I would like to invite you to open your Bibles with me to the book of Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, for those of you who are perhaps teaching your children the books of the Bible, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and then Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. We're going to read the entire chapter together, 10 verses. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our lord jesus christ for we know brothers loved by god that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the holy spirit and with full conviction you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, but with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Not only has the word of God sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we do not need to say anything, for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. So far, the reading of God's word. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, I don't know if you are anything like me, but I love a good story. When I was a boy, I read many, many books. I went to the library and I would get a big stack out and I would love to read books like Arabian Nights, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia. I loved those books. I loved to lose myself in these unreal worlds. One of the things I also learned as a boy was to read good books, not just fiction but also non-fiction, and to learn to love stories about missionaries and missionary adventures and how God used particular men to accomplish great things, David Livingston, others. I grew up loving those stories because these were stories where God was at work, For God was using men and women for his honor and glory going throughout the world to preach the good news of the gospel. This evening we're looking at 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and here we have a great story before us. A story of God's grace, a story of how God worked in one place, in one particular church, in one particular period of time. And brothers and sisters, we know that when we open the New Testament, not all of the stories that we read there, the books of the Bible, these letters that Paul writes, that all of them have a back story. But this one does have a back story. If you turn later in the week, perhaps, to Acts chapter 17, it describes how Paul came to this area and how Paul began to preach the good news of the gospel there. It's after the story of the Philippian jailer there, and Paul was traveling on his missionary journeys from city to city. He was preaching the good news. He was going and reaching those who had never heard the gospel before. It says there that he went to Thessalonica. He preached three weekends only. After that, it was necessary for Paul to leave that city because of the opposition to the gospel. Humanly speaking, looking at that story, you might think, well, it wasn't a very successful evangelistic campaign. What could Paul have done in three weeks? God obviously wasn't working in that situation. But brothers and sisters, when you read that story, we read that God did work. God used the preaching of Paul and the testimony of Paul in that place, and there were those who believed in the gospel. It says there that noble women believed. It says there that some leading Jews and Greeks believed. But we don't know what happened after that. We don't have the intermediate story. But what we know is that Paul is now writing to these believers. He's encouraging them. He wants to strengthen them. Paul had a pastor's heart. He loved people and he loved this particular church. And at every part of this, in every part of this book, this becomes very evident. He speaks of his great love and how he longs to see them and how he longs to go back to minister the word to them again. And it's clear through his writing in this first chapter that God had blessed this fledgling church. That this church had grown in maturity. And today we're going to look at verse 3 as our theme. The example of the Thessalonian church in faith, in love, and in hope. Look with me there again. It says, Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we're going to see this message under the theme, The Power of the Gospel. Let's begin by looking at this work of faith. Brothers and sisters, when we look at this phrase, it might seem contradictory to us. We know that faith is not a work that earns us the right to belong to God or to be one of His children. We know that. Ephesians explains to us that it's by grace, not of ourselves, but our faith. It is a gift of God, isn't it? So what the Apostle Paul here is not saying is that through their work, they were going to earn their salvation. But verse 5 explains how it is that these brothers and sisters came to faith. It says there that our gospel came to you not only in word. Stop right there. We know that the gospel comes through a message. It comes through written words. It comes through a spoken word. God has chosen the preaching of the word to convert the nations. Romans 10 explains that God is the one that sends out preachers, that people need to hear the good news of the gospel. As a preacher of the gospel, I've often wondered why it is that God didn't send an angel. I'm sure if an angel were here present this evening, this place would be packed out. But that's not the way God has chosen. He's chosen to use words. He's chosen to use the power of the preaching of the gospel, hasn't he? And it says this, continuing in verse 5, it says, The word came in word, but not only in word, it came in power. It came in the transforming power of the gospel that was felt and that was seen in these Christians' lives. They came to see their need for Jesus Christ. They understood how it was that they needed to turn from their sins, to turn to the living God. And it says