Blessed Assurance

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Hopson)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

3 announcements:

1) Operation Christmas Child

Church goal is to pack 20 boxes for every age/gender group

You can pick up a box at the booth in the back, just make sure you get a brochure with packing instructions

Bring your packed boxes back to PBC as soon as you can and slide them under the table.

2) Trunk or Treat, 5PM on 10/27

Still need candy donations and 10 people [CONFIRM WITH JASON] to sign up to decorate a trunk

Bring your candy by the church office this week, or next Sunday

Sign up to decorate a trunk at the announcement board

If you have signed up, don’t forget to bring a starter supply of candy when you arrive on the night of the event.

3) Special Members Meeting

At the conclusion of our service we will have a brief special Members Meeting to get your approval to replace the roof on this building

We’ll give you more instructions about that later in the service.

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Isa 40:9)

Prayer of Praise (Phoebe Garcia)

Behold Our God

There is One Gospel

Prayer of Confession (Doubt), Max Michaud

Assurance of Pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Come as You Are

Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near

Scripture Reading (1 Thess 1:4-10)

You can find it on page 1172 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Hopson)

Prayer for PBC—Assurance of salvation

Protect unbelievers from false assurance

Grant genuine believers assurance!

Prayer for sister church—Temple Baptist Church (Wes Taylor)

Growth in personal evangelism for members and staff

Wisdom for Wes to shepherd well

That they would join Pillar Network soon!

Prayer for US—National security

Pray against those who would seek to harm American citizens

Pray for wisdom for those whose job it is to monitor security threats

Prayer for the world—Switzerland

Leader—President Viola Amherd—justice for the vulnerable, protection for the unborn, flourishing for all Swiss citizens

Despite being home to Reformers like John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, only 4.4% evangelical

Local churches—Pillar Network Immanuel Church in Bern, Switzerland (Pastor Christian Schmid)

Laborers

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

Years ago I attended revival services with a guest speaker who was well known for getting scores of people to walk down an aisle and make decisions in response to his preaching.

Some said he even convinced pastors to hire him to preach by guaranteeing a minimum number of decisions for the Lord.

And after hearing him preach, I understood why he was so effective getting people to walk down an aisle.

On the last night of those revival services, he said: “If you’re 99% sure you’re a Christian, you’re 100% lost.”

This man believed that the only true Christians are those who NEVER experience doubt.

If you’ve been around PBC for awhile, I hope you know God’s Word enough to know that is ABSOLUTELY FALSE!

Throughout the Bible we encounter genuine believers wrestling with doubt.

Wasn’t Abraham doubting when he agreed to sleep with Hagar?

Didn’t Moses doubt when God called him to go to Pharaoh?

Or consider the doubts of Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, and Thomas?

And it’s not just Bible characters who wrestled with doubt...

Augustine reportedly said there is no faith without some doubt.

It was said of Martin Luther that his doubts were so great at times they almost killed him.

John Calvin said in this life Christians are never “wholly cured of the disease of unbelief.” [1]

Charles Spurgeon said those who say they never doubt should start doubting. Because if you truly understand the gospel, it’s inevitably going to lead to doubts sometimes because it feels too good to be true! [2]

Examples like these demonstrate that The presence of doubt does NOT mean the absence of salvation.

And yet, as important as it is to recognize this, we need to understand the Bible was given so that we might NOT doubt.

Your doubts don’t mean you’re not a Christian.

But your doubts do mean there’s something a bit off in your soul.

They’re like the warning light in your car, indicating something isn’t right.

God doesn’t want His people to be riddled with doubts. He wants us to enjoy the peace that comes from blessed assurance.

We see an example of that in our text this morning in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10.

1 Thessalonians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a local church in Thessalonica about 20 years after Jesus ascended into heaven.

It’s a letter written to encourage a local church that was thriving.

They weren’t perfect, but there was much happening there that encouraged Paul.

And as a result, in our text this morning, Paul writes to assure these saints about their salvation.

1 Thessalonians 1:4—For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you.

Think about what Paul is saying: “Christians in Thessalonica: I KNOW you have been chosen by God. I KNOW it!”

And it’s even more staggering when you remember that Paul is only writing what THE HOLY SPIRIT has inspired Him to write!

God wants His people to have genuine assurance of salvation!

