Sunday Morning Service 10:30AM- The Work of the Gospel - Pastor Ryan

All right, good morning. It's good to see you all. Welcome to Calvary. You guys want to go ahead and stand with us? We'll pray and we'll get started.

Father God, we thank you for the day. We thank you for another opportunity to come here to lift a joyful noise and to spend some time in your word, Lord. Let it do its work in our lives, Lord. Let it accomplish your will in our lives. We ask your blessing upon this time and on the kids at the other end of the hall. In Jesus' name, amen. All I see is a battle. You see my victory. My sea is a mountain. You see a mountain move through the shadow. You're the surround. God bless you, man.

Hands lifted high. Jesus, there's nothing impossible. Against the power and shine in the shadow. Amen. Amen. You guys can go ahead and have a seat if you like. Whoever brought me the bottle of water. Thank you. God bless you. Blessed assurance. Jesus is my fourth man in the fire. Time after time. Born of his spirit. Washed in his blood. And what he did for me on Calvary is more than enough.

And I trust in God, my Savior. Perfect submission. I know the author of tomorrow. The sword in my steel. This is my song. I trust in God, my Savior.

Yes, Lord God. You are victorious, Lord God. You are always faithful, even when we're not. And when we fail, you won't. Amen. The exodus of my heart. You found me for my release. Oh, yeah. You took me by the hand. March me out of freedom. And now I will not forget you. God, I'll sing of all you've done. Death has followed up into my agent. You marched me out of freedom to the promised land.

You walked into my agent. And you took me by the hand. March me out of freedom. Straight into the promised land. I'll forget you. God, I'll sing of all you've done. Death has followed up into my agent. Lord God, I just want to take a moment, Lord, and just thank you for who you are. For leading us out of death and into life, Lord God. For leading us out of our old life into new.

Lord, for delivering us from the world, God, and into your hands. Lord God, we just keep you praised. We give you thanks. Mercy fills the streets. To look upon new blood to save me. And walk with you for all eternity.

The songs of faith we sang through doubt and fear.

Yes, Lord God, your word says in Philippians that there will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that you are God. You are Lord. Amen.

Would you guys go ahead and stand with me for this last one? And only you for the sun to Truth and light runs dry Imagine you are the vine Draw me close and teach me to abide Bear the spirit of death as I am Lord God, we just want to come to you this morning and ask you to help us abide in you. Lord, without you, Lord, Lord, you are a source of strength. You are a source of life.

Lord, without you, we have nothing. So help us to abide in you, to remain in you, Lord.

Truth and light leads you to abide. Be my strength, my song in the night.

Treasure my pride.

Lord God, this morning I just want to ask you to please move in our lives, Lord. I want to ask your Holy Spirit to come and move in this place this morning. Lord, let it do its mighty work in our lives and in our hearts this morning. I pray that as Pastor Ryan comes, that your Holy Spirit would overflow him with your gift of teaching. Give him the words to speak and give us hearts to receive that.

Father, we love you and we praise you. And in your precious and holy name, amen. Amen. Let's take some time and greet one another.

Good morning. Good morning.

If you could begin the process. Right here. Finding your seat.

Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements. I love the roar of the conversation. It's really fun from up here. I've got to be completely honest about that. Okay. A handful of things to take note of in your bulletin. First of all, welcome to Calvary Chapel if it's your first Sunday here. We're really glad that you have joined us this morning.

If it's not your first Sunday here, we're glad that you're a member. And a few things to take note of in your bulletin. Over on the left-hand side are the things going on throughout the week. There are week studies to get plugged into, and actually, I need to invite Teresa Moore up real quick to talk about the newest women's study that's starting back up. That's fair.

I'm fine. I think you're all sitting down, so. Okay. I lead women's Bible study on Thursday afternoon and Monday night. We do a series called Joyful Life Bible Studies that were originally written by Kay Smith. Way back when. We've been doing this for about 25 years. So it's time to start a new book. We go through a book, and you can do it three ways. You can join us on Thursday afternoon from 1 to 3.

You can come on Monday night from 7 to 8.30, quarter to 9. I try 8.30, but it doesn't normally work. Or if you want to do it on your own. As a very good tool to be in the Word every day for six days a week, six days out of the week, it can be just a real devotional type thing, or it can be an in-depth study. Depends on however you want to put into it. So the sign-up sheets are only so I know how many copies to make.

There's no price. There's no commitment except between you and the Lord. So pray about it. Thank you. Oh, sorry. We do start on October the 17th.

Okay. So take note of that. And then over in the middle section of your bulletin, just a reminder that next Sunday in the evening, 5 o'clock, out in the backyard here, we're going to have a Get Connected potluck where lots of the other small group leaders are going to be there, too, to where you can get to know who those people are and hopefully get to know a little bit more of the people that attend church here, and you guys can get to know each other a little bit better. And maybe get plugged in.

