Keep Swimming

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Sterling)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

____ announcements:

1) Announcement 1

What to do and how to respond

2) Announcement 2

What to do and how to respond

3) Announcement 3

What to do and how to respond

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

Call to Worship (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Prayer of Praise (Linda Butler)

O God Our Help in Ages Past

Crown Him

Prayer of Confession (Chuck Quilhot), Prayerlessness

Assurance of Pardon (Psalm 28:6)

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Christ Is Mine Forevermore

Scripture Reading (1 Thess. 5:23-28)

You can find it on page 1174 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Sterling)

Prayer for PBC—Help us persevere

Prayer for kingdom partner—Fox Hill Road Baptist (Nathan Cecil)

Prayer for US—U.S. Senate

Prayer for the world—Uruguay

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

In the Pixar film Finding Nemo, Dory famously told Marlin, “Just keep swimming!”

But it’s much easier to do that when you can see where you’re headed.

Consider the example of Florence Chadwick on July 4, 1952.

Florence had already proven herself as a world-class swimmer. She was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. But in 1952, she wanted to swim the Catalina Channel, a 21-mile stretch from Catalina Island to the mainland of California. It was an incredibly tough swim, with freezing cold waters, fierce currents, and the kind of fatigue only a long-distance swimmer can truly know.

But the real challenge, the one that would ultimately stop her that day, was the thick fog that surrounded her.

As she swam through that fog, she couldn’t see anything. Hours passed, and she began to grow discouraged. The lack of visibility made it feel like she was swimming into nothing. She begged to be taken out of the water, but her trainer urged her to persevere, telling her again and again the shore was not far away. But after fifteen hours of swimming, Chadwick finally gave up, only to find out she was just half a mile from shore.

The next day, Chadwick gave a news conference and said, “I do not want to make excuses for myself. I am the one who asked to be pulled out. But I think that if I could have seen the shore I would have made it.” [1]

In many ways the Christian life is like endurance swimming.

Sometimes you feel like you’re being tossed and turned by the waves.

You’re trying to make progress, but you feel like you’re treading water.

Other times it feels like you’re in way over your head.

It’ll be much easier for us to keep swimming if we know where we’re headed.

Turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:23

As the Apostle Paul concludes his first letter to the local church in Thessalonica, he leaves them with a challenge to persevere.

But unlike Florence Chadwick, he doesn’t want us swimming in the fog.

He encourages the Thessalonians—and us!—to just keep swimming, to persevere by pointing us to what God will do and what we must do.

The Big idea I hope to communicate from our passage this morning is that Christians persevere because of sovereign grace.

We’re going to see this by considering Two Truths About Perseverance from our text:

First, in verses 23-24 we’ll consider The SOVEREIGNTY of God.

Then, in verses 25-28 we’ll consider The MEANS of Grace.

Let’s begin by celebrating...

1) The SOVEREIGNTY of God

That word “sovereignty” means power, authority, or control.

And it’s not hard to see in our text that we are able to persevere until the end because God is powerfully working in us and for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24—Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Before we dig into the weeds here, you need to understand a few things.

That word “sanctify” in verse 23 means to set apart.

In the Jewish temple there were certain objects that were “set apart” for sacred use. They were holy.

In the same way, there are certain people who have been set apart for sacred use.

God did not choose the Thessalonians because they were holy. They were holy because God chose them.

Friend, the worst thing that could happen here today would be for you to leave here thinking you can become a part of the family of God by trying really hard to be holy.

The way you enter the family of God is the same way the Thessalonians did—by hearing and responding to 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.

EXPLAIN THE GOSPEL

Unbeliever: You don’t need to swim harder like Florence Chadwick. Spiritually, you’re already dead and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. You need to be resurrected. And that happens when you turn from your sins and trust in Jesus.

Christian: If you’ve already been born again, you're not going to lose that. You will persevere to the end because God is the One who sovereignly does the work!

Notice with me five truths about God’s sovereignty that help us persevere...

A) God Sanctifies His People PERSONALLY

In verse 23 Paul begins: Now may the God of peace Himself…

God does not outsource the perseverance of His people.

He is not too busy to involve Himself in our water-treading attempts at growing in holiness.

He is not like Florence Chadwick’s trainer, safely observing us from a dry boat above the water. By His Spirit He is with us every moment.

And He is not going to delegate your final sanctification to some lower-level angel. He’s doing it Himself.

Christians persevere because our sovereign God sanctifies His people personally.

