[0:00] Paul's The Thessalonians Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Chapter 2 We turn to the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 2.
[0:16] And we will study the chapter and perhaps home in on the last few verses of the chapter.
[0:35] Chapter 2 Now last week we noticed in chapter 1 how the revival of religion that had taken place in Thessalonica had become the subject of conversation and of reports in the various areas in which the Christian church was being established in the first century.
[1:19] And we saw the nature of the conversion of the revival that he can place there. There were many in Thessalonica who had turned from idolatry to the service of God and to the exercise of a patient hope in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[1:48] And we noticed also how the Lord is there described as the deliverer of his people from the wrath of God which is the anger or the displeasure of God against sin.
[2:07] And how the second coming of Christ will be the deliverer, Christ himself coming for the complete salvation of his people from the wrath of God.
[2:24] In this chapter the apostle deals with various things which give us an interesting insight into the state of affairs in the church at that time and in the society of his day.
[2:45] We read first of all the account that he gives us of the preaching of the apostles in Thessalonica.
[2:57] He deals with that in the first 11 verses of the chapter. And you may very well wonder why Paul would emphasize the kind of ministry that they exercised and the kind of life that they lived in Thessalonica.
[3:20] You know that he uses this on more than one occasion, the expression we have at the beginning there, you yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you. Now these words speak to us of the life that they lived while they were there as apostles and the preaching that they were engaged in, the content and the thrust of their message.
[3:47] Now why that emphasis? Well, the emphasis was because there were many enemies there who accused the apostles of having wrong motives in going into a particular region or district.
[4:07] For example, there were many people in those days, just as in our own day, itinerant preachers or philosophers, people who went about with their own particular brand of ideology and who tried to gather people around them and gather a following and live on these people.
[4:31] That was the, they sought to gain, they got financial reward out of the message they had and the tactics that they employed.
[4:47] And there are people like that to this day. And so Paul calls the Thessalonians to witness to the accuracy of the account that he's going to give of his own life and the life of his fellow apostles and of their ministry.
[5:08] And so he speaks of the purpose for which they preached. That there was nothing vain, there was nothing hollow. There was nothing insincere about the presentation of the message.
[5:24] And he speaks of their being bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. Now this isn't a reference at all to the natural disposition that some people have of being bold.
[5:38] You know, there are some people who aren't afraid of any person. People who are naturally confident. You get this in the way in which they speak in public, in the way in which they even preach.
[5:53] There are people, whatever they have to say, who are gifted with this ability. They are quite bold to speak to people.
[6:05] But it isn't the natural ability at all, the natural disposition that Paul is speaking of here at all. But what the gospel makes a person. The boldness that comes to him from the gospel.
[6:22] I heard a minister once put in like this, speaking about his own experience. I think the first pulpit he ever stepped into was in Greenock as a student. And he said that he was in fear and trembling when he went to the town, when he went to the church.
[6:40] But you know, he said, once I closed the pulpit door behind me, I wasn't afraid of any man because I was there with a message from God. And that's what Paul is speaking about here.
[6:51] It's the boldness that the gospel gives you. Now, of course, there are some other people who would say that if a preacher of the gospel is emboldened by the gospel, if he has confidence in his message, and if he knows that there is no other message from God to man but the message that he has, the gospel of God, if he speaks of it with authority and with conviction and with clarity, rather there are people who would say of him that he is bigoted and that he is trying to ram his brand of religion down the throats of people.
[7:34] Now, that is not the case at all. There is nothing at all wrong with that person being made bold by the gospel of his God. But as a matter of fact, he is a poor ambassador indeed who doesn't have that confidence and that conviction in the truth of the gospel.
[7:55] And so Paul tells him, that's the way he says, we preached to you. And then, we preached, he says, and he uses this term throughout these epistles, we preached to you, he says, the gospel of God.
[8:09] And there are two things that are highlighted, that are meant by that expression. It is a gospel of which God is the author and a gospel that calls men to God.
[8:22] It directs the attention of men to their accountability Godward, to their responsibility, to their need above all else of God.
[8:33] As I see in a minute dealing with verse 12, it comes from God and it directs men to God. It is God's provision for men and it bids men give heed to it because it is his word.
