Have you ever considered the timely messages of Paul's epistles that were written to the Thessalonian believers, both his first as well as the second letter? They are so appropriate in their teachings, first regarding the second coming of Christ, and second in the practical application of this great truth for Christian living. Let it be firmly and clearly understood that the doctrine taught in the Word of God, any doctrine for that matter taught in the Word of God, is also taught with its practical responsibility to affect the believer's life. Before we commence the study from the first epistle, let me present two aspects that are revealed in both the epistles. in relation to the doctrine of the second coming of Christ. First, there is the coming of the Lord for His sake. This is taught to us as a living and a constant hope for the believer, that should detach our hearts from all other objects upon the earth. For the Lord Jesus Christ is coming. We know not how soon, but we do know He is coming to receive his thanks to himself in heaven above. This he personally promised, according to John chapter fourteen and verse three. The Savior said, If I go away, I am coming again to receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also. This is entirely independent of any earthly event. and is not a question of what the Scripture speaks of concerning times and seasons. It is a moment that is purposely unrevealed, so that we should be, sincerely and intelligently, always looking for him to come, to take us to the Father's house of us. The second aspect of our Lord's return is his coming with his saints. This is called in the Word of God, the Day of the Lord. It is connected with earthly events, the very solemn character, of which prophecy in the Old as well as the New Testament reveals that the Day of the Lord is different than the Lord coming for his saints is clearly distinguished by the words written by the Apostle Jude. in verses fourteen and fifteen of his epistle. Judas written to say, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and so on. This subject, as the day of the Lord, also has its place in the two epistles written to the Thessalonians, and though very solemn, It is particularly helpful in dealing with the conscience and also to test the affections of the believers as to whether we actually love the Lord's appearing to the earth when he comes in power and great glory. It will be at that time he will crush all the evil upon the earth and he will establish righteousness upon this scene to the glory of God. It is very helpful if the Christian will always keep clear in his or her mind these two distinctions, the Lord coming for his saints and second, the Lord coming from heaven with his saints. Sensibly we can realize that it is necessary for Christ to come for his saints before he can come with them. He must gather them together first to himself in heaven above in order to bring them back with him in the day of his glory these two distinctive truths will be properly developed as we study the epistle let us notice the occasion for the first epistle that Paul has written to the Thessalonians to understand this we must refer to the book of the Acts chapter seventeen verses one through ten We commend the reading of this account, and you will find that for three successive Sabbath days the beloved Apostle Paul preached in the Jewish synagogue at Thessalonica, at which time he used the Hebrew Scriptures to contend for two great truths. The first truth he contended for was this, that the Messiah must come and suffer and die and be raised from the dead. The second truth he contended for is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, that you may note in Acts chapter seventeen and verse three in particular. There were two results from his preaching. First, some believed. Second, some did not believe. And this you find recorded in verse four of Acts seventeen. the antagonistic Jews stirred up the hatred and the persecution of many against Paul and his fellow missionaries, so much so that he and Silas left the city for their personal safety and also for the safety of their own converts, as it is declared in verses five through ten of the same chapter in the Book of the Acts. It was later on, from the city of Collins to be exact, that Paul wrote to the new convicts expressing his anxiety for them, as well as to explain his absence during their subsequent trials and persecutions, and also to instruct them further in the truth of God. During the absence of the Apostle Paul from the city of Thessalonica, some believers had died, or they had fallen asleep in Jesus, as the scripture declares them. So the Apostle writes, to instruct, as well as to comfort their hearts and their minds, fervently and simply, he talks to them as well as to us, as his own beloved children in the Lord. Now let us note the opening words that we find written in the first epistle of Thessalonians, chapter one, verses one through three. You will notice that the epistle is written as from three particular persons, Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all. making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. These are the words that Paul opens and addresses his letter as he writes to the saints in Thessalonica. His salutation to them and is thanksgiving also for them. How comforting it must have been for this young church and all the believers within it to be told by the Apostle that they were in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an important truth. This is where all true believers really are. The local physical address is immaterial. The real location of the believers in this particular letter and these words