So that is next Sunday evening at 5 o'clock. So bring a dish to share. And it might not hurt to bring a chair with you for that. It should be a good time together. And then just a reminder that tonight at 630, we've been praying that the rain would hold off. And right now it looks like that's going to take place. So 630 tonight over in the pool parking lot, we're going to be doing the Made for More Night of Hope.

I'm hoping to reach out, too. I mean, the original goal was to reach out to kids, but honestly, anybody in the community that needs to come and be ministered to. Hogs Dogs is serving hot dogs for free. And so it should be a great time together of some worship and a couple of short messages, hopefully just to bring a lot of hope to a community that really has been hurt a lot through the loss of lives, through suicide and just hopelessness in general.

So that's going on tonight. So please bring a friend and a chair to that as well and come join us. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading, we're going to be in Psalm 52. Psalm 52. For this part, we will be looking at the New American Standard just so that we can sound the same.

If you need a copy, there should be one in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 52, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with. Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 52 for the choir director, a mascal of David. When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The loving kindness of God endures all day long. Your tongue devises destruction like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.

You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking. What is right, say law. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever. He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent and uproot you from the land of the living. Say law. The righteous will see in fear and will laugh at him, saying, Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire. But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever. And read verse 9 with me. I will give you thanks forever because you have done it. And I will wait on your name for it is good in the presence of your godly ones.

And so, Father, we do wait on you this morning, Lord. We wait to hear from you. And, Father, that's what we want to do. We want to hear what your word has to say to us. And so the only way we can do that is through that power. And so I just ask for myself for a fresh filling of your gift of teaching through the power of your Holy Spirit. And, Lord, I ask for your people, Lord, a fresh filling of those ears to hear from the power of your Holy Spirit, Lord,

exactly what it is that your spirit wants to do this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.

1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We started into this book last week. We only covered the first verse because it was by way of introduction into the book of Thessalonians. Of course, we saw who the writers were that Paul was the one who wrote. And alongside him were Silas and Timothy, faithful brothers in the work that was going on on that second missionary journey.

Paul and Silas had been imprisoned in Philippi and beaten. And after they were set free from that, they went over to Thessalonica and they started this church. And we're there for a very short time, three weeks, maybe up to three months, a real short time. And then after they left Thessalonica because of the persecution that was going on there, they went on to Athens and then to Corinth.

And while at Corinth, Paul received word that things were going really well with that church in Athens that had faced so much affliction and had faced so much danger. And he was so excited to hear how well the church in Thessalonica was doing that he decided to pen this letter, the letter of 1 Thessalonians. And so, as he does so, he really lays out a lot of things. The first half of it is very personal in nature.

The second half of it is very instructional in nature. So we begin in the first half with chapter 1 today. And the title of the message is, The Work of the Gospel. The Work of the Gospel, because that's what Paul is going to recount in this first chapter, is he is going to recount what God did among those Thessalonian believers. And so, as we pick up in verse 2, it says this,

We have thanks to God always for you, making mention of you in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father. Knowing, brethren, beloved by God, his choice of you. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. Because you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word of God in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place your faith towards God has gone forth. So that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, that is, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

And so as we look at the work of the gospel that Paul recounts in this first chapter of Thessalonians, there's three things he's going to do. He's going to give thanks for these believers. He's going to talk about the message of the gospel. And then he's going to talk about their response to the gospel. And so the first thing he does is give thanks. And of course, that's exactly what he starts off.

He says, we thank God for you. We give thanks for you all. And as Paul recounted these believers, these people that he had spent, though a short time with, it was an impressionable time with, all he can do is think back and thank God for them. And thank God for the work that he had done in them. And thank God for the... The love that he was able to show to them and the love that they showed to him.

And there is just something about being able to work with people that ultimately creates in you that heart of thanksgiving. And I got to tell you, I didn't say this to first service, although I mean it for them too. But as I sat here on this front row, I like to kind of sit towards the front at second service because I could hear all of the voices singing. And I could hear everybody singing out.

And I just got to tell you, I just got kind of overwhelmed with just how thankful I am. For this body of Christ here at Calvary Chapel of Ark City. And just how much I love you guys. And how much I love that you guys are here and you're worshiping the Lord together. And that we are just a family gathered here singing these praises to the Lord. I was just kind of overwhelmed with that feeling of thankfulness.

And I thought, that's probably exactly what Paul thought about when he thought about writing to these believers. How thankful he was for the love that they had shown him and the love of God that he was able to minister to them. And so he says, And the second thing he says is, And again, it's interesting to take a look at the prayer life of Paul. As a matter of fact, in our daily reading with the plan that we're following here at Calvary Chapel, we're really getting into the epistles.

We've done Romans and 1st and 2nd Corinthians. But into Galatians, he really starts getting into the prayer life of Paul. And you should take note of something. You should take note of all the different people that Paul prays for. The different churches. The different churches that he prays for. And see just how long of a list Paul is making of all the people that he prays for.

