Relief and Retribution

I wanted this to take a moment to pray for a couple of people, Abby Cedar, who I think is around. I don't know if anybody in here knows how old Abby is, she's probably 12, maybe. And she broke an ankle pretty severely the other day in a baseball game, she's got a little athlete. And so they're doing surgery on her right now, in fact, she repair this break. And because of just where she has, where she's at in growth, her growth plates and all those things. It's a fairly complicated surgery, so I want to remember her, it's going to be under anesthesia and all of that. So they asked us to pray they got to keep this hand on her and get her out of the hospital as soon as possible. And also John Martinez, most of you know, because the word's kind of gotten around.

He was in an automobile accident in Seattle a little over a week ago. He was in Seattle on a business trip, he and his boss were in the left turn lane, getting ready to turn and the driver coming towards him, just wandered over and hit him head on. And almost, I mean, the police were amazed, they weren't both killed, but they both had broken hips, like the exact same injury. So he said surgery on his hip and as they were after the surgery, moving him around, he had a heart attack. And so they discovered he needs open heart surgery. So he's been airlifted to California's back home, has to go into the doctor tomorrow and they're waiting for this hip to heal and probably the next four or five weeks he'll have open heart surgery.

So pray for him and pray for his wife, who's just basically quit her job to stay home and take care of him. So we want to reach out to them and be as helpful as we can, but just pray for his protection and soon recovery. What we take a moment is the congregations to pray for them. Our Father, we are grateful today for the mighty hand of God that is upon your people. We thank you that there's nothing that comes into our life. You promised us that it's not a part of your good purpose in conforming us into the image of Christ and making us like him. So we pray, Father, for these who are going through great trials. I know these are not the only two, but we do pray for Abby and John. Pray for Abby this morning to just keep your hand upon her, Father, through this surgery and that you would make this recovery very quick.

I pray that these bones would knit together and give the doctors real skill in doing this very precise surgery and then you would help this healing process to be speeded up. Pray for John and just incredible challenges that he faces because of what's happened to him and how aware he is that this is your hand and I pray that you would use this time to cause him to grow, give him a great opportunity to be a witness to his family and to his friends and to all those around him, help him to grow in his faith as he's going through this, I pray, you pray you raise him up from this bed in Jesus' name, amen. If you watch the news very often and you pay attention to world events and what's going on in the world, it should make you wonder about how long all this can go on.

Regardless of where you are in your eschatology that is your belief about in times, you may be a pre-millennialist or a post-millennialist or an all-millennialist or a pan-millennialist or something else, but you have a view about the future that the Bible does teach Jesus is coming back for His people and when you hear about the world's events and about the building up of tensions, especially in the Middle East and also of what's going on just in the world in general. The largest Christian organization in the world is wondering whether or not ministers could be ordained if they are homosexuals or should they be put out of the ministry if they have abused a child sexually. They're wondering about that question.

They're debating that question. Does that say anything about the condition of this world? Is the Lord Jesus coming back? The Bible teaches us that He is, indeed, coming back. In fact, the text that we are looking at today in 2nd Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and he is giving these words of encouragement to a church who is going through severe testing because they're being persecuted for their faith. These are very young believers. When you hear about evil and evil deed that is going on in this world that is especially heinous, you always wonder where is justice. Where is righteousness? In 50 AD, these Christians at Thessalonica were beginning to feel this way. They have been saved for less than six months.

They continue to be persecuted both by Jews and Gentiles and their persecutors seem to be enjoying great prosperity. Well, they were going through difficult times because they had come to rest their faith in Jesus Christ. I heard this morning that they are between every day in the world, different estimates, but every day in the world they are between 300 and 600 believers that are killed because they are identified with Jesus Christ. The amazing thing, more persecution going on today of Christians than ever before in the history of the world and it's all tied up with politics and religion. But it's always been that way. Jesus was persecuted because of religion and politics and Christians today are being persecuted for the same reasons because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Some of these believers at Thessalonica begin to wonder, where is God's judgment? Where is His righteous judgment at a time like this and others begin to say, well, you have to understand, we're in the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord has come upon the earth and what we are suffering is evidence that we're in the day of the Lord. And these Thessalonians believers understood something about the day of the Lord because they had studied the Old Testament beginning in Isaiah chapter 2. We have this unveiling of God's teaching and his prophecy concerning the future coming of the day of the Lord. And in that day, there is going to be judgment upon people and there's going to be relief and rest for the followers of God.

