Let us turn in our Bibles tonight to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Reading through this chapter just a few minutes ago and the thought came to me, this was the first letter, the first inspired letter that the Apostle Paul wrote, wrote back to this church at Thessalonica. What it was for the first time in all of history to have a church in this city of Thessalonica. What a blessing. We take these things for granted, I know, but think back what it must have been for the people in Thessalonica, the church that God raised up there. In fact, Paul begins the letter with these words, Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church of the Thessalonians, the church of the Thessalonians. which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I've brought messages from this chapter many times over the years and I know you've heard a number of messages probably from this chapter. And there's so many wonderful truths. In fact, I just went through the verses and I'm going to point these out to us. The first in verse two, The giving of God thanks. The giving of God thanks for other believers and praying for them. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. Are we guilty of that? Are we guilty of giving thanks always for other believers, making mention of them? in our prayers. I hope we are. The Apostle Paul could say that. Verse 3, he mentions what have been called the three cardinal graces in every believer's life. First of all, of course, is faith. Without faith, no man can please God. Without faith in Christ, there is no salvation. But along with faith comes love. In fact, the faith that saves is a faith that worketh by love. That's what Paul writes in the letter of Galatians. And then, of course, comes hope, a good hope through grace that every child of God has. And then in verse four, of course, we see the doctrine of God's sovereign election set forth. Knowing, brethren, beloved, beloved of God, loved of God from all eternity. Knowing, brethren, beloved of God, your election of God. God made a choice of you and chose you to salvation. Election is not salvation, election is unto salvation, but We thank God for this sovereign election that is revealed in the Word of God. Verse 5, the gospel was preached and accompanied with the power of God the Holy Ghost in verse 5. For our gospel came not unto you in word only. It did come in word. And it goes out in word, but when God uses it to save His people, it doesn't come in word only. It comes in power, amazing power, the power of God the Holy Spirit to cause us word, the gospel to take root in the heart of his chosen people. Just like in the parable, our Lord spoke of the sower that went forth to sow, you know, the seed fell on three different kinds of ground at least, but there was the good ground here. And what made that ground good? It was the anointing of God the Holy Spirit. John tells us, but you, brethren, have received an anointing. And that anointing is, of course, the work of God the Holy Spirit in the heart to receive the word of God, to believe the word of God. And then in verse six, we see the new life that believers have in Christ is manifested. It's manifested in their lives, verse 6, and you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. The new life that a person is given is manifested. It is manifested by a person following Christ. And then in verse seven, the example of Christians to those who live around them, so that you were in samples or examples to all that believe, examples unto others. Verse eight, the spread of the gospel from this church. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God were to spread abroad. This was a city, I believe it was a port city, and of course the gospel, people would come and go from this town of Thessalonica. And when they would come, they would hear the gospel and it would go forth, be carried out into other places. And then in verse 9, the conversion of the believer. Someone asked me the other day, what's the difference between regeneration and conversion? Well, regeneration is what God does in us. Conversion is what we do in response. to that regeneration. And you see the conversion here is spoken in verse nine, for they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you and how you turned, you turned, you believed, you repented. Yes, we believe in salvation by grace and grace alone, but a man Repents, God gives repentance, and God gives faith. But the person himself turns. Our Lord told Peter, when thou art converted, which means when thou art turned again, strengthen thy brethren. And conversion, there's that initial conversion, but we're converted many times as we go through this world. as we live our life, we're converted, we're turned again to the Lord. And then in verse 10, the doctrine of the Lord's second coming is mentioned in the resurrection and the punishment of unbelievers. And that one verse, and to wait for his son from heaven, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, he's coming again, his second coming. whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, the resurrection of both the just and the unjust. There's coming a day when the bodies of men shall be raised from the grave, raised from the ocean, wherever they may have been. And then the punishment delivered us from the wrath to come. That's salvation, isn't it? Saved us from the wrath to come. Well, this past week in reflecting on us leaving this building for the last time next week, this thought came to me. It's very obvious we see what was true of the church at Thessalonica, how they were known for these things that we've just briefly gone through. But the thought came to me, what are some of the things, not all the things, but what are some of the things for which you would want this church to be known? What are some of the things that we as believers would want this church, our church, the church that God has made us a part of, the Lincolnwood Baptist Church, what would we want this church to be made or to be known for? Someone told me one time that our church was known for all the food. When we have conferences, the ladies put out so much food. Well, that's good, but I thought of four things I want to mention tonight, what I would want and what I hope this church is known for. And the first thing is that the gospel of God's grace is loved here. The gospel of God's grace is loved here. It is the gospel that Paul means in verse eight when he says, the word of the Lord, for