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Lovers of Truth in a World of Deception · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey guys, this is friendly. Welcome back to the podcast in
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  the Stillness. Happy Tuesday.
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  So grateful to be recording. And honestly, this passage we
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  are continuing from yesterday. It's talking about the lawless
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  one in the end times and it can feel a little heavy.
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  There is a lot to talk about on deception and evil, and there
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  are definitely parts that are not fully explained.
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  But as I sat with this, I kept returning to this truth that we
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  are not called to avoid the hard, challenging passages.
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  We're called to understand what God has made clear through them.
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  There are things that only God knows, yes, and that is
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  obviously so intentional, but Scripture also gives us
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  everything that we personally need to live aware, to be
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  grounded and not deceived. So today we're going to be
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  exploring Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 5 through 12.
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  And as you listen, as I read this over you guys, I just want
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  to invite you to ask the Lord to reveal something fresh to you
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  through His word this morning. So starting in verse 5, don't
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  you remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you
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  these things? And now you know what is holding
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  him back so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
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  For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work,
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  but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till
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  he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be
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  revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath
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  of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming.
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  The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how
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  Satan works. He will use all sorts of
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  displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie
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  and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are
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  perishing. They perish because they refuse
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  to love the truth and so be saved.
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  For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they
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  will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who
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  have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
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  OK, so one of the first things that really stood out to me here
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  is Paul's heart. He's not writing to confuse
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  people. He's actually writing because he
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  deeply cares. He doesn't want them to be
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  shaken or deceived. And you also have to think about
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  it. He is a spiritual father to this
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  church and he does not want his kids to walk in confusion.
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  And honestly, it reflects the heart of God we see in Matthew 7
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  verse 11. Jesus says if you then know
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  though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
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  children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good
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  gifts? So if Paul cares this much as a
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  spiritual father who is still sinful and human, how much more
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  does our perfect heavenly Father care about us knowing the truth?
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  This is not something to just gloss over.
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  This is one of those lock in moments.
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  Because the reality is we are not without access to the truth.
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  We have the word of God. It's been written across
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  generations. It's all pointing to 1 story, 66
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  books, 40 authors. We've seen prophecies fulfilled,
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  and as believers we literally have the spirit of truth at work
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  within us, so we cannot afford to live unaware.
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  And then Paul talks about something being restrained,
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  holding back the full revealing of the lawless. 1 And while
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  scripture does not give one perfectly definitive answer, we
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  see glimpses of what that could include.
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  Or implied authority through government and law, the work of
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  the church, the ministry of the gospel, and the presence of the
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  Holy Spirit. But instead of getting caught up
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  in what exactly it is, I believe that the bigger takeaways this
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  the restraint is not forever. And that can sound intimidating.
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  It did for me. But it does actually carry so
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  much hope because it means that everything is moving according
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  to God's timeline. Nothing is random, nothing is
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  out of control. It says all this happens in its
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  proper time and that is so significant because it's not
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  just for the end times but it's for your personal life too.
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  Y'all. God is not surprised by all that
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  is going down in the world. He is not surprised by what
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  you're walking through, even if it feels chaotic.
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  Romans 828. It says in all things, God works
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  for the good of those who love him.
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  So even when it might feel crazy at times, remember he is still
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  working. He still has a plan.
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  And then we get into this idea of lawlessness.
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  It says the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
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  And we can see that pretty clearly, I believe, through sin
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  in the world, there is rebellion.
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  There are people just choosing their own way intentionally, but
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  there are still boundaries through laws, through structure,
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  just common decency, a general sense of right and wrong.
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  What this passage though is pointing out is that the
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  fullness of lawlessness is still to come, and part of what that
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  does is reveal something in us, our desperate need for God.
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  Because on our own we cannot fix sin.
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  We cannot make ourselves righteous, spotless or
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  blameless. That is why we need Jesus.
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  As Romans 512 says, sin entered the world through one man, and
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  death through sin. Which leads to a really honest
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  question, Who are you actually following?
