WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.411 you to take your Bible and turn over to the book of 2 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians. 00:00:04.411 --> 00:00:12.974 We're continuing our Route 66 series one message per book of the Bible. 00:00:12.974 --> 00:00:27.847 We'll be wrapping this series up mid-December, so we have a few more months left, but we're delighted to be able to progress through and all of us to get an overview of all of Scripture. 00:00:27.847 --> 00:00:34.189 My sons and I enjoy something together. 00:00:34.189 --> 00:00:46.453 We enjoy reading outdoor exploration books, and one of the books that my son Ben particularly enjoys reading about are some of the adventures of Ernest Shackleton. 00:00:46.453 --> 00:01:15.283 And Shackleton was known for his Antarctic expeditions and he was delighted to receive on Christmas a gift from my son Matt, which was the same company that made the sweater for Shackleton for his expedition in the Antarctic, is still in business and still makes those sweaters, and so my son Matt gifted Ben the same sweater that Shackleton wore when he was crossing the Antarctic. 00:01:16.504 --> 00:01:29.427 But a little over a century ago Ernest Shackleton and a group his crew boarded the ship Endurance and they sought to cross the continent of Antarctica, and yet they didn't make it. 00:01:29.427 --> 00:01:45.271 Their vessel was sort of blocked in by sea ice and then eventually trapped by sea ice, and as they sat there for days feeling the pressure of the ice pushing against the ship. 00:01:45.271 --> 00:01:56.460 It eventually burst the ship and they couldn't sail it any longer, and so they abandoned their ship and they sought to find survival. 00:01:56.460 --> 00:02:13.132 Eventually, they were able to make their way to a desolate rock called Elephant Island, and there Shackleton left about 22 of his crew, while he and another five men got into a small boat and tried to make their way to South Georgia. 00:02:13.132 --> 00:02:34.933 You imagine those 22 men stuck on Elephant Rock with no communication, no radio whatsoever, they enduring the bitter cold and the hunger and the isolation, and they were there for four and a half months until Shackleton was able to make his way to South Georgia. 00:02:34.933 --> 00:02:41.513 He was able to secure a ship that would go back to Elephant Island and rescue those men. 00:02:41.513 --> 00:02:50.682 And rescue those men. 00:02:50.682 --> 00:02:57.506 Shackleton's leadership was marked by a calm resolve and an unwavering hope that he could make it to South Georgia and he would be able to return to Elephant Island and carry his men to safety. 00:02:59.211 --> 00:03:04.045 The journey didn't end with triumph for a successful expedition, but it did end with survival. 00:03:04.045 --> 00:03:11.110 It was a survival that was brought by way of endurance, metaphorically. 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:21.394 Sometimes we go through difficulties in life as we transverse the seas of this world, hoping to be able to cross over whatever lies ahead of us. 00:03:21.394 --> 00:03:31.015 And we might find ourselves trapped in by sea ice, pressured by its forces, sometimes brushing up or even encapsulating our ship. 00:03:31.015 --> 00:03:38.252 And then sometimes we can feel like the pressure is so tight and so strong that it literally bursts our ship in two. 00:03:38.252 --> 00:03:40.862 And we're wondering can we survive this? 00:03:42.727 --> 00:03:55.287 As we deal with those kinds of pressures, there are particular temptations that can come our way Chronic disappointment and discouragement, spiritual weariness or even confusion about what is true and what isn't. 00:03:55.287 --> 00:04:00.002 And this is exactly where the church at Thessalonica is at. 00:04:00.002 --> 00:04:05.153 They were caught in a storm of persecution and of confusion. 00:04:05.153 --> 00:04:21.915 They were seemingly misled by some people, persecuted by outsiders and weary in well-doing, and they had a lot of questions and they needed a steady voice that would help them to continue down the pathway of endurance. 00:04:21.915 --> 00:04:39.009 And Paul meets them with this letter, 2 Thessalonians, and he offers them not just sympathy but a spirit-filled strength in the letter to equip them to endure all things until the time comes when they would be in the presence of the Lord. 00:04:39.009 --> 00:04:51.701 And across these three chapters he gives them and here's the outline of what we're going to look at In chapter 1, he helps them, and here's the outline of what we're going to look at In chapter one. 00:04:51.701 --> 00:05:04.850 He helps them to have courage in the middle of persecution, to have clarity in the middle of deception and to have confidence in their daily life In a world that's shaken by affliction, shaken by deception and filled with weariness. 