CALL TO CONFESSION

Psalm 40:8-10

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.

10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Our great God, before you we confess our vanity and sin. We have forfeited your favor, corrupted your image, and incurred your wrath. Though your law is written on our hearts, we take little delight in it. You continue to deliver us from our weakness, yet we are slow to proclaim your faithfulness. We treat our sin lightly and take your grace for granted. Father, forgive us.

Lord Jesus, you are the Lamb slain for sinners and the Rock of our salvation. You bore our guilt and delivered us from the penalty we deserved. Wrapping yourself in our flesh, you revealed the Father's glory, proclaiming his salvation through your life, death, and resurrection. Through faith, your perfect obedience is now our own. Jesus, thank you for your faithfulness.

Holy Spirit, we cannot free ourselves from indwelling sin. Point us to Jesus as the power of our salvation. Transform us by your grace to be more thankful for your kindness, humble under correction, watchful against temptation, and eager to serve. Give us joyful hearts and lips that boast often of Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and death. Amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

Lamentations 3:22-24

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

• A relay race isn’t won by speed alone. It requires a faithful handoff of the baton from one runner to the next. If it’s dropped, it really doesn’t matter how fast you are. 
• Today’s passage has to do with the passing of a baton.
• In Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonica, he says to them, “hold to the traditions that you were taught by us” (2:15). The word “traditions” means “things handed over.” Paul handed something off to them. 
• And then Paul says, “Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead” (3:1). The word of God has been handed to this church, and the word of God has to keep running. 

• Over the past weeks we have watched this young church that was rooted in faith, holiness, and prayer. We saw how Paul and his companions were sent to serve, sharing not only the gospel but their very lives. We saw a grieving church sent in hope, encouraged by the reality of the Lord’s return. 
• Paul wrote a second letter to this same church, just a few months after his first. It seems like the persecution had gotten worse for the believers in Thessalonica (1:4). Some of them had been alarmed by a false report claiming that the day of the Lord had already come 2:2). Paul’s letter addresses that confusion and he gives them a word of warning.  
• Now, in our passage, Paul turns from warning to thanksgiving, and from thanksgiving to sending. 

• Our main theme for today’s message is: A church chosen by grace, called through the gospel, and kept by the faithful Lord stands firm in the Word and prays for its swift advance in the world. 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[d] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

• Last week, he exhorted the church to “give thanks in all circumstances” and he models that in his letters. 
• He starts with “But we ought to give thanks to God for you.” Right before this he described people who are perishing because they “refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2:10). That is the sobering reality of so many in our world today.
• “But,” Paul says, “that’s not you.” And that’s why he gives thanks. 
• The word “ought” implies a debt. He knows he can’t take any credit for anyone’s salvation. He owes God thanks for his saving work. 
• He gives two reasons. 
• First, they are “brothers beloved by the Lord.” They are loved and remain loved by God. 
• Second, “God chose you.” He is talking about God’s sovereign choice to save. We saw that back in 1 Thessalonians 1:4, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.” This is the doctrine of election and Paul always presents it as a comfort to God’s people and the grounds of their assurance.
• When everything around them feels shaky and uncertain, Paul reminds them, “Your salvation didn’t start with you. It started with God. And what God starts, he finishes.” 

• God chose them “as the firstfruits to be saved.” The word “firstfruits” in the Old Testament was the first part of the harvest that was offered to God (Exod. 23:19; Lev. 23:10). The firstfruits belonged to God in a special way and they were a promise that more of the harvest was coming. 
• The Thessalonians were among the very first people to believe in the region of Macedonia. And they were a promise that a much bigger harvest of souls was coming as the gospel advanced throughout Macedonia and beyond. 
• The point Paul is making is that God set his love on them first.

• He chose to save them, “through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” 
• Election doesn’t mean God chooses people and then they can live however they want and still be saved. God chooses the end and he also chooses the means to accomplish his end. 
• The Spirit sanctifies. He sets them apart and makes them holy. That’s why we saw previously that Paul said, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” 
• God can command holiness because he produces that in the life of the believer. 
• And because the Spirit is at work in them, they believe the truth. 

• Earlier in the chapter Paul said, people “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2:12).
• But the Thessalonians believed the truth. The difference was the Spirit of God, working through the truth of God. And that produced genuine saving faith. 

• How did God’s eternal choice reach these people in Thessalonica? Through what Paul calls, “our gospel.” 
• “To this he called you through our gospel…” Through Paul, Silas, and Timothy walking the streets, opening the Scripture in the synagogue, and “explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead” (Acts 17:3).
• God chose them before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). But he called them on an ordinary weekday, through ordinary men, preaching an extraordinary message about a crucified Jew who rose from the dead. 
• That is how God works. His eternal plan travels on the feet of his messengers. 
• Paul’s quotes Isaiah in Romans 10, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Rom. 10:15)

• The doctrine of election doesn't make us lazy or indifferent about evangelism. It actually does the opposite.
• While Paul was in Corinth he received a vision from the Lord, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent…for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:9-10). 
• Paul didn’t know who they were but God did. So Paul kept on preaching. 
• Election is the reason we go, because we know God has people out there, and he calls them through his gospel. 
• We don’t know who God’s people are so we hand the gospel to everyone, and we trust God to call his own through it. 

