Ministers are called to do many things. One of the duties is calling in hospitals and homes.
I heard about a minister who went calling: A pastor went to call on one of the elderly ladies of the church. While visiting with her, he noticed a bowl of peanuts on the table. During the conversation he began nibbling on them and soon the bowl was empty. He then apologized to the woman for eating all of the peanuts. "That's OK, Preacher, after I had all my teeth pulled I've just been sucking the chocolate off the peanuts and putting them back in the bowl."
One of my most time-consuming duties is preparing messages. Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret. At times during the preparation process I wonder how certain people will react to the things I might say. Will Mrs. Jones be offended? Will Mr. Smith leave the church? Will Deacon Brown take it personally? I know, we need to be tactful in our teaching.
According to the Bible, whether someone is offended or not shouldn't really be our main consideration. What really matters to God is that we communicate His truth to those He wants to reach through us.
As we read the first letter Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians it becomes obvious to us that teaching that pleases God is not given for personal advantage--or for soothing hurt feelings--it is given to communicate the true gospel.
As I teach from the pulpit, and as you teach through witnessing to your friends and neighbors or by teaching in the church--we would all do well if we followed Paul's example.
What is teaching that pleases God?
Anytime you teach the truth there will be opposition to it. It was true in Paul's day and it is true today.
You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. {2} We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
What was Paul's opposition? Acts 16 tells us that in Philippi he and Silas were stripped naked and severely flogged. They were thrown into prison and their feet were put in stocks. Next Paul and his companions arrived in the city of Thessalonika. Paul soon learned that there was a painful cost to be paid if he was to continue teaching the gospel.
What is our opposition today? In some parts of the world it is physical persecution. Here in the States that kind of opposition is rare. The world doesn't want to accept the truth. We have made it unacceptable to claim that we have the truth. The crowd says "who's to say your God is better than my God or no God at all?" When we teach the truth of the gospel we are put down for holding to absolutes. Please know that our values remain the same.
Our reaction to the world's opposition must mirror the Apostle's reaction. We must continue to teach the truth in spite of those who are against us. We must stick to the gospel like gum sticks to your shoe. Paul said they had suffered and been insulted but "w/the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel in spite of strong opposition. (vs. 2b)"
Corrie Ten Boom: "If God sends us on stony paths, he provides strong shoes."
God will provide us with all we need to win the spiritual battles.
Illustration: A little girl listened attentively as her father read the family devotions. She seemed awed by her parents' talk of God's limitless power and mercy. "Daddy," she asked, placing her little hands on his knees, "how big is God." Her father thought for a moment and answered, "Honey, he is always just a little bigger than you need."
We do not teach the gospel in the face of strong opposition because we are so intelligent, or because we know all the answers. We teach the gospel in the face of opposition because God helps us to stand. Teaching that pleases God sticks to the truth in spite of opposition.
{3} For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. {4} On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. {5} You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness. {6} We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
Paul assures us that his message is true. This message of Christ's death and resurrection is a true message and is the only true Gospel. Speaking of the Gospel Paul said in Galatians 1:12: "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ."
Paul received the Gospel from God, not from man-- and so have we. We have received our Gospel from God. He has revealed it to us in the pages of Scripture. Our message to the world must contain the same Gospel that we find here in the God's Word. The Gospel of death and resurrection, the Gospel of truth, the Gospel has come directly from God.
Paul was not guilty of teaching from impure motives. It is possible to teach the right message with wrong motives. Paul told of those who were teaching the true Gospel but they were doing it out of: envy, rivalry, selfish ambition. The message was pure but their motives were wrong.
Do we have people like that today? Sad to say, we do. They are as too obvious in our culture. Paul said he didn't use trickery to try to win converts. This word "trick" carries the idea of "baiting a hook." Paul didn't try to trap people into being saved. He presented them w/the pure gospel and it was up to them to either accept it or reject it. Salvation does not lie at the end of a clever argument or a fine presentation. It is the result of God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Twice Paul says that he did not teach to please men, but God.
Illustration: Winston Churchill knew that public favor was no proof of real success. Once, after he gave a speech for which 10,000 people came out, a friend asked, "Winston, aren't you impressed that 10,000 people came to hear you speak?" Churchill replied, "Not really. 100,000 would come to see me hang."
If we are truly teaching the gospel "entrusted to us by God" then there will be people who are displeased with us.
Illustration: An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal's back. When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal's back and continued on his way. In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again. In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road.
If we teach to please everybody we might please some. We definitely won't be teaching to please God.
If Jesus taught to please people, why did He end up nailed to a cross? If Paul taught to please people, why did he end up beaten, and shipwrecked, and imprisoned? If Peter and John taught to please people, why were they flogged? If Stephen taught to please people, why was he stoned? True Gospel teaching often ends up in some form of persecution.
We don't seek persecution or opposition. We simply know that it will happen if we are true to the message He has given us. An examination will be given to those who have been entrusted with the gospel. As Christian ministers of the Gospel (that includes every believer) we speak as men & women who are: tested by God; approved by God; trusted by God; seeking to please God.
There is nothing more important than being God - centered. We are stewards of the Gospel. We are not responsible to the church, or to its leaders, but to God Himself. God scrutinizes our hearts and our secrets and His standards are very high.
This is very liberating because God is a more knowledgeable, impartial and merciful judge than any human being. When we are accountable to Him, we are delivered from human criticism. We are placed into the hands of the God himself.
You and I are responsible to one another. We are responsible to the church to teach the true Gospel. Ultimately we are responsible to God.
Conclusion:
Illustration: A city family once decided to try life in the wide open spaces. They bought a Western ranch. Some friends came to visit a month later and asked them what they had named the ranch. The father said, "Well, I wanted to call it the Flying-W and my wife wanted to call it the Suzy-Q, but one of our sons liked the Bar-J and the other preferred the Lazy-Y. So we compromised and called it the Flying-W, Suzy-Q, Bar-J, Lazy-Y Ranch." Their friend asked, "Well, where are your cattle?" The man replied, "None of them survived the branding."
When the gospel is not taught God's way, it loses its effectiveness. It leads to confusion, misunderstanding, and even death. For the Gospel to be effective it must be taught in a way that is pleasing to God. We can not compromise what God has put in His Word. As we teach in our church and outside seek to please God, and not men.
Today, you must decide to please God or man. Are you saved? We must come God's way.