Watchman Radio Hour

David Sholt: Welcome to the Watchman Radio Hour, coming to you from Portland, Oregon, here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Sholt, your announcer. The Watchman Radio Hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now, here's our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Guest (Male): For our scripture reading today, let us turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1, beginning to read in verse 1. Let us hear the word of God. Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you.

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers loved by God, we know that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

Alex Dodson: Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you've given to us. We thank you that it's your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says. And now, O Father, as we come to study your word today, we pray that you will send forth your Holy Spirit in great convicting power. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

We're living in a nation of unbelief today. The Bible has been taken out of the public square. The nation no longer honors the teachings of the Bible as it once did. The nation no longer believes the Bible or even takes its teachings into consideration, it seems. There is widespread unbelief in the word of God. People just don't take the Bible seriously anymore. People go to church but don't apply the word of God in their lives. There's so much indication of this in the land.

One example is an almost universal neglect of the Sabbath day in direct contradiction of the scriptures. Another example is the increasing acceptance of lifestyles the Bible condemns, whether it's same-sex marriage or living together outside of marriage. The teachings of the Bible are rejected, ignored, and ridiculed. What we need today is a return to the Bible as our authority in the land. Our forefathers honored the Bible. Today's generation has fallen far from such honoring of God's word. The only way that this nation is going to return to the word of God is through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the land. This is what we should be praying for continually.

1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 6 says, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord in spite of severe suffering. You welcomed the message with a joy given by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit opens hearts to receive the gospel. When the Holy Spirit comes in power, people start believing the gospel. Conversions take place in large numbers and Christians are renewed in their faith, and this is what we need today.

Now, let us see in the first place that these Thessalonians were willing to take up the cross. Again, our text says, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord in spite of severe suffering." There was the example of the apostles and the Lord himself. The apostles had gone through much suffering as a result of being followers of Christ. They were following in the footsteps of their master. He went the way of the cross, and so did they. And when they carried the gospel from city to city, they met persecution.

These Thessalonians knew that the missionaries that came to them had gone through suffering because of their faith. Leon Morris writes, "At the end of the last verse, Paul had appealed to the manner of life of his companions and himself while in Thessalonica as an illustration of the gospel. Now he indicates that the converts had heeded this example. They had become imitators of the preachers and of their Lord."

And then they were willing to suffer to follow Christ. In Luke 9:23, it says, "Then he said to them all, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" In Luke 14:27, it says, "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Following Christ means that we must be willing to take up the cross and suffer for our faith if need be.

Today, if we follow Christ and take a stand for him and on his truth, we will be persecuted. When the nation turns against the Bible and we as Christians stand up for the Bible, then conflict will come. We will be looked down upon and ridiculed for our stand. These Thessalonians had counted the cost and were willing to take up the cross.

John Calvin writes, "Having received the word, Paul calls their readiness to receive the gospel the imitation of God. Because as God had displayed his generosity to the Thessalonians, so they had freely chosen to present themselves to him." And Leon Morris writes, "But their affliction was with joy of the Holy Spirit. It is certain that the believers will experience tribulation, but it is equally certain that he will have an inner serenity, even a joy which nothing in the world can give and nothing in the world can take away."

And then Morris writes, "This transformation of suffering does not come about by autosuggestion or any other human device. It is specifically said to be of the Holy Spirit. We are reminded that joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. It's a striking illustration of the way in which the whole of a man's values are transformed by the power of God's Holy Spirit when he enters into the salvation bought for him at the price of the blood of the Son."

And Matthew Henry says this, "They were careful in their holy conversation or their holy life to imitate the good examples of the apostles and ministers of Christ. As the apostle took care to demean himself well, not only for his own credit's sake but for the benefit of others by conversation suitable to his doctrine that he might not pull down with one hand what he built up with another, so the Thessalonians who observed what manner of men they were among them, how their preaching and living were all of a piece, showed a conscientious care to be followers of them or to imitate their good example."

"Herein they became also followers of the Lord who is the perfect example we must strive to imitate, and we should be followers of others no further than they are followers of Christ. The Thessalonians acted thus notwithstanding their affliction, that much affliction which the apostles and themselves also were exposed to. They were willing to share in the sufferings that attended the embracing and professing of Christianity. They entertained the gospel notwithstanding the troubles and hardships which attended the teachers and professors of it too. Perhaps this made the word more precious, being dear bought, and the examples of the apostles shone very bright under their afflictions, so that the Thessalonians embraced the word cheerfully and followed the example of the suffering apostles joyfully, with joy in the Holy Ghost, such solid and spiritual and lasting joy as the Holy Ghost is the author of, who when our afflictions abound makes our consolations much more to abound."