And they're confused. Where are they? And when is the coming of the Lord going to occur? And so Paul responds by writing to them and encourages them by telling them the truth. So we have in this text before us today, in second Thessalonians chapter 1, the truth about the second coming of Jesus Christ. The biggest problem we have this morning as we look at this text, I can tell you right now, are your presuppositions and my presuppositions. Because when I begin to read these words, you are going to fill in the blanks based upon what you assume about the coming of Christ. Some of you here have read left behind the whole series. And so you're going to be tempted to superimpose upon this text what a couple of Christian men, good men, but who have strong views in a overly developed system of eschatology have put into a series of fictional books about the future.

Try not to do that. Try not to superimpose your eschatology on this text. Try to hear the text. Hear what Paul taught these believers in 50 AD about the coming of Christ. Just listen to the word of God. Set aside your presuppositions if you can for a few moments and hear what the word of God says about the second coming of Christ. Paul begins to tell them about how he is giving thanks for them and primarily because of their endurance, the endurance of their faith in the midst of great persecution. He says in verse four, therefore we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions what you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment.

That is the fact that you are enduring under persecution. You are persevering. Your faith is becoming strong. He says this is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God's repay with afflictions those who afflict you and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. Dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed for our testimony to you was believed.

To this end also we pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what he does here. He gives thanks for their perseverance because they continue to grow in it. He says in verses three through five and then at the end of verse five he says because they can count on God's righteous judgment. God is going to bring judgment in this world as I watched TV this morning. As I was eating breakfast, James Kennedy had a little segment after his sermon about persecution around the world and there's all these vivid pictures of Christians, especially in the Sudan who are being persecuted in such a horrendous way.

Many of them stood there with both arms having missing because they've been cut off because of their Christianity or faces deform scars of every kind on their bodies because they are Christians and they're being persecuted by those who hate Christianity. A very vivid picture and you think when is God going to come and judge people who do those kind of things to believers? I think it's hard for us when in fact when we read this passage it almost sounds too harsh to us that God is going to pour out vengeance upon the enemies of the gospel. To us it doesn't sound like Christianity because we live in a postmodern age when we're afraid to say there is an absolute right and an absolute wrong and that God is going to judge the unrighteous.

That makes us uncomfortable. In fact we've actually changed the gospel in our culture in the American church to talk about how people can come to have peace and goodness and a life that is really pleasing by receiving Christ and never mention the issue of judgment or a judgment day coming and then the text of Scripture becomes embarrassing because when I open it up and I begin to read it to my unsafe friends and it talks about the judgment of God coming. The fact that God has appointed a man to judge the living and the dead and he has already said a day in which that judgment is going to take place and the effect of that judgment is that those who stand before this judge and are judged as unrighteous and enemies of the gospel are going to be cast into outer darkness, embarrassing to us and so what we do is we just modify Scripture by only talking about those things that don't raise the issue.

You see the problem is this is at the heart of the gospel. One man puts it like this if you tried to talk the average person who is a traveler on an airplane going across the United States to put on a parachute during his flight because it would make him more comfortable he would think he would refuse to do it. But if the stewardess came by and said I want to let everybody know the plane is about to go down. We don't think we can make it to our destination and we want you to put on your parachute because that may be the only thing that's going to save your life that'd be a great motivation wouldn't it to put on the parachute even if it wasn't very comfortable. Well the fact is the gospel says there is a day of judgment coming and that judge that's been appointed as a man his name is Jesus Christ he's been raised from the dead and that's proof that God has identified him as the judge and he has died for sinners the way that you can escape this day of judgment is by putting your trust your confidence in him bowing the needy him and he will save you from this day of judgment.

