Standing Firm

A pastor stopped at a yard sale to buy a used lawnmower. There was kid who was doing his best to make the sale. The preacher pulled the rope several times to crank the mower, but it wouldn’t start. The boy, “You have to kick it and say a few cuss words before it will crank.” The preacher said, “Son, I can’t do that. It’s been years since I used a cuss word.” The kid said, “Just keep pullin’ the rope, it’ll come back to you.”

The world is in such chaos, that you may think it’s enough to make a preacher cuss. But I’m not cussing today; However, I do want to look at how we can stand firm in an unstable world!

There is a lot of anxiety in our world today about what the future holds. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China threatening to do the same thing in Taiwan… On Thursday this past week, Israel suffered a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, that resulted in death of at-least 3 people and many others severely wounded. During which, it was reported that some of the Muslim Mosques in Gaza were praising the attacks over their loud speakers and then, to top it all off, there were fireworks that were being shot off in celebration of the killing of innocent Jews.

Here in U.S., we see the cost of everything going up, and at a rapid rate it would seem… don’t say this, don’t do that, kids asking themselves... who am I, who are you, what gender am I, what bathroom do I use… do I have a mom and a dad or is it two moms, two dads... Oh wait, it is not mom anymore it is “birth person”… it is not he or she, it is they and them… …

20 years ago, kids would never have asked these questions… and now they are wondering why the suicide rate has increased 30-35% since the year 2000… … Speculation here… But could it be from the mass confusion??… I wish there was something that could answer the questions about gender to clear up all of the confusion…

I wish there was an ancient book that talks about the Creator of humanity that would specifically state…

Genesis 1:27 NKJV

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

If we just had a Book that said that… and maybe an ancient Book that would clearly define marriage, that way we could clear up that confusion… Maybe it could say something like…

Genesis 2:18 NKJV

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Genesis 2:24 NKJV

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

(Slide of a Bible) I just wish there was such a book!… …

Folks, the world around us is in a very unstable condition, and the further away that they get from God’s Word, the worse it is going to get…

So, how can we stand firm in the midst of an unstable world? Well, as bad as you may think conditions are now, I think that Paul’s friends in Thessalonica had it much worse.

They had NO health insurance, no hospitals, and only quacks for doctors. They had a crazed Roman Emperor who was killing Christians by the thousands. They were losing their friends, family and jobs when they chose to follow Jesus Christ. Someone had produced a fake letter from Paul saying Jesus had already returned. In the preceding verses Paul wrote them that Jesus hadn’t returned yet. And when He comes, He will win the final victory.

But until that happens, he encourages them to stand firm in an unstable world. And since it hasn’t happened yet, that is the same encouragement that we have today… we are to Stand Firm.

Lets look at the passage together… (Read 2 Thess. 2:13-17)…

Meat:

In these few verses, Paul tells the believers to do two things: stand firm and hold onto the Word of God. Knowing the truth and hanging onto it can give you stability and peace.

Anybody used to ever read the “Peanuts” cartoon strip in the paper??? In one episode Lucy and Linus are staring out the window at the pouring rain. Lucy says, “Boy, look at it rain. What if it floods the whole world?” Linus replies, “It will never do that. In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.” Lucy smiles and says, “You’ve taken a great load off my mind.” Linus says, “Sound theology has a way of doing that!”

Folks, Truth is a good thing to get a hold of and In our passage today, Paul reminds us of four unshakable truths, on which we can Stand Firm.

1. God Loves Us Unconditionally

The first part of v. 13 says “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord...” when Paul says “Brethren”, we know that he is talking to and/or about believers... brothers and sisters in Christ… and he describes them as “Beloved by the Lord”

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, then you too, are beloved by the Lord.

That word “Beloved (or Belov-ed depending on the context in which its used)” means:

1.1 Beloved - To have a deep level of affection and intimacy with someone.

You’ve heard me call you “My Belov-ed”, I had a professor in Bible College that would call us students the same thing… there are times when you here one spouse call the other “My Belov-ed”… … it is the strongest relationship that you can have with someone.

After Jesus was baptized, Matthew 3:17 says...

