Open—Mark Allan
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Still in all land.
Our long history.
Right.
To me.
Our thirst inside.
When my grand.
Son.
Before we shall join God.
We soon shall walk.
A couple verses before we pray. The first one in Isaiah chapter 50.
Just thinking of the him, he would not take some falsehoods fire. It's literally be the spark as chapter 50.
And verse 11.
Behold, all ye that kindle of fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that you have kindled. This show you have of my hand, you shall lie down in sorrow.
And then over to first Peter.
I.
First Peter, chapter 4.
And verse 10.
For Speeder 4 and 10, as every man have to receive a gift, they are a gift. Even so, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Now.
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God.
Chelsea.
Baby.
Like to share?
A few thoughts with you this afternoon that.
I trust her from the Lord.
Just the last verse about him that we sang this afternoon about seeing the Lord face to face.
And the last couple of verses that we had read to us in the breaking of bread this morning.
Really put this on my heart as well, you know, I wrote. We arrived here a couple days ago. It's fairly late and I.
Was lying in bed.
Just wondering.
Exactly what the weekend would hold and.
Feeling a little bit weary?
And the Lord answered a prayer of mine that time.
It surprised me a little bit and I just want to share a few thoughts and it's with respect to the Lords coming.
You know.
It was about, I guess 6 1/2 years ago as a family we were driving up West and I just enjoyed thinking about, you know, the Lord has come. He came as a baby 2000 years ago and a lot of people think about that this time of year.
And.
I just had been thinking about the Lord coming again second time and there were a number of.
Correlations between people at the time of the Lord's when He first came to when He came.
To looking forward to him coming again and, and I really enjoyed those thoughts and I've shared them in the past. But last, in my personal reading, I'm reading in First Corinthians 5, just starting, sorry, 1St Thessalonians 5. And this morning the verses were read from Second Thessalonians. And what I want to share with you is an extension on what I enjoyed in that respect, you know?
Paul had before us last night. How?
The Lord was born in a Manger, but there was no room for him in the end. And you know, here's a group, we know the Lord is coming, but the question is, is what? What effect?
Does it have on our life and when I thought about this before and I'll share it very quickly just.
And then go on to what I really want to talk about this morning because.
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In Second Thessalonians, First Thessalonians, we have the Lord's coming mentioned five times, or in every chapter, I should say. It's mentioned more than that. But in the Second Thessalonians they were discouraged and because they thought the Lord had already come and they're going through tribulation and the Lord. And there's some nice exhortations in that book specifically.
That I was thinking about that also relate to the Lord coming the first time as a baby and I just want to share them with you.
This afternoon.
If we could just, I'm going to go quickly through the five from First Thessalonians and I'll go to the next one. I'm going to tell you what the four of them are because these are four things that I.
Struggle with often.
Very recently the Lord, as he often does, he's put a number of difficulties in my path, in our families path, in the assemblies path over the last three or four months.
And those difficulties are not easy to go through.
The Lord put difficulties in the path of the Thessalonians as well, but the four things that I'm going to speak about are the tendency when we're waiting for the Lords coming to sleep.
The tendency to be troubled. The tendency.
To be weary.
And the 4th the tendency to let go of what the Lord has given us.
Those four things are what I want to speak about, but I'm going to start with the first five, which are very encouraging in First Thessalonians and I just, I'll go through them very quickly. I know some here have heard this before.
But in First Thessalonians chapter one.
Thessalonians is written to by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Thessalonica. He didn't have a lot of time with him. There was a riot and he had to leave.
Where he left and he writes it to them, but he had already in that short period of time taught them a tremendous amount. And about the Lords coming specifically, and it's mentioned every time in every chapter of this book. So I just want to start. So the first one is First Thessalonians 1.
Verse 10.
So there's five positive things in First Thessalonians. The first one is to wait for the Lord Jesus. That's a tremendous thing that we can do is wait for the Lord Jesus to come, says in First Thessalonians one verse 10, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us.
From the wrath to come.
And that reminded me of.
