A Loyal Shepherd's Relentless Love For God's Church - 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

1:02Picture a child who's orphaned from his or her parents because their parents maybe passed away or whatever. They sensed that though they were orphaned from their church, their people that they'd led painstakingly to Christ for the previous several months, maybe six months, four months, perhaps. And it reminds me of a lot of what churches are going through today. Churches everywhere face harsh conditions. We don't see it so much here in the U.S. But churches around the world, perhaps even persecution.

1:37Daniel Baptist Church was gracious to send your shepherds off to shepherds conference this last week. And boy, were we shepherded? Were we pastored by other men in the faith? And one of the first things we did on Monday was sit through several hours of the Masters Academy International and them presenting what's going on in different nations around the world. And the next morning, Tuesday morning, Tom and I sat in another meeting, and it was focused on Russia and what all the Russian churches are doing to train new pastors and all the positive things that were going on there. But at the very end, when somebody asked a question, tell us about this new law that Putin put in place where it's difficult for Christians to, well, to tell people about the gospel.

2:24And they weren't altogether clear on what was going on, but they could reveal a little bit about it. And what it comes down to is if two people, two Christians, went to another few people and shared the gospel, they could be fined. They'd have to pay a financial fine. And then the churches that they represent would also have to pay a fine. And if they kept doing it, they could be thrown in jail. Because Putin wants to make sure that the Russian Orthodox Church continues to flourish. He has to put down the evangelical churches that tell people about Christ. They repent of sin. Sin and come to the Lord, and they'll stop attending those churches, and so persecution hits. Another pastor who travels frequently into the nation of China, I won't use his name here, but he describes about how he went there and shepherded another pastor to the Lord, trained him how to do expository preaching. He became a pastor of a church in China, and as he developed the scripture, just like Pastor Tom and I do here, his church got upset and they called the authorities to have him arrested. Well, my friend pastor felt bad about that, and so he told him he needed to get out of town right away. Pack your bags now, get on and go to some other town. I'll meet you.

3:46He found another church. People who wanted to hear God's word preached to them. And they live in an environment where affliction, much like this first church of Thessalonica, where affliction meant something to them. They suffered. And my friend told me that his church doesn't have a whole lot, but the church that this other guy was pastoring had next to nothing. And so his church that didn't have a whole lot gave up something so that they could have something. Does that make sense?

4:19They work together in the spread of the gospel. And one church is a little more sound financially speaking, but another church is rich because they get to hear the truth of God's word and they count the costs. Each and every day. Church history is littered, literally, with pastors and leaders and elders who have been kidnapped and killed. We learned that this week, and we see what they go through. And I would say that the success of these pastors, the success of this leadership, is now front and center in their congregations.

4:55Their churches are very attuned to this every single day. The spotlight shines brightly on how well these pastors, these shepherds, have trained the next generation because they know any moment that they could be hauled off. And there has to be people in their churches trained up to take the reins. And that's why we have things like Partners 101. That's why we have sermon junkies to teach our men how to be shepherds and how to train them to train the leadership in our church to be leaders in our church. Their leadership success is not measured by how many people sit in their congregations every week or the volume of people that show up to some church event. That's not how their success is measured, but by how effectively they've trained individuals within their congregation to do what Paul directed the Thessalonian church to strengthen them, encourage them, and protect the flock.

5:52Who's going to shepherd the remaining shattered lives in China and in Russia? Who's going to shepherd the remaining lives? Shattered lives in the event that God's pastors are taken captive in the United States. Meet the first church of Thessalonica. Literally, the first church. They have a right to that, Marquis. The first church of Thessalonica. Are these Thessalonians sheep without a shepherd? Paul was whisked away. Silas was whisked away. They were led to Christ. They made sure that they were faithful in terms of their outreach. They reached north to another nation, south to another nation. Their testimony for Christ had reached international spots within three to four months, and people were coming to Christ. So were they sheep without a shepherd when Paul got kicked out of town? Did the leaders waste their time in this city? Should they have gone somewhere else? Even Paul wants that question answered. He says in the text, was our labor in vain? Was our labor empty? Didn't mount to a hill of beans? Does it really matter? Was it a waste of time that we spent three or four months amongst you, getting the tar beat out of us?

