Observable Evidences of True Conversion | Paul Washer | HeartCry

Let's read the first verse. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church, the Thessalonians. In God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace now, Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. Now, you know, Paul, and you know, Timothy is disciple's, Silvanus is another name for Silas, who joined Paul after the temporary separation between Paul and Barnabas. Now. I want to point out something very important here in the life of Paul, because Paul is going to talk about imitating him as he imitates Christ. And so I want you to see something about Paul

that is common in all his letters and should be common in our own lives. And it's this. Paul had the spotlight. He was a leader. He was an apostle. He was one of the great preachers of the first century. And yet you notice something about his life. He's always not just including other people that are around him calling out their name, but also even promoting them, as in the case of Timothy and other workers, he was a person in the limelight and he didn't deny it, but he didn't want the limelight for himself, but was

always bringing in other people. Now, this is not just I'm not just preaching some feel good message. This is a characteristic of Paul and it was a characteristic of Jesus Christ. My question is, is it a characteristic of you? Are you like a black hole walking around, sucking in all the light? It's all about you, the spotlight needs to be upon you or when the spotlight is upon you. Do you use that to bring other people into that spotlight, to promote them, to promote their life, to promote even maybe their ministry, that we ought to

be constantly people who want to see other Christians prevail? And promoted and blessed and used and recognized and that we use what's been given to us for the benefit of them. Now, don't just listen to this and nod your head. Ask yourself if you're this kind of person. Self-centered people are the most miserly type of people, and they can't be generous. It's the most blessed people on the planet are those who use whatever has been given to them. To promote others and we can see this. Now, that's just the truth, let's go on. He's riding

to the Church of the Thessalonians now, this is unusual, he doesn't say this and other letters, he usually says the church that's in Phillipi or the church that's in emphasis, but he calls this the church of the Thessalonians now some very self-righteous, super spiritual Christian today. If I had said something like the church. Of of Radford that are our church, they might say to me, it's not your church, it's Christ Church. Well, Paul knows that it is ultimately the Church of Jesus Christ. But there's something very important in what he's teaching us here. The Church

of the Thessalonians means that they owned the church. And I don't mean that in that they possessed it, that it was theirs and they were lord over the church, but they made it their own. They identified with it, they were a part of it, and they were a part of everyone else in the church, sometimes you and I think of a church as a building. Many times a church is seen as an a ministry or an event or a vision. But actually what's going on is the church is a group of people, individual people who

have been united together. And the church in Thessalonica was so outstanding that they viewed themselves that way. That that you were mine, you were my brother. I am committed to you, you are my sister. What happens to you happens to me. This is my church now. You don't have to be a member of this church. And there are many other good churches in the area. But if you're in this church. It's not that you come to an event or you come to a building, but that you are a part of the people here. They are

yours, you are theirs, you exist in this relationship caring and loving and serving. Now, again, let's just stop. Is church to you just an event you come? Is church to you a preaching or a service or an institution or a building, or is it something much, much more that you look at these people? And you say they're mine, just like I look at my wife and I say she is mine, I'm committed to her, my responsibility, I look at the children, they are mine to lay down my life for them. That's the idea being communicated

here. But is this a reality in your life? You see, so many people are false converts because they they see themselves as going to church, they go to church, but they're not the church, they're not part of the church. They're not intimately related with other people in the church. But we see this here, Don't we, to the church of the Thessalonians, now the church to the Thessalonians. They were an amazing, amazing group of people. And we're going to see that because of what God had done in their life. And what Paul does is sets them

up as an example for other believers and even for us. But how can we be sure? That. The spiritual success of the Thessalonians ought to also be ours, how can we be sure of that? He says something very amazing here. He says to the Church of the Thessalonians, Look down at the scriptures. Look at the Scriptures. To the church of the Thessalonians in God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, everyone, this church and every individual in it. Our church. This little fellowship and every individual that is truly a Christian within our church, we exist

in the sphere of the life and the power of God, the father And the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give you an example. It's a poor example, but it's the best one I can find. When you were baptized, you went into the water and if while you were in that water you happened to open your mouth, what would have happened? The water would have come into you. I want you to see that in a sense, we have been submerged in the sphere of God's life and power. And the life and power of his son, Jesus

Christ, we've been submerged in that, we're united with them in that we dwell in that sphere. In that tank, in that circle. You say, well, brother Paul, why is that not so much a reality in my life? Maybe you ought to open your mouth. Maybe you ought to cry out to God. You say, I've tried that. Or, my dear friend, so many of us see the weaknesses in our life, we open up our mouth, But we do it for just a moment and we don't carry we don't take days or weeks or months. Has God

ever failed in any of his promises? If you say Brother Paul, this is so alien to my life, it may be because you're not a believer, but you can be a believer. And this also at times seem alien to you, his life and power. The idea that you live in the sphere of his life and power, it seems almost alien to you. Open up your mouth, cry out to him, open up your life to him. We're going to see a word here in our text if we get through it and it's decompiled, it means to

receive, but it means more than that to warmly received to welcome open up your life. To him, cry out to him and do it consistently. Persevering until God moves to the church of the Thessalonians in God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to point out a few things to you. Paul is is monotheistic. He is a Jew. He believes in one God and one God alone. And he mentions him here, God, the father. But then look who he puts in a conjunctive relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, why

is this important? You can't do this unless Jesus Christ is God, unless he is God the son, you cannot put him in this kind of grammatical structure. You cannot. And also you can't mention God and call him father. And then the next person in line, you call him Lord. Especially when Lord in the Greek language is curious and when they translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, when they wanted to translate your way or Jehovah, what word that they use kyrios. We could almost read it this way to the church of the Thessalonians in

God, the Father and Yahweh. Jesus Christ. Yahweh, Jesus, the Messiah. Another thing that's important here is that we do dwell in this sphere of God's life and power. But how is that mediated to us? It's mediated to us through the person of Jesus Christ. So where to look to him now, I know many people have told me, they said I am so tired of preachers telling me to look to Jesus. They won't tell me what it means. This is supposed to look just a look at him in the scripture. What does it mean? It means,

first of all, you recognize your need. That you have not wisdom, so you look to his teachings, you look to his teachings, but then you realize that although you may have in your head his teachings, living them out in his power is something that's foreign to you. So you cry out to him as a person. You cry out to him as a person. For the power that he has promised you, my dear friend, his promises have not failed. We fail in persevering. That these promises would be applied to us. Also here, there's something else that

