Requesting Prayer
Paul's Epistles - 2
Thessalonians - Part 5
Pastor Bruce A.
Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Thessalonica was the second city in Europe
where Paul established an organized Christian community.
Paul sent his first letter (epistle) to
the church after Timothy returned with good report of the community. His letter
filled with praise to God for them, as well as instruction to continue to do
good, and be mindful of teachers, and preachers. He instructed them to hold
dearly to the teachings of Christ, and not to allow false teachings or beliefs
to pollute the Truth, or they may have troubles as some of the other churches
were experiencing because of influence by the circumcised, the Gnostics, and
other Pagan and false beliefs that had snuck into the churches ranks.
Not long after sending his first letter,
Paul felt it necessary to write to them again. This is 2 Thessalonians. The
reason for this letter was because Paul had received reports that a forged
letter, and a false verbal message had been spread around, supposedly coming
from Paul himself.
These false teachings in Paul’s name made
mention of imaginary revelations of the Spirit given through some member or
members of the Thessalonian Church. The members believed they were passing
through a great tribulation because of this, and were greatly distressed.
Mislead into thinking the Great Day of the
Lord had come. Paul wrote this letter to set their minds at ease. Paul declares
in this epistle that certain events MUST take place before “The Day of the
Lord”.
A) A great falling away from the faith.
B) The coming of Christ for His people (Rapture)
C) The coming into public view of the “Man of Sin”
D) And his open and awful campaign against the Lord
E) Then the coming of the Lord (Second Coming) with His
people in terrible judgment
2 Thessalonians is really broken into four major
themes.
1) Persecution and the
Lord’s Coming
a.
A comfort to the persecuted (2
Thessalonians 1:1-7)
2) The
unrepentant and the Lord’s Coming
a.
A terror to the unconverted (2
Thessalonians 1:7-12)
3) The Apostasy and
the Lord’s Coming
a.
For His people leads to the revealing of
the Man of Sin
b.
With His people means the destruction of
the Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
4) Service and the
Lord’s Coming
a.
The delay of the Lord’s Coming for;
i.
Unique opportunities for service (2
Thessalonians 2:13-17; 3)
Last week we looked at Paul’s comfort to
the persecuted, today we will look at the unrepentant and the Lord’s coming.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
As for other matters,
brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the
Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.2 And
pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not
everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is
faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil
one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are
doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May
the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
Requesting Prayer
I. PRAY
FOR US
a. Brothers and
Sisters
i. Only asked the saved in good standing with the Lord to pray for them
ii. Why saved prayers only?
1. John 9:31 “We know that God does not listen to
sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”
2. Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;”
3. Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have
hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
4. John 9:31 “We
know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His
will, He hears him.”
5. Jeremiah 14:10-12 “This is what the Lord says about this
people: “They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So
the Lord does not accept them; he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.” 11 Then the Lord said to me,
“Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen
to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not
accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
6. Proverbs 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.”
7. Isaiah 1:15 (those who are violent) “So when you spread out your hands in
prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply
prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
8. Jeremiah 11:11-14 those who worship idols will not be heard
9. James 1:6-7 Those without faith will
not be heard
10. Those who live in hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), prideful
(James 4:6), self-righteous (Luke
18:11-14), who mistreat God’s People (Psalm 18:40-41), these will NOT be heard by God.
iii. This also answers the question of why we
need to pray for others, especially those who are in these conditions. Because
they cannot pray for themselves!
iv. The only prayer God will hear from those in
sin, is for Salvation!
b. But Paul is NOT
in one of these conditions, so what is he asking they pray for?
i. That the message of the Lord (The Gospel of Salvation) may;
1. Spread rapidly
2. And be honored
c. Just as it is
with you!
i. Remember Paul thanked God for them and their steadfast faith
II. AND
PRAY THAT WE MAY BE DELIVERED FROM WICKED AND EVIL PEOPLE
a. Not everyone
has faith
i. Wicked people are people living in sin
ii. Evil people are people actively serving Satan
iii. These are the two types of non-faith having people
Paul wants prayer for deliverance from
b. But the Lord is
faithful
i. Prayer from this righteous church will be heard by God!
ii. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. –
James 5:16
c. And He will
strengthen you and protect you from the evil one
i. Why? Because they are living in God’s Grace because of obedience and
service to the Lord, regardless of the circumstances around them.
1. Sin abounds in the world outside
2. Wicked and evil people were trying to persuade and
control the church from inside
III. WE HAVE
CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD
a. That you are
doing and will continue to do the things we command
i. Confidence because they had stood firm on the Lord’s word already
ii. Confidence because the church had thwarted previous
attempts at coercion and confusion of the teachings of Christ
b. The Great
Commission
i. They held fast to their mission
ii. As Paul did, and asked for their prayers so that he
may continue to complete His calling in life by the Lord
c. Those who truly
love the Lord are servants to Him
i. We see Paul praise the church for being doers of God’s word, not just
hearers.
ii. They understood that Love is an action (I Corinthians 13), and to truly
love the Lord, there must be appropriate actions, and the Lord tells us what
these actions are, to show our love toward Him.
1. Jesus says
simply in John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands…”
2. John 14:23 “Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My
Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
CONCLUSION – May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s
love
This tells us
that the Lord wants total control of our lives, but it is control which must be
freely given by us to Him.
and Christ’s perseverance. (or the
patient waiting for Christ)
This pertains
to our waiting on the Lord to correct the situation, whatever it may be.
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