16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word."
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17
Stand firm.
Don't waver in your faith back and forth.
World's version of truth is not truth.
13"for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who [a]bring good news of good things!” Romans 10:13-15
We are all sent.
Truths to know:
#1 God wants to save us all.
#2 The Gospel is Good News.
We are all sent to preach, to tell others about God's love.
#3 God loves us!
He wants us to share in the glory of Jesus. Glory=being one with God. Glory=heaven. Greatness of God + Closeness of God.
He's willing to sacrifice anything to get us. Jesus wants us to be close to Him.
What about the time between now and when we go to heaven?
What are we doing now?
"Truth is a lion. You don't have to defend truth. If you let it lose, it will defend itself." St. Augustine
If we don't cast seed it will NEVER take root.
What else?
#1 Jesus wants us in glory with Him.
#2 He wants us to stand firm in our faith.
2 "[a]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2
Jesus ran the race first.
He never took His eyes off the destination.
His will, not mine.
What is our purpose here, our meaning?
Stand firm, keep eyes on Jesus, preach truth.
Stand firm and don't back down.
When the wind blows lean into it. Face it. Walk into it. Don't be blown off course.
Don't let the world silence You.
All of this is temporary.
Keep pushing.
We have the end of the story.
Jesus replied to Satan with scripture.
The world and satan won't stopp trying to snufff out your witness.
We have no idea how effective we are (we would be surprised).
What you need He'll provide.
Do your part.
God will encourage us.
Look back and see what God's already done.
Look forward knowing what the Bible says.
Look around. We are not alone.
God intended us to hold each other up.
We are not the sum total of our worst parts of our life.
There are so many things we have yet to see. They are promises from God yet to be fulfilled. Unrealized dreams! Our story is not yet over!