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2 Thessalonians 1-3: Keep Your Eye On the Ball

Lifespring! Family Audio Bible

April 9, 2022

Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today we will complete the book of  2 Thessalonians. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Keep Your Eye On the Ball.”

S12E221Art3000-steve keeping his eye on the ball
Design: Steve Webb | Photo: The Lovely Lady LeeAnn

Comments on 2 Thessalonians

Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica that they shouldn’t panic when people come around saying that Jesus had already returned. Yes, Jesus is coming back, to be sure. And it will be a very good thing when He does, but there are some things that must happen before that takes place.

And then Paul tells them a few things to look for. We’ll look at them again, but it’s important to know that these are not the only things that must happen before the Lord returns. Some people have made a career trying to decipher all of the prophecies given in the Bible about the “end times”, and while it is interesting to study this subject, it’s more important to live our lives in such a way that we fulfill our part of the Great Commission, the last thing Jesus said before he was taken up to Heaven. In Matthew 28:19-20 He said: “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Some people have gotten off the track. They’ve forgotten about those parting instructions of Jesus and focused on watching for His return, and in the process have gotten so off the mark that they have ruined lives…their own and their followers. Don’t do that. Be aware of the signs, but stay focused on doing the business that Jesus gave us to do.

And with that, let’s look at the signs Paul pointed out here in 2 Thessalonians.

In the second chapter, verses 3 and 4 Paul said: “Don’t let anyone trick you in any way. That day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. 4He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshiped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God’s temple. He will announce that he himself is God.”

From that description, it sounds like this could happen any day, doesn’t it? People are turning against God all around the world. Church attendance has been trending down here in America for some time, and of course the pandemic made it worse. 

But this is not just an American phenomenon. Much of Europe has already turned its back on God. The same is true of Asia. 

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. And make no mistake, the god of Islam is not the God of the Bible. I could spend hours comparing and contrasting Allah with the true and loving and holy God of the Bible. 

It seems as if the world is ready for the one Paul calls the man of sin. It’s my personal opinion that this man could very well be alive today. Yes, I believe that the time is very short before these things happen. 

But…

My job is not to stop everything and wait for that day to arrive. Nor is that your job. Our job is to keep our eye on the ball…do what Jesus told us to do. Make disciples. Live in such a manner that others will see a difference, a *good* difference in you. Let them see that even though the world may be falling apart, you have the peace that passes all understanding because you know the One who holds the future.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 NIRV

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Transcript

Download .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
Don’t do that.

Steve Webb 0:08
This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. I’m glad you’re here. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we’re going to read the entire book of Second Thessalonians. It’s only three short chapters. I’ll have some comments when we’re done with the reading and I’m calling today’s episode. Keep your eye on the ball. The show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 221. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:48
Second Thessalonians chapter one. I Paul and writing this letter, Silas and Timothy, join me in writing. We are sending this letter to you the members of the church in Thessalonica. You belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God the father in the LORD Jesus Christ give you grace in peace. Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. That is only right, because your faith is growing more and more. The Love you all have for each other is increasing. So among God’s churches, we brag about the fact that you don’t give up easily. We brag about your faith and all the suffering and testing you’re going through. All of this proves that when God judges he is fair. So you will be considered worthy to enter God’s kingdom. You are suffering for His Kingdom. God is fair, he will pay back trouble to those who give you trouble. He will help you who are troubled and he will also help us. All of those things will happen when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come and blazing fire, he will come with the angels who are given the power to do what God wants. He will punish those who don’t know God, He will punish those who don’t obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. They will be destroyed forever. They will be shut out of heaven. They will never see the glory of the Lord’s power. All of those things will happen when he comes on that day his glory will be seen in his holy temple. Everyone who is believed will be amazed when they see him. That includes you, because you believed the witness we gave you. Keeping this in mind, we never stopped praying for you. Our God has chosen you. We pray that he will consider you worthy of his choice. We pray that by His power, he will make every good thing you have planned come true. We pray that he will make perfect all that you have done by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus will receive glory through what you have done. We also pray that you will receive glory through what he has done. We pray all these things in keeping with the grace of our God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Steve Webb 2:59
Second Thessalonians chapter two.

Steve Webb 3:03
Brothers and sisters, we want to ask you something. It has to do with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It concerns the time when we will go to be with him. What if you receive a prophecy report or letter that is supposed to have come from us? What if it says that the day of the Lord has already come? If it does, we ask you not to become easily upset or alarmed. Don’t let anyone trick you in any way. That day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshipped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God’s temple, he will announce that he himself is God. Don’t you remember, when I was with you? I used to tell you those things. Now you know what is holding the man of sin back. He has held back so that he can make his appearance at the right time. The secret power of sin is already at work. But the one who now holds that power back will keep doing it until he is taken out of the way. Then the man of sin will appear. The Lord Jesus will overthrow him with a breath of his mouth. The glorious brightness of Jesus coming will destroy the man of sin. The coming of the man of sin will be Satan’s work. His work will be seen in all kinds of fake miracles, signs and wonders. It will be seen in every kind of evil that fools people who are dying. They are dying because they refuse to love the truth. The truth would save them. So God will fool them completely. Then they will believe the lie. Many will not believe the truth. They will take pleasure and evil. They will be judged. Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. The Lord loves you. God chose you from the beginning. He wanted you to be saved salvation comes through the Holy Spirit’s work. He makes people holy. It also comes through believing the truth. He chose you to be saved by accepting the good news that we preach, and you will share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters stand firm. Hold on to what we taught you. We passed our teachings on to you by what we preached and wrote, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father loved us. By His grace, God gave us comfort that will last forever. The hope he gave us is good. May our Lord Jesus Christ in God, our Father, comfort your hearts. May they make you strong in every good thing you do and say.

