And With Full Conviction
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24)
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost is the epistle reading 1 Thessalonians 1. The apostle Paul said these words. “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”. The Gospel came to the Thessalonians with great conviction. The Thessalonians heard it and by the power of the Holy Spirit believed in Jesus Christ. They received the Gospel and were saved. The Gospel comes to us as well and by the power of the Spirit we also believe in Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives to us full clarity, understanding and certainty in God’s love for us. It gives to us confidence that God has chosen us to be His people.
Indeed the power of the Spirit working through the Gospel gives us great confidence in God. We are given assurance and certainty in the Word of the Lord. We can say with conviction that Jesus is the Son of God who came down from heaven to be our Savior. We are given the assurance that our Lord died on the cross and rose again from the dead. We know for certain that our sins are forgiven and that we have received life and salvation because of Jesus. We can say with great confidence that our Lord has invited us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In last week’s Gospel reading Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast. Indeed we are given assurance that we have been invited to the wedding feast. When our Lord visibly returns He will bring us to heaven to be with Him for all eternity. We will sit at his table, bask in His glory and be in perfect fellowship with all other believers. If the Lord does all of these things, then we know that we can trust Him in everything else. We know that the Lord will always be with us.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us confidence, assurance, and certainty in the Lord. But we sometimes doubt the Lord’s presence in our day to day life. We also wonder what God is doing when we see what is going on in the world. From our doubting heart, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to look at the world and all of the harm that human beings are doing and conclude that evil has the upper hand. It would not be a stretch to conclude that sin and evil has a shot at winning. Just recently the terrorist group Hams attached the nation of Israel. They killed civilians and did all sorts of atrocities. The war between Russia and the Ukraine continues to go on. There are many other places in the world that are currently unstable and dangerous. There are also many things in our own country that cause us to worry. We have struggling cities dealing with crime and poverty. There are many people who are isolated and spiritually lost. There are those who are openly opposing Biblical teaching and promoting rebellion against God. There are threats overseas and there are multiple problems in our country. It causes us to begin to believe that evil has a good shot at triumphing.
I have been describing some of the things in the world and what we see and hear around us but there are also many things in our personal life as well. We deal with health problems, our own health concerns and those of our loved ones. We deal with family strife, fatigue, frustration, and loneliness. We also daily come to grip with our own sins. All these things that I have been describing in our own life and what is happening around us is the reality of living in a fallen world. The sin around us and in us can blind us to the truth of God’s Word. If we are not careful, we can start to doubt God. We could even fall into despair.
That is why the Lord comes to us this day and gives us confidence, assurance, and certainty that He is with us and that He is still in control. We can say with conviction that the Lord rules all and that He is gracious. We see a good example of this in our Old Testament reading for today. Israel of the Old Testament was in exile. They thought that God had forgotten them. But God had not. The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah and made a promise that He would deliver them from their exile. The Lord chose King Cyrus as His instrument to free the people of Israel. King Cyrus was king of the Persian Empire. He conquered the Babylonians and allowed the children of Israel to go back to the Promised Land. What makes this interesting is that King Cyrus was a pagan and did not know the Lord and yet he was the one who freed the children of Israel. This remarkable thing happened because God’s hand was behind it. It was the Lord who gave Cyrus his victories and it was the Lord who made sure that His people arrived safely back to the Promised Land. God was in complete control of all things. The Lord was gracious to His people.
We don’t understand everything in the world that is true. We don’t always understand the things that happen to us. That is why God gives to us the assurance that He is the One who is in control. We are given assurance that the Lord’s hand is what is moving things for the benefit of all His people. Including you. If he can work through the pagan king of the Persians to free the people of Israel, He can certainly move all things according to His will. God oversees all of history for the purpose of bringing us to be with Him in all eternity. When the time was right Jesus came into the world to redeem us all. Evil men put Jesus to death and yet it was our Lord’s death on the cross that brings to us life and salvation. Jesus died and was put in a tomb, but the tomb did not hold Him. Evil men sent soldiers to keep the tomb secure. They did not stop Jesus. He rose from the dead thus defeating death for us. After our Lord’s resurrection and ascension the apostles went out and proclaimed the Gospel. There were many who tried to stop them. It didn’t work. The Gospel was proclaimed throughout the world and throughout the centuries. The Gospel also comes to us.
God’s Word comes to us and gives us confidence, assurance, and certainty that the Lord is in control and that He is always with us. In our reading Paul mentions that the Thessalonians faced much affliction. We wrote the epistle to give then comfort that the Lord loved them and was with them even when they faced affliction. It is the same with us. We face all sorts of struggles and afflictions in our own lives. I mentioned a few earlier in the sermon. That is why God’s Word speaks to us and tells us that the Lord is always with us. He hears our prayers and He answers them. He preserves us. He blesses us. He heals us. He guides us with His Word. He gives to us every good thing. He gives us the assurance of His grace and love.
Confidence, assurance, and certainty are good things to have. If you want an example of this just watch the behavior of people at an airport. The ones who already have their ticket act very different than the ones who are on standby. The people who have their flight plans already set are more relaxed. As they wait, they read a book, talk on the phone, or take a little nap. They have the assurance of knowing that their plane will come to take them to their destination. The people on standby tend to act quite a bit different. They pace back and forth because they don’t have the same assurance that they will be able to get on the plane.
Our confidence and assurance comes from something far greater than a ticket. Our confidence, assurance and certainty come from the Lord. Evil and sin will not prevail. It is the Lord Jesus who has won the victory over sin and death. It is God’s hand that moves all things for the good of His people. God oversees everything for the purpose of bringing us to be with Him in all eternity. Let me conclude with the words of Paul. “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”. Amen.