1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,240 Amen. Let let us hear the word of God. 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:12,160 We're reading again chapter one of the first Epistle of Paul, 3 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,240 the Apostle to the Thessalonians. 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:21,320 We'll read the 10 verses. Trust that the Lord will bless 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,120 to us thus reading of His own precious and infallible Word. 6 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,360 First Thessalonians chapter one verse one. 7 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,680 Paul and Savannas and Timotheus unto the Church of the 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:49,680 Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus 9 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,440 Christ. Grace be unto you and peace from 10 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,880 God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 11 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,520 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you 12 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,840 in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of 13 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,520 faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord 14 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,880 Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. 15 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:21,920 Knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God for our gospel 16 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:27,320 came not unto you in Word only, but also in power and in the 17 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:31,960 Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what 18 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,960 manner of men we were among you for your sake, and ye became 19 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:41,640 followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much 20 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,480 affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. 21 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,880 So that ye wear examples to all that believe in Macedonia and 22 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,040 Akaia. For from you sounded out the 23 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:58,360 word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Akaia, but also in 24 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,880 every place your faith to God were to spread abroad. 25 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:04,960 So that we need not to speak anything. 26 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,800 For they themselves show of us what mannering of entering in we 27 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,400 had unto you, and how you turn to God from idols to serve the 28 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,120 living and the true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, 29 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:23,000 whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us 30 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,480 from the wrath to come. Amen Lord, and stamp with His 31 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,280 own approval and blessing this reading of His own precious and 32 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:38,680 infallible Word. Now this morning we are 33 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:44,240 continuing with our exposition of truths from the book of 34 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,800 Thessalonians. And my text today is taken from 35 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:53,480 First Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 9 and 10. 36 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,720 They read as follows. For they themselves show of us 37 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,400 what mannering of entering in we had unto you. 38 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,400 And now you turn to God from idols to serve the living and 39 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,880 the true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he 40 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,840 raised from the dead. Even Jesus was delivered us from 41 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,960 the wrath to come. Now I want to deal with the 42 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,880 theme today, Godly characteristics of genuine 43 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,720 conversions. Constantly today in the news and 44 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:27,240 in the newspapers, we hear much of people being scammed out of 45 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,680 their money. One such scam involves people 46 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,320 calling at the door or they're on the phone and they're posing 47 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,840 as representatives of your electric board or your gas 48 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:45,000 supplier and they claim that you owe an overdue bill and that 49 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,400 they're threatening to shut you off your supply and they're 50 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,880 saying we're going to haul you to court unless you pay up and 51 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,520 pay up immediately. That's a big scam. 52 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,480 Here's another popular scam. A young man, and I don't say 53 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:06,120 this as a racist of African descent or Asian descent is 54 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,240 they're pretending to be in love with a 60 year old woman or 55 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,960 maybe a 70 year old woman, an 80 year old, even a 90 year old 56 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,920 woman and they wants to get engaged and they're planning to 57 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,920 get married. Oh, and we're just so in love. 58 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:27,840 Here's the next thing. Get a phone call or a telegram. 59 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,040 I'm in the hospital. Could you help with a medical 60 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:36,760 bill or, or I'm in prison and I need so much money for Biel to 61 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:41,000 get out of gaol. Or I've got a loved one who's 62 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,240 taken. I'll maybe a mother or a father 63 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,840 or some incident has happened and we need some money and we 64 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:50,480 need some help. You see that's a scam. 65 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,120 Here's another scam. You get a phone call or a letter 66 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,160 telling you that a billionaire wants to give you a gift of 67 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,520 money, say £1,000,000. Just ring this number. 68 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:08,520 You see all of that is a scam. And do you know that a good liar 69 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,240 can convince people that he's telling the truth? 70 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,280 Convince you that black is white? 