Conversion and its Results

Let's begin our worship now. We're singing firstly today from Psalm 105.

Psalm 105, and that's on page 374, a tune is Glasgow. We're singing verses 1 to 7.

Give thanks to God, call on his name, to men his deeds make known. Sing ye to him,

sing psalms, proclaim his wondrous works each one. See that ye in his holy name to glory,

do accord. Let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord. Let's come before the Lord with

these words and trusting that we will indeed be among those who rejoice today in seeking the Lord.

Give thanks to God, call on his name, we'll stand to sing.

Give thanks to God, call on his name, to men his deeds make known. Sing ye to him, sing psalms, proclaim his

wondrous works each one. See that ye in his holy name to glory do accord. And let the heart of everyone

rejoice that seeks the Lord. The Lord Almighty, the Lord Almighty, and his strength, with steadfast hearts, sing ye.

His blessed hand, his gracious face, sing ye continually.

His blessed hand, his gracious face, sing ye continually.

Think on the words that he has done, which admiration breeds. His wonders and the judgment's all, which from his path,

his wonders and the judgment's all, which from his path, his wonders and the judgment's all, which from his path, his glory and the glory of the Lord.

Think on the words that he has done, which admiration breeds.

Think on the words that he has done, which admiration breeds. His wonders and the judgment's all, which from his path proceeds.

write牧場, 여기는orde and the God of man thatнизetti organisations.

THEMSEL approach came to God, that insights were filled滟ING

HS cultured in the Lord and that he has done, which from his self and whether he has done,

And ye that gave of children that whom ye chose for his own.

Because ye and ye only is the mighty Lord our God.

And his most righteous judgment's heart in all the earth abroad.

Let's unite together now in prayer briefly. Let's call upon the Lord.

Amen.

Bless, we pray today, our young people and our children.

Be with them, Lord, as they too engage in learning more about you and examining your word.

We pray today that your blessing will be with them in the various classes and meetings that take place this morning.

And we ask that your blessing will follow through into every aspect of their lives.

Bless those who are leaders and teachers as well.

Lord, we thank you again for them and for their willingness and for their dedication.

We pray that they may know your blessing.

And ask that they come to once again give of themselves and of their time to the teaching of our young people.

And so go before us now throughout this day.

And be with us in all that we do, whether in church or at home or elsewhere.

We pray that we may do all things to your glory.

And we ask it all in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.

Amen.

Okay, children, you probably won't be able to see this from there, but you maybe get an idea of what it is.

It's a receipt.

It's a receipt from Home Improvement Center.

Some stuff that I bought there last week.

And it has the three items that I bought listed there.

And you'll find the price for each of them, beside each of the ones that are listed there.

And then at the bottom there, you've got the total of the three items that I bought.

And then down below that, you've got further details about what happened on that occasion.

You've got details about the card I used.

Not the whole number, but enough to identify that it was my card.

You've got the date.

And then you've got something called Authorization Code.

With a number of numbers after it.

Some seven or eight numbers after it.

And then it says, please retain receipt.

And please keep your receipt as proof of purchase.

Now, what uses that to us today when we're thinking about God?

We're thinking about his salvation and about a relationship to him.

Well, just like I bought these three items, this paper is proof that I actually bought them.

And proof that I paid for them.

I didn't go into the shop and try and escape without paying.

And this paper is the proof that I paid for these items.

So actually, these items, because I paid for them, they've now become mine.

They belong to me.

I paid the right price for them.

So I can say these are now mine.

They were belonging to the shop, but now they belong to me.

I paid that price for them.

And in the Bible, we're told about the price that God paid.

The cost of bringing us salvation.

Of redeeming us.

Of bringing us to himself.

And it describes that cost for us very plainly.

What did it cost to have our sins forgiven?

What did it cost for us to come to know and be friends with God?

It cost Jesus his life.

The Bible tells us we're redeemed not by corruptible things like silver and gold,

but by the precious blood of Christ.

And that's proof that God has loved his people and continues to love them,

that Jesus died on the cross for them.

So if somebody were to come to me today and say,

I don't think you paid for these items.

You have to prove that you paid them.

I can produce this receipt and say, here's the proof that I paid for them.

And if somebody comes to you and says, you don't deserve to be a Christian.

You're not a very good person yourself.

Why do you call yourself a Christian?

I can produce in my heart evidence that Jesus loved me.

And I can say, because Jesus loved me and because he died for me,

that's all the proof I need between myself and God.

Now, as I said down, about halfway down there,

you find an authorization or verification authorization code,

which then has these numbers after it.

In other words, that code, as far as I'm aware,

actually belongs to what I did there in the shop,

and it doesn't apply to anyone else.