But also because…

B) God Sanctifies His People COMPLETELY

In verse 23 Paul continues: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.

On Judgment Day, you will not find yourself mostly sanctified.

If you were but 99% holy you would spend eternity separated from God in hell.

Our only hope of heaven is being sanctified completely. We must be made perfectly holy, not mostly holy.

As the Apostle Paul writes in…

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.

Christians persevere because our sovereign God sanctifies His people completely.

But also because…

C) God Sanctifies His People WHOLLY

In verse 23 Paul specifies that God sanctifies the believer’s whole spirit and soul and body.

Some have tried to use this verse to teach that humans have three basic parts, the spirit, the soul, and the body.

But the Bible consistently presents “spirit” and “soul” as synonyms.

Think of Mary’s comments in...

Luke 1:46b–47—… “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”

Mary is using “spirit and soul” synonymously.

Just like Jesus does when He tells us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

Humans are made up of two basic parts, the material and the immaterial.

The material is your physical body with all its parts that can be treated by medicine and X-rayed by a doctor.

The immaterial is who you are on the inside. Sometimes the Bible calls this the spirit, the soul, the mind, or the heart.

Paul’s point here is that ALL OF YOU is going to be sanctified.

If your soul is sanctified but not your body, you will live forever in a body that keeps breaking down.

If your body is sanctified but not your soul, you will have a perfect body but retain your imperfect desires, which means eternity could not be a world without sin.

Christians persevere because our sovereign God sanctifies His people wholly.

But also because…

D) God Sanctifies His People SUCCESSFULLY

In verse 23 Paul says believers will be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This does not mean nobody will be able to blame Christians for anything.

I don’t know about you, but I get blamed for stuff all the time.

My wife blames me when there’s food missing from the pantry. And rightly so.

My kids blame me when there’s an unfortunate smell in our house.

And those aren’t even the serious things. The real blame comes when I know I’ve done something wrong and I see the consequences it brings to the people I love.

Paul is not saying Christians will never get blamed for stuff. He’s saying when Jesus comes back, none of that blame will stick.

He says something similar in...

Romans 8:33—Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Just think about Paul’s question there. “Who can bring charges against God’s people?”

The answer is, “LOTS of people!”

Paul himself had been charged with lots of things. He would eventually face imprisonment and death when people charged him with crimes against the empire.

“What are you talking about Paul?!?”

Paul’s point is that nobody can make those charges stick. Why? Because God is the ultimate Judge and if you are declared righteous—justified!—by God then it doesn’t matter what charges people try to tarnish you with.

That’s what Paul means when he says we will be “kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When Jesus returns and Judgment Day comes, there will not be a single accusation the Devil can hurl against you that will stick.

You have a VERY successful attorney. His name is Jesus, and His Father is the Judge.

Christians persevere because our sovereign God sanctifies His people successfully.

But also because…

E) God Sanctifies His People FAITHFULLY

In verse 24 Paul says, He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

You can take everything we’ve already said to the bank, because God Himself has promised. And He is faithful.

The Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon encouraged the members of his church this way:

"My hope of being preserved to the end lies in this fact, that Jesus Christ paid far too much for me ever to let me go. Each believer cost him his heart’s blood. Stand in Gethsemane, and hear his groans: then draw near and mark his bloody sweat, and tell me, will he lose a soul for whom he suffered thus? See him hanging on the tree, tortured, mocked, burdened with an awful load, and then beclouded with the eclipse of his Father’s face, and do you think he suffered all that and yet will permit those for whom he endured it to be cast into hell? He will be a greater loser than I shall if I perish, for he will lose what cost him his life: surely he will never do that.” [2]

Just as the Father was faithful to resurrect His Son, just as the Spirit was faithful to resurrect your dead heart, God will be faithful to resurrect His people on the last day so we may forever be with the Lord.

He is faithful. He will surely do it.

The hope you and I have to keep following Jesus until the end is rooted in a sovereign God who sanctifies His people personally, completely, wholly, successfully, and faithfully.

It is by His sovereign grace that Christians persevere.

But that DOESN’T MEAN we can sit back and “let go and let God.”

We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work persevering!

The Bible is clear that God’s people access God’s grace through specific channels.

So consider with me our second truth...

2) The MEANS of Grace

Think of the water pipes in this building. They are the means—the pathway—by which the water flows for you to wash your hands or get a drink. You didn’t install the pipes and you don’t control the water mains in the city either. But you can predict that—unless something is broken somewhere—the water will flow through those pipes to the faucet as long as you turn the lever.

