Well, I better get with it. I'm
driving to Alabama this afternoon, so. Cindy could be in for a wild
ride. Anyway, good morning. Let's open this morning's service
with hymn number six in our hardback hymnal. Number six. And let's all stand together. Come Thou, Almighty King, Help
us Thy name to sing, Help us to praise. Father, all-glorious,
O'er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of days. Come thou incarnate word, heard
on thy mighty sword, our prayer attend. Come and thy people bless
and give thy word success, spirit of holiness on us descend. Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred
witness bear In this glad hour. Thou who almighty art, Now rule
in every heart, And ne'er from us depart Spirit of power. to the great one in three, eternal
praises be, hence, evermore. His sovereign majesty may we
in glory see, and to eternity love and adore. Please be seated. Good morning. We're going to be in First Thessalonians
chapter three for our Bible study hour this morning. First Thessalonians
chapter three. Does it need to be turned up
a little bit? Whatever I touch is going to
mess it up. I assure you that. Testing. Better. OK, thank you. Let's break together. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
that you put into our hearts the desire for you to come and
manifest your grace and your glory among us. Lord, we confess
to you that we have no ability to come to you unless you come
to us. And so we ask that you would
answer the prayers that we just lifted to you in psalm, and that
you would send your Spirit in power, that you would open the
eyes of our understanding, that you would bless us with faith,
that you would cause us, Lord, to rest all our hope on thy dear
Son. We pray that he would be lifted
up, that as we look to your Word that we would see the living
Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our life, our Savior,
our Redeemer, our surety, our sin-bearer, our substitute. Oh,
Lord, We come to this place with so many distractions from this
world. How we hope that you would enable
us to set our affections on things above where Christ is seated
at thy right hand. For it's in his name we ask it.
Amen. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. I want to begin with the last
verse in this chapter in order to establish the point that I'd
like to try to make this morning in this Bible study. To the end
that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before
God. Now, how are you and I going
to stand in the presence of a holy God and be unblameable, perfect,
no condemnation, no accusation that can be made against us?
How is it going to be? Well, Paul's concern for the
believers back in Thessalonica prompted him to send Timothy
to check on their faith. To check on their faith. Faith
is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the evidence of
things not seen. Resting all your hope on the
unblameable One, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our life before
God, is the only hope that we would stand ourselves unblameable
in his presence. Paul said to be found in him,
not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that
righteousness which is by the faith and faithfulness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So his only concern was, are
you looking to Christ? Are you resting your hope in
the glorious person and in the finished work of the Lord Jesus
Christ? That's the only way. We've got
to be found unblameable. We've got to be found perfect
in the presence of God. If God looks at anything in our
life for that, we're going to fail the test. He's going to
find something to blame us for. I'm talking to a young man Friday
and I asked him, I said, I said, so what do you think God requires
of you? And he said, well, to keep the
commandments. And I said, well, how are you
doing with that? And he said, well, I'm trying, I'm doing my
best, doing my best. Well, your best is not good enough.
If you're going to keep the commandments, you've got to keep every single
one of them perfectly. If we're going to be in the presence
of God, unblameable, it's only going to be through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only one that can stand
in the presence of God without blame, without accusation. He's
the holy, harmless Son of God. Look with me back at the beginning
of this chapter. Wherefore, when we could no longer
forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone and sent
Timotheus, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer,
in the gospel of Christ to establish you and to comfort you concerning
your faith. Concerning your faith. It's not faith plus. If you want to look at this hymn,
number 261. Number 261. We used to sing this
hymn in religion. We don't sing it here for good
reason. But this is the This is the theology
and the philosophy of most folks. When we walk with the Lord in
the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way. While we
do His goodwill, He abides with us still. What is His goodwill? It's to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what His good will is. Look at stanza four. But we never can prove the delights
of His love until all on the altar we lay. For the favor He
shows and the joy He bestows are for them who will trust and
obey. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ
is obeying. It is obeying. Now, are the things
a child of God wants to do in his life? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Does he want to seek to do good
unto all men, especially those who are of the household of faith?
Yes. Does he want to be gracious and merciful and forgiving, even
as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven him? Yes. Yes, he wants
to do those things. Are there things the child of
God wants to forsake in his life? Oh, yes. Yes. You ever heard someone say, well,
I just want my life to honor God? Let me ask you this. What
in your life is honoring God? What do people look at in your
life and say, boy, God's being honored? God's honored when Christ is
lifted up. When Christ is preached, I tell you, my main concern is
to not dishonor the Lord. Lord, keep me. Lead me not into
temptation. Deliver me from evil. That's
my concern. People aren't looking at your
life and honoring God because of what
they see in your life. Trusting Christ, believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ, it will cause you to want to do what's
right, but that's not where your hope is. Look at these verses
here. that no man should be moved by
these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto." We're appointed unto these afflictions.