Nobody else can go into the shop and say,

here's my verification code that I bought these items,

because the shop could say, if they look up the records,

no, you didn't actually buy them.

James McKeever brought them.

That's his verification code.

And just the same as it is with our salvation as well,

because Christ has died for us,

God himself has a verification code for each one of us.

Every time we come to the Lord to place our trust in him,

God has, if you like, a spiritual verification code that says,

that person has come to believe in Jesus,

and he's acceptable to me.

She's acceptable to me.

And if somebody suggests to you,

you have no right to actually be a Christian,

you can say, well, but God says,

because of what Jesus has done,

he can prove that I belong to him,

because he paid the price of my redemption.

And I have a code between myself and God

that nobody else can share,

that cannot be given to anybody else,

but is between me and God a proof

that I am his,

that he has bought me,

that I belong to him.

And then as you go down,

you'll find some other items there.

It says, please keep receipt as proof of purchase.

Sometimes, as Christians,

we find it difficult, maybe at times,

just to be sure about how things are

between ourselves and God.

And then we look into our hearts,

and we find it difficult then,

because we start looking about our own faith,

and about the strength of our faith,

and how often we pray,

and things like that.

And God stops us and says,

look, that's not the proof that you need.

The proof you need is what Jesus has done for you.

And the devil might say to you today,

as young people or older people,

what's the proof that God loves you?

What's the proof that you've got?

Forgiveness of sins.

And you don't look at yourself and say,

well, I do this, and I do that,

and I do this other thing.

The proof is,

I believe what Jesus did for me.

And I believe that because Jesus died for me,

that's the proof,

above everything else,

that God loves me.

And at the top,

it's got the place that I bought this from,

Home Improvement Center.

It's a shop that I like in town.

I'm probably in it far too often,

but anyway, it's there,

and we buy some stuff from time to time.

Home Improvement Center.

But you know,

when you come to Jesus,

you actually come to the Life Improvement Center.

And whatever you actually take from that place,

it's always going to be for your good.

It's going to last forever.

And the proof of purchase

that God gives you for your salvation,

it's never out of date.

Nobody can turn to you and say,

well, that's two or three years old.

We need some more proof.

No, that's actually,

supposing 20 years from now,

somebody came to me and said,

did you really buy these things?

Are they still yours?

Yes, that's the proof.

And whatever the devil tries to persuade you of,

if Jesus has saved you,

you will always be saved.

If Jesus is your Savior today,

you'll be your Savior forever.

That's the Life Improvement Center

that Jesus is.

So may God bless these few thoughts to us.

We're going to now say the Lord's Prayer together.

You'll find it on your sheet

if you want to read it through.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Let's sing again now to God's praise.

We're singing this time in Psalm 119,

page 165.

And that's from verse 129 to 136.

The tune is Finart.

Your statutes, Lord, are wonderful.

So I obey them from the heart,

from my heart.

Your words as they unfold give light

and truth to simple minds impart.

Psalm 119, verses 129 to 136.

Psalms 119:129–136

Your statutes, Lord, are wonderful.

So I obey them from my heart.

Your words as they unfold give light

and truth to simple minds impart.

With open mouth I hand and ear

To know the laws that you proclaim.

Show me the mercy you extend

To those who love and praise your name.

Direct my footsteps in your words

Let stand or hold me in its sway

From man's oppression set me free

That your commands I may obey

Upon your servant shine your face

It's me the statutes you have made

My eyes shed streams of bitter tears

Because your law is not obeyed

Let's turn now to read God's Word

as we find that in 1 Thessalonians

The first letter to the Thessalonians

And reading the first chapter

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy

To the Church of the Thessalonians

In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Grace to you and peace

We give thanks to God always for you all

Constantly mentioning you in our prayers

Remembering before our God and Father

Your work of faith and labor of love

And steadfastness of hope

In our Lord Jesus Christ

For we know, brothers loved by God

That he has chosen you

Because our gospel came to you

Not in word only

But also in power and in the Holy Spirit

And with full conviction

You know what kind of men

We prove to be among you for your sake

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord

For you received the word in much affliction

With the joy of the Holy Spirit

So that you became an example

To all the believers in Macedonia

And in Nehemiah

For not only has the word of the Lord

Sounded forth from you

In Macedonia and Nehemiah

But your faith in God

Has gone forth everywhere

So that we need not say anything

For they themselves report concerning us

The kind of reception we had among you

And how you turned to God from idols

To serve the living and true God

And to wait for his Son from heaven

Whom he raised from the dead

Jesus who delivers us

From the wrath to come

Amen

May God follow with his blessing

That reading of his word

We're now going to sing from Psalm 115

Psalm 115

That's on page 152

I'm singing this time to June Tiverton

Verses 1 to 9

Lord not to us

Lord not to us

To your name be the praise

Because your love and faithfulness endure

O Lord always

Why do the nations question us?

