An Introduction

good morning would y'all stand would you join me in prayer first of all we want to welcome all of you here this morning to calvary chapel and we want to welcome those of you who are joining us online father we thank you for this opportunity to worship in song and to study your word this morning would you be glorified lord we come just as we are lord oh just strengthen us to worship and just pour our hearts out to you lord you're so good to us we thank you and give you thanks this morning lord as your word says in the sermon on the mount that that we would be light and salt that lord you are the light but may we be as like the moon that reflects the sun that reflects you lord and that salt that has its seed

and this little sting for healing and those things that go on, Lord, we thank you, Jesus, that you are in control. We can look to you, so we give ourselves to you. You came in on that dawn so great. They're worshiping because of what they thought you might be doing then to take over Rome and take the kingdom, but no, you came as a suffering Savior to die on that cross for us.

And we thank you, Jesus, for doing that, Lord, for loving us so much that you died on that cross for us.

Promise that you'll never leave us nor forsake us. We can trust you in that, Lord. You're so good that the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we thank you. This reminds me of the doxology. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. You're faithful, and we love you, and we thank you, Lord Jesus.

Would you all stand?

Oh, you've been standing. Oh, sorry about that. Well, hey, you enjoyed when you said. Blessed are the poor in spirit so that our realizing the depravity of ourselves without Christ. Oh, what a mess, what a mess, what a mess. But, oh, the way you pick up the messes and make a change, Lord. I think of that scripture, Romans 12, 1 and 2, whichever translation.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present to your body a living, holy sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service or act of worship. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may know that perfect will of God. And we thank you, Lord Jesus, as we yield ourselves to you, present ourselves to you. You lead and guide us.

You take each step, and in your providence, you move in the hearts of men. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Bless our time now in your word, too, we ask. As Pastor Ryan comes up, just anoint him by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's have a little fellowship. And then sit down.

Good morning. If you could begin to find your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. As we take a look at our bulletins for some announcements that are coming up, as always, the things going on on the left-hand side of the screen, we're going to be talking about the things going on on the left-hand side of the screen. We're going to be talking about the things going on on the left-hand side of the bulletin.

Places to get plugged into. In the middle here, a couple things to take note of. First of all, fellas, we have a men's breakfast coming up this Saturday down at the other end of the hallway here at 8 o'clock a.m., so come join us for that. Also, next Sunday evening, we're doing an event that has taken us a little longer than we intended for it to come together.

We were waiting on some approvals, but we are getting it put together. So it's going to take place next Sunday evening, in the parking lot of the pool. And what it is is, you know, we've lost a lot of lives over the past, especially few years, to suicide. And not to mention the fact that there's lots of issues in this current generation that we're living in right now.

And we know that the only true answer to any of those issues is Jesus. And so Pastor James Newman and I have put together a little bit of an event for next Sunday evening. It's called Made for More, A Night of Hope. And the worship team that's been doing the things over at Venue 208 and up at the Oasis Coffee Shop, it's kind of a collective of several different churches and some kids from Southwestern College.

They're going to be the ones that are doing some worship. James and I both are going to be speaking at it. Hogs Dogs is going to have serving up hot dogs there for free. So come out, invite lots of people to this. We want to fill up that parking lot with lots of people, especially young people that need to hear the message. The message of the truth. And so that's what's going on next Sunday evening.

Bring a chair and a friend. And then on September the 29th, in two weeks, we are going to have a Get Connected potluck here at Calvary Chapel. It'll be at 5 o'clock p.m. on Sunday the 29th. A chance to not only get all of us together to eat some food together, like we've talked about, but also an opportunity to get to meet all the small group leaders and find out what's going on.

Find out if there's any spots that you want to get plugged into there. So that's coming up in two weeks. So take note of that. Those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 75. Psalm 75. Looking at the New American Standard for this.

If you need a copy, should be one around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 75, 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 75, for the choir director, set to Al-Tasheth, the Psalm of Asaph, a song. We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your name is near. Men declare your wondrous works. When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity. The earth and all who dwell therein,

dwell in it, melt. It is I who have firmly set its pillars, say law. I said to the boastful, do not boast. And to the wicked, do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high. Do not speak with insolent pride. For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation. But God is the judge. He puts down one and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord,

and the wine for the Lord. It is well mixed, and he pours out of this. Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. But as for me, I will declare it forever. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked he will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. And Father, we come before you, and we do praise you that you are the sovereign God.

Lord, that you are the sovereign God who raises up one and puts down another. And Lord, in this time when we are beginning the process of choosing another leader for our country, may we always sit back and rest in the sovereignty of God. And know that there is nothing that happens that catches you by surprise. And so Lord, we lift up our nation, we lift up Israel, and we ask that you would protect our nation, and that you would provide peace for Jerusalem.

