Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 2

“The Lord is Faithful” [Matt's Messages]

“The Lord is Faithful”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchSeptember 28, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5  
The Lord is faithful. The Apostle Paul tells us that straight out in verse 3.
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
“The Lord is faithful.”
We know that, right? We sang it last week on Celebration Sunday:
“Great is Thy Faithfulness!Morning by morning, new mercies I see.All I have needed thy hand hath provided.Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me.”    - Thomas O. Chisholm

We sang it this morning in “Jesus, Strong and Kind.”
“For the Lord is good and faithfulHe will keep us day and night.We can always run to Jesus.Jesus, strong and kind.”    - CityAlight

The Lord is faithful. We know this, but we regularly need reminded of this, don’t we? The Lord is faithful, but we are forgetful. So we need reminded, and we need reminded how to live because of the Lord’s faithfulness, and I think that’s what this little paragraph really excels at doing for God’s people.
So let’s study it together. 
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Last time we were in 2 Thessalonians, we studied chapter 2, verses 1 through 15 where Paul instructed this beloved baby church to “stand firm.”  They were in danger of being shaken by deception and false messages about the return of Jesus Christ, and Paul told them, instead, to hold tight to the truth of the Scriptures that he had taught them. Stand firm.
And between that passage and our passage for today, Paul writes out this prayer for the Thessalonians that we studied before, from which we get our series’ title, and that we are memorizing together these last few months. 2 Thessalonians 2:16&17. Say them with me once again:
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
I’ve been trying to pray those words for all of you every single day for at least the rest of this year. And I’m planning to pray this for every family in our church directory this Tuesday on my prayer retreat.
That our Lord Jesus Christ himself (not His representative but Himself) and God our Father (through the power of God Holy he Spirit, our Triune God) who loved us so much that God the Son was sent to die for our sins and to come back to life to give us eternal life–by His grace (not by our works but by His grace), we have eternal life which is eternal encouragement and all the hope we need for all eternity!
This prayer that that the God who has already given us eternal encouragement would give us encouragement today and strengthen us for whatever we have to do today. “In every good deed and word.”
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to read in this letter!
The Apostle Paul was praying this for them because the Lord is faithful. And because the Lord is faithful, the Apostle Paul is now going to ask them to pray for him. Look at verse 1.
“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.”
I have three simple points of application for us this morning, and they are all things we already know to do but can easily forget to do. Here’s number one. The Lord is faithful:
#1. SO PRAY.
Paul is praying for them. He has peppered both of these letters to the Thessalonians with short little bursts of prayer like chapter 1, verses 11 and 12 and chapter 2, verses 16 and 17. And he’s going to do it again in verse  5 of this chapter!
But this is also a two-way street. The church is not the only people who need prayer. The missionaries need prayer, too.
Adam, amen? For the last five years Adam’s picture has been on that wall back there, and he has sent us regular prayer requests from Tokyo. 
Missionaries need prayer. Adam’s picture may be coming down, but there are still a dozen other pictures hanging there with people begging for our prayers.
Paul asks for this church to pray that the gospel would race around the world. Did you see that in verse 1?
“[B]rothers [and sisters], pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.”
He pictures the gospel message as being like a runner racing around the track, maybe racing in different directions all over the globe because of Paul and his friends. And then the gospel finds a glorious reception. Like the runner runs across the finish line and everybody is cheering!
Yes, this gospel is true! Yes, this gospel changes everything!
Paul says that’s how it was with the Thessalonians. In his first letter, he said that the gospel had rung out all over their region (1 Th. 1:8) and that they had “accepted it not as [merely] a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).
The gospel had taken root in them and was changing them.  And Paul says, “Pray that that would happen everywhere we go!”
Are we praying for the rapid expanse of the gospel around the globe? There are many encouraging signs about that. Many discouraging signs, too. As Paul said in chapter 2, “...the secret power of lawlessness is already at work” (2:7). But the gospel has power to change things.
And the Lord is faithful! He uses the gospel and our prayers to do amazing things in the world! The Thessalonians are “exhibit A” for that. “...just as it was with you.”
Paul also asks for prayer that he and he team would be protected from their enemies. Look at verse 2.
“And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.”
The gospel has enemies. Not everybody loves Jesus. Everybody may love Raymond, but not everybody loves Jesus.
Everywhere Paul goes, he gets into trouble for sharing the truth of the gospel, and so he asks the church to pray that he is protected. They understand this in Thessalonica because they are experiencing persecution there, too. They are getting hounded and pounded by their neighbors.
But they keep loving them. And they keep trusting the Lord more and more. And now they are called keep praying for protection for Paul and his team.
What are your prayer practices when it comes to missionaries and church leaders? Do you pray for missionaries? For the last two years, Jenni has faithfully printed out the prayer letters that we get from our missionaries and put them on this board out in the foyer. You can take them off and read them and ask for a copy to take home with you. And you can pray verses 1 and 2 for them! Whenever you see those pictures on the back wall, do you pray that the message of the Lord would spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you? Do you get a fridge magnet for the missionaries we support and pray that they would be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith?
But (v.3) “...the Lord is faithful.” So we can pray and ask Him to do amazing things our missionaries’ lives! And we can trust Him to do amazing things in our lives. That’s point number two. The Lord is faithful...
#2. SO TRUST.
Look closely at verse 3. “...not everyone has faith...”
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
That’s a promise! And when you find a promise from God to you in the Scriptures, the right thing to do is trust it. “[T]he Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Paul reminds them that God is faithful. He always keeps His promises. He’s demonstrated that over and over again on every page of Scripture. He’s shown His faithfulness every single day of redemptive history. He’s kept or is keeping every single thing He’s ever promised. The Lord is faithful. And He’s going to be faithful to strengthen and to protect His children from evil.
That doesn’t means that we won’t encounter evil. They were encountering it every day!
And it doesn’t that we don’t have to pray for this protection. Paul just asked them to pray for it for him!
And I think this building off of the last petition of the prayer the Lord taught His disciples. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Same exact phrase in Greek. “From the evil one.” (See Matthew 6:13).
But does mean that as we pray it in faith, we can expect the Lord to do just that! 
He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
From his temptations. So you don’t have to give in.From his accusations. So you don’t have to believe what he says about you.From his attacks all kinds.
The Bible say that we have an enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But it doesn’t say to be scared of him. It says, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith...” (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
Stand firm. Trust in the Lord and stand firm. Because the Lord is faithful.
I love how it says that the Lord will strengthen us. Paul just prayed for that, too, in chapter 2, verse 17, didn’t he?
“May the Lord...who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
And then what does Paul say in verse 3? He will! He will strengthen you! The Lord is faithful.
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to read in this letter!
Do you need to hear it this morning. I know I do.
“The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”“The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”“The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Trust Him!
Who could you encourage with that promise today?
Tell the person next to you. Write it one of those encouragement cards. Who was the last person you sent an encouragement card to? Drop these words in a text message to a fellow Christian.
This is a promise for Christians. If they are not yet a real Christian, then it’s not yet for them. But this was true for the Thessalonians because they had received the message of the gospel and were changed forever.
They had eternal encouragement and good hope.  And so they knew that “The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” Trust Him.
“Jesus said if I am weak, I should come to Him.No one else can be my strength. I should come to Him.
For the Lord is good and faithful.He will keep us day and night.We can always run to Jesus.Jesus, strong and kind.”
Paul knew that better than just about anybody and believed that God was at work not just FOR the Thessalonians but IN the Thessalonians. Look what he says in verse 4.
“We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.”
Now, that’s going to become the theme of the rest of the letter. Paul has some commands for the Thessalonians to follow, and we’ll get more into them next week, Lord-willing (see vv.6,10, & 12). But the main thing to see here is that Paul fully expects them to keep these commands. He thinks they are doing it and will continue to do them. Because the Lord is at work in them. And the Lord’s work will work!
Notice that Paul doesn’t say, “We have confidence in you...” though it amounts to it. He says, “We have confidence in the Lord that you...”
Paul knows that the Lord is faithful, so he knows that these Christians will be faithful, too. Which is point number three and last. The Lord is faithful...
#3. SO OBEY.
Paul fully believes that these Christians will obey and so they should.
In another letter to the churches at nearby Phillipi, Paul wrote that he was  “confident...he who began a good work in [them] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phillippians 1:6).
It’s the same basic idea. How encouraging it must have been for the Thessalonians to read this and hear just how confident the Apostle Paul was that they were going to obey Jesus and follow His commands! I’m sure it was a motivation for them to do just that. We don’t have to obey on our own. We obey because the Lord is at work in us, and His work will work. The Lord is faithful, so obey.
Where is this hard for you right now? What commands are you, perhaps, struggling to obey today? Because it’s not always easy to obey, is it?
Colossians 3:13. “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Ephesians 5:3-4. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
Luke 6:35. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
Philippians 4:4-6. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Obey!
Not out of your own strength, but in the strength that God supplies. “We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.” Which includes working hard and not being a busybody as we will see next week.
Are you struggling to obey our Lord’s commands? Paul knows that it won’t always be easy, and that’s, I think, why he up and prays for them again in verse 5.
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.”
What a beautiful thought! That the Lord would guide, lead, and direct their very hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. Some of your versions have “steadfastness” there. Like the front of your bulletin.
What a beautiful prayer! Lord, do that in us here at Lanse Free Church! Direct our hearts into Your love and the steadfastness of Jesus! 
But what exactly does it mean? It could be translated like this:
“May the Lord direct your hearts to love FOR God and perseverance FOR Christ.”
So that would emphasize, God working in our hearts so that we obey. So that we love God and hang on for Jesus while we wait for His return. 
And that’s quite possible. It fits with rest of the theology of the letters. And I’m sure that this truth has that effect either way.
But I tend think that Paul is praying that God would give this church a vision in their hearts of just how much God has loved them and is loving them and will love them and just how much Jesus endured for them. How He persevered for them. How He was steadfast for them. How He endured the Cross, scorning its shame for them.
“Lord, direct their hearts to see that! Strengthen their hearts once again with their eternal  encouragement and good hope with Your love and by your grace.”
And if our hearts are full of that then of course we will obey.
Show us, Lord, just how faithful you are.
Again! We know it, but we lose sight of it. The Lord is faithful, but we are forgetful. So we ask the Lord to remind us again and again. So that we pray for missionaries and for each other that the gospel would race around the world and change lives like it has ours. So that missionaries and churches are delivered from wicked and evil men. So that we trust in the promises of God to strengthen and protect us from the evil one. And so that we obey, because God is at work in us, and His work will work.
Because the Lord is faithful.

***
Messages in this Series:

1 Thessalonians

01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

2 Thessalonians

09. "In Every Good Deed and Word" - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
[Bonus Historical Message: "Forever: Hell" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, October 30, 2005]
10. "God's Judgment Is Right" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10
11. "We Constantly Pray for You" - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-1212. "Stand Firm" - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-15

"Stand Firm" [Matt's Messages]

