The Necessities of Ministry

Rory Mosley

010 The Necessities of Ministry

2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

July 31, 2011

Well tonight we bring this letter of 2 Thessalonians to a close,

And Paul signs out with some very encouraging words to this church.

As you know this letter was written with a very direct purpose.

Thessalonians were a de-railed church.

They had listened to Paul.

They had believed the gospel.

They had lived obedient lives, even to the point of persecution.

But then something happened.

A false prophet…

A false spirit…

A forged letter…

All of a sudden they thought that they had missed the rapture

And were under God’s judgment.

And this certainly caused them to doubt everything

About their life and ministry.

Was Paul wrong?

Did they misunderstand?

Did they do something wrong?

Do they need to completely change?

And that type of fear and confusion can literally paralyze a person.

In this case it had paralyzed an entire congregation.

And so Paul wrote to COMFORT…

Paul wrote to ENLIGHTEN…

Ultimately Paul wrote to ENCOURAGE them to get back to work.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

Each of those passages indicates that Paul fully intended

For the Thessalonians to get back to good works and ministry.

Now he closes the letter by reminding them of the things

That are necessary for them to minister in this way.

And as we look at our text tonight, we see three things that are required

For us to be able to minister at all, let alone minister effectively.

#1 PEACE IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE

2 Thessalonians 3:16

It is clear from a reading of that verse

Exactly what Paul wants the Thessalonians to have.

“may the Lord…grant you peace in every circumstance”

Now we know that peace is important.

Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Paul told the Colossians to let peace be a sort of guide to their lives.

Don’t do anything that upsets your peace.

And it is peace that Paul introduces here.

And so just in a quick reading we see that Paul wants them to have peace, and that Paul expects that only the Lord can “grant” it.

And certainly we understand this.

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

It was obvious that as Jesus was leaving

He wanted His followers to have peace.

It was not the type of peace that made you safe in the world,

But rather the type of peace that caused you to know

That everything was fine between you and God.

And Paul wants that for the Thessalonians.

If you will remember the Thessalonian church was suffering.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.”

They were treated poorly and this can cause great amounts of anxiety.

But even the fear of persecution

Can be just as paralyzing as actual persecution.

Often times it is more paralyzing for our mind cannot rationalize the difference

That God’s presence will make in the midst of our suffering.

And so peace in the heart is necessary.

And notice how Paul speaks of them getting it.

1) Notice the SOURCE OF PEACE.

“Now, may the Lord of peace Himself…”

First we realize that Jesus Christ is in fact the “Lord of peace”

Peace originates with Him.

He is the source of it.

He doesn’t find peace and divvy it out.

He doesn’t purchase peace and re-sell it.

He is the “Lord of peace”

WHY?

Because He is the One who made peace.

Ephesians 2:13-19 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,”

There we see peace between man and man.

We also see peace between man and God.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Jesus is clearly “the Lord of peace”

And I love that Paul says that He “Himself” will grant it.

There is no middle man in regard to peace.

Paul knows Christ Himself will be the agent of peace in your life.

He brings it.

He offers it.

2) But we also see the STAMINA OF PEACE.

“continually grant you peace”

The peace of God is not something that expires

Or is only available for a limited time.

This is obviously the difference between man’s peace and Christ’s peace.

Often times I will have people come to me and want me to tell them

What they wish God would tell them.

Now after a conversation, they may feel better for a moment,

But generally the peace they found from me is short-lived.

They need the enduring peace of God that never wears off.

It is not something only available during the hours of 9-5.

God gives it continually.

And this is seen again as Paul says “peace in every circumstance”

Just as there is no time limit to God’s peace,

There are also no circumstances in which God refuses to give it.

God gives it and gives all the time.

3) We even see the SECURITY OF PEACE.

“The Lord be with you all!”

Peace is secure because it is a bi-product of the presence of Jesus.

And this must be understood about God’s peace.

You cannot have peace apart from an intimate

And unhindered relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you or I choose to live in sin and hinder our relationship with Christ.

The first thing to go is peace.

And God intends it to be this way.

It is that lack of peace (often called conviction)

That is often used as an agent to draw us back to Christ.

But without Jesus you can’t have peace.

And so peace is a bi-product of a relationship with Christ.

It comes through Him

It comes from Him

It comes with Him

That is precisely what Paul taught to the Philippians.

