As we return to First Thessalonians, we're reminded that Paul is writing to a very young church. It probably was only about a year old by the time that he wrote this letter to them. It was a church that he helped start, and it was also a church that was started facing great opposition. Last week, we looked at verse six that this opposition was described as much affliction. It was a great opposition, not just a little one, not just within the family, but within the whole city itself. The whole city was in an uproar against these new Christians in this new church. because of what they were teaching and what was going on in their lives. There was a great change, and that shook this city, and it shook the Jews especially that were there, that they believed in the Jewish system, and they were denying the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. And so they were experiencing this great affliction that we see in verse 6. But even though they were experiencing this affliction, there was a report that Paul received by Timothy. As Paul had to leave very quickly so that he would not be affected by that persecution, he sent Timothy back to get an idea of what was going on in this church. And Timothy did that. Timothy came back and gave a report that the church in Thessalonica was growing and not just growing, but growing by leaps and bounds. This church was thriving, even though their founding pastor hadn't been there for most of that time. So Paul encourages them by writing this letter, and much of this letter is in the form of an encouragement. It was meant to bless them and to be a help to them as they face this opposition and this persecution. Last week, we saw how Paul explained what he saw in their lives. He noticed that there was some evidence of their election, as he mentions there in verse 4. He knew their election. He knew that they were saved because there was evidence. There was fruit that came from this tree. And so he was telling them that even though you're facing this persecution, keep on following after Christ. Why? Because this persecution also is an evidence of your following after Him and your salvation. The evidence was powerful proof that the gospel did come to them and it saved them from their sin. Now, one part of that evidence that we looked at last week was the impact that their changed lives through the gospel had upon those throughout Greece. And if you look back in verse seven, that was the last verse we looked at. It said, so that you were in samples or types or examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. The gospel that changed their life made an impact not just on their hearts, but on the lives of others, not just in their region of Macedonia, like our state of Indiana, but also through the whole country of Greece. Could you imagine if the Lord did a work with such power and such might In our church here at Grace Baptist Church in Greenfield, Indiana, that it wasn't just spoke of within our circles, but it was spoke about in the state of Indiana and even throughout the country. Wouldn't that be an exciting thing? And we would be able to point out and say, this is what God has been doing in us and through us. Sometimes we hear about churches. that have been revived by the Spirit of God and have really been a witness of the Gospel and made an impact, not just in their own circles, not just in their own city, but in the region in which God placed them. We hear that. We catch wind of that. Do we want that for ourselves? Do we plea and ask God and cry out for that wind of the Holy Spirit to come and revive us and rejuvenate us and empower us? This is what happened in Thessalonica. But their example did not stop there. It didn't just stop in making an impact in their region. Their example was so powerful that we see what happened in verses eight through ten, which will be our text this morning. Paul continues with this example of this evidence of their election and says, for from you, verse eight, sounded out the word of the Lord. What an amazing statement. For from you sounded out The Word of the Lord. Not only in Macedonia, where you are located, and Achaia, which is your entire country of Greece. But look at what comes next. But also in every place. Your faith to God is spread abroad. So, Paul says, so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves Show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." Their example was so powerful that as we see in verse 8, that the word of the Lord and their faith toward God spread beyond their own country. It spread, as it says here, to every place. It spread even beyond the church. And just about everyone in just about every place within the known world had heard that something happened in Thessalonica. That's an amazing statement. Now, Thessalonica was on a very famous Roman road called the Ignatian Way or Ignatian Highway. So it was a very natural thing as people would pass through Thessalonica. They would catch wind of what happened to these former idolaters and realize that they now were following Jesus Christ. And this church had been raised up. They heard about this. They experienced it. They saw it with their eyes. And then they would follow that road to all the different corners of the Roman world and share what they heard. about the Thessalonian believers. And I don't believe this is just talking about Christians taking that word to others, but I think there were unbelievers that thought and or saw and heard that something different is going on in Thessalonica and they would share it as well. What an amazing thing that God could do through that one small church