1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:13

0:22 As you're getting settled, Bible study time. We always ask that you maintain your commitment to stay through the end. I know I can get dry and dusty and boring, but we just don't want the distraction to be on anyone or anything. We want to give the full attention to the Word of God while we are together. We will be here for almost the next hour. So if that is too big of a commitment for you, okay. You can make that decision as we bow in a word of prayer in just a moment. We are in the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, Paul's letter to the Thessalonian church, the very first one. So get your Bibles ready.

1:19 I hope you actually have a real Bible. I've made the case before that the reason I think an analog Bible is better than a digital Bible is because that's all this is. I cannot get a phone call on it. I cannot get an email on it. I cannot get a text message on it. I can't get any news flash from anything. All it is is the word of God. And I don't want to be distracted with anything else. no judgment no shade if you got a fake bible doesn't mean you're a fake christian but uh i just i i think in addition to that make an investment and get a real bible and you want to if you want hints afterwards i can tell you all the different kinds of bibles to get some are good some aren't so good some are cheap and fall apart in a month some will last a lifetime I've had this for at least 30 years.

2:17 So anyway, let's have a word of prayer. Father, thank you for an opportunity to gather together with others who are like-minded. But this is a prayer, not a formality. It's a prayer to open our hearts and to say to you that we are inviting you by your Holy Spirit, through your written word that we believe to be the voice of God, that you would speak to us as we learn, as we are instructed, as we go verse by verse, that you would have something that would challenge us, inform us, mature us, comfort us.

3:04 Thank you for those who are like-minded and are searching the scriptures daily to see if these things be so, like those in Berea. We pray, Father, for just a special outpouring on each one who has gathered together. In Jesus' name, amen. I read a little story some time back about an 18-year-old girl named Angelica Mora from Ecuador who seemed to experience clinical death. Now, she said she was dead for 23 hours. I'm not quite sure how that works. But she said during that time, she found herself in hell.

3:55 and she was there. She is seeing this, obviously, in her mind. She's in hell. Other celebrities are there with her, including Michael Jackson, Pope John Paul II. These are the ones she names. And they're in hell. They're discussing the glories of heaven, the rapture of the church, and the end-time events. and before she comes to and wakes up the Lord tells her to go back and warn people to do everything they can to stay out of that place. but what a conversation to have. The glories of heaven, the rapture of the church, end time events.

4:47 The books of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians are not a mirage, not a vision, not a dream that somebody had while on a deathbed, but a revelation from God about some of those very topics. First and second Thessalonians are eschatological writings. That is, they deal with, in part, eschatological truths, end-time truths, end-time events. the first letter to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, deals with, we'll see in chapter 4 especially, the gathering together of the church in heaven.

5:38 2 Thessalonians will focus on the gloominess of the tribulation on earth. So one is filled with hope. The other will be filled with hope for believers, but also the judgment for the world. That's 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Now, I mentioned before, I believe, that this theme of the coming of Jesus Christ is very prominent in this book. It's so prominent that every single chapter ends with some allusion to it. So you'll notice in chapter 1, verse 10, the last verse of chapter 1, to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

6:35 Then notice the end of chapter 2, verse 19. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? Mentioned again.

6:56 At the end of chapter 3, verse 13. that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. In chapter 4, a good chunk of it deals with that, but just notice in verse 17, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. and then chapter 5 I had to find the verse verse 23 now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely may your whole spirit soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ this frequent mentioning of the coming of Jesus Christ and the idea that they were waiting for him to arrive at seemingly any moment.

8:04 It's been called in another letter that Paul wrote to Titus, the blessed hope of the church. The blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So the great, great theme in this book of the coming of the Lord, both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. Now, again, I just mentioned that Paul had only been in Thessalonica a few weeks, three Sabbath days, less than a month he preached there. He may have been there longer, but not much longer. We know he preached three consecutive Sabbath days in a local synagogue. it could be that he then went somewhere else for a period of time, but he wasn't there long. And yet there's this constant theme and clarification of these two events that obviously Paul had told them about while he was with them in Thessalonica. Jesus is coming to gather his church together with him, and at some point he's going to judge the world in tribulation period. That's a lot of theology to give a very young church. But he knew it was or should be the source of their hope, the coming of the Lord, the source of their hope.

