Take your Bibles first to Acts
chapter 17. Hold your place there in 2 Thessalonians 1. We'll come
back to that in just a moment. But you'll remember, we have
told you this in our study first in 2 Thessalonians, that the
church at Thessalonica had been under great persecution from
the very moment they believed the gospel. Here in Acts 17 is
where that church began. Let's read these verses and see
what happened. Beginning in verse 1. Now, when
they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,
where was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his manner
was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must
needs have suffered and risen again from the dead. and that
this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them
believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout
Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, took unto
them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered
a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and insulted the
house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren
under the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also, whom Jason hath
received. And these all do contrary to
the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one
Jesus. And they troubled the people
and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. And
when they had taken security of Jason and of the other, they
let them go. And the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who came thither
and who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and that they received
the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures
daily, whether these things were so. Therefore, many of them believed
also of honorable women, which were Greeks and of men, not a
few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of
God was preached of Paul and Berea, they came thither also
and stirred up the people. You see how these enemies of
Christ, they would not quit, would they? Same thing's true
today. They just will not quit. Whether
it was in Thessalonica or Berea, they were determined to stir
up trouble and oppose the preaching of the gospel. And at home in
Thessalonica, they made life very difficult for the believers
there. They lost their homes, they lost their jobs, they were
cast out of society, all for believing the gospel. And this
was a very difficult trial of their faith. Remember, these
are just babes in Christ, just new believers tried in such a
difficult way. And many of you are going through
very difficult trials of sickness and pain and loss and facing
uncertainty. As I look over the congregation
gathered here tonight, it would be easier to count those who
are not in deep waters than those who are. I believe I've got a
message from the Lord for you. Paul's message to these afflicted
and tried brothers and sisters in Thessalonica is to us, too. I want you to look at this comforting
statement that the apostle makes in verse seven. And you who are
troubled. Rest with us. That's the title
of the message this evening, rest, rest in Christ. Now to
the I want to apply this statement, rest in Christ, I want to apply
that to every single person here this evening. Whether you're
an unbeliever or whether you're a believer, I want to apply this
statement to us. Rest in Christ. First to the
unbeliever, who I hope has come here this evening seeking the
Savior. If you've come here seeking forgiveness of your sin, if you're
searching for some peace in your heart, I say to you, rest in
Christ. Quit trying to figure out how
and why God saves sinners the way that He does, and just rest
in Christ. Quit trying to get... I tell
you this frequently, please, if you could learn from my mistakes,
don't do what I did. Quit trying to get all your ducks
in a row before you bleed, because you're never going to get all
your ducks in a row. They're going to keep getting knocked
out of sorts. Just rest in Christ. Quit trying to figure out if
you know enough, in order to come to Christ. Just rest in
Christ. All you have to know to be saved
is Christ. That's right. All you have to
know is that you need Him and that you believe that Christ
is all it takes to save someone as sinful as you are. Just believe
Christ. Just rest in Him. Now I want
to ask you a couple questions. Number one, do you need salvation? Does anybody here need salvation? Then rest in Christ. Rest with
us. Christ is the Savior. If you
need a Savior, Christ is who you need. He's the Savior. His
very name is Savior. The name Lord is Jehovah. God
our Savior. His name is Savior. And the Father
sent His Son into this world for this one purpose. Just one
purpose. save his people from their sins.