is declared to be in God the Father, as well as in God the Son. My beloved, I trust and sincerely hope that this is true of you. His salutation follows. It is one of grace and peace from the same blessed person, the Father and the Son. His thanksgiving for them is very exceptional. He touches upon an incessant note of praise to God because of their testimony, and it is coupled with unceasing prayer on their behalf. The basis of his thanksgiving was very genuine. because of three particular things. Three facts concerning them he writes, most commendably, first, their work of faith, second, their labor of love, and third, their patience of hope. Faith, hope, and love were greatly in evidence in this Church of the Thessalonians. Their faith was not dead. It was genuine, producing works which gave true evidence of their salvation before all men. Then also their love was manifested, not only God's word, but toward one another, which Paul later praised would increase, not only to the saints, but even to all men, as you may read in chapter three and verse twelve. Then their hope. That blessed hope of the Lord's return was enabling them to endure their afflictions and their trials and to trust the Lord and patiently their all. What a blessed threefold testimony this is in actual exhibition and experience. We may boast of having faith and love and hope, but we raise the question, is our faith one that is practical? evidence by work, is the love that we profess, one that labors, to prove to every saint as well as sinner the reality of it. Does our hope, willingly and cheerfully, indicate we are enduring all things, no matter how painful and no matter how difficult they may be to endure? Let me repeat again this blessed commendation. commending them for their work of faith, not just for their faith, their work of faith, not only for their love, merely, but for their labor of love, not only for their hope which was theirs, but the patient endurance whereby they were waiting, bearing all their trials, knowing that the Lord was coming, and He would be their deliverer. Now thus we note the opening address, the salutation, the thanksgiving, and the commendation of the Apostle Paul for these beloved converts at Thessalonica, as we have touched upon verses one through three. But as Paul continues through the chapter, he recites the historical account of the Gospel in its blessing and power as it came to the Thessalonians. The evidence of the Gospel's power in the hearts and lives of the Thessalonian converts was indisputable. There are seven indisputable reasons given by Paul, as he writes in this chapter to his believers. Follow these facts carefully with me. For this account covers what could be called the history of every believer. The believer's election, beginning with the believer's election, in the will of God and in the foreknowledge of God, to the time when the believer will be glorified at the coming of the Lord. And Paul declares these seven facts, which confidently he knew to be true on them. Look with me at verse four, as he writes to say, first of all, knowing, brethren, beloved by God, your election. that they were God's elect children the Apostle had no doubt about. There are too many persons today who seem to be confused, perplexed and filled with uncertainty in regard to this doctrine of election, which is most unfortunate, but it is unfortunate that some of the prominent schools of theology have brought confusion through many centuries of Christian testimony on this great theme. But may we say plainly, if a person tries to find out before they are saved whether God has elected them as his children and chosen them out of all the rest of humanity, that person will never obtain peace of soul about their salvation. Neither let any person dare to say that God has chosen some to be saved and chosen others to be lost. That certainly would be the lie of the devil. For we read in Second Peter chapter three and verse nine, For God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. To state that God decrees some to be lost is to accuse God of being unjust. And it would be so. But we cannot. laid such an accusation as that to call God unjust. Never in the word of God do you find the doctrine of election or predestination being preached to lost sinners. The message of election and predestination is always written to save those whom God has already saved. On every occasion where this subject is taught in your New Testament scriptures, the words are directly addressed to the saints of God. Then also, who but God Himself would be capable of knowing the end from the beginning? And who would and who would not receive the Gospel? We do acknowledge the foreknowledge of God, which is beyond human comprehension, and any sensible person will concede that the great God of the universe, in His divine intellect, is a God that knows everything, knows all things from the beginning to the end. If He did not, He would not be omniscient. And let me further state, and may I just quote, what I have valued, the words of one of the most renowned Bible teachers of the past century, now with the Lord, when my hearing made this statement, Predestination is none of your business and mine. Your responsibility and mindset, E, is to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and make sure that you're designated to the right place, which is heaven. How true that is. Yet let us raise the question about these Thessalonian convents. Why could Paul say that they were the elect, and say knowing that for note the word. He said, we know your election of God. Now, if you properly connect verse three with this statement, you will note they had proved by their Christian