Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down

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How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Are you tired of taking flack for your faith?
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Do you find that just because you're a Christian,
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you have an impossible situation with your family
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or your work? But what do you do? Don't give
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up. Stay tuned. God has a word of hope for you
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today. I'm Dave Drewy, and this is Living on
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the Edge with Chip Ingram. In the series we've
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just begun called Building Authentic Community,
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How to Lift Up Those You Love, Chip tackles what
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to do when a friend's faith isn't just discouraged,
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but genuinely under attack. Chip takes us back
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to his own freshman year of college when a professor
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made it his mission week after week to dismantle
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his brand new faith and shows us the Apostle
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Paul's four -part game plan from 1 Thessalonians
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chapter 2 for getting back on solid ground. Here's
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Chip with today's message titled, How to Lift
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Up Those Who Are Down. I'll never forget the
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first day of Sociology 101. I was 18 years old.
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I had just become a Christian about seven or
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eight months before. I had never opened a Bible
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in my life until I was 18. And so I've been reading
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it now about six or seven months. I was overwhelmed
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with what I was learning. I had zeal. I was excited.
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The thought of forgiveness and peace and purpose.
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I was a zealous, brand new, whistling in the
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hall Christian. And then I went to sociology
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class. You've got to remember, this is 1973.
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The 60s are rounding to an end. Kent State is
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barely in the rearview mirror for those of the
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era. I walk into class, and people are filing
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in, and I notice there's an unusual guy sitting
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on the desk up front. He has, for the day, extremely
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long hair, which was really unusual then. for
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a teacher at this school. He had frayed jeans,
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a rather unusual shirt, a headband, sandals,
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and he was sitting cross -legged on top of his
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desk. He was warm. He was friendly. He said nothing
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for the first five or 10 minutes. We all sat
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down and he sat there bow -legged, you know,
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crossed, you know. looking at us, saying nothing.
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And then he began to open up and we found out
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he was the teacher. Every textbook we studied,
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whatever you always thought or believed about
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life, about God, about America, about anything,
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he had a book to refute it. And he started for
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the next semester, week after week after week,
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to challenge every single thing that I believed.
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And I mean decimated the Christian faith. Now,
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I don't know the Bible very well. I don't know
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how to answer any hard questions. And at first
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I just thought, well, he's a little unusual.
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But he had a captive audience. And it wasn't
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long before he raised some doubts in my heart.
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And the confusion in my soul began to grow. And
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then. I felt inadequate and I couldn't answer
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the questions. And I wasn't ready to give up
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my faith because I didn't want to become like
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this guy, but he was dealing with a lot of issues
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that I didn't know how to deal with. And I just
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felt knocked down. I just felt like he took the
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air out of my sails. He took the whistle off
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my lips. Whatever joy I was experiencing, I spent
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most of my time semi -confused and insecure and
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struggling and just feeling kind of beat down.
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His arguments weren't good enough or strong enough
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to really cause me to question the depths of
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my faith, but they were strong enough just to
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keep me messed up most of the time. And my observation
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is it's only a matter of time before something
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or someone attacks your faith that will raise
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doubts in your heart, confusion in your soul,
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and a sense of inadequacy in your mind. In fact,
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you might have a work situation where there's
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such a culture of unbelief that basically Day
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after day, it just assaults your faith and makes
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you feel lower or smaller because you're a believer.
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Or you might have an antagonistic family member.
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That works well. You know, someone that just
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whatever you say, they have a little needle and
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their goal is to pop the balloon of your life
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whenever they get a chance. Or I've had a couple,
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quote, intellectual relatives. And you get together
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three or four times a year and they just keep
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asking these questions that at this point in
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your life, you know someone has good answers,
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but you don't. Or you have the fellow student
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or teammate that just, you know, keeps looking
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at you. You really believe that stuff? Are you
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kidding? Don't both brain cells work with you?
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I mean, I don't get it. I thought you were a
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reasonable person. Or finally, there's the old
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friends who just question your newfound faith
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and say, how long is it going to last? How long
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are you going to go through this phase? And so
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the question I want to ask and answer tonight
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as we're in the second part of a series on encouragement
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is how do we encourage those people whose faith
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is being knocked down? How do you encourage the
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people that you know and that you rub shoulders
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with whose faith is called into question? They're
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constantly bombarded by criticism. They're ridiculed
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or attacked and maybe even persecuted on the
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job or in their family situation or on a sports
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team or school where they're at. How do you come
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alongside them when you see them wavering and
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faltering? What is it that God wants you to do
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as a fellow believer to encourage them, to lift
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them up, to help them work through their sociology
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101 experience and come out the other end a stronger
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Christian? That's what we want to ask and answer
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today. And God has a game plan. And the game
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plan at first sounds really kind of weird. You
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know what the game plan is? Remember. remember,
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remember. The Bible is replete with the importance
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of remembering. In fact, in the Old Testament,
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the Bible will say, be careful lest you forget
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the Lord your God. Moses, when he took the second
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generation in, you know what he named the book?
