Our Gathering Together To Him

10/19/2008

OUR GATHERING TOGETHER TO HIM!

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-2

**Is An:

I.                   EXPLANATION WORTH LEARNING ABOUT!

2:1 . . . with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ AND our gathering together to Him!

**In this verse the apostle Paul identifies two distinct events and each of them deserves an EXPLANATION that is worth LEARNING about!

**Notice what he says in 2:1 “with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The word that is translated “coming” is the Greek word “Pa-rou-sia” and it means PRESENCE. It is also translated as REVELATION in other places in the N.T.

**Now I want you to notice the three letter word that follows the phrase LORD JESUS CHRIST. What is that word? It is the word AND.

**The apostle Paul says “with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ AND our gathering together to Him”! I don’t know about you but I get kind of excited when I think about both of these great events.

**There are two things about these two separate events that I want you to remember. First of all:

A.    The REVELATION will occur SPECTACULARLY

Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him . . .

**BODILY: “This same Jesus, who has been taken up from  you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven (Acts 1:11).

**VISIBLY: Behold, He is coming with the clouds and EVERY eye will see Him . ..

**GLORIOUSLY:

**VICTORIOUSLY: He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross! For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE , of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that JESUS CHRIST is LORD, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:8-11)!

            **O beloved the REVELATION will occur SPECTACULARLY but:

B.     The RAPTURE will occur SECRETLY

1 Thess 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night

            **Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you (Rev 3:3)! Behold I am coming like a thief, Blessed is the one stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame (16:15)!

**Our Gathering Together To Him is an Explanation Worth Learning About and it:

**Is An:

II.                EXPECTATION WORTH LIVING WITH!

1 Jn 3:2 . . . We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure!

**There are five (5) expectations that I want you to keep in mind and live with from this day forward. First of all:

A.    The APOSTATES will be RECOGNIZED

1 Thess 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first . . .

**How will the apostates be recognized?

**The word for ”The apostasy” is a word that means:  falling away, departure, an abandoning of a position once held.

**The apostasy will take place primarily within the Church. We are already seeing it take place in our lifetime.

** How many of us have children or grandchildren, friends, spouses or coworkers who at one time had the testimony of walking with Jesus but now have deserted the Church?

**We do them a tremendous disservice by thinking of them as being truly born again. In fact in many of these cases they are nothing more than APOSTATES!

Listen to the words that the apostle John spoke in 1 John  2:19  They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us!

**Now it is very important to remember that:

**While the APOSTATES are being RECOGNIZED Our Gathering Together To Him will not be too much longer because not only is it true that The APOSTATES will be RECOGNIZED but notice also that:

B.     The SAINTS will be RAPTURED

1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first 17 The we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we always be with the Lord 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words!

**I don’t know about you but that makes me want to say WELL GLORY!

**In a moment, the twinkling of an eye we are going to be changed and it is going to happen like a thief in the night!

Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you (Rev 3:3)!

Behold I am coming like a thief, Blessed is the one stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame (16:15)!

**The APOSTATES will be RECOGNIZED and the SAINTS will be RAPTURED and:

C.     The RESTRAINER of evil will be REMOVED

2 Thess 2: 7 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!

**Only three possible explanations:

*Governments

*Church

* Holy Spirit

**After the ministry of restraining evil is withdrawn THEN:

D.    The MAN of lawlessness will be REVEALED

2 Thess 2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming!

E.     The DELUSION from God will be RELEASED

2 Thess 2:11 For this reason (v:10 because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved), God will send them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false!

1 Thess 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation, through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the Truth!

**GOD has CHOSEN you from the BEGINNING for SALVATION!

****Through SANCTIFICATION by the SPIRIT and FAITH in the TRUTH!

My testimony: I have been chosen by God from the beginning for salvation. They Holy Spirit has set me apart and I have chosen to believe in Jesus as the way, the truth and the life! ________________________________

                        Signature:  Date 10/19/2008

My testimony: I have chosen not to receive the love of the truth and for this reason God will eventually send a strong deluding influence so that I will believe what is false!

Signature: Date 10/19/2008