The Plowman

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2 Thessalonians #03: an exposition of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, December 2, 2012.

Intro:
Is the return of Christ imminent?  I mean, could He come at any moment?  What about the things happening in Egypt right now?  Is this part of the end?  It certainly seems like things are about to explode over there.  Israel is uneasy.  Iran, Syria the Palestinians and you know Russia is involved in all of this.  The fiscal cliff.  The economic chaos that’s going global.  Prophesy websites are abuzz.  I checked the Rapture Index (remember I referred to it a few weeks ago) it is sitting at 185 just 1 point below it’s record high.  Is this it?  I have no idea.  It may be and then again it may not be.  What I do know is that we are not to live a roller coaster existence up and down emotionally and spiritually dependent upon the latest news or the Rapture Index!  We are to watch, certainly.  We are to anticipate, of course.  We are to long for His appearing and we are to live each day is if this is the day.  Just how are we to live and what is to be our attitude toward the return of Christ?  For so help we turn to Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian believers chapter 2.

Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

Paul is writing to this beloved congregation.  You remember he and Silas established the church but after just 3 weeks of ministry they were run out of town by a mob threatened by this new teaching.  They went to Berea and the same crowd followed and stirred up trouble there as well.  From there they went to Athens.  From Athens Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how the church was doing.

• His first letter was in response to that report.
• They were growing in grace and knowledge.
• Their faith had become an example throughout the region.
• Yet there were problems.
• There were questions about the return of Christ.
• What about those who die before He returns?
• Will they be at a disadvantage?

Now some weeks or a few months later Paul is writing them again.  There are still questions about the return of Christ.  Apparently there has been some false teaching that has created unrest and uncertainty.  There are those who fear that Christ has already returned and they missed it!  Paul writes to calm their fears.

This is one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to decipher.  There is simply a lack of information.  What is clear is that Paul has gone over this material in detail with the Thessalonian believers (2:5-6).  He doesn’t go through it again because they already know it.  But we don’t!  We are left to try and piece it together from one side of a phone conversation.  Therefore we must be both cautious and charitable.  Good and godly people, who equally love the Lord and the Scripture can disagree over interpretation.

Allow me to make a few general comments and then focus on what I want to share from this text.

• I am not a Dispensationalist.
• I do not hold to the theology of the Scofield Study Bible or the Left Behind series.
• I do believe in the rapture – it is there in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and again here 2 Thess. 2:1.
• I don’t believe in a “secret” rapture of the church and then the return of Christ 7 years later.
• Look at 2:1 – one event, Christ comes and our being gathered to Him.
• I believe there will be a person who will be the antichrist that’s here in 2:3-12.
• Yet John is clear, the spirit of antichrist was alive and well in the first century.

I offer that simply as disclosure so that you know where I’m coming from.  You may not agree with me and that’s fine.  I have many friends who are wrong about a lot of things!

As we come to look at the text before us, I’m convinced that more often than not we are so focused on the details we miss the greater truth.  In our determination to uncover the identity of the antichrist or the time of our Lord’s return we fail to recognize the point of the biblical writer.

What I think is clear from this text is that…

Thesis: Our thinking about the return of our Lord ought to be characterized by patience, reason, optimism and faith.

We ought to be thrilled at the prospect of His coming.

Signs that the time is drawing near ought to cause us to rejoice.

I want to point out three (3) things from our text.

1. Thoughts on eschatology (study/doctrine of last things) are too often accompanied by fear and anxiety.  (2:1-2)
2. The return of the Lord will be preceded by a time of great turmoil and uncertainty yet God will still be in complete control and Christ will bring a quick end to it all when He comes.  (2:3-8)
3. While His return signals the end for those who deny the truth and delight in unrighteousness, we are to live in the sure and certain hope of His establishing, sanctifying work in us.  (2:9-17)

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2 Thessalonians #02: an exposition of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 25, 2012.

Intro:
It is a frightening and disturbing word.  A word that strikes terror in the heart if it is believed.  “…do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  Perhaps what makes it most disturbing is who said it.  This is not the raving of a delusional zealot.  This is not some wild-eyed street preacher.  This is the testimony of the Son of God.  This just does not seem to line up with the popular impression of Jesus.  Jesus is meek and mild.  He is loving, gracious, merciful and kind.  This sounds like something spewed out by a red-faced evangelist along the sawdust trail not the loving Savior of the world.  But we mustn’t forget that while Jesus is loving, merciful and kind He is also just, righteous and holy.  Any honest reading the Scripture reveals the Bible clearly speaks of two ways to live and two ultimate destinations.  It was a common theme in Jesus’ teaching.  In Matthew 13 He speaks of the wheat and the tares.  They grow together in the same field.  One is gathered into the barn the other delivered to the fire.  Also in Matthew 13 there is a net cast into the sea.  It draws in both good and bad fish.  The good fish are kept and taken to market while the bad are cast out.  In Matthew 25 our Lord speaks of both wise and foolish virgins.  There are those who are wise and are prepared when the bridegroom comes and they are welcomed in.  The foolish are unprepared and they are cast out.  The same chapter speaks of the sheep and the goats that will be separated at the return of the King.  Friends the Word of God is clear there is a wide road that leads to everlasting destruction and there is a narrow path that leads to life.

