Faith Goes Forth (1 Thessalonians 1)

[00:00:01] So recently, I think it was kind of recent. We had a lot of snow and ice, right. We had to cancel two weeks in a row. [00:00:11] I actually really enjoy driving on the snow and ice. Did any of you guys, some of you drive. Did you drive on it at all? [00:00:21] I will not tell the police. David said yes. [00:00:24] I like driving on it, but one thing about me, I gotta test it out. [00:00:31] I have to test it out. You can, I promise. You can ask Katie this. [00:00:37] Whenever I start to drive, when it's snowed or there's ice, I hit the gas hard, I hit the brake hard, I turn the wheel. I do this, like right away when I'm in the parking lot, the neighborhood. So, you know, it's a controlled environment because I just gotta get a feel. You getting a feel for how slick it is by kind of testing the limits just a little bit gives me confidence as I drive into traffic. Maybe it's silly, but it at least makes me get a feel for the conditions. I feel much more confident as I go that my truck will be able to drive at least somewhat, or I know just how slippery and how slow I need to drive. Now, tonight we're in the first chapter of First Thessalonians. And it shows us something similar in that the Thessalonians have had their faith tested. It's been tested by persecution, but we'll see that this testing has given them and given Paul confidence that their belief in the gospel is true and powerful and will not be destroyed. [00:01:42] Now, that continues to be a major theme in these books. I say these books because we're not just going to go through First Thessalonians, but we're going to go through Second Thessalonians. And this is a theme in both of them. [00:01:56] You may not have seen this, but maybe if you see on your handouts, I have in the subtitle, which would be kind of the title of what you might call a series, is Excel Still More. I don't usually draw attention to this. A lot of times I just don't think that art about it. But this comes from the book 1st Thessalonians 4:10, which in the New American Standard Bible says, but we urge you, brethren, to excel still more. They're to persevere and to grow and to excel in the faith all the more even under trial. Now, the Thessalonian Christians were believers in a very hostile environment filled with pagans, filled with Christ denying Jews that were upset that anyone among them would worship and follow a king other than the one they had. They were terrified and hated that they followed a king named Jesus, a man, they said, raised from the dead. [00:02:56] Their faith, therefore, is immediately put to the test basically the moment they have it. So we want to learn some from the context. So flip actually to Acts 17. [00:03:09] This is where we encounter them in the Bible first, and it gives us some helpful guidance as we read the letter. Go to the very beginning of Acts 17. We're going to read the first chunk of it. [00:03:22] Acts 17. 1. [00:03:26] Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. [00:03:36] And Paul went in as was his custom. And on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. [00:03:54] Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them. And they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there's another king Jesus. [00:04:32] And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. [00:04:42] The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all the eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. [00:05:04] But then, or. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, But Silas and Timothy remained there. [00:05:24] We'll stop there. [00:05:27] We see a number of really important things that help us understand these books. [00:05:31] First, Paul showed how Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures. He says blatantly, this Jesus is the Christ. That is to say, he is the Messiah, the sent one to save Israel. He is saying this explicitly. [00:05:47] Greeks and leading women, whoever they were, who formerly were devout pagans, they turned from their idolatry and believed in this gospel. They believed in Christ. [00:06:01] But the Jews were angry, right? So we just read. They whipped up a crowd. They were angry. They robbed Jason, who housed Paul in Silas. And we learn later from context, Timothy was there. They went to Berea. Now, Berea was a neighboring town. So these towns are really close to each other. They are in a region called Macedonia. So when you see these different words, Macedonia is a region. Berea, Thessalonica are towns close by. So that's how they were able to hear of the news and go stir up trouble there as well. [00:06:35] And then Paul had to flee again. [00:06:37] And verse 14 says that Silas and Timothy remained with the people in Thessalonica. And Paul goes on to Athens and eventually to Corinth. And that's where he meets up with Silas and Timothy, who he had left behind. [00:06:53] And this is when First Thessalonians was written. This is when it was written. They come back, bring a report, and he writes this letter to them. [00:07:04] They learned that the Thessalonians remained steadfast and faithful through trial. [00:07:11] He could have been discouraged. He