That's the gospel. Now obviously it's not the kind of gospel that most people want to hear and so we are greatly tempted to modify that gospel but then we come to text like this in which we have these strong powerful words of judgment given the warning of coming judgment on the enemies of the gospel those people in the Sudan who are attacking Christians and mutilating them because of their faith in Christ are going to stand before Christ and give an account he's going to bring retribution upon them this text says and so Paul begins to describe this coming judgment of God he says it is a description of what Christ is going to ultimately do with the enemies of righteousness first but also he tells them he gives in this message that is to assure their hearts that Christ is going to come and he's going to deliver his people deliverance is coming in fact the two words that are used notice in the text is retribution and relief or retribution and rest retribution against the enemies of the gospel and rest for those who suffer for it the fact is we do have brothers and sisters around this globe who are suffering for the gospel even today suffering in significant ways I got a letter from Nilo Sanchez our missionary in the Philippines who's moved to Mindanao and he's going to start a church there in Mindanao and start a school a mobile school which is going to travel around and train pastors and as he in this this letter that he sent to me he tells about moving into a neighborhood and as he begins to try to witness to his neighbors he is he is meeting strong opposition nobody is glad that he is there and so far he hasn't found one family in the neighborhood in this whole little community that wants to hear the gospel but he's confident that God's going to change some hearts and that church will be planted there but he's in the midst of opposition and we have many brothers and sisters in this world who are in the midst of opposition in our country as long as we keep our place as long as they'll even run us an auditorium like this as long as we keep our place and we get don't get too vocal we don't get too public about all of this then we will be tolerated but if people begin speaking up when people begin like our president for example making it clear that he is a follower of Jesus Christ there's a lot of people who begin to become angry why are you dragging religion into the public square well you can imagine the kind of fear that these young disciples of Jesus Christ were experiencing and so Paul writes them and he gives them this message about the coming of Christ you know the kind of persecution we face is simply angry looks and maybe once in a while somewhere rebuffed by someone who doesn't want to listen to what we have to say but nobody strikes us in the face for it no one kicks us in the shins nobody you know comes after us typically but these people are being attacked and so he first talks to them about retribution who are the enemies of righteousness against whom this judgment is going to fall well if you notice the way he describes them he says in verse 6 for after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and then down in verse 8 as he describes what Christ is going to do he says he's going to be dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus that's who they are they are those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel and that tells you something that very expression tells you those two expressions together they do not know God and they do not obey the gospel he's not talking here about pagans who've never heard the gospel in this context what he's talking about in this context are those who are trying to squelch the preaching of the gospel in this context he's talking about the enemies of the cross who stand in the way of the gospel going out back in the first book of first letter of first Thessalonians he talks about those who stood in the way of the gospel and refused to allow people to hear it not only did they not want to hear it but they wanted no one else to hear it we have those in the United States ordained ministers and major denominations who've given their life to keeping the gospel from being proclaimed in the public square an amazing thing and so Paul says that this judgment is going to come against those who oppose the gospel what are going to what is going to happen to these enemies of the gospel those who reject the gospel and stand against and what no one to listen to it well he says he's going to give back to them what is there do retribution to give a full and complete return judgment is coming they will be repaid proportionately with the suffering as they have caused God's people that's an amazing truth isn't it that God's going to hold men accountable he is going to hold them accountable for what they've done and he gives the details of this repayment in verses eight and nine in verse nine he says these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord there's going to be a dealing out of retribution man what an expression this isn't revenge or vindictiveness in the in the sense that we often think of it this this word here is the same stem as righteousness justice he's going to bring justice upon them it's vengeance which preceded out of justice out of what is right and renders the criminal the punishment that is his due there's going to be a pouring out of judgment upon them and he says in verse nine that they will pay the penalty wow they're going to pay the penalty the scary thought to think that men are going to have to pay for their sins pay for their sins think of all the time that you violated the law in different ways maybe maybe sometimes totally unintentionally you've ever done that where you've ran a red light didn't intend to but then you notice you're on the red light and you're looking everywhere to see if there's a policeman there who saw you break the law because you don't want to pay the penalty for breaking the law because you can tell them I it was an accident I didn't mean to do it but you still have to pay the penalty don't you he says here that these who are opposed to gospel are going to pay the penalty this comes after as he is pouring as he's dealing out this retribution and this this penalty notice as he describes it what a description that there was it is the penalty of eternal destruction eternal ruin away from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his power eternal that means endless 66 of the 69 occurrences of this word endless here eternal means without end without end there's going to be a penalty that is going to be inflicted without end and what is it it's destruction what does he mean by this destruction is the ruin the loss of everything that is worthwhile in life but notice what it is it's what the rejectors of the gospel want it is being put away