I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 13 to 20, and we're going to get a glimpse into Paul's mindset of this church being a family. And this is part two. We started last week with Paul calling them brothers or brothers and sisters. He said he cared for them like “a mother nursing her own children,” or like a father speaking to his own children. And so now he's going to continue to thank God for them and talk about his relationship with the Thessalonians. So, we're going to read 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20. If you don't have a Bible, these verses are printed on the handout in your bulletin, if you want to get that out and read along with us. And out of respect for God's Word, I invite everyone to stand for the public reading of Scripture, and I encourage you to give this your full and undivided attention. This is the Word of God. Start with me in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Please follow along as I read.

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. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.

That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and grab your seat. And if you are taking notes, you could circle that word "brothers" right there, at the beginning of verse 14. And then you can also circle it towards the beginning of verse 17. Sometimes he'll use the word "brothers" as he's making a transition. Sometimes, though, he's also trying to emphasize the meaningful relationship that he has with them as brothers and sisters in Christ. And in this passage, he begins by thanking God for them. So, welcome to November, if you're not used to it yet, everybody. If you remember, there is a month between October and December, and there used to be this holiday that was a big deal until they realized they couldn't make it a commercial racket and make a bunch of money off of it. It's called Thanksgiving. Anybody remember that? Yeah. So, if you want to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever, well, here's an example in verse 13. Paul is giving thanks constantly for these people, and he has a very specific thought in mind.

Now, if you go back to chapter 1, verse 2, he begins this letter as Paul begins many of his letters, giving thanks to God for them, particularly for their faith. In fact, when Paul got started in this letter, he's so thankful that when the gospel came to these people, it came with power. It came with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and it resounded from them. It echoed from them. Even other people are telling Paul how powerful the gospel was among the Thessalonians. So that's one of the main themes of this book is there is power in the gospel of Jesus. And Paul, he didn't come in flattery. He didn't come to please people. No, he brought the gospel of God, and he brought to share not only the gospel but to share his own life with these people. That's what he has been saying.

But now, when he comes around for another round of giving thanks here in chapter 2:13, he focuses, not so much on him bringing the gospel, but he focuses on them receiving the gospel. And look at what he says in verse 13. What is he so thankful to God for? That “you received the word of God, which you heard from us.” Even though Paul and Silas were there in Acts 17, and even though this letter comes from Paul and Silas and Timothy, they didn't see it as their word. They saw it as it really is. Do you see that? Underline that the Word of God is what's working in the believers. It's what's energizing the faith of those who believe. Hey, I came in and I gave you a message, and we went back and we saw in Acts 17:3 what that message was. The message is very clear. This Jesus that I proclaim to you; he is the Messiah. He is the Christ. He is the Anointed One of God, and he had to suffer and die for our sins because there's no way by our works we could ever attain to the righteousness of God. No, He had to give his life as a ransom for many, and then he would rise on the third day.

And he came and he brought that gospel message. And when the people heard it, at least some of them, when they heard it, they didn't think, well, Paul's got an interesting message, or Silas has got a message, or these men have an interesting message. No, they heard it like God had a message. See, they heard it as the Word of God, and he's so thankful that they didn't think it was a man talking to them. They heard the Word of God.

So, let's get this down for point number one: We want to “Thank God for ears to hear.” Thank God for ears to hear. If you have a testimony where you've heard the good news that even though you cannot do it, Jesus has done it. He paid it in full. He died in your place, and he rose again so that you could have a new life, an abundant life, an eternal life, where you could know God in the power of his resurrection. See, when you can hear that, and it's not about somebody else, and it's not a religious thing, when it's you, and he's dying for your sin, and he's offering you a new life, oh, thank God that he gave you those ears to hear. Remember when Jesus talked about this in Mark, chapter 4, when he talked about the guy who's out there throwing out the seed of the gospel, and sometimes those crows they come and they just snatch it away, and it's like in one ear, out the other ear. Sometimes people hear it and they respond for a while, but it's not a real response, and it fades away. And then there are those who hear it and receive it, the good soil, and it bears fruit. That's what he's so thankful about the Thessalonians when they received it, they were like, "This is God talking to me, not a man, but God."

Now, Paul we saw was only there for three weeks preaching this gospel, and there was a profound response. By God's grace, we have been here in Huntington Beach much longer than three weeks, and so we do this every Saturday night at 5 o'clock. We open up the Bible, we turn to a text, we stand up and read it, and then we talk about it. Let's go to 2 Timothy. So let me just talk to our church because that line there, where he says, "you saw it as it really is, the word of God." That's our whole goal. 2 Timothy 2:15. Let's all turn there together. Let me give you a couple of verses that I'm always thinking about when I'm opening the Bible to speak to you, and then let me give you a verse for you to always be thinking about when you're hearing, when we're opening up the Bible and you're hearing the Word. Our goal at Compass Bible Church, I think, out of all three parts of our name, our middle name is our favorite here at this church. We like the Bible. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? Okay.

