1-17-21 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

Get to Know Jesus in His Powerful Call January 17, 2021 Know the Power of Jesus’ Call 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 1) Jesus’ Call Brings You to Faith in Him 2) Jesus’ Call Sustains You to Follow Him

If you were asked to describe God’s power, how would you do that? Maybe you would use the beauty of creation around us and point to these visible signs as proof of God’s power.

And that would be a great way because, even after looking at it and studying it since time began 6,000 – 10,000 years ago, humans still haven’t satisfied their curiosity about how it all works.

Or maybe you could use a left brain route and use the full arsenal of a language’s poetry, vocabulary, and literary elements. In the right hands, the pen is far mightier than the sword because the pen’s words remain long after the ink has dried and can influence our hearts and minds. I’m guessing you have a favorite hymn or Bible verse to prove this point.

But have you ever thought about using yourself to describe God’s almighty power, using the God-given faith that’s in your heart and driving your works and words? That’s indeed another place for us to look to describe how powerful our God is. And that’s where we look today in light of our verses from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 as we get to know the power our Lord works in us through Jesus’ call – how he brings us to faith in Jesus Christ and how he sustains us to follow our Savior.

1) Jesus’ Call Brings You to Faith in Him Like the Apostle Paul, we cannot help but join in giving thanks to God for what he has done in those who believe in him. We hear Paul describe what this is when he says, “But we are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13) The Holy Spirt, who is a person of the Triune God, has done his sanctifying work in our hearts through the truth about Jesus Christ. By sanctifying us, he does two things – he purifies us from sins through the gift of forgiveness and sets us apart from this unbelieving world as God’s children through faith. And the Spirit does all this through the truth about Jesus Christ which is found only in the Bible, the Word the God. Yet not everyone who hears the Word of God has received the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. Why is that? It’s because the Spirit only does this in those whom God has chosen to be his children. Everyone else who doesn’t have faith continues to reject the Spirit’s sanctifying work. This is the gist of what we call the doctrine of election. As you may remember from your days in Youth Catechism Class or Grow In Grace, there’s a lot more to say about this than I will 1

Pastor Tim Patoka

Get to Know Jesus in His Powerful Call January 17, 2021

mention here. For those extra details, I encourage you to review your Catechisms or Grow In Grace materials at home or speak with one of your pastors.

The part of election that I will mention is what the Apostle Paul does – if we have faith in Jesus, it’s only because God has chosen us to be his. In line with Jesus’ call for us to believe in him, God storms the gate to our unwelcoming self, overcomes our revulsion to his good news of salvation, and transforms our hearts from one of dead in sin to alive in Christ. There is no way that we can take any credit for the saving faith we have. And this is meant for our comfort. To assure us that God has chosen us to be his children regardless of who we are and how undeserving we certainly are.

But we often entertain contradictory thoughts because of what secular psychologists and confused Christians otherwise say. That there is a spark of goodness inside us that God has put there. It’s up to us to fan it into flame until it’s a roaring fire. Or that we need to take the first step towards God by opening our heart’s door and surrendering to his will before he will do everything else. While these may be logical, they aren’t in line with Scripture. Rather, Scripture teaches that we can only have faith it it’s God’s gracious and powerful choice for us. From the moment of conception in our mother’s womb, we are dead in our sins, unable to help ourselves, and hostile enemies of God and his good news of salvation.

Not only is it wrong to go against what Scripture teaches, we also lessen God’s grace and power when we think such thoughts. We lessen God’s power by saying that he has simply done the unlikely instead of the impossible. Instead of the biblical teaching of God overcoming our constant and complete rejections, God has cooperated with us in some way to bring us to faith.

We lessen God’s grace by implying there is something about us that puts us ahead of the unbelieving crowds. Instead, we should rejoice in the biblical truth, that God has chosen us to be his beloved children in spite of how sinful we truly are!