And Lord, I just pray that you would be with us now as we spend time in your word. Lord, would you, minister to our hearts, speak to us, and may your word do the work that it was intended to do as it was sent out by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of 1 Thessalonians Chapter one 1 Thessalonians Chapter one.

Well, after spending a little bit of time, a couple of weeks, talking about what it looks like from the mission and the vision here of Calvary Chapel of Arc City, I thought it was time to jump back into some through the word teaching, which is kind of what we do here. And so I wanted to continue on with the Pauline epistles. And so we come now to the book of 1 Thessalonians. Now, this has pretty much become my theme as I handle these different letters, but we are reminded that an ancient letter in the time of Paul always contained three things in the very beginning.

Its kind of introduction contained three things. It contained the name of the writer, the name of the recipient, and the greeting that he would give. And so that's what we're going to look at this morning in this verse 1 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, as we sort of lay the groundwork in the background to understand a little bit more of the people of Thessalonica so that we can understand better the writing of Paul to the Thessalonians. And so we look at chapter 1 verse 1 and it says this, Again, an ancient letter contained all three of the things that most ancient letters contained at that point in time. And so the first thing that we look at is we look at the writer. Paul

introduces three people to us at the beginning of this letter. It introduces or reminds the people of Thessalonica of three different things. The first thing that we look at is the writer. Paul introduces three people to us at the beginning of this letter. It introduces or reminds the people of Thessalonica of three different things. The first thing that we look at is the writer. Paul

introduces three people to us at the beginning of this letter. It introduces or reminds the people that are there with him as he's writing this letter. Of course, the first person is Paul who actually either penned or dictated the letter himself. So let's spend just a few moments talking about Paul. I won't dwell on this a great deal because we've been in the Pauline epistles

quite a bit here lately. And so we've talked quite a bit about him, but I never want to take for granted that somebody knows something that they maybe don't know. So Paul was a formerly a persecutor of the church. He was about as high up in the Jewish religion as you could get at that day. He was considered to be one of the foremost scholars in Judaism and foremost leaders in the

movement of Judaism at that particular point in time. And so when Jesus came along, who kind of flew in the face of a lot of Judaic ideas that didn't necessarily line up with what God had to say, he threw their traditions out the door and brought them back to the simplicity of what God intended. Guys like Paul really hated Jesus. And while Jesus walked the earth, which would have been the same time that Paul was alive, Paul was not a believer. As a matter of fact, he was

ultimately opposed. And when the early church started in the beginning of the book of Acts, Paul was one of the first guys to really truly persecute the church and did so vehemently until God got a hold of his heart. And God turned Paul, someone who hated Jesus and he hated the church, into someone who not only was in love with the Savior, but became one of the greatest preachers of the gospel that the world has ever seen and would go to the church and say, go on to write the greater percentage of the New Testament because that's what the gospel does in the lives of people. And so Paul was completely turned around because he had a real encounter with the real Jesus. He had a real encounter with the real Jesus. And as he had that

real encounter with the real Jesus, his life was changed. And he went on these missionary journeys where he started churches and then wrote letters to churches to either correct, encourage, or instruct them. The second name that we're given is the name Silvanus. Now you may be thinking to yourself, I've never really heard the name Silvanus very much before. Who is this guy? Well, Silvanus is

the Roman version of the name Silas. Now Silas, you probably recognize, right? Silas is such a fascinating character in the Bible for us. And we don't know a ton about him other than some biblical things that we are told about him. Silas was a prominent member in the church in Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, he was a member of the church in Jerusalem. He was a member of the church in

Acts chapter 15 after Paul had gone and preached the gospel to all of the Gentiles. And all of these Gentiles were joining the church and they needed to decide what they were going to do with these Gentiles. Would they have to follow Jewish customs or could they just follow Jesus? Silas was a part of that Jerusalem council. And as the council handed down the answer, which was that they did

not need to follow the Jewish customs. They simply needed to be sensitive to the Jews. Ultimately, they just needed to follow Jesus. Paul returned to Antioch with a letter indicating everything that the church was to need to know in order to handle these Gentile believers. And he was accompanied by a gentleman named Silas as he returned from Jerusalem back to Antioch.

Well, when they arrived in Antioch, there was, Paul wanted to go on a second missionary journey to not only encourage the churches, but also to, uh, to deliver this news about how they were to live their lives as Gentile believers. Silas was the one who ultimately accompanied him when that division took place between Paul and Barnabas. And so Silas became the one who was Paul's ministry partner as he traveled. And he wasn't just a ministry partner. He was a brother in arms

because we're going to find out in just a little bit that when they were in Philippi and Paul was arrested and beaten for his faith, Silas was right there with him. And he was right there alongside him as the ministry partner that Paul needed. And a time that was very, very difficult. Uh, that would not, this would not be the last time that we would hear about Silas. As a matter of fact, if you were to look at the book of first