We're not here to follow some kind of church's program. We're not here to follow some kind of personality or preacher man. We are here to figure out what God is saying, to say it, and then to take it to heart and to do it. We believe that the Bible doesn't belong to any man. It is God-breathed. It is God's Word. That's what we believe here. We know this name that a lot of people maybe don't know it's the name Micaiah. Do you know who I'm talking about? He's famous because he's in the Book of Chronicles. Have you read Chronicles? Is anybody reading Chronicles? Micaiah. When they've got 400 yes-men who will tell the king whatever he wants to hear, positive vibes only, please, only good feelings among these. 400 false prophets saying positive things all the way to your death. Well, there's one guy who will tell you what YHWH really says. His name's Micaiah, and one of the most evil kings of all time says, "I don't like him. He never says anything good about me." And when they say to Micaiah, "hey, we've got 400 yes-men all giving a positive vibe. Try not to ruin it, Micaiah.” He says, "As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says, that's what I'm going to speak." So that's our whole goal. What is God saying? That's what we want to say.

Look at what it says in Second Timothy 2:15, and this is Paul writing to Timothy, his co-author of Thessalonians, but this is Paul's last letter to his disciple Timothy, who's a pastor, and he says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." What is the work that the preacher needs to do? He needs to cut it straight. He needs to rightly handle the word of truth. He needs to say what God says, not put his own positive spin on it, not twist it to the way people are going to like to hear it, not leave out certain parts. No, just say what God says, and then you won't need to be ashamed. You'll be like a worker who's doing his best with God's truth. Go over to chapter 4, where he charges Timothy. This is Paul's last chapter in 2 Timothy 4. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom.” That's a bold charge in front of Jesus, who's going to appear, who's bringing a kingdom. “Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, healthy doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into” what does it say there, everybody? “Stories, illustrations, Analogies, metaphors, some kind of entertaining, engaging way to hear things.” Paul's saying the time is coming. This time has been here in America now for some time, where we’ve got all kinds of people spinning positive vibes and happy feelings, but who's really saying what God says?

And so, the whole goal, when the Bible is opened here at Compass HB, is we're trying to say what did God say in those verses through the author that he inspired by the Holy Spirit to the original audience that the author was writing to. What did God say? And our goal, when I'm preaching, I can tell you this is what I'm praying. This is what I'm attempting to do. Any time we open it up, I don't want you to think he said something. I want you to think this is what God said. To see it for how it really is. Not the man who's bringing the message, but that God is bringing his Word. And Paul is so thankful that this group of people they got that. That God gave them the ability to receive this Word. That God gave them the ability to hear it, and they saw that the message of Jesus, that that's from God.

Romans 10:17 would be a good verse to put down under point number one. So, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” So specifically, what the Thessalonians heard Paul reasoning and explaining and proving was the gospel, and we talk about the gospel regularly here, as often as we can. But we're also going through all the Scripture, whatever book we're going through at the time. And there are so many things that we need to hear what God says. Are you coming to hear what God says? Go to Acts 17. Let's go back to the background, the story behind the Thessalonian church, and then after he gets chased out of Thessalonica by the jealous Jews in that town, they send Paul and Silas away by night. And where? What's the next town they go to? Berea. Have you ever heard of the Bereans before? There's no book called the Bereans, but these people have been an example to Christians for generations. Because what does Paul do after he got beaten by rods in Philippi? Well, he came to Thessalonica and he kept preaching the Word. And after they chased him out of Thessalonica by attacking Jason where he was staying, and then the mob they were looking for him, but they couldn't find him. So, then they said, you’d better get out of Thessalonica. What do they do? They go to the next town, Berea, and what do they do there? Same thing. Go to the synagogue, start preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it says in Acts 17:11, the Jews here in this synagogue, “these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

See, in Thessalonica, when Paul spoke for those three sabbaths, reasoning with them that Jesus is the Christ, some of the Jews were persuaded by what Paul said. But here in Berea, it seems like among the Jews there was this different mentality, eager to hear what Paul's teaching, ready, not sitting there critically or judgmentally, ready to hear it, but then also comparing what was said to what? What were they comparing it to, everybody? The Scripture. They weren't like, well, Paul, this guy's an apostle, so we'll just take whatever he says. No, we're ready to hear what he says, but we will also compare it to ultimately what God says.

