Paul's Praise for the Church

Father, we thank you, Lord, for the opportunity you give us to spend time in your word. Truly, it's a blessing to be able to open up the living word of God and to realize the things that you said. So long ago, apply to us today. Nothing's really changed. Technology's changed, but people are the same. Lord, we sin. We all need to repent of our sin. We need to embrace you as our Lord and Savior and commit our lives to Christ. That's the way it's always been. Man is saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So our prayer, Lord, is that we would be men and women of faith, that we would have given our lives to you. And as we open your word, you would teach us about yourself. We thank you, Lord, for the times we're in. Lord, they are different than any of us have ever faced in this gener. And yet, Lord, you have prescribed them for us. That makes it exciting. It makes it a time, Lord, that we can really trust in the living God. We realize, Lord, that we have no cont over today or tomorrow or the events that are going to take place or the people that we encounter every day.

But Lord, we can control whether we decide to put you on display in those encounters. Put you on display each and every day. Lord, our tendency is not to do that. Our tendency is to act in the flesh and do what we want to do. And yet, Lord, we trust that the things that we learned this evening will enable us to live truly for your glory. So, as we embark on a new study, Get a new book. We pray, Lord, that you'd stretch us. Cause us, Lord, to really think deeply about you, about the day of the Lord.

About your return, how that applies to us today, and how it affects our tomorrow. Help us to realize, Lord, that whatever decision we make today affects tomorrow, good or bad. So may we make wise choices. May we make wise decisions today, so that tomorrow, Lord, we live without no regrets. That we might truly honor you. And so, Lord, teach us tonight. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. It's so good to have you with us tonight as we have an opportunity to study God's Word together. If you've got your Bible with you, I want to invite you to turn to 2nd.

Thessalonians. Second Thessalonians. It's a great book. It's a glorious book. It's an opportunity for us to learn about the clarity and the relevancy of Scripture. Do you ever think that when the Lord wrote or gave the Word of God through men of God who were led along by His Spirit, that the Word of God would be so relevant in every age? The great thing about this is that what the people went through 2,000 years ago truly are the things that we go through even today. And the questions that they had 2,000 years ago are the same questions that we have.

And so the scriptures speak very clearly. About the things that the Lord wants us to know and understand. Paul would write this letter some three months after he wrote First Thessalonians.

Now that's good and that's bad. It's good because we realize that Paul was addressing issues that arose in the church of Thessalonica. It's bad for us because the last time we did 1 Thessalonians was 28 years ag. So if you were with us 28 years ago, you heard about 1 Thessalonians. If you weren't, this is all going to be new to you, but that's okay. Because we're going to take you back to 1 Thessalonians and review some things with you so you'll be able to be caught up to speed so that what Paul is saying in 2 Thessalonians He is reiterating what he's already said to them, and plus, expounding upon those things.

And so we'll take you back and review it for you. So you understand ex what Paul is trying to commun. And what we have in this book are three chapters with three distinct themes. Chapter 1 deals with adversity. And I think that every one of us who are here tonight can understand a little bit about adversity, not so much how they experienced it, but Nonetheless, adversity is something that we deal with. The second chapter deals with prophecy and the day of the Lord.

The coming day of the Lord. Behind me, we have a chart called the Plan of the End. We used it way back when we did a series called The Return of the King. And in that plan, we are able to understand how the end unfolds for us. This chart will become something that we will use periodically throughout our study to help you understand where we are in terms of prophecy. What's going to happen during the day of the Lord, how it's going to unfold before us. And we'll explain those things to you as we go through.

2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and specifically chapter 2. So the first chapter is about adversity. The second chapter is about prophecy.

And the third chapter is about responsibility. And what Paul does is, in chapter one, he talks to us about cons amidst that adversity. And then in chapter two, he gives us clarification. Around prophecy. And then in chapter three, what he does is he gives us what we need to understand when it comes to realizing the Correction concerning responsibility. And so he's going to unfold all that for us as we go through this letter, and we'll be able to understand exactly. What Paul was saying to this great church, the church at Thessalonica.