Not only it is entirely due to God’s choice for us to listen to Jesus’ call to faith, we also share in Jesus’ own glory. The Apostle Paul tells us so with these words, “he also called you through our gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14) There are a lot of ways to talk about Jesus’ glory, but this morning we’re going to do so with the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work – purified from sin and set apart for God. And that’s because Jesus himself fits this definition of sanctified. Jesus, who had no sin, became sin for us so that we could be purified from all our wrongs. In the same way, we are forgiven and considered not guilty for the sins we were born in, have committed, and will do so in the future. Jesus, who was set apart as the Promised Savior, took on human flesh so we could be part of God’s family. In the same way, we are adopted into this family of faith that calls God Almighty our dear Father and his Son our much older and wiser brother.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

Get to Know Jesus in His Powerful Call January 17, 2021

Because of the Spirit’s sanctifying work, we also share in calling Jesus’ home in heaven our home. Jesus, who has resided in heaven since before time was, willingly left it for 33 years so we might one day live with him for all eternity. As such, our present circumstances, no matter how good or bad they might be, are simply a stepping stone to the eternity of heaven that awaits each one whom God has chosen to bring to faith. And we here, who have listened to Jesus’ call to faith and now believe in him for salvation, are living proof of God’s grace and power which he uses to answer Jesus’ call to have faith in him.

2) Jesus’ Call Sustains You to Follow Him It is God’s power, working again through Jesus’ call, which sustains us to follow our Savior in our thoughts, words, and actions. And one way this happens is through the Word of God. It’s for this reason that Paul encourages us to “stand firm and hold on to the teachings that were passed along to you.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) To hold on to these teachings from God’s Word means to hold it tight and hold it close. To hold it tight means to trust in what the Bible says and place our confidence in it. To hold it close it to make frequent use of Gods’ Word.

Our God also sustains us with his power to follow our Savior by establishing us through our Word-driven works and words as Paul briefly mentions in our closing verse. Ask those who let their light shine where they work, play, and sleep and they’ll likely tell you how God established them to follow their Savior all the more. They have a certain joy and persistent itch to show one’s faith with their works and words because they’ve seen firsthand the gospel’s effects on theirs and other’s hearts.

When we don’t go to God’s Word in these ways, we deprive ourselves of God’s power to sustain us in following our Savior. We hold God’s Word loose when we ask, “Are we sure God’s Word is the right place to look? Should we look elsewhere for strength?” We hold God’s Word far away when we infrequently use it. How mint condition are our Bibles at home? When was the last time we updated our Bible app? We stop the Lord from establishing us through our Word-driven works and words by blending in with the unbelieving crowds. Suppose a person were with you Monday through Saturday. How well would they know that God has chosen us to be his child through faith?

It is through the Word itself and our Word-driven works and words that God sustains us with his power so we can follow Jesus as he has called us to do. If we get rid of the Word, we deprive ourselves of God’s sustaining power. If we keep it up, it will eventually result in us living like those who have nothing to do with the Word or following Jesus.

Instead, let us go to the Word so we may be sustained with God’s power to follow our Savior as he has called us to do. If we hold God’s Word tight and close, he will certainly 3

Pastor Tim Patoka

Get to Know Jesus in His Powerful Call January 17, 2021

continue encouraging our hearts with the good hope of his grace and agape love. We hear the Apostle Paul mention these very things towards the end of our verses. And what’s interesting about the “eternal encouragement” he mentions is that it’s more of a comfort/consoling action that lifts our spirits. And it will never end. No amount of sad news, disappointment, or frustrating attitudes can ever undo the grace and agape love that God shows us in his Son Jesus Christ. And that is some great encouragement and hope for us right now!

But let us also go to the Word so that God may establish us through our Word-driven works and words. Fill yourself up with what the Lord has done for and promised to you so that you cannot help but let it shine wherever you work, play, and sleep. Learn from experience or from others how lifestyle witnessing has a tendency to fuel itself. Be on the lookout for the diverse opportunities God has given you so you can follow your Savior in your thoughts, words, and actions as he has called you to do.

There are a lot of ways we can describe God’s power. One way to do so is by looking at yourself and what God has done in you because of Jesus’ call. As Jesus calls you to believe in him, we see God’s grace and power in those he has chosen to receive the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. Not only is this the only way we can come to faith, it also has us share in Jesus’ own glory so that we are purified from sins, set apart for God, and bound for our heavenly home. As such, we join the Apostle Paul in giving thanks to God for answering Jesus’ call and bringing us to faith. Because it is a challenge to follow our Savior in all we think, do, and say, we also go to the Lord for his sustaining power. He does this when we hold his Word tight and close where he eternally encourages our hearts with his good hope of grace and agape love. He also sustains our firm stance in following Jesus by establishing us through our Worddriven works and words. It’s through all this that we get to know the power our Lord works in us through Jesus’ call to faith in him and to follow him. Amen.

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