Untitled Sermon

it's a discouraging world even possibly this morning as you arose to come and worship God you may have faced discouragement your attitudes may have been good your desires may have been right but there was just some kind of conflict that happened in your family and as you're coming out to come to this place and praise God together all hell broke loose maybe there has been something this week that has disrupted your normal routine and has caused you to just take pause and as you as you think about it and as you're going through whatever it is you don't see an answer and this may be something that's recurred and so in its recurring say it's a habit or or say it's some

kind of a pressure that you face regularly from a certain situation you don't see an ending to it in the future and so you're discouraged under the weight of the recurring of this particular instance maybe there's a relationship that you're involved in it could be a dating relationship or a marital relationship or a family relationship and you and members of your family or whoever's involved in this relationship have just been at odds and there's no apparent remedy in sight and there's there's a weight that's on your heart and you're you're discouraged from that and the discouragement of that is has covered over any possibility of there's a weight that's on your heart and there's no apparent remedy and there's no apparent remedy

of any hope at all of seeing the Lord at all God wants to bring us encouragement he wants us to be encouraged he wants us to be able to see him and so the message of this chapter in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 is a message of encouragement let's read through this chapter together and then as I told first service we're going to have a quiz Paul and Silas and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ grace and peace to you from God the We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more. And the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Therefore, among God's churches, we boast about your perseverance and faith and all the persecutions and trials that you're enduring. All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result, you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people. And to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. So with this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power, he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, it's quiz time.

Now, for those that haven't been here, this will not affect your grade, so that's fine. But for those that have, it's just kind of a review to keep us up on where we've been and also to let us be able to see how it all ties together. God's word's not disjointed. It holds together and builds upon itself. So, why was Paul writing this letter? Something had happened.

Someone had brought Paul word of something. Something that was going on in Thessalonica. Who brought Paul this information? Who brought Paul the information that something was wrong in Thessalonica? Do you remember? Timothy. Very good. Remember back in Acts? We went back to Acts and saw where Paul had left Thessalonica. He'd only been there for three weeks.

He could only teach them for three weeks. Then he had to leave. He was run out of town. He ends up in Athens, and he's so concerned about this church that has begun there that he sends Silas and Timothy back. To find out about them, to see what's going on. And they have come back. They took with them Paul's first letter, the first Thessalonian letter that we went through,

and took that to them and encouraged them with it. And then they have now returned to Paul, and they have some word for Paul about this Thessalonian church. And there are two problems with this church. There's two things that have gone on that they bring back to Paul that has happened with this church. What's one of the things that happened? Okay, they're being persecuted,

but something's happened in the midst of this persecution. There's a false letter. There's been a forged letter that's been given to this church. And we kind of drop down into chapter 2, verse 1 and 2 to see that, that there was a letter that was reportedly come from Paul that said what? That the day of the Lord had already come, which meant that they were where?

In the tribulation, in the great tribulation. Okay? And that disturbed them. Why did that disturb them? That was the second problem. They were still there. Because according to how they understood, what Paul was saying, when the day of the Lord comes, when the tribulation comes, we're not going to be here anymore. And now this persecution is increasing and intensifying,

and they're still there. And they're going, well, maybe, maybe the day of the Lord has come. Then all of a sudden here comes this forged letter, supposedly from Paul saying that, that the day of the Lord has come. And they're upset because they had believed that when that happened, they would be gone. They would be snatched out. And we saw that in every chapter of 1 Thessalonians.

Every chapter, at the end of every chapter of 1 Thessalonians, is an admonition to look for the Lord and look for His coming. His coming is soon. And then in chapter 4, almost the entire chapter is devoted to that fact, that they were going to be snatched out before this day of the Lord occurred. So they were upset. And so Paul writes this epistle to encourage them

and to let them know that that's still the truth. That's still the case, that the persecution isn't the day of the Lord. It's just something that was naturally going to happen. And so in chapter 1, he writes them three encouragements. And we've looked at two of them already. Two, well, three areas of encouragement that all of us as believers can be encouraged by daily

on a regular basis. What's the first encouragement that he writes to them concerning in the first four verses? Praise. The encouragement of praise. The encouragement of praising God continually, but praising Him for some specific things. And Paul listed four things in those first four verses that were encouragements for them and for us to praise God for. What's the first one that he lists?

