Krauss, Fred: Faith ~ 1 Thessalonians 3

Now let's read, please, First Thessalonians chapter three. First Thessalonians chapter three, Verse one. Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone, and sent Timotheus, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith. That no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. Verse five, for this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you and our labor be in vain. But now, when Timotheus came from you unto us and brought us good tidings of your faith and love, that's the word here, and that you have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us as we also to see you. Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. Now, that's all I want to read. You see, when we come to epistle like this one that's before us, there are certain keywords, certain keywords that immediately bring before you the whole skeletal outline of what the writer has in mind. So the three most frequently used keywords are, first of all, the Lord's coming. Wonderful, eh? Christ is coming back again. And my dear brethren, the hour is very, very late. The second keyword is faith. That is, you lay hold upon that which is invisible. You ho- you lay hold upon the world, the world and the sphere and the truth of God by faith. You lay hold of divine facts and truth, even though intellectually might not able to be grasping it. Faith lays hold upon the real unseen world. Faith helps you over the difficult bumps and crisis and difficulties in life. That's faith, not sight. And the third keyword is suffering. That immediately brings before you the spiritual state and the environment in which these saints moved. They suffered for Christ, they lay hold upon the eternal world against all their difficulties that they faced, and they waited for the Lord's coming, and so do we. Now, this is a keyword, faith. Now, this will be our subject this evening. It's very simple, straightforward, but we're glad to have young converts or young people here, and I trust it will be a help to you. Faith. Faith is not blind trust. It's not like someone ties you up, you know, and asks you to jump from the Empire State Building in New York. That's not faith. Faith is absolute, unreserved trust and confidence in who God is and what he said. That's what faith is, not just blind trust. It is a spiritual quality, my dear brother, especially if you raise a family. We must always keep in mind this spiritual quality is not necessarily taught in the world's educational systems. If anything, they'll tear it down. So see how important it is that in this day and age in which we live, the Christian home and the Christian assembly must become a stronghold, a bastion of faith. All right, look at it. Now, I don't want to be critical, but of course you'd like your children to be saved, don't you? Of course you would. Now, my dear brother, and I'm free to speak the way I do because I do not know you personally. You see, if we as Christians live more by sight than by faith, where's our example? For see, if you live by faith, that is, the if the invisible world is just as precious and valuable to you as the world that is, even more so, you'll talk about the things of pertaining of heaven. You talk about the Lord's coming. You talk about things that are yet to come, the reality and the invisible world of our God. And by doing this, you will radiate a spiritual influence, and the children will catch on. Now, of course, there are problems. Because, you see, in the Old Testament and in the New, as well as in our day and age in which we live, sometimes you have very conscientious parents, Christians, and their children or anything but. Sometimes you have careless Christians, careless parents, and can you understand why they raise children who are solid in the faith? So, of course, there are problems. But nevertheless, if we as parents live by faith, and that world which is to come means just as much or more to us than the world that is, I say again, we shall radiate and we shall create an example, a spiritual sphere of influence, not only among our children, but among others. Now, faith has gradations. The Bible speaks of those who have no faith, apparently unconverted. And there are those, and the Savior rebuked them. He said, oh, ye of little faith. No faith, little faith. The disciples asked the Lord, increase our faith. The Bible speaks about growing faith, speaks about strong faith. Can I introduce you to a man in Acts 7, and the man is full of faith? So faith has gradations. Socially, intellectually, racially, we all differ. We are not all the same. So when it comes to faith, it has gradations. You know, you can't help but admire certain folks, and, uh, they just occupy for the master, they go to great length, and all is on the basis of faith. And again, there are others, and they must constantly have visible proofs of the Lord's kindness and of his existence. Faith. We, uh, faith is great, or rather