2 Thessalonians 1:5–12

I didn't think of that earlier.

Good morning. Good to see you guys. I'm glad you're here. I invite you to stand with us. We'll pray and we'll get started.

Lord, we thank you for the day. God, we give you praise. Thank you for another opportunity to come sit in your house, Lord, and to lift praise to you, Lord, and soak up your word. Lord, let your word go out with power this morning. Lord, let it permeate our lives and change everything about us, Lord. Lord, help us to look more like you when we leave here today.

We love you and we praise you in your precious name. Amen.

When we fail over and over and over, Lord, the beatings you took for your body, that was beautiful. You did so much for us, Lord. You gave us new life.

You washed us white through your sacrifice, Lord. God, we thank you.

How deep that kind of a love truly is, Lord. We praise you.

Let's take a little time and greet. One another.

Good morning.

If you could begin to locate your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us here this morning. Some things to take note of. On the left-hand side of your bulletin, we have several cancellations this week. Basically everything except Tuesday night. All the other things are canceled. So Monday night, men's and women's study are canceled. Wednesday evening, church service and youth group is canceled.

And, of course, Thursday, women's. Women's Bible study is canceled as well. Enjoy Thanksgiving with your families. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, some things to take note of. We do have the community worship night tonight at the Burford Theater from 630 to 730. So come join us for that. Ought to be a great time to gather as the community of Arc City and worship the Lord together.

The Ministerial Alliance Thanksgiving service is Tuesday, November the 26th. And it will be at 630 as well. And if you are interested in going to Dallas, we still have quite a few spots available for that. You have to let Jana know by the end of today. So if that's been something that you've been kind of weighing out and waiting for the last minute on, the last minute has come.

But we would like to fill up those spots. So if you're interested, talk to Jana afterwards. And then two things that are not in your bulletin. Calvary Chapel of Wellington is going to be hosting a women's conference on December the 7th. It's from 830 to 430. I have a poster up out there about that. It is a free conference. Lunch is provided. So you can just attend that.

And then we are going to be helping out with the live nativity on December 13th and 14th. So if you are interested in being a part of that at all, there's lots of different parts to be played in that. There is a sign-up sheet out there. And Joe Palmer will be contacting you with more information on that. So please. We could use some help for that. I noticed that there's zero names on the sign-up sheet right now,

which means that it's going to be an interesting scene with the wise men if there's, well, no wise men. It feels like we're going to leave a part of the Bible out, and that's a bad idea. So, yeah, so, yeah, they're pretend wise men. So sign up to help us out with that. Those are the things that are going on. If you would, make sure that your mobile device is silenced.

And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 24. Psalm 24. Looking at the New American Standard for this part so that we hopefully can all sound the same. If you need a copy, it should be one in a row around you.

And as you are turning to Psalm 24, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 24, a psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and all it contains. The world and those who dwell in it. For he is founded. He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord and who may stand in his holy place.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and is not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, even Jacob. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah.

Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. Selah. And be lifted up, ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory.

Selah. And Father, we do look forward to that day when the gates lift up their heads and you come in. and rule and reign in the way that only you can. So Father, our hearts long for that day. In the meantime, Lord, prepare us for it as we spend time in your word. May your Holy Spirit minister to our hearts. And Father, I just ask just for that fresh anointing

of your Holy Spirit upon myself to be able to bring forth your word. And Father, for that fresh anointing of your Holy Spirit upon all of us in this congregation, Lord, that you would give us ears to hear what your Spirit has to say this morning. We praise you for who you are, in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles

to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter one. 2 Thessalonians chapter one. As we said last week, Paul had, almost a year had elapsed since Paul had written the first letter to the Thessalonians in which he instructed them a great deal about the second coming of Christ and the day of the Lord. Well, in the text, the time that had elapsed between the first and the second letters, the persecution and the affliction for the people in Thessalonica had increased.

So they were going through really hard times. On top of that, there was a false teaching going around that they had missed the rapture and that they were now living in the day of the Lord, that they were now living in what we know of as the tribulational period. And because of the persecution that they were undergoing, it was not hard for them to believe that because life had been so difficult on them. And so Paul wrote, his second letter to the Thessalonians, and he wrote it to do three things, to encourage them, to instruct them, and to exhort them.