And I think that's kind of a good example for us to follow. That you should keep some lists of people to pray for. I do. I keep lists in my Bible sometimes. I keep lists on the calendar in my office. Somebody will text me and say, Hey, can you be praying for me? And I've learned about myself that I have to do two things at that point in time. One, I have to stop and pray for them right then.

Because otherwise I'll forget. Because that's who I am as a human being. And the second thing that I'll do is I'll just write it somewhere where I know it's going to be visible to me. I'll write it on a calendar, a piece of paper, or a journal that I'm going to be using a lot. I have a notebook that I keep all of my notes in for the different studies that I do.

I'll write it in that notebook. So that every time I open it up or every time I look at it, I go, Oh yeah, I need to be praying for them. I just added another name to it right before first service this morning. And I wrote down a name next to another name. And I had to think to myself, why am I praying for that person? And it caused me to kind of rifle back to it.

Oh yeah, that's why I'm praying. So I stopped and prayed right then. And that's just a really good thing for us to do is to keep those kinds of lists. Because it keeps us constantly in mind every time you see those names. Hey, I should be praying for them because I remember that they had mentioned that to me. And that's kind of what Paul does. Like he's constantly mentioning these different people in his prayer time.

But not only is he giving thanks for them, not only is he mentioning them in his prayer, but he says, and I am constantly remembering. Verse 3 is a great verse. Notice what it says. Constantly bearing in mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father. And so part of his giving thanks for them is his remembering what God had done in their life.

And he used three very familiar Pauline words that he uses in several of his epistles. Perhaps you notice them. Faith, hope, and love. As a matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians 13, he'll say, Now abide. These three, faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. Only, did you notice that he used three couplets when he listed those three words? Because he joined another word with each of them.

He said, your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope. Now it's kind of interesting that he joins those three together. And I want to tell you why it's important. Because remember, he's giving thanks for what he has seen and what he remembers about these Thessalonian believers. And so the first thing he says is, Now typically, those two words don't seem to go together, right?

It's faith or it's works. But in this particular instance, he couples them together, your work of faith. So what does he mean by that? Well, we are reminded that in John chapter 6, as a matter of fact, I wrote down this specific verse. John chapter 6, verse 29, Jesus is having a discussion with some people that have followed him. They actually were coming to him because he had fed the 5,000.

They wanted him to give bread again. And he told them that they needed to work the works of God. And they said, What must we do that we should work the works of God? That we should do the things of God? And Jesus said, This is the work of God that you would believe on him whom he has sent. Indicating that the greatest work that we do is faith. Because faith is ultimately what God calls for us.

Because faith is what saves. Faith is what seals. And faith is what will bring us home, right? And so that faith is the work that we do. But there's something interesting. That takes place. Because if you look at this literally in the Greek, what it says is your work that is energized by and produced by faith. You see, that indicates that faith also does something in our lives.

The work is faith, but the faith produces works. Because what you believe has an effect on how you live your life. What you believe has an effect on the things that you do. For instance, this morning, I knew that it was raining. And I believed that it was raining. And I believed that it was raining. And I believed that it was raining. And so the thing that I did based upon my faith in the rain

is I grabbed an umbrella on the way out the door. You see, my faith produced a work in my life. My belief did something and it caused me to act. And that's what faith is supposed to do in our lives. Is it energizes and produces the works in our lives. Not that it's something that we do to earn God's love, but something that we do because we have God's love.

A wonderful way to put it is this. Faith is the root, works are the fruit. And that's the way it's supposed to be in our lives. He says, I constantly remember your work of faith. But the second thing he says is, I constantly remember your labor of love. Of course, the word love there is that agape sort of love, that sacrificial sort of love. And literally what he says is,

your service that was motivated by love. Your service that was motivated by love. Isn't it amazing what you will do for somebody that you love that you wouldn't do for anybody else in the world? I'm a person that really enjoys my sleep. I'm actually, I've become quite fond of sleep over the years. And when I was early on in my working world, I had to go into work really early.

And so I would go to bed really early. I was an old man at the age of like 25, right? I was going to bed at like nine o'clock because I had to get up really early in the morning to go to work. And then my oldest daughter came along. And then I quit going to bed at nine o'clock. I still got up just as early. I just had to stay up really late. Now, there's not very many things that will cause me to lose sleep.

But my daughter is one that will cause me to lose sleep. And even though it wasn't fun in the moment, I was willing to do it. You know why? Because I love her. And there's a whole lot of things just like that. Like your labor is oftentimes not that difficult because of love. And we're willing to do things out of love. And that's what he says. He says, remember that you had service in your life that was motivated by love.

And what a beautiful thing that was. And then the third thing he says that he remembers and is thankful for in their lives is their steadfastness of hope, their steadfastness of hope. That word steadfast means patient endurance, patient endurance. As a matter of fact, some of your translations may say patience of hope. If you're reading, I think the New King James, maybe the ESV says the same thing.