In verses 25-27, Paul gives three commands to the Thessalonian believers.

You can summarize these three commands in three words: Prayer (v. 25), Church (v. 26), and Scripture (v. 27).

These three commands correspond quite nicely with the three main ways Christians grow.

Prayer, Church, and Scripture are like pipes. But what flows through those pipes?

1 Thessalonians 5:28—The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

The grace of Jesus flows to His people through the pipes of Prayer, Church, and Scripture so we CAN persevere.

We don’t earn Jesus’ grace any more than you earn water by turning the lever on a faucet. But you receive His grace as a gift as you are faithful to exercise the means He has provided.

Listen to what J.C. Ryle said about this in his book Holiness...

“The ‘means of grace’ are … Bible-reading, private prayer, and regularly worshipping God in church, wherein one hears the Word taught and participates in the Lord’s Supper. [Did you notice Ryle’s three primary means of grace are the same three Paul mentions in our text? Prayer, Church, and Scripture]. I lay it down as a simple matter of fact that no one who is careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress in sanctification. I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them. They are appointed channels through which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to the soul, and strengthens the work which He has begun in the inward man. Let men call this legal doctrine if they please, but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no ‘spiritual gains without pains.’ Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.” [3]

Alright, let’s consider each of the three primary means of grace in turn.

First, you will receive grace to persevere through…

A) PRAYER

1 Thessalonians 5:25—Brothers, pray for us.

Paul has repeatedly mentioned his prayers for the Thessalonians in this letter.

It’s fitting he conclude his letter by asking them to pray for him.

If the Apostle Paul needed prayer to persevere until the end, how much more do we?

Let me ask you, Christian, how is your prayer life?

Is prayer something you engage in regularly, or only when it’s convenient?

Do you ever follow the example here and pray for your Christian leaders? The elders here at PBC need your prayers more than you might think!

Husband, do you pray with your wife? Parents, do you pray with your children?

Do you pray for your fellow church members? Do you even know how to pray for them?

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Are you kidding me?!? Don’t you know how busy I am! How am I possibly going to add time to pray?!?”

I love what Paul Miller says in his book A Praying Life...

“If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time to pray. Time in prayer makes you even more dependent on God because you don’t have as much time to get things done. Every minute spent in prayer is one less minute where you can be doing something “productive.” So the act of praying means that you have to rely more on God.” [4]

He says elsewhere, “Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart.” [5]

Just like you cannot expect water from the faucet unless you turn the lever, you shouldn’t expect grace to flow into your life if you refuse to pray. It is a means of grace.

Christians persevere because of sovereign grace.

And you will receive grace as you pray.

Second, you will receive grace to persevere through the…

B) CHURCH

v. 26—Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

Some of you are already thinking “I’m not doing THAT!”

What’s a holy kiss? Is this some kind of cult thing?

The way people greet each other varies from one culture to another.

In the West we typically greet each other with a handshake (don’t get too close!).

In Eastern Asia people often greet with a bow.

In Latin America it’s common to greet with a kiss on each cheek.

That kiss is probably similar to the greeting Paul is talking about here.

But in some ways, the holy kiss may be more like a hug in the West.

Greeting someone with a kiss in Paul’s day was reserved for the closest relationships, just like you probably don’t hug everybody when you greet them. Unless you don’t know anything about personal space. You probably reserve hugs for those you are closest to. And that’s who the holy kiss was for. [6]

I promise you, I’m not going to go on some campaign to “make the holy kiss great again!”

That misses the point.

The main point Paul is making is that they should “Greet ALL the brothers” this way.

In other words, whatever a warm and welcoming greeting looks like in your culture, don’t leave any Christian out.

If they’re a part of your church, you should treat them like family, because they are family.

Let me ask you, Christian, how do you treat the members of your church?

Are you like a consumer—here to get something for yourself? Or are you here to pour yourself out for others?

Do you take time to greet the people in this family when you gather?

An implication of Paul’s words here is that we will faithfully gather with God’s people as often as we possibly can. You cannot greet ALL the brothers and sisters this way if you’re not here!

Do you prioritize the gathering, even when it’s hard? Remember these believers are facing real physical persecution for being church members.

Are you dating the church—merely attending when it’s convenient—or do you belong to a local church where you can faithfully grow alongside other believers?

Just like a backstop keeps the baseball from wandering far away from the field when it gets past the catcher, the local church is God’s backstop to keep you from wandering far away from your Savior when life is hard. It is a means of grace to help you persevere.

