Reasons for Trusting God in Hard Times

2 Thessalonians 1:1–12 (NLT)

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.

4 We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.

5 And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.

6 In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels,

8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.

10 When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

11 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION:

In the modern world, a simple phone call could have cleared up some of the problems encountered by believers in the early church. But of course there were no telephones in the ancient world.

Paul had to be personally tracked down wherever he was and given a letter with questions.

The apostle then had to dictate his response and have someone hand-deliver a letter in return.

Because of the distances and slow modes of transportation, this process took weeks or even months.

The intervening time span often allowed false beliefs to spread or become ingrained in new churches.

Second Thessalonians is an example of just such a situation. Paul had to write this letter to correct false ideas about the Second Coming that had arisen in that church.

Paul had encountered stiff opposition when he first preached the gospel in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–9), forcing him to flee at night to Berea.

Acts 17:1–9 (NLT)

1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

His travels soon brought him to Berea, then to Athens and finally, to Corinth.

From that city, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to ascertain the condition of the church there.

Timothy returned with an encouraging report: the Thessalonian Christians were enduring despite persecution.

Not only that, but the testimony of the Thessalonians’ steadfast faith was spreading throughout Macedonia (1 Thess. 1:8).

1 Thessalonians 1:8 (NLT)

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,

Paul wrote a letter to encourage the young church and to answer a few questions that they had sent with Timothy.

He wrote 2 Thessalonians soon after to correct some misunderstandings about the end times and to counter false teachings that had crept into the church.

In chapter one, Paul encouraged the Thessalonian believers to continue following Jesus in-spite-of the persecution that had come their way. You and I can find some reasons for trusting God and remaining true to Him in the midst of hard times.

We are to trust God and remain true to Him because…

I- WE BELONG TO THE LORD AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF US. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-3)

2 Thessalonians 1:1–3 (NLT)

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.

A-

II- WE ARE TO SEEK TO HAVE A STRONG TESTIMONY TO OTHERS. (2 Thessalonians 1:4)

2 Thessalonians 1:4 (NLT)

4 We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.

A-

III- WE HAVE A GOD WHOM WE CAN TRUST TO VINDICATE US. (2 Thessalonians 1:5-9)

2 Thessalonians 1:5–9 (NLT)

5 And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.

6 In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels,

8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.

A-

IV- WE ARE TO RESPOND TO HARD TIMES IN A WAY THAT HONORS GOD. (2 Thessalonians 1:10-12)

2 Thessalonians 1:10–12 (NLT)

10 When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

11 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

A-

CONCLUSION: