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Far away.
And joy of.
Division.
Lord.
Of the great.
Bullet with Thessalonians. I was thinking that.
We have not exhausted the 1St chapter at all.
Sort of commented on different parts of it, but.
Would it be in order to read part of the first chapter into the second, say from?
The fifth verse of the first chapter.
And on to the second chapter.
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No, I would think.
We read down to 12.
Thessalonians chapter one and verse 5.
For a gospel came not unto you in Word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake, and ye became followers of us and of Lord, having received the Word with much affliction, with joy into gold, so that you were examples of all that believe in Macedonia and the chaos. For from you sounded up the word of the Lord.
Not only in the Macedonia and Macao, but also in every place where faith is awkward is spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves show us what manner of entering in He had under you, and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He rains from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.
For yourself, brethren, know our angels in unto you.
That it was not in the veins, but even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully treated, as you know, and vilified. We were born in our God, to speak unto you to the gospel of God, in much contention. For our expectation was not of deceit, nor of I cleanness, nor in God. And as we were allowed at the law to be put in trust with the Gospel, Even so we speak.
Not as easy mess, but God, which tribe our hearts for neither at any time used to be flattering words, as you know, or a cloak of covetousness. God is a witness nor of men sought me glory neither of you, nor yet of others. When we might have been emergency as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse chairs of her children. So being effectively desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted not to you.
Not the gospel brought over, but also our own souls, because you were here unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail for laboring night and day, because we would not be charitable to any of you. We preached unto you the Gospel of God. Ye are witnesses. And God also. How holy and justly and unplannedly we behaved ourselves among you, that as you know, how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father of his children.
That you would walk worthy of God, who have called you unto his Kingdom and glory.
Preached in such a way by the Apostle and perhaps others with him. It wasn't just.
Eloquence. It was in the power of the Holy Ghost.
And it brought.
Much assurance, afraid that to some of the gospel preaching today does not have that character.
Well, for one thing, often repentance is not is not emphasized.
And they want numbers. I'm not being critical. We're glad that the gospel goes out at all. But.
Does it bring that assurance of salvation?
Through the finished work of Christ. Is it a complete gospel, or was when the apostle proclaimed it here and.
And his life was the.
The proof of.
The message You know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
It was.
Delivered in power, and it brought forth fruit.
And there was no question that these Thessalonians were true believers.
And there is that danger of people making a profession today of being saved and there is not a change in their lives. They go on with the.
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Worldly ways that they had before.
Perhaps even some sins. This was not the case with the Thessalonians. There was a.
A complete break with the godless world that they had been connected with in the.
More refined and sophisticated.
But if a person makes a profession of salvation and yet doesn't give up the world and there's no change in his life.
We can question whether there's been a genuine work of the Spirit of God in him. Not so with the Thessalonians. It was much assurance. We hope that everyone here has the assurance of salvation.
Knowing that our sins are forgiven, that we belong to Christ.
Well, it looks like almost a paradox in verse six. Much affliction. They really suffered persecution from perhaps their families, from their fellow workers. They were in an idolatrous environment.
And they had affliction, persecution. Paul had to leave.
But look at Joy of the Holy Ghost.
So there was really obedience to the Scriptures in these Thessalonians. And something goes along with obedience. It's happiness. You cannot have be happy in your Christian life if you are disobedient. But there was real joy here in spite of the afflictions they suffered. And it was a testimony, a real, right, powerful testimony.
Not only in Thessalonica, but all over the region, Macedonia.
No radios or Internet. I don't know how they got the word out, but they were energetic. They became preachers themselves, and they sounded forth the word.
All over that area. So Paul didn't need to say anything. They their lives showed that they were saved.
They became sole winners. Well, that's a word for us.
Says in the book of the Acts that.
Paul was accused of turning the world upside down. That was a commendation.
I wonder if we are that energetic and getting the gospel out like the apostle was and and the Thessalonians.
I must say this.
There have been time there, I've stood up to reach a gospel and it was just words that went out.
And it reminds me of that person in First Corinthians 13 about not having charity or love. And there's just a what is it a tinkling tinkling symbol or a sounding brass?
Because in my life there were things that were dishonouring to the Lord.
And if you looked at my life, you couldn't see that it was real with me.
And I wasn't walking in the spirit. And perhaps that was that's what he meant here when he said in the Holy Ghost. And there certainly wasn't much power in the words that.
Or feebly used.