Both say patience of hope. And the idea is this. You have patience in your life because Jesus is the source of your hope. And you are always hoping in his return. In other words, you know how it's going to end. So it's easier to be patient with the circumstances in the moment. Let me give you a little bit of an illustration of what I mean here. Now, you all know that I'm a big Kansas City Chiefs fan.

I was a Chiefs fan before everybody hated the Chiefs, right? I was a Chiefs fan when everybody wanted the Chiefs. They wanted the Chiefs to win because they were the lovable losers. And so I remember the first of the last few Super Bowls that they won a few years back. And I remember watching that game because I remember being stressed out by that game, right?

Because they were losing the game until like the middle of the fourth quarter. And my dad and I are a little bit intense when we watch sports together. And I watch all these games with my dad now because he's one of my favorite sports buddies to watch these with. And we're really intense when we watch sports together. So we're literally like ships just passing by.

We're just passing each other, right, as we're pacing across the living room floor just wearing a hole in the floor going, well, they're just not going to do it. Well, they've just decided they don't want to win this game. I don't even think they care. They don't even realize it's the Super Bowl. That may or may not have been the entire conversation that went on all through the game until the fourth quarter.

Now, if I was watching a tape of the game, a recorded version of the game, and I knew that the game would end with the Chiefs winning, I wouldn't be stressed out at that point in time when they were down like two touchdowns or something like that going into the fourth quarter. I wouldn't be stressed out. Why? Because even though I can see the difficulty that they're going through, I know what the end result is.

And that's the way it is in our lives. You see, we can have steadfast assurance, patient endurance because we know what the end is. You go, but I don't even know how this is going to work out. I do. God's going to take care of it because I know what the end is. I know that God's going to eventually win. Because Jesus said, And we can rest in that. And he says,

He said, And he says, And then he says one last thing.

He says, And I know two things about you guys. Number one, you are loved by God. And I'm so thankful that you are loved by God. That's what he means when he says beloved by God. I know that you are loved by God. And I got to tell you, I can appreciate where Paul's coming from here. Because as a pastor and as a parent, it's so good to know that no matter how much I care about you guys,

and no matter how much I care about my kids, God loves all of you even more than I can ever imagine. Therefore, I can trust a God like that. And Paul is so thankful because he can't be. He can't be there with them to take care of all of the problems for them. But he can trust in the fact that there is a God who loves them more than he can ever imagine. And he can trust a God like that.

And the second thing he says is, And I know that you have been chosen by God. You've been chosen by God. A lot of people have a real hard time with that statement. You see, there's this debate that takes place. Did God choose me or did I choose God? And the answer is yes. Yeah. God chose you, and then you chose God. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Yes. Right? I don't know how it works. But I do know this. Scripture seems to hit both of those things really hard. That you have to make a choice in your life, but that's not the part he's hitting hard right now. What he's hitting hard right now is that you have been chosen by God. Most people have a problem with that because they think that if God chooses people to be saved,

they presuppose that God also chooses some people to not be saved. Why don't you see that in Scripture? But I do see that God chooses people to be saved. And one of the most beautiful things that you can know, if you're here this morning and you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have been born again, you have been chosen by God. And for people like me who are always the smallest guy on the field,

and always got chose last, it's really good to know, I'm chosen by God. He didn't choose me last. He was like, you on my team. That's what he did. He chose me because the day that I came to Jesus as my Lord and Savior, on the inside of the door, it said, chosen before the foundations of the world. And maybe you're sitting here this morning and you've never come to Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

And you say, how do I know if I'm chosen? Well, come to Jesus and then you'll find out you've been chosen. Isn't that great? Because on the door of heaven, on one side it says, to he who will come. And on the other side, it says, chosen before the foundations of the world. Can we be thankful for anything more than knowing that as believers in Jesus Christ, God was like, I want them.

I want them to be with me. And so he takes this time to give thanks for them. But the second thing that he does is he talks about the message of the gospel. Notice what he says in verse five. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake.

Paul says, The gospel when it came to you did not come, but it came to you in word only. Why does he point that out? Because in Paul's day, it was no different than it is in our day. Words are cheap, right? In this political season, can we not all agree that words are cheap, that politicians are always going to say what they need to say to get elected, that people are always going to say what they need to say to curry favor from you.

And we live in a culture today that words have become even cheaper than they used to be. Quite frankly, I don't even understand half the words we use anymore. Hang out with a junior high kid. Come again, right? Because that's just kind of how it is right now. Like I need a dictionary and some of them help me out with it every now and then. They're like, you're old.

Let me tell you what it's about. I'm like, please do because I have no idea what you're saying. And so it's a words are cheap and Paul knows that and in Paul's day, there were people who were coming along that were itinerant preachers that only preached for money. And as they preached for money, they said anything that they needed to so that people would follow them.