it came in power and in power in the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, we know that we serve a triune God, God the Father who calls, God the Son who saves, and God the Holy Spirit that works in our lives to convince us of the truth and to make us see our need for a Savior. And this is what happened in this church in Thessalonica. The word came in power and it came in conviction through the work of the Holy Spirit. It says in verse 6, verse 5, it says that it came in power in the Holy Spirit and not just conviction, it came with full conviction. And we know that what John 16, 8 says, that when the Holy Spirit has come, He will convict the world of sin. And we know that this is not normal, is it? Naturally, children, young people, you know that we're attracted sometimes to the dark side, aren't we? Sometimes we want to do what's not right. We want to do things that God prohibits. When the Spirit begins to work in us, when the Spirit begins to work in our heart, He begins to give us a hatred for sin and a love for righteousness. He makes us understand how we need Jesus Christ, that He is the only one that can save us from our sin. And this is what happened in these believers' life, isn't it? Verse 9 speaks of how they turned from their idols and they turned to serve the living and the true God. You see, these Thessalonians were those who lived in great superstition. They didn't know the true God. They didn't know what he looked like. They didn't understand who he was and his greatness. They believed in individual gods. They believed in making idols to things they didn't understand. But we know that those who don't know the living and the true God, they live in fear, don't they? Fear of the unknown. They don't know who they're serving, yet they continue to follow the empty traditions of their fathers. And this was the case of the Thessalonians. When Christ came into their life, when they came to understand their need for Him, His work was so evident, so beautiful, as their lives were transformed by the truth. Brothers and sisters, this is so different than what we hear today so often. So many today speak of trying Jesus, a superficial thing. If you've got problems in your life, just try Jesus. Come to church and see what happens. Perhaps something good will come of it. But brothers and sisters, this isn't a try-Jesus sort of event. What we are talking about here is a life-transforming event. Calvin calls this work of faith a rare energy of faith that has shown itself powerfully in the Christian. This is what God always does. When he takes that sinner who is lost and serving and loving his sin and begins to work that transforming grace in his life, huge things begin to happen, don't they? Everything that was important, everything that you thought was important in the past, suddenly God changes your mind and shows you the reality of the life that you were living. The emptiness of that life. Brothers and sisters, as I've had the opportunity to serve as a missionary in Mexico, this was such a wonderful joy for me to see how God worked and how he changed lives. One of my best friends now is a man by the name of Irving. This was a young man that grew up in a very rough home, a home that did not know Christ. Irving, for many years, lived in addiction. He lived in his sin. He used to laugh when people would tell him that he needed the Lord. But the Lord used different individuals in his life. He used to say jokingly, he said, I'm an atheist, praise the Lord. Sad. But God began to work in his life, and over time he began to understand his need for God and his need to leave his addictions. And it was so wonderful to see as he began to hear and understand the teaching and preaching of the word, his life transformed. He was tattooed all the way up his arms and he was actually a great tattooist. Had piercings all over. Had a darkness about him. But when you meet Irving today, brothers and sisters, he looks very, very different. He's got a bright smile. When you meet him, he gives you a handshake and he looks in your eyes and he says, he tells of his testimony and he explains what Christ has done in his life. This is what we see in this work of faith that God had done in this church here with the Thessalonians. So Paul gives thanks for God's work of faith, but he also gives thanks for their labor of love. And the Thessalonian church was not an inactive church, brothers and sisters. That's very clear in our passage, isn't it? Verse 6 says that they became followers of Christ. It says, imitators of us, that is the apostles, and of the Lord. Just like every new Christian needs someone to follow, So these Christians needed someone in their life who they could see the work of God's grace in. It's a beautiful thing when a sinner understands that he needs someone to disciple him. The Great Commission is to go and to make disciples, isn't it? This is what Paul was doing. These believers began to follow him. They began to understand what it meant to walk with the Lord. It's like teaching a child to walk. They walk unsteadily at first, don't they? I remember when my kids were small, when they're a year old, a year and a half old, they begin to make those faltering steps, don't they? They tend to fall down. They tend to get a bruise on their head now and again. New Christians are the same. They need someone to follow. They need someone to help them up when they fall. But it says in verse 7, not only did they follow the apostles, Not only did they begin to follow the Lord, but they themselves became examples. It's funny how that happens. One day you look around and you realize people are looking at me. Remember when I was a young man, I began to realize what I said and what I did had an impact on those who were younger than me. That was a new thought to