Called and Chosen for Salvation

Brethren, do you sometimes need a bit of encouragement? Of course we do. We all do, don't we? I just look around this room and I know others who are attending and uh different areas, some up at the camp and some this morning in Olympia. So, we all need encouragement, don't we? And that's all I want to talk about today.

Just encouragement for all of us. want to start with some questions and then you'll see how these questions tie to a particular section of scripture. But let's do the questions first and we'll see the answers as we go. Do you sometimes just need to hear someone say that they are thankful for you? that they are really thankful not just for what you do, not just for who you are, but thankful for you.

Sometimes when you're having a difficult time, do you just need to be reminded again that God loves you? I know I've been there and I know many of the people I've talked to over the years have expressed that. Would it be helpful to again hear that God chose you to be in his eternal family? And we heard that in the first message.

We sang it in a couple of the songs actually. How encouraging would it be to hear again how God and Christ are bringing us to glory? That first song that we started with spoke on these things. It's and and we sang those songs and to me it was so encouraging just to hear that selection because you pray for inspiration, ask God to lead you and guide you and then you come and the first song is about the message that we're bringing.

Are there times when you really need a friend to tell you to hang on even if it's hard? I do and I really appreciate it when that happens. How encouraging would it be to have a friend pray that God in Christ would comfort your heart and help you continue growing and serving. So these are all areas in which we feel the need for encouragement, isn't aren't they? I mean why do we feel this? It's because life is hard.

We heard that in the first message. We sang that in some of the songs. Life can be hard at times. And God knows that. And he knows that because life is hard, we will need encouragement from time to time. We look around the room and think about others here in our congregations. Others we know in more distant areas. And many of us are sick or we have family members who are sick and some have been struggling for a long while.

One of my friends died this week. A friend in Las Vegas. I hope his wife is listening now. It was very difficult and I needed encouragement and I know that others did too. Most of us have lost loved ones and even if it's not recent, still need that encouragement from time to time. We all have our own personal trials, whatever they might be.

And we live in a turbulent and dangerous world. So, you know, there are reasons, aren't there, for us to need and then really appreciate encouragement that comes from God. But let's not spend time today or right now on thinking about all the details of our trials. They're there and we know it. We feel it.

But today in the sermon, brethren, let's look into the holy scriptures of God and see some of the most beautiful and positive encouragement that God has inspired for all of us. We all need this. There's a passage in second Thessalonians chapter 2 and you might turn there and that passage guides us to the answers to those questions that I ask in the introduction.

They're all referenced there. And as I spent time studying this week and meditating and praying about this message, this is the passage that gave me the focus to this sermon for you. Uh because I needed it and and I was thinking about so many things. It's hard to put it together sometime, but then I read this passage and it just came together and said, "Thank you, God, for showing this to me and help me please to show it to your people here.

" So, the title then, if you'd like a title, the title is this, called and chosen for salvation. I want you to think about that. You'll see that title develop as we read this passage together in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 uh verses 13 through 17. Such a beautiful passage and you might notice briefly that it follows some very intense things in the earlier part of the chapter.

But let's let those things be for a different time and let's focus on what Paul brought to the mind of those who heard and read his words and even to us today. I want to read this passage through and then I'm going to come back and just take it phrase by phrase and see some of the depth of the encouragement and the quality of it and need for it and the direction that comes from it.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 as we begin, but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you brethren beloved by the Lord because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the tradition which you were taught without, whether by word or by our epistle. Now may the Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us an everlasting consolation and good hope by grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. This is so very encouraging just to read it through.

But we can gain so much more as we take the time to look at some of the phrases as well. It's just so rich in the expression of God's love for us and so full of the positive doctrine and personal motivation that we need to. In all my years of speaking, I've never given a sermon using this section as an outline, but I just felt the need for myself and hopefully for all of you as well.

So, let's take a closer look at these verses phrase by phrase. And I know I could go much deeper than what I have the time for today, but I want to bring out some of these good points as we go. Let's begin again in 2 the 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13. The first phrase we'll see. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren.