Pardon me? Faith. That their faith was increasing. That their faith was increasing. Verse 3. First part of verse 3. We praise God that your faith is growing more and more. And our faith only grows, our faith only increases during times of persecution, during those times that we go through trials. What's the second thing he said he praised Him for? Love. That their love was growing more and more for each other.

And as we mentioned before, and I don't know if you remember it, but that is when our love really grows, is during those times of trial. That's when our love is really expressed. That's when our love begins to blossom. When you look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and the descriptions of what love is, it says love is kind, which implies that in the midst of being treated wrongfully, it responds in kindness.

Love doesn't boast, isn't jealous, isn't covetousness, doesn't keep a list, doesn't have a list of wrongs done to it. Bears, believes, and endures, and hopes. All of those are expressions of something happening during the midst of trial, during the midst of times of persecution. So love grows only when we're really in the midst of trial. When we're in the midst of good times,

we tend to focus on ourselves and seek what's best for ourselves. So faith grows, and we praise God for that. It's part of the things that happen during suffering and trials. Our love is growing more and more, what's the third thing that he mentions? Perseverance first. Perseverance was first. Your perseverance continues to increase. Your perseverance and your faith

are continuing to increase. Again, the only way that we endure is through the stretching, through the times of testing. If you're a runner, the only way that your distance increases, the only way that you endure more is you run more. And the more you run, and you get to that point of exhaustion, your endurance is stretched to where the next time, you're out and running or swimming, you can go a little further than you could the last time because it's been tested.

It's been stretched. It's been increased through that time of stretching. And so the same thing with our perseverance and the faith. It only increases through these times of stretching, through these times of trial. And then finally, fourthly, and George said it over here, that their testimony was increasing. Their testimony was increasing. Their witness. Paul said, we boast of this.

We boast of the fact that your perseverance and faith is increasing in times of these tribulations and trials. It's telling the other churches. So when you and I go through these difficult times, these times where discouragement can set in, we can praise God and be encouraged that in the midst of that, as believers in Christ, God is working a work in us to strengthen our faith, to increase our love, to stretch our perseverance, and to cause our testimony to grow as we're looking to Him. Okay, good.

That's the first encouragement, the encouragement of praise. What's the second encouragement that we've looked at? We've looked at that already in verses five through 10. The encouragement of promise, the promise of God's word. You and I are to be encouraged through the promises that are here. And again, that's the reason why we need to be in it. You will be hassled the most

by the enemy when you're preparing to come together and worship God, or when you're preparing to sit before the Lord and be in His word and praise Him. It's the time that the telephone will ring. It's the time that you'll hear those noises that you've never heard before that you absolutely have to get up and go investigate because surely it's not something's wrong somewhere. And the enemy will seek to keep you from praising God, from being in His word, from being together with other brothers and sisters who can be an encouragement to you through the times of the struggles that you're going through.

Because Satan does not want that for us. But God's word gives us promise, promises. And really, all of His promises can be found in the three areas of promise that Paul shows us here in verses five through 10. And what are those areas? First of all, He, in the first, section in verses five, He gives us a promise of what? Reward. As believers in Jesus Christ,

you have a promised reward waiting for you. And that's developed throughout Scripture. But basically, according to verse five, what is that promise? What's it all entailed in? The promise of what? Pardon? Justice? Well, that's coming, but the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God. You and I have been promised the reward of the kingdom of God and all that that entails.

Now, as believers in Jesus Christ, you have the kingdom of God with you in the person of the Holy Spirit, but we still don't recognize the fullness of it because we're still in mortal flesh that is getting old and decaying and dying. We still live in a world that is dominated by sin that is in the midst of death and dying and despair and discouragement and getting worse and worse, just as the Bible said it would. So we've not realized the fullness of the kingdom of God yet. But that's part of the reward that's waiting for us when we not only are with the Lord face to face, but He's promised a kingdom here on the earth that He is going to set up and rule and reign and we will reign with Him for a thousand years.

And then after that, the kingdom goes on as He creates a new heaven and a new earth, which we are a part of and function with Him and whatever He's going to do for eternity. That's what we're waiting to realize. That's the reward that we're waiting for. It's a promise. And we need to continually look to that and see that. What's the second thing He promises in verse 6?

