Bible In A Year - Thessalonians

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Father in heaven we we are grateful that you have Seen to it in your power and in your mercy and in your great loving -kindness to your children
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That we are alive and we move and have our being today once again another gift of a day
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Another gift of this past week that you have so wonderfully Protected us and preserved us through Providing all that we have needed and bringing us to the place where we have been able to get up again this morning and To find ourselves in the house of the
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Lord and we're grateful to be able to worship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ We're grateful that we have an awesome
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God who loves us and cares for us in such a way That everything that we need physically and everything that we need spiritually is given to us
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Particularly when it comes to salvation in our spiritual life in Christ Jesus your son We're grateful that you care for us in such a way that you even as the
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Old Testament writer says you think upon us And how wonderful it is to just consider
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The truth that our God in heaven thinks upon us and you are concerned with us and yet you're
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Intimately acquainted with our needs and our lives everything even the the hairs on our head are numbered
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The days of our lives are numbered our times are in your hands and Lord We're we're just lifting up our souls and grateful praise this morning as we come to your word.
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Please teach us Lord we would so desire to grow to be challenged to be encouraged to be directed in the paths that we ought to walk in to to be more and more holy to Be more and more set apart for our
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God as instruments of righteousness in your hand Lord as ambassadors for Christ as laborers in the field as your dear children and as you teach us and as you lead us and as you
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You hone us and shape us and mold us and make us into what you desire for us to be as your peculiar people
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Will give you all the praise and glory in Jesus name. Amen Again we're looking at 1st
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Thessalonians in your Bible This is where all the T's begin to come together
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Thessalonians and Timothy and Titus in this first epistle Written to the the
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Church of Thessalonica This was a place where if you if you go back and look at the history in Acts chapters 16 and 17 on Paul's second missionary journey
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He goes into Macedonia. He goes into Greece and one of the cities one of the areas that he goes into is this is
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Thessalonica in modern -day Greece this would be
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Salonica is the city that you would see on the on the seaport and the Aegean Sea and the
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Gulf there the city became the capital of Macedonia it was
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It was a place that Paul had gone to to plant a church he preached the gospel there he
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When they went in in Acts chapter 17 We see that the Jews were stirred because of the teaching of the
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Apostle Paul him coming to preach Christ them holding on to religion of Ritualism ceremony, but he comes in preaching that Jesus is the
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Christ the Messiah the Savior the suffering substitute the one who came to save sinners and God saves people and a church is established there
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The church is planted before they're evicted in Acts chapter 17, but within a year
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The Apostle Paul sent Timothy back to this region to get a report of what was going on in the new churches of Thessalon only
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Thessalonica, but also in Berea and Timothy's good news comes back to the
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Apostle Paul when we see at the beginning of the opening of this book you'll see that there's a lot of commendation here of of Paul to this church remembering and hearing about their
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Their church and their in the life that God had given them in Christ and what they were doing
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It wasn't that they were Stagnated it wasn't that they were not serving
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Christ. It wasn't that they weren't Putting into practice the things that they had
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Learned from the Apostle Paul in being saved by Christ and powerfully changed
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But they were they were doing something in in our Friday night home study One of the next subjects that we're going to get into is 1st
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Corinthians chapter 3 Where we know because of our study here in Sunday School in Corinthians They had many many serious problems in the church based upon their desire to rely upon human reasoning
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Their divisions because of strife and contentions and the Apostle Paul says to them in 1st
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Corinthians chapter 3 He says aren't you walking like fleshly men? Are you not in some translations?
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It says are you not carnal and I don't know if you're any saying to them. You're a fleshly you're
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Having a problem with your microphone the new technology. I'll get this eventually
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But he says to them are you not carnal are you not walking in such a way that You're living your lives as if You are unregenerated
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You are not Christians and I remember in the 1980s. There was a teaching that came down the road
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That I was that was when I was first aware of it and it may have come I'm sure it had come earlier than that of the carnal
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Christian teaching and anybody ever heard of that the carnal Christian heresy, I mean a false doctrine and it was that There are three categories of people
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There are the unregenerate the loss those that are outside of Christ unbelievers Then there are those that are kind of in the middle.