Where is their God they say?

Our God inhabits heaven high

And over all holds sway

And so on

Down through to verse 9

Psalm 115

Psalm 115

O Lord not to us

O not to us

Lord not to us

O not to us

To your name be the praise

Because your love and faithfulness endure

O Lord always

Why do the nations question us?

Why do the nations question us?

Where is their God they say?

Our God inhabits heaven high

And over all holds sway

Their gold and silver images

Are raftered cheerfully

But they have mouths which cannot speak

And minds which cannot see

Their noses have no sense of smell

Their ears can hear no sound

They have no feeling

In their hands

Nor can they walk around

Although these idols

Do have throats

No words

No words

Have they proclaim

Their makers

And their worship words

Will all become like them

O house of Israel

Place your trust

Upon the Lord alone

He is the mighty help and shield

Of all who are his own

Well let's turn now to the passage we read there

In 1 Thessalonians

1

And today we're looking at the last couple of verses there

From verse 9

Paul has been commending

The Thessalonians for the clarity of their faith

And for the way that they have made it so clear

That they have come to trust in the Lord

And that they themselves as apostles

Are now in a position where they need not say very much about them

Because it's become evident

That these Thessalonians have embraced the gospel

And come to trust in Christ

And then from verse 9

For they themselves report concerning us

The kind of reception we had among you

And how you turned to God from idols

To serve the living and through God

And to wait for his son from heaven

Whom he raised from the dead Jesus

Who delivers us from the wrath to come

You'll be aware I'm sure I hope

That there is a current government

Scottish government consultation going on

And it's with regard to so called conversion therapy

And proposals that are going to be set before the government

Before parliament to address what's called conversion therapy

Though that doesn't seem to my mind to be any adequate definition

Of what's meant by conversion therapy

In any case it's important we engage with that

Because there are serious implications

If such proposals were to become law in our nation

The deadline for it is 2nd April

You can see details on the Free Church website

On the Christian Institute website

To give you guidance as to how to fill in the questions

And it's important that we do that

We mustn't just think

Well it'll work out okay

Or somebody else more qualified will do it

We have to actually address these issues

That are important to us all

In the churches and as Christians in our nation

It has serious implications

Because if this were to become law

It would actually mean that it would be dangerous for you

Dangerous in the sense of being liable to prosecution

To actually have a conversation with somebody

Where you are trying to deal with gender issues

Dangerous because even individuals

Praying with somebody

Would fall into the category of trying to coerce somebody

To change their gender

And that became a topic

In the matter of prayer or conversation

It's also important for you as parents

And grandparents

Because a serious question arises

As to who has the right

To determine what is and isn't

Acceptable or right for our children

Who has the right to say

About our children

This is really what they should believe

This is what we are putting before them

This is the lifestyle we commend for them

According to the scriptures

And anyway

Whatever our parental views may be

Parents ought to be the ones

That have the right exclusively

To actually teach their children

And look after their children's moral

And spiritual well-being

These proposals would actually

To some extent

Take that out of parents hands

And will place the powers

In the hands of others

Outside of that family home

Or parental home

So they become

Those who determine what is and isn't right

In terms of teaching our children

Obviously it also

Would have serious implications

For preaching the gospel

Because when we preach the gospel

And the Bible's teaching about gender issues

The so-called

When we teach us

We are going to look today

At the matter of conversion

It is well

Spiritual conversion

Then there is obviously

If you look at the proposals

A danger that the gospel itself

Or at least an attempt would be made

To curtail the gospel

And to curtail the teaching of the Bible