from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his might that's the retribution that's the penalty to be put away from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his might all those who did not want anything to do with a living God will get their wish that is going to be the penalty they pay the word that he uses here for might away from the glory of his might there's a whole family of words in the New Testament that described the power of God that this word has a very specific nuance to it and that is it is the word power that speaks of skillful power or beneficial power you know we love the power that produces light in our house and gives us heat and runs all the appliances that we have that is useful power isn't it and through the skillful use of power we experience the goodness of God and he says they're going to be put away from the manifestation of the skillful use of God's power God's skillful beneficial power think about this right now every person living on this earth whether they know Christ or they don't whether they believe the gospel or they have rejected it they enjoy the display of the lord's power we are told in Colossians chapter 1 that Jesus Christ is exerting his power by holding this universe together think of that the witness of the Bible is if Jesus stopped holding the universe together it would all fly apart not only that Jesus says in Matthew 6 that it is the power of God that brings rain upon the godly and the ungodly it's the power of God that causes the sun to shine upon us in other words we experience all the benefits of the skillful power of God as we live upon this earth when you look in the face of a little infant and the joy that it brings to your heart or you feel the touch of someone who loves you and it causes your heart to beat we had a wedding yesterday and as I stood there before this couple one of them happened to be my daughter and I watched them look in one another's eyes I could tell that something really good was going on that's all the effects of the power of God hell is not a communion hell is not a community hell is not a fellowship hell is not a place where people are going to be getting together and parting hell is absolute aloneness isolation Jesus more than on one occasion called it outer darkness I don't like to talk about hell I don't rebel in it I don't like to talk about how how severe the Bible speaks of it I don't know if you've noticed it but most of what the Bible says about hell comes from the lips of Jesus Christ he's really the only one qualified to say much about hell but it is a sobering thought to think that whatever the metaphor of a lake of fire speaks about the reality is worse than the metaphor or the symbol I don't think it's going to be a literal lake of waves of fire but I think the reality is far worse than because it's going to be a way from the presence the glory the presence of his power no more rain no more life no more growth no more communion no more fellowship no more relationship aloneness away from the presence of his power why so severe because you can only have those things in the presence of God that's the only place they are available and if you don't want to live in this presence you have to live without them isn't that a sobering thought look at those words again these will pay the penalty in verse 9 these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction ruin for what you were what you were created for which was communion with God and then ruin for eternity away from the face literally from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his power the book of Jonah when Jonah is sent to Nineveh where he doesn't want to go and take the gospel because he hates the Ninevites he's like us he tends to share he tended to share the truth of the living God with those that he cared about which were Jews and when God tells him to go to a bunch of uncircumcised Gentiles who were the most treacherous people on the face of the earth at that point he didn't want to go and it says in the text that he ran from the face of the Lord now Jonah was a good theologian he understood that God was present everywhere but what the text is saying is he was trying to run away from the face of God from the manifestation the personal manifestation of God that was bearing down upon him hell is a place where men will be put away from the face of the Lord glory of his might they'll be cut off banished James once says every good gift every perfect giving comes from the father above every baby that's born into this world is a gift from God every loving relationship is a gift from God whether you're a Christian or you're not a Christian it's a gift from God and hell is when a person is banished never to see God display his skillful power for their benefit again the reason God wants us wants us to know this is he wants us to be motivated that we're dealing with people all around us that are headed for an eternity of outer darkness I promise the Lord about five years ago I see five years ago that I would never let a day pass without bringing the name of a certain person before I've broken that promise as many times but I still try to keep it because I know that person that I love so much does not turn to Christ they're going to be put away from the face of the Lord the glory of his might never to see a sunrise again never to see a spring rain and to feel it and to smell it never to look a newborn baby in the face another human being that's the description of hell there's no fellowship in hell all the things that make life worthwhile are going to be removed because God has removed God has removed and for those who will not acknowledge God and bother need a hymn and to receive everything that we have as coming from his hand and when we are put away from his presence then we receive none of those things that come from him outer darkness that place where Jesus says there is weeping and gnashing of teeth what a horrible thought but notice what he goes on to say to these believers but for you who are being persecuted who are being attacked because you want to share this message of life and deliverance with those around you and you're being attacked for he says Christ is coming and he's going to bring relief relief he says in verse 5 this is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment the righteous judgment he's speaking of in this context is the judgment the last judgment the judgment that comes when Jesus Christ comes back the righteous judgment so that you will be considered that is counted worthy of the kingdom of God you'll be counted worthy to enter into his kingdom for all eternity for which indeed you are suffering and then notice on verse 7 he will give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire he's going to give relief to those who are afflicted the Greek word for relief here this would only have