Now, this is a unique church, unlike any other church in the New Testament. It truly was a model church. In 1 Thessalonians, he calls them out as the model church. In 2 Thessalonians, he talks about how proud he is of this church. And how he gives thanks to God for them because there's something unique about him. And there is nothing unique about the size of the church. Today we think, wow, that's a great church because look how big it is. Or he never talks about the buildings that they had and all the upscale programs that they had in the church.

Because he probably didn't have a building, and he probably didn't have any programs either for children or for youth or for specialty groups in the church. Paul didn't say, you what, your church is so great, your choir is huge, it sounds so good every Sunday. They probably didn't even have a choir, they probably didn't even sing any song except a few here and there, and they were all a capp. He didn't say, wow, your praise band, man, it's rocking. Boy, we'd love to hear them every week. We're so proud of your praise band.

Proud of your Sunday school, the number of kids in your youth ministry. Oh, your pastor, he is so popular. But no. None of those things are important. Those are all external things. Paul was only concerned about what our Lord's concerned about: the internal things. What's going on on the inside? And that's what he praises him for. That's what he thanks God for. And I think that when you go through this, you're going to have to ask yourself some very difficult questions. Are we the kind of church that if Paul was writing a letter to today, he would thank God for?

He would truly say, you know what? As an apostle, I am so proud. Of what's happening. That's what he says in chapter 1. When he says these words, we ought always, verse 3, to give thanks to God for you. Why? Verse 4. We ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God. What a commendation! That's just a great comm. Paul says there are other churches that need to know exactly what is going on in your church. And we can't wait to tell them about all the great things that God is doing. And I would trust that that would be us, that we could measure our lives against the church at Thessalonic.

Because that's truly how they li their lives. And so Paul is going to address this with them, and then he's going to talk specifically about the day of the Lord. Evidently, there was some confusion about the day of the Lord. And the people had wondered whether or not they were even in the day of the Lord. And of course, you're going to ask the question: what is that day? Well, you stay with us. We're going to explain it to you in great detail. But they thought, mainly because of what others had said, specifically some false teachers over in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, these words were spoken.

He says, I don't want you to be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us. To the effect that day or that the day of the Lord has come upon you. So, whether there was somebody who said something to you, a message that was given, Communicated to you, or maybe somebody had forged a letter that you thought was from us that disturbed you, thinking that you were in the day of the Lord. Those are questions that are good because I get asked probably more so now than of the 40 years that I've been preaching About the day of the Lord and the events surrounding the day of the Lord than at any other time in my life.

For instance, people have asked me already, the vaccine that people are taking, is a vaccine the mark of the beast, as described in Revelation 13? Well, I hope not because Lorraine's already taken it over there. Okay? But it's not the mark of the beast. We know that the mark of the beast will be on the back of the hand or on the forehead, and you can't buy or sell without it. But the vaccine is a. Precursor to how those things can be so easily distributed among the people of the world. So, when you think about people taking a vaccine and how we wait in line to get those vaccines, how we want to get the vaccine, there's going to come a time in the day of the Lord.

Where the Antichrist is going to make sure that you can't buy or sell anything without his mark on the back of your hand or on your forehead. And that can very easily happen even today. And so other people ask, well, if. If the vaccine's not about the day of the Lord, what about all the peace treaties that Trump signed when he was in office? Are those peace treaties conducive for the end times? And people would ask that question, and that's a good question to ask because. We know that according to Daniel 9, 26 and 27, that the Antichrist is going to confirm the peace treaties that have already been made.

The Antichrist is not going to make a peace treaty with Israel. Those peace treaties will already be in effect when the Antichrist confirms those treaties. And then allows Israel to live in peace for about three and a half years before he reveals himself in what is commonly called, as Daniel says, and Christ says in the Olive Discourse.

The abomination of des. But those are good questions because we can begin to see already things happen. I was asked just yesterday by someone who said, You know, Lance, as I listened to you speak, it seems like things have changed. The way you do ministry is different than they were 30 years ago. And I, That's it. That's true. It is. Because never in the history of my generation is the church facing what it is today. Things have changed drastically. And so like the sons of Issachar, we want to make sure that the people of the church are well aware of the times so we can direct them in the right way.