So, I know, as a guy who's preached for more than three Sabbaths here in Huntington Beach, that some people have been very disappointed by my preaching here at this church, and maybe you are one of those people. And oftentimes, when I talk to people, what were you expecting out of the sermon? They have this idea in their mind of what they think a sermon is supposed to be, and it usually involves positive vibes and happy feelings. And I'm like, well, do you think it was what the text says? Do you think it was saying what God was saying? Is that the way you're listening to it is that the way you're receiving it is I'm going to compare whatever is said to what God says in the Scriptures because I am ready to hear from God. And he is so thankful for those Thessalonians because they heard it for what it really is, not the word of man, but the Word of God himself.

And so, that's something that unites us together here at Compass Bible Church. Everyone who's a brother or sister, we have all heard the Word of Christ, and God has given us the ears to hear who Christ is and what Christ really did for us, and God has saved us by the power of the gospel. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? Okay, now let's go back to 1 Thessalonians 2, because that's not all. We want to be united on the power of the gospel, but the reason we're doing this series is there's another thought we want to be united on, and that's the thought that church is a family, and we all have the Word of Christ in common, and we're thankful that we hear it as the Word of God, not the word of man.

But see, that actually led to the conflict, and that's what he gets to in verse 14. He says, "You brothers became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.” So, when you hear about the churches in Judea, that takes us back to Jerusalem. That takes us back to early book of Acts. The churches in Judea. We're going back now to like what you would call the early church, the original church, before there was this persecution that spread throughout Judea and Samaria. See when they were just filling the streets of Jerusalem, that's what he's saying. He's saying you became imitators.

Now, if you go back to chapter 1, verse 6, he talked about how they became imitators of Paul and Silas and of the Lord, and how they suffered because there was a division in Thessalonica. Some people were persuaded Jesus was the Messiah, and there were Jews there that were not persuaded. In fact, they were jealous that people were being persuaded, and so there was a conflict. And Paul's saying, "yeah, you became imitators of how it was back in Jerusalem, where there was this same conflict, where many people heard that they had killed Jesus, but God had raised him from the dead, and many believed and were saved. Thousands were being added to the church, but then there were those who hated that message. In fact, our author, or at least the one who says, "I, Paul," in our text, he knows very well the jealousy and the hatred that the Jews had for the early church. He, in fact, was one of the ringleaders of the original persecution, and so he's saying, "this is what happened to you.” Not only did the persecution chase Paul out of town, but now that persecution stayed in town with these Thessalonians, and he's trying to help them see you're in a long line of churches here. You're just like the churches in Judea, and you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and now they've driven us out, and they displease God, and they oppose all mankind. You can see as Paul gets going on these jealous Jews who chased him out of town and are giving the Thessalonians there a hard time, and they're suffering, oh, he lets us know what he really thinks about this, and he talks about they're hindering us in verse 16. They're hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved, they're filling up the measure of sins. Wrath is coming upon them.

So, he sees what the Jews are doing as evil and wrong, opposing the gospel message going out to more people. And then he says this, and this is the key line, verse 17, if you could circle this phrase, “torn away.” He says, "Since we were torn away from you, brothers." Okay. Now, when you read that in English, it sounds like yeah, they were ripped away. It was sudden, but you don't get the full depth of meaning here. That it's the word for orphaned. If you want to write that down above, “torn away.” He's basically saying, “but when we were orphaned from you,” in the Greek, the word is orphanos. You can understand how we get the word orphan from that. You might be familiar with a couple of verses that mention the idea of being an orphan. One is Jesus says to his disciples in John 14, verse 18, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.” Jesus, when he told his disciples he was going to leave, he told them, I'm not going to leave you. They'll all come back and get you. You won't stay as orphans. And then, of course, James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” So, the word here is a verb version of this idea of an orphan. So, when it says “torn away,” in Paul's mind, it's like a family ripped apart. It's like kids who are now going to grow up without parents. It's a heartbreaking reality.

See, this is getting us back into the mindset of Paul, where these are his brothers and sisters, and he loves them like a mother would care for her own children. He'll speak to them the truth like a father would talk to his own children. And now when the Jews came and they were looking for him and they couldn't find him, and they said, "you’ve got to get out of here, Paul and Silas. Go to the next town, flee." And then he was like suddenly not there anymore. He felt like he got separated from his own family. That's the idea behind this language. And again, after uses like a family picture, a word picture, then look at how much passion comes out of Paul here. He says, “We were torn away for a short time in person, not in heart, and we endeavored,” you could say, we did our best, “the more eagerly, with great desire, with great passion, to see you face to face.”

