If you will turn back with me
now to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. The church at Thessalonica, like
all the churches everywhere in this world, was suffering tribulation,
trouble, and persecution. Persecution. I know a lot of
times when we think about persecution, we think about men coming out
and violently, like the Apostle Paul, seeking papers and coming
down and grabbing the people and taking them off to prison,
or like in the days of the martyrs when they took them and made
them suffer horrible things, horrible deaths. And sure enough,
that is persecution. But persecution can enter into
things that you don't normally even think about, things with
your own children, things with your neighbors, things with people
you work with, things on an everyday basis in your community. I've
told you this story before that Kathy and I went down to Spring
Hill down at the little furniture store down there, and we were
looking for something. I don't even remember what it
was anymore. The lady came out and asked if
she could help us. And I said, yeah, and told her
what we was looking for. And she said, where are you all
from? And we said, Taylor. And we introduced ourselves. And she said, oh, you moved here
from Kentucky. She said, what did you come here
for? And I said, well, I came down here to pastor a church.
She said, where? And I said, over on Route 53. Oh, Grace Baptist, she said.
She turned around and went back in the office and shut the door
and left us standing out in the showroom. Persecution. That's persecution. She didn't
do us any physical harm, but that's persecution. This church
was suffering persecution. All who would live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. You're going to suffer. You're
going to suffer. To you who are troubled, he tells
us down in verse 17, he writes to this church, this church who
were suffering persecutions, who were suffering troubles.
Some of you never had troubles until you come to Christ. Then
you come to Christ and all you get is troubles, isn't it? Troubles. Troubles everywhere. Well, Paul
writes to them down here in verse 7, in 2 Thessalonians 1, 7, he
said, to you that are troubled, rest. with us. Now, this is,
I believe, the message for this hour to every troubled saint,
and especially to such who are suffering persecution for the
name of Christ and the gospel we believe. Now, before I get
to this gracious invitation, this is one of those texts that
you need to preach the whole message and then just read the
text, and it'll make perfect sense to you. But I've got four
things that need to be acknowledged, which Paul sets forth in these
first several verses. And these things, if rightly
understood, they set apart those to whom this invitation's given.
In other words, I don't invite a man. A man's out here, and
he drinks like a fish, and he runs around on his wife and he
don't take care of his children and he's just a rebel and he's
out here and he gets into trouble, this is not talking to him. It's
not saying you who are in trouble, talking to him, say come and
rest with us. That's not what that's talking
about. Paul qualifies those to whom he's speaking in his first
several verses. And the first thing that needs
to be established is this, to whom is the apostle speaking? before we can take any comfort
in reading this and saying, well, I'm troubled. I want this rest
he's talking about. Well, the first thing I have
to do is try to see if I have some reason to put myself as
an object of what he's talking about here, to see if I relate
to what he's talking about, see if I'm one of them to whom he's
speaking. And that's what we need to do in the scriptures.
We need to look in here. This world takes things in a
universal sense. You know, smile, God loves you,
to whoever reads it. Well, that's just not so. And
it's not so when we get into these promises of God. These
promises are directed. His warnings are directed. To whom is the Apostle Paul speaking
here? Who's he talking to? Well, he
tells us down in verse 1, unto the church of the Thessalonians. Now, let me talk to you for just
a little bit about the church. In the scriptures, the church
is a name given to God's elect. His elect are the church. That's the church. Represents
every believing child of God from Adam to the last man called
in Christ. To view the church as a New Testament
church only, which some religions believe and teach, is to do a
great injustice to the scriptures as well as to the purpose of
God in Christ. Paul told the Galatians, he said,
if you be Christ, then are you who saved? Abraham saved. Well, what's Abraham got to do
with a New Testament church? Then are you Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise." Whenever he speaks of believers
or of his elect, he's speaking to his church. Listen to this
over in Acts chapter 7, verse 38. In this verse, he said, Christ
is said to have been with the church in the wilderness. Huh? with the church in the wilderness
at the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. He was with those Old
Testament Jews and with Moses at the Mount Sinai when the law
was given. The church is not a place, it's
not a building. Well, we're going to go to church.