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They're saved but they're living a carnal life and Then there are those that are believers who are living a spiritual life in Christ The only problem with the whole teaching we're not going to go there
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If you want to hear more you can either talk to somebody who goes to the home group or come talk to me
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Is that the Bible distinctly? Demonstrates or declares that there are only two groups of people
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There are either those that are lost and those that are saved there are the unbelievers or believers now
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Christians can walk in a way and Can backslide can sin but that is not the the tenor or the consistent behavior of their lives
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And Paul is saying to them You shouldn't be walking this way you should not after all the years all the teaching that you've received
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You're still in diapers. He said are you not your your babes in Christ? That's where he said I have to give you milk because you're not able to receive the meat
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You're not able to bear it You're not able to to understand the deep teaching that I'm trying and we got to go back to pre -kindergarten you're still on the bottle where you should have a knife and a fork and should be eating spiritual meat and We See there that they had a they had a problem in their church that sin had
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Entered in and because of the lust of their flesh because of their pride the strife envy divisions
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There was trouble in the church, but Paul when he heard about the church at Thessalonica That there was commendation that comes back to them because he heard as you read as we see in chapter 1 in Verse 2 he says we give thanks to God always for you all making mention of you in our prayers
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Remembering without ceasing your work of faith Isn't that strange when you put those those two words together your work of faith your labor of love and patience of hope in our
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Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God our Father knowing brethren beloved your election of God and He is telling them and he is commending them for the fact that they they have a
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Spiritual reputation of doing that which is the ordinary in the extraordinary
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Change of life when God saves the soul and they have gone on to do things
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You'll notice he says in verse 5 he says our gospel came not unto you in word only but also in power and in the
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Holy Ghost and in much assurance as You know what manner of men we were among you for your sake in verse 6 and you became followers of us as of and of the
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Lord Having received the word in much affliction with joy in the Holy Ghost and Paul said not not only did you did you hear this?
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Message, but you became followers of those who before had brought this message to you
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And you became followers of Christ and the Greek word here We get our English word mimic from this if you were to take a look at the
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Greek word You'd see the root of it being to mimic. It means to imitate or to follow we have at our at our company where I work we have two major systems and one is the primary and one is the secondary that the the insurance the applications run on and Every time someone enters any type of transaction on this one primary server
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There is a software that runs and it replicates that data on to the other system in the event that the primary fails
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When it goes down the other one come right back up and we can switch over to that and keep continue on a backup type
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High availability plan the software that does that Just a kind of an ingenious name that they gave to it is called mimics
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It imitates the data. It sends it across and Paul says you've become imitators of us
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You've become followers of us and you've become followers of the Lord. Isn't that even more important that we as People who claim to be saved by the grace of God by the gospel of Jesus Christ Imitate the
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Lord who has saved us desiring to walk as he walked as John wrote in 1st
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John chapter 2 and in verse 6 Paul is excited about what he's hearing here in Thessalonica in this church they were examples
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He says in verse 7 chapter 1 verse 7 to all that believe in Macedonia notice what it says
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For you have a great church in verse 8 this is what he said you have a great church and all you do is shut the doors and go in and have great services and Great conferences and great seminars and great institutes and you just you know
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Contemplate your own being and you enjoy just the fellowship of yourselves. No, he says in verse 8
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Those things are those things are okay to learn and to grow in knowledge and to have great fellowship in the church
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But he says for from you Sounded out the Word of the Lord not only in Macedonia where they are but in a ki but also in every place your faith
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To God word is spread abroad broad so that we would we need not to speak anything
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And what Paul is saying here is that they sought to spread the gospel
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That saved that was instrumental in bringing them to a knowledge of Christ They were saved by this gospel and they knew that if they were to be disciples or followers of Paul That's what he was doing.