71 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:19,080 Convince you that pigs can fly? Convince you that two and two is 72 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,880 not four, it's actually 5. And it's all under the guise of 73 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:29,000 scamming you and usually scamming you out of your hard 74 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,080 earned cash. Now, what is true in the 75 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,400 material world is also true in the spiritual world. 76 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:39,840 Young people, Satan is a liar. Young people, Satan is a 77 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:44,280 murderer from the beginning. Satan is a father of lies. 78 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:50,040 Listen to the word of God over there in John chapter 8 and in 79 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:57,720 the verse and 44. The Bible tells us John 8 and 44 80 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,480 ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father 81 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,400 evil do He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in 82 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,480 the truth because there's no truth in him. 83 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,320 When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a 84 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:18,760 liar and the father of it. Now Satan is not after your 85 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:23,520 silver young people, Satan is after your soul. 86 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,040 There's a popular song I I'll not attempt to sing it. 87 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,760 It was sung by a man called Johnny Cash. 88 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:35,160 I believe the devil went down to Georgia looking for a soul to 89 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,760 steal. And you see, if you, the devil, 90 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,480 can get you to believe his lies, then you'll not just lose your 91 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:48,280 silver, you lose your precious soul unless you see the light 92 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:52,360 and repent and be converted. And of course, today the devil 93 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,600 uses many different spiritual scammers to disport, distort the 94 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:02,520 truth spread about falsehood, tell out blatant lies. 95 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:09,080 He uses false religion, he uses the false cults, he uses many 96 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,560 false religious charlatans. And there's many false religious 97 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:18,520 charlatans leading false churches, churches that belong 98 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,160 to the so-called alphabet community churches that are 99 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,560 extreme health and wealth, gospel churches. 100 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,760 And many are being deceived. So I put it to you this morning 101 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,440 that it's vital, that it's important. 102 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,120 It's impossible that you understand that the devil could 103 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:44,040 get you to believe a lie. He could get you to be deceived. 104 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,960 And I want to say this morning that I believe 10s of thousands 105 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,760 of professing Christians, they're deceived about what a 106 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,400 genuine Christian is. You see, 10s of thousands of 107 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,440 people in the United Kingdom think they're Christians, 108 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,840 profess to be Christian, say that they are Christians. 109 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,640 And yet here's what the word of God says many will say to me in 110 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,920 that day, Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in 111 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,320 thy name of cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful 112 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,800 works. Verse 23 of Matthew 7 and then 113 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:24,080 will I profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me, 114 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,120 ye that work iniquity. Let me make it clear this 115 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,720 morning 10s of thousands of professing Christians the out 116 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:38,000 our United Kingdom who make a claim that they're savingly 117 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,559 joined to Christ. They're going to end up in hell 118 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:47,480 in a lost eternity. Here in First Thessalonians 119 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:52,520 chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, Paul introduces himself and his team, 120 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,720 Paul and Savannas and Timotheus. They're writing a letter unto 121 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,920 the Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and 122 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:03,440 in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul uses a traditional 123 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,360 greeting. Grace be unto you always starts 124 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,960 with grace because grace is always 1st and peace from God 125 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,240 our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 126 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,800 He gives thanks to God for them all. 127 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:22,040 He states that he makes mention of them in his prayers. 128 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,920 In verses 3. He remembers the reality of the 129 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:32,400 godly lifestyle of their New Testament Christianity, their 130 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,880 work of faith, their labour of love, their patience of hope. 131 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:42,000 In verse four he states, knowing brethren, beloved, your election 132 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,600 of God. Now the doctrine of election, 133 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,960 that's a sermon all by itself and I'm not going to preach that 134 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,280 this morning. How did he know they were elect 135 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,840 of God? Did he get a divine revelation 136 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,680 concerning them? Was he taken up to heaven? 