Infants

Jerry and I have a nice little joke. Going that every time he's liturgist the words of assurance that I give him our John 3:16 and 17. I just want to make sure he gets it.

We have the last few weeks and for the weeks to come, then on a journey. A journey in, which we are exploring. What it looks like to be a disciple. A follower of Jesus. Not only what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus, but also one who is equipped to disciple others. There's a whole number of items, we could focus upon to do this work, but we've been journeying through the first letter to the church in thessalonica. And we're in the second chapter carefully, working our way through and discovering just what this looks like. If you give it a position and you've never done it before, you have a whole host of questions. Many of us even if we don't know anything about football, know that there's a thing called a quarterback. That seems to be the important position. That's the one who is always interviewed. Quarterback is on the offensive side of the game. And I know there's some of you already zoning out, but stick with me for a moment. It turns out the second most important position is not a running back or a wide receiver or any of these other positions that carry the ball, but rather a very big lineman. A blocker you might think That position is usually on the far left hand side of the line. There's a movie that made this well-known. It was called The Blind Side.

That position is important because when the quarterback gets the ball and starts to go back from the line, most often their right-handed. They now can see everything except for what's behind that person. And the person that is most responsible for protecting the back side or the Blind Side. Is that linemen on the far left?

So that lineman needs to know. His position. Needs to know what his motivation is above. Everything else, protect the Blind Side of the quarterback. And in what Manner to do that work. That's what we've been doing these last few weeks. Our first week. We looked at our position, how we're to be bold. Last week. We looked at our motivation. How we're to, please God. And this week, we're going to look into the manner to which we do our work and the key word for our manner is infant. Infant.

Now, just to remind you one other piece before we go to read scripture. The part of the letter that we are presently reading from is a part in which Paul is defensive. Paul is arguing for his own character. Who he was and how he behaved when he was with the church in thessalonica, because his character is now under attack. Now that he's away, will say more about that in a moment, but I want you to hear the nature in which he writes, the few verses were now going to read from the first thessalonica Thessalonians. Let's pray. The Lord. May you grant us Insight through your spirit. Not through human wisdom, not through great knowledge, but through your spirits. Insight into what you would have us. Learn today about how we are to be Disciples of you. And how we might equip others to follow you as well. Guide us that we might hear your word fully to Jesus Christ. Amen.

1st Thessalonians chapter 2, picking up at the 5th verse and reading halfway through the 7th verse, Paul writes. You know, we never used flattery. Put on a mask to cover up greed. God is our Witness. We're not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else. Even though as Apostles of Christ, we could have asserted our Authority. Instead. We were like, young children. Infants, among you. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I mentioned that Paul is writing defensively. He's defending his character from a fire. He's writing back to the church in thessalonica or thessalonica. However, you want to pronounce it. And what's happening as I explained last week is the church is under tremendous pressure from the community. The pressure is social pressure that they might abandon this new-found faith that they have in this new God. Jesus Christ. They might leave it behind and go back to their old ways for the community was largely dependent on everyone, worshipping all the gods because the belief was largely. If something went wrong. Someone must not be properly worshipping, one of the many gods. So you can see the problem for Community, who suddenly abandoned all the other gods, all the other idols. And now we're ships. Only one God. This is the struggle that this community faces and it faces, a lot of social pressure. If Ace is ostracization. And it's not an easy go. And in order for that Community to try and get the Christian Community to abandon their Newfound Faith, they begin to undermine the character of the one who brought them. This, Paul is no longer with them. He's now moved on to another community. And so they begin to erode his character. And Paul gets wind of this gets wind of what's being said about him. And so we get to read through the letter his defense against these many items. Last week, we read three of the accusations that he was accused of accusations that largely come from one's motivation. First, we could get I remind you first week as we all look, as what it was to be a disciple, Paul shared with us that our position. That we being given forgiveness through Jesus Christ and be able now to be able to walk into the throne room of God being. Now, in position to be a child of God, can now have a boldness in the ways, in which we approach this world. We no longer need to live in fear. Because we live by faith. And that gives Paul and us a certain boldness.

Last week we dealt with three accusations that spoke to his motivation. They were trying to undercut his motivation. Those accusations were that either, he was in error. Or that he had ill intent and there was garbage coming in the sense in which he was trying to move things in such a way for his own means. You don't work. We're worried about the same things even today. We don't want to get caught up in a cult.