me. For new Christians, it's the same thing, isn't it? Suddenly they're put in a position where people are looking at them and they're wondering how God is working in them and they're beginning to observe them. It's interesting how it says in our passage that the way that they lived, the way that they followed and the discipleship that took place, everyone was talking about. It says their way of living, everyone knew. Their love for the truth, their love for the Lord. Not only in the way that they lived, but it also speaks of the way that they witnessed. And this is something that we know, that when God does that life-changing work of grace in our life, brothers and sisters, he just doesn't change the way that we live, but he changes the way that we speak, doesn't he? So that word was going out through them, it was sounding forth. It's very similar to what we see in Acts. Acts chapter 8, when the church was scattered, they went out preaching, they went out teaching, they wanted to share with everyone the love of Jesus Christ. It compelled them to speak. And really, brothers and sisters, this is a sign that someone is growing in their faith, isn't it? They want to share the good news of the gospel. Why wouldn't they? If Christ has transformed your life. If Christ has made you a new creation, of course you want to speak with those around you. So this church was laboring in love. It was caring for their neighbor. They wanted to share their faith with others. It also speaks in this chapter, it refers to it in verse 9 of how they received the Apostle Paul and seems to be referring there to the way that they opened their homes, that they showed the love of Jesus Christ tangibly. If you turn with me to chapter 4, verses 9 and 10, skip over a couple of pages. Paul talks about this, what they were doing in the church, how they were showing this brotherly love. It says, Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. For that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more. This wasn't a burden to the church. This wasn't something that was forced on them. This was something they loved to do. They wanted to open their homes. They wanted to open their lives so that others would see Christ at work. Also in chapter 1, it mentions their joy in the Holy Spirit. It speaks of how the work of the Spirit produced this joy in their hearts. Brothers and sisters, that in itself is a testimony, isn't it, of God's grace in our life. A joyful person is a person that's great to be around. It's a person that has an effect. I don't know if you've ever had a person in your life that's especially joyful. that you notice specifically that always they had a joyful word to speak, a loving word, a kind word. That's what the church is to be known for, their joy in the Holy Spirit. And that kind of spirit is contagious, isn't it? When people see that kind of joy, that kind of enthusiasm, that kind of love for the gospel, well, people are going to want to know more about what we believe. and this is what we see. They were busy laboring in love. They were at work using their gifts and their time and their homes for God's honor and for God's glory. Brothers and sisters, this is something that each one of us is called to, isn't it? For each one of us, we have this calling to labor in love, to show to others what Christ has done for us. Brothers and sisters, it means that, yes, we are to be busy about the work of the gospel. Yes, we are to be showing others through our attitude and through our actions what Christ has done for us. And I want to share with you just one person that has been so used in this way in my life, a lady that came to the Lord by the name of Flora. She was 75 when she came to church for the first time, 75. When she became a Christian, her effect on the church and her effect on the community was huge. She brought more people to church than anyone else. It was amazing. But she was a woman who had this joy, who opened her home, who loved people so clearly. Brothers and sisters, that's the calling of the church. That's the calling for each one of us to live in this way, to show what Christ has done for us. The third thing that is mentioned here in verse 3 is their patience of hope. Go back with me to verse 3. It says, Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, number one, your labor of love, number two, and number three, your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, we need to remember that it wasn't easy being a Christian in New Testament times. Verse 6 says that the word came to this church in much affliction. Many times it meant leaving all of your family, everything that was important to you. Look at chapter 3, verses 2 and 3. It says, We sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel, to establish and exhort you in your faith so that no one would be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. So the church understood that these afflictions were nothing new. The church understood that they were called to serve the Lord and to continue to love the Lord even in difficult times. And as Christians, we are called to humbly accept that truth, aren't we? Even ourselves today. We're called to accept that with patience and with hope. We are called to be willing to leave everything for the sake of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Matthew 19.29 says that we need to be willing to leave houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for Christ's sake. That's the calling of the Christian. And we know that through the generations, the church has had to suffer. But what he says, what the Apostle Paul says in verse 4, the mention of election here, I think, is so important. He says, for we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you. These brothers and sisters understood that this wasn't