Good evening everyone. The name
of the message tonight is called Exhorted and Comforted. We will
see from the text that Paul asked nothing of them to whom he preached. Many of the churches in Macedonia
were very generous in their support of the Apostle Paul, but when
he went to Thessalonica he asked nothing of them. And Paul was
very thankful that the Church at Philippi was very generous
to them because it revealed the fruit of the Spirit in these
brethren. How do we know this? Well, listen
to the words of Paul in the book of Philippians when he wrote
to them. Philippians chapter four, verses 15 to 17. Now you Philippians know also
that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica, ye
sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift,
but I desire fruit that may abound to your account." So we see from
that text there that when Paul was in Thessalonica, they sent
for his necessity. He didn't ask for it, he didn't
seek it, they sent it to him. So with that in mind let's read
our text and we're going to read the context of our text. We'll
go to 1st Thessalonians chapter 2. We'll read verses 1 to 13
again to get our context for the verses that we'll look at
tonight. In verse 1 of chapter 2 it says, for yourselves brethren
know our entrance in unto you that it was not in vain but even
after that we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated,
as you know at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto
you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation
was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. 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 which trieth our hearts. For
neither at any time used we flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak
of covetousness, God is witness. Nor of man sought we glory, neither
of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome
as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you,
even as a nurse cheritheth 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 ye were
dear unto us. 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. Ye are witnesses in God also,
how wholly 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. For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of
God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of
man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectively
worketh also in you that believe. Now, beloved, we read these wonderful
words of Paul knowing that He was writing under inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God. And we see that he was reminding
those saints at Thessalonica of some things that had taken
place during those three weeks they had the gospel preached
unto them. Paul reminded them how he and Silas and Timothy
boldly preached the gospel that God had entrusted them with,
knowing there would be many who opposed the truth. and they still
just preach the gospel. And those faithful ministers
of the Lord Jesus Christ, they did not use flattering words
when they preached truth. No, they did not seek personal
glory from anyone. Their one desire was to glorify
God. as they endeavored to seek the
lost sheep Jesus Christ had redeemed with his own precious blood on
Calvary's cross. Now this is what the sent gospel
preacher does. He preaches the gospel boldly
and he's on the trail of God's sheep. And we preach the gospel
with the hope that God the Holy Spirit will take those words
and regenerate by his almighty power those who are listening
who are dead in trespasses and sins. And we desire, we desire
the Holy Spirit to regenerate them as we clearly and plainly
set forth the truth in God's word before our hearers. That's
what every gospel preacher does. We try to clearly and plainly
set forth the truth in God's holy word. before our hearers,
whether they be the hearers here at the church, or whether they
be hearers as this message goes forth out on the internet. That
is our one goal, our one desire, is to put Christ before you,
plainly, and to put the truths in the scripture before you,
plainly. And we get out of the way, and
we let God do the work, because it's God who saves. It's God
who saves. I can't make myself alive when
I was dead in trespasses and sins. I could not make myself
alive spiritually because I was dead spiritually. I had no ability. Just as whoever hears these words,
who are dead in trespasses and sins, I cannot make you live
spiritually, but oh God, the Holy Spirit can with his regenerating
power, if it be his almighty will. And I ask you this question,
as the preacher of God knows that gospel truths will always
offend the natural man. We do not set out to offend people. No, we proclaim the truth set
forth in scripture. And I ask you this question,
is there any way to tell a sinner that there's nothing good in
him or her without offending them? Well, there's absolutely
no way, is there? Not if you preach the gospel,
not if you preach the true gospel, The preacher gently and lovingly
proclaims the gospel, knowing, knowing that if you tell someone
that they have never done anything good, that's pleasing in the
eyes of God's sight to gain the merit and favor with God, because
that's what the Word of God says. It says without faith, it's impossible
to please Him. Oh, that person, that religious
person, whether they're religious or not, if you tell them that
there's nothing that they can do, earn salvation, nothing that
they can do by praying a prayer or walking an aisle or getting
baptized, that won't save you. When you tell them that salvation
is of the Lord and He saves whom He wills, when He wills, and
that there's absolutely nothing good in us for us to have favor
with God, well, they get fighting mad, don't they? They do. I did
in my natural state. I got upset when people told
me that. But now, oh, praise be to God,
I know. I know there's nothing in me.