Anna in Luke two and we just flip back to it again. I'm going to go through these fairly quickly.
She waited for the Lord to come. Israel was looking for the Messiah. She waited for a long time.
It says in Luke chapter 2 verse 36 there is one Anna prophetess, the daughter of Fanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age. She lived with and husband 107 years from her.
Um, here's from our virginity and she was a widow of a boat 4 score in four years which departed not from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of all them that looked for redemption in Israel. They were looking for redemption in Israel. They were looking for the Messiah to come. And you know, that was when they were waiting for the Messiah to come. It's a wonderful thing when we can look or wait for the Lord to come. It's a tremendous privilege of it often.
We get bogged down doing that, don't we? So that's the first one.
The second one is in First Thessalonians chapter 2.
The apostle is Speaking of them there.
He says what is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing, are not even ye at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming, for ye are our glory and joy. So Apostle Paul just he was filled with joy to know that he would be with the Thessalonian believers for all eternity in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and.
That reminds me of when they're waiting for the Messiah.
The little baby.
John the Baptist in Elizabeth stomach what when she was expecting what happened to that baby? Let's just turn to that quickly. It's in loop again.
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Joy. It should fill our hearts with happiness to think that the Lord is coming.
Soon and very soon.
So Luke chapter, sorry it's one.
And verse 41 Says that it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she speak out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For Lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believe, for there shall be performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Very remarkable to consider well.
There was joy when the Messiah came the first time, and there should be joy in our hearts as we look for the Lord to come again.
The next one is in First Thessalonians 3. Again, the Lord's coming. This is what should characterize us.
As we wait for his return.
This is First Thessalonians 3, verse 13.
To the end, he may establish your hearts unblameable.
In holiness before God, even the Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our hearts being unblameable in holiness before God.
Well, you know, there's a lot of corruption around us. We don't have to look very hard to see that. And it has an impact on all of us. You can hardly turn on a computer, listen to the news, drive down the street and the corruption around us. You know, it's a real exercise to have our hearts as unblameable and holiness before God.
That should be an exercise for every one of us here as we await the Lord's return. You know, often, I think.
Of those hidden things, perhaps?
That restrict the Holy Spirit from being able to work freely.
Because there isn't that unblameableness in our hearts.
It's a serious, serious thing. You know, we long for blessing and meetings like this. We long for blessing and meetings like this.
But when there's.
Hidden sin sometimes is prevented, but the encouragement here is to live blameless and and the person I'm just who I've enjoyed with disrespect. If you go back to Luke again, John and Elizabeth or Zacharias and Elizabeth, what does it say specifically about them as they waited for the Messiah?
This is Luke one verse 5.
Says there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abbya. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
Beautiful picture.
Certainly something that we should strive to do before the Lord is to walk blameless.
I know we need to wash ourselves with the water of the word constantly, but it's a beautiful thing to consider and I think it should be an exercise of every one of our hearts in this room as we await the Lords return to be have that character of Zacharias and Elizabeth and just sorry, just going on and 1St Thessalonians 4.
These well known verses we've heard them spoken on many, many, many times.
So we'll start in verse 16.
So nice not to go back. But it says, Therefore the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first, Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort?
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One another with these words, comfort one another with these words. So as we wait till Lord's return.
We should be seeking.
To comfort one another.
I appreciated to the brothers in my assembly in the last three weeks at Austin. Pray with me.
Both times it was a tremendous encouragement to me.
Tremendous encouragement to me. You know, as a teenager, there's someone in this room who needs to pray with me going up the chairlift. That was tremendous encouragement to me. You know, it's nice when we can be a comfort and a help and an encouragement.
To one another tremendous things. Well, I just go back to Luke again. This reminds me of.
As he awaited the Messiah.
Luke 225. Simeon.
He was waiting for the comfort of Israel, says Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The same man was just and devote.
Waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him, after the custom of the light, took him up in his arms and blessed him, and said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, according thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
Comfort as we rate the Lords return another tremendous.
Thing This was not a particularly comforting time in Israeli history.
