This is a part of a sermon series in the book of 1 Thessalonians. You can watch more here.
The passage we are going to look at this morning is about the importance of leadership.
Now more than ever, it seems the quality of our leaders are under a microscope.
Of course, our political leaders are wrestling with the importance of leadership. But, I also
hear about the workplace overhauling job descriptions and putting more emphasis on
leadership.
I think the role of leadership in the home is something people are wrestling with more than
ever, so that we struggle to know the difference between strong leaders and authoritarian
leaders.
In addition, the local church is wrestling with what spiritual leadership look like practically,
so I think we can all agree leadership matters, and our passage is going to lean into that
conversation.
Last Sunday, our very own Jerry Chou walked us through verses 1-9. Didn’t Jerry do a great
job? I am so thankful for Jerry. What a blessing for the Lord to drop Jerry and Faith Chou
into our church family in Austin!
If you are new with us this morning, 1 Thessalonians is a letter written to a people in
Thessalonica, Greece.
1 Thessalonians is written by the Apostle Paul, and sometimes people describe the Apostle
Paul as this pioneer personality going from place to place to starting churches in Austin,
but really the Apostle Paul was dedicated to building up strong and healthy non-
denominational churches like the Thessalonians.
In chapter 1 the Apostle Paul affirms the Thessalonian church as a whole. In chapter 2 the
Apostle Paul zooms in on the people of the church, and this morning we get to see the
importance of spiritual leaders. Let’s look at verse 9:
1 Thessalonians 2:9, “9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night
and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”
In verse 9 we see the Apostle Paul referencing a “work of labor and hardship.” Do you see
that phrase in verse 9? This phrase “work of labor wasn’t really talking about preaching
and discipling. But instead this “work of labor” was talking about a physical job that both
Paul and Sylvanus were working toward to provide for their own financial needs, so that
Paul and Sylvanus wouldn’t be a stumbling block to those who are in Thessalonica.
In the context of our passage, there were traveling philosophers who would show up in a
place like Thessalonica and receive financial compensation to hear about the latest ideas.
Almost like a Jordan Peterson of the 1 st Century, therefore, the Apostle Paul didn’t want to
give the appearance of people having to give money to hear about Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection. Does that make sense?
As a result, the Apostle Paul received financial support from the church in Antioch, and the
church in Philippi, so that the Thessalonians could hear about Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection as clear as possible.
In our day we don’t necessarily have traveling philosophers, but we do have people
receiving financial support to push a certain perspective.
We have politicians who are taking funds from corporations. We have influencers online
who are receiving financial compensation for pushing a specific product.
Our friends were just telling us about a family in Austin who received a box of clothes from
a company. They will dress up their family in those clothes for Instagram. And, receive a
check for $5K dollars to post the picture, not with product placement, but like it is a normal
picture of their family.
As a result, people today are incredibly skeptical about people in leadership, especially
when it comes to money. Then, we throw in spiritual leaders who live in mansions.
Spiritual leaders who travel in private jets to talk to people about Jesus, so that today, in
our culture it would be easy for someone to say, “You Jesus’ followers are just like everyone
else.”
This is why I am so thankful for our church in Austin. In our church family, I receive a full-
time salary. Isn’t that amazing? We started North Village Church in Austin 16-years ago,
and I have never not received a paycheck. I am still in awe of the Lord’s provision through
you. I am so thankful for how the Lord has provided for our needs through you. It’s a
constant encouragement.
In 1 Timothy 5 the Apostle Paul clarifies that those who teach and preach God’s Word are
deserving of double honor, which is financial compensation. It’s not required! It is a gift
from the Lord, so that the church might have men who are dedicated and committed to the
teaching of God’s Word. Praise God!
When I am talking to neighbors I don’t have to make comments about my wife being
hungry when I talk to them about Jesus. When I am talking to people in stand-up comedy I
don’t have to give the appearance of needing them to give financial to hear about Jesus.
As a follower of Jesus today, when you go to work, when you meet people for playdates, or
show up in class, you are living like a missionary, you are living out your faith in Jesus, so
that you are freely proclaiming the name of Jesus without concern for financial gain. Isn’t
that glorious?
This is why on Sunday mornings we say, “If you are new, please don’t feel obligated to give,
because this is our gift to you.” Right? We don’t ever want to give the impression that
people need to give money to hear about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
The call to give financially to the work of the Lord isn’t out of compulsion. The call to give
financially to the work of the Lord is out of gratitude. It is men and women who have had
their lives transformed by grace through faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, so that
we willfully, cheerfully and sacrificially give. That’s the heart of North Village Church in
Austin!