Peter, uh, as Peter sent that very first epistle to the churches, um, it was carried by a gentleman by the name of Silas. So he was a faithful member of the church and a faithful follower of Jesus and a faithful friend to Paul. But there's a third guy that's there as well, Paul and Silas. And then we go to Timothy. Now, I've always really appreciated Timothy because I always felt like if there was

anybody that I would think that I am the most like in scripture, it's Timothy. Because Timothy was a young pastor. By the way, Timothy was in his forties and referred to as a young pastor. That's all I'm saying. Timothy was a young pastor, but, but he also dealt with a lot of worry and anxiety. He was kind of a timid guy and got really nervous. And every time I read about Timothy,

I'm like, same Zs, right? Like I get that feeling. And so, um, and so Timothy was a young friend and a commoner. And he was a young pastor. And he was a young pastor. And he was a young pastor. And he was a convert of Paul. As a matter of fact, Paul referred to him as his son in the faith. He joined Paul again on his second missionary journey at Lystra. And when he joined Paul, he became really

one of Paul's most faithful companions. As a matter of fact, in the very end, one of the last people that stuck with Paul was Timothy. And Timothy was a really faithful companion to Paul. Uh, interestingly enough, and I like to point this out, Timothy was highly influenced in the faith by his mother and his grandmother. They were the first two people to really begin to

instill the truth of the gospel into him. And it's referenced a couple of times in scripture, uh, that two of the most influential people besides Paul for Timothy was his mother and his grandmother. And I do think that there's maybe just a little bit of a word there for some moms and grandmas that are here this morning. And that's that as you are continuing to work with your kids and your grandkids, understand that your voice, does mean something to them. That your voice is an influential voice to them. That oftentimes the

greatest spiritual guide that a young man or a young woman can have is their mother continuing to pour into their lives. And sometimes at this age, and when you've got little kids or teenage kids, you're like, does it ever matter? Does anything I say ever matter? And I'm here to tell you that it does. Um, I'm going through this with my kids right now. So I have to read,

remind myself of this too. But, um, but I've had several, uh, young men and women now come back to me that I've worked with over the years as a youth pastor, uh, or, or as a teacher, I've, I've had them come to me and say, Hey, listen, I was a knucklehead in high school, but I'm walking with Jesus now. And I've got a really solid walk with the Lord now. And I just want to thank you for not giving up on me. I just want to thank you for continuing to pour into me because it may not have seemed

like much, but I'm going to continue to pour into you. And I'm going to continue to pour into you. But it means everything to me now. And so thank you for that. And so you're probably in that place right now. A lot of moms and grandmas in here, and you're probably going, I don't think they listen to anything that I say. I don't think they're hearing anything. And I'm here to tell

you that they, they do, they hear it and God will use it because you're planting seeds for a harvest that God will eventually bring in their lives. And so don't give up because Timothy is a wonderful example that a mom or a grandma can have an amazing influence in the life of a young man. And the most positive ways. Timothy, of course, would not only accompany Paul in his missionary journeys, but he would go on to become a pastor. As he pastored, Paul wrote to him two epistles.

We call them first and second Timothy or pastoral epistles as he taught him about what it looks like to be a pastor. And church history or church legend tells us that Timothy went on to not only settle in Ephesus and do the work of the ministry there, but according to tradition, it was in Ephesus that he died a martyr's death as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine this kind of a dream team writing you a letter, right? You've got Paul, who's written a good portion of the New Testament. You've got Silas, who is known in Jerusalem as a leader in the church,

but also a faithful minister. And you've got Timothy, an up-and-coming young minister who is right there with Paul. What a beautiful thing to see God bring three men together, all with different gifts, all with different talents, all with different strengths to be used in the most powerful way possible. And so we are given the writer. The second thing that we see is we see the recipient,

which is the church of the Thessalonians, the church of the Thessalonians. Turn over with me to the book of Acts chapter 17, Acts chapter 17, because this will give us the background of the church in Thessalonians. It'll give us the background of the Thessalonian church. I want to tell you just a little bit about the city of Thessalonica. The city of Thessalonica was a very large and prosperous

city. It actually was one of the capitals of the four Roman districts in Macedonia at that point in time. And it was a city of at least 200,000 people. So this is a very large city that Paul had ministered to and had started this church in. And Paul is the one that founded the church of the Thessalonians. Let me give you a little bit of background on how Paul ended up there. Again, second missionary

journey. He takes Silas along with him, stops in Lystra, picks up Timothy. And as they are going along to some of the churches that they've started before, Paul has this really strong desire to go down into Asia. But the Holy Spirit keeps telling him no. As a matter of fact, he tries two different times to travel to Asia, and the Holy Spirit told him no, because there was something else that God

wanted him to do. And I always think that this is kind of a fascinating point to be made. Paul had this desire to go and minister in a particular area of the world. And it was a strong desire that we had, that he had. And listen, it was a godly desire that he had. He would go on in the third missionary journey to minister in Asia and start the church in Ephesus, which is who he