00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:13.973 The ancient words that Paul gave to the church at Thessalonica can also help us, to energize us to endure in our generation. 00:05:13.973 --> 00:05:16.083 So let's take a look at this letter. 00:05:16.083 --> 00:05:20.692 We'll begin with courage amid suffering or affliction. 00:05:20.692 --> 00:05:25.088 We start right out there, right from the gate. 00:05:25.228 --> 00:05:32.903 After an entrance, paul speaks to the Thessalonian believers about the suffering they're facing, and he doesn't sidestep it at all. 00:05:32.903 --> 00:05:35.226 In fact, he actually honors it. 00:05:35.226 --> 00:05:46.875 He opens in verse 3 with a commendation of their growth in faith and love and he declares to them that he sees it as increasing, despite what they're facing. 00:05:46.875 --> 00:05:57.630 We thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, since your faith is flourishing and the love each of you has for one another is increasing. 00:05:57.630 --> 00:06:05.531 Therefore, we ourselves boast about you among God's churches and about your perseverance and faith. 00:06:05.531 --> 00:06:17.627 You know, we often think that we need a calm place or a safe place in order to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:20.127 But that's not what Paul brings up here. 00:06:20.127 --> 00:06:33.755 In fact, in verse 4, he begins to introduce that subject of suffering, the perseverance that they have and the faith that they have in all the persecutions and afflictions that you're enduring. 00:06:33.755 --> 00:06:43.048 These adverse external circumstances were not hindering their fellowship in the gospel. 00:06:43.048 --> 00:06:51.567 In fact, if anything, the persecution might have been promoting their love for one another and their faith in God. 00:06:51.567 --> 00:06:57.793 They were showing, in the midst of this difficult time, an active trust in God's care. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:12.473 In verses 5 to 7, paul brings this into view by helping them see the bigger lens, and he doesn't minimize their suffering, but he locates it in the arc of redemption. 00:07:12.473 --> 00:07:14.257 Take a look at these verses. 00:07:14.257 --> 00:07:27.348 It is clear evidence of God's righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God's kingdom, for which you are also suffering, since it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you. 00:07:27.348 --> 00:07:28.348 What is he doing? 00:07:28.348 --> 00:07:37.088 He's showing them the ark of redemption. 00:07:37.088 --> 00:07:44.069 He's saying to them yes, you're suffering now, but there's going to come a day when you will suffer no more. 00:07:44.069 --> 00:07:51.127 And this is, as we read Scripture, quite the focus of the gospel. 00:07:51.127 --> 00:07:55.535 Our Lord Jesus suffered and then entered into His glory. 00:07:55.535 --> 00:08:01.567 Philippians 2 says he humbled Himself and suffered and then received glory. 00:08:02.668 --> 00:08:09.644 Paul in 2 Corinthians talks about suffering and then entering in to an understanding of glory. 00:08:09.644 --> 00:08:14.021 And here the Thessalonian believers are following that same arc. 00:08:14.021 --> 00:08:22.142 Because of Jesus Christ, they stand in the place where the new creation sits at odds with the old. 00:08:22.142 --> 00:08:34.803 The fallen world is antagonistic to Christ and the gospel and God's people, and therefore in this world, until all things are made new, there will be a conflict. 00:08:34.803 --> 00:08:43.066 The Spirit will wrestle against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit, as Paul says in the book of Galatians. 00:08:43.066 --> 00:09:02.682 And so Paul locates them in the middle of this redemptive arc that God has in invading this dark kingdom with the gospel of light and showing that until that day comes, when it will fully blaze in full glory and victory, that hardships and trouble will continue. 00:09:02.682 --> 00:09:15.250 And so, instead of being unsettled by their persecution, the believers here were to see that as an evidence that God had truly worked in their hearts to deliver them. 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:26.631 This is quite the opposite of your best life now kind of theology that flies around in different places in our country. 