Hostility Towards The Gospel - 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

Would you open your Bibles with me to the second chapter of Thessalonians? First Thessalonians, and we will read from verse nine through the end of that chapter.

Second Thessalonians chapter two, nine through 20. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you, we will proclaim to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses and so is God. How devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behave towards you, towards you believers.

Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each of you, each one of you as a father should and would his own children, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the

God who calls you in his own kingdom and glory. And for this reason, we also constantly thank

God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

For you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the

Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out.

They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved, with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the utmost.

But we, brethren, having been bereft of you for a short while in person, not in spirit, were all the more eager with great desire to see your face, for we wanted to come to you.

I, Paul, more than once, and yet Satan thwarted us. For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation?

Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? For you are our glory and our joy.

Let's pray. Father, we looked into your word this morning with delight and anticipation, knowing that you will teach us, that your word is perfect and it is sufficient to meet every challenge that comes our way.

Lord, we live in strange and perilous times, much as the Thessalonians did, but you are able to give grace to the utmost, to each of us who have been chosen by you to walk this path.

And so, Lord, as we look into your word today, we look to it with anticipation and with obedient hearts, recognizing that you will work your will in us in a manner that will be pleasing both to you and that will glorify you and that will speak the gospel to the world.

We are in a month when even the world is forced to pay attention to that in some way, shape, or form.

Let us be faithful to proclaim your word to those who adhere, to those whom you have decided to choose to be your children.

And Lord, might it have an effect in their lives, turning them to you by your regeneration so that they might come to faith.

We thank you for your word. We thank you for this opportunity to study it. In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, when I began the book of Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, we looked at an introduction and the first four verses.

The short review is in order, since that first message was February 2017. And we are blessed to have a teaching elder that, in Jim, that is steady and dedicated.

And so it's very seldom that he needs someone else to fill the pulpit. And I don't know why he chose me.

I think it was a joke, but. They are on vacation, short vacation, so be praying for them as they travel today.

So that's why these messages will be so punctuated by time. But nevertheless, in February, Thessalonians, we talked about the fact that 1

Thessalonians is a genuine epistle of the Apostle Paul. And it was probably written in 50 or 51

AD. It's an epistle full of thanksgiving, for Paul is delighted in the growth of this little church, composed mostly of Greeks with some

Jews. He remarks often that this church was a comfort to him and a blessing. It was unnecessary for him to identify himself as an apostle, so he didn't have to do that as well as he often does in some of his other books, other epistles.

His apostleship was not in question, but there were some challenges that were coming from the church of Thessalonica.

As I mentioned, we completed the introduction and we went through the first four verses. Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he prayed for them and that he kept in mind their work of faith.

Their work of faith, their work of labor, their work of love, and their steadfastness and hope. They were a church on the move and he was proud of it.

He was glad of it, I should say. Then we looked at chapter one, verses four through 10 in December of 2017, and noted that the

Thessalonians, and that's when we had, what did I count? One, two, three, four, five, six.

Six points that we went through. They were chosen, in verse four. They were convinced, in verse five.

They were cherished, verse six. They were copycats, verse seven. They were communicators, verses eight and nine.

And they were calm, in verse 10. They were chosen by God individually to be the sheep of Jesus Christ, and they were convinced of the truth of the

Lord Jesus Christ's words and life, his words and his life, both by the gospel and the truth of the scriptures, as well as seeing it lived out in the lives of others who were followers of the

Lord Jesus. They knew they were cherished by the Son of God himself, and so they became copycats of his life, communicators of the blessed gospel, both by word and by themselves living it out.

And finally, closing chapter one, the Thessalonians remained calm as they waited for the return of the great God and king who had purchased them forever for his glory.

We then look to chapter two, verses one through six in May of 2018. Chapter two begins with Paul reminding the

Thessalonians about how he came to them. Although he did not begin this epistle defending his apostleship, it seems that his leadership was being challenged.

He gave them some historical checkpoints. Regarding what he had come through to bring them the gospel, and he reminded them that he had never been deceitful, but had been entrusted with the gospel.

His words were always straightforward and self -effacing. He took no glory to himself. He treated them with the love and concern that an apostle would, and he behaved blamelessly among them.

He will finish up that with thankfulness, and even in this chapter, he delighted that the Thessalonians were his hope, his joy, and his crown of exultation.

