Watchman Radio Hour

David Schult: Welcome to the Watchman Radio Hour, coming to you from Portland, Oregon here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Schult, 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 is our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: Our scripture reading today, let us turn to 1 Thessalonians Chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians Chapter 1 and 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.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you have given to us. We thank you that it is your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says. And now, oh Father, as we come to this time to study your word, we pray that you will send forth your Holy Spirit in great convicting power. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Paul is writing to the church of the Thessalonians. Henry Morris, in commenting on this first verse of 1 Thessalonians, says it is possible that this is the first epistle written by Paul. Paul had taken Silas, the same as Silvanus, and Timothy with him on his first missionary venture into Greece. After preaching the gospel in Philippi, the leading city of Macedonia, they came to another important seaport, Thessalonica, remaining at least several weeks and winning both Jews and Greeks to Christ.

These people evidently formed a church and Paul wrote this first epistle to them a short time later after he had gone on to Corinth. Since Silas and Timothy had been with him at Thessalonica, he included them in his salutation to the church. The church is already established and Paul writes to encourage and help them. Again, our text says in verse 1, Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you.

The church belongs to Christ. This church is in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is grounded in him. It is his church. Now, let us see in the first place that he purchased the church with his own blood. He died for their sins. In Acts 20:28, it says, "Guard yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God which he bought with his own blood."

Matthew Henry writes they were a Christian church because they believed in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gentiles among them were turned to God from idols, and the Jews among them believed Jesus to be the promised Messiah. All of them were devoted and dedicated to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. To God as their chief good and highest end, to Jesus Christ as their Lord and mediator between God and man.

The Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and purchased us with his own blood. He paid our ransom. In 1 Corinthians 6:20, it says, "You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." In 1 Corinthians 7:23, it says, "You were bought at a price. Do not become slaves of men." Jesus Christ paid our ransom. He paid the penalty for our sins that we might live and be forgiven.

In Matthew 20:28, it says, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In Mark 10:45, it says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In 1 Timothy 2:5 and 6, it says, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. The testimony given in its proper time." Jesus bought us off. He delivered us from the condemnation that was upon us by dying for our sins. He paid our ransom.

Then in the second place, let us see that he preserves his church in the world. He gathers the church. In Matthew 28:19 and 20, Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

In John 17:20, Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message." In John 10:14 through 16, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and they shall be one flock and one shepherd." Jesus would gather not only believers from among the Jews but also believers from among the Gentiles. He would bring them all into his sheep pen.

John Gill writes, "And in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. They were chosen in him as their head and representative. They were in him as members of his body and as branches in the vine. They were openly in him by the effectual calling and conversion. Were in the faith of him and in the observance of his commands and in communion with him, and so were distinguished from a Jewish synagogue or congregation. All this being true at least of the far greater part of them is said of them all in a judgment of charity, they being under a profession of the Christian religion." The Lord Jesus gathers the church by sending forth the gospel and calling men unto himself and working in their hearts by the Holy Spirit and drawing them to him.

And then as its head, he keeps and preserves the church. In John 17:11 and 15, it says, "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you, Holy Father. Protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one." As the head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ now protects and preserves his church.

In John 6:39, it says, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." Jesus watches over and preserves his own. Jesus, as the Son of God, mightily keeps his church. William Hendriksen writes, "The combination of both terms in, that is grounded in, would seem to indicate that the two are entirely coordinate. That is, that the reference is to the first and to the second persons of the Holy Trinity."

And Leon Morris writes the following words: "In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are almost certainly to be taken with the church and they bring us the characteristic of a Christian church. Christians are not simply people who have heard about God and trust in him. They live in him day by day. All their deeds are done in him." The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible says, "In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This phrase points to a unique intimacy between the Father and the Son in that the church can be said to be in both. It is the Lord Jesus Christ with whom the church is connected as its head and preserver."

Henry Morris writes, "The Lord Jesus Christ. It is significant that in the first verse of what may have been his first epistle, Paul acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord. He frequently used this full name and title in his preaching as well as his writing and finally in the very last verse written before his death. He also frequently wrote of Jesus Christ, but for some reason, never to the Thessalonians. To the Thessalonians, he wrote about Christ Jesus as well as simply Christ and the Lord. Once in Colossians 3:24, he mentions the Lord Christ. But it is significant that never in any of his epistles did he speak simply of Jesus, except when he was specifically referring to him in his human life on earth."

Paul speaks of him as the Lord Jesus Christ at least 19 times in the two Thessalonian epistles. This church in Thessalonica is a church in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not on its own. It is grounded in and belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is its head and preserver. And so it is today. The church is still here almost 2,000 years later, not because the church has preserved itself, but because the Lord Jesus Christ, its head, has preserved it.