9:29 And so he mentions it frequently, as we just noticed in every single chapter. He writes this letter from Corinth. It had been about a year since Paul had been in Thessalonica. Okay, after Thessalonica, he went through Apollonia and a couple other cities. Berea was another one. He went down to Athens. After Athens, he went to Corinth. When he was in Corinth, he was rejoined by Silas and Timothy. He spent about 18 months, a year and a half, in Corinth. And from Corinth, he writes the letter to the Thessalonian church. So it had been a year. And since then, Timothy had been there and reported back to him, as we're about to see. If I get into it in enough time, we'll get through it.

10:24 But one final thing to note. Things did not go so well for Paul in Thessalonica, meaning that he went into the synagogue, he reasoned from the scriptures to the Jewish audience that Jesus is indeed the Christ, but also reason that he had to suffer and rise again from the dead. And it says some of them were persuaded. Some of the Jewish audience was persuaded. Also, some of the Gentiles and leading women of the city were also persuaded and became believers, but many of them were not persuaded. And those who were not persuaded, the Jewish elders in the synagogue, because of envy, it says, they were envious at Paul and Silas and Timothy. And they said, they stirred up the crowd. They hired some mobsters from the marketplace to hassle them and start a riot. And they made an accusation saying, these men which have, I love this phrase, turned the world upside down, have come here also.

11:24 So Paul had to split Thessalonica at night under the cover of darkness because a warrant had been issued for his arrest. So they took him out of town. Because he had to leave under those conditions, Paul always wondered, is their faith going to stick? Is it going to take off? Is it going to be in vain? And we read last week in chapter 2, verse 1, our coming to you was not in vain. It was fruitful. It worked. It paid off. and he also noted in chapter 1 and chapter 2 that the faith of the Thessalonians was known abroad throughout all of that region of Achaia so that Paul didn't need to say anything, and now he continues in chapter 2, I should say we continue his thought because we left off in chapter 2 verse 12, we continue in verse 13, for this reason we also thank God without ceasing, Because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it.

12:46 Not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. Which also effectively works in you who believe. Last week I had a phone conversation with Lee Strobel. Do you remember Lee? he wrote The Case for Christ. Well, Lee is doing research. He's writing another book, The Case for the Bible. So he wanted to interview me for one of his chapters. And he said, Skip, why is it you personally teach the Bible like you teach it and believe in the scriptures like you do? And my answer is simply, I've seen its effect. I've watched it change thousands of people's lives for years, including my own. Start with me. My life was changed because the truth that I heard and the truths I continue to hear and read.

13:50 My life gets changed. And I watch how the word of God changes people's lives. It's effective to do so. Just turn it loose. You know, sometimes in apologetics, we talk about defending the truth, defending the faith, and I get that. But I've always loved what Charles Spurgeon said. He goes, you know, the word of God, the Bible is like a lion in a cage. You don't have to defend a lion. and just open the cage, let it out. And sometimes the word of God on its own just does its work. But a lot depends on how a person receives it. He says to them, you received it like it really is, the word of God. But not everybody does. Jesus gave a story about this. He said a sower went out to sow and some seed that he sowed fell on the pathway, the wayside, and immediately the birds plucked it up and ate it. Then he said some of the seed fell on stony places where there was soil but a rock shelf. It didn't have much depth of earth, and when the sun came out, it withered away and died. Other seed that the farmer sowed fell on the ground, but weeds came and grew around it and choked the life of that plant up, and it withered. But then some of the seed, he said, fell on good ground and bore forth fruit, some 30, some 60, some 100 fold. The disciples came to him a while later and go, we don't get it.

15:26 Could you explain that story to us? And he said, okay. The seed is the word of God. and somebody speaks the word of God. That's the sower. Sometimes people listen to it, but immediately Satan comes and steals what is planted in their hearts. That's the seed that fell on the wayside, the pathway. Immediately it was snatched up. They don't get it. They don't understand it, Jesus said. They listen to scripture and they don't receive it, their heart isn't open, and Satan immediately steals it. So if you're wondering, man, that person had been sitting in church for 10 years and there's no change. Seed gets stolen.