Verses 6 and 8. Recompense. You remember the R. Thank you. Reward and recompense. What does NIV call it? In verse 6. What's the recompense called in modern day vernacular of verse 6? Paybacks. Yeah. God will pay back trouble to those who troubled you. God's paying back is something that we look forward to. You know, it's one of those things where He tells us,

you let it go, I'll take care of it. And I'm going to pay back trouble for trouble. Those that troubled you. And we went through that last time. Looked at the like for like, the way that He describes it in Scripture, the way that He does it even today. But then there's even something more intense in His recompense, in His justice. And that is that area, of He's going to bring judgment upon.

He is going to punish those who do not know the truth, who do not hold to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who do not believe it, who do not know Him. And we looked at the intensity of the severity of that that increased from verse 6 to verse 8. And that ultimate punishment is to be separated from the power and the majesty of God forever and ever. There's no hope there.

There's only pain and anguish and suffering and bitterness in the lake of fire, in outer darkness. Wherever that is. And so the intensity increases where that's concerned. But it will eliminate the area of sin. It will eliminate the area of bondage and the destruction that's around us. And so that's a promise that's in God's Word that encourages us that this is not always

going to be like this. It is. There is a time coming where God's going to set up His kingdom and this sinful world will be no more. Promised reward. What's the third promise given in the first part of verse 7 and then all of verse 10 that we looked at? Rest. Rest for the believer. There is a promised rest where no longer will we struggle in this sinful world.

No longer will you and I have to struggle with pain or struggle with disobedient children or struggle with alcoholic, abusive parents or struggle with bosses that are flagrant and abusive sexually and however other ways that there are. We won't have to struggle against a corrupt system that corrupts society that turns brother against brother. We'll no longer have to struggle with that. There is a coming rest that we as believers will be able to participate in and we hope towards that.

We long for that and we're encouraged as we renew the promise of that. It's coming and it is sure and there's an encouragement in that. And so Paul sought to encourage the Thessalonians with these encouragements and we are to be encouraged with it as well. The encouragement of praise for what God is working in the midst of the trials and the encouragement of promise that He gives us through His Word and then the third promise is that we are to be encouraged.

Thirdly, what we'll look at today in verses 11 and 12, the encouragement of prayer. The encouragement of prayer. You all passed. You did a good job. Very good on the quiz. That's good. Let's look at verse 11. With this in mind, Paul says, we constantly pray for you that our God may count you worthy of His calling and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours

and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord. Jesus Christ. The encouragement of prayer. I'll tell you what, I was sure encouraged by a prayer this week. For those that aren't aware of it and even if you are, I'm going to refresh it in your mind again.

The prayer that Pastor Joe Wright gave in the House of Representatives on Tuesday here in the State House up in Topeka was a prayer that encouraged me. For those that missed that, that aren't aware of the prayer or the commotion that's happened because of that prayer, we have the article and the prayer on the bulletin board out there in the lobby and you're welcome to read that. But I want to read the prayer to you just so you are aware of his prayer. It's something that's already made national media, national attention, Focus on the Family has already been talking about it.

The Family Research Council, it's going to provoke a conflict in other states who are wanting to squelch this kind of prayer. So I want you aware of what's going on. And so let me read you Pastor Wright's prayer so you can have an idea in context of what he prayed. He said, Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know your word says, woe to those who call evil good, but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your word and called it moral pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have encouraged and exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power

and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it foolishness. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today. Try us and see if there be some wicked way in us

and cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas and who have been ordained by you to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. People walked out.

People sat down in disgust in the midst of this prayer. People are calling now for a prayer that would follow some specific guidelines for praying in public so that nobody else will pray an offensive prayer. The article in the Wichita Eagle says, prayer provokes passions. Listen, brothers and sisters, I hope it does. I hope when we pray, we understand that it should provoke passion.

Pastor Joe wasn't praying for the hearers. He was praying to his Father in heaven. There was an excellent devotional this week in the Traveler, the Friday night devotion that I think only pastors read. The pastors write for other pastors to read. And in that devotional, the pastor was talking about when we pray, do we realize our prayers come into the very throne room of God?

And he described that throne room as explained to us in Revelation. Chapter 4 and in Daniel and in Isaiah and in Ezekiel, those times that we're given glimpses into the throne room of God and that our prayer comes right into that very presence of God. It should provoke passion in us. It should be something that is altering the situation, the status quo as we bring these things into the presence of Almighty God for God to take and to show us or to lead us or to answer us in a specific way.