00:09:26.631 --> 00:09:42.861 Paul says that the Thessalonians are not only persevering and trusting amid the persecution, but are increasing and growing in love and faith, and all of that was a sign of God's blessing on them. 00:09:42.861 --> 00:09:49.826 Yes, it was difficult, but he would carry them into glory later and they will be a part of that. 00:09:49.826 --> 00:09:58.571 And so their perseverance and their faith was a demonstration that they were indeed numbered among God's people. 00:09:58.571 --> 00:10:05.227 And so Paul takes a moment just to show them what kind of relief that they're going to have. 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:09.647 In verse 8, or verse 7,. 00:10:09.647 --> 00:10:22.075 This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, when he takes vengeance with flaming fire on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 00:10:22.075 --> 00:10:28.344 They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord's presence and from his glorious strength. 00:10:28.344 --> 00:10:44.373 Here we don't see justice rashly given in a mad flash of anger, but a determination of justice against those who have opposed God and do not love and obey the gospel. 00:10:44.373 --> 00:11:00.905 They're not given to a gentle fading away or a falling into death and finding it nothing, but they are awaiting a day, at Christ's return, when there will be an eternal destruction and judgment for them. 00:11:01.846 --> 00:11:17.274 But on the positive side of that, in verse 10, paul says this he said On that day when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marveled at by all those who have believed. 00:11:17.274 --> 00:11:46.144 What he's saying is you may suffer now unjustly, but the justice of God will act and will separate those who have acted unjustly from those who trust in God's justice, and you will be participants in that glorious day when righteousness reigns and you will be not only marveling at the justice of God but included in the glory that will come. 00:11:46.144 --> 00:11:53.222 You will face not just safety and rescue but glory in that coming day. 00:11:53.222 --> 00:12:10.226 And in verse 10, he says this because our testimony among you was believed, the Apostle Paul brings it directly down to their hearts. 00:12:10.226 --> 00:12:25.428 In case there was any misunderstanding or any confusion or any hopelessness in their heart in the middle of this deep and complex and difficult season of persecution and suffering. 00:12:25.428 --> 00:12:39.248 He wanted to let them know with specificity that he counted them as those who were included in this glorious day of Christ's return and glorification. 00:12:39.248 --> 00:13:16.557 And it gives us a sense of encouragement that whenever we see someone demonstrating a life of true godly fruit coming out of salvation, it's imperative for us to personalize those statements, to go up to one of our brothers and sisters and say I've been watching you go through this difficulty and, I have to say, the way that you're settled in God's trust gives me hope and gives me encouragement that you truly know the Lord, and I just wanted to say that to you as a word of encouragement, because that's exactly what Paul's saying here. 00:13:19.942 --> 00:13:21.706 He doesn't end with an explanation, though. 00:13:21.706 --> 00:13:26.105 He goes directly to prayer, and this is something in this small letter that Paul does quite frequently. 00:13:26.105 --> 00:13:43.947 In the last couple of verses of chapter 1, he asks that the hardships won't harden them, but that every trial might bring them to understand their calling as it shines brighter and brighter, and that every grace might echo in mercy that they've received. 00:13:43.947 --> 00:13:48.162 He wants them to know that their pain isn't being wasted. 00:13:48.162 --> 00:13:54.965 It's part of the story, and this is perhaps something we need to hear tonight. 00:13:56.696 --> 00:14:29.666 We don't always face dramatic persecution like the church at Thessalonica did, but we may walk through chronic sufferings ourselves, and they could be small, episodic periods of persecution in the most intimate places of our lives by our family, or it might be some distress that we find at work or in our neighborhood, or even in society and the general press of the world the flesh and the devil, or even in society and the general press of the world, the flesh and the devil, and we might find ourselves feeling bombarded emotionally, physically, relationally and certainly spiritually. 