lesson 2 from 2 Thess 1

You should go back a couple of blog entries and read it first to keep the context together from 2nd. Thessalonians ch.1 Read the chapter again
As we looked into the first four verses we see the apostle Paul
encouraging and exhorting the church that he had founded for their faith…”Your faith growth exceedingly.” Faith that grows…fruit grows doesn’t it? And when you go to the super market to buy fruit you will find it in various stages of growth, some of it is ripe, some not so ripe and some of it is over ripe. And Paul tells the Galatians that faith is also a fruit of the Spirit, besides being a gift of the Spirit, perhaps we will do a study on the fruit of the Spirit after this one (if God permits .)
Verse #5 here in ch.1 says “which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God …..what is this manifest evidence that he refers to? It is their patience and faith as they endure
both persecution and tribulation. God does not send persecution or tribulation to His children, we see in 1 Thessalonians ch. 5 verse 9, for God did not appoint
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes He may allow some test or a trial just to give us opportunity to have our faith proven, but remember what the writer to these people said when he was so concerned about their faith coming under attack and the fact that he could not make it….he said in 1st. Thessalonians 2:17, 18…”But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you --- even I, Paul, time and again---but Satan hindered us.”Satan hindered us, Paul says. And then in that same verse that I just read, the next verse…For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord at His coming? His hope, his crown of rejoicing, his glorying in the Lord was because of the souls he had led to the Lord, even those he had influenced , had helped to come to Christ because his testimony among them was believed. Remember what he said back in the first epistle, chapter 2, verse 13…”For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also works effectively in those who believe… this is the key to success in our witness that what we say is convincing to men and women as it should be, the Word of God! Our words unless they line up with God’s Word, are just empty babblings. How important it is to bring a soul to the Lord.
Back in verse 4 of our study chapter 2 of Thessalonians 2, the apostle refers to their patience and faith in all their persecutions and tribulations that they were enduring, and further in verse 5, he says that all of this is evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, WHOA! Did you hear what I just read? It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. This walk with God is not to be taken lightly either by us or by those who oppose us. Not only are we to walk worthy of our calling but God has taken responsibility over us also. I do not take lightly the harassing of my children and how much more must God feel about His children and their good keeping, divine protection is theirs as long as we walk worthily…
Worthy before God …of our calling. In the 7th. Verse here in chapter 1, God is going to set the record straight….thousands of Christians are suffering much persecution somewhere in other lands tonight. The record probably reads much like the 11th. Chapter of Hebrews, “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection, still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.” Heb. 11:34,35. Read also verses 37-40.
Back in our study chapter He is going to take vengeance on those who do not know God!....on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (read verses 7-9)
It behooves us to watch for our own souls and those of our families. I think we need to focus ijn prayer on our families, whether they are serving the Lord or not, We need to see revival and get ready for a move of God. When you look at the next few verss it should cause us to stop thinking about ourselves and our inability to speak to others about their spiritual condition…look at verses 10-12.
Again verse 10 says, “When He comes (praise God, He is coming )when He comes in that Day, to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. When He comes back to this earth my friends, He will not come as an infant….He is coming in power as the old songwriter penned it, “we’ll hail that blessed hour”, He is coming with great glory, It is going to be a glorious appearing. This will be the Second Coming of our Lord back to earth …the rapture has already taken place; and He is coming with His saints, those who have been raptured before the tribulation takes place and when He comes in this appearing , He will set up His 1000 year reign known as the Millennial reign of Christ
And during that reign, there will be peace…real peace for 1000 years. We will suffer persecution…2nd. Tim.3:12 says, “Yea, and all who live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution but that is not tribulation ….1st. . Thess.5:9 which says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ our lord.
This chapter, to summarize it if you will tells me that Jesus is coming back to this earth to rule and to reign and that you must believe in the Gospel in order to be a part of that company of saints who are going to be with Him when He comes. It tells me that you have to believe the old-time Gospel You cannot make it in unless you believe. It tells me that there is everlasting fire , everlasting destruction for those who have not believed. Verses 11 & 12”
tells it all: “Therefore we pray always for you that our God would count you weary of His calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work with powerthat the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified
Aren’t you glad for the gospel tonight? Vs. 12, says, “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That is my desire tonight to have His name glorified in me. Can you say amen? Some people blaspheme that holy name…let us be known as a people who glorify His name. Do you have a testimony tonight that will glorify His name?

Victory ahead

Victory ahead!

When the host of Israel, led by God
Round the walls of Jericho they did trod
Trusting in the Lord they did not fear or dread
By faith they saw the victory ahead!

The words to that old God inspired and breathed hymn came to mind this morning as I was praying. It was just a few minutes ago WHILE I WAS WALKING AROUND MY DOWNSTAIRS ROOM. I was petitioning God for the city as others are doing this morning also in a concentrated prayer session. I recalled in my mind the days that are now gone and how things have changed and how the Bible says that in the last days just before Jesus returns there will be a great falling away. Well guess what…it has already come, we are in that time. Churches closing their doors permanently, because there are not enough people to support their existence. It doesn’t look great. So why are we, a people who know that there is this great slipping back into a lethargic state praying for revival, renewal, restoration? The answer is found in the words of that old hymn…”by faith they saw the victory ahead.” Remember the chorus? “Victory ahead, victory ahead, through the blood of Jesus, victory ahead Trusting in the Lord, they knew what God had said
By faith they saw the victory ahead!”
Solomon, after the dedication of the temple had a visit from God Himself one night; God actually appeared to him and you can read it in 2ND. Chronicles 7:12-14 it says, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, (and here is the clincher)…if My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.” God hasn’t changed, we do not have to accept the status quo. Let us humble ourselves and pray. Let us seek the face of Almighty God.

prayer and interceeding before God

Pastor has called for seven days of prayer; prayer for the city and the surrounding communities, the bedroom communities.
He has a strategy. My group is praying specifically for the north end of the city.
A quote from a book written by an author of many years ago reads
like this, “For all ages, the law is laid down at the birth of the Church, THAT THE POWER OF THE Spirit must be prayed down from heaven. The amount of believing , continued prayer will determine the amount of the working of the Spirit in the Church. Direct, definite, determined, prayer is what we need.
In the 4th. Chapter of Acts you can see the confirmation of this kind of prayer that brings these kind of results. Peter and John were arrested and then brought before the council…the Jewish
High priest and his henchman. It’s a story that is a real suspense thriller ….read the 4th. Chapter and you will see for yourself. It’s too long to recount here but it is a fascinating story of real adventure and intrigue. The result was that after they were
threatened , they returned to their brothers , the disciples, and reported what had been done to them, “they lifted up their voices to God with one accord” and when they had prayed, the place was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spoke the Word of God with boldness”…..”and great grace was upon them..” I urge you to read this story. I experienced this outpouring of the infilling many years ago myself. While praying in an upper room in an old hall that substituted for a church house on a Saturday night in February of 1957, I too received this infilling. As we pray this week, let it be direct, definite and determined prayer that we pray as if we were in an upper room praying down the Holy Ghost from heaven and may we be bold in our God.