And so we said that this first chapter, Paul was encouraging these believers and he did so in three ways. The first way that he did so was by appreciating them. He appreciated what God had done in their lives and that their faith in God, their walk with the Lord had grown and that their faith was growing, that they were an ever-growing body as individuals and as the church, and that their love for one another was continuing to increase, that that sacrificial love that was at work in them was continuing to increase through acts of service and through very tangible sort of ways. But then he also said, but you know what, not only are we thankful for what God's doing in you, but I actually boast about you to the other churches.

I actually tell all the other churches about what's going on with you guys because you have perseverance and you have faith in the midst of persecution and affliction. You are holding up under persecution and affliction in such a way that your faith is shining forth to everyone around you and it is a testimony of the goodness of God and I am so thankful for how well you are holding up under the difficult circumstances that you are living in. Well, after he took time to appreciate them, now through this first chapter of encouragement, he literally does exactly what I say next and that's he encourages them. And so we start in verse five and this is what it says.

It says, It is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which indeed you are suffering. For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not know God. And so he says, And to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.

And when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who believed for our testimony to you was believed. And so as Paul encourages them, he's going to tell them two things. He's going to remind them that they've been counted worthy and then he is going to tell them that they've been counted worthy. He's going to tell them about God's righteous judgment.

So let's start with the fact that he reminds them that they've been counted worthy. In verse five, it says, this is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment. What is a plain indication? Well, the very thing that he had just talked about in the previous verse. So go back up to verse four. He says, Therefore we speak proudly of you among the churches for your perseverance and your faith

in the midst of the persecution and afflictions which you are enduring. What is he talking about in verse five? He says that perseverance that you show in the midst of persecution, the fact that you not only bear up under it, but you're actually using it as an opportunity to preach the gospel is a plain indication of God's judgment, of God's righteous judgment. Not only that, the faith that you show, the fact that you believe that God works all things together for the good, the fact that you believe that God's character hasn't changed even though your circumstances have, is an indication of God's righteous judgment.

What does he mean by God's righteous judgment there? It is a sign of his fair verdict. It's a sign of his fair verdict. And what verdict does God make on behalf of these Thessalonian people? That they have been considered worthy of the kingdom. They have been counted worthy of the kingdom. They have been reckoned as worthy of the kingdom. What does he mean by saying all that?

He means everything that's going on in their lives right now, the persecution that they're dealing with and the affliction that they're dealing with and the way that they're handling it is an indication that they are worthy of the kingdom of God. Does it mean that that's what made them worthy of the kingdom of God? No, it's what shows that they are worthy of the kingdom of God. Throughout scripture, we're told over and over again that the only thing that makes us worthy of the kingdom of God is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

That's the only thing. That's the only thing that allows us to be made worthy of the kingdom of God. That's the only thing that qualifies us to be a part of the kingdom of God is our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. However, our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross produces fruit in our lives. And the fruit that it was producing

in the lives of these Thessalonian believers is that in the midst of persecution and in the midst of affliction, they had perseverance and they had faith which was declaring to everyone that God was correct in his verdict by counting them worthy of the kingdom of God. Do you understand that that's what happens in your life when you hold up under those circumstances, when you hold up under the affliction in life, when you hold up under the persecutions of life, you are declaring to everyone that God knew what he was talking about when he called you his child. And I know sometimes when we're in the midst of hard times, we say, I don't know that I'm holding up very well. It's because you can't see it, but the rest of us can.

It's because you don't see it, but the rest of us do, which is why Paul had to remind them of that. Because I can guarantee that the Thessalonian believers, as they were watching themselves hold up underneath of this affliction and persecution that they were going through, struggled to see how God was using them in the midst of it. But Paul said, it's clear to everybody else. It's clear to everybody else in the world that because of what you're going through and the way that you're handling it, you are showing that God was right when he counted you worthy of the kingdom of God.

He goes on to say, the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. For which you are suffering. And I want to remind us of two things in this. The first thing that I want to remind us of is everything that we do in this life is for the purpose of the kingdom of God. As believers in Jesus Christ, everything that we do in this life is intended to be for the purpose of the kingdom of God.

