1 Thessalonians 1

0:22 Okay, you got it? Good, I like when you hold it up, that's just so cool. We like get pictures of these things when we do that. It's just a good sight to have, to see. So, turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Now, before we begin tonight, I'm going to pray. And I always like to give a warning. I don't always give a warning, but I like to remember, and I just remembered, so I give people a warning. We are going to enter into a Bible study for the next 55 minutes, almost an hour. I know that's groundbreaking for some people. I know that we all live in a country, a world that has a very shortened attention span, or we're used to quick reels. We're not used to really engaging the mind for any length of time without being highly distracted.

1:13 I understand that. I also know you're a different breed of people and you don't mind doing what we do, but perhaps not everybody knows this and they're going, really? You're going to have a Bible study for like an hour. So I want to give people an out because the worst thing you could do is decide in the middle of the study, I'm tapping out. Then you get up and all of our eyes look at you and you've just distracted people from the word of God. And we will look at you because we can't help it. And I'm sure you don't want to be that distraction. So as we bow our heads in prayer, if you think I got to tap out, that's fine. Just make that decision in advance. We'd appreciate that. And then you could move to the very back row so you can get up and down. And then I'll be the only one who notices you. Nobody else will see you.

2:05 I may think bad thoughts, but who cares? Nobody will see those thoughts. So we'll pray and then we'll start, shall we? Lord, I thank good thoughts, and I thank you for hungry hearts and people who have gathered to hear your word. And thank you that we have the opportunity in a country. We have the freedom to gather of assembly. We have the freedom to believe and hold to our beliefs wholeheartedly and practice our faith. And we pray that we would grow in our faith. We would grow in grace and in knowledge, as Peter wrote, the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2:45 We pray you will use the words of this book, this chapter, to delve into our lives, our hearts, speak deep things to us, minister deeply to us. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. So if you'll notice in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, there's a good chance, in fact better than good chance, that I'm going to finish chapter 1 tonight. Because you're looking at how long it is. There's 10 verses. So I'm almost certain I can pull this off and make it through 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. So our style is going book by book, verse by verse, unless there's lots of names like there were in some of the Old Testament books. We just acknowledge those names and pick up when the list is done.

3:40 But we read book by book, chapter by chapter, usually verse by verse, and we go through every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And it's just a style that I have adopted. J. Vernon McGee did it years ago. Chuck Smith did it and taught us. And it's just something we founded this church upon. So we do an Old Testament book, then a New Testament book, then an old, then a new. We ping pong back and forth just to add some variety. And so we have finished an Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Now we're in the book of 1 Thessalonians. We're going to bounce back after this book is done to the book of Esther. Go to 2 Thessalonians. So that's kind of the pace that we're keeping. But we're in the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians. Paul didn't did never plan to go to Thessalonica he did go but it was not in his schedule it was not his agenda to do so the reason he went is the Lord redirected his steps so I love love love the story of how he got to this part of the world this part of the world being Europe The gospel entered Europe when he crossed over the Aegean Sea from Troas to the city of Philippi in Macedonia and then Thessalonica.

5:06 when paul finished his first missionary journey it's just background because there's only 10 verses he went to jerusalem there was a dispute you remember of how gentiles can be a part of the church and they all concluded that it's simply an act of God's grace through our faith. We don't have to add any rules and regulations or laws to the Gentiles. Just tell them to keep themselves from things strangled, from blood, and from things, from idolatry. And if they do these things, they do well. And so they wrote that letter. Paul was part of that council. Then Paul went back from Jerusalem to Antioch, where he had started his missionary journey. And when he was in Antioch, after the first missionary journey, Barnabas had gone with him, you remember, on journey number one.

6:13 He looks over at Barney, and he says, Barney, let's take another trip. And this time, let's go back over all the churches we planted, over all the people we led to the Lord, and just see how they're all doing. And we'll encourage them. And so Barney, Barnabas said, great, it's a good plan. I'd like to bring my relative, my nephew, John Mark again. And Paul said, oh no, we're not going to bring him again. If you remember Barney, on trip number one, he ditched us. And when we crossed over from Cyprus and we went to the mainland. He went back home to Jerusalem. I think he's inherently weak. I don't want him on my team. Well, they had a disagreement. And the disagreement was so profound and contentious, they were arguing back and forth, that they decided to split company. And this has bothered a lot of people that you have two great mature saints of God who can't get along and argue and they, you know, I'm going down the street and starting my own church, right? Welcome to church history. That's been happening for a couple thousand years and continues to do so. But effectively what it did is it produced two, not one, two different missionary teams. So you had Barnabas and John Mark and you had Paul.

