God’s Blueprint For Effective Ministry
Paul’s Ministry Manual
1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
October 13, 2002
Introduction: (v. 1)
Too many churches today are doing ministry their way instead of doing it God’s way. In fact so many of us have been doing ministry our way for so long that we don’t even realize that there is a difference. But because it is God’s ministry, not ours, we must follow His blueprint for ministry. As we study the text for today we will discover God’s blueprint for effective ministry modeled for us by the apostle Paul.
In verse 1 Paul writes: “You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.” The Greek word for failure literally means ineffective. If Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians was not ineffective, his ministry was obviously effective. So we can learn how to have an effective ministry by following Paul’s ministry model.
The visit that Paul is talking about was his first visit to Thessalonica and the account of that visit is recorded for us in Acts 17:1-10. A reading of that passage reveals that Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica may have been as short as two or three weeks although it could have been longer. When he arrived at Thessalonica there were no believers in that city. When he left two or three weeks later he left behind a strong, healthy church that was alive, growing, standing up to persecution, and becoming an example to believers across the world. Now that’s an effective ministry! That’s the kind of ministry that we want to have to our community, but can we honestly say that’s the kind of ministry our church is currently producing?
If we will do God’s ministry in God’s way we too will have an effective, successful ministry. We must be careful that we look for success not in the world’s eyes, but in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. The world often fails to recognize true success. In 1902, the poetry editor of Atlantic Monthly returned a stack of poems with this note, “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.” The poet was Robert Frost. In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a doctoral dissertation as “irrelevant and fanciful.” The writer of that paper was Albert Einstein. In 1894 an English teacher noted on a teenager’s report card, “A conspicuous lack of success.” The student was Winston Churchill. Another student once graduated 42nd out of a class of 58 at military school. This student with so little potential was named Napoleon Bonaparte. The world often fails to see the potential for success that lies within a man or a woman, so what do we care what they think. God knows us and He sees our true potential.
Some commentators have referred to this passage of scripture as Paul’s “ministry manual.” So lets open the manual together and follow along as I read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16.
1) Proclaim the gospel proudly. (vv. 2)
Paul was not ashamed or afraid to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in spite of all the opposition he had faced not only in Thessalonica, but also previously in Philippi. The suffering in Philippi that he alludes to here is detailed for us in Acts 16:16-40. In Philippi there was a slave girl who was possessed by a demon and she made a lot of money for her owners through fortune-telling. The girl was following Paul and Silas around and shouting and one day Paul cast the demon out of her. Her owners were very angry because now they couldn’t make any money off of her anymore. So they took Paul and Silas to the magistrates who had them stripped and severely flogged and thrown into prison. During the night their chains fell off during an earthquake and their jail door was opened. But they remained there and were able to lead the jailer and his entire family to Christ. The next day they were released, said goodbye to their friends, and headed for Thessalonica.
In spite of this harsh treatment in Philippi they still dared to proclaim the gospel to the Thessalonians even though they were facing opposition there too. Acts 17 tells us that the Jews in Thessalonica became jealous of Paul’s ministry so they formed a mob and started a riot in the city. Jason, the man in whose house Paul was staying, was arrested and later released on bond. So that night Paul and Silas left for Berea under the cover of darkness. How could Paul dare to proclaim the gospel in such dangerous conditions? Only, as Paul says in verse 2, “with the help of our God.” If we are going to have an effective ministry in spite of less than perfect circumstances we must depend solely upon our God for help. He is the one who has called us into ministry as His children and commissioned us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth starting with our Jerusalem. God is not only the source of our mission, but also the source of our ability for ministry. We must never think for a moment that God has assigned us this great task and then sent us out on our own.
Paul was not ashamed to proclaim the gospel of Christ even though the majority rejected his message as foolishness. In his own words Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). Too often we are afraid to speak out publicly because we are ashamed or afraid to be found in the minority.
There was a test conducted by a university where 10 students were placed in a room. Three lines of varying length were drawn on a card. The students were told to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the longest line. But nine of the students had been instructed beforehand to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the second longest line. One student was the stooge. The usual reaction of the stooge was to put his hand up, look around, and realizing he was all alone, pull it back down. This happened 75% of the time, with students from grade school through high school. (Chuck Swindoll)
Most of us are ashamed of the gospel because we don’t want to be in the minority. We don’t want to stick out and be different and face the ridicule. It is very easy for us to sit here today in a room full of Christians and claim that we are not ashamed of the gospel. It takes no courage to speak up for Christ in you Sunday School class or Bible study. However, the true test comes when you find that you are the only Christian in a room full of people who are hostile to the Christian message. In that case it takes true courage. Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared” (Bits & Pieces, April 29, 1993, p. 12). Without God’s help we will never find the courage we will need to proclaim the gospel proudly in our increasingly pagan and hostile culture.
2. Perform the ministry purely. (vv. 3-6a)
Paul also tells us about the three aspects of his proclamation: his message, his motive, and his method. First, he assures them that his message was the genuine gospel. In verse 3 he writes: “For the appeal we make does not spring from error.” There was no error or untruth mixed with his message -- it was truth.