With regard to what is human

What is human life

What is human relationship

What human relationships

What marriage is about

And what gender

Is actually about as well

All of these areas

Are really critically important for us

As human beings

In this day and age

I am just saying that

Because it fits in with

What I am saying today

With regard to our topic

Which is conversion

I want to look at conversion

As it arises from verses 9 and 10

From the second part of verse 9

Verse 9 into verse 10

Where it talks about the conversion

Of the Thessalonians

From paganism

To be servants of Christ

And of God

And I am going to use the three verbs

That are used in these verses

Pretty much as our headings today

There are three main verbs

Throughout these verses

The first verb

The first verb is

To turn from

How you turned to God

From idols

So turning from

Idols to God

That is the first verb

Turning from

And then there are two things

As a result of that turning

The second verb is the one

Serving

You turn to God from idols

To serve the living and true God

You will see that conversion

Is very firmly attached to

Serving God

And thirdly

There is the aspect of waiting

For his son Jesus

From heaven

So that conversion

Is inseparably tied

To the mindset that waits

For Jesus to return

These three headings

Conversion as a turning to God

From idols

And then two things as a result of that

Conversion results

In serving the living and true God

And conversion results

In waiting for Jesus to return

Let's look at these quickly

Just one after another

Notice how he says here

This is what has been true

Of these Thessalonians

They themselves report

Those who are reporting about the way

The Thessalonians received the gospel

How you turned to God

From idols

To serve the living and true God

Now he mentions idols there

And of course we associate that

With paganism

With the kind of paganism

In Thessalonica

Prior to the gospel arriving

Paganism that reaches back in history

In those times to Greek and Roman

Paganism and even beyond that as well

It's very similar in fact

The emphasis in this passage

To what you find in Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

I remember Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Where Paul was for a while in Athens

And he was just aghast at the sheer scale

Of the idolatry in Athens

And the number of idols

That were actually part of the lifestyle

Of the Athenians

And it was a very lucrative thing

To actually provide for

Paganism

Because there were certain religious objects

That you could say were used in devotion

To the gods so called

And people made a lucrative living out of that

So every time the gospel challenged that

And people turned from that way of life

To God

Obviously these things were then left behind

Anyway, idolatry

Idolatry

Had a very strong hold

Of people in Thessalonica

And in Athens

And these cities

At the time of the apostles

Because

They could see from Athens

They could see from Thessalonica

They could see Mount Olympus

And Mount Olympus

Was thought in Paganism

To be the home of the gods

That's where the gods lived

And the gods were looking out

And looking down upon you

And if you left their ways

And if you tried to

To abandon that

And especially follow the way of Christ

There was a great fear of

Revenge from these gods

And you can imagine the hold

That that actually had on people's lives

And in some ways you can find that

In different parts of the world today

Even within certain world religions

There's a great fear of

What will happen if I change

And become a Christian

There are many Christians throughout the world today

In various places in the world

That are persecuted

Because simply they've left

Their idolatry

If they've left their religion

And come to know Christ

And that's what it was like in Thessalonica

Now of course you'd have to expand on this

In terms of how we define gods

In our society

We mustn't just think that today

We're thinking here of the gods

The idols of the Thessalonians

And that's really all that has to do with idolatry

The Bible tells us

That idolatry really involves

Anything and everything

That you place instead of God

As a substitute for God

To which you give your devotion

Instead of giving it to God

Our society is crammed with idols

There are at least as many

If not more idols in our society today

Than there ever were in Thessalonica

All you've got to look at and see is

What do people devote their lives to?

