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Worthy of the Kingdom · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast.
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  Thanks for joining me on In the Stillness.
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  This is friendly and I hope you are having a great day so far.
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  Today we are continuing in chapter one of Second
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  Thessalonians. And I want to say this passage,
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  although it's not a ton of verses, it is a little heavier,
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  but it's super important and honestly very encouraging when
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  we understand what Paul is getting at in this section.
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  He is writing to believers who are experiencing suffering
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  because of their faith. And instead of trying to just
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  explain it away, he actually reframes it.
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  He shows them that suffering has purpose in the life of a
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  believer. So today we're going to be
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  talking about what suffering looks like in the modern day for
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  Christians, why God allows it, and the hope that we have in the
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  midst of it. So let's go ahead and read
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  through the verses in chapter 1, verses 5 through 10.
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  All of this is evidence that God's judgement is right.
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  And as a result, you will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of
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  God for which you are suffering. God is just.
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  He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give
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  relief to you who are troubled and to us as well.
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  This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in
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  blazing fire with His powerful angels.
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  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the
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  gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with
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  everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the
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  Lord and from the glory of His might on the day He comes to be
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  glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all
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  those who have believed. This includes you because you
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  believed our testimony to you. OK, First off, I want to talk
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  about the word suffering because when we read passages like this,
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  I think it's important to acknowledge that there are
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  believers in parts of the world right now that are suffering
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  intense persecution that's seen through imprisonment and
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  torture, even death, simply for following Jesus.
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  But suffering for Christ does not always look look like that
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  everywhere. For many Christians today,
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  suffering might look like rejection, whether that's in a
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  friend group or being misunderstood, losing
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  opportunities because you refuse to compromise your values,
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  standing firm in purity when culture mocks it, or being
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  criticized for holding biblical truths and living them out.
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  Those things are real hardships and that is included in
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  suffering. As a believer, Jesus told us
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  that things like this would happen in John 1633.
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  He said in this world you will have trouble, but take heart,
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  for I have overcome the world. I want us to think about if
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  Jesus, the most worthy one, the Lamb of God, endured suffering.
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  It should not surprise us that following him involves suffering
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  too. Revelation 59 calls him the only
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  one worthy to open the scroll. And yet Paul says something
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  interesting here. Our endurance and suffering is
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  evidence that we are considered worthy of the Kingdom of God.
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  It's not because we earn it, but because our perseverance.
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  It shows that our faith is genuine.
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  Suffering actually makes us look more like Jesus.
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  When we walk through hardship, we begin to understand more
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  deeply what Christ has experienced.
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  We see that he willingly walked through every single emotion,
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  more than we can even fathom, every single trial that exists
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  on this earth. He did that because it allows us
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  to depend on him more. Paul says in Philippians 310
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  through 11, something super fascinating.
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  He writes that he desires to know Christ, to know the power
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  of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings
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  becoming like him in his death. Now at first that might sound
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  strange because no one naturally just wants suffering.
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  But Paul understood that if you truly follow Jesus in a world
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  that celebrates the opposite of his values, opposition and
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  conflict, it will come. But God uses those trials for
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  good. Scripture shows us several
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  purposes for suffering. First of all, it pushes us to
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  look upward instead of inward, to look up to the Lord for help
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  instead of ourselves. When life is easy, it's more
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  tempting to depend on our own ability and strength.
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  But going through trials, they remind us that we need God, they
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  shift our focus back to Him, and they keep us spiritually awake.
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  Jesus warned us in Mark Mark 13, verses 35 through 36 to stay
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  watchful and to stay alert. Secondly, suffering builds
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  stronger character. Romans 5 through through 5 tells
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  us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance
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  produces character, and character then produces hope.
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  So God uses difficulty to mold and shape us.
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  And thirdly, suffering gives us opportunities to comfort others.
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  In 2nd Corinthians 1 verses 3 through 5, I've mentioned this
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  in other episodes. This is my passage or verses of
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  the year because my word of the year for the Lord is comforter.