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Two, Deuteronomy, the second law. You know what
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the key word in the book of Deuteronomy is? Remember,
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remember, remember, remember. Because you know
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what happened? The first group forgot. They forgot
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God's great acts. They forgot his great ways
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and they didn't follow him. Now, the apostle
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Paul, as we learned, went into a Greek town of
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about 200 ,000 people, Thessalonica, planted
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a church. It started to multiply. It started
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to grow. It started to mushroom. They were becoming
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well -known. I mean, they were on fire and making
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incredible impact. And then some people came
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along and started slandering Paul, slandering
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their faith, poking fun, just a little criticism.
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Oh, you know that Paul? Yeah, we heard about
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him. He's just out for your money. Oh, all that
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new Christianity stuff. Oh man, it's dying out.
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Or we've heard this, we've heard that. And they
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kept poking and poking and poking. And so by
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the time Timothy came back to give the report,
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he said, Paul, they're really doing well. But
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man, they are taking it on the chin. Week in
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and week out, people are questioning your motives.
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They're questioning your message. They're questioning
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the validity of the Thessalonians faith. And
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you know, I got to be honest with you, Paul,
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they're having a great impact, but you know,
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they're going through some hard times. And so
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in chapter two, verses one to 12, first Thessalonians,
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guess what Paul does? He causes them. to remember
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the most important things in their life in order
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to restore their perspective so that they grow
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through their faith being knocked down. How do
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you help? How do you encourage people whose faith
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is being attacked or slandered? Now, I'd like
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to read through the passage, and as I read it,
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here's what I want you to do. I want you to pull
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out a pen. I'm going to put you to work. We're
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going to do a little Bible study. Whenever you
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read a passage of Scripture, Words or phrases
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or concepts that are repeated are often the key
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to understanding the passage. Because if they're
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repeated once, twice, three times, they're important.
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If they're repeated five, six, seven times, they're
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probably the theme of what's being taught. So
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let's listen to what the Apostle Paul does. First,
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in verses one and two, he reminds them of their
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reception of the message. He says, for you yourselves
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know, brethren, that our coming to you was not
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in vain. But after we already suffered and been
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mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the
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boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel
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of God amid such opposition. You got your pen
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out? Put a little box around you yourselves know
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in verse one and then verse two. Put a little
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box around you know. First two verses. Isn't
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it interesting that he's You know, you yourselves
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know, he's bringing things back to their memory.
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Notice in verses three through six, he reminds
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them of the character of the messengers. He,
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Timothy, and Silas. He says, for our exhortation
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does not come from error or impurity or by way
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of deceit, but just as we've been approved by
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God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak.
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Not as pleasing men, but God who examines our
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hearts. For we never came with flattering speech,
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as you know. Guess what you're going to put a
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box around? Nor with a pretext for greed. God
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is our witness. Nor did we seek glory from men,
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either from you or from others, even though as
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apostles of Christ, we might have asserted our
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authority. Put a box around, as you know, in
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verse 5. Next, he reminds them of the ministry
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they received in verses 7 through 11. He goes,
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but we prove to be gentle among you as a nursing
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mother tenderly cares for her children. Having
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thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased
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to impart to you not only the gospel of God,
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but also our own lives. Why? Because you had
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become very dear to us. Verse nine, put a box
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around the next phrase. For you recall, brethren,
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our labor and hardship, how working night and
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day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we
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proclaim to you the gospel of God. Notice verse
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10. You are witnesses. What's that do? It reminds
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them. Put a box around that. You are witnesses.
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And so is God. How devoutly and uprightly and
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blamelessly we behave toward you believers. Just
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as, verse 11, you know how we were exhorting
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and encouraging and imploring each of you as
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a father would his own children. Why? Paul reminds
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them of the results in their lives when they
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receive the message so that are resulting in
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that you may walk in a manner worthy of God who
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calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Now,
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just by way of doing a little Bible study, by
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the way, this is what I do. I'll read a passage
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over and over and over. And any concept that
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is repeated. Then I'll circle it or underline
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it. Look at verse one, you yourselves know. Verse
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two, you know. Skip down to verse five, as you
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know. Skip down to verse nine, for you recall.
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Verse 10, you are witnesses. Verse 11, you know.
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Are you getting the idea that possibly the apostle
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Paul writing to these people whose faith is being
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undermined, that he wants them to remember something?