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He was going about preaching the gospel. So others would be saved They wanted to do the same thing the joy that they had received and becoming
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Christians. They wanted that to be known for other people so they were Evangelizing and they were making disciples and it's interesting to see in chapter 9 what it was that took place in their lives
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If you really want us to see what happens in the life of a sinner notice what it says in 1 9
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It says for they themselves. These are those that that have been
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The recipients of what it is that they've gone out and sounded out through the Word of God They themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you
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Paul is saying He's talking about the the reception that we had when we came when
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Paul came to preach the gospel here in this location This is what took place.
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He says how you turn to God From idols to serve the living and the true
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God Isn't that a wonderful description of what takes place in the life of someone who becomes a
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Christian or a believer? It says that there's what what would you say if you're turning?
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From idols to God what doctrine would we say that is? repentance and isn't it a sad thing when repentance is
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Stripped from the gospel the carnal Christian teaching has a false view of repentance.
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They say that you can come to Christ and Believe upon him as a as your
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Savior But not have to make him Lord Of course We know from Acts chapter 2 and Peter's preaching that no one makes
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Christ Lord except the Father the Father has made Jesus both Lord And Christ and the true gospel is is that you believe on the who
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Jesus Christ? What where would I put before his name the Lord Jesus Christ if? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
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Savior shall be saved well that that would be true, but that's not what the Bible says and in in Romans chapter 10 and in verse 13
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Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You can't slice and dice
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Jesus He can't be chopped up in and received any way that we want to to receive him
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The Scripture is quite clear that in order for someone to be saved they must receive bow the knee to and submit to The Lordship of Jesus Christ we it's not like you trust
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Christ as Savior in the carnal Christian teaching You trust Christ as your
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Savior and then some second type of action is needed or second Blessing or you kind of go all the way with Christ and someday later
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Make him Lord not that we don't grow in our understanding of Christ and we and we do in of Christian doctrine but I Think I think what happened seriously what happened with the carnal
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Christian teaching was when there was a watering down of the gospel When it became man -centered when it became easy believism you just all you have to do is just say are you a
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US inner? Yes Do you understand that Christ is the Savior? Yes that he died for you? Yes, will you believe on Christ?
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Yes, and they're just nodding the head and saying yes and making decisions But not disciples
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What was happening was is that we're having in churches were reporting?
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hundreds thousands of decisions But the church membership was not increasing
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Because people were not committed to Christ What do we got to do? We got to have something that is gonna explain away
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This this the results of our preaching or or this new type this this watered -down
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Gospel this easy believism and thus was born the carnal Christian teaching it has to be they're just they're just living that way
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Because they just haven't gone all the way with Christ. And of course, it's not the teaching It's here in Thessalonica, but it was fresh in my mind because that's not what took place here in this church these people turned away from their sin and they turned to God they turned away from their idols and They did it to serve
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The true and the living God in verse 10 It says in chapter 1 and they were people who would wait for his son from heaven
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Whom God had raised from the dead even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath of God which is from the wrath which was to come a
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Paul as I said came to this area and And he taught and if you were to it preached the gospel
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They were saved church was established if you were to go back to Acts chapter 17 You would see that he was there reasoning in the synagogues three
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Sabbath days So he was at the most there maybe three to four weeks a short period of time
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But in that period of time God had wrought a wonderful work people had come to the
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Savior They gathered together a church was established and he taught them now when he left maybe because of a misunderstanding of what he had left them or Because of the
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Jews that were there that were stirring up problems every time Paul went to preach the gospel They were right behind kind of bashing
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Paul Saying that he was an imposter saying that he was a deceiver saying that the things that he was doing, you know were for his own
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Self gratification and really When when you look when you look at this first chapter the verses that we've already looked at Because of the
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Jews accusing Paul of being an imposter and being a deceiver I think
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Paul in writing these words here particularly when he talks about this How you know what kind of entering in we had unto you?
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You know how we came to you and if you read all of chapter 2 you will you will see Paul Discussing the method of coming in of ministry and the message that he preached and how he he says
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In chapter 2 we came with the gospel God allowed us to be in put in trust with this gospel.