16:15 Then he explained that the seed that fell upon the rocky soil, because of the rock shelf, which is common in Israel, in that land, the roots can't go down. Jesus said that person has no root in himself. So when persecution comes, when hard times come, that person falls away.

16:38 So if you ever wonder, man, that guy hasn't been in church for a long time. They used to come, but they're not in church. They're not in Bible study. They don't talk about the Lord anymore. What happened? Well, what happened is there was not a root system. And so the first sign of trouble and things aren't going their way, they bail on God and God didn't meet my expectations and not truth-saving faith. the seed that falls on the other soil that had the weaves, Jesus said, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches choke the seed. It becomes unfruitful. But then there's the seed that fell on good ground and bore forth fruit. Not everybody the same, some less, some a little or some a whole lot. What's the difference? Reception. Condition of the soil. Condition of the heart. Jesus said, take heed what you hear, but he also said, take heed how you hear.

17:45 So he commends them that they welcomed what he had to say, the word of God, as it is, Not the word of men, but the word of God, which effectively works in you who believe. Notice the word believe in that verse. It's in the present tense in the Greek language, which denotes its continual. it doesn't it what it means is um it's not just the faith you start with as a believer I believed and now I'm saved but it's the faith you continue to exercise so the word of God isn't just enough to save a person it's not just saving faith but it's sanctifying faith as well because it's in the present tense, it means whenever you apply the truth of scripture to your life to make it your own and to put it into practice, it's like effective medicine that doesn't have a shelf date or a shelf life on it. You know, good until next year on this date, then throw it away. No, it's effective. It continues to work. It's the medicine for our sin sick souls.

19:09 so it worked when you first got saved and it works now as you are being sanctified so it works effectively in you who continue to believe verse 14 for you brethren now i'm interested in that because do you remember last week in the previous verses he likened himself to a mother among them a gentle nurturing mother and then he also likened himself to a father who charged them. Now he says we're brothers. I played the role of a mother nurturing you. I played the role of a father exhorting and charging you. But end of the day, we're all just brothers in Christ.

19:57 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God, which are in Judea. That's over in Israel. That's the area of Jerusalem. You became imitators of the churches of God, which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us. and they do not please God and are contrary to all men. Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved so also, or so as always, to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

20:52 Now I want to unravel a few things. the apostle Paul is simply identifying the source of the persecution in Thessalonica the source of the irritation the source of all the trouble happened to be the Jewish synagogue some were persuaded some were not most were not the most that were not stirred up the crowd brought false accusations against the apostles. So he is identifying the source of the contention, the opposition, and the persecution in Thessalonica was the Jewish synagogue. But then he says, you're not alone. Because Paul had been ministering in Jerusalem, as you know, and living in the area of Judea. and he says, look, it's always been that way. When the church first started in Jerusalem, it was the Jewish population that came against it. In fact, they, they crucified the Lord Jesus.

21:59 Now I want to be careful how I get through these verses so you don't misunderstand. he is, on one hand, laying the charge for the crucifixion at the feet of the Jews. but they're not the only ones to blame. It was the Jewish elders who brought the charges against Jesus. It was the Roman government who followed through and executed Jesus.

22:35 So if you're going to say the Jews killed Jesus, you also have to say the Romans killed Jesus. And then if you're really honest, you also have to say, and I killed him too. we're all guilty it says in hebrews that he jesus by the grace of god might taste death for every man we're all to blame but he doesn't let the jewish population off the hook he says look they have a long track record of persecuting the church starting in jerusalem as well as in Thessalonica. So that is the source. In describing this, Paul, of course, is speaking from experience. He was one of the Jewish leaders persecuting the early church. Before he was Paul the Apostle, he was Saul of Tarsus. And he felt that he was on a one-man crusade to stamp out this horrible messianic sect of Christianity. He began in Jerusalem.

