The book to the Thessalonians
was written by Paul, and Paul had already come to Thessalonica
and made, and him and Silas had started some churches. They got
a church together there. They had got a group of people
who God had called out of darkness who loved to hear what Paul was
preaching. And we know what Paul was preaching, don't we? He was
preaching Christ and Him crucified. He's told us that. He's told
us that in other letters. I wish to know nothing of you,
he said to the Corinthians, save Christ and him crucified. So
Paul was preaching the gospel. And there's a group of people
in Thessalonica that love to hear the gospel. But Paul and
Silas, they left. They left after a certain amount
of time. And Timothy had been there, and
he had come to where Paul was, and he was given a report. He
had given a report of what was going on in Thessalonica. The
foundation of this church was laid by Paul, but Timothy had
come back later, establishing and comforting the young converts.
And then he returned to Paul with good news, good news of
their faith and their love. So that's what inspired Paul
in writing this epistle. According to some commentators,
this was about 51 AD, after Christ had died, about 51 years after
Christ had died. So we begin with 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 1. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus,
unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, And
in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is Paul's regular salutation
to the churches that he has established. Even churches that he wrote to
in other conditions where he was correcting them. The Corinthians,
they needed some correction. So when Paul wrote to them, he
still addressed them. He still addressed them. as brothers,
as those that are loved of God, those who, which are in God the
Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he says to them,
because of that, because you're in God the Father, because you're
in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace be unto you and peace. And the
order is correct. The order is absolutely right.
Folks, there's no peace without grace. There's no peace in I
decided to start following Christ at a certain time. There's no
peace that I chose back in such and such time to put, to dedicate
my life to Christ. No, there is only peace in the
grace of God in calling you out of darkness. That's the only
peace that will ever come to anyone in the world. People have
what they call peace, a false peace. Oh, I trust in what I
did. I know family members who trust
that their children are saved because they got baptized. Oh,
I know, they're homosexuals now, but God will call them out of
that because they were baptized when they were kids, and therefore
they're saved. That's the way the world thinks.
They have a false peace in what they do of their own hands. There's
no peace in that. There's no true peace in that.
There's only peace knowing that you are in the grace of God.
that God had been gracious to you. The salutation from Paul
and Silas and Timothy to the church of Bethesda, Ohio is sent
with the usual prayer. He says, grace be to you and
peace from the Father and the Son. That's what he says to all
of the churches. And then in verse two, we read,
we give thanks to God always for you, making mention of you
in our prayers. Do you realize that's exactly
what Pastor Gene did a moment ago? I was in his prayers. He was thinking and praying about
what may be going on with John Reeves. And the Lord just spoke
to his heart and said, call him and just tell him. And so he
did. That blessed my heart to tears. That blessed my heart. My brother
calling me to let me know he's praying for me, making mention
of me in his prayers. The apostle here is giving thanks
for every member of the church. the Jews and the Gentiles, the
rich and the poor, the leaders and the followers. He doesn't
describe or ascribe anything to any one or the other. He doesn't
ascribe anything to the free will of their, to their free
will or to their decision, nor does he ascribe anything to himself
or his companions, those who preach the gospel to him, but
he gives thanks and glory to God alone. What does it say there?
We give thanks to God. I give thanks to God that Pastor
Gene was led to call me a moment ago. And I make mention of him in
my prayers as well. And he assures, Paul assures
these dear brothers and sisters in Christ where they are, that
they are in their prayers and they are for him. Look over,
turn over, hold your place, turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
Paul does it again in the second letter, the second epistle over
in verse 13, we see, but we are bound to give thanks always to
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. Notice the truth that
Paul is including in his prayers here. One more, if you would,
turn over to Samuel, 1 Samuel chapter 12. Over in verse 23,
we read this. Moreover, ask for me, God forbid,
that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. Let me read that again. Moreover,
ask for me, God forbid. We're talking about praying for
each other. You know, I pray for you folks
all the time. Our dear brother and sister up
there in Reading, I pray for them. I pray for Pastor Gene.
I want to be clear about something. I don't know about you folks. You may have a private time,
and I encourage you to put some time apart for prayer. But the
Lord says to pray without ceasing. That means we have conversation
with Him as God, our Father, all the time because He's always
God, our Father. I'm in the shower. I'm praying.