• That takes the pressure off of us to try to produce conversions. 
• It’s not your responsibility to change someone’s heart. That’s God’s responsibility, that’s his work. 
• You are just responsible to be faithful with the message and God is responsible for the results. 
• Paul wrote that some plant the seed and others water it, but God alone makes it grow (1 Cor. 3:6-7). 

• And look at the goal: “that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
• To “obtain” means to gain or possess. The end of the story is not just that you and I are forgiven of our sins. But it is also that we share in the glory of Christ.
• The suffering church in Thessalonica was being persecuted but one day they will share in the glory of the King. 
• Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

• Faith, holiness, hope, and prayer are all rooted in something deeper still: God’s electing and calling love.
• If you are in Christ, you are secured by God’s grace because you didn’t plant yourself. God planted you.
• Maybe your faith has been shaken. Maybe you’re wondering if you will make it. Remember, your salvation didn’t begin with your own strength, and it doesn’t depend on it now. Remember that the Lord is holding on to you and he never loses his grip. 

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

• “So then…”, because God chose you, called you, and glory is coming, here is what you do: “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us.” 
• God’s choosing doesn’t mean we coast the rest of our life. God’s sovereignty never erases our responsibility. It is the ground we stand on. 
• “Stand firm” is a military term; it means to hold your ground. 
• This young church had been shaken. Back in verse 2 Paul told them not to be “quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.” 
• That’s what false teaching can do to a church. It comes in and unsettles people’s faith. Paul says, “Stand.” 

• And how do you stand firm? By holding on. “Hold to the traditions.” 
• You hold on to something by gripping it tightly and not letting it go. 
• Think of that relay runner who has the baton pressed into his hand and has to grip it tightly. 
• Now, what are the traditions that Paul is speaking about? The word “traditions” means “things handed over.” 
• What has been handed to them is the gospel and the apostolic teaching that Paul delivered to them. 
• It’s what Paul instructs Timothy to do, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
• Paul is referring exclusively to apostolic teaching, whether it was preached by Paul in person or read in his letters. The content was the same. 
• The apostles are no longer with us to speak in person. But what they taught has been preserved for us in the written word. 
• Our confession calls Holy Scripture, “the only sufficient, certain, and infallible standard of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience” (1689 LBCF 1.1). 
• And nothing is to be added to God’s word. It is complete. The canon of Scripture is closed. 
• The only tradition we are bound to hold is the one the apostles handed to us that we have in Scripture.

• Why does this matter? Because every generation faces pressure to loosen its grip on Scripture.
• It most often comes through a slow drift from the truth rather than a rejection of the gospel in one dramatic moment.
• The Thessalonians had been rocked by a false report and Paul’s exhortation to them wasn’t something new. It was the old, faithful word, held tightly. 

• Church, hold on tightly to God’s word. Don’t drop the baton. It’s been said that every generation of Christians is one generation away from losing the gospel if it lets go of the word. 
• Young people, that baton is being handed to you. Don’t drop it. You’ll be told that God’s word is old-fashioned and needs to be updated. Paul says the opposite. There is nothing to improve. It must be held and handed on. Learn it. Study it. Memorize it.
• Parents, your home is the exchange zone where that baton is handed off. Every day you’re handing something to your children. Make sure it’s the word. 

• Then Paul breaks into prayer again, just as he did in his first letter.  
• “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father…” The Father and the Son act in unison.
• God has already given them “eternal comfort and good hope through grace.” 
• It was a fitting word to a church that was hurting and confused about the future. They needed comfort and Paul says they already have the comfort that doesn’t run out. 
• And they needed hope, and he says they already have “good hope through grace.” This is a sure hope that they didn’t earn. It was a gift. 
• Paul’s prayer is that God would “establish” their hearts. Make their hearts firm and solid.
• And notice where God establishes them: “in every good work and word.” 
• A church that is standing in the truth doesn’t just sit and hold the word.  It lives it and speaks it. Good works and good words. 

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

• At the end of Paul’s previous letter to them he wrote a request, “Brothers, pray for us.”  Now we know what to pray for. “Brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored.” 
• The phrase, “speed ahead” simply means “run.” Paul used running and racing images in some of his letters. Here, the word of the Lord is pictured as a runner, racing from town to town. 

• In the ancient world, kings sent out heralds, runners who carried the king’s message from place to place. 
• The word of God is the King’s message, and Paul wants it to run with nothing hindering it. 

• They should also pray that the word “be honored.” 
• He wants the word to not only spread but also to be received as what it really is, the word of God. 
• And when people receive it as the word of God they will glorify the God of the word.
• “As happened among you.” When Paul first came to Thessalonica, the gospel came “not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5). And they accepted it “not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13). 
• And then the word ran from them: “the word of the Lord sounded forth from you” (1 Thess 1:8). 
• Paul is saying, “Pray that what God did in you, he would do in Corinth, and everywhere else.” 