[8:50] It is the gospel of God. And then he says something else, that this gospel was preached, he says, with much contention. That was in a face of much opposition.
[9:04] He, as we saw last week, he had met with persecution wherever he went. In Philippi, in Berea, in Thessalonica. He had to leave place after place.
[9:16] Wherever the gospel came, there were people who were prepared to stand up and to oppose the gospel. And it's a wonder, it's almost a miracle, how a man like Paul could have survived for year after year, travelling hundreds of miles, preaching the same gospel and always encountering, as a result of the gospel, opposition to it.
[9:43] You and I should not be surprised if in our day there are people who oppose the gospel of Christ and the cause of Christ. As a matter of fact, I think it would be a sad day if that were not the case.
[10:00] I think that it is an evidence of the force and the strength of the gospel and of true religion when people are prepared to oppose it and to persecute those who accept it and to practice it.
[10:17] There is nothing new in that. Paul had it. Every church, the church of Christ in every age had to meet with that. And as I seen a minute, Christians at the personal level of their own commitment to Christ will have to meet with persecution.
[10:34] It is inevitable. It is inescapable. Because the history of this world is an account of the forces of evil opposed to the force of truth.
[10:48] The devil, as Paul is going to speak in a minute, opposed to God. And the gospel has to be preached in the face of these difficulties.
[10:58] And then he speaks finally here on the particular thrust of his own presentation of the gospel.
[11:10] For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. You see, he was accused of spreading error.
[11:25] And he was accused of that in Galatia. He was accused of it in Thessalonica. Wherever he went, he was accused of bringing something new. Something that was contrary to the word of God.
[11:37] It's amazing what the enemies of the gospel will get up to. They will accuse the presenter, the preacher, the ambassador of Christ of not telling the truth or of distorting the truth.
[11:53] And Paul had to counter that accusation. Our gospel preaching, he says, was not like that. Nor was it of deceit or of wickedness.
[12:03] Now, this is interesting. Because it gives an insight into the religious climate of his day. There were cults in Paul's day.
[12:15] And there was impurity and immorality connected with their worship. Much of the temple worship, of the idolatrous worship of the day, had immorality connected with it.
[12:32] There was immorality practiced at the very heart of religious worship. Many of these temples, for example, had prostitutes connected with the temple.
[12:44] And people who came to worship associated for their own immoral purposes with such. And Paul's point is this. When we came with the gospel, he says, our gospel was not a message which condoned or encouraged impurity or immorality.
[13:03] It was the exact opposite. There was no message in the history of this world more calculated to win people from evil and from impurity and from darkness than the gospel of God which called men to the service of the living and the holy God.
[13:24] And moreover, he says, our gospel was not a deceit. We didn't try to trick anyone into an acceptance of the truth. We didn't cover it or camouflage it.
[13:35] And then people accepted. And when they took the cover off, they found that they had been, to use a colloquialism, taken to the cleaners. That was not the case. We preached the truth and the whole truth.
[13:49] And we exposed the truth to men. And we exposed the heart and the sinful condition of men to the light of the truth.
[14:02] And it was that gospel, note, that in the hand of the Spirit of God had won people to Jesus Christ. And this is what Paul told the current season.
[14:14] Something you've heard over and over and over again. This is the only means and the only message that God has given to the church to proclaim by which men and women, boys and girls, are won to the service of Christ and won away from the service of sin.
[14:36] There is no other way. Now, at a time, may I say this, before going on to the next point here. At a time when things in the Christian church, in a community, seem to get pretty low spiritually, there is always the danger and the tendency for people to try something else, to whip up enthusiasm amongst the people for the things of God.
[15:14] And I say this to you. Unless the Spirit of God blesses the proclamation of the gospel of God, there is nothing else that is going to win people for the Lord.
[15:31] It is the truth in the hand of the Spirit. And that's what you and I should be concentrating on and should be praying for. Secondly, the apostle here speaks about the conduct of the apostles in Thessalonica.
[15:48] Now he says, you are our witness that that's the way we preached. And that is what we preached. Secondly, you are our witness for the way in which we lived in Thessalonica.