137 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:01,960 And get a preview inside the Lamb's book of Life? 138 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,800 Oh look there, so and so's name. Oh look, so and so's name's 139 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,640 there. Could you just check of so and 140 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:11,000 so's name's in there too? Was there some kind of spiritual 141 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,520 intuition where Paul just knew? The answer's no. 142 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,960 Look at verse 5. For our gospel came not unto you 143 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,440 in Word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in 144 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,000 much assurance, as you know what mannering of men we were among 145 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,080 you for your sake. See, here's a definite statement 146 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:38,560 of fact, the word for means, because here's how he knew, 147 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,880 because Paul agreed assurance that the gospel that came into 148 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:49,160 Thessalonica came not unto them only in the word that is the 149 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:53,640 word preached, but also in the power of the Holy Ghost. 150 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,840 He's making an affirmation here. He knows that they were 151 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,840 genuinely converted. Listen to what he says. 152 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,960 And ye became followers of us and of the Lord, having received 153 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,680 the word and much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost, so 154 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:14,680 that you were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and 155 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,200 IKEA. Four, We could translate that 156 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,520 because from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in 157 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,840 Macedonia and IKEA, but also in every place. 158 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,720 Your faith to God were to spread abroad so that we need not to 159 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:36,440 speak anything. You see, here's the effect of 160 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,800 the gospel in their lives. Those who experienced genuine 161 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:45,960 conversion became genuine evangelist in helping to spread 162 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:51,160 the gospel in Macedonia and Ikaya and it's as if to say if 163 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,000 you want further proof here it is verse 9. 164 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,920 For they themselves show of us what entering what manner of 165 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,080 entering in we had unto you, and how you turn to God from idols 166 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,120 to serve the living and the true God, and to wait for a son from 167 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,680 heaven whom he raised from the dead. 168 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:08,360 Even Jesus was delivered us from the wrath to come. 169 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:14,760 You see, true, genuine Christians not only receive the 170 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:21,680 gospel and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, but 171 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:24,000 they also turn to God from idols. 172 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,680 They gladly serve him and wait expectantly for a Son from 173 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:31,120 heaven. And these three things 174 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,160 correspond to the same three things that reveal the godly 175 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,760 characteristics of a New Testament church. 176 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:43,520 You see, turning to the living and true God from idols displays 177 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:50,240 a work of faith, serving Him, submitting oneself to Him shows 178 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:55,920 a labour of love and waiting for him, waiting for a son from 179 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,960 heaven reveals their passion of hope. 180 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:05,600 Now these new converts at Thessalonica, this was a 11 181 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,160 month old church when Paul wrote to it and they welcomed the 182 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:15,280 gospel. They witnessed the gospel and 183 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,480 proclaiming it to others. They discovered this, that the 184 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:23,840 gospel works, that the gospel's the power of God unto salvation. 185 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,640 And I want to say again this morning, the gospel is the 186 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:32,880 answer to Ulster's problems because the gospel is the power 187 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,480 of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth of First 188 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,000 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10. 189 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,480 Charles Haddon Spurgeon called it the biography of a Christian. 190 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,960 I have called it the godly characteristics of genuine 191 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,360 conversion. Let's look at them one there's a 192 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:59,440 genuine receiving of the gospel. Look at verse 9 for they 193 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,520 themselves show of us what mannering of entering in we had 194 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,120 unto you. Now we'll pause there. 195 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,040 I want you to think of an evangelist. 196 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:14,880 He comes into your time. He's here in carried off and he 197 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,600 knocks on your door and the moment he auctioned your door, 198 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,440 you open the door. You're glad to see him. 199 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:27,320 You're welcoming in and into that open home. 200 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:34,120 There's an open heart and an open mind and this man is waited 201 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:38,520 upon in the knowledge that this man is a servant of the Most 202 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,400 High God. That's the picture here, for 203 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:46,680 they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had 204 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,560 unto you. The word entering has to do with 205 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:56,240 reception, opening your door with an open mind and an open 206 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:02,600 heart, welcoming and waiting upon the man of God who's 207 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,680 bringing to you the word of God. The apostle Paul could say this 208 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:12,120 in Acts chapter 14 and in the verse 27. 