We're going to begin our worship this morning by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 33 in the Scottish Psalter, page 245 of the psalm book.
Psalm 33, we're going to sing from verse 8 down to verse 14.
Here in this psalm, verse 8,
Let earth and all that live therein with reverence fear the Lord.
Let all the world's inhabitants thread him with one accord.
For he did speak the word and done, it was without delay.
Established it firmly stood whatever he did say.
We're reminded in this psalm of how this is the Lord who has created and made the heavens and the earth by his word and established it all.
And as we're going to look at this morning in this service, a day will come when the Lord will come back to earth,
back to reclaim and remake all that is his.
So we're going to sing from verse 8 to 14 to God's praise.
Let earth and all that live therein with reverence fear the Lord.
Let all the world's inhabitants thread him with one accord.
For he did speak the word and done, it was without delay.
He established it firmly stood whatever he did say.
God doth the council bring to naught, which he then folk do take.
And what the people do devise, of none effect doth make.
O but the council of the Lord doth stand forever sure.
God of his heart the purposes from age to age endure.
That nation blessed is whose God Jehovah is.
God of His standard is not able to tell.
God of his own faith inening the world has been resurrected.
For God's idolize now, He読 Kyle.
God of His Son.
God of His Son is contrary to his life.
Lord midwろう to kneel, too.
Father King of angels host Israel is with one accord.
That nation with друз and against Him.
Sh rivals or drum a man Heamethrouff on faith in every step.
God of heaven's doubt the radiation of God.
Christ in whether he consequently.
and behold all sons of men full well.
He views all from his dwelling place
that in the earth do dwell.
Well, we've come to God in prayer.
Now let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.
Our Father in heaven, as we gather this day,
we thank you for it.
We thank you that this Lord's Day, your Sunday,
is a day of coming for this purpose of worship,
of gathering together and of spending time around your word
and refreshing ourselves in it,
not just a rest for our bodies,
but a rest for ourselves from the busyness of the week
and especially to be reminded of the rest
that we have in Jesus Christ.
And we pray today, Lord,
that if we come feeling tired and weary,
if we come maybe anxious about the week ahead,
worried about what maybe lies ahead in a busy week,
especially when we think of young ones just now
who have preliminaries in these coming weeks
and children may be busy in school in different ways,
we thank you, Lord, that you hear our prayers
and that you are there for us.
We thank you that you remind us
that we have a great gift in prayer,
that all the things that worry us we can bring to you.
For you care for us, you love us,
as your people, as your children.
And we pray, Lord, that you will hear all our prayers today,
from the youngest to the oldest,
that as we look to you,
we seek your blessing on your word to us
and upon all that we do.
May we continue to learn from you,
to learn about your goodness
and your love towards us,
and also about the many warnings
that your word gives to us as well,
even as we consider them today,
Lord, that we would hear your voice
and listen to you.
So, Lord, bless us all,
bless us as families and our homes
and our communities and our schools,
Sunday school and creche and twinnies today as well,
Lord, we ask that you will bless each and every one
who attends here today.
Watch over us and take care of us today
and in all the days ahead.
So we ask all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, who here enjoys watching the weather forecast
Does anybody like watching the weather forecast?
You make a point every day of sitting down
and seeing what the forecast is for the next few days.
Every evening, now you've got apps on your phones
or on your iPad or these kinds of things
and people are always looking at them.
There's apps and you're maybe looking two weeks ahead
and you're saying,
look, it's going to be a severe gale in two weeks,
there's going to be a hundred mile an hour winds.
But by the time the two weeks passes,
it's a clear sunny day,
they got the forecast wrong.
Because so often when they're trying to do a forecast
way in advance and along a week or two weeks ahead,
they don't always know exactly what's going to happen.
But yesterday we were told
that we were going to be under a weather warning
from midnight last night until midnight tomorrow night.
A warning about snow and ice.
And if you'd been checking the forecast,
you were maybe thinking this morning,
you would get up and you'd look out the window
or open the door and you'd see the place
would be white with snow.
And was it?
No.
Does that mean the forecast was wrong?
Well, maybe not.
Not yet because we're still under the warning, aren't we?
So maybe tonight or maybe tomorrow morning
when you get up, the place might be white with snow.
We wait and see, don't we?
And sometimes when we hear these kind of weather warnings,
we maybe start thinking,
great, there might not be any school tomorrow.
If there's loads of snow, we can't get out,
we'll get a day at home.
But for other people, they might be scared.
They think, oh no, what if I can't get out of the house?
Well, I've got to go somewhere.
I've got to travel somewhere.
I might not be able to go.
Some people get excited about the warning.
Some people are worried about the warning.