And then let us see in the third place that he has a plan for his church, a plan of victory. The Lord Jesus Christ preserves his church in this world because he has a plan for his church in this world. He does not intend for Satan to win the victory in this world. He has gathered his church and plans for his church to be victorious in this age. It says in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." This is a sure and certain promise that the church will be victorious over Satan and all his forces in this age. The Lord Jesus Christ is in the process of building his church, and Satan and all his forces will not be able to stop or destroy this building. It will continue and it will succeed.

He has a plan of expansion and blessing. It was the intention of the Lord Jesus Christ to expand his church to permeate the whole world. This was his plan and he continues to carry it out. In Matthew 28:19 and 20, it says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of his Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

Here is the plan of expansion for the church. The Lord Jesus Christ gives his command to the church to make disciples of all the nations all over the world. This would include all people groups within political nations. His intention was for the church to expand and grow and permeate all the nations. Jesus gave his disciples the parable of the mustard seed to show how his church would expand in the world and grow. In Matthew 13:31 and 32, he says, he told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." It starts out as the smallest of seeds and then grows into a great tree. And so it would be with the church in this age in the world.

In another parable, Jesus shows how the church would permeate the whole world. In Matthew 13:33, it says, he told them still another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Here the yeast represents the church as it permeates throughout the dough, showing that the church would permeate the whole world in this age.

The Old Testament prophets looked forward and saw the expansion and blessing of the church in this age. In Isaiah 54:1 through 3, it says, "Sing, oh barren woman, you who never bore a child. Burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the Lord. "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, for you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities."

It was this text that William Carey on May the 31st, 1792 used to preach his famous sermon that launched the modern missionary movement that expanded the church throughout the world. Ian Murray writes, from these words in a sermon which has been called a burning bush of missionary revelation, Carey delivered the prophet's great message which he summarized as, "Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God." The next morning, the proposal was passed that a plan be prepared for forming a Baptist society for propagating the gospel among the heathens.

Isaiah looks ahead to the glorious time of the church. In Isaiah 60, beginning in verse 1, where it says, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you. All assemble and come to you. Your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy. The wealth on the seas will be brought to you. To you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord."

"All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple. Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me. In the lead of the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor. Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. And though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations, their kings led in triumphal procession."

The reign and dominion of Christ will spread worldwide. This was his plan and he is even now carrying out that plan. And though Satan tries to thwart that plan, he will not succeed. The church and plan of Christ will expand and dominate the whole world. In 1 Corinthians 15, verses 24 and 25, it says, "Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." The Lord Jesus Christ is building his kingdom and expanding it in the world. He is rooting out the kingdom of Satan and will reign until all his enemies are under his feet. This is his plan and he is carrying it out in the world today.

The worldwide dominion of the Son of God is prophesied in the second Psalm. In Psalm 2:7 through 12, it says, "I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to me, 'You are my Son, today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery.' Therefore you kings be wise, be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment, and blessed are all who take refuge in him."

The promise to the Son is to make the nations his inheritance, the ends of the earth his possession. The promise is for worldwide dominion for the kingdom of Christ. And this promise has never been revoked. And though the church may be presently weak and it seems that Satan is still very strong, yet the promise still stands. The kingdom of God will expand and prevail in this world in this age. We must believe that and pray toward that end.

Christ and his kingdom will permeate the whole earth. This is the promise of the prophets of old. In Isaiah 11:4 through 9, it says, "But with righteousness he will judge the needy. With justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

This is a prophecy of the reign of Christ in this age and shows how that reign will progress until the whole world becomes a holy mountain and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Do we believe that today? Andrew Fuller, colleague of William Carey, called for prayer for worldwide revival. He looked forward to a day when the whole world would be converted to Christ. He wrote, "Then those glorious things spoken of the city of God in the 87th Psalm shall be accomplished. We shall see Rahab and Babylon, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia given to the church. Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God. Psalm 68:31. Oh, what encouragement is here to pray. How long these things will be we know not, but this we know, we are near by above 2,400 years than the church was in Isaiah's time. And even then they that made mention of Jehovah were charged saying, 'Keep not silence and give him no rest till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.'"

Fuller goes on to exhort Christians to pray for the growth and expansion of the church. He writes, "Oh Christians, for your country's sake, your neighbor's sake, your friend's sake, yea, your enemy's sake, as well as the honor of Christ, seek the welfare of Zion and pray for the extending of his kingdom in the world." Looking forward to better times, Fuller writes, "Whenever those glorious outpourings of God's spirit shall come all over the world, no doubt it will be an answer to the prayers of his people." Are you praying for the expansion and prosperity of the church to come? Are you asking God to send revival to this world? Are you looking forward in great anticipation to the expansion of Christ's kingdom in this world and praying toward that end? Then pray without ceasing and ask God to send revival. Pray for the church, keep not silence, and give him no rest till he make the church a praise in all the earth.

Our Father in heaven, we pray for the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ all over the world. We pray that Satan and all of his forces will be completely defeated in this age. We pray that the gospel will prosper more and more and that it will go forth in mighty power to all the nations of the world. And we pray that a time will come when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. And we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.

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David Schult: 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.

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