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So we came in not to please men But to please God he said in verse in chapter 2 verse 5.
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We didn't use any flattering words He says in verse 6. We did not seek glory
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From men nor for we didn't seek any glory from men or from you or from others
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He said in verse 7. We were gentle like a nursing mother. Who's Nursing her child.
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We were affectionately desire of you We wanted we were willing he says in verse 8 what a wonderful verse not only to impart to you the gospel
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But also our very own souls because you were dear to us this Paul.
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It was the real deal He was a true minister of God who loved the people that he ministered to One of the one of the teachers at the
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Shepherds conference again reminded me and in all of us You know, it's one thing to teach and to love to teach
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It's one thing to preach and to love to preach but it's another thing to love the people that you're teaching and preaching you know you can get so wrapped up in the ministry and Loving to do it that you forget about the whole thing of it is the glory of God and the changing of lives and the saving
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Of sinners and the changing of their lives Paul was that type of man he loved
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Those that he went to minister to and he labored verse 9 to 9 and he travailed night and day
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And he preached them the gospel in verse 10 notice the notice his character notice his testimony
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You are witnesses and God is also how holy and just justly and unblameably we have behaved ourselves
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Among you that believe and as you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his children and hold us in the whole motive the whole method here was not to come in and be
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Deceivers trying to get a group of people to come after them so that he could be puffed up He could be prideful and maybe he could get a gathering of people who would take care of him and think he was
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Something great and his horn could be tooted and people would take care of him for the rest of his life his whole desire was that God had saved him so marvelously and God had revealed his son in him and God had entrusted him with the stewardship of the gospel that he was to go and to preach this gospel and People would be saved that God had much people he knew that God had chosen and elected people as he said in verse 4
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For he knew that their their election of God that when he went to preach this gospel
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He would give of himself so that others could be saved and he did it not thinking of himself first but thinking of others for others and it brought him great joy and Even in all the ministering that the
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Apostle did With all the the teaching that he gave them in those three to four weeks
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There still seems to have been some type of confusion There still seemed to be some questions that they had and Paul had to write this letter
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Here's here's one of the main things that was taking place and you know, and I'll show you how
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I How we can see this as we go to every single chapter in this book
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There is one subject that Paul ends every chapter with and That seems to be one of the things that they were really confused about or they were
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Being confused because of what other people were saying, but what was taking place is that Christians were dying?
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and when Paul came to preach the gospel in preaching the gospel that Christ was the one who died and was buried and rose again and They could believe upon him
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Turning from their sins their idols and turning to Christ. They could be saved Paul said that the
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Lord's coming back Jesus Christ is going to return but he hadn't returned yet and In his departure
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Paul is separated from them Christians in the church their brothers and sisters in Christ Were were dying the strong a strong part of strong emphasis of his message
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Focused on the expectation of Christ's return and After these believers have died a period of time after the question was raised in the church
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I mean, how long will it be before the Lord comes? What about those who die in the meantime?
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Where are they if Jesus comes are they going to be left behind? Are we the ones of the we the ones that are alive?
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Do we have an advantage over those that died and there was not only the bereavement and the grief from the
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Christians who had died but there was also the persecution that was coming on this church in any church in the
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New Testament and Paul is going to Reiterate Paul is going to write in this letter and he does also in in the second second
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Thessalonians on this subject of the Lord's return To comfort them to help them to give them to bolster them to to give them some
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Encouragement in the days in which they're living as far as again the persecution that's coming upon them and with the questions that they have
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How should Christians live? there were some who You notice in this this book if we can get to it and in the in the first and second letters here
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There are some Christians who stopped working They got into this
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Sluggardly mode and their reasoning was the Lord's gonna come we're gonna stop working because why work there's no sense in doing that But Paul is gonna deal with that and help them also and says look you need to work
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You remember in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3 you remember that we all know the verses if someone doesn't work.