there are gradations of faith. Now, first of all, be- by way of introduction, before I touch on something more general, let's trace how this spiritual quality worked in the saints of Thessalonica. Now, we can only take a little section because the whole epistle is just full of it. Verse two, Here's Paul, and because of a political issue, or they made it a political issue, a social issue, and satanic interference. Paul had to leave the field of labor in Thessalonica, and he had to move two hundred fifty miles right down to Athens and ultimately Corinth, which is about forty miles south of Athens, because he had no other choice. So here he left a young assembly just in Christ a few weeks, but here is Paul as a good shepherd, all the time worried sick how these young converts in Thessalonica would fare because a violent and fiery persecution broke out upon them. Now they're just young converts. So here Paul has a deep exercise and a care, and while he is in Athens, he sent Timothy to find out how they spiritually fare. So this is how we break in the reading, verse two. So we sent Timothy, our brother and minister or servant of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you. That's an interesting ver- word. That simply means, as you drive through the country, there are communication towers. And because they're freestanding, they have to be held on by guy wires. If you snap these, immediately they'll fall over. The idea of establishing is a person recently have coming to the faith. You see, brother, sister, you need help. You need help, young Christians, because certain circumstances can arise in the world that can shake your faith. Certain circumstances of trial and testings come along that will severely affect your faith. So you see, as a landscaper, when he plants a fifteen-year-old uh or ten-year-old tree, he digs a hole, puts it in, and as a rule, two stakes, a wire, and the rubber ends, they're there to establish this tree until it reaches its root- roots into the soil and becomes self-sufficient in this sense. That's the idea of establishing. You see, Paul wanted these saints to be established, lest they be removed. And so he says, and to comfort you concerning your faith. Another question, brethren, how do you comfort someone concerning the faith? Come on. How do you comfort someone concerning their faith? Well, in the context, Paul introduces young Timothy. You see, Timothy had been with Paul many years. This man has spiritually proven himself in times of trial, in times of persecution. Timothy would not be sidetracked because he was strong in the faith. If some Christians, the least little thing comes along, an offense or difficulty, over they go and don't continue in the things of God. You have to be strong in the things of God, dear brother, sister, in order to continue in the things pertaining to the kingdom of the Savior. So here, Timothy is introduced, and he say he would encourage them. He has proved God himself. So this is how you do it. You introduce someone who has experience in the things of God. When something comes along, he's not easily swayed. He's grounded in the faith. Now please move down to verse five. For this cause, when I, Paul, could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith. You see, the spiritual welfare of these converts was upon his heart. And dear brethren, although I have never met some of you before, the spiritual welfare of these young Christians is upon my heart too. Because when I was a young convert, there were those in the assembly who cared for us. For see, we needed to be nurtured, we needed to be channeled, we needed to be fed, and so they cared for us. I appreciated that. Without this, I would not have gone at all. So we need help. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, verse five, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you. How does, how does it take place? Matthew four, temptation. How did Satan tempt Christ? By the way, a temptation, and the word is interchangeably used. A temptation always comes from the devil, and the objective is to draw you from God. A test comes from God, Genesis twenty two, and the objective is to draw you to God, no matter what happens. Temptation from the powers of darkness. Oh, the world is bright, and the devil will bring before you what he brought before Christ, just things of time and sense. Hm? Well, I tell you, as a young convert, I tell you, going through these, uh, cities, I could be drawn away by these momentous big mansions he got in certain parts of the city, and the Jaguars and their Cadillac said, wow. Well, as a Christian, I look upon this in a totally different light. Absolutely. You see, and the success some people have in this life, if I was a young Christian, said, man, what am I doing here with a small mediocre job, job, you know? All right. You see, things of time and sense the devil will bring before you, whether it's a career or whether this or the tangible world, my