I want you to see in this text to the church of the Thessalonians in God, the father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to understand that the word church well, the word ecclesia, the word church comes from the Greek word ecclesia. And ecclesia was used in many, many different ways in the first century. Every time the Romans got together for anything, a political meeting, a social event or whatever it was called in ecclesia when pagans got together to worship their gods, it was an ecclesia. It was a church. When the Jews got together in

the synagogue, they met in the ecclesia. They were in ecclesia. It meant an assembly or a gathering. Now, we live in a day when it seems like the church wants to define itself in such a general way that it's not offensive to anyone and can basically have something of fellowship with anybody who uses the same term. But that's not what we see in the New Testament, is it? What does he do? First of all, he says the Church of the Thessalonians in God, the father. So he's talking about a specific church, a church that is

monotheistic, a church that's not involved in politics. It doesn't center around politics. It doesn't center around social change using social means. It's not identified with all the other religions out there. No, it is the church of God in God, the father. It is monotheistic, it is centered founded upon Old Testament scripture. But now that puts the church also with the synagogue, doesn't it, because the Jews would say the same thing. Well, then he takes it one step farther in our Lord Jesus Christ. The most distinctive mark of the New Testament church. It's Jesus Christ and

that separates us from absolutely everything else, and that has to be what we proclaim. I go to so many church websites and I'll see these I'll see on the front all these beautiful, young, smiling people. And the whole website is dedicated to showing you they are a loving, affirming congregation. Well, that's good. But that's not enough. It's not scandalous enough, it's not offensive enough, it's not true Christianity. True Christianity always has on the front page. Jesus Christ, crucified and raised from the dead and coming again to judge the living and the dead. That's true Christianity,

and that must be your mom. Is that your mark? Or do you just kind of you and you and your friends and your family and everything else around you, you're just so vague. There's no distinctiveness in you or your proclamation or your confession. When someone looks at you, they don't think Christ alone. Christ is their foundation and their hope, but they must, they should. Now, let's go on, he says, grace to you and peace. Now, many scholars will point out that Grace, it was a common Greek salutation, Greek and Roman, and that piece, of course,

was the way one Jew would greet another Jew. And there is some truth to that. But I don't think we need to push it. What we do know is this Paul takes. Two common things in the everyday life of the Roman Empire. And turns them into something quite extraordinary. And isn't that what the gospel does to everything? When you and I and I hate to say this sin, it's true, we need to be careful, we need to repent of it, but we can often pass one another and say, how's it going? And not even wait

for a reply. How are you doing? Just keep going. Because it's not real, it's cliche, it's superficial, it's just the way people greet people. But Paul takes that and he turns it into a prayer. And what is that prayer? Grace, to you, you say, but if you're a Christian, you have Grace. Well, I would answer with Spurgeon, yes, we have Grace, but would we not desire more? The grace might be multiplied to you, he's turned it into a prayer, and what is that prayer, his desire for God's people? Is that grace be multiplied in? We

can even talk about exponents. Exponentially. Did it just increase? Is that desire of your heart? When you look at someone who's wayward or immature or acting badly or this or that, you have a critical spirit, what are you like or do you say grace to them? Lord, multiply grace. See, this is body life. It's what it means to truly be Christian. You look at someone in all their failure and you don't criticize, but you hit your knees and say, let grace be multiplied. Oh, God. And with that grace pace and every other Christian virtue. You

see that, you see what kind of people these people are, what kind of people- Paul is... A loving... Dying to self. Pointing to others centered in Christ. Hoping, desiring the best for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, praying that Grace would be multiplied to them. Let me ask you a question, how many times is this even mark your life? How many times do you catch yourself saying, Lord, multiply grace to that believer? Grace to you and peace. Now, verse two, we give thanks to God always for all of you making mention of

you and our prayers now fix upon the plural pronoun, we very important here. I know I never get through much when I'm preaching, but every like McLaren said, the dust of this book is gold. There's a lot in this little plural pronoun we. Now, an Apostle Paul wasn't speaking majestically using the majestic plural like a king supposedly would do when he says we make a decree meaning himself. He says, well, what does that mean? Well, he's including Silvanus and Timothy and everyone else that was in his entourage, whoever that might be. He says we give

thanks to God. When do they give Thanks to God, when they're praying? What do we learn from this? That individual praying is supremely important? Being alone with God by ourself is absolutely necessary, but we see here in this Apostolic band. United Prayer. As was already said this morning, where two or three are gathered in his name, he's in their midst to do great things, to pray together. To pray together, but pray believing. Believing. And there's a balance that must be maintained. Some of you pray possibly much individually, but are not much into corporate praying. Some

of you are in the corporate praying, but your individual praying is very sparse. Both these things are absolutely necessary, they're necessary, he says, now we give thanks to God always for all of you. Some scholars have said, I would agree. That you can't find Paul offering up a petition For himself. Or for any one else, without first offering up Thanksgiving to God for that person. I want you you're in Thessalonians chapter one, you've probably if you flip a page, you'll arrive at Colossians chapter 3 verse 16. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you

with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God, thankfulness in your hearts to God, whatever you do in word or deed, to all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Isn't this amazing? Which is two verses. And what do we see? We see this attitude of thankfulness in the life of the apostle Paul. And then he says, we give thanks. God, always for all of you. Now you're going to see that Paul truly believed

these people, these these people in Thessalonica were truly saved. He's also going to explain to you that he felt like God truly used him in the other workers in their salvation. But when Paul gives thanks for the spiritual life in these believers, he doesn't think the believers and he doesn't think himself. He recognizes what all true spiritual life comes from. God and God ultimately is the one who should receive all things. If there is anything God's. And any one. From where does it come got? And to whom should our Thanksgiving be given to God? Ultimately,