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They don't they don't eat But the whole idea is that is that there must be industry people need to keep working the
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Lord hasn't come yet He is coming and we have that great. Hope and we can look to him for that. But in the meantime, stay busy
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Don't be idle. Don't be busybodies in that in that chapter. He talks about them being busybodies meddling in other people's business
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It says look you what you need to do is you need to focus on on on service and Doing something with your lives and taking care of yourselves and providing for the needs that you have in your family and Paul speaks in response to these questions and the
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Confusion and the concerns that they have Paul sends this letter and in the letter again in chapter 1.
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He encourages the church In chapter 2 we see that he answers false allegations about himself that you remember the he's a he's an imitator he's a
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I mean, he's a He's an imposter. He's a deceiver and Paul says look, you know how we came in, you know the testimony
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It was face to face. It was life to life. It was us imparting our souls to you Like a nursing mother like a like a father who who cares for his children
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We came and we poured out our lives for you And so he answers that that accusation there also in chapter 2 he brings them comfort in their persecution
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He expresses the joy that he has and we'll get to that verse at the end of to the joy that he has in their conversion in in chapter 4 he reminds them of the importance of of living morally pure lives
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Sanctified vessels clean vessels that the Lord can take up and use For his purposes.
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He condemns the sluggardly life in chapter 4 He corrects the wrong misunderstandings about Prophecy about the
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Lord's coming and I hope to get there before we finish up mostly that will be one of the focuses at the end
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Of the of this he in chapter 5 Div you diffuses tensions that are within the church and exhorts the church to church living and basic Christian Practices that ought to be going on he does that in chapter 5
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But what is this as I already said because of the issue with their misunderstanding about the
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Lord's return notice what he does go with me to chapter 1 and And we already read the verse but in after after verse 9
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He said that they were the their testimony was when God saved them was they turned to God from their idols to serve the true
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And living God and in verse 10 and to wait for his son from heaven Whom he raised from the dead even
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Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come and he says as part of Salvation God instills in the heart of his people through the truth that comes to us
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That the hope of the return of Christ brings us great comfort and it is part of our lives
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If you read the Apostle Peter if you read the Apostle John you see the same thing that Jesus is returning and it ought to influence and have an impact upon our lives and it does bear upon our lives that we want to be a people who are holy and Pure and watch and wait for the
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Lord to come in from the apart from the from our Lord's teachings right down to the Apostles It's part of the fiber of a person's life and being who's been saved
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To long for the Savior who has saved them in chapter 2. You'll notice this at the end.
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He says In verse 19 for what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing
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Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming for you are our glory and joy
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And what the apostle is teaching here is that when Jesus returns? Paul's happiness and Paul's honor
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Would be the conversion of these Thessalonians their salvation was a fruit of his labor
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It was a proof of his faithfulness of serving Christ and knowing that they would escape the horrors of hell this filled
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Paul with great joy and happiness He knew that when the Lord would return that he would not see the
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Lord or face the Lord empty -handed He knew that God had used him in in being an instrument to preach the gospel and others were saved and he was just Overjoyed with that that not only did he please
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God and glorified God, but these people's lives were affected They were saved and they were changed and they were his crown
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They were they were his reward and they were his proof that his ministry was owned by God It was stamped by God.
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It was it was it was God Given he was a God -called man and a God -gifted man and the fruit of his ministry was something that God had done
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He had not done it himself These people out of darkness into light into the kingdom of his own dear son again the theme of this book
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Christ will Come again, and that is the hope of the believers in difficult times in good times
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And with all the confusion of questions that we might ever have the theme of this book is
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Christ Will come again and in that teaching not only did Paul want to comfort But he also wanted to instruct them how they ought to live in the light of that truth as being
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Christians In chapter 3 notice what he says at the end verse 12 and the
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Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and Toward all men even as we do toward you to the end.