I'm walking around down by the lake yesterday. I'm praying.
I'm walking out here in the yard. I'm praying. I'm walking across
from the building to this building. I'm praying, Lord, be with me. Lord, be with my brother down
there in San Diego. God forbid that I should sin
against the Lord in seething to pray for you. What a statement. Paul is saying here, Very clearly
in our text back in Thessalonians, I am mindful of you in my prayers. Verse three, we read these words,
remembering without ceasing your work of faith. Isn't that what
our prayers are? I mean, we pray for our brothers
and sisters. Lord, you know, be with Roger
as he's going through his procedure with the hospital, when you were
going through that part with the hospital. But moreover, what
moreover? We remember without ceasing your
work and your faith. Lord, be with those who are coming
to the church. Keep them in the faith. Keep
them in the work that you have before them. Strengthen them
in what you have for them to do. Mike and Shirley were talking
about their walk and how they have a lady that has invited
them into their house two or three times. And they were saying,
we need to stop and talk to her. That they might share the gospel.
I'm sure of it. That's what I would want to do.
And my prayer is that God would continue to give you strength
to walk and keep you in that work that he has for you to do.
Paul's saying, he's saying, I constantly remember with Thanksgiving before
God about you. And here's what he's talking
about. He says, he's talking about your work. You're energized and activated,
that energizes and activates your faith. True faith is a working
grace. Faith that does not produce good
works and obedience is not saving faith. And I'll prove that to
you. Turn over to James chapter two. And look with me what it
says in verse 14 through 20. What doth it profit, says, say
it, what doth it profit, my brethren, Though a man say he hath faith
and hath not works, can faith save him? If a brother or a sister
be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto
them, depart in peace, be ye unwarmed, be ye warmed and filled,
notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful
to the body, what doth it profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not
works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, thou hast
faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy
works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest
that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead? Paul remembers them constantly
in their energy and their and their desire and their zeal for
their works. And what do their works show?
That their faith is in Christ. That's not talking about, oh,
I'm saved because I go out and feed the poor. Plain and simple,
folks, it's this. I'm saved by the grace of God
and by His grace alone. That's the good works that God
does in us. He gives us the ability to cease
from our own works and to rest in Him. All that other stuff
will follow. All the other stuff will come
with it. He also constantly remembers and gives thanks to God for them,
for their labors. Their labors that are motivated
by love. Love to Christ and to one another. These labors will
engage a believer in worship. We come together in the labor
of love to come together and worship our Lord, do we not?
We come together to prayer. and to minister cheerfully to
the needs of others, labors and works motivated by anything but
love is not pleasing to God. Then back in our text again in
verse four, we read these words, Paul saying, brethren, knowing
brethren, beloved of your election, what you were chosen to do, what
God called you to do. He first, he says, my brethren,
is this the relationship of those in the family of God? Hold your
place here and look over at Mark chapter 3. He says, my brethren. And he's talking about the relationship
of those in the family of God. And here we see that very clearly
in Mark chapter 3, verse 31. There came then his brethren
and his mother, and standing without, sent unto him, calling
him. And the multitude sat about him,
and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren seek
for thee. And he answered them and said,
Who is my mother or my brethren? And he looked round about on
them that sat about him, and he said, Behold, my mother and
my brethren, speaking of those who are about him. For whosoever,
verse 35, shall do the will of God, the same as my brethren
and my sister, and my mother. Back in our text, these ones
who are beloved of God and beloved of me says, Paul, he says, I
know that God has elected you. He goes, I know that God has
chosen you and foreordained you to eternal life. And that this
election that God has chosen is an election unto salvation.
Paul then gives his reasons why he knows that they have been
chosen to salvation. And that first reason we read
in verse 5, for our gospel, it says, came not unto you in word
only, but also in power. He knows that the gospel that
he preached came not only to you in the word, the word that
he was preaching, but it came to you in power, calling you
out of that darkness that you once walked in. calling you out
of the works that you were living in and calling you into the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's much assurance, it says,
as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
So here we see the manner in which the gospel came to them
and it reveals their election, not merely in the external ministry
of it, but in the internal efficacy of it, the efficiency of it,
the works of it, through the power and the revelation of God's
Holy Spirit. I understand Roger is one of
the elect, the best I can, and the best I can say is because
he shows up to hear God's Word, because he declares that he believes
in the grace of God. This is what Paul is saying to
Thessalonica. I understand that you're an elect
of God because of the power that God has done in you in revealing
himself in you to the people around you. Now, we have no guaranteed
assurance by looking at others. We struggle enough with our own
selves, don't we? But to the best of my ability,
as what God has shown me in your works of love, all of you, I
think I can stand pretty strong in a word that I believe you
know the Lord. I believe that Mike and Shirley know the Lord.