This kind of honor and encouragement is given by Paul and others in several passages of scripture. And each time there's a reason that is given that Paul and others with him felt bound to give thanks to God for you. Now this is a beautiful way of expressing it. We can see this build through the writing that he gave here to these people that he knew so very well in Thessalonica.

And he knew them, he loved them, he cared for them. and he was writing to them about these wonderful things. You can see this building in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse three and four. It says again, we are bound. There's a duty. There's an obligation. There's a need that he had to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting.

And why did he say that? It continues because your faith grows exceedingly. You see the praise he's reminding them of these very positive things that God is doing in their lives and with them and through them. And the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. What a blessing it is to be among God's people with this kind of approach among us and for each other.

So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations which you endure. Yes, there's recognition thereof. Our persecutions, our tribulations, we do endure them. But the encouragement is here. And he says, I thank God for you. Now, there's something very high in that praise, isn't there? To have someone thank God.

To bow their knees before God or walk along a trail, raise their head and look up to the heavens and see and say, "Thank you for my brethren. Thank you for calling these special people. Thank you for them." Notice something important in these passages that we'll read that Paul and those who served with him thanked God in this way.

He's talking he's telling them that he already told God, "Thank you for my brothers and sisters in the faith." It's beautiful, isn't it? They prayed about these brethren. Even when Paul wasn't with them, he was traveling in other places. He's writing this letter for them and sending it back to them, praying for them with open hearts, expressing thanks to God for each of them, for all of them.

This is this is part of the the kind of relationship that we have that we have with each other that comes to us through God through Christ and through the spirit of God in us. The application how would we apply this? Can we do we? Yes, I will answer that for us. We you all do this. pray for one another in prayer to God for each other.

I would put it this way, brethren. Sometimes someone will do something for us and we're so grateful and we pray and say, "Thank you, God, for my friend who did this for me." That's good. That's important. But this raises it a little. Now, we're praying and thanking God for calling that person.

Thank you God for calling my friend. Calling everyone here in this congregation helping them to understand your way is for them too. We can do that more often and pray for God to bless each other. Notice this as well because Paul is covering two things here and it's so beautiful when you see it and think about it. He prayed to God for them.

Now he's writing to them and telling them that he prayed for them. We can do that and many of us do. Many of us will of course we pray and come and fellowship and say I prayed for you this morning which by the way I did many of you probably prayed for each other too this morning we pray but tell our friends you're in my prayers and it's not just because of what they need not just because of what they did but we're so grateful that they're part of this body, this church, a daughter or son of God.

And people we love need to hear this, too. And God made sure that these words are in his scripture in these ways, directing us to these things so that we will see examples of what we can do and what we can receive as well. If you want to encourage someone, this is a wonderful way to do that. I know many of you do these things and without drawing attention too much I could say it is evident among us that you do these things for the widows who gather sometimes at a restaurant and enjoy the time together and pray for others.

for those of you who host people in your home and welcome them in and provide for them and you pray before they arrive even that it would be edifying for them. There's so many examples for people who visit those in the hospital and it's not just because they're in the hospital or sick or need something.

It's because they love them. We go and be there with them and for them and tell them how grateful we are that they are our sister in Christ or our brother in Christ. We can do a lot of good for one another in this way. And I'm so very glad, brethren, to be among a congregation that that does this. What I'm trying to do is say see it, know it, and realize how powerful these things are, these spiritual things that God gives to us.

The next phrase here in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13, he says, "Beloved in the Lord." Now, I'm just going to take these phrases. You can read the context, but the phrase beloved in the Lord. Brethren, think about what those beautiful words mean to you. that God and Jesus Christ love you. And Paul is writing to the people in Thessalonica.

But think of it as these are God's word, his words for us. These are meant for you to read and realize that they're for you and for every one of us, beloved in the Lord. This is the kind of encouragement that helps us more than we realize. Sometimes in in deep personal counselings over the years, uh some someone needs reassurance about that point.

