Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] The Doomsday Clock.
[00:00:03] It is a symbolic clock that has existed since 1947.
[00:00:10] You can see a picture of the clock on the screen.
[00:00:14] It is run by non for profit organization called the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
[00:00:21] And once a year, physicist. I was really nervous about saying that. Physicist. I'll just say it again because I got it right. Really good climatologists, almost didn't get that one.
[00:00:35] And military experts, they gather once a year and they kind of pontificate about the state of the world and the state of humanity and they give their assessment of how close humanity is to existential disaster.
[00:00:54] And then they symbolically adjust this clock in relation to the end of time.
[00:01:00] And if you're 10 minutes away on their clock, you're safe, or we're safe, the world is safe.
[00:01:12] If it gets down to three to five minutes and you can see on the clock, I think that's the last 15 minutes of the end of time that they symbolically go by.
[00:01:24] You get down to three to five minutes, you should be really concerned.
[00:01:29] And if you get less than two minutes, according to their assessment, then the world and human existence is in a big trouble. They are. It's a serious threat.
[00:01:42] And if we hit midnight, the point of no return, it is threat level midnight and it's really bad. Humanity is about to not exist.
[00:01:55] And in the 1947, or 1947 to the 1960s, because of the nuclear arms race, at one time the clock got down to seven minutes and everyone was really concerned with their announcement.
[00:02:10] But then in 1963, there was a nuclear test ban and the clock went up to 12 minutes. And so everyone was really excited. These experts don't think the world is coming to an end. And then in 1991, when the Soviet Union and the US signed a treaty, the clock went up to 17 minutes. And so everyone's really excited. The world's not coming to an end in 1991, but then in 2020 it got down to 100 seconds and that's when we should get concerned and worried.
[00:02:50] But then this year, 2025, these experts, atomic scientists, decided that the world is 89 seconds according to their symbolic clock. It's all figurative from extinction.
[00:03:11] Human existence is at a point where any minute we could hit midnight and there's no returning. The world will be in chaos, devastation, and with good reason. You look around the world, you look at world events, you have Russia and Ukraine at war, you have what's going on with Israel, you have nuclear threats.
[00:03:35] Many people are concerned about AI. What's that going to develop into. We even look around the world. And it is true that natural disasters seem to be at a level never before. There are floods and earthquakes, there's wildfires, there's cyber warfare. Now granted there is a political agenda each year behind what these so called experts are doing, but you can too feel that. It just seems like we are at the end.
[00:04:11] And the truth is all Christians have really always felt that way as they look at the world.
[00:04:19] Because you look out at the world and as a Christian, you think about the rule and reign of Christ and you have a vision of what perfection looks like, cosmic perfection, and what it would look like if Jesus is ruling and reigning and you look at the world and that's not what's going on.
[00:04:39] There is chaos, there's sin and death.
[00:04:45] Wrath seems to be winning.
[00:04:48] And so Christians have always had to look at the world as if it could end at any time.
[00:04:55] And the Bible teaches us that's a good way to live.
[00:04:59] That's a godly way to live.
[00:05:02] If you have hope in Christ, because the end is good for you, the end should bring about not despair, but joy.
[00:05:14] And so today the question for us is, is the world close to doomsday?
[00:05:20] And my answer is closer than ever, closer than yesterday, closer than last year.
[00:05:29] But it's according to God's time, not the bulletin of atomic scientists, not some make believe clock.
[00:05:39] No one knows how close we are but the Father.
[00:05:45] But we do know the coming of the end is good for those who believe in Christ.
[00:05:50] And this is what Paul teaches us in second Thessalonians, chapter two.
[00:05:54] And we're going to move through this chapter very quickly today and make some points of application along the way.
[00:06:03] But first of all, what we should see in chapter two, how should we live in the end if we are spiraling toward oblivion and the end of humanity? How should you live as a Christian? And the first thing, fall away.
[00:06:19] Don't fall away.
[00:06:21] That is the overwhelming indicative when we look at end times in the Bible.
[00:06:30] Yes, it's coming to an end.
[00:06:33] You as God's people, don't fall away.
[00:06:38] Notice verse 1. Now, concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him.
[00:06:46] Now, Paul in first Thessalonians, the first letter he wrote in chapter five, he described this coming of the Lord very specifically, what we would call the Rapture, or when Jesus comes on the day of the Lord and the dead in Christ are raised up and they are joined with their bodies and we are resurrected, those who are still alive to rule and reign with Jesus.