I'm here to tell you he did it. The angel told Joseph, you call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
He came to do exactly what the father sent him to do, and he
did it. Now you rest in Christ. There's no doubt he'll save his
people. You can rest in him. He accomplished
the mission the father sent him to accomplish. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior, the God sent, is God. God the Son is God. Well, since He's God, do you
reckon He's got the power to save you? Well, of course He
does. He's God. Do you reckon He's
got the grace that it takes to save you? Well, of course He
does. He's the God of all grace. He's
the fountain of all grace. Do you reckon He could possibly
love a sinner like you? Of course he does. All of God's
love is in him. Now you rest in Christ. Just
rest all of your salvation in him. Because salvation can only
be found in him. Peter said in Acts 4, neither
is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. This
is the only name of salvation. Now rest in him. Look over a
few pages of Titus chapter 3. Your salvation in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Titus 3 verse 3. For we ourselves
also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful
and hating one another. After that, the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness, which we've done, but according to his mercy, he
saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Christ our Savior has given his
people everything that God requires abundantly. There's nothing lacking. There's nothing left out. There's
nothing you got to make up. It's all done. Finished in Christ. Now you rest in Him. One definition
of this word rest is exactly the way we use the word rest.
It means to quit working. Quit working to get yourself
saved. Quit working to get yourself
to be savable and just rest in Christ. The work is complete. Now you come to Him and you rest. from all your works of religion.
He's the Savior. My second question to those who
I hope, I pray, are seeking the Savior. Are you seeking forgiveness
for your sin? Do you need to be forgiven? Then
rest in Christ. Do you know only Christ can forgive
sin? Only the Lord Jesus Christ has
the power to forgive sin. Look at John chapter 8. And do you know how He forgives
sin? He forgives sin freely and easily. Freely and easily. You know the story of this woman
who was taken in the very act of adultery. And look here at
verse 10 of John chapter 8. When Jesus had lifted up Himself
and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are
those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? And
she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither
do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. You see how
free and easy that was? Go and sin no more. And Christ
our Savior can freely and easily forgive sin like that because
He has all power. Look back at Matthew chapter
9. He forgives sin freely and easily
because He has all power. Verse 1. And he entered into
a ship and passed over and came into his own city. And behold,
they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed.
And Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy...
I want you to imagine one of these TV faith healers doing
this. They bring somebody, they're lying on a bed, can't walk. And what does he always do? He goes through some mumbo-jumbo
and tells them he's healed, doesn't he? Look what the Lord says.
Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. And
behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this
man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts,
said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether it
is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise
and walk, which is easier? But that you may know that the
Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith he
to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into
thine house. And he arose and departed to
his house, just like the Lord told him to do. And when the
multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God, which had
given such power unto men. Christ has the power to forgive
sin freely and easily, not just rest in it. There's forgiveness
for your sin in the Lord Jesus Christ, because God forgives
sin through the blood of Christ. God forgives that sin because
the sin that's been put under the blood of Christ is no more. It's gone. God easily and freely
forgives it. Then rest in Christ. His blood
will cleanse you. Now here's another meaning of
this word rest. It's relief. What relief to know
your sin is forgiven because of the blood of Christ. What
relief to know your sin is gone. Your sin has been put away by
the blood of Christ. Now, really and truly, if your
sin is gone, you've got no worries. If Christ has washed you from
your sin, you've got no worries. God's not angry with you. Oh,
what a relief. What a relief to find out God's
not angry with me. Now come to Christ and rest in
Him. Enjoy relief from all the worry
and the doubt and the anguish that sin causes and just rest
in Christ. Here's my third question for
those who I pray are seeking the Savior. Are you seeking the
righteousness that God requires, but that you cannot produce?
If you are, then you rest in Christ. Now we talk about righteousness. Righteousness is only given to
those or can only be obtained by keeping the law perfectly.
All of the law. But our problem is our nature
cannot keep the law. Our carnal mind is not subject
to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. You can't
educate somebody and reform them and threaten them and change
them enough to where they'll be subject to the law of God.
Our carnal mind can't be subject to the law of God. So the Lord
Jesus Christ came as a man. God became a man, a real man. And God can do what man can never
do. He can be obedient to the law.
And the Lord Jesus was perfectly obedient to God's law in every
jot and every tittle. He was so obedient, that obedience
is so perfect, he magnified the law and made it honorable. Well,
what's that got to do with me? He kept the law perfectly. Well,
the Lord Jesus is never an independent man. He's always a representative
man. He gives that righteousness,
that obedience that he earned. He gives that righteousness.