You see, the day that you became born again, the day that you came to Jesus for faith, you realized your sin, you realized your weakness, you realized your failure, and so you came to Jesus, you became a part of a parallel kingdom. Yes, you're a part of the kingdom of this world because we're not to be taken out of this world until God's good and ready to take us out of this world. And so you're a member of the kingdom of earth because physically that's where you are and you should be as good of a citizen of the kingdom of earth as you possibly can be. But you also entered a parallel universe.

You became a part of the kingdom of God. And now, your greatest desire is not to build the kingdom of the earth, but to build the kingdom of God. And now everything that you do is supposed to be focused upon that kingdom that is eternal, that kingdom that is everlasting, not this kingdom down here, which is why we have to be reminded over and over again, there may be sufferings in this present life, there may be persecutions in this present life, there may be difficulties in this present life, but they are not worthy to be compared with the kingdom of God. That is to come.

Therefore, continue to persevere. Therefore, continue to endure. Therefore, hold tight to your faith because those are clear evidences of God's righteous judgment and that he has counted you worthy of the kingdom of God. And so everything in our lives is focused upon that kingdom. That's why we suffer these things. That's why we go through these things. That's why we're living our lives

is for the kingdom. And some of us in this room probably need to regain a kingdom mentality. I did this because most of us have an earthly mentality. That's why Jesus gave us the Sermon on the Mount. Because the Sermon on the Mount gives us kingdom mentality, which is upside down of the way everyone else in the world thinks. And so we need that kingdom mentality.

You are living for the kingdom. But can I offer you those words of comfort and encouragement that you've been counted worthy of the kingdom? That God sees you as worthy of the kingdom. That that's who you are. That you are as citizens of the kingdom of God. If it feels like you don't fit in in this earth, it's because you don't. If it feels like you don't fit in in this world,

it's because you don't. Elsewhere, Peter refers to us as strangers and aliens in this world. Because we don't fit in here anymore. Because this is not our home. We're looking for a different kingdom. And so he says, you have been counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. And then he goes on to explain a little bit further, God's righteous judgment.

Notice what he says in verse six. For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire. It is just for God to... cause affliction upon those who afflict you. One of the themes that we see throughout all of scripture

is that God is a just judge. God does not hold people accountable for things that they're not to be held accountable for, but he also does not let people get away with sin because God is a just judge. And it's seen throughout scripture, actually from the very beginning of the book of Genesis, it talks about the fact that God is just in all of his dealings. He is just in the way that he handles humanity.

He is always righteous in the way that he judges. And it is absolutely, absolutely just for God to judge those as Paul says here to repay with affliction those who afflict you. And so there's a little bit of comfort in there for us, right? That if we are in a place where we are being afflicted by people, God will deal with them. That if we are in a place where we are being persecuted for righteousness sake,

being afflicted for the sake of our faith, being afflicted because we have stood up for what is right, God is just, to deal with that. And we are reminded that vengeance is mine, Paul tells us in the book of Romans. I will repay, declares the Lord. Does it ever feel like on this side of eternity, some people just get away with it? You ever feel that way? Does it ever feel like sometimes you're just going,

Lord, why, why do they just keep getting away with it? There's an entire Psalm written about it where David says, why is it that the ungodly continue to prosper? They're doing everything wrong. They're afflicting, the people around them, they don't do things the right way. And yet it seems like they continue to prosper and life just keeps being hard for the righteous.

Paul says, I understand where you're coming from. But you need to understand the righteous judgment of God because it is just for God to afflict those who are causing you affliction. Now, we may not see it on this side of eternity because we don't live in a movie, right? In a movie, at the end of the movie, the bad guy, gets what he deserves and the good guy comes out the winner, right?

Except during the 90s when they made really dark movies. Other than that, all the rest of the movies, pretty well, the good guys, everything works out, the bad guys get what they deserve. And sometimes we think we live in this movie and if I just keep going long enough, the bad guy's gonna get what he deserves. And sometimes on this side of eternity, it's like, is the bad guy ever gonna get what he deserves?

And I'm always reminded, it doesn't matter because in eternity, the bad guy will get what he deserves. And that's a whole lot worse than what can happen on this side of eternity. I worked for a guy one time and, well, he was our supervisor and he just kept getting away with doing underhanded things. And I worked with a guy who was what I call a social justice warrior.