Fame, celebrity, money, sport, sex, self

You could add to that list

And each one of these and all of them together

Involve idolatry

The Bible talks about covetousness

Which is idolatry

The love of self

The envy of others

So there's so many things

You could expand on this text

And expand on the whole definition of idolatry

To embrace the idolatry

That's currently so evident in our day as well

And in fact, as John Calvin put it

In one of his writings

And it's true of you and it's true of me

That we are naturally or natively

As we are born as sinners

As we follow the ways of sin

Calvin said

The heart of human beings

Is a factory of idols

A factory of idols

We manufacture, we create idols for ourselves

And it is the power of Christ

The power of grace

The power of God

That destroys and breaks

That relationship with idolatry

And here are the Thessalonians

The Thessalonians being commended

For the fact that they turned to God

From idols

And that word turned

Is also an interesting word

It actually means to actually have a complete turnaround

A 360 or 180 degree turn

If you like, you're going one direction

You turn back in the very opposite direction

And you're coming from one way of life

And following one way of life

To which you're devoted to be completely

The opposite direction

You turned to God

From idols

Now it's obvious as you read your Bible

The following of idols

Is the very opposite direction

In lifestyle

To following God

And to worshipping God

Whatever idol we might follow today

Whatever occupies our heart

In terms of giving it our devotion

Instead of giving it to God

We're travelling in the wrong direction

We're travelling in the opposite direction

We're travelling in the opposite direction

To what we know is pleasing to God

And good for ourselves

And the Thessalonians

They turned to God

From idols

Now conversion

Is always that

Whether it's dramatic

And sudden

Or sometimes gradual

Some people here would know

The exact moment perhaps

When they were converted

When Jesus came into their life

Powerfully

When the Holy Spirit

Convinced them of their sin

Of their need to turn to God

And seek His forgiveness

Other people

Myself included

Could not put a finger on

The exact moment

Even the exact week

Or day

Or month even

That that happened

It was a process over time

Where you came to know

That something was wrong in your life

You came to know the Gospel

You came to work through

The implications of not being right

With God

And you came to trust in Christ

Whatever sudden or gradual

At the end of the day

It amounts to the same thing

You turn around

From the life you live as a sinner

And you turn back and face God

And come to Him

You turned from to

From idols

From sin

From a life of self pleasing

To God

And that's what conversion really is

To be converted

Is to be turned around

Of course there's things like

Repentance

And faith

And other things associated with this

Not going into that just now

Today I'm just going to focus on

Conversion itself

And the meaning and definition of it

From these verses

So you're turning from one thing

To the next

It's a movement in your soul

It's a movement in your whole life really

Your whole life comes to a turnaround

And as you turn around

As you turn to God

You come to a new

Allegiance in your life

A new devotion

An allegiance to a new master

You no longer live to please yourself

You no longer live to please your friends

You no longer live to please

The ideals of the society you live in

You please God

Your concern

Your concern is to please Him

Thomas Chalmers

Was for quite a number of years

Preaching the gospel

Or preaching from the Bible

At least he would say himself

When he wasn't converted

He was one of the moderates

As they were called at that time

Ministers in the church

But weren't actually themselves

Converted or believers

And they generally preached as Chalmers did

As Chalmers did

A moralistic message

A message to do with

With morality

In general

Sometimes specific sense

But there was little of Christ in it

There was no emphasis in it

On conversion

Or the need to change your life

But when Chalmers was converted

And the Lord came into his life powerfully

He described it as

Coming under new ownership

But it was he said

The expulsive power

The expulsive power

Of a new affection

The expulsive power

Of a new affection

Why did he put it that way?

He didn't just say

It was the power of a new affection

A new affection for the Lord

That he hadn't had before then

No, he called it the expulsive power

Of a new affection

Because as the affection for the Lord

Came into his life

It expelled affection for idols

Affection for sin

Affection for self

It was an expulsive power

And wherever you and I

To whatever degree

Come to know the Lord Jesus Christ

If we know him at all

If we know him properly

It will be an expulsive experience

It will be something that deals with sin

As something to be expelled

Something no longer to be given

A place of welcome in your life

Something that you want to be without

You turn from sin

To God

And indeed that's part of the catechism's definition

Of repentance

Saving grace

By which a sinner turns

From sin unto God

And there's the first thing they said

That he said about

The Thessalonians

And their conversion

How you turned to God

From idols

To serve the living

And through God

And obviously that would make an impact

In that society

Here were people whose life

Was devoted to the idolatry

Of society at the time

Here were people who made it their business

To actually gain from that idolatry

Some of them

Here were people whose lifestyle

Corresponded to their belief in these idols

These gods that lived on Mount Olympus

As they thought

All of a sudden

That's come to an end

All of a sudden

People know them as

They're now under a new ownership

They're saying that they serve

The Lord Jesus Christ

It's a complete turnaround

Completely different

And obviously that would be

Have a mighty impact

That's why Paul says

They themselves report

Concerning the kind of reception

We had among you

So today

You have to look in your heart

And I have to look in my heart

And say

Who has or what has

My primary affection

What do I love more than anything else

Who do I love more than anyone else

Who has the first claim on my attention

Who has the first claim on my devotion

Who has the first claim on my service

On my time

On my gifts

In my relationships

They turned

To God from idols

So conversion

As a turning point to God

From idols

And there are two things that follow from that

As we said

That conversion firstly

Results in

Serving the living and through God

They're turned to God from idols

To serve the living and through God

That's life going

In the opposite direction

To what it was

They were serving idols

And here is something entirely different

And it's very obvious that

That Paul is describing God deliberately

As the living and through God

In contrast to the idols

That they once served

As we sang in Psalm 115

Very often idols were crafted

Or shaped to have a human form

Sometimes distorted

Sometimes very often ugly

But nevertheless

A form that

Was recognizable

And not that every idol was like that

But here is Paul saying

And the psalmist was saying

They have noses

They have eyes

They have faces

They have ears

They don't hear

They don't smell

They don't see

They're dead

They can do nothing for you

They can do nothing for you

And you turned

He said

To God from idols

To serve

The living

And through God

We are here today

Worshipping

The living and through God

And that includes

Every alternative

To Christ

Every alternative

To salvation in Christ

Every alternative

To that

We can use the word religion

If you like

The religion that focuses

On Christ

The Christian faith

Every alternative

To that

To some degree

Or other

Is following idols

And being involved

With idolatry

It doesn't matter

Which one you take

Of even the major world religions

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

All of them together

Or secularism

Which itself

Becomes idolatry

Those who are devoted to it

It doesn't matter

Which of them you take

And it's not hatred

And it's not phobia

To mention disagreement

With these ideologies

Otherwise we are being untrue

To Jesus and to the Bible

But we can say lovingly

And tactfully

That the Bible does not allow us

To embrace any aspects

Of what is idolatry

And think we can just tack that

On to Christianity

That's what it tried down

The years of the Old Testament

Wasn't it?

When the people of Israel

So often imported

The paganism

And the idolatry

From the nations around them

God sent

The prophets especially

The likes of Isaiah

Jeremiah

All the way through

These books of the prophets

You'll see

How frequently

Idolatry is mentioned

And how often

Idols are described

And a wonderful phrase

Which the authorised version has

I can't remember

Exactly if it's like that

In the ESV

Lying vanities

Lying vanities

Vanities

Which lie

Futile objects

Which take you away

Into falsehood

Lying vanities

But he says

To serve the living

And true God

Instead of that

The living God

Well why does he call him

The living God?

Well for one thing

Because

He is the only life

That's uncreated

God does not have a created life

The life of God is eternal

Life of God is uncreated

Nobody gave him life

Nobody created life for him

Unlike for you and for me

And not only is he uncreated in himself

But he's the one who creates life

He created human beings

He created animal life

He created plant life

He created life whatever it is outwith of himself

And he created human life

Especially human beings

In his own image

The life we have

That we have from God

Is a life that originates with God

Yes it's become corrupted by our sinfulness

And fallenness

And disobedience against God

But he's the one who creates life for us

And the wonderful thing is that this

You could trace this into another avenue

Which I'm not going to do just now

But as the uncreated life that he is

As God

As the one who creates life

Including our human life in the beginning

So he's the one who has created life for us in Christ

When you look at the way in which Jesus was buried

And then rose from the dead

And you can see in that itself

That here is the one who creates life for us

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead shows us

This is God's concern that we might have life

How did Jesus put it?

I have come in contrast to all who are thieves and robbers who came before me

Who didn't care for the sheep

I have come that they might have life

And have it more abundantly

And that care, that concern, that compassion, that love that Jesus has for his people, for his flock

Led him to the cross

Led him to the death of the cross

So that life would be created for us

Who deserved it not

But who welcome it nevertheless

And today

Your greatest privilege

Or one of your greatest privileges

Is to know the gospel

That tells you about the life

That Jesus has brought about for you

And your great privilege

In terms of your own human experience

Is to come to know this for yourself

To have this living Christ

This living God

In your life

At the centre of your life

Foundational to your life

The living

And the true God

You see he mentions as well the true God

Whether

So called God or idol is false

Lying vanities

We mentioned the phrase earlier

And so

Now you're relating to the true God

And that corresponds with having truth

In our hearts

Conversion results

In serving the living and true God

But notice this word serving as well

You turn to God from idols

To serve the living

And through God

To serve God

You see the test

The test of conversion

Is not just being able to claim something

As having happened in your life

Any of us can really make that claim

And say well I'm fine

I go to church I'm a Christian

And Paul is saying

Well one of the great tests

One of the great

Not just a test

Evidences of being converted

Is that you've come to turn

To serve the living God

Serving God

Honouring God

Knowing that it's a privilege

To be a servant of God

Well that's something

That actually marks you out

As a Christian

You know when you go to

The likes of John chapter 13

John 13 · chapter mention

That famous incident

Where Jesus

Took off his outer garments

He girded himself with a towel

Taking this form of a servant

And began to wash the feet

Of the disciples

That was Jesus saying

That's what makes a person great

Not what they claim to be

But what they show themselves

To be in service

The service of others

And especially in the service of God

And this is what

The apostle is saying

In Thessalonians

To serve the living

And through God

Your aim

As a Christian

Is to please God

I know you and I can say

Every day we live pretty much

I'm sure I fail

In meeting that standard

You come to confess that

Before God

That you haven't made it today

A hundred percent

For the whole of the day

To set out to please God

But nevertheless

You know that

That's the bias of your heart

The intent of your heart

The desire of your heart

And in Colossians

Paul gave us a text

Just in the previous letter

Of Colossians

He gave us a text

That really should seek to

Place in our minds

Every morning we get up

Because it's one of those texts

That really should follow us

Should follow us into every day

Where he says

In chapter 3 verse 17

Whatever you do

In word or action

Do everything

In the name of the Lord Jesus

Giving thanks to God the Father

Through him

See how comprehensive that is

Whatever you do

In word or deed

In word or action

Do everything in the name

Of the Lord Jesus

In other words

For the glory of Jesus

For the praise of Jesus

Set that

As the benchmark

As the direction of your life

That every day

You would like to

Rise up with that conviction

In your mind

To follow it through

For the rest of the day

I must do all

To the praise of my God

I must endeavor to do everything

For the honor of Jesus

As the seven

Why?

