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Anchored in Truth, Activated in Faith · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey, guys, it's friendly. Welcome back to the podcast.
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  Thanks for joining me on another episode.
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  We're going to continue walking through Second Thessalonians.
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  We're nearing the end. Today's passage is once again
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  short, but it is packed. And I believe it's moments like
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  these where Paul is giving such a clear charge and a call to
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  action. And sometimes the verses that
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  might feel the simplest, that are the easiest to skim over are
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  actually the ones that can ask the most of us.
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  So today we're going to lean in together, reading through verses
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  15 through 17 of chapter 2. So then, beloved brothers and
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  sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that we
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  taught you, whether by word of mouth or by our letter.
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  Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who
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  has loved us and through His grace has given us eternal
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  comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you
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  in every good work and word. OK, so I want to start right at
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  the beginning. Paul says so then, and anytime
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  we see that, we have to ask, OK, what was there before that?
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  Because it's pointing us back to what was prior, back to what we
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  just talked about in yesterday's episode.
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  We talked about how we have been chosen by God, loved dearly, and
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  that's our identity. And because that is true, Paul
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  is now giving us a charge. Stand firm, hold fast.
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  It's simple, but it's not easy. And it implies something really
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  important that we could waver, we could drift if we're not
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  truly anchored. Paul knew what these believers
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  at this church were about to face, the false teachers, the
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  persecution, the suffering and the trials.
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  And honestly, even things that we still face today, like apathy
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  or complacency, maybe distractions.
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  It could look like slipping back into old habits, letting
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  relationships or certain environments slowly pull us away
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  from truth or comfort, shaping us more than conviction.
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  So Paul's message is urgent and it's serious.
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  He's saying, remember what I taught you and don't let it go
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  to waste. Don't let it be in vain.
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  This echoes First Corinthians 15, verse 58.
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  He says be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
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  the Lord. So this is not a faith that is
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  seasonal. It's not one that's easily
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  shaken. It is rooted and then he shifts
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  into this beautiful reminder of what we have been given in
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  Christ. He says that God has given us
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  eternal comfort and a wonderful hope.
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  Now let's break it down. Eternal.
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  That means never ending eternity.
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  It's not temporary encouragement or excitement.
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  It's not something that just shows up for a moment and then
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  fades when life moves on and years pass.
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  I think a lot of us might relate to this feeling when you walk
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  through something hard and people show up.
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  At first you're going to experience support and check
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  insurance, some encouragement and prayer.
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  But months later, it can get kind of quiet.
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  Like everyone, everyone else has moved on, but you're still
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  carrying that. And while people, yes, they can
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  do the best they can, they're still human and their comfort is
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  limited. But here we see that Jesus is
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  not in Second Corinthians 1/3 through four, it calls God the
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  God of all comfort, Not some, not occasional, but all comfort.
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  So his comfort, it does not expire, it doesn't forget where
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  you are in each season. It meets you not just one time,
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  but continually. And that comfort, that
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  encouragement is tied to something so powerful.
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  Hope, a wonderful hope. Titus 2 verse 13 calls it our
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  blessed hope, the return of Jesus.
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  That's what we get to look forward to.
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  And in Romans 824, it reminds us hope that is seen is no hope at
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  all. But if we hope for what we do
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  not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
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  So I want to underline that this hope that is tied to that
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  comfort, it's not passive. It's not just about someday.
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  It anchors how we Live Today. It lifts our eyes up.
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  It realigns our perspective and it reminds us that what we see
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  right now is not the full story. Only God can see the full
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  written script. We just see a tiny, tiny
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  segment. And I love where Paul takes us
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  next, that this comfort and hope.
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  It strengthens us in every good work and word.
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  So this is where it really comes to life and becomes active
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  because God's comfort is not meant to just sit with you.
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  It's meant to shape and mold you, to move throughout your
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  inmost being. That's what fills your heart and
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  it begins to filter into your life.
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  This is seen through your thoughts and your words and then
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  your actions. And I think it's so powerful
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  that the Passion translation that I read every good, it says
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  every good work and word that is beautiful in his eyes.
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  So y'all, this is not what culture calls good.
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  It's not what feels right just in the moment, but what God sees
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  as beautiful, righteous, pure, set apart.
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  And that requires a shift to stop filtering life through our
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  own human feelings, but to start seeing it through His truth,
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  through His lens. So if we bring this all
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  together, I just want us to remember, don't let your present
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  circumstance paralyze you. Don't let your temporary
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  struggles right now distort your eternal truth and hope.
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  Because the comfort and the hope that you've been given, it's
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  meant to keep you rooted. It anchors you so that it can
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  activate you not just to believe the word, but to actually live
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  it out. And I want to close with these
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  two verses from James. James 1 verses 22 through 23.
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  It says don't just listen to the word of truth and not respond to
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  it, for that is the essence of self deception.
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  So always let His word become like poetry, written and
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  fulfilled by your life. If you listen to the word and
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  don't live out the message that you hear, you become like the
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  person who looks in the mirror of the word to discover the
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  reflection of his face in the beginning.
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  So this is the call. We're not to just be hearers, to
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  just read our Bible and to read it passively, but to be doers,
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  to have an active faith, not just to be encouraged, but to
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  live transformed. And this passage was so timely
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  for me because I've mentioned my word for the year has been
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  comforter and really just the Lord already teaching me how to
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  actually receive comfort that He freely gives.
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  And so these verses reminded me that his comfort, it strengthens
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  me to stand firm, to hold fast, and to live differently as a
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  believer. So I pray that it does the same
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  for you guys. I'm going to go ahead and close
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  out briefly in prayer. Dear Jesus, thank You that You
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  are a constant comfort and that is tied to You being our living
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  and blessed hope. Would You strengthen us to stand
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  firm and to hold fast to Your truth no matter what we
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  encounter today? God, we don't want to just be
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  hearers, we want to be doers. So aid us in living it out and
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  make our lives beautiful in Your eyes.
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  Give us Your perspective on life, on each opportunity that
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  we face each day, each person that we interact with.
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  Lord, may we live lives that reflect you, Jesus, and how we
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  speak and how we conduct our behavior and our faith, love and
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  purity. We ask this in your name, Jesus.
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  Amen. OK y'all, that's what I have for
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  today's episode. Praying that it blesses you,
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  that it'll leave you feeling encouraged and just give you a
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  boost for today. And I hope that you all have a
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  great rest of your Thursday. I'll see you in the next
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  episode.