Secondly, he assures them that his motives were pure. “For the appeal we make does not spring from...impure motives” (v. 3). In our country we have had traveling evangelists who were in fact nothing more than hucksters. In Paul’s day they had a similar problem. At this time traveling philosophers were common. These men traveled from town to town entertaining the people and seeking personal followers for the sake of fame and fortune. These men depended entirely on donations to support themselves and many of them proved to be sexually impure. When Paul and Silas left quickly under the cover of darkness their enemies probably accused them of being nothing more than hucksters like the traveling philosophers. Paul assures them in the following verses that if there motive was to be popular and make money they would not go from place to place with a message that got them beaten, thrown into prison, and run out of town. This clearly proved that “We are not trying to please men but God” (v. 4). Paul was not seeking to please men. Paul was not seeking personal gain. Paul was not seeking praise from men. Clearly Paul’s motives were pure.
Their method of ministry also supports this -- “nor are we trying to trick you” (v. 3). The Greek word for trick was originally used of a lure for catching fish. That was how the traveling philosophers worked. They lured the people in and by the time they knew what happened it was already too late. Paul and Silas never used this tactic -- “You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed -- God is our witness” (v. 5). Paul reminds the Thessalonians of what they already know to be the truth about him. They can be sure that Paul was genuine by looking back on the time he spent with them and realizing that his message, motives, and methods had been genuine.
In spite of the accusations of his enemies, Paul’s ministry among the Thessalonians proved to be unimpeachable. If we are to have a successful ministry today, we must also have a ministry that is unimpeachable. Billy Graham is probably the greatest living example of an unimpeachable ministry. We have all seen the devastating consequences that occur when ministries or ministers are exposed. Billy Graham is an example of what can happen when ministry is done with integrity.
In order to have an effective ministry we must make sure that our message is without error. We must take care not to take away anything from the gospel message that people may not like to hear. We must also take care not to add anything to the gospel. We don’t talk about this as much, but through out church history this has been as much of a problem as people taking away from the message. At the very beginning of the church some wanted to add the requirements of Old Testament Judaism to the gospel message. Fortunately, the church leaders refused to do this. Of course, there was nothing wrong with keeping the Jewish customs as long as they understood that those customs would never save them and as long as they didn’t require others to keep them. We need to be careful that we do not add our own customs and traditions to the gospel. We must not do this because “we should not make it difficult for the [people] who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19)
3. Practice what you preach publicly. (vv. 6b-10)
If our ministry is going to be effective, we must adequately reflect with our lives the message we speak with our lips. How do we reflect the message? Two ways. First, we must care for the concerns of the people with whom we are seeking to share the gospel. Paul said, “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children” (v. 7). Nothing will open the door for the gospel faster than the genuine meeting of the needs of the people in love. This is because they don’t care what you have to say until they know for sure that you have their best interests at heart. As John Maxwell says, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” If we are going to effectively reach the people of our community with the gospel, we must first prove to them the sincerity of our love by our sacrificial service. Until we do that our ministry will have no credibility with the people even if our message, motives, and methods are pure.
This type of motherly care for their concerns can only be produced by developing a Christlike love for the people. Paul said, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (v. 8). Because of this love Paul’s “toil and hardship” (v. 9) was a delight. Without a love for the people caring for their concerns will be a duty rather than a delight. And as long as this is seen as a duty or a burden it will never be done carefully or consistently. Can you honestly say that you love the people of our community the way a mother loves her children? Until you do you will never have an effective ministry among them. You need to pray that God will enable you to see them has he sees them -- not as mean, nasty sinners, but as poor, frightened children who are lost. You need to pray that God will fill you with His love and enable you to love these people as you do yourself. You need to pray and ask God to break your heart by giving you burden for the people in our community.
We practice what we preach by caring for their concerns and modeling the message. Paul writes: “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed” (v. 10). The Bible also says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good” (Titus 2:7). If we are going to have an effective ministry, we must model the message because, in the words of C.H. Spurgeon: “A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.”
Hudson Taylor was an excellent example of modeling the message. Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior. It wasn’t the way Hudson Taylor preached, taught, or wrote that led this man to Christ, but the way he lived his life.
The way you live your life will either turn people on or turn people off. Can you honestly say that your lifestyle is drawing people to Christ? More often than not we see cases of people in the world using the lifestyles of people in the church as excuses not to go to church. If the church is to have an effective ministry, we must turn that trend around by caring for people’s concerns and modeling the message. There is no greater evangelistic tool than to unimpeachably (“blameless”) model an unimpeachable message.