now, that doesn't mean you can't walk up to someone and say thank you, I had someone many years ago called me some young men, the young budding theologians who rebuked me because they heard me stand there in a conversation and someone said, thank you, Brother Paul, for your sermon. And they rebuked me because I didn't rebuke them. And then I rebuke them and they rebuke me back, and finally I just went to the hotel. It's not saying that we can't offer thanks to people. Ultimately, we recognize that every Good and perfect gift comes down from

the father and on the ultimately all Thanksgiving ought to be given. Now, also, I want you to look, we give thanks to God always for all of you. Now, Paul is not saying that twenty four hours a day he gave things, but what he is saying is that it was a trait, a habit in his life. His life was filled with Thanksgiving to God because of what God was doing and other believers. That's sparse in me. That's not frequent enough in me. Is that frequent enough in you? Is it habitual that you are giving thanks

to God for what you can see him do and other believers? Oh, my dear friend, how unclear we see now I want you to look at something. He says, we give things to God always for all of you, for all of you in Thessalonica. Now, we should not assume that Thessalonica with some unusual church that didn't have several oddballs. Now, I mean that in an enduring way. Difficult people, immature people, we can't Assume that they were just all these spiritually mature people that came together. No, not at all. They were like us. And yet look

at what Paul is saying, I give thanks for all of you, not just the spiritually mature, not just the pastors, the elders, not just the deacons, not just the evangelists, not just the strong ones, not the ones who are exercising their gifts in contributing to the body. No, I give thanks for all of you. And why is that? You listen to me and you never forget what I'm about to tell you. The most, the tiniest. Weakest, most immature believer that walks on this planet. Is a greater miracle and demonstration of the power of God than

the creation of the universe. Don't you ever forget that you're looking at a marvel. You're looking at a marvel, someone who has been redeemed from his. Someone in whom the spirit of God is dwelling. Don't despise any of these little ones. Give thanks, give thanks. And then pray that Grace be multiplied into them. Now he goes on, he says in verse two, we give thanks now in verse three, he's going to go on and explain to us a little bit more about what that means, why? What's going on? He said constantly, bearing in mind your

work of faith and labor, of love and steadfastness, of hope and our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and father now constantly bearing in mind what these three virtues. Faith. Love and hope now again. I don't want to sound like a motivational speaker, and I want to sound like someone who just wants to give you a touchy feely message, but this is in the Bible. The most godly believer in the world. Has many failures. Which you could constantly remember. And that's what we oftentimes do. We see. The sanctified part. We see error,

we see all these things, and they are constantly at the forefront of our minds so that we can not see what God is doing, and therefore, instead of having a thankful, free, liberated heart, we have a critical heart that's enslaved. Do you see that? We need to have a revolution in the way that we think about things, not that we trust in men or trust in what God is or what men are doing, but we're trusting in this work of God that if he began a good work in them, he will finish it. And there

is a sense in which we need to be positive. Faith. Hope. Not just with regard with regard to ourselves, but with regard to those around us. This is constantly bearing in mind, and he's going to mention three things your work of faith, your labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and the presence of God, our God and father. Now work of faith. The word work there is airgun in the Greek, its common word for work, it just means work. And what is he saying, the work that flows out of your

faith, so we say that there's no disagreement between the apostle Paul and James. Paul says salvation is by faith without works. James says, if you say you have faith without works, your faith is dead and it's useless. Are they contradicting one another? Absolutely not. They're looking at two sides of the same coin. And here Paul joins James on the other side of the coin. What they're simply saying is this, We are not saved by works at all. But if we have believed it means we've been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we've become new creatures, new

creatures with new affections. And those affections drive our will and our will desires, our will, does things, does what good works, what are good works, the activities. That Christ has commanded us to do. Bearing fruit is a work. Bearing fruit with regard to character is a work bearing fruit with regard to devotion is a work. But also and mainly most importantly here... Are ministries to one another. Our ministries to one another. So many times when someone sees themself lacking in ministerial zeal, they'll try to get all hopped up. Like a football player in a locker

room beating his head against the cabinet or something. And then march out into the field to be all full of, you know, from where does the work come, it is inspired, motivated by flows from faith. That we believe that what God says is true about everything, about what he's done for us and Christ, about the fact the world is passing away, about that whatever we do, even given a drink of cold water to a disciple in the name of Christ, will not lose its reward. And therefore, we go out and we work because we know

that our work is not in vain. We know That the smallest thing in the eyes of most men and even spiritual men that we might do, God sees it as a tremendous thing and so should we. So should we. Believing this matters. When you're especially some of you who home school, like my wife and I. Just every day. Does it matter this work? Yes, but you must draw your inspiration not from some results you see or do not say, but you draw your inspiration, faith. I'm doing this because I love Jesus Christ and I want

to be the biggest influence in my children's life for Jesus Christ. It matters. When you're doing the dishes or fixing a tire. For him in his name, for God's people, a work of faith, believing that it truly, truly matters. And how do we know that, because he says it does. So here we have. A work of faith and a labor of love. Now, the word labor here is a little bit different, its capacity and the word means more than labor, it's referring to a labor that is Strenuous, full of anguish, that will fatigue you, that

will bring upon you severe suffering, that requires tremendous endurance. It is toil. It is difficult. It is climbing the hill and climbing the hill with a thousand pound weight on your back. It is difficult. To say the least. But where does this type of effort come from? It comes from love. Why do I continue doing this, Paul says, going into cities, being beaten, everything else that happens, having lost all things, I'm counted as the scum of the earth. Why he says love. Love for God, love for Christ, love for the people of God and the

love here from which this type of strenuous labor flows, it's not Eros, it's not romantic love. So many people start out laboring strenuously for Christ and then they quickly die out Because it's a romanticism. It's not romantic love, it's not philos, it's not the type of love in which that love or the affection is drawn out because you see these splendid qualities in the life of this person and therefore you want to give yourself to them. That is not that kind of love. It is a carpet love. It is Christ's love. It is unconditional love.