Well, today in our service,
we're going to be thinking about a warning
that the Lord gives in his word.
And a warning that we're all under today and every day.
And it's a warning that the Lord is going to come.
He's going to come.
Again, Jesus came into the world.
That's what we read in the Bible.
We see that Jesus came into the world.
He came into this world and lived in this world among the people.
He gave his life in this world.
We look at the cross so often and we see there Jesus giving his life.
And then he rose from the grave.
But what did he say before he left this world?
He said, I am going to come again.
And that's the warning that he's given us.
I'm going to come again.
We don't know when, but the Bible tells us it's going to happen.
But like the weather forecast, when we're looking,
maybe we're thinking far in advance,
we're just not sure what's going to happen.
Maybe the Bible got it wrong.
Maybe Jesus isn't coming after all.
It's been so long.
Surely he was going to come.
He'd have come by now.
But the warning is still there for us.
He's telling us he's going to come.
That's his promise.
For some people, we'll be excited about that.
We look forward to the day of his coming.
For other people, you may be worried about that day.
You may be afraid of that day.
But what the Bible is telling us is to be ready for that day.
If we know a weather warning's in place for snow or gales,
we maybe make preparations by getting extra food in
or these kinds of things.
Well, the Bible warns us to be ready for his coming again.
And the way to be ready is to hear what he's saying,
that we are to trust in Jesus.
To take refuge in him.
And that way, we'll be safe and secure on the day when he comes.
We'll be looking forward to that day.
We'll be excited for that day.
Because then we will see Jesus if we're believing in him.
And we'll be with him forever.
So we're under a weather warning just now.
But we're under a greater warning too.
A warning from the Bible that Jesus is coming.
So let us be ready for when he comes.
We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.
Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise this time in Psalm 18.
In the Sing Psalms version.
Psalm 18 on page 19 of the psalm books.
We're going to sing from verse 1 down to verse 10.
Psalm 18, verse 1.
I love you, Lord.
You are my strength.
A fortress is the Lord to me.
My rock and my deliverer.
For refuge to my God I flee.
Words remind us that we can find refuge in God.
Not just for the day of his return,
but for every day that we can take refuge in him.
Psalm 18, verse 1 to 10.
I love you, Lord.
You are my strength.
A fortress is the Lord to me.
My rock and my deliverer.
For refuge to my God I flee.
He is my stronghold and my shield.
The Lord who saves me by his might.
I'll call on him and give him praise.
I'm safe.
He puts my foes to flight.
The cords of death entangled me.
Destruction hit me like a wave.
Encircled by the snares of death.
I face the terrors of the grave.
In my distress I called on God.
I cried out to the Lord for aid.
He from his temple heard my voice.
He listened to the prayer I made.
The earth before God's anger quaked.
The mountains deep foundations shook.
Consuming fire blazed from his mouth.
And from his nostrils came forth smoke.
The heavens parted, he came down.
Beneath his feet the dark clouds lay.
Upon the cherubim he flew.
On wings of wind he made his way.
God's water llames.
We can turn to read God's word together.
Now we're going to read two passages.
First of all in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew chapter 24.
We'll read from the beginning down to verse 14.
And then we'll turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1 to 5.
So first reading in Matthew chapter 24.
reading from the beginning of that chapter.
Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the
buildings of the temple. But he answered them, you see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you,
there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying,
tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the
age? And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name saying,
I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of war.
See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death. And you will be hated by all nations for my name's
sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets
will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many
will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom
will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will
come. We'll turn to our second reading in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We're going to read
just verse 1 to verse 5 of chapter 2. But you notice in chapter 1, there it speaks about the judgment at
Christ's coming. That section of the end of chapter 1 from verse 5 to the end speaks about the day of the
Lord's judgment. Some will be the promise of heaven fulfilled to others. Their destiny is eternal
destruction and flaming fire, as it calls it there in verse 8, what we call hell. We see the picture of
heaven and hell presented to us there. Our focus this morning is particularly on verse 1 to 3 of
the second chapter. So we'll read verse 1 to 5. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed
either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of
the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion
comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself
against every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming
himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And so it goes on.
Amen. And may God bless these readings from his word to us. We're going to join again together in a word of prayer.
Let us pray. O Lord, our God, as we approach your word, there are many subjects that we feel that we are out of our
depth with, many things that we maybe do not understand fully, and yet we still thank you that your word
contains every matter that we need pertaining to life and death and eternity. And we know that apart from
your spirit, Lord, we do not understand any of it, for it is your spirit that enlightens our minds and our hearts
to hear and to understand what you are saying to us. And so we pray, Lord, for your help today as we
think upon a subject that maybe we have maybe not every answer to, but help us to see every promise
that is in your word that reminds us of the truth of it. We pray, Lord, that you will help us in the
reminder that we have that the day is coming, that when you will come again, a day that we do not know.