Here’s the Big idea I want us to understand this morning: A thriving local church cultivates assurance of salvation among its members.

In order to demonstrate that, we need to ask the question WHY.

Why is Paul so confident that the Thessalonians are Christians?

Why does he have assurance of their salvation?

And how can we cultivate the same sort of assurance in our own lives?

By looking closely at the text, we’ll see four main sources of assurance:

First, we can have assurance when we rest in The Work of Jesus in the gospel.

Second, we can have assurance when we believe The Word of God and its promises.

Third, we can have assurance as we experience The Witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Finally, we can have assurance as we examine The Works that Reveal our Faith.

Let’s begin by examining the first and most important source of assurance.

We find assurance from...

1) The WORK of Jesus in the Gospel

1 Thessalonians 1:4–5a — For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. . . .

Why does Paul KNOW the Thessalonians are Christians? Why does he have assurance of their salvation?

Notice, the very first reason he gives is THE GOSPEL!

He knows God chose them because the gospel came to them!

Remember that word “gospel” means good news.

It’s the good news about the work Jesus has done to rescue sinners.

But what did Jesus do?

Let me summarize it using four C’s:

God is the holy CREATOR of the universe and everything in it.

He created a perfect paradise, but our first parents rebelled against God and now the CURSE of sin has corrupted God’s good world.

Because of this, there is coming a day when God will pour out His wrath against sin on this planet and everyone in it.

But God sent His Son, Jesus the CHRIST to live a sinless life and die a sinner’s death in our place.

Then God raised Jesus from the dead so that whoever believes in Him can have everlasting life.

Your job, friend is to do what the Thessalonians did. To CALL upon Jesus and be saved.

Now how can understanding the work of Jesus in the Gospel help you have assurance?

The greatest threat to genuine assurance is self-assurance.

In his book Assured, Greg Gilbert writes this: “Our minds and hearts will always look for a way to find self-assurance. More than anything, we desperately want to justify our presence before God’s throne, to show the universe and maybe God himself that even if we’re saved by grace, God ultimately made a good choice.” [3]

Think about it: Why do we doubt our salvation?

I did that sin again.

I don’t love people enough.

I don’t love God enough.

I don’t read my Bible enough.

We look in the mirror and we doubt because we KNOW what we see there isn’t enough.

As long as your main source of assurance is your performance you will ALWAYS doubt.

But I’ve got good news for you! There is nothing that destroys self-assurance more quickly than the gospel.

The Gospel says your sin was SO bad there was only one cure.

It’s not walking down an aisle.

It’s not getting baptized.

It’s not going to church.

It’s not putting money in an offering plate.

It’s not trying harder.

THE ONLY CURE FOR YOUR SIN IS THE DEATH OF JESUS IN YOUR PLACE!!!!

Doubting Christian: hear the words of the Gospel.

John 6:47—Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Acts 16:31—… Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.

Romans 10:9—… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Gospel does not say “believe ENOUGH.” It simply invites you to believe. So if you’re wrestling with doubt ask yourself this: do you believe the Gospel? Do you believe Jesus lived a life without sin and died on the cross in your place? Do you believe He rose from the dead? If you do, than you can find your greatest and most important assurance in the Gospel itself!

A thriving local church cultivates assurance of salvation among its members.

And the most important way to be assured is by remembering the work of Jesus in the Gospel.

But also, we find assurance in...

2) The WORD of God and it’s Promises

1 Thessalonians 1:5b–6a—… You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,

Paul encourages the Thessalonians for imitating their gospel ministers.

These believers followed in the good examples of Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

More importantly, they were imitators of their Lord, Jesus Christ.

But WHY?!?

What would lead these Thessalonian men and women to start following after the example of a few traveling missionaries and a carpenter from Nazareth?

1 Thessalonians 1:6b—… FOR you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

So if you trace Paul’s argument back to verse 4, one of the reasons Paul has assurance in the Thessalonians is because they received the Word!

But what does it mean to receive the Word?

We see the answer when we look down a few verses to...

1 Thessalonians 2:13—And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

To receive the Word is to believe that it’s God’s Word. It’s to believe that it’s true. It’s believing God will actually keep His promises!

Now how can understanding the word of God and it’s promises help you have assurance?

In his book Assured, Greg Gilbert says there are two categories of promises particularly important when we’re thinking about assurance. [4]

First, God promises that everybody who repents and believes the gospel will be saved.

