Christ's Love and Presence Enable Us To Withstand the Dangers We Face

Greetings

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And I bring greetings from the brethren at the Pasir Panjang Church of Christ. Not that we’re that far apart—actually we’re closer to you now geograhically than we have ever been.

I love the song that we just sang, “He Is Able”. It was a song that I was not familiar with when I first saw the worship plan, but I love how much beauty and power is captured in its simplicity.

And I think that this declaration of God’s ability stands out because we are so keenly aware of our inability. The truth that “God is great” moves us because we know we are not great.

And we celebrate that—not just that we are so far below God’s ability and greatness, but that this God—though high and lifted up and unbounded by any human weakness—this God became flesh to share His ability and greatness with us. God became like us so that we might become like Him.

This is the timeless and ancient story that makes us who we are.

Our Hope

This is the hope of the gospel of Jesus that tells us who we are, whose we are and directs how we live the rest of our lives.

Hope

This morning, we get to explore that hope a little more; how the hope of Christ’s love and presence enables us to endure, embrace and overcome the dangers of this life. It is a hope that says, despite of my inability, God is able. Despite my weakness, God is strong. Despite my lack of control over the circumstances in my life or what goes on in the world around me, God is in control.

Dangers in Our Day

Hope in short supply

That kind of hope, that kind of story, is in dangerously short supply these days.

Instead of hope, we live in a world of fear and anxiety and constantly changing and confused opinions. When just about anything newsworthy happens, there will be those who say it’s the worst thing that has ever happened and that humanity is doomed.

Russia? Ukraine? China? US? It’s the end of the world!

Elon Musk bought Twitter and is letting go of half the staff? It’s the end of the world!

Remember when Apple removed headphone jacks from the iPhones? Some said, this is the end of Apple!

My family and I have been watching the Amazon Prime Rings of Power series, which is in the same family of stories as the Lord of the Rings, and some are saying that this is an insult, a travesty to the original work, and that Amazon has ruined Tolkien forever.

To be fair, some of that can be quite outrageous and even hilarious. But some of those matter, and as we see tragedy unfolding around us day after day, we may begin to wonder, “Is the world really falling apart and headed for destruction?”

Often it’s the events happening in our own lives that make us think that way.

When you don’t get into the school or the course of your choice, and you have to settle for second best or third best. For a student, that can feel like the end of the world.

When your team at work loses the deal to a competitor, and you don’t meet your quota, and you hear rumours that the team needs to reduce the headcount as a result. That can feel like the end of the world.

When you find out a loved one has only a few months to live. That can feel like the end of the world.

When you have a relationship in your life that doesn’t work out as you wanted it to. Miscommunication happens. A big argument, a big fight, a “cold war” where you stop talking to each other. That can feel like the end of the world.

And over time, we build up this story in our minds that says “You know what,

Maybe it really is hopeless

maybe I am useless. Maybe I am hopeless. Maybe the whole world is out to sabotage me and destroy my life, and I can’t get it under control. I am doomed.”

A life without hope is dangerous to live.

A life without hope is dangerous to live. And I sense that most of the world lives this way. Our nation has been paying a lot of attention mental health lately, and I think for good reason. We have forgotten how to hope in a greater story, and it’s killing us, sometimes literally.

The Dangers of Thessalonica

Thessalonica

Which puts us in good company with the early church in Thessalonica. They were going through a season of fear and anxiety and confused opinions and misinformation, specifically about the second coming of Christ, and about their eternal destiny.

They were looking forward to Jesus’ second coming so that they could be gathered together to him.

But some false teachers had twisted that message. They were saying that Jesus already returned (v2), and so people were in a panic about whether they had “missed” Jesus, or if Jesus had forgotten about them and left them behind. And if Jesus had left them behind, had they based their whole lives based on a misunderstanding? You can imagine that the church would have been quite shaken. And a church that is confused and fearful about its own salvation cannot be an effective church.

There was another problem. Some people bought into the whole “Jesus has returned” thing and took it as an excuse to stop working—Paul deals with this more in chapter 3. The gist of it is, if Jesus is about to complete His kingdom on earth, what’s the point of working and wealth? But because they’ve stopped working, the church has to take care of them, which means they can’t fully serve those who were really in need and unable to work. And where members shirk responsibility and burden the body of Christ, that is a church that cannot properly bear witness to Jesus.

Naturally, Paul is concerned. Whatever “new teaching” they’ve received is not truth at all, but a distortion, a twisting of what they already know to be true. And the result is that Christians are living in fear when they should be living with joy and confidence. Some are lazing around and using up church resources that could have been used to bless others. And if Christians are not living that distinctive lifestyle, what does that say about the Jesus that they supposedly follow? Maybe he doesn’t matter that much after all.

And so Paul writes these words.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–5 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

It’s easy for us to get carried away by the whole “man of lawlessness” thing. And while it’s interesting to ask “Who is this person” and “when will they come” and “what are the signs that will happen when they come”, this is just a side thing. In any case, Paul references an earlier in-person conversation where he talked about it at greater length, and we don’t have details of that conversation.