And we direct them in the right way through the truth of God's holy word. But if you can recall way back in July, that was the summertime, right? It was a little warm in July. But I talked to you about. Davos, Switzerland, in the great global reset. And I talk to you. about Klaus Schwab, who is the executive director and founder of the World Economic For. Now maybe you don't remember that. That summit just took place the last week in January. And in that summit, they had an agenda. You might not know about that agenda because we're living in America.

And the new administration is signing so many executive orders, our heads are swimming as to what's happening next. We don't even know what's going on around the world, right? But Klaus Schwab said these words about Davos, Switzerland, and the great gl res. The great the great global reset. He said this COVID-19 has open the door For the world, he says the vision is a sustainable future in which all form of human activity Are very cl monitored and cont for the good of the planet. Now think about that.

Think about what he said. COVID-19 has opened the door for us to gather together. So we can now monitor all human activity and then control all h activity. So they would meet together in January. They're going to meet again this summer. But the agenda has been set. They know what they want to do. So we ask questions like, okay, how does that apply to us? Well, we know that the Antichrist is going to rise to power, and we know he wants to control the world. And he will control it through a confederation of ten kings, and he will rule over them.

And so, when we look at what's happening in Europe and what's happening around the world, we can begin to see how the pieces of the puzzle are slowly but surely coming together.

Now, you know that I've shared with you over the years that when I was growing up, we had big old charts up in front of our church, and they would, you know, they didn't have PowerPoints back then. They just go up, point to different. Different spots, different things, and they would talk about all that was happening around the world. And it could be that the Lord's going to come now.

I firmly believe that the Apostle Paul lived that way. I think that John lived that way. John's on the island of Patmos, and's thinking, you know what? The Lord's going to come. I mean, after all, I've got a vision of heaven. I've got a vision of what's going to happen here on earth. He must be coming right around the corner. But he didn't. All the apostles believed Acts chapter 1 after spending 40 days with the resurrected Christ Hearing him speak about the things of the kingdom, they asked a question: Is it at this time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel?

And Christ says, it's not for you to know the times or the epochs that your Father has set. For the things of this world. But you need to realize that you're going to go back to Jerusalem. You're going to receive the Spirit of God and you're going to receive power. It's going to come upon you, and you're going to be my witnesses. And so they did that. The Spirit of God came. They think things are going great. The church is born, right? Everybody's excited. All of a sudden, persecution breaks out.

Breaks out in such a severe way. Now they're thinking, what? This must be the end. The king is going to come. He's going to restore his kingdom to Israel. But it didn't happen. The point is, is that every New Testament writer li anticipating the coming of the Messiah. And I firmly believe that all the events throughout history, whether it was during the rise of Hitler, And the Holocaust, or whether it was during the Spanish flu, whether it was during the bubonic plague, whatever it was, all these events, they.

The Lord allows him to come because it always keeps us looking up, keeps us looking toward heaven. Is now the time the Lord's going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He keeps us focused above. So I'm not saying that because of what's happening in our world and how the world now wants to control human behavior, that Jesus is coming next week. I don know when Jesus is going to come. I affirmly believe he's going to come in my lifetime. I do. My father did too, but he's home with the Lord right now.

But my dad lived in the light of the return of Christ. We should all live that way, right? So hopefully as we look at this and look at the day of the Lord, we'll help you understand parallel events and what's happening around the world to help you understand and ask the question: why is it Joe Biden has yet to call Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel.

What he's called everybody in Japan, everybody in China, everybody associated with NATO. Everybody in France, everybody in the U, okay, he's called everybody around the world, but he has yet to call Prime Minister Netany. Well, why is that? Why wouldn't he do that? I mean, after all, Netanyahu called him, called the White House when he had won the election and congratulated him on that. But the president has yet to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Those are good questions. But in light of all that, our Lord spells out to us how it is the end is going to unfold.

So there need not be confusion. There is confusion in the world about the day of the Lord. There's confusion about The rapture of the church. There's confusion about the revelation of Christ. There's confusion about the book of Revelation and when was it written? Has those things already taken place? How about the Olive Discourse in Matthew chapter 24 and in Luke chapter 17 and over in Mark chapter 13? Have all those things already taken place? Did all that happen in 70 A? Or is that yet to happen?