It could be any time, Lord, but we know, Lord, that our greatest need in it is to be ready for it.
And we thank you that that is what your gospel gives answer to, that you have made it clear to all
people, low and high, as the psalmist calls it, we can all find refuge with you. And we thank you that
your gospel speaks and ministers to us in that way. We thank you that in all the answers we do not have,
we have your grace that is sufficient. We have your strength that is made perfect in our weakness.
And so we pray, Lord, that you will give us what we need to understand, the revealed things that we
have in your word, for we know that there are hidden things that belong to the Lord. And so help us to
just humble ourselves before you under the mighty hand of God. And we pray, Lord, that you will help
us to hear you today, help us to know you, help us to be built up in our faith or to be brought to faith
in you. Whatever we need, Lord, you know it already, and you are able to provide. And so we pray, Lord,
that you will bless your word and all that we do in your name today, throughout this day, from the
morning to the evening that as we look to you, as we call upon your name in our own private devotions,
in our prayers, in our public worship, in resting in you, Lord, we pray that it will be a day of
blessing and refreshment for us. For we are many so busy during the week and all the rest of the week,
Lord, and even our Lord's day can be busy in so many ways with family and so many things to do.
And Lord, we live in a world that is going so quickly, where everything seems to be 100 miles
an hour. We thank you that your word reminds us that there is time to be still and to know that
you are God. And we pray, Lord, that we will have these times. We'll have them not just in moments of
the day, but every day, that we would have that time, precious time, just to be still before you
and to know that you are God, to spend that time in peace with you, praying, hearing your word,
and receiving it, being built up by it, not just rushing into the day, but spending that time with
you, that that would build us up in our faith, that would help us as we go on in the week,
in all the days of the week, in the busyness of work or home or school or whatever we are doing,
that we would feel, Lord, encouraged and emboldened by you. For when we hear subjects such as the
return of the Lord, we recognize then the importance of proclaiming your name to a world
that is perishing, to a people that are perishing, to a people who are not ready for that day.
And so we pray, Lord, that you will encourage us as a people here, always to have that in mind,
to have that need in mind, that people need to hear the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus,
who is able to save. We pray that in all that we would do, we would be blessed by you,
whatever it is, whether it's collectively as a congregation or individually as a people,
that we would know your spirit with us, helping us, giving us words to speak,
bringing people into our paths on a daily basis that we can minister to, whether it's people we've
known for a long time or people we just meet for the first time. We pray, Lord, for boldness and
courage to speak of the gospel, that glorious gospel. We thank you, Lord, for your goodness to
us in that way. And we pray, Lord, that throughout the world today, as your word is preached and
proclaimed to all ends of the earth, that you will be building up your church, that your kingdom
will come in power. And the more we see in our world, Lord, the more we see that great need of
you when there are so many tensions around our world and from north, east, west, south, Lord,
from every direction we see troubles and wars and famines and earthquakes, even as your word speaks
of and as we have read. And yet you tell us not to be afraid, for these things must happen.
And we pray, Lord, that in our fears that you will be near, in our anxieties that you will give us your
peace, that you will remind us, Lord, that you have all things in your hands. And so help us to calm
ourselves before you and to know you as our Lord and as our God. We pray that for many people all over
the world today, your people who live in these situations on a daily basis just now, we pray,
Lord, your blessing, your help towards each one. We pray for our own congregation and community here,
Lord. We pray your blessing on us for those who are unwell from young to old, Lord. We pray your help,
your strength, your blessing over us, those who are in hospital or in their own homes, Lord. We pray
that you will be near to them, that you will bless them and keep them. Those who are mourning, Lord,
we pray your comfort towards them. And as we had funerals in this last week, Lord, we pray for comfort
and blessing towards all the families, the families of Bell Mackenzie and Ann Stevenson. We pray, Lord,
that you'll be near to each one. Uphold them and be their refuge, be their strength. We thank you
that even in the midst of sorrow, there was joy in the Lord and strength in the Lord for the assurance
of hope for your people. And we pray, Lord, that you will continue to bless us and watch over us,
be with us together as a people. Pardon all our sins as we come before you, confessing anew.
Thankful, though, that you hear our prayers, that you are able to answer. And we pray, Lord,
that you will continue with us now as we turn to praise your name and to hear your word. Guide us in
our thoughts and in our words and in all that we do. Protect us, Lord, we pray. We ask it all in
Jesus' precious name and for his glory. Amen. Before we turn back to our passage, we're going to sing in
Psalm 27. And we'll sing in Psalm's version, page 31. Psalm 27. We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 4.