7:43 and this time since Barnabas isn't on his team because he's going with John Mark, Paul took Silas. And Paul and Silas went back over some of those areas. He started in Derbe and then Lystra. And in Derbe and Lystra he picked up a young man by the name of Timothy, a young convert from the first missionary journey. And he brings Timothy with the team. So they go from Derbe, Lystra, Derbe, and then it says they went through the area of Phrygia and Galatia. You remember those areas? But the Holy Spirit, the Bible says in Acts 16, the Holy Spirit forbade them to go to Asia, Asia Minor. So he stopped them from going where they wanted to go. then Paul went to another area thought okay since the Holy Spirit won't let us go there let's try over here and he goes through Mycenae and tried to go to Bithynia but the text says the Holy Spirit did not permit them so Paul's scratching his head going okay so I've been come from Antioch Lystra Derby, tried to go this direction, that direction. So he goes and bypasses Mycenae, goes to a little seaport town called Troas. I've been to that little town. There are ruins there now, but it's a cool little place right on the beach. And while he was there at Troas that night, wondering what the Lord's will for his life was, he got a vision. In the vision, he saw a man from Macedonia. And Thessalonica is in Macedonia. And the man said, come over to Macedonia and help us.

9:43 So Paul woke up the next day and he thought, huh, I kind of think God wants us to go to Macedonia. duh so he gets silas and he goes let's take the next boat out and they land and go to philippi and they're probably looking for the man from macedonia they didn't find a man from macedonia they found women meeting at a riverside and one of them was lydia he paul led her to the lord But that group of women he started with, and he preached the word to, and he preached the word in that town, and he got arrested, you remember, taken to the jail at Philippi. And he and Silas were in stocks, and at midnight they were singing praises unto God, and the earthquake happened, the Philippian jailer got saved, you remember that story. well while Paul is in Philippi and that happens they ask him to leave town after that event so he leaves Philippi and goes through Amphipolis and Apollonia and he goes a hundred miles from Philippi all the way to this town of Thessalonica. And he preaches the word there. So all of that to say he didn't want to go to Thessalonica, but because the Holy Spirit put the stop on him. And I love that, by the way, the steps of a good man, the Bible says, are directed by the Lord. But here's the other part of that truth. Not only the steps, but the stops of a righteous or a good man are ordered by the Lord. So sometimes the Lord will direct your steps. Sometimes the Lord will direct your stops.

11:36 And you'll wonder, why isn't God allowing that? I've tried, I've prayed, I've strategized, and it's a wall. It's a no. It's okay. That's when you wait for further instructions. If you don't have a green light, don't drive through the red light. Wait till you get a strong go or affirmation to go. Thank you. when I used to live in Southern California, I lived in Huntington Beach before I came here, and I wanted to go somewhere to start a church.

12:12 And I remember getting a letter, my pastor got a letter, and I got it from him, of a group that wanted to start a church. They were meeting in a Bible study, and they wanted a pastor to come and pastor a church, and it was in Aspen, Colorado. I had visited Aspen while I lived in California and I just thought, hmm, maybe the Lord's calling me to Aspen, Colorado. I could see myself pastoring in Aspen, Colorado. Yeah, I like skiing and that'd be fun. It'd be a vast difference from where I live now, but I think I'm up for it. So they were praying. I introduced myself. I wrote letters. They were excited. And I was excited. and I was getting ready and planning to go and a lot of things were coming together. Then I get a letter finally from them and saying the Bible study broke up, you don't need to come.

13:06 We've gone separate ways. They got in some kind of an argument, Paul and Barnabas kind of a thing. They probably started four churches from that little Bible study. But I remember getting that letter going, I was so disappointed. I thought Aspen was the Lord's will. Well, come to find out God was redirecting me And he did have in mind a town that began with an A, but it was an Aspen. It was Albuquerque. So I look back and I love the sovereign hand of God in directing and then redirecting your steps. So Paul goes to Philippi, but he ends up in Thessalonica. So Paul, verse 1, Silvanus, I'll tell you about him in a minute, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I said that Thessalonica is 100 miles away from Philippi.

14:14 He started at Philippi. That's his first European town. Macedonia was, is, if we looked at a map, it's the area of Greece. The northern part of that area of ancient Greece was Macedonia. The southern part was Achaia. It was two different kind of areas or districts. So he lands on European soil, goes to Philippi, makes it 100 miles over to Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a major town. It was about 200,000 people. It was on a main road that connected Rome, went east and west. So it was strategically placed, had a population base of about 200,000 people at the time of the Apostle Paul. and what made it interesting is that being part of the Roman Empire it was governed by polytarchs, kind of like political governors, not with the same kind of governance that the imperial city of Rome and the Roman Empire had. The people themselves, it was a free city, it was called, the people themselves were able to govern themselves. So it was sort of like us, and there was the government of the people, by the people, for the people. They kind of, the people ran it.