I don't know if you can. The church is not a building
and it's not a place. The church is an assembly. It's
an assembly. That's the church. Turn with
me to Hebrews chapter 12. Over here in Hebrews 12, Paul
gives a good definition of the church. Now hear what I'm saying. I'm saying that God's elect from
Adam to the last man called, whoever that is, to the last
saint called, is God's church. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22,
he's talking to them here about coming to worship, going to church. That's what he's talking about
here. Well, listen to this. He said, you're not come unto
Mount Sinai, but you are come to Mount Sinai. I'll get right in a minute. Now,
Mount Sinai is used all through the scriptures or Mount Zion
in the Old Testament as a representation of the church. Whenever he talks
about Mount Sinai, he talks about putting his son as the head up
there on that mountain, my holy king. I've set him on my holy
hill of Sinai. That's his church. And on to
the city of the living God, another representation of the church,
the heavenly Jerusalem. another picture of the church,
and unto an innumerable company of angels. Why would he mention
angels in connection with his church? He's talking about coming
to this man, he uses all these representations of the church,
and then he talks about an innumerable company of angels. Angels are here mentioned with
the church because God has made them and ordained them to be
ministers to them who shall be heirs of salvation. They're vitally
connected with the church. Paul says on another occasion,
or our Lord said this on this occasion, he said, their angels,
T-H-E-I-R, their angels do always stand before your Father. If
you're a child of God, you've been called out of darkness into
his marvelous light. You are an heir of salvation.
He called you. You're born of God. You're a
believer. You have angels who always, I don't know how many,
but who always stand before the throne waiting upon the Father
to tell them what to do concerning you. And they intercede. I've never seen one. I've never
felt one. I wouldn't know one if I met
him in the middle of the road. And he tells us, he said, you
be careful how you entertain strangers because some have entertained
angels unaware. I've never seen one. But I do
know this, they're active and have intervened in my life all
through my life. I know that by the word of God.
These angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister
to them who shall be heirs of salvation. The church, John Gill said this,
and the angels, the church and the angels are social worshippers
of God. Whenever we're gathered here
this morning to worship God, the angels are gathered here
too. That's right. I preach the gospel to men and
pray that God the Holy Spirit will open their hearts and minds
to receive it. The angels are just as anxious.
which things the angels desire to look into. They're vitally
connected with the church. Throughout the Word of God, the
angels are spoken of as bringing food to God's saints, healing
diseases, preserving them on their journeys, fighting for
them, restraining hurtful things, and even making known to them
the will of God. Who was it that went down and
talked to Lot and Sodom? Angels, wasn't it? Angels. Isn't that something? Who was
it that brought that food over Elijah down there in that cave
running from Jezebel? And when Lazarus died, our Lord
said, the rich man of Lazarus, and when Lazarus died, He was
carried by the angels and laid in Abraham's bosom. In almost
every aspect of the church, the angels are mentioned. Even at
the second coming of Christ, when Christ comes, it's said
he'll come in power and glory with his mighty angels. to an innumerable company of
angels," now watch this, Hebrews 12, 23, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. Every last one that's in that
book of life belongs to his church. That's his church. The church is every chosen sinner,
chosen and blessed in Christ by God the Father. But here in
verse 1 of 2 Thessalonians 1, he calls these people the church
of the Thessalonians. Now, there's no way hardly that
you can make that apply to God's general assembly and church of
the firstborn. But there is an application.
But there is in this world a visible church, a visible church. There's one here. There's one
in Danville. There's one in Lexington. There's
one in Pikeville. You can go around. There's visible
churches. You can see them. You can walk
in here this morning and see every one of them. You can see
them. It's the visible church. And they are assemblies joined
together by God's grace and through his gospel, and they are the
pillar in that community and around them. They are the pillar
and ground of the truth. in a dark and ignorant world.