And words were cheap. That's why he says when we came to you, our gospel was not in words. They weren't in word only. It's not just words on a page. It's not just some idea that's being presented. He says they weren't in word only. What were they in number one? They were in power. The words of the gospel came the message of the gospel came in power. There is an inherent power in the message of the gospel because the inherent power in the message of the gospel does not rest in the words that it declares,

but in the one that it declares. The inherent power of the gospel is found in Christ Christ who created the heavens in the earth Christ who keeps the earth in motion by the word of his mouth Christ who decided to take on the form of a man to be born as a baby to live a perfect life Christ who died a perfect death and then Christ who overcame death when he rose again from the dead and was resurrected and he defeated death. That is the power of the gospel and brothers and sisters. We need to understand that the gospel is intended to have that kind of power in our lives.

It has the power to heal. It has the power to restore. It has the power to rebuild. It has the power to save to make brand new to bring about restoration of relationships with each other. That's what the gospel does and the gospel has that kind of power. But I have a question for you has the gospel. Power taken its hold in your life. Because you see it's one thing to talk about it.

It's a whole other thing to have it truly be a part of who we are. Has it really taken its hold in your life? You see as as people sitting in a church right now. I know that there's a couple of different groups of people that are sitting here this morning. Some of you the gospel has taken its hold in your life and you are so glad to hear me talk about this because you know what it's done in you and you can't wait to do it and see it done in somebody else's life.

And then there's some of you sitting here this morning that have had an experience with church. You've been to church a lot, but you've never really come to Jesus. You've you've gone to a building a lot and sat with a group of people a lot, but you don't have a personal experience with Jesus Christ yourself. And so when I talk about the power of the gospel, you're like, I mean, I guess it's got some power.

I've heard it my entire life. That's because it hasn't taken its hold on your life and it's time to let the gospel be unleashed in your life to let it do what it's going to do. Because we're not here to have an experience with church. We're here to have an experience with Jesus and the power of his gospel. And he says this gospel has power that is inherent in it through its message.

Not only did it come in power, but it came in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is who really gives it its power, right? Because the Holy Spirit is who is at work in the message of the gospel. I think I shared this with you guys two or three weeks ago. But when we went to the went to the pastors and leaders conference down in Tucson, we were given the opportunity to go to a Franklin Graham cruiser.

And when we went to this Franklin Graham crusade, Franklin gets out. It's this, it's this like minor league baseball field or something that everything's set up on. And and so he gets out there and he starts teaching. And first of all, it was called the Frontier. So he was called the front terrace, the Frontier Crusade. And so it was all along all the border towns.

And so as Franklin Graham is speaking, a translator is there with him. And so that was kind of an interesting experience for me to be a part of. But he he delivers just quite frankly, and we all agreed. We were like, not the most powerful. Message we've ever heard in our entire lives. Like, huh? I kind of expected a little bit more from Franklin Graham. And as he said, would anyone like to come forward and receive Christ?

The entire infield gets filled up with people. And we're like, I've heard people preach way more powerful messages than that guy just preached right now. And people are rushing forward. You know why? Because it's not about the message. It's about the power of the Holy Spirit. And the power of the Holy Spirit did a work in the lives of these people. And people were running like mad to go receive Jesus.

Because he told them that. Jesus loves them and can save them. And they were like, we want that. Because it was in the power of the Holy Spirit. He said, when we came to you, it wasn't a word. Only was in power because the message has power. And it was in the Holy Spirit because he's the one who really gives it that power. But also it was with conviction with conviction.

That word conviction means certainty and assurance. You see, when Paul preached this message, when Timothy was alongside him, when Silas was bearing witness to it. These weren't guys who just did some theological studies in their lives. These. These weren't guys who just knew about the Lord. They weren't just guys who knew about the message. They were guys who had been affected by the message.

You see, Paul had certainty and assurance. He had conviction about the things that he was teaching because it was written on his heart. I got to give a message to some kids this last week. And I got to talk about depression because I battled with that a lot in my life. And God's brought me deliverance from that in my life. And as I got to declare that to him, I got to say, listen, kids.

I'm not telling you this because I read it in a book somewhere. I'm not telling you this because I took a course on. How to overcome depression in three easy steps. I'm telling you this because this is what God did in my life. And it's what he's written on my heart. It's the very fabric of who I am because I have seen God's power to do this. And quite frankly, it's the exact same way with the gospel.

I don't stand up and do what I do because I just think it's fun to stand up in front of people. It terrifies me. I stand up here because I have conviction because the message of the gospel has been written on my heart. And that's what Paul says actually has powers when you can deliver it with conviction. One of my favorite songwriters of all time is Rich Mullins.

