Scooter…Harley (both on stage). Many of us would like to believe that there is really little difference between a scooter and a Harley. Both of them are shiny, have wheels and handle bars. Both of them can be used for transportation. You can get somewhere on both of them.
But let’s be honest. While there may be a couple similarities scooters and Harley’s are vastly different. Harley’s are way more cool and way more useful. I would never hop on a scooter and run to the store. Or call my wife on the way home and say, “Fire up the scooter and let’s head out for dinner.” Scooters are safe, benign, passive. Ah, but Harley’s speak to adventure, danger and action. Harley’s are great for cruising or if you have the right type for flying over hills and mud. Harley’s invoke pictures of hair flying in the wind as you race down a road with the engine screaming.
Men and women, scooters and Harley’s often reflect the spiritual life of a Christ-follower. Both are going somewhere with God but they are doing it at a different pace, with a different energy level and a different passion. Scooter faith tends to talk a lot about religion and obligation and tradition. Oh they are going somewhere with God but doing it passively and safely. But hang around with those who have Harley faith and you hear God-sized adventures and experiences. You hear a passion to go with God to places that aren’t so safe and are certainly more aggressive.
Over the next three weeks we are going to take a look at 2 Thessalonians and we are going to hear Paul challenge the Thessalonians to stay on the Haryey no matter what. He is going to tell them that it is worth it no matter the price. And that same challenge is going to be offered to us. If you are on a scooter is it worth it to get on the Harley? If you are on the Harley is it worth it to stay on? And if you are walking you must ask, “Is it worth it to stand on your own two feet”.
Open your Bible to 2 Thessalonians and as you are doing so let me tell you about three people I know. I have changed the names but their stories are real.
Sally was not a bad kid and grew up to make her parents proud. That all changed one day when as an adult she came to know the Lord as Her savior. Her life began to change. Her values began to change. Her desires began to change. Then one day she went to her parents and told them that she had become a Christ-follower and was attending a church that helped her pursue God and where she could serve Him. That did not sit well in a home whose religious faith was not Christian. Her parent’s response, “You have betrayed our family and our church”. They removed her picture from the wall and told her she was no longer welcome in their home and they would no longer consider her part of their family. She had won Christ…and lost her family.
Sam and Jane are retired now. From all indications they are faithful followers of Christ. They were both always active and loved golf. Their kids grew up and left home and they played more and more. They were still at church most Sunday’s and Floyd was even an Elder. As they neared retirement they began to spend winters in Arizona where it was warm and where one could play golf all year. Then they retired, moved to Arizona, bought into a retirement community and relaxed. Their days are filled with nice meals, golf during the day and cards at night. They know Christ…and a life of comfort.
I met Charles through a contact at church and we became pretty good friends. Charles came to love Christ and began to follow Him seriously. Chuck was a good athlete and still holds a track and field record at his old high school. He coaches there now. Getting ahead in coaching means knowing the right people and demonstrating a willingness to give very long hours. He coached track and wrestling and worked with the Jr. high football team. He did well and people noticed. In time he was asked to take on the linebackers on the high school team and he did. I still remember the day Charles told me that the High School football coach asked him to be an assistant head coach for the defense. The path to head coach. What an opportunity. But the demands were high. Saturday mornings would now be film sessions evaluating the game from the night before. Saturday games meant Sunday morning film sessions. Practices were long and lasted into early evening. Off season really meant “on duty” all year. Chuck has 3 children and a great wife. He decided that his family and the Bible study he attended were more important. He told the head coach “NO”. It’s a tight community. He will not be asked again…by any school. Charles chose Christ…and his career suffered.
Now fast forward with me to the day we all stand before Christ. Imagine suffering through life as an outcast from your family. Listen to Christ say He understands and applaud Sally’s suffering and life. Imagine Charles before Christ as an assistant coach. Listen to Christ express His understanding and applaud Chuck’s choice of Christ and his family. Now imagine Sam and Jane before Christ. They too bring their gifts from a life in Christ…golf, card games and comfort. Do you hear the silence?
Is It Worth It to follow Christ? More specifically is it worth it to live in the presence of God and live out His presence to those around us; even if it means we may be persecuted for doing so. This morning let’s take a look at 2 Thessalonians 1 and answer that question together.
You will recall from our study of 1 Thessalonians that the Thessalonians were doing well and Paul was rather proud of them. At the same time their commitment to follow Christ was costing them and being young in their faith they were still figuring out what to believe. When we get to 2 Thessalonians Paul has heard back from his first letter and has discovered that the Thessalonians are hanging tough for Christ but some theological misunderstandings were under mining their hope and followership of Christ. So Paul writes 2 Thessalonians probably no more than a few months after 1 Thessalonians.
