The Puritan Thomas Chalmers preached a famous sermon I would imagine many of you are familiar with or at least familiar with the title. The sermon was entitled The Expulsive Power of a New Affection. In his opening paragraph, Chalmers explains that there are two common ways that Christians seek to break their love affair with the world and with worldliness. One is by highlighting the vanity and worthlessness of the world and worldliness. That is, the world is not an object worthy of our love. That's one way. And Chalmers very quickly states that method will prove, and I quote, to be altogether incompetent and ineffectual. The second way, the better way to break our love affair with worldliness is to exchange our love for the world with a love that's infinitely superior, the love of God. It's exchanging an old affection for a new one, and that has expulsive power, the expulsive power of a new affection. And that's really ground zero for growth in godliness. And this idea that new affections are essential to growth in godliness, it permeated the Puritans. My favorite Puritan author is Stephen Sharnock, and he put it this way. The heart must be weaned from the world by the power of a superior affection. It's not enough to cast off the world unless the affections be placed upon something higher, even upon Christ, who is the proper object of our love. You see, Sharnock is underscoring that merely rejecting worldly desires isn't enough. There has to be a replacement, there has to be a new affection for Christ, and that affection, and that affection alone has the power to break us from worldly attachments. Another prominent Puritan, Richard Sibbes, preached a beloved sermon entitled, The Bruised Reed. In it he speaks of how the love of Christ changes our hearts and affections. He says, there's more mercy in Christ than in us. This mercy of Christ is to draw our affections so that we no longer love what we once loved, but now love that which is truly good. And I love what he's saying here. When we contemplate the mercy of Christ and those truths, get fixed in our soul. Our new affection, our love for Christ, that will become the default setting in our heart and our heart's desire will be for that which is truly good. And then of course there's Jonathan Edwards who wrote an entire treaty on religious affections really to help the church discern between genuine spiritual experiences and counterfeits. In it he wrote, the way to prevent sinning is to have the heart strongly and warmly disposed to holiness and the glory of God and the beauty of divine things. A vigorous, affectionate, and fervent love to God will incline the heart to holiness and cause it to hate sin. Again, Edwards is asserting that a deep affection for God naturally leads to rejection of sin. When the heart's filled with God's love, sin becomes less appealing and it's driven out by that superior affection. Last week in our study of 2 Thessalonians, the apostle commended the church for their obedience. their obedience to his apostolic teaching. They were doing what Paul had instructed them to do and they were – and Paul had every confidence they would continue to do the things that his missionary team had instructed them to do. This morning as we return to that study in 2 Thessalonians, we're going to find that one of the things Paul prayed for the Lord to do to help this church persevere in obedience was to grow the godly affections in these dear believers. So let's seek the Lord's face and we'll get to work. Pray with me once more. Our great God in heaven, again, we are so thankful to gather around to fellowship around your word. Oh Lord, we come here hungry We want to be fed with manna from heaven. And so indeed, oh God, we pray that the Holy Spirit would work powerfully and place that heavenly manna upon each one's lips here to feed them in just the way they need to be fed. Work for the glory of Jesus Christ, amen. Well, let me ask you to open up your copy of scripture. We're gonna read 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 16, down through chapter three and verse five, although this morning most of our attention will be on verse five of that third chapter. But let's go ahead and read these verses for context. 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning in verse 16. This is the true and living word of the true and living God. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father, who's loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Finally, brethren, pray for us. that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. Now, May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. There ends the reading of God's holy word. May he bless it to our hearts this morning. Well, dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we've learned that Paul's wrapping up his letter to the Thessalonians. He has a few more exhortations, but he begins this final section with a prayer request. The apostle Paul was a man on a mission, a gospel mission. And he knew that mission needed to be bathed in prayer if he had any expectation that the word of God would run swiftly and be glorified. But almost as soon as Paul made that prayer request, he turned his attention back to his beloved Thessalonians to encourage them with a glorious truth, the Lord. is faithful. We camped out there last week. And it's because of the Lord's faithfulness that God's people will be able to stand firm against the evil one and his devious and destructive plans. And Paul lets this new church, remember they're less than a year old, he lets this new church know that both he and the other missionaries, they're confident that these brothers and sisters are gonna continue to grow in godliness. And it's that confidence, believing that just as the church was presently walking in obedience, she would continue to walk in obedience, that he offers an amazing prayer wish in verse 5. And I have to say, we don't want to miss that the confidence Paul has, the confidence he has in their obedience, it wasn't ultimately grounded in the natural ability of the Thessalonians. It was grounded in the faithfulness of God. That's where we pick up this morning. And Paul's prayer wish in verse 5 is ultimately for new and fresh affections toward God. You see, Paul understood so clearly that ultimately, if we're going to be men and women who grow in sanctification, who are increasingly made more and more like Jesus, it's got to be a work that God does. It doesn't mean we're completely passive in that work, but it does mean it's a work that God has to accomplish in our lives. And so Paul's got this prayer wish that if the people are gonna continue to do the things they were commanded, one of the things they're gonna have to have, this is their motivation, an appreciation for the sheer goodness of God. I love the way the Belgic Confession speaks of God's goodness, speaks of God as the one, as the overflowing fountain of good. That's who our God is. And Paul's saying, if we want to be obedient men and women of God, we need to get these kinds of truths deep in us, deep into our affections. So listen again to verse five. Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. So I want to start with that word direct. It means more than simply a sign that points us in the right direction. It carries the idea of clearing a path, removing obstacles, tearing down any barriers that might hinder someone from arriving at their destination. He used this word back in 1 Thessalonians 3.11. There Paul writes, now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you. You see, Paul wasn't asking the Lord to function like a cosmic GPS and help him find his way back to Thessalonica. He was seeking the Lord to work in power to clear all the hindrances that might prevent him from returning to Thessalonica. So Paul's praying to the Lord, direct their hearts. And he wants the Lord to direct our hearts into two spiritual realities, the love of God and the patience of Christ. Now, we don't want to overlook that he wants those two spiritual realities directed into our hearts. And I want to pause here for a moment and just think through a few things. Let's start with a couple questions. In the introduction, I spoke of affections. When you hear the word affection, what synonym comes to mind? You don't have to say anything. We're Presbyterians. We don't talk in public. Here's another question. When you hear the word heart, Is there a synonym that comes to mind? I could be wrong, but I'd guess that many of you would say, I know the synonym for affection and heart. It's emotions, right? You know you were thinking that. Go ahead, fess up. So let's start with this. When the Puritans spoke of affections, they didn't simply mean emotions. They meant a combination of the mind, the will and the emotions all working together in the life of a believer to produce intense desires and longings that would govern our lives. If I can say it this way, affections are what drives the inner man and captivates our soul and gets worked out in our day-to-day living. And let me tell you that the things that captivate your affections are the things you love, and the things that captivate your affections do dictate how you will live. And none of us get to escape that. Because at any given moment, and you make a decision, you're going to make a decision based on the desires that you have in that moment. And the question is, what's governing your desires? What affections? Are they affections for God, and his Christ, and his salvation, or for the things of the world? Listen how John Owen describes affections. The affections are in the soul as the helm is in a ship. If it be laid hold on by a skillful hand, it turns the whole vessel which way he pleases. Affections set the whole soul on work. They are therefore the first seat of the work of grace and the renovation of our natures. If I can give you the Owen for Dummies Like Chip translation, He's saying our affections are what get us going and keep us going. Because what we do and how we live will ultimately flow right out of our affections. And I hope you understand, I'm not merely splitting hairs here. We can actually learn a lot from our Puritan forefathers. I mentioned this last week. We're living at a time and have been really for about 70 years, where a great many of our brothers and sisters think that excited human emotions represent the pinnacle of religious experience. And I want to suggest to you that a view more in line with the Reformers, the Puritans, and the Bible, a perspective that's much more balanced, would be to say that Christian life is driven by affections, not emotions, affections. And affections represent the mind that contemplates truth, the will that drives our decisions to act and do, and our emotions that energize and inflame and inspire God's truth and our actions. You see, if we get this, we'll have the right sense of understanding where experience plays the proper role in the life of the believer. And one of the reasons I think this is an important truth for us to have in our repertoire is because it can keep us from making two errors. On the one side, there's the error of sheer emotionalism, where feelings govern our desires. And often it's irrespective of truth, wisdom, the word even. If I feel it, it ought to be all right. But there's a flip side of that, isn't there? That it so intellectualizes Christianity that a Christian might say something like, I think therefore I'm a Christian. No, no, no, no. Then you end up with a faith that's cold and sterile. I'm arguing for an affected Christian orthodoxy. I had a professor in seminary that said something that I've never forgotten, and probably this is the only thing I remember from seminary, but he said, there's no such thing as cold orthodoxy. Have you ever thought about that? That is absolutely true. If you are cold, it's because you don't believe your orthodoxy. And if you're orthodox, you're not cold. It's really that simple. There are a host of other factors that might be at play there, but there really isn't this kind of animal cold orthodoxy. Puritans had a wonderful sense of a warm piety that was deeply affected by the grace of God. Now, when Paul speaks of the Lord directing spiritual realities into our heart, he likely has in mind our affections. Right? That's probably what he means by heart, because heart in the Bible is really a comprehensive term to speak about the totality of the inner man. Think about what the Lord Jesus taught concerning the great commandment. You remember he was being questioned in Matthew 22. You know, Rabbi, what is the great commandment in Matthew 22, 37? He said, you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. He started with heart, I think it's because that is the seed bed. of godly living. I think Dr. Henderson has it right. He says the heart here is the hub of the wheel of man's existence, the mainspring of all his thoughts, words, and