I invite you to turn with me
again this morning to Paul's first letter to the Church at
Thessalonica as we continue our studies in this letter that we
commonly call the Book of 1 Thessalonians. We are presently studying the
section in Chapter 2 which is bounded at its beginning by verse
2 and, in a real sense, concluded at verse 12, under the general
theme of the marks of a true minister and a true ministry.
I would remind you of the general context of this passage. In the
first chapter, the Apostle Paul gives what we call his paragraph
of praise to God for the mighty work of his spirit there in the
Thessalonian church. And he is unembarrassed in attributing
the cause of that mighty work to God himself. He says in verse
2 of chapter 1, we give thanks to God for you, indicating that
all that happens we recognize God did. And he did, as we found
in verses 4 and 5, he did these things according to his purposes
of election, according to his distinguishing love for his people,
and by, as we read in verse 5, Efficacious work of the Holy
Spirit, our gospel came not in word only, but in power and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And then everything that followed,
He became this, this, and this, is attributed in this first chapter
to the sovereign, omnipotent work of God. Now just as clearly
as Paul sets that truth out in the first chapter, he sets out
a balancing truth in the second chapter, namely this, that though
God works sovereignly according to his own eternal purpose, he
works through human vessels that are fit to be entrusted with
such a ministry. And so we find Paul in this second
chapter in a real sense vindicating the minister through which this
ministry was accomplished by the mighty power of God. So if
we are balanced Bible Christians, we shall confess in an unembarrassed
way and with true worship that our only hope that God will ever
accomplish anything in us or on our behalf as a church or
as individuals is that He is pleased to bear His arm according
to His own purpose. But we must grasp with equal
tenacity the truth that God, who ordains the end, has ordained
the means thereto, and He is generally pleased to accomplish
His sovereign purpose through a particular kind of vessel. And so we are considering this
section of chapter 2 under the general theme of the marks of
a true minister, and a God-owned ministry, not only in the limited
sense of a minister as we regard a full-time pastor, teaching
elder, or missionary, but every one of you who is a child of
God has a ministry. God has committed to you responsibility
to be discharged according to His revealed will, whether it's
the ministry you have as a witness to your neighbors, whether it's
the ministry you have as a father or mother to your children, whether
it's the ministry you have in that place of business to your
business associates, so that we're putting these principles
not only in their limited context of the Christian minister, but
the larger context of the ministry which every child of God has. We have already studied the first
four verses, in which we found these several marks of a true
minister and a true ministry. First of all, a true minister
is vitally concerned that he see the pleasure of the Lord
prospering in his hand. In the first verse, the Apostle
Paul indicates that he was concerned about whether or not he was fruitful
as a minister. He feared a vain ministry, and
so he rejoices that his ministry and entrance to the people at
Thessalonica was not in vain. It is an abuse of the doctrine
of divine sovereignty that will cause any individual, whether
he's a parent discharging his ministry to his children, a neighbor
discharging his ministry to his neighbors, a preacher discharging
his ministry to his flock, I say it is an abuse of the doctrine
of divine sovereignty to see no fruit and simply sit back
and say, well, only a sovereign God can give fruit, and if he
gives it, fine, and if he doesn't, too bad. The apostle Paul didn't
have that attitude. His attitude was, as he indicates
again and again, that he longed to be fruitful. Now, he did not
long to be fruitful to the extent that he would tamper with the
message to make it more palatable to men. or in any way stoop to
devious methods to accomplish his goal. He stuck to the message
of God. He stuck to the method of God.
But his heart was charged with concern that he see the blessing
of God upon the God-given message in the way of the God-given method,
even to the place where he said, I could wish myself a curse for
my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Therefore, you
and I are true ministers in any sphere in which we minister,
only to the extent that we long for the glory of God to be fruitful. For our Lord says, Herein is
my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." Then we saw
in the second verse, the next mark of a true minister is opposition. Opposition unto suffering, even
after we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated.
No opposition, no true minister. It's one of the marks that will
follow a true minister through his home, through his place of
business, in his neighborhood, opposition, opposition. Then
coupled with that, there will be boldness leading to a full
declaration of the truth of God. After we were opposed, he said,
we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in
much contention. Then last week, we saw that the
three more marks of a true minister are these. Our exhortation was
not of deceit, that is error. But by contrast, it's a ministry
rooted in truth. The message is one of truth.