Now today, we also must be willing to suffer for Christ. When the whole nation endorses something contrary to God's word, we as followers of Christ who believe the Bible cannot agree with them. Even though we may be ridiculed and looked down upon, we must stand firm on the word of God.

Now, let us see in the second place they welcomed the gospel. Again, verse 6 says, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord in spite of severe suffering. You welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." They welcomed the gospel. Their hearts were opened to the gospel. In Ezekiel 36:26 through 27, it says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." They welcomed the message with an open heart. They received the message with joy.

John Calvin writes, "Those, therefore, who do not hesitate to embrace the afflictions which threaten them along with the gospel display a loftiness of purpose in doing so which affords a magnificent example. We see more clearly from this how much we need the aid of the spirit in this regard. The gospel cannot be truly or genuinely received without a glad heart. Nothing, however, is more at variance with our character than to rejoice in afflictions." And Leon Morris says, "The word for 'received' is that used for the reception of a guest and it includes the thought of giving a welcome."

And then let us see it was a work of the Holy Spirit. Their open heart was a work of the Holy Spirit. They were drawn to Christ by the Spirit of God. In John 6:37 and 44, it says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Whoever comes to Christ comes because they are drawn to him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Calvin goes on to say, "And you became imitators of us. To remember them more enthusiastically, Paul declares that there is a concurrence and harmony between his preaching and their faith. If men do not answer to God, the grace which is offered to them will accomplish nothing. But because they could not do so by themselves, but because God, as he begins our salvation by calling us, accomplishes it by forming our hearts to obey him, the conclusion, therefore, is that a proof of divine election was seen not only in Paul's ministry to the extent that it was endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit, but also in the faith of the Thessalonians, so that this obedience of theirs is a strong confirmation of faith."

Then Calvin says, "He says 'with joy of the Holy Ghost' so that we may know that it is not the impelling force of the flesh or the promptings of their own nature that will make men ready and willing to obey God. Rather, this is the work of the Spirit of God. The fact that even though they were in much affliction, they still embraced the gospel serves to illustrate this." And Hendrickson writes, "Hence, when amid similar pressures those who are here addressed had welcomed the word—that is, the gospel of salvation—with spirit-wrought joy, they had given unmistakable evidence of being imitators of the missionaries and of Christ himself. They welcomed the gospel because the Holy Spirit enabled them to do so. He had opened their hearts to believe the message, and so they received it with great joy."

Then let us see in the third place the need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit changes hearts. He opens hearts to the gospel, God's word. Today, unbelief plagues our land. The Bible is no longer believed as it once was. In the early days of America, the Bible was taught in the schools. Today, it's not allowed in the classroom to teach the children its contents. Multitudes of people in the land are ignorant of what the Bible teaches and unbelief is rampant. Laws contrary to the Bible can easily pass because people don't honor the Bible anymore. Will this always be? Can it ever change?

It can change if the Holy Spirit comes in power. When he comes, he exalts the word of God and brings people back to the Bible, which is God's truth. In John 16:13, it says, "But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." And in John 17:17, it says, "Sanctify them by thy truth. Thy word is truth." The Holy Spirit can take away the rebellion of the heart and cause people to believe the gospel. The Thessalonians believed because the Holy Spirit was there to enable them to believe.

Our nation's greatest need is for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and we must pray for a national spiritual revival. Only when the Spirit comes in power will things change in this country. God has visited this nation in times past with great outpourings of the Holy Spirit. One such outpouring came in the first part of the 19th century and lasted for almost 50 years. We now call that period of time the Second Great Awakening in America. We now need another great awakening like that one to come our way. We should all be praying for it to come.

Halladay and Gregory give an account of a revival in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which occurred in the early days of the Second Great Awakening. Quoting Dr. John McDowell, they write, "The subscriber was settled as pastor of this congregation, December 1804. In August of 1807, a powerful and extensive revival commenced. The first decisive evidence of the special presence and power of the Holy Spirit was on the Sabbath under a powerful sermon on prayer by the Reverend Dr. Gideon Blackburn. A number were awakened that day and new cases of conviction and hopeful conversion were occurring for a considerable time at almost every religious meeting."

"Special attention continued for about 18 months, and the number added to the church from this work was about 120. The subjects of the work were generally deeply exercised and most of them continued for a considerable time in great distress before they enjoyed the comforts of a gospel hope. This revival was the first I had ever witnessed, and it was a solemn situation for a young man totally inexperienced in such scenes. It extended through the congregation and into neighboring congregations and passed from one to another until in the course of the year, almost every congregation in what was the Presbytery of Jersey was visited."