in a very short time. The gospel went out. It went out through the testimony about their faith in God's Word. People would go and share what the Thessalonians believed now. No longer were they following after those idols that were dead and lifeless, but now they were following the one true God, and as they were following Him, it showed that they were putting their faith in Him alone. They didn't just add God to their list of idols. They were directing their faith toward Him. And they realized also that the example of their faith went out. How did this happen? How could a small church in a short period of time after being planted, how could that happen where in Macedonia, A.K.I., and in every place the word of the Lord and their faith toward God could be shed and spread abroad? How could that happen? I believe one of the key reasons that we find in these verses is their response to the word of God and the gospel. And their response, I believe, is summed up for us in Romans 1.16. They were not ashamed of the gospel. They were not ashamed of what they believed. They were not ashamed of what happened to them. As Paul stated and demonstrated in Romans 1.16, he said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it. to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And we see in that phrase why Paul very often when he would go to these cities, he would first start out in the synagogue and to share with them the Scriptures. And very often those Jews would reject him and cast him out. And then he would go to the Gentiles and share the gospel, the same gospel with them. There was a church there in Thessalonica that was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And because they were not ashamed, but they experienced it and there was evidence of it and they were an example of how it could change their life. That is what God used the gospel penetrating their heart to then penetrate the entire known world with the news of the gospel. There was a church that was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, they were not ashamed of what the gospel says. They didn't try to water it down or make it sound a little bit better for unbelievers. They didn't try to make it sound like take out the offense of the gospel like so many of the wealth gospel preachers are today. They say if you turn your life over to Christ, you won't get sick. You'll have all the money in the world. You'll have the greatest, the most beautiful wives, the best families, all these things. And yet they never talk about the fact that there is a cross that you must bear as a Christian. There is an offense. Bible says there will be persecution for those that live godly in Christ Jesus. There is an offense. So they were not afraid or ashamed of what the gospel says. They were going to stand firm on the gospel, no matter what it said, no matter what people thought about it or said about it. They were not ashamed also of what the gospel does. They were not ashamed of the change that took over in their lives. They weren't ashamed to say, you know what? The change that you see in my life is not a result of my good effort and my good work. It is a change that is wrought in my life because of Jesus saving and entering into my soul. He was not ashamed of that. And neither should we be. Neither should we. Are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Many reasons why we do not see the impact upon our region and our city and community and even all around the world through us is because you and I are ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Sometimes we're ashamed of what it calls people from. Because we feel like, well, who am I to be able to share with these people the gospel? Who am I to be? I mean, I'm a sinner, too. Wouldn't I be hypocritical if I tell someone about the Lord and I'm living in sin? I like how one person once put it. He said, sharing the gospel is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. That is what we need to realize and not be ashamed of the bread, the bread of life, the fact that Jesus Christ came to this world to pay for the sins of those who believe in Him. There is no doubt about what the gospel is. We need to go out without any fear or any shame of what the message is. We also need to not be ashamed of what the gospel does. I believe that if we follow the example of the Thessalonian church, we will not be ashamed. And the Lord will use the gospel as it has impacted our life to impact the region around us, just like it did back then. You will not be ashamed when you see, first of all, the sound of the gospel, that the sound of the gospel is absolutely powerful. And we see this in verse eight. It says, for from you sounded out the word of the Lord. for from you sounded out the Word of the Lord." We see in this verse that the sound of the Gospel is powerful. This is talking not just the Word of God itself, the written Word, but also the works of God that were demonstrated from the Word of God. This word, sounded out, is an interesting word. It comes from the Greek word ekamai, from which we get our word echo. So when you have that picture, as you read those words again, it says, for from you echoed or resounded out the word of the Lord. And that is why the title of this message is The Sound of the Gospel. This is what happened when the gospel impacted their life. It impacted and took hold of them so greatly that you know what happened? The Gospel, the Word of the Lord, just echoed from their life, echoed from their very manner of words, echoed from their families, echoed from their church, and it resounded loudly and clearly all throughout