didn't know necessarily what the Thessalonians were like, what was the state of the Church. He knew they were in distress and in trouble. But he hears this wonderful news that they remained steadfast and faithful through trial. They imitated the faithfulness of Paul and his friends, even while being harassed and persecuted. [00:07:34] What better testimony that these Thessalonians knew and believed the gospel than this, that they remained steadfast under trial as well? He had heard how their faith motivated and encouraged others in the region of Macedonia and in neighboring cities. So, filled with joy, Paul takes out his pen and the three of them write this letter. And now Second Thessalonians comes later. But the point of the letters is this. This is the theme of the two. Now we'll try to repeat and remember. You're going to summarize these books, I might say. Excel still more in faithfulness for the sake of Christ. Excel still more in faithfulness for the sake of Christ. [00:08:17] And now, with this context in mind, it is no surprise then that Paul, Silas and Timothy begin this letter of First Thessalonians by praising them for their. Their faith. An example. [00:08:33] So here's the main idea of first Thessalonians. 1. [00:08:37] True faith is tested and proved under persecution. [00:08:43] True faith is tested and proved under persecution. And true faith goes forth as a witness to the Power of the Gospel. True faith goes forth as a witness to the power of the Gospel. [00:08:58] So let's read 1st Thessalonians 1. We'll just read the whole chapter to start. [00:09:03] Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. [00:09:11] We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. [00:09:36] You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the Word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers and in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that we need not say anything, for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turned from turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. [00:10:20] So point number one, we're just going to focus on this first verse to start an authentic letter. This is an authentic letter. [00:10:29] Paul is we see the lead author and indeed he maybe thought that this is just written by Paul. That's usually how we count it. But we should remember as we read this letter, we're going to see the word we often. That's because three people wrote this with Paul as the lead. Paul, Timothy and Sylvanus or Silas. Those are two forms of the same name. [00:10:55] So we know that this is the silas from Acts 17 that he was with. Now, who are these men? Well, you're probably most familiar with Paul, if you're familiar with any of them, because he wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. He was an apostle, which means he witnessed the resurrected Jesus and was commissioned by Jesus for the Gospel ministry. [00:11:17] Paul preached the Gospel and traveled as a missionary all around the Mediterranean, helping to plant and establish churches. [00:11:25] Now, Silas was a leading man in the church in Jerusalem, and he became a travel partner and missionary with Paul. [00:11:33] Eventually, he also becomes the Sort of ministry associate of the Apostle Peter in Rome. And finally, Timothy was beloved by Paul, and he joined Paul originally in his second missionary journey. And he eventually becomes a local pastor and receives at least two letters from Paul that are now scripture, first and Second Timothy. [00:11:56] From the form and content of the letter to the historical details surrounding it. First Thessalonians is maybe the least controversial of all his letters. It's clearly written by him. It's probably almost certainly the earliest that he wrote that we have. [00:12:15] It seems straightforward to read. Now, there's some content in here that people have studied and labored to understand, but the details of how it was written and when are pretty simple, which makes it easier for us to understand. [00:12:33] Now, remember the fact that this is probably one of his earliest letters as we read it, because we notice that Paul's theology doesn't feel new. It is developed and it remains consistent. As you read all of his letters and you kind of just see here little hints at different parts of his theology. As you read it, you can see, oh, yeah, he talks more about this, maybe in Romans or talks more about this, maybe in a different letter, but it's consistent. You can tell this base understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ colors and peppers everything he writes. [00:13:13] Now, this authentic letter was written also, we notice, to the church of the Thessalonians. [00:13:19] A church is a group of Christians. Here's a good definition. You know, someone actually had to define a church. Sometimes those sorts of questions can surprise us. I think it's helpful. A church is a group of Christians who meet together regularly for the preaching of God's Word and the right practice of ordinances. That is, ordinances is a fancy word to say baptism and the Lord's Supper. It's just baptism and the Lord's Supper into one word, ordinances, because God ordained it for us to do