Living For An Audience Of 1!
Posted: May 10, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »1 Thessalonians 2:1-6 1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 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. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 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. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
I just love this passage from 1 Thessalonians, it’s so full of passion and determination. It talks twice of not being pleasers of men but pleasers of God. It’s focusses on living for an audience of one with an understanding that the key opinion that counts is not that of man but that of God.
You can tell from reading this passage that they had faced some serious opposition. They had been questioned, people wanted to stop their work, they were no doubt abused, insulted and told quite clearly ‘you are not welcome’. However, they were not going to be stopped. They were on a mission from God and it did not matter what people said or in fact what they did – they would not pause, not even for a second.
At OC we are committed to living for an audience of one. We have a vision that God has given us for our church and our city and we are 100% driven by that cause. We can face opposition, we can come up against mountains and giants but the truth still stands – He will build His church!
May is proving to be an excellent month for OC so let me encourage you today, enjoy the journey, know you are part of something special and be part of what God is doing. Live to please God, live to make His name famous and get ready for May to go from strength to strength.