wrote the book of Ephesians to. And a great work took place while he was there. But it wasn't time yet. It wasn't time yet for him to go to Asia, because there was something else that God wanted for him to do. So the Holy Spirit kept telling him no. So finally, Paul did the only thing that you can ever do when God keeps telling you no. You have to stop and wait. Because when you don't have the direction, you have to stop and wait for the

direction. And so as they stopped and waited for the direction, God gave Paul a vision. And it was a vision of a man in Macedonia saying, come over here and help us. And so Paul took that as direction from God, that he was supposed to go down to the region of Macedonia. And so as he went to the region of Macedonia, one of the first places that he went to was Philippi. And in Philippi, he found a

group of believers, a group of Jewish people down by the river, led by a lady named Lydia, as they were worshiping God together. And Paul showed up and began preaching the gospel to them. And people started getting saved. And pretty soon, they started having this beautiful movement of the Holy Spirit take place in Philippi. And a church was starting. As a matter of fact, there was a

young lady that kept following. Paul and Silas around Philippi. And she was possessed with a spirit, but a spirit that could tell the future, a medium, if you will. And she kept declaring, this is Paul, and he declares to you Jesus, kind of being obnoxious. And so finally, one day, Paul got really tired of that. And he cast the demon out of her. Now, I don't think this is from God, but have you ever wondered if someone's

really obnoxious, if it's demonic? I'm just kidding. So he cast the demon out of her, right? She's set free. But see, she had made people a lot of money through her divination and through her being a medium. And so a lot of people lost a lot of money. And so as they're losing money, they said, this Paul guy can't stick around any longer. And so they bring him up on some charges

and they beat him. And they put he and Silas in prison in stocks. And as they are there in prison, having been beaten and bruised and bloodied, they couldn't sleep that night, obviously, in so much pain. And so they decided that the best thing for them to do was just to start to sing praises to the Lord. And so they started their own little worship night right there in the middle of

a jail cell with themselves being in the stocks and being completely beaten and bloodied. And when they did so, there was an earthquake and the doors opened and the stocks opened. And the Philippian jailer just thought, sure, everyone was going to leave. So he was ready to kill himself because he knew he would face a worse fate if he lost his life. And so he was ready to kill himself because

he lost all of his prisoners. And Paul looked at him and he said, don't do that. We're all here. There's no need for things to end this way. And he says, what must I do to be saved? And so they get to lead him and his entire household to the Lord. And the man that was at one point in time their jailer ended up becoming their greatest friend there in Philippi. And so the next morning they

get up and they realize that they had beaten two uncharged, unrepresented Roman citizens. And so they quietly sent them away. And so Paul and Silas and Timothy, with Paul and Silas undoubtedly covered in bruises and cuts all over them because of the treatment that they faced, came to the city of Thessalonica. Can you imagine what it would have looked like when Paul showed up there with bruises all over him and undoubtedly moving a little bit slow because of the pain that he was in at that point in time? But when he showed up in Thessalonica, this is what it says. It says,

now when they... It says, now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom, he went to them. And for three Sabbaths, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.

Some of them were persuaded, and they joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city of Thessalonica.

And they were the city authorities, shouting, these men who have upset the world have come here also. And Jason has welcomed them. And they all act contrary to the decree of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

So Paul has quite the welcoming there in Thessalonica. So he shows up, and as his custom is, he goes to the synagogue. Remember, we talked about the synagogue a couple of weeks ago. It was where the Jewish people would gather. A teacher would get up, and he would read something from the scripture. And then he would explain what that meant. And sometimes there would be

discussion. And so that's what Paul would do, is he would go to the synagogue, because that was a great base to work from. Those people at least had some form of understanding of the scriptures. And so as he went to the synagogue, I want to pay attention to a couple of things that he did there. First thing it says is that he reasoned with them. That he reasoned with them. That word reason is kind of an interesting word. It means to dialogue.

So what he did is he went into the synagogue, and maybe as a traveling teacher, he was able to get up and share. Or maybe he just started engaging people in conversation. But as he engaged people in conversation, I would like to point out to you what the subject of his conversation was. Because the subject was twofold. First of all, it was scripture. Second of all,

it was Jesus. And I think that that's kind of interesting, because sometimes we like to make it a little harder than it needs to be, right? We like to think, well, if I don't know this, and I don't know this, and I don't know this, then I can't have a discussion. No, all you need to do is know some scripture and know Jesus, because that's always to be the heart of the conversation.