I think there can be a lot more blessing if we would.
Take what the gospel is for ourselves and apply it here 1St and then in our life there will be a.
A display to others around what we have within us. And when you're coming from that standpoint, when you open the Word of God and you present it, it's real to yourself and it can be made real to others.
I think that's why it's worded this way. We don't read here The gospel came not and you in Word only doesn't say, but also in the power of the Holy Ghost. That's not the way it reads.
There's two separate things.
It's in power.
And in the Holy Ghost.
And.
Just what you bring the forest, Tim, is a searching thing that.
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The power that comes from.
From speaking as someone speaks as the oracles of God comes from a close walk with the Lord and a relationship with the Lord that is such that that gives that power it's moral power. Yes, there is you know, we read a scripture that says not by might nor by power, but my spirit saith the Lord. That's a little different thing. But here we have that the word was spoken, but there was moral power behind it because of the life that was lived and then of course the Holy Ghost is the one that.
Brings the increase and and brings the.
Brings the fruit.
And Paul wasn't boasting here, was he? It really was the work of the Spirit of God to have him write those things. He wrote in truth, it says in Acts chapter 19 and verse 10.
Well, let's read verse 9, Acts 19, verse nine, when divers were hardened, believe not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of Juan Tyranis. And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus.
The word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks and God rocked special miracles by the hands of Paul.
So here was a life lived in communion with God and he was preaching the gospel of the grace of God. But we know too that he was preaching his gospel, what he calls my gospel, and those things that have to do with what we have in Christ. And so here he was diligent. He was all out. It was not half hearted Christian testimony in connection with Paul. He didn't have 1/2 hearted approach.
And so the Thessalonians saw this. They saw his devotion to Christ.
He had had a vision of Christ in the glory, and he laid aside every weight, every sin that the so easily beside us, and he set Christ before him as the prize. He never ever took that eye off. We know that he was He failed in several different accounts that were given, but there was a purpose that he had a purpose of life, and so he presented the word to them.
And the Spirit of God could use that word in power in the Holy Ghost and much assurance. So it's not good enough, if we could put it this way, to give the gospel of the grace of God. But when somebody does accept Christ as Savior and professes to know Christ as Savior, it's our responsibility to assure them of their salvation, to make sure that they understand and that they lay hold of that finished work of Christ. They don't have to have the right feelings or the right.
The right to emotional experience. They lay hold of the finished work of crisis. Christ that they have before them, not you or me.
Or anyone else, but they have Christ, and they'll get assurance, because they say his blood has washed me from my sins, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. They lay hold of Christ in his finished work. And so Paul was effective in this way because he was walking in communion with the Lord.
The importance of the word, can we? It says here in verse five that the gospel came not unto you in Word only. And then he speaks in verse 6, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. So it's the word that we need to present and to enjoy for ourselves. Little Nuggets of the passages of Scripture and a wonderful just to be able to have a reading in the morning.
And just get a little nugget, just something that you can carry with you all day. Sometimes you can carry it all week, sometimes longer, perhaps for a lifetime, those little Nuggets. But it's the word. And so Paul says a little later on in the epistles, he says, preach the word.
And that's what has effect, that has power, and that's the Word that gives life. And so the word in connection with the believer is not only necessary in producing life. The Lord Jesus is presented as the word in John's Gospel chapter one the Word was made made. Let me just read it.
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. So He is the communication of life itself, the communication of God. And in the person of the Son we see evidence of God Himself. And so he fully displayed who God is, and He fully communicated the heart of the Father. But we need the Word, and it's what gives life, but it's also what sustains life.
So the word is necessary for a believer to sustain life. It's vital. We need the Word of God.
They were in the freshness of first love here and death.
Might say it was almost spontaneous.
They weren't sent out by a mission board.
To preach the gospel.
They weren't ordained by any.
Group of the Christians, they went out with the message that had touched their hearts and.
They just spoke of what the Lord had done for them and there was a real testimony.
So.
So it is with the believer. Now we're not only holy priests, but we are royal priests and ambassadors for Christ.
And it also doesn't say that they have to go to a seminary or a college before they could preach.
They simply told out what the Lord had done for them.
Man cannot.
Give a gift to a person.
The gifts are given by an ascended Christ in the glory.
They don't depend upon man. If you have a gift, whether it be an evangelist or whatever, that's your warrant to use it. And ministry is simply the exercise of the gift that the Lord has given you.