We looked at how Paul and his helpers came to the Thessalonians dedicated, determined, dependable, direct, and deferential.

You know, sometimes when we get on these alliterations, it's more of a pain than it seems it ought to be, but sometimes you can memorize using all

Ds. Sometimes it's a distraction. That's another D. So chapter two was something of a manual of leadership.

Now, leadership is certainly comprised of dedication, determination, dependability, directness, and deference.

These are some of the character qualities of those who have been given positions of responsibility in the church, positions of servanthood and responsibility,

I should say. This is the kind of leadership that Paul practiced over the churches that he founded, and the converts that he was privileged to know.

In the next six verses of chapter two, which build, of course, on the first six, wouldn't you know, Paul gives a continuation of the mini laundry list of those character qualities that make up a good spiritual leader.

In this section, Paul uses some metaphors. Metaphors are not foreign to the apostle Paul, and he used them liberally throughout his epistles.

In Galatians chapter four, he pictured himself as a mother who delivers spiritual children, and then remained with them until they attained spiritual maturity.

In 1 Corinthians four, he is a spiritual father. All of the New Testament writers used metaphor. The shepherd in 1

Peter comes to mind. Dave is going through 1 Peter. The apostle John uses many in the book of Revelation.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself uses them, and one of the most famous is the man who built his house on the sand compared to one who built his house on a rock.

In the last section we covered, which was in February of this year, verses seven through 12, Paul is shown as a gentle giving guide to the converts at Thessalonica, to the church in Thessalonica.

As mentioned, those verses are something of a manual of leadership, and everyone whom God puts in a position of leadership and responsibility in the church should evidence those qualities, gentleness, giving, with an ability to guide.

The Thessalonians received the message of the good news and contrasted with the Jews who having centuries of revelation from God spent most of their time in disobedience to God and indeed to the gospel itself.

The Thessalonians responded quickly and gladly to it. In Acts chapter 17, verses one through four, we read this.

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia they came to Thessalonica, this is Paul and his traveling companions, 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. And saying, Paul said this, that this

Jesus who I am proclaiming to you is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined

Paul and Silas along with a large number of the God -fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. So they had quite an effect in Thessalonica in the three

Sabbaths that he preached. So now we're going to look at the next three verses, chapter two, verses 13 through 16.

I'm going to read those again to you for the close context we will need for this morning's exposition.

First Thessalonians 2, 13 through 16. For this reason, we also constantly thank

God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God which also performs its work in you who believe.

For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God and Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the

Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the

Gentiles so that they may be saved, with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the utmost.

Their response was such, and this is an interesting response that Paul, having only been with them a few months,

Paul had definite concerns about the depth of their faith. So he sent Timothy back and discovered that their faith was strong.

You remember probably when you were first saved, there was this explosive response to the unbelievable grace of the gospel.

And people who were older and more settled and more dependable probably thought, well, he'll slow down.

May God grant that you never slowed down. But I don't know if that's what Paul was doing, but he had some concerns.

And so he sent Timothy back, and here's what it says in 1 Thessalonians 3, verses five through seven.

It says, for this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith for fear that the tempter might have tempted you.

They were going through some persecution. And our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us the good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us, just as we also long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction, we were comforted about you through your faith.

And I think even the Apostle Paul needed to remember that this was the work of God, not of human hands.

The work in Thessalonica was a work of God. And he who begins a good work in you will not trip up.

He will finish it. He will bring it to the day of completion. So in verse 13, we see it says this. For this reason, we also thank

God constantly that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which does its work in you who believe.

In you who believe. Do you know that the word of God is at work in every one of you that believes today, right now, actively changing, bettering, removing?

I could go to a laundry list and we'd be here all day. Plus, my thesaurus isn't working too well, so we probably wouldn't be here all day.

But his word is at work right now in every believer. Actively changing them to become more and more like the

Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So then as now, it is profoundly tempting to dismiss scripture as simply a nice compilation of other men's opinions assembled over centuries.

This was one of the issues that occurred especially in ancient Greece, which was at least superficially taken with the supposed wisdom that they ascribed to men, whom they thought, in many cases, had the ability to come up with some incredible truth.

The trouble is that there were so many truths. There were the Epicureans and the Stoics, and they had all these adjectives naming the thousands of different wisdom teachers that they had, and many of their wisdom teachers were different, markedly different from the other wisdom teachers.