15:43 So it was a very unique city in that it was a free city, though, in the Roman Empire. On the Via Ignatia, that main road from east to west. Paul went there, and it says in the book of Acts, we're about to read in the book of Acts, again, there's only 10 verses in this chapter. So I want to bring you up to speed and give you the full background. We're going to read how Paul goes there. But Paul spent three consecutive Sabbaths, three weeks in Thessalonica. He may have spent more time altogether, but three Sabbaths he went to the synagogue. That was his style. He would always go to the synagogue. Why the synagogue? He was a Jew. And as a Jew, he would automatically start with Jews because as Paul said, the gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Gentile or Greek. So he would go to the synagogue because they understood scripture. They were awaiting the Messiah. He knew the Messiah had come. They were already bathed in scripture and all of the anticipation of the promises, messianic promises. So it was a natural stepping stone into a culture to begin at the Jewish synagogue.

17:01 So whenever he blew into town, he would first go to the synagogue. And I kind of think he would find out two things. Where is your synagogue? Because I'm going to preach there this weekend. And then where is your jail? Because I'm going to be spending a lot of time there as well. I kind of need to know where I'm going to hang my hat at night because he got arrested a lot. But anyway, if you don't mind, even if you do mind, Go back to the book of Acts. Keep a marker in 1 Thessalonians. Go to Acts chapter 17 as we find out how this church in Thessalonica started. So, Acts chapter 17. Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

17:56 Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them and for three Sabbaths, I like this, reasoned with them from the scriptures. the gospel is reasonable. When I first came to believe in Jesus Christ, I was born and raised Roman Catholic. I didn't have a saving faith until I was 18. I placed my faith in Jesus personally. I had a relationship with him. And I had, in the environment I was in, in the medical field, and at UCLA, all those classes, I was barraged with unbelievers asking me reasonable questions that I had no reasonable answer for. Until I read a book called Evidence That Demands a Verdict. And I've told you many times before, I memorized whole sections of it. And then I reasoned with people who had reasonable questions, and I gave them reasonable answers. And it was so fun because I cut my teeth in evangelism on apologetics. And so I was able to talk about Christ, get fired on with all sorts of different questions. And what about this? What about that? And this can't be true. And that can't be true. And so I would give reasonable answers. And I just watched how effective that was. To be able to speak to a person reasonably. Come, it says in Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18, let us reason together says the Lord. And it is reasonable. So he reasoned with them from the scriptures. Explaining and demonstrating that the Christ, Messiah, had to suffer and rise again from the dead.

19:52 Remember, they're Jewish. They're living far away from Jerusalem. They may have heard about Jesus, may not have. Paul is there to say, you're waiting for the Messiah to take over and rule the world. You know, first he had to come and die and suffer and showed that from the scriptures, demonstrating that Christ had to suffer, rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ. Now, here's the effect. This is how the church gets started. And some of them were persuaded. Now the ones that were persuaded become the church that he writes to. About a year later, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Believed to be by many the very first New Testament letter Paul ever wrote. Around 50 AD, 51 AD. So some of them were persuaded.

20:48 they became believers, and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, that is, they also believed, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace. I believe the King James puts it, lewd fellows of the baser sort. and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them to the people. So notice the gospel goes out from Paul's lips in the synagogue, and there are two effects. Some believe, some don't. There's always two effects. You'll share the gospel, you'll give your testimony, some will believe, some will not.

21:45 the ones that did became the church. They became the church at Thessalonica. When Paul and Barnabas or Paul and Silas or Timothy or whomever wanted to start a church in a neighborhood or in a city, I don't know. they didn't go get a demographic study of the neighborhoods in Thessalonica first to find out the prime location for us to put a church. They didn't go on an internet campaign to kind of send out an e-blast new church starting in Thessalonica. Come see Paul and Silas.