[16:01] And you know, he says, that we didn't seek glory of men but of God. We preached, he says, without fear or favor to any person.
[16:15] We didn't flatter one individual and cut down to size the next individual. We preached the same thing to all the people all the time. And he says, when we were with you, we were as the apostles of Christ, gentle even as our nurse cherishes the children, affectionately to desire us of you.
[16:37] Now what he's saying is this. The apostles of Christ, as you know, were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. That's what made a person an apostle. He had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ.
[16:51] Paul had been an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, as he said himself, as one born out of due time. Long after the others had seen the resurrected Christ.
[17:03] He had seen him on the road of Damascus and he was called to the apostleship. And when he came to Thessalonica, and this is interesting. We, he says, could have been burdensome to you. Now what he means there is this.
[17:14] This man knew, with his insight into the word of God, speaking to people who were totally ignorant, he could have bamboozled them.
[17:26] He could have presented the message in such a way that they wouldn't have understood a word that he said. But he said, we were gentle among you, even as babes, as our nurse cherishes our children.
[17:38] That is, he speaks of the way in which they handled the situation. The way in which, you see, when Paul went into a gathering, he was a man who had some, who had a lot of grey matter.
[17:52] He assessed the situation. He asked himself various questions. What do these people know? How much do they know? And in presenting the truth, what am I going to emphasize?
[18:02] How am I going to present it? And he says, we were, and this is the meaning of it, I think, we exhorted you, we taught you, he says, even as a nurse would handle a child and teach a child, we were gentle, we were simple in our presentation of the gospel.
[18:22] And I think there are a lot to be said for this, that the most effective presentation of the truth is always the simple exposition and application of the truth.
[18:39] If I were ever, I must admit this, and I know that I'm not the best example of this, far from it. But if I were ever in a position to advise people in preaching the gospel, I would always emphasize this.
[18:56] Make sure that the people that you're speaking to know what you're speaking about. Otherwise, I think that we have misused the great privilege and the great opportunity that we have.
[19:14] So, he was, as he says himself, he explained the things as best he could simply, even as things were done unto children.
[19:24] And then the other thing that I think is of paramount importance here is this being affectionate, wanting you for Christ, he says, wanting you for God. We were willing to impart unto you, not just the gospel.
[19:37] We weren't prepared, it wasn't enough just to explain the truth, but also our own souls because you were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travel, night and day, labouring in your midst.
[19:50] And here is something else, if any of you ever become ministers, and who knows, oh, who knows, in a congregation like this. You know, some of you may say that that might be a strange thing to say.
[20:02] Do you know what I remember sitting in a classroom up in the Nicholson Institute in my third year? And a teacher speaking to us one day, it was a history class.
[20:14] And you know this, I never forgot this, and I hadn't the slightest interest, and I said this to my shim, in the gospel of Christ. And this teacher was speaking to us one day, and it was the end of the period, and I don't know why this subject came up.
[20:28] Not that he himself was a Christian in here, but though he certainly was not opposed to the gospel in any way. And I also remember what he said. You know, he said, if any of you become ministers, see that you stop preaching just when the people want you to carry on.
[20:47] I never forgot that, and I never wondered why he said it. It stuck with me from that day on. And there are times when I wish I had put it into practice more than I have. But when I say this to people who are here tonight, and who may very well yet be, who knows what youngster here tonight may yet be an ambassador for Christ.
[21:07] Who knows? I hope there are many. Well, let me say this to you. Just as you preach the gospel in simplicity, with an effort to make people understand what you're saying, don't spare yourself either.
[21:22] Because I think that when a person is caught up in the wonder of the grace of God, deciding the salvation of souls, if he has been sent by God to win men, he must give himself to the gospel of his grace.
[21:41] You know that you cannot but be caught up in the wonder of it all. And I know that there are people who say to me, and I know that there are people who are maybe concerned about perhaps the effort, and perhaps even the passion that at times goes into the preaching of the word.
[22:00] My friend, there are times you can't help it. And we are here to spend and be spent. I know that at the end of the day you get as much thanks as anybody else.
[22:13] But that's, by the way, the thing is that the gospel is the best message you've ever heard. God is the best master you could ever have.