I know there's no way that I could ever save myself, but praise
God, I'm trusting in the one who saved every sinner who comes
to Him, every sinner who the Holy Spirit regenerates, every
sinner who's trusting in the work and merits of the Lord Jesus
Christ in Him alone. And beloved, beloved, that's
why people are attracted to a works-based salvation. because they want
to be told that there's something good in them, or something they
can do to earn salvation, something that they can do to earn favor
with God. And that's why the gospel's so
hated, because the gospel tells them, there's nothing in you
that can gain merit and favor with God. But works-based salvation,
that's why people flock to it, beloved, that's why. And most
professing Christians know that the Word of God says, for by
grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it
is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. They
just don't believe it. And those false preachers, those
false preachers who teach them works-based salvation, teach
them that faith is their gift to God. Oh, that their supposed
faith is a gift to God. That everyone who has been given
a free will to either accept Christ or reject him. That's
why people flock to that stuff. That's why. But when you tell
people, when you tell sinners that there's nothing in them
that can gain merit and favor with God, and that God must make
you willing in the day of his power, and that salvation is
a free gift, natural man hates that. Oh, but the people of God,
we love it. We love it, because we've been
showing, haven't we? We've been showing. Now it offended
our pride, didn't it? It offended our pride before
the Lord saved us, when people told us those truths. But now,
oh my, we rejoice that the Lord saved us. We rejoice that He
saved us. I was talking to Brother Neil
today, and he said, it makes you thankful. It makes you thankful
to know that the Lord saved us. It makes you thankful to know
that the Lord's been gracious to us. And it does, for God's
people, makes us very thankful. But I'll tell you what, works-based
salvation, and those who are stuck in that, having that dark
in their eyes, oh, so that they don't see the glory in Christ
alone, when you tell them that salvation has nothing to do with
them, they're only but receivers, and nothing that they do can
gain merit and favor with God, Oh, it offends their pride, beloved.
It offends their pride. And that's why people flock to
those churches, to works-based churches. Because again, they
want to be told that there's something in them. And they're
being told a lie. And if they believe that, when
they die, they're going to perish and go into a Christless eternity,
beloved. When God, the Holy Spirit, convicts
a man or a woman under the preaching of the gospel and has drawn them
to Christ, they will see the truth of the scriptures, which
proclaim, there is none good, no, not one. That proclaim, there
is none righteous before God. And that proclaim, that salvation
is of the Lord. And we know salvation is of the
Lord from beginning to end, don't we, beloved? Because we've been
taught that by the Holy Spirit of God. Now, Paul, Silas, and
Timothy preached the truth of the gospel, which we looked at
in last week's study, and they carefully conducted themselves,
we'll see today, before their hearers, seeking their eternal
good, being very careful not to offend them by their actions
or by their attitudes. But one thing you can be sure
of, beloved of God, these faithful men never, never, never compromised
the gospel of salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ
alone and by Christ alone. They boldly preached by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God that salvation is of the Lord plus
absolutely nothing. And they boldly proclaim that
salvation is entirely of the Lord from start to finish in
and through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's
tree as the great substitute of sinners. before God's law
and justice. He died in the room and place
of his people. Hallelujah. Praise be to God. And these faithful ministers
of Jesus Christ preach the whole counsel of God. They preach that
Christ's blood was shed for the remission of the sins of his
people. Then they preach the glorious
doctrine of the Trinity. Only one God, but three divine
persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
equal in essence, equal in purpose, and all equal in power, beloved. and they preached the truth concerning
the eternal covenant of grace, that God's people were chosen
in Christ by God the Father before the foundation of the world,
that God's people were redeemed by the precious, precious blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the blood of the everlasting
covenant, and that God's people were quickened by the sovereign
life-giving power of God the Holy Spirit under the preaching
of his gospel. When we were dead in trespasses
and sins, He regenerated us, we're born again, beloved, by
the power of God. And Paul and Silas and all of
God's faithful preachers make sure that our preaching does
not even hint at the possibility of any reason for hell-deserving
sinners to boast in the flesh. We have absolutely no confidence
in the flesh and when we preach to people we tell them do not
put any confidence in the flesh in other words do not put any
confidence in what you say do or think as pertaining to salvation
you cannot merit anything before God in our natural state the
only way the only way we are accepted by God is in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ and we are clothed in the righteousness
of Christ, and we are hid in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we
are accepted in the beloved, and the beloved, of course, is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my. So we constantly remind
ourselves and those we preach to the truth is contained in
these two verses of Holy Scripture written by the Apostle Paul in
1 Corinthians 1. verses 30 and 31. Gospel preachers
constantly remind ourselves and we remind those we preach to
the truths contained in these two verses. But of Him, of God,
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, He's
all our wisdom, and righteousness, He's all our righteousness, and
sanctification, He's all our sanctification, and redemption,
He's all our redemption, that according as it is written, he
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. We are to give Christ
all the glory. We are to give our great God,
who Christ is, all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise,
because he alone is worthy of our praise. He alone is worthy
of our praise. Now let's consider verses nine
and 10 of 1 Thessalonians 2. Paul writes again by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God in verses 9 and 10 of 1 Thessalonians
2. For ye remember, brethren, our
labor and travail for laboring night and day, because we would
not be chargeable unto any of you. We preach unto you the gospel
of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also,
how wholly and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you
that believe. Note, beloved God, that Paul
in verse 9 brings to remembrance to the Thessalonian saints that
he labored among them, not looking for any kind of support, and
he travailed to support himself while he was among them, thus
not putting a financial burden upon them or obligate them to
take care of him. Look at verse 9 again, we're
reading. 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." Now they did
not want to be chargeable to any of them. Paul was a tentmaker.