209 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,880 And when they were come, they had gathered the church together 210 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:22,040 and rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had 211 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,640 opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. 212 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:31,960 In chapter 16 and in the verse 14 we read, and a certain woman 213 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,440 named Lydia, seller of purple of the city of Thyra Tyra was 214 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,720 worshipped. God heard us whose heart the 215 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,440 Lord opened when she attended unto the things which were 216 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:47,720 spoken of Paul and over there in first Corinthians chapter 16 and 217 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,920 in the verse 9. The apostle Paul says this for a 218 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:56,000 great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are 219 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:01,040 many adversaries, he adds in Second Corinthians chapter 2 and 220 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,040 verse 12. Furthermore, when I came to 221 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,880 through as to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened 222 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:12,920 unto me of the Lord, and we should pray that there would be 223 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,440 an open door for the gospel here and carried off. 224 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,720 We should pray that God would open doors and open minds and 225 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,440 open hearts and open eyes so that there'd be a welcoming of 226 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,560 the gospel. The apostle Paul knew that God 227 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,960 had opened the door into Macedonia and Akaia. 228 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,840 The apostle Paul knew that God had in sovereign grace not only 229 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,080 open doors, but open hearts and minds to the gospel. 230 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,080 Remember, this is the second church, the second New Testament 231 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,720 church in Europe. Philippi was the 1st. 232 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,640 And then of course, they come 100 miles to Thessalonica. 233 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,400 You see, the gospel, young people, is not merely a message, 234 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:02,600 simply that the Lord Jesus can help you, it can help you, but 235 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,079 the heart of the gospel is not a self help scheme. 236 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:08,319 It is true to say the Lord is my helper and he can help you with 237 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:11,760 all sorts of things, but that's not the whole message of the 238 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,160 gospel. That's a part. 239 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:20,720 The message of the gospel is a message of salvation, how the 240 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:25,440 Lord Jesus can save you and deliver you not only from the 241 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,400 power of sin, but from wrath to come, deliver you from hell 242 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,800 itself. Do you remember the Bible 243 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,360 teaches that we're all sinners separated from a holy God, but 244 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,040 your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and 245 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:43,600 you sins have hid his face from you so that he will not hear as 246 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,520 I have 59 and two we are familiar with Romans 3 and 23 247 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,480 for all of sinned and come short of the glory of God. 248 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,600 Romans 6 and 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of 249 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,080 God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 250 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:04,560 And the Bible teaches that we in and of ourselves as sinners by 251 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:10,160 nature and practise, we don't and cannot obtain merit for any 252 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:16,000 good deeds that we can do. We we cannot obtain merit that 253 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,600 pays for our own sins. The gospel is this. 254 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,320 For God so loved the world that He gave us only begotten Son, 255 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,840 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 256 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,160 everlasting life. He that believeth on Him I am 257 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,120 believing, I have believed, I will keep on believing in Him 258 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,520 will never perish. So I ask this question, have you 259 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,360 received the gospel? If you go back to Thessalonians 260 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:46,280 there and read again in verse 5, remember how they received the 261 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:51,440 gospel in Thessalonica. He tells them, For our gospel 262 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:56,160 came not unto you in Word only, but also in power, in the Holy 263 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:01,000 Ghost, and in much assurance. Has the gospel come to you in 264 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:06,600 Word, in the power of the Holy Ghost, in much assurance. 265 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,080 See, when the gospel comes like that, you'll be convicted of 266 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:17,200 your sin, you'll be concerned and troubled about your soul, 267 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,280 You'll be convinced of the need of a saviour. 268 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,080 I need the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be converted in 269 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:33,200 salvation. You'll be changed to serve the 270 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:39,160 living and the true God. Was there a day in your life 271 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:43,360 when you testified I was out of Christ without the Saviour? 272 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,680 But now by the power of the gospel and the ground of the 273 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,240 blood have been brought nigh unto God, and now in a right 274 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:54,560 relationship with the Lord, one day without Him, and then in a 275 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,080 moment brought into Him and made a new creature. 