Nor of uncleanness. Our motive was not producing
uncleanness, but rather purity, holiness. Nor in guile. Our method was not underhanded
and sneaky. We didn't use the tricks and
the gimmicks of the false prophets and of the religious charlatans.
But our methods were above board and open, and the reason for
this, verse 4, Paul said, I was conscious that I was chosen of
God. We were allowed or approved or
chosen of God. Secondly, he said, I was conscious
of being given a trust from God. And I was conscious of being
accountable to God, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but
God who trieth our hearts. So you have these added marks
of a true minister in a true ministry. It's rooted, his message
in truth, his method in holiness, his motive in holiness and purity,
his method in honesty and openness and not in guile. He's conscious
that God has chosen me for this task. God has entrusted to me
a message, and I will stand accountable to God. Now, in verse 5 and the
following verses, Paul enlarges upon this general truth that
is set forth in the fourth verse, and so we begin our study there
this morning. Verse number 5. For neither at
any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness,
God is witness, Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you nor
yet of others. When we might have been burdensome,
better translated as Alfred renders it, we might have stood upon
our dignity as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among them,
even as a nurse cherished her children. We have another series
of negatives and then positives, as we saw last week. Verse 3,
our exhortation was not this. Verse 4, but it was this. Now
verse 5, we didn't do this. Verse 6, nor did we do that.
But verses 7 and 8, we did do this. We were this. We'll only
be able to consider the negatives this morning, and I don't even
know if we'll have time to get through those, but we'll make
an honest attempt. For neither at any time used
we flattering words as ye know." Now what is flattery? As Paul thinks of his ministry
being a true ministry, he has this tremendous assurance born
to his own conscience that he never trafficked in the subtle
art of flattery. Now what is flattery? Well, flattery
is not what we might call just and right honor. The scripture
says, give honor to whom honor is due. Flattery is not being
a gentleman or a lady and saying thank you and giving a proper
amount of praise and expression of gratitude. But flattery is
excessive, insincere praise. It generally works this way.
It ascribes certain things to people that they really don't
have, or it ascribes them in measure above what they really
have. or it may even applaud evil in
others in order to encourage them in that course. And the
motive that lies behind flattery that separates flattery from
just honor and just praise and just thanksgiving is this. The
flatterer does not have the good of the one he flatters at his
heart. Flattery is always motivated
by self-love. I want something from you, therefore
I will heap laurels of praise upon you. You read in Proverbs
7 about the harlot who goes out to seek a companion for the night,
and she finds the young man, and it says in Proverbs 7.21,
she flattereth him with her speech. Now what does she have in mind?
Not his good. But a companion for the night,
you see. Her motive is centered in herself, and so she uses flattery
as a means to that selfish end. We read in Daniel 11, 21, of
one who shall gain kingdoms by his, what? His flattery. Or I may want someone's approval.