We know that from studying scripture. So he labored to provide. Now,
is this not the opposite of those false TV evangelists? The true
gospel preacher we see here is more concerned about the gospel
going forth than begging for money. We don't preach for money.
No, we're thankful that the Lord provides for us, but we don't
preach for money. No, we preach because God has
put this on our heart. He's called us to do this. And
we're very thankful. for a church that can support
a pastor, yes. But I know preachers that have
had to work. When I was out in Oregon, I worked
full time. This is what you do. You preach
the gospel wherever you're called. You preach and proclaim the gospel.
Again, in verse nine, we see the opposite of these false TV
evangelists that said, send in your money and we're going to
magically grow your money into something else. That's just a
false God they're preaching. All they want is your money.
That's all they want. They want your money. They're
going to lie in their pockets with people who send money to
them. Oh my. Paul reminded these saints that
he and those who were with him were sent from God. They're not
on a missionary trip to see the world or different places. I
hear about some of these missionaries, not necessarily a sent missionary,
but these people who go on these short-term mission trips. They're
more on a sightseeing tour than they are on a supposed mission
trip. Paul wasn't like that. No, no, he was sent from God. He's not on a sightseeing trip. He's not going to see different
parts of the world by saying, well, I'm going on a short term
mission. No, he didn't. He didn't do that. No. Paul was
there and in Silas and Timothy, they were there to do the will
of God because it's God who sent them and he sent them to preach
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And these faithful ministers,
they labored diligently. for three solid weeks, preaching
the pure, unadulterated gospel of God's amazing grace. And they
preached sincerely, and they preached earnestly, desiring
that Jesus Christ would be glorified, and that he would make his gospel
effectual as only he can. And the same can be said today.
of the sent gospel preacher and the sent gospel missionary. We desire that the Lord Jesus
Christ would be glorified. And we are sent to preach the
gospel wherever the Lord Jesus Christ sends us, we are sent
to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the scripture
declares in verse nine here that they labored and travailed. Now the word travail means painfully,
like a woman who experiences birth pains when her baby is
about to come into this world. And Paul expressed that very
analogy in Galatians 4, verse 19, when he wrote these words,
my little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be
formed in you. So we see that God's preachers
do not draw attention to themselves. And Paul was encouraging those
saints to continue in the faith by reminding them of what God's
ministers endured while they were with them for those three
weeks. When Paul was among these dear saints, again, he worked
as a tent maker, which proves that he was not seeking material
gain from them. He did not use the ministry for
a cloak of covetousness. No, not at all. Beloved of God,
sometimes we humans take things for granted. It's one of the
weaknesses of our flesh. And we are all guilty of doing
this. And this is one thing that the current situation has taught
us, isn't it? To not take things for granted,
I can't wait until we can gather together again with the saints.
I can't wait. And never let us forget the labor
of love and the instruments that our Lord uses to provide us with
our spiritual needs each week. And let us never take these things
for granted. Here are some examples of the
labor of love right here at our own church. The brothers who
read the scriptures and pray each week and usher each week
in the church. and all the scheduling that goes
into that. It's all a labor of love, beloved.
Our Sunday school teachers who labor to prepare lessons for
the spiritual good of their hearers and the messages and Bible studies
and lessons that are preached and taught on a regular basis.
It's all a labor of love, beloved. The bulletins that are designed
for our spiritual growth and put together and sent out each
week are a labor of love. We are blessed here with two
very gifted piano players that our Lord has provided, and a
wonderful song leader who puts his heart into what he does. And that's a labor of love, beloved.