Why did Jesus come?  “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Every Sunday School child knows that Jesus came to provide salvation.  But look carefully.  There is more to the story.  John 3:16 makes it very clear that there is the danger of not believing and therefore perishing.  In fact consider John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”  The one who does not believe stands condemned already.  The wrath of God abides on them.  That person will perish in their sin.  This world is not our final destination.  There is life beyond this world.  God is preparing a beautiful place, full of life, joy and peace for those who believe but there is another destination for those who do not.  A place of eternal punishment and banishment from the presence of God.  There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.

Two destinies.  Heaven and hell.  Both are eternal.  Your destiny is directly connected to Jesus.  Our text this morning is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12.

Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12

Today we gather around the Lord’s Table.  It is a time of remembrance.  A time to look back and consider what Christ has done for us.  The truth is you can never fully appreciate the good news until you understand the depth of our problem.  Until you know how bad off you are outside of Christ you will never understand the wonder of the Gospel.

As we work our way through this text I want to point out 3 sobering realities and 1 blessed thought.

1. There is coming a day of reckoning.  (1:6-7, 10)
2. Those who will be condemned may surprise you.  (1:6, 8)
3. The coming judgment is devastating and eternal.  (1:7-10)
4. There is one blessed thought in this passage.  (1:7, 10, 11-12)

Conclusion:

There are two destinations.

Heaven – life eternal and abundant; joy and peace.

Hell – everlasting death, destruction, banishment.

You are heading for one or the other.

Your destiny is tied directly to the Lord Jesus.

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2 Thessalonians #01: an exposition of 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 18, 2012.

Intro:
When you think of “godliness” what images come to your mind?  Do you think of certain styles of clothing?  Certain behaviors?  Certain speech patterns?  Do you think in negative terms?  “Godliness doesn’t do this or that?”  I’m certain most people think of it in these terms.  They think in terms of appearance, speech or behavior or by the avoidance of certain things.  That is valid.  Godliness or holiness certainly does manifest itself in these ways but not exclusively.  However to reduce holiness to appearance or behavior is to trivialize it.  It is to make it a surface level truth.  Biblically, holiness goes much deeper.  It goes to the core of who and what we are.  To be fair I must also state that holiness is not who and what we are exclusively.

There are those who think that your behavior has no bearing on holiness.  If your theology is sound and you think correctly it really doesn’t matter what you look like or what you do.  That is another way in which we trivialize holiness.  Biblical holiness has to do with who and what we are and how we look and act.  It is both internal and external.  Rather than one or the other it is “both and.”  At its core holiness is “apartness.”  It is about being distinctly different.  We are called out from the world.  We are to live in contrast to the world.  That does not mean we have no connection with this world.  It does not mean we must shun all that is found “in the world” but that we have a different perspective, are driven by a different agenda and hold to a different set of values.

When talking of holiness the starting point is not behavior.  I can’t put on the screen “The List” for you to follow.  Rather we need to understand holiness begins in the heart and mind and is the result of the work of the Spirit of God within us.  When we are quickened, made alive by the Spirit of God everything changes.  Our eyes are opened and we see differently.  Our mind is freed and we think differently.  Attitudes change.  Appetites change.  These inward changes then begin to affect our behavior.  The old passes away and everything becomes new.  We are a new creation, Paul says.  And we are created to walk in new ways.  This morning I want us to look at the opening verses of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian believers and see how godliness is expresses itself.

Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5

Paul and Silas spent 3 weeks ministering in the capital city of Macedonia.
After that 3 weeks a group of troublemakers ran them out of town.
They went down to Berea but the same rabble followed them.
Paul then made his way to Athens.
From Athens he sent Timothy to check on the young church in Thessalonica.
1 Thessalonians is his response to Timothy’s report.
Now a few weeks or months later he sends a second letter in response to another report.
It is clear from this letter that there were still questions about the Lord’s return.
It is also clear some false teachers are wrecking havoc in the church.
We also discover that the young church is the victim of intense persecution.

With that in mind let’s look at the opening verses…
Paul’s opening remarks demonstrate…

Thesis: Godliness expresses itself with joy, grace and perspective.

As we explore Paul’s comments we discover 3 ways in which godliness is expressed.

1. Godliness rejoices when others progress in the faith.  (1:3-4)
2. Godliness understands perseverance is the result of grace.  (1:4)
3. Godliness rightly interprets all of life from a Divine perspective.  (1:5)

Conclusion:

How is godliness expressed?

• We rejoice when others progress in the faith.
• We understand perseverance is the result of grace.
• We rightly interpret all of life from a Divine perspective.

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1 Thessalonians #08: an exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. This message by pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 11, 2012.

Intro:
I’m sure we all understand that the church is not a building.  The church is the body of Christ.  It is a group of people who have come to faith in Christ and have joined together in a covenant relationship in order to live out the faith together.  The church is not a social club or fraternal order.  It is a spiritual community born of the Gospel, held together by a common commitment to Gospel truth and determined to proclaim and obey the Gospel together.  “Well, thank you professor pastor…but what does that mean?”  Just what constitutes a church?  Is a church any gathering of believers?  What are the marks of a church?  More specifically what are the marks of a Gospel church?  For some help with this question we turn to the fifth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian believers.