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Could this be a possibility? Why? See, there's
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something extremely powerful about remembering.
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What we tend to do is see the problem on the
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horizon and it doesn't have to be very big, but
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as that problem gets closer and closer and closer,
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what happens? We lose perspective and we lose
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sight of all of this, let alone all that happened
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behind us. And one of the great ways to get perspective
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is to pull that problem back in light of history
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and what God has done and who he is and what
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you've experienced. Then all of a sudden, it's
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just a little pebble to deal with. But when you're
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looking at it right through here, it looks pretty
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big, doesn't it? And so the apostle Paul is going
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to teach the Thessalonians, remembering God's
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work in the past is the key to getting perspective.
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for doing his will in the present. That's what
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he's going to teach him. He's going to teach
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him, yeah, there's attack, there's slander, you
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lose perspective, but remembering God's work
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in your past is the key to getting perspective
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to do God's will in the present. And most of
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us don't do that much. And now what I'd like
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to do is I'd like to give you four key principles
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to help people who are faltering. Here's how
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to help them. First thing I think you need to
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do is help them remember the day. Just remember
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that phrase, remember the day. You've got a friend,
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you've got a son, you've got a daughter, you've
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got a mom, you've got a dad, you've got a brother,
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you've got a sister, whoever it is, help them
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remember the day that came to Christ. Notice
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what Paul says in verse one. For you yourselves
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know, brethren, that our coming to you wasn't
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in vain. It means it wasn't empty. It's in a
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tense of the verb that means we came and something
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happened and the results are continuing in prosperity.
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He goes on in verse two. But after we had already
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suffered and been mistreated, he said, remember,
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we were in Philippi. Man, we got our heads bashed
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in. They took the clothes off our back. They
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threw us in prison. We were Roman citizens. We
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were publicly humiliated. For doing what? For
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preaching the gospel. And yet, even though we
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went through that, you know that we had the boldness
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in our God. I like the NIV's translation. It
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says, we dared to speak to you about the gospel
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of God amidst such opposition. Let me give you
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a couple things as you try and encourage people
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about remembering their day when they were saved.
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First, help them remember their experience. Now,
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we're in a day where people take experiences
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to an extreme. But sometimes in the church, we
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go the opposite direction. When's the last time
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you just sat down and really pondered your experience?
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Where you were in your life? What would have
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happened if you hadn't have trusted Christ? Think
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of all the things that have changed. Think of
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how little you knew, how much God must have loved
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you, where you were, what your life was like,
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the direction it was going. And boom, he came
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into your life. When's the last time you really
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thought about that? Well, guess what? The way
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God wants you to encourage other people, he wants
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you to remind them through a letter this week
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or through a phone call or through an invitation
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to lunch or through an email. He wants you to
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do something to spur them on to remember the
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very day that they were saved. To reminisce,
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if you will. It will be a powerful experience
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and it will give them perspective. The second
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thing you might want to do to help others is
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help them remember the price tag and the sacrifice
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of those who shared it. You know, sometimes we
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look at our salvation experience just through
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our lens. The Apostle Paul in stirring up their
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memory, you know, he does something. He makes
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sort of one of those left -handed compliments
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to himself, but he does it in such a way not
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to give him glory, but to encourage them. He
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says, you know, this stuff preaching the gospel,
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it's not cheap and it's not easy. The last major
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town I did it in was Philippi. I got beat up.
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I got stripped publicly. I ended up in jail and
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then I got run out of town. Now, thinking human
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beings realize that when that happens to you,
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keep your mouth shut next time. The apostle Paul
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says, though, very interesting word. It has the
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idea of confidence and courage combined. And
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as you look at the translation, some of them
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translate the confidence and others the courage.
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We had boldness or we dared to speak even though
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there was a lot of opposition. What do you think
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the message is to the Thessalonians? You matter.
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Hey, you really matter. Last time we shared this
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message, we got beat up. When we came into town,
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we knew it was going to be a rough situation,
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and we dared to speak. We boldly proclaimed the
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message because that's how much you matter to
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God. When's the last time you thought of the
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price tag of the people who shared Christ with
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you? The bricklayer who was so instrumental in
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my life, I found out later that I remember the
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first Bible study I went to. It was on Thursday
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nights. Real down -home guy. He'd come with his
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moccasins, and he did have a nice guitar, Martin
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guitar. I didn't know anything about guitars.
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It was an old one. He could really pick it, too.
