Glory Then Means Glory Now

Take your Bibles, if you will, and turn to 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. You follow as I read these first 12 verses. Our text today is verses 11 and 12, but let's hear what God has to say. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians, in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. 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 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you 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 in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 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.

With this in mind, we always pray for you that our God may count you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you that we have the opportunity of looking into your word.

Now, Father, we pray we would learn from it, we would be changed by it. That you would move us to live in ways that glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Father help us not to be satisfied with just hearing words but help us to strive then to live by those words for the glory of Jesus Help us now to that end, we pray in the name of our Savior. Amen. A little over two weeks ago, Iran launched missiles against a couple of U.S. air bases in Iraq.

What do you think the airmen on that base did when the warning sounded that there were incoming missiles? You know what they did? They headed for the bunkers. When an attack comes, you run for protection. So what should we do when persecution or affliction arrives? In whatever degree, what should we do?

God's word this morning addresses that very thing. Now remember what this book is about. The Apostle Paul seeks to encourage his people in Thessalonica because they are now facing intense persecution. They are facing greater affliction because of their faith. they have intensified persecution at the hands of family and of friends and of the governmental authorities he begins at the beginning of this chapter in verses three and four by commending them for their faith which is steadfast and growing and for the increasing love they have for one another he commends them for that and then he moves on as we saw last week to encourage them to endure the present afflictions with the promise of God's justice when he returns in blazing glory.

And now, in verses 11 and 12, he encourages us in a different way. So let's look at those two verses, our text for this morning, 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 and 12. With this in mind, we always pray for you that our God may count you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now in verses 11 and 12 he encourages them not just to endure but to progress or advance in the face of persecution He begins by saying, to this end as we have it, or better, with this in mind. With this in mind. With what in mind? What's he talking about? You remember what we saw last week as we looked. That's what he's referring to.

With this in mind. With what in mind? With the promise of relief for you and retribution for your oppressors in mind, he prays that you would advance. With this in mind, with what in mind? With the promise of relief that's coming and of retribution against your oppressors. With that in mind, he prays.

With the promise of Christ's glory when he returns in mind, he says, we're praying that you advance. with those things in mind, with the future in mind, we're praying that you would advance in the face of persecution. Essentially, he says to you, when affliction and persecution comes your way, in whatever degree, all right, we're not suffering like these folks did yet, but whenever persecution or affliction comes in whatever degree, don't just endure it. But in light of Jesus' return, advance against your enemy with a life of positive action.

He's calling on us to go on the offensive here. Not just to endure, but with the future in mind, how do you act now? How do you go? How do you advance against persecution? You see then, the promise of the future brings obligations in the present. The promises of the future bring obligations in the present.

Future hope is bound together with present conduct. Never forget that. God tells us about the future in order to help us now. Future hope is always bound together with present conduct. It does no good to talk about Jesus coming back in glory if it doesn't affect us. He tells us about that so that we will change, that we will take positive action in the face of affliction.

So here's what God's word says to you this morning. First of all God urges you to positive action In verse 11 God urges you to positive action by his power verse 11 And finally God urges you to positive action by his power for the glory of Christ. That's what he tells us this morning in our text. So, with the promise of justice and glory, yet future that has just talked about with that in mind God urges you to positive action you want a life of positive action in the face of affliction so that God considers you worthy of his calling now in our version and in in the SV it says we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy it's the same word that's in verse 5 it's to count you or to consider you worthy it's not making you worthy It's not as if he energizes you to do something that makes you worthy.

It's that you would be counted as worthy, considered worthy. He's talked about this before. Let's turn back to 1 Thessalonians for a moment. We were there some months ago. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. Do you remember what he said back then?

If you don't, let's turn there. Where he says, For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Walk in a manner that's worthy. So when a recruit graduates from boot camp and his commanding officer says, you wear the uniform of your country, so act in a manner worthy of that uniform.