TURN TO: PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9

If you wanted to sum it up,

You could say that obedience brings the “God of peace”

And trusting Him brings “the peace of God”

The Psalmist also saw a path to peace.

TURN TO: PSALM 131

His path to peace was to “hope in the Lord”

And so we learn a great deal about peace and how to get it.

But I suppose another important question would be,

WHY IS PEACE SO IMPORTANT?

It is because peace allows us to serve God in all circumstances.

It is peace in the heart that has allowed men and women of God

To stand against all sorts of opposition.

They had peace that they were ok before God

And so man could not discourage them.

Psalms 118:6-7 “The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.”

Consider Paul on trial before the high priest.

Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day."

It is called peace and when a person has it,

They can faithfully move forward

In in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.

So Paul encourages the Thessalonians in regard to God’s peace.

You need it.

Christ gives it.

He gives it all the time and in all circumstances.

Peace in every circumstance

#2 CONFIDENCE IN THE TRUTH

2 Thessalonians 3:17

We are all aware of the dilemma

That started this whole mess for the Thessalonians.

They had received a false letter.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”

It was a forged letter.

So Paul reassures them that this letter is legitimate.

“I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.”

He is telling them in no uncertain terms that this is an apostolic letter.

This is a letter from the heart of God.

This letter is divine truth.

And Paul states that so they can go forward with confidence

In what is right and what is true.

And this brings an important truth to our minds.

IN ORDER TO MINISTER IN THIS WORLD WE NEED TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT GOD’S WORD IS TRUSTWORTHY.

First let me assure that it is.

Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

God’s word is trustworthy.

God does what He says.

You also need to know that the Bible is God’s word.

Peter said it best.

2 Peter 1:19-21 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Peter even endorsed Paul’s letters as part of Scripture.

2 Peter 3:14-16 “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

There Peter called the letters of Paul Scripture.

While all information that we receive in this world

Is not valid information.

The Bible is.

It is God’s word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

And so God’s word is reliable and the Bible is God’s word.

But it is vitally important that YOU KNOW THAT

That was part of the problem of the Thessalonians.

They didn’t know which end was up.

They held in their hands two letters.

A forged one

A real one

Paul went out of his way to make sure they knew which one was legitimate so they would know which one to believe.

They needed to know that this letter was trustworthy.

We need to know the same.

The Christian must have a place to go for his final authority.

The Bible is our rock, it is our authority.

It is the end of every argument.

I love the statement about the Scripture in the Baptist Faith and Message.

“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.”

I love where they say that the Bible is “the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.”

That makes the Bible a judge.

That makes the Bible a safe-guard.

We force every thought, idea, action, behavior, and intention

Through the filter of Scripture and by that we know what God thinks of it.

The Scriptures are irreplaceable in the life and ministry of a Christian.

And so it is important to know that we can trust the Scriptures

As the very thoughts and breath of God.

When we come to grips with this fact,

We have a standard and a conviction to handle every situation.

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to have Confidence in the Truth

Peace in Every Circumstance Confidence in the Truth

#3 GRACE FOR ALL

2 Thessalonians 3:18

Paul closes by saying “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

Don’t you love that statement.

In America we close our pledge by saying,

“with liberty and justice for all”

Paul closes this letter by saying “with peace and grace for all”

We want grace.

Paul wants it for us.

Furthermore, to be effective ministers we need grace.

WHY?

1) BECAUSE OF WHAT GRACE DOES.

Ephesians 2:4-10 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Grace makes us right with God

And equips us for the good works He desires.

If grace were not present, we could not please God at all.

All of our efforts would be done in human strength, and that doesn’t work.

Romans 8:8 “and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Grace makes it possible for us to please God

And also to be able to serve Him.

It is He who equips us for good works.

It is He who supplies strength for our service.

Remember Paul’s statement about his own ministry?

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

And it is the same for us.

All that we accomplish was God working through us.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth”

That is what grace does.

It makes you right with God and able to serve.

But that is not the only reason grace is necessary.

2) WHAT IT EXPECTS

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

This is very similar to Paul’s statement in Romans 6

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

Grace is not only important because of the power it supplies,

But also because of the commitment it expects and produces.

Those who are true recipients of God’s grace

Feel an enormous responsibility

To walk according to the grace that was given.

“Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Grace produces commitment.

And so Paul wants it for the Thessalonians.

May God give you grace to equip you and keep you serving Him.

And so this letter closes with Paul

Now fully putting this church back to work, and back in the game.

They are to get back to service.