22:40 They just unleashed the gospel. How do you start a church? Just unleash the gospel. Just speak the word of God. Preach the gospel. Teach the word. Teach the Bible. Let God do what he does best. Jesus said, I will build my church. Boy, that takes the pressure off. if you're a church planner and said man i gotta go build a church somewhere i gotta just just jesus said i'll do it it's my church first of all not yours i will build my church to show up open your bible reason with people teach the word unleash the gospel some will be persuaded take those some disciple them and watch it grow so that happened they just unleashed the gospel I feel strongly about this as you can tell because it sort of seems like as time has gone on and we have more tools in our toolbox in terms of technology which I I'm for. AI now can do a lot of stuff for us that we couldn't do before. And we have so many tricks and gadgets and ways to communicate at our disposal. And so we can go to seminars and read books and find out how that's done that way. But it's almost like we're saying to the Holy Spirit, thank you for all your help we got it from here you you showed up in the first couple of thousand years but now that we have this see ya nope um I don't know if you remember that far back but uh the commercial we have money or save money the old-fashioned way do you remember that commercial

24:49 No, you don't. Okay, so maybe you have to be my age or dead to remember that. But build churches the old-fashioned way. Show up, unleash the gospel, see who is persuaded, take those people, disciple them, train them, and write letters to them like Paul did here in 1 Thessalonians. So an uproar happens in the city. They bring Jason. They start to bring him out to the people. verse 6 of chapter 17, when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, I love this phrase, these who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Now that's the assessment and the accusation of the lewd fellows of the baser sort, of this mob. The accusation was not meant to be a compliment.

25:51 It was meant to be a complaint. These people who have turned the world upside down, they're trying to do it here. It was not meant to be a compliment. But, considering the shape the world is in, it actually is a compliment. Because the world by itself is upside down. So if you take something upside down and turn it upside down, now it's right side up. So they meant it as a complaint. It's actually an inadvertent compliment. oh that we would get that kind of complaint from the world around us you guys are turning this city upside down praise god it needs that because it is upside down needs to be turned right side up so that was their accusation they've come here to jason harbored them they continue and are all acting contrary to the decrees of caesar saying there is another king jesus and they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

27:01 They're accusing Paul and Silas and Timothy of a subversive plot to overthrow the Roman government and install a new king named Jesus. So they troubled the crowd, the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. So after this, Paul is encouraged to leave Thessalonica under the cover of night. He goes at night, escapes town, goes to a neighboring town. I'm not going to read the rest of it, but he goes to the next town of Berea. And in Berea, Luke writes, the people and the men of Berea, the Bereans were more fair-minded or more noble than those in Thessalonica. In that they received the word of God with all readiness of mind, but searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

28:01 So they listened to the message spoken by Paul. And these Jews went home and they thought, I'm going to look that up in my Bible and see if that's right. and the apostles commended them for it. They're more fair-minded, more noble than even the Thessalonians because they didn't just hear and believe. They heard and read and checked up on me and then believed. So, they go to Berea, and then Paul makes his way down all the way to southern Greece, to Achaia, the region, and the town he goes to is Corinth. That's a town we all know of. He's in Corinth for about 18 months, a year and a half. and from Corinth, it's about a year span of time from visiting Thessalonica and starting that church and writing the letter.

28:59 So he goes all the way to Corinth and while he is in Corinth, from Corinth, he writes the letter to the Thessalonians. So we're reading Paul's letter to the Thessalonians written from Southern Greece, from Micaiah, from Corinth, about a year later. So back to our text, verse one, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Paul is the author, but he includes Silvanus and Timothy. Why? Because they were companions. These three were the ones accused of turning the world upside down. So he includes them as collaborators on his ministry team. Paul, you know Paul, was Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. got radically converted on the Damascus Road, became Paul the Apostle.

29:56 Silvanus is another name for Silas. So when he and Barnabas had a falling out in Antioch and Paul said, I'm taking Silas, that's this guy. Silvanus and Silas are the same guy. He was a companion with the Apostle Paul on Paul's second missionary journey. a very important collaborator with the apostle.

30:25 And you should probably also know that Silvanus, Silas, was the one who wrote 1 Peter. Now, Peter wrote 1 Peter, but what I mean is that he was the amanuensis, the writer. As Peter spoke the word dictated it, it was Silas who wrote it. How do I know that? 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 12 mentions that Peter's words came through the writings or the hand, the pen, of his amanuensis, the one he dictated to, which was Silas. So he was very important both to Paul and to Peter. So Paul, Silvanus, Silas, and Timothy. Now Timothy, I told you, was a guy who lived in Lystra. his mother and grandmother were Jewish. His father was a Greek, an unbelieving Greek.

31:23 Timothy got his strong faith in God from his grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice. And they got led to Christ by Paul on the first missionary journey. And we presume Timothy as well got led to Christ by Paul on the first missionary journey. when Paul went through Listera and Derby the second time on the second journey, Paul said, hey, Tim, you ought to come with us. I think you'd grow immensely if you went on the road with us, and you went on a mission trip, and you just saw how I do evangelism and how we plant churches. I think you'd love it. I'm presuming how the conversation went. But however it went, it went and he went with Paul. So he accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey and his third missionary journey, and even spent time when Paul was imprisoned in Rome in his first imprisonment, when he was there under house arrest, Timothy was by his side.