He's not saying earn the right to wear it, is he? You already have the uniform on. He's not telling you to earn the right to wear the uniform. Rather, he means that the way you act ought to reflect the respect you have for that uniform and the respect you have for your country. Act in a way that's consistent with the uniform that you have on. And so God will look at your life and say that you've lived consistently with your profession, consistently with your position.

You are a subject of the king. Does your life reflect that? He says to us now, I'm praying that God would count you worthy, that he would be able to say you've lived consistently. with the position that you occupy. That means that when affliction, hatred, or whatever degree of persecution you experience, you don't run for the bunker. You don't run for the bunker, but you respond with lives that reflect that you live under the Lordship of Jesus, that King Jesus is your Lord.

You're going to live consistently with that. And so he says, he's essentially saying to us now, when persecution comes and affliction comes in whatever degree it is, don't run for the bunker. You live a life of positive action in the face of that affliction. You live a life that is worthy of your calling. What is that? He says, first of all, that I'm sorry, you know, I'm getting old and it's harder for me to find the verses. that you will have a resolve for good.

A resolve for good. You will possess a resolute determination to do good. In the face of affliction, you will possess a resolute determination to do good. When your friends and family turn against you because you're a Christian, what kind of attitude will you possess? Will it be one that shrinks away, runs for the bunker, right? Or will you determine to do good?

As you face a hostile environment, you must have a determination to do good. All right, turn back to Luke 6. So I want to go to what I consider one of the most radical passages in all of the Bible. This is what we ought to be determined to do. Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6, verse 27.

Listen to what Jesus says. This is the untamed Jesus. This is the Jesus that you cannot tame. And what he says is hard, but he means it. Luke 6, 27, But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, to one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either Give to everyone who begs from you and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.

But love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. And your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. That's our intention. That's what our intention has to be.

That kind of good. when affliction appears, when affliction arrives, when persecution comes. Look back at 1 Thessalonians again for a moment. Let's look at 1 Thessalonians 3, verses 11 and 13. Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you so that He may establish your hearts blameless and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

What does he say? We have to grow in love for one another in the face of persecution. We ought to be loving one another even more. And so as you face a hostile environment, you must have a determination to do good. You must determine to do good. That's what God calls us to do here.

Not only that, but we must not just have a resolve, a determination for good, but that works of faith are ours as well. Others will see your works of faith. Works prompted by faith. So the question is, why reach out in love to those who misuse and abuse you? Why even do that? You know why?

Because you believe the promises of God. That's what works of faith means. your works are prompted by the fact that you believe what god has promised you love and do good to your enemies because you believe the promises of god those that are works of faith works that are motivated by our belief our trust in God what God has said Well like what Well such promises as these So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 16 and 17. Do you believe that? Do you believe that the affliction you're facing right now is working for you an eternal weight of glory that's beyond all comparison? Do you believe that? If you believe that, you can love your enemy.

Jesus said in John 10.10, The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. But I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. Now listen, listen to me. This is the same Jesus who said, by the way, they hated me. They're going to hate you. So count on people hating you.

This is the same Jesus who said, you've got to give up everything that's you in order to follow me. Right? And you're saying to yourself, okay. That's abundant life? Yes. It's a better life than you never dreamed.

You believe that Jesus says that loving your enemies in the midst of persecution, you actually believe that Jesus is going to deliver on his promise and give you an abundant life. Do you believe that? If you do that, you can step out in faith. I love Hebrews 6.10. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do.

God's not unjust. He sees every good thing that you do. He's not going to forget that. Do you believe that? And then we have just the immediate context here. What has he just got done telling us?

He's just got done telling us that Jesus is going to arrive in glory with the blazing flame of his angels to bring retribution on those who persecute you and to give you glory and to show up in glory himself. Do you believe that? If you believe that then you can do You have works of faith Those works are motivated then by faith belief in the promises of God And so with the future in mind he says live such lives that are worthy of the kingdom lives of positive action, lives with a determined attitude to do good, lives that do good because you believe the promises of God.

