God Speaks
You yourselves know, dear brothers, how worthwhile that visit was. 2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet God gave us the courage to boldly repeat the same message to you, even though we were surrounded by enemies. 3 So you can see that we were not preaching with any false motives or evil purposes in mind; we were perfectly straightforward and sincere.
4 For we speak as messengers from God, trusted by him to tell the truth; we change his message not one bit to suit the taste of those who hear it; for we serve God alone, who examines our hearts’ deepest thoughts. 5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know, and God knows we were not just pretending to be your friends so that you would give us money! 6 As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to some honor from you. 7 But we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you dearly—so dearly that we gave you not only God’s message, but our own lives too.
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled and sweated to earn enough to live on so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone there, as we preached God’s Good News among you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—as is God—that we have been pure and honest and faultless toward every one of you. 11 We talked to you as a father to his own children—don’t you remember?—pleading with you, encouraging you and even demanding 12 that your daily lives should not embarrass God but bring joy to him who invited you into his Kingdom to share his glory.
13 And we will never stop thanking God for this: that when we preached to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own, but you accepted what we said as the very Word of God—which, of course, it was—and it changed your lives when you believed it.
14 And then, dear brothers, you suffered what the churches in Judea did, persecution from your own countrymen, just as they suffered from their own people, the Jews. 15 After they had killed their own prophets, they even executed the Lord Jesus; and now they have brutally persecuted us and driven us out. They are against both God and man, 16 trying to keep us from preaching to the Gentiles for fear some might be saved; and so their sins continue to grow. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.
17 Dear brothers, after we left you and had been away from you but a very little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried hard to come back to see you once more. 18 We wanted very much to come, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan stopped us. 19 For what is it we live for, that gives us hope and joy and is our proud reward and crown? It is you! Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes back again. 20 For you are our trophy and joy.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: This chapter gives us a wonderful pattern for disciple-makers to follow in ministering to the groups they serve. Don’t keep the disciples in the dark regarding suffering (yours or potentially theirs). Preach the message of the cross and resurrection despite severe opposition. Check your motives and purposes. Be perfectly straightforward and sincere. Speak as messengers of God. Trust Him and tell the truth. Don’t change the message to suit the audience. God knows your deepest thoughts and feelings. Don’t flatter or try to impress just to get money. Although it is right for you to be honored, don’t seek praise from people. Be as gentle as a nursing mother. Willingly give your own lives to the people as well as teaching them the truth of God. Work hard among them, day and night, preaching God’s Good News. Let the people themselves be able to testify how pure, honest, and faultless you are toward everyone. Talk as a loving father would to his own children. Plead, encourage, even demand that their daily lives not embarrass but honor God and bring Him joy as He invites them into His Kingdom. Never stop thanking God when the people believe the word of God and respond to it with changed lives. Prepare the people to suffer persecution as all God’s people have at some point. Remember that the Enemy is against both God and the human beings. He will try to keep the Gospel from being preached and people from being saved, keeping them bound up in sin. Keep these fellow believers in your hearts and prayers wherever you go. Be sure to follow up on them as God leads. Don’t let sin, self, or Satan stop you. Live for the hope and joy of seeing the people you’ve ministered to standing with you before Christ to receive rewards when He returns.
Prayer: Dear Sovereign God, thank You that Your plans and purposes will always be fulfilled. Lord, I sincerely desire to follow Paul’s pattern of disciple-making set forth in I Thessalonians 2; however, I cannot do anything on my own. Please enable me and others by Your Holy Spirit to each do our part in bringing this pattern to completion.
The Disciple-maker’s Prayer
Lord God, help me not to keep the disciples in the dark regarding suffering (mine or potentially theirs). Help me to preach the message of the cross and resurrection despite severe opposition. Help me to check my motives and purposes. I need to be perfectly straightforward and sincere. Holy Spirit, help me speak as a messenger of God. I trust You to help me tell the truth. Don’t let me change the message to suit the audience. Lord God, You know my deepest thoughts and feelings. Don’t let me flatter or try to impress just to get money. Although it is right for me to be honored, may I not seek praise from people but only from You, Lord. May I be as gentle as a nursing mother. I desire to willingly give my own life to the people as well as teaching them the truth of God. May I work hard among them, day and night, preaching God’s Good News. May the people themselves be able to testify how pure, honest, and faultless I am toward everyone. May I talk as a loving father would to his own children. Lord, help me to plead, encourage, even demand that their daily lives not embarrass but honor You, Lord God, and bring You joy as You invite them into Your Kingdom. May I never stop thanking You when the people believe Your word and respond to it with changed lives. Help me to prepare the people to suffer persecution as all Your people have at some point. We must remember that the Enemy is against both You, God, and the human beings You created in Your image. Satan and his forces will try to keep the Gospel from being preached and people from being saved, keeping them bound up in sin. May I keep these fellow believers in my heart and prayers wherever I go. Help me to be sure to follow up on them as You lead me. I don’t want sin, self, or Satan to stop the expansion of Your Kingdom. I am determined to live for the hope and joy of seeing the people I’ve ministered to standing with me before Christ to receive rewards when He returns. For the sake of the name and glory of Jesus Christ, I pray. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will read the disciple-maker’s prayer aloud applying it to myself.
- I will pray the disciple-maker’s prayer as intercession on behalf of other believers, missionaries, and Christian workers.
- I will seek to put the principles of the disciple-maker’s prayer into practice in my life.
- I will thank God for the privilege of being a disciple-maker and for those who have knowingly or unknowingly discipled me.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.