“Stand Firm”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchSeptember 14, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-15  
The main idea and title of this message is drawn from the last verse of our passage for today, verse 15. And it’s very simply this: 
“Stand Firm.”
Paul wants the Thessalonians to be stable and steadfast. He wants them to stand upright and not fall down or back down in their Christian faith. “Stand firm.” That’s Paul’s encouragement to the Church of the Thessalonians, and I believe that we need to hear it for ourselves today.
Lanse Free Church, stand firm. There are many things flying at us every single day as a Christians that threaten to knock us off balance and off course. Many trials and temptations that imperil our stability. You know that feeling like you’re going to fall over?  This is often us.
Paul sees that potential fall for his beloved baby church plant back in Thessalonika, and he comes out and tells them, “Don’t let that happen to you. Stand fast. Don’t fall over. Stand firm.”
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Now, there are lots of things that might cause a follower of Christ to get off balance, but the particular thing in this case had to do with a false doctrine about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
We’ve seen over and over again that these two letters are full of important teaching about the return of Christ. Paul has mentioned it at least once in every single chapter! And this chapter says more about it than many other places in the rest of the whole New Testament. But there are a lot of details in this chapter that are unclear, at least to me  and to many other Bible scholars throughout the history of the church. Just about every sentence has a phrase whose meaning has been disputed and debated by faithful Christians through the years. 
And I’m smart enough to know that I will not solve all of the eschatological debates of the last 2,000 years in this message today! And yet, the main point of this chapter is crystal clear and the application is unmistakable: “Stand firm.”
So before we get into the details, we should probably practice our little phrase that we used so often as we studied the prophecy of the wiseman man Daniel earlier this year.
With some questions about eschatology (the doctrine of the end times), the right answer is, “I don’t know...and that’s okay.”
Now, for some questions, that’s a bad answer. There are some things we must know and hold fast to. “Stand firm!” But there are some details that are less clear, and humility is the order of the day.
So, let me ask you this question: When is Jesus Christ going to return?
“I don’t know...and that’s okay.” In fact, it’s better than okay, right? It’s good and right and best that we don’t know so that we can stay constantly ready. How many times have we said that this year?
But how about this question: Has Jesus Christ already returned?
Don’t you dare say, “I don’t know, and that’s okay!” The right answer is, “I know that Jesus has NOT returned.” 
But that’s not what the Thessalonians were hearing! Let’s start up in verse 1 of chapter 2.
Paul writes, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come” (vv.1-2).
I’ve got just two points this morning, and here’s number one:
#1. DON’T BE SHAKEN BY DECEPTION.
Paul says, “We’re asking you brothers and sisters in Christ, to (v.2), “not become easily unsettled or alarmed...”
They were going, “Yee! Yikes! Aaahooga! Aaahooga!” They were in danger of panic. They were getting wigged out. They were afraid. 
Paul says, “We’re asking you not to do that. Don’t get unsettled. Don’t get alarmed. Don’t be troubled by this thing you’re hearing.” Apparently, there was some kind of rumor going around that (v.2), the day of the Lord had already come.
Now, you and I hear that, and we say, “I don’t think so. That’s obviously false. That’s bizarre and ridiculous.” 
And maybe they would, too, if they thought about it. But Paul wanted them to not get knocked off balance by this deception.
In first Thessalonians, Paul said that the Day of the Lord was going to come like a thief in the night. And take, especially, unbelievers by surprise. But that we are “Children of the Day,” and so we look forward to it and stay ready for it with faith, love, and hope.
But it sounds like somebody has come along and told the Thessalonians that they missed it!
And if I believed that, I’d be scared, too.
The Thessalonians didn’t want to miss out. If you remember in first Thessalonians, they were worried that their loved ones who had already died before Jesus returned were going to miss out on either the resurrection or the rapture or maybe even the great reunion to be with the Lord forever. But Paul assured them in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the dead in Christ had not missed out. They would, in fact, be first in line.
Now here, he’s assuring the alive in Christ that they have not missed out on those things either. Jesus Christ has not yet returned.
It’s not clear how the rumor got started. Paul gives three different possible scenarios in verse 2, “...some prophecy (or Spirit), report (or word), or letter supposed to have come from us...” So there might have been a forgery, a fake letter from Paul circulating around. Perhaps written by artificial intelligence. (Well maybe not that yet.) But some fake letter or perhaps somebody saying, “The Spirit has revealed to me that what Paul really meant in his preaching or his letter is this...” (see Jeffrey Weima, pg. 506, for that helpful suggestion). 
“The Day of the Lord has already come!”
Now, this happens a lot. Not this particular deception (though the Jehovah Witnesses have historically taught that Jesus Christ came back secretly and invisibly in 1914). But there are lots of different false teachings out there about the return of Christ that threaten to unsettle and alarm us. Don’t let them!
Good teaching, healthy teaching about the end times will comfort and encourage you. It will include sad, shocking, and scary things (and we’re going to see some sad, scary, and shocking things in verses 4-12), but the upshot will always be encouraging for the genuine follower of Jesus Christ. Don’t fall for the fear-mongering.
And don’t fall for the deceptions. Verse 3.
“Don't let anyone deceive you in any way...”
The Lord Jesus said the exact same thing, didn’t He? He warned us that there would be many deceivers.
In Matthew 24 Jesus said, “At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. ‘So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:23-27).
It will be obvious. Not invisible. It will be visible. Not secret. Like like lightning that everybody can see. And genuine followers of Jesus Christ will not miss it!
Now, Paul goes on to say that there are some particular things that must take place before the Day of the Lord. And because they have also have not happened yet, the Thessalonians could be assured that the Day of the Lord has not yet come. Look at verse 3.
“Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.”
Two things (at least, and there’s probably more) that must happen before the Day of the Lord.
Number one: The rebellion will occur.Number two: The man of lawlessness will be revealed.
Now, what are those?
I’m not sure, and that’s okay. 
I am sure that they are going to be painfully obvious to the church when it’s time. But I’m less sure that I can positively identify them right now.
The Greek word for “rebellion” in verse 3 is “apostacia.” Some of your versions may even have the derivative English word “apostasy” there. It means “to depart” or “to defect.” But it doesn’t say who is departing or what they are defecting from.
It could be a wholesale defection from the Christian faith. Those who seemed like Christians but then departed from Christianity. That happens. And it may happen in great numbers in the future. Jesus said that the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12).
Or this could be a great rebellion against law and order around the world, especially because it’s tied here to the man of lawlessness.
But I tend to think it’s a defection from the truth. That nearly everybody everywhere rejects the truth wholesale and that has all of the downstream effects you might imagine. And, you might say, “I think that’s happened already,” and it might have, there’s a lot of falsehood out there, but my guess is that we ain’t seen nothing yet.
And I am sure that the Man of Lawlessness has not yet been revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
Who is this? Well, here are some things we know. He is a man. A human. He is not a demon. He is not Satan. He’s a man. But he declares that he is God! Look at verse 4.
“He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” 
Wow! How scary is that?!  
This “Man of Lawlessness” sounds a lot like some things we read back in the Book of Daniel, doesn’t it? In fact, I quoted this chapter several times as we studied Daniel together. 
Remember that one little horn with the big mouth on the fourth and terrifying beast in Daniel chapter 7?
“He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
Or the evil king at the end of Daniel chapter 11? 
Daniel wrote this “...king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all” (Daniel 11:36-37). That sounds a lot like verse 4 to me.
The name that we often give to this person is “The Antichrist.” The Bible tells us there have been are lots of antichrists in the world, but there will be one Antichrist who will outstrip them all. [We learned earlier this year how Antiochus Epiphanes IV was vying for the role!]
Okay. How about this question? When will the Man of Lawlessness be revealed?
On one level, I’d say, “I don’t know, and that’s okay.”
Some faithful Christians believe that he will be revealed after the church is raptured. I was taught that in Bible school, and it’s a definite possibility. [In fact, some think that the “apostasy” of v.3 is the “departure” of the church which is possible but unlikely,  and very few pre-tribulational scholars take it that way].
I tend to think that he will be revealed before the church is raptured or else Paul would probably mention it here. 
Either way, we do know that he will be revealed before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because that’s what Paul is saying here. Because the Man of Lawlessness has not yet been revealed, that means that Jesus has not yet returned!
So don’t be shaken.
Now how about this question: Who is the Man of Lawlessness? What is his name?
I don’t know, and that’s okay. Christians have speculated about who this man is for the last 2,000 years. I’m not going to waste very much time trying to figure that out. You can, but I’m not going to join you. I’m on the watch for him. I think he’s probably the same person we saw in Daniel 7 and 11 (and maybe 9). I think he’s probably the same person as the Beast coming out of the sea in Revelation chapter 13.
But is he on the world scene right now? I have no clue. His name is not in 2 Thessalonians 2, so I have no idea what it is. 
I hate him and everything he stands for. But I’m also not that scared of him, because I’ve read what is going to happen to him in 2 Thessalonians 2. This chapter is not here to scare us but to comfort us! Look at verse 5.
“Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?”
Paul says, “I explained all of this to you back when I was planting the church there. Remember? This shouldn’t scare you. You shouldn’t be knocked off your pins. You shouldn’t be teetering on the edge. You have nothing to be scared of if you belong to Jesus.”
In fact, the Man of Lawlessness is being held back right now. Restrained. Look at verse 6.
“And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.”
Sadly, I don’t know what is holding him back. Apparently, Paul told the Thessalonians, but he didn’t include it here in this letter. And neither do any of the other writers of the New Testament tell us clearly either. Here, Paul just tells us that it’s happening. Verse 7.
“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.”
The spirit of antichrist is already at work throughout the world (see 1 John 2 and 4 and 2 John 7), but it’s not anything like what it’s going to be when the Antichrist is fully revealed. His power to deceive and to lead people into pure lawlessness is being restrained by something and someone.
And who is the one who holds it back?
I don’t know, and that’s okay. There has been perhaps more speculation about who that person is in verse 7 than who the Man of Lawlessness is throughout the last 2,000 years of church history. And I’m not going to solve it for you this morning. You may have been taught a certain thing, and you might be pretty sure you have a good idea, and if so, I’m happy for you. I know of seven leading theories about Who and What this Restrainer is. And they all have strengths and weaknesses. 
In my study this week, I came to lean towards the idea that is the archangel Michael whom we learned about in Daniel chapters 10 and 12. I’m not at all sure about that, but I can see how it might fit the biblical data.
What’s important to know is that God has a perfect plan, and it’s perfectly on track. The secret power of lawlessness is being held back. And the one who holds it back will continue to do so until and up to the moment that God says differently. And then he’s going to be taken out of the way. And then (and only then) verse 8.
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.”
He’s not been revealed yet so Jesus has not returned yet. One day, it will be painfully obvious who the lawless one is. He’ll be unleashed.
And then, soon after that, it won’t matter! Because he’s going down.
People are so consumed by “Who is the Antichrist? Who is the Antichrist?” Who really cares?! What we should really focus on is the fact that the Antichrist is going to be defeated by Jesus Christ!
And so easily! It says, “With the breath of his mouth” (see Isaiah 11:4) I don’t know if that means with a word? Or with a little puff of breath? Goodbye, Man of Lawlessness!
Paul says he’s going to be destroyed by the splendor of Jesus’ coming. He will not survive the glory that will be revealed. 
The evil king of Daniel 11, “...will come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45).
The terrifying fourth beast with its boastful little horn will be slain and its body destroyed and thrown in the fire that flows from the throne of the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:11).
The King of Kingdoms will ride down from heaven on a white horse and throw the beast into the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 19:11-21).
Whatever ever else those images mean, they certainly mean the overthrow and destruction of the Man of Lawlessness. He’s doomed to destruction. Justice will be done. He is going to Hell.
And no...this has happened yet. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. I don’t pretend to know! But I know that it’s going to happen. So I don’t have to be scared. I can stand firm. 
Church, don’t lose your head. When the Bible talks about the end times, it always stresses that we should keep calm and carry on. That we should wait patiently and actively loving our neighbors including our enemies. To be clear-minded and prayerful.  Not excited and fretful. And wigged out and worried.  As if our Lord doesn’t have a perfect plan, and it’s not going according to plan perfectly. He does, and it is. 
Yes, these things are sad, and shocking, and scary. But not too sad, shocking, or scary! Don’t fall for the fear. Don’t be shaken by deception. Because there’s a lot of that, and it comes from Satan. Look at verse 9.
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (vv.9-10).
Paul says there are two comings. There’s the coming of the Christ and the coming of the Antichrist. The second one is an evil echo of the first. Jesus comes in true miracles, signs, and wonders and everything good that comes with the truth from God. The Antichrist comes with counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and every sort of evil that deceives and is powered by Satan.
It’s going to get hard for some people to tell the difference. We must be careful when confronted with miracles, signs and wonders because even Pharaoh’s magicians could do them! The Man of Lawlessness will be very persuasive. He will not be boring. He’ll be very interesting. He’ll be very attractive and powerful. You and I will probably be tempted to follow him. Don’t think you’re “too smart to fall for that.” And he will tell people what they want to hear. Not what they need to hear, but what they want to hear. And they will believe the lie because they want to.
Verse 10 says, “They perish because they [refuse] to love the truth and so be saved.” They want to be deceived! And eventually God says, “Okay. You can be deceived.” Look at verse 11.
“For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (vv.11-12).
That’s about the scariest thing in this whole chapter. That God would send a powerful delusion. Not that he tempts them to evil. Keith showed us in James that He never does that. But He does turn them over to their preferred deception (see Romans 1). And it leads to condemnation. If someone continues to believe the lie until they die, they will go to hell.
As Paul wrote in chapter 1, “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thessalonians. 1:9).
Don’t be shaken by deception! Because the end of that is condemnation.
But that’s not us! Paul says that verse 12 does not describe the Thessalonians. Verses 13 and 14 do! Look at verse 13.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv.13-14).
Isn’t that wonderful? That must have been so encouraging for them to read. 
And that’s you and me. That’s every genuine believer who has heard the good news about Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the Cross and at the Empty Tomb and put our faith and trust in that truth. This is what’s happened to us.
We’ve be chosen to be saved by the electing love of God the Father.We’ve been called through the gospel of God the Son Who loved us. “Brothers and sisters loved by the Lord.”We’re being sanctified, made holy, by God the Spirit.So that we might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The same glory that will destroy the Man of Lawlessness will be ours to share forever!
That’s you, Church! Not because you deserve it, but because we’re been loved by the Lord Jesus Christ with a love as vast the the ocean. Yes, we ought to give thanks for that forever! And we need to believe it and hold onto it forever.
What’s the obvious application?  
Stand firm!  Verse 15.
“So then, brothers [and sisters], stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
#2. HOLD TIGHT TO THE TRUTH.
You might think that (after verses 13 and 14) we should just relax because God is doing all of that. And we should rest in it. But we also should firmly grasp it and hold onto it like our lives depended on it. Because they do.
“Hold to the teachings [Paul and his team] passed on to you, whether by word of mouth [when they were there in person] or by letter.”
Like this one that we hold in our hands. Hold tight to this letter! Hold tight to this book! Those who are perishing refused to love the truth and so be saved (v.10). But we love the truth and so are saved!
Do you love the truth?
Jesus Christ is the truth! And the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. But everyone who does come through Him gets to the Father!
Have you turned from your sins and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and what He did you and me on the Cross? He loved you enough to carry your sin on His shoulders, the wonderful merciful Savior.
Turn from your sins and embrace Him. And don’t let go. Stand firm. Stand fast. Hold tight. Cling to Jesus.  Because He is stable, we can be stable forever. 
Don’t worry about what the world is going to throw at you this week. Stand firm.
Don’t worry about where the world is headed. It’s headed to hell in a handbasket. Stand firm.
Don’t worry about the identity of the Antichrist or the timing of his revelation or whatever the Rebellion is. It will all become obvious, and then it will be over. Focus on the Truth of Jesus. Hold tight to that. And you will stand firm.