Matthew 3:17 NKJV

17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The word that is translated as “Beloved”, in 2 Thessalonians and “Belov-ed” in Matthew 3, come from the same Greek word… Agape. I am not sure if you realize what that means, so let me brake it down for you… the same love that God the Father has for His only begotten Son, is the same love that He has for us…

If there is one overarching truth of the Bible, it is that God exists. But right on the heels of that truth is reality that this God who created everything has chosen to love us. Have you ever Googled something and looked at how many links there are?

(Picture example of Google Search)

For instance, if you Google the phrase “the love of God” there are over 2.5 billion links.

Much of the love we experience from people is conditional. Conditional love is based upon your performance. You have to earn it. A person may say, “I will love you IF…” They may say, “I will love you if you will love me.” Or “I will love you if you obey me.” Or “I will love you IF you’ll make me feel a certain way.” But God’s love is unconditional. God doesn’t love me because I’m especially lovable; He loves me because HE is loving. In other words, Someone once said “God doesn’t love us because of who WE are. He loves us because of who HE is”.

Why does God love you? Because God IS love. God loves you because God loves you. God knows more about you than anyone else. He knows every mistake you’ve ever made, and every mistake you’ll ever make. And yet, He still loves you with an everlasting, unconditional love.

God said through the prophet Jeremiah… Jeremiah 31:3

Jeremiah 31:3 ESV

3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

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The Bible is full of examples of the love of God. In Luke 15, Jesus said God is the kind of Shepherd who has 99 sheep safe in the sheepfold, and one lost sheep has wandered away. He leaves those 99 and searches for that lost sheep … … God loves you so much that if you had been the only lost person on earth, He would have still come seeking you… the parable ends with Jesus saying Luke 15:7 “...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

Also in Luke 15, Jesus said God is the kind of father who even loves a disobedient rebellious child. He told the story of a son who broke his father’s heart by asking for the dad to give him his part of the inheritance. Then the son took that money and ran off to the bright lights of the big city and spent it all on wine, women, and whatever else he thought would bring him joy. But when that broken down, good-for-nothing son heads home, God is like a father who runs to embrace that wayward child… grants him forgiveness and shows him unconditional love…

Do you ever feel like that prodigal son?… you find yourself in a place that you should have never been, caught up in some sin that you should have never indulged in?… and when you come to your senses and get to a place where you repent and ask God to forgive you, you realize that He is right there, waiting with open arms… … God loves you… unconditionally!

The book of Hosea teaches us that God is like a husband who has an unfaithful wife. She goes off and becomes a prostitute. Then she becomes so corrupted that she ends up being a slave who is bought and sold like a piece of meat.

And yet, her husband gathers all the money he has and goes and buys back his adulterous wife. And he loves her and restores her to purity and dignity… … This is the kind of love that God has for you!

Hang onto that truth! Stand Firm on that truth!

The Second Truth to stand firm on… is the fact that…

2. God Chose Us

Still in v.13 “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,”

We talked about the doctrine of election and pre-destination at the beginning of our study through 1 Thessalonians. I had said then that… Both of these words are biblical words and their definitions are not that hard to understand. This morning, Y’all chose (or elected) to come to Church... maybe you know exactly what you are having for lunch, whether it is roast and potatoes, or going to the restaurant... you have predetermined ahead of time what you are going to do and where you are going to go...

That is basically election and predestination. But when we find these words in Scripture, it is not talking about Sunday dinner... it is talking about our Salvation. But here’s the wonderful thing about it… It is God’s part of salvation. Our part is sharing the gospel with whoever we can and it is up to God to convict people using His Holy Spirit.

I’ve heard it from several folks now, and they have described salvation as a door. Above the door on our side, the verse is inscribed “Let all who will, come...” and then above the door on God’s side, the verse is inscribed “Chosen before the foundation of the world...”

A seminary professor once told his students, “Try to explain election, and you may lose your mind. But explain it away–and you may lose your soul!”

Some doctrines are harder than others to understand, but we should not try to explain away God’s election of sinners, because it is found in His Word. But, like I said, that is God’s part of salvation, we still need to do our part.

God chose you, but you also have a say in whether or not you will be on His team. The issue of your will is still involved. For example... When God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, we see a beautiful picture of salvation. God chose Mary; she didn’t choose Him. The angel, Gabriel delivered the word of God. He told her that God had chosen her to give birth to a son named Jesus who would be the Savior of the world.