The God of the universe, the universe is answering that, is listening to that. Prayer is encouragement. And Paul says to this church at Thessalonica and to us as well, that he wants to encourage them with his prayer. Look at verse 11. He says, With this in mind, we constantly pray for you. With what in mind? If you're reading King James, one of the other versions,

it says probably therefore, we constantly pray. Therefore what? With what in mind? Well, with everything that he's just shared in the first 10 verses. The fact that he knows that you're in the midst of trials and you're in the midst of tribulation and you're in the midst of things that can discourage you, but know that in the midst of that, God's working a work

to increase your faith, to grow your love, to stretch your perseverance, to make your testimony known. With this in mind, that this life is coming soon to an end and after that, there is a reward for those who have sought Him and trusted in Him and called upon the name of His Son, but there is recompense, there is judgment that's coming in, severe consequences to those who don't know Him. There is rest that's promised to the believer, but there is a judgment that's coming, a severity of which we can't even comprehend. And knowing that, it humbled Paul.

It caused him to see that the most important thing was not what job he did or not whether they were going to decorate the house with this or that. The most important thing to Paul and that he was going to do and that he wanted us to see was our relationship with the Lord and where we were in that relationship. And it caused Paul to pray for them. And so there's an encouragement in prayer because I believe Paul prayed this for everyone that would believe, including us.

And this is something that we should be encouraged to pray for, for one another. For those in our immediate family, for those in the family of God here, for wherever we are in our sphere of relationships in the world, that our believers in Jesus Christ, that we would pray for them because we are soon to be before the Lord one way or another. And so Paul moves to pray for three things for these Thessalonians. Three specific areas.

Look at verse 11, the first part, or about the middle of verse 11. He says, With this in mind, we constantly pray for you that God may count you worthy of His calling. That God may count you worthy of His calling. What is he saying? What does that mean? Is this a prayer regarding salvation that I might do enough things that I'm counted worthy of His calling?

No. He's not dealing with salvation. He's assuming, he's assuming salvation. He's assuming that he's writing to believers. He's assuming that these are people who already love the Lord Jesus Christ. But he says, I'm praying for you, first of all, for your worthiness, for your worthiness, that you may be, that God may count you worthy of His calling. Now, as you read through this before,

and we read through it this morning, and all the different times we read through a section when we teach through it, hopefully some things will stand out to you that you question on your own. What does he mean? How am I counted worthy? I thought I was already accepted in the beloved. You are. Again, this has nothing to do with your salvation. But it's something

that's mentioned quite occasionally through Scripture. Let me give you one. Luke chapter 20, verses 34 and 35. Write it down, but don't turn there right now. Just listen. Luke chapter 20, verses 34 and 35. A dialogue that you are familiar with, the last part of it, and the first part, because it's dealing with divorce. But you maybe have not thought about the middle part of it.

Jesus, in responding to their questions concerning divorce, says, The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection of the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Now, I know me, in my looking at this, I've been concerned more when I've looked at this section with the issue of divorce and what Jesus is saying. And then I've been real concerned with what he means by neither married nor given in marriage.

And another gospel says they'll be like the angels in heaven who neither marry nor are given in marriage. And I've been more concerned with what does he mean by that and what's he saying there rather than that part right before it that says those who are counted worthy of marriage, worthy of taking part in the age and in the resurrection. Why does he say that? Why did he use those terms there?

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, renders this and that section that God might make you worthy. That God might make you worthy. In other words, that God would carry out all that he has begun in our lives. And if I can kind of paraphrase Paul, what he's praying here as far as their worthiness and what we should pray as far as our worthiness for one another, as I pray for you, is in light of what he's just said with this in mind, you know, with all the stuff that's happened.

What Paul is saying is what you're doing with them, God, keep it up. Keep going. What you've been doing with them with all the persecution and with all the trials and stuff has an effect. It has a reason. It has a purpose. And your purpose is to make them worthy of the calling. Now see, they're already found worthy before God because of Christ. But what he's doing

is he's bringing out that worthiness that it might be displayed. That others might see that. That these are believers in Jesus Christ. We are besieged with closet Christians in our society. People who, when you pin them down and ask them in some kind of interview or somewhere where they feel safe, they'll tell you, I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ.