Anytime somebody tries to get you off of that conversation, you always have to come back to the main point. But I want to point out to you that that's what Paul taught them. That's what Paul reasoned with them about. He reasoned with them about Jesus. He showed them that Jesus had to die, that Jesus had to rise again, and that Jesus is the Christ. Or we might use a different word, the Messiah. He was the

chosen one who would come and who would take away the sin of all of the people. And that's what he did with the Jewish people there in the synagogue. He reasoned with them every single week, and he did this for three Sabbath days. For three Sabbath days. Now, there are some who think that Paul only was there for three weeks. There are some who believe that Paul was there for longer than three weeks. I am one of those.

I think Paul was actually there longer than three weeks, and I think so for a couple of reasons. One, because of the amount of things that he taught them based upon the letter that he's written. I think he was there longer than three weeks. Two, it would appear he had set up a second base of operations in Thessalonica, which was the home of Jason, which is why they drug Jason in. And so I think he was probably there longer than the three weeks.

Undoubtedly, he made it three weeks in the synagogue, and they kicked him out, and then he had to establish himself at the house of Jason. The third reason why I think he was there for longer than three weeks is because we're told that the Philippians sent him support while he was there. They financially supported him while he was in Thessalonica, and it's a hundred-mile trip from Philippi to Thessalonica. So, I think he was there longer than three weeks. And so, I think

that would have taken a little bit of time for them to get there. So, that's why I think he was there a little bit longer. But no matter how long he was there, he gave them one main subject, Jesus. He gave them that Jesus was crucified, that Jesus rose again, and that Jesus fulfilled everything in the Scripture. Because where did he reason with them from? The Scriptures. Well,

what Scripture did he have at that point in time? He had the Old Testament, and he started taking them through the Torah, and he started taking them through the Psalms. And he started taking them through the writings, showing them that all of the prophecies pointed to Jesus, that all of the sacrifices pointed to Jesus, and that at the center of their greatest need was Jesus. Only as he does so, more people are starting to follow. Notice three different

types of converse that he has. He says, some of them, meaning the Jews, were persuaded. In other words, a handful of Jewish people found themselves saying, you know what, that makes sense to me. It makes sense that that's all Jesus there, and they got saved. But then notice the second group of people, God-fearing Greeks. In other words, a whole lot of Gentile people got saved. So you've now got a church made up of Jewish people, partly,

mainly Gentile people. But there's the third group here, and I think it's kind of interesting. It says a number of the leading women. A number of the leading women. That would indicate that many of the leadership in the community, which is a pretty big community, I remember 200,000 people, wives of the leadership of the community started hearing this and going,

I think what he has to say is right. Isn't it kind of interesting that a lot of times revival starts with some ladies that are willing to listen? I think that we as men should kind of pay attention to that. That sometimes those ladies are the ones that are dragging us to church, right? And that's exactly what takes place here. And so this movement begins. And as this movement

begins, lots of people are getting saved. And now all of a sudden, people are starting to follow Paul more than they're starting to follow the leaders of the synagogue. And so I want you to come out of Paul. It says in verse five, but the Jews becoming jealous, some of your translations may say envious of Paul, decided to start a petition against him. You can imagine how it goes.

Guys, everybody's going to hear Paul a whole lot more than they're hearing us. And I don't think they're even really believing what we have to say anymore. They're starting to believe in this Jesus guy more than they're starting to believe the things that we say. We've got to do something about it. What are we going to do? I don't know. We can start kicking him out of the synagogue. Well,

that didn't work because people are still going to Jesus. We're going to kick him out of the synagogue. Jason's house now. I know. Let's arrest them. And we'll come up with some charges. And so they go to arrest Paul, but they can't find Paul. It says, when they did not find them, verse six, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities. So poor Jason just let him meet in

his house. Probably a believer, but let them meet in his house. And he gets drugged before the magistrates of the city. And I love the two charges that they bring against them. Pay attention to the two charges. Verse one into verse six. These men have upset the world, and they've come here also. I should prefer the old King James on this. It says they've turned the world upside down. And I love that

because that's what the gospel is supposed to do. The gospel is supposed to turn the world upside down. And I fear that in this world today, we have become entirely too content with the world continuing on the way that it is as long as I get to keep living my life. As long as I keep to, as long as I get to keep being who I'm going to be. And we forgot somewhere

along the way that the gospel was never supposed to be safe. That the gospel was never supposed to be comfortable. That the gospel was never supposed to be something that was to produce a really good life on this side of eternity. The gospel was there to produce changed lives for eternity. Because the gospel is intended to turn the world upside down. And I don't know about you,