And what makes the visible churches different from the church of
God's elect is that everyone who's assembled there is not
necessarily a member of that church. Not necessarily a member of that
church. Not redeemed by Christ and not
called unto sonship. So when Paul writes to the church
of the Thessalonians, he's not speaking to every man, woman,
and child in that assembly, but he's talking to the church within
the church. Are you with me? There's a church
within the church. We're gathered here this morning
as assembly. There's a church among the assembly. Are you with me? I hope I'm not confusing anybody
here today. I'm trying to be as clear and
thorough at the same time as I can. But if this letter were
written to the church at Louisville, it wouldn't be addressed to everyone
here today, but to all who believe, and to all who have been called,
and to all who are born of God. To whom is Paul writing? He's
writing to the church, which is assembled at Thessalonica. How is this church distinguished
from every other so-called church in this world? I don't know how
many churches we passed coming up here this morning. Quite a
few, quite a few. Well, listen to this, 2 Thessalonians
1.1. The church of the Thessalonians,
now watch how Paul, he qualifies these statements. He's qualifying
these to whom he's speaking. You just got to slow down and
read the scriptures. Listen to this, the church of
the Thessalonians in God the Father, in God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, they're in God the Father
and in the Lord Jesus Christ by covenant union. How does any man get to be in
God? Huh? He tells us plainly over in Ephesians
chapter 2 that at one time we was in this world without God. Well, how does a man get in God?
Huh? People talk about, well, I got
saved. Well, how did you get saved? How does a man, how does
a natural, fallen, condemned man get in God? If you don't get in God, you
can't have salvation, you can't have grace, you can't have mercy. How does a man get in God? Well, Ephesians chapter 1 verse
4 tells us, it is according as God hath chosen us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. That's how man gets in
God. God puts him there. God put him
there. Paul tells the church at Colossae
that their life was hid with Christ in God. Now listen to
me. All those chosen of God predestinated
unto the adoption of children, all those given to the Son and
the Son given for them, all those who have been redeemed by the
blood of Christ shall in God's own time be called by an irresistible
calling of the Holy Spirit of God. Now that's just so. Every
last man. Just because a lot of folks believe
and stay home, they don't worship, they don't assemble, they don't
do anything, and in their mind they say, well, you know, all
the elect's going to be saved no matter what. Oh, no. He took care of the means, he
took care of the time, he took care of the way. All of these
things were ordained in this election. All of these things were foreordained
in this election. And I'm telling you, all that
he chose and put in Christ, and all for whom Christ died, shall
in God's own time. Listen to Paul's profession when
he, his testimony to the church at Galatia. He said, when it
pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, to call
me by his grace and reveal his son. When it pleased God, that's
when it happened. I want things to happen when
I stand up here and preach. I want to see this message hit
your heart and bring you to your knees and cause you to bow and
confess what you are before God. I want to see things happen.
But nothing is going to happen until God's own time. And then
it's going to happen. All the devils in hell can't
keep it from happening. All the things that's going on,
all the tribulations and all the troubles and all the persecutions
can't stop it. And that's what Paul's talking
about when he's talking to this church and he's talking to them
about their tribulations. He said this is a righteous thing
with God. This is part of that work that
God's doing. It's part of that work. God puts us in God. That's the
only way you can get in Him. But all those chosen of God and
predestinated of God, all those for whom Christ died are going
to be called in God's own time. And they're going to be called
with an irresistible calling. I don't know how to get this
across to the young folks that are here today. Faith is not
something man has in his arsenal. You don't have faith in a bag
that you can reach in and get it when you want to. Well, when
I get a little older and I've done this and done that, then
I'm going to settle down and I'm going to... No, you're not.
You don't have faith. It ain't in your head and it
ain't in your heart. It's the gift of God. God gives
a man faith. Till he does, he don't... I'll
tell you what he's going to believe. Every lie under the sun. Tell
him anything. Tell him God's in a grasshopper
and he'll believe it. He'll worship a grasshopper.