He gives it to his people. And that's the doctrine of imputation.
Imputation simply means God gives it to you. God counts or reckons
what Christ did to be what his people did. Scripture says Abraham
believed God and it was counted to him. It was reckoned, imputed
to him for righteousness by faith in Christ because he believed
Christ. The father made all of his elect
to be righteous when he imputed their sin to Christ of Calvary
and he imputed the righteousness of Christ to them. That's how
a sinner is made righteous. God gives the righteousness of
Christ to his people and because he imputed their sin to Christ
at Calvary. Here's another definition of
the word rest. It's liberty. And you come to
Christ and you rest in Him. Come to Christ and enjoy liberty. Enjoy freedom from all of your
works trying to keep the law. Enjoy the liberty from the law
that a believer has. You have liberty from the law.
because Christ already kept the law for you. You don't have to
do it again. He already did it for you. That's why the Apostle
Paul told the church at Galatia, you stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Christ has made you free. Now
don't go back to being a slave. Just rest in Christ. Don't rest
in anything you have done. Don't rest in anything you think
you will do. Just rest. Christ, our righteousness. That's a word for those unbelievers
that I pray that God would make you seeking. I have a word for
the believer who's just trudging through this life. Sometimes
I go for a, I do, since this year I've started doing a little
bit of running again, not much, but a little bit. And sometimes
I'll come back, and you who do a little bit of running, you
know how you get on that runner's high and, oh, I feel so great,
you know? And sometimes I come back and Jan says, how was it?
And I said, I was like a pig stuck in mud. I've got a word
for the believer who feels like they're trudging through this
life like a pig stuck in the mud. It's rest in Christ. I have some questions for you.
Are you worried that this trial that you're in right now Are
you worried it's too much to handle? It's just going to crush
me. Are you worried? Brethren, rest
in Christ. Rest in the God of grace. Look
at verse 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Paul says grace unto you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now these
believers that Paul was writing to, they were already objects
of God's grace, weren't they? They received God's grace, His
life-giving, free, abundant, saving grace in Christ. And that's the only way a sinner
can be saved. The only way we can be saved
is by grace. Grace is getting what we do not
deserve. But what's the only thing a sinner
can deserve? The only thing we can deserve,
earn from God, is damnation, is God's wrath. The only thing
we can earn from God is eternal death. What does Scripture say?
The wages of sin is death. So if we're going to be saved,
it's got to be by grace, doesn't it? It can't be by anything we
do. It's got to be because God gave us something we don't deserve.
Look at 2 Timothy. Over a few pages. 2 Timothy chapter
1. Here's God's grace. It's free,
saving, sovereign grace. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. Who has saved us? and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began." That's God's saving grace. Well,
these folks Paul's writing to, they'd already been saved by
God's grace, hadn't they? So why is Paul saying grace unto
you? They've already received God's grace. But what Paul is
praying here is that they would continue to receive daily that
they would continue to grow in God's grace. You know, Paul begins
and ends almost every one of his epistles with grace, grace,
mercy, and peace, grace and peace to you from God our Father. And
in the end, he said, may God's grace be with you. You know why
he does that? Because this is what Paul learned
from his own experience, that we all always need grace. And
the God of all grace gives to his people the grace that we
need. Look at a couple of scriptures. Hebrews chapter 4. This is a very familiar verse,
but I want you to read it like you've never read it before.
So it'll give comfort to your heart. Verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly
under the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. The time of trial is the time
of need, isn't it? Are you in need? Then come boldly
to the throne of grace and rest in Christ. Find grace to help
in time of need. Look at 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter 5 verse 8. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom
he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the
same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in
the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto
his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered
a while, make you perfect, mature, establish, strengthen, and settle
you. To him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. Now we know we will all
have times of trial. That's what God's promised all
of his people. He's promised us trial and trouble
in this life. I tell you, he's also promised
grace for the hour. God has promised grace. Grace
that will cause us to mature. Grace that will establish us
even more strongly in our rest in Christ. And the Apostle Paul
knows this full well. By experience, he's learned this. God's grace is sufficient. When
we say that God's grace is sufficient, we mean it's enough. It's enough to comfort your heart.
