Encouraging the Perplexed
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
Hear a righteous cause, O Yahweh, give heed to my cry of lamentation; Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.
May my judgment come from Your presence; May Your eyes behold what is upright.
You have tested my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tried me and You find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the paths of the violent.
My steps have held fast to Your paths. My footsteps have not stumbled.
I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
Marvelously show Your lovingkindnesses, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand From those who rise up against them.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
Old Testament Reading
Old Testament Reading
“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight your soul in richness.
“Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that your soul may live; And I will cut an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful lovingkindnesses of David.
“Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, A ruler and commander for the peoples.
“Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has adorned you with beautiful glory.”
New Testament Reading
New Testament Reading
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
And when He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
But they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”
And ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
And there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
Intro:
Intro:
AG:
TS: The Apostle Paul wrote the book of 2 Thessalonians around AD 51–52. At the time, the young church in Thessalonica was facing severe, escalating persecution from their neighbors, alongside deep confusion and panic caused by a false rumor that the "Day of the Lord" had already happened.
When was it written? AD 51 or 52 just a few months after 1 Thessalonians
What was happening at that time?
The local Christians were facing intense external harassment.
b. A deceptive letter or rumor, falsely claiming to be from Paul, claimed Jesus had already returned.
Why did he write it?
To restore order and clarify truth
What problem or need did it fix?
It corrected the false timeline of the end times.
It rebuked the lazy lifestyles of the idle believers.
It comforted a grieving and terrified community.
RS:
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is only fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases all the more,
so that we ourselves boast about you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
And then that lawless one will be revealed—whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming—
whose coming is in accord with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
and with all the deception of unrighteousness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
I. Paul’s Praise (1:1–4)
I. Paul’s Praise (1:1–4)
Paul opens this letter by encouraging the christians.
They were pressed on every side.
Persecutions from outside the church
False letters questioning and criticizing Paul’s teachings.
Rumors of missing the Day of the Lord
Misunderstanding the mission.
He encourages them through Praising…..
A. The church’s testimony (1:1–3)
A. The church’s testimony (1:1–3)
2 Thess 1:1-3
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
This is the same team as the 1st letter.
Apostle Paul- church planter and mentor to the church
Timothy- partner in ministry, often stayed with churches or returned as Paul’s intermediary
Silas- another of Paul’s companions and scribe.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s usual opening blessing
Grace to you
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is only fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases all the more,
He was grateful for their true discipleship.
Notice, he said “we ought always” and “as is only fitting”
We have an spiritual obligation to be grateful when God accomplishes things in our lives and the lives of the church.
In this case, Paul was grateful for there growth in discipleship and mentions 2 specific areas in which they had demonstrated it.
1. Their faith in the Savior was growing abundantly (1:3).
Their growing faith was fruit of the genuineness of their salvation.
Faith can grow.
In fact, it grows as it is tested. The Thessalonians had endured much and their faith had grown.
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.
And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
False believers fall away at trouble, but real believers grow!
Trials can be a purifying fire.
Smelting
The kingdom of Christ is a mystical smelting furnace that purges out the impurity of the old Adam.
Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)
2. Their love for the saints has grown more and more (1:3b).
Their love continued to increase, another mark of true discipleship.
As they endured persecution and their faith grew, so did their love for each other.
They were staying true to Jesus’ command to love each other.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Recall that in 1 Th 1:3, and 1 Th 3:12, Paul had prayed for these very things!
Paul was grateful that GOD had brought the Thessalonians along to a greater faith and love.
We should follow their example
Pray for each other
Be grateful to God
He encouraged them by boasting of the church’s perseverance during….
B. The church’s trials (1:4):
B. The church’s trials (1:4):
so that we ourselves boast about you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
They had grown spiritually in spite of troubles and trials.
In fact, as we read in James, growth came THROUGH their trials.
Paul had shared their testimony with other churches and used their testimony to encourage others.
He was not glad they were experiencing “afflictions”, but his joy bubbled up that they endured them well.
II. Paul’s Promises (1:5–10)
II. Paul’s Promises (1:5–10)
The apostle says their trials will be used to accomplish a twofold purpose.
A. What (1:5–6)
A. What (1:5–6)
1. Concerning the persecuted (1:5):
This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.
Their hardships will be used to prepare believers for the Kingdom of God.
He had warned them before. They knew it was coming and it had been occuring
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Having a right attitude toward suffering is essential, and that required attitude is concern for the kingdom of God.
They were not self-centered, but concentrated on God’s kingdom.
Their focus was not on personal comfort, fulfillment, and happiness, but on the glory of God and the fulfillment of His purposes.
They were not moaning about the injustice of their persecutions. Rather, they were patiently enduring the sufferings they did not deserve.
2. Concerning the persecutors (1:6):
Since it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
God is already preparing judgment and punishment for those who harm believers.
God will repay their afflicters.
God is just, and He judges perfectly.
Vindication and retribultion are to be exercised by God, not man, in matters of spiritual persecution.
He will repay when it is time and He will repay appropriately
never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
He quotes: Pr 25:21-22
Let God repay, let us focus on doing good to others.
B. When (1:7–10)
B. When (1:7–10)
This will ultimately be accomplished at Christ’s second coming.
and to give rest to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
At Jesus’ return:
We find rest
He takes us in and receives us into the Kingdom.
They receive judgement
Justice will be swift and sure.
Sepefically, the ones who face judgement will be those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus
It is their disbelief in Jesus that brings judgment, not all of their sins and persecution of believers
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent,
v.9 and 10
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,
when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our witness to you was believed.
Paul explained the duration and extent of what is elsewhere in Scripture called “hell.”
First, it is forever, thus it is not a reversible experience.
Second, destruction means ruin and does not involve annihilation, but rather a new state of conscious being which is significantly worse than the first
This is described as the absence of God’s presence and glory
III. Paul’s Prayer (1:11–12)
III. Paul’s Prayer (1:11–12)
Like in the 1st letter, Paul often mentions his prayer life. This is the first of 4 times.
A. Concerning God’s power (1:11a):
A. Concerning God’s power (1:11a):
To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill all your good pleasure for goodness and the work of faith with power,
He prayed for them to continue living a life consistent with their identity as Christians.
A life of goodness and powerful works of faith.
A life that is worthy of our calling
We are called to be saved and sanctified.
He names us as Children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, joint heirs with Jesus, etc.
Live that way!
B. Concerning God’s person (1:12)
B. Concerning God’s person (1:12)
so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
That he might be glorified by them.
This is the point of all we are to do as believers:
The glorify of God
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
As believers walk in a worthy manner, we glorify God.
They see our lives and it should point to God.
God gets the credit and the glory, not us!
Conc
Conc
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians again to encourage and correct error in theology.
Today, we have seen his:
Praise for their faithfulness in persecution
Promise that justice would come at Christ’s return
Prayer that believers would live to glorify God.
Citations:
The Outline Bible (Section Outline One (2 Thessalonians 1))