Beautiful to see that in the last one in First Thessalonians go to last chapter.
Chapter 5. Last verse.
This is the very God of peace. Sanctify you wholly, and I pray God that your whole spirit soul.
In body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and who thou reminds me of is Mary, who spirit, soul and body before the Lord was blameless and the Lord was able to use her in a in a mighty way, perhaps a way that is hard to even comprehend. Well, these are the the the five people who I'm reminded of in going through Thessalonians and considering.
Coming and they have that. It has been a tremendous encouragement to me every time I go through these books just to consider that and whether my character is similar to these ones who walked before waiting for the Lord to come as Messiah and did do I carry those characteristics?
With me.
And you know, this is all about the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know I was.
And that's something that people want to put out last week, actually, I guess.
It was earlier this week my son trips Christmas concert at the Lombardi Public School.
He they went through and there was a whole page of songs and you know the Lords name. Well the Lords name was.
Never mentioned.
The last song which is class sang with Silent Night, Holy Night.
It doesn't even mention the Lord's name specifically. I'm so glad that both Lindsey and I were a little surprised they even sang that song.
You know the world.
And I'm not being critical of.
Christmas in general, but the world doesn't want.
The Lord.
Where are our hearts? And that's where's, where's my heart? You know what? We know these things to be true. We can talk about them technically with one another when we see things going downhill around us.
We can say the Lord's coming. It's got to be soon. The question is what? What? What impact does it really have?
On my heart, on my life, on how I'm living.
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Searching things, you know, My tendency is to do those four things.
To be troubled.
To be weary.
To want to let go.
And to sleep, you know I.
It's easy, just when things get tough.
To just shut down, you know, it was struck I was reading this the chapter this morning in my reading and just.
Praying about whether the Lord because I was struggling with whether I should be considered talking about this but it struck me when I was reading through.
Last chapter of First Thessalonians. What does it say?
Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not. This is for Sicilians 5 verse five. We are not of the night, nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep.
As do others. But let us watch.
And be sober.
For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they're drunk, and be drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love.
For a helmet.
The hope of salvation. Well, you know, I was thinking about that sleeping and I asked, well, were people.
Sleeping.
At the time of the Lord, when he came as the Messiah, he obviously had this exhortation here with respect to the Lord's second coming.
And I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head, but I went back and I reread Matthew, the account there.
And you know, it's interesting Matthew is written from a Jewish perspective.
But it actually.
Gives the account of what happens of non Jews which is the wise men. And I just struck considering this. I read an article in the last week of somebody.
Pointing out the discrepancies between what you often hear and see and the story of the Lord being born in a Manger just with the wise men being there and it not really the details that often get mixed up. And as I read this passage it just jumped out at me a little bit.
Due to the timing and I just want to turn to that Matthew chapter 2 and what I want to point out is that I think.
The Israelites were waiting for their Messiah.
I think we're sleeping.
And someone can correct me if I'm wrong after this meeting, but Matthew chapter 2 Think the Lord had been born.
I think.
That Mary and Joseph had already been to the temple, and Simeon and Anna and all those ones were already there.
And there have been a star in the sky for a long time.
And they were all sleeping.
I don't, and please correct me if I'm wrong in the timing. I don't. We know all the babies under 2 year olds were killed and they went to the house. So I don't know the exact timing of this but what does it say here now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east unto Jerusalem. They came, they had been following.
Or they had seen the star saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. And what was the response?
Of the people who had the oracles of God, who knew where the Messiah was going to be born?
Who should have known, who should have been watching, who should have been waiting for their Messiah? And what does it say in verse three says when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. What do you mean there's a star? They were troubled.
And you know, I recognize.
The sleeping and the being troubled in my own heart.
You know we can get so entrenched in the busyness of everyday life. We know the Lord is coming.
But we're not really watching the way that we should be. And when something difficult comes into our life, maybe the Lord is chastising us. Maybe he's trying to shape us to be more like the image of His son. Various reasons.
We get troubled and we lose focus on the Lord.