If you're looking to get along in this world and get along with
this world, the gospel's not going to help you with that. The gospel is going to set you
at odds with the things of this world. Now, some folks would
interpret that. I've actually heard preachers
talk about uh... the sins of society they'll preach
against homosexuality or put an article out there in the community
about some evil in society and then they'll get all sorts of
hate mail and uh... and they'll consider themselves
to be persecuted for righteousness sake uh... that's not that's
not persecution persecution for righteousness sake is when you
are ostracized by the world because of your faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. You are declaring the gospel
of God's sovereign grace as the only hope of salvation. They
hate you for that. Matthew chapter 5, turn with
me there. Being persecuted for righteousness
sake is not being persecuted for a bad personality. It's not
being persecuted for standing up against some immoral practice
of the world. Worldlings are doing what worldlings
do. And if the Lord's taught you
the gospel, you know that your sin's worse than theirs. They're
just doing what comes natural to them. You're sinning against
light. You're sinning against the truth.
You're sinning in the face of one who loves you and died for
you. Now what makes it worse? Look what the Lord said in Matthew
chapter five, blessed, verse 10, blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness sake. for righteousness sake. Now, who is our righteousness? He's not talking about your righteousness.
He's not talking about you holding yourself up as more righteous
than another, and that's all preaching against the sins of
society is. It's religious, self-righteous
people holding themselves up as more righteous than the people
in the world. You're persecuted for that. You're
not being persecuted for righteousness sake because you don't have any
righteousness. Being persecuted for righteousness sake is declaring
the Lord Jesus Christ as the only hope of your righteousness.
The only hope that you have to stand perfect and without blame,
unblameable in the presence of a holy God is that you have an
advocate. You have a sin bearer. You have
a substitute. You've got one who stands in
your stead and presents himself and that you're not looking anywhere
else for any hope of your salvation. That's the problem with progressive
sanctification. Progressive sanctification, you
know, the more you grow in grace, the better you get. And you can't
hold to progressive sanctification without comparing yourself to
yourself. And then you've got your eyes
off of Christ. You're looking to yourself. You're looking to
some, you know, presumed righteousness of your own for the hope of your
perfection before God. Our perfection is in Christ.
Paul's concern for these believers was for their faith. He sent
Timothy because he was afraid that the persecution that had
come against them for righteousness sake, had caused them to forsake
the gospel. That's what he was concerned
about. Paul put it like this in Romans
chapter 8, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed
in us. Whatever, whatever persecution
comes for righteousness sake, it cannot be compared to the
glory that shall be revealed in us. That's how, that's how,
let's go back to our text. That's how Paul ends this chapter.
He says, to the end that he may establish your hearts. This, this thing of faith is
a matter of the heart. I mean, I've already said it.
There's things we don't want to do. There's things we do want
to do. Do what's right. Just do what's
right. But this matter of faith is a
matter of the heart. I want you to be established
in your heart, Paul says. And I want you, in your heart,
to be unblameable before God, even our Father, at the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes,
whether it be in His second coming, when He brings this whole world
to an end, or whether it be when He comes for you, I want you
to be established in your heart that you are unblameable before
God perfect how's that gonna be well let's look verse 3 that
no man should be moved by these afflictions for yourselves know
that we were appointed there unto for verily when we were
with you we told you before that we should suffer tribulation
even as it came to pass and you know You stand for the gospel. You
tell folks what you believe. You'll find yourself, the only
friends you've got in this world are believers. I mean, that's just the way it'll
be. It's the way it'll be. For this cause, When I could
no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some
means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor be in vain."
