BIGHOPE for the LONGHAUL

2 Thes. 3:1-5

2 urgencies for Christians:

1. finding the lost
2. keeping the found on course in their walk

5 key confidences you will need to have and act upon (to avoid walking away; main confidence is in the Lord):

1. confidence in the language of God (v 1,2,5); PRAYER
   • so you will reject the temptation to try and change things yourself because you have become impatient with prayer
   • prayer forces you to throw persona control OUT, and take on God’s control
     • prayer connects people to the ministry and action of mission
     • prayer connects God to people of mission
       • v1; “brothers pray for us”
     • prayer invokes God into conflict with evil (v2); “delivered from”
       • we are way in over our heads
   • can’t talk with Him if you don’t PRAY; ESL (English as Second Language) vs PPL (Prayer as Primary Language)
2. confidence in faithfulness of God (v3)
   • so you will not try to make the mission and the people fo the way you think it/they should go or fight the foes in fleshly ways
   • lack of faith can be root of all conflict
   • confidence in faithfulness leads to confidence in prayer
   • God will establish levels of interference and insulation between preachers, missionaries and the evil one(v2)
   • God makes the mission go by causing people to do/grow/go (v3,4, 2 Cor 1:21)
   • by our own means we will try to force things, inflict things etc. when given the chance
3. confidence in the Message of the Lord
   • so you will resist temptation to tamper with it to suit your desires or make it more attractive to an outsider (but have wrong message)
   • Amos 8:11-12; churches today are dropping from their faith
   • Jer 14:14, Jer 23:25, Jer 27:15
   • we need a Deut 8:3 conviction; we need both earthly bread and God’s bread
     • to honour means I will commit to God’s Word as delivered even if it flies in the face of my immediate preferences/desires/opinions/sensitivities
4. confidence in God’s love; to love Him and others (v5)
   • remove obstacles blocking your heart
   • have confidence in God’s love VS. trying to love Christ and others w/o having a clear and present conviction of God’s love for you
     • if you can’t hold on to God’s love and love Him 100%, you cannot love anyone else as you love yourself
   • the key to loving God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself is completely dependent on your co-operation with the work God wants to do in your heart to convince you of His love for you.
     • God’s work is to clear the clutter (“direct”) you have been warehousing that obstructs your confidence in His love for you; the nagging doubts planted by tragic events/circumstances of life & evil interference (ie. divorce,  loss of loved one, job loss etc.)
       • PRESENT THESE TO GOD AND ASK FOR IS HELP; therapy/counseling/ignoring things can only go so far..
       • Did you ever present it to the Lord?
5. confidence in Christ’s perseverance
   • so you will resist urge to manipulate your way out of tough situations God has allowe you to come under
     • Jesus remained on path to crucifixion
     • its easy for us to just walk away…
       • ask for God’s perseverance; He’s choosing to build you, but not asking you to stay STUCK; wants you to grow

BIGHOPE for LONGHAUL requires confidence in the Lord to deliver what you must have to make it. Which of these confidences are you missing?