dear brethren, how many saints have clean got away from God by just what they see? But faithless hold upon the fact, now I know we have to make a living. Wonderful thing to have a car. God doesn't expect you to ride a donkey because I don't think you have any around here, you know? At least not four-legged ones. God expects you to have a job, God expects you to have a, a, a home and so on. I know that, but the temptation is always bring before you nothing, but nothing of time and sense. That's how the devil got at Christ. Now, please, verse six. But now, when Timothy came from you unto us, you see, he had been s- uh, in those days, it took weeks from Athens to reach, um, Thessalonica, two hundred fifty miles. Well, they didn't get into an automobile. They had to either walk or take the ship. It took weeks. And so Timothy comes back. And brought us good tidings of your faith. Well, isn't that wonderful? Oh, brethren, the devil, you'll find, or s- the Lord is always a few steps ahead of the devil. Here's Paul deeply concerned about the new testimony for the glory of God, and he wasn't there to teach them. He had to leave, and God was with them, and they were established on their own, and they stood the test because, you see, oh, it's amazing. They only saved a few weeks. They laid hold upon the reality of God, and they realized the awful persecution. Some of them were taken as martyrs. Well, that not e- that's not easy. And yet they stood with all the trial, and what a great encouragement this was to Paul and Timothy in verse six. Now, please, briefly, verse seven. Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith, for now we live. That takes a little clarification. You see, here's Paul, and the man had his problems. Oh, he had difficulties. He knew what it was to have little. He knew what it was to be persecuted. The man had deep trials. He was only human. And yet, going on for God, these Thessalonians brought great encouragement to Paul. And so it is. See, here in an as- here in an assembly, and you have gospel meetings. Two or three or four professed, and after a few years they come back, and what a great encouragement it is to the worker to see those converts going on for God. I say that's wonderful. Better than a Christmas present or birthday present. Then you come back on other occasions, and those who professed, hardly anyone has gone on. Although they're baptized, maybe in assembly fellowship, their hearts got cold, they got occupied with the world, they found fault with one another, and they got occupied with one another. Brethren, this is just like a cold water down my neck. That's discouraging. You see what Paul means? In his own trial and distress, the continuity of the disciples in Thessalonica was a great joy. So now he says in verse eight, for now we live. What does that mean? Well, I'll have to go back to my teen years before I was converted, when I didn't know the first thing about the gospel, when I looked for the purpose in life. I was only a teenager. I honestly looked for the purpose in life. I was maybe different than my own brothers that are still not saved. So I was a thinking type. That is, that means I had to search things out. I had to get to the bottom of things. I couldn't accept just anything just because it was there. So I looked for the purpose in life as a teenager, and I kept my eyes wide open. I studied philosophy, I studied religion, not knowing the gospel. I reached out, I'd somehow wanted to know what's a purpose in life. So one day I thought I had it. I passed, that was in Germany, I passed, I was only fifteen. I passed a big expensive restaurant, and I looked into the foyer, and there are two businessmen, likely in 50s, 60s. I still see them, gold-rimmed glasses, gray suits, and to me they look the picture of satisfaction, and they're sitting after an expensive meal and they're smoking cigars. I thought, that's got to be it. That's it. They look the picture of contentment. I can still see them, likely gone into eternity now. So you see, I could not in those days afford an expensive meal, but I called up my friend from high school, and I said, um, scrape up your nickels and let's meet at a certain place. So we did. And for what you know, we had the equivalent of two dollars and fifty cents. So we headed to the nearest, most expensive tobacco store, and we bought a cigar. Because see those men puffing their cigars, that that's got to be the picture of contentment. Now, here we have this big two dollar fifty cigar. That was some money in those days. And he paid half, I paid half. And if in Germany you were caught smoking as a minor, anyone could rebuke you. So we headed for the bush. We found a cave, and we cut the cigar dead center in half, and now the moment of truth had arrived. Wow. And so we began to smoke. You know what I found out? That was not contentment, that was sickness. Wow! And if I'm not mistaken, those stumps of cigars still lie in that cave somewhere