00:14:29.666 --> 00:14:35.491 And here the Lord is telling us that when he comes, he's doing more than just rescuing us. 00:14:35.491 --> 00:14:44.355 He is going to glorify us as we walk patiently through these difficult days. 00:14:44.355 --> 00:14:46.820 Let's go to the second chapter. 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:57.434 Not only does he want to help them have courage amid their sufferings and persecution, he wants them to have clarity amid the deception. 00:14:57.894 --> 00:15:02.315 And from the furnace of suffering, paul steps into the fog of confusion. 00:15:02.315 --> 00:15:10.350 For some reason, at the church at Thessalonica, a rumor was spreading that Jesus had already returned and that the day of the Lord, of His judgment, was already here. 00:15:10.350 --> 00:15:18.520 And for the Thessalonian believers, who were already scorched by persecution, this brings them into spiritual vertigo. 00:15:18.520 --> 00:15:27.542 They are just reeling with confusion and anxiety is rippling through this congregation and questions are arising in their hearts. 00:15:27.542 --> 00:15:29.260 Have we missed the Lord? 00:15:29.260 --> 00:15:31.462 Are we left to judgment? 00:15:31.462 --> 00:15:33.903 Has our pain been for nothing? 00:15:33.903 --> 00:15:38.807 Is our present suffering a sign that we have been left behind? 00:15:41.916 --> 00:15:44.322 Paul doesn't fuel that speculation. 00:15:44.322 --> 00:15:51.360 He silences it with gospel clarity and he talks about the coming of the Lord and the day of the Lord. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:58.947 And he continues to beat that drum to help them understand that, no, you don't need to be disturbed by these things that have happened. 00:15:58.947 --> 00:16:03.461 But in a very sober way Paul speaks. 00:16:03.461 --> 00:16:10.485 He's not trying to be sensationalistic, he's not trying to grab headlines, he's not trying to gender conspiracies. 00:16:11.306 --> 00:16:19.561 Here he wants to act as a spiritual watchman and lift the lantern of truth to these hearts who are stumbling because of the dark rumors that have come against them. 00:16:19.561 --> 00:16:27.003 And he tells them in verse 2, I don't want you to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed. 00:16:27.003 --> 00:16:39.208 You feel the compassion in that right Going to some troubled believers and saying let me say some things to you so that you won't be disturbed any longer. 00:16:39.208 --> 00:16:50.365 So keep that in mind when you go through this chapter, because Paul is not trying to address every question of our curiosity about end-time events. 00:16:50.365 --> 00:16:58.515 What he's trying to do is settle these believers so that they would no longer be troubled by the rumors that they're facing. 00:16:58.515 --> 00:17:11.067 He recognizes how this doctrinal confusion is wounding them and giving them anxiety, and so he wants to dispel this rumor first of all that seemingly has come from him. 00:17:11.067 --> 00:17:44.796 In verse 2, he says this I don't want you to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, Whether there was some statement going around the church at Thessalonica that Paul had received a supernatural revelation that the day of the Lord had already come, or some report that Paul had preached a sermon somewhere that had said that, or that there was some letter that might have been forged with Paul's name at the bottom. 00:17:45.617 --> 00:18:02.426 Paul is vehemently saying I am not the source of this message, it didn't come from me, and the message was this that the day of the Lord has come, and he uses a specific word there. 00:18:02.426 --> 00:18:31.008 The day of the Lord has come, meaning that it's already present, that the unfolding of the last days have already begun to occur in God bringing judgment upon a disobedient people, and so Paul is distinguishing this as the day of the Lord, this time when God would begin to enact His final retribution against a sinful humanity. 00:18:31.008 --> 00:18:34.096 And obviously the Lord hadn't appeared yet. 00:18:34.096 --> 00:19:02.307 But the day of the Lord is a big word, it's a phrase that includes a complex of events, it's not just a single 24-hour period, and so he's telling them in the midst of this that there's some things that need to happen that haven't happened yet, and they shouldn't trouble themselves because those things have not yet occurred, and so he doesn't sensationalize it, but he offers a sober spirit-led clarity. 00:19:02.307 --> 00:19:06.436 Sensationalize it, but he offers a sober spirit-led clarity. 00:19:06.457 --> 00:19:09.103 And he lays out, in verses 3 to 8, a sequence of events to help settle their hearts. 