Or the third accusation was that he was full of Deceit. And we dealt last week with each of those accusations and finally came down to Paul's motivation as a disciple of Jesus Christ as one, who's discipling others. His motivation is to, please God. Not to please others, but to please God and that in that, we find our own motivation. It is to please God think about how much life of your life and how much of your energy is really invested in pleasing those around you. Even if you are a chromogen And often insist on your way. Chances, are, you still are doing a certain level of pleasing others?

I'm polishing. My central desire is to, please God.

But now he's dealing with three additional accusations. They get more, not so much to his motivation, but to the manner in which he behaved when he lived among. The Manor, his performance has his actions. We often say that that actions. Betray. What's really in someone of? I love the line from another movie, that one's attitude is to behave as is the aroma. I didn't say that. Well, at all. One's attitude is the aroma of your heart. That's the way you act says a lot about what's going on inside. And so the manner of Paul is in question. And Paul has three different images that he gives in response to these accusations three different images that are all familial all family base. And this week the next week in the third week. We will look at each one of those images as a way of reflecting what it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What it is to follow Christ. And how we might disciple others as well. The first image that we deal with this today, and that's the image of an infant. And it's the shortest of the descriptions that Paul gives. but in order to look at that image, I want to First address these new accusations that Paul is dealing with If we were just reading this letter at home and doing our daily devotionals, we might have read through this and a whole host of other things. We might not have picked it apart, so carefully. But we know from Paul's letters. Is that they were very different. Then when you, or I sit down to write a letter. I don't know about you, but I might have some idea of what I might say in the letter. What I might want to tell them a person about what. I don't really know how I'm going to go about that. Paul. Was gifted in his writing of letters. Every part of the letter was carefully, thought out.

They are works of art when one stops and really digs into them and sees how carefully knit together they are. It's not just Paul others of his time. Did the same work. They took a lot of time to think about what they would right before they ever sat down to write.

And so Paul is very carefully addressing the three accusations laid before him today. The three accusations are flattery.

Creed.

Or Glory or maybe, and Glory, might be the right way to say that. Flattering greed and Glory. Flattery's pretty easy for us. We understand what flattery is the idea of seeing a lot of positive things to someone else or someone else building a house up with a lot of flattery, but we know that flattery sometimes is also done in order to ingratiate oneself with someone else. You know, I could flatter you a great deal. And in hopes that that might give me something later that it might benefit me. Later. Build a strong relationship with those clerks in the office because you know, that they might speak well of you to the supervisors. Flattery, even have a phrase that identifies this flattery will get you. Nowhere.

It will get you everywhere. But we know that some will say flattery will get you nowhere in the reason they say. That is the idea that I'm not going to let your flattery get to me. But the truth is we know that flattery often works. It's so Paul is dealing with this question about the manner in which he behaved that he was, he flattered people and it was all for a different and things in the end.

What he lays out as a defense against the flattery charge. She says, you remember when I was with you. You remember the way I behaved? They're accusing me of being flattered s but, you know, I wasn't like that. He's appealing to their own memory and we could even go further back in the letter and see that's not the case. He wasn't full of flattery. Matter fact. He says, earlier, like we saw in the first week that he was bold. He was bowled. Matter fact, when we read the Apostle, Paul flattery is not one of the first ideas that comes to mind. He seems to be rather opinionated rather strong and forthright. And he even says, like I said, that he was bowled, so he discharges that accusation.

So the idea that his disciples that we should flatter other people. Is off the table? The next accusation is an accusation of greed or rather depending on your translation a pretext for greed and really, honestly, it sounds more like a motivation than a manner. But what the NIV that we read from today, The New International Version captures. Well, is the implication of the way that Greek was meant to come across the even is sert a word that's not there but actually conveys the meaning that Paul might have put on a mask.

So that he might eventually game greed. Putting on a mask. We understand that sentiment that people present themselves differently than who they are. We see it all the time. I pick on politicians cuz they're so easy to pick on right now because our news, no matter what news you want are always laying to Lane before us the opposite side, and the ways in which they're not genuine. We get the pictures of someone laughing and Charlene and then walk into a funeral being all summer. We see the hypocritical nature of so many people and we're aware of it in ourselves.