significance to those of you who are about my age the Greek word for relief here is anison the relief that he's going to bring is he's going to set them free from the pain think of it what it's going to be like to be in the presence of God so hard thing to even think about to imagine what this rest is going to be like what is going to be like to have this kind of rest we'll look at in verse 10 when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed for our testimony to you was believed the rest that they're going to receive means glory for Christ he's going to be glorified in his deliverance of his people he'll be glorified in them they will reflect his life perfectly you will reflect the light and the light of Jesus Christ and his attributes perfectly every vestige of sin in your life the lever is going to be removed it's going to be banished from your soul and you will perfectly image the reality of who Christ is we'll mirror forth his image to this whole universe as we were created for as we walk in the light of his count the light of his face what a tremendous thing that we'll know him so well and that knowledge and that relationship is going to manifest itself in our lives perfectly and it says in this he will rejoice seeing that the angels will rejoice as well and seeing the reflection of Christ image in one another we're all going to rejoice I'm going to rejoice at how clearly and powerful you reflect the glory of Jesus Christ and the Bible says the Christ will rejoice in our joy on that day listen to this definitely at 317 says the Lord your God is in your midst of victorious warrior he will exalt over you with joy he will be quiet in his love he will rejoice over you with shouts of joy isn't that wonderful this is the heart of Jesus Christ delivers people Jesus Christ it says it's going to lead a hymn in the book of Jude it says he's going to with great joy present us to the Father and lead us in a hymn of praise it's going to bring the the Lord Jesus Christ great joy when he accomplishes and finishes this work of salvation in our lives when we're all perfected you know the the implication in this text is clear that it is true that in the life of the believer that God is at work in our lives to transform us so that when we stand before Christ and we are received into the kingdom it will be manifest to all that we have been counted worthy to enter into the kingdom even by our life here and now and then notice this parenthetical statement in the very end of verse 10 for our testimony to you was believed what is he what is he saying there our testimony to you was believed he's encouraging them it is as though he's saying the enemies of God who so barely persecute you will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction away from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might when he comes in order to be glorified in his saints and to be marvel at in all who believed and then please notice that we said in all who believed and that includes you Thessalonians it includes both of those who have already fallen asleep in Jesus and all of you who are faint-hearted yes it's true of you he's going to be marveled at in you by you among you it includes you he says because our testimony to you was believed because you believed the testimony concerning Jesus Christ see that's the issue do you believe the testimony I know a lot of folks are really interested in keeping up tons of evidence of the resurrection of Christ and I think that's a good exercise but you can you can pile it up 10 miles high what it comes down to is will you believe the testimony you say no I don't do that I have to have first hand knowledge all below me you believe somebody's testimony every day every day of your life you're believing someone's testimony about something or you couldn't get on in life could you you believe people sometimes you find out their liars deceivers or deceive themselves but you have to believe people to live in this world the question is will you believe the report about Jesus Christ will you believe the testimony we have eyewitness testimony here the New Testament the first four books of the New Testament Matthew Mark Luke and John I witness accounts of the life the birth the life the teaching the death the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ will you believe the testimony if you believe the testimony it says you'll be saved amazing thing you believe the testimony you'll embrace the only one who can save you the Lord Jesus Christ notice what he does after giving thanks for them in these first 10 verses and verses 11 12 verses now I pray for you to this end also we pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling what are you talking about not now in the future that God will count you worthy of your calling when you stand before him does the does the biblical teaching about the return of Jesus Christ fill your heart with joy or fear and trepidation when you think about Christ coming back and all those that he counts worthy of the kingdom him calling them into the kingdom to live with him for eternity does that fill your heart with joy or fear he wants it to fill the heart of the believer with joy but he also wants us to take seriously the fact that when we stand before him that we through our faith and faithfulness to Jesus Christ have confidence of this promise notice again the verse 11 to this end we also pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power in other words it is going to be through these fulfilling of these desires for goodness and the work of faith with power that's going to give us great confidence we stand before him we will be counted worthy of the kingdom our life is Christ our future is vain is gain if our life is not Christ our life is lost and the evidence that Christ is our life are these two things the desires for goodness and the work of faith that are accomplished with power and that's why you pray this way that God may count them worthy of this gracious invitation that he has extended them to come to Christ to be worthy of your calling what calling the calling to come to Christ the calling to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved that in the estimation of God you may live an act in a way that is becoming to those who have received the call which you have received the same thing that Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 walk worthy of your calling you've been called to salvation in the kingdom now live a life that makes it clear that you've been called to this now since in their own power these Thessalonikans and all of us as well are unable to live in such a manner that we are we are manifestly worthy of this calling he adds this that God by his power may bring fulfillment to your every resolve that's prompted by goodness and your every work resulting from faith notice those