32:30 Paul sent Timothy back to Ephesus. Paul spent three years in Ephesus, started a church there, and he eventually gave the pastoral duties of the church at Ephesus to young Timothy, who became pastor of the church of Ephesus after Paul. So, we've covered part of verse 1. Paul, Silas, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians. Thessalonians, Matt made me promise before the study that I would not go too fast through this book. I think I'm fulfilling that wish. To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you know, I believe, that the word for church, ekklesia, is the Greek word, means called out ones, was a common Greek word, ekklesia, for any assembly at all. Any assembly was an ecclesia. When people gather together at the Elks Club in Ephesus, it was an ecclesia. When they had the fireman's dinner in Corinth, it was an ecclesia. It was a gathering. So because ecclesia was a common Greek term for any kind of assembly, this is why Paul, when he writes this letter, says to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God. It's a special kind of an assembly. It's an assembly in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a church. When people assemble in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

34:20 Now, as I was reading through 1 Thessalonians, I paused a couple of times in this book and I thought, you know, it's interesting that Paul mentions the Father, God the Father, and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But he does not mention the Holy Spirit, even though he was Trinitarian and does mention the Spirit in many other places. When he delineates the church of God, it's in God. the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, but Paul, you know, of course, you're leaving out the Holy Spirit. And I wondered why. Until I remember that Jesus said, when the Spirit comes, he will not even testify of himself, but point to me. So the work of the Holy Spirit is not ever to draw attention to himself, but to point to Jesus who points to God the Father. Even though he's definitely present in the Godhead and acknowledged by Paul, Paul doesn't always acknowledge him. I think honoring what Jesus said the Holy Spirit came to do. And I always get a little leery when somebody puts too much emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Of course, we should emphasize him. He is God. He is the third person in the Trinity. But never to the exclusion of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Since the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, if a person's always overdosing on the Holy Ghost without making much of Jesus, that's not the work of the Spirit. How can you tell if it's a genuine work of the Holy Spirit? That person will boast in Christ. Boast in God the Father. That is the work of the Spirit. So, likewise, he mentions God the Father, and notice Lord Jesus Christ.

36:22 That, I don't want you, let me clarify something. it's not like Lord is his first name, Jesus is his middle name, and Christ is his last name. Some people sort of think that's the way it is. Well, Christ is sort of his last name, right? No, it wasn't. Lord is not his name. Lord is a title. He is the Lord. He is sovereign. He is over servants. I'm a servant. It designates relationship. It's a title. To say he is Lord also implies I'm his slave. I'm a servant. lordship is absolute sovereign control jesus said why do you call me lord lord but you don't do the things that i say anybody can call him lord but not act like and not obey him you know peter had this problem when when the lord let down a sheet from heaven you remember in the book of acts and god said peter get up kill those things and eat them there was all sorts of unkosher animals on that tablecloth. And God said, rise up, Peter, kill and eat. And Peter said, no way, Lord, or not so, Lord. Now that's a perfect contradiction. You cannot say not so and Lord at the same time.

38:00 You can say not so, dude, or not so, whoever you are, but you can never say not so to the Lord, otherwise he's not the Lord. The Lord implies absolute unquestioned obedience. Now all of that to say we all struggle with the lordship issue. A lot of us, self-included, will argue with the Lord. And so part of our growth is coming under the banner of his authority, right? So Lord is a title. Jesus is his name. Jesus is a name that is based on the Hebrew. That's the English version of Jesus, Greek. Yeshua is the Hebrew name.

38:54 It means God saves or God is salvation. It's the name the angel said to Joseph, you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So Lord is his title. Jesus is his name that speaks of his mission to save people. Christ is his role title Lord name Jesus Christ role Christ is the Greek form of Mashiach Messiah the promised one the one the Old Testament predicted time and time again would come to the Jewish nation to deliver them Thank you. he's the Lord. His name is Jesus. He came the first time to save people from their sins. He will return to this earth to rule and to reign as the reigning Messiah over the earth one day. So all three words give title, name, mission, role, Lord Jesus Christ. Boy, we're doing great. We made it all the way, well, we made it through half a verse now. Okay, let's finish this up. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Very common greeting from antiquity. And Paul himself was famous for using this combination of words, grace and peace. Grace, charis, means it's a greeting. Grace means a favored one or beauty even, but it was a very common Western Greek greeting. Peace, though it's written originally in the Greek language, a reine or a reine, peace, what Paul is doing, I believe, is combining a Western greeting, charis, grace, and a more Eastern Jewish greeting, peace, shalom,

