us. Now once again we'll turn
this evening to the Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians and
the second chapter and this evening we'll comment on verses 9 to
12. So that's the first Epistle of
Paul to the Thessalonians chapter 2 and from verses 9 to 12 and
this is what we read. For ye remember, brethren, our
labour and travail, for labouring night and day, because we would
not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the
gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also,
how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you
that believe. as ye know how we exhorted and
comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his
children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called
you unto his kingdom and glory. Well, these words follow on,
really, from what the Apostle brought before us last Tuesday
about his desire, really, to be there and to preach the Gospel,
to be gentle among them, and to so be affectionately desirous
of you. We were willing to impart it
unto you. not the gospel of God only but
also our own selves because ye were dear unto us so we see how
the Apostle was very concerned to be able to preach them the
gospel and not to be burdensome to them and that's really what
he continues now and says for you remember brethren he wasn't
doing something that they didn't know they weren't aware of and
he just reminds them he says for you remember brethren our
labour and travail, for labouring night and day, because we would
not be chargeable unto any of you." Again we see the desire
of Paul to be able to preach the gospel and not to be charged
with making it a gospel which people had to pay for, but he
was willing and he and those with him laboured night and day
because we would not be chargeable unto any of you and he tells
us then we preached unto you the Gospel of God that again
as I've often said was the Apostles great concern to preach unto
them the Gospel of God the way of salvation we read really that
those few verses in the 20th chapter of Acts because as we
came to the end of that reading he tells us again about himself
and his manner of life and his preaching and he says, serving
the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and
temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews
and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but have
showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house
testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance
toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So that was Paul's testimony
to the people at that time and surely it's a testimony that
he continues to have and he really outlines it in these verses here. His concern therefore to bring,
to preach unto them the gospel of God, the good news of the
kingdom. And surely that should be our
desire to preach it and the people to hear it. Surely that's the
reason why we gather together to worship, to hear this great
and glorious truth, the gospel of God. What a wonderful truth
it is, good news from a far country. And so he goes on to say, and
ye are witnesses yes the people the Thessalonians were witnesses
and he says and God also and again he speaks about himself
and those with him Silvanus and Timotheus and he says how holily
and justly and unblameably We behaved ourselves among you that
believe. Well that's a very great statement
for the Apostle to be able to make. And again, the Apostle
was a gracious man and a humble man. And he only said that really
which was truth. He wasn't boasting. He was just
laying before them the straightforward and honest truth. And therefore
he says, and you are witnesses And God also, how wholly and
justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe. He was, of course, speaking here
to the Church of God at Thessalonica and therefore he was addressing
the believers and he could therefore speak in these words. And then
he says, as ye know, how we exhorted and comforted and charged every
one of you as a father doth his children." Well, we have many
evidences in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles and
the epistles of how it was indeed the Apostles' concern to exhort
the people and to comfort the people. This was his desire,
realizing at the Christian life, the Christian pathway is not
easy we're not promised an easy path we should expect a difficult
path and therefore that's why he exhorted them and desired
to comfort them to encourage them as they journeyed on and
often he directs them to the end of their journey to that
glorious habitation which God had indeed reserved for all his
Church. exhortations for us today and
there are many words of comfort for us today as we're directors
to the Lord Jesus Christ and what he did in his glorious life
and that Sinatonian death on Calvary's cross. All those things
were done so that you and I might be granted the wonderful gift
of eternal life. There's no greater gift that
any of us can have and possess, it's the greatest blessing, the
gift of eternal life. And how wonderful it is if you
and I can look into our hearts and discover there that through
the wonderful favour and mercy of God we are the partakers of
that great and wonderful blessing. And so we are partakers of these
things And he gives us a very simple illustration. As a father
doth his children. We desire, don't we, for our
children the best things. We don't want them to have meagre
things and poor things and bad things. And in a wonderful way,
that's true with our God and true with the Apostle Paul here.
Desires to give and bring to us the best things. And then
he gives us this reason, that ye would walk worthy of God,
who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. The Lord does still today, as
he did in those days, as he always has done, he's called a people. He calls to them, he speaks to
them, he brings them out of the nature of darkness and they observe
the gracious and blessed light which shines in the face of Jesus
Christ. And what a blessing therefore
if we are favoured and have been favoured with this sight, this
calling and to realise that therefore our privilege is to walk worthy
of God. to indeed exalt Him, to speak
well of Him, to never be ashamed of what He is and what He's done
for us. It's a wonderful privilege to
have a God who hasn't cast us out, cast us aside, but has looked
upon us in love and mercy and is dealing with us as His children,
who has called us unto His kingdom glory and so we can look forward
to that inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and
that fadeth not away reserved in heaven or for each one who
are those called well may we each have the evidence in our
hearts that we are amongst those who have been called by our God
and therefore to be encouraged and as we journey on to realise
that every day is a day's march nearer home. We're not walking
away from glory, we're being led to glory, to that glorious
habitation. Well it's a wonderful consideration
and may it be a wonderful encouragement to each one of us so that we
can go on our way tonight, thankful to know and to believe there
is a God in heaven who's gone to prepare a place for us. And
if he's gone to prepare a place for us, he will come again and
receive us unto himself, that where he is there, we shall be
also. Well, may God be pleased to bless
these few words for our encouragement.