Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Affection and Affliction (1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Affection and Affliction (1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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We continue in our sermon series through the
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book of 1 Thessalonians, so I invite you to turn
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there. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians,
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chapter 2. We'll pick up in verse 17 and plan
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to take it through chapter 3, verse 10. 1st Thessalonians
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2 17 But since we were torn away from you brothers
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for a short time in Person not in heart We endeavored
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the more eagerly and with great desire to see
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you face to face Because we wanted to come to
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you. I Paul again and again But Satan hindered
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us for what? Is our hope or joy or crown of boasting
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before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not
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you? For you are our glory and joy. Therefore,
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when we could bear it no longer, we were willing
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to be left behind at Athens alone. And we sent
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Timothy, our brother and God's co -worker in
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the gospel of Christ, to establish and to exhort
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you in your faith that no one be moved by these
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afflictions for you yourselves know that we are
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destined for this. For when we were with you,
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we kept telling you beforehand that we were to
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suffer affliction just as it has come to pass.
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And just as you know, for this reason, when I
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could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about
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your faith for fear that somehow the tempter
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had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
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but now that Timothy has come to us from you
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and has brought us the good news of your faith
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and love and Reported that you always remember
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us kindly and long to see us as we long to see
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you for this reason brothers in all our distress
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and Affliction we have been comforted about you
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through your faith for now we live If you're
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standing fast in the Lord For what Thanksgiving
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can we return to God for you for all the joy
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that we feel for your sake before our God as
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we pray most earnestly night and day that we
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may see you face to face and Supply what is lacking
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in your faith This is God's word. Let's pray
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Glorious father in heaven. We thank you for the
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matchless gift of the Bible We thank you that
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this is our guide. This is the lamp to our feet
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and light to our path This is what we need this
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tells us Who Jesus is and how we can be saved
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and so I pray that as we go through this text
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If there are any hearts that need to be opened
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within the sanctuary need to be converted I pray
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that you by your spirit would do that and that
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you would strengthen us believers in our faith
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to always look to Christ No matter what we pray
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in his name. Amen I'm sure that everybody or
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just about everybody in this sanctuary has had
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the unpleasant, impatient, anxious experience
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of waiting by the phone. Now, those phones used
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to be attached to the wall, so you couldn't wander
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all that far. Now you can, but you still have
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to wait. You know what it's like to long to hear
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from somebody, Maybe that they made it safely
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to their destination and you wait for that phone
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call. Maybe you're waiting for the phone call
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from your doctor to let you know what's the diagnosis,
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what's the prognosis, how does it look, doc?
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Maybe, well it could be any number of things.
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Waiting is difficult, isn't it? Especially for
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inpatient people. But when something important
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is on the line, we gotta know, we gotta know,
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God, what are you doing? And this is Paul in
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the text. Paul here has such an affection for
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the Christians in Thessalonica and the church,
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but he and Silas have been driven out, and Timothy
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driven out of there, they're in Athens, and Paul's
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gotta know, what's going on with my friends in
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the Thessalonian? He just simply cannot stand
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it anymore. And you see this incredible affection
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that Paul has for these Christians, he loves
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them. This is such a warm passage, isn't it?
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And part of the thing, one of the things I want
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us to see then is that as he has to hear what's
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going on and we see his affection, we realize
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that affection for one another is part of the
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cure for affliction. Affection for one another
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is part of the cure for affliction. That's what
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we're going to focus on today. Affliction and
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affection. Now, as you look at this text, you
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see that off the bat, it doesn't really look
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all that difficult of a text, does it? We understand,
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of course Paul has an affection for these Christians.
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Paul has an affection for a lot of Christians,
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so that's not a hard concept. But as we dig a
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little bit deeper, we start to have questions
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of our own. Questions like, why does God allow
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affliction? Why does God allow Satan to prevent
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Paul from getting back to the Thessalonians?
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Why does God allow for the tempter to tempt?