276 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,040 Is that true of you? You see, there's a genuine 277 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:09,240 receiving of the gospel. If any man be in Christ is a new 278 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:10,840 creature. All things have passed away, and 279 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,600 all things have become new, and all things are of God. 280 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,040 The second characteristic is this. 281 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,040 There's a genuine turning to the true God. 282 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:26,240 Look at our text and it says. And how ye turn to God from 283 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,520 idols. You see, this was a deliberate 284 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:35,320 turning. This was a a decisive turning. 285 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,040 We could even say this was a delightful turning. 286 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,920 Before the gospel came, the people of Thessalonica were 287 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,960 pagans to the core. They loved their idols. 288 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,760 They hoped and believed in their idols. 289 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:59,360 They believed that their idols would placate God's wrath. 290 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,160 They believed their idols would give them help in their journey. 291 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:09,120 They believed that their idols would save their souls in the 292 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:13,600 world to come. Idol worshippers. 293 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,640 And then they discovered the gospel, and by the preaching of 294 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,000 the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ by Paul, Savannas and 295 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:28,640 Timotheas, they discovered this. That was all a big lie, a big 296 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,480 fat lie. And once they heard the gospel, 297 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,880 this is what they did. They threw their idols away. 298 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,080 They disregarded their idols, and they turned to God. 299 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:44,040 You see, the word turned there. It speaks of a genuine work of 300 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,120 God's sovereign grace in the heart. 301 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:53,640 It literally means converted when it says how ye turn to God. 302 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:58,000 It means converted to God from idols. 303 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,280 It's the same word. Repent ye and be converted in 304 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:08,600 the book of Acts. It's the very same word in the 305 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:13,160 Greek. Here's the genuine response to 306 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,680 the gospel. Let's think of the Apostle Paul. 307 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:26,320 He's called unto salvation, He's converted unto salvation in the 308 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,840 Damascus Rd. He's then commissioned to preach 309 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,120 Christ in the gospel. All in the Damascus Rd. 310 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,800 Over there in the book of Acts and Acts chapter 26, we read in 311 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,440 verse 18. This is His Commission to open 312 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,280 their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the 313 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,640 power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of 314 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,080 sins and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith. 315 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:59,360 That is in me, it says in verse 20, but showed first unto them 316 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:02,120 of Damascus and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coach of 317 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:07,760 Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn 318 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,680 to God and do works meet for repentance. 319 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,640 That's how Paul sums it up. He's telling the Gentiles to 320 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,560 repent, to be sorry, to quit their sin, to turn to God, to 321 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,680 bring forth deeds appropriate for repentance. 322 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,320 See, turn to God. There's a positive there, isn't 323 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:29,680 there? From idols. 324 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,960 That's a negative. Let's think of a physical 325 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:38,640 turning. Imagine I'm on the road out of 326 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:43,200 Belfast on the M2. So one of my boys says to me in 327 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,280 the car, where are we going, Dad? 328 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,640 And I'm saying driving along, we're going to Enniskillen, 329 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,720 boys. But Dad, this is not the road to 330 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,800 Enniskillen. Dad, you're in the M2. 331 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,760 If we keep going, we're going to end up in Port Rush. 332 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,280 Do you want to go to Port Rush or Enniskillen, boys? 333 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,040 We're going to Enniskillen. Well, Dad, you're driving north. 334 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,120 Dad, you must turn around. You must go in the opposite 335 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,080 direction. You have to drive South. 336 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,840 To go to Enniskillen, you need to do AU turn. 337 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:23,160 That's the picture. And true saving faith and 338 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:29,400 genuine repentance involves AU turn from sin unto God. 339 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,520 And you cannot turn to God without also turning from your 340 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,080 idols. You see, in a spiritual sense, 341 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,120 as I've emphasised, we're born sinners. 342 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,080 We're sinners by nature and practise. 343 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:42,840 We're born with our backs to God. 344 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,480 We have No Fear of God, no love for God, no thought of God. 345 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,240 That's exactly what Paul says in Romans chapter 3 and the verse 346 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,520 18. Listen to the word of God. 347 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,080 There is No Fear of God before their eyes. 348 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,960 That's the problem in Northern Ireland at this present time 349 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,200 with the majority of our citizens. 350 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,160 And when the Lord Jesus died in the cross, He just didn't die to 351 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,520 save us from hell and they lost eternity. 