2 Thessalonians #04: an exposition of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, December 9, 2012.
Intro: What if you knew Christ was coming back this week? How would that change your plans? What adjustments would you make in your schedule? Are there some things that you would try to get done in the next couple of days? Would it affect the way respond to adversity or annoyance? Any one who says, “I wouldn’t change a thing” probably lie about other things too! While we, as Christians, know that we are to live each day as if it were the day we also acknowledge that we do not live with a heightened sense of expectancy all the time. The history of the church is replete with examples of those who, convinced that the end was imminent, sold everything, went up on the hillside or mountain top and waited. Only to eventually return home disillusioned and broke! Others have radically altered their lifestyles abandoning the secular and passionately embracing the spiritual. After weeks or months without an appearance they too became disillusioned and eventually modified their views or abandoned the faith altogether. What does it mean to live as if this were the day? The story is told, whether it is apocryphal or not I do not know, that Martin Luther the great reformer was ask, “Brother Martin if you knew the Lord was returning tomorrow what would you do today?” He replied, “I’d plant a tree.” The point being our lives ought not to be radically different due to that information. We ought to live each day in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. This was Paul’s challenge to the Thessalonian believers in his first letter (4:1). In 2 Thessalonians Paul spends the second chapter discussing the return of Christ. At the end of chapter 2 he calls on them to stand firm in their faith. Chapter 3 continues that thought and gives us insight in how we are to live in light of Christ’s coming. Our text this morning is found in 2 Thessalonians 3. Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-17 This text serves to remind us that… Thesis: Our great concern, as the people of God, is that God be glorified in all things.Benjamin Keach in his catechism, among the first ever produced by Baptist (written in 1677), asks in the second question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” The primary duty of the child of God is to bring glory to God. This was Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian believers, that they would glorify Him in whatever they do (1 Corinthians 10:31). Whether the return of Christ is this afternoon, next week or 1000 years from now our agenda is the same. Live in such a way that God is pleased and glorified in all we do. How does that express itself in the church? I want to point out 2 things from our text.
- God’s glory is achieved through the unhindered spread of the Gospel and His faithfulness in establishing His church. (3:1-5)
- The glory of God is displayed in the church’s faithfulness in Gospel living. (3:6-15)