Messengers of God

You are a Messenger of God

Why do we work so hard at cultivating the fruit of Jesus in our lives? Why should we remain steadfast in ridding our lives of sin? I mean, if the final reward is the Kingdom of glory where we are made perfect. We have already been forgiven. Why worry about it? My sins really are not that bad anyway, are they? If we are honest with ourselves, many of us have had thoughts like this or questions like this in our walk. The Apostle Paul answers these question right here:

1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT

4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

Now, Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians. He was making an argument for himself and the others with him as messengers of God’s Word. The word “we” has become the collective body of believers. Really think about this for a moment: You are called to be an approved messenger of God, entrusted by God to share the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here and now. Some may argue that this is reserved for ministers or apostles or pastors. “Bob, that's your job.” We are all called to share Jesus with the world. All believers are called to:

Live in the Light

1 Peter 2:9 NLT

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The Apostle Peter made it pretty clear here. If you, in your heart this morning know that Jesus is your LORD and Savior, through the blood of Christ, you are royalty, you are holy, and God calls you His very own. These reasons alone are what drive the believers heart and mind away from the old life of sin and corruption and to the cross. That means we do not sin anymore right? I mean come on, Christians don’t sin.

1 John 1:8 NLT

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

If someone tells you that it is impossible for a believer to sin or that they are sin free, run. We are born into a broken world, and unfortunately we are going to sin at times. I would like us to re-frame our thoughts about sin. When scripture talks about sin, when we talk about sin, when the Holy Spirit convicts us when we have done wrong, it is not to beat us up! It is always about purifying us, edifying us, and helping us.

John 3:17 NKJV

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Jesus loves us. Jesus loves you. When we have sin in our lives, it is something that is hurting us or someone else. Jesus loves us enough to tell us the truth. It may not be today or tomorrow, but our decisions are going to affect others and ourselves. He came to save us from ourselves. He sent the Holy Spirit who will speak right to our hearts and tell us “Hey, you are hurting that person” or “You are hurting yourself.” We choose to be obedient or we choose to ignore him. It’s is for our benefit that we listen.

Who are we taking after? God or the World?

1 John 3:9–10 NLT

9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

Who are we trying to be like? Who are you following? It is God or it is this world. This is a big issue in today’s church. So many are twisting scripture to satisfy the desires of the flesh. John is making a bold, powerful, and true statement. John is known as the Apostle of love, yet he does not hold back on this.

Sin is lawlessness. It is standing opposed to God’s moral laws. That is the devils attitude and it is what the enemy brings to the table. He’s the father of lies! I mean come on, he infected the entire human race with his rebellion against God. That is why it can be so easy to break God’s law, it comes naturally!

I often hear when someone has made a mistake or has fallen into sin, and I have said this myself “I am only human.” That is true, I think, for all of us. The reason we sin is because we are human, it was never meant to be an excuse.

Here is the good news. Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work and the stranglehold on our lives. He restores us to life with our true Father, who is God.

Our work of faith is to be a labor of love unto Christ and to others. If our purpose is to please God, we move further away from the old sin nature as we move closer to Christ. God’s seed is forever planted in us as we become increasingly like Jesus. We live the sermon and we live the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Ask yourself this question:

Who owns the Gospel Message?

God owns the Gospel message. We are stewards of the Gospel. We are to carry the message and share the message. You and I do not have the right to change the Word of God to make ourselves feel better or to fit our way of living. We can not twist scripture to mean something that it does not mean in order to appease others. See, we do not change the Word, the Word changes us. It is the Truth that changes hearts and minds. The Truth has a name and it is Jesus Christ.

I heard a man once, a believer, completely tearing another person down. I mean cursing, yelling, angry, and being very ugly. Coming from a believer. It was awful! Before I was even done cursing and yelling, I was convicted by Holy Spirit that I could not act that way again. I was the ugly man in this story. That kind of sin has no place in my life. The hard truth is that was a reflection of the enemy, not the reflection of Jesus Christ.

A messenger approved by God does not indulge in sin, does not treat others like garbage, does not promote sin, does not abuse others, and does everything to please God.

Lets turn our lenses outward now, looking at others.

See Others through His Eyes

The Apostle Paul makes this statement that does not seem like much until you do some digging.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 NLT

11 May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.

It’s weird, God gives me the strangest verses to meditate on and to study at times. Paul was being held in Philippi when he wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica. Paul is in jail again. Life was not pleasant for the apostle Paul. Yet, he prayed for the ministry of Jesus Christ. He prayed that the believers love would increase. He prayed that if it be God’s will, that he would see those in Thessalonica again.

I think every believer at some point sees another believer and thinks: “Is God with them.” Maybe they see someone who has suffered many afflictions in this life or are struggling with hardships, and ask “How can they carry the good news of Christ, I mean look at their life, its a wreck?”

It is like taking a snapshot of one moment, you do not get the entire movie. Lets look at Paul’s life at this moment. Paul wrote this letter from prison.

Those who were under the control and influence of the world and the enemy stopped Paul from going to Thessalonica. Paul was imprisoned and suffering. If all we heard was that a man named Paul went to prison a lot and suffered a lot, we could easily look at the Apostle Paul and say “Wow, you must not be all that Godly if all of this is happening to you!” “Look at your life.” Imagine if the summation of your life was based on your worst moments. That is not how Jesus sees us, it is not how we should look at others.

It does not matter how well you think you know the person or how long you’ve know the person, you never know that persons whole story. God does. God knows their heart and he knows the motives of each of our hearts. If you are going to call somebody to task, you better have the whole story, otherwise you will be playing right into the enemies hands. How do you destroy a family? From the inside. The enemy will do everything he can to pit God’s people against one another, family members against each other, and friend against friend.

The point is that the Apostle Paul recognized what was going on for what it is. Spiritual warfare. Here is the thing with spiritual warfare. We can deny its occurence, but we all experience it, that is a fact! It is raging around us at this moment. All over the world. Sometimes, we may allow ourselves to falter, to be beaten down and sometimes, unknowingly, maybe even used by the enemy to beat others down. Look at what the Apostle John says here:

1 John 3:18–20 NLT

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Worship Team to Stage/Alter Call

Jesus always showed love through action. Our actions reflect our love for Him and for others. God knows the struggles you face, he knows your joys, and he knows your hurts, and he loves you.

Maybe you are examining your heart this morning. Perhaps you have been busy trying to examine other people’s hearts instead of your own. I beg you this morning. Do not let the enemy have any victory in your life. Whatever your struggle is, whatever your burden is, whatever unforgiveness you may be carrying, if it be harsh judgement, lay it down at the cross this morning. Leave it there, don't go back for it. You are a victor through Jesus Christ.