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Did a lot of bluegrass back then. And he'd wear
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his jeans, his moccasins, and he'd open up his
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living room, and he wanted to reach this Campus
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for Christ. And the fullback on the football
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team invited me to go. And so I went, because
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he was the fullback on the football team. And
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he was big, and he was nice, and I thought, whatever
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he said, I should do right now. I didn't have
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any friends. Didn't know anybody. And so I walked
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up this little road about a mile, mile and a
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half and walked in Dave's house. And I didn't
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know what to expect. I mean, I don't know anything
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about this Christian stuff. I mean, I've been
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a Christian like two months and there's four
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other people and me, five of us. I'm thinking
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this is a big meeting. And then I learned later
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that for four years, that's about how many people
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he had, five people. to eight people. Twice a
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week, he went down on campus and shared his faith.
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Every Thursday night for three and a half, four
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years, he opens up his home. He had decided this
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would be the last year. If God doesn't do something,
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then he's moving on. He moved to that little
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town to reach that campus. He was independently
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employed. He was a bricklayer. He could go wherever
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he wanted and he traveled all over to do his
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trade. He wanted to reach that campus. He moved
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his family to that little town to reach that
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campus of about four or 5 ,000. Now, for whatever
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reason, that year it took off. That was my freshman
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year. By the time I was a junior, we dug out
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the basement underneath his house and we had
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250 kids in Bible study all over campus. And
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we saw a wave and a movement of God. But you
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know something? That guy hung in there for four
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years with five people a night on Thursday and
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him given two or three nights a week to tell
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kids about Christ that didn't seem to give a
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rip. But he kept telling, he kept going, he kept
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casting the seed. And I fortunately was, you
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know, kind of in that last installment. And I
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realized he paid a price. And when I think about
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that, I think, what an honor, God. That encourages
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me. The life lesson, you need to remember the
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day for yourself, for sure. That's not the life
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lesson. You need to remember the day for others.
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But here's the life lesson. Sow the seed wildly.
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Sow the seed of the gospel wildly. Past difficulty
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is not a prediction of future impact. We need
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to remember that. Jesus in his parable told us
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only 25 % of the time people would respond, well,
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parable of the soils, sow the seed wildly. Just
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every time, every opportunity, tell people, tell
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them there's an answer for sin. There's forgiveness.
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It's Christ. He came. He loves them. He wants
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to give them peace. He wants to give them a new
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life. He wants to forgive them from the wrath,
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just wrath of God. Sow it wildly. That's what
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the apostle Paul does. And then remember the
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day. Remember the day that you were saved. It
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will give perspective and encourage others. Whatever
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you can do to encourage them to remember the
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day they were saved. Second principle here is
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not only remember the day, but Paul says, remember
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the people. We need to remember the people that
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God used in our life because when our faith is
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a little shaky, bringing back to mind those people
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and remembering their character and remembering
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later their love will help us get perspective.
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Notice what Paul says in verse three. He says,
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for our exhortation or our appeal does not come
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from air, it means delusion, or impurity. There
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was no sexual connotations. Or by way of deceit.
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Now you say, why would he say sexual connotations?
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In that day, every Tom, Dick, and Harry was roaming
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around the Roman Empire and they were doing their
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little tricks. And they did their little tricks
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either to hoodwink, they were charlatans, just
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like today. And they did it to get a following,
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to get... self -promotion to get money. And then
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most of the ancient religions had some sort of
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sexual deal hooked in with them. And the leaders
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were highly involved in it. And so the apostle
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Paul defending himself, he says, when we came,
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it wasn't no air, no impurity sexually, and no
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trickery or deceit. The word means literally
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a bait, like for a fish. He says, but just as
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we have been approved by God, notice this phrase,
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to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak.
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We've been approved by God. God's approval is
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on our life and we have been entrusted. We are
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stewards of the gospel, so we speak. How? Not
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as pleasing people, but God, and he says, who
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examines our hearts. The character of the servants
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of the gospel message, he says. We were straight
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shooters. Notice verse five. He says, for we
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never came with flattering speech. We would call
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it a con man. It's the idea of leading people
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along, getting them to follow you, building into
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their confidence until the point you take them
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down a different path. And the whole goal of
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the different path is you fleece them, either
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emotionally, monetarily, or sexually. He says,
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not us. We never came with flattery, as you know,
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nor with pretexts or it's literally a mask. No
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hypocrisy. We didn't come for greed or money.
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He says God's our witness, nor did we seek glory
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from men. This wasn't about self -promotion or
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making a name or trying to be a somebody. either
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from you or others, even though, by the way,
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let's get this straight. As apostles, we had
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every right to exercise some authority, but we
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didn't even do that. We gave away our apostolic
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rights in order to serve you. Here's his argument.
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They're being attacked and they're going through
23:29
their sociology 101 experience of faltering in
23:32
the faith. And the apostle Paul says, first of
23:35
all, let's remember when you were saved. Remember
23:37
that? Yeah. Second, he says, let's remember the
23:40
character of the messengers. Remember me. Remember
23:44
Timothy. Remember Silas. Remember how we live.