Does that sound something like today, maybe, that there's more than one? You've got your truth and I've got mine.

As long as I'm comfortable in it, it's a common core truth. The trouble is there were so many truths, it was hard to decide which one you would follow.

This was part of Paul's concern, but he received an incredible and blessed positive report from Timothy, who he had sent back to get a view of what was going on in Thessalonica.

Paul was tremendously thankful for the reception the Thessalonians gave to the word of God. The literal translation of that would be a word heard from us out from God.

Paul really spoke the words of God as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Paul and the others might have spoken the words to the Thessalonians, but they were given by God. The idea behind the word received in this verse, that you receive the word of God, is one of obedient reception.

The ancient Jews considered hearing the holy text and obeying it as one action.

They were joined together. The hearing and the action were joined together. The idea of the work which

God does in people's lives here, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which does its work in you which believe, this idea of work is that they received and they accepted it.

This is the idea of a welcome that one has when a guest, when a favored, when a beloved guest comes into their home.

One Bible commentator said that it was an inward welcome of the message, a transference from the mind to the heart.

So this idea of the work which God's word does in people's hearts here is one that originates especially, you have to take note of the translation of the word work, the translation of this word work.

It's a passive word, a passive translation, which implies that it is God who is the one who's at work, not you, not me, but God himself.

God's word works, he's at work in you. Many commentators have noted that this actually links

Paul's teaching with the teachings of James. The believing, when you believed, that results in God working in your life.

And then you begin to do the things that are evidence of your faith. This was evident in the Thessalonians' behavior which was changed from what they were prior to their reception of the gospel.

It's the before and after. All of you have seen someone who trusted Christ and they became a different person.

Now it doesn't happen overnight. Some things go away overnight, some things don't. And so Paul was thankful for several things that were happening in Thessalonica.

The believers there had joyfully received God's word and they had put it into practice, verse 13 of this chapter.

They were steady laborers in the cause of Christ, chapter one, verse three. They persevered in tribulation, chapter one, verse six.

They, new believers, who Paul worked with over three Sabbaths became examples to the other believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

They proclaimed God's word everywhere they went, chapter one, verse eight, and they had become very dear to Paul and his fellow workers, chapter two, verse eight.

This thankfulness that Paul evidences is prevalent throughout the entire epistle. This was a church that although ensconced in a pagan and debauched nation had responded incredibly to the gospel.

This is one of the true evidences of someone's ability, or this is one of the true evidence if someone is truly a believer.

Though a sinner, they constantly, step by step, move towards holiness and away from sinfulness.

It is not that a believer will become sinless in this life. Would to God that it were so, but that is not what happens.

But, sin becomes more and more abhorrent to a genuine believer.

Their life is characterized by change from sinfulness to godliness. They become more humble and begin to exhibit the fruits of the spirit on a more regular basis.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control become more and more a part of their lives.

This was happening in Thessalonica, and as Paul observed, it was the word of God which also performs its work in you who believe that was doing it.

It was the word of God. The Thessalonians were a changed people, and Paul was thankful.

The words, by the way, that Paul and his companions spoke, that Paul specifically spoke, were not his words.

They were, as Paul refers to his message several times in his epistle, the message, the words of God, the gospel of God.

This is seen in chapter two, verses two, eight, and nine, and that is this gospel that changed the

Thessalonians. And guess what? It's been doing that successfully and regularly for over 2 ,000 years.

Paul was convinced of the Thessalonians' election, and the Thessalonians would have been as well.

The signs that they were believers, and I don't mean signs and wonders. I'm simply talking about some of the outward evidence that someone has truly trusted

Christ were there to be seen by the others in Macedonia. They imitated the other churches of God and became their own testimony.

And isn't that how it works in your life? You begin imitating. You begin imitating those you know you can follow, and you begin to be your own testimony, which is a testimony of the work of Christ in your life.

This is what was happening in Thessalonica. Paul had told the Corinthians to test themselves to see if they were in the faith.

It's likely that this was something he taught to all that he was responsible for. And in the epistle, now we went through this in adult

Sunday school, so those of you who were in my adult Sunday school class, you are either getting double for your money, or you're getting cheated out of half your money, one of the two.

But I thought we would go through the signs that you can look at and see in another person's life that evidence that they are a believer.

In 2 Corinthians 13, verse five, he was challenging the Corinthians, and he said, test yourselves to see if you're in the faith.