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He may establish your hearts Unblameable and holiness before God even our father at the coming of our
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Lord Jesus Christ With all his saints we could see here that Paul is just telling them that When the
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Lord does come It's the Lord's work and working in his people to establish us to keep us to preserve us and to make us a holy people
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Set aside set apart for the Lord's work and when the Lord comes He is going to present us faultless before the presence of his glory as Jude wrote with exceeding joy
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Notice in chapter 5 I want to skip 4 because I want to end up in 4 in chapter 5 at the very end of the chapter again
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We have well like in the middle of the the chapter. We have all these different teachings and instructions to them
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Don't render evil for evil follow that which is good rejoice evermore pray without ceasing
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Give thanks and everything don't quench the spirit don't despise prophesying's
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Prove all things hold fast to that which is good abstain from all appearance of evil and notice verse 23 and the very
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God of peace Sanctify you holy and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
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Be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ And of course it will because God is working in us both to willing to do his good pleasure
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Peter said that we are kept by the power of God through faith in Christ Jesus God is going to preserve his people as he gives them grace to Persevere and they're gonna go on things will be well
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All all will be well and God will will set you out before the whole universe as trophies of his grace
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Isn't that a comfort? I mean you you may have had a Difficult week last week and if you didn't you will have one in the future things are gonna come there's gonna be losses
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There's gonna be bereavement. There's going to be pain. There's gonna be suffering there's gonna be persecution and Just like they went through and for time and for all eternity for every believer
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We have the scripture before us which is here to comfort us also in that in our trials and in our difficult times
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And what Paul uses is this great? Hope this expectation of the the real actual imminent return of the
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Lord Jesus. It's going to take place now Let's go back to chapter 4 because this is probably one of the the longest passages which deals with the coming of the
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Lord Jesus and of course in this chapter Dealing with the rapture of the Saints the snatching up of the
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Saints and we're going to see In in starting in verse 13 notice Well, let me go back up to 11 just to deal with a verse like I was bringing out earlier notice verse 11
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His exhortation to them that you study to be quiet or make it your ambition to be quiet So at times we need to be still and know that God is
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God that word quiet means to refrain From a meddlesomeness or to refrain from speech it can refrain from activity but it says there's times when you just need to be quiet and he says
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But not only to to do that But also to do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you
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They had already heard this they just misunderstood and some of them just kind of thought well the policy
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I mean he's pressing upon us that we can be saved if we trust Christ and and we and we Return from our sin and believe on the
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Lord Jesus and we're saved. We're forgiven. We're children of God We have eternal life the gospel came to them that way
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But he also preached to them that Jesus was coming but some of us some of them misunderstood it that Because no doubt that the
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Apostle Paul the glow of his heart. He didn't know the time. He didn't know the season I mean and you'll notice that In chapter 5 and in verse 1 he says but of the times and seasons brethren you have no need that I write unto you when
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It came to the rapture or the second coming of Christ when Paul was teaching them He never said it was going to be in his lifetime.
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Although he may have anticipated that it would they did have that I mean don't we anticipate that the
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Lord Jesus could come in our lifetime We do and we say even so Lord Jesus come quickly I mean we desire that that is our hope but we don't know that but we live like it could be in the not to Affect us to to to be people that are holy and pure and set apart for the
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Lord But they they stopped working some of them and Paul wanted to remind them again that you need to keep busy you need to keep pressing on and And and so they did and that you walk honestly toward them that are without and that you may have lack of nothing
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Then he says this in verse 13, but I would not have you to be ignorant or uninformed brethren
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First and foremost, who's he speaking to he's speaking to Christians Not all
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Christians and even us today we have issues at times where we don't understand things We don't quite get it, right
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But the Lord in his good timing brings the truth to bear upon us and we we come to understand and then we come to Practically live out what we believe but he says
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I want to talk to you about concerning them that are asleep That you do not sorrow even as others which have no hope and he says there's those that are sleeping and if you'll remember when
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Jesus was coming to Mary Martha Lazarus John chapter 11
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You remember that says at the beginning of the chapter that Lazarus is sick the report comes to Jesus and the disciples that Lazarus is sick and then later on in that chapter around verse 11 or so Jesus says
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Lazarus sleeps and Then they say well if Lazarus is sleeping, that's a good thing
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You know, he's taken the Nyquil or or whatever and he's gone to bed. He's sleeping. He's gonna heal things will be better Jesus said you don't you don't understand
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Lazarus is dead. He comes right out and he says he's dead Sleeping and and and dying, of course, what happens when we go to sleep?