Well, it depends on who you read and who you ask. But I know of one thing for certain. Jesus was never confused about the end. He knew exactly what was going to happen at the end. That's why he preached on it. So we have the opportunity to study the scriptures and see what the Lord has to say about the end. And hopefully we can answer your questions so you understand the day of the L. Now, remember, our Lord's very concerned, as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4: brethren, we do not want you to be.

Ignorant about those who have fallen asleep. And so in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul makes it very clear: we don want you to be ignorant. We don't want you to be uninformed about what's going to happen at the end because they didn't know. Their friends had died in 1 Thessalonians, and they're thinking, hey, wait a minute, they're going to miss the coming of the Lord. When will they be resurrected? What's going to happen with them? So Paul is going to put their heart and soul at ease. He's going to explain to them.

I don't want you to be uninformed. I don want you to be ignorant about what's going to happen to those who have already fallen asleep. I want you to know that the dead in Christ will rise first.

We who are alive and remain shall be cut up together with him in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. comfort one another with these words. And then in chapter 5 he breaks right into the day of the Lord and the coming day that's going to come with great wrath up this land. So he doesn't want them to be ignorant. Why is that important? Paul was very concerned all throughout his epistles that those who read them not be ignorant. Not be un. So in 1 Thessalonians 4, he goes, I don want you to be uninformed about what?

The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 11, verse 25, he says, brethren, I don't want you to be ignorant. I do not want you to be uninformed about the salvation of Israel. And the two go hand in hand. If you understand about the coming of the Lord, you're going to begin to understand the salvation of Israel. But so many people are confused about Israel's salvation and what that means and how it plays itself out. Here at Christ Community Church, we do not believe that the church has replaced Israel.

We don't teach a replacement theology. We believe that God has a plan, a specific plan for the nation of Israel, that one day all Israel will be saved based on what Paul says. In the book of Romans. And so we understand that. So Paul says, I don want you to be uninformed, brethren, about the salvation of Israel. I don want you to be uninformed, brethren, about the second coming of.

The Messiah, and then he says, This: I don want you to be uninformed, brethren, in 1 Corinthians 12, verse number 1, about spiritual gifts. But isn't it interesting that we are uninformed about spiritual gifts? We are uninformed and ignorant about the salvation of Israel. And we are uninformed and ignorant about the second coming of the Messiah.

And then Paul would say these words in 2 Corinthians 2, verse number 11: I don want you to be uninformed, brethren. About Satan's devices. Satan's devices, they're very, very cunning. And yet, we tend to be very ignorant about the devices of Satan. So Paul hits on issues that we should not be ignorant about, but guess what? We are. And so the Apostle Paul goes on and says in 2 Corinthians 1, verse number 8, I do not want you to be ignorant. About the sufferings of the Apostle Paul. Why? Because what the Apostle Paul went through.

Are things that God wants to teach us that we might learn to live for the glory of the Lord? When we go through suffering, what happens? Well, if you understand the Apostle Paul and what God was doing in his life, Because you're not ignorant about the sufferings of Paul, it helps you understand suffering. And then the Apostle Paul says, In Romans chapter 1, verse number 13, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, or uninformed, brethren, about the stimulus for preaching the gospel. There is a motivation behind preaching the gospel.

A huge motivation, which, if understood, makes you a dynamic preacher of the gospel. You are moved to present the gospel. But because we're ignorant about that stimulus, we don't preach nearly as often nor as energetic. As we should. I tell you that because the second coming of the Lord Jesus, as it is.

Next on the prophetic calendar is one ev in two phases. One event in two phases. The first phase is what we will call the rapture of the church or the translation of the church into glory.

And the rapture of the church is that event that rescues the redeemed. The revelation of Christ when he comes back to earth is a revelation where the, it's called the apocalypsis. We have a whole book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. It's not the book of Revelations. Plural, it's the book of Revelation. It's the unveiling of the Messiah. And the revelation of the Christ is that which brings retribution upon the rebellious. Now, they are all the second coming of the Messiah, but they are in two distinct Phas.

And so we will explain that to you. In between the two phases, the rapture of the church and the revelation of Christ, is what we call the day. Of the Lord. And the day of the Lord is distinct from the day of Christ. It's distinct from the day of God. And we'll explain those to you as we go. But in between the time the church is translated up into glory, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 and following, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, we understand that the church is caught up into heaven. And the key to that whole understand is who the 24 elders are in the book of Revelation.