in West Germany. So that was that door closed. But, you know, here I saw these people, you know, that's living. I thought that's what their idea was. Well, I found that I wasn't living, that was sickness. Therefore, now we live. So the very fact of the converts going on for God was a tremendous incentive of spiritual satisfaction for Paul himself. My dear brother, isn't it wonderful when an assembly continues and you see a little blessing, see some people added, and people recognize the truth, the Sunday school is increasing, or even in times of dearth and times of small numbers, the saints are going on. I'll come to that in a minute or two. A wonderful source of encouragement. Now we live, or else, you know, when it goes to the contrary, it's just discouraging. Now let's move on, please, to a general statement concerning faith. Can I impress you, dear sisters, you dear young people that know Christ, can I impress you with the tremendous effect, the tremendous results, although you may not recognize, that will be as long as you have made up your mind you're going to go on for God, no matter what others are doing? I'll prove it to you. Never mind the public place, you know. Never mind special gifts, although you should look into that. Just for you and all, young and old, to carry on for God in a faithful manner will never, ever lose its reward. All right, I'm going to ask you a question. Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Gadi? That's Old Testament now. Gaddai, Palti, Sether, Nabai, Guul. Have I mentioned Sethur? Yes. Um, Shamua, Nabai, Shafath-e Gal. Ten men. Have you? Bring it down. Would it help if I promise you a dollar? That's not a Sunday school, you know. Have you heard of these men? Well, evidently not. Now watch, I'm going to add two more. Joshua and Caleb. Now the penny has dropped, eh? I'll have trouble too remembering those. Brethren, sisters, how is it that these ten um men who were sent out by Moses way yonder before Israel conquered Canaan, hardly anyone knows their name. I'll tell you why. Twelve men were sent to spy out Canaan. Ten were bad, two were good. Here they're coming back after a number of weeks, and the scouts, near Kadesh Barnea, they blow the prom- trumpets or the ram's horns, and here these twelve men come into the camp. Oh, here they're back. Well, look at the grapes, look at the spoils of the land. Wow. They're coming to the camp, but oh my, oh my, oh my, they argue among themselves, Ten against two, two against ten. And then ultimately the whole camp of Israel is called a report meeting, you know, and the elders are called, all Israel gathers around. Okay, what's your report? Ten say, impossible, man. We cannot conquer the country. Look at these impregnable walls. Look at those men. They're just about that height. We look like grasshoppers. Impossible. Joshua and Caleb maintained, yes, we can conquer them. The ten said, you better be quiet, because after all, we're in the majority. Hold on a minute. Brethren, in the things of God, the majority is not necessarily right. Don't let us get the idea that the democrat- democratic principle necessarily works in the local assembly. One man with God, it has been pointed out, constitutes a majority, as long as you have God with you and have his word. So here are the ten against the two. We can't? Yes, we can. No, we can't, because ten men walked and lived by. Only two men lived by faith. Watch. The whole nation, all Israel, was halted in the progress for a whole generation. You know why? Because these ten boys, ten men, governed by sight. Oh no, we can't do it. Oh yes, we can. And that affected the whole nation of Israel. You see how that works? Weak faith. They could have entered the Holy Land within three days from Egypt. God says, okay, you're governed, motivated, energized by unbelief. I'm going to let you wander and wander and wander until you die. For unbelief dishonors God. You see how that works? Hm. First Corinthians sixteen. Here's Paul, and faith is such a lovely subject, very practical subject. Here's Paul, not all in Corinth are spiritual people. As he writes the last chapter in the first epistle, he says to those saints in Corinth, stand fast in the faith. In other words, brethren, don't give ground. You know, sometimes during certain fairs, they have the tug and war, tug and war, whether it's policemen or the firemen's association or class A and class B. Huh. We had that too in the old country, you know, and upon a given signal, somebody shouted, let go. And oh, to our fiendish delight, we saw them all tumbling like, you know, just like that. Hm. So here's Paul in his stand fast. Brethren, don't give up ground. See, the Corinthians were about to give up ground. The Ephesians gave up ground because they left the Christ whom first they loved too much. That's giving up ground. Stand fast in the faith. Now, what Paul likely has in mind was fast in the faith. Now, what Paul likely has in mind was a special