THANK YOU FOR THE PROMISE AND THE WARNING

2 Thessalonians 1:4-10

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

(2 Thessalonians 1:4–10, NLT) “We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you. And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.”

1.     In our sufferings God will be with us

(Isaiah 43:2, NLT) “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

2.     Satan as a lion seeks to devour; as a serpent he seeks to deceive

(1 Peter 5:7–8, NLT) “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

(2 Corinthians 11:3, NLT) “But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.”

3.     Praise and Worship will overcome

(2 Chronicles 20:26, NLT) “On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.”

“Prayer changes things” is a familiar saying that is certainly true. But it is also true that “praise changes things.” Why? Because true praise changes people, and God can work in and through people who praise Him. True praise involves faith, hope, and love, the strongest weapons in the Christian armory. –Warren Wiersbe, comment on 2 Chronicles 20, With the Bible Commentary

4.     Choices have consequences

(2 Thessalonians 1:7–8, NLT) “When the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.”

(Isaiah 66:15, NLT) “See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind. He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.”

·      Do not know God

·      Do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus

·      Punished with everlasting destruction

·      On the day He comes

·      God will punish; not man

(Genesis 50:19, NIV) “But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?”

·      God’s punishment is not vindictive but protective

(Psalm 105:14, CEV) “God did not let anyone mistreat our people. Instead he protected us by punishing rulers”

·      God’s punishment is not prejudiced

(Proverbs 21:12, NIV) “The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.”

(Acts 10:34–35, NIV) “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

·      God’s punishment is not a threat but a warning

(Romans 2:5–6, NIV) “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

(Matthew 25:46, NIV) “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

·      He is offering to rescue us

(Proverbs 3:11–12, NIV) “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

(Romans 3:25, NIV) “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—”

(Colossians 3:4, NLT) “And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

GROWTHWORK

(2 Thessalonians 1:11–12, NLT) “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

1.     Pray that we will live worthy of God’s call

2.     Pray that we will all the good things that our faith calls us to

3.     Pray that the name of Jesus will be honored by our lifestyles

4.     Know that it is possible because of grace