If you know the 24 elders in the book of Revelation, you know the church is in heaven while the tribulation is on earth. And also you need to know that the day of the Lord, which is the tribulation right here, is also called the time. Of Jacob's trouble, Jeremiah chapter 30. It's a specific time in history. For Israel, unlike any other time in their history, will they experience severe trouble? The time of Jacob's trouble is not for the church of Jesus Christ. That's why the church is translated into glory and experiences.

What we call the judgment seat of Christ, which is this event right here, where we receive our rewards. Also, the marriage supp of the Lamb, where we gather together in God's kingdom and celebrate all this because the bride is presented to the Father. And then we come back with the Lord here. We are the holy ones that come back with him because having been presented to the Father in glory, the bride, that's us, by the bridegroom. Now we come back and are presented to the world as the bride presents or the bridegroom presents the bride to the world.

So, we'll cover that for you in greater detail as time goes on, but I think it's important for you to just get a sketch of that in your mind so you can begin to understand it. So the Apostle Paul writes this second letter to those in Thessalonica simply because he wants them to understand.

The day of the Lord. Now, note this. You've all seen sequels at the movie theater, right? And none of the sequels are ever as good as the original. The original is the best one out there. And then they do a sequel, and then Hollywood can't think of anything else. They do another sequel, and then another sequel, just keep going and on. Because they can't come up with any new ideas, right? So they just keep doing sequels. That's why you have all these different variations of the same movie, right? But in Scripture, when there's a sequel, it's just as powerful as the first one is.

Why? Because it's the word of God. It's the living and abiding word of God. And so, because it's a sequel, it doesn't minimize its power. It maximizes the power of God because it's still the word of God being given to us about the future of the world. So it's so important to understand that. So if you got your Bible, you're in 2 Thessalonians. It says in verse number 1, Paul and Sylvan and Timothy. Sylvanius is Silas. 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.

Now remember, chapter one is the cons that Paul is going to give to them amidst their adversity. It's going to happen in three ways: Paul's praise for the church, Paul's promise to the church, and Paul's prayer. For the church. That will take you through chapter one. It will unfold that for you as we go. But notice it's Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

These three men were in Thessalonica. This is a seap. village there on what is called the the Ignatian Way, a great Roman high. It 's a city of great trade and great commerce and great business. And there in Thessalonica, Paul, Silas, and Timothy would come and they would present the gospel, and a church would be born. Acts 17 tells us, it's on the second missionary of the Apostle Paul.

They were there for three weeks. Persecution broke out, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy had to leave, and they went to Corinth. After they were there for a while, they would write 1 Thessalonians. Three months later, he would write then 2 Thessalonians. But Paul is the author. And Silas was one who traveled with Paul, was part of Paul's imprisonment. Timothy was the beloved son of the Apostle Paul. The letters 1 and 2 Timothy were written to him, and you can see the affection that Paul would have for Timothy.

So Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Are together, but Paul is the author of the letter. And I want you to notice what he says.

He says these words: to the church of the Thessalonians. In God our Father. Do you know that there are only two places in the scriptures That talks about a believer being in God. 1 Thessalonians 1, 2 Thessalonians 1. In God our F. Now we know we are in God. We know we're in Christ, right? That was just the great mystery of the Old Testament, revealed in the New Testament. Christ in you, the hope of glory, right? And the Jews understood that God would be above them, and God would be among them, and God would be with them.

But they had nothing, no inkling whatsoever that God would be in them. They didn't get that. But that was the mystery concealed in the old, revealed in the new. But Paul will use a phrase about how they, the church, are in God, our Father. That's very important because it adds credence to the whole deity of Christ theme all throughout the scriptures. And we know that we are in Christ. We know that we're in the Spirit. We know the Spirit's in us. We know Christ is in us. We know God the Father is in us.