[22:27] And no one that people plead, and the apostle pled with the people of Thessalonica to serve them. He gave himself to them as he gave the gospel to them as well.
[22:37] And there's one other thing here that may interest you. He says this, we would not be chargeable unto any of you as we preach the gospel. We live wholly unjustly and unblimably and behave ourselves among you that believe.
[22:51] And here you have something else. While he preached in Thessalonica, he also engaged in his own occupation as a tent maker. You know boys who are here tonight? You know that every Jewish boy was taught a trade.
[23:06] He was taught that even those who had been trained as rabbis, as Saul of Tarshish was, had to learn a trade from the time that they were twelve.
[23:17] And his trade, we read in the book of Acts chapter 18, was he was a tent maker. And it's obvious that while he was in Thessalonica, so that he wouldn't be burdensome to them, so that he wouldn't have to live off them, he was engaging in his own trade, probably making tents and selling them.
[23:38] At the same time, he is in no way suggesting that the ministry should be a part-time occupation, because we know in his pastoral letters, that's another thing, that he inculcated the principle in the first century church that the preacher of the gospel should live off the gospel.
[23:54] In other words, that was his calling. But in his missionary endeavour, he always tried to meet his own needs, to cater for himself financially, materially, while he went from place to place.
[24:10] Then the third thing we have here is the advice that he gave to the Thessalonian believers. And this is important. This is the advice he gave them. We exhorted you and comforted you.
[24:21] Now, looking at this third point, notice that every believer, every Christian, has an obligation towards his God.
[24:43] When God lays his hand upon anyone in his grace, he makes high demands upon that person, upon anyone who is his servant.
[24:55] That applies to every believer. And here, Paul says, whenever I preach, whenever you consulted me, whenever I pastored you, whenever I advised you, I directed you to this goal, live a life worthy of God.
[25:13] Walk means in the New Testament, the life that you live. And he says, make sure it's a life that is worthy of God. Such a God is worthy of a dedicated life.
[25:28] What God? The only God. The God of revelation. The one true and the one living God that he speaks of in the first chapter.
[25:39] The God who showed you the wonder of his loving kindness. Who showed you the wonder of his grace and the strength of his love and the sufficiency of his grace.
[25:50] The God who showed you the depth of his mercy. That God is worthy of living a life dedicated to him.
[26:02] This, he says, is the God who has called you. Worthy of the God who has called you unto his kingdom and glory.
[26:14] Another great and favorite New Testament term. The God who has called you. This is the word that speaks to us of the effectual call that the New Testament speaks of.
[26:30] The Shorter Catholic speaks of. When a person becomes a Christian. He becomes a Christian because he is responding to a call that has been addressed to him.
[26:41] And that is irresistible. Irresistible. I am not saying the call comes to you one day and you respond that day. But the call as it comes.
[26:52] In whatever way it comes to you. Influences your life in such a way. That you are constrained ultimately to respond to it.
[27:05] It comes from him. And it draws you to him. Draws you to him. And you notice how people recognize that call in their own life.
[27:17] How God invades their thoughts. How God invades their actions. And how try as they may they cannot shake off the invasion.
[27:31] And God irresistibly moves them to respond willingly to his call. So they come to him.
[27:41] In a life of commitment. To the demands that he makes upon them. And he calls them unto his kingdom. Another favouritement term.
[27:54] Unless it's Jesus. A man be born again. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That is one aspect of this kingdom. When God calls you.
[28:05] He calls you into it. Where? Into the kingdom where he himself reigns. Into the kingdom where his law is authoritative.
[28:18] In and over your life. He has called you into it. But there's something else that he says. He has called you unto it. We know.
[28:30] That we only have. A measure. Of the blessing of this kingdom in this world. And there's a very real sense. Which the call of God. Which comes to you.
[28:41] Not only irresistibly. But constantly. Is calling you nearer. To the kingdom of God. That is above. And that's another aspect of the kingdom in the New Testament.
[28:53] It is the kingdom of God. Where the spirits of just men are perfect. Heaven. Glory itself. We are being called. With a heavenly calling.
[29:04] Not only from heaven. But unto heaven. The kingdom. But there's another meaning of the word kingdom. That Jesus spoke of.