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Why does God allow affliction in this life? And
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maybe we even ask this question, who is really
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in charge here? Perhaps you have asked questions
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before, not necessarily pertaining to persecution,
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but to just affliction in general. Why do bad
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things happen to Christians? I thought about
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this week as my dear friend lost his son. Sadly
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to a case of drowning. Parents, believers needing
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to be strengthened in their faith, and they're
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asking this question, Lord, how could you do
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this? How could you take my child? Why do these
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things happen? Why do they have to happen? We
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see hints of these questions within the text
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in like verse 18 of chapter two. Or chapter three,
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verse five, again, the work of Satan. And I think
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that not only do we get questions from the text,
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but thankfully we get some answers. Look in verses
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three and four of chapter three, specifically
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verse four, I'll read it again. For when we were
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with you, we kept telling you beforehand that
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we were to suffer affliction. Just as it has
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come to pass and just as you know when Paul uses
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this word we I think that he's using this collectively
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He's not just speaking about himself and not
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just speaking about Silas and Timothy He's saying
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we as in yes us missionaries, but you Christians
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in the Thessalonian Church We told you these
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things were going to happen We didn't want you
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to be caught off guard and then verse 3 we were
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destined for these things and it's very similar
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to what What Paul has to say in the book of Acts
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chapter 14 verse 22, through many tribulations
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we must enter the kingdom of God. Through many
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tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
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Friends, the way of the Christian is the way
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of the cross. The way of the Christian is the
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way of the cross. that Jesus who was put up on
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the cross he told his disciples in this world
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you will have trouble so we ought not be caught
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off guard friends the reason that we experience
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affliction as Christians is because we follow
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after a crucified King but we also want to know
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then okay we follow after a crucified King but
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why who is in charge here look in verse 18 You
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can see here that Satan hinders Paul. It's as
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though Satan puts up some sort of a roadblock
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there to prevent Paul from getting to the Thessalonians
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and prevent Silas from getting to the Thessalonians,
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right? But who is able to go to the Thessalonians?
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It's Timothy, right? If you read in Acts chapter
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17, it doesn't list Timothy, if I'm remembering
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correctly. It does not list Timothy as being
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one who is driven out. Thessalonica it's Paul
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and Silas so for some reason Timothy is allowed
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to return but Satan puts up this roadblock to
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prevent Paul and so we ask then how much power
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does Satan have I think we can see some answers
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to this if you'll go to John the book of John
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verse or chapter 13 verse 2 Answering the question,
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how much power does Satan have? John 13 2, and
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this is only going to give us a portion of the
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answer. During supper, when the devil had already
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put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's
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son to betray him. And so who did it? Who put
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it into Judas? It's clear from the text. Satan
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did this the devil did this but that's not the
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end of the story because if you go just ahead
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to John 17 verse 2 Or verse 12 John 17 verse
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12 You see this this is within Jesus his high
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priestly prayer he prays While I was with them.
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I Kept them in your name, which you have given
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me I have guarded them and not one of them has
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been lost except the son of destruction that
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the scripture might be fulfilled. And so yes,
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Satan has some power here. But the scripture
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also tells us this. There is a purpose behind
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that. There's a purpose behind affliction and
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within this particular instance The purpose was
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so that scripture could be fulfilled. There is
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an answer then friends to evil in this world
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there's an answer to affliction God is working
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and God has Satan if I can put it metaphorically
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God has Satan on a leash. Maybe we would even
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say a choke chain Satan is not allowed to do
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just whatever he wants. Satan is not a free safety
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on the football field allowed to do whatever
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he wants. No. I like to think of it this way
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from Revelation 19. The devil doesn't even own
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the keys to his own home. He'll be locked away.
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Romans 16 20. The God of peace will soon crush
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Satan under your feet. Meaning that Satan has
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a limited time and a limited means to tempt.
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Friends, the devil is not in charge. The devil
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is not omnipotent. The devil is not omnipresent.
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He's not. He's not sovereign. God is. Perhaps
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you remember the case of Job, right? And you
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remember in the first two chapters of the book
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of Job how Satan is made to appear before God
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and the heavenly host. And God says, where have
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you been? Satan says, I've been roaming about
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kind of doing his thing. What's happening there
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is that Satan is made to appear before God. He's
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made to give kind of a statement of what he's
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been doing, telling us that God is sovereign
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over evil. And then when it comes to the case
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of Job, it's not as though Satan comes up with
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the name of Job and the person of Job. God does.
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And then God places restrictions on what Satan
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is able to do. Satan is very limited by God because
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he is sovereign. But that leads us to another
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question. Why does Satan have any power whatsoever?
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Friends, I don't want to go beyond scripture
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here because God's ways are higher than our ways,
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but I do think we can see some answers to this.
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Why does Satan have any power? Why is there really
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affliction? It's because affliction drives us
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back to God and affliction prepares us for God.