23:46 He got letters from the high priest to go up to Damascus to imprison and, if need be, kill those who are believers in the Lord Jesus. So he speaks from experience as a Jewish leader, and he was always ashamed of his background, but he did speak from experience. And I love when he was going on the way to Damascus when he gets knocked off his horse and he says, who are you, Lord? And he says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. that was a newsflash to him because he wasn't persecuting Jesus. In his mind, Jesus was dead, not risen. He was dead. His life was over. So he gets a newsflash. I'm Jesus. Uh-oh. But then he says, you're persecuting me. He was actually persecuting them.

24:41 he's after the Christians in Damascus but there's an important truth since you're persecuting them because I identify with my people you're persecuting me when you set yourself against God's people you set yourself against God when you attack the church you were attacking Christ himself. I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. He says in verse 15 concerning the Jewish countrymen, the Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and do not please God and are contrary to all men. Okay, let me jog your memory. when Stephen was in the synagogue in Acts chapter 7.

25:36 And you remember how Stephen goes through the history of Israel all the way back from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the wilderness, Joseph, everything. He just tells the story, which they loved. And he then starts focusing in on Jesus. Stephen says something interesting in an accusation to his Jewish brethren. in the synagogue that day. He says this, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did, so you do also. Which, which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? well that didn't earn him any favors they picked up stones to kill him and they stoned him to death and they laid those the ones who stoned them they laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus it was Saul who saw that and he also saw Stephen look up to him say Lord Jesus don't lay this sin to their charge and that started eating away and eating away at Saul of Tarsus that's why on the Damascus road when the Lord said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting the very next thing he says it's hard for you to kick against the goads hard for you to fight the conviction that you're experiencing in your heart right now those goads that are pricking at your heart the conviction that you feel. You watch this man die for Jesus. You're out trying to find and gather and kill others like him. He was fighting conviction. And I've discovered when a person is fighting conviction, they're miserable to be around. Look out. If you live with an unbeliever who's fighting the conviction of the Holy Spirit, let me know so I can pray for you. It's the only way you'll make it

27:43 through. Verse 16, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles. I'll jog your memory again. Later on when Saul goes to Jerusalem, he's in the temple.

28:05 He gets arrested. They take him over to the Antonia Fortress. The Roman guard says, man, you must be a horrible person. These people want to kill you. These Jews want to kill you. And Paul says, let me speak to them. let me just, they're all gathered around outside. I know they want to kill me, but let me just say a few words to the crowd. So he goes out there and he addresses the Jewish audience. And he says, you know, my background, you know, my history, you, you know, that I persecuted the church. Well, this is what happened to me. A funny thing happened to me on the way to Damascus. And he tells his testimony. And then he said, and then the Lord said, get up, Saul, from now on, I'm going to send you to the Gentiles.

28:51 Remember what they did? As soon as they heard that word Gentiles, they threw dust in the air, started gnashing their teeth, and saying, away with this fellow from the earth. He doesn't deserve to live. they were mad that he was would be told to bring a message of hope to non-jewish people the gentiles so that's the reference i believe here forbidding us to speak to the gentiles that they may be saved so as always now this is a very interesting phrase and i know i'm going slow once again through this but i think you'll want to know this that they may be saved so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. What on earth does that mean? Fill up the measure of their sins.

29:48 But wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. it would seem that God allows sin to accumulate. in a nation, in an individual. That there's some limit, but he just is slow to anger and lets it gather, lets it accumulate, till it reaches a point where he must judge. In Genesis 15, the Lord told Abraham, but in the fourth generation, your people are going to come back here. Then he says this, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. Very interesting phrase.

30:46 It's like God was letting the Canaanites have hundreds of years of inactivity where God did not intervene nor judge them. Just gave them a chance to see the witness of Abraham, the witness of Isaac, the witness of Jacob, the witness of Moses, etc. Until the iniquity of the Amorites hit a certain mark and then God says, now I'm going to wipe them out. I'm going to judge them. So it's an interesting concept. It shows up in the scripture a few times to fill up the measure of their sins. And he says, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Now, what is he referring to there? Well, I'll give you a few options. He could be referring to something that happened in 49 AD in Jerusalem. In 49 AD, this isn't widely known, but it's historic.