[00:07:12] And so he points to that day and he says, do not be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.
[00:07:21] Don't be unsure concerning your thoughts of this day. And don't panic either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter, seemingly to be from us, to the fact that the day of the Lord has come.
[00:07:39] You see, what was going on with the believers in Thessalonica is after Paul wrote his first letter, there seemed to be some deep fake letters that were delivered to them.
[00:07:50] And they were saying, paul believes the rapture has already happened and y' all missed out on it.
[00:07:58] And Paul says, don't be alarmed.
[00:08:01] Don't panic.
[00:08:04] Verse three, Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. Now, what's he talking about here? The rebellion. This seems to be an intense time of persecution.
[00:08:19] Now, remember, these believers are enduring persecution right now for their faith. And there seems to be an intensifying of persecution and deception.
[00:08:31] And it'll lead to, he says, rebellion, though it could be translated apostasy, where nominal Christians in the church fall away from Christ, false believers, those who were not Christians to begin with. This time of persecution comes, and they fall away from Christ. So again, the point is, don't fall away.
[00:08:55] Don't turn from Christ no matter what.
[00:08:59] When you begin to see others fall away, don't fall away.
[00:09:04] Notice the rebellion must happen first, but then also, and the man of lawlessness is revealed. And so during this time of rebellion, there's also a leader that rises up, that is displayed worldwide. But notice the man of lawlessness is revealed. This is according to God's sovereign plan. There's a time in human history where this leader, and notice how he's described here, is lawless.
[00:09:32] It means to oppose what God has revealed as good, right? God's law. And so there is a leader who opposes God.
[00:09:41] And at the end, God reveals who he is. It's very clear. Notice he calls him the son of destruction or the son of perdition, the offspring of ruin, the spawn of Satan. You will see who he is, and you will understand that who he is. Now, I believe this is the same person in the Bible, the. What we would call the Antichrist. We get to the Book of Revelation, it is the beast. It is all the same person.
[00:10:11] And here he's pointing to the activity of Satan in the last days, where the church will be persecuted and many who you thought were believers will flee from Christ for safety. This one will offer them safety and freedom, and they will follow him. And it will be very clear for those who are true believers what is going on.
[00:10:38] John even says that in First John that the spirit of Antichrist is already at work in the world.
[00:10:47] The word Antichrist means to oppose Christ, but also to replace Christ.
[00:10:54] And so during this time there will be one who will rise up. And for Christians, he will seek to replace Christ in their life.
[00:11:03] And many will turn for freedom, for safety, for security.
[00:11:10] So while the spirit of Antichrist is at work in the world, it will culminate in one person.
[00:11:17] And notice what he will do, verse four, who opposes and exalts himself against every so called God or object of worship. So he will say, not just that Christianity should be forbidden, but any other religion should be forgiven and you should bow down and you should worship him and notice what he does. He takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. So everything you've ever believed about Christianity or any other religion is false.
[00:11:54] I am the revelation of God. I am God himself. And as we read the book of Revelation, we see this with the one who is called the Beast.
[00:12:04] He blasphemes God, persecutes the church and demands worship. And that's where we get the mark of the beast, the symbolic mark of 666 in the book of Revelation.
[00:12:16] But one of the things I want to say to you today is this isn't some sort of secret allegiance.
[00:12:23] It is clear believers are turning from Christ to worship the beast. And so the mark of the beast isn't just some secret thing that can be slipped under your skin to cause you to do things that you don't want to do.
[00:12:38] No, it is worshiping, it is following, it is choosing to publicly do this and deny Christ.
[00:12:49] But here we continue this description of the man of lawlessness or the Antichrist.
[00:12:56] He says, do you not remember that when I was with you, I told you these things?
[00:13:01] I told you that this time was coming where there would be rebellion and there would be a man of lawlessness.
[00:13:11] So as they look at the suffering that they're enduring again, Christians in every age have thought the end is near.
[00:13:22] And here they think the end is near, to the point they think they missed it.
[00:13:28] But Paul says, no, when I was with you, verse six, I told you that there is something that is restraining him now so that he may not be revealed and then may be revealed in his time. Verse 7.
[00:13:43] For the mystery of lawlessness, the unveiling of lawlessness. And so we look at the world today and we See, lawlessness, it's clear.