So.
Perhaps we are not all evangelists on the platform.
But we can all do the work of an evangelist.
As the Thessalonians were here, they were very young in the face, three weeks or so.
But they were a bright testimony.
And.
So Paul exhorted Timothy to do that work, and each one of us.
Can do the work of an evangelist sisters as well.
And we are all servants of the Lord. We all have a gift. Maybe not in a public sphere. Certainly the sisters do not have such such a gift. But we all have a place to fill in the body of Christ, burden to bear, and a work to do. And we can all share the gospel.
Sisters and brothers in a quiet way, perhaps 1:00 to 1:00.
But if we're healthy, we will want to see the gospel go out to others. Certainly the Thessalonians did hear.
You speak, John, about the inexperienced relative inexperienced with the the.
New life that was in them that these believers had they were just a few weeks, as you say, saved and not necessarily all young people, but young in the faith and and they what did they have for the word of God? Well, they had the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures and they had the word of the apostles and that was it and they had the.
The testimony to the words of the Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus.
When he was here and so that comprised the word of God. So we can we can say that they had a limited a pretty limited awareness of the scope of what they had draft in the leading of the Lord Jesus and and yet that they were exceedingly active by the spirits work. So it emphasizes the value and the activity of the Spirit of God.
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Molding Christians from the very beginning and it also.
Is an encouragement, I believe, to those who are young in the faith, whether age or otherwise, in age or otherwise. And what you know, what these people knew, they testified to. So what you know of what the Lord has done for you, you are equipped to testify to it. And the strength to do so comes from the Spirit of God.
What I just said, we've all perhaps heard that somebody preached the gospel from using only the text from the Isaiah 55 It's often called the the gospel in the Old Testament. And and that is now it's become very clear that that is speaking about so many truths that are fundamental to the message that we have to proclaim. 53 You mean 53? Yeah.
That's right and.
And so there's a.
There's there's value, there's endless resources through the whole screen. We have this whole thick book to draw on, and you can draw on any part of it, as our brother Porter has done earlier today in drawing lessons from Joseph. And so there are, there are lessons for our life and for gospel testimony right through the Old Testament because we can't interpret it now by the Spirit.
As to what God's intent was in the first place.
It's interesting to notice that the throughout the book of the Acts that the Spirit of God was really directing the movements of the apostle Paul in connection with the gospel and he says in chapter 16.
In verse seven it says after they were come to miss you, they assayed to go to Bithynia, but the spirit suffered them not, and they passing by, Monsieur came down to troll us, and a vision appeared to Paul. In a night there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying.
Come over into Macedonia and help us what we have in this chapter. Then the gospel preached in that city of Philippi, the first city in Europe to receive the gospel of the grace of God. But then these dear souls here in Thessalonians, the assembly in Thessalonians were given a little work to do and it says that they were in samples and they to all that believe in Macedonia and Akaya were from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and IKEA, but also in every place.
Your faith to God where it is spread abroad so that we need not to speak anything. And so the apostle Paul commends them highly for their gospel activity and for their.
Diligence in doing the work that was set before them. I think we need to remember that the work of the gospel is given to those that were once lost sinners but are now Saints. You and I are Saints of God. We're not seen as sinners, not even seen really as save sinners. We're seen as those that are Saints of God. And we're fit for heaven right now apart from the flesh that's in us. And we know that our bodies are going to be glorified, but the gospel of the grace of God is delivered to those that were once lost.
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And now can give.
A first hand experience, so to speak to another Sinner and tell them how it is to be saved, and what it is, and how the word can be used and how the work of Christ can apply to them. And so the work isn't given to angels, it's given to men, and it's given to those that were once lost to give a first hand.
Account. And so there was fruit, and there was their faith. Godward.
Was spread abroad. There's evidence that there's a work of the Spirit of God because of the faithfulness of discharging the responsibility that they had in the very place where they were.
Well, there's two parts to the Christian life that is brought before us here.
Turn to God for my goals.
To serve the living and true God. That's the first thing.
The second is to wait for his Son from heaven.
I don't think.
The Thessalonians could have given any dissertation on prophecy.
They were very young in the truth. They did not understand much about prophecy.
But they were waiting for God's Son from heaven.
It did not take place, but this was the hope that motivated them.
The hope of the Lords immediate return.