And so he was always ready to throw down, right? He was always just like, we've got to do something. And I would always look at him and say, God's going to do something. We just have to deal with him. We just have to deal with us. God's gonna deal with it. And this guy was not a believer at all, so he didn't really fall in too much for what I said. But I said,

I can live at peace with the fact that this guy does this because I know God's going to take care of him. It may be on this side of eternity. It may be on the other side of eternity, but God's gonna deal with it. And he said, I don't know. I don't know, Ryan. I don't know if that's actually ever gonna take place. Is God really gonna, does God really care that much about it?

You know what happened two and a half years later? That guy got walked out of the facility because everything that he was doing got found out. And I looked at him and I said, see what I mean? He goes, ooh, you were right. I don't hear that very much in my life, but it was a good moment. And sometimes that happens that way. But you know what? Even if that guy would have kept getting away with it

for all of eternity, for all the rest of time on this side of eternity, he'll have to answer to God on the other side of eternity. And you know what? So, so will I. I'll have to answer to God not for what he did, but for how I acted in the midst of it. And we can trust in God's righteous judgment. And he'll talk about that just a little bit more in a moment.

He says, it is just for God to afflict those who are afflicting you. That's how God handles things. But then notice what he says in verse seven. And God is just. I added that part because that's the context that's given in verse seven. And to give relief to you who are afflicted. And to us as well. When the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire.

And to give relief. That word relief is the word rest. To give rest to you. And to the rest of us. God is going to give you rest. But I want you to notice what Paul says here. And to give relief to you who are afflicted. And to us as well. When? When? When the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his angels and flaming fire. Does that mean I'm just going to have to live

in this state of affliction and persecution for my entire life until Jesus comes back? Well, it's an interesting question, isn't it? Because that seems to be the way that Paul poses that there. I want to remind you of something. I want to remind you of the world that we live in right now. We live in what I call an imperfect world. Scripture calls it a fallen world.

And on this side of eternity, we have moments of rest. We have times where God gives us rest. Have you ever noticed that? The first place of rest that we have as believers is the moment that we come to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That's the first time that we really have some sort of rest. Which is why the entire rest of the world is just sort of frantic all the time.

And they're wearing themselves out to try to make a little bit of money or try to build themselves a little bit of money. Or try to build themselves a little bit of a life. And they're exhausting themselves doing all of those things. And they're always finding themselves spinning their wheels and going, man, why does it feel like I can never just rest? And maybe you got tired of that

at some point in time in your life too and you came to Jesus. When you came to Jesus, you said, now I can rest. Because you realized that making it in this world was never supposed to be the point. Knowing Jesus was always supposed to be the point. And so that's your point. your first place of rest but then pretty soon you find that just because you came to Jesus your life wasn't perfect right it wasn't world peace in my own

apartment what once you came to Jesus even though that's what maybe you thought was gonna happen you find that there's still affliction you find that there's still difficulty you find that there's still persecution that sometimes you face you find that there are still people that treat you bad even though you're treating people with kindness and goodness and it's almost like it can kind of wear you out again and you're like Lord where's the rest I had when I came to you why am I facing all of these difficulties but in the midst of all of those difficulties God still gives you moments of rest oftentimes the moments of rest that he gives you is rest in your spirit not rest in your body

because you're still having to deal with all of the things of this life but even then God gives us periods of rest periods where we can go right read the book of Acts what happens in the book of Acts you notice that there's there's waves of persecution and then they kind of drop off a little bit and then the church grows and they rest and then another wave of persecution comes that's the way it is in our lives you we deal with the difficulties of this world we we deal with the persecution of this world we deal with the affliction of this world and and we go through periods of rest sometimes it's ramped up and it's really hard and then God kind of brings it back down and gives us rest and when he gives us that period of rest were reminded

that it is a partial fulfillment of the promise that he will ultimately bring when he returns because remember a perfect life on this side of eternity was never what we were supposed to have a perfect life on this side of eternity is not what we're looking for the problem is in our Western culture that is what we're looking for again we're looking for the end of the movie when everything works out perfect and everybody lives happily ever after and we're looking for that on this side of eternity and the problem is as long as we live in this fallen world will never have the happily ever after on this side of eternity because we belong to a kingdom. We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world. And there won't truly be rest until that kingdom

is established when Jesus returns. That's why our hearts long for the day that Jesus returns. That's why our hearts long for that day, because we know in that day that those moments of rest that we have now will be a fulfillment of rest in our lives. But brothers and sisters, you need to know, rest is coming. We have a hope, and the hope is the return of Jesus.