We can go to school and see the mask on all our fellow students. Did everybody is trying to project a Persona a way of being so that others would interpret them in such a way? We are well aware of the idea of masks. And of course, I'm not talking about the ones we're wearing right now.

It's that putting forth and identity different than what really is.

And right now, we are living in a culture with a generation that is growing up. And what is their key Champion word? What is the word that you will hear your young person say over and over again? And it's a word completely in. Defiance of this concept of the mask. What do they say over and over again? I was just being authentic.

Real.

Our younger generation are tired and exhausted by all the facades that they see in life and all they want is authenticity. What really is? Paul is being accused of living among the Thessalonians and convincing others to follow Jesus Christ. He's being accused of actually having a mass. There must be something else behind what is doing? He may have presented this to you, but I'm certain he's someone else.

What does Paul do in defense of this accusation? But he simply appeals to God has his witness. Because in the end. We might be able to point at one another and say you're not genuine, or you're different than that, or that seems hypocritical. But in the end, only God can truly see the heart. And praise be to God for that. Only God can see our hearts. As we go out as Disciples of Jesus Christ, as we might try to help disciple someone else.

They're looking for authenticity. Genuineness, which we means that we as Christians need to start being a little more vulnerable. You realize people out there believe that we think we have it all sewn up and put together. We know all the right answers and they laugh and scoff at us because they know that we don't.

The Lookouts us at us as hypocritical.

But we're no different than the world outside. The only difference is that we're now leaning Upon Jesus. To be a disciple and to truly disciple. Others is to be vulnerable to be authentic and to not wear a mask. And no. Don't hear that wrongly.

The third accusation.

Is it an accusation of Glory? The best way to combat. This is to understand that the words in the way. They're being used actually would have tripped off a very different meaning than what you and I might hear. They were the words in the phraseology that would be used when a large dignitary comes to town. When someone really important comes to town that the community turned itself. Inside-out if a president is suddenly coming to town suddenly, Everything Changes. Everybody is running around, everything is being cleaned up. Everything is being done just to properly greet that dignitary. All the best of the community has to offer is laid out.

And Paul is being accused of being of thinking that he is bigger than he is. He's being accused of thinking, he was a dignitary or somebody important and that he should have and that he was expecting to be treated greatly and wonderfully. And here we get a change in Paul's defense.

Instead of saying no. I didn't think that way or I didn't act that way. That was not my man or among you. He says all those things. But he begins by saying. Look. Actually. There's truth to that accusation. I did deserve all of that. Because I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been given the burden of carrying the message of God's Great Grace and love the Forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ to all communities. There is no greater purpose on Earth. Then what I've been given to do. In every way if there's a person to roll out the red carpet for absolutely. but he says, But I didn't claim any of that though. I would have had a right. I did not claim any of that. You know, that's not the way I lived when I was among. You know, I could have demanded that I didn't and we'll see more of that as we go into next week and the week following. But he expresses, that's not the way I lived and he begins to turn Us in the direction of what are images today. He turns in the direction that reminds us who Jesus Christ was Bill. He came into this world though. He is the Son of God. He emptied himself of all claims. He became the suffering servant that Isaiah speaks of. He emptied himself of all glory. As he lived Among Us. And Paul now walks in his footsteps. Also not claiming Glory though. It could be due. And instead become servant, like, in his manner. And then, he gives us this first image. The image of an infant.

Now, I need to give a little side note here about this image of infant. Little. Geek note, if you will a little scholar notes. This is a translation issue, a textual critical issue in the translation of the scriptures. It turns out that depending on what version of the Bible, your reading weather ESV or an IV or nrsv or k. J v? Or any number that you're going to find different translations for what it says right here, and it all comes down to one letter. A letter, n as in Nancy. A letter N. Is it there or isn't it? It's kind of a difference for us between the word star. And start. And so the difference between the letter N being there or not being there is the difference between child. Or infant. And the word, gentle. Gentle. It's a Scholars debate. Which one is the proper translation, which way should we go? And at this point scholarship has landed with a lot of very good argumentation. The translation is best understood as infant that the letter N is truly there. Know anybody who wants to talk with me more about that is curious about that. I'll be happy to talk with you later afterwards. But I want you to see that it exists in your own bibles. If you have an NIV Bible, depending on what year your an IV is, you will see the difference between it being translate, gentle, or now, since 2011. It's been transfer translate, a young child as we read today.