We all do it for the furtherance of the gospel. The card ministry,
which is a great blessing to those who receive them. The labor
of love put into each of our fellowship meals at the end of
the month and yearly for our conferences. Also the church
building that is cleaned by our dear sister on a regular basis.
and the labor that goes into keeping the church grounds looking
good. It's all a labor of love, beloved. Then there's the secretarial
work, ordering supplies, mailing out bulletins, sending our CDs
out. Also the work of our treasurer
who faithfully does the banking and the paying of our bills,
keeping our lights on and such. It's all a labor of love, beloved. These are labors of love, which
are done by the saints of the Lord for the furtherance of the
gospel and the glory of God. That is why we are here. We are
here as one. And one of the greatest honors
that God can bestow upon a hell-deserving sinner is to be one of his servants. And that's all the people of
God, isn't it? To be used as an instrument for his glory and
for the good of his people. Never forget, That the church,
we all are important in the body of Christ and he equips the local
body. He equips, we are as people is
it pleases him and he gives us grace and love for him. to labor
for his glory. We don't seek, we don't seek
self-glory doing these things. We seek the glory of the Lord.
And we are here again for the furtherance of the gospel. And
I'll tell you, brothers and sisters, that gospel is going out and
going forth all over the world. And it's wonderful. It's wonderful. We don't know what the Lord's
doing with it, but praise be to God, we know his word will
not return unto him void. Not at all. So glory be to God. Glory be to God. And Paul here
in our text, In verse nine is gently reminding the Thessalonians
how he and Silas and Timothy were among them, and they came
and preached the gospel of salvation in Christ alone to them. And
beloved, it is our providential God who is the one who provides
these things through his appointed instruments. And let us rejoice
in the Lord for his wondrous grace, and let us rejoice in
the Lord for one another. Now in our text, Paul said that
he and the other ministers who were sent to Thessalonica preached
the gospel of God unto them, laboring night and day, and they
would not be chargeable unto any of them. That's why they
labored. When they weren't preaching, they were working, so that they
would not be chargeable to any of them. Now let's look at verses
10 to 12 of 1 Thessalonians 2. Scripture declares, Ye are witnesses
in God also how wholly, 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 in glory. Paul brings to the saints remembrance
that they were witnesses of how he, and Silas, and Timothy, came
to them with the gospel and preached it unto them. We see that in
verses 10 and 11. Ye are witnesses, and God also,
how wholly 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. Now the saints
of God at Thessalonica were witnesses of how wholly and justly and
unblameably, again, Paul, Silas, and Timothy behaved among them. Now Paul here is not drawing
attention to himself in a self-glorifying way, not at all. That is not
who Paul is. He says, I have no confidence
in the flesh, none at all. He's not tooting his own horn
here. He came to them with one agenda,
beloved. And this is the same agenda every
gospel preacher has. And we know the one agenda that
he came with because it's written. He has written it by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God in the letter to the Corinthians
when he said he came to preach Christ and him crucified. He
came, beloved, to hold up Christ. in the preaching of the gospel.
And the adjectives used here address how he preached the gospel
to them wholly and justly and unblameably. He purely desired
to preach Christ to them, to preach the one savior of sinners,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see in verse 11 that he
desired also to exhort and comfort them in Christ through the preaching
of the gospel. Look at verse 11. As you know
how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you
as a father doth his children. We see that Paul's manner among
the Thessalonian believers was that of gospel exhortation and
comfort, just as a father would comfort his own children. We
know the source of this exhortation and comfort is the gospel of
salvation in and through Christ alone, the preaching of the free
and sovereign grace of God in Christ. That is the one thing
needful for us, isn't it? To hear, to hear how we desperately
need Christ. And that is how we are comforted.
And it's the word of God that exhorts us. And it's the word
of God preached that comforts us, telling us, telling us of
the great captain of the Lord's host who laid aside his glory
and came to this world. came to this world, God incarnate
in the flesh, and how He lived that perfect life in our room
and place, obeying the law of God perfectly in our place, and
how He set His face like a flint to Jerusalem, knowing, knowing
that He must die in the room and place of His people, and
how He was falsely accused And how they cried, crucify Him,
crucify Him. And He was silent as a lamb to
the slaughter. And how they took Him, and oh,
they nailed our great God, our great Savior, God incarnate in
the flesh. They pierced His hands and His
feet, nailing Him to that cross. And the shedding of His precious,
precious blood has redeemed His people, purchased His people,
purchased their eternal souls and he having obtained eternal
salvation for us now he is risen and he is risen from the grave
and God is satisfied hallelujah with the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ in the room and place of sinners it doesn't get
any better than that does it beloved and that right now it
does and that right now he is seated at the right hand of the
father ruling and reigning in glory, interceding for His people,
ever watchful over every single one of His sheep. Now that don't
get any better, does it? Nothing gets any better than
that. Nothing at all. That's wonderful news for sinners.