7:10That's what this book is all about. He's reaching back into their lives. He's a few hundred miles to the south, but he can't go there. Suppose that as I'm speaking, people break through the door and they take our elders away, our pastors. I'm gone. Pastor Tom is gone. Russell's gone. Matt's gone. Pat's gone. Who steps up to the plate to lead? Who's going to volunteer? Which one of you are ready? I mean, really ready. Who's compelled the shepherd? Not just this entire congregation, but individuals, one-on-one, spend time with them, reach out to them, be in their lives.

7:56Or will EBC be a shepherdless flock if we're gone? That would be a tragedy. We will have failed, our mission. We will have failed. Uh-oh, there we go. I'm on a new notes here, and it's acting funny, so let me just get this right. Tom, you're interested in using this, so now's the. It's good, it's good. It was just sitting still for a moment. I'll be okay. Well, speaking on behalf of the other elders, I can say, like Paul and Silas and Timothy, we would do everything possible to get past our captors, to flee from them, to be with you. Our minds would be with you every waking moment, just like Paul and Silas and Timothy. Their minds were with the people. Thought of you, thoughts of you, would replace our sleep. We wouldn't be able to rest. Our hearts would be crushed until we would be in your presence once again.

8:50This isn't some simple roleplay that we're dealing with here. This actually happened. These men were taken away. We're talking about a real church with real pastors. Their names are Paul, Silas, and Timothy. In Acts 17, they preached the gospel in the synagogues, in the Jewish synagogues. They proclaimed the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ to the souls of men and women until, in large numbers, they repented of their sin and embraced Christ for their salvation. Life changed, and the culture was on the edge of a new identity. What happens when the culture begins to change?

9:30Leading women in the city. Wealthy ladies changed their spending patterns, their purchasing habits. In a very short period of time, they were more excited about the distribution of the gospel than they were about a new purse, or a new car, or a new house, maybe a camel. I don't know. Handmade objects of worship, idols, consumerism were no longer in their budgets. Their former devotion to the Greek gods was now repulsive to them because it was repulsive to God that they served. They turned and they repented from their idols to serve the living and true God, which is what we see in chapter 1, verse 9.

10:11Those once sold out to the false religious, Jewish religious systems no longer darkened the doors of the synagogue. The mobs were looking for someone to blame, and their first fingers pointed to Paul and Silas. Well, whose fault was all of this, right? We like to blame shift. Like to say, one individual represents a group. Let's kill the group. Who's messing with our culture? They want to know. In Acts 17, 5, the Jewish leadership put together a mob of business people, perhaps. Who knows? And they attacked.

10:49We would liken that to maybe a presidential executive order now. Donald Trump reverses an order that men can no longer go in girls' bathrooms, right? And the mob riots. The mob gets upset. There's nothing new under the sun, Solomon tells us, right? They did it then, they do it now. So whose fault is this? It's the pastor's fault. Let's get the pastors. They were booted out of town, exiled, literally, as I said, orphaned off from their people. They left Athens. They left longing to see the people for whom they ceaselessly prayed. They continually prayed for these people throughout the book of 1 Thessalonians. They prayed for them. They trained them to reach the nations for Christ. They desperately wanted confirmation that these men and women remained faithful to Christ, but they weren't there. How are they going to get there to take care of them? We're going to answer that question here in a moment.

11:44Lack of communication and distance from them left them yearning to see them face to face. As I mentioned in Sunday school this morning, you have a handheld phone. You can look at pictures of your loved ones. You can look at Facebook. You can look at whatever it is you have, and you can see the images of the people. The people you love and care for, but they were several hundred miles away and they could not see them. They had to get there and they had to figure out a strategy to do it.