the region of Macedonia and Achaia and to every other place. This is the power of the Gospel. That word sounded out is like the power of an amplifier. You might hear me today a little bit better because we do have an amplification system. There is a piece of equipment back here in the prayer room that we turn on in order to amplify the sound that comes through that microphone through the speaker so you can hear it more clearly. Now, most people say that I don't need amplification and that's OK with me, but we understand what amplification does. Not only does it through a PA system, it does it through the radio. What is the purpose? What is the power of it? It increases and intensifies the power and the volume of the words that are spoken or the songs that are being sung so that everyone can hear it. That is what that word means. The gospel didn't just affect them so that it would change their life. The gospel impacted them so it would change the lives of others as well. Before modern sound systems, churches and public meeting rooms had something called a sounding board. If you look at some of the old pictures of some of the old churches, especially the large meeting halls, you look directly above the pulpit or where the speaker was speaking, there would be a large piece of wood hanging over them. And I don't think it was for plopping down on the speaker when they spoke too long. I think what that was for, it was called a sounding board. And as they would speak, some of their sound, some of their noise would go up into the ceiling. And what those sounding boards were designed to do was to reflect that sound out. and to make it louder and more clear to the people in front. And that is what that sounding board would do. It would reflect the sound waves to the audience so that they could hear. And that is what the gospel does. The gospel didn't just come to them in word only, as we remember. There in verse five, but it came also in power. This is the kind of power that we see from the word of God when the gospel impacts our life. You know what's going to happen if it really has a grip on our soul? God will use our hearts and our lives as the sounding board for the gospel. Sometimes it's not the words that we say, but the lives that demonstrate the power of the gospel that will impact others in a greater way. If I tell someone about the Lord and give them and share with them the gospel and yet it hasn't affected my life, it would be as if I were just saying words. It can't come unto someone in power unless it has impacted my life. And I am a true sounding board of the gospel. When the word of the Lord sounds out, it tells something about the gospel. It tells of the powerful results that God's word has upon God's people. The Gospel is more powerful than the words of men. It is more powerful than the words that you and I give to others about the Gospel. The Gospel itself does the work. It is more powerful than the words of men. Paul realized the importance of this when he wrote to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2. He says, And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Sometimes I've heard it said that we don't know what to say when we share the gospel with people, we don't know what to say. And so we think, well, if I him and if I if I if I stutter, well, people aren't going to listen to me. People may not listen to you. But the fact of the matter is God doesn't call us to have the most flattering words, the greatest speech or go through the greatest outline that was ever designed. Some of you are familiar with evangelism explosion. There is a book about this thick that has an outline where you can study this and even memorize it to be able to share a very clear presentation of the gospel. You don't have to go through that outline. What you have to do is come to the word of God and say, this is what the Bible says. And this is what God says through his word. Have the word of God memorized, put in your heart as we do through these meditation cards, and then let God use your life as the sounding board for the gospel that you are presenting through his word. And as they hear the gospel and as they see your life, there is a powerful change that will take place because you have been changed by God. You are his sounding board. It will be more powerful than the words of men, but also it will spread like a wildfire. Not only does this sounds forth, not just to one place, but throughout the region, like the recent fires in California. You know what happened to those fires? They were very small at the beginning, weren't they? But what happened? Some great winds came and added fuel to the fire, so to speak, and that fire was was enraged and large. It engulfed thousands of homes. But that's what's going to happen if the gospel of Jesus Christ takes hold in our heart and in our life and we become a sounding board for the gospel as it changes our life, it changes the lives of others. You know what's going to happen? There will be the fire of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us to change lives. That is the power of the word of the Lord. That's why we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel, because its message, its sound is powerful. It is amplified through lives that have been changed by the power of the gospel itself. And when its power is shown in your life, its power amplified and intensified into the world around you. You don't have to be ashamed. Are you ashamed of this powerful gospel? There's no need to be. There's no need to be. The Thessalonians weren't. They were excited about what God has done in their