Now error came in later on, and Satan tried to dim that hope by false doctrines coming in here. That's why Paul wrote this epistle for one reason, and it's the clearest exposition of the rapture I think we have in the scriptures in chapter 4 explaining to them.
They thought that when the Lord came, the Kingdom would be established.
But they were wrong there, they said. What about those who have passed through the article of death? Are they going to miss the Kingdom?
And Paul explains to them clearly that no, they will have part in the heavenly Kingdom.
They're not going to be part of the earthly Kingdom.
And so.
The The hope of the Lord's coming really motivated them.
And.
It gave them. It gave them.
The strength to to testify they were they had given up the world. They were no longer going on. It costs they they counted the cost.
Of what it meant to accept Christ and to separate from all the worldly associations. And they weren't occupied with the prosperity of the world.
They had an object before that, the coming of the Lord and mean time to serve the living and true God. Well, every one of us had that privilege to serve the living and true God. We don't have idols of wood and stone as I said, but anything that comes between our hearts and the Lord and displaces Him is an idol.
And we may know those things in our lives that are.
We don't like to admit it, but they have crowded out the things of the Lord in our lives.
The world.
Or the attractions.
Umm, in education or?
Sports or whatever it might be.
They can become an idol in our lives and displace Christ. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
With regards to our presentation of the Gospel.
It's in connection with what what happened here when it's you just quoted you just quoted this first young how these turn to God from idols to serve them living in the true God. So what happened is if we go to the book of the Acts for a moment just to see what takes place here.
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In Act 17.
Acts 17 and verse one, it says, and we've already had this before, but I'm going to make a specific point. And when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where it was a synagogue of the Jews. So they go to the synagogue. That's where they that's where they're going. That's where they're going to take up with the Scriptures on these three Sabbath days. Now who's there? It says in the third verse opening alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. And some of them have believed and consorted with Paul and silent.
Of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
OK, so so here in the synagogue, obviously there's Jews, but there's also Greeks. Now, these Greeks have already turned from idols.
This has already taken place. They've already turned from idols and they're now in the synagogue and they're now listening to what's being taught. And so when Paul mentions here that these ones that turn from idols, that wasn't as a result of his preaching, that had already happened.
That had already taken place and they had turned to they turned from islands to serve the living God. Now in our presentation of the gospel.
Sometimes we don't see results, but what we don't realize is that in our presentation of the gospel there are various links in the chain.
And these Greeks had already had a partial work in their soul to turn from idols. They didn't know about the Lord. They hadn't turned to the Lord, but they had linked up with the Jewish manner of worship, thinking that these idols are worthless and let's try this Jewish end of things. And that's why they're there so often in, in, in souls coming to the Lord, there are various stages. And, you know, we might present the word and we might not see anything, but it it's, there's something in their heart and maybe it's a link towards bringing them to the Lord. I think it's going to be wonderful when we get to the glory.
To see those that came to the Lord and we see that maybe something we said was part of the link that we didn't think was of any use at all. And that's the way the gospel is presented. And so we we, we as has been brought before us. We need to do the work of an evangelist not knowing.
You know which link it's going to be that that we present and the Lord takes that up and something else follows. So these ones that were Greeks, they'd already turned from idols, they'd already been that work.
And they find themselves in the synagogue, and along comes Paul, and he preaches, and the work is further.
You have an evidence if you look at the if you look at Mr. Darby's note in in the 17th chapter and the third chapter, it expresses that a little better.
You have an evidence of that in Acts chapter 10, don't you, in connection with Cornelius? He was a quickened soul. He had turned from the idolatry of what it was characteristic of the Roman Empire, and he it says that he feared God. Acts chapter 10, verse 2A. Devout man or a pious man, one that feared God. Here's a Gentile, a Gentile, a Roman, He's a centurion. He fears God and with all his health.
Which gave much alms to the people. There was a little evidence of life, divine life. He prayed to God only.
Well, God had quickened him, He had life, but he wasn't sealed with the Spirit. He hadn't really come to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus having died on the cross, and that the work of salvation, the work of redemption was available for him. And I think that that's what you're expressing here in connection with the Thessalonians. They went to where the Word of God was read habitually. And so the synagogue was that place.
They went to where the Word of God was read and it wasn't read with intelligence. It wasn't expounded with intelligence. But when he came, he could expound it with intelligence. And so he spoke and they believed. And as you say in Acts chapter 17, the Spirit of God records really perhaps that most of those that were there in that assembly in Thessalonica were Gentiles. What grace. But there were Jews too. It says in verse five, but the Jews which believe not.