It's founded upon a determination of the will. Because I believe God, because God loves me, because God has showered this grace upon me, then I will toil when it is unappreciated, when I'm fought against, when I'm misunderstood, when the people do not respond. I will continue, I will not stop why I love and this kind of love is stronger than death. Water cannot quench it. Work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness, of hope, the word steadfastness, perseverance, endurance, They're all good words, but they just don't go far enough because he's not talking here about

some stoic endurance in which you're just sitting there and without any strength left, just passively enduring whatever comes along. No, this is a heroic and if some scholars have said a brave. Vibrance! Endurance! I will endure. Why? Because I will be victorious, why? Because he was victorious. It's not, as the apostles said. During the life of Christ, well, he's going to Jerusalem, let's go with him and die to. It's no, I will endure because of hope. Because everything he says is true, because he's never failed one time, because I have a hope in heaven. I

love it when I see children and teenagers totally distraught because nothing satisfies them. I love it when every one of their dreams are like fodder in their mouth, when every one of Their big plans and ideas falls apart and they go. This just gives me nothing. I say, praise God. That you might learn at an early age not to put your hope in those stupid things. Put your hope and what's eternal. This goes far beyond the most sanctified dreams of the greatest dreamer hope, I hope. Hope now, where does this hope come from, steadfastness of

hope. In our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord. We can't have confidence if we have someone who loves us unconditionally and we'll never break that vow but doesn't have the strength to bring about anything he's decreed for us. We don't have hope if we have someone who is Lord of the universe, but we're uncertain about his love. But we have both these things in Jesus. Don't weigh. He loves us with an unconditional love, unfailing love, doesn't he? Yes, he does, and he's also Lord of the Universe. That's why we have hope. He's going To bring everything under

his will in subjection to him. That is our hope and that's why we can go on. We can endure. Now. Faith, love and hope, if you've read the New Testament that will support you, realize that his triad of Christian virtue, you see it all over it is triad of Christian virtue. Litefoot says this faith. Rests in the past. Love works in the present. And hope looks forward to the future. Another brother has said this, G.R. Harding Word is his name. Faith. Looks back. To a crucified savior. Love looks up. To a resurrected, glorified crowned savior

and hope looks forward to a coming savior. You're sealed in all around. You are you live in the sphere of hope from beginning to end your life, and Christ began with hope, it will end in hope. And you don't have the power to shatter that. That's a good thing. He says constantly, bearing in mind your work of faith, your labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and father. Now, there's two possibilities here with this clause, you have to really just get into what's going on

in the in the text itself, its distance from certain principal ideas. Some people say that Paul the Apostle, along with his other cohorts, that they were that they were constantly giving thanks, constantly remembering all these things about the Thessalonica. And they were doing it the Thessalonians, and they were doing it in the presence of God. And it was talking more about their devotional life, that they were constantly aware that they were in the presence of God and that when they prayed it was in the presence of God. That's a possibility. And the idea may be

there. But I think the prevalent idea, because of the location of the phrase is this, that this work of faith. Let's not talk about the Thessalonians now, let's talk about you, this work of faith. This labor of love and this steadfastness of hope that you have, you're doing all these things in the presence of God. In the presence of God in Princeton. Literally in front of God. I think about that. Everything you're doing. You're doing every vertue, every labor, every striving, every bit of your toil, you are doing it in front of the throne of

cards. Now, that should be a great encouragement, isn't it? Your husband doesn't see you toil And doesn't appreciate you, your wife doesn't see you toil and doesn't appreciate you, people in the church don't see you toil for them and they don't appreciate you in all these different things. You got to get away from this humanistic mindset. Everything you're doing, you're doing in the presence of God in front of him. Now you say your brother Paul, that also scares me, because if my virtues are in front of him, also, my sins are in front of him.

Yes, but look what it says in the presence of our God and father. Now, that should give you some comfort. Shouldn't. Because father means adoption, adoption means reconciliation, reconciliation points back to the cross. Oh, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Look at what we have here. Nothing in vain. Now, let's go to verse four. He says in verse two, he says, We give thanks to God and he's going to go and tell us something of why he says, knowing brethren beloved by God, his Choice of you. Now, the word knowing here is extremely important.

There's two primary words in Greek. One is going to school and the other is Oida. Now, why is it important? Because he's not saying he uses the word oida here. He's not saying that he knows that these people are truly Christian because he's received some supernatural revelation from God that some angel came down from heaven and told him that he was impressed by the Holy Spirit. That's not what he's saying. He's using the word Oida. And Oida refers to a knowledge based on what is seen, perceived or observed. He's saying, I just like me. And

you do. Are you? And I would do. We wouldn't receive a revelation from heaven regarding whether someone was saved or not, but we look with our eyes, Jesus said, you will know them by what? Their fruit. Process, I've looked at you. And I saw what happened when we preach to you. Now he says, knowing brethren. Now, let's get back to this, people listen to this. This is a Pharisee of Pharisees. This is a Jew of Jews, a Hebrew of Hebrews. Jews call one another brother. They would never call a pagan, a brother, a dog, maybe.

But never a brother, not a fantasy, and yet here we have this amazing conversion of the apostle Paul. And what does it lead to? He's calling them brother. Let me give you an idea of what this would look like in our own day and age several years ago. It's in this church they were given testimonies and this man is 65. Very, very you could tell he was a strong, big man, that he was probably something in his heyday. He looked rough to. And and he stood up and he started crying and give his testimony in

the church, there were several Caucasians, there were several African-Americans, it was kind of divided, probably more Caucasians than African-Americans. But it was a mixed group and he got up and no one really knew him. But he said this, I've got to tell you, I can't Remain silent that Jesus saved me a few years ago. And I want you to know that before he saved me, I was the most racist human being you ever met in your life. But the moment that God saved me, I was so, so ashamed of my racism. But he said that's

not the amazing thing. He goes, I was filled with love. Filled with love and wanted to know every one I could of the African-American persuasion. Just wasn't that he was he felt rebuked for how bad he was, he became a new creature. He became a new creature, and this is what happens with Paul, miracle of miracles, he says, knowing Bretheren beloved by God, beloved, something important here. Perfect, tense, passive voice. Why is that important? Perfect tense. He said his seal of love for you in the past, and if we understand Paul's theology correctly, we will

say not only before you were converted, But before the very foundation of the world, he set his love upon you. But the thing about the perfect tense that's so important is that it was a done deal back there in the past, but continues into the present and on into whatever future there is undiminished and unabated. It was a done deal. His love for you never wavers, it can't grow larger because it's perfect, it can't grow smaller because it's perfect, it is a settled deal. Also, it is passive. It's not that they're loving God, gods loving

them. And that is the source of the power and the joy of our life. Not that we love God, but that God loves us. Now, look what he says, beloved by God, his choice of you here we have the sovereignty of God and it cannot be denied in Paul's teaching in this sovereignty. And this choice goes back before you were born, before the creation of the world and the secret councils of God in eternity past. Now, it is no intention of mine to to expand upon this doctrine. But simply to say this, though, we may

not comprehend it in its fullness. We must accept it in its fullness. We do not understand amputation and its fullness. How one man can die for another, another man can carry another man, since we don't understand that, but if we deny it, we lose our Christianity. But here's the emphasis that I want to give you something that's rarely said whenever the doctrine of sovereignty comes up and it's this and I want to read from a man by the name of Warde. To find oneself. Among the elect now listen, is to discover moral obligation, a life

of strenuous moral effort. One time Conrad Mbewe in Africa was explained to me, says everyone talks about, wow, the blessing of being the first born. You get double blessing, double everything. He says. You Americans don't understand what it means to be a first born. I understand what it means because I am a first born. And it does mean double blessing. It also means double responsibility. I have to take care of everybody in my family, immediate family, extended family, everybody in my family, when you talk about God's choice of you understand this, it's a choice that

leads to strenuous moral obligation. And let me let me just prove this to you. Go to Colossians, chapter 3. Verse 12. So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, there you go. And look what he says, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you. So also, should you, beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity, soon as soon as he finishes talking about sovereignty,

what does he go to? Moral responsibility. For us to live a certain way, because we have been chosen. Heard a story, I don't know how true it is that when Queen Victoria or one of Those Queen Elizabeth or whatever, I think it was Queen Victoria, they tried to keep from her that she would be queen because they didn't want her to become some obnoxious little girl. But then after she was about 12 years old, she discovered she'd be queen and her behavior totally changed before the better, and no one could understand why. Someone asked her

a question and she said, well, I have discovered that I will be queen. So I will begin to act like a queen now. I have discovered. But in the councils of God, I have been chosen. I will act like one who is chosen by the counsels of God, I will act like a different person. If you go, just turn back just a little bit more to Ephesians chapter 1, the passage that everyone goes to, verse 4 of chapter 1, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. OK, you see their

sovereignty of God, but then look what it leads to, that we would be holy and blameless. It brings strenuous moral effort. Responsibility on our part. Now, how does Paul know, how does he really know? That they're elected now, as I've already said, and I think it's very, very important. He knew it by perception, oida, by what he saw. And what did he say, first of all, he's not going to talk about the Thessalonica, so the Thessalonians, he's not going to talk about them. He's going to talk about himself and the preachers who delivered the message

and what happened when they delivered the message. He's basically going to say, I know God chose you, because when we preach to you, something very unusual happened, it doesn't always happen when we preach. Really, that's the context. And what happened, he says, first of all, in verse 5, our gospel did not come to you in word only, he says our gospel. Can you say that? Oh, I'm so pressed for time, I want to get through all these versus bear with me, but can you say that? You can say the gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ,

all these different things, but is it your gospel? Not only is it the gospel that you identify with. But is it the gospel that other people identify your life with? That when people look at you, they think gospel, when believers think of you, they think of gospel, when unbelievers think of you, unbelievers who know you and work with you. You think gospel. If this is your gospel, your life, your story, your message, what you're all about. Paul knew. It was his gospel, the gospel that changed him. For our gospel did not come to you in

word only. Now here's another important point. Oh, there's so many truths here. Another important point. Look what he says, he doesn't say that we came to you. He doesn't put the messenger before the message look very closely for our gospel did not come to you and world only the message. The message is what's important, you know, there are so many people in the church that follow me and they're so impressed with me and. The Whole Christianity is founded upon a man they're impressed with that is deadly, eternally so deadly. No. Why are you saying the

message came to me? The message, what message Christ crucified and raised from the dead. That message came to me. Has it come to you? Has it come to the ones around you that you love, has it come to your children? Know that if it comes it will be more than just icing on the cake. It'll be more than just one little aspect of their life that they throw in there. When they have time, it becomes their life. Becomes it. This is for gospel did not come to you in word only. Now listen to me. The

gospel does come in words. Christianity is a truth, religion. It's about truth. And it is that truth is communicated through language, through words, through propositions. Christianity does not bypass the mind. And if you ever get in with A group of Christians where supposedly everything they do in the name of spirituality bypasses the mind, you need to get out of that group. We are to grow in our knowledge of the things of God, absolutely essential. But when someone is saved. The message comes to them, not in word only. Not in words, but in one, but also

so he doesn't deny that word is important, but he says but also in power. And in the Holy Spirit and what else, and he says and with full conviction. But now here's the twofold thing I want you to see, I want you to look at it from the preacher's perspective and then look at it from the Thessalonians or the recipient's perspective. He is talking primarily about the preachers that when we got up and we proclaim the word to you. We realized when we began to proclaim that something was going on. That what was coming out

of us was more than just words, more than just our words, More than even our repetition of the gospel, that there was power. Now, John Trappe says something. He's later quoted by by Hiebert. In which he says a husbandman will never send his slave into the field with a sickle in order to harvest thorns. And the whole point is, what is Paul saying, he goes. I know that when I preach to you something was happening in me and through me and God doesn't do something like that in order to have no result, something unique is

happening here. A demonstration of power, he was preaching with a clarity, with a boldness that he knew this is not me. One Christian scholar said that Paul was aglow with Christian passion. But it was beyond him, it wasn't Paul, it wasn't the man. But then there was also a demonstration of power in the recipients. In what way, these pagans, idolatrous pagans, what happens to them? They all of a sudden are they see Christ in his beauty, their repentance of their sin, Believing face saving faith is birthed in them. And they have this tremendous assurance that