lives and they wanted to share it with everybody. So must we. Also, this is a demonstration of what God has done in our life, a demonstration of our salvation. If we want to go out and share it with others, why wouldn't we want to share it with others if it has impacted our life? Not only will you not be ashamed when you see that the sound of the gospel is powerful, but also continuing to follow the example of the church there in Thessalonica, you will not be ashamed when you see that the sound of the gospel is pervasive, not just powerful, but it is pervasive. It goes throughout the region. Verse eight, it continues that not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place Your faith to God were to spread abroad. Their faith toward God was directed toward God and God alone. And that was spread out. That means that the gospel was pervasive. It spread through Macedonia. And if you ever look at your maps in the back of your Bibles, you can see where it spread. It's like the ripple effect from if you took a big stone or a big rock and threw it in a lake, you know what's going to happen? The ripples start at the very point of impact and then they spread out. That's what happened to the church of Thessalonica. The gospel rock came down with a thud in the middle of that city and lives were changed. But as lives were changed, they became a sounding board for the gospel itself. And people not only heard of the word of the Lord, but they also heard of their faith toward God. And that ripple began to expand, become greater, and it resounded and became louder. It hit Macedonia. It spread throughout Achaia, all of Greece. And then it spread to every place, just like the power of a loudspeaker. Those loudspeakers will spread the amplified sound out as far as possible. Earlier this summer, my wife and I and family, we went to the air show in Indianapolis, Paramount Comfort, and we loved it. It was really exciting. The only problem was, was we found a place that was fairly close. to the airstrip, and there wasn't anybody else around there, and we put up our things, our chairs, and soon we found out why no one was sitting there, because there was a loudspeaker right in front of us, about 25 feet. That thing was so loud. Why would they use a loudspeaker? Because they wanted to get that noise out to as many people as possible. And we just happened to be right in front of it. It became so loud. My wife did bring some earplugs in case the noise of the jets were too loud. I put them in so I wouldn't have to hear the loudspeaker. It was that loud. But that's what the gospel does. The gospel is the loudspeaker through the lives of believers. It is a loudspeaker to the world and it gives it pervasively. That's why we ought not to be ashamed of it, because it is a pervasive thing. It is a pervasive thing. It will be heard loud and clear. If we live lives according to the gospel, when your faith to God is spread abroad, it reveals some things. It reveals the effect of the gospel in your life. It talks about their faith. It talks about what happened when the gospel came to them. You know what happened? They believed and their faith was directed toward God. Romans 10, 17 said this. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. They would have never had faith. Had God not sent his gospel. How shall they hear without a preacher? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But when that gospel rock came down with a thud in the middle of that city of Thessalonica, people believed the gospel and the gospel changed their lives. And that faith impacted the world around them. When the gospel has impacted your faith, then and only then will you see your faith impact others. Not only does it reveal the effect of the gospel in your life, it reveals the direction of the gospel in your life. The direction of their faith was toward God or to Godward. Their faith was not directed to themselves. It wasn't directed to the church. It wasn't directed to the world. It was directed toward God. A lot of cheerleaders, when they're cheering their team on, will have these megaphones. What are those megaphones for? They're like loudspeakers. They direct their noise to the place that they want. to the people they want to hear. That's where that megaphone is directing. And so it is with the gospel. If the gospel has affected our life, it will. Our lives will serve as a megaphone not to point our faith in others or ourself or in the church or in good works. When people see our faith, you know what it's going to direct them to? It's going to direct them to the God who saved us. That's where it is going to direct them, and that's where it must direct them. When the gospel directs your faith toward God and God alone, then and only then will you see your faith impact others. Why do we not see an impact of our faith on others? Because our faith is not directed toward God alone. So often we're directing it toward techniques or methods or works. or other things, our family or other people. Well, I'm not going to because that person's going to do it. And if they don't do it, well, someone else will do it. And so often we direct our faith toward other things and other people. And the Bible says very clearly that if we don't have the faith toward God, it's not going to spread abroad. It's not going to impact others because it hasn't impacted us. But what an impact their faith made. It was spread abroad like the spreading of seed in the field. So many people heard of the gospel from their lives, maybe not from their mouths. I don't think this was a missionary effort on the Thessalonian people. The way the