But their lifestyle says something else. They look just like the world. They sound just like the world. They dress just like the world. They, in all, not that we need to be monks and put on a habit or anything like that, but people should be able to distinguish us by our lifestyle. And so Paul says, keep it up, God. Make them worthy that they may be counted worthy,

that they might see that that you're working in their lives through the trials. Warren Wiersbe says, trials do not make a person. They reveal what a person is made of. Let me say that again. Trials do not make us. God works in the trials to stretch your faith, to increase your love, to stretch your perseverance, and to increase your testimony. God does that.

But the trials themselves do not make a person. They, as Wiersbe says, said they reveal what a person is made of. He says, when our faith is tried, we are revealing, now follow this, our worth. You ever thought about that? When your faith is tried through these trials, you are revealing your worth. Let me give you a scripture to verify that. Hold your finger here

and go with me to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. Trials do not make a person. They reveal what a person is made of. And when our faith is tried, we are revealing our worth. 1 Peter chapter 1. Let's start at verse 3 just to pick up the context of all of this. Peter says in 1 Peter 1.3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy,

He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the day of our death. And through faith, until the coming of the salvation that's ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you greatly rejoice. In what?

In what He's just said. That we've been given new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Christ. Been given an inheritance that will never perish or spoil. That's being kept in heaven for us who through faith were shielded by God's power until the coming of salvation. So, verse 6. In this, you greatly rejoice. We're waiting for that. Even though now for a little while

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These trials have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine. Why are you facing trials according to Peter? That your faith, verse 7, which is of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. And though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and your faith in Him and you're filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. You are already saved and you're in the process of receiving the fullness of that salvation, a glorified body in the presence of God, the kingdom of God.

But for now, your faith is being tried by fire just like gold is tried and purified so that it may prove its worth. You see, God knows our hearts. You and I, don't. You and I think thoughts and think we know how we really are. You and I think we know what we really should have. You and I think we know what we are really like. But we're told that the heart is deceitful

and desperately wicked and who can know it? Only God. And even as believers, our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. And you and I are constantly giving in to worldliness and excusing it in our own minds. in our own lives until God puts the fire on and seeks to prove what we're worth and we see those things exposed and we lay them at the foot of the cross

and go, God, forgive me. Strengthen me. And He does. And as you go back through the fire and it purges you of that worldliness as the Spirit's leading you into more and more of God's truth, we find that there's less worldliness and more of God growing up in our lives. I don't know how many of you pick up on the daily bread devotionals that we put out there for you to take

and help you in your devotional. Walk. They are free and they'll be out here again in another, at the end of this, at the end of February, I think. But this past week, on Thursday the 25th, there was the devotional there that really spoke to my heart in light of what we're going through here in 2 Thessalonians. It's just simply called worldliness and it's based on 1 John 2, 15.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. Let me share this with you. It's very brief. Let me share it with you real quick. He writes, The ungodly world system stands as an enemy of the soul. David Wells defines worldliness, and I like this, this is a definition, as any particular culture, what any particular culture does to make sin look normal and righteousness look strange.

So if you want a definition of worldliness, David Wells gives you a good one. It's anything that a particular culture does to make sin look normal and righteousness look strange. And we're not talking now any culture like us and Europe. I'm talking the culture between our city and Denver. There's different cultures there. There's different cultures within our city

and within each of our cultures. Worldliness is that effort that's made to make sin look normal and righteousness look strange. Righteousness look weird. He says, As Christians, we are in the world, but we must be on guard against its influence. We make our living in the world of business. We gain learning in the world of education. We are amused by the world of entertainment.

We cheer for teams, today, in the world of sports. We participate in discussions of religion. Like the air we breathe, the world is everywhere. Now, on a bright, sunny day, when you first walk into a dark auditorium, you're blinded by the darkness. After a few moments, the darkness seems to lighten and you can see again. Before long, you can see normally. Normally, that is,

until the lights are turned up or you stroll out into the sunlight again and the brightness forces you to shield your eyes. The followers of Jesus live in a dimly lighted world where sin looks attractive and righteousness looks drab. Yet, we are people of the light. We must be on guard that we do not become accustomed to the darkness of our society that we think is normal.

Instead, we need to keep our eyes on what God declares is bright and right. And so, God brings the trials. And God brings those to prove us, to prove our faith, to expose our hearts to us. Because, you see, you and I have developed habits from the world during this past week that we excuse in our own lives in the name of God's mercy. Oh, God, God's a merciful God.