unit of the Roman fighting forces, sixteen of them. These men were specially trained, highly trained in the use of the javelin. That's a Roman spear about eight feet tall, Two points. They were trained in the use of the long sword, which was on the belt, and the dagger, which was on the belt and the shield. These men were expert soldiers. In case of a conflict, these sixteen men grouped in a block could defend a area half the size of this hall against an invading army. They stood their ground. They handled the first one with the javelin, and then they were hand to hand, one sword just within two inches of the other. And so successful was this military formation that Napoleon, or rather the English, adopted it in the Napoleonish wars, Napoleonic wars. This is what they called the Scottish block. Of course, Napoleon did change that a little. Stand fast. I'll give you a historic reference, why it didn't work. Or should it work? You remember the Old Testament writer in the book of Samuel indicates a geographical location of Israel from Dan to Beersheba. That means from the north, right south of Mount Hermon, to down Beersheba in the desert of Zin, where Moses put up the serpent Beersheba, that's where Abraham lived. That's the geographical border of Israel. But wait a minute. Joshua, when he first conquered Canaan from Jericho onwards, westward, he gave the tribe of Dan a portion near the Mediterranean Sea. That's where modern city of Haifa is, right there where the harbor is. Well, how come Dan is found south of Mount Hermon? That's at least eighty miles north, northeast. I'll tell you why. For when Joshua entered the land of Canaan, he found resistance by the Philistines. They're only one among ten nations. These Philistines, who ultimately came from the area of Turkey, made themselves broad in the fertile plains, which is now the coastal area of Israel, right down from, um, uh, the southern border of Lebanon, right down to the Gaza Strip, and then they flowed out through the Valley of Jezreel, which is extremely fertile, the topsoil being one hundred feet deep, which is from Haifa right down to Lake Galilee, fifty miles long by four to seven miles wide. Quite a few times I've looked over the Valley of Jezreel and the old fortification that Solomon built in Megiddo, and it was our great privilege to point out that in this great valley, one of the last battles or wars will be fought. Strategically, tremendously important area. Most of Israel's ancient battles were fought there, and this is where the final end, one of the battles will be fought right there, the other one near Jerusalem, and so on. So here it is. The Philistines made themselves broad, and they squeezed Israel into the mountains. See? Now, because of intensive and repeated pressure of the Philistines, the tribe Dan had finally enough. They said, we're going to get out of it, we're clearing out here. And they moved from their God-given area, moved to south of Mount Hermon. And here's Paul, he says, well, don't you be moved, no matter what comes, whether it's religious movements, whether it's your own self, or no matter what it is, worldly influence, he said, stand fast. Don't give up ground, dear brother, dear sister. Now, we have sometimes seen in the lives of Christians that sometimes a sister is the stronger of the two. And quite often it's a sister that will stand her ground, not stepping out of her place because she's spiritual convictions. Sometimes it's a husband who is spiritually stronger. Sometimes it's a daughter. Sometimes it's a son. See? But the idea is, in the things of God, having received Christ as Savior, believing God's word to be true, stand fast and let nothing remove it. Oh, how many, how many have been sidetracked? How many have stopped going on because some other influence, some other sphere, some other folks, the system has pressured them? Stand fast. Now let's move on. Faith. Hm, faith, a wonderful spiritual quality. But dear saints, faith must be tested. For every spiritual quality that's seen in you and me, God will see fit to test. Why? To make it stronger. To make it stronger. See, young converts sometimes, weak in the faith, there's sometimes a tendency to just give up as easy as that, or to just not go on. God will see fit to test you, to make you stronger, not weaken you, so that you will, as I mentioned before, be like a tree with the roots into the ground so that you can stand on your own without constant being babied spiritually or nourished and just prodded along. Genesis twenty two. The Lord said to Abraham, Abraham, I want you to sacrifice your son. What's that again? Can you put yourself in the man's shoes, brother? All the previous promises of God in relation to the land, in relation to the Messiah, in relation to the inheritance, in relation to the spiritual seed. Well, Abraham, Lord, all these covenants will come to nothing. You ask me now to sacrifice my son. So the New Testament looks upon Abraham's