As we explore this chapter I want us to notice how God’s presence speaks in us and through us…how He transforms us and those around us.
Living In His Presence Means Spiritual Growth: Read verses 1-4.
Paul gives this encouragement in the form of thanksgiving to God. I want to do the same for you this morning. So… Burke Community Church, I thank God that your faith is growing more and more. The phrase “is growing more and more” implies internal, organic growth. So we could say, “Your faith is growing like a tree from the roots up through the branches. Like a tree you are growing taller and the branches of your faith continue to expand into the lives of others.” So thanks for
• Going to West Virginia and building ramps for wheelchair bound folks and for painting and repairing their homes.
• Cleaning up the yard of a single mom and a disabled man; both of whom saw the gospel up close through you.
• Providing people of other nationalities and religious faiths an opportunity to learn English
• Thanks that your faith is growing more and more
BCC I thank God that your love for one another is increasing. That little phrase “is increasing” describes a river overflowing its banks irrigating the land around it. Your love is overflowing and touching the people around you. I hear your stories of love all the time. I hear how you…
• Opened your home for many weeks to a mom who lost her son
• Served children and their parents in the nursery even after having one of those weeks you would rather forget.
• Many men came to my aid when I was too sick to get off the couch and took leadership on the lobby renovation.
• Thanks BCC for demonstrating an ever increasing love for others.
As you know we are in the process of hiring a Student Pastor and Discipleship Pastor. I have had the privilege of talking with many men all over the country about these positions and BCC. And you know what I do every time? I do what Paul did with the Thessalonians. I boast about you. That’s right. I brag about what God is doing in this church and I tell them stories of what God is doing in and through you. I tell them how we endure through difficulties and how our faith grows. How we have faced trials with courage rather than passive resignation.
So Burke Community Church I thank God that your faith in Christ and love for one another are growing more and more and I thank you for the privilege of boasting about you to others. Well done.
You will notice that at the end of verse 4 and proceeding through the rest of the chapter that Paul hooks up his thankfulness with something the Thessalonians were experiencing…persecution. You see I think that their ever-increasing faith and love were a result of shared persecution. They were living in God’s presence and living out His presence among their friends, family and community. The result was persecution. Let’s read verses 5-10.
Verse 5 is an intriguing verse to me and needs to be unpacked a bit to be fully appreciated. These life expressions of faith, love and perseverance serve as evidence that God’s judgment or justice are right. But HOW? The Thessalonians have placed their faith and trust in Christ and have been attacked as a result. Their response to these persecutions was to grow in their trust of God, love for one another and strength to persevere. God was right. His judgment was accurate. Hostilities would indeed make them more like Christ. God acted justly in allowing them to suffer because their character was transformed and the gospel of Christ was spread. “It was not necessary for the Thessalonians to suffer in order to be considered worthy of God’s dominion, but the writer certainly wished to comfort them with the fact that as a result of their experience of affliction they were considered worthy of it by God.” The NIV Application Commentary (1-2 Thess.), Page 213, footnote. Same idea in Matthew 5:11, John 15:18. Suffering did not make them worthy of Christ. Their worthiness meant they could suffer for Him.
This makes sense only if we believe that there is more to life than being comfortable and going to church. These verses offer little encouragement to those with a scooter faith lifestyle that is quickly abandoned when challenges arise. God seeks more than to make us happy, comfortable and content. God is like that personal trainer who kicks us off the couch, gets us sweating on a Stair Master and then makes us hit the weights. When we look in the mirror a few months later we rightly declare that the personal trainer was just in what he put us through. So God in us means He is whipping us into spiritual shape. His presence IN US means life change. His presence THROUGH US means conflict.
Living Out His Presence Means Conflict
The persecutions and trials that Paul refers to are specifically the result of living for Christ and proclaiming the gospel in an openly hostile world which rejects God and His love. Let me offer a quick word about what persecution is not. Persecution is not the results you experience when you are being offensive. Let me say that more directly. If you are being rude, self-righteous and arrogant then you deserve what you get. It is not persecution when we fail to acknowledge the value of a person and their thoughts…it is sin.
The trials being experienced by the Thessalonians were a consequence of maintaining allegiance to Christ and His ways in the midst of a culture that did not know and worship the true God. It was a conflict of values; truth and lifestyle. The refusal of the Thessalonians to participate in the “normal” social and cultic activities and the exclusivity of their claim to worship the “living and true God” would have left friends feeling resentful and betrayed. Family members, meanwhile, would have viewed a refusal to maintain ancestral traditions as a rejection of family; as turning their backs on family. Believe what you will but honor your family. Finally, theirs was an agrarian society that looked to local gods to ensure adequate rain and good crops. So to turn away from these gods meant no rain and no rain meant no crops and no crops meant we go hungry. Why would anyone want to risk that? It is not difficult to see why they were suffering and why we will suffer when we live out Christ’s presence before our family, friends and co-worker.