Yeah, I've done these things. I lied or I did that thing or I had that thought. That's okay. God loves me. And we excuse it and it becomes a habit pattern in our life. We have done things with a critical spirit. We've complained about someone to someone else. We've criticized someone's efforts. We have backbitten them. We have been jealous of somebody. We have coveted their possessions.

We may have had wrong dealings where, well, it was just a small lie or a small deceitful, but it's okay. You know, it's all right. I won't do that again. And God forgives me anyhow. And we excuse those things and it becomes then a normal part of our lifestyle unless God convicts us of it. And the way He convicts us of it is He brings on those areas of trial and persecution,

the testings that expose that and that prove us for who we are because He doesn't want His name to be defiled. So Paul prays that they may be worthy, made worthy, not walking anymore in sinfulness, but walking in the light of the Lord. The second thing he prays for in the second half of verse 11, not only that God may count you worthy of His calling, but that by His power, he says, He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. Now, it's so easy to read those words and know that we know what those words mean, but what do they mean in this sentence?

Let me read it again. That by His power, He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. Paul is praying for their walk, for their walk. First, he prays for their worthiness, that they be made worthy. And now he prays for their walk. Now, I want you to see this, that His power, may He fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

Okay. There are those sitting here today, and I know that because it seems like every time I share this, somebody talks to me later after the study and says, yeah, that's the way I felt. There are some sitting here today who think this way. Well, I don't know. I just seek to be a good person. And I try to do as much good as I can. And I hope in the end that when the big balances in the sky are revealed,

that all my bad stuff's put over here and all my good stuff's put over here and that my good will outweigh my bad and I'll be led into heaven. Let me ask you, how much good can you do? Zero. Nobody does any good. You say, well, wait a minute. I know a guy who is just a real creep, but he gives money to charities. He helps little old ladies across the street.

He brings people groceries. He doesn't, he's not a Christian outwardly, so he doesn't claim to be a Christian, but he does all of this good stuff. Who does good? There was a lawyer that came running up to Jesus and said, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And what was the very first thing that Jesus said to him? He didn't say, the very first thing was not,

well, you know the law. You know what's written in the law. Keep all of these things. That's not the very first thing he said. The very first thing he says to the guy is, why do you call me good? There's only one good and that's God. Paul emphasizes that in Romans 3, verse 12, when he says, all have turned away. They have all together become worthless. There is no one who does good,

not even one. You and I don't, do good things in and of ourselves. Nobody does. There's only one good. And there's only one good thing that you and I do in our lives, apart from Christ, and that's coming to him. The moment we come to the foot of the cross and go, Lord, forgive me, I am a sinner. I agree with your word where that's concerned. Save me based on the shed blood of your son on the cross.

And Christ comes in us. And from that point on, Galatians 2.20 takes over where Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. Now the life that's being lived is being lived because Christ lives in me. And I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. You see, it's only then that anything good or counted good can be done by us

because he is good. That's part of his nature. God is good. And it's his goodness that, that prompts us, that gives us the thoughts to goodness. And then it's his power that causes us to do it only. Period. John chapter 15, Jesus says, I am the vine and you are the branches. A little bit later on, he says, you have to seek, the vine needs to seek to stay, the branches need to seek to stay attached to the vine

and to be drawing sustenance from the vine for apart from me, you can do nothing. He didn't say apart from me, you can do sort of good, but it won't be measured up at the end. He says, apart from me, you can do nothing. You cannot do anything apart from him. Our righteousness is like filthy rags before God. All of it apart from him. He purposes every good and perfect gift or work,

James says, comes down from the father of lights in whom there is no variance. Every good thought you have comes from him. Every purpose to do good comes from him. And the strength and the power to do that good comes from him, period. And Paul prays, for their walk, that they might understand that. It's kind of funny to me. There are so many classes being taught now

in the work world, in the workplace, to try to get people to cooperate together in the workplace. And so we try and make the workplace and school and all look like a family. Like this is our home. We are building these jets together, you know. We are a team. And we labor together because we love each other. What are we trying to produce there? Obedience and service.

