The BIGHOPE of Pay Back and Proof

2 Thes. 1:1-10 [show] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: [2]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [3]We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. [4]Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. [5]This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- [6]since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, [7]and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels [8]in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. [9]They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, [10]when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (ESV)

• Jesus’ wanted ad for those in gospel: Matt 10 [show] And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. [2]The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; [3]Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4]Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. [5]These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, [6]but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7]And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' [8]Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. [9]Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, [10]no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. [11]And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. [12]As you enter the house, greet it. [13]And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. [14]And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. [15]Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. [16]"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. [17]Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, [18]and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. [19]When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. [20]For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [21]Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, [22]and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. [23]When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. [24]"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. [25]It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. [26]"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [27]What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. [28]And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29]Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. [30]But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31]Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. [32]So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33]but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. [34]"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35]For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. [36]And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. [37]Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38]And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [39]Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [40]"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. [41]The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. [42]And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." (ESV)
  
• God isn’t stuck by man’s “free will”
  • Ps 33 [show] Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. [2]Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! [3]Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. [4]For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. [5]He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. [6]By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. [7]He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. [8]Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! [9]For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. [10]The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. [11]The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. [12]Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! [13]The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; [14]from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, [15]he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. [16]The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. [17]The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. [18]Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, [19]that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. [20]Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. [21]For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. [22]Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
    
  • Isa 44 [show] "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! [2]Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. [3]For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. [4]They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. [5]This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel." [6]Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. [7]Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. [8]Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any." [9]All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. [10]Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? [11]Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. [12]The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. [13]The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. [14]He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. [15]Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. [16]Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!" [17]And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!" [18]They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. [19]No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?" [20]He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" [21]Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. [22]I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. [23]Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel. [24]Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, [25]who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, [26]who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins'; [27]who says to the deep, 'Be dry; I will dry up your rivers'; [28]who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"
    
  • Jer 51:11 [show] [11]"Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. (ESV)
    
• trouble in a believer’s life isn’t proof of God’s absence
  • very much the opposite
    • this is the conflict we expect being in life of Light in world of dark

Reality is…

• as your faith is super-sized and your love lands all over (ie. dispersed amongst community), persecutions & tribulations escalate
  • super-sized faith = super trust in God
    • will bring opposition from those outside the faith AND within the faith
    • persecution can be based on your faith alone
    • tribulations not just a single event
      • does your trust in God grow during these times, or do you trust in something else?
      • although the troubles seem to [unreadable] the righteous judgment of God, He isn’t judging right now; He’s gathering evidence
        • if God was IMMEDIATE in judgment, none of us should be here! (Phil 1:6 [show] [6]And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
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Hope is…

• because God is just; the time of His righteous judgment will come – when Christ is revealed  (v7: apocalypses)
  • remember vengeance belongs to the Lord
  • the tables will turn; the troublers will get trouble; the troubled will get relief
    • For the Troubled: trouble used as instrument to manufacture disciples; evidence of the real
    • For the Troublers: instrument of judgment; evidence for their judgment

Hell is…

• a place of punishment only for those who do not know the God they chose to ignore & do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus they chose to reject
  • Rom1:21; stubborn refusal of relational knowledge of God & only desire head knowledge
  • can’t merit salvation, but can merit judgment
  • Hell is the total expression of what unbelievers want: no God to impact them

BIG HOPE is…

• someday reflect in the glory of Christ and being lost in the amazement of His splendor
  • glory of Christ will completely eclipse what the spirit has been doing
    • Big Hope is you, being included because you believer out testimony to you