I want them to like me, so I flatter them. Not because I'm concerned
that they receive just thanks or praise, but because I want
something from them. The motive behind flattery is
always a selfish motive. Always. I either want, as the
harlot, this man for a companion, or as this individual in Daniel
11, I want the kingdoms, or I want someone's praise. Flattery has
as its motive this self-centered thing. And what's the effect
of flattery? It always is one of delusion
leading to some form or other of destruction. Flattery deludes
a person because the human heart is what it is, deceitful and
desperately wicked, and even in a Christian, those remains
of deceitfulness and wickedness are there. They are not the dominating
characteristics. The heart is purified by faith,
as we read in Acts 15.9, but they are resident characteristics. And the human heart being what
it is, it just longs to reach out and envelop flattery, and
whenever it does, it leads to a form of self-delusion. a form
of mental and moral insanity. This is why it's always condemned
as a destructive thing in the Word of God. Listen as I read
several verses from the Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 26 and verse
28. A lying tongue hateth those that
are afflicted by it, and a flattering mouth worketh ruin. Why? Because you see, one of
the most basic necessities in the realm of the spiritual life,
whether it's a sinner, this side of saving relationship to Christ,
or the saint going on with Christ, he's got to have a proper evaluation
of himself. Until I see myself as God sees
me, I'll never be driven out of myself to seek to lay hold
of Christ. until I as a Christian see myself
as God sees me. I'll not be able to know the
areas of weakness that need to be fortified by the grace of
God and the areas of shortcoming that need to be made up by His
grace and the use of the appropriate means to that end. So flattery
always has as its end delusion which leads to destruction. And
we find that here in Proverbs 26 and again in Proverbs 29 in
verse 5. A man that flattereth his neighbor
spreadeth a net. for his feet. He becomes ensnared
like some dumb brute beast who, as he goes out to take a little
stroll in the woods, all he sees is grass. And he does not know
that a place has been hollowed out and there's a net to ensnare
him. This is what flattery does. It
blinds us to things as they really are. Our own condition, our own
state before God. The very word for flattery is
sometimes translated in the scripture in the Old Testament for smoothness
or smooth things and that's precisely What the flatterer does is recorded
in Isaiah 30 in verse 10. They say to the prophets, prophesy
unto us what? Smooth things. Tell us all is
well. Flatter us. Our ears itch to
be told things aren't as bad as that old crank Isaiah tells
us. He's all the time talking about judgment and the wrath
of God and the frown of God. Come and tell us smooth things.
Tell us nice things. Delude us. Deceive us. Tell us all is well. That's the
wickedness of the human heart in operation. So much then for
a definition of flattery, excessive insincere praise, the motivation
of flattery. The flatterer is always concerned
with what he can get, and the effect upon the one he flatters
is one of delusion leading to destruction. Now how does flattery
operate in the realm of the ministry? When Paul said, for neither at
any time used we words of flattery, how does flattery operate? Is
Paul saying that what I did not do was come up and pat you all
on the back and say you're wonderful? No, flattery doesn't need to
operate in that very, what we'd say, obvious way. In the realm
of the ministry, flattery operates at least in these two basic ways. Number one, it will propagate
doctrines which feed the pride and self-love of the human heart. That's how flattery will operate.
It will pronounce in the name of God doctrines that flatter
and feed the pride of the human heart. That's why all of us, at nature,
by nature, left to ourselves, rebel when we first confront
the biblical doctrines concerning man's depravity, that he's not
just crippled got a few blotches upon his record, but that he
is so totally affected by sin that he can't even get to the
remedy unless God quickens him and enables him to come. For
no man can come to me, said the Lord Jesus, except the Father
which has sent me draw him. How repulsive to the human heart
to say not only that I'm in bad shape and need a remedy, but
I'm in such bad shape that I can't even get to the remedy unless
God gets me there. Or you see, if we've gotten to
the remedy then, we've got to look back and not only thank
God for the remedy, but thank him for even getting us to the
remedy. So that he gets all praise, not only for that which brought
healing, but for the grace to get to that fountain open from
sin and uncleanness. So Paul, to this infant church! He was not embarrassed at all
in the first chapter to deal with such doctrines as connection,
the distinguishing love of God. Why? Why was he not embarrassed?
Because he didn't flatter people into thinking any time they got
good and ready, they had all the ability they need, they could
snap their fingers, clap their hands, and the Lord Jesus would
come at their beck and call that they had salvation, as it were,
at the end of their little snip of the fingers. No, no. Paul
didn't flatter people that way. Never did. Never did. And that's
how we can flatter people. by propagating doctrines which
feed the pride and self-love of the human heart, that man
has something in him that can commend him to God, that deserves
the grace and mercy of God, that will enable him to come to the
remedy unaided by the Holy Spirit. Then a second way that flattery
operates in the realm of the ministry, it will fail to apply true doctrine
in a searching and in a discriminating way. You can flatter people by
telling them all the wonderful truths in the world. You can
even preach the doctrine of election and depravity and the distinguishing
love of Christ. You can preach all that in such
a way as to flatter people straight into the pit. Matthew Poole, one of the great
commentators of bygone days, said along this line, When they avoid just reproofs,
and searching truths, and close application, that they may not
displease. When they conceal some part of
the truth, or pervert it, that people may think their doings
better than they are, or their state better than it is. You ladies in the ladies class,
here's an area. that we touched on this morning.
