Fear is a powerful emotion. Though some are more prone to it than others, all struggle with it. Fear can paralyze your ability to take action, and fear can cause you to forfeit what is good. However, the most destructive and dangerous reaction to fear is that it can cause you to lose your confident hope in God's promises and surrender your expectant joy in the kingdom of God.

The Thessalonians Christians were fearful that the persecutions they were enduring meant that they had missed the Second Coming of Christ and were thus experiencing the judgment of Christ on the wicked. Paul had written his first letter to the Thessalonians to assure them that Christ would rapture the church before the judgment of the wicked and to encourage them that they had not missed the rapture.

Paul writes this second letter to address this issue again. The church was enduring severe persecution. Additionally, there were false teachers who claimed that Christ had already returned. The pressures of persecution and the confusion caused by false teaching had caused the church to fear again that they had missed the rapture.

Paul writes this letter not to elaborate on all the details of the Second Coming and the particulars of the antichrist but as a pastor to his church, to encourage them to hold tightly to God's word with confident hope.

The main idea of this passage is: Do not be alarmed by false teachings or fearful of powerless threats but trust in the sovereignty, authority, and power of God.

Paul is not writing to rebuke the church or shame them for their fear but rather to warn them of the danger of being deceived and distracted by false teaching.

From both false teaching and biblical ignorance, many today struggle with fear and anxiety that steal their confident hope and joy in the Lord. So, how can you keep from being deceived and distracted by false teachings?

This passage provides three warnings to help you avoid being distracted by false teachings. Do not be alarmed by false teaching, fearful of the power of false prophets, or deceived by Satan.

Salvation is not transactional but transformative. When God calls you to salvation, it is a calling to believe and be transformed by the power of God to accomplish His will and bring glory to His name.

In the secular world, you become very accustomed to transactional relationships. Unfortunately, not only do many people approach their most intimate relationships with a transactional mindset, but many also attempt to relate to God in a similar manner. However, God does not negotiate or bargain, nor can God be manipulated or deceived. It is impossible to receive God's salvation through any form of human transaction.

When you believe in faith and are saved by God, you are transformed by the power of God for the glory of God. In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Paul prays with confidence in God's will for the Thessalonian church to continue being transformed for His glory.

How does salvation transform your life? These verses illustrate two fundamental ways in which salvation transforms a Christian's life. That is, salvation transforms what you are and what you do.

Christians endure the present with confident faith in the coming of Jesus, who will rightly judge the world, rescue the saints, and reveal His full glory. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to encourage the saints who were enduring persecution. The encouragement is that Jesus is coming again to rescue the saints and judge the wicked.

Thinking of the vengeance and judgment of God is uncomfortable for many Christians. So, how should you respond to the coming judgment of Christ?

This passage is both an encouragement to Christians and a warning to unbelievers. To believers, it encourages you to have confident faith, and to unbelievers, it serves as a warning of God's coming judgment.

This passage encourages the saints to endure the present with confident faith in who Jesus is and what he will do. To unbelievers, it is an urgent plea to repent.

When you think about helping, ministering, and serving others, you tend to think first about what you can do, give, or assist with. However, these opening words of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians remind the church that your ministry is your own testimony.

What impact should your testimony have on other Christians? This passage identifies two ways that your testimony should impact other Christians.

TXTThe desire of God is not that you would be insulated or isolated from the world but that you would be a living testimony to God’s truth in and to the world.

Every Christian experiences a tension between desiring to be separated from the world and obedience to proclaim the gospel to the world. Throughout history, there have been excesses on both sides of this tension. Sometimes, Christians have overemphasized separation from the world and sought to isolate themselves from the world and restrict contact with non-Christians. At other times, Christians have overemphasized ministry to the world and abandoned holiness and the requirements of faith and obedience in a foolish attempt to make the gospel more worldly appealing.

The Christian who attempts to isolate themselves from the world disobeys God’s command to be a gospel light and witness to the world, and the Christian who seeks at all costs to be appealing to the world disobeys God’s command to live lives of holiness.

Whether you are a recent high school graduate preparing to enter the working world or attend college, or an adult working a secular job, every Christian must wrestle with this tension that comes from living a holy life for Christ while living in an evil world.

This is the very issue that Jesus is praying about in John 17:14-19. He does not pray that God would take Christians out of the world, but while they are in the world, keep them holy and obedient to the faith.

In this sermon, pastor Ben Smith preaches from John 17:14-19 on how you can be in the world without becoming like the world by seeking godly affections, resting in God’s power, and being set apart by God.

The heart desire of Christians must be for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience. This statement seems so obvious and elementary that you may be tempted to assume that it does not need to be stated or given much attention. It is indeed obvious and elementary, but it needs to be said and given attention because it often conflicts with your flesh's natural desires.

 Often, what is celebrated are temporary and fleeting achievements. Often, what is rewarded is what the world loves and not the things of God. Often, what your heart desires are rewards that have only momentary value. As a result, what you pray for is too often from the desires of the flesh rather than the will of God.

How can you train your heart to desire, above all other things, for other Christians to grow in faith and obedience? This passage models two areas that you must give the attention of your heart and mind to in order to train your heart to desire that other Christians grow in faith and obedience.

1. Be encouraged by what God has accomplished. (6-10)

2. Pray for what only God can do. (11-13)

The passion of God's servants must be to strengthen and exhort the church to stand firm against the attacks of Satan.

In chapter three, verse 2, we have the key verse for this passage. Timothy was sent to establish and exhort the church in their faith that they might stand firm against the temptation of Satan. The question that we consider with this passage is: What does the church need to stand firm against the attacks of Satan?

When sinners receive the gospel as the word of God and are saved, it is not the result of man's work or ability but a testimony to God's power and sovereignty alone. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians' testimony and how it testifies to the power and sovereignty of God to save whom He wills. This passage reminds the church that salvation does not come and is not dependent on the work or ability of man but the power and sovereignty of God alone.

This passage teaches three perspectives that will keep your heart and mind focused on the power and sovereignty of God.

Our sinful nature is quick to take the glory from the blessings and gifts of God for ourselves. We often even claim that they come from us rather than God. Yet, when confronted with our true weakness, we come to know through experience the sufficiency of God’s grace - that His grace is enough.

Jacob’s family is not a model of healthy relationships. His parents are open about their partiality toward their children. The brothers have a very contentious relationship. Rebecca is willing to work against her husband’s wishes. And Isaac is willing to work against the will of God.

We see in this passage four people attempting to get their own way. Some want their will in opposition to God’s will. Others want what God has promised but according to their own way and their own timing. Only one will recognize that God alone is sovereign and unthwartable in His power.

I titled this sermon, “blessed assurance.” It might not be obvious what is assured or blessed in this passage. Today I want to look at the four people of Rebecca, Jacob, Esau, and Isaac. All four attempted to impose their will over the will of God. Only Isaac would come to understand that the will of God is assured no matter the efforts of man. And the sureness of God’s will is blessed assurance indeed.