Jesus Christ is Lord and savior power. Now, he says power. But then he defines that power in the Holy Spirit. There are many powers in this world, many religious powers. There's demonic power, there's emotional power. There's a collective power of a mass of people. He says, no, this is the power of the Holy Spirit. It was more than just an impersonal force. It was a person. Who had come and regenerated their heart and dwelled their heart and now through them was crying out of a father. The Holy Spirit. And then he goes on and he

says also and with full conviction, so on the preacher's side, Paul recognized hold it when we preach to you, something happened to us. A power was flowing through us that was more than just words, it was an unusual work of God and it was the work of the Holy Spirit. Now, some people will take this word power And say it meant Paul was performing miracles. No, if he'd meant that he uses the word dunamis and he used it in the singular, if he wanted to say miracles, he would have used it in the plural. But

he uses it in the singular, he doesn't exclude miracles, but that's not his point. He's talking about when he proclaimed the word there was power. Clarity, boldness, and then he goes on and he says it was the Holy Spirit, and then he goes on and says with full conviction, Paul, was anybody more convicted about the truth of the gospel? I mean, look at his life. But he said, when I preach to you, it was Supre conviction. It was the greatest conviction I've ever known. And he preached to them how in the midst of terrible affliction,

getting beat up all over. And yet he stood his ground one more time with a conviction that even for him was unusual, and then they when they heard the word, they had assurance, this is true. This is true. Now, think about this. So often we almost disdain the gospel by not Understanding the power of it. These were pagans, these were idle worshippers, these had people had no sense of morality, all sorts of things are going on in their life. There is far away from God, possibly, at least some of them, as they could get. And

yet, after a sermon or two, they're literally convinced that a Jesus they never knew who lived in a land far away, died for their sins, rose from the dead and his king of glory. And they have such assurance to believe it that now they lay down their life. They lose everything, everything. And they're considered criminals of the state over a man they never met. That's the power of the Holy Spirit. Whenever you hear this preacher talk about power and the power of the Holy Spirit, don't think I'm talking about all these types of crusades or

they're doing healing ministries. I'm talking about power when the word of God is preached and people's lives are transformed. That's power. He said our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with Full conviction. Now, look what he says, just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. Now. Remember verse for knowing Oida, he knows by what he perceives, but what he sees, what he observes. All right, then go down. To verse verse five, just as you

know, Oida, you saw you perceived and he says, what kind of men we proved to be literally in the Greek, what kind of men we became. Now, that doesn't mean that he developed morally before them, but the kind of men that they became before the eyes of the Thessalonians when they first came in to Thessalonica, they were no different than anyone else. They didn't wear unusual clothes or anything like that. There are peripatetic teachers. It's a traveling teacher. The world was filled with traveling teachers, all sorts of philosophers and Stoics and Epicureans and every sort

of false prophet you could imagine. And now here comes to a few more into the market as though we don't already Have enough crazy people. But then as they watched Paul's life. Silas's life, Timothy's life there, like holding. No, no, no, no, this is different. We've never seen men live like them. How can they know the message is true and has the power to transform if it hasn't transformed us? You're being observed by your children, by your workmates, by so many. Or have you become. A man of nobility before them, not because you've developed morally

before their eyes, but they have observed you and come to the conclusion, yes, this message has power. Look how it has transformed the teacher. Now, let's go on and please, I'm just going to continue. I want to get through this. The burden is too heavy to lay it down. And he said proved to be among you for your sake. You don't just live for your sake. You live for the sake of God's elect, God's people for The last, you live for the sake of your wife, your children, so you live for their sake. Do you

want to be happy? Yes, the scriptures are concerned about happiness, but true happiness, do you want to be happy, take up your cross. Die daily, live for others. For their sake, for their sake, for the sake of others, for the sake of others, what a power is found there. What an amazing power. And then he says in verse six now he's going to talk solely about the response of the Thessalonica. He says. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word and much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Now, listen, you also became imitators of us. Now, the first thing I want you to see is imitator in the Greek is the word from which we get to work word mime. Now, when most of us think of a mime, they don't think of profundity. They don't they don't think of something stable, full of conviction. And so I don't want you to look at this word in the same way you'd look at the word mimic or mime Because a mime, what he is doing is something external, something foreign to himself. He's play-acting. There's nothing inside.

He's doing an outward demonstration of something that's not a reality in his life. He's really not trapped behind glass. Do you say. And so when they begin to mimic to be imitators of Paul and those who traveled with him, it was because of an inward reality that was beginning to manifest itself outwardly. He says you became they didn't start off, but they became and there's a definite idea here, it's not talking about some progressive or continuous action. No, they came to a point where they literally became imitators. They became imitators of Paul and Silas and

Timothy. Now, I want you to see something. Look at your Bible. Do you have a new American standard? Look at verse six. They try their best to get this and they do a good job. But it needs to be pointed out, you became imitators of us. And then it does something kind of strange and of the Lord now look at what it doesn't Say. It doesn't say you became imitators of us and the Lord. It's not what it is, they throw that preposition in, you became imitators of us and of the Lord. Now, why are

they doing that? Paul is drawing as much distance as he possibly can between himself and his fellow co laborers. And Jesus Christ, he's not saying you became imitators of us and the Lord putting him and his fellow co-workers on the same level with Jesus. That's not what he's doing in the Greek text. It's very, very clear he's making a separation. He's saying this when you first started out. And you were babes in the faith, you saw us who preach to you and you became imitators of us, and then what happened then? You went beyond. You

started looking at what, no longer at Paul, no longer Silas, no longer. Timothy started looking at Jesus, the Lord Jesus. Do you see that? Paul's not putting himself in the same category. But he's saying you Went now beyond us, you imitated us, and now you're with us in seeking to imitate Jesus. Now, I want to point out something that may not be obvious here in this text, but but it needs to be addressed. He says you became imitators of arson of the Lord. How did they imitate the Lord? Well, how did even Paul imitate the