Because he has bought me

He has made me his own

He has paid the price

Of my redemption

And I owe it to him

To live a life that pleases him

Not myself

So

Conversion is a turning to God

From idols

And that results

And that results firstly

In serving the living and through God

And results secondly

In that conversion

Results in waiting for Jesus

To return

And you notice how waiting

Is coupled here with serving

To serve the living and through God

And to wait for his son

From heaven

Even Jesus

And he makes it clear

This is his identity

He makes it clear who he means

To wait for the son of God

Well who is the son of God?

It is the same Jesus

Who lived in this world

As the son of God

In our nature

To wait for his son

From heaven

And waiting here

It's not something that you just do passively

And just wait for it to happen

Waiting always

In this sense of it

In the New Testament

Involves

Waiting expectantly

Waiting eagerly

Waiting for something with anticipation

That it's really of supreme importance to you

And in fact

As you actually go through

Both of these letters to the Thessalonians

It's interesting that

In each chapter of both letters

You have a reference

To the return of Jesus

In some way or other

You can go through that yourself later

Just read through the other very short letters

You can read through them pretty quickly

And in each of these chapters

Somewhere or other

A reference to the return of Jesus

In other words

For the apostle here

In writing to the Thessalonians

He obviously saw it as really important for them

To take on board

To take into mind

The fact that Jesus was returning

And the fact that they ought to wait for that

Expectantly

Knowing that it was going to be

The crowning of the redemption

As he came

And revealed himself

As the glorious

Son of God

Now in his exalted glory

To take them back

To be with himself in heaven

That was so important

Is it important

To yourself to think of

The return of Jesus

How does the return of Jesus

Fit into your thinking today

Where do you place it

Among the things that are important for you

Not just to know and to know about

But to actually have your heart set upon

Because if you follow

The thinking of the apostle

His heart

And he's wanting the Thessalonians heart

To be absolutely set upon

The return of Jesus

Just as much as they ought to

Still consider the death of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus

This Jesus whom God raised from the dead

As he puts it here

There's a reference to the resurrection

Whom he raised from the dead

Jesus

So we have to actually eagerly anticipate

His return

And if we are his today

It's going to be one of the great moments of our life

To actually have the Lord's return

In our experience

To experience that for ourselves

To welcome him

It's such a huge feature

Of these letters to the Thessalonians

And it should be

In my life and in your life as well

Notice he says

He raised him from the dead

He doesn't just say

Jesus the son of God

Whom he raised from the dead

I wonder why he's actually including

These verses

Well it's so that

They will actually realise

This is the same Jesus

Who was raised from the dead

That is going to return

It's not a different person

The same Jesus who died on the cross

Is the Jesus who rose from the dead

Here is the emphasis on God the Father

Raising him from the dead

And by raising him on the dead

Giving assurance

That his work on the cross

Was fully accepted

That's another angle of theology

Let's leave it there

But to whom he raised from the dead

It's the same person

Who's going to return

Though not in the same form

If you like

He's going to return in his glory

He actually came the first time

As a servant

In his lowliness

But it's an argument in favour of

The return of Jesus

That he has in fact

Been raised from the dead

You see some people constantly

Will say to us

What proof do you have that Jesus lives?

What proof do you have that Jesus is going to return?

What proof do you have that the end of the world

Is going to be at the return of Jesus

Or associated with the return of Jesus

And of course you've got to come back at that point

And say well I can't do anything for you

Unless you believe the Bible

But if I believe the Bible

As the word of God

As the word of God that's been given to me

From his own mouth

Then I have to believe what he tells me in this word

As being true and dependable

And dependable

And again in the book of Acts

It's interesting how

That same passage in Acts 17

Dealing with the idolatry of Athens

That Paul as he was addressing these men of Athens

In verses 30 and 31

He went on in his argument in presenting

These things being then God's offspring

29

Think that divine beings like gold

Or silver or stone

An image formed by the art and imagination of man

The times of ignorance God overlooked

But now he commands every people everywhere to repent

Why?

Because he has fixed a day

On which he will judge the world in righteousness

By a man or by the man whom he has appointed

That's Jesus

He has fixed a day

God has fixed a day

It's in his diary

It's not going to go beyond it

In which he will judge the world in righteousness

In other words

Every single one of us

Will be judged in righteousness

No bribes

No excuses

Nothing's going to be in our favor on that day

Apart from the righteousness of Christ

Apart from having Jesus as your savior

But then he goes on to say

He has appointed the day

In which he will judge the world in righteousness

By a man whom he has appointed

And of this he has given assurance to all

By raising him from the dead

Isn't that interesting?