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Again, look at verse 18. Chapter 2, 18. Again,
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Satan hindered them. Satan puts up a roadblock,
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but then go down to chapter 3 verse 11 outside
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of our text for today. Now may our God and Father
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himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way back
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to you. So Satan puts up the roadblock, but God
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takes it down. He directs us back to him. Perhaps
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Psalm 23 is helpful, this extremely comforting
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Psalm going through the valley of the shadow
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of death. God doesn't take us around the valley
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of the shadow of death. He doesn't take us over
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the valley of the shadow of death. He doesn't
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dig a tunnel underneath the valley of the shadow
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of death. No, God takes us through it. I like
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the way Gregory the Great put this, the bishop
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of Rome in 600. He said, evil things which bear
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us down, compel us to go to God. And there's
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a scripture that's very similar to this. Perhaps
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Gregory the Great was reflecting upon 2 Corinthians
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4, 17. I'll read 16 and 17, just listen. So we
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do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting
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away, our inner self is being renewed day by
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day for this light, momentary affliction is preparing
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us for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all.
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Comparison. Affliction drives us back to God
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and prepares us for God. And also something that
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I would add as well, affliction can purify us.
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Affliction can purify us, not just individually,
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but affliction can purify the church. And it's
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something that I believe the American church
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desperately needs to be purified. When we as
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especially American Christians, a lot of us,
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when we experience affliction, we draw back.
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We don't want any part of that, right? We do
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not want any part of our affliction instead of
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seeing it as part of our union with Christ. I
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was meeting with a pastor in New England several
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years ago. We were meeting for lunch and we went
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to pray. We're talking about ministry and went
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to pray. And he said to me, hey, don't worry
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about bowing your head and closing your eyes.
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We don't want anybody to look at us weird, right?
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There could be times when there's wisdom in not
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doing that if you're in a heavily persecuted
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area. But surely what Paul has to say is true.
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Do not be ashamed of the gospel, for it's the
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power of God for salvation to everyone who believes
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we need to wear Christ on our sleeve. How will
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we really know Christ if we're unwilling to identify
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with his suffering in any way? The Christians
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in Thessalonica surely were not hiding. And we
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see this time and time again, Christians who
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were bold in their faith like Paul. I like the
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way Daniel Hyde puts this when he talks about
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the book of Acts. He says, Acts is nothing more
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than the book of the martyr's blood being the
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seed of the church. The more the church was persecuted,
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the more the word spread. God gives us real salvation
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and real deliverance and real forgiveness. Let
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us not give him fake faith or weak worship or
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dumbed down discipleship. Let us give to God
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genuine obedience and love because he has loved
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us first. Now you might say what? I don't really
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live in a heavily persecuted area, praise God.
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So how do I show my faith in affliction? We can
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still show our faith in affliction, even if it's
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not at the hands of persecutors. Think about,
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how do you respond with grace to a bad diagnosis
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at the doctor's office? When people are watching,
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do you show your faith as you trust in God? What
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about when you've got a difficult boss at work?
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Can you show grace? Can you show faith even as
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he or she is a tough person to work for? Of course
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we can show our faith. I like the way GK Beale
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says this, whenever we maintain our faith in
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Christ throughout these situations, we demonstrate
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identification with Christ. We must show our
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faith and identify with Christ. But as far as
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those who are experiencing persecution, one way
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that we can show our affection for them as they
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are afflicted is certainly in prayer. Praying
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for the persecuted church. There are a number
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of great organizations out there that are doing
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wonderful work in countries and places amongst
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people groups who are persecuted. Sign up for
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their prayer emails. Voice of the Martyrs, Global
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Christian Relief. Consider this story from Voice
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of the Martyrs this week. about a Syrian named
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Abdul who fled from Syria when the civil war
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began there, but has now come back to do ministry.
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He says this, when we returned home, something
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changed inside of me. Before fleeing, I was cautious
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about sharing my faith. As a Muslim background
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believer, I had always been careful evangelizing
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in secret because I feared for my life. But when
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I came back, I was no longer afraid. I had a
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newfound boldness, and we began the ministry
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publicly. Friends, we need to wear Christ on
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our sleeve and pray for those in these kind of
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situations. And as we do that, as we pray for
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those under affliction, I think we demonstrate
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affection. This passage shows us There is a great
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treasure in the midst of affliction, and it's
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this, affection for one another. Look in verse
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two. Why did Paul send Timothy back? Verse two
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says it, to exhort and establish them in faith
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so they would not be moved. And so there's kind
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of a twofold reason that Paul sends Timothy.