We don’t talk about giving very often, but sometimes the follower of Jesus gets focused on
the 10%, but 10% is really a guide. 10% of someone making $30K a year could be too
much? If someone is making $30K a year, then 10% could cut into basic needs for life, but
someone making $200K a year, 10% means a vacation in Florida instead of Fiji, so 10% is
just a guide.
As a follower of Jesus, everything we have belongs to the Lord, therefore, we want to give
willingly, cheerfully, and sacrificially. Not only at North Village Church, but in other areas of
our life, because there are only two things in life that are eternal. The Word of God and the
people of God, therefore, we want to make sure our lives are building into those two things.
Amen? Everything else is going to fade!
So that first, spiritual leaders want to remove obstacles so that men and women might hear
the name of Jesus and respond to the name of Jesus, because look at the emphasis of verse
9, “We proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”
Spiritual leaders try to remove obstacles, and spiritual leaders proclaim the gospel as often
as we can! Amen? Sometimes we wrestle with this question, “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s
feelings. I will just live a good life and let people ask questions.”
God’s Word says, “Yeah, we want to live good lives that bring glory to God, and at the same
time we want to proclaim the name of Jesus with our words.” We want both!
We want to live godly lives, and we want to let people know that Jesus isn’t just a good guy
who did some good things. Jesus is God in the flesh! We want to let people know that Jesus
has come to call us to turn from the idols of this world, and turn to the living and true God.
That isn’t being mean. The idols of this world are deaf, dumb and blind. The idols of this
world are going to let us down, and when they do it is going to feel like we are getting side-
swiped by life in those moments, therefore, the most loving thing we can do is point people
to Jesus! Look at verse 10:
1 Thessalonians 2:10, “10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and
blamelessly we behaved toward you believers.”
I love how verse 10 starts off, “You are witnesses.” It means the Thessalonians saw the
interior of Paul and Silvannus and Timothy’s life. They shared meals with one another.
They lived open lives with one another.
It means spiritual leaders don’t have secret emails. Spiritual leaders aren’t worried about
someone picking up their phone and looking at their messages.
They were in each other’s homes. It doesn’t mean they lived perfect lives, but they
modeled lives of confession, repentance, and faith around one another.
I love larger churches, because there are so many resources that come with a larger church,
but even more, so I love smaller churches in Austin where we get involved in the lives of
one another. I know there are challenges being in a smaller church. I know there are easier
places to sit in a worship service on Sunday morning, but I love that we are witnesses to the
interior of our lives.
Most of us have been in each other’s homes. We see the ups and downs of our marriage.
We see the ups and downs of our parenting. We see us walking through the loss of family
members. We see us chasing after our dreams. We see us walking through challenges.
That’s so special!
This transparency and authenticity is a mark of spiritual leaders, now more than ever.
Gone are the days of being in awe of a spiritual leader on a stage, behind closed doors.
I think people are longing for transparency. I think we are longing for normalcy. I think we
are longing to see men and women living out their faith, stumbling forward as we trust in
the Lord together, and follow Him.
A couple of Sundays ago someone was visiting and they said, “I had heard about North
Village Church, but I wasn’t sure if y’all were just one of those hip churches.” And a person
from our church was in the conversation with us and they said, “Oh, there’s nothing hip
about North Village Church!” We want to be a people who are “witnesses of one another.”
In addition, in verse 10 we see the Apostle Paul reference specific characteristics of
spiritual leaders. The word “devout” means holy. It is a word used of worship. It is men
and women who don’t want to wallow in sin, but instead men and women who want to
grow in spiritual maturity.
It doesn’t mean these men and women are perfect, but these are men and women who
don’t want to be comfortable with habitual patterns of sin in our life that never change.
Instead we want to be men and women who grow in spiritual maturity.
The word “upright” is a word used to take God’s Word seriously and follow Him. The word
“blameless” speaks of a reputation inside and outside the local church.
It means, we would have spiritual leaders who demonstrated these characteristics, and we
are raising up spiritual leaders who are growing in these characteristics. Do you see the
flow of 1 Thessalonians? Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul affirms the church as a whole, but in
Chapter 2 the Apostle Paul is zooming in on the heart of the people.
These are men and women who don’t want to use “deceit” to draw people to faith in Jesus
(Last Sunday.). Men and women who don’t want to just use “words of flattery” to draw
people to Jesus.
But instead, these are men and women who want to remove obstacles for people to hear
about Jesus. Men and women who want to use their words to proclaim the name of Jesus.
Men and women who want to open up their lives to hear about Jesus. Men and women who
are in the world, but fighting to not be of the world.
Honestly, this has been my favorite part of dabbling in stand-up comedy, because I get to
rub shoulders with men and women who don’t usually know a pastor, and they aren’t sure
what to think about pastors.