Rich Mullins wrote some fantastic songs. I just posted some lyrics to one of his songs again this last week. And Rich Mullins when he was recording music late 80s early 90s. He would go into his producer when they would get ready to put out another CD. And I said this to first service to we used to use these things called CDs. They're called compact discs. And even before that we use these things called cassette tapes.

And and then there and then there was records. I want to know I'm not old enough for that. They were back there somewhere. Somebody else can tell about that. But but they're inside of the the CDs in the cassette tapes. There were these sleeves right that had all of the lyrics and they were amazing because as you're listening, you're like, what did he say there?

There it is. Now your phone does it for you. That's not fun. Anyway, we'd have to actually get the sleeve out and read it. So we come into to give him his lyrics to the song so that he could put them on the CD sleeve and every time he'd come in and he'd sit down his producers. Desk and he would just start reciting all of the lyrics. And finally his his producer says, you know, you could just write all these down and give them to me.

Like you don't have to recite them all to me. And he goes, I don't write any of them down. He said, what do you mean? You don't write any of them down. He goes now, if you have to write it down, it's not really written on your heart. And these songs, these songs are written on my heart. And that's the way the gospel should be with us. You see, that's how you can speak it with conviction and brothers and sisters until the gospel is written on your heart.

You're not going to have the conviction that it takes to really declare. The message until you know that it is the only reason you have life. The only reason you're sitting here today that you don't have that kind of conviction. And if you don't realize that then it's time for the gospel to once again, take hold on your heart. Because if there's one thing that I'm well aware of the only reason I'm standing up here today is because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because otherwise I would be curled up in a ball on a bed by myself not healed from all the things that I've been through in my life. Because that's the power of the gospel. And Paul says we brought it to you with conviction the certainty and assurance that it needed. Well, he's given thanks. He's talked about the message and now it's time to look at their response.

He says and you also became imitators of us and of the Lord having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and aki. So the first thing that they did the first response that he talks about is that they became imitators. They became imitators of Paul and his companions and they became imitators of the Lord because that's how they responded to the gospel is they said if that's what the gospel looks like and you're the people bringing us the gospel.

Then let's be imitators of you and imitators of the one who saved us. Well, in what ways did they become imitators of the gospel? What are imitators of Paul and his companions? Well notice what he says. You became imitators of us in that you the gospel came to you in much tribulation. You received it in much tribulation. The word tribulation means pressure and affliction.

They had received the gospel in much pressure and affliction. Remember when Paul was in Thessalonica, he could only be in the synagogue for three weeks because the Jewish people kicked him out. And then if he did stay there longer, they found out where he had set up his base of operations and essentially. He attacked that guy's house. So there was always people against the message of the gospel while Paul was in Thessalonica.

And so they received it in much pressure and affliction and in tribulation. And in that way they became just like Paul and Silas and Timothy because remember what happened to Paul Silas and Timothy right before they came to Thessalonica. They got beaten with rods for sharing the gospel and they got imprisoned only a miraculous event set them free from the prison from the imprisonment. Paul says you kind of look just like us as you have received this in much affliction.

But you know who else they kind of looked like receiving it in much tribulation and affliction. They kind of looked like their Savior Jesus because remember Jesus dealt with pressure and affliction from the moment that he stepped onto the scene. People weren't real wild about it. They kind of stood against him and Jesus had this wonderful promise that he made all of us.

He said all who seek to live Godly in this present world will face persecution. And then Jesus goes on to be beaten and be tortured and be crucified. And so as they're facing this tribulation and affliction Paul says it's so beautiful because you're looking just like your Savior because he's been through this too. But not only did they face tribulation but they did so notice what it says at the end of verse 6 with the joy of the Holy Spirit with the joy of the Holy Spirit again.

They kind of look just like Paul and Silas because what did Paul and Silas do while they were imprisoned in Philippi? Well, they had a praise service and they started praising the Lord and they faced that affliction with great joy. How on earth do you face affliction with great joy? How do you face the difficulties of this life with great joy? You remember who wins in the end you hold on to that steadfastness of hope because we know how the game ends.

We know how the game ends. Don't we? And we can hold on to that and have joy because joy is not dependent upon your circumstances. Joy is dependent upon your Savior. He said you had great joy in the way that you handled it because the Holy Spirit gave you that kind of joy as you had that steadfastness of hope. He says and not only that but you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

Everybody looked at you and said now that is an example. Of what it looks like to really follow Jesus. So the first response to the gospel is that they became imitators of us and the Lord. The second thing is that they became a megaphone. Notice what it says in verse 8 for the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you. Not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place your faith towards God has gone forth.

So that we have no need to say anything. He says the word of God has sounded forth from you. That phrase sounded forth means a loud unmistakable proclamation allowed unmistakable proclamation a megaphone. In other words, their actions spoke so loud to the world around them that nobody really needed to say anything because the way that they responded to the gospel was by taking that truth and making it a megaphone to the world.