***

Messages in this Series:

1 Thessalonians

01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

2 Thessalonians

09. "In Every Good Deed and Word" - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
[Bonus Historical Message: "Forever: Hell" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, October 30, 2005]
10. "God's Judgment Is Right" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-1011. "We Constantly Pray for You" - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

“We Constantly Pray for You” [Matt's Messages]

“We Constantly Pray for You”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchAugust 17, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12  
Here are some of the most encouraging words in the English language for any Christian to hear. Six of the most encouraging words to hear: “I have been praying for you.” 
Has somebody said that to you recently? “I have been praying for you.”
This morning, we prayed for those who are going to back to school. I miss those days myself. Most years, I loved to go back to school. I wish I could do it again! I’d love to do another degree. It’s not going to happen, but I’d love that. 
But I wouldn’t want to do it without somebody praying for me. So many people prayed me through my education, all those many years!
Like we gathered up around the kids, and we prayed for the teachers and the administrators and the aides and the drivers and the support staff and everybody else at the school.
And we’re telling them, “We are praying for you.”  Kids, we are praying for you. Teachers, we are praying for you. And we won’t stop! We believe in the power of prayer, amen? That is we believe that our God is powerful to answer prayer. Our God loves to listen to His people pray, and He loves to answer those prayers.
That’s why it’s so encouraging when we tell each other that we’ve been praying for each other.
And look what we have here in verses 11 and 12?! Paul, Silas, and Timothy write to the church of the Thessalonians in verse 11, “We constantly pray for you.”
Your version may say something like, “We pray always for you” or “We always pray for you.”
Paul says that he and his ministry team were constantly, regularly, perpetually lifting up this beloved baby church in prayer before the Lord.
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to read! To be told that the Apostle Paul was not only thinking about them and trying to teach them and cared about them, but that he was constantly praying to God for them.
Paul sure loved this church, didn’t he? Paul had a dozen pictures of this church up on his fridge! Verse 3 above said that he was always giving thanks for them. And verse 4 said that he was always boasting about them to the other churches. And now verse 11 says that he was always praying for them.
Paul was practicing what he preaches! Remember this from 1 Thessalonians 5? Paul said that this was God’s will for them, that they “Pray continually.” That they put their prayer life on speaker-phone? Dial the Lord in the morning, hit “speaker,” and talk to God all day long. Don’t hang up.
Paul says he does that, and when he does, he’s praying for the Thessalonians all the time!
“Lord, remember the Thessalonians. I’m so thankful for them. Thank You, that their faith is growing more and more and their love for each other is increasing more and more–even though it’s getting harder there in Thessalonica.
Lord, You know how the Thessalonians are being persecuted and troubled by their neighbors. Hounded and pounded by the government and their hostile neighbors, both Jew and Gentile.
Lord, I’m praying for them again. And again. And again. Here I am, Lord. I’m praying for the Thessalonians. Morning, noon, and night.”
Paul keeps coming back to God on behalf of the Thessalonians.
That must have been so encouraging for them to read when they got this letter. And it must have also kind of made them want to be the answer to those prayers, too, right? Like whatever Paul was praying and praying and praying, the Thessalonians were probably led to want that same thing for themselves, too.
And maybe pray that same thing for themselves, too. And I think it’s right and good for us to pray these things for ourselves and for each other. I think this prayer report is set down in holy Scripture so that we can get our prayer priorities from it. If Paul constantly prayed these things for the church of the Thessalonians, maybe we should co
Now before we see what Paul actually prays for, we need to think a little bit about those first four words in verse 11. “With this in mind...” 
Because this prayer report does not appear in a vacuum. It doesn’t show up out of the blue. Paul prays these things in view of what he’s just written to them. “With this in mind...”
What did Paul have in mind?
The justice of God.
Remember last week, we saw that God’s judgment is right. His justice is perfect. He doesn’t ever decide something wrongly. He never gets fooled by appearances or take the wrong factors into account. God judgment is always right and righteous and holy.
We learned last week that in God’s perfect justice, God’s true people will receive His eternal kingdom. Verse 5, “All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.”
And then we also learned last week that in God’s perfect justice God’s true enemies will receive their eternal destruction. Verse 6. “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
God’s justice is perfect and is coming when Jesus returns.
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you...”
With the return of Christ in mind, with the glorious day of His return in mind, Paul constantly prays for the Thessalonians. It hasn’t happened yet. We have to wait for God’s perfect justice to come. But, in the meantime, we pray for each other. And we pray more for each other. Regularly. Perpetually. Constantly.
Now, what did Paul ask? He was doing all this praying. What was he actually praying for?
I’d like to summarize his requests in three points. Here’s number one. “We constantly pray for you...
#1. THAT OUR GOD WOULD COUNT YOU WORTHY OF HIS CALLING.
That’s exactly what he says in verse 11.
“With this in mind [the return of Jesus Christ], we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling...”
Notice it says, “our God.” I love that. Paul is saying that they have the same God, they share the same God. And that he’s asking that same God to count them worthy of God’s calling.
Now that sounds a lot like verse 5, right? Up in verse 5, Paul said that the Thessalonians were going to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Not because they were so great, but because God was at work in them which was obvious because of their persevering faith and increasing love.
God was clearly doing His saving and sanctifying work in their life. They believed and they continued to believe even in the face of persecution.
And here Paul says that he prays that this would continue! He said it would happen in verse 5, and now he prays that it would happen in verse 11.
We often think that if God has promised something, then it doesn’t make sense to pray for it. I mean, God already promised it! So why pray? But that’s not how the Bible thinks. The Bible says that if God has promised something, then we ought to pray for it because we know it’s something God has promised!
And, here, it’s the kingdom. God has promised the kingdom for His true children. Now, we pray for each other that we would be counted worthy of the kingdom. That God would fulfill His promise in us. The promise of His calling. His summons to the Kingdom and to Himself, the King.
God is calling His true people to Himself. And we pray for each of His children that that calling would be fulfilled! So that our lives would match our calling.  Some of your versions even say that Paul constantly asks that God might “make” the Thessalonians worthy of God’s calling. Not that they could ever earn it! No, but that their lives would more and more match what they are called to be and to do. That they would live more and more as citizens of the kingdom to come.
Do we pray that way? Do we pray for each other that our God would count us worthy of His calling?
Did any of us pray that for one of kids going back to school this week? Often we pray for safety and security and for peace and wisdom as people head back to school–and well we should! But we should also take a note from Paul and pray that Christians heading out into the world (whether its to school or not) would be counted by God as worthy of His calling! Headed back into the world like the citizens of the kingdom that we are called into.
And here’s what that looks like in practical terms. Number two. “We constantly pray for you...”
#2. THAT OUR GOD WOULD COMPLETE ALL YOUR GOOD WANTS AND GOOD WORKS.
Look at again at verse 11.
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Paul is perpetually praying for God’s power to be at work in their lives.
“By his power.” Not by their own power! They need God’s power at work in their lives. And so do we. If God doesn’t do it, we’re up the creek! 
Paul is perpetually praying for God’s power to “fulfill” two things, “every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Now that word “fulfill” means to bring to completion. It’s to take something that is in seed form and bring it to fruition. It means to fill something up to its potential. Like a glass being filled up with life-giving water. 
And Paul is constantly asking God to fulfill the potential of all of their “good purposes.” What does that mean? I think it means their good intentions. It’s the things that the Thessalonians want to do that they should do. It’s their good desires. It’s their good resolutions. It’s their “good wants.”
Do you have good wants? Do you want to do something good for the Lord today? This week?
Students and teachers going to back to school.Employees and employers going back to work.Family members going to family functions.Neighbors headed out in the neighborhood.
Do you want to live like a citizen of the kingdom of God? I’m sure that many of us do.
Are we going to do it? That’s often a different question, isn’t it? We might want to, but are we going to? Are we going to walk worthy of our calling? Even in the face of persecution? Even if it’s hard?
Well, Paul prays for it. He constantly prays for the Thessalonians that by God’s power, God may fulfill every good purpose of theirs.
“Lord, I’m praying for the Thessalonians again today. I know that they so often want to do the right thing. Please give them the power to do it. Fulfill that good purpose, Lord! Bring it to fruition. Bring it to completion! Fill it up, Lord. Please, Lord.”
We should pray like that more often. We should pray for our Christian loved ones that they do the good thing that they want to do.
That they overcome a temptation and break an addiction.That they speak to their co-worker about Jesus.That they confront their loved one about their sinful behavior.That they resolve a conflict.That they give generously to the needy.That they forgive that person who offended them.
“Lord, please by your power, fulfill every good purpose of your child.”
Every “good want.” Turn it into a good work. Turn this good want into a good work!
See how Paul goes from the inner desire to the outer action? He doesn’t just pray that they would want something good but that they would do something good and that it would be energized by their faith. Look at verse 11 again.
“...[W]e constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Notice that our good works come from our faith. The words here are literally something like, “every work of faith.” We do what we do because believe something to be true (see 1 Thess 1:3). Because we trust in something. And Paul prays that his Christian friends at Thessalonica would trust God and do the sorts of things that people who trust God do.
Like put on a Good News Cruise.Like head off on a missions trip to Malawi or Kentucky.Like talk to their neighbor about Jesus.Like put food in a free fridge.
Like...what is it that you know you should do because you believe in Jesus?
Paul prays that these good works prompted by faith would be fulfilled.
I think that probably means that they would be done. But even more than that, that they would have an effect on the world. That God’s kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven.
We should pray like this for each other!
“Lord, I pray for Lanse Free Church that by your power, every act that was prompted by faith yesterday at the Good News Cruise would be fulfilled.”
That people would come know Jesus as their Savior!That people would come to follow Jesus as their King!I pray that as these precious people in front of me do the very things that you have called them to do; you would bring those good works to completion.”
This week, I messaged all of the teachers in our church family and asked how we could be praying for them as they headed back into school.
And one of the things Mary Beth wrote me was this. She says, “As a teacher, I ask that you might pray for me to live out Matthew 5:16 to ‘arise and shine’ with the love of Jesus each day...and finally, can you pray for my own children, and all the other students in our church as we transition back to the routine of school. Pray also for them to be kind, helpful, courageous, and shining like Jesus.” Amen!
Matthew 5:16 says, “[L]et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (NIV 2011).
I pray that God would complete all your good wants and all your good works. To the glory of Jesus!
That’s where Paul goes next and last. Look at verse 12.
“We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Point number three and last. “We constantly pray for you...”
#3. THAT OUR GOD WOULD GLORIFY JESUS IN YOU AND YOU IN JESUS.
This in verse 12 is not so much a particular thing that he prays for as the reason why he prays the things he constantly prays for in verse 11. This is the purpose of it all.
“So that the name of our Lord Jesus...”
Remember that a name in the Bible often stands for the essence of the person. It’s his reputation. It’s his character.  It’s more than a label. The name is the person himself.
Paul perpetually prays these things for the church “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.” So that when people look at us wanting something good and doing something good, they don’t think, “Oh, what a good person!”
They think, “Oh, what a good Savior! Oh, what a good Lord!”
“[L]et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise [not YOU! But...] your Father in heaven” and His Son Jesus Christ. As you and I live worthy of His calling, Jesus gets more and more glory.
But catch this, we actually get to share in that glory, too. Did you see that in verse 12?
“So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.”
It’s a double glorification! Not that people say, “Oh look at that Jesus. He sure has a glorious Matt Mitchell in Him!” No, it’s more like this, “Matt Mitchell gets to have Jesus shine in Him. Matt Mitchell shines! Yes, but not with Matt Mitchell-ness. Matt Mitchell shines with Jesus-ness.” And not just Matt Mitchell, but every genuine Christian here. That’s what Paul prays! 
Put your name in verse 12. “We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in YOU[!], and [YOU!] in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now that happens piece by piece right now. But one day, it will happen wholesale. Remember what he just said in verse 10 about that day when Jesus returns...
“...on the day he comes to be [what?] glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you” (2 Thess. 1:10).
Jesus Christ is going to transform us so that we glorify Him in every way. And we will shine! Not because we are so great, but because He is so great and so gracious. Verse 12.
“...according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our good works don’t make this happen. This is all of grace. This is all because of what God did for us when He gave His Son Jesus Who took our place at the Cross.  Have you placed your faith in Him? That’s the only way for Jesus to glorified in us and we in Him.
What if we prayed this way for each other?
What if we took 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and prayed these words and ideas for each other every. single. day?
What might our God do?
He might count us worthy of His calling.He might complete every good want and good work.So that Jesus might be glorified in us and us in Him.
Let’s do it.
Let’s constantly pray for each other.
What could be more encouraging than that?
In fact, let’s do it right now.

***
Messages in this Series:

1 Thessalonians

01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28


2 Thessalonians

09. "In Every Good Deed and Word" - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
[Bonus Historical Message: "Forever: Hell" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, October 30, 2005]10. "God's Judgment Is Right" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Great Commentaries on the Book of Daniel

Preaching the prophetic book of the wiseman Daniel was an incredibly daunting task. Daniel is a nexus in the Bible where so many incredible elements come together–two ancient languages, multiple apocalyptic visions, beloved stories, counter-cultural and counter-intuitive applications, and so much more! 
I put off preaching Daniel for many years, but believed it was time to climb the summit in the first part of 2025. Our series was called “The King of Kingdoms” highlighting the central message and central character of the book.
To prepare, I spent a lot of time reading some wonderful commentaries by leading scholars. These were my favorites:
J. Paul Tanner, Daniel (Evangelical Exegetical Commentary)
Tanner’s commentary is “the total package.” This is the height of evangelical scholarship on Daniel at this moment. Tanner has clearly read everything, and I mean everything. No stone is unturned. He provides an extensive bibliography and painstaking text critical notes, translation notes, and footnotes.At the very same time, Tanner’s book is incredibly readable. He writes straightforward, accessible sentences in clearly marked sections so you always know where you are in the flow of the argument. There are helpful charts. Tanner is judicious and fair with all of his scholarship. He points out the strongest arguments of his opponents and the weakest of his own. He comes to dispensational conclusions but does not presuppose them. And it’s is warm-hearted, as well! Every unit includes commentary that ties that section of scripture to the rest of biblical theology and offers personal application, too. This is the very best kind of evangelical scholarship!
Tanner’s big books is probably too much for most ordinary readers, but most pastors should have this one if they’re going to tackle preaching Daniel.
David Helm - Daniel for You: Helping You Live With Courage
David Helm’s little commentary is the overall best for most other readers. It has bite-sized chapters and reads like a great sermon full of relevant application. Helm’s scholarship is evident, but the book is light on footnotes. He does a great job of focusing on the main thing and not getting sucked into various secondary debates. I would recommend this to book to just about any reader who wants to understand Daniel.
By the way, if you want an excellent audio orientation to Daniel, make sure to listen to Nancy Guthrie’s interview with David Helm on the “Help Me Teach the Bible” podcast. I listened 3 times before tackling Daniel on Sundays!
John C. Whitcomb, Daniel (Everyman’s Bible Commentary)
I cut my teeth on Whitcomb’s little commentary back in my Bible School days in my “Dan/Rev” class. Revisiting it 30 years later, I was surprised at how readable and good it was. Concise, precise, helpful. Whitcomb is dispensational, but this book is not a defense of a system or a diatribe. It is a short commentary worth having and using.
George M. Schwab, Hope in the Midst of a Hostile World: The Gospel of According to Daniel
Schwab’s book was fascinating reading, full of so many insights. I didn’t always follow him (either in understanding him or in his decisions), but I was always was happy I’d read or re-read the chapter. My copy has sticky-notes plastered all over it at the most insightful (or entertaining) points, like when it says, “Perhaps it is a sign of the end times when scholars disagree on whether it is the Christ or the Antichrist spoken about in a text!” (pg. 144). I’m glad I read it.
Dale Ralph Davis, The Message of Daniel (The Bible Speaks Today)
Davis is one of my all time favorite Old Testament commentators. He’s always insightful and delightful, and this was no exception. Davis is not afraid to be controversial. I didn’t always jive with his more daring suggestions, but he’s always worth reading. 
Tremper Longman III, How to Read Daniel.
This book is just what the title page says. It’s not a commentary (though it has commentary in it), nor a compilation of sermons (though there are two long chapters of application and implications at the end) but an orientation to the book and an explanation of the appropriate hermeneutics for this unique genre. This kind of approach is especially important for Daniel as it is so wild and different from just about any other book. I re-read every chapter multiple times. 
Christopher J.H. Wright, Hearing the Message of Daniel: Sustaining Faith in Today’s World
Wright is one of my favorite authors, especially when he’s teaching through an Old Testament book (his commentary on Jeremiah was simply superb). He’s great at capturing the essence of a section of scripture and presenting it in a compelling way. Recommended.
Iain Duguid, Daniel (Reformed Expository Commentary)
Duguid’s commentary is a collection of sermons so it’s very readable and focused on devotion and pastoral application. At the same time, he’s clearly done his scholarly work to reach his conclusions so it’s valuable as a resource for interpretation, as well.
Probably the most helpful thing for me was to read how a non-dispensational amillennialist understands the book of Daniel. I was given my framework for reading Daniel at Moody Bible Institute and wasn’t exposed to other faithful positions from others who believed in inerrancy and had healthy hermeneutics. It was great to be given a different set of lenses–and also see how the applications ended up largely the same.
Larry Osborne, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture
Osborne’s book is not a commentary on Daniel, per se. He doesn’t walk through the book of Daniel showing you what’s in each chapter. But he does provide trenchant thoughts on application of teaching in Daniel for daily living in a hostile environment.
I read Thriving in Babylon several years ago with our small group, and we had great conversations about it. A wrote a discussion guide for groups that continues to be one of the most-used items on my blog. 
Mitchell Chase, Daniel (TGC Bible Commentary)
Chase gets to the chase! In a similar fashion to a Derek Kidner, this free online commentary is chock full of blessed incisive concision.
I also profited greatly from the study notes in the CSB Study Bible (Michael Rydelnik), NIV Zondervan Study Bible (Tremper Longman), ESV Study Bible (Iain Duguid), and NIV Study Bible (Gleason Archer and Ronald Youngblood), Knowing the Bible: Daniel (Todd A. Wilson), and the NET Bible online.
I wouldn’t have wanted to preach Daniel without any of these books, but I probably could have gotten away with just Tanner, Helm, and Longman (and maybe Duguid) this time around. If your budget is tight and you have to pick 3, those would be my suggestions.