That will obey the authorities that are above us, that have put the contracts together and the blueprints and all that stuff. And we'll do the work that they've sent down for us to do. And that we'll serve. That we'll do the work right and fully and completely. Listen, obedience and service are not a part of human nature. They are not natural gifts and talents

that just come as a part of human nature. From the moment we are born, we are self-centered. We are seeking. We are seeking what's best for self. One of the first words a baby learns is, No. Almost before mama and dada. It's no. We're getting across. Who's going to be in control here? Because obedience and service are not inborn. They are not part of the human nature.

They come only from God. And as you are in relationship with God, Ephesians 5.18, that's why we are to be being filled with the Holy Spirit. Being controlled by that Holy Spirit. And then you go through the whole rest of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 5. It's submitting one to another. Wives to husbands as unto the Lord. Husbands loving your wives as Christ cherished the church

and gave himself for that he could present her to himself as a clean and beautiful and pure church without spot or blemish. In the same way husbands ought to love their wives and cherish them. For no one ever hated his own body, but he cherished it and loved it. That does not come apart from being filled with the Spirit of God. On a daily basis as we're seeking the Lord.

As you're setting your heart and mind before Him. That He might give you the purposes that He wants you to accomplish for the day. And that you draw on His power to accomplish those purposes. That's our walk. That's what He wants us to do. And Paul prays that for them. William Carey. Many of you may be familiar with William Carey. William Carey is called the father of modern missions.

Back in 1793, he went to India and labored there. His work for Christ in India, or over the years of his ministry, ministry and missions were part of it. Let me just give you one of the things he did. He translated all or parts of the Bible into more than 40 languages and dialects. 40 languages and dialects. He translated at least parts of the Scripture into.

He is the originator of the well-known missionary slogan, Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God. Here's a man who had a relationship with the Lord and God blessed. And God caused this mission. Vision of missions to expand to where we still use the same concepts that Carey developed. We use the same things today. Yet on his 70th birthday, after seeing all of these things happen,

all of these wonderful works and people are allotting him for it. On his 70th birthday, he writes this to one of his sons. I am this day, 70 years old, a monument of divine mercy and goodness. Though on a review of my life I find much, very much, for which I ought to be humbled in the dust. My direct and positive sins are innumerable. My negligence in the Lord's work has been great.

40 languages. Yet he says, my negligence in the Lord's work has been great. I have not promoted His cause, nor sought His glory and honor as I ought. Notwithstanding all this, I am spared till now and am still retained in His work. And I trust I am received into the divine favor through Him. You see, after all those years of ministry, Carey realized it was God that was doing it,

and not in some sacramonious, non-humble way where he goes, you know, he receives a reward for greatest missionary effort or whatever, and goes, oh, gee, you know, it's not me, it's God, as we can sometimes do. No, he realized it in his very existence after all these years of walking with God and seeing God's majestic power that he was still a sinner. He knew him. He knew himself. He knew his thoughts.

He knew that he did not think always on the right path, that he did not think always on the Lord, that he was not always following the Lord the way he wanted to, and yet God purposed and God worked by God's divine power, and it was God that did all of this, not William Carey. May God so do that in you and in me. And Paul prayed that for the Thessalonians, that through His purpose and by His power, He might fulfill the work that He puts on our heart to accomplish by faith in Him. Thirdly, as the kids are distracting you, let me quickly bring this to a close.

Verse 12, Paul prays for their witness. Paul prays for their witness. He says that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the name of the Lord Jesus be glorified in you. Now, we saw back up in verses 9 and 10 that He is going to be glorified in us as He's revealed finally to the world, and we're with Him.

We're going to glow like light bulbs. We saw that last time, remember? We're going to be like the filament in a light bulb that's just going to be so filled with Him that no longer are we reflecting Him. Right now, we're kind of reflecting that glory. But we're going to be filled with Him to the extent that He is just going to so dominate us that we're going to glow like light bulbs as He is glorified in us then.

But Paul is saying and praying for them and so for us that the name of our Lord Jesus might be glorified in you now. Not then. Now. What's that mean? How does that happen? Well, let's consider the name of the Lord. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is revealed in Scripture in several ways. Jehovah Tzidkenu. The Lord is my righteousness. Okay? Are you walking in that truth daily?

Is that something that daily affects your walk, daily affects your life, that you realize that God is your righteousness or somehow you're seeking to earn His glory? Seeking to earn His righteousness? Seeking to earn His approval? He's called Jehovah Shalom. The Lord is our peace. Is He in your daily walk? Is God your peace so much so that others around you see that in the midst of the trials

and the conflicts that you're going through? That they see His hand upon your life and they ask you, how can you be this peaceful in the midst of all this? Why aren't you a nervous wreck? Or are you a nervous wreck? Is that name of God being glorified in you in the midst of that? He is revealed as Jehovah Jireh. The Lord is our provider. Is He being glorified as that in your life every day?

