Life After Christ's Resurrection Series

As we celebrate the resurrection, let me just share a few words from God’s Word.

We have been studying the second letter to the Thessalonians. The beginning of the 3rd chapter is pertinent to us today. Jesus Christ who is God became man, suffered and died, but rose from the dead over 2000 years ago; what does this all mean to us now?

Please grab a bulletin as you follow the outline of the message and open your bibles to 2 Thessalonians 3……. Read along with me v1-5………

We note in v1 the statement, brothers pray for us. Brothers indicate people who are Believers of Jesus Christ both male and female. The letter is addressed to the Thessalonian church; and we have noted in the past that this letter is actually addressed to all Christians; this letter is addressed to us!

And who wrote the letter? All Scripture is God breathed and so God wrote the letter through godly people; the Thessalonian letters were penned by godly Paul, Silas, and Timothy; and it says pray for us that the message of the Lord spread rapidly and be honored. In other words, it is the desire of God and godly people that the message of the Lord always be told and that it is done right!

How committed are we in our lives that the message of the Lord is told and done right?

And what is the message of the Lord? The message of the Lord is the Gospel, the message of salvation from the judgment of sin!

And how did the Gospel, the Good News became a reality? The gospel is clearly spelled out in 1 Corinthians 15:2-4…. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures….

Jesus Christ who is our Creator God became a human being and died for people’s sins, but rose from the grave and He is alive, soon to return to earth!

Now, just because God did all of that for people, does it mean that everyone will be saved from their sins? What does 2 Thessalonians 3:2 state? There will be wicked and evil people because not everyone has faith; faith in the message of the Lord which is Jesus Christ!

v2: Those who do not have faith (commitment) in Jesus Christ are still wicked and evil and will be eternally judged!

If you have never made a commitment to believe and follow Jesus Christ, today is a great day to do it! Believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and God and be saved from the eternal judgment of sin.

And even though there is still evil on earth, what can we note from v3?

v3: the Lord Jesus is always there for the Christian to strengthen and protect!

How dependent are we in Jesus Christ when there is always evil all around us?

Know and always put on the full armor of God!

And v4 affirms this doesn’t it?

v4: all confidence and trust is in Jesus Christ alone! What does this mean? Pray always and place everything in Christ’s hands!

And finally in v5:

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

Our hearts should always be focused on God’s love and faithfulness!

Please take a moment to pray and ponder on Romans 8:38-39 which states, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Quietly pray the following:

- Ask to know God’s love even more

- A commitment to tell the Gospel properly

- To put on the full armor of God (starting with Jesus Christ as Belt)

- Believe and follow Jesus Christ and be resurrected in your soul!