What is our labor? Your salvation. That's our labor. Our labor is to lift up Christ,
that men would look to Him and be saved. And Paul said, I'm
afraid that after I left that the persecution was too great
for you and that perhaps you were going to be like that seed
that fell on thorny soil. It sprang up. You know, Paul
was only there for a few weeks before the persecution broke
out. And you can't tell within a few weeks if this is really
of the Lord. People can pretend. And the Lord
said it would be that way. When the sower scatters the seed,
some of the seed's going to fall on thorny soil and it's going
to spring up. It's going to show evidence of life. But when the
persecution comes against the gospel, it's going to choke it
out and it'll die and be fruitless. And that's what Paul's concerned
with. Did this seed that we planted fall on good soil? Did it fall
into the hearts of those that God had prepared to hear it? If it did, they're going to bear
up under whatever persecution the Lord sends their way. And now, verse 6, But now when
Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings
of your faith and charity, Now the word there is agape, your
love for Christ, your love for the gospel, your love for the
truth, your love for his word, your love for his church and
his people. We heard about your faith. We heard about the love
that God had put in your heart for Christ and everything that
belongs to him. and that you have good remembrance
of us always, desiring greatly to see us as we also to see you. What a blessing it is to fellowship
with God's people. And we sometimes go long periods
of time without seeing some of our brethren. And then when we
see them, a warm embraces in there we've got we've got brethren
here with us today that uh... we don't get see very often and
uh... what a what a joy it is there's
just uh... because we don't have anywhere
else we'll have it anywhere else i don't have anywhere else these
believers when it came to their relationship with the world knew
nothing but persecution and that persecution drove them to become
more in love with one another, more in love with the One who
brought them the Gospel, more in love with Christ and His Gospel
and His Word. They didn't have that anywhere
else. Verse 7, Therefore, brethren,
we were comforted over you in all our afflictions and distress
by your faith. All the afflictions, all the
distresses, all the problems that we have in this world go
away when God gives faith. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter
4. Look at verse 12. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trials which is to try you as though some
strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice in as much as you
are partakers of Christ's suffering. You're declaring clearly. I don't
ever want anybody to say, well, I wonder what he meant by that.
I don't want you to think. I don't want you to have to say
that. I don't want anybody else. I want to be clear. I want to
be compassionate. I want to be, I want to be concise. I don't want to be confusing.
Um, but you know, here he says, you are partakers of Christ's
suffering. that when his glory shall be
revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. See, the child of God's heart
is watching and waiting for the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And rejoicing in knowing that I'm going to stand, and I do
stand, and I will stand, in the presence of a holy God, unblameable,
perfect, without charge, without condemnation. That's the only thing that gives
us comfort? Go back with me to our text.
Think it not strange, If you're trying to hide what
you believe or, you know, not tell folk, then, you know, there's
going to, you know, maybe get along with some folks. But you
let people know what you believe, they're going to hate you for
it. Verse 8, for now we live if we
stand fast in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
the most important person in the believer's life. He is the
believer's life. Outside of Christ we've got no
life. We're dead men. We're walking dead men. We've
got no hope, we've got no salvation, we've got no reason to believe
that we would have acceptance before God. Christ in you is
your hope of glory. Paul said, that's our concern. We were afraid that when persecution
came that maybe you didn't really believe the gospel and you'd
be tempted to forsake the gospel. But when we heard of your faith,
when we heard of your love, our hearts were emboldened and we
were encouraged in our own distresses. Because the only thing that matters
is whether or not the Lord has saved you. That's what matters. For what thanks, verse 9, for
what thanks can we render to God again for you for all the
joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God? You are our joy. Let me ask you a question. What's your joy? What thrills
your soul? What delights your heart? What
gives you hope? What gives you peace? Is it your
circumstances? Is this the absence of conflict
in your life? Is it getting along with folks
in the world? Is it being prosperous and healthy? That's where most
folks find their joy. That's where most folks find
their happiness. All of a sudden, our joy in whatever distresses,
whatever conflicts, whatever persecutions come, our joy is
in the salvation of our soul. Our faith is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we know that in Him, we are
unblameable before God. There is now therefore no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. Now that means you're not looking
to your flesh or anything you do for the hope of your salvation. The Spirit of God has one purpose
and that's to point you to Christ. It's what he does. When the comforter is expedient
for you, the Lord said, that I go away. For if I go not away,
the comforter will not come. But when he comes, when he comes,
He's going to lead you into all truth. He's going to point you
to Me. That's His... He's going to convict
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because
you believe not on Me. That's going to be your conviction. Of righteousness because I go
to My Father. I have a righteous advocate before
God of judgment because the sins of God's people and Satan and
the grave have all been judged. All been judged. God's judged
it. The gavel has fallen. There's
no recourse. It's settled. It's finished.