Now I would imagine that some of us are sitting here this morning struggling with this idea of being persecuted for Christ because in our world of N. VA. there is little persecution. Let me challenge you to do something this week. Turn your message notes over and you will see that the back side is divided into two days and each day into two sections. The two sections are entitled “Ways I see God not being honored” and “Ways I could bring honor to God”. My challenge to you this week is to pick two separate days and be extra observant and sensitive to what happens on that day that does not honor God. As you go through your workday or go shopping or interact with neighbors take notice of God’s honor. Then that night sit down and describe how you could have stepped into that moment and brought honor to God.
Perhaps the conversations around the water cooler at work are going to change. Maybe the boastings in the locker room are going to have to be dealt with. Perhaps your silence around seeking family members is going to have to end and your allegiance to Christ proclaimed. And maybe your schedule is going to have to be changed in order for you to find time to serve in your local school or go to West Virginia this summer to serve those in need or have coffee with your neighbor whose child you don’t want around. I don’t know what God will do but let’s honor God this week and find out.
It is important to note that those persecuting the Thessalonians “do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” 1:8. The point is that those persecuting the Thessalonians are persecuting them not so much because they hate them but because they are hostile to the God in whom the Thessalonians are living out. You see the Thessalonians were incarnating Christ and therefore received the hostility directed toward God. People have an issue with God but since they cannot see and touch God they go after His visible representatives on earth. Faithful endurance in the midst of persecution is evidence that God exists, that He is just and that His judgments are right. Perseverance, in other words, becomes a form of proclaiming the truth about God.
Let’s switch directions for a moment and wrestle with another question. Is It Worth It To Reject His Presence? Up to this point we have been talking about the life of a Christ-follower and what it means to live in and live out His presence. But I know some of you here this morning have chosen to ignore Christ’s presence; to do life alone. You have chosen your own two feet over a scooter or a motorcycle. You may be thinking, “Why would I want His presence if it means my family may reject me, my friends may abandon me and I will have to suffer. That sounds like a pretty good reason to not want Christ.”
Well let the apostle Paul describe your life and future and then you decide Is It Worth It to reject His presence.
Paul says in verse 6 that God will pay back trouble to those who trouble His people. Remember God is just which means His judgments are always right and accurate. God’s justice means that God counts His people worthy to suffer and will bring them relief. It also means that He will not always turn His eyes away from their suffering. He sees and He knows…and one day He will meat out justice on those who persecute His people.
What will this justice look like? “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power.” (Vs. 9-NASB). They will be punished with everlasting destruction by being excluded from the presence of God. Destruction and separation are not two things but one. Everlasting destruction is not being in the presence of God. Everlasting destruction is defined and explained as being excluded from the presence of God. Now why is that important? Because God is love and hope and truth and life. To be separated from Him is to be eternally separated from love and hope and truth and life. Just imagine eternity with no love or no hope. It is difficult to imagine a worse destruction yet that is what awaits those who reject God’s presence. Now compare that to the future of those being persecuted for Christ.
The future for those being persecuted for Christ:
• They will know rest and relief
• They will experience the presence and power of the Lord
• They will marvel at Him and worship Him
• They will inhabit the glory of God
The future of these two groups seems to imply for us a choice. Poem
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood…
Then took the other…
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back…
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by.
And that has made all the difference.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
The choice: “I could not travel both”. Men and women, it is not possible to walk on your own two feet and walk in Christ. A choice is demanded.
If you are a Christ-follower then these two pictures paint a portrait of encouragement. One picture is of the wonders that wait as a result of choosing Christ. The second is a picture of what we will miss out on. BE ENCOURAGED.
Paul closes with a brief prayer for them. He prays: (Read vs. 11-12)
1. That they would continue to live a life worthy of God
2. That God’s power would continue to strengthen them to accomplish their faith works
Verse 11 echoes verse 5 and verse 12 verse 10. Verses 11 and 5 speak to living worthy of the kingdom. Verses 10 and 12 speak to God being glorified in His people. In verse 10 the glorification is future oriented; pointing toward the day of the Lord. In verse 12 the glorification is present. When God’s people in fact live in a manner worthy of their calling one consequence is that the name of Christ is presently glorified in us, foreshadowing the future glorification that will occur when Christ returns.
Look with me again at our scooter and motorcycle. Some of you are not riding either of these. Some of you are walking on your own two feet waiting on the destruction of Christ to appear. I plead with you to choose Christ. Christ-follower, is your faith more like the scooter than the motorcycle? Are you putting around spiritually thinking you are really going some place? Let me challenge you to set aside your scooter and ride the motorcycle? Motorcycle riders – ride hard and faithfully.