And if we can stop thinking everything's gonna, at some point in time, be perfect on this side of earth, then we'll stop being so frustrated and we'll start being more hopeful. Because he says, rest is coming for you who are afflicted, and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed with his mighty angels and flaming fire. I pray that you're having those periods of rest now, but remember, we're looking for a future and a kingdom that is not here. Well, he continues to go on to talk about this righteous judgment of God.

He goes back to the unrighteous again. Notice what he says in verse eight. He says, dealing out retribution. And who's he gonna deal out retribution to? To those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. What will that rest, retribution look like? These will pay the penalty of eternal, destruction away from the presence of the Lord,

and from the glory of his power. So let's break that down a little bit. He says, remember that retribution is coming. He returns to the fact that those who are afflicting you will have to pay the penalty. And it's not just them that will have to pay the penalty. There will be a large group of people that have to pay the penalty. He says, dealing out retribution.

To who? He gives us two categories of people. To those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Two groups of people, each having to deal with retribution because of the way they have handled the truth of God. The first one is where he says, who do not know God. That means those who have denied the general revelation of God.

You always hear the question, right? When somebody's fighting against the gospel, when somebody's fighting against the truth of God's word, they always get really concerned about tribes in Africa. Have you ever noticed that? They're always like, yeah, but what about all those tribes in Africa who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? What are you gonna do with that, huh?

And that's when you can say, well, they have the general revelation of God. We're told in the book of Romans that the invisible attributes of God are revealed through creation. In other words, though somebody can't fully know God in the way that we can with the full revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they can still know God through his general revelation. And God is just, and so if the only revelation you have of God is the general revelation as revealed through nature, and you have put your faith in that God, who is the creator of the heavens and the earth, then God is just to bring salvation.

And so divine retribution is meted out to those who do not know God, those who have not followed the general revelation. And it's to those who do not obey the gospel. How do you obey the gospel? Well, the gospel is obeyed through faith, right? When you hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, you turn to Jesus, you confess your sins, and you begin to follow him. That's obeying the gospel of Jesus.

Just like I obey the gospel of traffic, right? I know that if I stand in traffic, I'll get hit by a car, and the good news is I can step out of traffic. And so if I obey the gospel of traffic and I step out of traffic, then I am saved from the judgment to come. Follow me on that? That's what it means to obey the gospel of Jesus. But if you don't believe in God and you don't obey

the gospel of Jesus, then you face divine retribution.

Right, I thought this was about persecutors. I didn't think this was just a general gospel message. What is the fruit of someone who does not know God and does not obey the gospel? Well, they eventually become a persecutor. They eventually become somebody who is opposed to the gospel. Why, how does that happen? Well, you see, when you reject the gospel the first time,

you just become an unbeliever. You just become someone who doesn't want to hear that noise any longer. You just become somebody who doesn't want to hear that message any longer, but the more that you push down that conviction of God, the conviction that God is bringing into your life when he is revealing the gospel to you, the meaner you have to get about it, the harsher you have to get about it. Because, doggone it, I don't want to hear that message any more.

Golly gosh darn it, I don't want to hear that message any more. Then you start saying all kinds of colorful words. Stop talking to me about it, and then you find every way that you can to prove that the gospel's not right, up to and including abusing those who believe it and those who declare it. Therefore, divine retribution is meted out to those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel.

Whether they become persecutors in action or just persecutors in heart, it's the fruit of rejecting the gospel, just like the fruit of accepting the gospel is becoming one who perseveres with faith all of the persecution and affliction that the world throws at you. This is both a comfort to believers and a warning to unbelievers, that if you are the one who does not obey God and does not believe the gospel, the only hope for you is divine retribution and if that's not scary enough let's go on to describe what that looks like he says dealing out retribution to those who do not know God to those who do not obey the gospel notice what he says these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction eternal

destruction we need to understand what that means eternal destruction is what Jesus refers to as hell eternal separation from God we'll deal with that separation from God in just a moment Jesus refers to it as a place where the flame is not quenched and the worm does not die it is a place of eternal destruction it's not a place of annihilation it's not where you just cease to exist anymore no you absolutely exist you just exist in eternal destruction punishment some have described it as a sense of falling all the time in that place of extreme heat and I've also heard it preached that some believe that it's it's not eternal only problem is it's referred to as eternal I've also

