This transcript was generated by whisper.ai. Hi, I'm Pastor Tom, and I want to welcome you to Daily Drive Time Devotions. We are in a look together at the book of 1 Thessalonians, we're looking at chapter 2 this week. We're looking at the authentic life. Last week we took a look at how the authentic life of faith starts with Jesus Christ. And this week as we approach chapter 2 we're going to be looking at the authentic life of love. The authentic life that really makes an impact on this world. One of the fascinations, one of the questions that should be on our minds as believers all the time is, "Am I building my life on that which really lasts? " The Bible tells us it's an extremely important question. In fact, 1 Corinthians 3 paints a picture for us. It's a picture of when we go to heaven, and it says in that chapter that as we go to heaven some of the things in our lives are going to be burned up. They're like wood, hay, and straw. They're not going to last. The things that we've built into our lives that are meaningless, that aren't going to last all the way into heaven, they're burned up on the way to heaven. But other things, 1 Corinthians 3 says, they will last. They're like gold and silver and precious stones. They're going to last forever. The impact that's been made on people's lives, the praise that's been given to God, the capacity that you've built into your life to make a difference, into your character for all of eternity, those are things that are going to last. I want to have, I would expect that you want to have less wood, hay, and straw, and more gold, silver, and precious stones when I get to heaven. I found that in order for that to happen, I have to do some regular checkups in my life. Am I really building into my life the things that last? Specifically, is what I'm spending my time on right now, this day, these days, are those the things that are going to last? We need regular life checkups, and we're going to do one together this week as we look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. The Apostle Paul gives us a kind of a life checkup for the things that really last. We're going to let the Bible be our guide. We're going to walk through these verses together, and we're going to see what they have to say to us about what really lasts from Paul's example and from God's Word. Now, Paul is a good example. He did a few things that lasted. In fact, we're reading from a book that he wrote 2,000 years ago, even for this study, so he knows what it is to live a life that lasts. In 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 1, he says, "You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure, not a failure," and different translations translate that, "Our visit to you was worthwhile," or, "Our coming to you was not in vain. " How can I live a life that's not in vain? The greater question is, how can I live a day today that's not in vain? Because all I really have is today. How can I live my life so that I'm building on it, I'm building in it, things that really really last, that really make a difference? Paul's talk to the Thessalonians was about things that last, and that was in response to some criticism that Paul had received after he left the city. He was there just a few weeks. After he left, some other people came in and started criticizing Paul and what Paul had done. He built some things that lasted, and then he got criticized for it. Does that sound fair, that you do the right thing and then you get criticized for it? It is not fair, but let me just say, it always happens. It is inevitable. When you build your life on things that last, you are going to be criticized for that. Why? Because people who are building their life on things that don't last notice that, and they don't like it. It makes them feel uncomfortable. They're seeing you build on something that lasts. They're seeing the impact of that. It makes them feel jealous, or they see the challenge from your life, and it makes them feel a little queasy inside, and so you get criticized for building on things that last. As we look at the example of Paul and what he did in ministry, remember that we are all ministers in different ways. You may have a ministry at church. You may have a ministry to your family. You may have a ministry at your work. You should have all three. You may be a brand new believer. Your ministry may be to friends who don't know Jesus Christ as their savior as yet. Every one of us has a ministry. Every member is a minister. I'm not talking about what you do three hours a week or four hours a week. I'm talking about what you do 168 hours a week, who you are, being the kind of person that God made you to be. How can I live my Christian life in a way that lasts? How do I do the things of the Christian life in a way that lasts? In verses one through six, Paul says, "Here's one thing you do. You check your motives. " On this checklist that we're going through, you check your motives. Paul gives an amazing list of what does and doesn't last when it comes to those motivations of our life in these first several verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter two. Let me read for you verses one through the first part of verse six. "You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men, but God who tests our hearts. You know that we never use flattery, nor did we put a mask on to cover up our greed. God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or from anyone else. " There is a list in these verses of what doesn't last and what does last. Let's look at what doesn't last today and then come back to these verses tomorrow and look at what does last. What doesn't last? Well, Paul says error doesn't last. He gives this list and he says we didn't use flattery. We didn't try to please men. We didn't speak from error. Error does not last. Lies don't last. I can give my life selflessly and sincerely and even sacrificially to a lie. It's not going to last. If I give myself to a lie, it might be a lie about God, it might be a lie about me, it might be a lie about the world that I live in, it might be a lie about what I think I need. If I give myself to a lie, it is not going to last. That's why we need God's word so desperately in our lives. It brings the truth into our lives. I can trust God's word. God's book has God's truth in it. It's one of those things that you have to have to build into your life a life that's going to last. You don't build on error, you build on the truth. Another motivation he said to check is the motivation of impure motives. That doesn't last. I can't build my life on impure motives and expect that to last. If you do the right thing with the wrong motives, what happens? Does it last? It might last for the person that you're doing it for, but it won't last in your life. If I speak the word of God, the