I believe that you folks on the line there. Why? Because you
keep coming back. You need the Lord as much as
I do. You're not trusting in your works of showing up on Sunday
morning. You're not trusting in your works
of feeding the poor, you're trusting in Christ. I see that clearly.
As clearly as I can in my flesh. That's what Paul's saying here
to the Thessalonians. He's saying that I know the manner
in which the gospel came unto you and it reveals your election. Down in verse 6 we read this,
and you became followers of us. See what I mean? and of the Lord. You left your idols behind. You left your good works behind
and began to trust in God's good works and his works alone. Another
evidence of your election is the fact that you received the
gospel and became followers of the Lord. Going on in verse 6,
it says, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Ghost. Folks, God's people have always
been afflicted over believing the truth. The world hates us
for that. I have family members who are,
and I bet you do too, have family members who believe in their
own imaginary gods one way or another, whether through the
religion of Catholicism or Mormonism or maybe even some of Buddhism
or Islamism or whatever. Do they not point their finger
at you and say, you don't know what you're talking about? You're
too harsh. You're too this. You're not a
real, you're not a believer of God. We get persecution is really
what it was. They may not come out and kill
us, but in a way they do. If they could take this religion
away from us, they would. If they could take this God away
from us that we hold so dear to our hearts, they would. They
received the word. And they stood for the gospel
in spite of their afflictions, in spite of their persecutions
that were brought upon them by their faith. True saving faith
clings to Christ and His Word regardless of the consequences
caused by that faith. Over in verse 7 we see a fourth
thing. We see, so that ye were in samples, in samples to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. They became witnesses,
evangelists, missionaries. A person who's been chosen to
salvation and brought into a living, vital union with Christ will
carry a burden for all the people. He will witness to others and
cheerfully support those who preach the gospel. In verse nine,
we see another, we see where it says, for from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, and this goes right along with the
witness part, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every
place your faith to God were to spread abroad so that you
need not speak of anything. Then verse nine, for they themselves
show us, for those who have heard you preach, for those who have
heard you witness, they show us what manner of entering in
we had unto you and how you turn to God from idols to serve the
true and living God. You turn from your idols to love
and serve God who lives and is the true God. We turn from our
eternal idols, the idols of pride, The idols of self-love, the idols
of lust, ambition, and rebellion. And we submit ourselves to his
will and to his providence. We turn from our external idols,
not only of false ideas of God and religious ceremonies, but
from materialism, from families, from other earthly ties. This
world is not my home. I'm just passing through, is
what we sang, didn't it, Roger? We sang that Friday night. The
Lord allowed us to get off after Friday night study and start
talking about that political stuff going on in Texas and the
federal government. Bill and I used to get off on
things like that once in a while. I'd be driving around my truck
and all of a sudden I'd start singing to myself and I would
get two words out of my mouth and Bill would join right in
just like you did, Roger. This world is not my home. I'm
just passing through. And then verse 10, look with
me at verse 10 and we'll bring this to a close. and to wait
for his Son from heaven. This is another reason, the next
reason that Paul gives for declaring why he's remembering them, why
is he remembering without ceasing the work of their faith and the
labor of their love and the patience of hope that they have in the
Lord Jesus and in the sight of God their Father. Why? Because you wait for his Son
from heaven whom he raised from the dead Even Jesus would deliver
us from the wrath to come. You're waiting for his return.
You look forward to and you await the return of our Savior who
died for our sins, who was raised from the dead and is seated at
the right hand of God the Father. He will come again. You believe
this, and you wait for it. His coming. Look over, if you
would, at Acts chapter 1. Let's close with that. Let's
look at Acts chapter 1. Two verses. 10 and 11. And while they looked steadfastly
towards heaven, as He went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven, this same Jesus? which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven. I hope the Lord blessed you with
that short little study there. I pray that you would continue
praying for me as I go about studying to bring you messages.