work. Well my pleased gods to bless
us together this evening as we come to the conclusion of this
second chapter in the second epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians
and we'll read the last four verses, verses 14 to 17. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast
and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether
by word or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and have given
us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort
your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. So the Apostle continues his
letter to the Thessalonians and encourages them and speaks to
them great and glorious truths. And he says, where unto he called
you by our gospel? Well, the great blessing is that
all of God's people are called. There is that natural call. which all those who hear the
gospel preached hear, and then there is that call when the Holy
Spirit applies the word to our souls. Many people hear the first
call, but what a great blessing it is if we've heard that further
call, when our heart has been touched And the apostle, when
he wrote to the church at Rome, he said in the 30th verse of
the 8th chapter, moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he
also called. Remember, predestinate means
that we were elected in eternity past. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. Everyone who is predestinated
will be called in their souls. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. And so it is really a wonderful
truth to understand and to believe and to know that God through
his great mercy and love has called us by the gospel. What a great blessing if you
and I can look back in our lives to see a time when we had not
been called and then a time when we had been called. we can look
back and understand that it was the blessed work of the Holy
Spirit that quickened our soul and made us spiritually alive,
whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Apostle looks right on
to that eternal inheritance, which is reserved for all the
whole Church of God, to the obtaining of the glory, not because of
what we've done, but because of what the Blessed Spirit has
done in our hearts. Yes, what a mercy it is to realise
it is by grace we are saved, through faith, and that not of
ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. Well, we can't boast in our works,
but may we be able to boast that we have received that glorious
call from Almighty God that which was ordained in eternity past
and has come to pass, to realise the Lord has not passed us by
and therefore we have that wonderful prospect, everyone who is called
by the Spirit will enter in to glory. It's a great and glorious
consideration. It's a wonderful blessing. It's
a wonderful prospect. So unworthy to receive. And so he says, because of that,
therefore brethren, and again he uses this word brethren, it's
a lovely term, isn't it? Therefore brethren, those who
are called are joined together in spiritual unity. There is
brethren. Therefore, brethren, stand fast. Yes, there's many times of opposition,
many times of temptation, but the Holy Spirit directs us with
these words, stand fast. And of course, we need the Holy
Spirit to enable us to stand fast. Sure it will cause us to
often pray to our God that we may stand fast and realise that
those who endure unto the end shall be saved. And by that phrase
it's quite clear that there are many things to endure as you
and I pass through time. And therefore what a blessing
it is to be able to stand fast. Stand fast and hold the traditions
which ye have been taught. That means the gospel that you
and I have received and been taught. And what a blessing it
is to have been taught the great and glorious truths of the gospel. And so we are to stand fast and
hold, not to give them up, not to turn away from them, but to
hold the great and glorious Word of God, the wonderful truths
that it contains, the glorious plan of salvation, to realise
the wonderful work of the Lord Jesus Christ in redeeming our
souls. It all forms part of the traditions
which we are being taught. And let us therefore hold them,
They're very precious. They're very real. The devil
will try and remove them from our hearts and minds and direct
us in some other avenue which is of no value by comparison. Well, he says here, hold the
traditions which he had been taught, whether by word or our
epistle, whether by the spoken word that the Apostles were privileged
to preach, or whether the letters that the Apostle wrote, they
both set forth the great truths of the Gospel. And that's why
he says, whether by word or our epistle, doesn't matter which
or both, we are to hold these traditions which we have been
taught. They're encouraging words, aren't
they? And they're strengthening words. And we need to take hold
of them to realize that the relevance of them. And then he comes and
says, now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself himself, none less. Isn't that humbling to think
that Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father. You see, the great blessing is
if you and I are called by the Spirit of God, we do possess
a heavenly Father, one who is in glory, always has been. And to praise God for it, Now
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father, which
hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace. To think, as we should be aware,
the Word of God tells us the Lord has loved us from before
time. loved us and given us this everlasting
consolation of his love toward us. It's not something which
is going to disappear. Once God has called us, we cannot
lose our salvation and therefore to realize it is an everlasting
consolation to realize that this great and glorious God has loved
us with an everlasting love and he's loved us with that everlasting
love which we should really be so so thankful for the Apostle John, when he wrote his
epistles, they were very instructive and very wonderful. In the first
epistle, in the second chapter, towards the end, verses 27 and
28, he speaks about those who are taught, those who are anointed,
and he says, But the anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you. You see, we saw, didn't we, we
saw King Charles anointed in Westminster Abbey but that was
a significant event on that occasion and it should direct the King
and hopefully direct many to the necessity of being anointing
and here we have this statement but the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you it's not something which we lose.
And ye need not let any man teach you, but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and
even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide
in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not
be ashamed before Him at His coming. Those who are in Christ, those
who are called by Christ, what a blessing it is to be looking
for the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. This everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace, all of His people possess a good
hope. It's not a false hope because
it's founded upon what Christ has done and therefore it must
be a good hope and we receive it through his unmerited favour,
through grace. How wonderful it is to think
that Almighty God has called us to reveal these great and
wonderful truths and at last to receive us unto himself. And therefore he says, comfort
your hearts. These truths surely are comforting
to us as we travel through this world with many things to cast
us down. But many of you found looking
unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. That's
a comfort. Comfort your hearts. and establish
you in every good word and work. It's a good thing to be established
in the truth of God, in those things which He's done, and to
follow those things out in our own life, to be found those who
do His will, those who work, who do not laze, do not ignore
the glorious Word of God, but are found in every good word
and work." Well, may God graciously and gloriously bless these lovely
verses to our consideration, our meditation, that his name
may be lifted up and honored and glorified and our souls be
encouraged.