Remember that thorn in the flesh Paul had? He begged God three
times, would you take it away? And the Lord told him, no, I
won't do it. He didn't tell Paul to remove
the thorn in the flesh. He didn't say he's going to make
that thorn not hurt. What did he tell him? He said,
Paul, my grace will be sufficient. It will be enough. If you listen
to me, it'll be enough for you too. Rest in him. Rest in Christ, who's the fountain
of all grace. Here's my second question. Are
you troubled trying to figure out what is going on? Do you
find yourself asking yourself that question? What is going
on? Do you watch the news in the evening and you just think,
what is going to happen next? Good grief. Rest in Christ. Rest in the God
of all providence. Back in our text, 2 Thessalonians
1 verse 4. so that we ourselves glory in
you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all
your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is a manifest
token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer, seeing
it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation
to them that trouble you. Here's what Paul's saying here.
The wicked will always hate Christ. They always hate Christ, so they
will always hate the righteous. They'll always hate those who
love Christ and believe Christ. And when a believer suffers for
Christ's sake, when he suffers because he believes the gospel,
that simply makes it obvious this is a child of God. Because
the purpose of God for all of His people is to try their faith.
To try that faith so that faith will be strengthened. To try
that faith to prove it. so that it is proven to be genuine
faith. I think often about what Brother
Henry said, God only had one son without sin, but God has
no sons without suffering. They're all going to suffer.
Every believer suffers for Christ's sake to prove that their faith
is real. In Acts chapter five, that's
the exact reason that the apostles rejoiced when they were counted
worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. They actually rejoiced
that they were counted worthy to suffer. Now, they didn't rejoice
in their sufferings. They rejoiced that they were
counted worthy to suffer because this is God's will. This is God's
purpose for His people. God tries faith to prove that
it's genuine. Well, now God's the righteous
judge, isn't He? Well, then it's only right that He bring everyone
who has true faith in Christ to glory. That's only right.
He's righteous, that's what he'll do. Look at 2 Timothy 2, let
me show you that. 2 Timothy 2, verse 12. If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him. If we deny him, he will also
deny us. If we deny him, all that would
prove is we don't have genuine faith. But if we suffer with
him and we still believe him, we'll reign with him because
that faith has been proven to be genuine faith. But then on
the opposite side, this is like a mirror. On the opposite side
of that is the wicked. And when the wicked mock and
they persecute those who believe Christ, what they've done is
just make it obvious that they're the wicked. And they often prosper
in doing. Often they prosper. And when
you see that happen, don't be dismayed. Now, just don't be
dismayed. You see that happen, you just
rest in Christ. Rest in the God of providence. God is the righteous judge and
he'll take care of them. Vengeance is mine, I'll repay,
sayeth the Lord. In due time, he will take care
of them when he returns. Look at verse 7 in our text.
And you who are troubled, rest with us. When the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power. I would not encourage you to
find comfort in the fact that somebody treats you badly and
God's going to get you someday. I would not encourage you to
find comfort in that. Rest in Christ. Rest in the God
of all providence. Our enemies in the end of the
world, in the time of judgment, our enemies will not be punished
because they're mean to you and me. No. They'll be punished because
they refuse to believe Christ. They'll be punished because they
refuse to bow to Christ. It's true our Lord said it's
better that a millstone were hanged about their neck and they
were drowned in the depths of the sea than they fin one of
these my little ones. But it's not better that they
be drowned in the depths of the sea because God's going to get
them for being mean to us. No, it's better that a millstone
were hanged about their neck and they were drowned in the
depths of the sea rather than offend one of God's little ones.