deeds. The soul here, in Jesus' language, is probably the seat of man's emotional activity. The mind is not only his pure intellectual life, but also his dispositions and attitudes. Again, the heart is the wellspring from which man thinks, feels, wills and acts. And so what does Paul want God to direct into our hearts? Again, think about why he's doing this, because he wants us to continue in obedience. So what does he want God to direct into your heart? The love of God. Now grammatically, I have to tell you, scholars wrestle with what this means because it could really just, if you read it as a pure grammarian, it could mean God's love for us or our love for God. I believe it's the former because that's one of the reasons we read verse 16. Paul had already spoken of God who loved us and has given us everlasting consolation. So that's the context here. And beside, it's important to understand that according to John 4, 19, we love because he first loved us. Yes, we are to love God. There are countless commandments in the Bible. We even heard Jesus give that commandment. Having said that, we can only love because he first loves us. In other words, he has to initiate love. Any love we have toward God, is ultimately a response to our understanding of God's love for us. When I'm counseling Christians, one of the great struggles is that a lot of professing believers have very wrong conceptions of God. They don't understand that love arises from God himself, that love is an attribute of God. He is love. And so a lot of people end up thinking God's love is conditional. It's first dependent on them. You must, he will. No, no, no. While you were yet sinners, God sent his son to die for you. You don't get cleaned up first so you can love God in hopes he will love you. He loves you. I share this quite often, but I hope you don't mind me being repetitious here. But there's a kind of ethos, even in the Reformed communities, that says something like this, I'm so thankful for Jesus, because now I know God loves me. And the implication is if God had not sent Jesus, he wouldn't love you. But you're missing the most important part of the gospel. God so loved the world that he sent. He loved and sent. Love is always his initiation. And Paul's saying, Lord, direct that into their hearts. They need to know this. Then there are others who go the opposite direction. They think that they just deserve love. Well, God loves everybody. Obviously, He loves me because I'm so cotton-picking lovable. No. Paul had explained to the Thessalonians in the previous verses, God's love has been expressed toward His people in His electing them before time to adopt them by grace. It's been expressed toward His people in the sending of His own beloved Son in time to secure our adoption, our redemption, and to complete salvation through Christ's obedient life and shed blood. And His love has been expressed in regenerating us and bringing us into a knowledge of that adoption so that as the Spirit of God works in us, what can we say as the children of God? That's the love of God directed into our hearts that enables to say that. Paul communicates this truth wonderfully over in Romans 5.5. He writes, the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. This is one of those truths that has a sting and then becomes glorious. It's a sting because it tells us how hard our hearts are by nature. We couldn't love God unless he did a heart transplant. unless He took out the heart of stone and gave us a heart of love. And we still need the Holy Spirit directing that love, or using the language of Romans 5, pouring that love into our hearts. That shows us how difficult it is for us to love God. But the glory of this passage is God desires our love, and He always provides for His desires. So He pours that love into us. He directs that love into our hearts so we can love Him. One old commentator put it this way, the love of God does not descend upon us as dew in drops, but as a stream which spreads itself abroad through the whole soul, filling it with the consciousness of his presence and his favor. And that seems to be what Paul means here in 2 Thessalonians when he asked for the Lord to direct our hearts into the love of God. Lord, fill us with the consciousness of your presence, of your favor, of your love. And then second, he asked the Lord to direct our hearts into the patience of Christ, the patience of Christ. Now, some of you may have translations that say the endurance of Christ. Some of you may have translations that say steadfastness of Christ. Both of those are better translations. Steadfastness is probably better in terms of the way we use English today, in terms of understanding what Paul's communicating. Now, steadfastness is the ability to bear up. to persevere through difficult circumstances. And again, this is not primarily Paul telling us to persevere. He's asking God to pour in our hearts that Christ persevered for us. And by the way, isn't that exactly where we come to touch the love of God most clearly? When we realize what the Son of God did for us. Jesus, of course, is the one who did this. There's a wonderful passage in Luke 9. I want to read Luke 9, verse 51. Listen to these words. Now, it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up. That's language to say Christ is going to Jerusalem. He's going to be betrayed by the chief priests. He's gonna be crucified, buried, and on the third day he rose again. Came time for him to be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. What an encouragement, dear ones. And we need not wonder how this impacted Jesus. When he got to Jerusalem, do you remember that moment in the Garden of Gethsemane? Lord, is there any way to take this cup from me? See, Jesus understood when he hung on that cross, he was gonna be the wrath bearer for us, for sinners, for all the elect in all time. And he's like, Lord, can you take this cup from me? Is there any other way so I don't have to bear this wrath? But his disposition was not my will, but your will be done because he was steadfast. to save you and to save me. We get a wonderful picture of this in Hebrews 12. It uses the same word. There in Hebrews 12, we're told to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance or steadfastness the race that's set before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured, or was steadfast unto the cross. Despising the shame, and of course he is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus was steadfast to save you and I all the way through the cross. And it's interesting that Paul put these two truths together, this sort of dual prayer request. Lord, direct your love into their hearts and direct the steadfastness of Christ into your hearts. Because that's where love exists, isn't it? Knowing what Jesus has done for you. Are you struggling today with obedience, following the commands of God? Do you find yourself slipping more and more into sins that you thought you had overcome? Ask your question is, how much time do you spend pondering Christ's work on the cross? Because that's the truth that gets into our hearts and gives us stability and assures us of his love. Because when you contemplate the son of God, hanging on that curse tree, bearing the curse that belonged to you and me, it's hard to take in the depth of that love. And that's the affections, that's the disposition that enables lives of obedience. Well, I wanna close with a quote from John Gill And he connects the love of God with the attribute of God's immutability. He writes, God is unchangeable in his love and affections to his people. His love to them is from everlasting to everlasting. Without any variation in his own heart, However different the manifestations of it may be to them, he ever rests in his love, never alters, nothing can separate from it. He is love itself. It is as unchangeable as himself. The same today, yesterday, and forever. Here's a prayer request we ought to be praying for one another. Lord, direct the love of God into my brothers' and sisters' hearts, direct the steadfastness of Christ into the hearts of my brothers and sisters. What would it be like for a body of believers who embraced that and prayed that prayer? May God make that a reality. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We are so thankful when we have the opportunity to contemplate the wonder of your love. It's a marvel to us that you would send your son to die in our place, that you would redeem us not with anything so trite, a silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the spotless lamb. When we pray that that fills up our hearts and renews our affections, that we might walk as men and women who seek to glorify you day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, till we're translated to glory. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, the invitation to participate in this sacrament is extended to everyone who is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. Men and women who know that they can't earn merit, they don't deserve salvation, it is completely a free gift from God through Christ. If that's your trust, if that's your confidence that Jesus Christ alone has saved you, and you're a member in good standing of a Bible-believing evangelical church, then please do come and feast with us. If that doesn't describe you, or if you're living in unrepentant sin, when the elements are distributed, simply let them pass by, go, repent, come back next time, and celebrate with us. Now, as we come to the table, we confess with the historic church what we believe, and we use the Apostles' Creed. You can find that in the back of your hymnal on page 851. So, Christian, what do you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. I'm going to read Romans 5, verses 6 through 11. Then I have a meditation before we come to the Lord's table. It's from a wonderful Scottish minister. But first hear God's Word, this is Romans 5, verses 6 through 11. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. much more having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we've now received the reconciliation. Again, you can follow along with this meditation, it's printed for you, or you can simply listen. Was there ever a love like his? Well may it be called love which passes knowledge. Angels are lost in wonder while they look into the mystery of redeeming love. How then should we, to whom this love is shown, be astonished while we're called to partake of it? He died not for angels. But for men, and when? Was it when we were faithful, affectionate, and obedient that we gained His heart to such an expensive manifestation of His love? No. When we were enemies by wicked works, when we were without strength or power to love or obey Him, even then in due time did Christ die for the ungodly. In us, there was nothing but misery. We were lost in sin, willfully lost by our disobedience, without power or inclination to seek for any favor at God's hands. And he wanted not our services. His glory would have been unsullied if he had given us up to the fruit of our folly and left us to our deserved ruin. But Freely moved by the mere goodness of his heart and out of pure compassion to us, Jesus offered to stand in our stead. And since to save us he must be made man, his love stooped down to the lowliness of our condition, to the form of a servant, to the death of a slave. Love brought him down from the throne of glory. Love clothed him with a body like our own. Love urged him on through all the painful steps of his afflicted life. The waters of trouble were never able to quench it, nor the floods of persecution drown it. Love put the cup of trembling into his hand. Love bid him drink the last drop of all its dregs, for having loved his own, he loved them unto the end. His love abode till he cried, it is finished. When having sealed with blood the sure and well-ordered covenant, his soul was dismissed, and he went to begin his triumphs over death, hell, and the grave. And when he arose again, Love carried him to the right hand of God. And there he is this moment, showing forth the unchangeableness of his affection by ever living to make intercession for us and pleading before the throne the marks of love so deeply engraven in his hands and in his side. And then let us freely and fully come to this table and remember this love. as at an ordinance where the glory of His love is set before us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you have given us this wonderful covenant meal for the family of God, and the banner of Christ's great love for us flies over it. As we take these ordinary elements, the bread and the cup, may the love of God be pressed into our hearts, may our faith be strengthened, and may our love be certified. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Receive the Lord's benediction. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ and all of God's people said, amen.