heard some people preach that well God's just going to love us out of it God can't send anyone to hell and it's true God won't send anyone to hell you have to make that choice you have to make that choice you have to make that choice to go to hell and the choice that you make is is rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ because as one wonderful preacher has said you have to step over the crucified body of Jesus to walk your way into hell and it is eternal destruction and once you notice the thing that makes it hell he says these will pay the penalty verse nine of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power I want you to think about something

thing. There's a story in the book of Daniel. In the book of Daniel, there were these three young men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right? Unless you watch VeggieTales, and then you know it's Rakshak and Benny. And in that story, those guys were told, you have to bow down to an idol of the king, otherwise you will be thrown into the furnace. And they wouldn't do it. And he came to

them and said, aren't you going to bow down to the idol? And they said, no, we can only bow down to God. And he says, if you don't bow down to the idol, I'm going to throw you into the fiery furnace. And they said, our God's going to save us, but even if he doesn't, we're not going to bow down to your God or eat your chocolate bunny, all depending on how you put it. And so finally,

finally, they refused to bow down. And so he heats the furnace up four times hotter, and he throws them into the furnace. It's so hot that the guys that threw them into the furnace actually burned up themselves. And in the midst of destruction and burning, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego hung out and had some devotion. personal time with Jesus. And it wasn't a problem for them. They said it was the fourth man in the

fire, right? Of course, we know that the fourth one in the fire was the presence of God that was right there with them. So why could they stand in a fire that was supposed to be burning destruction and not be destroyed because Jesus was with them? What is going to make it hell? It's going to be so hot. Well, I don't know. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego sat in a fiery furnace and they

weren't burned up by it. They were pretty comfortable, actually. They didn't even come out smelling like smoke. So apparently it's not the fire that makes it so bad. What makes it hell? God's not there. God is life. He is meaning. He is purpose. I don't know this for sure. I can't prove this scripturally, but I can only imagine that the entire time that you're suffering for

eternity in hell, in the back of your mind, you're going, I always had a chance. And I didn't take it. And I just can't imagine. You see, this is one of the things that should not only be a warning to the world around us, a warning to anyone who hears it who's never put their faith into it. I don't need that Jesus thing. I don't need all that religion you're

talking to me about. I don't even know if I believe that Bible that you're talking about. I don't care because it says it right here and God's never been wrong so far. I'm pretty sure he's not going to be wrong now. He's been right about everything. He's been right about everything. And he's going to be right about this one. This is the thing that should cause all of us as

believers in Jesus Christ to not only know that it's a warning to the world, but it should put a burden on us. The burden on us of knowing that there is a world that is going to face eternal destruction. And we're scared to tell anybody about it. We're scared to warn anybody about it. You know what God told Ezekiel? God told Ezekiel, I'm going to make you a watchman on the

wall. That means you have one job. Your job is to warn the people of impending doom. And if as the watchman on the wall, you warn the people and they take cover, that's wonderful. And if you warn the people and they don't take cover, the blood's not on your head. But if you see impending doom and you don't warn the people, you're responsible. Friends, I don't want to bring such a heavy message right now, but it's just true.

I think Jesus is coming soon. And I think this reality is real. And we need to make sure that we are warning people about the truth. Of what we're going to face. This is what made the early church so strong as they had such a strong belief in what Jesus had to say. And so they said, you need to know.

So he says, God is just. He is righteous in his judgment because he is dealing out retribution to those who don't know God, to those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it will be the price of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. But it also reminds me, what makes heaven? Heaven. So wonderful. We always tell all the stories about heaven and all the things of heaven.