I am grateful to the Lord for providing these rich resources to understand His Word and grow in my faith and love and obedience to The King of Kingdoms!

“God’s Judgment Is Right” [Matt's Messages]

“God’s Judgment Is Right”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchAugust 10, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10  
Here’s a statement of truth to encourage your soul today: “God’s judgment is right.”
Those words are found in verse 5, and the Apostle Paul and his friends Silas and Timothy want to encourage the hearts of their Thessalonian friends with that assertion–“God’s judgment is right.”
What God decides is right and righteous. He always does what is right! He is never fooled by appearances, and He never makes the wrong decisions about anything or anyone.  God’s judgment is right. Isn’t that encouraging?! 
It’s even more encouraging when you think about how it doesn’t always feel that way. In fact, it often does not feel that way, because our world is not like it should be.
That we feel! We all have a longing for justice. For everything to be the way that it should be. Everything broken fixed. Every terrible thing made right again. Every wrong undone.
Is that what we see in the world? Justice, justice everywhere? Answer: Not yet.
But that does not mean that God is doing it wrong. God’s judgment is right. And it will be right. And will be right forever. Eternally! And that’s eternal encouragement for those who long for justice.
Like the church of the Thessalonians. Let’s get into the letter to see how Paul is trying to encourage them. Starting in verse 1.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
“Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Classic opening for one of Paul’s letters. Same three authors. Same team that helped plant the church. Same baby church in Thessalonica. 
And in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t forget that location that he points out. That church isn’t just in Thessalonica, just like our church is not just in Lanse. That church is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s where we are! A genuine church is located in the Father and in the Son (and we know from the rest of the Bible IN the Holy Spirit).
And then he wishes upon them grace and peace from that same God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace.
And they are going to need it. Because things are not going very smoothly for this church! They are under attack. But that’s not where Paul starts. He starts by giving thanks for how the church is thriving where it really counts. Look at verse 3.
“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”
Isn’t that great?! Paul not only says that he gives thanks to God for these precious brothers and sisters in Christ, but that he ought to! That it would only be right. 
There’s something good cooking at Thessalonica, and everybody who has eyes can see it!
“Your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing!”
This church is growing where it really counts: faith and love. Remember in 1 Thessalonians, there were 3 key words that kept showing up: faith, love, and hope. Right? Paul gave thanks for their faith, love, and hope. Well, here are two of the three once again. And we know that hope shows up in chapter 2, because it’s in our memory verse, 2:16-17.
They had faith and love in 1 Thessalonians, but he wanted them to grow in it more and more. Do you remember that from earlier this summer? In chapter 3 of the first letter, Paul prays, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you” (1 Thess. 3:12). So that makes verse 3 here an answer to Paul’s own prayer! 
Paul says, “I have to give thanks because you guys are believing more and more and loving each other more and more.” I’m so proud of you! Well done, you. Praise God! Praise God!
And I see the same thing happening here at Lanse Free Church. We’ve been praying ever since we started to grow in numbers that we would grow in faith and in love for each other. 
And I’m seeing it happening. One of the most encouraging things that the Kentucky Team said was that we got to know each other better and got knit together. And I see that happening in other groups in our church family right now. It’s one of the great things about the Fall Retreat to be able to spend unhurried time together and love one another more. It happened at Family Bible Week, too. And I expect the same thing out there this afternoon at our new pavilion.  
It’s great to grow in attendance, but what really counts is to grow in faith and love for one another.
Paul could see it! Paul was so encouraged. And he just had to give thanks for it.
And one of reasons that this was so encouraging was because they were trusting God more and more and loving each other more and more when they were being persecuted more and more. Look at verse 4.
“Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.”
This church was getting kicked in the teeth. They were in trouble with the authorities. They were in trouble with their neighbors. Some were probably losing their jobs. Some may have been taking beatings. Some may have been losing their lives. All because they were following King Jesus.
“Persecutions and trials.” Following Jesus is not always easy. Sometimes, it’s really painful. But the Thessalonians were not giving up. They were continuing to love each other and to trust God. Paul says they had, “...perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials [they were] enduring.” 
They were not giving up. They were not giving in. And it made Paul so proud! Do you see what he said in verse 4? “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith!” Paul just loved to brag on these Christians. He was so proud of them. He gloried in God’s work in them.
He was telling the Corinthians, “Have you heard about the Thessalonians? I just love those folks. They are getting kicked in the teeth over there for Jesus, but they keep trusting Him. And they keep loving each other.”
He was telling the Philippians, “Have you heard about the Thessalonians?  When one of them loses their job because of persecution, the others feed him until he find the next job. When somebody gets thrown in jail, the church shows up to visit them. They love each other.”
He was telling the Galatians, “I am so proud of the Thessalonians. They don’t give up. They don’t give in. I am so encouraged by their faith and love.”
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to read.
"Paul is proud of us. He’s bragging on us to the other churches."
And you know what I’m going to say, right?
I’m proud of you. And I brag on you to other pastors. Just in the last year to send a team to Malawi across the ocean to support our brothers and sisters in Christ in the warm heart of Africa. And then to send a gift at our last church family meeting to help them buy a property to build a ministry center and school on. And here to build a pavilion for–not just us to use but–for the community to use at our community playground. Twenty five years later, we’re still giving it to the community.
And now we have the Lanse Free Fridge where we can share food with our community. And it’s getting used by and for the community. 
I’m so proud of you. Proud of you for loving our brothers and sisters in Haiti by sending enough money from Family Bible Week to pay the tuition for 9 students at the VOHM school! And then to send the 11 of us to Kentucky to help the folks in the hollers down there after their flood.
We are not being persecuted right now, but I still boast in your perseverance and faith and love. Well done, you. Praise God!
Paul was encouraged, and he was encouraging them. And that was important and necessary because it was hard. They were suffering. This wasn’t a walk in the park. It wasn’t fun.
But they were clearly genuine Christians who loved Jesus and trusted Jesus. And God was going to reward them. Because God’s judgment is right. Look at verse 5.
“All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.”
That’s a strange sentence. It takes spiritual understanding to “get” that sentence. “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right.”
What’s the “all this?” Is it all this persecution? I think there’s something to that. When we see genuine Christians being genuinely persecuted for their faith, it is evidence that God’s judgment is right because Jesus said that this was going to happen. He said that His followers will be persecuted. He said that in this world we will have “trouble” (see John 16:33). Greek word, “thlipsis.”
However, that trouble is not right. Should we be persecuted for following King Jesus? I don’t think so.
My guess is that the “all this” in verse 5 is all of this perseverance, not all this persecution. All this love for one another even when they’ve been getting pounded by the authorities and hounded by their neighbors. All this faith and more faith, even though they are being troubled. “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.”
Now, be careful here. Paul is not saying that they have earned the kingdom by being good little boys and girls. We know that’s not how it works. Our salvation is by grace and grace alone. Our eternal encouragement is because God loved us and, by His grace, sent His Son to die for us (see 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 and John 3:16). That’s the only way that we will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God.
But the only ones who will are those who have believed in the Son of God. And continued to believe in the Son of God even when the beatings come. It’s only real Christians with a real faith who enter the kingdom of God and are counted worthy of it. Worthy to inherit the kingdom of kingdoms!
I’ve only got two points this morning to summarize this passage, and here’s point number one: God’s judgment is right.
#1. GOD’S TRUE PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM.
God will not fail to give the kingdom to His true people. He will not be tricked into thinking that someone is His who is not. And He will not miss anyone who truly is. God’s judgment is always right. 
God will see His true people’s faith and love grow even in the face of persecution and suffering and know that they are real. And He will allow even more suffering in some of their lives.
And they will rejoice, not in their suffering, but in that they were counted worthy of bearing His name.
That happened in the book of Acts, chapter 5. The Christians there were being persecuted, and they were even whipped, flogged. I can’t really wrap my mind around how much that would hurt and how unjust it would feel. But the Bible says that they went home rejoicing that they were counted worthy of suffering for the Name of Jesus (5:29).
Do you think that God’s going to mess up and not give those Christians the kingdom? No way. God’s judgment is right, and as a result they will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which they were suffering.
I don’t want to suffer for the kingdom of God, but I want to be willing to  because I want to be worthy of it. Because it is worth it.
How encouraging that must have been for them to read those words, “You will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God!” God’s true people will receive His eternal kingdom (see Daniel 7:14&27). 
But that’s not all. God’s judgment is right:
#2. GOD’S TRUE ENEMIES WILL RECEIVE THEIR ETERNAL DESTRUCTION.
Look at verse 6. 
“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.”
“God is just.” His judgments are right, and they are never wrong. Sometimes (often), it seems like they are wrong. Because people seem to get away with all kinds of things. Especially those who persecute Christians just for following King Jesus.
But Paul says, “They are not getting away with anything.” Nobody “gets away,” with anything. Those people who were hounding and pounding the Christians at Thessalonica? They were going to get hounded and pounded back.
“God is just: He will pay back trouble [thlipsis] to those who trouble you [thlipsis] and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.”
Nobody “gets away” with anything. When Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble,” He could have gone on to say, “And those who give you that trouble are going to get it on the rebound.”
There will be justice. Justice will be done, and it will be seen to be done.
And not only will they get the trouble coming to them, but you will get the relief from the trouble that you were longing for all along. You will have rest. 
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to hear. 
This trouble will not go on forever. And, in fact, it will fixed. 
Everything is going to be fixed.
Do you believe that?
Everything is going to be fixed. God’s judgment is right. And Paul says it’s not just going to be fixed for the Thessalonians, it’s going to be fixed for all of us, himself included.
When? How long, O Lord? When is this justice going to come? Verse 7.
“This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”
It’s going to happen at the Return of Christ!
Right now, He’s hidden in heaven, but one day soon, He’s going to be “revealed” [apokalupsis, same word as the name of the last book of the Bible]. Revelation.
Jesus Christ is going to return, not as a little baby in the manger, but the Lord of Justice, the Son of Man.
Remember what we read in that vision of Daniel chapter 7 (9-14)? When Daniel was having a terrible vision of a terrifying, frightening powerful beast with iron teeth and a little horn that made great boasts. 
It seemed like all was lost for God’s people, and then all of sudden Daniel looked and saw the Ancient of Days? Remember what His throne was like? Flaming with fire. And it’s wheels were on fire. And river of fire was flowing coming out from before him. And remember how He was surrounded by angels? Ten thousand times ten thousand. And the books of justice were opened.
And then the one like a son of man came coming with the clouds of heaven. And He approached the Ancient of Days.
“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (see Daniel 7:9-14).
Verse 7. “This [justice] will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels." The King of Kingdoms is going to come, and He’s going to bring righteousness, holy justice, with Him. Verse 8.
“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power...”
Those are some of the scariest words in the whole Bible. Those who should know God but refuse to know Him will be punished. Those who hear the good news about Jesus but rejected the good news about Jesus will be punished. And it will be right. God’s judgment is right.
Nobody will be judged for the wrong thing or to the wrong degree.
We see miscarriages of justice every single day. We participate in them, too, when we have to make judgments, and we get it wrong. But God’s judgment is always right.
God has revealed Himself in nature, but humans suppress that truth in unrighteousness. And those who do will be punished. God has revealed Himself most fully in Jesus and His death and resurrection, and that good news requires a response. That’s why we can say we need to “obey the gospel.” The gospel calls for a response. And those who disobey the gospel by rejecting the good news about Jesus will be punished. And they will be punished eternally.
God’s true enemies will receive their eternal punishment.
That’s the opposite of eternal encouragement, isn’t it? It’s scary. It’s horrible. And it’s right. God’s judgment is right.
Hell is real, friends. And worst part of it is not the unquenchable fire, it’s not the gnashing of teeth, it’s not the darkness, it’s (v.9) being “shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power...”
It’s being separated from the goodness of God for all eternity. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that when the Lord returns, we will be caught up together with him in the clouds, and “And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
And that’s what makes heaven heaven. “Forever with the Lord!”
And that’s also what makes hell hell. Forever without the Lord.
It’s almost unthinkable. But it’s true. And it’s right. 
And it’s encouraging. Because we know that everything that is wrong will be made right. We know that everything that is broken will be fixed. We know that every punishment that is due will be meted out. Perfectly. Absolutely. Entirely. Beautifully.
Paul was telling this to the Thessalonians to encourage and comfort them.
Their tormenters will be tormented, appropriately. Their persecutors will feel the heat. “God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled.” You can count on it!
Not yet. Not quite yet. We have to wait. The Thessalonians had to wait. We have to wait. We’re learning a lot about waiting this year as a church, aren’t we? We have to wait for perfect justice to come.
We can work towards justice now. We can advocate for it. We can try to practice it. We can “act justly” as far as we can determine (Micah 6:8).
But we have to wait for God’s perfect justice to come when Jesus Christ is revealed. But what a day that will be! Look at how Paul describes it in verse 10.
 [They will be punished with everlasting destruction...] “on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”
What a day that will be! Jesus will be gloried in us. Because we will be transformed to be like Him! And He will be marveled at by us! We will worship and adore Him and praise Him for His justice.
Right now, I struggle with understand His justice. I struggle with the idea of Hell. But one day I won’t. One day, I’ll see the perfect justice of it when I see King Jesus judging justly. I’ll just marvel. And I’ll be eternally encouraged that God’s judgment is right.
And so will you, if you know Him and obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (v.8). 
And that’s true even if you’ve been persecuting the church! Think about that. The Apostle Paul was once a verse 6 trouble-maker. He persecuted the church of God. He was breathing out murderous threats against followers of Jesus. Hounding them and pounding them.
What did he deserve? He deserved payback. But Paul repented of His sins and put His faith and trust in Jesus and what He did at the Cross and the Empty Tomb. And he was forgiven and brought into the Kingdom of God. Paul didn’t “get away” with anything. He was forgiven by Jesus who paid for His sins in His body on the Tree.
If you ever wonder if God’s judgment is wrong, then just look at Jesus on the Cross. Because every sin will be righteously judged. Either at the Cross or in Hell. Jesus was going through our Hell for us. To give us His heaven.
If you have never turned from your sins and put your trust in Jesus, I urge you to right now. Because you are headed towards Hell.  You are barreling towards judgment. Eternal punishment, shut out from the presence of the Lord and the majesy of his power. But you don’t have to be shut out. You are invited to come in.
The Thessalonians believed the gospel. V.10 “This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” We are all invited to believe and be included today. And that’s what we want to tell people this Saturday. It’s the Good News Cruise. 
The good news that God’s judgment is right.