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  But it says that God comforts us in our troubles so that we can
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  comfort others with the same comfort that we have received
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  from him. So our hardest seasons can
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  become the very thing that God uses to speak to someone else.
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  Later. Suffering also reveals where we
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  truly stand with Christ. It's easy to follow Jesus when
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  it costs nothing, but when obedience becomes challenging
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  and difficult, that is when true faith is tested.
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  Jesus even calls us to do things that go against our natural
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  instincts. He says to love your enemies and
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  to pray for those who persecute you because that kind of love
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  reflects the heart of Christ. In this passage, Paul's
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  reminding us that everyone will stand before the judgement seat
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  of God. For true believers who are
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  pursuing righteousness daily, that day is not something to
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  fear. It's something that we can
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  actually look forward to. It also takes pressure off of
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  us, off of our abilities because we are not the judge.
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  God is the one who sits on the judgement seat.
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  He is the one who sees everything from heaven, and he
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  will deal with every injustice perfectly.
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  But Paul also gives a serious warning here.
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  He says that judgement is coming for those who don't know God and
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  don't obey the gospel of Jesus. That distinction matters because
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  belief alone is not what sets someone apart.
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  James 219 says you believe that there is one God good.
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  Even the demons believe that and shudder.
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  So y'all, the difference is obedience, submission to God's
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  authority and sovereignty. That's what distinguishes a true
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  follower of Christ. This passage is inviting us to
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  examine our own lives. Let me ask y'all, are you
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  obeying God fully or only in the parts of life that feel
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  comfortable? If Jesus returned today, would
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  you run toward him confidently, knowing that you belong to Him
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  in His family, that you are a Co heir with Christ, and that you
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  have pursued the life He has called you to live?
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  Or is there something holding you back from that freedom, from
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  that confidence? Scripture tells us that God's
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  commands are actually for our good.
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  We see in Deuteronomy 10, verses 12 through 13 that we are called
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  to walk in obedience to Him. And Paul uses strong imagery in
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  this passage talking about everlasting destruction.
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  That's referencing Revelation 20 verse 14 and it is the lake of
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  fire because he is emphasizing that this decision to follow
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  Christ, It is weighty but it is real because there will come a
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  day when there are no more second chances.
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  So the question is what are we doing with the time that we have
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  right now? For a non believer listening to
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  this who does not know Jesus, that question is about
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  salvation. Do you want to be saved?
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  And for believers listening, are you using your life to boldly
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  declare the gospel of Jesus and to share the truth that could
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  lead someone else to salvation? So I'm going to go ahead and
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  close that in prayer. I'm going to make it a little
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  bit more brief because I have a few verses that I want to read
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  over y'all. But Heavenly Father, we just
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  thank you for your word and for the truth that it speaks into
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  our lives, that it is able to teach us, to correct us, to
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  rebuke us, but to train us up in righteousness so that we can be
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  thoroughly equipped as servants of God.
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  Would you help us to endure faithfully through suffering, to
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  use it to grow stronger in our faith and to endure so that our
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  lives reflect your Kingdom, Jesus and what you endured on
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  our behalf. Give us courage to obey you
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  fully and to trust you in every single season that we walk
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  through in Jesus name, Amen. OK, so just two passages I want
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  to read over you all. First of all, James 1 verses 2
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  through 3 it says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and
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  sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because
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  you know that the testing of your faith produces
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  perseverance. The second one I want to read is
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  first Peter chapter 4 verses 12 through 16.
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  Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal
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  that has come on you to test you as though something strange were
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  happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you
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  participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be
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  overjoyed when His glory is revealed.
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  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are
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  blessed, for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
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  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any
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  other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
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  However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed,
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  but praise God that you bear that name.
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  OK, so that is what I have for y'all today for this podcast.
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  I'm praying that it just helps you look at suffering from a
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  different, different perspective and that you can appreciate it
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  more. Although it is not something
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  that is enjoyable in the moment, it strengthens us and it calls
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  us higher and teaches us to rely more fully on the Lord for
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  strength. I hope that y'all have a great
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  rest of your day and I will see y'all on the next episode.