testimony they were truthfully God's elect. For it was their work of faith. It was their labor of love. It was their patience of hope that proved their election of God to him. The Christian evidence of their lives gave indisputable testimony of this fact. Have you ever read Peter's great statement in Second Peter chapter one, verse ten? Wherefore the rather brethren, use diligence to make your calling and election sure, for doing these things you will never fall. Now if you read the preceding verses in Second Peter one, he describes the spiritual qualities of the Christian life. and you will realize that it is the responsibility of the believer in Christ to prove himself and herself as one of God's elect by the manner of their living. You and I are told by Peter to make sure of our calling and our election by the actual evidence in life. That will prove the transformation of a life taken out of the darkness of sin and brought into God's marvelous light. When a politician is elected to public office in government, he is expected to prove himself worthy of it. He has made promises, and we must confess very few may keep their promises. But let me say this, how much more should a Christian, who professes Christ as his, or as her Savior, give diligence to prove that the Blessed God, long before the foundation of the world, Four knew who would trust His Son as their Savior, as well as the Four know who would reject Him. Yet, please may I state firmly, the Four Knowledge of God will never absolve any person from their responsibility to believe the Gospel handling. My beloved friend, let me emphasize So the sovereignty of God is beyond human comprehension. Let us also remember God would not be God if he were not sovereign, and neither would a man be a man if he did not have responsibility. And throughout the history of the human race, and the demons of God from dispensation to dispensate him, God has always stressed the responsibility of man. toward his revealed truth and toward his revealed will for their salvation. But let us return to our text. How precious it is to the heart of a believer to know that with God his or her history began in eternal ages past. God marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to himself. according to the good pleasure of his will, as we may read in Ephesians chapter one and verse five. It is an inscrutable mystery, perhaps, but after one believes the gospel, not before, after one believes the gospel and receives Christ as his or her Savior, how blessed it is to find that long before time ever began, God the Father wanted me to be his child. And to obtain me as his child, he sent his Son to redeem me by his precious blood. For upon believing, he then sealed me by the indwelling Spirit of God. Yes, Paul is well written in Ephesians chapter one, verse six and seven. We are accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood. the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. And according to Ephesians one, verse twelve and thirteen, it is upon believing we are sealed by that Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption as being the purchase possession of our Lord's inheritance. Oh, beloved, what a joy it is to realize. When Christ becomes my Savior and He becomes your Savior, God reveals, following that revelation of salvation, that he wanted you before time ever began, and in its foreknowledge, praise God, he thus wanted to have a family of children like his dear son brought to himself without blame and before him forever in love. Now we raise the question, but how do others know this about us? It's not for you and for me to say I'm one of the elect. Your responsibility, my beloved child of God, is to prove that you're one of the elect. I remember a man sitting in the barbershop chair and testifying to the barber who was working upon him. He witnessed to his salvation, and the barber raised the question, how do you know that you're one of God's elect? My friend made ready answer. He said, I'm proving it. I'm making sure of it, as well as Peter did say, make your calling and election sure by doing the things that are the evidence of a new life in Christ. Surely, my beloved, it is the evidence of the life that alone can prove to others, and may I say also to God, that you're really one of His. For there are many Christians that I often wonder, Can God claim them as His children when you may see their conduct and their behavior? But then how do others know it? How do others and what do others think about it? How did Paul the Apostle know it? Just by saying I'm one of the elect, never. It was the evidence of Christian fruit in their life. And with the Thessalonians, let me repeat again, it was their work of faith. It was their labor of love. It was their patience of hope. I want you to know the order in which the beloved apostle writes these truths. He testifies to the evidence of their faith, to the evidence of their love, to the evidence of their hope, before he even mentions their election of God. My beloved, so it is today, and it should be. We should stop worrying as to whether we are one of God's elects. Get busy and prove it. Take Christ as your Savior, then prove it. Believe the gospel of your salvation and show it in your life. Yet in our chapters, we confess the historical account of these genuine Christians begins by revealing they were in God's eternal mind even before time began. How precious that we can look back to that eternity path and realize, recognize, and acknowledge as God reveals them. We were in his eternal heart and in his eternal mind then. This is precious. And this is true today for every sincere as well as genuine Christian. This is the