Because when they offend one of God's little ones, when they
reveal that hatred for God's people, they revealing their
hatred of Christ, their lack of faith in Christ. And that's
what God's going to punish them for. Now, this is what we just read
about in these verses is a horrible, horrible, awful punishment. Don't pray anybody has to have
it. No, you pray for them. As much as God can give you the
grace to do it, you pray for your enemies. You pray for the
wicked. Maybe God will be merciful to
them. Could be He'd be gracious to
them, just like He was to you and me. Just like we read earlier,
well, we used to be hateful and hating one another, and we used
to be all those things. Well, God was merciful to us.
Maybe it could be to them, I don't know. But either way, whether
he is or isn't, until then, let's rest in Christ. Rest in the God
of providence. Remind yourself every time you
turn the nightly news off, God's got this in control. It'll help
you if you watch the news. And he'll do everything just
right. Here's my third question. Believe me. Are you troubled
by pain and sorrow and the difficulty of this journey? Are you? Then
you rest in Christ. Paul says in verse 7, rest with
us. With us. Rest with the family
of God. Rest with us. Don't go it alone. Sheep don't do well on their
own. Don't go it alone. We're here to help one another.
We're here to have fellowship that helps and encourages one
another. Fellowship is fellows in the
same ship. Every believer's in the same
boat. Now we're all in the same boat. So when you're in times
of trouble, draw comfort from the family of God. Draw comfort
from being with others that know exactly where you are and exactly
what you're going through. It's just helpful to be with
someone who knows the Lord, who can talk to you. We have a great
responsibility to help one another and to pray for one another and
to be there for one another, to comfort one another in these
times of such difficulty. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter
1, I'll show you that. This could be helpful to you
going through your trial and difficulty right now. God's teaching
you something you might be able to help somebody else with later
on. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God
of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the
comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted,
it's for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual
in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or whether
we be comforted, it's for your consolation and salvation. And
our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers
of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. We have a a responsibility that
in times of trouble to be there to help one another. And when
you're in that time of trouble and you're the one in the barrel,
rest with us. Rest with the family of God.
And here's my last question. Are you tired of this life? I mean, are you just tired of
it? Then rest in Christ, the returning Savior. Back in our
text, verse 10, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. When he shall come
to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them
that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that
day. Now people talk about the events
of the end of the world, and they make it sound very frightening,
don't they? They make movies and all these things that just
scare people to death. Well, you see those things and
you hear those things. Do you find yourself getting
a little apprehensive about it? You know, is there going to be
an apocalypse? Do we need to be, you know, hoarding food and
guns and ammo? Do we need to do that? Do you
find yourself getting apprehensive even though you know you shouldn't,
but you are anyway? Well, I tell you, you rest in
Christ, the returning Savior. He's coming. Yes, He's coming
to judge the wicked. He's coming to pour out His vengeance
on them that will not believe Him, that will not bow to Him.
And in that day, we'll rejoice. Right now, I tell you, I don't. That just seems horrible. But
He's coming. He's coming to judge the wicked.
But He's not coming to judge His people. His people have already
been judged in Christ. Your sins have already been punished
in your substitute. So there's no fear of judgment
for God's people. There's no fear in Christ's return
for you, not for you who believe. God's already poured out His
vengeance on your substitute. All that's left for you when
He comes is glory and joy and happiness. But are you tired? Are you tired of this life? Do
you find that the joys of this life grow fewer and fewer and
fewer? and they even give you less and
less joy. Do you find that the storms, the storm clouds of trial
and trouble, they come closer and closer and closer together.
Cecil Roach told me when he was a young man, he'd have a storm
cloud, and then big sunny days, and then another storm cloud.
And Cecil was an old man, he's old as long as I know him, he
was really old, he was genuinely old, but he told me this, he
said, now, now, I got a storm cloud, a little bit of blue skies,
and then the next one comes, and then the next one, and the
next one. Is the storm wearing you out?
