THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
a fellowship of faith, family and friendships
February 8, 2004
Questions can test your faith. A little girl was talking to her grandmother. She asked, "Grandma, how old are you?"
The grandmother replied, "Now dear, you shouldn’t ask people that question. Most grown-ups don’t like to tell their age."
The following day, the girl had another question. "Grandma, how much do you weigh?"
Once again the grandmother replied, "Oh, honey, you shouldn’t ask grown-ups how much they weigh. It isn’t polite."
The next day the little girl was back with a big smile on her face. She said, "Grandma, I know how old you are, you’re sixty-two. And you weigh 140 pounds."
The grandmother was a bit surprised and said, "My goodness, how do you know?" The girl smiled and said, "You left your driver’s license on the table, and I read it."
Grandmother said, "Oh, so that’s how you found out.
The girl said, "That’s right, and I also saw on your driver’s license that you flunked sex." [1]
Confusion is big in the land. Our mental state is always up for debate. The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you. [2]
The believers at Thessalonica found themselves confused over Jesus’ return. In our text tonight Paul gives them some explanation to help calm their worries, then an exhortation to help them stand firm in their faith. After all, it is difficult to stand firm when your faith is faltering. As we explore what Paul said we will find several ways to get our faith into action so our standing firm will "firm-up".
I. Let your Faith INFORM your Reason
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 (NIV)
The believers at Thessalonica were familiar with Old Testament prophecies about the Day of the Lord. Amos told the particularly scary parts:
Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?
That day will be darkness, not light. Amos 5:18 (NIV)
On the other hand they had heard Paul talk about the Good Shepherd coming back for His sheep, and an eternal state of happiness. There was increasing pressure and persecution in Thessalonica, and some of the brothers felt like they must have slept right through the rapture and now they were going through the tribulation. They were worried and upset! (I would be also!).
When it comes to our first inclination, most of us do the opposite of what Scripture teaches.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Scripture teaches us to let our faith in the Lord govern our decisions. We tend to let our "reason" (common sense) take over. That always causes spiritual fizzle of faith. That had happened in Thessalonica, and it happens today. Back then there were folks who looked around at the persecution and tough times and reasoned that the great tribulation was at hand. Rumors flew like chicken at a Baptist homecoming.
Today rumors are just as damaging.
" Let a little whisper fly about the married man and his cute new secretary…just watch the trust disappear in a marriage.
" Let the rumor mill about layoffs at the plant get going and watch morale go down the tubes.
" Let the complainers and gossipers pull-apart church leadership and watch the unity of that church be destroyed.
Jesus had told the apostles (Mt 24-25) the truth about the last times. He said there would be wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famine and more. The apostles had passed that information along to the churches. Unfortunately there were those who wanted to question and doubt everything Jesus had clearly said. These are also predicted in Jude:
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Jude 1:17-23 (NIV)
Did you catch the phrase mere natural instinct? That’s what happens when your "reason" informs faith. Why we do that is simply that we can deal with our reasoning - it is based upon that which we can see. Faith is the evidence of the unseen. We tend to trust the bird in the hand, so to speak.
We need to learn to trust the truth of the faith once delivered to the saints.[3] How do we do that? If you’ll excuse the slang, it takes a flying leap! Really! Faith for each individual is a matter of investigating all God has said on an issue, and then, because most faith issues cannot be proven with reason-ability, you have to take a step out into unsupported territory and believe because you choose to believe; a flying leap!
There is something of a parallel in golf. When you swing the club, if you try to peek where the shot is going to go before you actually swing the club you will mess-up your swing. Keeping your eye on the ball is a matter of trusting the swing. No body can prove to you that it will be better that way…but it is! Faith in your shot has to inform your reasoning about wanting to peek.
There was another parallel discovered in aviation. Years ago test pilots would try to find ways to pull-out of a nose dive. They would flirt with that point at which speed and the angle of the dive would make it impossible to pull-back on the stick to lift the nose of the plane and avoid a very serious and unhappy meeting with the ground.
Many pilots died before they finally discovered that after an aircraft passes that "point of no return" on the critical angle/speed where you could pull-back on the stick all day long without success, it was discovered (by one very lucky pilot), that if you reversed the stick - pushed forward - it would reverse the airflow dynamics and lift the nose sufficiently to then pull-out of the dive. Beloved, if you don’t think it takes trust to do that when you’re hurtling straight down at 150 mph, and the ground is coming up fast to meet you, then you’ll never get this first aspect of faith. Your faith has got to inform your reason when it comes to standing firm.
II. Let your Faith INTERPRET the Times
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. 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. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (NIV)
Deception is what turns our eyes away from the truth. Con men count on deception; shell games deceive the eye; Avon and Mary Kay hide the years; larger jeans and sweat shirts hide our widening girth!
Paul reminded the people to beware of deceivers. The word "deceive" means to seduce wholly. To deceive by any means indicates a turn.[4] The expression, don’t let her turn your head comes to mind. This is what the chief deceiver, Satan is all about.
In the case of the Thessalonian believers some folks had been taken-in by those who were circulating rumors about the end of time. There have always been those who have done that, set dates for Christ’s return, and deceived many:
For centuries there have been innumerable theories as to when and how the world might end. Here are some highlights gleaned from alleged prophecies:
" In 960 Bernard of Thuringia, a German theologian, calculated 992 as the most likely year for the world’s end. As the time approached, panic was widespread.
" German astrologer Johann Stoffler predicted an overwhelming flood on February 20, 1524. Believers started constructing arks. One man is said to have been trampled to death by a mob attempting to board his specially built vessel. When nothing happened, the calculations were revised and a new date given-1588. That year also passed without any unusual rainfall.
