Happy New Year! As we reflect on the past year, we can be thankful for all of the wonderful blessings God has bestowed upon us. We can also be excited for the coming year as we consider all of the new opportunities and possibilities that await us.
When I prayed unto the Lord, God gave a promise from 2 Thessalonians 3:3. I believe in the Lord, this is the promise for all of us. I would like to invite everyone to open up your Bibles and look at this verse. Here, the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, taught us these truths and the promise Word.
Let's read from the ESV together. “But the Lord is faithful; he will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
The Lord is faithful to us, the Lord is faithful to the Church and he will establish you, and guard you against the evil one. In verse 4 of Chapter 3; “We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things that we command you.” This is the important point to incline the promise of God. The Lord directs our hearts. Love the Lord our God and steadfastness of Christ in order to incline the promise of God.
The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, and are careful to observe them. Deuteronomy 28:13.
The first five verses are this singular proclamation of the Lord's faithfulness. In contrast to man's unfaithfulness and wickedness and evil. Even when our enemies attack us, the Lord is always faithful to spiritually protect His people and will sovereignly accomplish His purpose. Even from the beginning of the old testament God’s faithfulness or faith has been a strong part of His character. Faith is a prominent part of God’s character.
I.God is faithful:
Paul doesn't go to great depth in the Character of the Lord. He just makes this statement “the Lord is faithful”. He's actually simply stating an essence, or a part of God's character. He's describing God's character. Something that always is whenever he does anything. So when God is loving, He is faithfully loving. When God is judging, he is faithfully judging. When God is chasing or disciplining; when God is doing anything does he ever do it unfaithfully? The answer is a powerful NO. Because God is faithful. It's Essential. It's a core aspect of who He is. It's His character. And Paul just simply states the Lord is faithful.
a) God is faithful to His people: God is Trustworthy: God is faithful. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.- 1 Corinthians 1:9. He’s Dependable, Promise keeping, trustworthy. You can go on and on. Its theologically groundwork for us. The Lord is faithful, in fact you cannot deny this or even have trouble believing it. Every hour and every decade God will be faithful to us, because he wants to conform you to mold you into the image of his Son. He promises to do that, and he will keep his word. He's dependable. The Lord is faithful. And so, trust that he is faithful to you throughout the year 2023. Amen. Can everyone say Amen.
b) God is faithful to His Word:
Not only will He not deny you, He cannot deny Himself. “If we are faithless He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13) – that's a promise. God's faithfulness is not based on our faithfulness towards Him. His faithfulness flows from His unchanging nature and love for us. He is forever faithful. God's faithfulness gives us value. The faithfulness of God is demonstrated by sacrificing His one and only Son, Jesus, for those who come to Him. Even though we don't value ourselves — He still values each and every living soul as worthy of being redeemed and set free from the power of sin. The Lord is faithful to ALL His promises and love is towards ALL He has made” Psalm 145:13.
God has been demonstrating His faithfulness towards His people since the beginning, and He’s never stopped. Just think how many times the children of Israel disobeyed God and turned their backs on Him— yet He delivered them time and time again. He protected and provided for them, even when they complained, mistreated and misunderstood Him. It is truly amazing! Faithfulness towards us is not based on our faithfulness towards Him. It’s not based on what we do; it doesn’t depend on us. God’s faithfulness flows from His unchanging nature and love for us, and He is forever faithful.
II. He will Establish you:
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. This promise word brings us to our second point, “He will establish you”. Amen.
Now, the church of Thessalonica was established by the Apostle Paul. He visited this city for just 3 weeks. Paul had not been back to Thessalonica after he had been driven out during his second missionary journey (see Acts 17:10). He was unable to return due to being “hindered” by Satan (1 Thessalonians 2:18).
This small church faced persecution from the Jews and Romans. But in the midst of all persecution, Paul encouraged the people of Thessalonica. He told them that God would establish their hearts through His words, and establish their works. God will establish our hearts through His words, and He will establish our works in Him.
a) God will establish your Hearts:
When we read the epistle of Thessalonians, Paul strengthened the hearts of the people. Comfort your hearts and establish yourself in every good word and work. - 2 Thessalonians 2:17 Dear brothers and sisters, this new year, God will establish your hearts through His words. Amen. Establishing your heart is a long process. It involves a conscious effort on our part. An established heart is one rooted and grounded in the things of God. A person who has invested time with God in the Word and prayer receives an inner strength from the Holy Spirit that neither time nor circumstances can weaken.
It takes a person with an established heart to fulfill God's purpose. Noah was preparing for rain (Genesis 6–7) despite the fact that it had never rained before. Yet Noah preached about the coming rain (2 Peter 2:5). Noah prepared and waited to fulfill God’s purpose. Paul urges the people of Thessalonica to prepare their hearts and await the Lord Jesus Christ's second coming. James 5:8 says, "You also be patient." Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. God will not only strengthen your hearts, but He will also strengthen the works of your hands.
b) God will Establish your works:
This year, God is going to promise us establishment in the works of your hands. God will establish the works of your hands. There is a beautiful prayer in Psalm 90:17. I love this prayer. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands. Can you agree with me and offer this prayer every day this year? How does God establish our work? First of all, we commit all of our work to the Lord! Proverb 16:3 says, "Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established" (ESV). If we completely depend on God in our work, He will "establish" our plans.
God provides resources through our work. A principle of God’s creation is to work for our welfare. Many people today do not think in terms of principles. Paul continually commanded the Thessalonians that working for meals is a biblical principle. In verse 10th of chapter 3, 2 Thessalonians, "When we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."
III. He will Guard you from the evil one:
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
The third point brings us to the promise word that tells us that He will guard you from the evil one. The ESV says, he will guard you against the evil one. God is faithful, He will not allow evil men to gain a victory over believers. In verse 2, Paul requests that the Thessalonians pray for him in order for him to be delivered from wicked and evil people. The idea is that when we pray, God will deliver us from the wicked and the evil one. God is our defender. He stands guard for us. The enemy constantly seeks to attack us. How does God stand guard for us?
a) Protect from Evil:
Jesus prayed that God would protect his followers from Satan. John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. In this passage, Jesus prays that God will keep us safe from the evil one. Jesus' prayer demonstrates that God is always alert to safeguard us and that He is always present in our lives. We can trust that God will keep us safe from the evil one’s schemes and that He will provide us with the strength to resist temptation. No matter what we are facing, we can rest assured that God is protecting us from evil.
b) Deliver from evil:
Dear brothers and sisters, We stand here today to remember that God will always deliver us from evil. No matter how dark and uncertain things may seem, we can always put our trust and faith in Him. The Bible tells us that God has promised to protect us from all harm. He will never leave us nor forsake us. No matter what challenges we face, He will always be there to guide and protect us. The Psalms are full of assurance and comfort that God will deliver us from our enemies and from trouble. It says, “You will make the path of the righteous straight and smooth. You will deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” We can also take comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this world to save us from our sins. He died on the cross to take away our guilt and shame, so that we may be free from the bondage of evil. We may be tempted to turn away from God in times of trouble, but He will never forsake us. He is our ever-present help in times of need, and He will always be with us to comfort and protect us.
The Bible is full of passages that speak to God’s protection over us, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 is a great example of this. In this passage, Paul reminds us that God will not let us be tested beyond our strength, and that He will provide a way out so that we can endure our trials. This passage also reminds us of the protection God provides from the evil one, who seeks to destroy us. As Christians, we can trust that God will protect us from the schemes of the enemy and the temptations of sin. Amen.