23:46
These attacks, these questions that are coming
23:48
to your mind, they're unfounded. And so let me
23:51
give you a couple ways underneath here to help
23:53
people. First, help people remember the character
23:57
of those who ministered to them. Help them think
24:01
back of a person or two that they really admired,
24:04
that were really straight shooters. They were
24:05
people of integrity. Second, get them to compare
24:09
the character and quality of those who ministered
24:12
to them with the character and quality of those
24:15
who are attacking them. That's critical. Did
24:18
you get that? Get them to compare the character
24:22
and the quality of those who've really genuinely
24:24
helped them in their faith and compare that with
24:28
the character and the quality of those who are
24:30
attacking. I'll still never forget the day. This
24:34
sociologist, I mean, he had me going up one day
24:36
and down the next. And then he talked a little
24:39
bit about his family, and I asked questions,
24:41
and I saw his lifestyle, and I saw his morals,
24:43
and I saw his lack of them. Then I saw his hypocrisy
24:46
and his inconsistency. And what he was good at,
24:49
it was a game people played in the 60s and late
24:51
70s. You know what people were really good at
24:53
then? Cutting everything down and saying what
24:55
was wrong with everything. But there weren't
24:58
very many people who then stood up and said,
25:01
and I'm willing to own the moral responsibility
25:03
about how to make it right. All he did was cut
25:06
down everything and everyone. And then as I watched
25:09
him, you know what? He didn't even live by the
25:12
same standards that he said. And I remember I
25:15
was confused and I stepped back one day and I
25:17
thought, okay, there's a lot of questions and
25:19
I can't handle all this. But I watch the way
25:23
this bricklayer and his wife love each other
25:25
and the kind of family they have. And when he
25:28
says something, he means it and he's faithful
25:30
and he's loyal and he's true. And all he's done
25:33
is love me. And I weigh that over against this
25:36
professor who cuts down everything that I believe
25:38
and who's cynical and sarcastic and his relationships
25:42
aren't working. And he's hypocritical in what
25:45
he says versus what he does. Now, which of those
25:48
carry the most weight? Do you get it? See, that's
25:51
what the apostle Paul's doing. And we need to
25:55
ask and help people who are discouraged, ask
25:57
them whose life has the most credibility and
26:01
how do you want your life to turn out? Life lesson,
26:05
ministry to others is a sacred stewardship. You
26:10
might jot that down. Ministry to other people
26:14
for us as believers is a sacred stewardship.
26:18
Our motives. Must match our message. See, the
26:24
fact of the matter is that some of us are sharing
26:26
our faith. Some people are coming to Christ.
26:29
And right now, when a person's picture comes
26:32
to their mind about who's helped them spiritually,
26:34
do you know whose picture it is? It's yours.
26:37
Now, they're going to go through some rough times
26:39
later and your picture pops up in their mind.
26:42
Will they be able to say, oh, that woman, that
26:45
man, that student, they were a straight shooter.
26:48
They really lived out what they said. Final point
26:52
under this is the credibility of the message
26:54
is intrinsically linked to the integrity of the
26:59
messengers. How many have a close friend who
27:05
has fallen away or slipped away from the Lord
27:08
because they put a lot of stock in a person,
27:11
whether it be a pastor, whether it be a business
27:14
person, whether it be someone who helped them
27:17
spiritually. And now that person has gone south
27:19
spiritually. And that person says to you, hey,
27:22
I gave it up after that. You know anybody like
27:27
that? I do. Who are the ministers in this church?
27:30
It's us, right? Leaders are equipers. Every member
27:35
is a minister. You are a minister. So guess what?
27:37
The integrity of the message. The credibility
27:41
of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ
27:44
is intrinsically linked to the integrity of your
27:49
life. Now, that's a moral weight, isn't it? Now,
27:53
if you feel overwhelmed, good. You should. That's
27:58
what ought to keep me and you on our knees saying,
28:00
oh, God, I deal with tough people. I deal with
28:04
thousands or millions of dollars. I've got all
28:07
kinds of responsibility at my work. And there's
28:08
people here in ministry. They all really look
28:10
to me and I can't measure up and I'm inadequate.
28:12
Great. That's what the apostle Paul said. Who's
28:14
adequate for these things? Nobody is. And so
28:17
you stay dependent and you cry out to God one
28:20
day at a time. And you say, God, give me the
28:21
supernatural power to significantly live out
28:24
my life. And when I blow it, don't let me fake
28:27
it. Let me go back to people and tell them where
28:29
I blew it. Make it right and go on. People don't
28:32
need perfect models. but they need real ones.