commencement. Now note. This is the commencement in the sight of God. Not before men, but in the sight of God. This is the commencement of the spiritual history of every believer. Now, true. We were not born. Our birth in the natural realm came much later. But our precious to realize, and this is the great truth, that God in his eternal heart desired the salvation of men and women, boys and girls, even before time ever began, and in his own eternal purpose, determined to have a family of children for himself that would be holy and without blame before him in love. Every one of them, his own child. He sends the Son to redeem them. And when the work of redemption was done by the Son, then the Spirit of God sealed each believer that trusted the Savior. We can well rejoice, as you may read in Ephesians one, beginning, if you will, from verse four and on through verse thirteen. We have been chosen by the Father. We have been redeemed by the Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. and we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. How precious to realize the work of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit involved in our redemption, taking us back to ages past before time and even before the world were ever created and time began. May God indeed enable us to rejoice in this precious truth when we were a child of God His word tells us we were in the mind of the Father before time ever began, and now, through the evidence of our Christian testimony, we can prove we are the elect of God. Paul says, I know your God's elect, and it was the evidence of their lives that gave him the definite proof in his heart. We continue our consideration of the first epistle of Paul written to the Thessalonians, and in chapter one would commence in verses four through ten to find what follows. This portion will give to us the continued history of the gospel in its record, as we have mentioned, when Paul writes to his new converts of Thessalonica, telling of the facts which he knew to be true of them. We have learned in verse four of their election of God, which we have already considered. Next we find that Paul also knew how the gospel came to them. In verse five where we read, For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. This is a scriptural example of how the gospel should reach the hearts of precious souls, how it should bring the life-giving message it contains to lost sinners. There are four statements telling how the gospel reached these even Thessalonians long ago. These reasons, these statements are wonderful examples for us today. for men who would preach the glad tidings of salvation. We may properly raise the question as to whether we today know how to preach the gospel to a world of perishing sinners, as the apostles and the early disciples of the Lord did in the days of the early church. Note the fourfold pattern of the preaching of the apostles. Those early missionaries of Christianity, when they preached the gospel, we note these four expressions. They preached it in word. They preached it second in power. They preached it third in the Holy Ghost. Fourth, they preached it with much assurance. Take in each phase of their preaching very carefully. First, they made the message go forth in word. Their message or declaration of the glad tithing was according to the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by God's word. Wrote the Apostle Paul by the Spirit in Romans ten and verse seventeen. How can any soul be born again unless they hear the word of God? Listen to the words of the beloved Apostle Peter. where he has written in the first epistle of Peter chapter one, verses twenty through twenty five. And he has written to say, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, by the living and the binding word of God, because all flesh is as grass. and all the glory is the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower fadeth or falleth away. But the word of the Lord abideth forever. But this is the word which is by the gospel preached unto you. Oath the joy of knowing the power of the word of God. Paul declared the gospel to the Corinthians, which he had preached to them when he wrote saying, This is the Gospel which he received, in which also ye stand, by which also ye are saved. That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And he was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. First Corinthians chapter fifteen, verses three and four. How important it is to be clear in the Gospel message, when it is preached. For there is no other message with saving power. How many preachers today, we may ask, are really preaching the clear scriptural message to lost sinners in complete faithfulness to the Word of God? But second, not only in conformity with the Word of God, did the Apostle and his fellow laborers and missionaries preach, but in power also? Their preaching was powerful. For as they preached, they were conscious of divine power accompanying their message. They were not only confident that they had preached and were preaching the word of God, but they were also as confident that their preaching was in the power of God. The converts also must have realized this fact as they listened to the message. What an important phase of preaching. Preaching in power. When Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans, do you remember his words that he read or wrote when he declared, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also? For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth. to the Jew first and also to the Greek, Romans chapter one, verses fifteen and sixteen. There is divine power in this gospel message. Paul knew it. His companions