right thing, but I have the wrong motive in my heart, it might bless you, but it is not going to bless me. It's not going to last in my life. So you ask yourself, what is it that motivates me? Is it my heart for God or is it my heart for success or something else? Now, granted, we can't always figure out our motives, but as best as I know how, I want to work from pure motives, not impure motives. And if I see an impure motive, when I recognize it, then I want to root it out. Pure motives don't last. Error doesn't last. In this list, in these first six verses, Paul also says manipulation doesn't last. If you try to change people's behavior without changing their heart, it never lasts. Can you remember being forced to do something as a child as soon as you left your home? The moment you got out of your home, you started doing it your own way from that moment on? Manipulation just doesn't work. As Paul goes through this list, he also says flattery doesn't work. It doesn't last. Not part of us likes it when people flatter us. We all like that. But think about it for a moment. The problem with flattery, which is a lie, which is saying you're great, even though I see that you may have struggles and problems, I'm saying, wow, that was really super. I'm lying to you about what I really think. The danger of flattery is it keeps people stuck where they are. When someone flatters you, they're keeping you stuck where you are. They're not inviting you to change. And when you flatter someone else, when I flatter someone else, we're keeping them stuck where they are. We're not being honest about the changes that could happen. That's the danger of it. That's why it doesn't last. Flatterers use words to manipulate instead of communicate. Flattery doesn't last. And then he says masks don't last. We didn't put a mask on, he said. They don't last because they eventually fall off. When we see a mask, we think of drama presentations or Hollywood pictures. But those aren't the kinds of masks that are popular with Christians. What are the kinds of masks that are popular with people of faith? We got a lot of them. We put them on and they never last. One of them is called, I would call it the joy mask. Life is terrible. Things are falling apart. You're depressed. You're discouraged. But you're going to church. So you get out of the car and you start to walk in maybe to your small group. And as you walk in, you put it on, this joy mask. You're smiling all the way through your group, all the way through church, until you get back in your car. And then the depression descends again. A lot of us put on that mask. You think Christians are always supposed to be happy. Well, Paul wasn't always happy. And he admitted it in his letters to the churches. In his letter to the Corinthians, he talks about the fact that he despaired even of life. Jesus wasn't always happy. The Bible tells us that he wept for a friend. Joy does not mean that you have to paint some silly smile on your face. In fact, if you really want to experience joy, you're never going to get it through a mask. We wear the joy mask sometimes. We've got other kinds of masks. On the other side, we wear what I would call the suffering mask. Have you seen one of those on some Christians? The suffering servant kind of thing. Life is really tough for me as a Christian. And they go through this whole story about how they suffered at work and how terrible things are and how some person said something about them. You look at this person as you walk into a room and it almost feels like they're bringing this whole weather system with them. It's just all depression. It's all darkness. It's a storm of depression where everyone else is going to go down with them. That's the suffering mask. Sometimes we wear what I would call the I've got it all figured out mask as a Christian. Someone is up teaching and they're talking about something like the Trinity, which no one really understands because it's God and he's bigger than we are. You can talk about it, but you don't totally comprehend it. But they're shaking their head like, yep, got that one all figured out. And if someone asks them, do you understand that? Could you explain it to me? They'll say, oh yeah, I understand that. But I don't have time to talk right now. I'll get back to you later. It's a mask. I'll admit it. I don't understand everything because God is greater than my understanding. But I do understand that he loves me and I do understand that I can trust him. People who put on masks, here's the problem with it. People who put on masks don't produce disciples. People who put on masks produce other people who wear masks. That's the danger of it. So Paul says, we didn't do that. It's not going to last. And then he talks about a final thing. He talks about seeking praise from men. You like to get praise from people? We all like that. Unless you're wearing the I'm too holy to enjoy praise mask, we all have to admit we like that. It makes us feel good about ourselves. The more important question, though, is this, do you need to get praise from people? Liking praise can very quickly become needing praise. You swallow it, every bit of it. It's what you live your life for. You start to need it every day of your life. I'd say that needing the praise of people is the most dangerous drug of all. It's the most addictive drug of all. More addictive than any physical drug I can think of. Paul says, I don't need that. I don't need that. Tomorrow, we're going to talk about how to get off this drug of needing praise from people. But here's the checklist, the negative one, the things that don't last. Error doesn't last, impure motivations don't last, manipulation doesn't last, flattery doesn't last, masks don't last, seeking praise from men doesn't last. As we talk to God for a few moments today, let's focus on how God can change the motivations of our heart. Talk to him for a moment and say, God, I admit it, I've got to work on my motivations. Sometimes I build on the wrong things, often because of my selfishness, sometimes because of my confusion, sometimes because I'm just trying to get there too fast. Or I'm afraid, afraid of letting people see the real me. God, you made me, I can trust you. So help me not to settle for anything less than the best. Help me not to settle for the things that don't last. Oh, they might give a quick fix, but they're not going to last. Help me to set aside error, to purify my motivations, to be a person of integrity rather than manipulation, to be honest rather than use flattery, to take off the mask and to seek praise from you. God, I need your help, I need your strength, I ask for it. In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, join us tomorrow, we're going to take a look together at the positive motivations that we can find in verses one through six.