so. A group of Christians, they meet together regularly for preaching and the rightful practice of baptism in the Lord's Supper or ordinances. In this case, it's referring to a local church. Not every single Christian everywhere all at once, but these Christians here in Thessalonica. Now, it's relevant to us as we read, but we want to remember as we study this, the original of this letter was intended for a group of Christians. That's important. See also that this church is not just any group of people meeting, but this is kind of a parallel phrase to help us understand that this is a church. We read that they're Christians because they are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:14:33] Again, this is sort of a parallel statement to the fact that they're a church. To be a church is to be in God the Father, to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:14:42] The members of this church are not just a forgotten fragment of history. They are children of God Almighty. They are saved by Jesus Christ, and He knows them intimately. They have their existence in God as their Creator, and they have salvation in Christ as their Savior. [00:15:01] But as we read this, we want to remember promises and commands given to them in these letters are intended for Christians. [00:15:10] That's the context. Now note also the phrasing, that this phrasing places Jesus on the exact same plane as the Father. I can't help but notice they are in the Father and in Jesus Christ. [00:15:26] God the Son is equal to God the Father, because they are one. [00:15:32] They're one. And later we even see that they know the Gospel because it came in power and in the Holy Spirit. And they have the joy of the Holy Spirit. And together we see all three, Father, Son and Spirit working together to bring these Christians to Himself. [00:15:48] They are one God, and they love this church. They have. He has saved this church. God has. [00:15:58] Now, finally, Paul closes this greeting portion with a very normal letter opening grace to you and peace. But I don't want to skip over this. This theme is important in many letters, if not all of them. [00:16:14] Grace and peace. [00:16:18] These are core components of the Christian life. Grace can be said to refer to maybe they're standing before God. Peace can refer to their relationship with Him, I read. [00:16:31] But nonetheless, as a Christian church, the members of it can stand before God because they have been given to saving grace. [00:16:40] They have been led in by grace. The blood of Christ by grace has redeemed them from just being enemies of God, to bring them in as friends, as sons and daughters. And therefore, instead of warring with God, they're at peace with Him. This is crucial to the Christian faith. And you too, students, can have peace with God through His grace. But you must respond to his call on your heart and faith exactly as these Christians did. [00:17:11] And that brings us to our second point then, an authentic faith. [00:17:16] Look again at the text. We're going to reread verses 2 through 6. [00:17:21] We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor, of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake? And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the Word in much affliction with the joy of the Spirit. They had an authentic faith. [00:17:59] Now, Paul here mentions how he actively prays for this church, this congregation. [00:18:05] You too, if you are a Christian, must feel this same sort of impulse to pray for other Christians. It's clearly modeled in the Bible. We see Paul modeling it as he overflows with love for these people. [00:18:20] But even so, we see Jesus do this same thing for his disciples. In John 17, a rather long prayer is recorded from Jesus about his disciples. In it, he even says at one point in John 17:9, I am praying for them. [00:18:37] I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours now. I'm not suggesting that we don't pray for the world. Jesus isn't suggesting that you don't pray for the world. He's saying in this moment, he is taking intentional, specific time to pray for his children, to pray for the disciples, to pray for Christians. We too should do this. We see this modeled in our church services week by week, as we pray for members or missionary partners or even other pastors. We pray for other Christians, often because this is modeled for us. And so you two should try to find time and opportunities to do this in your personal life. [00:19:22] That being said, I think the main point is not necessarily for Paul just to mention that he's praying for them, though that's important. It would be an encouragement for them to hear. He wants, however, to highlight their faith. [00:19:36] They have an authentic faith which has been proven through trial. It has been proven authentic, and it's proven authentic through scrutiny by difficulty testing in what I think is a hit show, Pawn Stars. I don't know if you guys know that show. [00:19:57] It's the show that's always on, like at random places. You are on the History Channel. Anyway, in this show, all sorts of crazy items come into the pawn shop. And for many of them, these guys, they don't know