That's hard to deal with something so personal and so practical
as we had to touch on this morning. That's hard! It'd be so easy,
so easy to speak of the general truth of the woman's place in
the abstract and leave it up here floating and everybody looking
at this floating balloon of truth and saying, isn't that pretty?
Isn't that nice? Look at that. But when a machine gun in that
balloon is aimed right at your heart and begins to go, that,
that, that, that, that, that! And you begin to feel what that truth
says to you. Oh, then it's different, see? It's different then. And we can
as parents, Sunday school teachers, you young men preparing for the
ministry, you can be as orthodox and straight and sound as anything,
and be a flatterer. by your failure to apply the
truth in a close, discriminating way that lets people know there's
the truth. Now this is what it shoots right
at you, where you are, right there, today, January 21st, 1968. Right there. Right there. And oh, how much flattery goes
on in the pulpit today. Constructing, inflating, and
sending along beautiful balloons of truth that float all around
and people admire them. They're wonderful. Oh beloved, to be able to say
with Paul, for neither at any time use we flattering words. Now why didn't he? For the simple
reason that the motive which prompts flattery by the grace
of God was not in Paul. For what's the motive of flattery?
What can you get from those whom you flatter? Their praise, their
acceptance, their adulation, their money, something else.
But Paul could say, I didn't seek you. Anything I could get
from you. I did not seek yours, but I sought
you. And that's why Proverbs 28, 23
contrasts these things. Notice, he that rebuketh a man
afterwards shall find more favor than he that flattereth with
the tongue. But he's got to love that person enough to be willing
to take some guff from him, if necessary, to tell him the truth.
Now that's why Paul had opposition wherever he went. And when he
came to those Thessalonians, he didn't know before he came
there that there'd be anyone to respond. He said, I'm going
to tell them the truth anyway. They run me out of town, that's
all right. It's getting to be old hat with me. I'm sort of used
to it. I know the best roads to get out of here in a hurry.
He didn't flatter them. Why? Because he loved them enough
to be willing to bear reproach and scorn and opposition from
them. Neither at any time used we words
of flattery. Therefore, the principle behind
this is simply stated. A true minister, whether it's
a parent, a preacher, a teacher, a neighbor, a work companion,
never frames his words by the expected response of his hearers. You see, the flatterer, he's
all the time thinking, now, how can I get a certain response
from my hearer? How can I get him to like me?
How can I get from him what I want? Therefore, I'll shape my words,
smooth them out, round the corners off, push them in here, stretch
them out over here, to get that response. No, no, the true minister
shapes and molds his words in the light of this. God has chosen
me to be his child. God has entrusted me with a message. God will hold me accountable
for what I do with it. Therefore, the focus of his concern
is not horizontal, but it's vertical. He said, I was allowed of God
to be entrusted with the gospel, even so I speak not as pleasing
men. If I were out to get your approval,
I would flatter you, but I'm not. I'm out for the smile of
my God. Therefore, I tell you the truth.
I give you doctrine that humbles you, and I apply it in ways that
tear you up, but I love you enough to do it. For he that reproveth
a man shall afterwards find more favor than he that flattereth
with his tongue. Well, I must hurry on now to
the second thing that he says was true of his ministry in this
verse. Neither at any time used we words of flattery, as ye know. And imagine if many a person
sat there and said, boy, that's not true. Did we get cut to pieces
when that fellow came? It was painful. When he says,
as ye know, we sure know. We felt the sting of the truth
upon our conscience. We felt the barbs. Oh, what do
you think their attitude to Paul was now? Hmm? He that reproveth
shall afterwards find more faith. Well, can't enlarge on that.