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I mean everybody here Did everybody sleep last night raise your hand if you didn't sleep? Okay, you might not had a good sleep
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But you slept last night, but we anticipate that when we sleep we're going to wake It we it's it's not a serious matter that we went to sleep and and we died all of us have
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Woken up and when when a Christian dies the the idea of the description here of the meaning behind this is when we die
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We're going to be raised again. It's not that's not the end of it. It's not over we have the hope that we will be raised from the dead and and what was what what
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Paul is saying here is that For those that have gone to sleep or those that have died
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He didn't say that it's wrong to sorrow you notice that he says I just don't want you to sorrow like those who have no hope and we have all been to a funeral
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We've all been to a service of any church whether it's Roman Catholic or Lutheran or Methodist or Baptist or whatever we've been and we've seen and witnessed a service where people have a friend or a loved one who has died and there is absolutely no hope and There is such bereavement and there's such loss and there's such separation
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Because they don't know what's happened to this person because of course they don't have the gospel And they do their best to console they do their best to kind of cover it over and you know
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You hear all the sayings doesn't the person look better? The person is in a better place and I'm not trying I'm trying to minimize the pain of anybody who may have heard that or or Been through that or have lost somebody or they tried to preach the person into heaven good person did everything they possibly could you know helped?
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People and I'm sure that God's gonna accept them even with all their faults The difference between that type of funeral service and that of a true believer is is though There is great sorrow and great loss and great pain.
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There's also a great Hope we know that that person has died in Christ and Jesus Will will raise them up again and they will one day be in the presence of the
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Lord for forever in a body that at The at the resurrection and live forever with Christ.
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They have the hope of Christ and Paul's not saying don't don't be sorrowful and See how he's comforting them with the
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Word of God With this letter dealing with the issues that they had there and they're thinking
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Jesus Jesus hasn't come and my brother and sister in Christ has died or my my my
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Friend or my family member who trusted in Christ has died and we're alive and Jesus is gonna come
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They didn't understand what would happen to that person So Paul's explaining to him you have hope for verse 14 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in in Jesus God will bring them with him as As Jesus Christ was died and rose again just like just like Christ It did happen.
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It was true Christ rose from the dead. They will be resurrected.
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Don't worry They're not going to stay in the ground. There's not annihilation It's not that that's over and it's only those that are alive when
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Jesus comes will make it Whether you're alive or whether you're dead There's no advantage or disadvantage when it comes to the return of Christ all will will
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Go to meet the Lord in the air verse for 15 for this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord That we which are alive and remain so those that are alive at the time when
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Jesus comes unto the coming of the Lord Shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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They won't they won't proceed. They won't go up before them They won't go ahead of them They won't have an advantage over those that are dead and we're going to see that in in verse 17 17 also for verse 16 the
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Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel with the Trump of God and The dead in Christ shall rise first.
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There's the comfort for them. There's the doctrine There's the teaching to them these believers your friends your family your neighbors your church those members in your church that have died
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Will be raised again from the dead first Notice because in verse 17 then and this is a word that has to do with timing and it's the very next or Right after then we which are alive and remain will be caught up or will be snatched up And this is by some power outside of themselves.