31:43 there was a massacre of the Jewish people in Jerusalem, the Jewish worshipers in the temple. And the massacre was because a Roman soldier flashed himself to the crowd while they were worshiping in the temple. They stoned him to death on the spot. Because he was a Roman soldier, the Roman responded and massacred hundreds, if not thousands of worshipers in the temple. It could be that's what he is referring to, the massacre in Jerusalem in 49 AD, number one. Number two, he could be referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans. If that's the case, that hasn't happened yet when he wrote this. That would happen. And if that is the case, if that's what he's referring to, Maybe the Lord revealed to him that's going to happen.

32:39 So it would have been prophetic. Option number three, he's speaking about the final wrath on all unbelievers that at some point everybody will be filled to the full and God will judge at that final day the great white throne judgment.

33:01 You may remember in John chapter 3, John the apostle writes, whoever believes in him has eternal life. He who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. The wrath of God abides on him. So it could be a reference to that final wrath when he says, but wrath has come to them, to the uttermost. Could be any of those choices. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore, we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, time and time again. Oh, he loved this church, and he wanted their faith to continue to grow. So I've tried to get over to you, tried to see you time and time again, but notice, but Satan hindered us.

34:02 Satan hindered us. How do you know when it's Satan that's hindering you? I'll throw something else out for you to think about. In Acts 16, you remember that Paul tried to go a few different places, but he said the Holy Spirit forbade us. So in one set of circumstances, he was willing to say, that's God. God didn't let us do that. On the other hand, he's saying, that's Satan. Satan hindered us. Which is it? Not always easy to tell. In fact, it's both. Satan hindered Job.

34:58 God permitted Satan to hinder Job. To prove a point and then to bless Job doubly on top of that at the end. So sometimes two things can be true at the same time. Here's what Paul has in mind, I believe. this fledgling young immature church in Thessalonica that is experiencing extreme opposition and persecution by the synagogue needs to grow and Paul wants to spend as much time helping them grow as possible and so he wants to get there to disciple them further he knows that it's God's will that they grow it's God's will that they be discipled he knows that's God's will so he sees anything prohibiting what he knows to be God's will as satanic very different than I'm going to go here well I can't go here the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me here he says Satan is hindering us because he knows something to be God's will in the first instance in Perga, Pamphylia, Troas, he didn't know he was discovering God's will and he discovered it when he got that vision that night from a man of Macedonia come over to Macedonia and help us he goes I think God wants us to go to Macedonia so on one hand he says it's the Holy Spirit another hand he says with this, it's Satan. I'll just tell you this, don't worry which is which.

36:36 Don't spend too much time in those weeds. Satan might be hindering you. Okay, so what? I don't really care much. I never get spooked by the devil. I know he's real. I respect his position and authority, but I know that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. And I know that nothing is going to stop the will of God ultimately, ultimately. So don't spend so much trying to figure out which is which. Know that God is sovereign and in control and Satan might be doing certain things. Let him. Trust the Lord. Pray to God. Move on. so he said I wanted to come but Satan hindered us for what is our hope or joy or crown or rejoicing is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ notice again at his coming at his coming for you are our glory and joy when I'm in the presence of God what is my glory what is my joy? You guys. That's what he's saying. You guys. The fact that you're going to be there.

37:54 when you get to heaven, I think some of you are going to be shocked. Not that you got there, because if you believe in Jesus Christ, I expect you to be there. but I think you're going to be shocked at how your life impacted people you never even met you don't even know about it you won't know about it until you're in glory and somebody comes up to you and says you know when you were at work and you'd bring your bible out and you'd open it up just silently and you'd pray that made an impact on me and eventually even though I moved away I would watch you and I would even listen to some of your conversations and then when I moved away I gave my life to Jesus Christ but it was it was that that started and oh I had no idea I think you're going to get lots of those kind of stories to see and hear how the impact of your life has reached and who it has reached so that's why I say I think you're going to be shocked uh in a good way at the coming of the Lord.

