Last week, we looked at 1 Thessalonians
1. Would you turn back there with
me, please? 1 Thessalonians 1. In verse four, Paul said, brethren,
I was thinking this morning as I reread these verses, what a
precious word that is, brethren. It means much more than just
a male sibling. It means someone near. So in
that sense, you ladies are brethren. These were people of like-minded
faith. These were people that believed
in the same God. They believed in a sovereign
God. They had the same hope of eternal redemption, and that
was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Did you know that that's your
hope of redemption? That God Himself came in the
flesh, lived a perfect life of righteousness for you, died in your place, took your
sin upon Himself and gave you His perfect righteousness. That's
the only hope that any of us have of being saved. We cannot appease the holy justice
of God by our own works of righteousness. And do you know how I know that?
Because the scripture is very clear. There is none righteous,
no not one, The Bible will tell you a lot of things about yourself,
and the Bible will tell you a lot of things about your God. Paul called these believers brethren,
and they were very near and dear to him. He said, brethren beloved.
Boy, that's another precious word, especially when we're beloved
of God. Brethren beloved, the same God
that loved Paul loved these folks as he loves all his elect people. They were called beloved because
God loved them. Does God love chosen sinners
when they believe on him? No, God loves chosen sinners
before they believe on him. Believing on Christ is the result
of God's love too. There are many today that have
that backwards. And they wind up glorying in
their own choice and their own decision and their own love for
God. But you've not chosen me, Christ
said, I've chosen you. We love him, why? Because he
first loved us. That's what the scripture teaches.
That's the truth. Believing on Christ is the result
of God's love to us. And you miss that simple truth
and you miss the whole gospel. Now, this is what Paul is saying
in verse four. He's saying, I know that you're
God's elect. I know that God has chosen you
to salvation. I know that you're highly favored
of God. Paul is saying, I know that God
has given you a saving interest in Jesus Christ. How did Paul
know these things? Well, that little word four in
verse five tells us plenty. That word for simply means because. I know that God has elected you,
saved you because. First, our gospel came unto you. The gospel comes to sinners affectionately,
chosen sinners affectionately, only because of who it is that
sends it. Paul is saying, I know that God
has chosen you because our gospel came unto you not in word only, but also in power. So you see,
God effectually sends his gospel to his people. It comes with
force. Now, I don't want you to get
the impression that God drags men and women to heaven by their
hair. That's not what I'm talking about. But His grace and His
mercy and His gospel are effectual. Effectual. His gospel comes in
great strength. And it has to in order to save
dead sinners. How do I know that the gospel
comes in power? Because Paul continues on and
tells us that it comes in the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost
is the third person of the triune God. And there's no power, friends,
like the power of God. Sadly, we don't hear much of
that power in our day. Men are portraying God as a weak,
pathetic, puny God who's trying to do something, who's wanting
to do something, who is dependent upon man to let him have his
will and his way in their life. Perish the thought. That is not
the God of the Bible. That's not the God of the scripture.
And that is not the God who sits on his throne as we speak. No,
sir. It's the power of God that created
the world. God is sovereign in creation. God said, let there be and there
was. It's the power of God that brings
all things to pass. God is sovereign in providence,
working all things together after the counsel of his own will.
And the reason God can work all things together for good is simply
due to the fact that God works all things. The one who controls all things
can make those things work together however he sees fit. And he who
does all these things, works all these things together for
good is God. And who does these things work
together good for? Well, Paul said, to them that
love God. And don't ever think that your
love for God is what saved you. You love God because you were
chosen and called according to his purpose and power. God purposed
to save you. God purposed to make you love
him. God sent the gospel of his son
to you on purpose. It's no accident that you're
here today. That's why he sent it in power, it could not be
refused. And that's why God's power comes
to his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. God sends the
gospel by his spirit. And because of that, Paul said,
it comes with much assurance. And I've been rejoicing in that
ever since we looked at it last time. I have assurance in my
Savior, great assurance. Those of you who are redeemed
know assuredly that the gospel didn't come to you in word only.
