Redeeming the time. Making the most of every opportunity. Paul did that with the Thessalonians, with the result being that many of them became Christians.

Now we come to our second part of the outline of 1 Thessalonians. The preaching theme of 1 Thessalonians is “redeeming the time.”

The first point in the outline was “What happened to the Thessalonians in three weeks time?” The answer being, “They became Christians.”

We now come to the second point in the outline of the book of 1 Thessalonians: ‘What did Paul do when he was in Thessalonica that caused him to redeem the time?” The answer is ”He connected with people.”

We will not have any impact on people if we do not engage them. When we say, “Make the most of every opportunity, redeem the time,” this cannot take place if we do not engage with people.

Sociologist have discovered that in 1985, 25% of the people answered “No one” when asked, “Who can you talk to about important matters?” The number is up to 50%. Over half our population have no one in whom they can confide about real important matters. If you add the number who have one and that one is a family member, you can see that people are not connecting. We are disconnecting.

One of the big reasons for this is our work week. When you add work and commuting time, it leaves little time or energy for connecting with others.

A second possibility is that people are connecting at a lower level with more frequency. We connect on the cell phone. We email. We facebook or twitter others. I have been on facebook and there is no way I would discuss something personal or on a deeper level where the whole world can see. And those without computers or cell phone are finding themselves more and more isolated from the world around them.

I view this as a strength of this church. Many of you attend her to connect with people. There may be no other forum in our community where you can see so many people on a regular basis. Not only do we provide a spiritual emphasis, but there is the social element as well. We have tried to connect with this community in ways consistent with our faith and our beliefs.

In the Great Commission, Jesus said, “As you go, make disciples of all nations…” If that is not an invitation to connect with people, I don’t know what is!

That is what love is. Love is about connecting. That is the picture of the body, people connected to one another and to God through Jesus Christ.

It appears that Paul made it a habit of connecting with people whenever he went into a city. He would visit the synagogue. From his synagogue visit he would share the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ who died for them. People would show interest and he would talk further with them.

If we want to redeem the time, we need to connect with people.

First, we need to connect with our spouses. If your spouse is not a Christian or is not living for the Lord, make sure that you are connecting with them. A loving spouse is a great testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Second, connect with your children. Be involved in their lives. Don’t miss ball games if you don’t have to. Visit with their teachers. Help in youth group or Sunday school if they are of that age. Take time to listen.

Third, connect with your co-workers. Don’t set yourself apart. You are wasting time if you don’t engage with the world around you.

We are engaged in a battle. This Memorial Day we honor those who fought for freedom. They engaged the enemy and ensured that we would not be conquered by others. We have people in the military around the world who are representing us. They are not on vacation, they are doing what they have been trained to do.

There is a much greater spiritual battle going on. We are part of an army that God intends to fight evil, fight deception, fight lies, to fight the schemes of the evil one. We do not fight people, but we fight ideas. We do not fight people, but we fight spiritual deception. We do not fight people, but we fight sin. The Bible tells us that behind the ideas, the deception, the sin is the work of Satan in our world.

So what are we to do? We are to do what Paul did. We are to engage people, to connect with them and to do so in a spiritual level.

Let me share with you what I think this looks like. This looks like you walking into your work prepared to love the people there, to look for needs they may have, to be a positive, hard worker who cares about other people. This looks like you inviting people to church, offering to pray for them, quoting the Bible or reading verses to them. It looks like you caring enough to connect with them, both for the benefit of being a friend and the benefit of telling them about your best friend, Jesus.

This looks like you walking in to school and studying hard. This looks like you being respectful to your teachers and fellow classmates. This looks like you standing up for Biblical truth when confronted with the opposite. This looks like you caring about people, praying for them, inviting them to youth group or church, or opening the Bible with them. This looks like you connecting with people for Jesus’ sake and his glory.

Now when you connect, you do well to consider some of the values that motivated Paul to connect. He was effective in three weeks in connecting and leading many to Christ. Why did this happen? Why could he say in 1 Thessalonains 2:1 “You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.”

This morning I only have time to bring you the first answer to this important question, “What would make us effective in leading people to Christ.” If the result of his visit was that the Thessalonians became Christians, the question we must ask is this: What would make us effective in leading people to Christ? The answer is that we need to connect with them, but how?

First, we need to be people who try to please God.

Look at the text in 1 Thessalonians 2:2-6

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.

In this text, we see three groups of people that we can try to please and how Paul fought each temptation.

The first group we can try to please is a hostile world. 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.

The second group we can try to please is our friends. 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… 6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

The third group that we can try to please is ourselves. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness.

We fight the fear of a hostile world by relying on God’s help to speak up. 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.

We fight the desire to please our friends by checking our motives. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

We fight the battle to please ourselves by opening ourselves to God. 4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.

Undergirding this is a firm resolve that we will please God rather than the world, our friends, or even ourselves. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts…

Ask yourselves some questions:

1. Are you God-centered or people centered? Do you show your faith out of respect for God or do you quiet your faith out of respect for other people?

2. In what way are you connecting with people and using your influence to introduce them to the good news that Jesus has for them?