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
The apostle is writing to this young struggling church in the capital city of Macedonian in order to encourage and strengthen them in the faith.  He is concerned for their welfare knowing they are under siege by the same crowd that ran him out of town and followed him to Berea in order to stir up strife there as well.  His prayer is that they would stand firm holding to the faith they had received.

In the early chapters he rejoiced in the good report that they were in fact standing firm. He was certain they belonged to Christ because of the work of the Spirit when he was with them. News of their faith had become known throughout the region. He urged them to live in a manner that would be pleasing to God. And to live is such a way as to be a testimony and encouragement to outsiders.

At the end of chapter 4 and the opening of chapter 5 he spoke of the return of Christ and our sure and certain hope as the people of God.  In chapter 4:13-18 He makes it clear that those who die in Christ are at no disadvantage.  They have been with Christ from the moment of death and will come with Him when He returns.  He speaks of that great day when the trumpet of God will sound and the graves will open and we who are alive will be “caught up” to be with Him in the air and thus we will always be with the Lord!  What a glorious day.  That is the hope of the church.  That is why we pray, “Even so come Lord Jesus.”

In chapter 5:1-11 he speaks to those who want an end-time chart.  Those who think, “If I just knew the schedule and the time I could be ready.”  He said, “You have no need for me or anyone else to write to you in this regard.  You yourselves know that it’s unknowable.”  You know that His coming will be like a thief in the night…like a woman in labor.  In other words His coming will be sudden and unavoidable.  Being prepared isn’t about knowing details it is about knowing Him.

Now in his closing remarks he sets forth what may appear to be a “laundry list” of ideas but I want to suggest that he actually is describing the work of the church.  This is what a Gospel community is about.  This is what a Gospel church looks like.

3 marks of a Gospel church.

1. A Gospel church holds to a biblical view of leadership.  (5:12-13)
2. A Gospel church engages in authentic fellowship.  (5:14-15)
3. A Gospel church practices biblical worship.  (5:16-22)

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1 Thessalonians #07: an exposition of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 4, 2012.

Intro:
There are two subjects that fascinate us: what happens after death and what happens at the end of the world?  The first explains our interest in psychics and mediums.  We want to contact those beyond the grave.  We want to know what’s out there?  Does life continue?  What will that life be like?  The second feeds the Dooms Day industry.  Books, tapes, seminars and movies dealing with the end of the world.  In the church we have our own subculture dealing in the same goods.  Not satisfied with the Bible’s message we want to hear the accounts of those who have tasted death and come back to tell their story.  What did you see?  What did you hear?  Feel?  Smell?  Is it real?  As for the end of the world do we need to look beyond the whole Left Behind phenomenon?  You can even get online and check the “Rapture Index.”  Their website explains:

The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting.

The Rapture Index is by no means meant to predict the rapture, however, the index is designed to measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture.  Think of it as a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity.

•  A score of 100 and below indicates slow prophetic activity.
• A score of 100-130 indicates moderate prophetic activity.
• A score of 130-160 indicates heavy prophetic activity.
• A score above 160 means you had better fasten your seat belt.

I checked.  As of October 29^th it was sitting at 185!  In fact it has been above 160 since 2009.

I picked up and thumbed through a book this week that I bought several years ago entitled, The Last Days are Here Again, by Richard Kyle.  As a historian, Kyle surveys the various views of end times through the history of the church but also various cultures.  It is an interesting read.  I’m convinced there are two extremes to be avoided when considering end times.  One is to be overwhelmed and obsessed by it.  The other is to be irritated and disinterested.  The return of our blessed Lord is the hope of the church.  It is what we are to long for.  It is to be our prayer.  It is imperative that we have a biblical perspective on it.  Our text this morning is found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 beginning with verse 1.

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Let’s not forget the context:

Paul is writing to the Thessalonian believers in response to Timothy’s report.

His intent is to encourage and strengthen them in the faith.

2 keys for the immediate contexts are – 4:1 and 4:12.

•  4:1 = live so as to be pleasing to God
• 4:12 = living properly before outsiders

4:13-5:11 is in response to some questions or concerns voiced by the Thessalonians.  Apparently they were worried about those who had died in the faith before Christ returned.  Perhaps they would miss out on something or be penalized in some way.  That’s what Paul deals with in 4:13-18.  The other question has to do with when will Christ return?  It seems that some in Thessalonica feel if they just knew when they could be prepared.  That’s what Paul address in our text.

In working through our text discovering how we are to live in light of His return, I want to give you two demands and then a principle.

• Demand #1 – Living in light of His return demands that you be prepared.  (5:1-3)
• Demand #2 – Living in light of His return demands that you be alert and sober-minded.  (5:4-8)

A principle to guide us – Being prepared is not about knowing the date or the details of His coming – it is knowing Him that matters!  (5:9-11)