It didn't come to you merely as religious facts. The gospel
came not just to your ears. The gospel didn't just come to
your intellect. To those that are saved, the
gospel came in power, convicting power, converting power. regenerating power, reconciling
power, life-giving power. Paul didn't stop there. In verse
six, he goes on and gives us some reasons why he believes
and knows these people are the elect of God. He said, you became
followers of us and of the Lord. We weren't indifferent when we
heard the gospel. He said, you became a follower.
Sheep follow the shepherd. The shepherd goes before them
and they follow him. I had a friend who once went
to a livestock auction. I've never been to one. May decide
to go to one someday. I don't know why. And he said
that at this livestock auction, they first auctioned off goats.
And they had all these goats in a corral or a fenced area,
and it came time to auction off the goats. And they opened up
the gate, and the goats just stayed right where they were.
They didn't move a muscle. And he walked out there and said,
come on, come on. And they just sat there and looked
at him. They didn't move a muscle. They
had to get behind the goats and drive them out into that auction
area. And then my friend told me later
they auctioned off some sheep. And it was the same deal. They
opened the gate of the corral and the sheep just stayed there.
And they did so until the owner of the sheep walked out of that
gate. And when he did, every one of
those sheep followed him out into that arena. You see, he
was their shepherd. That man was their shepherd and
the sheep followed him. The shepherd goes before the
sheep and they follow him. Are you a sheep following your
great shepherd? Or are you a goat? What do goats
do? They're always butting, aren't
they? But, but, but. Butting heads with the truth.
Now here's another reason. We didn't get this far. I want
us to see this. Here's another reason. Paul knew
their election. Verse seven, he says, you were
examples. You were not only followers of
Christ and his apostles, you were examples of faith and holiness
and courage. Folks saw your faith in Christ. They saw that God had done something
for you. And I know in a sense that when
our Lord lived, they didn't see Christ in Christ. I know that.
And I'm not saying walk around carrying your Bible. And like
there are some in this town that carry a cross behind them. I'm
not talking about that kind of an example. Let folks see your
faith in Christ. Let them see that you're trusting
in Him and in Him alone. Paul saw that God had done something
for these men and women by the way they carried on in life.
You know, I see that in some of you. You trust in Him. Come what may, gonna keep looking
to Christ. I hear folks say things like,
I hope the Lord saves my children. I hope the Lord saves mine. But do your children see that
Christ means everything to you? Or do they see that Christ means
very little to you? I hear folks say things like,
I wish my siblings would go to church with me to hear the gospel.
Do you consistently come and hear the gospel? Trust me, when
I tell you they're watching, More than likely, unless God
make an exception, the gospel won't change, make a change in
a family member if they don't see that God in Christ has made
a change in you. In verse nine, Paul said, I know
your election of God because you turned from idols to serve
the living God. You bowed to the Lordship of
Christ. Jesus Christ is your life. Jesus Christ is your hope. You turn from everything else.
You put in your trust in nothing else and you're worshiping and
serving him alone. That's how we know. That's how we know that your
election, your salvation is real. Have you turned from your idols
to serve the living God? I'm not talking about turning
to religion. I'm talking about turning to
the living and the true God. And in verse 10, Paul said, I
know that God has chosen, called and saved you because you wait
for his son whom he raised from the dead. The child of God, as
long as they live in this life, I'm telling you, the child of
God waits for God's son from heaven. God raised him from the
dead. God set him at his own right
hand in all power and authority. And we can wait and we can rest. And we can have hope and confidence
and assurance because of who Christ is. He's God. He's God
the Son from heaven, and he came to where we were, and he worked
out a perfect righteousness for his people, and because he was
holy and perfectly righteous, God raised him from the dead.
And as our sacrifice and our substitute, God delivered us,
Paul said, from the wrath of God to come. Isn't that a glorious
thought? What I deserved, I'm not gonna
get. You know what that's called?