Tell him anything else. But he won't believe these things.
Faith has to be given. Man don't have this in his arsenal.
He don't have this in his heart. I was talking to a young man
I grew up with. He lived right beside us. And
I hadn't seen him in 25 years. And I think it was at my brother's
funeral I was up there, and I saw him and recognized him. He hadn't changed much at all.
But he was pastoring the church. His daddy was an Arminian pastor,
and he'd become one. I think he pastored the Church
of God or something up there in Ohio. And we got to talking,
and I was talking to him about faith. talking to him about this
faith that God gives. It's a divine gift. It's given
of God. It's a work God does in you.
And he said, now wait a minute, he said, anybody can believe. Anybody can believe. Then why
don't they? My friend, faith is the gift
of God. Listen to the scriptures. I don't
know how it can be stated. If I sit down and try to state
it or looked up all these, I've read endless books on these subjects. But he says, by grace, that's
the gift of God. By grace are you saved through
faith. And that faith, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Faith requires regeneration. Faith requires a revelation. Faith requires a hearing. Faith
requires willing submission. Faith requires an understanding.
Faith requires commitment. And faith requires preservation. We're kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation. It's the gift of God. And Paul
established all these things in his first letter to the Thessalonians. He said, I know your election
of God. When our gospel came, it came not in word only. It
came in power. It came in power. And I know this is so. We're
not a church because we put the word church on our sign. It says,
Grace Baptist Church. That don't make us a church.
We're not a church because we put the word church on our sign.
We're not a church because we profess to be believers. We're
a church as we're called by His grace to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. When God calls a man to faith
and repentance, It's a life-changing call. It's a 180-degree turn. His whole life goes into reverse. Goes into reverse. Everything
he once hoped in is carried out, and over time, thrown on the
dung heap. Isn't that what Paul said? He
said, you think you got something to hope in? I got more than you
could ever dream of to hope in. You hope you're a member of spiritual
Israel. He said, I'm a son of Abraham. You hope a little bit because
you think you got called to preach. He said, I'm a Pharisee of the
Pharisees. He had more to hope in than anybody,
but he said, I took all these things out and put them where
they belong, on the dung heap. On the dung heap. Everything
we hoped for was carried out and thrown on the dung heap.
We renounce our own righteousness. We renounce our own will. We
turn from our old ways and turn from our old religion, turn from
these idols to the true and living God. I'm talking to you about
how the church of the living God is distinguished from every
other so-called church in this world and how it's distinguished
from even its present assembly. All right, here's the third thing. What are the benefits conferred
on this church? What blessings have God given
to this church that He's not given to the world? All the blessings. A-double-L,
all spiritual blessings He's given to this church. Nothing
lacking. Nothing lacking. Paul sums them
all up with two words, and he did this in almost every epistle
he wrote. After qualifying who he's talking
to, he said, grace and peace be unto you. Grace and peace. I was talking to Brian this past
week, and I told him grace is not something God gives in portions. There may be other things God
gives in portions. He don't give his grace in portions.
If you have the grace of God, you have everything God has for
sinners. You think about it. You don't
get a drop of grace. You get the ocean. You get it
all. You get it all. God gives grace. He gives us
everything purposed by grace. Actually, grace is sometimes
called pervenient grace because grace goes before grace. You
say, well, I don't follow you. Well, Christ died long before
you were born, didn't he? He died long before you believed.
That's pervenient grace. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Our election is called, let's
go all the way back to the beginning. Here's our election. God chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. You know what he
calls that election? An election of grace. You can't predate grace. Salvation
is altogether a work of sovereign grace. And if that grace was
purpose for you, you shall receive all that grace and everything
attached to it. Grace gives chosen sinners a
substitute and a representative. Grace gives chosen sinners a
perfect righteousness, a full and complete redemption, not
one thing left to owe on that day. And it gives us a perfect
justification. And it's God who justifies, so
who's going to lay anything to your charge? Grace appropriates. the presence and power of the
Holy Spirit who's called the Spirit of grace. And we're brought
in a gracious, gracious providence to hear the gospel of God's grace.