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And we often sleep those two characteristics. You know, it was searching to me. If you go to 2nd Thessalonians and let's just turn there, we're going to be flipping back and forth here, and I'm very sorry.
When those verses were read this morning at the end of The Breaking of Bread, they certainly pierced my conscience a little bit. Let's just read the verse. That was the two verses that were read at the end of Breaking of Bread.
First Austinians or sorry, Second Thessalonians one verse 7.
And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels and flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God. And then later on it says, When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, because your testimony among you is believed.
And we read of his glory in the previous verse, you know.
I know this is referring to his appearance appearing perhaps, but I just, you know, the natural tendency of our hearts is to fall asleep and to be troubled. This whole book was written because Paul had written to the Thessalonians, had told them about his coming and every single chapter of that first book. And then things started getting tough. They started being persecuted and they thought they were going through.
The Lord had already come, and he specifically says in the first verse of the second chapter. Now we beseech you, brethren.
The thing that I noticed just in considering these things, is this term, brethren, it was almost like.
Maybe term of endearment, I don't know if that's the right term, but it says, We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. And then it goes on into the chapter. My intent is not to go into the detail. This is a beautiful book.
I remember Chuck Hendrick speaking on it and it just sort of awoken me to what was really in here.
But you know, when things get tough, the tendency is to be trouble, but the Lord is going to come. He's going to take us out of this world. If you look at when the world is or when judgment comes through the Bible, the the, the believers always taken out of it. You see with the ark, you see it with the Lord's coming over and over and over again. And he was encouraging them by the fact that this was.
Know the Lord hadn't come yet, and it's just so nice to see that you know.
What takes away the trouble from our heart? And I say this, and I know that many will look at me and say, know that I struggle with being troubled at times. It's the Lord himself. If you go through this second thought, I don't even know who said this. I read at a conference somewhere, but if you look the Lord's full name, we're talking about the Lord's coming here where we're trying to take the Lord's name out of Christmas. The Lord's name in its full title is mentioned 11 Times in three chapters here. I just go through.
Just in considering this, it was so beautiful to me. Verse one end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. Verse two end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. First eight end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 12, start of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. End of the verse Lord Jesus Christ chapter 2, Verse one middle of the verse, Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 14, Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 16, Lord Jesus Christ. And then in the third chapter.
Verse 6 Lord Jesus Christ Verse 12 Lord Jesus Christ 1St 18 Lord Jesus Christ if we can get our eyes.
On the Lord in glory in his full title here.
It will and realize that he's coming to take us away from the judgment that's coming to this world. It will comfort.
Our troubled hearts and it will wake us up as well. You know, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing to consider here where the Lord's name is being completely pushed out the door.
It's what should fill our hearts and what we had in First Samuel 17, those first 11 verses.
Satan tries to take David, figurative Lord, completely out of what was in the previous chapter and just have our eyes focused on that. Terrifying.
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Armor of Goliath, his stature, his height, and for us to recognize it in the power of our flesh. We can do nothing against it but the second we get our eyes on David from the previous chapter from the next verses.
It just turns the whole story upside down into one where the trouble is completely gone. And it's easy for us in those stories, knowing the end, to miss that. But it's the same thing As for us, you know, we can know the Lord is coming, and yet Satan gets us focused.
On the troubles, the difficulties, the struggles, the burdens of our heart.
And we lose the Lord, and we become troubled.
And we shut down, we go to sleep, and justice chug on here.
Wonderful.
Wonderful to consider this well.
Umm, sleeping, being troubled. The next one I want to skip to the end and then come back. The next one I'd like to look at is.
Chapter 3 in verse thirteen of Two Thessalonians.
And actually, just before I leave troubled, sorry, I mentioned that all Jerusalem was troubled.
But you'll notice too that even, and I won't turn to it, but in Luke 2, Zacharias was troubled when the Angel appeared to him. It is a natural tendency of our hearts. Well, the next one is in sorry, 2nd Thessalonians 3, verse 13. It says there.