the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. It sounded out from them the word of the Lord. And it's called the word of the Lord, the gospel of God, the gospel of the God of all grace, because he's the author of this gospel. Men, fallen men especially, did not sit down one day and think, you know what, I'd like to invent a gospel. I'd like to come up with a gospel. No, the gospel has God as its author. That's the reason it's called the everlasting gospel. Only God is everlasting, eternal, and so His gospel is referred to as the everlasting gospel. It's the gospel of God. God is the author of the gospel, but not only is He author, but He's the subject of the gospel. He's the subject of the gospel of God's grace, of His grace. It's all about Him. It's all about God. And not just God the Son, but God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. It's all about God, the Triune God, who is revealed in the Word of God. Why do we believe in the Trinity? Because we find it revealed in the Scripture. We can't explain how three are one, but we know it's true. Why? Because the word of God is true. And we see that the gospel is the gospel of God. And each person at the Godhead had a particular work in the gospel. God the Father chose the people. to be the recipients of His grace. Now I know that the Lord Jesus told His disciples, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Well, He's one with the Father, that's true. And election is the work of God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But most of the time in the word of God, election is said to be the work of God the Father, that he chose a bride for his son. And his choice was not based upon anything foreseen in those that he chose. And I know this is how false religion and false gospels try to explain God's election. They try to say, well, God looked down through the ages and he saw who would receive Jesus, accept Jesus, as they say, and because of what they would do, then he chose them. Well, someone one time said, that's God taking credit for what someone else did. If that were true, that's God taking credit not for what he did, but for what men have done. No, election is the work of God the Father and choosing a people, not because of good. If that were the case, None of us would have been chosen, right? None of us. If it based on merit, on dessert, no. Election is a work of God, the God of all grace. But then it is also the work of God the Son. And it is amazing that this is his creation. The moon, the stars, the universe, the world, the planets, all of it is His creation. Without Him was not anything made that was made, John tells us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And He is the creator of all things, and yet in the fullness of the time, He stepped into His creation. He came into this world as a man, made of a woman, made under the law. He became the seed of the woman. That's only happened one time. Never gonna happen again. Every other person on the face of God's earth, we're all the seed of some man. Yes, Adam. And we've inherited a sinful nature. because he was our representative. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the seed of the woman. And he's holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. That's how he's separate from sinners, because he is the seed of the woman. And he lived under his law. He gave the law, and yet he became obedient to the law. And in doing so, he honored the law. He honored God's law by his obedience, his person, who he is. He honored God's law more than God's law has been dishonored by man, just simply because of who he is. the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven. He substituted himself in the place of his bride. His bride, we deserved God's wrath, God's awful wrath, but the Lord Jesus Christ substituted himself in our place. I remember, I don't remember the exact time, When I first realized that the gospel, when the gospel is preached, you're going to hear substitution and satisfaction. You're going to hear substitution and satisfaction. If you don't hear that, you're not hearing the gospel. That the Lord Jesus Christ died as a substitute for his people and he satisfied God's law. Perfectly satisfied God's law for his people. And then God the Holy Spirit, he ascended to this world to seek and to save, to find. I heard Brother Ralph Barnard make this statement many years ago, quoting Luke 19.10, I believe, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost, and He's going to seek until He finds everyone, everyone that is lost, and He's going to save. Yes. You say, well, everyone's lost. Yeah, well, you ask the average person. Do you believe that? You ask the average person if they're lost. Oh, no, no. I've done some things I shouldn't have done, clearly, but lost, dead, away from God, having no power to choose Christ, having a will that's in bondage to sin, to self. Yeah, he's going to save, seek and find and save everyone that was given unto him. And when he finds his people, he gives them everlasting life. That's one thing that I hope our church will always be known for. That is that the gospel of God's sovereign grace is loved in this place. That whoever stands in this pulpit and preaches tonight or in the days ahead, whenever, will always sound a very clear message concerning the work of God, that salvation is of the Lord. We're just like Jonah. I mean, think about it. in the belly of that whale. How'd he get in there? Well, God prepared that whale to swallow him, that's how he got in there. How's he gonna get out? Well, God's gonna have to get him out. And if he gets out, and at the bottom of the ocean, I guess that was the Mediterranean, among the seaweeds, he confessed, salvation is of the Lord. Yeah, and second, I would want our church, I hope our church will always be known, the gospel of God's grace sounds out from here. It not only is loved here, but it sounds out from here. The apostle in our text here tonight, he used that word sounded out. Notice in verse eight, for from you sounded out the word of the Lord, sounded out the gospel. Now, in using that term, sounded out, he alludes, of course, to the blowing of the trumpet. In the history of the nation of Israel, there was a large group of people when they came out of Egypt, and they didn't have internet. They couldn't send an email to somebody over there in the tribe of of Manasseh and another email over here to somebody in the tribe of Judah or something like that. But what they did have, they had trumpets. And trumpets in the