There were some Jews that did believe.
And so God was working and we find that in connection with Tornillos have just finished the thought in chapter 10 that.
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Peter went and he went, what did he go with? He went with the word of God and so they needed to hear it says that in verse 42.
He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be judge of the quick and dead to him. Give all the prophets witness that through His name.
Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell.
On all them which heard the word. But isn't it wonderful that you know, our responsibility is to present the Word and we can't tell whether a soul has been quickened or not. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can. There's a desire to hear the word and a desire, a thirst for righteousness, a thirst to understand the things of God. And but if we present Christ as having done that finished work, completed that finished work.
A soul oftentimes just needs to hear that the salvation is for you, the work that was done on the cross of Calgary was done for you and just accept it. And so they turned to God. They had already turned, as you say, from idols, but now they had the ability to serve the living and the true God and to wait. I sometimes connected the verse three with this verse and in this way it says in verse 3.
The work of faith, labor of love, patience of hope. Then it's there's a turning. In verse nine, he turned to God.
Wait or serve.
And then wait for his Son from heaven.
That's a wonderful thing to see, a soul that was once enslaved by Satan, enslaved by bad habits, enslaved by sin, set free, and now to serve a new master. And did they ever serve?
Came to office because this man was destructive in the way of the Lord.
The fervent spirits shaken thought delicately the faith of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. We preach that what she knew talked about what she knew, and it was full of Wasilla. The next verse that had heard him the Coca-Cola under them, and founded them to him the way of God more perfectly than we see the result of this industry at at the end of the chapter.
Sometimes the conversions.
Are more dramatic, if I can put it that way, in some people than in others. I think we've seen cases like that. I think of a man that many here will perhaps remember her name, Dave McKay, who is from McAdam, NB.
How the goes back to the boat into the 50s, I guess nineteen 57860 that area and how he was a rough, rough man and.
God went to work in his life and converted and he put Bible verses on his on his house after that.
A dramatic conversion Gave up drink, gave up smoking in a dramatic way without getting.
Too much into detail about it, and then another kind of conversion, if I can put it that way, of the.
I was thinking of the three things that are here in these verses that we've had before us here, that they received the word in verse 6, having received the word, and then verse seven in samples to all but believe, and then in verse 8 sounded out the word.
And.
I think about a man that I know in some.
Some here will remember him. His name was Mike Acheson, and it's about 40 years ago when Mike was saved and he was in a gospel meeting.
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In Pine Grove and the brother spoke that night on the Prodigal son.
And Mike receives the Lord as a savior.
And the next morning he had to go work and he, Mike, is a kind of a timid nature and he didn't know how he was going to get along with the other employees that were there. And he wasn't the kind of person that would announce that he had been converted so.
He went to work and then coffee break time came and.
So all the fellows sat around to have coffee together and.
Mike was there and didn't say anything, and so one of the fellows said to him, well, what got into you?
Well.
Right away they realize that something had happened to him. There was a funny man being Christ. He's a new creation.
And there may be some here that are converted and they find it more difficult to take and give out the word to others. And there may be southerners there a little more bold. The Lord has his own way of taking and spreading the word. Nice to see here that it was received and then it became examples.
And examples can come in a way of letting our light shine.
Often been mentioned.
When a light shine, it doesn't make any noise. And so in a testimony, a quiet testimony to the Lord can have a great effect on those around, can it? And then there is the the sounding out of the word.
So we need to be encouraged and encouraged others to just.
Be examples in the same way the Thessalonians work.
Spend a little bit of time with my agency.
That's forty years later since he was saved. Mike now has a very bad form of cancer and.
He continues on for the board, just sleeping very quietly, people in their need and so the Lord has used him to be able to meet a lot of people have found themselves in the same situation where at the end of their lives that have no hope.
It's nice for each one of us to be encouraged that whatever way we can spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus, whether we're.
Perhaps, given that gift of an evangelist, you.
Do it on a regular basis, publicly, but it may be just quiet one at a time to show them the way.
There's a nice example. I think we have two in the Word. In the fourth of John, we know the story of how the Lord went to Samaria and says he must need to go through Samaria.
And you know the story of how he wanted to meet that woman as well. And we all know what happened.
Tremendous. Can I say conversion that took place at that time.