I'm ready to start seeing that happening. I'm ready to see the gospel start to turn the world upside down. And listen, it's going to start with us. You see, if the gospel won't turn your world upside down, then it'll never turn that world upside down. If the gospel doesn't upset your world, then it will never upset that world out there. And so the gospel turning the world upside

down starts in our own hearts. It starts with changing who we are. And as the gospel changes who we are, we then take it to the world around us. See if it can't change the world that is around us. Because the world around us needs changed right now. We see it everywhere. And I want to see the gospel turn the world upside down. And I don't know if you realize it or not, but that's what's happening. There's little pockets of it

everywhere taking place right now. Are you following some of these things that not just everybody in the world is posting and covering on social media or on the news outlets, but it's absolutely taking place? That there are pockets of revival taking place, all over the world. The most recent one is the one that took place in Ohio State at the Ohio State University. And listen, I do not like the Ohio State University, but I love what those guys are

doing. I love what's taking place. And if you don't know, several of the football players got together at the beginning of this year, and they hosted a revival out in front of the school. And not only was it a revival, it was a revival of biblical proportions, of lots of people coming forward to get saved. The church has set up tubs where people could be baptized, and that's what took place. But I want

you to know something. That revival didn't start the day that those football players said, we're here on the Ohio State University campus today, come join us. That revival started a year before that. Do you know that? I found this great clip on Instagram of one of the guys who started that whole thing. And he said, God gave me a vision. God gave me a vision, more like a dream

of my school being turned around for Jesus. And so I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, and I started, a group text with all of the guys on my team, and I start texting them, asking them to come to church. Hey, you guys should come to church with me. Come see what God's doing. Come see how God wants to

move in your lives. And he said, nobody showed up, and nobody showed up. And I was like, Lord, I don't understand you gave me this vision. And he said, God told me, wait, it's not time yet. It's not time yet. Keep praying. And so I kept praying, and kept praying, and kept praying. Finally, at the end of the summer in the mini camp, I got everybody together, and we said,

it's time. And then we hosted this. But see, it didn't start the day that they showed up on campus and said, hey, you guys should come to a revival today. It started a year before when people were praying. It started a year before when God gave that kid a vision to do something, to share with his community what God had done in his life, and what God could do in the lives of people. And listen, brothers and sisters,

I tell you this to say, you have to be a part of the movement. You have to be a part of the revival, because the revival doesn't take place just in some big, big event. It starts in the hearts of people. It starts in the hearts of the individuals in the church, getting their lives turned upside down by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as their lives get turned upside down, or perhaps we should say right side up, by the gospel of Jesus Christ,

then you start seeing the need, and you start moving. You see, what's going to take place next Sunday won't have any power if there's no prayer that goes into it. What's going to take place over the next year is not going to have any power unless there's prayer involved in it. What we want to see take place in our community won't happen unless there's prayer that goes into it, because God might be saying, it's not time yet. What it's time to do now is pray. And I want to

know that the church community in Arc City is behind whatever God wants to do here through your prayer. That you would pray for the kids that are at the high school. Stop complaining about them and start praying about them. That you would start praying for the kids that are at the middle school. That you would start praying for the kids that are at the college.

And start praying that God would move in their hearts and in their lives, because I wholeheartedly believe it's about to take place. I wholeheartedly believe God's about to move. But listen, God wants us to be involved. God wants you to be involved. So get behind it, get on board with it, and let's see the gospel turn the world upside down. Because everywhere that Paul and Silas and

Timothy were going, things were going a little bit crazy as far as the world was concerned, or absolutely falling in place as far as the gospel was concerned. And so that was the first charge. They've turned the world upside down. But the second charge got a little bit more serious. They're telling them that there's another king besides Caesar, that they should follow a king

named Jesus. Now, if there's two things that the Roman Empire would not put up with, it's disorder and following another king. And so these were important charges that they brought against them. Only they can't follow another king. They can't follow another king. They can't follow another king. They can't follow another king. They can't follow another king. They can't follow another king. They can't

find Paul. I want to know where Paul and Silas were at this point in time, right? Like, that's something I've always kind of been curious about. Like, were they just out making tents somewhere? Were they out preaching the gospel somewhere and they couldn't find him? It's a big city. It'd be hard to maybe find him exactly where they are. But God protected them by them not being there at that

point in time. And so they dragged Jason in. And after they deal with Jason, it says, verse 7, Jason has welcomed them, and they act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, and that there's another king. And they stirred up the crowd, and they brought another king. And they brought another king, and they set up the crowd and the authorities when they heard these things. And then they received

a pledge from Jason and the others, and they released them. In other words, they paid bail, Jason got out, and they let him go. But at that point in time, Paul and Silas knew it was time to move on. Verse 10, it says, then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the synagogue because that's what they did

everywhere that they went. So Paul and Silas, they all have to leave. It's time for them to go. But you see, as Paul left there, he had two really big concerns. One, he did not want the people in Thessalonica to think that he was some sort of a coward that has now abandoned them. He wanted them to know his faithfulness and the faithfulness of the Savior that he had preached to them. But also, he knew that that was a young church,

a young church that, from what they'd seen, was going to face a great deal of persecution, a young church that needed to be taught more, that needed to understand more about what it meant to follow Jesus, about what it meant to be believers in Jesus Christ and to have a church that was truly established there. And so Paul went on to Berea, and then he went on to Athens, and then he went on to Corinth. And when he was in Athens, he sent, or after he left Berea to go to Athens, he sent Silas and Timothy back to Thessalonica because he was so concerned about those believers. He wanted to know that they were still walking.