12:10Hmm. They needed a plan. They needed to implement some strategy. A personal visit for Paul would have meant certain death. But that doesn't end his shepherding responsibility. He's okay to die in his own mind. They were prepared. You see, Paul trained up Timothy. What a strategy. I met with another pastor this week, Pastor Fally, F-A-L-Y. He's from Madagascar. He's been in the U.S. getting his master's degree in divinity, and he's heading back to Madagascar this summer. 95% of the population of Madagascar is extremely poor. The other 5% is extremely wealthy. He's starting his ministry in Madagascar, training up young Timothies with him, so that if something happens to him, they're trained and ready to go. And that's what we try to do here at Emmanuel. We're trying to train up young Timothies. So Timothy was ready to head back to encourage the people, an afflicted people. Well, why don't we read the text? I'm going to start off in chapter 2, verse 11, just to bring us into context with where we're heading for tonight's message. Chapter 2, verse 11 of 1 Thessalonians. We read these words. As you know, how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children. That you would walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but what? But as it is, in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea and Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same afflictions from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us, and they were not pleasing to God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while in presence and not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore, we wanted to come to you. Do you sense the desperation? They got to be there. We wanted to come to you, even as I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope? Our joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For you are our joy, our glory. Glory, chapter 3, verse 1, this evening's text. Therefore, when we could endure it no longer, when we could take it no longer, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother, to minister, a minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, that no one should be shaken by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are appointed for this. For in fact, we told you before we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, affliction, just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, I could endure it no longer. I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain, our labor might be empty, our labor might amount to nothing. That's our text for tonight. So, what are we really trying to consider here? I'll say this: a loyal pastor's love for God's people compels him to strengthen and encourage the flock so that they're not tempted to deny their risen Savior. That's just a brief summary of what's happened in the text here. One more time. A loyal pastor's love for God's people compels him to strengthen and encourage the flock so that they're not tempted to deny their risen Savior. That's what these men are trying to do, to understand how to encourage them. I'll say there's four actions of a loyal shepherd. Number one, they train the next generation. Two, shepherds serve and protect the flock. And three, they prepare the flock. And there's a fourth one. Loyal shepherds examine the flock. That's kind of where we're heading. Let me just start with the first one. Loyal shepherds train the flock. And you can see that in chapter 1, verses 1 and the first part of verse 2.

17:04These men miss this flock. We can say this is a college town, and we understand something about helicopter parents, right? This is sign language for a helicopter. I know that because my Debbie's brother's deaf, so he taught me helicopter. There are helicopter parents here. We see it. Well, these were helicopter pastors. They wanted to be with these people. They wanted to understand what was going on in their lives. As I said, you have lots of pictures of your loved ones. They have none. They wanted to be with them face to face. And so take a closer look at verse 2. In verse 2, you're going to notice three desperate men, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, and they're agonizing over God's church. They're strategizing over God's church. How are they going to encourage them? I want you to know that you're going to see three loyal shepherds relentlessly ruminating over these believers, these souls belonging to Christ that they had a hand in leading. Them and starting this church, perhaps only a few months old in the Lord, you're going to see three anxious men, pastors, missionaries still licking their wounds and strategizing a plan to enter once again into a war zone, into harm's way, to be with the people that they endearingly call their hope, their joy, and their crown of exaltation. They loved God's people.

18:29But if all three of them go back, what happens? If all three of them go back to Thessalonica, they may all be tortured and killed. If none of them return, that's worse. Satan may tempt the believers to deny Christ. Finish this for me. Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends. These three guys are hatching a plan. Knowing Paul's tenacity, he was certainly willing to risk his life again. He kept doing that. It's what he signed up for. Jesus placed it on his ministry agreement, didn't he? In Acts chapter 9, verse 16, Jesus said, I'm going to show Paul how much it is necessary, how much he must suffer for my namesake. He knew going into this whole ministry deal that he would suffer, and suffer he did. He wasn't afraid to go back to Thessalonica. It wasn't a good strategy, and he recognized that.

19:30It appears that perhaps Silas and Timothy wouldn't let Paul go. Probably held him back. Paul, you're not going. We're going to figure it out another way. You see, in verse 1, we see the persistent love of these three ministers, these three missionaries, that they have for the people that God has placed under their care. They concluded the best strategy was that two of them should stay put in Athens. Good plan, but what are they going to do?

20:00Their love for the people was immense that no barrier, not even the adversary, not even Satan himself, could stop their shepherding responsibilities. Sending Timothy to strengthen, to encourage, and to protect the flock was well worth another round of harsh affliction. Were they throwing Timothy under the bus? Let's get Timothy. He'll do anything. Well, why Timothy? There's three reasons. Those of us who are over 50 will understand what I'm about to say. Let's get Mikey. He'll eat anything. Not Mikey Getterman. It's a little boy. Mikey doesn't eat anything, I know. But let's get Mikey. He'll eat anything. This isn't a, let's get Timothy. He'll be the one we throw under the bus. He'll go. And if he dies, at least we're alive. We can reach the world for Christ. That's not what's going on here. You see, Timothy, what makes him the best? Three reasons. Timothy was the youngest amongst them and the least prominent among them. They probably wouldn't have recognized Timothy as quickly as. As they would Paul and Silas. Notice verse 2. Look at it. Timothy was a brother in the faith. Why was he a brother in the faith? He was well trained, that's why. The pastors, Paul, took a serious liking to Timothy and taught him how to be a pastor. So he was a brother in the faith. He was one walking with the Lord. He was one of John 3:16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever is believing in him, present tense, has eternal life. That's Timothy. He was present tense believer. There's a third reason. It's in your text, verse 2. Do you see it?