Dr. McDowell continues, "The next revival with which the Lord favored my ministry commenced in December 1812. It was on a communion Sabbath. There was nothing peculiarly arousing in the preaching. I was not expecting such an event, neither as I ever discovered was there ever any peculiar engagedness in prayer or special desire or expectation on the part of Christians. I saw nothing unusual in the appearance of the congregation, and it was not until the services of the day were ended when several called out in deep distress to ask what they must do to be saved, that I knew the Lord was specially in this place."

"This was a day of such power, though I knew it not at the time, that as many as 30 who afterwards joined the church were then first awakened. And it is a remarkable circumstance that on the same day in both of the Presbyterian churches in Newark, the same results were experienced, it being the day of communion in each of those churches. This revival continued about a year, and as the fruits of it, about 110 were admitted to the church."

"In about the beginning of February 1816, this church was again visited with a great revival. It commenced most signally as an immediate answer to the united prayers of God's people. The season of prayer was appointed after there had been a concert of closet prayer by the church. It occurred on the following afternoon, the evening being the monthly concert, which was unusually full and solemn, and it was soon manifest that the Lord was in the midst of us in a very special manner."

"Many cases of awakening came to my knowledge, and the work soon spread throughout the congregation. This revival was not marked by the deep distress of the previous one, but by a general weeping in religious meetings. Much of this was doubtless sympathetic. A larger portion than usual of the subjects were young, but generally they came sooner to embrace the savior. Some lingered in darkness. The number in the congregation who were serious was several hundred. The special attention continued about a year and the number added to the communion of the church during that time was 180."

Halladay and Gregory, in their book "The Baptisms of Fire in the American Church," give the account of Dr. Joel Hawes, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Hartford, Connecticut. He writes, "During the first three years of my ministry, I witnessed nothing like a revival among my people. But early in 1821, a work of great power commenced and continued during the year. As the fruits of this visitation, nearly 200 were added to the church. Since then, some have given painful evidence that the foundation of their hope was not the true one, but the great body have continued to adorn their profession by a consistent Christian life."

"Since that period, we have enjoyed three seasons of special religious attention, neither of them so long continued or so abundant in fruits as the first. During the time I have been connected with the church, about 550 have been added to its communion, four-fifths of them regarded as fruits of the revivals. I have often said from my pulpit that the church is what it is very much from the influence of revivals of religion. It has been made to appear that a very large proportion of all now members of Congregational churches in this state came in through revivals, that the most active and devoted Christians are those who were brought into the churches as fruits of revivals."

These are just some examples of revivals that were happening all over the nation during the time of the Second Great Awakening. There was much weeping going on as people came under conviction of sin and saw their need of a savior. But today, the weeping is silent. When will we hear the weeping again? When will God pour out his Spirit again upon us? He did this in times past in this land. We need to hear the weeping again. People need to be broken under the burden of their sins so they will see their need for a savior. People need to start believing the Bible again. This will happen only when the Spirit comes in power.

We must cry unto God as the psalmist did, "Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us that thy people may rejoice in thee?" We need to be awakened again as we were in times past. We need the fear of God in the land again. The psalmist cries out, "Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land." In the great revivals of the past, God's glory dwelt in our land, but today we've lost the glory. Let us pray that that glory may return.

Now, let me ask you, have you welcomed the gospel into your heart? Have you received the message of Christ with great joy? If you have, it's because the Holy Spirit has moved you to do so. And may the Holy Spirit move many today and open their hearts to receive Christ into their lives.

Our Father in heaven, we pray that you will pour out your Spirit once again on this land in great convicting power. Not that we deserve it, but we ask for your mercy upon us. We pray that in the midst of your wrath, that you would have mercy. We know that our sins are piled up to heaven and we know that that pile is getting higher and higher every day, but we ask that in the midst of your wrath upon us, which you've already begun to show, begun to send upon us, we pray that in the midst of your wrath upon us, that you'd have mercy and that you would remember that in times past, you have sent great awakenings to this nation. We pray that you would remember and send the Holy Spirit again, and pour out your Spirit in great convicting power all over this land. And we pray that once again we'd hear the weeping. We pray that once again a great mourning will go up in the land as multitudes come under great conviction of sin and multitudes turn back to you. O Father, have mercy upon us. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

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David Sholt: We hope this week's broadcast has been a blessing to you. If you have any questions about Mr. Dodson's message, please write us. You may email us at info@watchmanradio.org. Our mailing address is Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon, 97213. That's Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon, 97213. You may listen to this broadcast at any time on the internet at www.oneplace.com. In the list of ministries, just select the Watchman Radio Hour. This week's program and previous programs are always available there for listening. Our web address is www.watchmanradio.org. That's W-A-T-C-H-M-E-N-R-A-D-I-O.org. www.watchmanradio.org.