text is saying is that they heard it from others. It wasn't them going out and sharing what God had done into the regions. They were doing that in Thessalonica. But it was people that saw what was going on in their lives and they took it to other regions, both church members and nonbelievers alike. It was spread abroad. That's why we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel, because its message, its sound is pervasive. And when it is spread abroad in our life, it will make an impact and its effects will be widespread. So why are we not seeing this in our lives? I think many reasons is because we're ashamed of the gospel. But third, you will not be ashamed when you see that the sound of the gospel is also persuasive. The sound of the gospel is persuasive. We see this continuing on in verse 8 where Paul says that in every place your faith to God were to spread abroad. And then that last phrase, he says, so that we need not to speak anything. And then continuing on verse nine, he says, for they themselves. And that's either describing their faith or the word of God that was spread or the people that was telling them this for they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you. Let's stop there, because the message of the gospel, as shown in their own lives, was powerful and pervasive. It was also very persuasive. It was loud and clear that this was not their doing. It was the doing of God. The hand of God was upon it. Sometimes when you have loudspeakers, your goal is to be louder than anything else around you. I was reading some of the techniques that our military uses to convince some of the terrorists or some of our enemies and POWs to share what they know, especially the terrorists. And some of those techniques, one of those techniques is to blare loud music at them. And as bad as I think some of the music is today, imagine a Muslim who never heard of Eminem or some of these other rap artists, if you want to call them that, or other music, and they would be greatly offended as they blare this music at them 24 hours a day. Why are they doing that? They want to get their attention. off of their plans and off of their ideas and off of their goals and be so annoyed with that music that they will break down and tell them anything that they want to know. That is what happens when the gospel is presented through a life that has been changed by it will be so loud and so clear and so convincing that when we go out in this world, if the gospel has really impacted our life, people will take notice. People will take notice and we won't have to be ashamed of what we say as far as the gospel or what the gospel has done in our life, because the gospel itself and the change that has taken place in our lives through the gospel will persuade men more than any words that we would ever say. This is what the Lord does through the gospel. Paul says here, we need not to speak anything about what the gospel did in their lives, even though I bet Paul wanted to. I bet everywhere Paul went throughout Greece, he had an itch to be able to say to the people there, Look what God has done to the people in Thessalonica. They were worldly, godless idolaters, but now through the power of the Gospel, they have been changed from the inside out, and now they're serving the one true and living God. I bet Paul wanted to do that with every ounce of his being. I bet whenever he went into a home, he wanted to share and tell them what was going on in Thessalonica. But Paul said, I don't need to speak anything. In other words, wherever he would go before he could open his mouth and tell what was going on in that city, the people that were there were telling him what was going on in that city. Wouldn't that be an amazing thing? You know, God is doing a work in a life and in a family and in a church when you don't have to go out and tell what God is doing, but when people will come and tell what God is doing in your heart and in your life and in your church. How many churches do we know say, come see what God is doing in our church? Come see what God is doing in our church. Come see what God is doing in our church. And you go there and God isn't doing anything in their church. The greatest testimony is what other people say about your church, because God has, through his gospel, changed and impacted your life. This is the sound of the gospel. This is what we ought to desire. We ought to desire more that God grips our hearts with the gospel. Do we want to see these pews filled? Absolutely. We can fill these pews any old way, couldn't we? One church in Chicago today or tonight, I should say, is having a I don't know if I'm pronouncing this right, but a Chipotle night. I don't know what Chipotle means, but I think it's Mexican. I think it has something to do with tacos, because on this video that I saw, I had a bunch of tacos. And you know what they're doing? They're trying to bring people into their service with tacos. Come to church. And then they added this. I'm not real sure where they were going with this, but they said, bring your IDs. I don't think it's just going to be the tacos that are served there. We could fill this place any old way, couldn't we? But wouldn't we rather see God fill this place when our hearts have been revived by the Spirit of God and have been changed by him and the gospel grips us with such a passion and such a fervency that it has affected our life so that we shun sin, so that we hate sin in our lives, that we live holy and godly lives because it has affected us and we want to follow God and then As we go out and share the gospel, we're not going to be hypocrites