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  Is Jesus Lord of your life or are you still sitting in that
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  seat of sin and death? And then right in the middle of
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  all of this, y'all we see the vivid power of Jesus explained.
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  It says he will overthrow the lawless one with the breath of
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  his mouth. Not a battle, not a struggle.
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  It's just his breath that is effortless.
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  That's how powerful he is. And I don't want us to just skim
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  past this, that that same spirit, that same power that
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  raised Christ from the dead, that is has already defeated sin
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  and the lawless one, that power lives in us if you are a
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  believer. And that should shift how we see
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  everything now moving forward. This is where it gets super
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  important deception. This passage, it talks about
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  false signs and wonders. And we need to understand that
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  not everything supernatural is from God.
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  Yes, God performs amazing miracles.
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  We see this all throughout the Gospels that Jesus's ministry,
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  he healed, he restored, and he revealed God's heart through
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  these miracles, and he is still doing miracles today.
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  But the enemy can also produce counterfeits, which is why
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  discernment is crucial. We must ask ourselves, is this
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  pointing me to Jesus? Is this lifting up his name?
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  Is it for His glory or is this something that might be drawing
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  attention to a specific person, a platform, or maybe creating
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  dependence on something other than Jesus?
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  And even for us, if God has given you special spiritual
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  gifts, because we all have unique gifts as believers,
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  whether that is prophecy, gifts of healing, maybe it is a gift
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  of encouragement, but I just want us to remember that gift.
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  It's not about what you can do. It's God's power through you.
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  And then there's this really sobering truth that I want to
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  talk about. It says people are perishing,
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  but they perish because they refuse to love the truth.
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  It's not because truth was not available, but because they did
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  not want it. So God allows them to follow
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  that deception that they have willingly chosen.
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  That's heavy. It's weighty.
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  But the question for us is, do I truly love the truth or do I
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  just love what's comfortable or what I want to hear?
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  Because truth will sometimes correct you.
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  It might even sting, but y'all, that is a lot of the times where
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  the most growth happens. Proverbs 27 verse 6 says wounds
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  from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
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  And personally, in my own life, there have been moments where a
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  friend has called me out and been like, maybe you should not
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  have said it like that, or this does not align with the truth.
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  And that loving correction, it can hurt, but it leads to life.
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  It leads to freedom. So I just want us to welcome
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  that in and not run from truth. And as we take all this in, we
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  have to anchor ourselves in who God is because if we don't, this
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  passage can certainly feel overwhelming.
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  I don't want this to sound cliche or just be a phrase that
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  you've heard all the time, but God is good, His heart, His
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  character. The definition of good is in the
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  Lord. Psalm 11 verse 7 says for the
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  Lord is righteous, He loves justice, the upright will see
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  his face. He created a good world, but sin
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  entered through humans. He doesn't create evil, but He
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  offers freedom from it. In Matthew 11 verse 28 says come
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  to me and I will give you rest. And one day He will make all
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  things new, all things good. Revelation 21 verse one harps on
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  that. And even now, even in all of the
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  craziness of this world, He is still in control.
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  Like Genesis 50 verse 20 says what you meant for evil against
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  me, God meant for good. So let's not confuse this.
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  God is fully 100% good and God is full power over evil.
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  Let's go ahead and closeout in prayer.
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  Dear Jesus, thank you for the truth of your word, that even
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  when it stretches or challenges us, that we can trust that you
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  are revealing what we need to know.
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  It's for our own good. Would you help us to be people
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  who love truth, who don't flee from it, but receive it
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  willingly and obediently? Would you give us wisdom in a
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  world full of deception? Keep our eyes locked on you,
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  King Jesus. Remind us that you are in
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  control, that your timing is absolutely perfect, and that
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  your power it's greater than anything that we encounter.
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  We give our lives to you again and again every day we choose to
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  deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow You.
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  We want you to be Lord over everything.
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  We love you, Jesus. We ask this all in your name.
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  Amen. OK, well that is today's
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  episode. I pray that even though there's
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  a lot to think about, that the Lord would continue ministering
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  to your heart, revealing new things, and that it would bless
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  you today.