And we are in God the F Best verse about that is over in John chapter 14. In John chapter 14, the Lord God says this in verse number 23: If anyone loves me, He will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

Him. In other words, we, me, the Father, are going to come to Him and we're going to make our abode with Him. And over in Romans chapter 8, it talks about how the Spirit of God dwells in us. The beauty of all this is that these people were genu believers. I 'm writing to the church. I'm writing to the church that's designed for edification, that's designed for worship, that's designed for the exaltation of Christ. Those of you who are in God. And if you want to know what it means to be in God, well, over in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse number 13, Paul says this, 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. It was for this He called you through our gospel that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of that is redemptive. Terminology. All of that is what it means to be in God, our F. This is a group of people that were truly born-again believers. Now, note what he says. He says these words: verse 2: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace summarize the gospel. Grace is God's unmerited favor towards sinners.

And peace is what happ when grace is received. Think about that. The gospel is all about what God does through his grace. And how do you know you've received the grace of God? Well, you're at peace with God, number one, and you have God's peace.

It always baffles me when believers don't have peace. I want to know if they have grace. If they've received grace, then they should have peace because grace and peace go together. You have peace because of God's grace. And so I must ask myself that they must, that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, Isaiah 26, 3. So they must not be having their minds fixed above upon the Lord Jesus Christ as to why they don't have peace. Or the Apostle Paul would say in Philippians 4: Be anxious for nothing but everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. So maybe they're not people of prayer as to why they don't have that kind of peace. When the Lord was born, right? What did the angels say? Glory to God in the highest peace on earth toward those. With whom God is pleased. And the question comes: who are those with whom God is pleased? Answer: Psalm 147, verse number 11. Those who have peace are those who fear the Lord. Those who live in the fear of the Lord live with the peace of God in their hearts.

And the fear of the Lord in the Old Testament is a synonym for salvation. See that? So Paul is writing this letter to this church that's in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He says it. Two times to make sure they understand. I understand you're genuine believers. You truly love the Lord. I understand that you get that. He says, Look, I want to console you. Amidst all your adversity. And I'm going to do that by talking to you about the praise I have for you as a church that I am so proud of.

That I can't stop giving thanks to God. He's not giving thanks to them because God gets all the glory, right? So he's given thanks to God for what God has done by giving them grace and peace that they might live in the midst of their adversity, honoring and glorifying the Lord. Paul says, I can't stop. I am obligated. To give thanks to God, I have to because of what God has done. And I am so proud of you. Not because of what you've done, but because what you have allowed God to do in you. And then he says, look, my praise centers around three principles, three aspect.

The first one is simply this: ex in your faith. Two, end. In your faith, and three, evidence of your faith. This is what I'm praising God for. Number one, excellence in your faith.

Listen to what he says. He says, We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren. As is only fitting because your faith is greatly enlarged. Wow. Your faith is greatly enlarged. Your faith is growing. You have an excellent faith. It's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Your trust in God, your belief in God, your hope in God is only growing with each passing day. Your faith isn't getting smaller. It's getting bigger. Remember over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, he says these words. Verse 2, we give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, verse 3, constantly bearing in mind your work of.

Faith. You're working, you're serving because of your faith. And then over in chapter three. Verse number 10, he says, night and day we keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, faith, excuse me, face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith. So we're praying for your faith. We know about your work of faith. Now we're praying for your faith. And now, when he writes the second letter, he says, Your faith is greatly enlarged.

God is answering our prayer. No wonder we're giving thanks to God. He's answered our prayer. Your faith is greatly enlarged. It's growing bigger and bigger and bigger. Why? What is it that caused their faith? To grow exponentially, what was it that caused their faith to be so huge? Answer. Adversity, per. Listen to what he says. He says And the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God. for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you end.

What was it about their faith that grew so fast, so large? It's simply because of advers. It's simply because of the persecutions that they would face on a regular basis. Listen, persecuted people are pure people. Persecution will always weed out the false believer. It will always weed away those who are not truly committed to Christ. Matthew chapter 13, remember the rocky soil. The seed that fell upon the rocky soil was not able to grow because of persecution, because of affliction. There's something about affliction and persecution that causes the believer to drive their roots down deep and to grow.

That's why Peter says, In this you greatly rejoice. Because of the trials that have come upon you. And they've come upon you not need, but because they were necessary. And in 1 Peter chapter 4, he says, Beloved, don't think it str as some fiery trial comes upon you. Why? Because this is what's caused you to grow. And then in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse number 10, he says, Because of your persecution, there is something that stabilizes you, something that grows you, that makes you stronger and deeper, more formidable.