Christians persevere because of sovereign grace.

And we receive grace through God’s people.

Third, you will receive grace to persevere as you are saturated with…

C) SCRIPTURE

If you’ve read anything about Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts, you know his custom was to visit the synagogues, read a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, then teach from that passage that Jesus was the Messiah.

In fact, this is exactly what Paul did in Thessalonica where this church was started...

Acts 17:2–3—And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

That practice—of reading the Old Testament Scriptures and teaching from them—became a part of the earliest church gatherings.

But notice how Paul transforms that practice in…

v. 27—I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

Paul is putting this letter on the same level as the Old Testament Scriptures! [7]

With the advent of a New Covenant comes new revelation. And as an Apostle commissioned by Jesus Himself, Paul understood he was being used by the Holy Spirit to write God’s Word.

This becomes even more clear when you remember the context.

Last week we considered the gift of prophecy that was also a part of the earliest Christian gatherings.

In 5:20, Paul urges the Thessalonians to test the prophecies they heard in their gatherings. But he does not tell them to test the words in this letter. Paul understood that he was writing Scripture, which is the supreme authority for God’s people. [8]

Hearing God’s Word in their gatherings was so important to Paul he put them “under oath before the Lord.”

But why? Because God’s Word is a means of grace.

In fact, it’s the central pipe through which God’s grace flows to His people.

Let me illustrate how this works. In our home, at least for now, we require each of our five children to read their Bibles every day. They have different reading plans or Bible storybooks according to their age level, but we require our children to get personal Bible intake every day. It’s an obedience issue in the Boutot home.

Some might object, “If you make them read their Bibles you’ll harden their hearts to God’s Word!”

And yes, it’s possible their hearts will grow hard to the Scriptures.

But let me ask you, Christian, what does God use to soften our hearts? His Word!

So while our children are still under our authority, we do not hesitate to require Bible intake. Because the Bible IS the means God uses to transform our hearts.

And by the way, we don’t do that because I’m a pastor. We do that because we’re Christians!

As Jesus prayed on the night of His arrest in…

John 17:17—Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Ignoring God’s Word until you feel like it is one of the most foolish things you can do. Far better to remain in God’s Word until you feel changed by it.

Let me ask you, Christian, are you faithfully receiving Bible intake?

Do you have a Bible reading plan? Please talk to your elder if you don’t. We want to help you!

Do you have a normal time and place where you spend time in God’s Word? Are you learning when you read? If not who can you ask to help you?

Are you meditating on what you read, or does it go in one ear and out the other?

Have you disciplined yourself to memorize Scripture so the Bible is getting into your heart?

Christians persevere because of sovereign grace.

And as we faithfully engage in prayer, church, and Scripture, we will find Paul’s conclusion to be true in our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:28—The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

If you’re not a Christian, you will not receive this grace from Jesus until you first turn from your sins and trust Him!

Would you trust Him today?

To the Christians, there are probably two main groups in this room that need to respond to this passage.

A Puritan pastor named William Secker was writing about the means of grace and he addressed both groups: “Neither be idle in the means nor make an idol of the means.” [9]

Some of you are doing really well here.

You trust God’s sovereignty to finish the work He started in your life.

You’re faithfully praying, reading God’s Word, and gathering with His people.

I want you to leave here encouraged. You’re doing well, just keep swimming!

But beware the temptation to think you are kept by your efforts.

Don’t make an idol out of your spiritual disciplines. They are absolutely crucial, but they are not what keeps you. It is Jesus who keeps you!

Others of you have been idle in the means of grace.

You’ve acted like they’re unimportant.

You’ve prioritized other things.

And like Florence Chadwick, you’ve found yourself swimming in the fog where it’s much harder to persevere.

If you’ve fallen, the solution is not to give up but to get up.

To confess your sin to the Lord, and allow the light of His forgiving grace to cut through the fog of your self-sufficiency and sin.

Would you do that today, Christian?

Two months after her July 4 defeat, Florence Chadwick became the first woman to successfully swim the Catalina Channel.

The only difference between her first and second attempt was that she was able to see the shore.

You and I have an Enemy who does everything he can to keep us from seeing the shore.

He wants you to give up. He wants you to think you can’t persevere.

But the Holy Spirit has given you His Word so that you can see clearly.

So you can see a God who will stop at nothing to bring His children safely home.

So you can see the means God has given you to faithfully endure until the end.

So with God’s help, let’s look to our sovereign God, remember the means of grace, and just keep swimming.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor

Benediction (Jude 24-25)