Peter Barnes: 1 Thessalonians 2:11,12 (Part 3)
SERMON NOTES: PAUL AS A TRUE PASTOR: PROCLAIMER
– Philip Ryken on the ‘Perfect Pastor’: ‘He condemns sins, but never upsets anyone. He works from 8.00 a.m. until midnight and is also the janitor. He makes $60.00 a week … and gives about $50.00 a week to the poor. He is 28 years old and has been preaching for 30 years … The Perfect Pastor smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work … He spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched and is always in his office when needed.’ Compare and contrast to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
- A father exhorts, encourages and charges his children.
– 2:11-12a. Compassion to be shown by the father (Ps.103:1) but Paul is thinking of appropriate proclamation of the gospel.
– a father does not just care for his children, but each child. Richard Baxter at Kidderminster conducted individual catechising and saw its beneficial effects. Hence he urges presbyters to ‘not slightly slubber over this work, but do it vigorously’. Spurgeon said that the best way to fill a hundred empty bottles is not to throw a pail of water over them, but to fill them individually.
Paul speaks of his role as a father in three ways:
(a) He exhorted the Thessalonians.
(b) He encouraged and comforted them (1 Sam.23:16-18).
(c) He charged them or testified to them.
- We are to walk in a manner worthy of God.
– 2:12; see Eph.4:1, 17; Phil.1:27; Col.1:10.
- God calls us into His kingdom and glory.
– 2:12; Acts 17:6-7; Rev.1:5b-7; 11:15.