And so God urges you to positive action in the face of persecution. with the promise of justice and glory in mind, God urges you to positive action by His power. God urges you to positive action by His power. Let's be honest. What God has just said to us is clearly impossible. It's impossible. And, if you notice here, He does not say, just grit your teeth and get her done.

It's not what He says. It is not what he says here. What does he say? It says that God, by his power, fulfills every resolve to do good and fulfills those works of faith. God, by his power, fulfills every intention of good and every work of faith. Now please know, it is not God who loves our enemies.

I mean, it is not God who does the loving. It is not God who resolves to do good. It is not God who does the works of faith. It is not God living for you. It is you doing these things. It's not God.

You're not just a shell that God uses. God's not the one who's doing it. You're the one who's doing it. but God does you do it because of the power that God supplies. In other words, you must step out in obedience, believing that God will give you the ability to do what he expects. You must step out in obedience all the time, believing that God will give you the power that you need to do what he expects.

How was Goliath killed? God struck him dead, right? Lightning bolt. Boom! Isn't that what happened? No, that's not what happened.

You know the story. David believed God's promise. Promises that he had made in his covenant that he would drive out their enemies from before them. Right? And David resolved to slay the giant. And what did he do?

Well, he went around to the brooks and he found the best stones he could get. By the way, and he got five of them. Why do you think he got five? Well, in case the first one missed, he'd have another one. Right? But he resolved to slay the giant, so he searched for the stones.

He confronted the giant. He swung that sling and he killed the enemy. David resolved to do that. But David stepped out in obedience and God, by his power, fulfilled David's intention. Consider Sarah. Sarah lives with a difficult husband.

Right? He often curses her out. He demeans her in front of the children. And sometimes he'd even mock her in public. But she knows what 1 Peter 3 says. 1 Peter 3 tells her, Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.

For to this you were called that you may receive a blessing. So, she begins to frame a number of blessings to respond to the curses and the mocking. She starts thinking, what's he going to say? How can I bless him if he says that to me? How can I bless him when he mocks me in front of the children? What can I do to bless my husband?

And she has to actually form the words in her mouth. And she actually has to speak them. But watch God fulfill the intentions as she steps out, believing that God will give her the power to do it. to be able to return blessing for cursing. That's an impossible thing. You all have been there. You all have been there.

But you step out in obedience to what God has said and you believe that he'll give you the power to do what he expects. It is by God's power then. Yes, you must obey, but nothing will happen without the power of God intervening. such power works in you because of your prayers it interesting to me that the apostle Paul says with the promise justice and glory of Jesus appearing in mine me and Silas and Timothy always pray for you We always pray for you.

They pray that the Thessalonians will live in a manner worthy of their calling. And so they pray that God will fulfill their intentions and their works of faith. They have invested deeply in this church. They have invested deeply in this church. Do you notice what he says? We're always praying for you.

There's a consistent time of prayer that they have in which they bring these dear friends of theirs before the throne of grace. If you desire God to work with power, you must pray. You must pray. you notice as we have seen in these two epistles this church has revealed the steadfastness of faith because god works in them and god works in them because of the prayer invested listen no prayer no power no prayer no power that's the way it works turn over to matthew 7 let's just turn to Matthew 7 to a passage that seems to cause some confusion Matthew chapter 7 beginning in verse 7 ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be opened to you for everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks it will be opened or which one of you if his son asks him for bread will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who's in heaven give good things to those who ask him what's he talking about here i mean anytime i ask god for something he's going to give it to me no he's telling them ask for the things i've just told you about?

What are the things he's told them about? He's told them about things like this. Don't worry. God's going to provide for you. He's told them to love their enemies, right? He's told them, let your yes be yes and your no be no.