Sometimes I've been with people, they're in such great need of encouragement and and it'll come out in expression in in in words from them that they're not sure if God loves them anymore. Maybe he's given up on them. But the scripture says we're beloved in the Lord. And this is a point that's frequently emphasized in many of the books of the Bible.

Just a brief reference. We know the scriptures that say God is love. First John 4 speaks of that twice. Jesus Christ, it says, came that God gave him. He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He loves us. He loves the world. And he loves his people who he's called with a different and higher degree of that spiritual love. that's already growing in us.

Jesus loves us. We see that in his in his ministry as well. When he was here on earth on that Passover evening, he spoke of his love several times to those who were with him. And those are recorded for us, too. It's not just for the people who were there that evening. It's for all of us now to see those words where he said, "As my father loved me, I have also loved you.

Abide in my love." And we can feel that encouragement and know that Jesus Christ loves us, each and every one of us. And he prayed and said that night again he said and I have declared to them your name and will declare it that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them. You see brethren this is a kind of love that's not yet among the people of the world but this is speaking Jesus Christ speaking of his disciples whom the father had given to him and he loves us.

He wants that kind of love to be in them, in us. In the book of Colossians, I'll just quote part of this verse and you can write it down and see Colossians 3 and verse 12 where he says that we are the elect of God, holy and beloved. And so when we pray for each other, we can think of our friends in this way.

The person we're praying about and thanking God for is someone who is beloved by him, someone who is holy and someone who will be given eternal life. in 1 John 4. I do want to turn to this one and read it because there's a phrase here that I find so very encouraging and it helps us to focus in a very direct and personal way.

In 1 John 4 and verse 16 it says, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us." God is love. We know that, brethren. We've know and believe it. We have known and believed the love that God has for us. And so when you need encouragement, just look at verses like this and say, "Yes, I do believe that God loves me.

I do believe that he loves us." The point that's being made is that we are we it's in Paul's writing who the ones he prayed for. He says,"I I'm bound to give thanks to my God for those who are beloved of him." We are the people who God loves in a very special way. And how encouraging that can be. The next phrase in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13 is this.

Because God from the beginning chose you for salvation. Now we're coming to the title chosen called and chosen for salvation. You see right here in this verse, God from the beginning chose you for salvation. Take that as incredibly positive encouragement from God. He chose you for salation. How would you describe salvation? And we could go in many different ways.

It' be great sometime just sit around with a a group of you and and talk about what salvation means to you and what it will be like. There are many different verses in the scriptures that we could talk about. What is salvation? We're called to that. God chose us for that. And what he is doing, he will finish. There's so much encouragement in each of these phrases.

And this one is so so very powerful that God chose you. And I just look now at each of you and in my thoughts I say, "Thank you, God, for choosing these wonderful people for salvation. When we see each other in these ways, then brethren, it lifts our fellowship. It lifts our understanding. It encourages us and encourages each other.

when we can do this in John 6 and verse 44. It's a very familiar verse to us, but it's really a very powerful and positive spiritual truth, especially when we see it with this kind of context. It says there in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the father draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

But we have come to Christ. We've been hearing sermons recently about follow me. Come to me you who are laden and I will give you rest. And we are called to him to come to him. We're called because the father draws us. He drew you and me and all of us. And Christ says, "And I will raise him up at the last day.

" He's speaking of that salvation that we are called to salvation and chosen for salvation. We can see how this is expounded in another passage too in Ephesians chapter 1. I had such enjoyment as I was reading and studying and finding these verses again and finding where there was encouragement for me but to share with you and this is one of the main passages that came to mind in Ephesians 1:es 3-6 it says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in in the heavenly places in Christ,

just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. It's always been his plan to have a chosen people who would come to be his sons and daughters. And here we are in our time as part of his family that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.

It's God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved. It's what he is doing that spiritual blessing that he gives to us is what he is going doing in us and with us and through us. And we look to that that he has made us accepted. The father has made us accepted in the beloved in Jesus Christ.