[00:13:54] Lawlessness, even in our culture is a religion to deny God's design, to deny God's law.
[00:14:02] It is a religious commitment from some people and we see it. But what Paul is saying here is there is an even more clear unveiling at the end of time of lawlessness. And there is something until that time that is restraining it.
[00:14:21] Notice he continues, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
[00:14:26] But there is an unveiling that is going to happen. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. Now notice he is out of the way. There is someone who is keeping back full bore lawlessness in the world.
[00:14:45] And then the lawlessness one, the lawless one, will be revealed.
[00:14:51] So there's a restraining. This restraining is let loose. The lawless one has his day. He is revealed.
[00:15:00] There's worldwide worship. And those who do not bow to him will be persecuted, will be killed.
[00:15:08] Believers will fall away following him. But then notice this one, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth. And we read in Revelation that Jesus comes with this flaming sword of fire from his mouth, that he destroys all of his enemies, specifically this one, and he will bring to nothing this person by the appearance of his coming. This is why I don't believe this has happened yet.
[00:15:35] We can look throughout history and we see rulers and we see lawlessness, lawless ones.
[00:15:41] And there's never been a point where Jesus has come and destroyed that person one on one.
[00:15:47] Even if we look at Providence and they've been taken out in different ways, it hasn't personally been Jesus.
[00:15:54] But a question you might be having is, what is this restraining he's talking about?
[00:16:00] I personally just believe it's God, believe it's the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. Some people believe certain governments. It doesn't make sense if Paul is talking about something that's happening historically there, or forces, angelic beings that we don't see that are at work in the world.
[00:16:19] And many, and probably most of some of you here today believe it's the presence of the church and that there's coming a time where the church will be raptured out and then there will be seven years of tribulation and apostasy. And so what is restraining lawlessness in the world right now is the presence of the Church now. I'm open to that.
[00:16:44] Don't fire me just yet.
[00:16:47] I'm open to that.
[00:16:49] But I would ask the question, do you really believe our presence in the World is restraining lawlessness, maybe, and then we're gone and it gets a lot worse. That could be what Paul is describing here.
[00:17:03] But I think if the church was going to go missing, Paul would just say, this letter would be really short.
[00:17:09] You haven't missed it because you're still here, period.
[00:17:13] Now, I'm open to that. I don't argue intensely against it.
[00:17:20] But the primary reason I don't believe that is I look at the New Testament and it seems as though most New Testament writers are preparing the church for tribulation.
[00:17:30] They're preparing them for persecution and they're saying, don't turn away when it happens. I think that's what he's doing in these two letters is it's going to keep enduring.
[00:17:46] Do not turn away from Christ. I also believe that Jesus, Paul and John speak of the day of the Lord and the Rapture as the same thing.
[00:17:57] When you look at passages and you see those, they don't distinguish.
[00:18:01] Jesus comes back, the church is caught up and then comes and rules and reigns with Jesus literally for a thousand years. Revelation 20.
[00:18:12] That's how I believe this unfolds.
[00:18:16] And if I'm wrong, praise God. I don't want to be here. If it gets worse than it is now, I'd be great. Hey, I was wrong and y' all can all make fun of me forever.
[00:18:30] But I believe he's preparing them to endure persecution.
[00:18:36] This is why he continues. Verse 9.
[00:18:39] The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
[00:18:53] And so this activity of Satan, notice it includes power and false signs and wonders. And this should be a warning to us that the supernatural can be satanic.
[00:19:05] There are forces of darkness and demons that can be behind false teaching and deception that can even cause many in the church to fall away.
[00:19:18] It's not always God.
[00:19:20] When you see amazing experiences and people who are healed or the signs and wonders that are sort of glamorized that we see on our tv, that doesn't mean it's always God.
[00:19:34] It can be demonic to the extent that many would fall away. And then notice what God does. Verse 11.
[00:19:43] Therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false. And so there are many who do not believe the truth, not believe the gospel. And then they begin to believe in this satanic power to rescue and save them. And God sends a blinding so that they may believe what is false. And this is the judgment of God on their unbelief.
[00:20:06] They deny Christ and God judges them and turns them over.
[00:20:10] This is why in your heart, you have to protect your heart from unbelief.
[00:20:15] Because there can come a moment where God turns you over to it. You deny Christ and you're blinded to what is true. We know people in our own life where we're pleading with them for truth and they just can't see it.