***
Messages in this Series:
1 Thessalonians
01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

2 Thessalonians
09. "In Every Good Deed and Word" - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Bonus Historical Message:
"Forever: Hell" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, October 30, 2005

“In Every Good Deed and Word” [Matt's Messages]

“In Every Good Deed and Word”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchAugust 3, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17  
Today, after a few weeks off, we are returning to our sermon series on First and Second Thessalonians. A few weeks ago, we finished Paul’s first letter to the church of the Thessalonians, and now we’re jumping into his second.
And, strangely enough, we’re going to start in the middle. Chapter 2, verses 16 and 17, which is a prayer nestled in the middle of Paul’s letter to that beloved baby church that he helped to start and cared so deeply about.
You may remember that it’s from these two verses that we get our title for this entire series, “Eternal Encouragement.” That’s in verse 16.
Your version may say, “eternal comfort” which is a good translation. You may remember that encouragement comes in two basic flavors. There is exhortation like, “I encourage you to get your feet off of the coffee table, mister” and there is consolation like, “I am so encouraged to know that the Lord is at work in our church by hearing all of these things that God has been doing in our Kentucky Team.”  Exhortation and consolation are both kinds of encouragement.
If anything, I think this one is more comfort and consolation because in this context, Paul has been trying to encourage the Thessalonians since they are being persecuted for their faith. We’ll get into that more next week, Lord-willing, when we open up chapter one, but this church was hurting, and so Paul was reminding them once again about the return of Jesus Christ and the salvation that He will one day bring. He’s going to fix everything!
And that is the source of our “eternal encouragement.”
Eternal encouragement. Eternal! Forever! Unending. Inexhaustible. Unstoppable. 
Encouragement. Comfort. Consolation. Forever. 
Eternal encouragement. Doesn’t that sound good?!
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Do you need some encouragement these days?
I don’t know about you, but I need encouragement these days. And not just a flaky encouragement that is based on something transitory and fleeting, but solid encouragement on something that doesn’t run out. Eternal encouragement.
And Paul knew that the persecuted Thessalonians needed that, as well, and so in the middle of his letter he pulls up and prays it for them.
And maybe the most encouraging thing that he says in is prayer is that they already have eternal encouragement!
Did you catch that? Paul prays to, “[O]ur Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us [past tense] and by his grace gave us [past tense, already] eternal encouragement and good hope...”
I have just two points this morning to summarize these two verses, and I hope they are both a great encouragement to us all. The first one is simply:
#1. THE LORD HAS GIVEN US GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT!
Paul begins his middle-letter benediction by reminding the Thessalonians what God has already done.
He invokes two of the Persons of the Triune God, “Our Lord Jesus Christ himself[!]” He names Jesus first, and then He names His Father which he points out is (by adoption) “our Father.” He just as well could have the named the Spirit here because anything the Son and the Father are doing includes the Spirit, as well. But he names the Son and the Father and then reminds us what this Triune God has done.
He has loved us. Church, He has loved us! Isn’t that encouraging?! 
How encouraging that must have been for the church of the Thessalonians to hear. Remember, they were being persecuted. It didn’t always feel like the Lord was loving them. But Paul says, “He loved us.” And he includes himself in there. Not just “He loved YOU,” but “He loved us.”
How? By choosing us. By sending His Son for us. By giving His Son for us. What that Table right there stands for.  “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).
That’s eternal encouragement! That never ends. The love of God!
And it’s a gift. It’s (v.16) “by his grace.” We don’t earn it. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. We never could deserve it. We deserve the opposite of it.
Some people go out on missions trips to try to earn God’s favor. “If we just work hard enough and help enough people, then maybe God will save us.”
No, no, no, no, no! That’s not how it works. If that’s how it works, we are doomed. No, Paul says that the Lord loved us and "by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.”
Remember, “hope” in this context is a good future guaranteed. Hope is faith directed into the future which is a sure thing because of God’s grace.
Last week on our trip, Pennie did one of the devotions for the group, and she shared her testimony of being encouraged by Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11). And just like God’s plan for the exiled Israelites was for their good future, God’s plan for us Christians is a good hope and a good future for all eternity because of God’s grace!
The Lord has given us great encouragement! That’s verse 16. And because of that, Paul is bold to pray that the Lord would give us even more. And that’s verse 17. "May the Lord who gave us eternal encouragement (v.17), encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
#2. MAY THE LORD GIVE US GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT!
Isn’t that interesting that in verse 16, Paul says God has done it, and then in verse 17 he prays that God would do it? Same basic root word, parakaleo, to encourage or comfort.
God has encouraged, may He encourage. If God is handing out eternal encouragement, I think we can turn to Him for daily encouragement, too. Amen?
May the Lord “encourage your hearts.”May the Lord “encourage your hearts.”May the Lord “encourage your hearts.”
How encouraging that must have been for the Thessalonians to read Paul praying that for them!
What a great thing for us to pray for each other! Yesterday, as I was preparing this message, I committed to praying these words for our church family every day for the rest of the year. And I’m going to begin praying these words for people all the time. I’m glad it’s our new memory verse for the next couple of months. Let’s pray these words for each other. Let’s put them in encouragement cards to each other.
May the Lord “encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” So that encouragement to our hearts is meant to give us inner strength to do whatever the Lord has called us to do.
The word for “strengthen” could also be translated “establish.” It means to give the inner stabilization that we need to do whatever the Lord is calling us to do. Paul prays that the Lord would “strengthen [us] in every good deed and word.”
Some of your versions says, “every work and word.”
Everything we do.Everything we say.That’s about everything, isn’t it?
Paul prays for grace to give the Thessalonians fortification to keep on keeping on even in the face of oppression and persecution. They were going to be tempted to give up. Some of them apparently already had (see 2 Thess. 3:10-13). But Paul prayed that deep down they would encouraged and beefed up to do and say whatever the Lord would have them do and say.
“Every good deed and word.” Every!
That means all the good deeds that we did back in Kentucky. And that means all the good deeds we are called to do right here in Pennsylvania. That includes the good deeds that need done for the Good News Cruise. That includes all the good deeds that need done at the Lanse Free Fridge.
And that includes the good deeds that need done at our homes and our jobs and in our neighborhoods.
I pray that God would strengthen you to get up and go to work tomorrow.I pray that God would strengthen you to make dinner for your family.I pray that God would strengthen you to give somebody a ride.I pray that God would strengthen you to send somebody an encouragement card.
“Every good deed.”
And every good “word.”
Because some of our best deeds are things we say. Encouraging things. Gospel things. We need to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who haven’t heard it yet. So that they have eternal encouragement and good hope, as well.
What good deeds and good words are you being called to do and say?
Does anybody remember what our theme as a church is for 2025? 
It’s “Serving the King.” In 2025, as a church, we are focusing on stepping up and kneeling down to serve the King of Kingdoms.
A group of us did that in special ways in the “hollers” of eastern Kentucky. Maybe you’re supposed to go on a Crisis Response Trip yourself. Or maybe you’re supposed to sign up to park cars at the Good News Cruise. Or to walk around talking to people at the cruise-in. Getting outside your comfort zone.
How are you supposed to step up and kneel down to serve the King of Kingdoms?
The Lord has given us great encouragement–for eternity.
May the Lord give us great encouragement–for today that empowers our words and works for Him. 

***
Messages in this Series:
1 Thessalonians
01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

"The Far Bank" by Zeke Pipher

The Far Bank: 40 Devotions for Anglers by Zeke Pipher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zeke Pipher knows about deep waters. In The Far Bank, Zeke has penned forty searching meditations on holy Scripture through the eyes and heart of a true fisherman. I’ve never been an angler myself (fishing always sounded more like work than rest), but my friend Zeke almost makes me want to tie a fly and wade into a river with his mesmerizing descriptions and meaningful tales.

The Far Bank is far from shallow. Zeke draws from some of the richest sources in Christian theology and plumbs some spiritual depths. I was personally encouraged by every insightful essay. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review, and my honest opinion is that Zeke is a man of understanding who is always worth reading (see Proverbs 20:5).

View all my reviews

“O Magnify the LORD with Me” [Matt's Messages]