Let's move on to the next phrase. Nor at any time did we use, he
says, a cloak of covetousness. Nor a cloak of covetousness God
is witness. Now, what is covetousness? It's
that sinful grasping to or after a thing. It manifests itself
in two basic ways. Withholding what you ought not
to withhold. As we read in the Proverbs, withhold
not good from him to whom it is due. When thou hast it in
thy power to give it, say not unto thy neighbor, go and tomorrow
I will give thee. Covetousness will be manifest
by clinging to things unlawfully or by reaching out after things
unlawfully. Now Paul says, when I came among
you, I never used a cloak of covetousness. Now why does he
say a cloak of covetousness? It's interesting that men will
boast about many of their sins. Have you heard people boast Maybe
about their cruelty or meanness. Some guy who's a bully will boast
about the people whose nose he's pounded. I was walking through
two guys the other day, and I saw such a clear example. Here's
some fella that looks so miserably out of shape. I think he was
just telling a big story, but he was bragging to two of his
buddies. This guy came, and I pounded him in the nose, and he was going
on. So everybody in the store could hear. He's bragging about
his meanness, see? Now, when people are breaking
the law of God that way, they're not embarrassed. They like to
brag about it. You men know how your work companions and some
of you ladies know it's even true more and more of women and
I'd like to brag about their sexcapades and all their extracurricular
activity. I'd like to brag about the men
they've had, the women they've had. Someone else, maybe he's
gambled and he's hit it rich. You know, brag about that. It's
amazing how people brag about a lot. You ever find anyone bragging
about his covetousness? Nobody ever brags about his covetousness.
He'll always cover it up by something else. Hey, what does he see that
good business deal like? Or he may have run someone into
the ground, you see, unmercifully and unlawfully. But you call
it what? A good, sharp business deal, see? It wasn't that I was
eaten away with a canker of covetousness. You ever hear anyone bragging
about covetousness? I never have, have you? Covetousness, unlike
other sins, is always coped by something else. We call it business
shrewdness, call it ambition, desire to provide. Desire to
have a little nest egg for a rainy day? Oh, all kinds of explanations. Paul recognizes this, so he says
to these people, look, when I came to you, my ministry that seemed
to be a concern for your souls was exactly that. This concern
was not a cloak covering up an inner canker of covetousness. No, no. I did not desire your
money. I did not desire anything from
you. There was no cloak. of covetousness. And mark what
he says now. God is witness. You see, they
couldn't judge this. They could judge whether he flattered
them. When he says, neither at any time used we words of flattery,
they could sit there and say, boy, that's the truth. He sure
didn't. He sure didn't. He was gentle among us, as we
read later on, but he sure didn't spare us. Now, when he says no
cloak of covetousness, who could know whether Paul's motive was
one of covetousness? They could not read his heart.
A king once said there's only one defect in the way God made
the human body. He should have put a window in
the breast of every man. See? He said, God made one defect,
he put no window in the breast. Many times we can veil our true
motives to one another, but we cannot to him whose eye searches
all things. And the Apostle Paul then calls
God to affirm this fact. You know that I didn't use words
of flattery because you can judge my words, but there's only one
who can judge the motive of my heart and it's my God. So he
says, God is witness. You see, Paul recognized that
one of the marks of a false minister is that he has his price. It's
the mark of a false minister. He has his price. He will either
shape the message for money, or he'll produce more
of the real message if he gets more money. That's the mark of
a false prophet. Read about it in Jude with regard
to Balaam. They've gone the way of Balaam for hire, that man
who had his price. It speaks in 2 Peter 2, I believe
verse 3, of those who make merchandise of the souls of men. Like the flatterer concerned
with getting the praise of men will tamper with the message
in order to get what he wants, so the person who is covetous
will tamper and shape the message to get what he wants. A true
minister is not concerned with what he can get from those to
whom he ministers, nor will things intrude into the discharge of
his ministry. You let a congregation know,
young man, that you have a price, and they'll hold you to it. If you can be wheedled into saying
less by more pay, or by producing more by more pay, or threatened
by less pay, you've had it. You better quit and go on out
and dig potatoes or something else. It isn't long, generally,
before people know whether you've got your price or not. And when
they sense that you can't be bought, you're ready now to minister
to them. But this applies in other areas.
in other areas. We can be covetous not only for
material things, but we can be covetous of people's praise.