spiritual predicament this way. So Abraham had to come to the conclusion, seeing God is immutable, that means he cannot change in relation to his covenants, then God has no other choice. If I kill Isaac and offer him on the altar, God must raise him from among the dead, because in that boy all God's covenants will center. Oh, that's interesting. Oh, brother, I'm glad it wasn't Abraham. Think of the awful trial the man passed through. How do you transfer this to life? Now, in Canada, at the moment we have a recession. Many of God's people are without work. Can you rely on God to supply a job? Have you ever tested him? Some of you young men and women, when you grow up, I'm sure you're looking for a partner to be. Are you going to look for him or her in the world, or can you trust God, even though there may be no one suitable in the local assembly? Can you trust God? There's a problem in your life. Can you trust God? Are you trusting God? Or whatever there is, oh brethren, it has been our wonderful privilege to test, or not test, but to prove God. God wants to be proven, not to be tempted, and he wants to show himself to you so that in life you recognize God is real, and this is what gives you spiritual strength, and this is what causes you to go on experiences with God. Have you ever asked the Lord in his goodness to lead you across the path with someone that's seeking? You see, how many people? Two million in Vancouver? Million and a half? I don't know who's seeking, although my responsibility is, you know, give the people the gospel. God knows who's seeking. Did you ever ask God for a certain something that glorifies him, and then you see him working? Oh, I'd say that's wonderful. Faith tested. Oh, Abraham came through with flying colors. Sometimes we are so weak. Oh, it's easy, you know. Go along life, when everything in the material sense is secure and so on. But God wants to be tested, you brother, and God wants to prove himself to you. Now, faith tested. First Peter, you know, you can only understand the, the general outline of Peter, what he has to say to the saints, if you take into consideration the timing of the epistle. Now, if the all of Paul's epistles that he mentions in the latter part of his writings, if that refers to the whole completed canon of Paul's epistle, then we can come to the conclusion that Peter outlived Paul in the years about sixty three or sixty four, sixty five. Paul had already gone as a martyr by way of execution, and I'll give you the background. Satan could not find anything to harm or to destroy the Christian movement from without in the days of the apostles, so he tried from within. That's Ananias and Sapphira. But still not satisfied with the slow progress the devil made to destroy the Christian movement, he tried something new. And he found his man, his tool in Nero, the scholar of the pupil of Seneca. And Nero, a wicked, debauched man. All the investigations in relation to the fires that consumed old ancient Rome led to the man himself. Talking about modern politicians, they had nothing on Nero. So here's Nero, apparently through his instigation, the city of Rome was burned, and he blamed the Christians. You see, in the days of the apostles, the Christians were looked upon as antisocial because they didn't mix with the unconverted in all they did. They were considered anti-religious. They did not partake of the heathen feasts that the Romans kept to their gods. They were considered anti-social, anti-religious, anti-political because they would not vote for the Caesar. So therefore, the Christians were suspect in their eyes from the start. So here's the Emperor Nero, and he issued a decree that all the Christians in his realm, right from North Africa to Asia, would be persecuted, and that is very likely what Peter referred to. For you see, Peter draws attention to the fact that all the Christians, right from the Babylonish era to the Roman Empire, would experience a persecution that they hadn't caused. In other words, they would suffer for righteousness' sake. We suffer either for our sins, or for sin, or we suffer for righteousness' sake. Christ did both. He suffered for sin, he hung upon the cross. He suffered for righteousness simply because of who he was and what he said. One is atoning sacrifice, and the other is he suffered because he was pure and holy, and they persecuted him just because he spoke the truth. So Peter draws attention to the fact, and he says there's a trial coming away you haven't caused it, but endure it because you suffer for his name's sake. That's likely the trial. Faith tried severely. Look at Job. In Hebrews eleven, coupling it with the book of Numbers, you have the deplorable lack of faith. You see, brother, I can either live by faith or I can live by sight. First John chapter five. Oh, I like the Epistle of John. John has the same trouble as you and I. John faced the same difficulties. Don't you ever think they had it any easier? So John looks