I was impressed with this instead.
So, turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1. In a moment, we'll get to the
second letter to the Thessalonians, but first things first. 1 Thessalonians 1, let's read
verses 1 through 4. It sounds very similar. Paul
and Silvanus and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians,
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace
be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. We give thanks to God always
for you all. making mention of you in our
prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and
labor of love, patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in
the sight of God and our Father, knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. Right away, in Paul's first words,
in his first letter, to this church, he talks about their
election. Why? I have heard many say, if not
most, say that this is mature doctrine. This thing of election
predestination is mature doctrine. It's family doctrine. It's something
that men don't need right away, that you slip it up on them later
on, slip it in on them. Paul sure doesn't slip it in
on them. Right from the beginning, Paul
begins with this, election. Why? Because that's where salvation
began, when God elected a people, when God decided to save a people,
God's eternal, that is, before everything began, electing grace,
choice. And this is certain. It's a blessed,
glorious truth that God, before the world began, elected a people
to save them, chose whom he would to save them. He must. God must elect, or else no dead
sinner would ever be saved. He must do the choosing because
they will not come to him. They will not choose him. He
must call them from the dead because they're dead. They won't
call on him unless he first calls them. He must make them righteous. He must do it because there's
none righteous and they can't make themselves righteous. He
must give life because they're dead. He must give repentance
because they're not going to be sorry for anything. There's a way that seems right
to men, but it's all wrong. And so God must show them that
they're all wrong for them to see what's right. He must give
repentance. He must give faith because Scripture
said it's not of yourselves. It's not theirs. So Paul begins
with this which glorifies God, which is where it all started.
God decided to save a people. He elected whom he would save.
There should be no argument about that because no one would be
saved had not God decided to save some. None deserved it. Do you understand that? None
deserved it. But God, the scripture says,
elected a people which are in number as the sands of the seashore
and stars of the sky. All right, he said, I know you're
elect, verse 4, you can know your election. How? Verse 5. Knowing, brethren, beloved,
your election of God for our gospel. Our gospel, Paul, is
careful to declare. Our gospel, not a gospel, our
gospel, Paul said, as opposed to another gospel, which he mentioned
in Galatians 1. You remember reading that in
Galatians 1? He said, if any come preaching any other gospel
than we have preached, let him be accursed. He said it's another
gospel, which is not the gospel. Do you know the other gospel
that Paul is speaking of? You hear it everywhere. It's
what most people believe, this other gospel. There's a remnant, according
to the election of grace, that believe to be gospel. Our gospel,
Paul calls it. But most all over the world believe
another gospel. Which says, this other gospel
says what God does not say. Adds to God's work. Takes away
from it. The other gospel which says God
loves everybody without exception. Every single person who ever
lived, God loves them. But it may not matter because
he's going to damn some of them. We just sung a song that says
his love is unchanging. Well, the other gospel says God
loves everybody, but he may damn them anyway. Well, the other
gospel says Christ died for everybody, paid for their sins, that Jesus
Christ paid it all, paid for their sins. Christ died for every
single individual that ever lived. He paid for their sins. But now
wait a minute. Some people are in hell. What's
hell? Payment for sins. Well, then
he didn't pay for them, did he? Well, another gospel says, well,
here's the whole point. Man's will, man's will is what
determines whether or not he's saved or not. That's another
gospel. That's not our gospel. Paul says, Isaiah says, Jeremiah
says, Daniel says, our gospel is this, he worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. It's not up to man, it's
God will work and who will let it. It's not of him that willeth
or of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth mercy, electing,
saving mercy. Our gospel, Paul said, it came
to you. I know you're elect. In verse
9, look at it. Verse 9, he says, because you
turn, he said the gospel came and you turn to God from idols
to serve the living and true God. An idol is an image. And the scripture speaks much
of man's imagination. Image. Image, imagination. pictures of Jesus, thoughts of
God, this and that and the other, imagination, images, thoughts
of God. He said in Psalm 50, thoughtest. See, our gospel, the gospel,
doesn't think what it thinks about God because that's what
we think about God. It believes what it believes
about God because what God says about God. You see? Not, well, this is what I think
about God. It's wrong. All right? God said, Thou thoughtest
I was altogether such a one as yourself, a man like you. And
I do think I am not, he said, as the heavens are higher than
the earth. So are my thoughts and my ways. All right? Our gospel came. You turn from
these images or imaginations and thoughts of God All sorts
of thoughts of God. You know, you hear men talk about
God and they just imagine anything. Sky's the limit now about what
men are saying about God. This is the limit as to what's
said about God and how God is. Add anything to how he describes
himself, it's an image, it's an idol. All right, he said,
our God, our gospel came. You turn from idols, images,
to serve the true and living God. That is God who is God.