Page 31. The Lord's my Savior and my light, who will make me dismayed. The Lord's the stronghold of my
life. Why should I be afraid? We'll sing from verse 1 to the end of double verse 4 to God's praise.
Amen.
The Lord's my Savior and my light, who will make me dismayed. The Lord's the stronghold of my life. Why should I be
afraid? When evildoers threaten me to take my life away? My adversaries and my foes will
stumble in the day. Although an army hems me in, my heart will feel no dread. Though war against me should
should arise, I will lift up my head. One thing I'll plead before the Lord, and this I'll seek always.
that I may come.
that I may come with this.
God's willing cause
hvad
that I may come with this.
Maybe that I may come with this.
But now again.
tehdas
and it欠?
holy
And I
may
happy
god
and this
Vil
i
and dwell there all my days,
that on the beauty of the Lord
I constantly rejoice,
and in his earth may seek
to know direction in his ways.
We turn back to our reading in 2 Thessalonians.
We're looking at chapter 2, verse 1 to verse 3.
You can read these words.
Now concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered together to him,
we ask you, brothers,
not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed
either by a spirit or a spoken word
or a letter seeming to be from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
Let no one deceive you in any way.
And so on.
These words that we sang in Psalm 27, verse 4,
they speak of the desire of the psalmist.
One thing I'll plead before the Lord,
and this I'll seek always.
It's a desire that the psalmist has for what?
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
And as we turn to God's words today,
and as we think of this subject of the coming of the Lord,
is that your desire?
Do you have that desire of the psalmist?
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
The day of the Lord's return is a day
where everyone will appear before God.
Everyone will appear before the Lord
to give answer according to the deeds of this world.
But will we as a people be a people
who have that great desire,
that longing to gaze on the beauty of the Lord?
So we're going to look at this subject
of the coming of the Lord this morning.
And it's a subject that perhaps we have more questions
than answers for.
We don't have all the answers,
but we often have questions about it.
I'm sure we've often wondered, many of us,
what will that day be like?
What will it look like,
the day of the coming of the Lord?
But the sad fact is that there's so many people
who give no thought to that day,
or very little thought to that day
and just push it away
as something for another time
and another place
or just something that's not even worth considering.
But what does the Scripture say to us
about this day?
Well, the first thing and the key thing is this,
He is coming.
That is a key truth
that the Scripture gives to us.
That's a key warning
that the Scripture gives to us.
That the day is coming
when He will come again.
And if we believe that,
we often ask,
what will it be like?
When you look at the last words
of the Bible
in the book of Revelation,
chapter 22,
the second last verse
in the Bible says this,
the words of the Lord,
Surely I am coming soon.
There's a warning there for us.
Surely I am coming soon.
The Lord Jesus,
as He was taken up into heaven,
as He ascended into heaven,
you read it in the book of Acts,
chapter 1,
and it speaks there
about His coming again.
So there are plenty reminders to us
that the Lord is going to come.
And what's it going to be like?
Well, again,
the Bible describes it
in different ways.
As you read in Matthew,
chapter 24,
we read part of that chapter,
but if you read the whole
of the chapter,
it gives a lot more information
as well.
And it reminds us
that it is going to be something
that the whole world
is going to see.
Everyone is going to be aware of it.
Now,
we read in Psalm 19,
for example,
where it says,
the heavens declare
the glory of God.
So we think of
what we see in the heavens,
the skies around us,
and how often
we look up to the skies,
and what do we see?
We see the wonders of God
in so many ways.
The heavens declaring
the glory of God.
We've seen it,
or we've seen it
even in these last week,
when we think of the cold,
frosty mornings,
or evenings,
when you see the sunrise
or the sunset,
when you see the clear sky
on a frosty night,
and you see the stars
and the moon,
all of these things
standing out.
You marvel at it.
The heavens declare
the glory of God.
Sometimes you see
a shooting star.
Sometimes you see
a meteor or a comet.
Sometimes you see
an eclipse.
You see all these marvels
in the sky,
but you think,
well, not everybody
has seen it.
Maybe only a few
have noticed it.
A sunrise,
maybe many people see,
but not all
at the same time.
A shooting star,
maybe only a few
will see.
And all of these things,
but you wonder
at the coming of the Lord
and the way it speaks
about it,
everyone is going
to see it.
The whole world
is going to see it.
And you wonder,
how is that possible?
Well,
the Lord
is coming,
is what
the Bible
tells us.
And as Paul
is writing
this second letter
to the Thessalonians,
he's writing to them
about this subject,
and he's writing to them
in light of what
has come previously
here as well.