at the world systems. Oh, they were inviting. Oh, there's money to be made in John's day. And there were countries to be explored, travel, and everything else. Oh yes, you could make yourself a name in John's day. Merchant, Roman Empire, trade, commerce, as an architect in Asia, as a senator in Rome. Oh, the world was tempting in his day. But John looks upon the world systems in a very clear light. Either, and John in his writings involves absolutes. John does not talk about backsliders. That'll help you to understand the first epistle of John. Backsliders are not in view. It's either you're saved or you're lost. It's light, it's darkness, it's hot, it's cold, it's heaven or hell. So John looks upon the systems of the world as being permeated, governed, motivated by the devil and the, and, and his hordes, his demons. And he says, what is that which overcomes the world systems? Even faith. Now let me put it to you practically. Well, dear brother, why should I, as a young convert, go through three waters of baptism? Now, in this part of the country, you may not know what it is to be persecuted for being baptized. I worked with a brother in Labrador, Newfoundland, and it was my misfortune, maybe God's sovereign dealings, I was present when the second worst dried and the work developed. There are five preachers, eight converts just about to go under the water. The whole village turned out, not to sing praises, they came to the baseball blats- bats. So we gathered around the pond, inland pond from the ocean. The ocean was too cold, and when those young converts saw the attitude of their folks from the village, six of them backed out. I didn't blame them. Only two went for the waters. The whole riot was led by a woman who cursed, and I can repeat it publicly. Men positioned themselves around the circle so that none of us would escape. Talking about the trial in Ephesus, I thought my last hour had come. So after the baptism, uh, every one of these dear men, I couldn't help them, they couldn't help me. They were on their own. So I saw two fellas rushing for me, and two of them held me by each arm, and the other one came with a baseball bat. I said, Lord, here I come. Hm. Well, thank goodness the Lord had among the hostile crowd some people who recognized we didn't fight back, and so the tide turned. But nevertheless, why should I go through the waters of baptism in an area where there's violent persecution? Brethren, I do it by faith, because I know God commands it. Why should I be associated with a little obscure hall and a little obscure part of the town? You know, why should I gather with just a few handful of Christians? Because I know that's the truth. Because I know God is glorified, regardless of numbers. God knows my heart. I would have equal satisfaction if tonight only preached to four, never mind to four hundred. Because I know God wants young Christians to be encouraged, and whether it's four or four thousand. But why should I be associated with numerically small pe- small pe- uh, numbers of people and saints? Because I know God's people are never going to be in the man- in the majority. The Savior often talked person to person, and he says, fear not little flock, it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Hm. Why should I stand at the street corner, give a gospel paper, and some young people, you know, that are bent on just pleasure, spit in my face? Why should I suffer it? Ah, because I know. I just represent himself. That's faith. Oh yes. John says, it's that very spiritual quality faith that ultimately overcomes the world. And brother, let me pause a moment and say a word of encouragement to all of you. I know little assemblies. Sometimes, you know, you hear your own voice, hardly any visitors comes in certain areas, and there are assemblies a lot smaller than you. Only twelve, only four. They carry on. But you know, the day will come. I know the going can be rough. And it can be difficult. Sunday school the same. A day will come sooner than you and I will think you're going to meet the Master himself. Mind you, we're not all that small, you know. There are assemblies in certain parts of the world, they're in the hundreds. God has his people in different parts of the country, there are thousands of them, maybe millions of them, but I'm talking about local assembly. The day will come, and you and I are going to meet the master, and we're going to look right in his eye. If not now, it's then you'll recognize that all you've been taught and all you've held and all your practice is true. How you like that? Not only is faith that spiritual quality that helped me to overcome the world and its systems, but second Timothy chapter four, Paul says that Christ is going to reward everything, everything, everything you do by faith. Whether it's a glass of water or seven Up, whether it's a turkey dinner or a bowl of soup. Whether it's an open home or open heart. Everything you d- do, whether you