Examine yourselves, or do you not recognize this about yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you?

Unless you fail the test. So as we mentioned in that Sunday school class, the two Greek words that are commonly used in the

New Testament to refer to the action of verifying something are used here. They are objective words, not subjective.

In this particular verse, the pronouns are placed before the verbs for emphasis so that it actually reads yourselves test to see if you're in the faith.

Yourselves examine. Too many people think they are Christians when they are not. The Bible speaks of many who will stand before Christ and say,

Lord, Lord, did we not? And he will say, depart from me, I never knew you. That's a terrifying thing to think about.

This is a sobering reminder that feeling saved is not necessarily equivalent to being saved.

There's 15 -point lists and 12 -point lists and nine -point lists and five -point lists for those who really abbreviate things.

And so I'm gonna go quickly with you through a 20 -point list that you can kinda check off in your mind.

These are some of the evidences of someone who has trusted Christ. They repent and believe the gospel. This is the actual gospel that is found in the

Bible as delivered from the scriptures. Not some made -up story about somebody who came along after that, but the scriptures.

They have a humble heart. God's word falls on good ground. His seed falls on good ground because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

And it is grace alone through faith alone that produces salvation. They are broken and mourn over their sin.

They are not sinless, but when they do sin, they detest it and they seek forgiveness that is mentioned in 1

John 1, 9 where we are commanded to confess our sins and he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is a hunger and a discipline to read, study, and share God's word.

There is also a corresponding ability to understand God's word that did not exist prior to salvation.

And this should not make us arrogant. It didn't make the Thessalonians arrogant. It should not make us holier than thou.

I understand the scriptures, you don't. We didn't either. And it's the grace of God and the Holy Spirit at work in our lives that allows us to understand the scriptures and the spiritual nature that they are as well as just understanding them in general.

That's in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14 for the user that would like to look that up. Number whatever this is.

I couldn't come up with numbers when I taught at Sunday school either so we'll just leave those alone. Bullet point here.

They are obeying God's word. Believers are obeying God's word out of a love for Jesus.

The obedience come from a heart that seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. You want to do something to glorify him.

They are forsaking sin and do not practice sin. Old ways begin to pass away and new ways begin to take root.

Not ways of service, compassion, humility, and love. Believers should be people of compassion.

They should be people of humility. They should be people of love. Most certainly for one another but for the world at large.

The lost world at large. They're surrendering all to Jesus. As the Lord reveals things in their lives that must go, they let them go.

As the Lord reveals things that must come into their lives, as I mentioned earlier, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control.

They bring those by grace and study and practice into their lives.

They begin to practice them. They passionately love Jesus and are conforming daily to his image.

Their love is evidenced by a willingness to obey what scripture commands. They have a servant's heart and a love for other believers.

They love other believers. Have you ever gone to church in a different town in a different state and there was an instant camaraderie with people that you didn't even know their name but they were believers?

That is the camaraderie of salvation that God gives. They more and more begin to delight in spending time with other believers.

Both for confession, for sharpening iron, and for the delight that comes when being with those of the same mind.

They separate themselves from the things of this world and they do not compromise. We'll talk about that a little bit more later.

But sometimes the separation is instantaneous and old habits die instantly. Sometimes the separation is more gradual as believers individually work out their salvation with fear and trembling.

They are born again and they show evidence of a new nature. They begin to be different from their old selves and it is evident to others.

They overcome Satan's lies, temptations, and anything contrary to God's word. New behaviors form that are in line with the teachings of scripture and old bad habits begin to fall away and become rare.

They are enduring hardships, trials, testings, and persecutions for Jesus.

There's a lot of promises in the scriptures. One of them is that they who will live godly in Christ Jesus will have hamburgers.

No, they will have persecution. It will be difficult. Being a believer in today's world will be just as difficult as it was in 55

AD in Thessalonia. The difficulties that come after salvation are dealt with differently than those that came before salvation.

Trials are seen as a way to cultivate new good behaviors as the believer learns to count them all joy.

Don't seek trials. But count them all joy is what James teaches us to do.

They are pursuing and growing in holiness. The pursuit of things, fame, fortune, give way to looking for new ways to trust

God and to live it out, to live it out for him. They are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They begin to act and live more like the Savior did. They fear God and turn away from evil.