So, another thing you may want to write in here is when it says "person," that's the word for face. He says, "We got torn away from you.” We got separated from you. At least we couldn't be face-to-face. But once we were in, now my heart was still there with you, but my face got removed. My person got removed. See, when you're really with someone, you see their face, their countenance. You see how they're doing. This is the idea of seeking God's face. That's a way you might want to say you're in God's presence, or you really want to know God. You're seeking his face. See, we couldn't be face-to-face anymore. And so, how did Paul feel about being separated from the Thessalonians, his brothers and sisters that he had shared the gospel with, and they were responding and receiving the word of the gospel? How did he feel when he was separated from them? Oh, he did whatever he could to get back to them. Oh, he really wanted to see them again. He had a great passion. He says to get back to face-to-face fellowship with them. In fact, look at what he even says in verse 18. “We wanted to come to you, I Paul.” Now notice he's writing with this idea that Paul, Silas, and Timothy are all sending this letter like a co-authored letter. But here you can kind of tell who the main author is, and he just comes out and says, "I, Paul" again and again, meaning more than once. He specifically tried to come back to see the Thessalonians, and then he says, "But Satan hindered us." He's now telling us what he really thinks about these jealous Jews, and how they persecuted the Thessalonians and ran him out of town.

He thinks that behind all of that was the work of who, everybody? Satan. Who is the one who wants Paul and the Thessalonians separated and isolated from each other? Satan's behind that. He says Satan is the one hindering me from getting back to you. So, you got to see here that in Paul's mind, this forced separation with these new believers was not what he wanted at all, and he had this passion to get back and see their face, and he thought Satan was the one keeping him from doing it.

Do you have that kind of passion for God's people? I think a lot of people at this church they are okay if they don't see people face-to-face. They're okay if they catch it online. You know, the 405 is busy on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday night. I don't know if I'm going to make it to see those brothers face-to-face. You know, after a long day, I'm not feeling too great. Not talking about being sick, just talking about the way I'm feeling. Seems to me like Satan doesn't even have to do much work to separate believers these days. A lot of believers are doing that themselves, and if you isolate yourself, if you separate yourself, you are doing what Satan wants to be accomplished?

Let's get this down for point number two: “Don't do Satan's work for him.” Don't do Satan's work for him. Man, if we could just have a little piece of the passion that Paul has to get back to these people and see their face. See, here at Compass HB, from the very beginning, we have made it clear that we want everybody at this church to not just sit face forward and hear the Word of God. We want everybody at this church to also sit face-to-face, and that's where you sit in another gathering of God's people, and you look your brothers and sisters in the eyes, and we talk about the Word that we heard because we believe it's God's Word, and we want to be not just hearers of God's Word, but what everybody? Doers of God's Word.

And so, we have the chairs face forward, but then we turn them face-to-face, and we want everybody to be a part of one of those gatherings. And I love gathering with the brothers and sisters for fellowship. But I guarantee you, if the group's on Tuesday night or Wednesday night or Thursday night or whenever the group is, just check the text thread approaching the time of the group. Check the email chain, the Slack line, the GroupMe, the WhatsApp, whatever it is. However, this group is communicating. As the moment comes, the glorious moment when we gather together to encourage one another and build up the church, what inevitably starts happening? You know, you're maybe in one of these groups. All of a sudden, so and so can't make it. So and so can't make it. So and so can't make it. There was a time a few weeks ago where I was texting a bunch of people. Hey, will I see you tonight? Hey, let's do some fellowship tonight. Hey, guess what day of the week it is? Hey, I'd love to see you. And oh, I'll be there, brother. Oh, I'll see you then. I had like three different bros. Like we're locked in for fellowship tonight on the calendar. I don't think I saw any one of those three bros that night, and that's not like a crazy week. That's how it goes around here. People don't have this passion to get face-to-face. Ah, if I miss a week, it's okay.

Paul, he's like heartbroken, and he's attributing the persecution of the Jews that forced him to leave town. That's keeping him from coming back. He's attributing that work of separation to Satan, and I want to make sure you're not doing Satan's work for him. Go with me to Hebrews, chapter 10. Let's all turn to Hebrews, chapter 10, and let's see what this says about our encouragement of one another, our fellowship with the brothers and sisters. This has been an important passage at our church from the beginning, and this has been a goal of what we want to see accomplished here as Jesus is building his church. Hebrews 10:24-25, and “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Let's get to know each other. Let's think about each other. And what could I do to provoke love and good works in my brothers and sisters? How could I spur them on? How could I stir them up? And then look at verse 25. Can you write this down in your notes? “Not neglecting to meet together,” and then what does it say? “As is the habit of” what? See, this has always been the way that it is. Some people have a lesser commitment to getting together with their one anothers, and it's saying don't neglect to synagogue together, to gather together.