In chapter 1,
as I mentioned,
in verse 5,
to the end
of the chapter,
you see the reality
of heaven and hell.
There,
if you read
verse 7 and 8,
it says in verse 7,
to grant relief
to you who are afflicted
as well as to us
when the Lord Jesus
is revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels
in flaming fire,
inflicting vengeance
on those who do not know God
and on those
who do not obey
the gospel
of our Lord Jesus.
It says,
again,
the revelation
of Jesus from heaven
with his mighty angels,
how he's going
to descend
to his people.
It's a wonder.
It's going to be
something spectacular,
and spectacular
as a sunrise
or a sunset
or a comet
or a shooting star.
All of these things,
they're spectacular
in their own right,
but the coming
of the Lord
is going to be
something far more
spectacular,
something we won't
be able
to avoid,
and something
that we need
to be ready for.
What do we believe
of what the Bible
tells us
of his coming?
Do we believe
the very fact
that he is coming?
Are you resting
in his word?
Do you see it
as truth,
and do you have faith
in the Lord?
Are you looking forward
to that day
of the Lord's return?
That day
when we will gaze
in the beauty
of the Lord?
The book of Revelation
again says,
surely I am coming soon.
The writer of Revelation
says,
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.
There's a sense
of excitement.
There's a sense
of anticipation.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Are you ready
for that yourself?
Well, that's what
Paul is addressing
here as he writes
to the Thessalonians,
and we're going
to consider it
under three headings
this morning.
Three things
I want us to see
as Paul writes
these words,
in particular
in verse 1 to 3
of chapter 2.
First of all,
do not doubt
his coming.
Secondly,
do not be anxious
about his coming.
And then thirdly,
do be ready
for his coming.
Do not doubt
his coming.
Do not be anxious
about his coming.
But do be ready
for his coming.
The first thing is,
do not doubt
his coming.
As you read
chapter 2
of 2 Thessalonians,
you can read
through it,
we come to some
of Paul's
deepest teachings
here
in terms of
trying to find
a way of understanding
just what he's speaking
about.
And when he's speaking
here about the coming
of the Lord
and what that entails,
there's many things
here that you maybe
immediately
focus in on.
And you ask
questions about.
It's only natural
for us.
For example,
at the end
of chapter 3,
there's this subject,
this issue of the man
of lawlessness
being revealed.
And the question is,
well,
who is this?
Well,
that's for another day.
But we can often
focus in on a chapter
or a verse in Scripture
and we can get
sidetracked
from the main issue.
We can get distracted
from the main issue.
And the subject
that he's speaking
about here,
the coming of the Lord,
it's one of these
subjects that is easy
to get sidetracked
in and just to debate
about and things
that we're not
really understanding.
We're putting forward
our own maybe theories,
we're speculating
as to things,
what might be.
And ultimately,
we lose sight
of the importance
of the matter.
You think about
the day of the coming
of the Lord
and how it's been spoken
about down
through the years.
In almost every generation,
it's been speculated
about that someone
has this vision
or this revelation
that the day
of the Lord's return
is going to be
such and such a date.
It's gone on
for years
and generations.
You even see it
in the Scripture itself.
Here,
they're speculating
that it's already been.
And it's something
that goes on
all the time.
You know,
convinced they know
whether this is bound
to be now
when the Lord returns.
And as you read
Matthew chapter 24,
you maybe read things there
and you're drawn
into this idea,
well,
surely this now
is when the Lord
will return.
It speaks about
times of war
and rumors of war
and all of these things
that are going
to take place,
earthquakes,
famines,
and we see it
all the time
when we start
to speculate,
well,
surely now
the Lord
is going to return
and we can start
speculating
about these things.
But is that
the most important thing
to talk about
in the midst of it?
To start speculating
about,
well,
will he come just now?
Will it be imminent?
Is it maybe something
that's just way off
in the future?
When the reality is
we don't know.
We don't know.
But what it's all doing
is reminding us
that we should be
drawing near to God.
We should be coming
to God
in a closer way.
We should be seeing
the challenges
and difficulties
all around us
which are many
and escalating
as it seems
all the time
just now.
When you think
of the Middle East
and the Ukraine
and the Far East
and our own nation,
the West as we call it,
there's chaos
of all different kinds.
All the rumors
and things
that the Bible
is speaking about
in Matthew 24,
we're almost seeing them
just now
on a daily basis.
Are we just
pushing that away
or is it bringing us
closer to the Lord?
As Paul is writing
to the Thessalonians,
they themselves
were living
in difficult days.
They were afflicted.
They were persecuted.
From outside,
there was all these people
who were persecuting them
and having a go at them
and bringing false truths
to them.
And within themselves
there were all these doubts
and anxieties
that they naturally had.