Acts 10:43—To [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.

Romans 1:16—For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

1 John 5:1—Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.

God’s Word is clear. He promises that everybody who repents and believes the Gospel will be saved.

But again, this is where our anxious, doubting hearts start looking for the fine print somewhere. “As long as I believe enough, right? As long as my faith is strong enough, right? How can I be sure that’s me?”

This is why we so desperately need the second category of promise...

Second, God promises that nobody who repents and believes in the gospel will be finally lost.

John 6:37–40—All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Philippians 1:6—And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:29–30—For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.

That last passage is particularly relevant to our text this morning. Paul, the same guy who wrote Romans 8, says in 1 Thessalonians 1:4, “I KNOW God has chosen you!” And if God had indeed chosen these believers than they WILL be justified, and they WILL be glorified!

Christian, you will grow in assurance as you grow in your love for and understanding of the Word of God and its promises.

This is one reason why we open and close our services with God’s Word.

Or why we conclude our prayers of confession with a portion from God’s Word that promises forgiveness.

We need to be people of God’s Word if we want to have assurance of salvation.

A thriving local church cultivates assurance of salvation among its members.

And the two objective ways to have assurance is by trusting in the work of Jesus and the Word of God.

But there are two additional sources of assurance that are subjective.

First, let’s consider how we find assurance in...

3) The WITNESS of the Holy Spirit in Our Hearts

If you look carefully at the verses we’ve read so far, you’ll notice the Holy Spirit is mentioned twice.

1 Thessalonians 1:5—… our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

When the Thessalonians heard the gospel it came to them with supernatural, convicting, Holy Spirit power.

If you’re a Christian,you have experienced this! You have heard God’s Word, perhaps thousands of times. But there are times when the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart in a powerful way.

That’s what happened with the Thessalonian Christians.

Now look at the end of...

1 Thessalonians 1:6—… you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit

When the Thessalonians believed the gospel, they experienced Holy Spirit power and Holy Spirit joy.

Again, you’ve experienced this before if you’re a Christian. Joey and I were talking about this after the Pillar Network joint service a few weeks ago. I had goosebumps the entire service. Joey described it as a “God Buzz.” It’s a supernatural feeling of joy that Christians sometimes experience. And we know it’s from the Spirit because it happens through the Word of God.

If you put these two things together, you get a fuzzy snapshot of how the Holy Spirit helps us with our assurance.

The picture becomes a bit clearer when we look at a few other passages in Scripture...

Romans 8:14–17—For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit works subjectively in the hearts of God’s people to help us FEEL like we belong to God.

He says something similar in...

Galatians 4:4–7—… because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

This is a subjective gift of assurance. We know we belong to God because we feel His presence in our hearts.

That’s what the Thessalonian Christians experienced when Paul and Silas came preaching the gospel.

But what about when you don’t feel the Spirit’s presence?

We know men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, and others often felt very distant from God.

You don’t always feel a “God buzz.” You don’t always feel close to God. You don’t always feel the Holy Spirit’s presence. What are you supposed to do?

Greg Gilbert says this: “If you want your assurance to grow and strengthen, the solution is not simply to sit quietly and hope the Spirit will do it. The solution is to give yourself to deepening your understanding and embrace of the gospel and God’s promises. That in itself will strengthen your faith and assurance, but here’s the thing: it will also give the Spirit the material he always uses to settle and assure your heart.” [5]

The Gospel and the promises of God—our first two sources of assurance—are like the kindling that the Holy Spirit ignites to give you assurance.

So when you don’t feel like you belong to God you don’t need to create some ecstatic religious experience. And you don’t need to fade into depression while you wait for the feelings to return. You need to remind yourself of the Gospel and the promises of God. Whether that means reading your Bible, listening to Bible-saturated songs, or asking a friend to speak the truth to you, you need to hear the Word of God.

And in time, the Holy Spirit—who wrote the Word of God!—will use it to strengthen your assurance.

y we receive that assurance is through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, working through His Word.

Finally, let’s consider one more subjective source of assurance in...

4) The WORKS that Reveal our Faith

After everything Paul has already said about the Thessalonians believing the Gospel, trusting the Word of God, and receiving the Holy Spirit, he turns his attention to the changed lives of the Christians there...