28:35
And so we learn, help people remember the day.
28:40
Help them remember the people that had impact.
28:43
And third, help them remember the love. When
28:45
people's faith is starting to falter, when they're
28:47
getting knocked down, they're discouraged, and
28:49
they feel inadequate, and they have some doubts,
28:51
they need to remember the people that really,
28:53
really have loved them. Because we forget that.
28:56
Paul gives us two metaphors here. Verse seven
28:59
through 11. Metaphor one is, he said, we loved
29:02
you with a mother's love. Metaphor two, we loved
29:06
you with a father's love. The first is tender
29:09
and compassionate and sacrificial and giving
29:12
away your life and going for broke. The second
29:14
one is instructive, encouraging, even rebuking
29:17
when necessary to keep you on the straight and
29:19
narrow. Follow along. He says, but we prove to
29:23
be gentle among you as a nursing mother. tenderly
29:28
cares for her own children. The word tenderly
29:30
cares, literally, it's to warm. The apostle Paul
29:33
says, the picture that comes to your mind when
29:35
you see a tiny little newborn baby against the
29:38
breast of her mother and the warmth and the security
29:41
that baby feels, that's how we feel about you.
29:45
That's how we loved you. Verse eight, he says,
29:50
why? Having thus a fond affection for you. This
29:54
wasn't a job. We weren't preachers. Having thus
29:58
a fond affection, we loved you. We were well
30:01
pleased to impart to you not only the gospel,
30:04
but what? But our own lives, because you have
30:09
become very dear to us. The people that you know
30:13
that are struggling need to remember there's
30:15
people that have loved them deeply, sacrificially.
30:19
There's people that have been over at their house
30:21
late at night and prayed through the night and
30:23
met him at the hospital and struggled with doubts.
30:26
Verse nine, he goes on for you. Recall, brethren,
30:29
our labor and our hardship and how we work night
30:32
and day as not to be a burden. The idea is financially
30:35
to any of you. We proclaim to you the gospel
30:38
of God. You are our witnesses and so is God,
30:43
verse 10, of how devoutly it means holy, how
30:46
uprightly it means morally pure, and how blamelessly,
30:49
beyond reproach, we behave toward you believers.
30:52
How? Just as you know, we were exhorting, encouraging,
30:56
and imploring each one of you, metaphor, as a
31:00
father does his own children. You study the three
31:02
words. They're amazing. We were encouraging.
31:05
We were your cheerleaders. We were the dad who
31:07
said, you can make it, son. You can make it,
31:09
son. Hang in there. I love you. Oh, you fell
31:11
down. You blew it. You sinned again. You went
31:12
out and got drunk. God understands. We still
31:14
love you. Come on, get up. Let's go again. Oh,
31:16
it's all right. I know it's tough. And you've
31:18
been in those pagan temples. Hey, get up and
31:21
do it again. We love you. Hang in there. And
31:24
then we comforted and we cried. like a dad does
31:28
at times. And then the final word, we implored,
31:30
we urged. There's a sense of urgency. We stood
31:33
up and said, hey, you're playing games with God.
31:36
Step up to the daggone plate and walk with God
31:39
and say no to sin and do what you know is right.
31:43
See, that's what a dad does. The apostle Paul
31:46
says, that's what we did for you. He said, you
31:50
feel like your faith is on shaky ground? Remember
31:53
the day that you're saved. Number two, remember
31:57
the messengers. Remember the people that God
32:00
used in your life. Third, remember the love.
32:05
Remember the love that you received. Why would
32:10
God let go of you now? Why falter? Why doubt?
32:14
Why question? If God loved you that much in the
32:17
past, do you think he's going to let go of you?
32:18
No way. Application. Help others. As you meet
32:26
with them this week, as you write letters, as
32:29
you call people on the phone, as you line up
32:31
lunch appointments, and I'm encouraging you to
32:32
do that, remind them of the time and the meals
32:36
and the counseling and the financial help and
32:38
the encouragement and the childcare and the friendship
32:40
they've received from those that ministered Christ
32:42
to them. That's mother's love. And remind them.
32:48
of the instruction and the truth and the Bible
32:50
studies and the challenge and the spurring on
32:53
and even the rebuke and the correction they received
32:55
from those who ministered Christ to them. And
33:00
that's fathered love. Help people remember how
33:05
they've been ministered to. And the little life
33:08
lesson here, ministry is messy. Ministry is very
33:13
messy. Ministry isn't about trans... mission
33:17
of informational teaching. Ministry is about
33:22
wholehearted involvement in the trenches of life
33:25
where you go through it with people and you love
33:28
them until they mature. And you go down with
33:30
the downs and up with the ups and down with the
33:32
downs and up with the ups. And there's times
33:33
where you love, embrace, encourage, and comfort.