And yet,
when Paul writes to them,
he says in verse 3
of chapter 1,
we ought always
to give thanks to God
for you, brothers,
as is right,
because your faith
is growing abundantly
and the love
of every one of you
for one another
is increasing.
This is what he was seeing.
Even in the midst
of all these uncertainties
about the coming
of the Lord,
their faith
was growing abundantly
and the love
of every one of them
for one another
was increasing.
Is that what the Lord
sees with us today?
A faith growing abundantly
and a love
for one another
increasing.
The day of the Lord's coming
is without doubt,
but how are we approaching it?
How are we living in a day
when we don't have the answers,
but we know it is true
that he is coming?
What are we focusing on?
Well,
things in this world
will shake us
and things in the church
will shake us,
but when Christ is our rock,
then we have a security,
a certainty.
The Thessalonians
were being told
that the day of the Lord
had already come,
but Paul is assuring them
that it hasn't,
but he is also assuring them
that it will.
You know,
today the problem
of the coming of the Lord
is almost the opposite
to what they had
in the day of the Thessalonians
when they were being taught
that he had already come.
The problem today is
that he has not come
and that people think,
well,
he probably isn't.
One was bringing doubt
into their minds
that he had already come.
Today,
the doubt is in our mind
that he's not going to come
because surely after
2,000 years or more,
he would have come,
he would have brought peace
to this world,
but it hasn't happened,
so we can push it away.
But what's the answer
in both?
Well,
it is faith.
Faith is the key here.
Faith
is what we need.
And that's what Paul
is thanking God
that the Thessalonians had.
Your faith is growing abundantly.
It is ours.
It is yours growing abundantly
in confidence in God's Word.
One commentator puts it
very helpfully.
He says,
rather than having
an understanding
of everything
that every verse says,
it is to have anchor points.
Anchor points.
Things that we can focus in on
and hold firmly to that.
Keep us secure.
Yes,
there's things
we don't have answers for,
but there's things
that we can have certainty in,
and one is
the day of the Lord's coming.
He will come.
In Matthew 24,
Jesus says later on
in that chapter
in verse 43,
but know this,
that if the master
of the house
had known
in what part of the night
the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and would not have let
his house be broken into.
Therefore,
you also must be ready,
for the Son of Man
is coming
at an hour
when you do not expect.
Again,
it's so clear there.
Jesus himself,
the Son of Man
is coming
at an hour
when you do not expect.
That is our anchor point.
The Lord is coming,
and that
we should not doubt.
So we see
Paul's
pastoral heart
here.
His concern
for the people
is that they
hold firm
to this fact
that he is coming.
The second thing
we see here
is that they are
not to be anxious
about his coming.
Now,
concerning the coming
of the Lord,
Jesus Christ,
and our being gathered
together to him,
we ask you,
brothers,
not to be quickly
shaken
in mind
or alarmed.
Don't be quickly
shaken in mind
or alarmed.
Do not be anxious
about his coming.
We live in days
when we can be anxious
about so many
different things
and afraid
about so many
different things.
None of us
here today
will be without
our anxieties,
without our fears,
but how do we
deal with them?
And especially
we think of this idea
of the coming
of the Lord.
How do we deal
with anxieties
and fears
over that?
Well,
again,
it's to anchor
ourselves
in God's word,
to anchor ourselves
in the promises
of God's word.
Paul's really
echoing
what Jesus taught
in chapter 24
of Matthew here.
He's almost
using the same words.
Do not be quickly
shaken in mind
or alarmed.
It's just the way
Jesus spoke
in that chapter
as well.
So it's really,
don't be anxious
because you remember
who you are
trusting in.
When you look
at the situation
in Thessalonica
here,
those who are
growing in faith,
your faith
that is growing
abundantly,
how was it
growing abundantly?
How was their love
for one another
growing abundantly?
Well,
it's because
they were resting
in the truth
of God
to them.
And there must be
practical,
simple,
practical lessons
for ourselves
here today
as well.
The role
of the anchor
is to keep us
safe and secure,
to stop us
drifting
and being shipwrecked.
That's the role
of the anchor.
So what is
the anchor
of Scripture?
It's to anchor
ourselves
in the foundation
of truth
that we have
in God's Word.
All the promises
that are given
to us.
And by holding
on to them,
by seeing them,
we end up
being secure
in Christ
and not drifting
away
and being tempted
away by
false teachings
or the kind
of things
that he's speaking
of there
in verse 2
by a spirit
or spoken word
or a letter
to the effect
that the day
of the Lord
has come
when we're
being led
as straight
to say,
no,
that is not
what the Word
of God
says.
And to hold
fast to the Word
of God.