That's called mercy. That's called grace, isn't it? What a gospel. So again, I want
us to look into God's word and find our hope, comfort, and assurance
in this gospel of Christ. The gospel's the only thing that'll
enable you to have any hope of eternal life. Look at chapter
two here in 1 Thessalonians. Paul writes, for yourselves,
brethren, know our entrance or our coming in unto you, that
it was not in vain. That word vain here means empty. Our coming to you wasn't empty. It wasn't fruitless. Our coming
to you wasn't in vain. The word of God is never preached
in vain when it's preached in truth. It always accomplishes
that which God sends it to accomplish. That's exactly what God said.
He said, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. That word means the same thing,
empty. Doesn't return unto me empty, unaccomplished, but it
shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing
where to I sent it. Isaiah 55, 11. Now, does that
mean that God saves everybody? No, but it does mean that God
saves everybody that he purposes to say. The gospel is preached
and one heart's broken. And the gospel is preached at
the same time and another heart is hardened. But you can be assured
that the preaching of God's word to the God's gospel accomplished
what God sent it to do. Because it came in God's power.
It came in the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit and it came
in much assurance. That's what Paul told us in chapter
one. And you can be confident that his word will prosper in
the thing where to he sent it. God's Word is going to reach
the ear it was meant to reach. God's Word is gonna regenerate.
That word means make alive the dead heart that the Spirit sent
it to regenerate. God's Word is going to convict,
convince, reprove, and save the soul that it was sent to save.
How do I know that? Because God's word is never preached
in vain. Never. God said, I've spoken
it. I'll bring it to pass. I say
a lot of things. I often claim that I'm going
to do a lot of things that I don't do, sadly. I've even claimed
a time or two that I was going to do something that I was not
capable of doing, but not God. He said, I've spoken it, I'll
bring it to pass. He said, I've purposed it and
I will do it. You see, he can and he will. If you know who God really is,
that'll mean something to you. That means something to you.
Christ didn't come to the earth in vain. Christ didn't live a
perfect life of righteousness in vain. Christ didn't go to
the cross and suffer in vain. Christ didn't die just for the
unjust in vain. God shall see the travail of
his soul and be what? Satisfied. My. Christ wasn't buried in a tomb
in vain. He didn't resurrect from the
grave in vain. He didn't ascend on high in vain. Christ isn't seated at the right
hand of God in vain. The pleasure of the Lord is always
prospers in His hand, always. Christ shall never fail and be
discouraged, Isaiah 42.4. The substitution of Christ brings
about the satisfaction of God. That's two great words that we
should never give. Both begin with this, and that's
substitution and satisfaction. God is satisfied with his son. The Holy Spirit's never called
one of God's elect in vain. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate. Is there anything uncertain about
that? What did God predetermine for those he foreknew, for them
to be conformed to the image of his son? If God set his affection
on you, friends, one of these, well, no, that's wrong. I almost
said an error there. You are conformed to his son. This sanctification's not progressive,
is it? Christ might be the firstborn
among many brethren. For whom God did predestinate,
them he also called. Is there anything uncertain about
that? No, it's for sure. The Holy Spirit does not call
a chosen sinner in vain. And whom God called, them he
also justified. Nothing uncertain about that.
Those whom God justified, them he also glorified. I don't serve
a God that wants to do something and that's trying to do something.
I serve a God who does what He pleases, when He pleases, and
how He pleases. Our God's in the heavens. He's
done whatsoever He's pleased. And that's God. That's the God
with whom we have to do. Teresa and I went to Tennessee
Friday and yesterday morning. Larry and Carol also were there
and we heard the gospel of Christ by three gospel preachers. And I was thinking as I heard
these preach that God never ever sends one of his preachers anywhere
to preach in vain. Doesn't do it. Now thanks being
to God, which always causes us to what? Triumph in Christ. and maketh manifest the savor
of His knowledge by us in every place. We don't always know what
God does in His sovereign purpose, but you can be assured that He
does what He wants to. If you're saved, it's because
God purposed to save you. If God sends his word, if God
sends his preacher to declare it, if God sends the messenger
and the message, it'll always accomplish the purpose that God
sent it to accomplish. It'll never be in vain. I love
thinking about that. We don't preach the gospel in
vain. We preach the gospel boldly. Look at verse two, but even after
that we had suffered before and we were shamefully entreated,
as you know, at Philippi, we were what? Bold. Bold in our
God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. Paul said we were bold of our
God, but that's where our boldness comes from. It comes from God.