33:36
And there's times you sit down and say, if you
33:37
really don't mean business with God, why don't
33:39
you let me know? Because I don't want to play
33:42
games and God doesn't want to play games. What
33:44
you're doing is wrong. And the last three or
33:47
four times we've met, you've asked for help and
33:49
all you're doing is whining. If you want help,
33:53
I want to give it. If not, at least get honest,
33:56
okay? That's ministry. It's involvement. And
34:01
the apostle Paul says, if you can help people
34:03
remember that day they're saved, if you can help
34:06
people remember the people that have been significant
34:08
and remember how deeply they've been loved, you
34:11
know what happens to their little problems, their
34:13
faltering faith? They get small. I mean, we're
34:17
talking about a God, if he's done this much in
34:19
the past, he's surely going to help them make
34:21
it through this. Final thing, he says, remember
34:25
the transformation in your life. He reminded
34:30
the Thessalonians, hey, not only when I came,
34:34
how you came to Christ, not only the character
34:37
against all the slander and attack you hear,
34:39
man, we were above reproach. And not only did
34:43
we stay up late and help you and love you and
34:46
care for you like a mother, but he says, you
34:49
know, Thessalonians, why don't you just, you
34:50
know, rewind the tape? Your life has changed.
34:54
You've been transformed. Notice verse 12. He
34:59
says this imploring, this encouraging, this exhorting
35:02
like a father, his own children. Notice verse
35:05
12. So that. When you see that in English, it
35:10
can either mean purpose or it can mean result.
35:13
In this case, grammatically, it means result.
35:16
It has the idea so that or resulting in you may
35:19
walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you
35:23
in his own kingdom and glory. He basically says
35:26
so that we encouraged, we loved, we helped so
35:30
that you have the power and the ability along
35:32
with the desire to live out a new life even as
35:36
you already are. And he tells them, look, think
35:41
back. When we came into town, before you heard
35:44
the gospel, now think of all that time. Now think
35:47
of who you are here now. Look at the difference
35:50
between your life here and there, your relationships
35:52
between here and there, your joy level between
35:54
here and there, the peace in your heart between
35:56
here and there. And you know something? We need
36:01
to remind people in our midst of how much God
36:05
is changing. You know who the last? This is another
36:08
little life lesson. The person who's last to
36:12
know how much Christ is changing their life is
36:15
the person inside the body walking around. Because
36:20
most of us, what do we do? Even though we're
36:22
changing, all we see is the crud that still needs
36:25
cleaned up. All we see is the problems that still
36:28
need, you know, attention. And so we give our
36:30
focus to that. We need to be little mirrors to
36:33
one another. We need to verbalize to one another,
36:35
man, you're making progress. Wowee, are you just
36:39
starting to talk to your wife and kids like that?
36:41
You used to be pretty insensitive. Wowee, you
36:44
know that issue you asked me to pray about three
36:46
months ago with your husband? It is amazing the
36:48
change I see. Man, your countenance is indifferent.
36:51
The discipline I see in your life, you're concerned
36:53
for other people. Man, I hear you verbalizing
36:56
your faith and living it out. It is amazing what
36:58
I see in your life, but it happens so gradually,
37:02
doesn't it? Okay, back to square one. People
37:08
are hurting more than we know and more than they
37:12
ever show, right? And you have more to offer
37:15
than you know. and more than you show. Find that
37:23
person, if they be in your own home, if they're
37:25
in your Bible study, if you're in ministry with
37:28
them, if they're a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister,
37:31
an aunt, uncle, a co -worker, I'm going to ask
37:33
you to fan out and each one of us choose one
37:36
person and say whether it's over lunch, a letter,
37:40
a phone call, an email, I'm going to guide this
37:46
person to remember the day that they were saved
37:49
and relive it. Wouldn't that do a lot for them?
37:52
I'm going to guide this person, and I'm not going
37:55
to tell them it. I'm just going to start asking
37:57
them questions about the people that have had
37:59
the most impact in their life. I'm going to do
38:02
something over the phone or around the table
38:05
where I get them to remember how deeply God has
38:08
actually loved them through other people. And
38:12
then I'm going to make some very honest, objective,
38:15
not blowing smoke comments about the concrete,
38:18
supernatural, Christ -like character that I see
38:22
in their life that didn't used to be there. People,
38:26
I want to tell you something. If you bow your
38:28
head tonight and ask God to bring a name to your
38:30
mind, He will. And if you this week will take
38:33
steps to help that person remember God's faithfulness
38:39
in the past, then they will get perspective to
38:42
do what? Do his will in the present. When our
38:47
faith is slandered, remembering the work of God
38:50
in our past is what provides perspective to do
38:54
the will of God in the present. That's what the
38:57
Apostle Paul did for the Thessalonians. And that's
39:01
what he wants to do for us and what he wants
39:04
us to do for others. You're listening to Living
39:09
on the Edge with Chip Ingram and a message titled,
39:12
How to Lift Up Those Who Are Down, part of our
39:15
series, Building Authentic Community. Now, if
39:18
you missed any part of today's teaching, you
39:20
can catch up anytime at livingontheedge .org.