entertain saints, everything you do, Sunday school work, visitation work, interest you have in one another, everything that you'll do for himself, he is going to reward. How do you know that? Here's Paul. It hasn't always been easy in life, you know, for the man. He fought with false brethren that pretended to be saved but weren't. He was shipwrecked, needed certain things in life. He many times went without. On the other hand, you know, he saw tremendous work for God accomplished. It wasn't always easy for the man to carry on for thirty plus years in life. Now he is reaching the last stage in life, and he knows full well down there's only a block and the sword. What an inglorious end as far as the world is concerned. Furthermore, the pressure becomes almost unbearable upon the Christian group. Troubles and difficulties from within all the care the church has fell upon me, he says, I have to deal with the whole thing. So he either dictates a letter or takes a pen himself. Oh, brother, how pathetic, full of pathos in the positive sense. He says, as he looks over life, I have fought not a, the good fight. There's a difference. We are all in a fight. Every once in a while. Paul says the fight, that is, everything he saw done, everything he passed through is for the sake of the gospel. I have fought the good fight, the fight of all the ages, the fight of Samuel, Moses, all these men who were exposed to the difficulties and the problems. So I fought the good fight. I have finished the course. Here's a man who's looking at the finishing post. I finished the course. And then he says something has always touched my heart. He said, I've kept the faith. I've kept the faith till the very end, through thick and thin, through disappointment, disillusionment, setbacks, disenchantments, and yet through victory and success and all the rest, I've kept the faith. Ho ho, brethren. Your faithfulness and mine to him in the world that does not know Christ. When the going can be tough, I talk to young people in Sunday school, pardon me, in university, in college. We raised a girl too, you know, and even in public school, when others found out she's a Christian, you know, you know the conniving that goes on and the politicking, this and that and the other thing. High school, even worse, when they tell you, oh, we've had such a wonder- What was that? They tell us at such a wonderful time. Don't you believe it? If it has to do with the negative side of life, they just live in a dream world, some of them, and they think it's so wonderful. You know, if on the other hand was most dry and dissatisfying, don't you believe half of what they say? Oh yes, and on and on it goes. And you know, we know what it was to sit down with our girl sometimes and to just console her and to comfort her because you know how they scheme and how they blackmail each other and what they do to each other. And even now in university is a struggle. Sure it is. Hold that one high. That's the truth. The world has nothing like it. And although they sneer, you know, a brother just to- told me in the interior BC, he said, Fred, you know, we have a neighbor down there, and one day I went to the gospel hall with my Bible under my arm, and this man, he shook his head, and he hasn't talked to me since. In this case, I feel like loading a whole truckload of Bibles and parading in front of the fella. Why should we problem? This is the truth. What do they have? Nothing. Nothing but hell to look forward to, unless they flee to Christ. What's wrong about this book that people feel embarrassed because it shows them up, eh? So the Lord's going to reward faith and everything you do, whether it's, you know, even the very fact that you have accepted Christ will draw recognition and a reward. You see, how do you get that? Paul writing to the Corinthians. Then, when, judgment seat, then shall every man have praise of God. How can... how do you, how do you figure that? The very fact that you've accepted Christ will draw a commendation. Never mind just accepting Christ, going through the waters, gathering with this people, being a help to them, supporting gospel work in your area, trying to do everything you can. He's going to reward you. Let's pray. Our Father, we commit us now to thee, and we thank thee for the Savior, author, finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, who caught his pathway was not an easy one. Darkness all round about him in a spiritual sense, Satan marshalling his forces, every system in this world against the Christ of God, and alone he went to the cross. Alone he died. O God, he was laid in a new tomb, and then he rose. What a triumph! What glory! What magnitude! What light! What truth! We thank thee, we belong to him, into his hand thou hast committed all things. Strengthen each member of the body of Christ. O God, take us to homes in safety and help us to enjoy that which is of thyself. We give thanks for the word of God in our Savior's name. Amen.