We were bold in our God to speak, to preach unto you the gospel
of God with much contention. Now, the gospel message was met
with anger. It was met with conflict. It
was met with resentment. Paul says we were shamefully
entreated. He'd been beaten and thrown into
prison, but he boldly continued to preach. Friends, unless God
divinely intervenes and divinely reveals his word in gospel preaching,
the gospel will always be met with much contention because
it strips man of all credit and gives God all the glory. Paul
didn't seek to please men in his preaching, no true gospel
preacher does. Harlings do, but not shepherds.
Look at verse three, he said, for our exhortation, our preaching
was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. And I love this
fourth verse. I read this verse often before
I preach. He says, but as we were allowed
of God to be put in trust with the gospel. Isn't that an amazing
statement? But as we were allowed of God
to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak. Not as pleasing
men, but God. We preach to please God, which
trieth our hearts. Paul said we don't preach the
gospel to deceive. Our motive in preaching better
be the glory of God. Our preaching was not in deceit.
It was not to be fraudulent. That's what the word means. Our
preaching was not with uncleanness. There was nothing impure or immoral
in declaring the gospel to you. Our preaching was not in guile.
There was no craftiness, no hidden things of dishonesty in our preaching. There are none of these things
found in the preaching of God's true shepherds, but all of these
things are found in the exhortation of hirelings. Our gospel is one
of sacred trust. I love what verse four said,
we're allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel. What
an honor, what a privilege, what a responsibility. I'm endeavoring
to preach to you the Gospel. I'm telling you about Christ.
I'm telling you what God says. Are you listening? Are you interested? Does the Gospel of Christ mean
anything to you? You see, you're going to be held
accountable for what you've heard. And you're going to be held accountable
for what you could have heard. And you're gonna be held accountable
for what you wouldn't hear. And these charlatans that we
see and hear on television, promoting their books, their albums, their
videos, their ministry, are doing nothing more now than making
merchandise out of the souls of men and women. They're being
deceitful. They're being unclean and full
of guile. Paul said, we didn't come to
you preaching that way. That wasn't our motivation. Our
motivation wasn't to please men, tickle their ears with enticing
words. We came preaching the gospel
to please God. It was His commandment to us.
It was His commission to us. Now look at verse five. For neither
at any time used we flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak
of covetousness, God as witness, Nor of men sought we glory, neither
of you nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome
as the apostles of Christ." We're not going to preach the gospel
with flattering words in order to conceal a greedy, covetous
nature, motive, and desire. We don't preach as pleasing men.
We better not. There's nothing that pleases
me more, I'm telling you, as a preacher, Nothing that pleases
me more than to see a man or a woman rejoicing in the true
gospel message. To see someone smile when you
declare Christ. To see them just soaking it up
and rejoicing in it. There's nothing more pleasing
to me. But that's not why I preach.
I preach to please God. I preach because God's called
me to do so. I preach the gospel for the glory
of God. I don't preach the gospel as
a cloak of covetousness. Any that use the ministry to
indulge their fleshly ambitions, to gather for themselves great
wealth and to live in luxury, it's an abomination to God. They
betray the trust of those to whom they claim to minister.
False preachers will lie to you and flatter you and speak smooth,
flattering words to men and women. They brag on them and they praise
them. You want to know why? It's used as a cloak to cover
their real reason, which is covetousness. To get support, money, and gain. It's nothing new. It's been going
on since Paul's days. And these false preachers, if
they told men and women the truth, they'd stop supporting them.