The wicked things that used to have an attraction to them now become distasteful and unimportant and they seek to avoid them, even looking for ways to remove them from their lives.

They are denying self and daily following Jesus. They are not ashamed of Jesus.

Life becomes a way of bringing glory to God outwardly as well as inwardly and delightedly so. They're ready, waiting, and anticipating the sudden and soon return of Christ.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, the apostle said. They recognize that Christ will return soon and they adopt a mentality of planning like they have 100 years but living like they have five seconds.

They're productive and they bear much fruit by giving Jesus their time, their money, and their talent.

This is the Thessalonians had become people to imitate. They'd gone from imitating to becoming people to imitate really quickly because they gave their time, their talent, and their abilities to Christ.

They are not lazy and they seek to be busy bringing glory to God in any way they can. And then last, they hold to essential

Christian doctrine. They determinately hold on, hold to the great foundational truths of Christian theology that have been taught for thousands of years.

So knowing this about the Thessalonians and having that report from Timothy was a great comfort to Paul and thus he could write such encouraging words back to them about them being his delight and his joy and his crown of exaltation.

Verse 14 and 15, for you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God and Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the

Jews who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God but hostile to all men.

You'll know, you've heard this saying, you'll know you're over the target when you start taking flak.

But did you know where that came from? It's an interesting etymology and I'm one of those weirdos that likes that stuff. The modern use of the word flak connotes the idea of taking heat over an opinion or a belief.

It does mean that, but it actually comes from the name of the German cannons that were used in anti -aircraft warfare.

Now, if there are any folks in here who actually speak German, please forgive me, but I'm gonna tackle these words.

The word for flak was Fliegerabwehrkanone or Flugjugabwehrkanone.

Yeah, Germans never use a sentence when four paragraphs will do. They actually come from the name of the

German cannons that were used in anti -aircraft warfare. It is both the weapon that fires the shell and the explosion of that shell in the air, near or on the aircraft.

The Allies quickly adopted the acronym FLK F -L -A -K. And one wag said it was because if you, in the time it took to say the

German word, you'd probably be dead. So the result of firing that cannon is a terrifying concussion accompanied by grenade -like fragments of the bomb whizzing through the air, possibly taking out an engine or steering equipment or penetrating the hull of an aircraft and killing those inside.

A direct hit would, of course, destroy the aircraft. The Thessalonians became imitators.

They became imitators of the believers in Judea. This was proof of their acceptance of the gospel.

As Paul said in verse 13, the gospel had performed its work in those who had believed and was continuing to perform it.

The fact that the Holy Spirit produced the same kind of change in Thessalonia that he produced in Judea, were the earliest founded by the gospel, showed that he is at work the same way in believers throughout the world.

Many were persecuted and had benefited, hadn't come through that persecution as shining stars in the

Judean countryside. Regarding that flack that I mentioned, the Thessalonians began to endure suffering at the hands of their very own countrymen.

Paul himself, remember, before he was Paul, he was Saul, and he led that persecution, getting letters from the

Sanhedrin. I can't remember what the specific name, but they were documents that would allow him to go into the probably writs of assistance, like what had happened in the early parts of this country, to go into homes and lead these people out and lead them away to be slaughtered if they proclaimed

Christ. Paul himself did that. So now the Thessalonians would see one of the fruits of conversion that I mentioned earlier.

They would become hated of the world. And that is the scripture that Dave read earlier in John chapter 15.

This fruit, do you like fruit? Bananas, mangoes, papaya, apples.

Well, this fruit only comes to those who begin to actually practice what scripture teaches, practicing it humbly, joyfully, and regularly without compromise.

To the degree that commitment to the word of God becomes more cemented in the lives of believers, they will run afoul of the powers that be every time, in every age, always.

It is a given. Those who will compromise their belief, they're not likely saved at all.

But if they will compromise their belief, they may earn some relief, but they will be despised anyway. They do not live according to what is practical, although scripture is very practical.

Christians, believers, do not necessarily live according to what is practical, although scripture is very practical.

They start with the word of God, and they obey it. Its practicality becomes evident, but it is also an affront to the world.

Believers do not practice mere pragmatism. Scripture is practical. But we are not to assess what we deem practical and attempt to fit scripture into it.

We are to obey scripture and marvel at its practicality when it shows itself to us.

One person put it this way regarding the compromise that we see happening in the church today, where people are trying to be loved of all people.