352 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:13,160 He died to save us from sins, power, penalty, pleasure, and 353 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,440 one day from His presence. He died to bring us to God, the 354 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,600 just for the unjust. He died to bring us into our 355 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,160 right relationship with God. He died to bring us to God by 356 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,360 turning us from idolatry. Now I know what some of you are 357 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,040 thinking. You're maybe thinking, but wait 358 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:34,680 a minute, I'm not an idolater. I don't worship idols of stone 359 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,120 and silver and gold. I'm not bowing down to a literal 360 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,920 statue to say a prayer or bring a gift to. 361 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:53,200 Let me ask you a question. What about the idol in your 362 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:58,920 heart and in your mind? You see, our hearts are idol 363 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:04,680 factories IDOL. And in our hearts and minds we 364 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:10,840 manufacture many idols and one of the greatest idols is the 365 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,480 idol of self. And how many professing 366 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,240 Christians are full of self? Have a love of self. 367 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:26,640 It's my ambition, it's my plans, it's my way, it's my views. 368 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,600 And when a person starts talking about my plans and my views and 369 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:36,200 my way, what you discover is that the idol of self is on the 370 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,280 throne of their heart. And at the root of all idolatry 371 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,080 is the God of self. And the God of self is not the 372 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,720 living and the true God. What is an idol? 373 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,360 An idol is anything that takes the place of God. 374 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,040 Exodus 20, verse 3 Thou shall have no other gods before me. 375 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:58,400 And many profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and yet leave 376 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,000 the God of self and the throne of their heart and life. 377 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,800 And they use Jesus Christ to get what they want. 378 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:13,320 I want health and happiness. I want wealth and plenty of 379 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:18,720 other things. I want loads of stuff. 380 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,560 I want to fulfil my lusts. So what do they do? 381 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,360 They leave self enthroned, and they use the Lord Jesus Christ 382 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:31,440 as a new idol to get what self wants. 383 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,680 But to do that is not turning to God from idols. 384 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,000 There must be a clear break from the old life. 385 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:46,600 True conversion is the turning of a man completely around to 386 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,920 hate what he loved and to love what he hated. 387 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,280 Turning from idols involves a decisive initial turning. 388 00:27:55,480 --> 00:28:01,280 It involves an ongoing process. There's a battle, there's a 389 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,360 struggle. Think of the hymn writer, King 390 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,920 of my life, I crown thee now thine shall the glory be. 391 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,160 And you see, if the word of God, when it comes in power, when it 392 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:17,920 comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, it exposes the idol. 393 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:23,360 And what we love the most is the telling thing. 394 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,680 What do you love the most? The Bible teaches that the love 395 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,760 of money is the root of all evil. 396 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,320 And how many love silver more than their soul and love gold 397 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,440 more than God And, and, and they're they're they're they're 398 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,040 building a a bank balance here on earth where more than rushed 399 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,520 does corrupt and decay and and they're not laying up for 400 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,600 themselves. Treasure in heaven. 401 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:55,160 See, there has to be a genuine turning to the true God. 402 00:28:55,400 --> 00:29:00,360 Thirdly, and quickly, there has to be a genuine serving of the 403 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,800 living and the true God. If you go back to Thessalonians 404 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:08,680 there look again at our text. It says there in Thessalonians 405 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:14,760 chapter 1 and in the verse 9 to serve the living and the true 406 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:16,200 God. Here's the third genuine 407 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,920 characteristic, not only a receiving of the gospel, not 408 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:25,800 only a turning to the true God from idols, but serving the 409 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,120 living and the true God. You see the word serve here. 410 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:35,120 It means to serve as a slave, a willing bond slave, a slave 411 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:40,160 owned by a master. You see, a slave is not free to 412 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:45,720 do as the slave pleases. A slave has no will but the will 413 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,760 of his master. A slave has no plans but the 414 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,000 plan of his master. A slave doesn't say to the 415 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,320 master. Here, I'll tell you what. 416 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,240 Get their own breakfast there. I'm off to the beach for today. 417 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,560 Or get their own food. I'm off until Friday. 418 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,800 An employee could do that to an employer. 419 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,440 But we're not talking about employee and employer. 420 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,280 We're talking about a slave and a master. 421 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,800 A slave would never say to the master. 