39:03 So once again, the coming of the Lord is at the end of every chapter. Here's the second time it's mentioned. Obviously, he expects Jesus to come back, return from heaven. Pretty obvious, and you'll see very obviously next week in chapter four, he believed in a pre-tribulation rapture. We'll save that for then. But chapter three, verse one, look at it, it's a very short chapter. Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God and fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ to establish you and to encourage you in your faith that no one should be shaken by these afflictions for you yourselves know that we were appointed to this.

39:52 When Paul left Thessalonica and he went to Berea, he went to Athens and he was there alone. He told Timothy and Silas to stay behind at Berea. Timothy went back to Thessalonica to provide discipleship and nourishment, spiritual nutrition. Paul went to Athens alone. And the idea is he was working his way down to Corinth and the instructions were, I'll meet you guys in Corinth. We'll rendezvous there. Athens was probably just designed to be a rest for Paul, a little vacay. He's just going to hang out for a few days on the way to Corinth. It's not far from Athens to Corinth. But while he was in Athens, he looked around and it says his spirit was provoked within him because the city was given over to idols.

40:50 so he couldn't help himself. He marches up to the Areopagus, to Mars Hill, starts engaging in conversation with the intellectuals of Athens, starts preaching Jesus and the resurrection, and the rest is history. Then he makes his way down to Corinth. But he was in Athens for a while without his team members, just alone, and the Spirit of God. He looked around and he saw the idolatry and he was just, he was moved. But verse two again, I sent Timothy, our brother. Now, now I want you to notice something that stuck out to me as I read through this book this time. He sort of pours on the accolades for Timothy. He says, it's sort of like a super endorsement of Timothy. We send Timothy, our brother and minister of God and fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, encourage you concerning your faith.

41:51 First of all, Timothy was following Paul. Timothy was quite a bit younger. And he was a pastor in training. Eventually he would take over the church in Ephesus as its pastor. But right now, he's just on the second missionary journey with Paul. So it's like OJT, on the job training. I'm going to watch Paul, listen to Paul, do what Paul does. so he is learning the ropes learning evangelism learning how to establish a church but when Paul writes this letter, he feels the necessity to kind of underscore, this guy's okay. He's a fellow minister. He's a real brother. He's a good example. Listen to him. Why? Because he's younger to bolster their respect for him, but also I believe to bolster his own confidence. Now I have a theory. I have a theory that Timothy was naturally insecure, lacked confidence. I think Paul had a lot of it. I think Timothy lacked it.

43:07 And I say that not only because of this, but because when he writes his very last letter ascribed to the apostle Paul, which is second Timothy, writing to Timothy, He says to Timothy these words. Now, the second letter that he's writing to Timothy, there's a new kid on the block. Caesar Nero is the man in charge. He's going to kill Paul eventually. That's it. He was a horrible man, a horrible persecutor of the church. Paul writes to Timothy and he says this. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. It would seem that he was letting his gift lay dormant because of insecurity, because of persecution, because Caesar Nero and the, you know, Paul's on death row.

44:02 Stir it up. I prayed for you. I laid my hands on you. Stir up the gift. And then he says this, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but a power of love and of a sound mind. We often quote that, but we ignore its context. The context is a young man who's dealing with fear, insecurity. He's hesitant. He continues in the very next verse, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner.

44:35 And then in 2 Timothy chapter 2, You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. I think Timothy was experiencing fear. I think he was beginning to be ashamed of Paul as a prisoner of Rome. Ashamed of the ministry. Hesitant. And I just think that was his natural inclination. So when he writes to the Thessalonians, he uses this kind of super endorsement. and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ to establish you, encourage you concerning your faith. Now you see those two words, your faith? This is what you do when you read the Bible. You notice repeated words or repeated phrases. He repeats that phrase five times in this very short chapter.

45:30 Your faith, your faith, your faith, your faith, your faith. He mentions it in verse 2. He mentions it in verse 5. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith. Verse 6. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news of your faith. In verse 7. Therefore, brethren, in all affliction and distress, we were comforted concerning you by your faith.

46:01 Here's why that's important. to Paul, it wasn't just how many people raised their hands and came forward at church, but how is the discipleship and follow through, follow up going? You know, we make a huge deal out of evangelism, and it's a huge deal.