Now I'm on my favorite subject. I never go tired of exalting
God to be God. Never. And by God's grace and according
to His will, if I'm standing up here forty years from now,
eighty-four years old, I hope a big smile comes on my face
when I say, God is God. Working according to His holy,
sovereign, determinate, immutable will and purpose among the armies
of heaven and the heavens and the earth, none can stay His
hand. I'm so thankful. that God is
God. That's my God. Their God's not
like our God, is His thing. Their gospel. The sovereign Christ. Our gospel says Christ came to
do a job, and John Davis, he got the job done. What did he
come to do? He came to save his people from
their sin. Well, did he do it? That's why
his name is Jesus. That's why he's called the Christ.
He died in the stead of his people. He paid for their sins, every
one of them. He's Christ. God gave him these
elect people. He came, he lived to make them
righteous. He died to pay for their sins
and bless God they're righteous and they have no more sin. And
the Holy Spirit, our gospel says the Holy Spirit, Christ sent
that Holy Spirit to this earth to round up every single one
that Christ died for. Everyone that has the blood on
them. Christ said, round them up and I'm going to save them
all. They're going to hear the gospel.
They're going to repent. They're going to believe the
gospel, our gospel. They're going to come to Christ,
they're going to call on Him, seek Him, and they're going to
be saved. Every one of them, no possibility whatsoever, because
the Holy Spirit never misses His man. That's our gospel. Ain't that
good news? Everything in there is good news,
isn't it? To a helpless sinner it is, to a guilty sinner it
is, to a flesh and blood creature it is. Huh? To those without strength?
That's good news. You tell me any gospel that's
left up to me to do anything, to get myself to heaven, to work
my way, to keep God's law, I'll say, I'll despair. I'll say, that's not good news
to me. Ask Adam. Adam, if you just keep the law,
Adam, you'll make it. Adam said, I tried. And I failed. Ask Paul. Paul said, I thought
I was keeping it. till I heard what the law was
really saying. And he said, and it killed me. But thank God,
Christ came and made me alive. That's our gospel. That's your
gospel. That's the gospel that comes. That's how you know your
election. Our gospel came. That's the voice
of the shepherd. That's the voice of the shepherd
that says, set my prisoners free. Come unto me, all you labor and
heavy laden. That's the voice of the shepherd,
the gospel that says, You tired of religion? Come to me. I'm all the religion you'll ever
need. Tired of trying? I did it all. Come to me. Oh, that's good news. That's the shepherd's voice that
all the sheep, weak sheep come. That's how you know you're elect.
You hear the gospel of God's electing grace. Yeah, you do. You hear it. Now
that's where the gospel is. The gospel, listen to me, the
gospel is where the elect are, and the elect are where the gospel
is. The shepherd's voice is where
the sheep are, and the sheep are where the shepherd's voice
is. You hear that? The elect are where the gospel
is. The gospel is where the elect
are. You can remove the gospel, there's
no elect there. You remove all the leg from the
world, no more gospel. Let me give you an illustration.
I was sitting in my study yesterday, working on this message, and
a yellow jacket flew around my head. A yellow jacket? What's he doing
here? What's a yellow jacket doing
in here? And I remember one of the ladies
left a box of apples. I think it was the lady. Somebody left a box of apples
in my study. And where apples are, Henry,
that's where you're going to find yellow jackets, isn't it?
Huh? There ain't no apples in there. I've never seen a yellow
jacket fly around my head. Apples, bees, bees, apples. Gospel, elect, elect, gospel. Our gospel. Simple illustration
there. Well, Paul writes to the elect
now, and he gives many words throughout this epistle. Now turn over to 2 Thessalonians. It gives many words of comfort
and exhortation and admonition, correction, instruction. He says, I know your elect because
our gospel came. And he fills that epistle full.
Then he writes another epistle, which he writes sometime after
the first. OK? And from the first letter to
the second, this church at Thessalonica, because they heard the gospel
and They began to go through much tribulation, persecution. They heard the gospel, our gospel,
Paul said, and you received it, not as the words of men, but
as it is in truth, the word of God. And they believed that there's
one gospel. And they began to be persecuted
by the world, everybody, just for believing the gospel, Sheriff.
Persecuted for Christ's sake. Persecuted for the truth's sake.
Going through all sorts of trouble for the truth's sake, you see.