combination your resolve your the thing that you delight in because of the spirit's work in your life and the work that you do by faith these are the same things that Paul talks about in Philippians 2 13 it's God who is at working you to be willing to have resolved to live for him and to be doing to actually do the work completed that's what that's what this word means here it means delight to be prompted by goodness the admiration for what's truly good because the spirit of God lives within you and you know what's truly good now because the spirit of God informs you through the word of Christ and through knowing who Christ is and this work that results from faith Paul's costly praying that no resolution it springs from the work of the spirit in your heart to do good whatever falls short of being accomplished do you ever have desires to do good that the spirit of God works in you and you see needs in the lives of people and you desire to administrative them but then you fail to carry through you see Paul is saying may the people filled may the work be accomplished in the power of God and the highest goal of all notice in verse 12 so that for this purpose how is Christ glorified in this world through this church how is Christ glorified through his people in this world it's when his life is manifested in our lives it's when the life of Jesus Christ is seen in our decisions our conduct what we do that's when he's glorified and so why does Paul say I pray for you that these desires and these works will be completed and fulfilled in the power of God is so that verse 12 the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you and him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ notice the closeness of fellowship between the Lord and his people he'll be glorified in you and you'll be glorified in him in the upper room Jesus said on that day you will know that I am in my father and you are in me I am in you you can't get any closer than that that you are in Christ and Christ is in you that's close isn't it that's why we have communion we commune with him because he is in us and we are in him that is how he is glorified through this relationship his work in our hearts reflect glory on him he's glorified by it one of the biggest problems we have in Jesus faced it with his disciples before he ever went to the cross is what we are worried about way too much in our life of faith and our work is our own glory it's what the apostles were worried about remember who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom who's going to sit at the right hand of Jesus who's going to be the chief who's going to be luck looked up to the most as the spiritual leader among us Jesus said true greatness when the kingdom of God is being served so if you're more if you are the if you're looked at as the one who's lowest on the totem fall among the people of God you are the greatest in the kingdom of God the one who serves the most finally notice the standard by which this glory is given out by what standard is this glory given out that's going to be manifested when Jesus comes back when he it says he noticed that the way describes his coming back it says in verse 7 when the Lord Jesus will be revealed unveiled it's the word apocalyptic he's going to be the veil is going to be taken off of who he is he's going to be seen as he's coming from heaven verse 7 says as Jesus descends from heaven that the unveiling of the glory of this person is going to be seen and he's going to be coming with the angels of his might in flaming fire which speaks of his holy and righteous judgment wow what a thought that Jesus is coming back I know it brings comfort to the hearts of some people to figure out there must be 92 specific things that have to happen before Jesus gets here and so we all have time to keep our eyes on those events that maybe that would help get help us to get serious about following Christ and bringing glory to him in our lives but one of the things that you see in the New Testament over and over again is that when Jesus comes he's going to be unexpected in this world first that's what it says is going to come like a thief how does the thief come a thief comes when nobody is expecting him Jesus is going to come back he's coming back what Paul is admonishing them to this he's going to give you a relief believer you may be you may be afraid to stand up for Christ because of what you may suffer but the message from Jesus is I'll give you relief be faithful to me I'll give you relief in due time I'll give you rest and he's going to come back in judgment upon those who oppose the gospel and the work of Jesus Christ so we should live in hope because Paul says this is a blessed hope this is that we know what blessed means it it's a hope that makes you happy it's a hope that fills your hearts with joy because Jesus Christ is coming back and you know how you can tell when that truth has really penetrated your heart it's when you rejoice more in the return of Jesus Christ the anticipation of his return than you rejoice in the possibility that you're going to fulfill all your plans in life Jesus is coming back and I assume that he's coming back much sooner than any of us expect the soon return of Jesus Christ live in light of that that's what Paul's telling them and he gets what he's telling us the spirit of God would tell us live in light of his return pray that God would work in your life in such a way that you would fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power that you would accomplish those works and that when you stand before Christ you'll be able to offer Him something that you will have a great crown of rejoicing and all those people to whom you have ministered in this life what a great anticipation that's praying our Father we are truly grateful for the promise of Christ return there are moments in our lives when we want his return more than anything else and we confess to you it's for all in people who still have sin clinging to us there are times when we don't even think about his return we have our days planned out but oh Father I pray that we would have this hope upon us as John says because those who have this hope upon them purify themselves just as he is pure I pray that we would live in anticipation as we live out our life and accomplish the task that you've set before us and fulfill all these things you've called us to that we would do it in anticipation that Jesus is coming back and he's coming to be glorified among all those who believe on him he's going to be marveled at in and through us we thank you for that great promise and the hope that it produces in our hearts I'm supposed to walk in hope I pray even this week in Jesus name we are finished I don't know what to do next I don't know if I'm supposed to I think we're all done so say hello to each other encourage one another