46:25 But to Paul, that's just the first step. There are many more steps to get rooted and grounded and fruitful. So it's the follow-up. It's your faith. It's growing in your faith. What drove Paul nuts is I can't get there to see how they're doing in their faith. I know they made a commitment to Christ, but how are they doing in the midst of persecution? How are they holding up? How's their ongoing expression of faith? And he tells them in verse three, no one should be shaken by these afflictions. Shaken is a word that refers to a dog wagging its tail. Shaken. You know, So my dog will wag its tail, little Maisie, when she's happy.

47:09 And when she's excited. And when she's alarmed. So you don't really know exactly what that signal means. You might think, oh, that doggie likes me. And you go to pet that little doggie. they're shaken in their faith it's like a tail wag a dog wagging its tail you know not quite sure what to do with the circumstances they're in Paul notices that as an emotional condition so he says don't be shaken don't be like a tail a dog wagging its tail by these afflictions for you yourselves know wow that we are appointed to this he's saying look when the hardships come don't think it's a sign of God not being loving and favorable toward you see it as a badge of honor it's your heritage to suffer for Christ that's a new one I don't hear that in many churches especially prosperity churches they won't say that it's our heritage okay remember the Damascus road again well Saul got that Saul of Tarsus got that vision of Jesus I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting meanwhile the Lord is speaking to a guy named Ananias in Damascus saying Ananias I want you to go to the house of Judas on the street called straight in Damascus main drag there's a guy there by the name of Saul. He's praying. He goes, oh, I know about Saul of Tarsus. I don't think you want me to go there.

48:56 I don't want to go there. I mean, this guy's out to kill people. I mean, he's got a, he's got a hit on me and my life. he said no I want you to go and tell him because he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name listen to bear my name before kings gentiles and the children of Israel for I must show him what great things he must suffer for my name's sake from the beginning imagine if we took people in the prayer room congratulations you've given your life to Jesus I want you to know about all the things you're going to suffer now. That was Paul's first day. That's when you got Bible in hand, a little packing, welcome home, welcome to the family card in the prayer room. You're going to suffer, Paul. So he writes to them and goes, look, don't be shaken by these things.

49:49 We're appointed to this. Now, I know some of you are looking at me kind of a little strange. It's like, wait a minute. I was always taught that if I had enough faith, if I believed, but I wouldn't have to suffer. You were told wrong, friend. You were told wrong.

50:10 Jesus said, if they hate me, they're going to hate you. If they killed me, they're going to kill you. He said, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpents, harmless as doves. Over and over again. All who live godly in Christ Jesus, Paul wrote, shall suffer persecution. For in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, not the great tribulation as we will see, but you will get in this world tribulation, just as it happened. And you know, for this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith. lest by some means the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be in vain but now Timothy has come to you and brought us good news of your faith and love and that you always have good remembrance of us greatly desiring to see us as we also to see you So we got a good report.

51:18 When Timothy and Silas rejoined Paul in Corinth, they said, hey, everything's good, A-OK, their faith is flourishing. It was like fresh water to a weary soul. Therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress, we were comforted concerning you by your faith. for now we live if you stand fast in the Lord. You want to make my day, Paul said, just keep following Jesus. Be steadfast. Be hard after him.

51:56 For what thanks, verse 9, can we render to God for you for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God. You remember that little epistle of 3 John, 3 John verse 4, where he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Same difference here. What can we render to God for you for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God night and day, praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith. Again, the need for follow through, follow up, discipleship after a decision is made.

52:49 Verse 11, now may the God, now this is typical Paul. This is a Pauline kind of a thing where he'll break into a prayer. He'll break into a benediction. He'll just sort of pause and raise his hands and give glory and thanks to God for something. He does that here. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you. I got to draw your attention to something. In verse 11, notice how it is worded. It is worded very carefully. Now may our God and Father himself, God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, so he's speaking of two different entities, then direct our way to you.