We can be covetous of a good standing. We can be covetous
of the admiration and the acceptance of those about us. And if so,
you're not a true minister. And this touches closest to a
parent. Especially when the child gets up to the place where he
can begin to evaluate you. Usually, he doesn't do much of
that in the age that mine are. When they get up to the age where
some of yours are, up into the early teens and teens, and they
can begin not only to evaluate you, but let you know what they
think of you, and express their evaluation. It's no pleasant
thing to have your kids think you're an old, unsympathetic,
dried-up, antiquated something out of the Cro-Magnon age. You
don't understand from nothing about the 20th century. I imagine
that's no fun as a parent. I hope I don't have to experience
that. I imagine that's no fun. So what's the temptation? The
temptation is to alter your ministry from what the scripture says
and the guidelines laid down in scripture. Why? Because you
want the acceptance of your children more than you want their well-being.
See? This cloak of covetousness can
carry over into so many areas. The Apostle Paul could say, and
this principle is brought out so beautifully here, just as
you people are witness that I use no words of flattery, God is
witness that I had no coveting motive. Acts 24 16, he said,
herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void
of offense to God and to what? And to man. Both directions.
Well, let's hurry on to the third thing. Nor of men sought we glory. Now again, what is glory? What
is glory? Well, the term is used in many
ways in Scripture. Sometimes it refers to excellency,
perfection in a subject. It speaks of God as the God of
glory, the God of excellency. Sometimes it means that excellency,
that beauty displayed. The whole earth is full of His
glory, the display of His excellency. Sometimes the word glory means
the esteem and opinion of that excellency in the eyes of the
creature. Give glory to God. We read in
Luke 2.20, they return to the shepherds glorifying God. That's praising God for what
they had seen and what they had heard. Romans 15.6 says that
with one mouth and one spirit he may glorify God. that you
may esteem him, that he may be in your opinion that which he
is in himself. And it's in this latter sense
that Paul says, Neither of men sought we glory. We did not seek
your esteem and your good opinion and your praise. No, we did not
seek this, even though, he said, in a sense, we had a right to. Notice the phrase, when we might
have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ, that literally means
when we might have stood upon our dignity. Now, we were the
commissioned representatives of Christ. And in that sense,
we had a right to assert our apostolic authority, to assert
our apostolic privileges. One of them was receiving bread
to eat. But he goes on later in this
chapter and says, when I was with you, I didn't even accept
that place, but I went out and labored with my own hands to
meet my own necessities, so that nobody would ever say, another
one of them preachers, he's in it for what he can get. Nobody
can say that of me. See my fingers raw from making
tents from morning till night. See my eyes hollowed out preaching
into the late hours, working into the wee hours to supply
my wants and the wants of my associates. So Paul is saying
here, that he stooped over backwards to make it obvious that he was
not out to accumulate esteem and the good opinion of those
to whom he ministered. He said we didn't come to parade
our gifts, we didn't come to accumulate praise, we didn't
come to throw our weight around. He says neither for you nor yet
of others. Now notice this thought that
had occurred earlier and I didn't touch on it because I wanted
you to see the parallel here. For, verse 5, neither at any
time used with flattering words. We were utterly consistent in
this area of no flattery. Now, he says, in this area of
not seeking the glory of men, we were utterly consistent. We
didn't seek it from you, we didn't seek it from others. I hope you
see a pattern emerging here, and it thrilled me in preparation
when I saw this thing beginning to tie together. Why is it that
Paul could speak? Is he bragging? I mean, this
sounds a little bit like boasting here. What's behind this? He's indicating that he was so
governed by basic principles in the discharge of his ministry
that were the same wherever he went, to whomever he ministered,
that they never changed. They never changed. How the people
responded, where he was, he was exactly the same. Why? Because
those principles that shaped and molded this minister and
his ministry never changed. The God who had called him never
changed. That to which he called him never
changed. The gospel entrusted to him never
changed. The state of man to whom he ministered
never changed. With these unvariable things,
these things that were constants, he was able to say, this was
my ministry wherever I went, in whatever situation I found
myself. Now all of us, unless there's
something wrong with us psychologically, we long for the approval and
praise of men. And if you say you don't, there's
either something wrong with you psychologically or you're lying.
We all want to be loved and accepted and praised. But he said we never
sought the praise of men. Now he didn't say we didn't get
it. If you were to go to Thessalonica and say, hey, what do you think
of this guy Paul? Oh, they probably loved him way out of proportion.