knew it. They confidently depended upon that power of the Word of God to save the lust and precious souls to whom they preached in the heathen darkness, as it certainly was in relation to Thessalonica and those who were converted there. But then there is a third phase of the gospel preaching that the apostle refers to. Their preaching was not only in the word and in power, but it was in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit was not separated from their preaching. This undoubtedly is what characterized the power of their preaching. the presence, the unction of the Holy Ghost. For only through the person and the work of the Holy Spirit can the gospel be divine in power to convict as well as to say. Do you remember the words of the Lord Jesus in relation to the ministry of the Spirit? As he spoke them, recorded in John chapter sixteen, verses eight through eleven, when he has come, the Holy Spirit He will convince the world of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment, of sin because they believe not on me, of righteousness because I go to my Father, and of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. Yes, the conviction of sin, the sin of unbelief in the Savior, and of righteousness that can only be found in that risen Savior for any lost, guilty, held deserving sinner. And the warning of judgment that is to come if that message is not believed. Certainly it was in the power of the Holy Ghost the beloved apostle and the missionaries accompanying him preached the gospel to the Thessalonians as well as even in the day of Paul when he went to the Corinthians. For in First Corinthians chapter two as well and in verses three and four Paul writes to the Corinthians to remind them And I was with you in weakness. I was with you in fear. I was with you in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom. Nothing eloquent. Nothing of the flesh manifested. But it was in demonstration of the spirit and the power. My beloved, we cannot emphasize too greatly. the important and the essential power of the Holy Spirit, needful for the ministry of God's Word at all times, he alone can convict the sinner. He alone also can edify and build up and instruct the saint. Then there was a fourth thing, a fourth phase of their preaching was, it was in much assurance The liberty of the Holy Spirit which the missionaries enjoyed as they preached assured them that he was working through them. What assurers must have filled their souls as they preached. I wish I could have heard those missionaries. The beloved Apostle Paul, Silas his companion and Timotheus, the young, believing servant of God, as they preached the gospel to these evens, I would have loved to have heard They're preaching as they thus preach, not only in the word, not only in power, not only in the Holy Ghost, but all of this gave them much assurance and liberty that the Spirit of God was working through them. What a joy it must have been to them to declare God's saving message amongst the Thessalonian heathen people long ago. They possessed God's word. That's all they needed. They had power divine, that's all they needed. They preached in the Holy Ghost, that's all they needed. And they had strong assurance that God would work. My what a message and what confidence. Yes. Note something else very particular that must be followed. There was a third important fact about the history of the gospel coming to the Thessalonians. For at the end of verse five we have these words revealing the character of the preachers or the missionaries. For he goes on to declare, as ye know, what manner of men we were among you for your sake. It is not only important to preach the correct message of the gospel, but it is doubly important that the man who preaches the message, the men who preach the message, possessed true Christian character and testimony in their lives. Oh, my beloved, the power of the message is no greater than the power of its message in its effectiveness within the life of the one who preaches. The message that Paul and his missionary companions preached was supported by the conduct and the behavior of their daily walk. They lived the truth that they were preaching. has been well stated concerning the preacher in his preaching. Your sermon may only last forty minutes, but your life preaches all the week. It is of utmost importance that God's servants in their character and conduct daily live the gospel as well as preaching. How important this is, and thus we recognize the character of the missionaries supported the message, and the character of these men was such evidence that the message was in power. God granted we could have some of this even today, more in evidence as we preached the gospel. And what a wonderful way it was that the gospel thus came to Thessalonica. May I again remind knew that in the short space of three Sabbath days, not more than three weeks, perhaps just over two weeks, when Paul and his missionary friends preached to the heathen there, they rejoiced to see much blessing. We have noted something of how they preach. Now we would read in verse six the result of their preaching. The conversion of the Thessalonian convent, verse six in chapter one, know what the apostle says and writes of them you became followers of us you became followers of the Lord having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost these words abundantly proved that the example and the preaching of God's servants through whom they heard the gospel had encouraged and guided the Thessalonian believers to follow the Lord They became followers of the missionaries, for they found the missionaries following the Lord, and thus they found themselves