21:42He's God's fellow worker in Christ. You hear that? In the workplace, he's God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ. He's working with God and Christ's gospel. That's why he's ready. There's a lesson to be learned here. Timothy's qualifications didn't just come out overnight, it didn't just come as a result of Paul building into his life, although that's critical. There's more to it than Paul building into his life. Being a brother in the faith and God's fellow worker in Christ takes careful planning and dogged determination to carry it out. As a loyal shepherd, Paul continually trains the next generation.

22:27And so must we. That's why shepherding is such an important component to this body of believers. As I said in Sunday school class this morning, we're not all pastors, but we are all shepherds. We're all responsible for God's flock. But Paul, as you know, isn't the only one that trained Timothy. Who else trained him? Ladies? Timothy was first trained by his grandmother and his mother. Was he not? Ladies, don't miss this. Please, if you take anything with you, don't miss this tonight. These godly women trained Timothy from his childhood to know the sacred writings which give wisdom and leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Where do I find that? 2 Timothy 3:15. That's where we find it. Ladies, go read that again. Go look at it again. Ladies, it's worth it. Your role in your children's and your grandchildren's life is of inestimable value to the Lord.

23:38Your awkward little boy. He does silly stuff. He's an awkward little boy. It's okay. Hang on. Keep training him. Be patient with him. He needs you. Perhaps not until the other side of heaven will you ever know the fruit of your exhausting. Mind-numbing daily routine. And believe me, I'm a dad. I've watched. It's hard work, ladies. It's hard work. But think about Timothy. Think about the world that he changed because these two ladies took their call from the Lord serious to build into this young little boy.

24:21You won't recall the muddied carpet after you've just vacuumed it. You probably won't recall that rolled-up peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the sock drawer that you found a month or so later. But you're going to remember the impact that this little boy has on a whole world, on a whole society. Look at chapter 2, verses 19 and 20. I want you to see this. He says this: For what, or it could be who is our hope, or joy, or crowned of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ who is coming? For you are our glory and joy.

25:08Well, in the presence of Christ Jesus, you will see those who have been your joy, your hope, and your crown of exaltation. Souls who are your glory and your joy as you build into your children, as you see the people that they have impacted with the gospel of Christ both here and around the world, their faithfulness to raise Timothy in the way that he should go. Meant that he could become God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ. Because Paul relentlessly loved Timothy, he spent time with him, he discipled him in leadership and in shepherding. Timothy was ready to go back into the war zone. And he could be an ambassador for Christ, and he could be an ambassador for Paul, and he could speak with authority and gently shepherd these dear, precious people. I said there's a third reason that Timothy was chosen to go back to Thessalonica. He's God's fellow worker in the gospel. Just ruminate on that for a moment. He's God's fellow worker.

26:14Literally, Timothy works with God in the distribution of the gospel. It's God's gospel, and Jesus is the content of God's gospel. And Timothy is leading people to an understanding of that. You see, the gospel originates with God, and you are called to work with God and distributing it to others. Therefore, God's Word is sufficient to make loyal pastors, to make loyal, committed shepherds. Timothy experienced that. So, really, the first critical action for a loyal shepherd is that he disciples the next generation of pastors, of those next generation of shepherds. This doesn't only belong to pastors, but as we saw here, it belongs to parents and grandparents.

27:01Ladies, I hope you understand how important your role is in your children's lives. It is incredibly important. Keep going, keep going, keep going strong. The second critical action of a loyal shepherd is that he serves and protects the flocks. Serves and protects the flock. We see this in chapter 3, verses 2 and 3. As a brother in Christ, as God's fellow worker in the distribution of the gospel and Jesus' gospel, Timothy, as I said, was well trained. He's qualified to serve in the same capacity as Paul. Timothy's threefold mission, don't miss this. What was it? It's there in the text. It's really to strengthen, to encourage, and to protect. That's why he's going there, and it's worth risking his life. Timothy's mission was emblematic of every single pastor. We are to fortify, we're to reassure, and we're to defend God's people with the sword. The scripture, God's word. We strengthen our bodies through physical exertion to reduce the likelihood of our injuries, don't we?

