COMFORT FROM HOPE OF CHRISTS COMING

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

I. Introduction
Last Sunday, we have just finish how Apostle Paul thank God of how the Thessalonian Christians continue to excel in
faith & love despite difficulties and sufferings they are going through, because of this, Paul was proud about them & they
become an example/model to other Churches. This epistle/letter of Paul also gives more understanding about the return of
Christ and His teachings about how to prepare for this event because some of the believers has misunderstood the return
of Christ which we will further see as we continue to study this epistle of Apostle Paul.

Let us read our passage…beginning in v3-12

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the
love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance
and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for
which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are
troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his
powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will
be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on
the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This
includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power
he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 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.

From thanksgiving, Apostle Paul turns to encouragement. Encouragement/Comfort of Christs coming.

As I have shared last Sunday, persecutions and trials were part of the life of Thessalonian believers and of course also
with us. As we chose to live for Christ, we will experience and continue to experience different persecutions and trials
which makes us to look upward and forward(future) not to backward or remain where we are.

Well, from the persecutions and trials the Thessalonian believers are suffering, what is there hope/comfort why they
continue to endure/persevere? Also for us believers today, what is our comfort why we still continuing with the word
“despite of”, what is our hope? Or What is our comfort? What motivates us to continue “despite of”?

Once again, may we be reminded/strengthened with the message from our Lord this morning though we already heard it
many times….

That despite of all this persecutions and trials we are suffering/ enduring right now, we will be comforted believing and
knowing that Christ will come and return again…Amen!
Why we will be comforted on the coming of Christ?...because

I. COMFORTED: KNOWING that SUFFERINGS makes them READY for CHRIST’S KINGDOM v4-5
 That the persecutions and trials we may face strengthen us, making us ready for His Kingdom for
which we are suffering
 It develops perseverance and faith as it says in v4
Romans 5:3-4
3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
  Apostle Paul says here that, they celebrate with the troubles they have. Why they celebrate with
troubles? Because thet know that these troubles make them more patient/persevere. This
patience/perseverance is proof that they are strong. And this proof gives them hope/comfort

…..sufferings (persecutions/trials/troubles) are…..

a. Proof of God’s righteous judgement (sign of fair verdict)
- “endeigma” (en-dighe-mah) a thing proved, a plain token, sign, proof
- Persecutions & trials identifies as evidence that God’s judgement is right in the sense that their
suffering proved the genuineness of their faith, the way they Thessalonians bore their sufferings with
perseverance and faith.

…..results to the purpose of judgement for the Thessalonians…..they will be

b. Counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you are suffering.
-“kataxioo” (kat-ax-ee-o-o) means to deem entirely deserving

 It is not God’s purpose that by suffering we should be made worthy to enter the His Kingdom, but
that, having entered by grace, we should be counted worthy to be there.
 Remember Matthew 5:10 (Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for
theirs is the kingdom of God) Well, wether we like it or not suffering is part of Christian life
 In this context, the kingdom of God means the final phase of God’s rule which will be established
at the coming of Christ

Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose.

 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people
God chose, because that was his plan.

….that with all the persecutions & trials we are & we will be suffering…..
II. COMFORTED: KNOWING that GOD IS JUST v6-9
 that everyone will stand before God

a. God will repay trouble to those who bring trouble v6

-He will pay back those who persecute you/us
As it says in,,,,,
Exodus 23:22
22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies
and will oppose those who oppose you.
….He will take revenge for us….

Rev. 6:10 (for the martyrs)

10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the
inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all
comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so
also our comfort abounds through Christ.
 b. God will give relief to those who are troubled v7
-relief will come when the Lord Jesus is revealed
-in Greek is “apokalypsis” literally in the revelation
-implies that Jesus is already crowned with glory as Lord but it awaits for His return for His glory will be
revealed

……from the revelation of Jesus, Paul turns into description of what God will do echoing the note of
judgement in 1 Thessalonians 4:6
c. God will punish those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
v8
 Rereferring to those people who have the opportunity and did not respond not to those who never
experience in hearing the gospel

Isaiah 66:15
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Ps 79:6
Pour out your wrath on the nations, that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;

Romans 2:8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

d. They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction V9

- And shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power
 In Greek “olethron aionion” means destruction in the age to come
 Eternal destruction lies in being separate from Christ and therefore without God
 As eternal life lies in knowing God and necessity of Jesus Christ through whom He can be known.
Matthew 11:27
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
 Opposite of God’s gift of eternal life

III. COMFORTED: of those who BELIEVED V10

-Jesus will come to be glorified in His holy people
-When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this
includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance
for us to do.

John 17:10
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

IV. COMFORTED: of CONSTANT PRAYER V11-12

 “to this end” namely the coming & its outcome in the life of the believers, the assurance of
prayer for the Thessalonians is the other side of missionaries confidence, Paul prays that at the
coming of Christs, the Thessalonians will be
 a. That God may count you worthy of His calling v11
-What kind of Christian have we now become? Have we become mature, attaining to the full
measure of the fullness of Christs?
Ephesians 4:13
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Eph 4:1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

-As we look forward for this Day, what kind of people ought you to be
2 Peter 3:11
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements
will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live
holy and godly lives

b. That God may fulfill every desire for goodness and every work of faith with power v11
-Paul looks to God to complete their good intentions along with every act prompted by Faith (work
of faith) 1 The 1:3
I The 1:3
3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love,
and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

c. That the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in us, and us in Him according to the grace of our God
and the Lord Jesus Christ v12

- Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of you, and you will be honored because of
him. This can happen only by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

V. CONCLUSION
-May we have this hope/comfort as we wait for the coming of Christ
 COMFORT OF KNOWING THAT SUFFERINGS MAKES US READY FOR THE
KINGDOM OF GOD (for it develops perseverance and faith)
 COMFORT OF KNOWING THAT GOD IS JUST (God will avenge us to those who troubles
us)
 COMFORT OF THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM
 COMFORT OF CONSTANT PRAYER