1 Thessalonians 1:7–10—… you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Notice the change that has happened in these believers!

First, verse 7 says they became an example to believers all over their region. But what are they doing that’s such a good example?

Verse 8 says their faith is spreading everywhere. They are proclaiming the Good News wherever they go!

And verse 9 says they’ve turned from their old way and life and are now following God.

And verse 10 says they’re eagerly waiting for Jesus to return!

Bottom line: this is a life of Christian fruit! These are the good works that REVEAL the faith we have is genuine.

Perhaps you got a little nervous earlier when I talked about God saving whoever believes. That is absolutely, unequivocally, undeniably true!

But it is equally true that those who believe will do good works.

Their lives will be changed by the gospel they believe.

If you belong to Jesus, you will perform good works like the Thessalonian Christians did.

Matthew 7:16–19—You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

James 2:14–17—What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

This is the point where everything I’ve already said about assurance can just fly out the window.

Because the doubting Christian hears that, then looks at their sin and says, “There’s just no way I’m good enough.”

So before we conclude, we need to think for a moment about how to use this final source of assurance.

In his book, Greg Gilbert uses an analogy of driving a car. [6]

If you push on the accelerator, you will make your car will go faster.

Then the speedometer, if it’s working correctly, will reflect your change in speed.

But the speedometer will NOT help you go faster. You can’t change your speed by physically moving the needle.

The first two sources of assurance—the gospel and the promises of God—are kind of like the accelerator. If you want your assurance to grow, you focus on them.

The third source of assurance—the Spirit’s witness in our hearts—is kind of like a shot of nitrous oxide that occasionally puts your assurance on turbodrive.

But the final source of assurance—your good works that reveal your faith—are kind of like a speedometer.

You will not grow in assurance by focusing on your works anymore than your car will grow in speed by fiddling with the speedometer.

When your focus on your good works it will either lead to PRIDE or DESPAIR.

You’ll either become proud, thinking you’re doing amazing when you’re not.

Or you’ll despair, thinking you must be lost even though you’re a genuine child of God.

Your works are important. They’re the speedometer that reveals the genuineness of your faith. But they are not the best place to create assurance.

If when you look at your works it seems like the speedometer is at zero, that could be for one of two reasons.

It could be that you really don’t have any good works because you’re really not a Christian. You need to examine yourself and see if there’s any evidence.

Or it could be that you only think your good works speedometer is at zero because you’re looking at it wrongly. Maybe you need to talk to a fellow church member about it. Or one of your pastors. The Bible says there’s wisdom in a multitude of counselors.

This is just one more reason why it’s important to be a member of a local church.

If you’re a part of this church family, we will work to help you because...

A thriving local church cultivates assurance of salvation among its members.

Your good works are an important evidence that reveals the genuineness of your faith.

But the goal is not to ask yourself “do I love Jesus enough” but “do I love Jesus?”

The goal is not to compare your works to someone else, but to the standard in God’s Word.

And the goal is not to focus on those works, but to focus on the Gospel and the promises of God.

And when you do that, the good works will follow.

Before we conclude, I want you to look at verse 4 one more time:

Paul says, “we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you”

How do we know God loves us? How do we know we’re chosen?

The man many considered to be the greatest theologian of the twentieth century was once asked “Sir, what is the greatest thought that has ever crossed your mind?”

This man had written over 600 books, including a multi-volume theology with nearly 10,000 pages. He had preached hundreds of sermons, and given countless lectures all over the world.

This man was accused of many things, but nobody accused him of thinking small thoughts about God.

But when he was asked that question, he bowed his head and paused for a long moment.

Then he raised his eyes and quietly said, “Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.” [7]

Do you want to have genuine assurance that you belong to God?

The answer is so simple, it’s been memorialized in a song we teach to our children.

Blessed assurance comes—first and foremost—by looking to the love of Jesus displayed in the Word of God.

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Before we sing, just a reminder we have a BRIEF special members meeting to conclude our service.

If you’re not a member, you’re welcome to be dismissed during this song if you would like

But we’d love for you to stick around and spend time with us after the service if you’re willing

Either way, if you have children in childcare would you please pick them up while we stand to sing so our kids’ workers can be dismissed.

Let’s stand and sing together

Jesus Loves Me

Special Members Meeting (Mike Klaassen