[00:20:29] There are times that that's the judgment of God on the eyes of their heart. He's turned them over and they're deceived.
[00:20:42] Notice verse 12. In order that they may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. And this is the way it works, the desire for unrighteousness. They give themselves over to unrighteousness and they live in lawlessness. And then at some point, God turns them over to that, because that's what they want.
[00:21:01] And they're blinded to what is true. But notice, it all began because they did not love the truth. They did not believe the gospel.
[00:21:09] Now, we've seen various times in history, we read our history books, we see times where we look in and we go, that's happening.
[00:21:18] You could even say that political leader matches this description. There have been times the temple of God in Israel has been desecrated by different tyrants and rulers, different governments have been raised up. And throughout history we've seen times of just lawlessness.
[00:21:39] Again, look at our culture, how lawless we really are.
[00:21:45] And so again, are we there yet?
[00:21:49] We're close, closer than ever.
[00:21:54] But none of this has led to the moment where Jesus just steps in and vanquishes evil, or the church just disappears. According to what some of you might believe, that hasn't happened yet.
[00:22:08] So what do you do as you look around and you see lawlessness?
[00:22:14] I mean, at the end, I believe this. I believe history just cycles in these times of lawless and tribulation. And ultimately there's going to be this lawless one who culminates it all.
[00:22:27] And if we're here, the point is, don't turn away from Christ.
[00:22:32] Jesus will come and he will literally rule and reign for a thousand years for those who trust with those who trust and believe in Him.
[00:22:43] That's where we're headed. So that's good news.
[00:22:46] But as we look at the world and you look at the events of the world, you're not to get scared.
[00:22:52] You're to remember Christians have always been called to live as if the end could happen at any moment and you are adequately prepared to live as though the end is near.
[00:23:06] Don't fall away.
[00:23:08] As you see false teachers offering freedom from God's law, don't buy into it.
[00:23:17] In some sense, it's that simple. When someone stands up and says it's better to disobey God, don't be led by your heart to disobey God.
[00:23:30] And that can happen all the time with us. Right?
[00:23:34] It's not just some cosmic end of the world that causes that temptation that's daily in our own life.
[00:23:43] We don't just have to look out and see violence and wars and floods and earthquakes.
[00:23:50] Wonder, you know, what am I going to do?
[00:23:54] You wake up in the morning and you are tempted to look to something else for freedom, power and safety.
[00:24:04] And the events of the world should cause you to test your heart.
[00:24:08] What is it in your life that would cause you to deny Christ?
[00:24:15] Safety. If you are offered safety, do you just like safety so much that if things get dicey, I would rather be safe than follow Christ.
[00:24:30] Pleasure.
[00:24:33] The things you just. You. You just want to do what you want to do. And if someone would offer you that freedom to do that, you would turn from Christ. Ask yourself those things.
[00:24:46] The security of life just the way it is.
[00:24:50] Comfort.
[00:24:52] As you look at the events of the world and you say, are we at the end? Are we near? We're close. Don't fall away.
[00:24:58] Examine your heart and then remember God loves you and has a wonderful plan for the end of your life.
[00:25:07] Notice verse 13.
[00:25:09] But we ought to always give thanks to God for you, brothers. Beloved by God.
[00:25:14] That is the emphasis here. God loves you, so don't fall away. Why should I not fall away? Because God loves you more than anyone. More than anything could love you. You've been beloved by the Lord.
[00:25:31] How do you know you've been loved by the Lord? Notice. Because God chose you as first fruits.
[00:25:39] God loved you and he set you apart from this world to the next world.
[00:25:45] If you're a believer here today, God chose to remove you from the world of sin and death that's spiraling toward destruction. He has already removed you from that and he has given you resurrected life that will end in a literal resurrection for you. That's God's love in your life. That's what he's chose you for as first fruits of the resurrection. When you will be totally delivered from sin and like Jesus forever. And what does that look like? Notice the text. Continues to be saved. To be rescued from sin and death through Sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. And it is the truth about Christ that sets you apart from the world and keeps you from falling away. God chose you for this, the word sanctification, to be holy, to be set apart to God fully. And this happens through faith in the truth about Christ.
[00:26:43] In verse 14 to this he called you.
[00:26:48] So this is God's wonderful plan for your life.