But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing.
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man have no company with him, that he may have changed. We're sorry. Back up a verse now under them.
Now them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, they eat their own bread. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. Well. My thought in this is just the tendency of us to get weary. No, we know the Lords coming.
And I'm.
I'm not that old yet. I'm. I realize I've got lots of Gray hair and I.
There's a tendency, and the enemy wants us to do this, to just wear us out and say just.
You're done. Just float along.
How can the Lord possibly use you? How can you be an encouragement to the Lord's people? How can you? But it says here. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. We've just been reading again the story of David running over and over that energy.
We need it, we need not to give up. And the person this reminds me of I mentioned all of Jerusalem and Zacharias being.
Troubled, but I'd like to actually turn back again to look at at Luke again. Let's just turn to it in Luke chapter 2.
I'm sorry, Luke 1 Zacharias was.
Feeling weary perhaps the Angel appears to him and he starts to question and he actually gets chastisement from Lord and not being able to speak until John is born because of it. I just noticed particularly.
In verse 18.
He asked this question and it's not particularly in the strength of faith. He says in verse 18, Zachariah said unto the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years.
And the Angel that answering said to him, I'm Gabriel that stand in the presence of God, and I'm sent unto thee to show thee these glad tidings. Glad tidings. Behold, thou shalt be done, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because they'll believe it's not my words which shall be fulfilled.
In their season.
Just a little warning, and this is a warning for me. This is a warning that I need not to be weary to press on the Lord.
Gave them the energy they needed to do what he wanted them to do.
He did, and he brought tremendous blessing through their son. And my intent is not to go into that, but just, you know, in talking with others, the number of people who are struggling with things in their life that are making them weary, they're making them troubled is astounding. And I.
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It's right here, you know, we need to look.
To the Lord.
And where He is and what He's done, we're not looking for Him to come as a Messiah, as the Messiah. We know that He's enthroned in heaven and He's longing to come and call us to be with Him and to come in His appearing and have all of His glory displayed to this world. And yet we still have that tendency to be weary, don't we? Well, again.
I just mentioned these things because.
I'm very guilty of them. Well, the last one.
That I just would like to to mention in Thessalonians.
Is the tendency to let go and this one.
And if you look at chapter 2.
Verse 15 of Second Thessalonians.
The other ones actually said be not be not weary and it said be not shaken in mind or trouble. This one doesn't say be not sorry. In the previous chapter it said.
Let us not sleep in this case. It says something we are to do. It says. Therefore, brethren, stand fast. Hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle.
The way did that one strike me, umm, when I read it?
You know, there were in Jerusalem those who knew.
Exactly where the Messiah was to be born.
The scribes and Pharisees Actually, let's turn to it and read it.
Matthew.
Sorry for flipping.
So after they were troubled, they call it says, when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet. They knew the verses.
The new where he should be born.
But something had been lost, and you know I.
As things get difficult, the easy thing is to.
Let go. But what does it say here? It says, Hold the traditions which ye have been taught well.
Yeah, it's worth noting what it says after that, whether by word or our epistle. So this is what would have come directly from the mouth of.
The apostle Paul, or from what he had written in his epistle, it was the word of God. And you know, I was thinking.
A little bit about those in Jerusalem. When the Lord came as Messiah, they weren't expecting him to be born.
In a barn or cave or whatever it was in a feeding through, that's not what they were expecting. They weren't expecting him to be poor.
They weren't expecting it.
Joseph to be from Nazareth.
And So what happened didn't exactly match the word of God perfectly, but it wasn't exactly what they were expecting. And they missed it. And then they fought it as well. But you know, I was, it's a.
Tremendously important thing to know what the word of God teaches and often these things are things that we struggle with in our mind. We we value them we've heard them. It's worthwhile to test me. I appreciated what Wally brought before us yesterday with respect to under the place. What's the the Lord your God shall choose and how many times.
That is repeated in Deuteronomy there and then.
To see it in Luke 22, you know.
My point of that of saying this is not.