Her initial response was that this was inconceivable—actually, she said that she was inconceivable, because she had never been with a man. But Gabriel told her the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that God would do a supernatural work in her.

So we have the word of God; then there’s the work of the Spirit. But Gabriel waited to see what Mary had to say. God wasn’t going to force her to be the mother of Jesus. He’s too much of a heavenly gentleman for that. So Mary said, “May it be done to me according to your word.” That was a profession of her will to accept what God was offering.

This shows that You’re not a robot God programmed to believe. He chose you in love. But once He’s chosen you to be on His team, it is up to you to accept His offer.

v. 13 tells us that He chose us “for salvation, through sanctification...” and then vv. 14-15 “14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”

We can stand firm in an unstable world, knowing that the One who Created it and has the ultimate control over it, chose us to be on the winning team!

The third truth on which we can stand firm is…

3. God Gives Us Hope

v. 16 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,”

We use the word “hope” for something that might happen. We say, “I hope I pass this test.” Or “I hope the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox today.” The point is we hope for the best, but we just aren’t sure how some things will turn out. However, in the Bible, the word hope means an absolute certainty. That is why it is called “Good Hope”.

Look at Hebrews 6… (Read vv. 17-20)

The inner sanctuary of the Temple was where the presence of God was manifested. There was a huge curtain separating it from the rest of the world. Only the Jewish high priest could enter there for a few hours one day a year. But when Jesus was crucified, this curtain was torn. It was his way of ushering us into the presence of God. But why the picture of an anchor, entering a place of safety?

In Bible times, an anchor was usually a rock with a hole in the middle for a rope to pass through. Anchors weren’t just used to keep a boat from drifting. Because seafaring was not an exact science as it is today; ships often had trouble entering a small harbor. There was a custom that was practiced to ensure ships could arrive safely in the harbor.

Sometimes the main ship paused outside the harbor entrance and the anchor was placed in a smaller boat, called a forerunner. Then the smaller boat with the anchor rowed into the harbor and dropped the anchor in a safe place. Then the anchor line, attached to a pulley on the ship was tightened and the ship was literally pulled safely into the harbor.

The writer of Hebrews is telling us that Jesus is our anchor of hope who draws us into the very presence of God… The question is… Are you secured to this anchor of hope named Jesus?

During the early days of World War II, our nation was reeling after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. We were fighting enemies in Japan and Germany. It was a tough, scary time when people had to ration food and other items. It was during this time that a pastor’s wife from Pennsylvania, Ruth Caye Jones, wrote a wonderful hymn that speaks to our need for stability in an unstable world.

The lyrics said: “In times like these, you need a Savior; In times like these you need an anchor; Be very sure, be very sure; Your anchor holds and grips the solid rock!” The chorus says, “This Rock is Jesus; Yes, He’s the One! This Rock is Jesus; the only One; Be very sure, be very sure; Your anchor holds and grips the solid rock!”

We can stand firm on the certainty of the Good Hope given to us by God. And it is that hope that we can use as an anchor when the stormy seas of life try to knock us off course.

Lastly this morning… We can stand firm knowing that…

4. God Gives Us Strength

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.”

The NASB words v. 17 “comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

Even going back to v. 15 “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught...”

Folks, truth always leads to action, but first we must stand firm on what we believe. As Martin Luther said when he was charged as a heretic by the Catholic Church, “Here we stand. We do no other. God help us.” There is an old country song that says “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”

But we can’t stand in our own strength. God is our source of strength. We have solid truths we stand upon. And while our culture keeps redefining truth and morality, we stand firm on the truth of the Bible. As another favorite hymn of mine says, “On Christ the Solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

David, in the book of Psalms, says this about God “He clothes me with strength…He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights…You widen a place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.” (Found in Psalm 18)

Closing:

So as the world around us continues to become more and more unstable… we, as followers of Christ, can stand firm through it all. We can stand firm knowing that:

God Loves us Unconditionally

God Chose Us

God gives us Hope

God Gives us Strength

These are four powerful truths that we can hold on to as we stand firm… Ready and Waiting for His return…