00:19:09.103 --> 00:19:15.945 And the first thing he talks about in verse 3 is that there is an apostasy. 00:19:15.945 --> 00:19:38.580 In the ancient world this word apostasy was used for a political revolt, an anarchy in which a military leader or a political leader would enact a coup against the established government or leader. 00:19:38.580 --> 00:19:55.798 And Paul is saying in the last days that there would be something like that about to occur, that there would be a sweeping uprising, a surge of evil forces that would seek to usurp the Lord and His glory. 00:19:55.798 --> 00:20:08.803 It's almost as if Satan was knowing that his time is short and throwing everything that he's got in one final push against the front in order to take God out. 00:20:08.803 --> 00:20:13.210 Paul says you haven't seen that yet. 00:20:13.210 --> 00:20:16.780 Yes, you're troubled, but you haven't seen that yet. 00:20:17.884 --> 00:20:22.040 And then he says to them that there will be a revealing of the man of lawlessness. 00:20:22.040 --> 00:20:32.769 He said that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 00:20:32.769 --> 00:20:35.211 And here. 00:20:35.211 --> 00:20:55.297 He's saying that this human will that will rise up in this rush against God will have a leader who will stand in opposition against God, and he will do so by trying to usurp God's authority, claiming himself to have that authority In this bold attempt to dethrone God. 00:20:55.297 --> 00:21:09.050 He will rise, but Paul says look, those things haven't happened yet because there's a, presently, a presence that God is exerting that is holding things back until that day. 00:21:09.912 --> 00:21:10.913 Verses 5 to 7. 00:21:10.913 --> 00:21:29.801 Don't you remember that when I was with you still, I used to tell you about this and you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he's taken out of the way. 00:21:29.801 --> 00:21:34.215 What is Paul saying there? 00:21:34.215 --> 00:21:40.039 In short, he's saying evil is on a leash, and it's a short leash. 00:21:41.061 --> 00:21:45.518 Evil is not running rampant as if it controls the things that are happening in this world. 00:21:45.518 --> 00:22:03.365 God is exhibiting a force in this world and Paul doesn't describe exactly what that is, but he's saying that God is exhibiting a force in here that is holding evil back from being as widespread and as energetic as it could be. 00:22:03.365 --> 00:22:21.451 But there will come a day when God will withdraw that restraining force and then evil will swiftly move into the void in order to stage an uprising against God under the leadership of this man of lawlessness. 00:22:21.451 --> 00:22:40.400 But that's not the end of the story, because Paul tells us here that this mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one that's now restraining will do so until this person is taken out away and the lawless one is revealed. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:47.943 And the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearing of his coming. 00:22:49.672 --> 00:23:00.644 Evil is on a short leash, and when evil is given a longer leash to do its short work, the Lord will return and will demolish that evil. 00:23:00.644 --> 00:23:02.814 And how will he do it? 00:23:02.814 --> 00:23:06.162 By the simple breath of his mouth. 00:23:06.162 --> 00:23:12.335 Calvin put it this way there won't even be a struggle. 00:23:12.335 --> 00:23:19.806 The word of God alone is enough to destroy Satan and his forces. 00:23:19.806 --> 00:23:25.212 That's the kind of confidence that Paul is trying to push the church to Again. 00:23:25.212 --> 00:23:41.730 He's not trying to satisfy their curiosity, he's not trying to outline some graphic scheme of eschatological events in detail, eschatological events in detail. 00:23:41.730 --> 00:23:47.770 He's trying to remove from them a troubling rumor in which they have mistakenly understood themselves to be under the judgment of God because of the trouble that they're facing. 00:23:47.770 --> 00:23:56.773 And so he gives them a few little pointers not the whole scheme that would help them understand that those things haven't yet occurred. 00:23:56.773 --> 00:24:03.204 In fact, when they do occur, god will take care of it swiftly and completely. 00:24:05.871 --> 00:24:10.759 And so, after discussing this, paul returns back to them in verse 13. 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:27.215 He said we thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning, god has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 00:24:27.215 --> 00:24:43.875 He called you to this through our gospel so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, instead of being chosen for destruction, instead of being swept up in the rebellion and swamped by the evil. 00:24:43.875 --> 00:24:47.000 God loves you, he's saying to the church. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:58.045 God has chosen you, god has called you to himself and set you apart for his use and purposes, and he's going to bring you to glory. 00:24:58.045 --> 00:25:03.736 And the way that he signified that to be true is because you believed the gospel. 00:25:03.736 --> 00:25:47.906 And so he's basing the stability of their Christian experience on the moment of their belief of the gospel of Christ, not to look at the momentary weakness and wavering that they might be feeling because of the rumors that are spreading, but that they might go back and look back at their life and go yeah, we did believe the gospel, we did trust in the Lord, we have been transformed by Him, and so they shouldn't mark the stability of their spiritual life based upon this momentary question or the trouble of the persecution, but upon the dramatic event of God transforming them through the gospel proclamation. 00:25:51.311 --> 00:26:02.974 In our day, rumors run faster than truth, don't they run faster than truth, don't they? 00:26:02.974 --> 00:26:13.592 From theological YouTube videos, conspiracy-laden social media confusion multiplies. 00:26:13.592 --> 00:26:18.884 Mike brought to me a few weeks ago some YouTube videos that AI has taken John MacArthur's voice and has turned it into a bunch of messages that John MacArthur never preached. 00:26:18.884 --> 00:26:25.515 And so I wrote to Phil Johnson and to Jay Flowers and I said are you guys aware about this? 00:26:25.515 --> 00:26:26.938 Do you know what's happening there? 00:26:26.938 --> 00:26:33.961 And they said, yes, we do, but those that are in charge of these media places won't take them down. 00:26:33.961 --> 00:26:45.861 So rumors and false teaching can abound and we have to be very careful about what we're listening to and who's even publishing the things that we're listening to. 00:26:48.653 --> 00:27:02.192 But here Paul is telling them that biblical clarity, gospel clarity, will settle and stabilize the community of faith because they can flourish when God is actively bringing people to himself. 00:27:02.192 --> 00:27:18.382 And so this passage invites us to be careful about our theological precision and to hold to it strongly, because when we're anchored in Scripture, we're stabilized and not disturbed. 00:27:18.382 --> 00:27:30.939 And the last thing Paul wants to speak to them about is having confidence amid the daily grind, whether it's persecution or confusion or just weariness and well-doing. 00:27:30.939 --> 00:27:41.084 They needed some encouragement in all three of those places, and so Paul addresses this third one, and he shifts gear to shape them as disciples. 00:27:41.084 --> 00:28:04.325 And one of the ways that he does that is by opening up with a humble request of his own In verses 1 and 2, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored as it was with you, and that we might be delivered from wicked people. 00:28:05.111 --> 00:28:05.991 Not all have faith. 00:28:05.991 --> 00:28:08.614 Paul is saying the troubles that you're facing. 00:28:08.614 --> 00:28:12.258 I also face the opposition against the gospel. 00:28:12.258 --> 00:28:14.240 I see it every day too. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:28.952 And not only am I praying for you, but I request that you might pray for me as well, because we're in this battle together. 00:28:28.952 --> 00:28:37.571 And so, with just a request of prayer, paul lifts the body of Christ out of their own difficulties into a season of care and praying for someone else who's also dealing with the troubles that they're facing. 00:28:37.571 --> 00:28:48.021 It reminds us of 2 Corinthians 1, doesn't it that we can comfort those who are in any affliction by the comfort we ourselves have received from God? 00:28:48.021 --> 00:29:01.123 And so Paul is calling upon a church that resonates with the suffering, who can also enter into prayer knowingly and compassionately. 00:29:01.123 --> 00:29:08.474 But then, in later verses, the Apostle Paul says that the Lord is faithful and that he will establish you and guard you from the evil. 00:29:08.494 --> 00:29:08.895 One verse 3. 00:29:08.895 --> 00:29:15.114 And we have confidence in the Lord, about you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 00:29:15.114 --> 00:29:20.604 May the Lord direct your hearts to God's love and Christ's endurance. 