TRUSTING IN THE WORD
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,9-17
STAND FAST ON THE WORD OF GOD
V:1. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him."
A. The word
"beseech" is from the Greek word "erotao" which means to
request, to
desire, or to
ask.
1. The foundation
of the request is the second coming of our Lord and savior,
Jesus Christ.
B. The object of the
request is our eternal life with Christ.
1. When Christ returns
He will gather His elect to be with Him.
2. Our hope
should be focused on this.
3. All of our
earthly struggles will end with Christ.
4. We have gained
the victory in the midst of our struggles.
V:2. "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the
day of Christ is at hand."
A. Trouble is all
around us and will continue throughout our lifetime.
1. If we put our
trust in the Lord and His promise, we have no reason to be
troubled.
2. The second
coming of the Lord will be preceded by turmoil, destruction and
false prophets. Mark 13:7
a. We should
not be shaken by these occurrences because they have been foretold
by the
Lord.
B. The Word of the
Lord is complete with promises of blessings and curses.
1. God blesses
us according to our obedience.
2. God punishes
us because of our disobedience.
3. God
chastises those that He loves, so that we may learn, and not be troubled by
the same.
C. Today, many take
the Word of God and pervert it to fit their personal agenda.
1. We should
not be shaken or surprised, because Jesus already said that it would
be done.
2. We must maintain
focus and find joy in the second coming of the Lord.
V:3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition."
A. Prior to the
return of Jesus there will be those who will teach a word
that is
different from the Word of God.
1. We must be aware
when this happens so as to not be deceived.
2. An informed
person easily identifies an imposter of the truth.
B. We should expect
false teachers.
1. Jesus will
not come back until false teachers are in place and part of the
Church has
turned away from belief in the Gospel.
2. We should not
be surprised or deceived when this happens.
THE SIGNS OF THE FALSE PROPHET
V:4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God
A. There are some signs
of the false prophets.
1. They will
oppose the Word of God.
2. They will
exalt themselves above God.
B. The false prophet
will sit in the temple of God
V:9. "Even him, whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."
A. The false prophet
will come under the influence of Satan working counterfeit signs
wonders.
1. He will claim
to be Jesus and attempt to prove his claim with false miracles and
signs.
B. We must be sober
and alert at all times because the Word will be perverted.
1.
It only with Word of Truth will one be able to determine if the word spoken
is perverted.
V:10. "And with all deceit and unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might
be saved."
A. The world prefers
a lie rather than the truth of God.
1. When the false
prophet comes, the world will easily be persuaded to follow.
B. The false prophet
will claim unrighteousness as the way of God.
1. Since
unrighteousness is the nature of the wicked, the false prophet will have
a ready
audience.
2. The wicked
will choose unrighteousness over the truth.
3. Rejecting the
Word of Truth eliminates the possibility of being saved.
THE FATE OF DISBELIVERS
V:11. "And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie."
A. God will make it
easy for those who choose the lie to believe the lie.
1. The word
"delusion" is the from the Greek word "planes" which means
to stray
or wonder about.
2. God will give
the evil-minded cause to continue with the wrong conclusion or
opinion.
B. God will loosen
the minds of those who oppose the truth.
1. The evil
minded will not have the ability to determine the truth
V:12. "That they all might be damned who believed not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
A. Those who refuse
to believe the Word of God are damned to hell.
1. When the truth
is presented, we have a choice to believe or not to believe.
2. Those who
refuse to follow God, take pleasure in unrighteousness.
B. When we have been
exposed to God's Word, we cannot claim ignorance of the
Word.
1. God is
tolerant with us while He draws us close to Him.
2. However, there
are those who will hear the Word and refuse to believe.
a. They have
fallen for the deception and cannot be changed.
THE FATE OF BELIEVERS
V:13. "But we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth"
A. We must give
thanks for our belief.
1. God made it
possible before the foundation of the earth for all those who will
believe in
Him, to believe in Him.
B. God's love for us was
expressed before the foundation of the earth in His choice of
us
for salvation.
1. It is only by
His grace that we have the mind to believe in Jesus.
C. We must be
grateful that God chose us for salvation.
1. We must thank
God for others in the body of Christ.
2. We must pray for
others in the body of Christ.
3. We must
support and build up others in the body of Christ.
V:14. "Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
A. The Lord was good
to the believers before the foundation of the world.
1. He chose us to
receive the Gospel message.
2. He gave us the
Gospel message.
3. He molded our
minds to receive the Gospel message.
B. God made heaven
available to us through the death of His Son on the cross.
1. God made us
partakers of the glory of Jesus Christ.
2. God made Jesus
our Lord.
C. We were born in
the world, but God called us out of the world.
1. The method of
His calling is His Word.
2. God called us
out of the world to save us from the penalty of sin.
3. While we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
STAY FOCUSED ON THE GOSPEL
V:15. "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the
traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
A. We must study the
Word to know the Word.
1. We must
determine our minds to believe the Word.
2. We must
determine our minds to follow the Word.
B. No matter what is
happening in the world, we have to trust the Word as our only
guide.
1. We have a
history with God.
2. We have
personal testimony of the truth of the word.
C. False doctrines
will be taught, but we will stand fast in our belief.
1. Those who do
not stand firmly in the truth will wander after false doctrines.
V:16. "Now our Lord, Jesus Christ Himself, and God,
even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace."
A. Belief in the Word
of God has everlasting benefits.
1. We have Jesus
as our Lord.
2. We have Jesus
as our Christ, the Messiah.
B. We have God as our
Father.
1. We have the
love of the Father.
2. We have the
grace of the Father.
3. We have the
hope of eternal life.
4. We have the
promises of God as our hope for living this life.
C. We have the
comfort that He has control over the events of our lives.
1. We have the
comfort that He will take care of us.
V:17. "Comfort your hearts, and establish yourself in
every good word and work."
A. Only the Word of
God can give us comfort.
1. We can only
trust the Word to know the truth,
2. God has
provided us with the Holy Spirit to be our comforter.
3. The indwelling
Holy Spirit will teach and remind us of the Word of truth.
B. Our faith in God should
produce a desire in our hearts to serve God.
1. Christians should
actively study God's Word.
2. Christians should
be the first with a Word from God to others.
3. Christ should
actively apply God's Word in service.
C .The word
"lazy" should never be used to refer to a Christian.
1. We should be
hearers and doers of God's Word.
2. There is
comfort and joy in serving God.
3. When we serve
God, He will manifest His power through us, increasing
our faith.
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