anything about it. Maybe they know a little bit. It could be military stuff. It could be sign memorabilia. Any number of things comes in. They don't know what if it's real, they don't know what it costs. And so the guys, Rick or Chumlee or whoever it might be, they call in a buddy, an expert to come test it, to put the item under scrutiny to see whether it is real. And Authentic. And if it's worth anything, they put it to the test. Now, this is exactly what persecution can do for the Christian. It is much easier to obey God and be good little Christians when everything is easy. Sometimes things are easy and we cannot help that. [00:20:54] But it's so much easier. We know this. [00:20:58] But if we have had to have faith through difficulty, then we understand much more how this tests and makes sure our faith. [00:21:09] And this is important. [00:21:12] Christians, we verify and affirm other Christians a lot in the Christian life. Maybe we don't like to think of it this way. [00:21:21] People don't want to be judgmental. They're afraid of this. But that's exactly what we do in church membership, is we are affirming other Christians, affirming, yes, this is a credible Christian by all understanding the fruit of his life and the profession he makes is real and authentic. That's what we say when we vote people into membership, which some of you are at our most recent members meeting. That is what happens. That's what we're doing. And when someone is removed from not repenting of sin, it's saying, we no longer can affirm this person. Maybe he or she is a Christian, but we can no longer be confident. So churches by our nature are affirming and understanding whose faith is authentic. [00:22:06] That's what we do. [00:22:09] Now Paul is saying to these Thessalonian Christians that they have really proven their faith. It looks authentic, and this is an incredible encouragement to him. [00:22:23] They're saying that you have, they have really proved their faith because they know the gospel, they believe it, they act like it, and they have continued to act like it, even in the midst of difficulty. This might be a good set of criteria for us to think about, do you know the Gospel? But more than that, do you believe it? And more than that, do you act like it? [00:22:46] And even more than that, if it becomes difficulty difficult, would you still act like it? [00:22:54] Might be a hard question to ask. [00:22:57] Remember the chaos caused in the city of Thessalonica and even in Berea when they became Christians. [00:23:03] But through it all, they have imitated Paul and even the Lord as they endure in the Christian life with the joy of the Holy Spirit. [00:23:12] If we look carefully at the text, we can see three fruits that they produced that proved their faith as authentic. Did you catch them? They're often written about in early church history and even modern. They are repeated by Paul frequently. Paul even says in Another letter, in First Corinthians 13:13, he says, now faith, hope and love abide. But the greatest of these is love, faith, hope and love. Did you see those? Work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope. This is not accidental. It's not a coincidence. These are so crucial. They are at the very heart of the Christian life in persecution. The work these Christians did proved their faith in Christ. The labor they did proved their love for God and their love for one another and the steadfastness, or you could think perseverance. They had proved that their hope was that the risen Christ would return again to rescue them, to raise them to life, to renew the world, to take away all sin. [00:24:22] Many of you in the room claim that you're Christians. This is great to be professing Christians. [00:24:31] But we want to look and examine our lives. I think that's a necessary application of this text, is how does your life look under scrutiny, under testing? What does it look like? Because we're not Christians, just because we come here, we're not Christians, especially just because your parents make you come here. We're not Christians necessarily, even because we happen to go to the front of a room during a d. Now or something. [00:24:58] That is not in itself what makes somebody a Christian. We know this. It's belief in the Gospel. It's the grace of God through faith in Christ. [00:25:08] But we know this by what we do. [00:25:11] We have to believe in the gospel and live a life that proves it. [00:25:16] Does your life prove it? Does your life truly have faith, hope and love? [00:25:24] Do you have faith in Christ? Or do you struggle by worrying over the future and feeling anxious about what is coming tomorrow? [00:25:34] Jesus says, do not be anxious about anything. Have faith in Christ. [00:25:39] Do you have hope that Christ will come again? Or do you doubt that? Do you frequently despair? Well, knowing Christ should give you hope. [00:25:48] Do you love? [00:25:51] Jesus says that the world will know who his disciples are by their love. [00:25:56] Do you love? [00:25:59] Consider how faith, hope and love should be produced in your life as evidence of your faith. [00:26:06] Indeed, the Thessalonians, faith had been proven. The word spoken