This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to day four of our look at 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 and daily
drive-time devotions. We're going to look at verses 10 to 12 today. We're
talking about building a life that lasts.

And then if we're going to do that, we have to go through a checklist from time
to time. We have to check our motivations we looked at the first few days. We
talked yesterday about checking our actions and what we're doing.

And today we're going to focus on checking our message. To live a life that
lasts, you have to have a message that lasts. Now, you may not be a teacher or a
communicator of any kind, but we all have a message.

Let me read for you verses 10 to 12. You were witnesses, and so is God, of how
holy and righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know
that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
encouraging, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his
kingdom and glory.

As Paul talks about the message, he starts with the messenger, and then he talks
about the message. Both have to be things that last if our message is going to
last. First the messenger, and then the message.

The message always begins with the messenger. And so Paul talks about three
words that are lifetime goals for anyone who wants the message to be lived and
shared through their life, that God can make a difference. He uses the words
holy and righteous and blameless, holy.

One of the meanings of holiness is it is intended for a single purpose. It is
focused in on God's purpose. The purpose of my life, your life, is to bring
glory to God.

So you live in that kind of way, righteous. It has the word right at the very
beginning. It has the idea of living in right relationship with God and others,
and that means you begin to live in the right kind of way, make the right kind
of decisions in your life.

You choose to do the right thing. Paul says that's part of the life of the
messenger that makes a difference. And then he uses the word blameless.

Now you may be thinking, oh, I don't qualify for that one. I am certainly not
blameless. Blamelessness does not mean sinlessness.

We all recognize that we all have sinned. One sense it means openness. It means
openness about my sins as I know them.

When Paul said I'm blameless, he wasn't saying I've never done anything wrong.
I've never sinned. He was saying as far as I know, I have been open about the
wrong things that I've done in my life, both to God and to others.

And he certainly was. In the Bible, he calls himself the chief of sinners. He
was open about the fact that he was not perfect.

Blamelessness is openness about our lives, about our sin, holy, righteous,
blameless. Those are three words that are lifetime goals, but also burn into
your mind two words that are necessary for this message to get through. He says
we are holy and righteous and blameless among you.

Those are the two words, among you. It's as we live with people that we make an
impact. If I could just seclude myself, some of us think, then I'd be more
saintly.

We think we need to hide out in order to be holy. Well, then what's the impact
of your life? The world is more likely to say show me than it is to say tell me.

So they have to see the messenger. I know it's easy for some of us to think,
wow, in order to be holy and righteous and blameless, I've got to quit my job.
I've got to get out of this mess.

Nobody here appreciates me. You wouldn't believe the things that they say, the
movies they talk about, the values that they have. I'm struggling with the fact
I don't even have any real friends here at this work.

I'm the only Christian here at this entire place of business. Let me just ask
you, who's going to be the light when you're not there? Who's going to show the
way when you're not there?

Doesn't it make sense that if there's a place of darkness, God's going to send
some light? You might be thinking, oh, that'd be great, Tom, if the light were
coming on, but it's not working. I'm there.

I'm trying to be the light, but sometimes I feel more overwhelmed by them than
having them see what's happening in me. I'm criticized. I'm ridiculed.

It's not working. Let me remind you, light is light. And the criticism, even the
ridicule, is a reaction to the fact that you're bringing the light of Christ
into that darkness, because the light of Christ is in you.

Yes, you are not perfect, but the light of Christ is in you. Doesn't it make
sense that he would send his light to dark places? Of course, among you.

That's where the message needs to get. Not in churches where people go on the
weekends, but among you, where people can see the light to light up their
darkness. Maybe, just maybe, what's been discouraging you lately is your
greatest place of ministry.

Among you, the messenger. And then Paul also talks in these verses about the
message, and he says we need to live lives that are worthy of God. That's the
message that lasts.

You are witnesses, so is God, how holy and righteous and blameless we were among
you who believe. You know how we dealt with you as a father deals with his own
children, encouraging you, comforting you to live a life worthy of God, God who
calls you to his glory. That lasts.

That's the message. That's the message that I have to share with you and that
you have to share with me. That's the message that we have to share with the
world, and it needs to be a personal message.

You live a life that is worthy of God. Now that word worthy there, the Greek
word axios, it has the idea of weight, of equal weight, of measuring up to
something. We tend to think when we say live a life that's worthy of God, that
means I have to do some great, some weighty thing.

Well, it's not about what you do so much as it's about you. Live a life that's
worthy of God. Live in such a way that whatever you're doing, whether it seems
important or unimportant, whatever you're doing, it measures up to the weight of
God's love for you, the call of God in your life.

It lives up to all that he is, all that he's given to you. Paul says as we talk
about this message, living a life that is worthy of God, there's something that
needs to happen in order for this message to get through. He says we encourage
and we comfort and we urge you to live this life.

None of us do it automatically. We all need encouragement and comfort and urging
in order to live this life. That's why we need to be messengers to each other.

So the question is, who do I need to encourage today to live a life that's
worthy of God? You can do it because of God's strength. Question is, who do I
need to comfort?

Who do I need to comfort so they can live a life worthy of God? Someone who's
fallen, someone who's stumbled, someone who needs to be lifted back up so they
can get on the track again. Who do I need to comfort?

And then the question is, who do I need to confront? He says we urge you. That
has the idea of confrontation.

Sometimes we need to be urged to live a life that's worthy of God. If you're
like me, you would rather encourage than confront any day of the week. But it's
when you confront that the real changes often happen.

At least I've seen that to be true in my own life. And Paul says we do all three
of these. We encourage you.

We comfort you. We confront you. We do all three of these as a father would.

So there's a sense of love and commitment that's behind all of these. Earlier he
told us that we're to love gently as a mother would, and here he says we're to
encourage and comfort and confront as a father would. Both the idea of mother
and father included in this passage.

That's the kind of love that lasts. That's the kind of commitment that lasts.
Paul talks in these verses about the messenger and the message.

And you have a message. You may never preach a sermon. You may never lead your
small group even in a Bible study.

You may think that's not me. It may be you, but you may never do that. That's
not the point here.

That's not the message that he's talking about. He's talking about the message
of living a life that's worthy of God. And Paul says when you live that life,
you're looking forward to the glory of God that we're going to enjoy in his
presence together for all eternity.

You live a life worthy of God in this world, and the strength that enables you
to do that is looking forward to the glory of God, being with him forever,
eternally, enjoying him together. That is the message that we have the privilege
to share. Let's pray together.

As you pray, say, "Father, help me to be a good messenger, holy, righteous, and
blameless. " Or, "It seems like I have a ways to go when I hear those words, but
Jesus, I realize you can do in me what I cannot do in myself. So today, help me
to make holy and righteous and blameless choices.

I can't make those choices for the rest of my life. Even though you've
strengthened me to, I can only make them for today. So today, help me to make
those choices.

Say, "Father, I pray today you would help me to make the choice to encourage, to
comfort, to confront at the right times. I need your wisdom to do that. I need
your wisdom to know when to encourage, to know when to comfort, to know when to
confront.

So would you give me that wisdom? You know people, you know hearts, I don't
always, so give me your wisdom. I'm willing, I'm willing to be your messenger
who carries your message in the individual's lives today.

Lord, as I say I'm willing to carry the message, I don't want to be so prideful
that I don't also say I'm willing to listen to the message. If someone needs to
encourage me, if someone needs to comfort me, if someone needs to confront me
today, help me to be open to your message in my life. I pray this, Father, in
Jesus' name, amen.

" Tomorrow we're going to be looking together at the last part of this chapter,
verses 13 to 20.