And Paul writes this next letter, this second letter, to the believers
who are in trouble because of the gospel. Are you with me? And all believers do go through
this persecution for the gospel's sake. Now, this is what we're
talking about. This is what we're talking about.
Trouble for the truth's sake. persecution for Christ's sake. Not troubles of this life. Everybody
goes through those. Unbelievers, too. All right? Now, the world hates
these folks, these people at this church. The world hates
them and gives them nothing but trouble. They didn't have any
trouble before, Nancy. They were in the world and didn't
have any trouble. Now they're not of the world, and they're
in all sorts of trouble. The world gives them nothing
but trouble because of the gospel. All right, now let's look at
2 Thessalonians 1, read verses 1 through 3 again with Paul,
and it sounds like a recording, doesn't it, Sam? And Silvanus
and Timotheus, under the church of Thessalonians, in God our
Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Same thing. He's
saying the same thing. Got one message. We are bound
to thank God always for you. Don't thank you for doing anything
for God because you didn't. That's why. Thank
God for you, brethren, because it's fit. It's me. It's just
right to thank God. Because your faith groweth exceedingly,
and the charity or love of every one of you all toward each other
aboundeth. Paul thanks God that two things are taking place in
God's people, that their faith groweth and their love abounds,
charity. Faith, this is what faith is,
people. Faith is belief in Jesus Christ. Faith is belief on Jesus Christ. Faith is trusting Jesus Christ,
period, only, completely, for all of your salvation, for your
holiness, for everything, for your sin
payment, everything, for your life. That's what faith is. I can't
put it any more concisely. Faith is looking to Christ only
for your salvation from start to finish, from day one to the
day you die. You hear me? Christ only. It's being persuaded that salvation
is in Christ alone. That God only accepts us, not
because we're good people, but because Christ was good for us.
God's not angry with us. He should be. But He's not because
Christ suffered God's wrath for us. That's your hope, Joe Popper. Sum up faith in one word, can't
you? Christ. Well, how do you hope to get
to heaven? Daily Hodges, if they asked you one word, sum up one
word how you hope to get to heaven. Christ. Wouldn't that sum it
up? Wouldn't that sum up the faith? Now, he says, Your faith groweth.
What does that mean? You're getting better. Oh, no. Oh, no. Paul said when he was
in his fifties, Paul wrote in Romans 7, Oh, wretched man that
I am. When Paul was in his fifties,
he said, I don't seem to be able to do what I want to do. And
what I don't want to do, that's what I'm doing. Who shall deliver
me? Paul said, oh, I thank God. Christ
is the deliverer. Your faith in Christ, that is
your persuasion of your salvation in Christ grows. You hear that,
Deborah? Does that make sense? Your persuasion
that Christ is all growth. Some of you smile. That's good
news. As time goes by now, faith must
grow. If it's a living thing, anything
that lives grows. And if faith grows, it means
your dependence on Christ grows. You look to Christ more and more
and older you get, the more you see it's Christ, it's Christ,
it's Christ. Your assurance of who He is and
why He came and who He did it for. John, you can get in your
40s, your 50s, 60s, if you're one of His, you become persuaded
you know who He is and why He came and who He did it for. saying, and you believe it, that
Christ came to save sinners and we came to save man. And he says
your love abounded. Look at it, verse 3. He says
your charity of every one of you all toward each other abounded. Love is charity here. Real love
grows like faith. If it's real, it grows. If it's
real love, it grows. The older you get, the more you
love somebody. Right? If a husband or wife are
truly in love, the older they get, the longer they stay with
each other, the more they love each other. Right? If it's love, it's got to be
so. Love grows. That's just a fact. Well, he says the love toward
each other grows. The brethren, love of the brethren.
John said, hereby we know we've passed from death unto life.
We love the brethren. And we love them more every day. Right? I was watching old Henry
walk in this morning. Old Henry. He is old. He is old. Getting older. He's
ten, eleven years older than I first saw him. I was reminded
of Nancy this morning, dear white-headed Nancy, in her 60s now. Yesterday we were celebrating
her 50th birthday, and I was 16. And I was looking at old Henry.
I'd walk in, I'd look out, oh, I'm sure glad that, just thankful
for that fellow. That's what John said. We know
we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren.
Folks, it isn't natural. It isn't natural to love the
brethren. It's supernatural. The world loves its own. The
world loves its immediate family. The world loves those that love
them. The world loves people that they can get things out
of. And love abounds because they're
your family now, and your constant companions. The more you're around
somebody, the more you get to know them. Familiarity doesn't
breed contempt, it breeds love. Right? John said this, listen to this.