Have you heard this verse before here in our church? Don't neglect. See, the thing that helped me so much was when I, because growing up, I went to church all the time, and I even heard Hebrews 10:25 is like it was kind of thrown out as the proof text of why everybody had to go to church. Oh, that person, you see them? They're a bad person. They think they're a Christian, but they don't go to church. Hebrews 10:25. Boom! Like end of story, right? And then I actually started learning what Hebrews 10:25 was saying, and I realized that Hebrews 10:25 isn't talking about face forward time. It's talking about face-to-face time. And I was like, "Oh, even the people that were using that verse weren't even doing what it said." Because we're talking about getting with other people to where you can consider their way of life. In fact, look at how it goes on, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, calling alongside of each other,” I come alongside of you, and I speak the truth in love into your life, encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near, as you see the kingdom is at hand, as you see the time of judgment and the return of Jesus is getting near, so do it even more as the end comes, not less. Wow, that's what Christians do. It's not just that they go to church; they treat church like a family. They want to see their brothers and sisters face-to-face because they've been thinking about them, they've been praying about them, and they're looking for an opportunity to say something to them that will encourage them as the end comes, because the end is definitely coming, and we want our brothers and sisters to make it all the way to the end with their faith.

Go with me to 1 Peter 5. Let's think about what Satan might be doing through these Jews, and the damage was already done, so to speak, and that some were persuaded by Paul's gospel, and some did hear it as the Word of God, and there were people, there were Jews, there were Greeks, there were leading women. It says there was a diverse group of people that came together as the church in Thessalonica. And see, what Satan now wants to do to this young group of believers. This new church is what Satan's been doing to our brothers all over the world for the whole history of the church. 1 Peter 5:8-9. Peter says, "Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring” what, everybody? Like a “lion, seeking someone to devour.” Satan is trying to take people down. He's looking for people to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Yeah, like your brothers way back in the day in Thessalonica, when Satan separated these new Christians from the man who was bringing them God's Word, and he was testing them, and he was coming after them.

When we originally went through 1 Thessalonians, I had just seen this YouTube video called The Battle at Kruger. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Battle at Kruger. It's got almost 95 million views, and it was posted 19 years ago, and it's people on a safari somewhere. I can't tell exactly where, but they've got really cool accents. And it feels like just somebody with a camcorder back in the day. But then it's such a good video. You feel like it's National Geographic level because it starts with the water buffaloes coming, and the water buffaloes are cool. They’ve got the big horns. They're coming in looking tough, and people are like, "Wow, look at those water buffaloes!" But it sounds much cooler when they say it in their accents, wherever they're from. And then the guy pans over like it's planned out, and there are lions in the tall grass, just waiting to pounce. And you can see the team of lions, and you can see the water buffaloes, and you know there's about to be a collision. And like one of the ladies on the safari, her voice gets really high at that point, and then they strike. Now let me ask you a question. Who do the lions go after? Do they go after the biggest, strongest water buffalo, the alpha? Do they try to take the guy who's the toughest one down? Even though the lions, we would refer to as the king of the jungle, the apex predator. They go after the baby. That's who they go after.

And you can see right away that they have targeted a smaller-looking, younger water buffalo, and it's like four lions on one baby water buffalo. As everybody's running for their lives, and they kind of knock this water buffalo, this baby, into the water. That's right where they just had this big altercation. And so, you’ve got like four lions, maybe five, trying to pull this water buffalo up out of the water that it's now fallen into from the impact when they attacked it. And you're watching this struggle. Like even four lions can barely get the baby water buffalo out of the water because they have to pull it up. And then all of a sudden, a crocodile comes out of the water and tries to take the baby water buffalo. And you're like, "This is awesome!" And the crocodile comes once and it comes twice, and the lions they do not like this pesky crocodile, and it spurs the lions on to pull this water buffalo up on the land, get it away from you, crocodile. And now the lions they have the water buffalo up on the land, and what the lions don't realize is the herd is coming, and all the water buffaloes have come together now, and they're snorting anger out of those nostrils, and they're coming in, and all of a sudden, the lions realize what's going on, and here's an entire herd of water buffaloes, and these lions are now kind of crouched around the baby, and then one of the water buffaloes just comes in, and he gives a lion the horns, and now you're rooting for the water buffaloes, and you're like, yeah, teach those lions, and he chases this water buffalo, he chases this lion out into the jungle or savanna or wherever they are, and the lion actually runs away. And then you can see the water buffaloes. They're having some kind of group think. They're having some kind of think tank. They're all huddled together, and then all of a sudden, it's like two of them part. And here comes bro out, and he gives one of those lions the horns so that it throws the lion into the air. You're like, pause, screensaver right there, and this lion gets launched. The other lions don't stand a chance. That baby gets up and goes off with the herd of water buffaloes.