Sometimes I will drink a beer at these shows to support for the place hosting the event, and
people will say, “Does your church know you drink beer?” Boom – let’s talk about
that…Sometimes these men and women will make sexual references, and in an innocent
way, I won’t know what they are talking about, and they will say things like, “It makes me
so happy the pastor has a look of confusion.” Boom – we get to have spiritual
conversations.
Honestly, I don’t know what I am doing in these conversations, but I get so excited about us
being a church family who not only gather in worship on a Sunday morning, but we are a
people who are genuinely wanting to live out our faith in Jesus for our good and the good of
others. Look at verse 11:
1 Thessalonians 2:11, “11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging
and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.”
In verse 11 we see another list of words starting with “exhorting.” The word “exhorting”
means to encourage, but it is a stronger word. It is a word of correction like “admonish.” It
is to love someone enough to call a person toward a higher calling.
The word “implore” means to call someone forward as a witness, so that it is spiritual
leaders who are raising up other spiritual leaders. This is our focus as a church family!
What a difficult time it is in our day to “exhort” and “implore” one another to grow in
spiritual leadership? It is so much easier to keep silent. It is so much easier to say to our
friends, “Did you hear what so and so is doing or saying or believing?” Oh, how the local
church is aching for men and women who are “exhorting one another in love!”
Oh, how sad I would be if you saw areas of my life going astray from the Lord, and you
never said anything to me, because you didn’t think it was your place. I am not saying you
have to yell at me in the parking lot, but love me enough to pray about it, love me enough to
be in my life, love me enough to take me to lunch and ask me some questions, instead of
sitting back as we quietly murmuring under our breath, “I saw that coming a mile away!”
No, we need these types of spiritual leaders in the local church in Austin. We must grow
toward this in the local church, and this is a call for all who are in the local church, which is
why the Apostle Paul writes “each one of you as a father would his own children.” Do you
see that in verse 11?
It isn’t just for elders. It isn’t just for pastors. It is all of us being equipped for the work of
the ministry. It is all of us feeling a responsibility for the local church. It is all of us growing
in godliness. It is all of us prayerfully looking for opportunities to exhort and implore.
Listen to me, the local church is at her best when the local church is growing spiritual
mothers and fathers who care for the church. Oh, how our church family is aching for
spiritual mothers and fathers to care for the whole of the church.
I know it is easier to sit in a pew and check Sunday worship off your list, but our aim is to
be a place where men and women are becoming spiritual mothers and fathers who ache for
one another so as to raise up other spiritual mothers and fathers.
I am sure that charge can feel like a spiritual burden hanging over our heads. I am sure
there are some of us who are thinking, “I am trying, but it’s hard.” I am trying but I am
tired. I am trying but I get discouraged. Look at how verse 12 undergirds this charge. Look
at verse 12:
1 Thessalonians 2:12, “12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls
you into His own kingdom and glory.”
At first glance, I think verse 12 reads like such a weighty verse! Walk in a manner worthy
of the God who calls you. Who can do that? But the word “calls” is in the present tense,
actually present continuous tense, so that Jesus calls us and keeps on calling us until we are
face to face with Him. Isn’t that good? This is spiritual leadership!
The call isn’t for US to walk in a manner worthy of God, but He calls us to walk in a manner
worthy, and He keeps on calling us to walk in a manner worthy of God. Does that make
sense? It is future focused! Just as chapter 1 calls us to “wait patiently for Jesus to come
and rescue us from the wrath to come.”
This is also future tense, so that we walk in a manner worthy of God because He calls us to
walk in a manner worthy of God, and when we fall, when we stumble, when we get
distracted by the idols of our day, it’s okay, because He is going to keep on calling us to turn
from those idols, and turn to the living and true God as we wait for His return. It is present
continuous!
Remember, the context of the second chapter is that the Thessalonians are going through a
season of difficult hardship and tribulation, and sometimes when we go through hardship
we can turn to things in this world for comfort that are not of the Lord.
We can turn to food, we can turn to secret areas of our life in pornography, we can turn to
hardened hearts and bitterness.
Or maybe we just turn to the comfort of this world for escape, and the Apostle Paul is
reminding the Thessalonians, “You’ve already demonstrated a pattern of turning from the
idols of this world and turning to the living and true God.” Don’t stop!
When we “walk in a manner that is worthy of the Lord” it doesn’t mean we are somehow
more committed or dedicated than others. We are simply walking in a manner that He has
laid out for us in Christ. It isn’t our work. It is His Work. We are simply living out who He created us to be,
so that He gets all the glory!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
NVC Online
Unable to attend this Christian Church in Austin? Don’t worry, because, through God’s provision, we have created NVC online, an Online Church streaming a worship service every Sunday from 10:30am Central Time. You can also watch our short, powerful sermons on demand and follow us on Instagram for daily Christ centered content.