The raising of Jesus from the dead

Is giving assurance, Paul says, to all

To all human beings who come to know and read the gospel

Because the gospel is saying to us

Here's your assurance that there is a day of judgment coming

Because Christ has been raised from the dead

And it's this Christ who has been raised from the dead

Who will be at that day the judge of the living and the dead

You know there's a day of judgment coming

Because you read in your Bible that Jesus was raised from the dead

And because Jesus was raised from the dead

And God is giving us assurance

That he has appointed a day

In which he will judge the world

By this man

By this person

And he finishes by saying

In this text we have today

To wait for the son from heaven

Who he raised from the dead

Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come

The wrath to come is of course God's judgment

God's judgment on the wicked

God's judgment on the ungodly

God's judgment on the Christless

It's the wrath to come

The wrath of God

The indescribable

Awesome

Wrath of God

God's righteous

Indignation

Against sin

That fell on Jesus

So that it need not fall on you and me

But fall on you and me it will

If we haven't made Jesus our Saviour

He will judge the world

This Jesus

Who delivers us from the wrath to come

And why does he say

Deliver us

Why is it present tense

Well there are different views of that

But I think it's saying that

He has delivered us

There's a sense in which we're already delivered

If we're saved

If we're converted

If Christ has rescued us

From sin

From guilt

That's going to remain the case

But there's a process going on

It's really associated if you like

With our sanctification

Or with being kept by God until that day

And so in a sense there's that

He is still delivering us

He is still keeping us

From that wrath coming to overwhelm us

He delivers us

From the wrath to come

Experts

Predict that

A major earthquake will take place

These are people who are experts in that field

That a major earthquake

That a major earthquake will take place

In the vicinity of Tokyo in Japan

In the vicinity of Tokyo in Japan

Sometime within the next 20 to 30 years

And they speak about it

It's not something that's maybe possible

But something that's almost certainly going to be the case

It's not if

It's a matter of when

It's a matter of when

There are, I don't know, 30 or 40 million people

Living in Tokyo or around these areas

And these experts are saying

We know that this is coming

We have to prepare for it

We have to do everything possible to try and mitigate

This disaster

We're sure it's going to take place

Because we judge, we measure the various forces that are at play at the moment

So it's not a matter of if it's going to happen

We can't tell precisely when

But it is going to happen

And isn't that how it is with the day of judgment

It's not a matter of if

But when

But you needn't worry about that today

If your life is in Christ

You are safe

The earthquake of wrath

Will not overwhelm you

Jesus will be your protector then as he is now

But you need to make sure

That you are found in him

Not having a righteousness of your own

But the righteousness

That is of God

By faith

May God bless these thoughts to us

Let's pray

Almighty God

We give thanks for the grace of conversion

The grace of regeneration

The grace that changes us inwardly

From what we are by nature

Into being servants of the living and through God

Help us, we pray Lord

To value your grace day by day

Help us to measure ourselves

Not by our own achievements

But by what you have done for us

Help us each day to be concerned

To live out our faith

And especially to be known as people who serve the living and through God

Enable us to counter the various ways in which this age in which we live

Seek to counter the gospel

And remember every effort made Lord to uphold your cause

And to uphold that gospel and to uphold your laws

In that age in which we live

Receive our thanks now

And cleanse us from our sin

For Christ's sake

Amen

We're going to conclude our service today singing in Psalm 27

Let's sing psalms again

Psalm 27

On page 32

Singing this time to the tune Belmont

We're singing from the middle of verse 9

Four verses to the end of the psalm

O God my Saviour

Leave me not, do not reject my plea

My parents may forsake me Lord

But you will welcome me

Teach me O Lord how I should live

And lead me in your way

Make straight my path

Because my foes oppress me

Every day

And yet I am sure that in this life

God's goodness I will see

Wait for the Lord

Be strong

Take heart

For Him wait patiently

These verses O God my Saviour

Leave me not

O God my Saviour

Leave me not

O God my Saviour

Leave me not

Do not

Do not

Reject

My plea

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

My

O Lord, how I should live and lead me in your way.

Make straight my path because my foes oppress me every day.

Give me not over to the will of human enemies.

For liars rise to slander me and breathe out cruelties.

Yet I am sure that in this life of goodness I will see.

Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.

For him wait patiently.

Forgive me, I won't go to the door today.

I don't want to pass this cold on to anybody, so please excuse me for that.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.

Amen.

Amen.