Some of you were sweating through that story. You were not sure how that was going to end. Some of you are making yourselves the baby water buffalo. You're putting yourself in a dangerous position. Proverbs 18:1 says that “it is foolish to isolate yourself,” To separate yourself from the herd. Satan is like a lion, and people do get devoured. Many set out to follow Jesus; many don't continue. And so, you need to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ, because Satan wants you separated from them. He wants you isolated. People are very kind here at this church. They say we're praying for you. We're praying for your family. I'll take all of your prayers that I can get. Thank you so much. But will you please pray for the new Christians here at this church? Will you please pray for that person who's deciding they don't really need to go on Wednesday night? Will you please pray for that person that's telling themselves nobody's really thinking about me, nobody cares about me, and they're making this about their view of themselves? Pray for them, please, because there is a lion out there, and he loves to devour.

Turn with me to Acts, chapter 2. Acts, chapter 2, we see that they were imitating the churches in Judea. Well, let's go back to the original church in Jerusalem, and what was the original church known for? If you were to describe their daily lives here at the end of Acts, chapter 2, as the church has begun through the powerful preaching of the gospel, as people have heard it for what it really is, the Word of Christ, and three thousand have repented and believed. Three thousand have been baptized, and more are being added day by day to the church's hundreds and thousands of people from its very beginning. And how would you describe such a large group of people? Well, it says in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the” what, everybody? The fellowship, the sharing of the life of Jesus together. See, they weren't just devoted to teaching. Yes, go to a church that's teaching the Bible. Go to a church that's saying what God says. Very important, but that's not all church is. I know a lot of people; they love hearing what the Bible says. Problem is they don't love anybody else. Now they were devoted to both thousands hearing the apostles teach there in Solomon's portico in the temple, and then what did they do? Look at what it says. “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together. They had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

It sounds like church wasn't a once-a-week experience. Sounds like it was a day-by-day experience, and amen. I couldn't wait for the workday to be over because then we all started walking from all over Jerusalem. We came into the temple area, and there was Peter, James, or John, or one of the twelve, and they get up there and they start teaching thousands, and everybody's super quiet, so they can all hear every word of their teaching. And then, as the sun is setting and as the day is coming to an end, where are you going? We all find our way to each other's homes, where we share a meal together, and we talk about the Word that we just heard. We talk about the difference that Jesus is making in our actual lives. See, I think a lot of people are comparing their church, what they think church is, to how church has been in America. I think a lot of people they get their idea of church from churches they grew up in. This is where we want to get our idea of church, from the original church, and Paul's even comparing the Thessalonians to the original church. And what were they all about? Teaching, give it to me, give it to me straight from God's Word and fellowship. They were devoting themselves to it.

They spent time in it, they lingered, they tarried, sharing the life of Jesus together. See, that's the kind of commitment that we need to have to God's people. We need to be committed to God's Word, and we need to be committed to God's people. And to separate from God's people, do you realize over the years how many people have left the entire church body because they had a problem with one person? Happens all the time. Hey, can we get together and have a meeting and work this out? No, don't even want to talk about it sometimes. Separating, isolating. Then you ask them later on, "well, how's that going out for you?" They may not even be a part of a church now. They're out there on their own, and the lions in the tall grass the whole time. Let me just tell you, don't do Satan's work. Stay close to God's people want to see them, desire to be face-to-face with them. That's what we see from Paul. In fact, go back and listen to what Paul says about the Thessalonians in verses 19 and 20. After he makes it clear that the suffering is still affecting them, and the suffering is what separated them, and the suffering, the persecution, the Jews that are coming after him and persecuting them, well, actually, Satan's behind that. Satan's keeping Paul from getting back to them, and he says in verses 19 and 20, let's all think about it, Paul says here because we don't hear people talk like this today. It says, "For what is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting?"

Okay, now if I just asked you that question before we even read the rest of that verse, if I just said to you, "What is your hope and joy and your crown of boasting?” What would everybody here at church shout? Jesus is our hope. Jesus is where we find our joy through knowing the Father through him. We boast nothing in ourselves. We boast everything in the righteousness of Christ. Can I get an amen from anybody? That's not what Paul says here. He says, "For what is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting” before our Lord Jesus at his coming? When we're going to be in his presence when he comes back, what are we going to hope in? What are we going to have joy in? What are we going to boast about, like a crown that's given to a victor? What is our trophy or our prize going to be on the day we stand before Jesus? He says, "Is it not you? You are our glory. You are our joy." If it wasn't Paul saying it in Scripture, you would think this ain't right. But he's making a point here that these people they're his purpose, they're his prize.