He wanted to know, that that incident didn't distract them, didn't discourage them from staying together as a church, from remaining together as a church. Well, after Paul left Athens, he went on to the city of Corinth. And while he was at Corinth, that's when Silas and Timothy showed up and they said, Paul, we've got some really great news. The church is not just surviving, they're thriving there.

God is doing a major work there, and they get it. And they're willing to stand up. They're willing to keep following God. They're willing to keep following God. They're willing to keep following God. They're willing to keep pursuing the things of the Lord. It's amazing what's going on. And Paul got so excited at what Silas and Timothy had to say to him that he penned a letter. He actually penned

two letters, the letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, to instruct them, to encourage them, and to draw them into what it looks like to walk with Jesus. And so go back to 1 Thessalonians. And so, he then writes this letter to them. And he addresses three main things in the letter to the Thessalonians. He addresses persecution, because the church was about to deal with

persecution. He addresses Christian living, because we all know that when you come out of idolatry and the things of the world, you need to be instructed on all of the things that it looks like to truly walk with Jesus. And then he instructed them even more fully on the second coming of Christ. As a matter of fact, in the short stint that Paul was with them, as he dove into all of the truth of Scripture, one of the emphasis that he tended to have was on the second coming of Christ.

And interestingly enough, in the book of 1 Thessalonians, every chapter ends with a reference to the second coming of Christ, either in the last verse or the second to last verse of every chapter. Everyone ends with a reference to the second coming of Christ. Why did he spend so much time talking to them about the second coming of Christ? Well, because we need to understand the importance of the knowledge of the second coming of Christ in our lives. Because as you

deal with persecution, as you seek to live godly, and as you look for a future that is to come, that understanding of the second coming of Christ is one of the most important things for us. Because it does three things for us. Number one, our understanding of the second, coming of Christ sustains us in the midst of persecution and suffering. Our understanding of the second coming of Christ sustains us in the midst of persecution and suffering.

I was talking to someone yesterday, and they told me about an event that they went to, and one of the things that was mentioned at the event is that if you're not suffering persecution in the world, it means you're probably not making much of an impact. So if we are going to continue making an impact for Christ, we need to understand that the potential for some persecution and suffering is absolutely on the rise, because the world is very much opposed to the things of God, and as things draw close to the end, either the end for our nation or the end for everything, the enemy is going to fight even harder against all of the things of the truth, which is why I think we're seeing some of the things of the world.

Some of the things that we're seeing now, which is why I think that we're seeing so much go so wrong right now, is because we are seeing Satan unleash as much as he can, and he will do it not only through the difficulties that we go through, but he will do it through persecution, because the church is going to continue to be the thing that stands in between a progressive agenda and the truth, right? We are going to be the ones who continue to stand against that, and as we stand against a progressive agenda in the world today, we're going to face some backlash for that, and so the potential of some persecution or suffering is always going to be there, and as we deal with

persecution and suffering, sometimes the hardest thing to know is how long is it going to last, right? Have you ever been real sick and you think to yourself, when is this ever going to end? But the thing that sustains you is knowing this can't last forever, right? And so that's kind of the way it is with the suffering that we go through. And so I think that's the thing that we're going to

through in this life, the persecution that we experience in this life, is we know it all has to have an end, because we all have an end that we'll face, and that end is that one day we'll be home with Jesus. And so that truth of the second coming, that truth of the fact that Jesus is going to come and deal with all these things, and that we do have a hope, that sustains us in the midst of persecution, because we know that this too shall pass, because Jesus will come again. The second reason why an emphasis or a focus on the second coming helps is because it motivates us for holy living. It motivates us for holy living. I think I've shared this before, but when I was a

little kid, little kid, late to early teens, or early teens into late teens, my mom, when she would go to work during the summertime, would leave us a list. Anybody else's mom leave you a list of things? It's usually on the back of an envelope that would then get, taped or magneted to the fridge. And it said, needs to be done before I get home, right? And so

we knew that coming home was probably 3, 34 o'clock in the afternoon, or whatever it was at that point in time. And so we knew 9 to 10, we're still good. We can still watch TV right now, because we looked at the list, and there's not that much to do. And you get to lunchtime, and you go, probably ought to think about getting started, but let's eat lunch first. And then after lunch, you're like,

oh, might ought to think about getting started. But by 2 o'clock in the afternoon, we're like, if the list doesn't get done soon, we will not make it till tomorrow, right? And so the knowledge of the fact that mom was coming home had a tendency to motivate us to do what we were supposed to do. Brothers and sisters, that's what the second coming of Christ does for us, is it motivates us, because we are constantly reminded in a world full of distractions, we are reminded, but Jesus is coming again. And when he comes,

I want to be found faithful, not just because I'm fearful, but because I want to be faithful to my master, and I want to be faithful to the end. And that knowledge of that second coming motivates us towards holy living. But the third thing that that knowledge of the second coming does is it gives us hope for every aspect of life. It's the thing that wakes us up in the morning.