He's told them, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth He told them I want you to be salt and light in the world So what he saying in Matthew 7 He saying if you want these things ask for them and you will get them And the same thing is true here, as we look at what Paul is saying to us right now. He's saying to them, ask, seek, knock, and you will be able to do these things. This positive action in the face of affliction will come as you pray.

Your intentions will be fulfilled. Your intentions of good will be fulfilled. Your works of faith will be fulfilled as you pray. You can't do those things without prayer. Writing to a people facing persecution. The author of the book of Hebrews said this. and by the way when he says for we do not have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our weaknesses he's talking to people who are feeling weak in the face of intense pressure to abandon Jesus or pay a price and so he says to them for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin what's the next verse let us then with confidence drawn near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need you want help pray you want to live a life like he's telling us here then you need to pray and so sarah spends the early morning hours when she's alone, praying that God will give her the strength that she needs in order to live a life of this kind of action before a husband who makes her life miserable.

She prays for that. God, help me. Help me to respond in ways that glorify you. Prayer says that you cannot do anything unless God works. prayer is an expression that you are completely utterly entirely dependent on God that's what prayer says and so you must have the power of God if you want to advance in the face of affliction such power comes through prayer by the way lest I forget it also comes as we pray for one another We pray for one another Which, by the way, means we talk to one another and tell each other where we're struggling.

But we pray then. We pray so we have the power to live in the way that God wants us. lastly with the promise of justice and glory in mind god urges you to positive action by his power for the glory of christ for the glory of christ he says that in verse 12 so that why do we why do we want this determination to do good and why do we want all our work of faith so that we will do those things. Why?

So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you. God urges you to positive action by His power for the glory of Christ. Paul has said that Jesus will be glorified in us when He returns in glory. We've seen that in verses 5-10. He told us, Jesus is going to be glorified in us. Jesus will be glorified in us when he returns but he must be glorified in us now not wait until that day because he's going to be glorified in us then he must be glorified now now glory then means glory now again the future is bound up with the present.

The purpose of that life, that life of positive action, the face of affliction, that when the world turns against you, what is it? That people will see Christ. Oh, I can't tell you how many times I've said that. As I sit in my office, and I'm sitting with folks who are struggling. A marriage who is struggling. Right?

Here's a guy who's saying to me, I'll do anything I can to get my wife back. And I say, well, that can't be our goal. What? I shouldn't want my wife back? No, no, that's not what I'm saying. Whether you get her back or whether you don't.

Our goal, Christ is going to be magnified in your life, no matter what happens. That's got to be our goal. That's our whole purpose in life, folks, that people see Jesus in us. And so we live lives in the face of affliction like this so that people will see Jesus. You want to live this way? You want to pray for the power to live this way?

Not so that everything goes your way. How often do we say, well, I asked God to do this and it didn't turn out. I guess he's not listening. No, no, no. You're praying that these things happen so that Jesus is glorified. People see him.

Not that everything goes your way, but that as you respond to life's circumstances, Christ will be exalted. The name of Jesus will be glorified. It will be exalted. It will be magnified. You know what that means? it means that all of a sudden Jesus looks big. You want to live in such a way that Jesus looks big to those around you.

He says, you're doing this for the name of Jesus. The name? What does he mean by that? He doesn't mean the word that distinguishes you from somebody else. Like, no, no, that's not Pastor Tim. That's Greg, right?

That's not how he's using it. He means whether it's a good name or a bad name, right? We always use that. Again, I remember I've told you this before. I can remember as a little kid, my dad seeing us off the door as we walked down the street to go to our school and him saying his words, remember you're a pasma. That name means something.

In other words, you better be good or you're in trouble. That's not what he's saying here. But the idea is a good name or a bad name, a reputation. You want the reputation of Jesus to be magnified among those who you live and in the face of affliction our our tendency is to run for the bunker and what he's telling us is no your your life ought to reflect that Jesus is Lord and people will see him above all else they won't see you they'll see him see the glory of Jesus name is linked with the attitude and the conduct of his people now jesus will most certainly be glorified when he shows up at his second advent when jesus shows up there not going to be anybody who doesn see his glory But that means now we want to show his glory You see, Jesus is despised and rejected now.