Lord? He didn't walk with the Lord three years like the other apostles, it tells us, and I believe this is true and it's something that's missing among especially reform guys. So I want you to listen to me. I believe that preeminently what was preached was the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now that goes without saying. That the transmission of tradition was preeminently the gospel, the gospel, the gospel, but I believe along with that, there was the transmission of the life of the historical Jesus, the man Jesus. And that's something that we're missing today. That's why we

can use the gospel as a byword. It's all about the gospel, it's all about the gospel, but no one is seeking to Imitate Christ. Yes, it begins with the gospel. It flows out of the gospel. But there also needs to be the preaching of how this historical person, the only perfect person, actually lived. So that we can imitate him instead of even among us running around with all kinds of cliches and banners that literally are meaningless. What did he look like morally, what did he act like? What did he tell you? Yes, preeminently the gospel,

but then the imitation of this person. Now I want you to see. So also you became you also became imitators of us and of the Lord. And then it says, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy, the Holy Spirit. Now, this is very important. You would think he would put receiving the word in front of imitation, because that's the logical order, isn't it, even chronologically? Well, you receive the word and you became imitators of us, but he flips it around. He's making it clear to us that all limitation flows out of receiving

the Word, which is the gospel. But he's basically saying, I know you received the gospel because you became imitators. You see, it's completely the opposite of contemporary evangelicalism. I know you're a Christian because you prayed the prayer. I know you're a Christian because you say you believed the gospel pause reversing that. I know you're Christian because you became imitators of us. And he started walking on that way with us to imitate Christ. Just puts an end to superficiality, doesn't it? Now he goes on. Having received the word, the word in this context is the gospel

in much tribulation and with the joy of the Holy Spirit, this word tribulation, the left is. It's not a mild discomfort, it's severe suffering, an affliction, no, Jason, how he was dragged out by the people, remember the riots that happened. If you read the Book of Acts correctly, go to Acts 17, 4 through 8. We see the riot that comes out because the gospel had come into Thessalonica. In the midst of much tribulation, they received the Word they weren't in some evangelistic crusade in a big auditorium where believers and counselors are planted seeded by unbelievers.

And when that invitation is given, the counselors come down, making the unbelievers think that they're coming down for salvation to make it easier for the unbelievers to come down and everyone's coddling them. And No. What is it? In the midst of all hell breaking loose in the midst of persecution, in the midst of people standing there saying family members, friends, government officials saying you do this, you're out. You received this word, you're gone. They said, then I'm gone. Because I believe this is true. But here's the baffling thing. The baffling thing is this. That in

the midst of all this tribulation, they had joy. My friends, listen to me, their property is being taken away. Their families are disowning them, their fathers are tearing at their tunics and throwing dust on their head And saying, my son is dead. The government officials are saying they have become traitors and they all must die. And they're facing this with joy. And Paul makes it clear what. This joy was only possible because of home. The end dwelling Holy Spirit. The spirit dwelling in them making this possible. This is a phenomenal thing that we see here,

the joy of the Holy Spirit. Neil refers to this as the perennial Christian paradox. How can someone. Be like a lamb led to the slaughter and you have to have joy. Now. You're going to see, at least at this moment before we go on, why their testimony had so much power. It was literally baffling, extraordinary, mind boggling, so that the people in Thessalonica who actually witnessed what was going on when they would travel abroad into any other part of the world. So you're not going to believe what's going on. There is this sect called Christians

called The Way, and some of our own people have accepted it. And here's What's amazing. They're being killed. They're being persecuted. They're having their homes taken away. They're counted as the scum of the earth and they're the most joyful people on the planet. How can this be? He goes on, he says. Verse seven. So that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Archaia. Now, I want you to look at something you became an example to pun is the word and what does it mean? I want you to think about this. It

means to leave a mark by striking. And it came to mean an imprint or a seal or if like if you saw a coin where it had the impression of an emperor upon it, it was an example of that emperor. That they became an example of what a real Christian is now. Just go quickly, hold your place and just flip over to first Timothy. Chapter four, verse 12. He tells Timothy, Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in Speech, conduct, faith, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe

example here is the same word to. Be an example, they were example, what were they an example in? Speech, conduct, love, faith, purity. Things such as these faith, hope, love, the Christian triad, do you see what's going on here? They were an example. Now, here's what I want you to see. They started out imitating an example and then they became the example. This is what I want for you. This is what I want for you. They start out imitating. And then you become the thing you're imitating and you become an example that others begin to

imitate. And that's what's going on here, and he says to all the believers in Macedonia and in Archaia! Macedonia was in the northernmost area of what was known as the ancient Greek World, a Kiowas in the southernmost section he sent from north to south, you became an example to everyone. And then he says in verse eight, he says, for the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you. Now, have you noticed anything strange there? Word of the Lord? Where have you heard that before? That's prophetic utterance. That's Old Testament. Hear the word of the

Lord, thus says the Lord. And so what is the Apostle Paul doing? He is putting the Gospel on this same level as the word of the Lord and demonstrating its authority. And that's why we as preachers can preach this message with boldness, because it's not our opinion. We're not philosophers who just sat down and figured out a better way. It's not something that we're willing to adjust because it flows from our own thinking. No, it is the word of the Lord. Therefore, we cannot compromise. We cannot make a truce with any other lesser message. And

that's why the world hates us. He says. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you. It has been translated this way. It rang out like the ringing of bells violently, it sounded forth from you. Another way of interpreting this, it trumpeted forth from you. The Gospel has trumpeted forth from you. And then in another way of saying it, I think it's Litefoot says it thundered out from you. In such a way. That in every place, your faith toward God has gone for us so that we have no need to say anything. Now,