[29:15] When he says. The kingdom of heaven has come among you. The kingdom comes into you. Just as you are brought into it. So it.
[29:26] Comes. Into. You. God's. Righteous. Rule. Operates. Within. The heart.
[29:37] Not only are you brought into a realm. Where he is supreme. But he has brought into you. That grace.
[29:49] And that power. And that love. And that presence. That is his. That claims you. And he says he has also called you. Into.
[30:00] Or unto his. Glory. And again there are two things there. Glory. Is the manifestation of what God is. The display. Of all the attributes of God.
[30:13] And you are brought unto that. God calls you. To survey. Himself. To be caught up. With all that he is himself. And you know this.
[30:24] Even if you were called. Fifty years ago. And you have got to know. Much about God. God calls you tonight. To know more. Of himself. There's much in God.
[30:35] Still. To be discovered. By you. And even. And that's another aspect of this glory. That the glory. The New Testament speaks of the glory of God.
[30:46] Which is beyond us here. Beyond time. And beyond sense. In eternity. And even in eternity. You will be responding. To the call of God.
[30:57] To discover. His glory. In the glory beyond. It is a development. And always remember therefore. And this is the emphasis surely.
[31:09] Of this term. That the call of God. Is always to you. And always upon you. Calling you on. Further.
[31:20] And further. And further. To a discovery. Of more. Of the wonder of his grace. And of the glory. Of his love.
[31:31] And no wonder Paul says. We always preached. And we always exalted you. To live a life. Worthy. Of that God.
[31:42] Who has called you. No. He goes on to tell us. That. That was what these Thessalonians. Responded to. We thank God.
[31:53] He says without ceasing. Because when you received that word. When you heard that word. You received. Not as the word of man. But as in the truth. The word of God. Which works.
[32:04] Effectually. In you. That you believe. And you became followers. Of the churches of God. Which are in Judea. And in Christ. Now.
[32:15] This is always the case. In conversion. The word comes. The gospel is preached. Men are heard. And people come to their own assessment.
[32:27] Of the kind of preaching that they have. And the method that they adopt. But in conversion. One thing becomes paramount. Not what the man said. Not how he said it.
[32:38] But God's call to me. God's call to me. That's what becomes paramount. They receive the word of God.
[32:51] God. But. Here is something. Which is very unusual. Well. You'd almost say. And yet it's not unusual. But it's strange. That when people respond.
[33:03] To the call of God. In the gospel. Invariably. Something else. Comes with it. For he says. Ye also. Have suffered.
[33:15] Like things. Of your own countrymen. What are he talking about here? This strange thing. That.
[33:27] There always seems to be. Difficulty. Opposition. Persecution. Problems. When people. Respond.
[33:39] To the claims of Christ upon. You know that there are some people. Who think that if you become a Christian. That's the end of all your problems. If you have difficulties before. Persecution or opposition.
[33:49] Well. You become a Christian. And life will become a bed of roses. But that is far from being the case. And here Paul makes a point. In history.
[34:01] Take he says the Jewish nation. They've opposed the prophets. They opposed Christ. They opposed us who are apostles. And now he says they are opposing you.
[34:14] That's the principle I was talking about earlier on. That wherever you have sin and evil uppermost in the lives and the thinking of men. It will always find expression in opposition to the gospel.
[34:30] And opposition to the church. And opposition to the Christian. It is always the case. The Jews he says. Have brought the wrath of God upon themselves.
[34:43] Because of their opposition to the gospel. He puts it like this in verse 16. They can hardly do any more than they have done to promote God's wrath.
[34:56] And you know. I'll just leave it at this. When I think of people who oppose Christians.
[35:09] When I think of people who persecute Christians. When I think of people who obstruct Christians in the exercise of their faith. Who are not supportive and who are not encouraging.
[35:21] All I can say about that kind of person is. I wouldn't like to be in his shoes. Or in her shoes. Whoever he or she may be.
[35:34] And I would ask you this one question. Before I pass. Before we go on to deal with the last point here. I would ask you this one question. It's a very simple question.
[35:44] But I think a very important. A very relevant one. What is your attitude? To the Christian. What is your attitude to the church of Christ?