[00:26:53] You're not going to die in destruction, hell and death under the rule of the Lawless one and Satan, ultimately in the lake of fire. He has removed you from that and he has given you a kingdom where ultimately, by the truth about Jesus Christ and the work of the Spirit, you're going to be like Jesus forever.
[00:27:18] You're going to be holy, without blame, free from sin.
[00:27:25] This happened in your life when he called you through our gospel.
[00:27:31] How do I know that's my future?
[00:27:33] Well, there was a day when someone sat down with me and told me about Jesus at my dinner table.
[00:27:42] Parents before bed, vbs coffee shop, campus ministry, listening to a preacher online.
[00:27:56] And God stopped me in my tracks.
[00:27:59] And I believe that Jesus was the son of God who died for my sins.
[00:28:04] And God credited to me his righteousness and gave me an eternal kingdom. Notice he says he called you.
[00:28:11] It's an effectual call. When you hear the gospel and believe, it doesn't fail.
[00:28:17] And if you're a believer here today, you've experienced that when you believed in Jesus and you followed him and this is when you were set apart. Notice that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. This refers to the power and authority of his kingdom. God gave you that when you believed in Jesus, it was yours when you believed in Jesus.
[00:28:38] How did it happen?
[00:28:40] God loved you and he chose you for that.
[00:28:45] And when you heard the gospel, he called you to that.
[00:28:49] And that gives you unshakable faith when everybody else is falling away.
[00:28:55] No, no, no, no.
[00:28:57] God has given me something better than the things I'm losing in this world.
[00:29:02] The money, the comfort, the safety.
[00:29:06] And so he says, endure. Because God loves you and has given you a kingdom. God hasn't given you destruction. You look at Doomsday, 89 seconds away from midnight.
[00:29:17] Oh my word.
[00:29:20] Well, God hasn't given you doomsday.
[00:29:23] He's given you a kingdom that will be resurrected and you will live in the power authority of Christ forever under his rule, those who have trusted Christ. This means when you suffer, not just end of day suffering, but the suffering you endure daily. When you suffer, you can trust. That's not the judgment of God on you. That's not the judgment of God on you. When you suffer, things don't go your way.
[00:29:48] Life's hard.
[00:29:50] No. God's given you a good kingdom.
[00:29:53] He would not have given you the kingdom of Christ if He didn't love you.
[00:29:58] So he's not going to turn away from you now when you suffer.
[00:30:01] There's a point in it. He's sanctifying you. He's making you like Christ. We don't know always why he's doing what he's doing. But it isn't hate. It's not condemnation. It's his love. And what this means is you look at the world today, all of your plans can be thwarted for you.
[00:30:19] So I plan what I want for me tomorrow. You should be a good planner. You should have goals, should work hard.
[00:30:28] I plan all those things.
[00:30:31] Those things can be thwarted.
[00:30:34] Those things can be taken away.
[00:30:36] The security can be gone. The savings can be gone.
[00:30:40] My vision for America can be gone. My retirement can be gone. It can be thwarted. It can be taken away. It can be destroyed. It can be doomsday on my kingdom.
[00:30:53] It doesn't mean God doesn't love me, because he's given me a kingdom. There's no doomsday.
[00:30:59] It's the kingdom of Christ.
[00:31:01] And you live in the love of God that way?
[00:31:05] Yes. This is hard. This is difficult. God loves me. He's given me a better kingdom than what's here, and you continue to cling to it.
[00:31:14] And then he says, do not be moved from the word of God. So don't fall away.
[00:31:19] Remember, God has a wonderful plan for the end of your life, the end of human history, and so don't be moved from the word of God.
[00:31:27] This is the center of this chapter, of all the things surrounding it. Please don't get distracted.
[00:31:35] Send your emails to Camilon Church.
[00:31:40] She's in theology class right now. She can answer all of your questions about end times and eschatology. And by the way, that would be really fun interaction with her about all of this.
[00:31:52] But the point of the chapter, we might say, is here in verse 15.
[00:31:56] Don't get distracted.
[00:32:00] What do I do, brother? Stand firm means dig in. You're a soldier.
[00:32:04] The enemy's coming. The bullets are flying.
[00:32:08] The tanks are there.
[00:32:10] The planes are all around. Bombs are dropping. The end is coming. Doomsday's coming. Dig in.
[00:32:17] Dig in. Don't run away. That's an important point. Don't run away. Don't hide.
[00:32:23] Dig in. And don't be Moved.