We usually look at it from a very western culture thought. Well, heaven's going to have awesome things, right? What's going to make it heaven? Well, I'm going to have a sweet head of hair, right? What's going to make it heaven? Streets of gold. What's going to make it heaven? There's going to be all these things. Those things may all be amazing, but what's going to make it heaven

is that Jesus is there. And he's the reason we were created. He's the purpose we were created for. And that breath of life will be with us every single day. And he will be the sun. He will be the one that gives us our light because Jesus is there. And that's exactly what he tells him in this next verse. In verse 10, he says, and when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who

believe for our testimony to you as believed. Because while it's incredibly scary to think about what's coming for those who don't believe God, to those who don't obey the gospel, we have much hope. We have much hope for those of us that have because on that day, he will be revealed in his saints. We will be right there with him. And the entire world will say, that's the rest that they

were talking about. That's the rest that they were looking for. And we will say, home at last. Because Jesus has been revealed. Because reality is there. I'm always reminded of my favorite verse in the Bible. First John chapter three, verse two, beloved, now we are the children of God. And it's not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he truly is.

And he who has this hope in him purifies himself. And so now Paul goes on to pray for these believers. Notice what he says in verse 11. To this end, also, we pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling. And fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of Jesus will be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord

Jesus Christ. I love this because Paul says, and we pray for you always. You know, one of the greatest messages you can receive when you're going through a hard time, at least in my opinion, and it's the one I try to send to people when I know they're going through tough times, is to get a message that says, hey, I'm praying for you. I don't know why, there's just something about that. I think I've shared this with you before,

but when I was going through a real rough time in my early 20s, I was supporting a missionary through Gospel for Asia over in India. And I would get correspondence back and forth from him. I just got a postcard one day from this guy. And on the postcard, he wrote, I've been praying for you. You've been heavy on my heart, and I've been praying for you. That's all it said.

And I was like, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard. Is that on the other side of the globe, this missionary that I'm supporting, God has put it on his heart to pray for me. And one of the greatest things you can do when you know someone's going through a real hard time is pray for them, absolutely, but tell them you're praying for them. Because it speaks volumes to people.

Yesterday, we had a memorial service for a wonderful woman of God that I've known my entire life. And she had one. One ministry, one main ministry that she had. And that was sending out cards. That's what she did. And everybody talked about the fact that when she sent a card, it always showed up right on time. Her son talked about the fact that even during COVID, he always received a card on the day of

his birthday. He said, I think she knew the male mafia or something like that and knew how to get it there right on your birthday. And everybody that shared about the card that they received said the same thing. It showed up on the day when I needed it the most. And it was usually just a little card of encouragement. And I'll tell you right now, stuff like that speaks volumes to people. And Aaron and I were

talking about it yesterday afternoon. And I said, you know, I think sometimes, sometimes we think serving God is some grand gesture. We've got to do some giant thing. We have to do some big act of service when really, sometimes the grandest gesture you can make is the smallest thing to let somebody know that you care. To let somebody know that you know they

exist. You know they're going through a hard time. And you just want them to know that you're praying for them. That's what Paul does here. Paul says, I'm praying for you. We pray for you always to this end. And he prays three things for them. Excuse me, four things for them. Number one, he prays that God would count you worthy of your calling. That God would count you worthy of your calling. I appreciated the New Living translation

on this because I think it carries the idea of what he's putting out. He says, I'm praying for you that your lives will match up with the worthiness of your calling. That your lives will match up with the worthiness of your calling. What have we been called to? The kingdom of God. And so our lives should match up with the kingdom of God. In other words, I'm praying that you look like a kingdom citizen. I'm praying that every day

your life looks like you belong to the kingdom of God. That your life matches up with the fact that you are a child of God who is a member of the kingdom of God. And what a beautiful prayer to pray for somebody in one of the hardest times that they're going through when they don't feel like they're measuring up probably because as you go through times of testing and testing and testing and affliction, usually all we see is that I whine and complain a lot, right? Man, I don't know if I'm handling this very well because I just feel like I'm barely holding on every single day. And what

a wonderful thing to say, hey, I'm praying. I'm praying for you. You've been counted worthy of the kingdom and I'm praying that your life will continue to look like it's worthy of the kingdom of God. That you will just keep living like a child of God. That you will just keep living in that way. Paul says, I pray that your life would be worthy of your calling.

Two, is that God would fulfill your desire for good. And he would fulfill your desire for good. Again, I'm going to lean on the New Living Translation for this. It says this, that God would give you power to fulfill all the good things that your faith prompts you to do. That God would give you power to do all of the good things that your faith prompts you to do. Faith

was prompting them to serve more. Faith was prompting them to hold on. Faith was prompting them to show love in the midst of persecution. To show grace in the midst of affliction. And he says, I'm praying that God will continue to give the power to do the things that your faith is prompting you to do. I have a question for you. Sort of a sidebar question, but along these same lines. What's faith prompting you to do right now? What's God calling you to do?