He said this, pragmatism is an utterly, and this was a political statement, but it's very apt.

Pragmatism is an utterly failed ministry methodology. The unbelieving world will yield no ground on their cardinal doctrines.

If you're tempted to let your conviction on men's and women's roles, sexuality and gender, or the absolute right to life of the unborn be swayed by some notion that, oh, if we could just be more sensitive or less dogmatic or take a more compromising, mediating view, we'll have a better chance of building bridges and reaching those who disagree with us.

If you think that, you're on a fool's errand. The political and theological left demands unswerving allegiance, total assimilation to the dogmas of politically correct orthodoxy.

If you're willing to sacrifice faithfulness for cultural influence or respectability, you'll find yourselves being neither faithful to Scripture nor respected by the culture.

At some point, you'll have to choose between offending postmodern sensibilities or offending the

Lord Jesus Christ, whose words speak so clearly on these matters. Both Christ and culture demand a mutually exclusive absolute loyalty.

You who profess to follow him must decide whose slave you will be. You will be one or the other.

What is pragmatism? Well, the simple dictionary definition is pretty instructive. Character or conduct that emphasizes practicality, a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

We look to what's practical to determine what's true. We look to what's practical to determine what has value.

And Scripture counsels us to look to Scripture to discover what has value, what has meaning, and that is where truth resides.

It is the philosophy of doing what works. Of course, your definition of the phrase what works is key.

More often than not, especially in the world of theology, what appears to have short -term effectiveness has long -term destructiveness.

Choosing what we think works over the truth of Scripture will always result in devastation.

So with that in mind, it's interesting to look at some of the suffering the Thessalonians endured, and we can see some of that in Acts chapter 17.

Those of you who want to turn there, it's Acts chapter 17, verses one through 10. This is what the Thessalonians were going through.

Excuse me. You'll notice I haven't spilled it yet. Acts chapter 17, verses one through 10.

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 reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the

Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, this Jesus who I am proclaiming to you is the

Christ, and some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of 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.

When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, saying, these men who have upset the world have come here also, and Jason has welcomed them.

And they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there was another king, Jesus. They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things, and when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the

Jews. So in Paul's day, the city of Thessalonica probably had a population of about 200 ,000.

So whether this statement is about the entire city or just the section of the city that Jason and his friends lived in, it had to be a pretty substantial mob.

In order to get Paul released, Jason and his friends had to put up what probably amounted to what we would today call bail, financial bond.

Apparently, they wisely chose after that to send Paul and Silas away to protect their lives. Brothers and sisters, when you choose to humbly, consistently, kindly, and effectively, and determinately follow

God's word, you will be hated by the world, guaranteed. Don't be surprised.

But all I did was what was right. Yeah, there's a lot of people who don't wanna see that happen. For many, many reasons.

In this day, in this city, the Jews were the antithesis of the believers in Thessalonica.

Every good that was done by the believing church here, there, would be countered by the unbelieving

Jews. Paul condemns them by reminding everybody that they killed the Lord Jesus Christ, they killed the prophets of old, and they drove out the apostles.

It was somewhat true also, the Jews were hostile to all men. There was an extreme superiority complex that permeated

Judaism at this time. Gentiles were trash, and Jews were supreme. It is unfortunate that such attitudes reign in humanity, in fallen humanity.

The Jews are not the only ones guilty of this. Every demographic, every race, as the world calls them, has a tendency to think they are better than everyone else.

Taken to the extreme, as these Jews did, an attempt was made to stamp out the believing

Thessalonians, including Paul and Silas. This atheistic mindset causes its believers to not only try to stamp out

Christianity, it also causes its inheritance adherents to try to stop anyone else from hearing the truth.

They don't wanna stop you, they wanna stamp you out, and they don't want you to be able to give the truth to anyone else. They don't want that truth spread.

Thus, they will say that you can't teach this or that from the Bible in the schools. In fact, you can't even teach it as a simple history book from which we can draw conclusions about the geopolitical aspects of the world and the days described within it.

Then, as now, anti -biblical bigotry exists. Just remember, though, that although in this case it is the

Jews that Paul is indicting, throughout scripture he enormously ascribes the death of Jesus to the sins of all men.

Here, he simply identifies that segment of humanity that was specifically responsible in this case. Paul was not some kind of anti -Semite, but in this city, in this time, the

Jews were persecuting pretty much everybody that they could that went against their dogma.