What are the benefits conferred on the church of God? Grace and
peace. Believers have been reconciled
to God. by the death of his son who satisfied
his justice and paid our sin debt in full. And believers have
been reconciled to God and given a perfect righteousness. We have
nothing left to fight about. What we got left to fight about? You have everything. You have
more than your head can even imagine that you have if you're
a believer. We've got nothing left to fight
about, no reason for disagreement, no point of contention. Being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. And my friend, the church has
been given eternal life, a living, believing, rejoicing knowledge
of God and His Son. And they shall never perish.
Christ said, they're in my hand and nobody's going to pluck them
out of my hand. And even if they could, they're
in my Father's hand. And nobody's going to pluck them
out of his hand. We're the church, and the church
is in God, and all these blessings have been conferred upon the
church. The church wears the title, Sons
of God. Sons of God. Oh, my soul, I wish I knew what
that meant. Sons of God. Sons of God. And then fourthly,
why is the church of the living God or any member of that church
persecuted? They are the light of the world.
The gospel is carried by them into the world. Go ye into all
the world and preach my gospel. They're the light of the world.
That's what Christ said. You are the light of the world.
They're always conscious of this world's troubles and ready to
relieve its suffering. Can any of you here this morning
who profess to be believers, could you see a man hungry and
not feed him? Could you see a man dying of
thirst and not give him water? Could you sit and watch a man
set out in the rain and the rain and the snow and the wind blowing
on him and not offer him refuge? Believers are conscious of this
world's suffering, and they're ready to relieve it in any way
they can. And we're not in competition
to rule the world. I don't want to rule the world.
Do you? I don't even want to hold office in it. I don't want
to rule it. I don't want to abuse it. I don't
want to steal from it. So why does the world persecute
the church? John 15, 18. Turn over there. I want you to see this for yourself. The Gospel of John, chapter 15,
verse 18. The church has nothing but goodness
to offer to the world. I invite the world in here this
morning. Tell them the truth. Tell them the truth. I want them
to hear. I want them to know. I want them to believe. I'm not
trying to shut them out. So why do they persecute? John 15, 18, if the world hate
you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were
of the world, the world would love its own. But because you're
not of the world, now listen, but I've chosen you out of the
world. Therefore, the world hateth. He whom this world despised,
he was despised and rejected by men. He whom the world hated is he
who chose me unto salvation and gave me his light and gave me
his gospel and the world despises me because what I have to say
is about him whom they despised. Isn't that it? Believers are in the world, but
they're not of the world. We're not of the same spirit
and attitude as this world. We're not of the same mind as
this world. We're not of the same motives
as this world. We're not of the same goals.
Not of the same doctrine. Not of the same foundation. Not
of the same walk. One whom this world despised
and rejected. who yet despise and reject Him
has chosen us out of this world. Listen to this. This is over
in John 15, 20. He said, remember the word I
said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If
the world, that is, if they, the world, have persecuted me,
they will also persecute you. And if they've kept my saying,
they'll keep yours. Why does the world persecute
the church? They persecute the church because
they hate God. You try to get one of them to
admit that. I ain't always done the right
thing, preacher, but I don't hate God. Scripture says you
hate God. What's this? Carnal minds, enmity against
God is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we
have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and
do not the truth. Light came into the world and
men love darkness rather than light. The world persecutes the
church. because they hate God. And the
world persecutes the church because the gospel they preach exposes
their ungodly ways. Well, why does that preacher
always have to talk about religion? Because what I preach exposes
their errors and ungodliness. Is there somebody here who has
a child or a friend or a loved one, and you see them walking
down the road, and they're about to about to fall into this abyss
down there and you're not going to run out and tell them, watch
out, watch out. Watch where you're walking. Watch
where you're going. You're going to fall in the hole. Is it wrong then for me to stand
up and say this and say that about this religion or that religion
if I know it's a great abyss and men are going to fall in
it? The world persecutes the church
because the gospel they preach exposes their ungodly ways. And
I'm telling you this as clearly as I know how to tell you, free
will works religion is satanic. It's satanic. They're not wrong
on a few issues. It's satanic. Universalism, legalism,
and ceremonialism is the religion of antichrist. That's what it
is. This world despises the church
of God because the gospel they preach exposes their ungodly
practices. And this world persecutes the
church because they've been deceived into believing that the church,
that the church is some kind of satanic cult. Some of you in here have been
told that. You've been told that. You know the Pharisees, and you
might find some reason to be angry with me and talk down to
me, but you couldn't find any reason to be angry with Christ.