His name Jireh? Or are you whining because you don't have this or that? And just like you would in the world when you don't have things. Or is Jehovah Jireh being glorified in you as you know whatever I need? He provides my need. I'll be okay. Now granted, it may not be full yet. That's why you're being proved so that those things can come to the forefront in your life.

That His name might be glorified in you now. That's what Paul prays. Bring it on. God, whatever is necessary for that to happen. And as you're made aware of that, as we go through the Word and we're made aware of that, the next time you start to whine or the next time you find yourself starting to get anxious, the Spirit's going to snap that back to your remembrance.

And go, God, I'm not glorifying Your name this way. Forgive me. Let Your peace overshadow me. Become Jehovah Nisi, my banner. Become Jehovah, my healer. Become El Shaddai in my thoughts that You are almighty. You'll take care of this situation. I can trust You that Your name might be glorified in me now. Earlier in verse 11, we saw where Paul prayed that they might be made worthy.

They might be counted worthy. Let me give you an example. Let me give you some pictures of that from another angle. Philippians 1, verse 27, Paul says to the Philippians, Conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. In other words, you know what He's done, so act like it. You know what He's called you to, so live like it. Stop acting like the world.

Colossians 1, verses 9 and 10, he says, Live a life worthy of the Lord. Ephesians 4, verse 1, Walk worthy of the calling of the Lord. Live a life worthy of the calling that He has called you with. You know what He's done. You know what it cost Him to do it, so act like it. And Paul says, that's what I'm praying. I'm praying for you that you do that. That God does that in you.

That His name might be glorified in you now. Do you realize what kind of an opportunity Pastor Joe Wright had the other day to glorify himself? I mean, you're before the House of Representatives, this great body of political power. And the opportunity that he had to pray this politically, this politically correct prayer that the people would have gone, Boy, he's great.

You know, he's a good orator. Good oratorical ability. Shows his education. Has a 2,000 member church down in Wichita. Really a great guy. We appreciate you coming, Pastor Joe. And just opening up the thing for us. He could have, he really had an opportunity to glorify himself. But at that particular point, he sought that the name of the Lord would be glorified in him.

That the focus would not be Joe Wright, but that the Lord Jesus Christ and His word and His purposes would be exalted in that place. And they were. And he touched the core of the problem of society. And it went berserk. May God so do with us. May God so do with us. So may be our witness, I pray. Let's stand together. The brothers will be down front to pray with you if you have a particular area of need.

If you're in need of a healing or need of prayer for a situation. That you just want that continual strength of brothers praying with you, for you, together. Please come down as we close. And let the brothers pray for you. I want to pray as we close for you. As a congregation, as Paul did. That God would make you worthy of His calling. That He would just keep on doing what He's been doing.

Now, you may say, well, don't pray those trials on me, Brother Mark. Because I don't want to, you know. Hey, the trials are going to come. Anyhow, I'm going to pray specifically that what God's purposing to do in your life with those. He's going to count you worthy. He's going to make you worthy of the calling with which He's called you. That He would scrape off the worldliness.

I want to pray for your walk. That God would fulfill His purpose in you by His power. As you trust in Him by faith. And I want to pray for your witness. That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in you. And as we close in prayer, if you need prayer, please come forward. And let the brothers lay hands on you and pray for you. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the encouragement of praise. And all that you're doing. All that you're doing in our lives, we praise you for. For they are accomplishing a purposed work. We praise you for the encouragement of your promise. The promises in your word. We are looking for that reward as you have promised. We're looking for the recompense to be poured out. And God, that humbles us.

Because we don't want friends to have to suffer those kinds of things. But we desire to be done with sin. So we look to that promise of your recompense. And that promise of your rest, Lord. We long for that. It's a struggle. It's hard. Day by day. With all the situations that we're facing in our personal lives. Father, we thank you for now your encouragement through prayer.

Encouragement of prayer. And Father, I pray for our fellowship here. I pray for these brothers and sisters, Lord. That you would make them worthy of your calling. The things that you're doing in our lives, Lord.