Even the NIV is making a change in its understanding. So I said, young child instead of infant young child, doesn't really capture what Paul is saying you. The image is really of an infant a newborn if you will. A very early child, not a young child, like toddler or or children, who are running around, who are young? I mean, cuz nowadays, you know, some of us are our image of what is Young, you know, that really berries. I mean, I, I praise God and thank God, everyday that. You all think. I'm young.

But the image here cannot be mistaken. It needs to be clear. It is an image of an infant, a newborn. And the reason that is important is in that culture. An infant in the Greco-Roman culture and infant. A newborn was innocent. Innocent. I say that is a Greco-Roman culture. You might be thinking. Well, we think that way to we we see a newborn with you all how innocent the point was. That you couldn't accuse a newborn an infant of anything. They didn't have the ability to do wrong in the Greco-Roman understanding. They hadn't yet lived in the world enough for been exposed to the world or experience, the world enough to know how to do fault.

Is appalled in response to these three accusations upon the three previous accusation. He begins to now, speak to his manner, his behavior, the way he lives among them. Giving us also an image of how we are to live, how we are to be as Disciples of Jesus Christ, and it gives us an image of an infant, a newborn to convey a powerful image of Innocence.

Not innocence innocence of the courtroom judge between me and judge between that but absolute innocence. His man or his behavior, among them has been to be innocent. Not Innocent in the sense of, I don't know what's going on and be unaware of everything around. But rather in a manner that is free,

Of all the other motives that sweep into our lives.

Remember, he is already told us. His motivation is to, please God. He is moved from a place of all the different voices and all the different energies that pushing it was a stress that I'm going to stay focused on God. What do I need to do to, please God? I'm going to do it boldly. Because I know I'm a Child of God. There's no one who can rip that away from me.

Price of dying on the cross. For me crisis, died on the cross for you. And if you accept that, if you enter into that place of forgiveness, that if Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, you now are a child of God and no one can take that from you. It gives you a boldness and it allows you to adopt a new motivational motivation not to please everyone else or not to please oneself. But to please God. And as you go forth to please, God, how will you do that? Paul gives us three images. And the first image he gives us is an image of Innocence.

I'm going to work with you. Out of place of Innocence.

I'm going to be authentic.

I'm going to come to you without other motivations.

I'm going to give you my best.

I'm going to invest all of myself to you. And now I'm getting a head into some of the images that will be dealing with in the next two weeks. But those first and the shortest of the three images is an image of Innocence.

If you want to know what it is, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Do you want to know what it is to suddenly be that person on the far side of the line? The lineman who never gets interviewed by the press the person whose face is just another face, you know, yeah. Okay. You caring 300lb sorry. But what it is to be the person on the far end of the line. And yet you had the second most important job of all and that is to protect the Blind Side of the quarterback. As innocent, as ones, who come to a community or ones, who live in a community as ones, who live with family and friends, to be innocent in our behavior is to protect the Blind Side of everyone. We encounter in The Blind Side is precisely that side that the evil one is attacking everyday.

Paul says, I come to you in innocence.

Just as Christ came and emptied himself completely. That's what he says when he writes to the church in Philippi.

Make my joy be complete. Be like Christ, Jesus, who being in the form, of man, emptied himself of everything, of every claim. You could possibly have had in the same way that Paul emptied himself of every claim that an apostle rightly could claim empties himself, and gives himself fully out of an innocent manner.

That alone. Is a big assignment for the week to come? I don't know about you. But I've had to battle that internal feeling of wait a minute. I'm the customer here or wait a minute. Do you know who I am? Or wait a minute. I don't like the way you just treated me.

So many different parts of Innocence. That begins to care about the Blind Side of others. That begins to care about what it is to truly be a follower of Jesus Christ. To truly empty oneself. Not because we were told to but now because that's an action of incredible love for the other next to us.

So, I invite you. I challenge you that together with myself, but everyone else who's willing to take this week.

Take it as a course work for the week and challenge yourself. How can I be a disciple of Christ? An empty myself of all other motivations. Other than pleasing, God, how can I be innocent before, others?

Will you pray with me?