422 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,720 Get your own dinner. Because all that the slave is 423 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:22,400 and has belongs to the master. The master bought him, The 424 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:26,840 master bought him with a price, and he is bought to live, to do 425 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,920 as masters will. And you see, we are not our own. 426 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,200 We have been bought, we have been redeemed by the precious 427 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,240 blood. We have been rescued. 428 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:39,080 Remember what Paul says in First Corinthians chapter 6. 429 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,680 He says, what know ye not that your body is the temple of the 430 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,080 Holy Ghost, which is in you, what you have of God, and you're 431 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:46,240 not your own. Why? 432 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:51,280 For you're bought with a price. The word for can mean because 433 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,200 because you're bought with a price. 434 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,080 Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirits, which 435 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,680 are gods. We are the possession of our 436 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:08,160 Master. All are doing all are saying all 437 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:13,200 are living is identified by the will of the Master. 438 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,160 See, Jesus Christ demands a full and total surrender. 439 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,320 And we're not serving him out of a sense of duty. 440 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:27,560 We're not serving Him grudgingly with a a, a, a, a bare 441 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,720 obligation. We're not doing it with gritted 442 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:36,160 teeth and an unwilling heart. We're doing it out of love. 443 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:41,120 We're doing it out of gratitude. You see, thankfully our Master 444 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,640 loves us. Our Master has given his life to 445 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,040 save us from sins, penalty, power and pleasure. 446 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,280 And one thing he he died to save us from hell and eternal 447 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,960 foundation. Our Master has our best interest 448 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,480 at heart, serving him as a delight. 449 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,640 It's not a duty, it's not a burdensome thing. 450 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,480 It's a blessed thing. I love my Master. 451 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,720 That's the mindset. Who do we serve? 452 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,120 The living and the true God. The living and the true God like 453 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,040 the doctrine of election is another sermon all on itself. 454 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:22,320 Who is God? What is God like? 455 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:28,960 You see, in contrast to idols, idols are dead false gods. 456 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,880 That's true of all false religion, true of the false 457 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,800 cults, true of the false preachers and prophets, false 458 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:44,840 charlatans. I say this, many set up a 459 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:49,880 literal idol. They worship idols, they pray to 460 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,200 idols, they bring gifts to idols to brocate the idol, and often a 461 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,800 demonic spirit is behind the idol. 462 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:01,480 Demons are real. Evil spiritual beings are real. 463 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:07,520 They're not of God. There's only one true in living 464 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,240 God. God is creator and maker, 465 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,880 sustainer, provider, Redeemer and judge. 466 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,880 He created all that exists in this world by his power. 467 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,480 And if you're a genuine Christian, one of the evidences 468 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:23,560 is not only the way you receive the gospel, not only that you 469 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:29,240 turn to that God from idols, but that you serve the living and 470 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,480 the true God. Could I just add this? 471 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:38,360 Not a few hours in the week, not spending the rest of your time 472 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:43,680 for yourself watching the television or playing your video 473 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:50,880 games or on a particular hobby. How many pour their time into 474 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,040 things that they love, things that they want to do, things 475 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,120 that they bring satisfaction and joy? 476 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:01,840 And I'm not taking away from that, but the living in the true 477 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,840 God to serve Him properly is a 24/7 thing. 478 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,840 It has to do with a mindset for you yield yourself to God. 479 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:16,560 And when it comes to the prayer meeting, you're at the prayer 480 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,159 meeting. When it comes to the Bible 481 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:21,880 study, you have a love for that word. 482 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:27,199 When it comes down to practical things, we appreciate it. 483 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:31,360 The carpark duties of the boys or taking out the rubbish or 484 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,400 cleaning the toilets, somebody has to do that in the House of 485 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:39,679 God. Maybe when it comes to helping 486 00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:45,239 out with evangelistic duties, the children's ministry, we 487 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:49,639 should be praying everyday. Lord, use me, Lord, I'll serve 488 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:53,920 you in the service of my church. You see, if this is your church, 489 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,800 then you should say, Lord, I'll serve you as in my service for 490 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,680 the church. Didn't he forget the church? 491 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:07,040 All your service, physical, practical, spiritual, should be 492 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:10,720 done in a way of ministering the love of Christ to others. 