41:06 to his readers. And here's what Paul does. He never, ever reverses the order. You never read an epistle where it says, Paul, an apostle, and Timothy, or whatever, peace to you and grace. You never read that from God our Father and the Lord Jesus. It's always grace, and peace. And that's important, to keep the order. Here's why. You'll never know the peace of God till you experience the grace of God. grace is unmerited favor you don't deserve god's favor but he loves you anyway and favors is willing to extend favor to you anyway you you can have peace with god just by believing in jesus christ you believe in jesus you're saved if you're standing before god is anything other than grace you'll never have peace if you try to say i'm gonna i stand before god based on my works my merit my deeds my righteousness my intent well some days you have good days with God and you're quite obedient to him but then there's most days where you're not.

42:25 So if you stand before God on your merits, your standing before God is always variable. If you're standing before God based on grace, unmerited, undeserved favor, your relationship is not variable but stable. It's constant. Some days you have good days, some days, most days you have bad days. and yet you realize but I'm under God's grace his undeserved unmerited favor I'm his child based on what Jesus did for me on the cross because of that I have peace deep in my heart I experience the peace of God that rules and reigns because my standing is not on anything but grace. And when I understand his grace, I then experience his peace. So that's verse one. We give thanks to God always for you making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

43:40 Very, again, typical of Paul. He will mention that he prays for the church he writes to, or he will sometimes mention that he prays and then say, this is what I'm praying specifically for you about. And he does that in several places, but he's not doing that here. He just says, I think of you a lot, often, and every time I think of you, I make mention of you in my prayers. our prayers. Remembering, thinking back to the time he spent with him, without ceasing, I love this triad, work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God our Father. This is, again, Paul loved combining these three attributes, faith, hope, and love. 1 Corinthians 13, now abide these three, faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

44:36 In Colossians chapter 1, verse 4 and 5, he does the same thing, combines faith, hope, and love. At the end of this book, chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians, he mentions all three again. But now, dive just a little bit deeper. Look at the first one. Your work of faith. you're never saved by works as we said but you are saved by faith but though you are saved by faith if it's real faith it's going to work it's going to operate it will produce something it's not like I'm going to work in order to be saved. No, I believed in order to be saved. And once I am saved, if it's genuine conversion, you will be able to tell that I have a genuine conversion by the works that is produced.

45:40 So James says, faith without works is dead. Paul in Romans basically says, works without faith is dead. You wonder, are they arguing with each other? No, they're complementing each other. Paul is speaking about the root of your salvation, which is faith. James is talking about the fruit of your salvation, which are works. The root faith, the fruit works. Now, if you have a genuine faith, your faith will produce work. So it's the work of faith or the work fruit produced by faith. But it always begins by just simply believing, right? Remember the guy came to Jesus and said, what must we do to work the works of God? Remember Jesus' answer? This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent.

46:42 That's where it begins. So if it's genuine faith, it produces works. And one of the works will be the labor of love. That's the second one. Work of faith, labor of love. I will do some things out of love that I would not do out of any other motivation. love turns drudgery into divine pleasure even the most mundane task if you say lord i'm doing this as unto you because i love you it can become a labor of love and then finally and there's more i could say but i do want to get through this chapter or a good chunk of it and the patience of hope now notice this in our lord jesus christ in the sight of our god and father first and second thessalonians will be talking a lot about hope that is future hope, that is eschatological hope. First and second Thessalonians are going to be dealing with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the day of Christ, that's first Thessalonians, and also the day of the Lord, that's the tribulation period, that's second Thessalonians. So there's going to be a lot of this pointing forward because the church in Thessalonica, even from the beginning, had been persecuted. Paul got persecuted. Jason got beat up and dragged in front of the town. And ever since Paul showed up and was turning the world right side up, the church experienced persecution. They needed, therefore, this group of young believers, patience, to hope. Hope for what? The return of Jesus Christ, the coming of Christ that Paul

48:48 taught them about. Okay, here's what's awesome about 1 and 2 Thessalonians. We know Paul spent three weeks there, 21 days. He may have spent months there and only was three weeks in the synagogue, but whatever length of time he spent there, he didn't spend much time there. He didn't spend much time there yet. While he was there, he taught them the Trinity. He taught them ecclesiology. He taught them eschatology. They knew that Jesus was going to return for them. They taught them that there's going to be a trying on the earth. There's going to be a man of sin called the Antichrist who's going to come. This all shows up in 2 Thessalonians. Wow. For being there from three weeks to six months to get a church that taught in that much doctrine is amazing. Why do I say amazing? I won't say where, but I was invited to a state on the other side of the country to speak at a church that had been there for 10 or 12 years. And one of the assistant pastors asked me to speak on eschatology and the coming of Christ and some prophetic Bibles. I said, great, love it. I got just the thing I was preparing. The pastor called me and he goes, please do not speak on the coming of the Lord. I said okay why? He goes this church is only 10 years old 12 years old. Now as he's telling me that this church is immature and couldn't handle that kind of a bible setting he's telling me it's 10 or 12 years old I'm thinking in my mind back to first Thessalonians. Paul's are three to weeks to six months and they in Thessalonica knew it pretty well. Even though Paul has to write these letters to adjust their thinking because I'll explain more later, they knew it. He left them an incredible deposit of deep theological and eschatological