To focus on ourselves at all. My point is to say, can I ever walk away?
From saying.
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If I want to know where the Lord wants me to go, He will show me.
Not something that I picked myself, it's something that you will show me.
That is a principle that is rock.
Solid what we do with it.
Maybe we hear it, but do we know how many times it's there?
And so when we get discouraged and we see the failings that we have to blame ourselves for, we want to depict ourselves and not let the Lord.
Direct. You know it's a searching thing in our reading meeting in Rio Ferry I.
Started There was a verse about ambassadors in the last couple times I thought I.
I've heard people use the ambassador thing over and over again, but I didn't didn't.
Really register in my mind how biblical the ambassador thing is, and again, I'm not drawing conclusion.
I am just simply saying it is very clear from the Word of God that we are ambassadors for the Lord and what the implications of that are. What exactly does the Word of God say? And can I walk away from what the word of God do I even know?
What's in?
This book you know I.
It's and this is not just one gathered Saints, but across Christendom as a whole, the knowledge of the word of God is disappearing. Are are we reading it? Do we know it? How many times have you read through the word of God? I'm often.
Amazed. I was listening to something driving home from work this week and they were encouraging to read the word of God every year. The person who married Lindsey and I20 years ago, he that was what he advice he gave us. He said you should, that he had read the word of God every year and he he didn't force us to, but it was something that he recommended. I haven't, I'll be honest, I haven't read through the word of God every year, but I have read it. But do do we know?
What the Bible says Or do we just go by what?
Well, we've heard our whole life, you know, I was listening to an interview.
A couple weeks ago between an Orthodox Jew.
And.
Pastor John MacArthur and Ben Shapiro and they were talking about the difference between. It was very interesting conversation.
The difference between the way the Orthodox Jews look at things and the way the Christians look at things.
The Jews are taught by what the rabbis have taught them, and it's compiled over a period of time, and they're not expected to be able to know from the Torah what the Bible says. They're expected to know from what the rabbis have passed down through the generations. It just made me realize how valuable it is that we have the living Word of God.
For us to weigh what it says and to know why we do what we do.
Very searching to me. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions that you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. There's nothing that the enemy would like.
More than for us to with those smooth stones, sighed.
So can't use them so that we can be defeated.
Searching thing for me because is it easy.
As things go towards failure to keep going.
Not particularly. When we wreck, we sometimes hide our own failure behind the smiling face. But that doesn't meet. The Lord has not changed Second Thessalonians. His name is in there over and over and over again. Our focus needs to be the Lord and that.
In a very short time he'll be calling us home to take us out of the trouble, to take us out of this world. We shouldn't be weary. We should press on. We should stand fast and hold the traditions which we have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. That's really the exercise what I brought before you this afternoon just.
Considering those who are waiting for the Lord to come as Messiah tendency.
Like Zacharias to feel old and weary and not really trust Tennessee to be like those in Jerusalem who were sleeping and who were troubled. Her eyes was troubled too, to be like.
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Those who knew it, but.
Missed it?
Well, they're my exhortation. Those first five are beautiful and 1St Thessalonians, but these next ones are what's really been needed for my own heart. I hope that each one of us as we recognize that the Lord could come anytime He could come today we don't need to worry about.
The United States falling apart, No, Canada is falling apart too. The Lord is coming and it will be glorious and we will see him in power and he's going to be he will be the rightful ruler of this world. He will be given his proper place. He will be king of kings and Lord of Lords. He will fill the heart of the believer. And you know, I hope there's not a person in this room who doesn't know the Lord. You know, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of.
Can you see the Lord's desire to be with His people so that He can know them from the Garden of Eden to the Tabernacle, to the temple, to indwelling it though the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to where two or three are gathered in His name, where He's in the midst, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the eternal state. His desire is to walk with us and to be with us. And although we go through a very mixed up and troubled world.
It is a very short time when we were with him for all eternity. Oh, I I long for my children. I long for the young people here.
To somehow.
Come to that point where they recognize what a sweet thing it is to know.
Great. David's greater son.