And that's what
Paul was doing
for the Thessalonians,
holding them fast
in the Word
of God.
When you think
of the book
of Acts,
chapter 22,
after the Lord's
ascension,
how were the people
found in chapter 2?
It says in verse 42,
they devoted themselves
to the apostles'
teaching
and the fellowship
to the breaking
of bread
and the prayers.
That was their focus.
That was how they grew.
That's how the church
at Thessalonica
was growing.
All of these things
were present
and that's what we are
to be secure
in as well.
Being under the Word,
being in fellowship
with one another,
taking the sacrament,
prayer.
When our relationship
with the Lord
is right,
our faith
and assurance
grows.
So we are to
anchor ourselves
in the Word
of God.
Do not be anxious
or afraid
for this day.
How?
By being close
to God,
by trusting
in Him,
by knowing
who you are
believing in.
One commentator
speaks of the importance
of both faith
and perseverance.
Two things
that we need
as Christians.
Faith
and perseverance.
And he speaks
about it in this way.
The illustration
of getting into
a sporting event.
And he said,
a person who wants
to attend
a game
in a stadium,
for example,
a big football match
or Six Nations rugby
or something like that,
if you want to get
into the stadium
to watch,
you've got to pay
your money
and when you pay
your money,
you receive
a ticket.
But he asked
a question,
but what gets
you into the stadium?
Is it the money
or the ticket?
And he said,
it's both.
Ultimately,
the money paid
is what really
gets you in,
but you must
have the ticket
as evidence
that you have
paid the price.
And for ourselves
as Christians,
the greatest confidence
we can have
is that the price
has been paid
for us.
The Lord Jesus
has paid the price
for our entry
into heaven.
And our ticket
is faith.
Faith is a ticket.
So that by faith
in the Lord's,
the day of the Lord's
return,
we can come
and say,
I have believed
in you.
I have believed
that you paid
the price.
That in giving
your life
on the cross,
you paid
the price
for me.
The faith
and the perseverance.
The price paid
and the ticket
shone.
They both
go hand
in hand.
And when you look
at the wonderful
words of the Lord
Jesus to his
disciples,
in John 14,
there you see
that Jesus
was telling them
do not be anxious.
What he says
in verse 1,
let not your hearts
be troubled.
Believe in God,
believe also in me.
In my Father's house
are many rooms.
And he says,
I go
to prepare
a place
for you.
And then
what does he say?
That I may
come again
and take you
to be
with me.
What wonderful
words,
what confidence
they bring
to God's
people.
Let not
your hearts
be troubled.
Believe in God,
believe also in me.
I go
to prepare
a place.
That preparation
involved his
going to the cross,
his rising
from the grave
on the third day,
his ascending
into heaven,
and that promise
that he will
come again.
Is that
what you're
leaning on?
Is that the promises
that you're holding
on to?
That he will
come again.
Let not your
hearts be troubled.
Believe in God,
believe also
in me.
The word
of God
is so wonderful
in the confidence
and the hope
that it gives.
The third
and final
thing we want
to see here
is we need
to be ready
for his
coming.
We need
to be ready
for his
coming.
What is Paul's
greatest concern
to the people
of Thessalonica
here in both
chapter 1
and chapter 2
as he's speaking
of the judgment
at Christ's
coming,
where this
picture is put
before them
of the different
destinations
of heaven
and hell.
What's his
concern?
As he comes
into chapter 2
concerning
the coming
of the Lord,
it's that they
be ready.
That they be
ready for it.
When you see
what he is
teaching them,
you see
the purpose
behind it
is that they
might believe
and be ready
to have assurance
in the truth
of God's
word.
As we see,
the Thessalonians
will be,
these doubts
will be put
into their mind
that this day
had already
happened.
And for
ourselves today,
it's almost like
the opposite is true.
It's almost
that this day
is not going
to happen.
That this day
surely would
have happened
by now.
And it's easy
to waste time
speculating
about the
coming of the
Lord.
Will it,
won't it,
or when?
But instead,
we are to heed
the warnings
of his word.
Like I was saying
to the children
earlier on,
we're under
a weather
warning just now.
And we look
out and we're
wondering what's
going to come.
What's it going
to be like?
It's the same
every time,
whether it's a
gale or snow
and ice,
we're wondering
how bad's it
going to be?
What damage
will it cause?
But what about
the warning
of the Lord's
return?
Are you
heeding
that warning
today?
He's going
to come.
That he has
told us.
He's going
to come
like a thief
in the night.
You don't
know the
moment,
but are you
ready?
To know
he is coming
should motivate
us,
should drive
us to
himself,
and should
drive us in
everything that
we do as a
people.