Steve Webb 5:44
Second Thessalonians chapter three. Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread quickly. Pray that others will honor it just as you did. And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful, He will strengthen you, he will guard you from the evil one. We trust in the Lord. So we’re sure that you are doing the things we tell you to do. And we’re sure that you will keep on doing them. May the Lord fill your hearts with God’s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on. Brothers and sisters, here’s a command we give you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep away from every believer who doesn’t want to work. Keep away from anyone who doesn’t live up to the teaching you received from us. You know how you should follow our example. We worked when we were with you. We didn’t need anyone’s food without paying for it. In fact, it was just the opposite. We worked night and day, we worked very hard, so that we wouldn’t cause any expense to any of you. We worked even though we have the right to receive help from you. We did it in order to be a model for you to follow. Even when we were with you, we gave you a rule. We said anyone who will not work will not eat. We hear that some people among you don’t want to work. They aren’t really busy. Instead, they are bothering others. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we strongly command people like that to settle down, they have to earn the food they eat. Brothers and sisters, don’t ever get tired of doing the right thing. Keep an eye on anyone who doesn’t obey the directions in our letter. Watch that person closely. Have nothing to do with him, then he will feel ashamed. But don’t think of him as an enemy. Instead, warn him as the brother or sister. May the Lord who gives peace give you peace at all times. And in every way. May the Lord be with all of you. I Paul write this greeting in my own handwriting. That’s how I prove that I am the author of all my letters, I always do it that way. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Steve Webb 7:57
In chapter two, Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica that they shouldn’t panic when people come around saying that Jesus had already returned. Yes, Jesus is coming back to be sure. And it will be a very good thing when he does. But there are some things that have to happen before His return. And Paul tells them a few things to look out for. We’ll talk about that. But first, it’s important to know that these are not the only things that must happen before the Lord returns. Now, some people have made a career of trying to decipher all the prophecies given in the Bible about the end times. And while it is an interesting thing to study, it’s more important to live our lives in such a way that we fulfill our part of the Great Commission. The last thing Jesus said before he was taken up to heaven was Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. Well, some people have gotten off that track. They’ve forgotten about those parting instructions of Jesus, and they focused on watching for His return. And in the process, they’ve gotten so off the mark, that they have ruined lives, their own and their followers. Don’t do that. Be aware of the signs but stay focused on doing the business that Jesus gave us to do. So having said that, let’s look at the signs that Paul pointed out here in Second Thessalonians chapter two. In verses three and four, Paul said, Don’t let anyone trick you in any way, that day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshipped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God’s temple and He will announce that he himself is God. Well, I have to say that from that description, it says As like this could happen almost any day, doesn’t it? People are turning against God all around the world. Church attendance has been trending down here in America for some time. And of course, the pandemic made it worse. But this is not just an American phenomenon. Much of Europe has already turned its back on God and the same is true of Asia, then make no mistake, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. I’ve made a study of it. And I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the God of Islam is not the God of the Bible. I could spend hours comparing and contrasting Allah with the true and loving and holy God of the Bible. But that’s not what we’re here for. But with the growth of Islam, it is obvious that people are turning away from the one true God. Now it seems as if the world is ready for the one Paul called the man of sin. And it is my personal opinion that this man could very well be alive today. I’ve already said on the show here, I believe that the time is short before these things happen. But my job is not to stop everything and wait for that day to arrive. Nor is that your job. Our job is to keep our eye on the ball to do what Jesus told us to do, to make disciples to live in such a manner that others will see a difference, a good difference in us. Let people see that even though the world may be falling apart. We have the peace that passes all understanding, because we know the One who holds the future. What do you have to say? What do you think? Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 221. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tell me your thoughts are reading tomorrow will be Leviticus 25 through 27 Boost boost boost boost boost boost.

Steve Webb 11:57
We have an executive producer today. Roderick came in with his monthly $50 donation Roderick. God bless you, my brother. I appreciate it. Thank you for your support. And remember that tomorrow’s episode will be number 222 the perfect time for a row of ducks donation, make your donation today at Lifespring media.com/support. Or do a special row of ducks booster gram. If you’d like to know how to become an executive producer or an associate producer or a distinguished producer. You can find the details at Lifespring media.com/support. Hey also, I added a way to send sets from the show notes page if you’ve got a Bitcoin or lightning Wallet. So even if you don’t have a podcasting 2.0 podcast app, you can still send Satoshi to support the show. That form will be on every show notes page going forward.

Steve Webb 12:59
On this date in church history, April 10 1827, Lewis Wallace was born. He was an American Civil War soldier, lawyer, diplomat and the author of Ben Hur A Tale of the Christ. He wrote that in 1880 Amazingly, that book sold more than 300,000 copies in its first decade. He was the best selling religious author of his day, but he never officially joined a church.

Steve Webb 13:35
Let’s pray. Our gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for telling us what to watch for his signs of the last days. But Lord, keep us focused on the important work of sharing the good news with a lost and dying world. Lord, give us opportunities to give the life saving message of the risen Christ to the people in our paths so that they will be ready when Jesus does return. Lord, I asked you that you bless the Lifespring family today. And if there’s anyone listening now who’s hurting, I pray that you would hold them in your arms and comfort them. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com And tell me about it. Their information will be emailed to me and I’ll pray for you and my private prayer time and we’ll pray together here on the show.

Steve Webb 14:31
I’d love to hear what you think about today’s show. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 221. And let me know if you’d rather you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And please do help support the show and send in your row ducks donations at Lifespring media.com/support Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. I always love to see your smiling face. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

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