Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Due to a busy Christmas schedule, I am reposting a previous post from 1 Thessaolonians.  May His Word continue to bless, encourage, and challenge you in your daily walk with Him.

God Gave Us Courage

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

" You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare His Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery. 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. 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. As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 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. Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received His message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews. For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last." (1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, NLT)

We are here for more than working, playing, eating, sleeping, playing, childrearing, and aging. Every Christian, you included, is alive to glorify God and enjoy Him. Part of this higher calling includes telling others about the hope that lies within you. Now here is my first question of the day, when was the last time that you deliberately entered into a spiritual conversation? Think of all the people that you talked to last week. How many times did you deliberately consciously and purposely discuss your faith in Christ, how you came to know Him, what He means to you, or share the gospel with another person?

Now for another question, why are we so hesitant to take the plunge into that conversation? I think that many times our reluctance has to do with fear. We may be afraid of being rejected, laughed at, thought to be fanatical or foolish, or that it might cost us a friendship, position, sale, or opportunity. On the other side of the coin, we may feel inadequate. What if someone asks you a question that you can’t answer? How can you get started into this conversation? What do you say to someone?

Paul told the Thessalonians that “God gave us the courage to declare His Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.” The apostle had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:11-17:1), molested, rejected, and endured all kinds of ridicule because he told others about what he was like before he knew Christ, how he came to Christ, and what Christ was doing in his life after his salvation. He made the message of the gospel clear. Sometimes that was very fruitful and at other times very painful. So, what enabled him to keep telling the story? I think that there were a couple of things. He knew that he had a purpose in life to glorify Christ and to enjoy Him. He also knew that God gave him courage.

God will give you courage today if you ask Him. Remember, you are here for more than going to school, working, taking care of the children, eating, sleeping, and being entertained by creature comforts. You have a higher purpose! You are a minister of the gospel, a missionary to your friends, neighbors, relatives, and others.

Don’t dismiss this because you don’t think that you have the right personality or skills. God can give you courage and put the right words in your mouth at the right time. Keep your eyes open today for a chance to engage in a spiritual conversation. Then open your mouth and share.

I love being your pastor,

2 Peter 3:18

Dennis

Book Recommendation; Tell the Truth by Will Metzger, IVP Books Publisher

To read more from Dennis Newkirk click here.