The main point of bringing it up is that is brings comfort to the church. Whoever this man of lawlessness is, he is a marker of time. Paul says, “Don’t worry, we’re not there yet; so you haven’t missed Jesus.”

Verse 5

I love the ending of verse 5: “Do you not remember?” We might say something more like, “Haiyah, last time tell you already, so fast forget ah?” It’s the voice of a parent reminding a scared child of what has already been said.

I’ve told you already, there is no monster under the bed or in your cupboard.

I’ve told you already, thunder is just a sound; it cannot hurt you.

You already have the truth; you already know how the story goes! Don’t let it be eroded by the false hopes and stories of the world.

I get it, “Easier said than done”, right? I was chatting with a young man who was taking one of his year-end exams, and it was a subject that he had struggled with a lot. And we had been talking about how in Christ we don’t have to live in fear. And this brother was essentially saying, “Yes, I get that, I read that, but I don’t feel that! And I’m still so scared for this exam!”

That’s why Paul is repeating himself in this letter, reminding them of the truth that has already been said. We humans are forgetful creatures, and we simply believe whatever message we hear the most. I believe it’s called ‘recency bias’ - we believe whatever experience or message we’ve been most recently exposed to. And with a culture that is always screaming messages of doom and destruction and despair 24/7, and with church being only 1 day a week, it’s no wonder that we tend to believe that story over the story of hope in Jesus. But just because we hear one message more frequently and more loudly does not make it true.

So what story are you paying attention to? What story are you choosing to immerse yourself in?

The Hope of Thessalonica

We pick up in verse 13.

2 Thessalonians 2:13–17 ESV

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

There is nothing new or innovative or groundbreaking in this. It’s the same old story, the same tradition handed down from generation to generation.

Hope remains because the story stays the same. It just needs a little repeating from time to time.

It’s the timeless story that they have heard from the beginning—that God has chosen them in Christ and is sanctifying them through His Spirit. And that is good news.

It’s the same old story that says those who are in Christ are not forgotten but are eternally and dearly loved and destined for good works.

And this is the story that empowers the church to embrace and overcome any threat or danger.

Is there some new teaching or teacher that generates confusion and doubt? The good news of Jesus offers peace, comfort and stability through what He has done, once and for all.

Is there doubt about whether I’m good enough of a Christian to enter the kingdom? The gospel of Jesus promises that it’s God who chooses us and sanctifies us for this kingdom.

Is there increasing persecution against Christians that disrupts their worship and even daily lives? The good news of Jesus promises that there is a glory waiting for them if they remain strong in the Spirit.

Hope remains because the story stays the same.

Hope in Our Days

How does this story give us hope today?

End of the world

Today we may look at the world and feel that the end is upon us, or at least the ending of our hopes and dreams. Hope for a better future seems to be in short supply.

The world tells a story where the future of our world hangs on the ability and intellect of fallen human beings. That we, by our human effort or laziness, totally control of what happens in the world. We are the chief architects of history, but we are horrendously unqualified for the job.

That’s the story that gets trumpeted all around us. But that’s just one story.

Different story

I find in Scripture a different story. It does not noisily trumpet itself over a loudspeaker, but it is more like an echo that resounds across the centuries. It proves itself to be true over and over again in the lives of the many saints who have gone before us, who confess the same good news.

This story says that the past, present and future of the world are in the hands of God. And this world stands not by human might, not by human power, but by the Spirit of the Living God. This story says that God is the chief architect of history, not humans, and yet somehow we are still participants and partners in the grand story God. And if God is in charge, then the story’s ending is going to be good, and we are here to bring that goodness into being. There is no mess humans can create that God cannot recreate. There is no fear so great that God is not greater still. There is no evil so dark that God cannot redeem.

Therefore we can say with the Psalmist:

Psalm 27:1–3 ESV

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

And that is a much better story.

What Shall We Do?

Now, what’s the application? What does this look like for us on Monday morning?

Paul simply says to “stand firm and hold on to the traditions that you were taught.”

This, I think, is the challenge. Stand firm and hold on to this story, this tradition that has been handed down for thousands of years, and let it breathe hope into our everyday. Let this story overwrite whatever narratives that the world tries to tell us. This world is not heading towards destruction but restoration and renewal. We are not mere accidents stranded in a cold and indifferent universe; we are the beloved of God, chosen to inherit the glory of Jesus Christ. We are not defined by grades or careers or popularity or lack thereof. We are more than the quality and quantity of possessions.

Which story are you living?

Young John in the night safari - scared kid afraid of the dark, or a bold and fearless warrior standing firm against the darkness.

Mum’s story - a mother making sure her son secures a good future, or a servant of the Lord releasing her son to the same Lord.

Which story are you living? Where are you going to stand firm?

As Paul reminded the Thessalonians of the truth amid times of fear and confusion, so I declare to you this same ancient story, that I believe to be true.

I believe that God has chosen you, handpicked you, to be saved. To be a part of His glorious kingdom where all is peace and joy and love. You have been made pure and holy by the blood of Jesus, and even now the Holy Spirit is at work in you.

Stand firm.