Old Testament were used primarily in these four ways. First of all, to gather the people together. To gather, the gathering of the people. And secondly, to go to war. This is the way they would command their forces by the sound of the trumpet. And not only that, but to proclaim liberty. Remember every 50 years, they'd have the year of Jubilee and that's when they use those silver trumpets. And then there was, of course, the trumpets were used for music. God's people have always been musical. Always been musical. I remember when Lance told us years ago, Lance Heller, that the tribe where they preach, where they live and work and where God saved people, they didn't have any music. They didn't have any music. That seems so strange, doesn't it? But they didn't have the gospel either. But with the gospel, a music. God's people have always been musical. They love to sing, and that's how we praise God. God's given us a tongue. That's man's glory, his tongue, and it's to be used in praise of God. And one of the ways we praise him is in song. And you think about these four ways the trumpets were used. First of all, to gather the people, the gospel, Remember Joseph, Jacob rather, when he was dying, he prophesied when he came to Judah, he mentioned this person by the name of Shiloh. Shiloh. What does that mean? It means a peacemaker, doesn't it? And he said that unto Shiloh shall the gathering of the people be. And of course, he had reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. Unto Christ shall the gathering of the people. Whose people? God's people. God's chosen people. And God uses the gospel. For please God by the foolishness of preaching. Not foolish preaching, but preaching the gospel. to call out and gather his people unto his son. And then the trumpets proclaim liberty, and that's what the gospel proclaims to every believer. Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled, and there is remission. Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Christ hath redeemed us once for all. Amen. I'm surprised I could quote that. I started off, I thought, boy, I hope you can remember this. Yes. Liberty. Here's a man, sold himself, because of his debt, he sold himself into servitude. And then he hears in that 50th year, he hears that sound. Oh, that's a sweet sound. He's going to get to go home to his property, the property that God had given him, his land. Yes, and he was going to be supplied as he went home to the liberty that we have in Christ. Not liberty to sin, that's licentiousness, isn't it? That's what some people, Jude speaks about that, turning the grace of our God into licentiousness. No. And then to prepare for battle, God's people, we know we're in a battle. We're battled with the flesh, the world, and with Satan. And that's the reason we need the gospel. The gospel's not a self-help book. You go into a so-called Christian bookstore and they're just full of books, and most of them you could, like Spurgeon said, in case of fire, throw this one in. I mean, they're self-help books. But what helps a believer is the gospel. Hearing the gospel preached, believing the gospel, yes. And the gospel is certainly a joyful sound. Blessed are they that know the joyful sound. And my prayer is that this church, from this church, the gospel would always be sounding out from the pulpit, testified by every member, by our lives and by our testimony, And we pray and support missionaries to take the gospel to others. And let us be busy in this matter of praying. Pray ye therefore, our Lord said the labors are few, the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would thrust out labors into his harvest. Third, that the gospel of God's grace produces in us the fear of God. Yes, I would want that to be a mark of our church. The gospel of the grace of God, not only a love for it, not only proclaiming it, but it produces in us the fear of God. And by fear, I mean that godly reverence, which in the Proverbs we read is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God that would cause us to depart from evil. The fear of God that would cause us to live in obedience to God's word. That godly fear that would cause us to watch over our thoughts, our words, and our actions. That godly fear that caused Joseph, remember Joseph when he was tempted by Potiphar's wife, a godly fear that caused him to say, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? May God give us that godly fear. Polycarp, that's a strange name, isn't it? Mr. Polycarp, he was a bishop of the church in Smyrna. He was burned at the stake for his faith in AD 155. And all he had to say. All he had to say to save his life was Caesar is Lord. Three words, Caesar is Lord. The Roman procouncil did everything he could to try to convince this man to take that pinch of incense and offer it to Caesar. Caesar is Lord. Listen to his testimony, his words. This is how he responded. Eighty and six years have I served him, that is Jesus. Eighty and six years have I served him. He never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior? Yes, a fear of God produced that in that man, the fear of offending his savior, his king. And lastly, fourth, that the gospel of God's grace promotes love among us. This, after all, is what our Lord said, is the true badge of his disciples. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. What a blessing if our church could be known for these four things. And especially, I won't say especially, but yes, the last thing, that church, those people love each other. We've had some visitors come here recently and joined our church, actually. One of them made that comment to me after they had been coming here a few times. She said, I can tell people love each other here. That's a good testimony, isn't it? And I know it's true. Let me read you in closing a comment that I read this morning by Flaval Martimer. Flaval Martimer. If grief could enter heaven, it can't, but he said, if grief could enter heaven, it would be felt at the remembrance, not of past trials, but of past ingratitude shown the Lamb of God. When we feel that all our bliss was purchased by the wounded Savior, Shall not we desire that we had always loved and honored and adored him? I thought, that is so good. If grief, we know it came. There is no tears in heaven. But he said, if grief could enter heaven, it wouldn't be over the trials, but it would be over the remembrance of the ingratitude of our lives. and gratitude to him who loved us and gave himself for us. May the Lord bless these words.