[35:55] And what is your attitude to the gospel? That's an important question. Which I leave you to answer.
[36:07] Because in the final point here. Part here. The last few verses of this chapter. Paul speaks so highly. Of the place that these Christians in Thessalonica.
[36:19] Had in his own heart. And he tells us one or two things. Which are very interesting. You remember that he had to leave Thessalonica. And go on to Berea. And then on to Athens.
[36:30] And then on to Corinth. And he had only been away a short time. A few days. When he was anxious to go back to Thessalonica. He wondered. We dealt with this last week.
[36:41] He wondered how they were getting on. If they were standing firm in the faith. And he wanted to go there. But he says. I couldn't go. Because Satan hindered us.
[36:52] Now. There's a difficulty here. I think. Do you ever have this problem? Do you ever have a problem? About. Trying to unravel.
[37:03] And understand the providence of God. When is God. Saying no to me. In his providence. I want to do a thing. Let me put it like this. I want to do a thing.
[37:15] But somehow or other. I haven't been able to do it. How do I know. That doesn't God. And his providence. Keep me from doing it.
[37:26] And not Satan. Who is again. Obstructing me. Putting things in the way. So that I can't do it. Well you know. There are times. When I don't think.
[37:37] It's too difficult. To answer that question. Let me give you an example. Perhaps in the course of the day. Maybe early in the morning. And maybe late at night. The thought.
[37:47] Crosses your mind. To read the Bible. Or to pray. Now. There's nothing. Hindering you. Doing that thing. But before you know.
[37:59] Where you are. Perhaps an hour has passed. And you realised. That you didn't respond. To the thought. Of reading the Bible. Or of going to pray.
[38:10] Perhaps. Something else. Had to be done. Perhaps you had to. Prepare for. Something.
[38:20] A dinner for tomorrow. Get the children's clothes. Ready for school. Perhaps you thought. Oh I haven't read the paper yet. I better read the paper. Or maybe. I would like to see the tail end.
[38:32] Of that discussion programme. On television. So you do all these things. And when you've done them all. There's no time left. To either read the word. Or pray.
[38:44] The way you wanted to do it. It's gone. What happened? Satan hindered you. He put things in a way. He obstructed you.
[38:54] And it may very well be. That that's what Paul means here. It could very well have been. That an order. Was obtained. By the enemies of the cross. Forbidding Paul.
[39:06] To preach the gospel. At Thessalonica. Or even to come into Thessalonica. It may be possible. Satan uses means. And this is the thing. That we have to submit to.
[39:17] God. Allows him. To do things like that. Why? We don't know. But there's one thing certain. God's purpose.
[39:28] Will never be thwarted. Whatever may be. Whatever may happen. To my purpose. God's purpose. Will never. Be thwarted. Satan. Will have no.
[39:39] Difficulty. In finding men and women. Who will carry out. His plans. But his plans. Are ultimately. Doomed to failure.
[39:50] And that's another question. I would like to leave. With you tonight. Whose side are you on. When it comes to the cause of Christ. And to the gospel of his grace. Are you on his side.
[40:02] Or are you on. Satan's side. What an awful thing. To be a tool. In the hand. Of Satan. And the other point. Paul makes here is this.
[40:13] Satan. He says. Hindered me from coming to you. And he goes on to tell us. Why he wanted to come to them. He loved these people. In the bonds. Of the gospel.
[40:24] Because he says. You are our hope. You are our joy. You are our crown of rejoicing. You are our glory. At the presence of our Lord. Jesus Christ.
[40:36] At his coming. Now. What is he saying? Well. He is saying this. That when the Lord. Jesus Christ comes. And now. Here is another reference.
[40:47] As we have very often. In the easy pieces. To the second coming of Christ. I am going to deal with this tonight. In the congregational fellowship. So I don't need to make. To say too much about it here.
[40:58] When Paul thought. Of the coming of Jesus. And the word he used for it here. Is the parousia. The presence. Of Christ. At his coming. Christ's sin.
[41:09] And Christ's presence felt. In all its blessedness. By those who love him. When he comes. He says. You are. Our.
[41:21] Hope. You are. Our hope. He didn't mean by that. That he expect a reward. From Christ. Because. The Thessalonians.