We can look to that. We can rely on that. We can trust this. We can believe it. Back in 2 Thessalonians 2, next phrase in verse 13, just ask this question. How did God choose you? When I was reading this and studying, I I I I reflected back on my own calling when I can go back the farthest earliest memory in my life of when I knew that God was choosing me, calling me was in a farmland in East Texas and I was just a very young boy and I remember learning some of these things.

And a few years ago, I took Nancy back to that same location and we stood on that ground and the memories just flooded back in. Especially the good memories of knowing that at that time in my life, God was choosing me. that poor little farm boy in a remote area of East Texas. He chose you.

What is your story? What is it? Let's look a little further at how he chooses us. There are two points to consider here. It says there in that verse, verse 13, he chose us through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth. So you answer the question, how did God choose you? We know that he did. We've already seen that.

How did he do it? through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth. These points just keep building and you see the greatness of God's plan for us. He chooses us on purpose. He sanctifies us by the spirit. And there's so much we could think about what that means and how it's done. And don't forget there's that word and belief in the truth.

When did you begin to believe? It was an important time in your life. It was when there's evidence of God working in your life, choosing you, calling you out of this world. He's bringing us into a holy and spiritual relationship which ultim ultimately leads to salvation. We see some reference to this in first Peter chapter 1.

1 Peter 1 and verse two it says elect according to the fornowledge of God the father. So the the father is directly involved in our lives for every single one of us calling us so that we can come to Christ helping us to know these things. It's important relationship that is being developed. Peter says in sanctification of the spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, he brings us into that relationship that is possible only through the sacrifice of Christ for each of us.

Believing that and accepting that that's the truth. It's part of the gospel. It's the main part of the gospel. And Peter said, "Grace to you and peace be multiplied." These are the things that encourage us if we remember them. If we remember that God's been working with us, not just today, not just yesterday, but all these years that we've known him and begun to know.

In First Thessalonians chapter 5, it's interesting several of these verses come in first and 2 Thessalonians. Paul was so very connected with those people there and they were the ones who I think uh scripture shows they were the more responsive of his teaching and the accepting of this understanding of truth that God was revealing to them.

In 1 Thessalonians 5 23 and 24 he says now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. We talk about being sanctified. Look how complete God wants that to be and it is and can be. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it. See, he's called us. He's chosen us for salvation. What a great and special calling. And he wants us to understand this so that it's deep down inside and we believe it no matter what we're going through at the time. And we see that develop he mentioned there in first Thessal 2 Thessalonians and belief in the truth.

That other point we are called by sanctification of the spirit and belief in the truth. Jesus spoke about believing and without believing we would not be here would we? We believe. It's important brethren to remember yes I do believe these things. The way we can believe it is because God has opened our mind and the spirit helps us to understand it. Jesus' words are there.

Jesus spoke of this on many occasions in very encouraging statements and he said in John chapter 6 in verse 40 he said there before he said no man can come to me unless the father draw him. He said this a few verses earlier. And this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day.

See belief is so very important to have that kind of faith. We heard of faith in the first message. How important that is, how life-changing it is, how necessary it is for salvation. One more point on this. In the book of John in chapter 1 in verse 12, I was at summer camp one time and one of the young men, he wasn't uh quite settled in his own calling.

He seemed to be wanting to find a way out and not have to respond as we were hoping he might. And so he quoted verse 11, I'll just mention it here. And he said, "Why do we preach the gospel? Why do we do all this?" Because it says that even the people that Jesus preached to didn't listen, didn't turn to him.

And he quoted verse 11 of John chapter 1. He said, "And he came to his own and his own did not receive him." The point was the other side. I want to switch it to what Jesus said. what was said not by Jesus but John wrote it here in this context in verse 12 and this is us and this is where Christ focuses his attention when he speaks of us but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God even to those who believe in his name.

So we are called to salvation by sanctification of the spirit and belief in the truth. Sometimes it's helpful, brethren, when you need encouragement, just sit down and write a list. What are some things you believe? And that will help you to understand that God is there with you, for you.