John said, we know we've passed from death unto life because
we don't hang around with the dead. Did you hear that? We know we
pass from death unto life. What? We don't hang around with
the dead anymore. That make sense? We love the bridegroom. We love
those who love Christ. All right, now Paul says in verse
4, he said, Now we glory, we ourselves. Paul, Silas, Timothy,
we're glorying in you and the churches of God. Paul, wherever
Paul went, he bragged on Thessalonica. It's like another Paul I know.
He brags on Central Anicca. And every other preacher that
comes here that loves you, thank God for you. It's just fit. Your faith grows. You love one
another. Glory in you. There's nothing
in us to glory in. Glory in the grace of God, which
is why we are what we are. And wherever we go in the churches
of God, for your patience and faith, now look at this, for
your patience, that is, you endure, you quietly endure and faith,
believe in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. See that? Verse 5 says, this
is a token, this is a manifest, or that is an obvious, a very
clear token of the righteous, or that is a judgment, or of
the dealings of God. Are you with me? The righteous
dealings of God. This is a clear token or evidence
that you're counted worthy of the kingdom of God. for which
you suffer, for which you suffer, the kingdom of God, the gospel
of God, our gospel, Paul said, that came to you. You believed
it. Now you suffer because of it. And this is a token, a seal,
evidence, because Christ said so. He said, you'll be hated
by all men for my known sake. Especially scribes and Pharisees. Nobody wants to be hated, but Christ said rejoice because
this is a token, this is evidence that our gospel came and that
you're one of God's own. In verse 6 now, he said, now
it's a righteous thing with God now. God's in charge. He said,
don't you repay, I'm going to repay. Vengeance is mine. I'm going to recompense tribulation
to them that trouble you. I'm going to take care of you.
You love your enemy. You pray for them that despitefully use
you. Don't get mad at them because
you were just like them. Don't look down on them because
you were just like them by God's grace. You are what you are. You know what you know. You are
where you are. Don't you dare look down on them. That's self-righteousness. I hate that. Pray for them so forth. If they
despitefully use you, I'll deal with them. I'll deal with them
later on. I may save them. I may not. But I'll deal with them. All
right? All right, verse seven. So he
says to them that trouble you. Now here's the content. And so
to you who are troubled, rest with us. Rest with us. To you that are troubled. Several things that believers
the trouble we go through, but you see how that. He's talking
about persecution for the gospel, saying. That's number one. God's people. They just believe
the truth is you take like we've been dealing with election. And
I don't know why anybody get angry at that. I really don't. Only Henry, a self-righteous
Pharisee, would get angry at that. Somebody who thinks they
deserve to be saved. Right? Only somebody who thinks
that they deserve to be saved will get mad at God's choosing
whom he will. They think, why y'all choose
me? But not a guilty sinner. They
think, I don't deserve to be chosen. And then they hear the
gospel and say, that's who He chooses. And they say, oh, thank
God for election. God's election, grace, thank
God. And He chose me. You a sinner? Yes. The worst. Yeah, He chose
you. Only the self-righteous will
get mad at that. Get mad at Christ doing it all?
Oh, they want to do something. Say, we want to have a hand in
this thing. Only the self-righteous will get mad at imputed righteousness. You come to an old center, you
know, like old Mephibosheth or Mary Magdalene, guilty as charged,
caught red-handed. And because of Christ, God's
going to look at you with absolute favor and consider you to be
as holy as God, absolutely accepted. And no matter from then on, you're
holy before God. Mary said, what did you say?
Would you tell me that again? That's too good to be true. No, it's true because that's
the gospel of God. But now a self-righteous Pharisee
doesn't need that. He just needs a little help. Just needs to be cleared up in
a few gray areas. Well, you believe this gospel,
our gospel, and though the world rejects it, now rest with us.
Rest with us. John, you going to go to M.W. tomorrow? And you talk to somebody about
our gospel, you're going to bring up God's
sovereign, glorious, marvelous, electing grace, and some old
self-righteous fellow who made his decision years ago and is
living a victorious life is going to get mad at you. Rest with
me, John. All right? Rest with me. Rest
in Christ. Don't worry about him. He just
rests, because it's true, John. Our gospel is true, John. Let
him stand before God in a judgment based on his righteousness. Buddy,
we're going to be clothed in leather. It's true, John. Rest that you're clothed. Isn't
that good? That brings a smile to your face.