[00:32:26] Hold to the traditions. Now we think traditions, we kind of think ceremony things like he's talking about teachings that he passed down.
[00:32:36] The things that I taught you, the things I discipled you in which. When they heard them, remember in first Thessalonians, they heard them as the Word of God, as they are, or as the Word is. It is the Word of God. They believe the Word of God and so hold on to the Word of God. Dig in, don't be moved, and then cling to the Word of God. It is an anchor that will hold you. You won't be pushed back.
[00:33:02] Hold on to the Word of God that you were taught by us, either by spoken word or by letter. He refers to his authoritative teaching as an apostle. And even the letter that he's written them. There was a second letter, false eschatology, in it. That's not my letter. This is another letter which is the Word of God that you should cling to.
[00:33:22] And so how do you not fall away in the end? Don't be moved from the Word of God again. These things are simple. They're not easy. They're simple.
[00:33:34] When it all comes down, Jesus is king. How do I know? The Bible tells me so I'm staying there.
[00:33:43] Jesus is king. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is my Savior. I take on my cross and I follow him. I'm not going to be moved because it's the Word of God and it's true. And cling to his promises.
[00:33:56] In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Paul has told them the promises of God that they'll be delivered from the wrath to come, that there will be joy and Reward. In chapter two, verse 19, when Jesus comes, that they'll be established when Jesus comes in chapter 3, verse 13, that will be gathered together and obtain salvation. In 1st Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 10, that will be glorified in 2nd Thessalonians, chapter 1, verse 10, that will be gathered.
[00:34:27] Chapter 2, verse 1, and we'll be completely sanctified. Chapter 2, verse 13.
[00:34:31] And Paul would say, just hold on to those promises.
[00:34:35] You're not going to endure the judgment of God. Hold on.
[00:34:39] And what this means for us not to be moved from the Word of God is we spend more time hoping in these promises than fearing. Headlines Spend more time hoping in the promises of God than fearing and chasing the next doomsday headline. Some of you love that.
[00:34:58] Some of you wake up every morning and you can't wait to get to the doomsday. Scrolling your adrenaline rushes.
[00:35:06] What's going on in the political realm today. What's going on in the worldwide news today, and I don't know in your mind, you think that's going to make me happy to see those things?
[00:35:18] The rest of us would tell you it ain't making you happy.
[00:35:22] He's making you miserable. And for some of you, maybe you can endure. But a lot of you are just miserable and angry.
[00:35:30] You don't look at the news and go, yes, Jesus is coming back. Praise God.
[00:35:36] No, you get mad at other people.
[00:35:39] You get mad at world events. Why? Because you have no control over them. And all you can do is fume and all you can do is venture, and you're miserable.
[00:35:50] Start with the scripture. It's okay to know what's going on in the world, by the way, you should.
[00:35:56] You don't need to be deceived.
[00:35:59] You don't need to fall asleep. But don't let it dictate your life.
[00:36:04] It is the word of God that you cling to.
[00:36:07] And so daily your goal is to cultivate a life of trust and obedience and prayer in light of the word of God.
[00:36:15] And one of the issues is we have to do this because we are so conditioned to be scared for whatever reason. There's a lot of reasons for it, certain agendas in the world. Ultimately, it's just Satanic.
[00:36:31] Satan wants you to be scared.
[00:36:33] The forces of darkness want you to be scared.
[00:36:37] So you will look to something else other than Christ to be saved. And so you got to come back to the word of God, and you got to come back to this story. You Genesis to Revelation. Oh, look, Genesis, the beginning. Jesus wins in the end. And you immerse yourself in that story, and you know what you're going to find in that story from beginning to end. There are times where it looks like doomsday. There are times where it looks doomsday. Especially outside of Jerusalem on a crawl, it looked like doomsday, right?
[00:37:08] Jesus is crucified and killed. The Son of God, the righteous one, is placed in the ground.
[00:37:17] And then three days later, he is raised up and you come back to that story day after day, and you know the one who came up out of the ground is going to rule and reign forever. And you cling to that story and you stand in the word of God and you know the truth and you know how it's going to end and what happens. Well, I'm always praying because I trust God and I'm willing to obey him no matter what comes, no matter what temptation comes, no matter what lawlessness comes. I'M going to obey Christ because I know he wins in the end. And I'm clinging to him all the way through.