That on that day when he stands before Jesus, when the servant comes before the master and he hopes to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant," what is Paul going to have done? Is he going to have done sharing the gospel with these souls, and they're going to be something he will take joy in in eternity? They will be his crown. He literally acts like he's going to wear a crown because of those who have been saved by the power of the gospel by the Word of God. Now this idea of a crown, this is how Paul would talk. Maybe some of you remember even this line in Romans 15:17, when we went through the book of Romans. He says, "In Christ Jesus then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.” Now we would think being proud of your work's a no-no. That sounds very bad, and there is a real danger of pride that we'll read about if you're reading Chronicles this week. King Uzziah he grows proud. He forgets that God's the one doing the work through his Word, and he becomes proud. But notice how Paul even says, "I have a reason to be proud of my work for God." Maybe you can remember that when we went through Romans 15. Some of you, he's boasting. That's the idea of proud there. “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience.” What am I going to boast about? What am I going to have that has actually happened? I shared the gospel with people, and those people actually got saved by the power of the gospel.

And so Paul, he would talk like this, like I have done something as a servant of Jesus, and if you know about Paul, it's personal because he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, and Jesus even says to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And then what does Jesus tell him? I'm going to send you to who? I'm going to send you to the Gentiles, and I'm going to open their eyes, and I'm going to turn them from the power of Satan to the power of God. I'm going to turn them from the darkness to the light. Like Jesus said, Paul, you're going to go do this, and at the end, when he's before Jesus, he's going to actually have done something. That's what Paul's saying. The people that he saves by the gospel, that's something that he's done with me, his messenger, his servant. And how about Philippians, chapter 4, verse 1, where he says, "Therefore, my brothers." See, we're getting a glimpse into Paul's mindset, which we're finding out is supposed to be all of our mindset, based on Hebrews 10 or Acts 2, Philippians 4:1. “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for,” look at this, “my joy and crown. Stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” Do you see how much love and affection is put into one verse right there? They are his brothers and sisters. He loves them. He longs for them. You know, God makes everything beautiful in his time because, as frustrated as Paul was to be separated by Satan from the Thessalonians, I'm actually glad personally that that happened. Because then we got the book of 1 Thessalonians, and we get to see how much Paul loves people, how he longs to see their face, as he's doing here with the Philippians. He says, "You're my joy. You're my crown." He says, "Stand firm.” You’ve got to stay standing in your faith all the way to the end. Why? Because I love you. I hope to see you there, my friend, and his glory, and his kingdom. When you're there and I'm there, what joy we will have! What glory we will experience!

Go with me to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. First Corinthians, chapter 9, just a few pages over to the left from 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. You might be familiar with this passage, starting in verse 24, because he talks about running. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, he's talking about running to win a prize, and he's been talking here about preaching the gospel, and he's even giving the idea of woe if I don't preach the gospel, if I don't spread the good news, if I don't share the Word of Christ. But he says in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it." That's where the idea of like run to win comes from. Yeah, a lot of people are running, but you’ve got to run like you're going to get there first. You’ve got to run to win. There is a prize worth running for. And what is it? Verse 25. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath,” or you could translate it a perishable crown.

Well, what is he talking about? What is this wreath, this crown, this prize that he wants to win? Go back to the verses before, where he says in verse 19, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” What does he want to win? He wants to win souls. “To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ, that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

See, Paul doesn't think like many Christians I've heard today. I'll go to heaven someday. It'll be great as long as I make it. As long as my family make it, it'll be awesome. That's not how Paul thinks. He thinks, no, I want you to make it. I want you to make it. I want you to make. I want them all to make it. “And I'll do whatever I can because I want to share with them in the blessings of salvation forevermore. The glory, the joy, the other brothers and sisters that hear the gospel and get added to the family, they will be my crown, and we will serve the Lord together in his kingdom.” And we will walk the streets of gold in our Father's house, where there will be many rooms. It's not just to get there; it's to get there together. And the only way we're going to get there together is we've got to live together now. Can I get an amen from anybody on this? I want to know who at this church could say that they have so cared about other people, they've so spoken to other people, they've so invested their life and shared the gospel with other people that they could say, "You are my joy. You are my hope. You are my crown." Like when I get there, one of the things that will matter that I did in my life is I shared the life of Jesus with you, and the fact that we will make it together. That's what Paul's so invested in what happens to the souls of these people, and he wants to get back to see their faces for more fellowship, to encourage them all the way to the end. Are you investing in other people so that when you get to glory with them, you will share in that glory together? That's what Paul's doing.