And that's what the Holy Spirit does. He convicts us of our sin,
of our righteousness, and of judgment. For what thanks, verse 9, can
we render to God again for you for all the joy wherewith we
joy for your sakes before our God night and day, praying exceedingly
that we may see your face and might perfect that which is lacking
in your faith. You say perfect that which is
lacking in your behavior. And again, I don't want my behavior
to dishonor the gospel. I plead with God every day, Lord
don't let me do something that's going to shame the gospel. Otherwise, gee, you'll just do
what's right. But here's the thing about it, there's folks
who do not believe the gospel who have good behavior. They do. I don't believe for a second
that Mother Teresa was living a double life. I believe she
lived a sacrificial, virtuous life in this world, trusting
in her own righteousness for the hope of her salvation, desperately
attempting to atone for the guilt of her own sin, and died without
Christ. So you can live a life of a monk. The truth is that the outward
appearance of our lives are not really that much different from
the outward appearance of everybody else's life. You don't walk down the street
and somebody says, well there's a child of God, look at them, look at
the way they live. It doesn't happen, does it? So
what's the difference between a believer and an unbeliever?
And the answer to that question is in the question. You believe. You believe the gospel. You've
rested all the hope of your salvation on the Lord Jesus Christ. Plead
with God every day that you don't shame the gospel. Do what's right. But don't look to any of that
for the hope of your salvation. looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. He's the one who entered into
a covenant of grace with God the Father, agreeing to pay the
redemption price for the people that God had chosen in that covenant. He's the one who came and fulfilled
all the demands of God's holy law. He's the one who laid down
his life and shed his precious blood as a ransom price for his
bride. He's the one who sent his spirit
to make you willing. Willing to do what? Willing to
believe. Reckon yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin. There was a time when you were
dead in sin. And because you were dead in
sin, you could not believe. Now you're dead under sin because
you can't not believe. You just can't not believe. You
believe God. You believe the gospel. You can't
help it. You've been made willing to believe
the gospel. So what would be lacking in their
faith? Well, they didn't have copies of the scripture. The
New Testament had not been written. They didn't have what you have.
We have the full counsel of God. Paul was the bearer of that council,
wasn't he? And he wanted to go back and
tell them more about the gospel. To fill up that which was lacking
in their faith. You see, to fill up that which
is lacking in your faith is like filling up a glass of water with
more water. That's it. Filling up what's
lacking in your faith is not giving you something besides
faith. It's just giving you more faith. Lord, increase our faith. Give
me more trust and hope in Christ. That's what Paul said, oh, that
I might know Him. I have not yet apprehended that
which has apprehended me, but this one thing I do, Forgetting
those things which are behind, I'm not going to look to anything
I've done or anything I haven't done as the hope of my salvation,
but press towards the prize, the mark of the high calling.
That's Christ Jesus. To know Him better is to fill
up your faith. Because faith is believing God. Faith is knowing the Lord Jesus
Christ. And He's infinite in His glory,
so there will always be more of Him to know. Not just in this life, but in
the life to come. Now, verse 11. God himself and
our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you. Oh, Paul had such an affectionate
love for these believers, and he was so encouraged with the
report that Timothy had brought back. Yeah, they're still being
persecuted, but they believe the gospel. They miss you, and
they want you to come back. Preach to them some more. Tell
them more about Christ. And the Lord make you to increase
and abound in love, one toward another, and toward all men,
even as we do toward you. Hey, if you love somebody, you're
not going to do evil toward them. You don't have to tell a man
who loves his wife to be faithful to her. Or vice versa? Love casts out fear, doesn't
it? We're not under the law. We're
under the law of grace. We're under the law of love.
We're under the law of Christ, the law of the Spirit. That's
why Paul said, oh, that you might increase in more love for Him. To the end. to the end that He
may establish you. You're not going to establish
yourself. If you're looking to your life
for the assurance, I've talked to people all the time, they
say, well I know we're saved by grace, we're not saved by
the law, but we've got to have works. And what they're doing is they're,
they say they're looking to Jesus for the hope of their salvation
and then they're looking at themselves for the evidence of their salvation. How's that working out for you? You look to yourself for the
evidence of your salvation, you're going to be one of two places.
You're going to be overwhelmed with depression or you're going
to have to become a liar. That's it. You look to yourself
for any evidence of your salvation. The Lord make you, I'm sorry,
to the end that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness. Now, yeah, I know there's religious
organizations that call themselves holiness churches. And they think
that, you know, I've talked to folks that think they don't sin.
You know, I'm living a holy life. Holiness is something we don't
know anything about. Except through faith. You don't
know anything about holiness in your experience. Nothing. So how are you going to stand
unblameable in holiness before a holy God? Only through faith. Look to Christ. even our Father. My concern for you and my concern
for myself is that when the coming of the
Lord Jesus is, for me personally or for this world or for you, that we be found in Him and that all of our All of our
attention is on Him. All of our hope is in Him. Paul said, I know whom. I have
believed and I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which
I've entrusted, committed unto Him against that day. He's able
to establish me in my heart, in my heart. All right, let's
take a break. th th