following the Lord. Wonderful to have preachers that you can follow. And when you follow such preachers as these, you're following the Lord. We need more preachers like Paul and Silas and Timotheus. What a testimony. What a proof. the reception of the Word of God, and thus a great blessing as they became followers of the apostles and their companions, knowing that as they thus followed, they were following the Lord. For my brother, my sister in the Lord, would to God that you and I could live in such a manner that when people follow us, they will follow the Lord. This certainly should be of a searching message to our own conscience. and to our own heart. As others see us, and as they look upon our walk, can they follow with the assurance that man is following the Lord? That woman is following the Lord? And if they follow us, we shall indeed lead them to follow the Lord. May God help us to so live the gospel that it will be true of us. Now the reception of the Word of God had a two-fold effect on these Thessalonian believers. It had an external effect. It also had an internal effect. Externally, they received much affliction, we read. They received much affliction. It is wonderful to know that they received the gospel message as the Word of God, the only proper way that the message should be received. And also, as we have noted, It was the power of God's word, coming to them like a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, the joints and marrow, and as the therner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart, as Hebrews four twelve tells, this was the word of God which they received. But it was not being received without trouble, without trial, without affliction. There is no doubt that in the history of conversion, of any precious soul, it does not require a long period of time before the convert will find the enmity of Satan crosses his and her path. How quickly does Satan resent the loss of one of his followers, and he begins immediately his work of antagonism against that believer? bringing upon him or her persecution, and making opposition arise from perhaps many different quarters. It is very important for a new convert to realize that the opposition of an antagonist, as well as an antagonistic world, will soon be felt. Was not the Lord Jesus very careful to say to his disciples long ago, In the world ye shall have tribulations? but be of good cheer I've overcome the world. John chapter sixteen in verse thirty-three. James the beloved apostle has written, Know ye not that the friendship of this world is enmity to God. James chapter four in verse four. My beloved, we can depend upon this fact. The displeasure and the vexation of the devil will be evidence in some way through the instrumentality of this world, when a sinner comes to Christ, that may I give the word of encouragement, as I've had to do on certain occasions, that when this evidence of antagonism has come, it can be one of the best signs of conversion, true conversion. Some of my Christian friends, many years ago I recall, often sang regarding this fact of the devil's opposition, And I recall some of the words of one of their songs, telling the story of their conversion. They sang amidst many other words, this truth regarding their conversion when it took place. The devil's man, and I am glad. The devil's man, and I am glad. My beloved Christian, particularly if you're a new believer in the Lord Jesus, Be not afraid of the opposition. It's one of the greatest indications that the devil's mad because you found Christ as your Savior. Yes, to the Thessalonians, there was this external effect. They received much affliction. And there is no telling how many relatives, how many friends or how many neighbors may have been used by Satan to give the affliction. But then there was another side to this blessing. They had an internal joy. True, they had an external trouble. They had an external pain. They had an external trial. But they had an internal joy that was greater. The word of God had not only been received in much affliction, but it had also produced an internal happiness. Beyond this, Christian, if Paul writes, the joy of the Holy Ghost. So what matters? that which may surround the convent on the outside when he or she has something on the inside that is far better a joy that the world cannot give and a joy that the world cannot and should not take away the joy of the Holy Spirit one is well written in song if you want joy real joy wonderful joy let Jesus come into your heart your sins he'll wash away your night he'll turn today your life he'll make it over a new if you want joy real joy wonderful joy let Jesus come into your heart oh my beloved let us rejoice there's joy in the heart of a new Christian joy in having his and her sins forgiven joy in having found Christ joy in having been delivered from the from the great penalty of sin and the ultimate destination of hell. My beloved, no wonder the poet well wrote, Oh, happy day that fits my choice on thee, my Savior and my God. Well, may this glowing heart rejoice and spread its raptures all abroad. Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. Ah, what a joy. As one well wrote, you ask me why I'm happy. I'll gladly tell you why. And the testimony is, My sins are all gone. Beloved, if you've never had your sins forgiven, you don't know the joy that you're missing. God granted, if anyone hearing the message knows not the Savior, they will come to him and have that great eternal joy with him. But then there is a fifth statement in the history of the Thessalonian saints found in verse seven. so that she were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. While the spiritual history these new converts had, they were proving by their own Christian conduct that they were genuinely converted. Note the different examples of their conversion in our chapter. Heading the list, as you've got here, adding the list of examples, is the example of the Lord Jesus himself, a perfect example above all others. And it tells us that these converts of Thessalonica, they became followers of the Lord. They followed the Lord. They followed the Lord. They couldn't do any better than that. But then, they had also the example of the missionaries that they were following. For Paul says you became followers of us. As Paul writes in verse six also. But in turn, they themselves became examples to others. Please note this carefully. Not merely were they examples before non-believers, but says the Apostle knew are examples to the believers elsewhere, in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. Now, if you were to check your Bible map of the old world in that day, you would find that the Christian testimony of these Thessalonian converts reached to the north of their locality, and also went far south of that peninsula in their region, north through Macedonia, and going south through Achaia. These young convicts, please let me remind you, they'd only been saved no more than three weeks of gospel preaching. My! What a blessed testimony! In what results? They were not only converted, but they were showing by their Christian conduct and example far and wide what kind of converts they were. Oh, beloved, one can well rejoice and understand, one must have been the pride of the heart of the Apostle to thus realize how these converts persecuted as they were were going on so well, for in the testimony of the Lord, May I suggest this young church of Thessalonica is one of the best examples that we can pattern ourselves after today. It seems most unfortunate to me there are so many Christians today who seem to take the Carnal Corinthians and the Church of the Corinthians as an example and pattern to follow. For in the Church of Corinth There was much promotion of supposed miracles, as well as the sensation of speaking in tongues. But let me personally state, though I thank God for Paul's letter to the Corinthians with its corrected ministry, to thus correct the many abuses of conduct in the Church at Corinth. May I state, and may I point this very carefully out, Nowhere in that epistle of the Corinthians does Paul approve their conduct and their character, but rather he has to rebuke them. Not so with the Thessalonians. This Thessalonian church was vigorous, flowing in the power of a spiritual life, which is a far better pattern for us to follow. May the history of this young church be a pattern For even God's people today. For our blessing is how precious it is to realize. This was the pattern of primitive Christianity. With the amazing, abiding results. That thus was sustained as this church began to grow. And the believers on every side began to preach. And to make Christ known to others wherever they went. How blessed to realize this. May God ever remind us, let us just take the key verse that we noted, particularly in verse three, I believe. As Paul commended them, let's note the commendation again. He commended them for their work of faith, for their labor of love, for their patience of hope. There were three grand characteristics. Faith, love, hope. and in every one of them they excelled. Their faith was working. You remember James saying in his epistle, faith without works is dead. James challenges the man that says he has faith but he doesn't show it by his works. He says, you show me your faith and I'll show you my works. And James very faithfully declared that faith without works was dead. My beloved, let us confess, let us search our own heart. and confessed that we who were Christians we should certainly be putting faith to work and their work of faith carried them on in energy and in the action of faith as they went on well might the poet write as he did faith mighty faith the promise sees and looks to God alone last said impossibilities and cries it shall be done and then there was not only the work of faith they labored in love love was working It wasn't a sentimental expression. It wasn't sentimentally talked about. It was a labor of love. It was just what John the Apostle would write and has written in his episode, that by their deeds they were showing love one to another. And it was a labor of love. And may I go further, when we live for the Lord Jesus, when we thus live in the testimony of our Lord upon the earth, love to God is important. How much do we love him? How much do we love our fellow saints? How much do we love the sinners that are out of Christ? Love should flow in these three directions. God would, and then saint would to the believers, and then man would to the lost sinners, and the Thessalonians labored in love. But then, with all the affliction and persecution, they were enduring. They had the patience of hope. Endure it. cheerful and hopeful endurance. They knew the Lord was coming. They knew that when He came, all their labors and trials would be all, as we often sing, when all my labors and trials are all, and I'm safe on that beautiful shore, just to be near the dear Lord I adore, will through the ages be glory for me. Oh, my beloved, may you and I look at this primitive church of Christianity long ago and seek the following example. Father, we pray in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, to sanctify the truth of these early believers in their divine testimony for thee, to make us more like them, until our Lord Jesus comes, we ask, in his own precious, adorable, and worthy name. Amen.