Since your life is so filled up with it, she goes and tells the men come and see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ that was her testimony? And then you turn over to the 8th chapter of Acts and you find that Philip goes down there and it says that. If I recall it says something about the whole city turned upside down or something along that.
Well, here the seed was planted. The Lord went there first of all, and.
Gave the word to the woman at the well, and then others were affected and then the whole city was effectively.
One of the things that you need to Christianity is the teaching of resurrection, isn't it? And so he was going to bring truth out in connection with that a little bit later on in this book that it says in verse 10 that his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. So we're not only delivered from the future judgment, our sins have been judged. They were judged at the cross. God dealt with them. They're gone.
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In the coming day at the judgment seat of Christ, God the Son, as you have your private review with Him, will never mention one sin.
He will reward what was done for His own glory, for His honor in obedience to His Word, and an affection for Him. But He will never charge you with any sin and never remind you of a sin that He still hasn't forgotten, so to speak. He chooses not to remember those sins, and those sins are being dealt with, Judge, and so here He reminds them of the resurrection.
Of the Lord Jesus and that there's a glorified man on high and that's their object. It was a man in the glory who was once here in this scene, went to the cross, bore the judgment for their sins, and now is seated on high. He doesn't go into all those details, but he reminded them that the Lord Jesus was raised and then it says delivered us from the wrath to come. So there's it's a little clearer in Mr. Darby's translation. If you permit me, I'll just read it there, it says.
Jesus, our deliverer from the coming wrath.
So they didn't have Ross to look forward to. They didn't have judgment to look forward to. They had the peace of God in connection with that finished work of Christ and the judgment was gone, was passed. Death and judgment are behind us. Grace and glory are before.
Judgment. The Roth spoken of here is the Tribulation.
It's the judgment of the living that is referred to by the apostle here.
We might we might make a few remarks to hear on.
On the whole subject of the Lord's return, because there's so much confusion out there and Christendom today with the so-called Reformed theology.
Covenant theology they have.
They don't distinguish between the two comings of the Lord at all, that there is the coming of the Lord.
For for his Saints and there is the coming of the Lord with his Saints. I think we hear all understand that, but they are definitely different. There's a period of at least seven years between them.
I think this here refers to the rapture, but the other references.
At certain times, like at the end of chapter 3 to the end, He may establish your hearts unblameable in holding us before God, even our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with all His Saints. Second Epistle of Thessalonians, chapter one, verse seven. And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God.
This is the wrath of God, that.
I believe the apostle was looking to that awful judgment that is going to be poured out on this, on Christendom at the end of the Tribulation period. These are two distinct aspects of the Lord's coming first.
There is, there is the Rapture, and then there is the appearing or the Revelation.
Which is at the end of the tribulation period, when we will come with the Lord. It will at that time.
It will be a different sequence. When the Lord comes, we will be taken out from this world and the unsaved will be left behind.
But when the Lord appears.
The unsaved will be taken in judgment.
The harvest judgments there, those who have believed the gospel of the Kingdom, will remain here.
And they will go into earthly blessing. So the sequences are entirely different in those two aspects.
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And that's what I I'm trying to to bring before us, that there is a definite difference in the coming of the Lord for his Saints.
The Bride. Bride meeting the Bridegroom. The Church of God.
Taken out of this world entirely. We're a heavenly people. We don't belong to the world. We're going to be raptured, snatched away in a moment, twinkling of an eye. Nothing has to be fulfilled before that takes place. What? What aspects of prophecy had been fulfilled here?
The And yet they were told to wait for the Lord's coming.
But at the rapture, at the appearing of the Lord, there will be judgment. The Lord will deal with the nation of Israel and the the indignation judgments there, the Western nations and the King of the north, and so on. This will be a pouring out of the wrath of God.
You have some Christians that have the church going through the tribulation. They don't understand that the Church is a heavenly company waiting for the Lord to lift us out of this world into the glory at any moment tonight.
But for the world, it is the wrath of God which will be poured out.
Unlimited when the Lord appears with his Saints.
This is one of the passages of Scripture that we can use to teach and to reinforce the fact that the church will not go through the tribulation period. This is one of these verses. And Paul is part of Paul's doctrine. And I just mentioned too, in connection with what you've said, Brother John is in Zachariah chapter 14, just as an example, in verse five, it says just the last part of verse 5, Zechariah 14.