That's what adversity does. For the believer, it causes him to grow deep in his walk with the Lord and his faith to enlarge. But for the phony, no, they fall by the wayside. We were talking among our staff today about the church in America. In what C-19 has done to the church in America, and how it's begun to weed out the phonies. We have people that can't handle COVID. Listen, if you can't handle COVID, how are you going to handle a deep crisis of persecution when it comes your way? You're going to fall by the wayside.

This is just a very small, minute test, very, very teeny test that the church in America. For the most part, it has failed miserably. There are churches that still today, almost a year later, that don't meet. There are churches today that are still afraid to go inside. They're still outside. Why is that? How come? If they're afraid to go inside because of the whole COVID situation, what's going to happen when real persecution breaks out in the church? How are they going to handle that? They can't.

They won't. And so this has become a very small test for the church in America, and literally around the world. I was hearing this morning that in Denmark they're trying to pass a law that all pastors must submit their transcripts in advance before they preach them to be approved by the country of Denmark. That's coming here. That's coming to America. I'm not submitting my transcripts to anybody. I change them all the time anyway. I preach without notes half the time. So, you know, I just throw it out there, and hopefully that it lands on ears that are listening.

But the bottom line is that, folks, persecution is going to come. But here's Paul saying: look, we are so proud of you guys. We are so overwhelmed by what God is doing. We can't wait to tell other churches about you guys. Why? Because in the midst of all the affliction and all the persecution, your faith is Greatly enlarged, and on top of that, your love for one another is growing greater and greater and greater. That's what happens when your faith in God grows. Your love for one another just grows deeper and deeper and deeper.

And what persecution does is drive the church together. Persecution doesn't drive the church apart. Yes, at Acts chapter 8, Paul, the Lord caused persecution and scattered the church abroad. Why? Because the church wasn't leaving Jerusalem. They were still bound to Jerusalem. Nobody wanted to leave the place where Christ died and rose again. So, what did Christ do? He made sure they were persecuted. Because they had to go into Samaria, into Judea, and the utter parts of the earth. And the only way to get them there was what?

To persecute the church. So he drove them out. But the church is designed to meet together, come together as a body to serve one another, to pray for one another, that we might exercise our gifts one toward another, that we might encourage one another. That we might stimulate one another to love and good deeds. You can't stimulate one another to love and good deeds if you're isolated in your home. Watch church on TV. You can't do that. Now you might want to do that, but you can't do that. It requires you to be together.

It requires you to look each other in the eye. It requires you to come together and to fellowship one with another and to express the love of Christ one toward another. That's why in John 13, 34 and 35, our Lord said these words to the disci: He said, A new commandment I give unto you. A new commandment. And they're thinking, another one? A new one? Don't you think we have enough by now? A new commandment that I give to you, and that is that you love one another. And they're thinking, that's not a new commandment.

That's an old commandment. He says, no, no, no, no That you love one another no longer as you love yourself. But you love one another as I have loved you. Now, my friends, that becomes a qualitative statement. Why? What's the context of John 13:3 and 35? It's the eve of the crucifixion, right? Where are they at? They're in the upper room. What's the argument in the upper room? Who is the greatest in the kingdom? That's the argument. Jesus is going to die for the sins of these men, and what can they do?

Only argue about how great they are. So, while they're arguing about how great they are, what does Jesus do? He gets up, takes a wash bas, ties a slave's apron around himself, and begins to wash the disciples' feet. And that whole scene is not that we're to line up here and I'm going to wash your feet and you're going to wash my feet. That's not what that's about. It's all about this. in the midst of your greatest pain, in the midst of the time you feel the loneliest, in the midst of the time that you are all alone and nobody's beside you, nobody's praying for you, and nobody cares about you.

Now you can ser your fellow man. And in the service of your fellow man, serving those who don't care about you. Serving those who don't pray with you or for you, serving those who really didn't care you were going to die for them tomorrow. Now you're expressing. Christ's love. The new commandment is that you love one another as I have loved you. How have I loved you? I have shown you. That amidst my greatest need, my greatest time of need, my greatest pain, my greatest loneliness, it's not about me.