Verse 16, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.

With the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the utmost. This is the real agenda of Satan.

And all those who knowingly or unknowingly follow his plans, it's their agenda as well.

It is to prevent the gospel from even being preached. How can people know of the sufficiency of scripture if it is not allowed to be preached?

Throughout history, those who would attempt to stamp out Christianity have recognized that they must prevent the preaching of the gospel.

This will become more and more prevalent as the evil days wear on, and we come closer to the great apostasy that is coming.

The methodology of interrupting a speaker and inciting violence is not new to our day.

You've all seen it in videos where the speaker is shouted down. The Jews did this, Antipha did not invent it.

In Acts chapter 13, we see it being played out, and it helps us understand also the abrupt change

Paul made in verses 15 and 16, where he startlingly calls out the Jews in particular. During one of his teachings in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, Paul, after delivering in the synagogue, was leaving with Barnabas, and he was speaking to the crowds who were asking him questions.

Acts chapter 13, verses 40 through 52. Therefore, take heed, so that the things spoken of in the prophets may not come upon you.

Behold, you scoffers and marvel and perish, for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next

Sabbath. Now, when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the

Jews and of the God -fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

The next Sabbath day, nearly the whole city, which was a population of 100 ,000, assembled to hear the word of the

Lord. Can you imagine? That would take a big, well, a modern stadium would hold it, but back then, that's a lot of people.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul and were blaspheming.

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life.

Behold, we are returning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have placed you as a light for the

Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the

Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed, did you get that? And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.

But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went on to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the

Holy Spirit. It is our privilege and burden to continue the preaching of the gospel of the

Lord Jesus Christ. So the world that needs to hear this life -saving message and does not want to hear it, will have an opportunity to know him who provided salvation to all who would believe.

That's our responsibility and our privilege. There comes a time, and no man knows what that time is, only

God knows, that men and nations heap upon themselves so much sin and perdition that they cannot be saved. This is not to say that God was finished with Israel.

Time is coming with them where he will take away their sins and their coming to him will finally play out in the way that it has been described in the scriptures.

And it can play out in the lives of individuals as well. And again, as I said, we do not know who has reached the point of no salvation and who has not.

It is our responsibility to freely give the gospel to all. Just remember, just remember, just remember that the days are coming and even may now be starting when it will be a crime to preach the gospel.

Aspects of the gospel are already criminalized in some ways. If you speak out against destructive lifestyles, there are countries where you can be arrested.

When I, we think it can't happen here. So did many in first -century Rome just before they became pitch -covered lights in Nero's parties and they died in agony.

Man, what a terrifying sermon this morning. Yes, the hindering of truth, the speaking of the truth is here and it's strengthening.

But as God is our witness, we cannot be silent. Before the message this morning, Dave read a passage of scripture,

John 15, 18 through 25. It's a sobering reminder from the Savior himself that those who would follow him will be hated.

But there are two verses that follow that section that should give us strength and encouragement. In that very same section,

John chapter, is it John chapter 15, verses 26 and 27.

And then I have one more scripture that I think I saved the place. Let me find that quickly.

Verse 26, when the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the

Father, that is the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

And you will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning. That was spoken specifically to the apostles, the disciples, but it is our heritage as well through the scriptures.

In 2 Timothy chapter one, verse seven, it says, for God has not given us a spirit of timidity or of fear, but of power and love and discipline.

Brothers and sisters, the helper is here. He is in you. And he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.

And so as that day comes that the Thessalonians had to meet when the Jews were persecuting them for simply living out their convictions that were given to them in the scriptures in the word of God by Paul.

When that day comes here, we must say with Peter and the other apostles as they said in Acts chapter five, we must obey

God rather than men. May God grant that we would continue to bring his word to a world without compromise that so desperately needs it.

Let's pray. Father, there is no need for fear or concern.

Let us be careful discerners of your word that we might be ready to give an answer to those who have questions that they can see the truth of scripture, see its sufficiency, see its truth, but only you can bring that to their hearts.

We ask you, Lord, to make us faithful deliverers of the word that the word of God might go out from us so that those who will be your chosen, your elect, will hear it and believe and you will be glorified.

And for that, we look to you, we look to you for you to cause that to happen and we look to you to receive glory for its happening and thank you for it in Jesus' name, amen.