It sounded forth in an unmistakable sort of proclamation to the world and as God had done work in their life. They started saying let me tell you about what God has done in my life. Let me tell you about how God has set me free. Let me tell you about the power of the gospel, but it's not like all these other messages that I've ever heard. It's the one place I've ever found for hope and it showed in their life and it showed in their words and they became this megaphone so much.

So that notice what happens that it went out every place. And I don't think this is hyperbole on Paul's part because he says we don't even need to say anything. In other words, the entire region around them started being so aware of what God was doing there that nobody even had to say anything because it was proclaimed so loudly. You say how does that happen?

How does that happen in an era where there were no social media where there was no radio programs where there was no TV program where there was no news sites sending those things out? How did they become a megaphone? To the world around them the same way. It's happening here in the same way. It always happens with the movement of the gospel. Somebody says, hey, did you hear what's going on over there?

Have you heard about what happened in their life? Hey, are you hearing about what's taking place in this particular situation? Because as we do that people start going know what happened because we all want to hear the news, right? We all want to hear the gossip. Well, if the gossip is that somebody's life was changed by the gospel people kind of start paying attention.

To that again. I'll take you back to what are my roots in the Calvary Chapel movement? And that's the way it happened with Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa's little church in Costa Mesa, California started teaching the word and started letting anybody that wanted to come to church. Didn't matter what they were wearing didn't matter what they look like what the color of their skin was or what their beliefs were come to Calvary and you can hear God's word.

And so people started getting saved and as people started getting saved it started becoming a megaphone throughout Southern California and as it became a megaphone throughout Southern California. More people started coming and pretty soon. They've got to start other churches in Southern California and now what started as a small little church and Costa Mesa, California of about 40 people has turned into a movement. That's gone worldwide.

Why why is it because of how great Calvary Chapel is? No, it's because the message of the gospel is so powerful because the message of the gospel has power and when people respond to the gospel it becomes a megaphone to the world around them. It becomes a megaphone to the world and they start saying let's go see what's going on. How do revival take place? Take place on Ohio State University a few weeks ago.

Well, it started with a bunch of football players that said let's tell our testimonies. Let's make a megaphone out of what God has done in our lives. Let's use our platform for something good. And as they started doing that people started saying Harry you hearing what's going on over here and it becomes a megaphone and pretty soon nobody has to put the post out on social media because everybody wants to know what's going on.

And that's what the message of the gospel is supposed to do. And again, it has nothing to do with people. It has everything to do with the power because the power is in the message and the power is in the person and all we want to do is bring people back to Jesus back where you belong. And he said it's happened so greatly for you that when you responded it became like a megaphone in your region and now all of a sudden more and more people know the message of the gospel.

But not only was it a megaphone but there was a great report that went out. Let's look at what was reported about these Thessalonian people. It says in verse 9 for they themselves meaning all the people in that region report about us what kind of a reception we had with you how you turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he read whom he raised from the dead. That is Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come and the report has gone out.

First of all about the kind of reception Paul says that we had among you that they were. Like hey, let's listen to what these guys have to say, but not only was it about how well you received us, but how well you receive Jesus because did you take notice that little message of the gospel even in that verse how you turn from idols to serve the living and the true God you turn from idols to serve the living and the true God now I hear this a lot. You know, we really don't have idolatry in our culture today. It's not like it was back then maybe in some of those Eastern cultures.

They have some idolatry and I'm like well. No, that's not exactly true. We may not have some statues that we bow down to I don't see very many statues that we bow down to anymore, but we have idols everywhere. Some of those idols allow you to access social media. Some of those idols are your social media. Some of those idols have four wheels and you drive them.

Some of those idols have two wheels and you drive them. Some of the idols should have four wheels, but they only have two wheels and you don't drive them and you spend all your time working on them. So some of those idols need a roof put over them or they need to be painted. Some of those idols you show up to every day and you put in 8 to 12 hours a day and that's all you can think about some of those idols fluctuate with the stock market as to how well it's doing.

Some of those idols are your reputation. Some of those idols are either bought and sold online or in malls, but we have idols. They may not have the same names, but they have the same things and there's a great deal of idolatry in this culture. And the only way that people can come to Jesus is if they turn from their idols to serve the living and true God. Because that's the message of the gospel.

Turn from sin. Turn to God. That's called repentance. And he said, it's been reported about you that that's exactly what you did is you repented. You turned from your idols to serve the living and the true God. And I don't know who's in here this morning that needed to hear that. I don't know who's in here this morning that has some idols that you got going on in your life.

But you need to turn from those and you need to serve the living and the true God. Because there's a whole lot more hope in him than there is in any of those idols that you have. He says, you have turned and served the living and the true God and now you are in this beautiful place of hope. Because what are they doing? They are waiting for his return. They are waiting for the return of Jesus.