[00:37:51] And then what do we do? We pray in love and witness. Notice verse 16.
[00:37:59] Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God the Father who loved us. I've told you how he loves you, but he's not distant. Notice Jesus Christ himself and God our Father. God is your Father.
[00:38:12] And you know Jesus personally. Himself. He's going to do something for you.
[00:38:16] He set his affection on you in Christ.
[00:38:19] And notice what he's done. He's given you eternal comfort. The word comfort here is relief. But it's not momentary. It's eternal. How do you have eternal comfort in Christ? Your sins have been forgiven. You're not going to hell. You're going to rule and reign with Jesus. That's eternal comfort. And so may God give you that.
[00:38:36] Or he's given you that and he's given you good hope. You're remember the word hope. It's not wishing, it's waiting. It's an expectation for the kingdom to come. He's giving you relief in this good hope. It's not. It's a good hope. It's not in part. It's whole.
[00:38:53] You're expecting the kingdom to come. Notice he gave you that through grace. You didn't deserve it. You know what you deserved? To be in panic and fear and to go to hell.
[00:39:04] But he's given you eternal hope and comfort by his mercy and grace in Christ. Not something you deserve. God has given that to you. And so verse 17.
[00:39:15] In light of the comfort and hope that you have because of the love of God in Christ. Verse 17.
[00:39:22] May God comfort your hearts now with that.
[00:39:26] We're not waiting to one day live with hope.
[00:39:30] No. Now you have hope. The eternal hope you live with now. How do you do that? You live with confidence.
[00:39:37] You live with kind of a holy swagger.
[00:39:41] We win in the end. I'm not a loser.
[00:39:45] You wake up every day knowing you win.
[00:39:48] That is the comfort and hope that you have now in Christ.
[00:39:52] And notice here's how it ends though.
[00:39:56] And may he establish the Word means to solidify, concretize, finish, make whole.
[00:40:07] May he establish your hearts, make them whole. Finish the work in every good work and word.
[00:40:16] So how does it end for the believer?
[00:40:19] Running and hiding, 89 seconds from doomsday. How does it end for you?
[00:40:26] I get to go to heaven, so I'm going to run and hide? No, I have hope.
[00:40:33] So notice I get to work and word. I Start speaking.
[00:40:41] If you know the world's going to come to an end and you know how it ends, you better be telling somebody.
[00:40:47] The people around you need to know.
[00:40:49] They believe in Jesus. They're rescued with you.
[00:40:53] And so you get to work.
[00:40:55] Throughout first and second Thessalonians, work is love. It is a commitment to another person's good, no matter work and no matter what. And so you're serving others.
[00:41:04] And with word we saw in first Thessalonians, we encourage, we admonish, we forgive, we're patient with one another, with the Word of God.
[00:41:13] Ultimately, we witness the Word of God.
[00:41:16] Notice Paul doesn't pray they'd be safe. He prays they'd have hope and they'd keep working.
[00:41:22] End times, paranoia causes people to isolate, self protect and panic.
[00:41:28] End times, comfort in Christ gives you courage to witness.
[00:41:35] You're safe in Christ and so you love and you speak the truth.
[00:41:40] We, as a church, we give more, we send more.
[00:41:45] There is a sense we look at the world and we want to be wise.
[00:41:50] We want to take care of our families. We want to do the right thing.
[00:41:56] Even as we think about our future as a church, we want to build and we want to send more out.
[00:42:05] But we're not chasing the economy every day.
[00:42:09] We can't do it now.
[00:42:11] The arrow's red. Back up.
[00:42:14] No, Jesus wins in the end.
[00:42:19] Every day we get up and we serve and we love and we witness, we give and we go for the glory of Christ.
[00:42:28] You see, we're not like the team who's losing.
[00:42:33] And you've seen those games where it's just a route, other teams winning and the losing team begins to pull their players off the field.
[00:42:46] Hey, I don't need my quarterback getting hurt.
[00:42:49] I got a game next week.
[00:42:52] I don't need my shortstop to pull a hamstring. I got the rest of the season I don't need. My point guard sprained his ankle.
[00:43:03] We got another big game next week. I pull the players off the court.
[00:43:08] That's not who we are as a church.
[00:43:11] That's not who the church is in the world.
[00:43:15] No, we don't retreat.
[00:43:17] No, we keep working, we keep witnessing. Full steam ahead until the clock strikes midnight because we know that's good news for us.
