2 Thessalonians series - God's Will: His Calling, Your Deeds, And His Grace

 

God’s Will: His Calling, your Deeds, and His Grace

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

God had called everyone to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and to live their lives in a way that is worthy of His name and person. Let’s look at the first portion of our text. 

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling.” Jesus commanded all his believers to love one another, it is one of the first steps in being worthy of his calling. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.`` (John 13:34-35) and Paul told us to pray for one another, which is another step of being worthy, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18)  

Paul spoke of his persistent praying for the Thessalonians in the first and second letter, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” (1 Thes. 2:12), to live a life worthy of the Lord Jesus. They were to live a life of integrity, justness, and righteousness before all. They had listened and obeyed the gospel’s message so well that it became the hallmark of the church in Thessalonica, “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction… You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.” (1 Thes. 1:4-8)

The Thessalonians modeled faith, holiness, and hope in the midst of suffering persecutions. They brought the message of the Gospel of Jesus to the world in such a manner of integrity that their lives and not only their words were the testimony of the power of the gospel for salvation.

Application - Do you ever wonder if people truly love you, or is it just a polite thing to say? As the D C Talk song says, “Love is a Verb”, it is more than a word. It requires action in our hearts, soul, minds, and bodies. When God’s love is the fruition of your life, it will be evident to all. It is one of the steps of the calling of God on the life of a believer. Integrity is precious to God, doing what is right and just are the qualities of a godly life. If we are going to live worthy lives that God will esteem, our lives will testify to the work of the Holy Spirit’s power and presence in us. I would hope that each of us would be counted worthy of His calling, in so much that we would be the model for others to emulate, as we emulate Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Second, Paul exhorted them with such pleasure that 

he asked God to bring to reality their desires for goodness, let’s look at the next portion of the text, “and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 

God made them worthy of his calling because of their faith, and it was the power of the Holy Spirit in the church in Thessalonica that was evidenced from their bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul had heard from Timothy and others of their deeds inspired and prompted by faith in Jesus Christ through the gospel that was preached to them. They didn’t shun the poor, or the homeless, or neglected to comfort the persecuted. Their deeds of goodness were a light to the lost as well as to the believers. It was this type of faith in the truth of God’s word that developed the character of Christ in them, and the purpose, plan, and will of God for their lives. Their lives were the credibility of the gospel that impacted their world. It was no wonder that Paul could pray and ask like David for God to give them the desires of their hearts, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4)

Application - Paul wrote to the Romans the importance of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Rom. 1:16-17) The gospel is the power of God, for it brings the message of salvation and the revelation of God the Father and the Son. It is faith in Jesus that spurs us as believers in our being worthy of the calling by God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit’s fruit being evident. We wouldn’t know what goodness is without the Holy Spirit living in us, as we yield our desires to Him, we bear the fruit of goodness. This brings us to our deeds (acts, works, etc.). James told us that we cannot have faith without works. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18) Our exterior deeds are the evidence of the inner workings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. Jesus said that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” (Matt. 15:18) But good deeds reveal the character that controls the mouth and the heart. Jesus, Paul, and Peter addressed that the quality of our character will be evident to all, especially God for it is he who is working in us. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”; “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”; “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Matt. 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12, Eph. 2:10)

So what good deeds are being prompted by your faith in Jesus Christ? Are they lighting the way to the gospel or to somewhere else? Is our conduct by our good deeds glorifying God or ourselves? For in our good deeds it is God, who created us for good deeds in Christ Jesus which He prepared from the beginning for us to do, for his glory. 

Last, Paul's prayer was that the name of Jesus would be glorified in them, and them in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look at the last portion of the text, “We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul again brings the unity of oneness with the Father through the Son. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.“ (John 17:20-23) 

Many times God the Father stated that He did the miraculous for His name sake and his glory, “Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known.” (Psalms 106:8)

God delighted in making His name known to the Thessalonians, for they had believed the gospel for the “gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” The gospel came in the mighty power of God and it glorified Him and His Son Jesus Christ. The oneness that the Father and Son had was also theirs. The fellowship and community that they shared with the Father and Son was the evidence of the grace of God and the Lord Jesus in their lives, as manifested through their character, integrity, and hope endorsed by the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives.

Application - It is my prayer that each of us is living in unity (oneness) with the Father, the Son, and with each other as we are directed and heeding the Holy Spirit’s leading. We desire to be glorified in the presence of our God, Lord, and King, And for Him to be glorified and honored through our calling by the Father, through our good deeds evidenced by the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and His amazing grace that allows us to renew the fellowship and community with our God and Father in Heaven. For your unity requires you to love as you are loved and have been loved by the Lord. It is a love only God can give to us, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16) 

Lord Jesus, develop a godly character in us, one of integrity and let the Holy Spirit goodness be evidenced in all our deeds as you do your good work in us as you had planned from the beginning. So that we will bring glory to you in all that we do and say. Let us be the light to our world and that the gospel, the power of God for salvation will be heralded for all to see and hear. Amen

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis