start and strengthen churches, not to make money!

If man’s approval and greed are the wrong motives for gospel ministry, what is the right motive?

First, Paul is motivated by His love for God.

Look at...

1 Thessalonians 2:4—…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.

Paul views the gospel as a stewardship.

Too many Christians are like gospel cul-de-sacs. You received the gospel, and you treat it as if it’s this wonderful gift that’s been given so you can be safe and comfortable and separated from the world.

But the reality is, if you’re a Christian, the gospel is supposed to function like a conduit in your life.

The gospel came to you so it could go through you to someone else.

And you will be motivated to bring the gospel to others if your primary motivation is your desire to please God.

Second, Paul is motivated by His love for others

Look at the way Paul describes his relationship with the Christians in Thessalonica...

1 Thessalonians 2:7–8—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.

It’s hard to imagine a greater example of love in a fallen world than a mother gently caring for her infant children.

The average newborn infant needs to nurse about 8-12 times every day. That’s according to Google.

But think about the way a good mom cares for a nursing baby. She doesn’t only feed that baby every few hours, day and night. She cuddles her baby, talks to him, plays with him, reads to him, and sings to him. And she’s not doing this out of duty. She’s doing it because she wants to, even in the moments when she wishes she could sleep a little more. She’s doing it because that child, who has only been in her life for a few days or weeks, has become very dear to her.

Paul says, that’s the way we love you Thessalonians. We’re going to consistently feed you the gospel message because we have great affection for you. We want to share the gospel and our lives. We love you!

So the right motivation for gospel ministry—whether it’s evangelizing your neighbors, evangelizing your kids, teaching God’s Word, or speaking the truth in love to one another—the only right motivation is love.

So if you are not ministering the gospel as you should, Christian, your first step is not to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and try harder.

Your first step is to grow in your love for God so that you might grow in love for others.

That’s the only way you’re going to be rightly motivated to fruitful gospel ministry.

A thriving local church engages in fruitful gospel ministry.

Which means we will possess the right motives.

But finally...

3) Fruitful Ministry Practices the Right METHODS.

What is gospel ministry? It’s all about faithfully speaking the good news of the gospel.

Whether that's evangelizing unbelievers or helping believers live out the implications of the gospel.

Why should we do it? Because we love God and we love others.

But how? We see an answer to that question by looking once again at Paul’s example.

1 Thessalonians 2:9-12—For you remember, brothers, our labor 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 toward you believers. 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.

We can learn four biblical methods for fruitful ministry by examining these verses:

First, fruitful ministry requires hard work.

Paul says he and his ministry team worked tirelessly as they proclaimed the gospel.

That’s what faithful ministry is going to take!

Telling your neighbors and co-workers about Jesus when you’re afraid they’ll reject you is going to take hard work.

Continually pointing your children to Jesus even when you’re tired, even when you don’t see any positive results, even when you feel like a hypocrite is going to take hard work.

Faithfully teaching God’s Word in PBC kids, in your Sunday School class, or in your discipleship group is going to take hard work.

Faithfully speaking the truth in love in your church family—even when you’d rather just talk about the weather or what happened on some ball field somewhere over the weekend—is going to take hard work.

Second, fruitful ministry requires personal holiness.

Paul reminds the Thessalonian Christians that Paul and Silas and Timothy were holy, righteous, and blameless during their time in Thessalonica.

This is crucial, because when a minister falls into serious sin, he undermines his message.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne was an influential Scottish pastor in the 19th century who famously said “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.”

Whatever your ministry—if you’re a parent, a disciple-maker, a pastor, a deacon, a faithful church member—the greatest need for the people to whom your minister is your personal holiness.

Third, fruitful ministry requires fatherly wisdom.

We don’t think of dads as wise in our culture. Whether it’s Homer Simpson, Phil Dunphy, or Al Bundy, pop culture is filled with dumb dads.

But after using moms to illustrate sacrificial love, Paul uses dads to illustrate wisdom. Like a dad, Paul knows how to speak to the Thessalonian believers.

Sometimes they needed to be exhorted. To exhort is to urge a person to act in a certain way. And sometimes we need to plead with each other to do what is right.

But other times the Thessalonians’ needed to be encouraged. This is a word that’s used to describe comforting or consoling a person. When someone is weak and struggling, they need to be encouraged to carry on.

But other times the church in Thessalonica needed to be charged. That’s a stronger word used to insist that a person respond in a certain way.

A good father will respond to his kids in each of those ways, depending on the circumstances.

And if we’re going to faithfully minister to one another in this church, we need to learn to do the same.

Before we move on, I want you to notice what Paul is exhorting, encouraging and charging these people to do: He’s encouraging them to walk in a manner worthy of God.

It’s crucial here to notice this kind of ministry is from one Christian to another.

If you’re an unbeliever you can’t walk in a way that pleases God. What you need to do is to repent and believe the gospel!

Finally, fruitful ministry requires confident faith.

Paul is able to talk in this way because he knows that God is the One who calls us into His Kingdom.

I cannot generate heart change in you, friend, any more than I can yell at a casket and force the body to wake up.

God has to do the work.

But God uses our faithful ministry.

Not perfect pastors. Not perfect parents. Not perfect SS teachers or church members. Not perfect evangelists.

He uses faithful Christians who proclaim the right message, possess the right motives, and practice the right methods.

Let’s labor to do that with God’s help.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

For the Cause

Benediction (Rom 8 (p 159))