“O Magnify the LORD with Me”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchFamily Bible Week FinaleJuly 13, 2025 :: Psalm 34
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
That’s an invitation.
This whole Psalm is a beautiful lyrical invitation to join King David in knowing and praising and trusting in the goodness of God. Verse 3 says:
“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (King James Version).
Now, as the adult class learned this week, there are many different excellent translations of the Bible out there that, together, help us understand what it means. The NIV (the New International Version) which is what our Pew Bibles are says, “Glorify the LORD with me.” The CSB (the Christian Standard Bible) says, “Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me.” So that’s what it means to “magnify” the LORD as the King James and the ESV (English Standard Version) put it. To “magnify” the LORD does NOT mean that the LORD is really small, and what we need is to beef Him up some.
“Poor little ‘god,’ let’s get some magnification on that guy.” No! It doesn’t mean that God’s goodness is microscopic.  It means that our understanding is microscopic and that we need to expand our understanding, and that we need to show more and more just how good and glorious our God is. Amen?
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
Do you feel how that is an invitation?
King David wants everyone who reads his song in Psalm 34 to join him in magnifying the goodness of God. Let’s look at the whole thing, starting up in verse 1.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Interestingly, Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem. One of those A-Z sort of things where the psalmist starts each line with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Aleph, Beth, Gimel. A, B, C. You can’t see it in the English, but this is a carefully constructed poem from A-Z. This week in the adult class, I passed around my Hebrew Bible, and you can see the pattern there.
It actually deviates from the pattern in two places, and I’m not sure why. There is no 6th letter and the 17th letter is out of order, coming at the end. But the point is that King David has spent a lot of time and effort to craft this particular song just the way he wants it to invite us to magnify the goodness of God with him.
The first invitation of Psalm 34 is an invitation to join the psalmist in unceasing praise. Look at verse 1.
“Psalm 34. Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
I have four points of application for us to consider today from Psalm 34, and they are all about how to magnify the goodness of the LORD. The first one is this.
O magnify the LORD with me:
#1. BY ALWAYS PRAISING HIS GOODNESS.
David starts his song with a commitment to unceasing praise.
“I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”
“You can count it. I plan to always praise the Lord.” What does that remind you of? It reminds me of what we just studied last Sunday in the last section of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. Paul wrote, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). Remember that? I wonder if Paul had been reading Psalm 34?!
King David said he would always be praising the goodness of God.
Not just when things are going well, but when things are decidedly NOT going well. It’s much harder then. That’s why we have to decide in advance that our lips are going to always have praise on them.
And just like we said last week, that doesn’t mean that all we ever do is praise the Lord. Sometimes we lament. Sometimes we confess. Sometimes we confront. There are lots of other kinds of righteous words on our lips.
But every day and never far away, we who belong to the LORD can and should have praise on our lips. Because He is so good! We boast about Him. Did you see that word in verse 2?
“My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.”
Now, that’s a strange group to rejoice! “The afflicted.” The suffering. The downtrodden. The distressed. King David invites them to hear his song and to join it! V.3
“Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Praise is contagious, and it loves company! “With me!” David says. “Glorify the Lord with me!”
Praise doesn’t stay confined in one person. Someone who is praising wants other people to join in the praising with them. 
Like if you see a good movie, most of the time, you want to tell somebody else how good that it is and encourage them to watch it, too. Or a good restaurant? Or a great piece of music? 
“You’ve got to listen to this song. It’s so good!”
King David is inviting everybody to sing about the goodness of God! King David wants everybody to sing in concert with him, boasting in the goodness of the LORD. All the time.
There’s a call and response originating in the Black Church that goes, “God is Good...All the Time. All the Time...God is Good.”
Have you ever done that?
Leader says: God is good!!People say: All the time!!Leader says: All the time?!People say: God is good!!
Let’s do it.
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]
King David would say, “Let us exalt his name together.”
In verse 4, we begin to see what David was so happy about. He had been rescued. He had been saved from his enemies. Verse 4.
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” 
Like many other psalms, this one has a backstory. The superscription up in verse 1 tells us that it was written out of the time when David “pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.” 
You can read that story in 1 Samuel chapter 21. It’s really wild! David was in trouble (as usual) and on the run from King Saul, and he ran into even more trouble trying to live under a Philistine king while carrying the sword of the giant Philistine Goliath whom he had killed earlier. 
David was in a pickle, and he used a clever ruse to get out of it. But his own cleverness was not the point of the story that David himself got out it! When David thought about his own story, he didn’t give himself the glory. He gave the glory to the LORD. David recognized, when it was all over, that God had rescued him. That Yahweh had delivered him. From all of his fears and all of his troubles. That’s his testimony! Look at verse 6 again.
“This poor man [this afflicted guy with no resources on my own] called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”
That’s why David is praising Him! That’s how good the LORD is!
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]
I love, love, love how verse 5 describes the people who look to the LORD for their salvation. They don’t look terrorized even if scary things are happening to them. Verse 5.
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” 
I want that for myself, especially as I age. I want to be radiant. And I want that for all of us, too. I want us to be radiant.  I’ve seen some radiant faces up here on the platform as the kids have sung the songs this week! If I were going to plant or rename a church, I think I’d want to call it, “Radiant Church.” Shining with praise for God’s deliverance in our lives. Because, verse 7:
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
That’s an unseen spiritual reality intimated in this song lyric. Right now, those of us who fear God have the angel of the LORD encamping around us. 
You are surrounded right now! Did you know that? If you are in Christ, you are surrounded. You are spiritually safe from the world, the flesh, and the devil’s rage–make war against you as they will. “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Greater is He that encamps around you than he that is in the world (see 1 John 4:4)!
And if that’s true, why wouldn’t you want the LORD in your life? V.8
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
O magnify the LORD with me:
#2. BY TASTE-TESTING HIS GOODNESS.
Do you feel how much this psalm is invitational?
King David is like a satisfied customer who is saying, “You’ve gotta try this for yourself! C’mon. Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
Notice that the metaphor in verse 8 alludes to two of our physical senses, both of which when something is truly wonderful indicate for us great pleasure! Both taste and sight. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
What was the best thing you ate at Family Bible Week out there under our brand new pavilion?
The Hospitality Team served around 400 meals over the four nights we had together, and there’s plenty of leftovers for the picnic today. Everybody stick around for the party!
Monday night was Hotdogs.Then it was Taco Tuesday.Wednesday was Mac-N-Cheese and Chicken Nuggets.And Thursday was pizza and ice-cream night.
And I would ask kids in the line, “Do you like tacos?” And some of them would nod “yes,” and some would nod “no.” And for the “no’s,” I’d ask, “Have you tried it? Or do you just stick to PB&J from Amy over there?” Because this stuff is so good! 
That’s a taste-test. Somebody who has experienced the goodness of something invites others try it out and see for themselves how good it really is.
And in Psalm 34, it’s not just a hot-dog or a chicken nuggie. It’s a Person. It’s God Himself. It’s Yahweh, the God of Israel. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
The Hebrew word translated “good” is “tov.” We’ve seen this word before in our Old Testaments. “Tov” is same word Moses used in Genesis 1 to  express God’s pleasure in the world that He had made. God saw that it was “tov.” “Tov” is the way things ought to be.
It’s not just morally good. It’s good and complete and sweet. “Taste and see that the LORD is [tov].”
King David says, “See for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it. Jump in yourself. The water is so good! Judge for yourself. Take a bite of the goodness of belonging to the Lord. You won’t be disappointed!” Because here’s what you’re going to find: blessing. Verse 8.
“Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
That’s the same word that starts off the whole book of Psalms. “Blessed.” Happy. To be in a state to be congratulated. In a good place.
As the hymn says it’s, “Life and rest and joy and peace. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” Try it! Verse 9.
“Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
How about that image?! Yes, even young lions who can eat anything they can catch will still get tired and hungry. But if the LORD is your shepherd, you shall not want (Psalm 23:1). If the LORD is your sun and your shield, He will withhold no good thing from you (Psalm 84:11). Everything you really need will be yours if you put your trust and fear in the name of the LORD.
God is “tov”!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is “tov”!!]
Now, David has used this phrase, “fearing the LORD” a few times already in this song (verse 7, verse 9). The LORD has delivered Him from all of his fear except for his fear of the LORD. That’s a good fear. And it’s one that we need to learn. The fear of the LORD is...what? “The beginning of wisdom.”
Where you do you get that? In verse 11, King David offers to teach us. He speaks as the “father” of Israel and offers to be their teacher. Verse 11.
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”
He kind of sounds like one of our terrific Family Bible Week teachers for the kids. They have done great job this week of coming every night and getting those squirrelly kids to settle down and listen and teach them the gospel. They are back there doing it now! Make sure you thank them.
Do you feel how invitational this song is? David invites them to praise God for His goodness all the time with himself. David invites them to taste and see God’s goodness for themselves. And now David invites them to learn to fear the LORD for themselves.
And it basically boils down to living out God’s goodness. To living out God’s will in the sight of God and pursuing goodness like God himself. Verse 12.
“Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
O magnify the LORD with me...
#3. BY PURSUING HIS GOODNESS.
The fear of the LORD looks like living a good life in the sight of God. It’s living out your faith before a holy God. It’s not being perfect, but it is being obedient by faith. Pursuing goodness. Look at verse 12 again.
“Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days [tov days, days filled with the goodness of the LORD, ... DO THIS:], keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good [tov]; seek peace and pursue it.”
It’s that easy. Or it’s that simple. It may not be easy, especially for broken people in a broken world. But it’s pretty simple.
Watch your mouth. “...keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”
I’m not very tempted to outright lie very often maybe because I don’t want to get caught. But I am tempted to exaggerate. If I’m in a conversation, and I say something that really gets a good reaction, I’m tempted to blow it up just a little bit more. And magnify myself instead of the LORD.
How about you? Is your mouth marked by truth? Gossip, slander, obscenity, cursing, manipulating, quarreling. There are lots of ways that our mouths can get us in trouble.
There are so many Proverbs that warn us that the fear of the LORD means that we keep our tongues from evil. And not just our mouths, but we should watch the whole direction of our whole lives.
“Turn from evil and do good [tov]; seek peace and pursue it.”
What does that remind you of? That reminds me of what we just learned in 1 Thessalonians a few weeks ago! I think Paul must have been reading Psalm 34. 
Paul said, “Live in peace with each other...Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:13&15). The word for “kind” there is a Greek word that often gets translated, “good.” Do good for each other and everyone else.
King David says in Psalm 34 that to learn the fear of the LORD, we actually have to pursue His goodness in our personal relationships.
“Seek peace and pursue it.”
Does that describe you and your life? Remember, it doesn’t say “fake peace,” it says “seek peace and pursue it.” You and I are supposed to be peace-seekers, peace-pursuers, peace-makers, reconcilers.
Some of us just like to stir the pot, though. When Christians do not pursue Gods goodness like verses 12 through 14, we give Christianity a bad name. 
That was the point the Apostle Peter was making in his first letter when he quoted these very lines of Psalm 34! 
And Peter said we should do it even when we’re being persecuted! He said, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:9-11). That’s Psalm 34!
We still supposed to live this way today. Even when we are being persecuted. We need to pursue the goodness (the tov-ness) of God.
With our mouths.With our lives.With our relationships.
We are to repay evil and insult with blessing so that we may inherit a blessing. Because our God is so full of blessing, so full of goodness. So full of attentive care.
That’s how David ends this song–with a litany of beautiful images of God’s goodness up close and personal. One on top of another.
O magnify the LORD with me:
#4. BY TAKING REFUGE IN HIS GOODNESS.
Because when we live in the fear of the LORD knowing that His holy eyes are on us so that we want to please Him and live in accordance with His goodness, we also know that His holy eyes are not just on us but on our enemies, and He will deliver us from them. V.15
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
This afternoon, take out a piece of paper and a pen and make a list of all of the goodness that this song ascribes to the LORD. And just revel and rest in it!
Look at all of those sensory words! Its not just our mouth and eyes with which we taste and see. It’s the LORD’s eyes, and ears, and face and personal presence, and closeness. 
He is near and He cares.
I think that’s the message that the kids really got this week. Every night we sang the new song, “God Sees Me.”
“God sees me and He knows what I’m thinking.Every doubt, every hope, every dream.God sees me, and he cares how I’m doing.It makes me smile, knowing that God sees me.
He watches over you and me.He cares about the little things.It makes me want to shout and singand give the glory to my king!” [Paul Marion and Jeremy Johnson, Lifeway Worship, 2024]
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry...”
At Family Bible week, the kids learned:
1. God sees me.2. God cares about me.3. God loves me.4. God forgives me.
And right now they’re back there learning that [5] God is faithful to His promises. Promises like (v.18)...
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted...” Are you brokenhearted today? “[He] saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Now, He does not promise us a trouble-free life (v.19).
“A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”
For great King David, that was a metaphor of God’s overall protection, but of course, for great King David’s greatest son, King Jesus, it was literally true.
They did not break His bones (John 19:36). Though they did pierce His hands and feet. And He did die on the Cross.
There is a tension here, isn’t there? This psalm cannot promise that we will win every single time. That Christians will never lose, never really suffer, never really die. Our Lord did all of that. But even as He died, they did not break His bones, and that pointed to the ultimate deliverance that came in just 3 days when He came back to life and life forevermore.
And verses 21 and 22 point to our ultimate deliverance, our ultimate salvation. Which is “no condemnation” for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). 
There is condemnation for those outside of Christ Jesus. V.21 
“Evil will slay the wicked [it will catch up to them]; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.”
Judgment is coming. Flee the wrath of God! But Jesus absorbed the wrath we deserve so that we can be redeemed. Verse 22.
“The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
So take refuge in Him! Take refuge in His goodness! All who take shelter in King Jesus can say, “I will never be condemned.”
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]

***
Astute readers will recognize that significant portions of this message were adapted from my message “Taste and See that the LORD is Good” first preached for LEFC Sunday April 25, 2021.

“This Is God’s Will For You” [Matt's Messages]