It's the thing that keeps us going, knowing that I am going to be home to be with my Savior someday. I remember when my wife and I got engaged, which was, let's see, today is September 15th. It was September 12th of 2003, so it was 21 years ago when we got engaged. And I remember every day just looking forward to the fact that that she's going to be my wife. I get to be married to her. We get to spend the rest of our life

together. And now I think sometimes she's probably just like, I guess that was an okay decision. No, that's not true. We love each other. But every day there was a new building excitement, right? Because every day you were like, oh, it's coming closer. I get to spend the rest of my life with her. And there was all this anticipation that built up to it, right? And it was such an exciting time. And that's the way

we should live our lives with that same anticipation, because that hope is that we get to go home and be with Jesus. Not just so we don't suffer anymore, not just so that we'll be better people, but because that's what we were created for, is to be with our Savior. And so that motivates us. And we spend a lot of time talking about that. And so as he deals with persecution and holy living

and the second coming, that's always in the background, that knowledge of the hope that we have. And so we've seen the writer. We've seen the recipient. Number three is the greeting. And it's Paul's typical greeting. It says, grace to you and peace. And it's no matter how many times I read it, I always love hearing this greeting because those two words are just so refreshing.

Grace and peace to you. Of course, the word grace comes from the Greek word charis, which means unmerited favor or unearned favor. And as he gives this greeting, it is a reminder that we stand based upon the unmerited favor of God in our lives because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And so as he gives them that greeting, it is a reminder of the standing that we have in Christ. But we are also reminded

that grace was the typical greeting for the Greeks, for the Gentiles, at that point in time. And so it was also a greeting that these Gentile believers would have recognized. And of course, the second part of the greeting is the word peace. Now, I've probably done this before, but it kind of hit me again this time. I thought, I know what peace is, but I wonder how it is defined. And so I looked up the word peace in

my Greek dictionary, and I love the two words that were given to it. It just simply means quietness and rest. Quietness and rest. And boy, couldn't we use a little bit of that right now? Couldn't we use a little quietness and rest? It's first service. Maybe some of you are getting it right now. I don't know. But that quietness and rest in our lives. And of course, we know that that kind of

peace only comes from the knowledge of God's grace. That quietness and rest that only Jesus brings to our lives as we really, truly know who we are in him. But of course, also that word peace, is the typical Jewish greeting. They would greet each other with shalom. And so as he gives this, it's not only a foundation upon which we stand, the grace of God, which always brings the peace

of God, but we are reminded that the gospel is for everyone. That under the headship of Jesus Christ, all of the differences that we have fade away. It's college football season, and I've seen lots of things get posted, particularly by you crazy purple wearers. I've seen a lot of people wearing people. And they're like, listen, it's college football season. I don't care what your

religion is. I don't care what your politics are. I don't care about any of these things. At the end of the day, we're Wildcat fans. And I'm just like, whatever. Anyway, but I thought, you know, that's kind of a picture of the way the church is supposed to be, right? But at the end of the day, I don't care what your politics is. I don't care. A whole lot of other things. Let's get together

under the headship of Jesus Christ, because he's going to solve all the rest of it, right? And if we're truly following him, he'll deal with all the rest of the things that need dealt with. Because as believers in Jesus Christ, we're just one church. We're just one body. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. It doesn't matter what your background is. We all just gather together

under the headship of Christ. So grace and peace to you. And so that's the introduction for the book of Thessalonians. And so I'm looking forward to getting into this. The first half of the book is going to be very personal in nature. The second half, it's going to be very personal in nature. Very instructional in nature. But no matter what, it's going to keep us focused on the fact that

Jesus is coming again. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you, and I thank you for the time that we've had in your word this morning. And Lord, I thank you that your gospel is always true, that your gospel is always powerful. Lord, that your gospel turns the world upside down as it starts by turning our own hearts. upside down. And so Lord, may the ministry of your gospel continue to do its work in our lives.

And may you continue to draw us close to you. And so Father, move in our hearts and lives and continue to move in this church. And Lord, we pray, move in this community. We want to see you move through this place to see a true revival take place that's only by your Holy Spirit. And so Father, we thank you and we praise you for who you are. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Okay. Well, you know, if Ryan talking about maybe some of you guys are resting, if you want to pass the buck, you'd be saying, yeah, Robbie had to have to stand up the whole worship. You might tell second service, they may be ready. So Lord, we ask that you go before now and just order our week for us. Bless us, strengthen us, help us look to you. We spend time with you, Lord Jesus. And we share you with others in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a great week.

Amen.