because we will say there is a change since I've been born again. And this change can happen to you as well. And as we share that wonderful word of God, the word of God, the word of the Lord is mentioned here. You know what's going to happen? They're going to see the word of the Lord being sounded out, amplified through our life. We are the sounding board. And then they will hear of our faith being directed not toward anything else that this world trusts in, but only to God. And you know what's going to happen? People are going to say, look at what's happening, happening at Grace Baptist Church. Look at what God is doing at Grace Baptist Church. The greatest advertisement for this church is a life that has been changed by the gospel of Christ. More than any newspaper or directory, everybody get their directory, church directory this year. Did you notice something missing in that church directory? Grace Baptist Church. And I'm not saying the ads, because we haven't paid any ads, but even in the listing of the churches, unless I missed it, it's not there. I don't know what happened. I thought for sure the lady said, if you want to put an ad in to go ahead and do so, I didn't want to put an ad in, so I didn't respond. I didn't know she was going to take us out completely. So the greatest advertisement, not for our church, but for the Lord Jesus Christ, is letting the gospel of Christ grip you as it once did. Does it? Has it? We don't need to be ashamed of the gospel, because the gospel of Jesus Christ is persuasive. It is persuasive. The Thessalonian church's focus, or Paul's focus, was not on how great the Thessalonians were, but on how great the gospel is. That's what the focus ought to be. Paul says also in verse 9, For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you. Some people believe that this is talking about the people that were telling him about Thessalonica. Personally, I believe when it says they, it's referring back to the word of the Lord and their faith toward God in verse eight. And I believe that those two things, the word of the Lord and their faith combined. And we see that combination in very many places in the Scripture. When those are combined, it creates a powerful effect, and I believe that effect showed Paul and Silas and Timothy, what they did right. Their testimony, an example of the gospel showed how Paul and Silas and Timothy brought the gospel. If you turn over to chapter two, verse seven. Paul says this about how they brought the gospel into Thessalonica, he says, but we were gentle among you, even as a man cherished her children. You see, Paul, it wasn't Paul's fervency and it wasn't Paul's power. that changed their lives. It was the power of the gospel of Christ. It was the power of his message, not the power of his voice. And I'm sure Paul could have been very convincing, very persuasive with how he said things. He was a powerful and a popular man, and he was an effective preacher. And I bet he could have used some amazing words like Apollos did. Apollos was a man mighty in words and in the scriptures. And he could have used some great rhetorical devices to really grip the ears of men. But he realized that it wasn't the ears of men that he was trying to reach. It was the hearts of men that he was trying to reach with the gospel. The only thing that could persuade them and change them. And that is why we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel, because its message, its sound is very persuasive. It is far more persuasive than our own words. It's far more persuasive than our own apologetics. Sometimes we look at the word of God and we try to prove to people different things about creation or evolution. We try to debate some of these things. The fact of the matter is they're not going to believe these things until they believe the gospel. These things are something that come by faith and faith only comes after hearing the word of God and the gospel. As we present the gospel of Jesus Christ to lives and to people, then their minds will be renewed about these things. I can't convince an unbeliever that creation was real. Only God can, through the power of the gospel, saving their souls, giving them true understanding of what he teaches in the word of God. That's why we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel. Fourth reason is because of the sound, because the sound of the gospel has a purpose. It has a purpose. In verse, finishing up verse nine through verse ten, we see what happened when the gospel came into their lives. It says, how ye turned to God from idols. to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. God has a reason and a purpose for the gospel. That is why we don't need to be ashamed, because as Romans 1 16 states, it is the power of God unto salvation. That is the purpose of the gospel. It is to save men who are lost in sin. And what does the Gospel do when it comes to men in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance? It brings men to repentance. It says here what happened to the Thessalonian church. It turned them to God from idols to serve the living and true God. The Thessalonians before Christ were heathens and idolaters. That word idols literally means image. They were worshiping images and none of us would think that we worship images, but there are things that are in our lives that might have a physical appearance that we do worship, that we bow down to, that we will sacrifice our life to. Many thousands, even millions are bowing down today for the worshiping of that little brown football. It's an image. It may not be an image of an animal or a man, but