by Paul was not mere words. Paul said, I know it wasn't just mere words because it was effective. We saw a change in your life. They were not just words that came in one year, out the other year, but it came in power in the Holy Spirit. With full conviction. He says the words spoken by him were effective. And we see him credit the conviction and the power of the Spirit. Here. Our words in evangelism, our words in proclaiming the gospel, are only effective to change hearts when God the Spirit fills them with power. [00:26:45] And here we see Glimpses of how God saves sinners. Again, like I said, we see glimpses of Paul's theology all throughout this letter, upholding everything he says. Even as he's talking about practical matters like this. [00:27:01] Paul affirms in verse 4 that God had chosen them. [00:27:05] God knew, of course, because he had chosen them to be saved before he had even created them. [00:27:11] God's not a reactionary God. He doesn't adjust his plans because people surprise him. And he's got, oh, plan B now. I didn't expect that. That wasn't part of the plan. He's not a reactionary God like this. God knew the whole time. And what a good God, that we can trust him, knowing that his plans are firm, that things will not be lost, that he is in control. [00:27:39] And now that the Thessalonians have proved their faith through trial, Paul too can affirm that they were chosen by God. He knows this because their faith has proven authentic. [00:27:51] He doesn't necessarily say this when he proclaims the gospel and people proclaim, profess faith. He doesn't necessarily say, yes, you are chosen. But he says they're chosen after they've endured the testing, after their faith has proven authentic. He knows, yes, you have been chosen of God. That is the evidence. [00:28:12] This aspect of the text, I think, should encourage us in evangelism. It should encourage us to proclaim the gospel with our friends, because it's not up to you to persuade them. [00:28:28] It's not up to your skill and precision and knowing all of the answers. It's not up to even your boldness. [00:28:36] None of it. Even Paul says it could have just been words, but it wasn't, because it was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And I know this because of the effectiveness of it, because of the faith they have. [00:28:52] It's up to God. So be confident, knowing that there are people out there that God is calling to himself. And when you proclaim the gospel, if they will come to faith, maybe not then. Maybe eventually, when the Spirit changes their hearts, this relieves us of the pressure of having to do it perfectly. This should be encouraging. It means in evangelism you can't fail. You just need to do it. [00:29:20] Has your faith been proven to be authentic like the Thessalonians? Maybe we haven't endured trials quite like they did, but we rightly look to. To the works that we do every day for this evidence. We should always remember that good works flow from Christians like water flows from a river. There must be a source. The water doesn't come up out of nowhere, necessarily. It has to have a source. Good works likewise comes from an authentic faith in an authentic gospel. That's our third point. [00:29:56] Authentic gospel. [00:29:59] Look down at the text again. We're going to Finnish reading verse seven and on so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything, for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. [00:30:45] The true gospel goes forth from them. It sounds forth in the world like a sonic boom, especially in places where it has not been. [00:30:56] The people in neighboring regions were hearing of the faith of these Christians. What they had done was so countercultural and it stood out so starkly that everyone took notice. I think that's interesting. [00:31:12] What it reminds us, students, is that the way you live your lives really does matter. It really does have an effect. [00:31:21] I'll never say that we can get by by just doing good and that our actions will share the gospel. I don't think that's true. I mean, remember in verse 5 it tells us that Paul used words. Verse 6 says that he received the Word. [00:31:36] But whether you receive the word is proved by your life. [00:31:41] Your life proves it. And your life can show the world that you receive really do believe in Jesus. This gospel really is transforming. It really is a true message. And this removes a major barrier in the belief of others. [00:32:00] People of great faith are remembered for their faith. One of the most popular chapters in the Bible is Hebrews 11, because it's just a list of faithful men and women from the Old Testament. [00:32:13] Likewise, even today, we have many people that bear the names of faithful people from the scripture. Maybe you're not named necessarily after the person in the Bible, but so many names because they're made famous in the Bible by these faithful people. Like there's an Ezra in the Bible who's a faithful man. There's a Levi in the Bible who's a faithful man. There's so many people. Oh, we gotta. We got a Seth in here, right? The child of Adam and Eve. [00:32:46] We said, Levi, there's a Hannah in here. She gets her son to