And we want to magnify his name. It was despised and rejected then. He's writing to people who have heard others despise Jesus' name. And turn over to Acts 17 real quickly, to the story of the Thessalonians. Acts 17. Okay.

All right. Verse 6. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also and jason has received them and they are all acting against the decrees of caesar saying that there's another king jesus you see they despise and reject his name they're running his name through the mud they're saying false things about him kind of they're saying hey these people want to whoever this guy Jesus is they want to make him king they want to make him emperor see but Jesus reputation is glorified when those who bear his name live lives of credit so that his reputation is exalted I had a friend named Mitch I haven't seen Mitch in a long time Mitch was once interested in going as a missionary to India.

And he tells the story of an Indian fella who was unjustly put in jail. And so the church was praying for him. This is a Christian guy. The church was praying for him and asking that God would get him out of prison. And I think when someone went to visit this Indian man in prison, and he got to talk to some of his mates in prison there, they said, wow, this guy serves a great God.

His name is Jesus. Really? Why? You know, because everybody prays to their gods to get them out of jail. But you know, this guy's in jail, and his God has made him a loving kind man Our gods can do that That how Jesus name is exalted and magnified and glorified When we live lives in the face of affliction, that they see Jesus and not us. But, you know, that's not the end of the story, is it?

For those who seek to glorify the name of their Lord will one day be glorified in Him. Isn't that what He says? At the end of verse 12. So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him. So when Jesus returned, you will too be glorified. We who suffer dishonor at the hands of those who do not believe will one day be publicly honored by the one whom our enemies despise and reject.

You see, they despise and they rejected Jesus. They despise and they reject us. But when Jesus comes, he will publicly hold us up and honor us, those who have been rejected and despised. You see, we will be publicly honored before all those who have rejected and despised us. God assures us that Jesus will glorify us. and he will glorify us because of his grace not because we've done such a great job exalting jesus and glorifying him because we know that we fail often he gives us power and we do it but there are often times we don't seek his power and we don't but you know what he's going to glorify us not on the basis of how well we've done but on the basis of his grace we are glorified by grace just as we are justified by faith right god when we when we come into relationship with jesus god justifies us he declares us innocent of all the charges right why because you've lived a good life no because of what jesus did the exception on the basis of Jesus.

It's all of grace. And He will glorify you by grace. We will experience glory on the basis of God's grace. And you know what happens Because I know He going to glorify me That ought to move me then Not to say so it doesn make any difference Instead that moves me to seek to glorify Jesus now That we seek to glorify him now with all our might, calling on God to empower us.

Sarah can keep fighting. Sarah can keep fighting with good. Sarah can keep at it, because she knows that one day, by God's grace, she will be honored by that grace. All because of the grace of God. And that will move us then to glorify God, glorify Jesus now. So, when life becomes difficult, when persecution arrives, in whatever degree, don't run for the bunkers.

Instead, you have to advance against it with lives of positive action. You can live a life worthy of your calling. You can live a life worthy of your calling, and that means that you will pray for the power of God. That means you will step out in obedience, believing that God will give you the power that you need to do what He expects, that God will fulfill your resolve, and that your work and your work prompted by faith.

And you do this because you know that glory awaits you. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the word of hope that you give us. Father, we must all admit that when affliction arrives, we too often want to hide and seek protection. Help us instead to step out in obedient faith, to magnify the name of Jesus above all others, that his reputation will be magnified, that his glory will be seen in us.

And we know, Lord, that it's worth it because there is glory awaiting us when he returns. so help us then help us so that people will look at us and not talk about us, but talk about our King. We pray this in His glorious name. Amen.