He said of the Galatians, he said, you love me so much you
were ready to pluck out your eyes from it. Sure he had the
glory and esteem of men, but he didn't seek it. He sought
to discharge his ministry, and the esteem of men was a blessed
byproduct that followed him behind. Him that honors me, the Lord
says, I will honor, but he doesn't seek the praise and honor of
men. Neither of men sought we glory, of you or of others, when
we might have. Now, to summarize and bring these
thoughts into focus this morning, Paul could say in those three
areas that hang up so many creatures, so many teachers, so many parents,
so many of us seeking to be witnesses, those three areas—flattery, covetousness,
vainglory—what is the overriding principle that kept Paul from
these things? I've already hinted at it. Now
I want to bring it into focus and make this sort of the capstone
of the message this morning. In flattery, I want the acceptance
of the person I'm flattering. When I'm covetous, I want the
money of the person. of whose things I am covetous. Vain glory? I want their praise. You see, the whole focus, the
common denominator in all three of these things is the person
who flatters and covets and is given to vain glory is self-centered
in his whole motivation. His focus is not on giving to
the people for their good, but receiving from the people that
which will be good to him. Oh, ministering, yes! but a self-centered
motivation behind every facet of that ministry. Whereas Paul,
by contrast, was conscious as we saw in verse 4, I have been
approved of God. God has laid his hand upon me.
To be in trust with the gospel, he has entrusted this message
as a trust to be preserved, to be discharged according to the
rule. And he tries my heart. I am tried by him. I am accountable
to him. There are no less than five or
six references to Paul's consciousness of his vertical relationship. Notice them now in this passage,
verse two. We were bold in our God to speak
unto you the gospel of God. Verse four, aloud of God. speaking not his pleasing men,
but God. Neither at any time use we flattering
words as ye know, nor a cloak of covetous. God is witness."
You see all of these references? God has approved us. God tries
our hearts. God is witness. The whole climate,
the whole pervading atmosphere of these verses is simply this.
Paul so walked in the fear of God that it utterly consumed
these wrong motives in his manward relationship. And dear ones,
that is the only way for you and for me in the ministry that
we have to be delivered from wrong motives, from a wrong message,
from wrong methods. It's to be so walking in the
fear of God that this overrides every other consideration. Every
other consideration. So that as we seek to minister
to those neighbors, we're not moved and swayed by will we get
their praise, their acceptance, their approval. But this grips
us. God, you've put me here. You
saved me. You've commissioned me to be
a witness. You've commissioned me to be light. You've commissioned
me to be Saul. Lord, I must discharge my burden.
and that sense of the fear of God, and the eye of God, and
the fact that we shall stand before God. This overrides and
consumes all other lesser motives. I think this is most beautifully
stated in the 16th Psalm, when the psalmist said, I have set
the Lord always before me, for He is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. The focus in the one hand is
on man and what I can get from him and what he'll do to me.
The other, the focus is on God, what he has entrusted to me and
what I'll receive from his hand in the way of commendation or
condemnation when I stand before him. I've been reading in my
own Old Testament, reading again, I just completed the other day,
the book of Job. And I love this young man, Elihu,
I guess because I still consider myself young. for one reason
and another reason I love his spirit he stood around listening
to Job's miserable comforters missing the boat and he says
in essence well I was just a young fella still wet behind the ears
and you old grey head fellas I respected you and I listened
I kept my mouth shut like to kill me but I kept my mouth shut
He actually says that. He said, I'm like a wineskin
about to burst. It was killing me to be quiet,
but I kept quiet. I let you fellows talk, but it's
obvious you don't. You don't have the answer. And
so he said, now let me speak my piece. I've got something
to say on behalf of God to this fellow Job. And so he begins
to speak. And in the course of his speaking,
he says in Job 32, 19 to 22, these words that fit in so beautifully
to our message this morning, 32, 19 to 22. I should back up to verse 18.