It's about you. So therefore, I'm going to serve you when I am in great pain. That's the love. And Paul says, man, your love for one another is growing. Why? Because you're like Christ. Your faith is growing. You're like Christ. And the more you're like. Christ, the more you love your brethren, and you've come together as a church. You're in God, you're in Christ, you're in the Spirit, the Spirit, and Christ, and God are all in you, and therefore, you are living that life. In front of everybody in your assembly, he says, I want to praise you because of the excellence of your faith.

I want to praise you, number two, because of the endurance of your faith. He says this. He says, For your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. Isn't that great? You're enduring affliction and persecution, and they received all kinds of persecution. Paul was driven out of Thessalonic, so was Silas, so was Timothy. Why? Because they hated the fact that these people were sharing about. Christ, the Messiah, with them. What were they doing? They were speaking the truth about who Christ is, and the world hates truth because our Lord is the God of truth.

And they hate that. And so these people now left in Thessalonica, Paul, Silas, Timothy, they could flee. They could go to Corinth. These people live there. They were facing all kinds of persecution, all kinds of adversity, yet they endured. They didn't quit. Because true faith endures to the end. It doesn't give up. And Paul says, I commend you for that. Remember what God told Jeremiah? He said, Jeremiah, look, if you can't. If you can't walk with footmen, you will never be able to run with horses.

If you can't handle life when things are not that bad, You will never be able to handle life when things are crumbling all around you. Which would lead Solomon to say: if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is limited. Proverbs 24, verse number 2. 10. That's what happens. And these people, they endured, didn't quit. Paul says, Man, I am so proud of you guys. You don't give up? You just keep moving on, you keep loving one another, your faith keeps growing, your faith is just enduring to the end, and not only for the excellence of your faith, not only for the endurance of your faith, but because of the evidence of your faith.

In other words, it is clearly seen. Oh, by the way. This is proof positive that someone who believes in Christ, their faith is clearly seen. You don't have to worry about whether or not someone's a Christian or not. You have to scratch your head. Yeah, I think they're saved. You don't scratch your head about someone's salvation anywhere in Scripture. You know. And they knew how. He says this. He says, this is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment. God's righteous chastening upon you. God is chastening you.

God is allowing these things to happen so you can grow deeper in your walk with Him. So you can love one another all the more. And this is a plain indication that this suffering. That you are experiencing considers you to be worthy of the kingdom of God. In other words, you don't make yourself worthy of God's kingdom, but you are given clear evidence. That you are a part of his kingdom because you're a child of the king. He says, That is what I am so proud. About. I am so excited for you. And Paul says, I just want to praise God.

For what he's doing in your church. You know, I would pray that would be us. What a church. I would pray that people would come and say, wow, you people are growing in your faith? You people truly love one another. You people truly endure through adversity and persecution. You don't quit, you don't give up, and your endurance is proof positive that you're citizens of the kingdom of God. They knew what it meant. Acts chapter 14, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. They understood what it meant to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all these other things shall be added unto you.

They wanted to embrace the kingdom of God. Having said all that, Paul says, listen, I got good news. Because all those people that are persecuting you, all those people that have come against you, all those people that are vilifying you, I got news for you. Our Lord will descend from heaven with all of his holy ones, and he will deal with every single one of them. He will deal out retribution, verses 6 down through verse number 10, in such a way that those who do not know God, those who do not obey the gospel of God, Will suffer in eternal torment forever and ever and ever.

Rest at ease. God is going to take care of all your persecutors. You just keep growing in your faith. You just keep enduring in your faith. You just keep giving evidence of your faith. And God will take care of everything else. Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you for today. What a great opportunity you give us, Lord, to come together and study your word. We thank you, Lord, that in the middle of the week we can open the scriptures. In realize, Lord, you have a great plan. You had a great plan 2,000 years ago for those in Thessalonica. You have a great plan for those today, those of us here in West Covina. We want to honor you and glorify your name. So we pray you go before us. And as we go home tonight, protect us. Give us Journey's mercies.

Use us for the glory of your kingdom. May we be the people you want us to be, so we might be the church you've called us to be. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.