No matter what happens, you can trust him, believe, and make it through. And so we see that. Let's look in 2 Thessalonians 2 now in verse 14. The rest of these I won't take nearly as time as verse 13, but these are important, too. They're part of that context. Let me read this entire verse and then I'll come back to a couple phrases. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 14 says, "To which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

" Now this may seem like it's repeating, but this is a specific point that's being made here as Paul is encouraging us. He called you by our gospel, by the truth. Notice this word called is past tense. In this context, he's referring to the time when those uh in Thessalonica were converted and previous to this writing. And for us, because these words are for us today, too, is the time when we were converted.

He called us, but our calling is an ongoing and present reality. And we'll see that, too. It's important. It's not just that God calls us and leaves us. He calls us and stays with us. And we have a calling to follow. You can see this in 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 12 that you would have a walk worthy of God who calls us.

It's no longer a past tense word there. He calls. It's current. It's going on. He calls you into his own kingdom and glory. We see that our calling is not just years ago and now what do we do? No, God stays with us. He calls us. He's there with us. He's helping us. We have a walk worthy of that calling by which he calls us. And it's not just for us as individuals.

It's for all of us together. You see the context of this in first Peter chapter 5 and verse 10. 1 Peter 5 and verse 10 says, "But may the God of all grace who called us, all of us." Yes, he called each of us individually. But remember when Paul was writing to the members in Thessalonica, he was saying he prayed for them.

He called all of us. He called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. And he says there after you have suffered a while, he's aware of our needs. He's aware of what we go through. He's aware of the things that we learn as we suffer. As Christ learned obedience and he can be a great high priest because of what he suffered and endured.

He knows how to help us because he's been through things too. After you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settled you. That's coming in the direction of encouragement that I want to focus on. God is there helping us, encouraging us. And Christ is there helping us and encouraging us. What does it say? Perfecting us, establishing us, strengthening us, and settling us, helping us to understand that what we're going through is not worthy to be compared what will be revealed in the future.

This is why we need encouragement, isn't it? Because life is hard. But look at what God is doing. Look at what he is doing for you and in you and through you and with you and all of us. In Romans chapter 8, many verses there that speak of God calling us, his spirit connecting us with Jesus Christ and with God the father as his children.

I want to read verses 29 and 30 in Romans 8 29 and 30. For whom he forneew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. There's this family relationship that he's building. Verse 30, moreover, whom he predestined, those he called since the foundation of the world.

These also he called, whom he called, these also he justified. and whom he justified these he also glorified. We are not yet fully glorified but we have that growing in us now the glory that is there that God gives us. So how does God call someone? We've seen hints of this already. It says in verse 14, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, that next phrase, by our gospel, it says Paul is writing there is the writer of this book, but also there were others with him, Silas and Timothy, and they themselves had received that gospel. And the gospel that Paul was

preaching, he said that it was by their gospel. But it's first of all the gospel of God the father. The gospel of God. Just jot down in your notes. You see that in first Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8. It's the gospel of Christ. See this is elevating it. It's not as some try to do to say it's the gospel of Paul.

It's the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ. You see this in 1 Thessalonians 3 and verse two where Paul says himself it's the gospel of Christ. That's what they believed. That's what they'd heard and that's what they were living by. It's the same gospel by which we are called. What did you hear that began to help you to understand something different? The gospel of God, the gospel of Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13, it says, "In him you also trusted, you all of us after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." He's speaking of us, brethren. He's speaking of you and me and the promise. And if we have these things deep in our mind, in our heart, no matter what happens, we can be settled.

We can have that encouragement that God wants us to have. So I ask you, how did God call you? How did you hear the gospel? It's important that you realize that and remember it and share it with each other. And think about this, you know, Christ said, "This gospel would be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.

" They would make disciples. Those disciples, brethren, would be the ones who heard the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, the new covenant being preached to them in ways that Jesus Christ and the apostles did. That's why it's so important for us to understand and believe that the part of the calling of the church is to preach this word to help others to understand as we have.

The next phrase in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse14 is this for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why did he call you? Because he wants you to obtain that glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Describe glory in your own mind. What is the glory of Jesus Christ? That's for you to obtain. That's for God to give to you and Christ to give to you.