The urgency
of this,
the very fact
that he is
coming and we
don't know
when,
what are we
doing to
tell others?
What are we
doing to
warn others?
There's a
story told
of an
American
colonel,
his name
was Colonel
Davenport,
and he was
one of the
speakers to
the House
of Representatives
in America
and Connecticut.
And on
this day in
May,
May the
19th,
1780,
there was
this meeting
taking place
of the House
of Representatives
in Hartford,
America.
It's like our
Parliament
meeting.
And as
this meeting
was going
on,
it was
June the
day,
and yet
the sky
just suddenly
started to
get darker
and darker,
to such an
extent that
some of those
in the meeting
started looking
outside and
just amazed
by the darkness
that had come
so quickly.
And the fear
that came upon
them was this,
that the day
of the Lord
was coming,
that this
was it.
And they
started calling
for the meeting
to be adjourned,
the meeting
to end,
because this
was so serious.
But Colonel
Davenport,
it said,
he calmed
the meeting.
And he
said this,
the day of
judgment
is either
approaching
or it is
not.
If it is
not,
there is no
cause for
adjournment.
If it is,
I choose
to be found
doing my
duty.
Therefore,
I wish
that candles
be brought.
The darkness
was ominous.
But he said,
well,
if this is
the Lord's
return,
I want to
be found
doing my
duty.
Rather than
fearing what
is to come,
you are to
be faithful
till Christ's
return.
And instead
of fearing
the dark,
we are to
remember the
light that we
have in Christ
and his
gospel.
And we are
to watch
and wait
for his
return.
The reality
of heaven
and hell
is clear
before us
in the
scriptures.
And the
reality of
the day of
judgment
is clear
before us
in
scripture.
The reality
of the
coming of
the Lord
is clear
before us
in scripture.
The question
is,
are you
ready?
Are you
ready?
The day
is coming
when the
sky will
light with
flaming fire
for all
people to
see and
the Lord
will come.
Some will
cry on that
day to the
mountains,
fall on
top of
them because
they will
be so
afraid.
They will
not be
ready for
the day
to appear
before the
Lord.
But for
us may
it be a
day when
we delight,
a delight
that we
will see
the beauty
of the
Lord and
gaze on
him,
for we
are ready
for it.
But while
we have
time and
opportunity,
as we
think of
the coming
of the
Lord and
the day
is going
to come,
and as we
think that
there are
people out
there who
know nothing
of it or
who are not
interested in
it, the
reality of
heaven and
hell and
the judgment
and the
coming of
the Lord
should drive
us in
telling others
that he
is coming
and to be
ready.
May the
coming of
the Lord
not be
something.
We just
speculate about
the things
that we do
not understand,
but may it
instead be a
day that we
see is
true and
is the
great hope
of the
Christian,
but is our
great motivation
in reaching
out with
the gospel.
Let us
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven, we
thank you for
your word
that is
truth, and
even though
the world
will cast
so many
doubts over
it, and
tell us that
it is not
true.
Tell us that
if the Lord
was going to
come, we
would have
done so by
now.
Help us to
realize that
that was
true in
the days of
our Lord,
in the days
of the
apostles, and
down through
all the
generations, but
it doesn't
mean that
it's not
something to
be believed
in.
For your
word tells
us that the
day of the
Lord will
come like a
thief in the
night, and
help us to
be ready, and
help us to
be urgent in
our work for
the gospel, to
tell others to
be ready for
it too.
But Lord, we
thank you that
it's a day that
your people can
look forward
to, a day of
joy, a day of
delight, when we
will gaze on the
beauty of the
Lord.
And so we
pray, Lord, that
you will bless
your word to
us, and go
before us in
the rest of
this day,
pardoning our
sins, in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going
to conclude by
singing to
God's praise in
Psalm 33
again, page
246 of the
psalm book,
Psalm 33,
page 246.
We'll sing from
verse 18 down
to verse 22.
These three
stanzas,
Behold, on
those that do
in fear, the
Lord has said
as I, even
those who on
his mercy do
with confidence
rely.
We'll sing
these verses
to God's
praise.
Amen.
Behold, on
those that do
him fear, the
Lord has said
his eyes, he
those who on
his mercy do
with confidence
rely.
From death to free
their soul in death,
life unto them
to yield,
her soul doth
wait upon
the Lord,
he is
our help
and shield,
our heart
shall joyful
be.
Lord, let
thy mercy
be on us
as we
do
hope
in thee.
After the
benediction, I'll
go to the door
to my right.
We'll close with
the benediction.
Now may grace,
mercy, and peace
from God,
Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit
rest upon
and abide
with you all
now and
forevermore.
Amen.
to
amen.
Amen.
Thank you.