The question is, are you a sinner? Oh, I pray, I hope and pray that
God would show you that you're a sinner in desperate, desperate
need of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if he does, if he has mercy
upon you, then you will be exhorted and comforted when you hear the
word of God preached and proclaimed. My oh my. So we know the source
of this exhortation and comfort that's proclaimed in verse 11,
It is the gospel of salvation in and through Christ alone.
I ask you, who are the beloved of God, are you not comforted
and motivated to serve Christ just by hearing about what Christ
has done for you and the finished work of salvation by Him? When we who are the people of
God, when we hear the wondrous truth of salvation in Christ
alone, based upon His merit and based upon His work alone, All
we desire to serve our great King, don't we? No rule, no regulation,
no law, no reward, and no threat of judgment can produce the result
of unfeigned love for Christ that is produced in the heart
of the saint when they hear the gospel again and again and again. And marvel, beloved, marvel,
beloved of God, how that love is only increased with the constant
hearing of the gospel of God's grace in Christ alone. And just
like Brother Neil said, it makes you thankful. It makes you thankful
again and again and again. When you hear this, this blessed
truth and marvel at the work of God in you, he's given you
years to hear and to love that gospel. He's given you a heart
to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Marvel at the work of God Almighty
in you. You're born again of the Holy
Spirit of God. You've been given faith to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and now you flee to Christ. And each time we hear
the gospel, it's a constant reminder of our desperate, desperate need
for Christ, and oh, how it makes the saint of God so very thankful
that he saved our eternal souls. Now, Paul exhorted his hearers
to flee from the wrath to come. to seek refuge in Christ alone,
to look to Christ alone by God-given faith as the only Savior of lost
sinners. And he exhorts them to cleave
to Christ and to walk in Him as they had received Him, rejoicing
in the truths contained in the gospel. And then he comforts
them. He comforts God's born-again blood-washed saints. How? By
the preaching of the gospel. which is exactly what God's preachers
are commanded to do in the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verses
one and two. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
that's Zion, that's Israel of God, and cry unto her, listen
to this, marvelous, Isaiah 40, verse two, and cry unto her that
her warfare is accomplished, Christ did it all, beloved, that
her iniquity is parted, oh, all The believer's sins are washed
in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, pardoned. And the scripture goes on, for
she had received in the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
What a savior, what a great God is Jesus Christ, our Lord. And oh, how the saint of God
is comforted and exhorted when they hear the gospel preached
and proclaimed. When they hear of the soul comforting
doctrines a free justification by the righteousness of Christ
alone. When they hear of a full pardon
by Christ's precious, precious blood, and when they hear that
God is fully satisfied by the perfect, sin-atoning sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the room and place of His people,
oh, when God's people hear this, they are absolutely comforted.
They're comforted deep, deep in their souls. this would comfort
the saints of God in Thessalonica under all their afflictions and
persecutions for the sake of Christ. And oh, how this will
comfort God's people even today under afflictions and persecutions
and trials and tribulations, all for the sake of Christ. And
oh, how precious would the exceeding great and precious promises of
the presence, grace, and strength of Christ here, here while we
are on this earth, and glory hereafter for the believer. Oh,
how that would comfort, comfort God's people. And God's preachers
preach the great truths of the gospel in God's electing love,
in Christ's redeeming blood, in his perfect spotless righteousness,
which the believer is clothed in. In God, the spirits regenerate
in grace and power. This is what we are sent to do,
to proclaim these wondrous truths in the scripture. And in doing
so, the people of God will be comforted. How? All by the power
of God. And preachers sent by God, the
Holy Ghost, are themselves born again, having been regenerated
by the Holy Ghost. And we have one subject, the
Lord Jesus Christ. We are sent forth by God to proclaim
Christ in Him alone, to simply preach Christ and nothing beside,
just as Moses did in the wilderness when he lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness. God's preachers lift up the Son
of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in Him
may not perish, but have eternal life. Beloved, when God the Spirit,
who sends the Word, gives power to the Word, and by His regenerating
grace quickens the sinner to a new and spiritual life, He
grants them faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then, and then alone, will they be comforted by the preaching
of the wondrous gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. To God be
the glory, amen and amen.