Are you just wore out by it? Now, you younger people won't
feel this way. You don't feel this way yet, and that's good. You got some things to do. I
mean, it's tough business, raising your family and earning a living,
and you don't feel this way yet. Don't feel bad that you don't.
because you will. This life will wear a believer
out eventually. That's the way God uses to make
us ready to leave this place. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter
12. That's what Solomon found out. I'm confident Solomon enjoyed
more of the joys and pleasures of this life than all of us ever
will put together. But look what he learned. Ecclesiastes
12 verse 1. Remember now thy creator and
the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. That day's coming, those evil
days come. The years draw nigh, you've been
worn down, so that you just say, I've got no pleasure left in
them anymore. And when you find yourself in
that same place Solomon was, I tell you what, you trust in
Christ. Rest in Christ, the returning
Savior. He is coming again. I know you're
tired of this life, but this life is not all there is. Christ
is coming again. And when he does, his people
are going to enjoy a glorious life with him. Paul says that
when Christ returns, he will be glorified in his saints. He didn't say he'll be glorified
by the saints, does he? He says he'll be glorified in
them. Here's what he means. Christ will be glorified in his
saints because in that day, everyone, even that unbeliever who's mocking
you and making fun of you and persecuting you now, in that
day, everyone, even that fellow, is going to be able to see everything
Christ has done for his people. They're going to see all he chose
He bought them with his blood. He washed them from all their
sin in his blood. He called them to himself by
his gospel. He gave them that faith to believe
him. It says, you believed in that day. Our testimony among
you is believed. He gave them that faith to believe.
And he kept them through all those storms, through all those
trials, through all those valleys, for all those dark nights. Sure
enough, he kept them to the end. And when Christ returns, he's
going to gather his people together. We saw this a few weeks ago.
We'll meet him in the air. And he's going to put his people
on display for all of eternity in heaven as trophies of his
grace. And he's going to be glorified
because the champion got all the trophies. Throughout eternity,
Christ is going to get all the glory for everything he did for
his people. And when he returns, how we will
admire him. Very different from the first
time he came, wasn't it? The first time he came, he was
despised and rejected of men. The second time he comes, oh,
he'll be admired. People marvel at his grace and
his mercy and his power to save and to keep. He'll be admired.
The first time Christ came, he came as a servant. The next time
he comes, he's coming as a king of kings and he's going to be
admired in his reign overall. First time Christ came to die
as a sacrifice for sin. The second time He comes, He's
coming to bring glorious life to all those people that He died
for. So now you rest in Him. He's coming back and He won't
be late. Now you rest in Him. And when
He comes, the pain and the sorrow and the difficulty of this life
we're going to learn really was temporary. Right now it seems
never-ending, doesn't it? But it really is just temporary.
But life with Christ will be for eternity. And then we really
will be able to say with the apostle that I reckon. Now, when
I say I reckon, I'm saying I guess. I reckon. But Paul says I reckon. He's using an accounting term.
He says, brethren, I've added up both sides of the ledger.
I've added up the pain. I've added up the sorrow. I've
added up His flesh. I've added up the glory and the
joy that we have in Christ. And this is what I count. By
counting on my ledger, this is what I count. That the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. The sufferings of this
present time that seem like they're going to crush us, one day are
going to seem so small you can't even see them compared to the
glory which shall be revealed in us. So until then, brethren,
rest with us. Rest in Christ. Let's bow in
prayer. Our Father, we thank you for
the comfort and assurance that we find in your word, the comfort
that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. How we, our hearts are
thrilled to read that Christ is all and in all. That he's
accomplished everything that you require. That he himself
is everything that we need. Oh, I pray for the faith to see,
to lay hold upon him and to rest in him. To rest in his glorious,
wonderful person. How we long for that day to see
you face to face. But until then, comfort our hearts.
Comfort our hearts together. Cause us to together rest in
our Lord Jesus Christ. To encourage and help one another
along the way. And to point those that don't
know you to the Savior. Father, give us faith and grace,
we pray. In the precious name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, we ask these blessings.