And so they have all of this hope inside of them. Because as they're waiting, they're waiting for this one true Jesus. Notice how it defines him. It defines him as Jesus, the one who has been raised from the dead. The one who is alive. That's who they're waiting for. And what are they waiting for him to do? They're waiting for him to rescue them from the wrath to come.

Do you remember how we said that every chapter in the book of Thessalonians would end with a statement on the second coming of Christ? Ta-da! Here's the statement on the second coming of Christ, right? He says, you are waiting. You are waiting for Jesus. You've been set free from idolatry. You're following the one true living God. And now you have this singular hope.

This singular purpose. This singular focus. And the focus is that you are waiting for Jesus to come get you. To rescue you from the wrath to come. What does he mean by the wrath to come? Well, I think it means two things. Number one, there's an eternal aspect to it. Because we want him to rescue us from the eternity of separation from God in hell. And he does that.

The moment that you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. As you are set free from any eternal wrath that you're going to have to face. But you see, with the eschatology that's pointed out in the book of 1 Thessalonians, I don't think he's just talking about hell here. I think he's talking about a period of time that we oftentimes in biblical speak refer to as the great tribulation period.

That according to what I see in scripture will take place, will begin when the church is taken out in what we call the rapture. Which we'll talk about a little bit later in the book of 1 Thessalonians. But there is coming a time. The Bible refers to it as a time of Jacob's trouble. It refers to it as a day of wrath. It refers to it as a time that will be so difficult that if God does not intervene, humanity will be completely snuffed out.

And it's the time that's spoken of in the book of Revelation as the great tribulation period. And it's a time when God will pour out his wrath on an unbelieving world. And as believers in Jesus Christ, we don't have to face that. Why? Because we are awaiting the return of our Savior. Who will deliver us from the wrath that is to come. And so brothers and sisters, we have hope.

We're continually told to comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another with the words that we know what the end of the game looks like. We know the final score. And the final score is in our favor. And so hold on with that steadfastness of hope, brothers and sisters. Because we have a beautiful gospel message. For some of you, it's the gospel message that has set you free.

And for some of you, that gospel message has the conviction in your heart exactly what I talked about earlier. And you're like, Ryan, I'm right there with you. I know the only reason I'm sitting here today is because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of what he's done in my life. But I also know that there's some of you sitting here today. That don't know that truth.

You don't know what it's like to be in that place. And you don't know even why you showed up here this morning. You just knew your friend drug you here. Or your mom and dad drug you here. Or the Holy Spirit drug you here, right? You just woke up and you were like, I want to go to church this morning. Well, I'm really glad you're here. Because it's time for you to have a real encounter with the real Jesus.

It's time for you to have a real encounter with the Jesus that wants to save you. Because I want that same conviction to be true in you. To be true in your heart. To where you know the one reason I get up every morning is because Jesus has changed my life. If that's you this morning, then I want you to be thinking about that. Because in just a moment, I'm going to give an opportunity.

I'd like to invite the worship team to come on up. If we could all stand. And if you could all bow with me. I feel led to do this this morning. I don't do this all the time. But I do feel led to do this this morning. And that's just to... To see if there's anybody here that needs to receive Jesus for the first time. Or maybe you've been coming to church your entire life.

And you've heard a lot about the Lord. You know that the gospel exists. You've seen it work in other people's lives. But it's never really taken its hold on you. And so, I just want to give an opportunity this morning. So everybody, let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Because I want to make this as non-awkward for people as possible. If that's you this morning.

If you're here and you're like, I've never had that experience with Jesus. It's not written on my heart. I know about it. But it's time for me to get real with it. And I just want you to do me a favor. I just want you to put your hand up. Because I want to be able to pray for you. And maybe later pray with you. Praise the Lord. So let's all just repeat this prayer together, shall we?

There's no magic words in the prayer. It's all about the condition of your heart. But let's just repeat this together. Father, I know that I'm a sinner. I want you to be my savior. Come into my heart. Make me brand new. In Jesus' name. Amen. And Father, I thank you that we've had this time together in your word this morning. And Lord, I thank you that we've had this opportunity.

Thank you for the ones that have said that today, I'm not going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. Today is their day. To have a real encounter with Jesus. And so Lord, I pray that you would continue to do your work in our hearts and in our lives. And Father, I just ask,

I ask for your spirit to continue to move not only in this church, but in this community today, Lord. As we gather this evening, Lord, may your Holy Spirit just move throughout this community to bring about hope. Lord, so that we can see some people really come to know you and find their hope in you. Father, we just thank you and praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

I'm going to be right down front here if anybody wants to come up and talk with me or pray.

Lord God, I just thank you that you have made a way for us. A way from death to life. Lord, a way from sin and all those things, Lord, into deliverance. Into new life with you, Lord. And I pray that if there are any here this morning, Lord, that have not gotten that settled, I pray that today, that now, would be that time. That today would be that day. That they would come to know you.

Father, we love you and we praise you and we thank you. And all God's people said, Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you.