53:53 you have plural nouns, two nouns. You have a singular verb to emphasize the deity of Christ and the unity of the Godhead. Father and Son, Holy Spirit isn't mentioned. Don't let that bother you. Jesus said the Holy Spirit kind of stays in the background, doesn't draw attention to himself, points to Jesus. He's pointing to Jesus. So if a person's always talking about Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, I'm kind of thinking it's not the Holy Spirit. Because they'd be going, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Because that's the job of the Holy Spirit. Okay, that aside, he makes a very distinct statement about the Father himself and the Lord Jesus Christ.

54:43 In the Godhead, we believe in a triune God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's the great mystery of the faith. I've heard many explanations of it. All of them fall short. It's always, to me, going to be mysterious. You have one person. You have three distinct, you have one God, excuse me, three distinct persons, co-equal, co-eternal, all God.

55:11 Because it is such a mystery, because it is such a great difficulty, there have been people throughout history who have tried to simplify it. one who tried this in the year 215 AD was a guy by the name of Sebelius and he came up with a doctrine that was put down by the church, denounced as heresy, but it became known as Sibelianism, for obvious reasons, Sibelius. It's also known as modalism.

55:48 It's also known as modalistic monarchianism. and it's also known as patropationism. Those are nuances. What it basically says, and it's alive and well today, by the way, what it says is that there really aren't three persons and one God. There's just one person who puts on different masks or exists in different modes, hence the term modalism. So they say in the Old Testament, he was the father. In the New Testament, in the Gospels, he was the son. But when he ascended into heaven, he's now the Holy Spirit. Three different modes of three different mass, three different faces. Only one person.

56:44 And they try to explain this by saying, it's like, I'm a man, I'm a person. But I have different roles. I'm a father to my son. I'm a son to my parents. I'm a husband to my wife or I'm a friend to my colleagues. It's only one person, just different modes. So that's called modalism or modalistic monarchianism. the oneness Pentecostal church today, that's what they believe. They deny the Trinity. They deny the triune nature of God.

57:26 It's also called Jesus only. They will not baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the name of Jesus. Just the name of Jesus. Jesus only. That was 215 AD. It was immediately seen as heretical and then publicly denounced in 325 at the Council of Nicaea. That's why the Nicaean Creed bears study from time to time by us. Go look at the way it is worded and crafted very carefully to uphold the biblical doctrine of the triune nature of God. So that's FYI. For you theology nerds, you like that stuff, I thought I'd go there. But it's still a very, very important thing. Be aware of that. And, you know, so that's a whole movement. That's a whole branch of the Pentecostal Church, the Oneness Pentecostal Church. There are notable people like T.D. Jakes who believe in that, that there's no trinity.

58:24 There's just three modes. He tries to kind of soft pedal that, but it is something he believes in. So you've got to be aware of that. It's heresy. So may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you. Jesus loved people. He loved them. So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. he speaks about love and love abounding can i give you an acronym the word love let me describe to you love with this acronym l of love stands for listen listen to the person respect that person to listen to their point of view to their heart listen to Thank you.

59:26 O in love. Overlook. Overlook flaws. Learn to look for the positives, not always the negatives. v value find something of value value that person show value and then e express true love is a verb it must be demonstrated it must be shown express your love so let your love increase and abound just overflow to one another and to everybody all you need is love just as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God the Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Time's up.

1:00:25 I had other thoughts, but I'll respect the time and we'll pick it up next time. Father, thank you for an opportunity to go deep into the text. We do it because we have a conviction. We have a belief that this is the very word of God. That when the Bible speaks, God speaks. it's a matter of authority for us no pastor, no elder, no deacon no spiritual leader has any authority at all other than when he or she proclaims truth from scripture so thank you thank you for a church that receives the word as it is in fact, the word of God, not the word of men Thank you for the example of Paul's love for a fledgling group of people and how he wanted to make sure they were growing in the midst of very difficult times.

1:01:31 I pray that none of us would be shaken by the trials we go through, but that we would be tempered, our character would go deep, our roots would go deep because of the trials, the afflictions that we face in this life. And that as our character is developed, we become a blessing to others because as you comfort us in all of our tribulations, that we might be a comfort to those who also are suffering the same thing, that we would become by extension your blessing and your hand of comfort to people we live with and work with in Jesus' name. Amen.