Is God calling you to step out in faith and do something for him? Is God calling you to love somebody that's really hard to love? Is God calling you to love somebody that's really hard to love? To surrender your life to him? What's God calling you to do right now? I'm praying that God will give you the strength and the power to do what he's calling for you to do. Because I guarantee every

single one of us in this room, if you're a born again believer in Jesus Christ, every single one of us in this room is not called to only warm up a chair in this sanctuary. I love that you're warming up a chair in this sanctuary, but that's not the only reason you exist on this earth. You exist to do what God has called for you to do. Sometimes it'll be within the four walls of this church. Sometimes it'll be outside of the four

walls of this church. But I'm praying that whatever faith is prompting you to do, whatever God is calling you to do, that he will also give you the power to do it. To step out in faith and do what he's called for you to do. The third thing he prays for them is that the name of Jesus will be glorified. That the name of Jesus will be glorified. Let me just read the little part to you. It says that the

name of Jesus will be glorified in you. In you, in him. That's what our lives are meant to do. They're meant to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ. Our lives are intended to glorify the one who purchased us. To glorify the one who saved us. To bring glory to his name. And listen, we don't always get to choose how we bring glory to God, right? How are they glorifying the name of Jesus Christ right now? They are glorifying the

name of Jesus Christ by continuing to persevere with faith in the midst of this world. It's a persecution and affliction. I'd like an option B, please, right? Like that's usually what we think of that. How are you glorifying God? By living through a really hard time. Can I perhaps glorify God by becoming a millionaire, right? That felt better, right? That feels like the right thing.

Can I glorify God by winning? No, I want you to glorify God by losing. I don't want to glorify God by losing. But everything in your life is intended to bring glory to God. Your victories and your failures. When life is great, when life is hard. Because remember, who's Paul praying for right now? He's not praying for some mega church where everything is going perfect. He's praying for a church that's barely hanging

on because of affliction and persecution. He says, and my prayer for you is that you would glorify the name of Jesus. And the best way that they can do that is to continue to persevere with faith. So he prays for them that God would count them worthy, that he would fulfill their desire for good, that they would glorify the name of Jesus, and that they would understand that they would be glorified in the name of Jesus. And that they would understand that they would

be glorified in the name of Jesus. And that they would understand that they would be accomplished through the grace of God. Notice what he says, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's that word again. We spent a lot of time talking about that last week, didn't we? The thing that empowers us, the thing that strengthens us, the thing that

will accomplish in our lives our ability to live out our calling, the thing that will accomplish in our lives the power to do what faith is calling us to do, and the thing that will empower us in our lives, to glorify Jesus in every single circumstance, is the grace of God. Brothers and sisters, that's why we're told to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, because that is the only place that we have strength in this life. Amen? Let's all stand.

Don't forget to join us this evening as we take a little time to worship the Lord together as a community, and to hopefully glorify the Lord together. And I would like to pray for us as we go out from here, so if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you and thank you that you have blessed us with another morning. Lord, I thank you that you have blessed us with the opportunity to gather as your body in the house of God, where we can worship the Lord together, where we can study your word together, where we can hopefully be mutually encouraged. And Father, I pray that

as your word has gone out this morning, that your Holy Spirit would continue to do the work that needs to be done in our hearts and lives. Father, that you would be with us this morning, would use your word powerfully in us, and that if there's an area where you're trying to get a hold of us in our lives, that we would not ignore you, that we would not pretend it didn't happen, that we would not pretend we didn't hear it, but Lord, that your word would sink deep into our hearts and change the very fabric of who we are, that we can come out looking just like you. Father, we thank you, and we praise you, and we look forward to that hope of going home to be with you someday, in Jesus' name, amen, be blessed.

We would decide which side of the fence we're going to stand on. Lord, I pray that the decisions will be made to move forward in faith in whatever you're calling us to. Lord, I just thank you for your word. Let it permeate our lives and change our hearts. We love you, Father, and we praise you, and we thank you, in Jesus' name, all God's people said, amen. You guys have a wonderful week.

God bless you. God bless you.