4. Prepare people to be disciples patiently.
(vv. 11-12)
Earlier we saw the need for spiritual mothers, but in verses 11 and 12 Paul shows us the need for spiritual fathers as well. Just as studies have shown that children do better when raised in two parent homes, so baby Christians do better when raised in two parent churches -- so to speak. Typically (although there certainly are exceptions) mothers are more caring and nurturing and fathers are more likely to be disciplinarians. Regardless of which parent may have manifested which tendency in your home -- both are necessary to produce healthy, well balanced children. Paul is saying that spiritually speaking we need the same thing. We need to be cared for and nurtured, but we also need to be disciplined or discipled and this is the job for spiritual fathers. By the way, I’m not talking about men’s and women’s roles in the church. Both men and women can be nurturers and discipliners.
To discipline doesn’t just mean to punish although that is the part we are most likely to remember from childhood. To discipline means to train. When your parents were training you to dress yourself, clean your room, and help with dishes or yard work they were disciplining you. Spiritual parents are to discipline new Christians so that they will obey everything that Jesus commanded us (Matthew 28:20). The spiritual disciplines are not spiritual punishment. The spiritual disciplines are prayer, Bible reading, fasting, journaling, ect. These are the things that new Christians must learn if they are to grow to spiritual maturity and our church’s ministry will never be effective without them.
Discipleship must have a personal element to it. Paul did not simply blow into town, rent the World Arena, preach to the crowd, and then blow out again. The text says, “For you know that we dealt with each of you” (v. 11). The word ‘each’ is emphatic and suggests one-on-one discipling. Paul’s method involved both public and private ministry. In Acts 20:20 Luke records the following words of Paul: “I...have taught you publicly and from house to house.” Discipleship cannot be done en masse alone. Parents don’t discipline their children as a group. Why? Because, unless they are twins, they are all different ages and are not, therefore, all ready for the same lessons. Also each child is different. Some parents have told me that they had one child that would laugh when they spanked him and they had a second child that would burst into tears if they simply spoke sternly to him. Because each new Christian is unique they require individual attention. Those of you who have walked with God for sometime and have grown to spiritual maturity have a responsibility to pour your lives into the lives of the next generation. If you don’t, who will?
This one-on-one discipleship involves three elements: encouraging, comforting, and urging. In order to help you understand these three elements I would like to relate them to three different people. The encourager is like a cheer leader. We all need to have somebody cheering us on. We all need to know that somebody is on our side supporting us. The cheer leader manifests the you-can-do-it attitude. The cheer leader helps you to believe in yourself.
The comforter is like a nurse. Nobody becomes a Christian and then lives a perfectly flawless life there after. We all make mistakes and fall with the resultant bumps and bruises. The nurse comes along side you at times like this to nurse you back to spiritual health. The nurse helps you get on your feet again.
The one doing the urging is like a coach. The coach is there when you need some strong motivation - when you need a kick in the proverbial seat of the pants. The coach is there when you need someone to get after you because you haven’t been getting after it. The coach helps you to get going in the right direction.
In order to grow to spiritual maturity, a new Christian needs all of these elements of discipleship. That doesn’t mean that they need three different one-on-one disciplers. It means that we need to be wise enough to know which one of these three characteristics to manifest at which time. That is the secret that separates great head coaches from the rest of the pack. They never chew their team out when what the team really needs is to be encouraged and vice versa. They know what their team needs because they know their team. In order for us to know what people need we have to take the time to get to know them personally because cookie cutter discipleship just won’t cut it.
It is important to keep in mind that if we are going to produce disciples like this we must do so patiently. Have you ever known a highly impatient person who was also really good at encouraging and comforting? Not likely. True discipleship takes time and can never be done on a fast track.
When James Garfield, who later became President of the United States, was principal of Hiram College in Ohio, a father asked him if the course of study could be simplified so that his son might be able to go through by a shorter route. “Certainly,” Garfield replied. “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make an oak tree, He takes a hundred years. When He wants to make a squash he requires only two months.” If we want to be effective in our ministry, we must be patient in our discipleship.
Conclusion: (vv. 13-16)
We see the results of Paul’s highly effective ministry in verses 13 - 16. First, we see that the Thessalonians “received the word of God” (v. 13) -- they became believers. Second, we see that they “became imitators of God’s churches” (v. 14) -- they became disciples. That is the goal of all Christian ministry -- to see sinners become saints.
Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.
Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger coworker to a footrace down the alley back to the truck to prove that an older man could outrun a younger one.
As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped immediately and asked her what was wrong.
Gasping for breath, she replied, “When I saw two gas men check my meter and then turn and run away as fast you two were, I figured I’d better run too!”
When we see the success of Paul’s highly effective ministry, maybe we should minister that way too. If we are going to have an effective ministry in our community we must:
- proclaim the gospel proudly
- perform the ministry purely
- practice what we preach publicly
- prepare people to be disciples patiently
This is God’s blueprint for ministry. If we are going to have an effective ministry it must become our blueprint as well.
Prayer:
Benediction:
“The wrath of God has come upon them at last” (v. 16). Everyone will experience either God’s wrath or God’s grace. Which one they will experience is due in large part to the effectiveness of our ministry.
Steve Dow
Heritage Wesleyan Church
www.forministry.com/80909hwc
heritagewesleyan@hotmail.com
Please email me if you use this sermon or a revision of it. Thank you!
