Guarded By Truth
Notes
Transcript
One of the best Christmas movies of all time is Home Alone, if you disagree I’ll fight you. If you haven’t seen it, you will come to our house sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas to watch it. If you haven’t seen it or need a refresher, basically what happens is this...
The Thessalonians we worried that their family in Christ had disappeared and they had missed it!
We don’t know all that’s going on here because we don’t know what Paul taught them while he was there with them, but we can figure a good bit out.
Paul tells the Thessalonians some scary stuff, but they will be ok because their hope is in Jesus!
Read 2 Thes 2:1-12 and PRAY
Jesus is King and we must cling to the truth!
Jesus is King and we must cling to the truth!
Know the Truth
Know the Truth
verses 1-5
We need to know the truth to spot the lies.
Hudson got a green ticket at school and got to get a prize. He got one of those prank ice cream cones that you can shoot at people. What if someone had never seen ice cream before, could you get them with it? But you know it’s a lie because you know the truth.
Here’s the situation, someone has told them that the day of the Lord has come and they’re worried they were left.
Paul explains some signs that will happen that haven’t happened...
And this person called the “man of lawlessness” will come…
Likely the Antichrist…
Paul tells them to remember what he taught them.
We need to know the truth to spot the lies.
The older you get, the more you begin thinking about some important stuff. The world is going to tell you some things are true and you need to be able to know if they are.
How? God’s Word.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Someone tells you
all good people people go to Heaven, you know Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life...
that it’s ok for people to decided who they are and to love whoever they want, you know God created us male and female and a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife
that God wants you to be wealthy and healthy and you just have to have enough faith, but you know Jesus promised us tough times will come and Paul told us God will use those difficulties to make us grow closer to Him
Mark Loftin likes to say the best know to know something is a lie is to already know the truth. And that is true!
One of the most important truths for us to know is that Jesus is King and God, and that means this man of lawlessness who claims to be God is a liar!
Jesus is the true King
Jesus is the true King
verses 6-10
I was really into wrestling when I was in middle school. I watched WCW and there were these two groups in WCW that were rivals. They were both called NWO…
I loved the wolf pack, and their leader was Kevin Nash. His nick name was Big Sexy…
The leaders, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash were finally going to fight for the world championship. The bells rang and the Hulkster poked Kevin Nash in the chest and he smiled, fell over, and let Hulk pin him. I was crushed. I thought Kevin Nash was a good guy, thought he was the man. He was not a true champion though.
This man of lawlessness is going to seem like a great leader, and he’s going to convince a lot of people that he needs to be worshipped, but we have one true King worthy of our worship, King Jesus.
Here’s what’s going on…
there was at this time and still is today and spirit of rebellion in the world...
One day this man of lawlessness, probably the one the Bible also refers to as the Antichrist will show up, embodying this spirit of rebellion against God.
He will lead many people astray with deception (we need to know the truth), and Jesus will easily kill him when He returns.
Two things we can take comfort from in this…
God is in control throughout all of history
No one can stand against Him
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
The first presidential debate was last night…
God knows who will win. The book of Daniel tells us that…
Paul tells us here that there will be a terrible person rise to power on the Earth, but we don’t have to worry that God has lost control.
No matter how bad things get, we can have peace in knowing that the true King Jesus is still on his throne and no one can conquer him.
And remember that whatever the situation is
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
So that’s the promise for those who love the truth, but there’s a different one for those who do not love the truth.
Rejecting the Truth has a terrible end
Rejecting the Truth has a terrible end
verses 11-12
This is a difficult passage. What we need to understand is that in that day those who will not accept the truth of who we are, who God is, and what Jesus has done for us will receive from God what they have chosen. God will not send anyone away who has honestly and truly desired to come to Him.
They take pleasure in unrighteousness. That’s sin. Sin is anything not done according to God’s plan. Anything not proceeding from faith in Him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But those who choose to believe what is false will be condemned. So, know this truth, this Gospel. Place your faith not in this world but in this King Jesus! And believe this truth and don’t take pleasure in unrighteousness!
That’s what I urge you to do if you haven’t, place your faith in Jesus…
Christian, know this truth…
Take hope in Jesus, knowing that no matter how bad it gets on this Earth He is still on his thrown and will conquer the enemy.
And call others to believe the truth so that they will not be condemned!