That's why it's called gospel. Good news. Sin. You know, God's people had trouble
with sin. One of God's people in here is
going to hang their head right now. Sin. Like David in Psalm
38. My sin is over my head. He says, My loins are filled
with a loathsome disease, David said. Paul said it. Oh, wretched man
that I am. Peter said it. Get away from
me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. Troubled with sin. This is a
mark. This is an evidence that you're
one of God's people. The world's not troubled with
sin. David said that in Psalm 73. He said, they're not in any trouble.
He said, he looked at the world, they don't have trouble like
I do. Well, I'm plagued all the day long, he said. The day that God revealed the
truth to me, and I thought, well, my troubles were over. But then
there was the biggest battle I ever had with myself. I never had problems with myself
like I do now. Sin troubles me all. Rest. Rest, son. Christ said, be a
good cheer. I put away your sin. I don't
understand. You don't need to understand. I did it. Rest. Rest. Rest in knowing that this is how the Holy Spirit. This is a mystery to the world
now, because they don't struggle with sin like a believer does.
They don't do it. They don't do it. They are living
the victorious life. Why would Satan want them to
be troubled about their sins? Why make them feel good about
themselves? Convince them that God loves
them, God accepts them because they're good little boys and
girls? Convince them they're keeping the law? Convince them of that. He's got
them right where he wants them. Don't bother them. Don't tempt
them. Don't try them. Don't put any temptations before
them. Leave them alone. Let them walk us straight in
there. Don't ever let liquor touch their lips. Put them in
Sunday school every single day. Never miss a one. Never get sick,
ever. Guide them right where he wants
them. But God's people now, you trust in Christ, you bombard
them with temptations and sin until all they can do is Cry
out, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. He said, I am. I
am. I do every morning. The blood
makes propitious for your sin. And then the self-righteous,
you know, who don't have any trouble with sin, think that
they don't sin, they're going to stand before God someday and
say, hey, here we are. We've never sinned. We've lived
a life for you, Jesus. People say, get out of here. and only those who have clothed
in that righteous robe of Christ. Trouble with sin? Rest with us
in the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the finished, final, effectual, eternal work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Rest with us that the blood does
indeed cover all your sins. rest with me." That's where this
old sinner, surely preacher, you don't sin. Troubled by trials now? Believers
do go through trials. God sends trials. And again,
the world will tell you if you just come to Jesus, accept Jesus,
that all your troubles are over. No, no, no. Whom God loveth,
he chastens. If you be without it, you're
bastards, you see. Trials come. As a matter of fact,
they have more trials after than before. Weaning them from this world.
Weaning them from this world, because this is not where they're
to continue. Taking away the dross. Showing
them that it's all dross, it's all rubbish. Making it all just
stuff to them. Making stuff rust and corrupt
and thieves steal it so that they'll see it's just stuff. Making them cling to Christ. And see, we have here no continuing
city, but we look for another trial. That's where our trials
come. That's where our trials come. Bless God. That's the reason Paul said,
Oh, glory in my infirmity. Why? The hand of God's on me,
showing me that you're not long for here, buddy. You're troubled by world events.
Everybody's troubled by world events. I get troubled by world
events. I told you that's why I quit
subscribing to the Roanoke Times. I used to take them, but I don't
anymore. I don't like to read it. I'll be honest with you,
I get trouble when I read it. It could be an out-and-out liar,
Bert. They print anything they want, don't they? I mean, anything.
Life on Mars. They print it, don't they? Anything
they want to. And I'll be honest, I look at
it and sometimes it troubles me. The rest of it. As old Barney said, ain't nothing
rise or wriggle, but Christ doesn't control it. Rest with us in knowing that
God reigns, that Christ rules. Rest with us, those of you who
believe this gospel, our gospel, and await His imminent return. Now, let's just read verses 7
through 10, and I quit. Do you who are troubled rest
with us when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven? Yes, he
shall. No ifs, ands, buts, or maybes.
He shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God. Capital G. and that obey not, believe not
the gospel, Paul said, our gospel, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord, from the glory of his power. Now, here's a good
description of the saint, right here. Ask yourself if this is
the way you feel about him, right here. He's going to come to be
glorified in the saints and to be admired. And all them that
believe in that day. Isn't that a good description
of the saints? They glorify Him. I mean 100%
glorify Him. Him. Him. and admire him. Don't admire
me. Don't admire you. Don't admire
me. Admire him. All our admiration is deserved
for him. All glory belongs unto him. Isn't
that a good description, John, of the believer? You're nodding
your head, John. Good sign, John. That's a good
token, John. Because he said he is going to
be glorified in you. and you in. You in here, you'll be glorified
someday. Well, that's our gospel. You delight in that gospel? Then
you're elect. Oh, you're elect. The world sure
doesn't All right, Brother Joe.