“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
”So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
Read this again…
…“We feel a personal responsibility to continually be thanking God for you, our spiritual family, every time we pray. And we have every reason to do so because your faith is growing marvelously beyond measure. The unselfish love each of you share for one another is increasing and overflowing! We point to you as an example of unwavering faith for all the churches of God. We boast about how you continue to demonstrate unflinching endurance through all the persecutions and painful trials you are experiencing. All of this proves that God’s judgment is always perfect and is intended to make you worthy of inheriting the kingdom of God, which is why you are going through these troubles.
It is right and just for God to trouble your troublers and give rest to the troubled, both to you and to us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his messengers of power within a flame of fire. He will bring perfect and full justice to those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to embrace the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, banished from the Lord’s presence and from the manifestation of his glorious power. This will happen on that day when he glorifies his holy ones, and they will be marveled at in all those who believed—including you, since in fact, you believed our message.
With this in mind, we constantly pray that our God will empower you to live worthy of all that he has invited you to experience. And we pray that by his power all the pleasures of goodness and all works inspired by faith would fill you completely. By doing this the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 TPT)
More of Step 1…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Today we move into verses 6 – 10…
…“It is right and just for God to trouble your troublers and give rest to the troubled, both to you and to us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his messengers of power within a flame of fire. He will bring perfect and full justice to those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to embrace the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, banished from the Lord’s presence and from the manifestation of his glorious power. This will happen on that day when he glorifies his holy ones, and they will be marveled at in all those who believed—including you, since in fact, you believed our message.”
The opening phrase of verse 11 points us back to verses 6 – 10…
…“With this in mind, we constantly pray.”
In verses 6 – 10 Paul gave a clear and startling distinction between two groups of people. It was this distinction that provoked him to pray. He began by identifying the two groups. Group one are the “troublers.” Group two consists of the “troubled.” The troublers will one day be given what is “right and just” for what they have been doing to the troubled. So who are the troublers?
The troublers are those who “don’t know God.” They are those who “refuse to embrace the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” The difference between troublers and troubled is what they do with Jesus Christ. There is only one thing that matters for today and all eternity. It comes down to whether I accept or reject Jesus Christ. There is a literal Jesus and a literal Satan. There is a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. There is a literal Kingdom of Heaven and a literal Kingdom of Darkness. Where I live today, and will spend eternity is up to me. It comes down to the choice that I make when Jesus is revealed to me.
Those to whom Paul addressed this prayer knew God and had accepted his message – “the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” While they were currently being troubled they were assured of a future day in which “his holy ones” would be glorified. This hope fed the fire of Paul’s prayer for them.
In days gone by much of the Church overemphasized judgment with a focus on Hell shouted angrily from pulpits all across the globe through “Hellfire and Brimstone” messages. Things like…
…Sinners in the hands of an angry God.
…Turn or Burn!
…Repent or be thrown in the Lake of Fire!
…and on and on.
God was portrayed as an angry vengeful God just looking for an excuse to pour out his wrath on anyone that stepped out of line. Hell was presented in a way that overshadowed Heaven. Sin was emphasized to the degree that righteousness became seemingly impossible. Disobedience and lawlessness were pointed out so emphatically that grace and mercy fell silent. God’s love and goodness seemed to have vanished.
Today we have swung the pendulum far in the other direction. Many deny the reality of Hell and claim that everyone is already forgiven with no need for salvation. Grace, love, and mercy have been exploited into a message of “universalism” in which all that matters is that I am sincere in my beliefs regardless of what they are. No one is going to Hell. Everyone is secure for eternal bliss with no need to repent or acknowledge a need for a Savior.
The truth lies right in the middle of these two out of balance messages which create what Paul would refer to in other writings as “other Gospels.” The problem is that Gospels other than the Gospel that Paul is referring to here, do not “save.” They leave us in need of a Savior heading (like these troublers) for a future in which we will “suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, banished from the Lord’s presence and from the manifestation of his glorious power.”
Let’s take time today to confirm within our hearts and minds that we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. Ponder that as you take time to consider…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 493: Praying With Paul – 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12: Part 4