Verse five, The Lord my God shall come in all the Saints with thee. That's the appearing. Now in the Old Testament prophetic scriptures, they knew about the appearing because it has to do with Israel. They did not know about the rapture. That's a part of Christian teaching. It's Christian doctrine. It has to do with the heavenly company. So what? What has to do with the earth and with Israel's place on the earth?
Is in connection with what is given in the prophetic scriptures in the Old Testament. But it does say that all the Saints will come with him, not one will be missing.
And so all those from Adam right down to the time just after the just at the point that the tribulation is ending, they'll all come with the Lord Jesus. Not one will be missing. And so we have the Revelation chapter 20 that gives us that, doesn't it? It says there that in in Revelation chapter 20 that.
I'll just read the last part of verse four to get the connection. They lived and reigned with Christ.
1000 years, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
You know what? I think it's a wonderful thing in connection with the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Lord for his own.
All those in faith that have died in faith, and those that will be alive on the face of the earth at the time that the Lord Jesus comes, and those that have died and those that have gone through the tribulation be murdered. They're going to be raised at the end of the Tribulation period. And so when the Lord Jesus comes, it is appearing, all the Saints will be with him. Not one will be missing.
And so it didn't matter what age, what time, in the prophetic timetable, you might say that souls have had faith in the Lord and being born of God, they'll all be with him. What a prospect. And Paul just really reinforces this through these dear Saints.
Isn't it good for us to see here at the expression and to wait for his Son from heaven? And it reminds us in the 4th chapter of how the the apostle Paul said.
We which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord.
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The The hope of the church is a present hope the way it is presented in Scripture, isn't it?
And I think that we find.
It necessary to be reminded of it in that way. Recently my wife and I went to a Funeral Home and knew a brother and a sister who.
Deeply loved the Lord and the wife died. There was her body in the casket and there's a husband who's standing beside him. We went up and said hello and and sorry to hear and so on and he said.
I told her at the end, he said. I'll see you on the other side of the river.
And I know what he meant, and in connection River Speaking of death, and then he was referring to his own death, that he would die and the coming of the Lord as the present hope is not something.
Enjoyed at large among believers, it seems to me. And I think that we need to remind ourselves and.
To anticipate that it could be today, perhaps today, that the Lord is coming because it'll affect the decisions that we make in our lives if we, if we hold it in reality, in our lives as the present hope.
Brother Bill Herman, would you agree with that?
Very serious thing.
And so I just want to ask a question about first John and chapter 2 and.
Every day.
The guy always hopes that I'm not thinking something wrong or doing something that's simple or whatever, or saying something is simple or just.
Some of them be caught up in heaven and.
You know this thought should be your everyday thought.
I would think that refers Bill to the time when.
Our lives will be manifest.
Just to get the sequence of events, the Lord came tonight. We would be taken into the Father's house and welcomed.
And during that seven-year period, the judgment seat of Christ will take place in heaven.
And our lives will be reviewed, not only since we have been saved, but since we were in the body.
So although nothing that we have done before we were saved will be brought up to condemn us, it will be revealed. We will know then, in deeper and fuller measure, what it how much we have been forgiven.
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God will remove that from his memory.
But after the judgment seat of Christ, there will be the rewards apportioned and given according to our walk down here. Your place in the Kingdom, your reward, will be according as you have walked down here.
What you have lived for in this life, it will be whatever has been done for Christ, however small it might be.
Cup of cold water given in his name will not lose its reward. Then the crowns, which of course we will cast at his feet, but they will be given to us and then at the appearing we will come back with Christ, but then we'll be manifest. I believe our rewards how we have walked. So I think that this verse refers to to that time, but I'm I'm not positive.
The.
If we may have confidence and not be ashamed to be for him that is coming, Well, there is such a thing as a saved soul and a lost life. 1St Corinthians 3 is clear. He shall be saved so as by fire. That can happen to a believer. What I'm afraid.
Will be ashamed that is coming, because he lived for the world and the things of this life occupied in present advantage. And he, he, he'll be there in the glory, but there's going to be a loss in his life and there can be in our lives too. So I would think it refers to the time when we will.
Appear with the Lord in our.
Our rewards will be manifested and some other brother have a thought on that.
I endorsed my Second Timothy chapter 4. It says there in verse 8 Paul is speaking. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crowd of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearance. It seems to be a similar thought there that.
The appearance seems to be connected with the responsibility of believers.
In that verse, and also the one in first John, I wonder if we could just close by sending 286.
286.
So.
Our Lord.
We play a dream.
Shake Shipping.