50:54 truth in just a short period of time that brought them hope. Knowing, verse 4, knowing, beloved Good brethren, your election by God. Your election by God. Election is a principal doctrine in the New Testament. do you remember when you were chosen by God?

51:22 God chose you, by the way. He picked you. You're on his team because God picked you. Well, in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4, it says, he chose us in him before the foundations of the world. God picked you. God chose you. Now, some people have a huge issue with this. I don't like the idea that God chooses people for salvation. I do because he chose me. I love that teaching.

51:53 I love it. And the fact that God chooses people never negates a person's right to choose God. You go, how does that work? Well, Jesus told his disciples, follow me. And you know what they did? They followed him. They made their own choice to follow him. And sometime later, Jesus let him in on a little secret. He goes, you didn't choose me, but I chose you. And I ordained you that you should go and bear forth much fruit. And that your fruit should remain. And Peter's looking at John going, did you get that? He said he chose us. I remember the day I said yes to Jesus and I decided I'm leaving home to follow him. Now he's telling me he chose me. Which is which? Both. you chose him because he first chose you you love him because he first loved you he chose you from the foundations of the earth of the world then you were born and in time and space you made a decision both are true the free will of man and the pre-election of God are both both true I know for some of us it's an irreconcilable tension that we try to figure out I have long ago decided not to try to figure it out, but just to enjoy it. He chose you. Relax. Enjoy it.

53:21 You go, I don't think that's fair. Really? You don't think it's fair that God should be able to choose who he wants to hang out with forever? You get to choose who you're going to marry and who you want as your friend and who you want to go to dinner with. can't God choose who he wants to live with forever? Well, it's not fair because I, maybe he didn't choose me. Why would you say that? I don't believe in him. Okay, so believe in him. Put your faith in him. If you put your faith in him, you'll discover he chose you.

53:59 Oh, I don't know that I want to believe in him. Maybe he didn't choose you. that's not fair. Well, then choose him. So here's the picture. It's like you see a door that says on the front of it, whosoever will let him come. And you look at that and go, I'll come. I'll choose to go through that door. And you go through the door. The door closes automatically behind you. In front of you is a table. And on the table is a name tag with your name on it, as if anticipating you. The door closes behind you. and it says on the inside chosen in Christ before the foundations of the earth. You decided to go through only to discover you didn't choose him he chose you. So say God is unfair or commit your life to Christ tonight and you'll find out that you were chosen in Christ from before the foundations of the earth. For our gospel did not come to you in word only.

55:05 but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. Our gospel didn't come to you in word only. It came to you in word initially, but not just in word is the idea. But it has to come in words initially. This idea of, you know, preach the gospel and if necessary, use words is a stupid thing to say. It's always necessary to use words. You must articulate the basic truths of the gospel. How shall they hear or how shall they believe in one they have not heard? How shall they hear unless somebody speaks to them? In Romans it says that somebody has to come and bring the message, and you have to hear the message and believe the message.

56:04 So it came to you in word, but not only in word, but in power. And the power is the changed lives in Thessalonica. And verse 6, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, love this, love this, love this, with joy of the Holy Spirit. Affliction and joy in the same sentence, in the same person. How does that work? Affliction is your external experience. Joy is your internal experience. Two things can be true at the same time. Only the Christian can have affliction and joy at the same time. An unbeliever cannot. To an unbeliever, joy is the absence of affliction. Affliction is the absence of joy. For the Christian, we have affliction and joy at the same time. Some of us suffer with chronic pain. Some people deal with anxiety and depression. Some people are going through deep, hard medical issues and uncertainty. At the same time, the internal condition can be joy of the Holy Spirit. So that you became examples to all who are in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord sounded forth. And I want to unpack more of that next week. Not only in Macedonia and Achaia, north and south, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything.

57:46 what happened in Thessalonica spread to the different peoples around. They heard about it, and that was the testimony. So Paul said, I don't even have to brag about you. Everybody knows what happened in Thessalonica. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God. And here it is again. He's turning us forward. to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus. Now watch this last phrase, who delivers us from the wrath to come. And here's what you'll discover. We finished a chapter.