For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth
me. Behold, my belly is as wine which
hath no vent. It's ready to burst like new
bottles. He said, My heart so full it's
going to pop if I don't speak. I will speak, why? That I may
be refreshed. He said, If I keep quiet any
more I'm doing misery. I've got to open my mouth. In
order to get rid of this inner pressure, I will open my lips
and answer. Now he says, let me not, I pray
you, accept any man's person. Now notice, neither let me give
flattering titles unto any man, for I know not to give flattering
titles. In so doing, my maker would soon
take me away. See what he says? As I face this
venerable patriarch Job, Everything in me a younger man, less experienced,
less knowledgeable in the ways of God. And my temptation would
be to flatter Job, butter him up, tell him things he wants
to hear. But he said, I dare not. Why? Because I see an eye
above Job, the eye of my God. And if I speak flattering words
and disobey the entrusted word of God, he, my maker, shall destroy
me. Oh beloved, that's the core of
the issue. Whether it's a parent sitting down dealing with his
child, how dare I flatter? My Maker has entrusted me with
this ministry. Witnessing to a neighbor standing
in this pulpit, the face of man, what is it? will stand before
the face of him from whom the earth and heaven shall flee away. So once I discern the mind and
the will of God for my ministry, in that large context, whatever
that ministry is, only one thing matters from here on out. The
eye of God. And when that thing begins to
burn its way into your soul, it'll loose you from a thousand
cares. This apostle, everywhere he went,
he lived in the eye of a hurricane. All the time. But he was as calm
as the unruffled eye in the midst of that. Why? I've said to the
Lord, always before my face. Oh, let me encourage you this
morning. First of all, you who have what we call a ministry
in the more limited sense. You're a Sunday school teacher.
You're one preparing for the Christian ministry. Pray that
the fear of God and the sense of your trust from God will be
so indelibly impressed upon you that never will you be found
using words of flattery, nor a cloak of covetousness, nor
seeking glory from men. In the broader sense, as a parent,
as a witness to your neighbor, doesn't this make sense? Think
back to the last time you failed to witness to that neighbor.
Why didn't you open your mouth? You had a golden opportunity.
Maybe calamity struck the home, and you had a good opportunity. Or maybe something was said about
the mess the world was in, and as a Christian you had the answer,
and you could have moved right in with the answer and given
a witness, but you didn't do it. Now look back. Look back
now. You got the situation in mind? See it? See it right there? Now why didn't you open your
mouth? Wasn't it because you wanted
their approval? And you were afraid you might
have lost it if you opened your mouth? You wanted them to think you
were a nice religious person, but not a fanatic. I mean, you're
a fanatic, someone who gets religion into everything. You keep your
religion there at that school there once a week. That's alright.
You got yours, I got mine. Just don't bring it over into
my territory. That's a fanatic. In the eyes of the world, that's
what a fanatic is. Somebody's got to bring religion out of
the church, into the cafeteria at work, and into the locker
room at school, of all places, and over the back fence. It's
terrible. Why didn't we open them up? because
we wanted their approval, we wanted their praise, we wanted
their acceptance. But at that time, had the fear
of God, and the sense that God's put me here, and God's given
me the opportunity, and God will hold me accountable, had that
been the overriding, dominating fact, then by the grace of God
I believe our mouths would have been opened, would they not?
Would they not? So I submit to you this morning as the way out,
I don't want to be found is one who lays open the wound and doesn't
seek to heal it and sew it up again. Here's the way to be able
to say with Paul, I have the marks of a true ministry. Seek
to live in the same consciousness of God that he did. And where
does that bring you? It brings you right back to the
same old unglamorous thing. Feeding upon that book daily.
Sneaking away to the secret place daily. Oh, you see, same old
stuff again. That's right. And when you find
a shortcut, either taught in the Word or confirmed in the
experience of God's people, let me know about it, and I'll be
ready to take it out to the nearest dump and bury it with you, because
it won't be the right one. There's just no other path, but
that pathway. God has marked it out for His
people. And I trust as we walk it, God
will more and more so embolden us as his people that we'll be
known as a people who walk in the fear of God and in the comfort
of the Holy Ghost. We'll not be found using words
of flattery. We'll never be concerned with
what we can get from people. And we won't be out itching for
their praise and their acceptance. May God so move upon our hearts
that we, by his grace, shall have that kind of ministry and
be that kind of minister. Let us unite in prayer.