“This Is God’s Will For You”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchJuly 6, 2025 :: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28  
Do you want to know God’s will for your life?
Careful how you answer that. Sometimes we say we want to know what God’s will is for us, but we really don’t. We only want to know God’s will for us if it’s also our will for us, right?
“Well, give me a peek, and then I’ll decide.”
But when we are at our best, all Christians do want to know God’s will for our lives. I have Christians ask me all the time to pray with them to discover God’s particular will for them.
“What job should I pursue?Whom should I marry?Should I sell my car?Am I doing the right thing here?What is God’s will for me?”
Those are really good questions to ask and to ask God to answer. Most of the time, the particular answers are not in the Bible. This book does not say whether or not you should sell your car, or marry that guy or gal, or take that particular job.
But every once in a while, the Bible comes out and directly says, “This is God’s will for you.” This is what God wants you to be and to do. And to not do! 
And when it says that, we should sit up and pay attention.
In verse 18, the Apostle Paul writes, “This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” There is no question about this. God wills it for the Church of the Thessalonians and, by extension, to the Free Church at Lanse. So we better sit up and pay attention.
We said last time that Paul has not changed the subject. In this last section of his letter, he’s still talking about how we should live in light of the return of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is coming back soon. We don’t know when, and it’s better that way. We don’t need to know when it’s happening. We need to know that it’s happening and that it’s happening for us. We need to know Who we are and where we’re headed.
We are Children of the Day, and we are headed for salvation. We are not Children of the Night, and we are not headed for wrath. We are Children of the Day and we are headed for salvation when Jesus Christ returns so that we are together with the Lord forever.
And so we wait in active patience. We patiently wait in faithful, hopeful, active love.
Remember that? How do you get ready for the return of Jesus Christ? 
Three things: Faith, love, and hope. Faith, love, and hope. Every day, putting on the body armor of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation.
In the last section (verses 12-15), Paul double-clicked on the idea of love. He said that we need to love our church leaders and our church family and even our enemies.
And now, in verse 16, he turns to loving our God. Listen to verses 16 through 18 again:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I have three points to summarize our passage for today, and here’s the first one:
#1. BE FULLY HAPPY IN CHRIST JESUS.
This is God’s will for you! Be fully happy in Christ Jesus.
The thing that jumped out at me the most as I studied this passage for this week was all times that the word “all” appeared in all these verses. Or some variation of the word “all.”
You see it in these 3 short verses: “always, continually, all circumstances.”
There’s a globalness, a fullness to these commands. It’s not partial. It’s not limited. It’s not half-hearted.  It’s whole-hearted. And here it’s whole-hearted happiness.
“Be joyful always.”
That sounds so good, but it is so hard to do. It’s hard to rejoice all the time, isn’t it? Because there are so many things against us. We have enemies–the world, the flesh, and the devil. We have problems. We have struggles. We have difficulties. We are broken people living in a broken world. There is much to be sad about.
And guess what? The Bible is not saying that we should never be sad. Or mad. The Apostle Paul was sad and mad at times. The Lord Jesus Christ was sad and mad at times. God wants us to be sad and mad at the appropriate times, but He also wants us to be glad all. the. time.
“Be joyful always.” The King James says, “Rejoice evermore.”
Under and above and through all of the other emotions and attitudes that we have, there should be a deep and abiding joy. Not just a fleeting happiness that is dependent on happy circumstances, but a deep happiness that is derived from eternal blessedness.
“Be joyful always.” Because we always have something to be joyful about!
The Apostle Paul didn’t just say to do this, but he did it himself, didn’t he? Paul was a model of this. Just a few months before he wrote this, Paul was in prison with his teammate Silas. He was imprisoned in Philippi, less than a hundred miles from Thessalonica. You can read about it Acts chapter 16.
Paul was not a criminal. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and rescuing people from demonic oppression. And a crowd attacked him, and he got arrested, and they beat him. They flogged him severely. And they tossed him in prison.
And you know what he and Silas did that night in prison? Well, they probably cried. They probably felt sad and mad at the pain and injustice. But what Luke tells us in Acts 16 is that they sang in their prison cells! 
They were glad! The rejoiced. They sang in prison. 
Maybe something like:
“Though sometimes He leads thru waters deepTrials fall across the way,Thoough sometimes the path seems rough and steep,See His footprints all the way...” [Luther B Bridgers]
“Be joyful always!” This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Are you singing in your prison? Is there within your heart a melody in all of life’s ebb and flow?
“Be joyful always!” This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Now, just because we are rejoicing doesn’t mean that things are as they should be and that we shouldn’t be doing something to change how things are. And one of the key ways we do that is to ask God to change things. Verse 17 says, “Pray continually.”
That means to keep on praying all the time. To ask for things and not give up.
Interestingly, all of these commands are plural. This is something we’re supposed to do together. We’re supposed to pray for one another and keep on praying for one another.
I don’t think that Paul envisions us all mumbling all the time. The Lord Jesus said that we aren’t supposed to just mindlessly babble our prayers.
And I don’t think that Paul is asking us to get on our knees and never get up. Whatever he means has to fit withing the active loving working lifestyle that he also tells us to do in this letter. But I do think that he’s saying that we should have an attitude of prayer all of the time.
I like think of it as like the speaker mode on your phone. When you get up in the morning, you dial the Lord and then you “hit speaker” and talk to Him all day long. He’s listening all the time anyway, right? Why not talk to Him? We should be relating to the Lord all the day long. Telling Him our needs. Telling Him our desires. Bringing Him our problems. Confessing our sins. Lifting up our concerns and cares. And not just ours but our family’s, our church family’s, our community’s, our nations.
“Pray continually.” This is God’s will for you! Are you praying?
Paul did this one, too, didn’t he? Remember back in chapter 1 when he wrote them, “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually [same word!] remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:2-3).
Paul never stopped praying for them, and he asks them to never stop praying, as well. And while praying continually, they were supposed to thank God continually. Look again at verse 18.
“...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” Now, notice that it doesn’t say that we have to give thanks for all circumstances. We do not have to love everything that befalls us. 
But at the same time, it does say that whatever befalls us, we can be grateful. We can (and should) give thanks no matter what. Why? Because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Now, that phrase, “in Christ Jesus” is very important. It means that this command to give thanks (and to rejoice always and to pray continually) comes from the very highest authority. It comes from Jesus Christ Himself Who has all authority in heaven and in earth. We need to do this. This is God’s will for us!
But I think it means more than that.
I think it also means that we find in Christ Jesus the power to obey these commands. Because we are in Christ Jesus, we have every reason to rejoice.Because we are in Christ Jesus, we have all access to pray before throne of God above.Because we are in Christ Jesus, we have every reason to give thanks!
I’ve been processing some hard things recently. People I love are going through very difficult times. I’ve gotten some bad news that I have to work through. I see a lot going on in my country and my world that troubles me.
And it’s easy to get down about those things. And it’s okay to be sad and mad (in the right way). But I was reminded this week that this is God’s will for me: 
To give thanks in all circumstances. 
Because in all circumstances there is always something to be thankful for. Just think what we can be thankful for, no matter what:
We are saved!We are children of the day!We are not destined for wrath but for salvation!
Jesus Christ “died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him” (1 Thess. 5:10).
Jesus is coming back for us! 
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Because of Christ Jesus, we can be fully happy all the day. 
And not just fully happy but fully holy. This is God’s will for you:
#2. BE FULLY HOLY IN CHRIST JESUS.
In verses 19 through 22, Paul urges the Thessalonians to practice discernment. He wants them to make wise choices about what they hear and what they do with what they hear. 
Listen to these verses again. He’s still giving these little short staccato instructions. Verse 19.
“Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
You can tell that Paul wants them to be careful with how they live their lives. He wants them to be holy. They are to “Hold on to the good” and to “Avoid every kind of evil.” And that means being able to tell the difference between the two.
“Test everything.” Being holy takes discernment.
Paul starts in verse 19 with the instruction, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”
Or probably better to say, “Do not quench the Spirit” (because we can’t put out the fire of the Holy Spirit!). The word for “quench” means to “stifle” or “extinguish” or “suppress” a  fire or a light. And the Holy Spirit is pictured as both a fire and a light elsewhere in Scripture, so this is a call to not resist the work of the Holy Spirit in their church family. 
Don’t do something (don’t do anything) that resists the work of the Holy Spirit to make you all holy!
For example, if the Holy Spirit is convicting you of some sin in your life–perhaps joylessness or prayerlessness or ungratefulness (the opposite of verses 16 through 18), then don’t ignore that conviction! Don’t stuff it down. Don’t put your fingers in your ears. “Don’t quench the Spirit.”
Is there something that you know is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus that you are actively rejecting?
“Not right now, Spirit. I don’t have time to work on that right now. Life is hard. Leave me alone.” 
Paul says, “Don’t do that. Do not try to put out the Spirit’s fire. He wants to make you holy. Let Him!"
Last week, Jim Panaggio told us about how the Holy Spirit is in the business of transforming us into the image of Christ. He’s making us more and more like Jesus. Don’t try to get in His way!
Paul says in verse 20, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt.” 
The Holy Spirit was trying to speak to the Thessalonians through prophecies, and Paul says, “Do not put your fingers in your ears.”
Now, I don’t think these prophecies were Old Testaments prophecies like Jeremiah or Daniel. And I don’t think they were New Testament Apostolic prophecies like the book of Revelation or what Paul predicted in chapter 4.
In New Testament times before the Scriptures were completed, the Holy Spirit sent words of “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” through prophecies given to church members (see 1 Cor. 14:3). You can read about that in the Book of Acts and especially 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
Paul taught the Corinthians that those prophecies needed to be carefully “weighed” (see 1 Cor 14:29).
In verse 21, he says, “Test everything.” 
The Thessalonians were not supposed to be gullible and fall for everything that came down the pike under the name “prophecy.” Notice that word “everything.” There’s that “all” word again! “Test everything.”
But even though they weren’t supposed gullible, they also weren’t supposed to be cynical. God was still speaking to them, and they needed to stay open to the Holy Spirit and not treat prophecies with disdain and contempt.
Now, Christians today disagree on whether or not God still sends prophecies now like He did then before the canon of Scripture was completed.
If He does, they need to be carefully tested when they come. Are they compatible with the Scriptures? Do they properly glorify the Lord Jesus Christ? Because the Holy Spirit is all about glorifying Jesus and never detracting from Him. Do they strengthen, encourage, and comfort? Do they help us to become holy or do they bend us in the wrong direction?
“Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
When we get to 2 Thessalonians, we’re going learn that some people were prophesying in Paul’s name[!] that the day of the Lord had already come (see 2 Thess 2:2). Which was a flat-out lie. And if believed, it was going to do all kind of damage to the spiritual lives and holiness of God’s people in Thessalonica. 
That kind of prophecy needed to be avoided at all costs. And there is a lot of that kind of “prophecy” out there in the world today. Beware. Test everything.
But notice that Paul does not say, “Because prophecy can go wrong, we should avoid it all together.”
No, he actually said, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt.” Just test everything. And that’s true whether or not the Holy Spirit still sends prophecies in the exact same way that He did in the first century. Regardless of that, the Holy Spirit is still speaking to us today, and we need to listen. We just need to listen with discernment.
We need to pray continually and we need to search the Scriptures diligently to test everything we hear.
And that includes everything you hear from me in this pulpit! In Acts 17, after Paul left Thessalonica in the middle of the night, he and his team went to a little town called “Berea.”
And he planted a church there, but the Bereans never took Paul’s word all by itself. Luke says that the Bereans were “noble...for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
Now, if they had to do that with the Apostle Paul, then you need to do it even more when it’s me!
“Test everything.” Including Pastor Matt’s teaching.
That’s why we need to study our Bibles and know our Bibles. That’s why we have Family Bible Week because we don’t just listen to our spiritual leaders (though we learned in verses 12 and 13 that they are supposed to work hard at admonishing us).
But we also need to check on everything they teach.
“Test everything.” Why? So that people feel tested? No, so we know what is good and we do that. V.21
“Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
There’s another “ALL” word. “Every kind of evil.” Avoid it. Run from it. Abstain from it. Let go of it.  “Avoid every kind of evil.” Be fully holy! This is God’s will for you.
Paul is sure of that, and he even prays for it. In verse 23, Paul switches from commands to prayers. He gives a benediction or a blessing where he writes out his prayer for the Thessalonians.
And it’s a prayer for total holiness. Look at verse 23.
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What a beautiful prayer. How encouraging that must have been for the Thessalonians to read! Because they might have been daunted by the call to “Test everything...[and]...avoid every kind of evil.” That’s hard to do. So Paul prays that God Himself would make them holy!
That’s what it means to “sanctify.” That’s the word we use to mean “holy-fy.” To sanctify something means to set it apart as holy.
And Paul prays that God Himself would make them holy.
How holy? “Through and through.” ESV says, “Completely.” NASB says, “Entirely.”  Those are “ALL” words, aren’t they?
He goes on pray, “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There’s another “ALL” word. “Whole.”
And he includes the spirit, the soul, and the body, not because we are made of three parts, but to say every part of us. Paul prays that every single part of us would be kept or protected blameless for that coming day when Jesus Christ returns.
There He goes again, talking about the Lord’s return! Paul prays that God Himself would make them fully holy on the day that Jesus Christ comes back for His people. “Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And here’s the most encouraging verse in this entire section. Verse 24.
“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
There’s “eternal encouragement” for you! The Apostle Paul says that God Himself is trustworthy, and He Himself will make them holy. 
That must have been so encouraging for them to read. And it is for us, too, right?
This is God’s will for you:
#3. BE FULLY HOPEFUL IN CHRIST JESUS.
We don’t have to save ourselves. We don’t have to sanctify ourselves. Not ultimately.  
It is God's will for us, and it is God's work in us that saves us and sanctifies and makes us holy.
Our hope is not our own efforts. Our hope is the One who calls us to all of this. Yes, He’s calling us live this way, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy to be fully happy in Christ Jesus. We have reason to be sad or mad and not just glad. It’s not easy to be fully holy in Christ Jesus. It’s hard to avoid every kind of evil.
But ultimately, it’s not up to us. It’s up to the One calling us to accomplish it in us.
And “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
Put your hope in Him.Put your hope in His work.Put your hope in His faithfulness.Put your hope in His return.
Earlier in the service, we proclaimed our unity in Article 9 of our statement of faith. “We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope , motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service, and energetic mission.”
He is our hope! We fully hope in Him.
In the last four verses, Paul has a few final requests to make of the Thessalonians. 
First he asks for prayer.  Verse 25.
“Brothers [and sisters], pray for us.”
While they are praying continually, Paul asks that they pray for him and his team in particular.  He prays for them. He asks that they make it mutual.
And he wants them to greet each other. Verse 26.
“Greet all the brothers [and sisters] with a holy kiss.”
Make sure it’s holy! This is a sign of family love. Treat each other like the spiritual family that we are with culturally appropriate signs of affection. For us it might be hearty handshakes and fist bumps. 
Notice he says, “all” the brothers though. There’s that word “all” again. That includes the idle and the weak and the timid from verse 14. We don’t just greet the church family we like or gravitate towards. We greet them all. Who do you need to go out of your way to greet today before our time together is over?
Paul uses the word “all” again in verse 27. 
“I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers [and sisters].”
That’s pretty strong words! To insist that his letter gets read he must believe that it is from the Lord through him. And we believe it, too! This letter is holy Scripture. And so we read it to all here this morning. Here we are obeying verse 27 in this very room! This is the Bible. And we accept it, not just the words of a man, but “as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in [we] who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).
And Paul concludes (v.28):
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
And that’s exactly what we need. We need the grace of Jesus. Our hope is in Him.
This is God’s will for you and me in Christ Jesus.
Let’s sit up and pay attention.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

“To Each Other And To Everyone Else” [Matt's Messages]