58:34 So I know I didn't do it all justice, and we'll go back and get a few seed thoughts as we get into chapter two. But I want to finish chapter one, so at least on the archive it'll read. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We did it. he rescued us from wrath in two ways. Eternal wrath, hell, judgment. You'll never face the judgment of God. You'll stand at the judgment seat of Christ for a reward, but the judgment of God for your sins is past, right? It says in the gospel of John, you believe in Jesus Christ. You've gone from death into life and you will not go through the judgment. Those are the words of Christ. he saves you from eternal wrath but I also believe what Paul is hinting at and we'll develop it in this book and the next book is the wrath that God is going to pour out on the earth in the great tribulation period the believer will be exempt from that wrath you will not go through that tribulation period. I know there's different beliefs on that. I respect everybody's right to be wrong. That's fine. But I believe the Bible clearly states, and I want to present the case for God, doesn't mean in the world you will have, you in the world, Jesus said, you will have tribulation. But he didn't say you will have the great tribulation that God's going to pour out on the earth in judgment. You are going to escape from the wrath that is to come. Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for the ability to go through this chapter and spend time with one another and soak in the promises of your word and let these things seep deep into our fiber to be refreshed by these truths once again. Lord, I pray with anybody who's here who's struggling with a relationship with you.

1:00:43 They've not fully committed their lives to Christ. They haven't decided to say yes to Jesus, to trust him. They've been fighting you, but they'd love to come into a place of peace, which can only come by experiencing and acknowledging grace, undeserved, unmerited favor. And I pray that they will receive Jesus Christ and his finished work on Calvary so that they can just turn and believe in him and commit to him and you will confer upon them, give to them, not earned by them, but give to them as a gift freely, salvation. and their lives will be changed.

1:01:39 Their labor will be out of love. They will live with hope and have patience that is developed by that hope. But it all begins by faith, a work of faith, believing, trusting in the Savior. I pray for anybody who might be here or has gathered with us online who has yet to surrender their lives to Christ. I pray they would do it in these final moments right here.

1:02:08 Really quickly, if you have come tonight, you've never given your life to Christ, you've never surrendered your life to him, you're struggling with all sorts of issues, but you're not experiencing the peace of walking with the Savior, I want to ask you to surrender your life tonight. And if you are willing to do that, or maybe you've wandered from him and you need to come back to him, Either way, I want you just to raise your hand up in the air if you're willing to say yes to the Lord right here. Just raise it up. Keep it up for a moment so I can acknowledge you as we close this service. In raising your hand, you're saying, Skip, here's my hand. Pray for me. Pray for me. I need to surrender my life to Christ. Just raise your hand up in the air as we close this service. Raise it up high so I can see you and acknowledge you.

1:03:00 God bless you. Right up here in the front. Thank you, young man. Awesome. How bold. I commend you for that. Right there in the back, a couple of you guys right there. And another one right in the middle. Yep. Yep. And to my left, thank you for that. Lord, we do pray for these who have raised their hands, made that indication. I pray, Lord, that in this transaction of faith, this commitment of faith. You fill them with your peace. Give them a sense of purpose and joy. The assurance of forgiveness as they say yes to the Savior and as they come forward to say yes publicly. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's all stand to our feet now. We're going to sing this final song. Now listen carefully. If you raised your hand, and I saw several hands go up, I want you as we sing this last song, find the nearest aisle, come and stand right in front of me. And when you're all gathered together, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. If you're right up front, just stand right up here.

1:04:01 If you're in the middle or in the side, just get, just come. We're going to wait for you. I saw hands to my left, to my right, in the middle, get up right out of the aisle and come and stand up here publicly, publicly. Jesus called people publicly in the New Testament. Come and make that public commitment. Come and stand here. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. Come on.

1:04:33 This is the smartest thing anybody could ever do. This is good thinking right here. Saying yes to the only one who can save you and change you. Anybody else want to come, even if you didn't raise your hand, and take God up on his word and see your life turned around? See your life change. Get hope. Live in hope. Anybody else? We'll wait another moment. it's a free gift and you'll never earn it you'll never be good enough for it but what jesus did is good enough for it and for you anyone anyone Okay, those of you who have come, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to pray out loud. I want you to pray out loud after me. I want you to say these words from your heart. I want you to mean what you're saying. Say this, Lord, I give you my life.

1:05:26 I know I'm a sinner. Please forgive me. I believe in Jesus, that he died on the cross, that he rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin. I repent. I turn to Jesus as Savior and as Lord.