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One, it's a rescue mission. It's to help the
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Christians. But two, Paul really wants to hear
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what's going on because he loves them. And so
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this is an intel mission and that Timothy comes
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back with a word of how the Thessalonians are
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doing in verse 5. You can see. Paul learns of
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their faith. And in verse six, there is this
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relief that you can almost feel. It's palpable,
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this affection, and it's mutual according to
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verse six. Paul and Silas and Timothy, they long
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to be with the Thessalonians, and the Thessalonians
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long to have Paul and Silas back with them. And
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the reason Paul wants to go is for many reasons,
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I believe, yes, to be with them, but he also
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wants to keep ministering. to them. But in the
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meantime, while he's separated from them, he
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shows affection in verse 10 because he prays
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for them always, continually. And the word that
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is used there, the word for prayer, this is not
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the most common word for prayer in the New Testament.
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This is actually a stronger word. It's a word
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for pleading. Paul pleads for the Thessalonians.
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But then when he gets the news, he's overjoyed
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with it, isn't he, with this report. And it's
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interesting the way the text puts this. Paul
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is overjoyed with what's called the good news
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here. I think this is the only location in Scripture
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where it says that Paul receives the good news.
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Usually when you see the good news in Paul, it's
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Paul preaching the good news. But this time the
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good news is that which Paul receives, this great
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word. about the Thessalonians persevering under
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affliction. And this tells us something else.
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Paul is thankful to hear the gospel enduring
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because the gospel is not a one -time statement.
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Sometimes we talk about the gospel like that,
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don't we? Say, believe the gospel and you shall
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be saved, which is true in scriptural. But friends,
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we must receive the gospel every single day.
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We ought to preach it to ourselves. Remind us
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of what God has done for us in Christ. I like
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the way that Paul writes in his second letter
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to Timothy. He says, preach the word in season
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and out of season, which means preach the word
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when things are going swell and when things are
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not going so great. That's actually the way that
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we should live with the gospel. reminding ourselves
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of the gospel when things are going wonderfully,
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but also when things are tough. Because the only
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way to get through the tough things is by the
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gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who
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indwells. And believers, friends, faith does
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not come with an on -off switch. We must always
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live for Christ and always live to show affection
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for one another. But you might say, well, how
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do I do that? How do I show affection to others
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who are suffering and struggling and battling
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affliction? Just four quick points of application.
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Verse two again. To show affection, we must exhort
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one another. When we talk about exhortation,
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we're talking about speaking into each other's
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lives. We're recognizing the need that we all
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have for sanctification and we help one another.
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in our growth in Christ. A great scripture to
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see this is in Hebrews 3 .13. Listen to these
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words. But exhort one another every day as long
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as it is called today, that none of you may be
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hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We need
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to speak into each other's lives every day. Second
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point of application from verse four of our text.
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We need to be with one another. Paul and his
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crew, they longed to be with the Thessalonians.
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We ought to crave fellowship, friends. We ought
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to crave worship together. Again, another place
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to see this from Hebrews is one that you all
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may know, Hebrews 10, 24 through 25, which reads
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in this way. And let us continue. or consider
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how to stir up one another to love and good works,
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not neglecting to meet together as is the habit
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of some, but encouraging one another and all
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the more as you see the day drawing near. We
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need to be together. Thirdly, we need to help
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each other through temptations from verse five.
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Paul was concerned. that the tempter had gotten
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to the Thessalonians and so this is one of the
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reasons he sends Timothy because Christians are
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to help one another battle sin. A great scripture
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to see this is one that I've quoted a lot from
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Galatians chapter 6 verse 1. Brothers, if anyone
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is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual
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should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
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Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted.
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We are to come alongside of each other in battling
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sin. And then finally, verses nine and 10 of
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our text, how to show affection to one another
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in our affliction. We need to pray. Pray with
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thanksgiving and joy. Prayer is the most important
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thing we can do for one another as we battle
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affliction. Friends, I hope you can see from
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this passage that God really does use us as instruments
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of affection to help those who are in affliction.
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And yet, it's also true from this text, Satan
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is real, the devil is real, and we are really
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fighting against him and the prince of darkness,
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the one who deceives and the one who tempts.
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But the good news is this, that Christ has overcome.
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Christ has overcome. He has achieved victory
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and so even as Satan has some influence He is
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no match for Christ and Christ Transforms us
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in our union with him and by the power of the
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Holy Spirit. We are able to say no To sin no
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to temptation We are to encourage one another
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in our faith all the way until Christ takes us
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home Or until he returns Let's pray