it's a pigskin and that pigskin is getting more worship and more respect than God himself. The land in which we live is not a Christian nation. It is a heathen, idolatrous nation because they're lost. You know what they need? They need the power of the gospel to change their lives. That's what we are here for to be the sounding board of what the gospel does in our lives and what the gospel says to others. God has a reason and a purpose for the Gospel. And the first one is to bring men to repentance. These Thessalonians were lost, and without the Gospel, they were worshipping and serving dead gods. It was as if I was worshipping... I took the trophy away. It was as if I was worshipping this cup of water. This cup of water can do nothing for me. This cup is inanimate. It's dead, lifeless. It will do absolutely nothing. Why would I give my life serving that, doing anything for that, is absolutely nothing. Get the people of Thessalonians do that, did that. And the people in America are doing that. But when the gospel came, a definite change was made. They turned to God from idols. That is the purpose of the Gospel. A turning from the gods of this world unto the one living and true God, as it says there in verse 9. A living and true God who is not dead, who is alive, who is not fake, who is real. Has that happened to you? Have you turned your heart to God from idols? If you're still worshiping idols, the gospel hasn't made a grip in your heart and you need to turn away from them. That is repentance, realizing your sin against God, realizing that you have no other hope apart from God. And you look to Him and Him alone. Has it happened to you? Because if it hasn't happened to you, you're not going to be a sounding board to help others find out about it. Is it happening to others, though? The only way it will is if we become the sounding board for the gospel. But not only does it bring men to repentance, it also brings men to readiness. And it goes on in verse 10. This is our last verse. It says here, and to wait for his son from heaven. Whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us up from the wrath to come, this readiness is what the purpose of the gospel is. This is the first mention of the Lord's coming in this letter. And there are several other times that we're going to come to this. The fact is, Jesus Christ is coming again. And no, there's probably another hope here for these people who are suffering under persecution. He says, wait for the Lord. Wait for the Lord. I know it's tough. I know you're struggling. I know there's persecution. I know there's opposition. I know you're really having a tough time of it. But wait for the coming of Christ, because he's coming. He's coming again. He's coming back the same way he went up. But apart from the gospel, no one is ready. No one is ready. Because if you're not ready, you know what you're going to experience? As it says in verse 10, you're going to experience the wrath to come. If you're not ready, you will experience wrath. Because if you're not ready for Christ's coming, it means He has not delivered you from the wrath to come. The wrath is coming. And again, this is something that people don't want to share as far as the Gospel. Part of the Gospel is that there is a judgment day. And this judgment day will come to every single human being. The Word of God clearly teaches this, clearly says so. And you will never be ready for the day of judgment until you put your faith and trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. You will never, ever be ready for the appearance of Christ. Every one of you will see Jesus someday. You will either be bowing before him, submitting to his rule and his authority and hearing him say, well done now, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord, or you will be bowed down in humility and conviction when God says, apart from you that work in iniquity. Never again to see his face. Are you expecting his coming and are you waiting? Are you anticipating? Are you excited about it? This is the purpose of the gospel to get you, to get me, to get others ready for the coming of Christ. But when the gospel came, a definite hope was given. And that is the purpose. That's why we don't need to be ashamed of the gospel, because its message is given for a purpose. It will make us ready for the coming of Christ. Are we ready for him? Are we ready for him? Are we worshiping and serving Him apart from other gods of this world? Are we waiting for Him, longing for Him, doing what He expects and desires while we wait for Him? I know that many are waiting their time and not living for Him and serving Him. They think they've done their job. God still has a purpose for you here in this life. And that great purpose that we see in these verses is that you are a sounding board. upon which the gospel has an effect that will be able to spread throughout this region. The message of the gospel completely changed the lives of the Thessalonian Christians. Has the gospel changed our lives completely? We say it has. We say it, but has it really changed our lives? Has it really changed what we think about sin? Has it really changed what we think about church? Has it really changed what we think about life? Has it really changed you? Because if it hasn't changed you, we will not be a sounding board that God wants us to be to this world because of the change that took place in the Thessalonian church. They experienced and became an example of the gospel's power and they were not ashamed. If you've experienced the power of the gospel, it will reveal and change life by turning your heart to God.