their own work. This wasn't their own choosing. But they understood that it was God who had worked in them. It was God who had called them. They understood that God had elected them and called them to be his sons and daughters. And brothers and sisters, when we understand that this is true, that God is the one that has called us, the trials and the struggles are all worth it, aren't they? Matthew 19 says, Yes, we are to leave houses and brothers and sisters, father and mother and everything for the sake of Christ. But we will receive a hundred times as much and we will inherit eternal life. And this is the calling of the church of Jesus Christ. To wait with patience and to wait with hope. And verse 10 explains who we are waiting for. It says that we are to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. This word, wrath, brothers and sisters, is not a word we oftentimes like to dwell on, especially in the times in which we live. But this is an important word, isn't it? There is an eternity that awaits us. And for those who do not know and love Jesus Christ, those who have not been delivered by him, brothers and sisters, there is a judgment. Hell is real. And Paul here is warning the church that if we don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, If we have not been forgiven for our sins, there is a wrath that awaits us. And this is why it's so important for us to understand the necessity of the cross, the necessity of Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. Without the cross, there is no hope, is there? There is nothing that can save us. So if you're here this afternoon or this evening and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, I would encourage you that today is the day of salvation. Today is the day where he is calling you to repent and to believe in him. To turn from your sin, to turn from your idols. To turn from that which is keeping you from bowing before him and falling on your face before him. When you do that, you can know this, that Jesus will forgive your sins. He will give you true and lasting hope, not just for this life, but also for the life to come. And this is what the Apostle Paul is pointing us to. He's pointing the church to. We are waiting for someone, aren't we? We are waiting for our risen Savior, Jesus Christ, who has been raised from the dead. And we have that day to look forward to, the day when he comes again, or the day that he calls us to himself when we pass from this life to our eternal home. So brothers and sisters, this hope, this joy, this knowing that Christ has died for you is so important. And it's impossible for us to have this kind of hope, this steadfastness in hope, if we don't understand that we truly have been forgiven by Him. Because this is what Christ has come to do, to seek and to save. sinners like you, sinners like me, sinners like these Thessalonians. He calls us out of our sin to leave our idols and to serve Him. And brothers and sisters, if you have that knowledge, if you have that assurance that He has paid the price for your sin on the cross, You can go from this place with that full assurance. So let me ask you, have you turned to Christ? Have you turned to him as the only one that can give you true hope? And even in the hard things in your life, and I don't know all of you here this evening, might be sickness that God has given to you. It might be a struggle that you are battling with right now. Are you patient in this hope? Even when sometimes it feels like God isn't answering your prayers or things are not going as you would like to see in your life, sometimes, brothers and sisters, we can begin to wonder, well, where is God in this? We can imagine how the church felt when they were struggling and when they were persecuted and when they were oppressed. No doubt they thought this at times, didn't they? But we are called to have patience and hope. We need to pray as a church that this would be true of us. That we would be strong in the Lord. That we would show and speak of God's work of grace and redemption in our own life. Because this isn't just a story from the past, a great story we can tell our kids, brothers and sisters. But this is our story, isn't it? Our story of how God has worked. So we need to pray that God would use each one of us, that God would use us in the place he has put us to speak of what Christ has done, of that transforming power of the gospel. That's my prayer for this church as well, that when people speak of Escondido URC, that they would speak of lives transformed and of people speaking and preaching and teaching wherever they go of what Christ has done for them. Brothers and sisters, that truly what we've seen today, that this work of faith, this labor of love, this steadfastness and hope would be something that marks each one of us. Let's pray to that end. Let's close in a word of prayer. Father, we ask, Lord, that you would work, Father, in your church today. Lord, as we've read these words of your transforming power through the good news of the gospel as it went to the Thessalonians, Lord, we pray that we would see that same work in our own lives. Lord, we thank you for this story. And Lord, we pray that our story would reflect what we've seen today. And Lord, as we speak of your work in our life, we pray that we would speak with this joy and with this love. Lord, that we would be laboring, Lord, in love. Father, we pray that as we seek to be faithful to the calling that you've given to us to be lights in this world. Lord, that we would shine brightly. Lord, whether that's the children here or young people or adults or seniors, Lord, that each one of us would tell the wondrous story of your grace in our life. Lord, we pray that that would be true. Use us, we ask, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.