" Solomon Eccles was jailed in London’s Bridewell Prison in 1665 for striding through Smithfield Market, carrying a pan of blazing sulfur on his head, and proclaiming doom and destruction. Although the end of the world did not follow, the Great Fire of London did, in 1666.
" After studying both the Bible and the mystical messages of the Great Pyramid, in 1874 Charles Taze Russell, founder of the sect that became Jehovah’s Witnesses, concluded that the Second Coming had already taken place. He declared that people had 40 years, or until 1914, to enter his faith or be destroyed. Later he modified the date to "very soon after 1914."
" Herbert W. Armstrong, publisher of the magazine "The Plain Truth," declared that January 7, 1972, was undoubtedly the date to watch. The utter failure of his prediction did not diminish his zeal.
" The 16th-century seer Nostradamus is said to have favored 1999 as the year of a Martian invasion, while an 18th-century French prophetess, Jeanne Le Roger, established the year 2000 as the definitive one. [5]
One preacher I read has a unique term for this stuff; he calls it Pin the tail on the Anti Christ . [6]
Paul talks about a man of lawlessness. This is the Anti Christ, the lawless one. Throughout the last two thousand years people have tried to guess his identity. God gave us his identity (not in name, but character) through the prophet Daniel
"The 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. Daniel 11:36 (NIV)
Now the point is this man is being restrained, held-back until God’s timing is right. Until he sits in the temple and proclaims himself God, all guessing as to his identity is futile. However, the scripture tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 that while the man himself may not be on the scene, his spirit is hard at work. All you have to do is consider the times, and your faith will interpret what kind of spirit is at work.
Pop singer Elton John told the German magazine Amica:
I am gay and wouldn’t want to be heterosexual for all the money in the world….I’ve got enough money, don’t have to follow any rules, don’t have to be in the office from nine to five and take the kids to school in the morning. It is simply a fantastic life when you don’t have any parameters. It’s brilliant. [7]
One thing Elton John is not counting upon is his lack of brilliance….of course he has to follow rules…of course there are parameters. Does he think he is going to go-on forever in his present form? He is going to die, and then the judgment! [8]
As we allow our faith to interpret the times, it is important to remember that it is not the evil upon which we are to focus. It is tempting to try to figure-out who the Anti Christ is; however, our real occupation is to look for the blessed appearing of the real Christ.
Let your faith interpret the times, so that you are not deceived - but don’t let the times throw you into despair…you are called to be victorious!
III. Let your Faith ILLUSTRATE God’s Glory
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. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (NIV)
We are called to share in God’s glory. Wow! That is an astounding fact. Sinful human beings are destined to be part of the glory of God. I have trouble taking that in. But I was reminded of it again this week…in two incidents. Brother Ed Suggs’ home-going, and discovering that his name "Ed" has a Biblical basis [9]; and that his character matched the meaning of his name, witness. Glory! Then, again when Brenda Emmons was delivering food to the Suggs home she slipped and suffered a badly broken leg. When Elizabeth and I visited with Brenda, she was sitting up in bed deciding which books to read. She hadn’t quite gotten out of the medicinal fog to begin shouting "Glory" yet, but she just knows that God is busy using this broken leg for His glory. Glory! That’s letting faith illustrate the glory of God. Incidentally, James said Brenda witnessed to the ambulance EMT’s all the way from Thomasville to High Point.
God’s glory, His ultimate victory is in the future. Our hope is wrapped-up in that glory. We need to be careful to stand firm as we await that blessed hope. That was Paul’s instructions to Titus:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14
The blessed hope, the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the main event of our existence. Vaclav Havel, the Czech poet/President, spoke these words from his years of suffering oppression and persecution: "I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure everything ends badly. I just carry hope in my heart.... Life without hope is an empty, boring and useless life. I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me. I am thankful to God for this gift. It is as big a gift as life itself." [10]
And so, tonight we end with a poet’s words about what to do while you’re waiting for the blessed hope. Here is a poem that describes the simple life of Bahamian cotton pickers, people for whom life was a tough challenge.
" Yet, in the challenge which, reason would say was not worth it, they let their faith inform their reason.
" And in times when the murderous tactics of their rough masters made life unbearable, they allowed their faith to interpret the times.
" And, in their simple task of hoeing cotton every day, all day, they allowed their faith to illustrate the glory of God for all to see:
There’s a King and Captain high,
Who is coming by and by,
And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes!
You can hear His legions charging,
In the regions of the sky,
And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes!
When He comes! When He comes!
All the dead shall rise in answer to His drums;
And the fires of His encampment star the firmament on high.
And the heavens shall roll asunder when He comes!
There’s a Man they thrust aside,
Who was tortured till He died,
And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes!
He was hated and rejected,
He was scorned and crucified,
And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes!
When He comes! When He comes!
He’ll be crowned by saints and angels when He comes;
They’ll be shouting out ’Hosannah!’ to the Man that men denied,
And I’ll kneel among my cotton when He comes! [11]
Whatever your cotton, your tasks, your everyday tasks - whatever your lot - keep at it, stand firm, and be so when He comes!
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ENDNOTES
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[1] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 101.
[2] Rita Mae Brown, Church Champions Update (11-26-01), PreachingToday.com
[3] Jude 3
[4] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary
[5] Adapted from "Facts and Fallacies," Reader’s Digest (1988); Clark Cothern, Tecumseh, Michigan, PreachingToday.com
[6] Timothy Peck, Confidence In the Face of Rumors, SermonCentral.com
[7] Amica (9-19-01); submitted by Byron Klaus, Springfield, Missouri, PreachingToday.com
[8] Hebrews 9:27
[9] Joshua 22:34
[10] Reader’s Digest, February 1991.
[11] Thomas Shadwell, There’s a King and Captain High