28:10Well, an exercise partner or a coach is an important person because they hold us accountable to a hard workout to keep us committed to a healthy body. But no matter how hard we beat our bodies into submission, all of us are going to wither away. Some faster than others, probably. When you think of strengthen in verse 2, think stand firm. Think it means to give someone a steadfast mind. Think in a discipleship setting, you're helping somebody to stand firm because they understand God's word, they have a strong mind, so that when affliction comes, they can continue going and honoring Christ in their lives.

28:54This is important because torture, persecution, and affliction could cause them, no, tempt them to deny God's gospel. It could happen. Yes, there's a strengthening component to discipleship and shepherding, but there's also an element of encouragement that's required for sound discipleship. Timothy came to this afflicted people because they needed encouragement. Think about it. These were a handful of Jewish people that had come to Christ, no longer going to the synagogues, a large number of influential women, wealthy women, and a very large number of Gentiles, people from other nations. Their culture was changing. The culture was changing so much that affliction was coming. They needed someone to come alongside them and help them to be courageous in their faith. And Paul and Timothy and Silas, they didn't know what was going on. There wasn't a text message. There wasn't an email. There wasn't even a Pony Express that could get there quickly. Not as quickly as now.

29:56That's why we have partners one-on-one. That's why 32 people in Emmanuel Baptist. Baptist Church are in the process of shepherding through partners one-on-one. Their strength, each and every one of them, their strength, they would testify to you that it's increasing in the Lord. Their courage, it's growing. Why? Because their partners express an unyielding love for them. But there's more than that. Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage for a reason. Do you see the reason in verse 3? It's there. He says, so that. Here's the reason. So that no one disturbs you. You hear that word disturbs? Think, so that no one deceives you. So that no one deceives you into renouncing your faith. That's why Paul and Timothy and Silas sent, others said, Timothy went back. You see, a loving shepherd protects the flock with God's word. When faced with these afflictions, when faced with these trials and tribulations and oppression and difficult days, we mustn't allow one another to surrender to the temptations of the tempter whose primary goal is what?

31:07It's to get you to deny Christ. It's to get the one that you love and care for to deny Christ. Ladies, your job is important in the home. Are you hearing me? Encourage your young ones in the faith. Get them memorizing God's Word to protect them. If you're not in God's Word, you're at risk. You need someone to guard you or guide you. You through God's Word. If you're not strengthening, encouraging, and protecting God's people, you're outside of His will for your life. I can categorically say that. Jesus' last command should be our greatest concern. Go make disciples. Make disciples, teaching them all that He's commanded us, and He is with us always.

31:52That's what disciples-making is all about. Well, so the first critical action of a loyal shepherd is that He disciples the next generation of pastors. The second one is that loyal shepherds serve and protect the flock. There's a third action that loyal shepherds take, and they prepare the flock for rough and tumble times. They're coming, they prepare the flock. Verse 4. Let me just read verse 4. For in fact, we told you beforehand when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. And it's not just them that are suffering, not just the pastors suffering tribulation, it's the people as well. Paul points out in verse 3 that the church had known all along that they were destined, that they were appointed for persecution. When tough times come and we feel as though we're in a meat grinder, what do we do?

32:48When we're living on the ragged edge of life, God, what do we do? Our temptations drive us to doubt God's sovereignty, doesn't it? God, you must not be sovereign because I'm going through hard times. Don't you hear my prayers? You think God heard the prayers of Paul, Timothy, and Silas? You think he heard the prayers of the Thessalonians? That was a church who was only several months old in the Lord. This was new to them. There wasn't Christianity before them.

33:16Our temptation drives us to doubt God's sovereignty, so we begin to have an inward focus. We take our eyes off of Christ and we look for ways to short-circuit his disciplining hand in our lives. A loyal shepherd will, you see it in verse 4, remind the flock that while we are suffering, God is still on the throne, that he will never leave us nor what? Forsake us. That's encouraging. Sovereignty is, hands down, my favorite word in the English language, because I know that when I'm going through the meat grinder, God is in control. When nobody else is around to gripe and moan and complain to, God is there and he cares.