God's ministry in the temple. These people are faithful. Caleb, he wants to be called out. Oh, Daniel right next to him. I mean, fantastic examples. Fantastic examples. You see the point? Maybe the parents aren't necessarily thinking of the Bible. Perhaps person. But why do you think these names are so common? Because they're reflecting a faithful person. Your life does matter. The faith of those people I listed, the faith of these Thessalonians has gone forth. That's what he says. It's gone forth before them. [00:33:27] Now, as I alluded to earlier, I don't really like the phrase preach the Gospel and use words if necessary. I think it's better to say, share the Gospel and let your life be a testimony that it's true. That's what Paul is saying in this text. Share the Gospel and let your life be a testimony that it's true. [00:33:47] It firms it up. It makes it more believable. It helps people to know that what you're telling them is actually real and authentic. [00:33:56] Our God is not dead but alive. So our faith cannot be dead but alive. [00:34:03] Strive to make your faith active and turn to God when you fail. You know I'm talking about your life. Let's not remember that we're not saved because we can keep our faith up by doing good. It's a way for us to examine ourselves, to keep ourselves in check, to make sure we are living in accordance with what we profess to be true and what we believe. [00:34:26] Right? But you are not actually doing the work of keeping your faith. Remember, the God who ordained it holds you. The God who has chosen you, holds you tight and doesn't let you go. [00:34:39] So when you fail, inevitably, when you don't have love, when you don't have faith, when you don't have hope, turn to God. Repent. [00:34:49] Don't turn away from him and try to clean it all up yourself. [00:34:53] An active faith, an authentic faith, repents, right? You still sin, but an active and authentic faith repents. It prays and it follows Christ closer and closer. [00:35:08] And it does this with perseverance or steadfastness of hope. [00:35:13] With faith, hope and love, we Christians await the return of the Son of God. That's what we see him hinting at at the end here. He says to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. [00:35:31] This is an important theme in these letters as well. [00:35:35] This is the consummation of our faith and redemption. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to raise again the dead, to raise up the living, to judge the living and the dead, to deliver his beloved from the wrath to come. [00:35:52] And those who are enemies of God to the wrath to come. [00:35:58] He's coming again to complete your redemption if you're in Christ. And if you're in Christ, he's also going to renew your body and the whole earth. [00:36:08] For every Christian, this is a wonderful day to look forward to for those in Christ. That's why so often to this church in a difficult context, he's telling them, remember the end, remember what will come. That's what he's pointing to when they're in difficulty, what's going to come in the end? He's going to come back. [00:36:31] This is a wonderful day for Christians and unfortunately, it's a horrible day for those outside of Christ, for the doubters, for those who have spent their whole lives trying to earn their own way to salvation, for those who think they just need to fix up their lives themselves before they can come to God, and for those who refuse to give Jesus for their whole lives, even those who hold back different parts because they're coveting it and they want it, and really that becomes their God. And it's even for those who just outright reject Him. All the same, for those people, there is wrath to come, an eternal persecution that is deserved by everyone who rejects the living God. [00:37:13] So where is the proof of your faith? [00:37:16] Has your faith been tested like the Thessalonians? Again, maybe not. But when it does endure testing, we don't need to rank whose testing is harder or not. When it does get tested, do you choose to live for yourself and to love your sin, or do you choose Christ? [00:37:34] I hope that this chapter is an example to you. Follow the faith and example of the Thessalonians, who. Whose faith went forth to the regions around them and whose faith has gone forth even to this very room. Right, we're reading about their faith. Their faith has gone forth many, many years across many, many lands and waters to get to where it's edifying us in Christ. [00:38:00] How wonderful. The Word is powerful, so believe it and share it. Improve the authenticity of the gospel and the authenticity of your faith by living the lives that God has chosen you for. Let's pray. [00:38:15] Father. God, we thank you for the Word. And we thank you that we can come here and open it and learn from it. God, help us to examine our faith, to remember ultimately that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. God, help our lives to reflect that, convict us of sin when it doesn't, and draw us to yourself. Lord, help us to apply this text to our lives this week to remember the faith and example of the Thessalonian Christians. We pray this all in Christ's name, amen.