[41:32] Have been converted through him. That's not the point. He's making at all. But. He is thinking of the second coming. He's thinking of them. Being kept. By the power of God.
[41:43] And himself. Being kept. By the power of God. In the face. And in spite. Of all the difficulties. And all the oppositions. And he's thinking of this wonderful hope.
[41:54] The joy that fills his heart. At the thought of standing with them. To be welcomed by. And to welcome.
[42:06] The coming Lord Jesus. And he thinks of them. As the trophies. Of the grace. Of God. When he does come.
[42:17] As those who have witnessed. To the living Savior. While they were in the world. Those who were saved. By his grace. Those who responded. To the preaching.
[42:28] Of the gospel. From his lips. Those who were to be. The crown. Of his rejoicing. He thought. Of the victory. The garland. That was placed. Over the.
[42:38] Around the neck. Of the victor. Of the race. And he thought of himself. And of them. Standing as victors. At the coming of the Lord.
[42:49] Jesus Christ. And he thinks of the glory. That that will bring. Not to him. But to Christ.
[43:01] The glory. And the blessedness. Of that. Great day. When they will stand together. At the judgment seat. Of Christ.
[43:13] You know that. Samuel Rutherford. That saintly preacher. Of the gospel. It was said of him. That his attitude. To the congregation.
[43:23] That he had in Anworth. Was this. Words which are put into rhyme. You know. Oh. If one soul. From Anworth. Meet me. At God's right hand.
[43:35] My heaven. Will be. Two heavens. In Emmanuel's land. There isn't a preacher. Of the gospel. Who wouldn't want. To look forward.
[43:46] To the coming. Of Christ. Without thinking. Of himself. And all. His people. Standing. In that day.
[43:57] Rejoicing. In his coming. That's what he's saying. That's the thrust. Thrust. Of this message. He says to him. I wanted to come to you. And this is why. I wanted to come.
[44:08] Because. I love you so much. I want to be sure. That I will stand with you. In the presence. Of.
[44:20] The Lord. What about you. Here tonight. What about me. Because. Make sure of this. Whatever else. You and I.
[44:30] You and I. Will avoid. We will never avoid. Standing. When the Lord. Jesus. Comes. How will we stand. With whom. Will we stand.
[44:41] Do you look forward. To his coming. Will you be there. With joy. Will the mother. Be there. With her children. The parents. With her offspring. Teachers.
[44:52] With their pupils. Ministers. With their congregation. Brother. With brother. And sister. With sister. Will you be there. You'll be there. In one sense. Be sure of that.
[45:04] You will stand. Before. But will it be. With that sense. Of rejoicing. And with that note. Of joy.
[45:15] Wouldn't it be wonderful. Tonight. To leave this place. Of worship. Assured. In your heart. That when the Lord. Comes. You will be there.
[45:27] To welcome him. With everybody else. In this congregation. But my friend. You cannot look forward. To that day. With that confidence.
[45:38] Unless. You have already. Thrown in your lot. With the Lord. And with his people. Again the question. Whose.
[45:49] Side. Are you on. God. Because the side. You are on tonight. Determines. The side. You will be on there. Who are you with.
[46:01] Are you on the Lord's side. Or are you against him. Have you. Responded to his call. Or have you refused it.
[46:13] As his call. Comes to you tonight. In the gospel of God. From the God of heaven. Direct. To you. In that pew tonight.
[46:25] Are you responding to it. In faith. And in love. In commitment. And in hope. And can you therefore. Look forward. With expectancy.
[46:37] To the parousia. To the presence. Of our Lord. When he comes. Let us pray. O Lord.
[46:49] Our God. Save our souls. We pray thee. Take us. In our hearts. Into the service.
[47:00] That the gospel. Demands of us. And in the face. Of all the difficulties. That we may meet. As a result. Strengthen our resolve.
[47:12] To follow on. To know thee. And to follow on. To be with thee. Fill our hearts. With glorious. And blessed. Anticipation. Of thy coming.
[47:24] And the praise. Should be thine. Forever in Christ. Amen. hope. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. En air. Amen.
[47:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[47:46] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.