39:23
And while you're there, don't forget you can
39:25
also find the full unedited version of today's
39:28
message on the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, presenting
39:31
each of Chip's sermons from beginning to end,
39:34
available wherever you listen to podcasts. Today,
39:37
Chip painted a picture of love that looks like
39:39
a mother's tenderness and a father's persistence.
39:42
Love that showed up for us long before we ever
39:45
earned it. Love like that doesn't happen by accident.
39:48
It's chosen. Chip's book, I Choose Love, hands
39:52
you the roadmap for becoming that kind of person.
39:54
It reframes love as a decision instead of a mood
39:57
and gives you a clear, practical way to start
40:00
living it out in your everyday relationships
40:02
with a spouse, a child, a close friend, or anyone
40:05
else God's placed in your path. Get your copy
40:08
of I Choose Love at a special price today at
40:11
livingontheedge .org slash offers. And speaking
40:15
of powerful choices, for 30 years this ministry
40:19
has existed because listeners decided again and
40:21
again that this kind of teaching was worth funding.
40:24
Today we invite you to make that same decision.
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A gift of any size helps deliver these Bible
40:30
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Give today by going online to livingontheedge
40:36
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40:41
send your gift by mail to Living on the Edge,
40:44
P .O. Box 3007, Sewanee, Georgia 30024. Well,
40:50
now here's Chip. I want to end today's broadcast
40:53
by talking to disciple makers. You know who you
40:57
are. You're a parent. You're a teacher. You're
41:00
a pastor. You're the leader in a parachurch organization.
41:03
You're a small group leader. You're involved
41:05
in a high school group, and you have some other
41:07
high school kids that you're trying to help.
41:09
This passage today, Mark it well, is one of the
41:12
strongest, clearest models for discipleship in
41:15
all the Bible. Notice when we talked in verses
41:18
7 through 11, the soft side of discipleship and
41:22
the hard side. To be a gentle mother, as you
41:26
are helping people, as you're thinking about
41:28
how you want people to grow in Christ, you need
41:31
to keep in balance the soft side and the hard
41:34
side of developing people. Notice the Apostle
41:37
Paul says, we prove to be gentle among you as
41:40
a nursing mother, tenderly caring for her children.
41:44
People are hurting. We need to be tender. We
41:48
need to be understanding. Ministry is messy.
41:51
It takes time. It means there's long nights.
41:53
It means you put your arm around people. You
41:55
affirm them. When they fail, you let them know
41:58
you have failed. You let them know God forgives.
42:01
Strong on the soft side. But too many discipling
42:06
relationships end up with only the soft side.
42:08
Listen to me carefully, parents. There's also
42:10
the strong side. As a father, and then you notice
42:14
what he said, we exhorted, we encouraged, we
42:17
implored. I didn't have time to develop those
42:20
words as much as I'd like to in the message.
42:22
There is a progression there of going from a
42:25
cheerleader to a stern disciplinarian, of a father
42:28
saying, I'm on your team, let's get with it,
42:31
to you better get with it or else, to there is
42:34
no option, baby, you get with it, this is right.
42:37
And there's times where we need to set clear
42:39
boundaries for people that we're helping. And
42:42
that has to do with confrontation. That has to
42:44
do with hard things. That has to do with developing
42:46
discipline. The passage then goes on and says
42:49
that you are witnesses, and so is God, of how
42:52
devoutly, uprightly, and blamelessly we behaved
42:56
among you. The power of discipling in essence
43:00
is modeling. you're going to produce who you
43:03
really are. You cannot impart what you don't
43:06
possess. And so there's a soft side, there's
43:09
a hard side, there's a modeling, and then there's
43:12
a goal. And never forget the goal. The goal isn't
43:15
to have a group. The goal isn't for everyone
43:17
to be happy. The goal is that they may walk in
43:20
a manner worthy of the Lord. Mom, dad, small
43:24
group leader, pastor, let's make disciples. Next
43:29
time, Chip discusses what happens when someone
43:31
we love starts drifting away from God and shows
43:34
us exactly what to do about it. Join us then
43:37
right here on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
43:43
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
43:45
Living on the Edge.