Let's get that down for number three: We’ve got to “See others as a Prize, not a Problem.” We’ve got to see others as what we're trying to win as. The goal, is that there would be a prize, there would be a crown, there would be many souls, not other people. Why is this person like this, or why is this a burden, or why does this happen? What's your perspective? Are you just trying to get there yourself, or are you there Ready to fellowship now, so we can get there together. See, my friend, this guy, I don't know if you ever heard of him. His name's Brad Comstock. Brad Comstock. I forgot his name. Even it's been so long since he was here. Does anybody know who Brad Comstock is? He used to be the nicest guy at our church, and then he left us in the lurch and went to Long Beach. Does anybody remember that? This guy Brad Comstock, see, he's the kind of person I'm talking about. This guy that shows up here, he's a friend of Wes's. He lives in Long Beach, and he's had enough of God in his life, and he's turned his back on God so hard. He's pretty convinced God doesn't want him back. I remember one day out in front of the old building over there. I was going to meet with Brad, and he had this weird look in his eyes. He was very angry. He was very upset, and we were going to have a meeting, and he walked out of a meeting and wanted nothing to do with me. And if you know the story, Brad ended up hearing the gospel. And when Brad heard the gospel, he didn't act like, yeah, maybe I'll believe that. Brad heard it and he molded on it for months. And when he finally realized that God was ready to forgive all of his sins because of what Jesus had done, it was like the guy got shot out of a cannon. It was like he was completely different. Wasn't living in drunkenness. Wasn't living in anger. He was living by a new power. And I would meet with this guy, and he would eat it up. And he had so many brothers here at the church, investing in him, investing in his wife, and he was being built up. He was being encouraged. Eventually, Brad, he had a hunger to meet the new people, like just how he came in. He would go and talk to people. He would he would stay long after church, welcoming in people. In fact, he would come and talk to me for hours. What do you do if they say this? What do you do if they say that? What about if somebody says this? How do I approach that? And then it was it was so like this guy has a passion to talk to people. We need to give him an office here at the church because he needs a place. He needs a place to talk to these people, to have all these conversations. Like you would go around, and if somebody was new, they'd be like, "Hey, where's Brad?" Like he was the guy they wanted to talk to, and he would start to lead this Foundations class we had. And I remember he would go up there, and he would pull out his hard hat, and he would say, "A lot of people when they come to church, they're looking for an already finished project. They want to go to a community center where everything's landscaped, everything's set up, everything's already prepared. And what they don't realize is, when you come to church, you got to put your construction hat on because Jesus is building. And if you're expecting everybody to already be a finished project, you don't understand how church works because we're not coming here because it's done. We're coming here because Jesus is doing it now.

And so, you’ve got to change your expectations. You're not here so you can just enjoy something on your way to heaven. You're here to be a part of what Jesus is building, and that guy now is a pastor in Long Beach at a whole different church, welcoming in people, investing, him and his wife Bethany in the college age, seeing people get saved, seeing people get built up. And when we get there someday, and we see Brad Comstock, we will have glory. Many of us, we will have joy. And when Brad shows up, and he's got a whole line of disciples that he invested in, we will meet people we never met on earth, and we will be like, look at all these brothers, look at all these sisters. What joy we will experience! What a crown will be on our heads! What glory we will have in the Lord Jesus. Look at what you built. I'm so blessed that I got to be a part of it. Let's pray.

Father, we're so thankful that you make everything beautiful in your time. We're so thankful that even though Paul was separated from the Thessalonians, even though the Thessalonians were being persecuted and suffering from the Jews, that in this moment of separation, this moment that Satan worked to isolate Paul from these new believers, and Paul, he did his best, he greatly desired to get back there, but Satan kept him away. God, thank you in that moment that Paul wrote down what was on his heart, so that we could read it here tonight, so that we could get a glimpse into a man that you turned around, a man that you sent out, a church planter, a man who thought these people were now his family, his brothers and sisters. And when Satan, through the Jews, caused him to leave the city, he felt like he was orphaned apart from them. Father, we just need to come and confess that this love that Paul is talking about, this longing that he has for these people, the joy of these people's faith, and how much it matters to him. We just need to confess that we don't think that way here at Compass HB. And God, we need to confess that there are even people who will leave here tonight, and they'll say, "Well, that's just Paul. I don't have to be like that." God, please convict us in our hearts. God, we know that people are going to be sick. We know people are going to have physical problems. We know people are going to go on trips and business trips, and there will be reasons that we can't get face-to-face. But God, please don't let it be because of how we feel in our emotions. Please don't let just the daily circumstances keep us apart. Please don't let us be doing the work of Satan all by ourselves. Let us get face-to-face with one another. Let us come together, not just to hear the teaching face forward, but to get to each other face-to-face. To say, brother, sister, how are you doing? How can I pray for you? What did you hear? What did you learn from the Word of God? Father, we pray that you will teach us this way of fellowship. That we would not just be like the American church, but like the original church. People who were devoted, people who were committed. Father, please help us to see the family you've made us, and make this kind of love and longing that Paul had for the church make that beautiful here in this time at our church. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.