34:04So, verse 4. These pastors habitually warned them in advance that dark hours of affliction were right around the corner. And this comes as no surprise to them. Because in verses 14 and 15, Paul reminds them that their persecution was like the churches in Judea. And what was their persecution like? Well, they suffered at the hands of the Jews, who also killed the prophets and the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. That's a significant window to the kind of persecution that the Thessalonians were going through. They suffered the same kind of persecution at the hands of the people who killed Jesus.

34:45That's significant. That's a word picture you can understand. We don't have time to go through it tonight, but I would challenge you to read, maybe as a family, go home and read Matthew chapter 27, verses 20 through 31 and understand a little bit about the demand for Jesus to be crucified. So the Thessalonian affliction was harsh. Paul wants to encourage them. One of my former professors at the Master Seminary, Dr. Richard Mayhew, says this: quote: Christians who don't experience persecution or affliction are the exception, not the rule. Many parts of the world, it's the rule. They suffer persecution. They suffer affliction. They know it's coming. They're like the Thessalonians.

35:33Persecution is a hard, dirty reality, and it comes with shepherding. Well-equipped believers will have thick skins and soft hearts so that their pastor's labor will not have been in vain. Well, we've seen the first critical action of a loyal shepherd is that he disciples the next generation of shepherds. This includes moms and grandmoms. Second, loyal shepherds serve and protect. The flock. And third, loyal shepherds prepare the flock for rough and tumble times. There's a fourth action. A fourth one. Loyal shepherds examine the flock. They examine the flock to ensure that they haven't succumbed to the wiles, the schemes of the devil. It's verse 5. Let's look at it.

36:24For this reason, we could no longer endure it. And I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might have been in vain. You ever notice that some people get just a little, I don't know, uncomfortable, queasy when their faith is questioned, or when they might get a sense that somebody thinks, well, you didn't think I'm really saved. I've felt that way before, have you? Well, Paul spilled a lot of ink in the New Testament calling people's faith in God's gospel, Jesus' gospel, into question. He wasn't apologetic about it, he questioned them, and he wanted them to question themselves.

37:18We don't have time to go there. I'll just read it. 2 Corinthians 13, 5. Paul was a nudge. He nudged the people to consider whether their faith was truly biblical. 2 Corinthians 13. 13, 5 says this. He says, test yourselves, this is Paul writing to the Corinthians, test yourselves and see if you're in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail the test?

37:51He's wanting them to ask the question: Am I a false convert? Does Jesus have faith in my faith? Do you know whether or not your faith is real? Or maybe you're a false convert. Maybe you don't really, maybe you haven't really placed your faith in Christ. You haven't really repented of your sin and depended on him and walked with him. You see, a loyal shepherd knows his flock. And if he doesn't, he goes out of his way to be with them. Paul wants them to know: is their faith truly genuine?

38:30Was it some esoteric asking Jesus into their heart? And that's it? It stops there? Maybe some fireside mountaintop experience, some cheap confession without first weighing the cost? Paul warned them: there's going to be trials, there's going to be afflictions, there's going to be persecution. If you take this step, if you become baptized as a believer in Christ, you will be persecuted. It wasn't a cheap confession, they weighed the cost. Examine his curiosity in verse 5. We've already read it. In reality, if we've turned from sin and have embraced Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we're all shepherds, not just the pastors. Everybody who claims the name of Christ is responsible to shepherd another soul, to care for them, including parents and grandparents. Out of a sheer love for the gospel, we all want confidence that people at EBC, Emmanuel Baptist Church, are saved. We all want to know that. We all want to know that the tempter has failed in his temptation, so that our labor, our work, is not in vain.

39:41That our work has meant something in the lives of believers. That lives have been changed. That it all wasn't just a hill of beans. It doesn't mean anything. I've asked myself a pointed question, and I know for certain that I fall short of a Christ-honoring answer in my own life. I'm preaching a message that Paul wrote a long time ago, and as I'm studying this, I'm like, God, I am not this shepherd. I'm not this pastor, and neither is Emmanuel Baptist Church this church. But, Lord, would you help us be this church? Would you help the shepherds be those shepherds? So I've asked myself the question. And so you must ask yourself. Here it is.