He called us for the obtaining of that. Brethren, we are on this journey. We are seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And when that comes, we will be glorified with Christ. You see that in his prayer in John 17. The kind of glory that is being mentioned here is eternal glory. the glory that God wants all of us to attain to.

In first Peter chapter 5 and verse 10, it speaks of this glory. 1 Peter 5 and verse 10 says, "But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." You see that? Again, we're called to this eternal glory in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 15.

Now we come to that practical part. Now we come to that part of the encouragement where we can apply these principles that now we've heard, we settled, we thought about them, meditated, prayed about them. Now we come to this. This is part of that encouragement too. Verse 15, it says, "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our apostle, our our epistle.

" You know, recently I was visiting one of our older members, someone in a nursing home, and he was feeling quite unsettled. And he said, "I feel like I'm just hanging on." And it was not a positive tone to it. And I mentioned to him, that's exactly what you should be doing. Hanging on, standing fast, believing, never giving up.

To stand fast and hold the traditions that you were taught, remember all those things you were taught and believed and helped others to learn through the years. And so we have this encouragement and I'm very glad to say that in recent visits we've seen that encouragement has taken root and such a more positive attitude and outlook.

Now what a blessing that is. And sometimes it's just little things like that that you can do for each other. How much do we need a friend to say hang in there? You can do this. God is there with you, for you. Just hang in. Never give up. Stand fast. This kind of encouragement is exactly what we need. And it comes from friends.

It comes from the reading of God's word, but it comes through our friends who talk to us and tell us and show us that we can stand fast. And so many of you do that and have for years for each other and for me. I've received from many of you those kinds of encouragements when I needed it too. Help me stand fast.

And sometimes it's without that help it would be much more difficult. But it's more joyful and it bonds us together in love because we know that someone cared enough to tell us, show us, pray for us and with us to stand fast. It says in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27, "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." This binds

us together as brothers and sisters, as congregations of fellow believers. It binds us together with one mind striving together for the faith. This is the kind of relationship that is very very powerful among a group of people who believe. In 2 Thessalonians 2 in verse 16, Paul again points us to Christ and to God encouraging us.

And he says in verse 16, "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us an everlasting consolation and good hope by grace." Brethren, that hope is what we need. Encouragement is to stand fast for the hope of the future. To endure that next five minutes so that you can stay alive in 10 minutes from now.

Sometimes it means staying fast in our in our everyday lives. It means standing fast when we are sick, when we're hurting. in every single way. Just know that we are standing fast waiting then for the kingdom of God. There's so many encouragements in the scriptures. And I know I'm giving you a lot of verses, but brethren, this is where the encouragement comes from from the words of God inspired in the scriptures.

So let me read this section in 1 Peter 1 verse 3-5. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope. Encouragement is about hope about the future. The hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He's called us to salvation.

It's described in different terms in different ways. That hope is for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and does does not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God. God keeps us. He's he it's like he's guarding us each one who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.

The last verse there in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse1 17 says this. And I'm going to back up and read the verse above it so that the context is there. Verse 16 says, "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us an everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.

" And then verse 16, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work, word and work. And so this entire passage comes to focus. God wants us to be encouraged so that we can be comforted in every good word, in our growing, our understanding and work in our service to him and to one another. We see this kind of encouragement.

This entire passage is built on these words. Brethren, do you need to be encouraged from time to time? Where do you go to find that encouragement? right here in the scriptures in the words of the gospel that we can believe and we can understand. We can go before God in prayer and say, "Thank you, Father, for these faithful people that you have called as well.

Thank you for calling them to salvation." We can think about what that means in the sense of thousands of years into the future after the return of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom and we'll be gathering with one another and say yes with your encouragement I made it. I'm so glad to see you and to know we can have such a wonderful eternal everlasting future with God our father, with Jesus Christ our Lord, and with one another.

What does it take the calling of God to salvation? Choosing God choosing us for salvation. believing in the truth, encouraging each other. So, brethren, let's let's keep on this path. No matter what you're going through, find a way to receive the encouragement you need, but also please extend it to others around you.