“To Each Other And To Everyone Else”Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 ThessaloniansLanse Evangelical Free ChurchJune 22, 2025 :: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15  
Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ?
We have been talking a lot about the end times this year at Lanse Free Church. First, the prophecies of the King of Kingdoms in the Book of Daniel and now in these two letters to the Thessalonians.
In these two letters, the Apostle Paul has a lot to say about living in light of the return of Christ. He mentions it in every single chapter, and he’s been focusing on it in depth at the end of chapter 4 and the first part of chapter 5 which we’ve studied the last two Sundays.
Do you remember what we learned last week about how to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ? Was it knowing in advance the time and date of His return? Is that how we get ready? No. 
When is Jesus coming back? We don’t know and that’s okay. In fact, it’s better than okay. It’s better that we don’t know. It’s important that we don’t know.
What do we need to know to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ? We need to know who we are and where we are headed. 
We learned last week that we are children of the day. We belong to the day, not the night. We belong to the day of the Lord. It’s our Day. So we eagerly anticipate the return of Jesus Christ because that day is our day. We have nothing to fear because we belong to Jesus are not headed into eternal wrath but eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and came back to life to give us life forevermore.
And because we know who we are and where we are headed, we stay alert and self-controlled (this was verse 6, “Keep calm and carry on,” don’t get freaked out by the end times), and we put on the triangle of virtues that Paul loves to emphasize in his teaching: faith, love, and hope.
Remember this? Faith, love, and hope. We get ready for the return of Christ by, every day, putting on faith, love, and hope. That was in verse 8.
Paul likens these three things to the body armor of a soldier. Faith in God’s promises. Trusting in everything God has said that He will do. That’s your body armor. That’s your breastplate, your bulletproof vest that you wake up every day and put on. Faith. And the second piece of body armor protecting your vital organs is love. Love for God’s people and for those who are not yet God’s people. And on top of all of that is the helmet of hope in God’s salvation. Hope in everything that God has said is certainly coming for those who belong to Jesus.
His return. Our resurrection. Our being caught up to be with Him in the air. And our being together with the Lord forever. Nobody missing out. All of us–those who have already died and those who are still alive–all together with Jesus forever and ever and ever. “To a land where joys will never end.” Faith, Love, and Hope. That’s how we get ready for the return of Christ.  
Paul said in verse 11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Which is what we’re trying to do by studying these words together in 1 Thessalonians.
And that leads us to verse 12. Paul is coming down to the end of his letter, and he gets really practical with the Thessalonians. He starts firing off these short little staccato instructions. Do this, do this, don’t do this, don’t do this, do this, do this and this. We’re going to take two Sundays to get through them all. This week, we’re just going to do verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
But don’t miss this. Paul hasn’t really changed the subject. Paul is still talking about how we live ready for the Lord’s return. This is how to live in the meantime. This is how we live while we wait for Jesus to come back. Remember, our waiting is not passive. It is active. Active in love.
In verse 12, Paul is “double-clicking” on this idea of encouraging one another and building each other up. It’s all about relationships. The title of this message comes from the last seven words in verse 15, “To each other and to everyone else.” It’s all about how we relate to each other and to everyone else while we wait for Jesus to come back.
Paul is focusing in on the “love part” from verse 8. And I’d like to summarize his teaching here in three points of application. Here’s the first one: 
#1. LOVE YOUR CHURCH LEADERS.
As you are waiting for the return of Christ, love the people who lead your church.
Now, this could be a bit awkward this morning. Because verses 12 and 13 tell me to tell you to respect me and to hold me in the highest regard.
Awkward.
It could be really awkward if you folks weren’t so good at this already. Last Sunday was the 27th anniversary of the first time I preached in this pulpit as your pastor. And George Leathers pointed it out and praised God for it. And you gave me round of applause of appreciation. Thank you!
And thank you for taking a risk on me as a rookie pastor 27 years ago. It struck me really for the first time that the Thessalonian church leaders were all rookies themselves. They hadn’t even been to Bible school and seminary like I had. Look at verse 12.
“Now we ask you, brothers [and sisters], to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”
He’s talking about their church leaders.
And remember, this is a baby church. Paul had planted this church not very long ago and then had to leave them in a hurry (see Acts 17). And he had to leave some baby Christians in charge of leading this baby church. 
And he knows that church leadership is hard work. Jeremy, is church leadership hard work? Yes, it is. The church that the Childs serve just recently swapped buildings with another church family in town. Both churches had buildings that were not great for them but would be great for the other, and so they swapped locations. Was that hard work to lead through? I’ll bet it was. Imagine if we swapped locations with any other church in West Branch!
But just the day-in and day-out work of church leadership is difficult.
And Jeremy and I are paid to do it. We are generously supported by our church families. The real heroes of church leadership are those who are unpaid volunteers.
For example, our church’s elders. Keith and Keith and Cody and Abe and Curtis are all serving as elders this year. And that’s a lot of work. I’ve seen a lot of Curtis recently. He helped lead the Membership Seminar on Tuesday and then was the Elders’ meeting on Thursday and then lead the Kentucky Team meeting on Saturday. And he’s got a job, a wife, and three rambunctious girls. Thank you, Curtis, for working hard among us and helping to lead this church in love. We hold you in the highest regard IN LOVE because of your work.
None of these guys do this work for the recognition. In fact, they probably hate that I’m talking about them. But the Bible says here that we need to do that recognition. We need to acknowledge their service, to show our esteem and appreciation. And not because they are better than anyone else, but because they are working hard. Sometimes just one step ahead of everyone else. 
I think about these Thessalonian church leaders thrust forward with almost no training (and probably no pay) and being asked to lead and care for this fledgling church which was experiencing persecution. Paul says, “Respect those who work hard among you...hold them in the highest regard in love.” Love your church leaders.
Again, church, you are great at this. As one of your church leaders, I feel very loved and appreciated. You regularly encourage me. You take good care of my family. You pray for me. I know it. Two years ago when I was fraying at the edges, you granted me a three month sabbatical rest from which I still glow inside.
One of the things you do that encourages me the most is study your Bible with me. You know two of my favorite sounds in the whole world are babies crying in church and the sound of pages rustling when I say, “Turn with me if you would to 1 Thessalonians.”
I love the sound of babies crying in church because it says that we are reaching the next generation. And I love the sound of pages turning because you are not just listening to me but actually reading your Bible and seeing what it says. And then you go out and do what it says! You send that encouragement card! You put on faith, love, and hope. You love your church leaders!
Now, of course, if your church leaders are in the wrong, you don’t follow them, and you don’t just honor them if they are not working hard. If we are out of whack, then we need to have our feet held to the fire.
These verses don’t just tell the church to love the church leaders, but tell those of us who are church leaders how to lead the church!
Church leaders are to work hard among the flock. Some pastors are lazy.  There is joke out there that pastors only work once a week and that for only half day, and I’m sure that’s true for some of us. It could be a cushy job. Jeremy and I need to work hard.
And we need to admonish. Did you see that verse in 12?
“...[W]e ask you, brothers [and sisters], to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.”
We who are church leaders have a responsibility to correct those who are going astray. To warn those who are getting out of line. To teach the hard  parts of the Bible and not just the easy parts.
On Tuesday at the membership seminar, a number of the people who came said that they appreciated that here at Lanse Free Church we teach the parts of the Bible that are not as popular as the others. That’s hard to do, but it’s our calling.
At our elder meeting on Thursday, we have been talking about discipling, and Abraham asked us what part of making disciples gives us the most joy and what is the hardest to do. And I joked that I really love correcting people. I just love telling people where they are going wrong. Which is totally not true. I really struggle with the admonishing part of my job. I can do it up here at the pulpit. It’s easier to broadcast it, but it’s harder when talking with you one on one to bring the hard parts of Scripture to bear on your lives. But we have to do it.
You know who is good at this? Pastor Kerry, our district superintendent. Right, Jeremy? Kerry is such a good shepherd at telling us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. He is good at admonishing. He is good at encouraging in both ways–consolation and exhortation. And we respect and hold Kerry in the highest regard in love because of his work among us.
I love going to EFCA One like Keith Hurley and I are this week. It’s a great reunion of our extended church family. And I see a lot of hard working church leaders learning together how to lead better. I often see pastors have to slip out of sessions to get on the phone because someone back home is in a crisis and needs their shepherd. 
Love your church leaders. You do that so well with me. And we need to do it with all of our hard-working church leaders. Not the just the elders but everyone who has a leadership role and who rolls up their sleeves and does the hard work, especially in teaching the Word of God.
I think of Jordyn Skacel as our Director of Family Ministry and all of her teachers getting ready to teach at Family Bible Week. We respect and honor you. While we wait for the return of Christ, we love our church leaders.
Secondly, while we wait for Jesus to come back, we love our church family.
#2. LOVE YOUR CHURCH FAMILY.
Here’s where we really get into the “each others.” Look at verse 13.
“Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
Once again, Paul uses the word “brothers,” and he means both brothers and sisters. He’s talking about our spiritual siblings, our whole church family. He tells them all to “live in peace with each other” while they wait for the return of Christ.
And that’s not always easy to do! It’s not always easy to get along with other Christians, is it? We have conflicts with each other. We have tensions. We don’t always agree. We don’t always see things the same way. We are all sinners, broken and difficult, in our own ways.
And, yet, we are called to peace. It’s not optional.
“Live in peace with each other.”
And that takes work.
Years ago, I learned to differentiate between peace-faking and peace-making (cf. Ken Sande). 
There’s peace-breaking, too. That’s when we cross a line and sin against one another. And we need to repent of peace-breaking and forgive each other. But we also need to repent of peace-faking which is pretending there is peace when there is not. Running away from our conflicts and from each other. 
When Paul says, “Live in peace with each other,” he isn’t telling them to put on a smile and pretend that there is nothing wrong. He’s calling them and us to work at peace-making among Christians so that we live in the shalom that God offers.
Who might you need to confront or forgive today so that you aren’t peace-breaking or peace-faking in your church family?
Because we need each other! This is what a healthy church family looks like. Listen to verse 14 again.
“And we urge you [that’s the word for “encourage” there again, the harder edge to encouragement], brothers [and sisters], warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
What a great verse! That’s one of my favorite sentences in the New Testament.
Notice how Paul recognizes that there are different kinds of people in our church families and they need different kinds of ministry to them. You see that?
There’s the idle, the timid, and the weak. And they are not same. And they don’t need the same things!
You don’t warn the weak.You don’t help the idle.
You warn the idle, encourage the timid, and help the weak.
So, it’s important for us to get to know one another and identify what each person needs and then give them that. We have to get into each other’s lives so that we can really love our church family.  And that’s not always easy to do. People are not always easy to love. It’s easy to love your church family in the abstract, but it’s hard to do it in the nitty gritty.
Remember that old Peanuts cartoon where Linus says that he wants to grow up to be a doctor and his sister Lucy laughs at him because he doesn’t love mankind? And Linus says, “I love mankind...it’s people I can’t stand.” 
I love the church, it’s church people that I have a hard time with.
The idle, the timid, the weak. You know who that is? That’s all of us at one time or another. And we all need each other.
Verse 14 says, “[W]arn those who are idle.”
That word for “warn” is the same word as in verse 12, “admonish.” It means to point out where someone is going wrong and help them to go right.
The word translated “idle” in the 1984 NIV is more difficult to translate. The 2011 NIV update has “idle and disruptive.” The King James and the New American Standard have “unruly.” And the CSB says, “irresponsible.” The idea is someone who is “out of line” and not doing what they are supposed to be doing. Like working, for example.
These are difficult people to love. When someone is not doing the thing that they are supposed to be doing, it can be really frustrating to live with them. Have you ever had to deal with a lazy person? Somebody who doesn’t do their job? The Bible calls them “the sluggard.” Some of these people might have quit their jobs because they were expecting Jesus to return any minute and were just loafing around playing video games waiting for the kingdom to come. And so hard to move.
Paul says, “warn those who are idle.” Get in their face. Point them to Scripture. Tell them where they are going wrong.
The church leaders have to do that (v.12) but this says that we all do it for each other as we love our church family.
Warning someone like this is not breaking the peace but pursuing peace. This is not getting frustrated with someone because they are driving you nuts with their irresponsibility. This is loving your brother or sister in Christ with a loving warning that they are out of line and they are going to hurt themselves and others.
Do you do this? This is how we stay ready for the return of Christ. We warn the idle. And we “encourage the timid.”
That second group in verse 14 are those who are “fainthearted.” It’s those who are disheartened and discouraged and depressed. The troubled.
And the last thing they need is to be admonished. We don’t say, “Cheer up, Buckaroo” to these folks. We don’t say, “Quit your whining, you dopes. What are you afraid of?”
The Thessalonians were dealing with persecution from the Jews and the Romans. Some of them were getting pounded, and it was wearing them down. Paul says, “Love your church family. Encourage the timid.” 
Some people are afraid to stick their heads out because they might get chopped off. By now, we should not be surprised to hear Paul say, “Encourage your brothers and sisters. Comfort them. Send them a card. Send them a text. Give them a call. Be in their DMs and PMs.”
Remind them what is true. Remind them what we’ve learned the last two weeks:
Jesus died and rose again, and so will all of us!Jesus is coming back for all of us!All of us will be with Jesus forever! We belong to the Day.We are not appointed for wrath but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that makes all of the difference. Remind each other of what is true. The timid can be difficult to love. Some of you would rather warn an idle person than encourage a timid person. And some of you, it’s the opposite. We’re called to do both. We have to love the brothers and sisters in front us. Whoever God gave us and whatever they are struggling with. And we need to tailor our love to their particular needs.
Like the weak. We need to (v.14), “help the weak.”
It’s not an hundred percent clear what kind of “weakness” Paul is talking about. Some of the commentators I read this week emphasized spiritual weakness. These people might be anxious, struggling to believe the promises, weak in faith. 
Others think that it was physical weakness, bodily weakness. Those struggling with an illness, a disability, a limitation. As I get older, I struggle more and more with my limitations. I need reading glasses. I don’t sleep as good. I can’t concentrate for as long. I can’t go as long without a break. And I need more people to help me.
The weak can be difficult to love. You have to slow down. You have to come alongside. That’s what the word “help” here means. It means to stand with someone, to be devoted to them. To hang with them. The Bible is saying that we need to hang on with the weak.
Is there someone in our church family that you need “hang on with?” Don’t leave their side. Don’t leave them hanging. We need each other! Yes, church people can be difficult to love. I am difficult to love.
But this is how we live in the meantime while we wait for the return of Christ.
Every day we put on the body armor of love.Every day we put on the body armor of love.Every day we put on the body armor of love.
Paul says (v.14), “Be patient with everyone.” And by that, he means “everyone.”
We are need to be patient with the idle, the timid, and the weak. Even the idle! Even the disruptive, unruly, irresponsible, “crazy-lazy” (c.f Alistair Begg) folks in the church. Even those that need warned. 
“Be patient with everyone.” Do you need to hear that? I know that I do. We have to adapt our ways of loving to the particular needs of our spiritual siblings, but we also have to be patient with all of them. And we hope that they are all patient with us. Because we are all three of these at some time and sometimes all three at once. Love each other. Love your church family.
Our theme verse last year as a church was John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV84).
One thing I worry about as our church grows in size is that we not lose our family feel. We need to know each other and be in each other’s lives and love one another in a 5:14 way.
“And we urge you, brothers [and sisters], warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
Love your church family. And number three and last:
#3. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.
Look at verse 15.
“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”
This is probably the hardest thing that the Lord ever asks us to do. To love our enemies. To love those who do us wrong.  
Paul knows that we will be sinned against. We will! But the Lord Jesus taught us in His Sermon on the Mount that citizens of His upside-down, inside-out kingdom that is here already yet still to come are not allowed to hate those who hate us but must love them back (see Matthew 5:38-42)!
Personal retaliation is not an option for followers of Jesus Christ (see also Romans 12:17, 1 Peter 3:9). The Thessalonians were not allowed to get to revenge on those who harmed them, and neither are we.
In fact, it’s more than just non-retaliation. We are called to be kind to our enemies and to seek their good. “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”
That phrase “be kind,” isn’t quite strong enough. The 2011 updated version of the NIV has, “...always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:15 NIV). Not just kindness (though that’s in there) but goodness. We are called to seek the best for our neighbors and even for our enemies.
You see how this stretches from “each other” to “everyone else?” We don’t just love our enemies within the church–those with whom we have a church disagreement. We are called to be children of the Day loving even those people outside of the church who hate and oppose us.
Is that what we’re doing?
Is that what we do when we get cut off in traffic?Is that what we do when somebody undercuts us at work?Is that what we do when somebody gossips about us in our family?Is that what we do when we hear a news report about our political enemies? Is that how we act on social media? Are we paying back wrong for wrong or always trying to be kind to each other and to everyone else?
Seeking their good, seeking what is best for them?
Every day we put on the body armor of love.Every day we put on the body armor of love.Every day we put on the body armor of love.
That’s how we get ready for the return of Christ.
It’s hard to do! So hard to do. But our Lord Jesus showed us how to do it. The Bible says that Jesus loved us when we were His enemies.  Jesus died for His enemies. He took the punishment for the sins of His enemies into Himself on the Cross, and when He rose from the dead, He gave His own righteousness to cover His enemies with grace. Jesus showed us how it’s done. So that, now, we can show His love to each other and to everyone else.
To love our church leaders who work so hard among us.To love our church family, the idle, the timid, the weak.And to love even our enemies.
Until Jesus returns and takes us home to be with Him forever.

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Messages in this Series:

01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11