493 00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:13,560 We see we serve God by loving others but making people feel 494 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,080 welcome. We we serve God at home, husband 495 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:17,320 and wife. We serve God at work. 496 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,720 We serve God in the university, in the school. 497 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:23,920 You see, you serve him because you're his. 498 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,400 Who are you? I'm a servant of Christ. 499 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:29,800 I'm happy to embrace that identity. 500 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,560 What does my master want? That's the mindset. 501 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:37,440 There's a genuine serving of the living and the true God. 502 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:42,480 And lastly with us we finish. There's a genuine waiting for 503 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:45,880 God's Son and to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised 504 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,560 from the dead. Even Jesus, there's the 505 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,200 certainty of the second coming Acts one verse 11. 506 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,960 The same Jesus which he's seen go up into heaven shall so come 507 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,200 again in like manner as you have seen him go up into heaven. 508 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,880 When you read the New Testament, Matthew to Revelation, you know 509 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:07,640 what you discover every 13 verses mentions or references 510 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,120 the second coming of Christ. See, this is not a minor 511 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,760 doctrine. This is a major doctrine. 512 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:15,800 What's the theme of First Thessalonians, Second 513 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,560 Thessalonians living in light of Christ's return? 514 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,920 And I asked you, are you living in light of Christ's return? 515 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,000 We're all agreed that Christ is coming, but we must fill our 516 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,680 minds with the certainty of that, and we must live in light 517 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:32,400 of His return. Here's the clarity of Christ's 518 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,200 coming. Why mention it in the New 519 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,040 Testament so many times? Not that we can fill out some 520 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:43,640 sort of prophetic chart, but that we'll clean up our lives, 521 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,160 that we will live in light of His return, that we will hate 522 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:49,520 sin, and that we will love righteousness. 523 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,120 And we will aspire and persevere to be as holy as as possible for 524 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:58,240 a safe Sinner to be, because a sea of Sinner will always hate 525 00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:00,480 sin and love righteousness. He'll want to be like Christ, 526 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,280 and that's what Christ was like. He hated sin and love 527 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:07,200 righteousness. I could go on and open up this 528 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:11,560 this morning, but in this particular book, we'll have to 529 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:13,640 come back and we will come back to this theme. 530 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,800 His coming is a bodily one in the same body in which he was 531 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,840 crucified. He will return, we're taught 532 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:26,080 there in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 7, and it says this, 533 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,560 Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and 534 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,240 they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall 535 00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:35,320 wield because of him. Even so, Amen. 536 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,800 And as the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, sitting now at the 537 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,840 right hand of God, he will come from heaven and he will come 538 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:45,360 bodily and he will come in the clouds and, and you'll, you'll 539 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,880 see him as he is. He's not only eternal God, but 540 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:52,280 he's truly human, and when he comes, he will deliver us from 541 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,520 wrath to come. I I say this as we finished this 542 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,000 morning. Do you know him? 543 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:04,480 Do you long to see him? Do you long to be with him? 544 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:09,040 Do you long to be like him? Is your focus on the world to 545 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,360 come? Orissa's Bonner went to bed 546 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:15,840 every night and thought perhaps tonight, Lord, he got up in the 547 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,560 morning and he pulled the curtains back and he his thought 548 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,600 was perhaps you'll come today, Lord, you see what's he doing? 549 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:27,760 He's waiting for his son. And I want to ask to view the 550 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,640 same mindset and the same attitude to Christ. 551 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,920 There's a genuine waiting for God's Son, the godly 552 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:43,480 characteristics of a genuine Christian, the characteristic of 553 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:52,840 receiving the true gospel, the characteristic of turning to God 554 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:58,160 from idols, the characteristic of serving God as a willing 555 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:03,640 servant, the characteristic of waiting for his Son. 556 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,680 These are the godly characteristics of a true 557 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:11,160 convert. This is how we can measure if 558 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:15,560 we're truly born of God or not. May the Lord take His word and 559 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,120 apply it to our hearts. Thank you for coming. 560 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,120 Thank you for being so patient and listening. 561 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:23,720 We're going to sing in closing 311. 562 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,360 Blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. 563 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:29,480 Oh, what a foretaste of glory. Divine.