This was a perfect man. And this perfect man preached
to his people exactly what I'm preaching to you, and those Pharisees,
these religious theologians, I mean master theologians who
knew this book forward and back, These theologians stood up and
looked at him and said, listen to this, over in John chapter
8. He showed to them the errors
of the ways, and when he was finished, they said unto him,
Say we not that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil? And he did
these miracles. God was in him and did these
miracles to show him to be the Christ and did these things right
before them. And they looked at him and said,
you cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub. They said he was
Satanic. And they said his followers were
a cult. And they say the same thing today.
They react the same way today. The church has, is, and ever
shall suffer persecution in this world. Persecution from wives
and from husbands. from sons and from daughters,
from son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws, and they that are your enemies
shall be they of your own household, from your neighbors, but especially
from worldly religion. But those who truly believe shall
patiently endure these things. That's what Paul said. I've got
confidence in you and we all rejoice in you. Every church
of God in that area was rejoicing in them because they saw their
patient endurance through these persecutions. They kept right
on going, kept right on worshiping, kept right on listening to that
gospel no matter what. And to this troubled, persecuted
church, Paul makes this gracious invitation. Are you troubled? Come rest with us. You can rest
here. You can rest in here. I'm not
going to persecute you in here. You can rest. I'm going to point
you to him who is rest. I'm going to preach rest. The church rests in Christ, rests
in God, and rests in the sure return of their Lord from heaven.
And Paul said, as you rest with us and you patiently endure these
things, he said, you know this, that our Lord is suddenly going
to appear from heaven with His mighty angels and shall, in flaming
fire, take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not
His gospel. Those men who are doing the persecuting,
I don't care who they are, they shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of His power. And His coming, Paul said, is
to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them
that believe. If you take that, you see that
that's in parenthesis, don't you? Look there in that verse
7. Look at that. Be admired in all them that believe. I'm not sure which verse it is.
Because our testimony among you was believed. You can lift that
all out and it should read like this. And to be admired in all
them that believe in that day. In that day. What day? That day
when God in power brought His gospel to you and gave you that
gracious gift of faith. That's right, in that day. And
he's going to be admired of all them who believed in that day. Paul said, you believed our testimony
in that day, and believing, you began to find rest in Christ
and peace with God. And to all of you who are here
today who are troubled, persecuted, and cast down, I tell you this,
you come and rest with us. We have a rest. There remaineth
a rest to the children of God. There's a rest. And we can rest
in Christ. That's why he said, forsake not
the assembling of yourselves together. We come together, we
can conquer one another. Say, well, I'm suffering this
way. Yes, I have too. I have too. And this was a help
to me. And I can go in there and find
you a verse of Scripture. This was a help to me. Casting all
your care on Him for He cares for you. You see what He's saying? All you that are in trouble,
He said, you come rest with us. Because our Lord's coming back.
And He's coming back soon. And when He does, He's going
to set things right. set things right. And these persecutors,
pray for them. Pray for them. Because God's
not going to spare them in that day. He's not going to spare
them in that day. I don't care who they are. May
the Lord add His blessings to the message this morning. Thank
you.