I want you to notice something. In a day of evangelistic militancy. Of Christian programs and zeal and an organizing evangelistic campaigns and missionary endeavors and marches for Jesus and everything know that the church and Thessalonika did none of that. Then how did they change that area of the ancient Greek world from the north to the south because they lived it? Because they imitated Jesus. And because we do not imitate Jesus, then we must fill the empty coffers with all sorts of Fanatical crusades. They liftgate. They lived it. And in the midst of great tribulation. But

also, in every place, your faith toward God has gone forth now look, verse 8, the first phrase, the word of the Lord. And then it says. The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you and then it says in every place, your faith toward God has gone forth, it's two sides of the same coin. The word of the Lord. And their faith. Both those things combined were transforming the world around them. The word being preached and people seeing the faith of these these believers. We're almost closing. Do you see how powerful this is? Do

you think this. Brothers, this is powerful, this is convicting but not convicting him death, not convicting on the sorrow, convicting on joy, because we've looked at the promises, we have the same promises. And then he says, we don't have to Say anything. Paul says, Before I can even begin to talk about you guys, they're already coming to me, other people, and telling me what they've heard about you. It was affecting Paul's ministry, Paul's ministry. Was being promoted by the life of these people. And people are probably saying things like, he must be a man of

God, I mean, after all, look at the effects of his preaching. And it goes on. Again, we're almost finished. Verse 9, for they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, they themselves report the word report here is present tense. It wasn't just this report that happened every once in a while. It was like this ongoing report ongoing. Paul is receiving all these different things about the church in Thessalonika, all the marvelous things that God was doing. Paul says, I'm receiving report after report. It Was something that was nearly continuous about

what kind of reception we had with you, what kind of reception we had with you. Eyeshadows. Now, what is that, what kind of reception, the word reception isotopes, now what why do I say that? Eis. Means in. Enter or in. All those way, our road, he's saying what kind of inroads we had. You see, it wasn't a superficial relationship, they had opened up themselves to the message and to Paul and to the Christian workers, and because of that, they were bearing tremendous amounts of fruit. What kind of reception we had with you? Now, look at

this and how you turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God. Now, the word turned here is used in many cases physically to talk about turn around. It Literally is used to indicate a 180. And what is he saying? He says how you did a 180. You went and walked in the complete opposite direction, you were walking, you turn to God from idols. Now here's what I want you to see. Another thing that chronologically or logically doesn't seem to fit, but it's very powerful. We would think that Paul would speak chronologically

and say they turned from idols. Because that's the first thing that has to happen before you turn to God, you must turn away from idols. But Paul, reverse is it why? This is splendid. This is what Brother Anthony is trying to get through all our thick heads. They weren't Sitting around going, you know, we're real disillusioned with our idols, we got to look for a better way. We're sick of these idols, we just got to find something better and then they turn to God, that's not what happened. What happened was in the preaching of the

gospel, the spirit of God began to move, began to bear witness to the message, begin to reveal Christ and in Christ they saw God. And when they saw God, they said a away with the idols. It was the beauty, the majesty and the power of this Christian God that tore them away from their idols. And basically saying this, that if you have a correct view of God in Christ and the beauty of God in Christ, it tears away the idols. So many people fall into legalism, they supposedly rejected their idols, but don't turn to God.

So basically, they're turning the self-righteousness and created another idol that's not the case here, they saw God and it ripped the idols out of their lives now. When we think of idle it alone, we think of a statue, an image, But the word in in the Greek world and the Roman world at that time could refer to appearance, shadow image, a phantom, a ghost, something that's unreal. And here's what we see, look at this, he said, you turned from Idle's to God, from idols to serve a living and true God. This idea of living and

true God is found throughout all the Old Testament whenever they're putting it in contradiction to idols. He's the living God idols are dead, they can do nothing for you, you say I don't have any idols. Yes, you do. Can be the idol of self, it can be the idol of business success, education could be anything reputation. Those idols are dead. They can't do anything for you. He's the living God, they're dead, they can't help you. How can something you have to carry carry you? And then he says they're false. But he's true. Do you want

to live your entire life in falsehood and here's the other thing that you Should understand from First Corinthians 10 behind those idols and not just statues, but our idols. Is a satanic work. Those who sacrificed Idol sacrificed demons. Those who give their life to the idolatry of wealth or fame or comfort or ease of life or all these different things their own way are in a sense being led around by the prince of the power of the air. They're walking in his course and sacrificing unto him. Don't do that. The living and true God, and

to wait for his son from heaven to wait. Present tense, it was a habitual thing in their life. They were waiting for the sun. Now, this is amazing how the sun is defined. They are waiting for his son, God's son, God's one and only son from heaven, the one that is currently reigning crowned with glory and honor and power and praise. He is also the son who died because we see here that he was raised from the dead. The same God, the same son they're looking for is the one who was the historical Jesus Who

died for them. Is the Jesus who rescues us, the believer from the raft to come rescue presentence is always delivering. Always rescuing, it's the state we live in, a continual state of being rescued and he is continually delivering what a God. How do I got to do this again when one of our friends or children does something we tell them not to do and we must deliver them out? How many times must I tell you? How many times must I deliver you? How many times must I save you from the same thing? Do you want

to be like Jesus? Because Jesus... Always delivering. His death once and for all delivers us. And that works its way throughout all of Christian history, delivering the people of God he rescues us from. The word record is used here out of the wrath of God, the intention of the writers to emphasize completely removes us completely, not a little bit. It's not that we're going to get a little bit wet or a little bit burned. He completely removes us out of the Realm of the wrath of God, the organ. To save the wrath of God, the

verb orgo means to swell. It's not this, this rash violence, quick anger that God is going to pour out on the earth. No, it is, like Hendriksen says, a settled indignation that for countless centuries and men throughout the years of their life, they're storing up the wrath of God, and it is growing heap upon a heap, being held back by God's mercy, offering salvation. But one day it breaks forth upon the world so that even the greatest men will cry out for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and to hide them from the

wrath of the lamb. I so appreciate your patience. Such a long endeavor. But whole brothers look look at what we have here. Could anything be more extreme than what you've heard today? Extreme demands. Extreme promises and the promises, as I've studied this passage this week, far, far outweigh the demands. Look to This, have hope, labor, toil, but do so out of faith and love and hope that your labor is not in vain. Look to your life and ask yourself, is any of this a reality or the reality in the life of my family? If not,

you need to have a long talk with yourself, with a long talk with your family. But it may not be right with you. May not be right with you. Well. The burdens gone. May God use this word to help his people. Let's pray.