God's servants are to live by the gospel. You probably remember,
I won't mention any names, Oral Roberts. Many years ago, said
that God was gonna kill him if he didn't raise several million
dollars. That's not the God of the Bible.
You know how I know that? Because God said if I was hungry,
I wouldn't tell you. Because the world is mine. God
owns this world, friends. He made it. He created it. He
spoke it into existence. It's all His. And everything
in it is His. God's not a pauper. He's not
begging. He doesn't hold preachers hostage. If I was hungry, I wouldn't
tell you. The world is mine in the fullness
thereof. And I'm so thankful that we're
here. We don't have a budget to meet.
We don't have a debt to pay. We don't have a school to promote.
We don't have a worldwide ministry to support. I don't have a jet
to put fuel in. We have one occupation. We have
one vocation. We have one profession, and that's
to preach the gospel of Christ. Why? Because that's the means
that God uses to save sinners. We're interested in seeing sinners
saved. And we must never be sidetracked
from that one thing. We plant, we water, and we trust
God to give the increase. And that's what we're gonna keep
doing. He that woreth doth not entangle himself with the affairs
of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be
a soldier. Now look at verse seven. Paul says, but we were gentle
among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children. So being affectionately
desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not
the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were
dear unto us. Frank Tate, as you know Frank,
Pastor of Hurricane Road Grace Church and I were talking this
weekend. And I think as we were talking, we both realized the
same thing at the same time. I'm sure we both realized it
before. But when God called us to pastor, God calls us to care
for those to whom we preach. That's just the way God does
it. He gives pastors, true pastors, a pastor's heart. I suppose the
two words that every gospel preacher needs to learn is gentle and
affectionate. True preachers must preach the
gospel as gently as a mother nourishes and cherishes her child. And if you've ever seen a real
mother, like I've seen you, like I've seen my own daughter, who
nourishes and cherishes her child, nah, that's a real lesson for
me as a pastor, as a preacher. And what Paul is saying here
is he's saying, I preach the gospel to you because I love
you. I want you to know Christ. I
want you to have life everlasting. And in verse nine, we have the
heart of the whole matter, really. He said, for you remember, brethren,
our labor and travail, for laboring night and day, because we would
not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the
gospel of God. Paul told them that he loved
them. He said, you don't owe me anything. I don't want to
be chargeable to any of you. Paul didn't seek his own ease
and comfort. Many times when Paul was preaching
in a place, he labored by his own hands. He was a tent maker.
He did these things to support himself. He didn't want to be
chargeable to any of them. He didn't have any worldly interest.
His interest was in preaching the gospel. He didn't use the
gospel as a cloak of covetousness. He simply preached the gospel
to them. So let me just tell you briefly,
again, what this gospel is. It's not a plan. The gospel is
a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. Only Jesus
Christ can save. Jesus Christ is salvation. The gospel is not a proposition. If a man's preaching is to endeavor
to get sinners to do something for God, he's not preaching the
gospel. The gospel is a declaration of a work already done by Christ. The gospel is a declaration of
good news. The gospel is the good news of
something that God has done. The gospel says to the guilty,
you're pardoned. That's good news. The gospel
says to the blind, look and live. The gospel says to the lame,
take up your bed and walk. The gospel says to the dead,
come forth. The gospel says to the captive,
you're free. The gospel says to the debtor,
your debt's paid. Paid in full. You don't owe anything. The gospel says to the hungry,
I've prepared a table. Come and eat. The gospel says
to the thirsty, come and drink freely. The gospel says to the
orphan, you're my child. You've been adopted into the
kingdom of his dear son. The gospel says to the lonely,
I'll never leave you. Never. To the insecure, I'll
never forsake you. And friends, as long as God enables
me and gives me strength, As much as in me, I'm ready to preach
the gospel to you. The real question that I must
ask you in closing is this. What do you think of the gospel?
Jesus Christ is the gospel. That was the question that our
Lord asked. What think ye of Christ? May
God enable you to trust in him.