40:26Where are those you thought you led to Christ? Where are they? Do you long to know if they are the John 8:31 kind of real believers? Jesus says, If you continue in my words, then you're disciples of mine. A few verses later, we read of those same people who said they're believers, and Jesus said, If you continue my words, then you're disciples of mine. A few verses later, they wanted to kill him. Theirs was a cheap confession. Where are those you've led to Christ or thought you led to Christ? Making a decision for Christ, also known as decisionism, isn't equal to salvation.

41:16It's a bunch of empty words for some people. It simply means they acknowledge Jesus' facts and God trivia. Those who continue in Jesus' words are those whose faith is genuine from the very beginning and it keeps on going. Yes, there is a progressive sanctification. We're growing in Christ. We're blowing it. We're sinning and we're confessing sin, but we're growing and we're leading others to the truth. And when we go and lay our head down at night and we're struggling because we failed for the bazillionth time and we say, God, I can't do it. And he says, you're right. My son did it. It's already done.

42:00Don't have to be perfect. How's your partner one-on-one doing? Is the tempter deceiving them? Are you in touch with them, calling them, being a part of their lives? Do you know for certain that the three or four months that you labored with them isn't all for nothing? Loyal shepherds follow up with the flock because they don't underestimate Satan's power. Just as Eve succumbed to the temptation in the garden, so will we be duped if we think that God's salvation isn't real. We will give up and will fall into that temptation that so easily entangles us. Our Lord's brother, James, gives us wise advice. No, he commands us to resist the devil. Turn over to James with me. I just want to take a quick look at this. James chapter 4, verses 7 through 10.

43:15He says this, adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? You're striving with God if you're a friend of the world. Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God. Or do you not think that the Scripture is in vain? It's empty. The Spirit who dwells in us yearns joyously? But he gives grace and more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Verse 7: Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

43:52When you're faced with that sin and you're all alone, and you want to give in to it, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Turn to the scripture, do what Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan. He quoted scripture. He quoted the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6 and chapter 4. Quote Scripture to yourself when you're in trouble. James, as a loyal shepherd, examines the flock and exhorts them with sound advice, like Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Well, the success of our leadership is now front and center, isn't it?

44:29We're called to account here. The spotlight shines ever so brightly. Are we training the next generation? We're pouring our efforts into Shepherd's Theological Seminary. We're pouring our efforts into Partners One-on-one. We're pouring our efforts into Friday night church. Is it in vain? Are we wasting our time? Are those that we think are converted to Christ, are they really converted? Ask them. Examine them. Of our leadership is measured by how successful others at Emmanuel Baptist Church can strengthen and encourage and protect the flock. You who claim Christ have no promise, or don't claim Christ, have no comfort, promise of comfort or ease, quite the opposite. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. The important question is this: looking in the rearview mirror, looking in that mirror, who have you successfully trained to fortify, to equip, and to protect this flock when you're gone?

45:39Because that's what a true believer in Christ does. Now, do you feel like, oh man, I'm not doing any of this at all? That's my comfort to you. That's my encouragement to you. Go to our website. Look up ministries. Look up Partners One-on-one. Put your name on the list. Sit with another person who will love you and care for you. Take you through the scriptures and prepare you to take another through. Moms, grandmoms, grandfathers, encourage your little ones in the faith that they too would be strengthened in Christ.

46:12We're going to close in prayer, and I'm going to ask if you would come up and play that beautiful song as I'm praying. Maybe you guys can make your way up. Father, it's to you that we give thanks. I know for myself I'm pierced to the core of. My heart. I know that I'm not this shepherd, and I want to be. And I want Emmanuel to be that model church. And we long to be that church, but Lord, we, as much work as we have to do, we must understand that the work has been done. All you've asked us to do is be faithful.

46:52And would we be that faithful church, Lord? Would we be a church that is all shepherds, looking out for the well-being of others, encouraging them, protecting them, and guiding them? This is our call. Making disciples isn't just looking for somebody to confess that Jesus is Lord, just saying some words, but it is an ongoing relationship in Christ that we're encouraging them toward. We pray, Lord, for our brothers and sisters in Christ and China and Russia and nations that persecute believers. In the Middle East, the cost is high.

47:37This is an afflicted people, Lord. I pray that you would send more to comfort them and encourage them. And it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.