• This is at the heart of what it means to be a sending church. The word was handed to us. It ran to us. Now we pray for it to run through us and beyond us.
• And he was asking them to pray. That was their part in the mission. Most of them would never get to travel with Paul. But every single one of them could pray that God’s word would run ahead. 
• Every one of us can do the same thing.

• Paul was writing this letter from Corinth. And Paul had a lot of difficulty there. Acts 18 tells us that he was fiercely opposed and dragged into court before the Roman governor Gallio (Acts 18:12). 
• So Paul adds for them to pray “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” 
• Paul doesn’t pretend that the gospel will be welcomed by everyone. When the word runs, it runs into opposition. 
• Not everyone believes. That shouldn’t surprise us. It’s always been this way. 
• But we should not be discouraged either because of what Paul says next. 

• We know that in much of our world, believers still face the kind of opposition Paul faced. Here in our country, the opposition is usually a little more subdued.
• Paul asks for prayer for the word to run and for the messengers of the word to be delivered. 
• We should pray that for ourselves and all who take the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

• “But the Lord is faithful.” Did you catch Paul’s wordplay? “Not all have faith.” “But the Lord is faithful.” 
• Our confidence in the mission doesn’t rest on the world’s response. Mission success is not people-dependent. 
• Mission success is God-dependent. It rests on who God is. And he is faithful! 

• “He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” God is keeping watch over his people. Like soldiers garrisoned around a city, the Lord surrounds his people. 
• The Thessalonians were surrounded by enemies, but they were also surrounded by God. 
• And the unseen enemy behind it all is “the evil one.” It is Satan himself. We have a very real enemy who opposes God’s people and God’s work. 
• But he is not stronger than the faithful Lord who guards his people. 

• Verse 4, “And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things we command.” 
• Even Paul’s confidence that they’ll keep obeying is “in the Lord about you,” because the Lord is at work in them, and he is faithful to bring to completion what he began when he called them. 

• And finally, verse 5, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” 
• The word “direct” carries the sense of clearing the obstacles out of a roadway to make it straight. 
• He prays that God would clear the road for their hearts.
• First, to “the love of God.” That is God’s love for us, and, flowing from it, our love for him. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). A church on mission must stay close to the love of God so the mission won't feel like a burden.  
• Second, “to the steadfastness of Christ.” “Steadfastness” means “endurance”. It’s the strength to keep going even under a heavy load. Paul isn’t just saying that we need to be steadfast like Christ. He is saying, “May your hearts be drawn into Christ’s own steadfastness.” Christ was steadfast in setting his face toward Jerusalem. He never turned back as the cross drew near. He endured all the way to the end. And because he rose again, his steadfastness is the power behind ours. 

• The account of the martyrdom of Polycarp, the second-century Bishop of the city of Smyrna,
• Polycarp refused to deny Jesus, saying, “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” 
• As they prepared to nail him to the stake, he said, “Leave me as I am, for he that gives me strength to endure the fire, will enable me not to struggle, without the help of your nails.” 
• What is that except the steadfastness of Christ living in one of his people. 
• And that same steadfastness is available to all of us who are in Christ Jesus. 

CONCLUSION

• Over the past six weeks we’ve talked about trees and their roots as metaphors for the Christian life and the church. 
• But there’s one more thing healthy trees do: they bear seeds. 
• A strong oak doesn’t keep its life to itself. Every fall, it drops acorns. One rooted tree, over time, becomes a forest. 

• That is what God has been doing since the day Paul walked into Thessalonica. The word was planted there and it took root in faith, service, holiness, hope, and prayer. And then it ran. It ran from Thessalonica through Macedonia and across the Roman Empire. It ran through generations of faithful runners, all the way to us today. Someone handed it to you. 

• And here is the remarkable thing. It was never our strength that kept the word running. It was the faithfulness of the Lord. The same God who chose the Thessalonians, called them through the gospel, and guarded them against the evil one has done the same for us. 
• We are rooted in grace, and we are sent with the word. 

• And at the center of it all is Christ. He is the word made flesh. He is the one who ran the race perfectly, who endured the cross, who rose from the grave, and who now sits at the right hand of God. Our faith is rooted in him. We are sent on his mission. And our hope is that one day we will share his glory. 

• So let me close out this series with a call. 
• Reflect: Are you holding the word? Or has your grip on it loosened? 
• Repent: Where have you been careless with God’s word or silent about it?
• Remember the good news. God chose you, called you, and he will establish you and guard you. Rest in the faithful Lord. 
• Run: Run with the word. This week, pray every day that the word of the Lord would speed ahead and be honored, in our city, state, nation, and in the hearts of the people you love. Then pray for one person by name who needs to hear it, and ask God for the opportunity to hand it to them. 

• Go from this place, sent with the word, run with it! 
• And “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?