00:29:20.604 --> 00:29:26.821 Paul always brings them back to the person of the Lord, jesus Christ. 00:29:26.821 --> 00:29:45.922 This isn't about them mustering endurance on their own, or even looking to Paul as an example of that endurance, but able to see Christ pressing forward as he moved in his ministry and life toward Jerusalem and suffered in order to bring salvation to us. 00:29:45.922 --> 00:29:57.696 And he says may you understand the endurance of Christ to go through the ministry, enduring the cross, despising the shame for the glory that was set before him. 00:29:57.696 --> 00:30:02.545 There's that arc of redemption again suffering and then glory. 00:30:04.830 --> 00:30:09.301 However, there was some disturbance in the church in verse 6. 00:30:09.301 --> 00:30:25.671 We command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother and sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us Apparently. 00:30:25.671 --> 00:30:38.340 With such an overemphasized focus on eschatology, some people had twisted this understanding to disengage from the world. 00:30:38.340 --> 00:30:54.980 This understanding to disengage from the world, and Paul tells them that waiting is a verb that is active, not passive, that we wait for the Lord's return actively, not in withdrawing, but by stepping into the things that we need to do day by day. 00:30:54.980 --> 00:31:08.451 I was talking to my sons just a few months ago about a lady in their church who didn't want to have any children because she didn't want to raise a child in the troubling world that she saw coming. 00:31:08.451 --> 00:31:29.912 And so her answer to seeing the world as it is was to try to withdraw away from it without any sense of trust and understanding of the truth of God that he could secure not only her but even her children in the gospel, no matter what might happen. 00:31:30.972 --> 00:31:35.276 So the Apostle Paul says here look, be active in what you're doing. 00:31:35.276 --> 00:31:41.401 Look, be active in what you're doing, be consistent and forward-thinking about your work. 00:31:41.401 --> 00:31:52.032 And he says look at how we were acting with you In the middle of these difficult times and Paul too faced trouble at Thessalonica. 00:31:52.032 --> 00:31:55.097 He says we were not idle among you. 00:31:55.097 --> 00:31:58.243 We did not eat anyone's food free of charge. 00:31:58.243 --> 00:32:03.761 Instead, we labored and toiled, working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 00:32:03.761 --> 00:32:13.615 And it's not that we don't have a right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you, so that you would imitate us. 00:32:13.615 --> 00:32:21.066 In fact, when we were with you, that's what we were commanding If anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat. 00:32:21.066 --> 00:32:24.940 For we hear that there are some among you who are idle. 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:27.336 They're not busy, but busy bodies. 00:32:27.336 --> 00:32:34.262 And now we command and exhort such people, in the Lord Jesus, to work quietly and to provide for themselves. 00:32:34.262 --> 00:32:41.213 But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in what you're doing and in the doing of good. 00:32:44.820 --> 00:32:47.046 There's a lot of catchy books out these days. 00:32:47.046 --> 00:32:59.806 Some of them are titled Radical right, and we think that the Christian life is to be emblazoned with the word radical in front of all of us. 00:32:59.806 --> 00:33:09.521 And you know how Paul describes the Christian life Consistent constant activity in the mundane. 00:33:09.521 --> 00:33:12.438 What is he telling the church to do? 00:33:12.438 --> 00:33:22.039 Get out of bed and go to work, and work hard when you're there and provide for your family and take care of each other in your needs. 00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:29.403 Be able to have a little surplus to help those who might find themselves falling into more difficult places. 00:33:29.403 --> 00:33:31.976 How radical is that? 00:33:31.976 --> 00:33:43.233 Be a consistent worker, be a person who gets up every day and is securing the welfare of your own family and those around you in need. 00:33:43.233 --> 00:33:52.095 That, frankly, in our generation, is a radical thing, and this is what Paul is calling the church to. 00:33:52.095 --> 00:34:01.359 He's not telling them to jump on a plane and go halfway around the world and share the gospel with some tribe that's killed everybody who's been on the island. 