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It's really God raising us up Together with them in the clouds to meet the
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Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord? What what comforting words for these the troubled hearts of these
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Saints and it reminds me of the Lord Jesus's words in John chapter 14 You remember he said and I go to prepare a place for you
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And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself That where I am there you may be also and that's probably the words that Paul taught them as he preached the gospel
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These are the words of Jesus He said he preparing a whole place in heaven for us and he's gonna come and receive us unto himself and in this in verse 17 well previous to verse 17 the dead they will be raised first and then those that are alive
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Because they're going to be changed and then we're we're going to be raised up those that are alive to be to to be together
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With them and it's interesting it just to think about this in the in the Greek that the article
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To meet them in the clouds the word the is not in the Greek and I just thought it was interesting and it can go
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Either way but it says so the the meaning could be to be together with them in clouds in the air and it could mean that all of the
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Believers as they go up it could be like there's a there's just clouds of believers going up to meet the
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Lord But either way it's going to be in the air where the clouds are and there's going to be a group of us So there's going to be great clouds and I and I love doing this sometimes
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When I'm speaking to to you, you've probably heard me say this to you When you leave and you you part when you're together and you say see you later
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Okay. See ya and I'll say well, I'll either see you tonight at whatever. I'll see you next week at the Lord's At the church or I'll see you in the air and that's a great hope that we have we can say that with confidence
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We can say that with assurance and every single believer here. We can Gather hope from these words and notice what the
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Apostle says in verse 18. Wherefore Comfort one another with these words.
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That's the desire of the Apostle Paul He says the Lord is going to come verse 14 as he promised
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The the dead brethren will be resurrected and participate in Christ's coming for his own and then that is coming
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The living will be returned Reunited the living will be reunited with those who have gone on before to be forever with the
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Lord and all believers both living and dead Will eternally be with the Lord, isn't that wonderful?
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That is the truth then Daniel well, they're they're already their spirit they're already with the
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Lord because they've gone on they've died and they're and they're with the Lord and however, the
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Lord's going to do it somehow he's gonna raise their bodies and of course that's going to be them and Somehow thus sign us that are alive simultaneously afterwards or not simultaneously
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Subsequently right after it will come to meet the Lord in the air. Well, that is true
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And maybe they didn't understand that they didn't understand Well, you know some of them didn't understand what part of them was with the
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Lord and What about the body that's there because we're gonna have a body when we die And and Paul is just saying that everybody's going to be the same
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Everybody's gonna have be resurrected and his other teachings like in 1st Corinthians 15. There's going to be a resurrected body and The the spirit for those that have died and been buried be to be reunited us
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We're already body soul and spirit will be raised to have a different You know raised up to have a different body to be able to be with the
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Lord forever And it's not like yeah, I won't go there right no more sting
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No more victory for the grave Amen.
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Yeah when you see him And he called to memory, you know back back in verse 14 that like as Christ died and rose again
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What happened with the resurrection remember what I taught you about what Jesus there wasn't a spirit resurrection It was bodily form.
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It was I saw him. They handled him. They touched him I'm sure he he dealt with all of that and That too is the hope that you have that you will be like him in that way that you will be resurrected and and really the troubling confusion
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Difficulties that they had. Can you just see how the Apostle Paul lovingly? Caringly comes in with the doctrine
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To teach them to get them to the place where they can actually see the truth so that it helps them to be able to Go on until the
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Lord comes again Part of the karma or whatever.
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It's like Man as they did the
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Lord they recognized him He was a physical being and some spirit.
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Yes, we're going to have a That's right because they've been scattered in the sea or yeah sure the
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Lord can do that Amen one more before we close.
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Amen and a sovereign God could do that. Amen. Let's close Father thank you for this time.
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We we eagerly anticipate this truth to be a reality
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Lord, we trust you that your word is Assuredly clear and And truthful to us and we are confident that what you said you will do you will do
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Lord Jesus We remember your words that you would come and receive us unto yourself
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And we remember Lord God the words of the Apostles as they penned it on the pages of the
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New Testament this great expectation that Jesus will return in Victory to take his own unto himself
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Not coming a second time to deal with sin for it's already been dealt with on the cross, but to come in victory to rule and to reign and to take his very own children to be
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His own free for eternity and we praise you for that and we long for it and Lord we want to live
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In the light of that truth help us to be pure help us to be sanctified vessels
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Set apart for you and to live with that expectation that Jesus will come and Lord Jesus, please