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:08.103 He's saying get up and go to work and work hard while you're there and be consistent in doing good. 00:34:12.951 --> 00:34:29.762 In an age of burnout and spiritual fatigue, paul is calling believers not to be rebellious, not to disengage, not to run away, not to fall back, but simply to stand firm. 00:34:29.762 --> 00:34:34.490 To stand firm in the Lord Jesus and the gospel. 00:34:34.490 --> 00:34:48.411 Not to live in the midst of grinding exhaustion, but to do so humbly and prayerfully so that you might receive divine empowerment that will help you get through the day-to-day. 00:34:48.411 --> 00:34:58.980 You see, we're not just waiting for glory, we're living in the days where God can exercise His grace, and so we pray and depend upon that. 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:01.253 And that's one of these three chapters. 00:35:01.253 --> 00:35:09.577 The Apostle Paul not only asks for prayer and not only prays, but he calls us to these statements. 00:35:09.577 --> 00:35:19.903 May the Lord he brings us into these benedictory statements that really are prayers in their formation. 00:35:19.903 --> 00:35:24.780 You'll see one in verse 16, at the end of this chapter. 00:35:24.780 --> 00:35:30.278 May the Lord of peace give him you peace always, in every way. 00:35:30.278 --> 00:35:32.884 The Lord be with all of you. 00:35:32.884 --> 00:36:00.047 And then Paul leaves off by giving them an autograph, which he does with all of his letters, so that if there was any concern at all about a letter that showed up that contradicted the teaching that they'd already received from Paul, or contradicted the two letters that Paul had sent to the Thessalonians, they would be able to look at it and check the handwriting and say Babylonians, they would be able to look at it and check the handwriting and say that's not Paul's. 00:36:00.047 --> 00:36:13.039 We know what Paul's handwriting looks like, and so he would mark his letters with his own hand in order to give a seal of testimony that this was an apostolic expression. 00:36:16.289 --> 00:36:24.443 Shackleton's survival story wasn't one of triumph, but it certainly was one of endurance. 00:36:24.443 --> 00:36:42.945 It wasn't one of glory but it was one of rescue, and it hinged on a resolve that didn't waver to keep pressing forward despite the hardship and the adversities. 00:36:42.945 --> 00:36:49.222 The ice that crushed the ship endurance didn't crush the courage of those men. 00:36:49.222 --> 00:36:56.217 And we serve the Lord Jesus amidst the pressing ice flows of the world's pressures. 00:36:56.217 --> 00:37:04.755 And we don't do so simply to endure it or simply to survive it or simply to be rescued from it. 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:23.518 Thessalonians tells us that we enter in to a realm of eternal glory because we're Christ's, and that he will bring us not only to witness His victory, and that he will bring us not only to witness his victory but to be a part of it and to be exalted in it. 00:37:23.518 --> 00:37:33.726 And so may the Lord help us by giving us courage amid our persecution and by giving us clarity amidst the deception, and by giving us constancy. 00:37:33.726 --> 00:37:36.661 And consistency in the day-to-day grind. 00:37:36.661 --> 00:37:37.164 So let's pray together. 00:37:37.164 --> 00:37:38.090 And consistency in the day-to-day grind. 00:37:38.090 --> 00:37:46.391 So let's pray together, father. 00:37:46.411 --> 00:38:06.954 I pray that we would shape the storms and not be shaped by them, that we would stay the course and keep our eye fixed upon Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith, that we might be able to enter into the same hope that he had when he endured the cross and despised the shame because of the glory that awaited him. 00:38:06.954 --> 00:38:34.711 And, father, we pray that you'd lift our eyes beyond our circumstances and beyond the voices that try to deceive, and beyond the weariness of the day-to-day tasks that demand our time and attention and energy, and to look to you and to what you're accomplishing and where you're bringing us, and that we'll enter into your presence and we'll do so with you, richly rewarding all who trust in you, not because of what we've done. 00:38:34.711 --> 00:38:45.960 You richly rewarding all who trust in you not because of what we've done, but because you're a God of great grace and generosity who wants to lavish your people with love and glory. 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:59.978 So, lord, may we press forward, continuing on with our eyes fixed on Christ, and we pray this in his name Amen.