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2 Thess 2:1–17
“Standing Strong”
Introduction:
On October 31, 1938 CBS radio was broadcasting a musical show when it was interr
upted by a “Breaking News Story”
Here was the jest of it…
Astronomers had just detected enormous blue flames shooting up from the surface
of Mars.
Then the program returned back to the “normal” program.
But was then soon interrupted with an update: now a strange meteor had fallen t
o earth.
By now there was a reporter on hand to describe the eerie scene surrounding the
crater that the meteor had left.
To the horror of the people listening, the meteor wasn’t a meteor at all but it wa
s actually an alien ship that had just landed on Earth.
Soon a Martian emerged from the rubble and started blasting onlookers with a dea
dly heat ray.
The Martian was armed with a gigantic, three legged death machine, quickly dispo
sing of 7,000 armed soldiers surrounding the crater, then started marching acros
s the landscape.
At this point many listeners started to panic.
i. Loading al
l they could fit in their cars and fleeing fast.
ii. One mother
reportedly packed her children and all the bread she could find into her car say
ing, “if everything is burned, you can’t eat money.”
iii. Other people
hid in cellars.
By the time the night was over, however, almost all of these people had learned
that the news broadcast was entirely fictitious.
It was simple the weekly broadcast of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater, and
that week, in honor of Halloween, they had decided to stage a highly dramatized
and updated version of H.G. Wells’ story, War of the Worlds.
This is a true story… #. Even with Four announcements, including one at the very b
eginning, clearly stating that this was merely a play, people still panicked.
They believed a false made up story.
If this were to happen today how many of us would believe the story?
In the message this morning we are going to look at something that Paul dealt wi
th in the church of Thessalonica that was similar to this previous story.
Background on the 2 letter to the Thessalonians.
Paul had two primary purposes in writing the second letter:
i. To correct
doctrinal error
ii. To encourag
e persecuted Thessalonians believers.
Please turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17
Outline:
I Be not Shaken (vs. 1-12) Read vs. 1-2
· Paul understood his readers.
· He had information from trusted friends like Timothy; Paul had learned t
hat all was not going well with his friends back in Thessalonica even though he
had previously written to encourage them and to reassure them of some doctrinal
error.
· So he has to write them again to help them understand the “Day of the Lord”
Conclusion:
The things they were being faced with every day were not a result of the “Day of t
he Lord”
They hadn’t missed the Rapture.
God, through Paul, gives us specific things to look for to know when the “Day of t
he Lord” will begin.
But Paul went on in vs. 16-17 and encouraged them further. Read
He encouraged them that the Lord was with them, there to offer encouragement and
strength to face anything the Devil could throw at them.
This goes for us too, no matter what comes our way God is there to help.
Do not be shaken by what you are hearing, if it doesn’t match what you have learne
d and studied from God’s Word then either it isn’t true or what you thought you knew
isn’t true but opposing issues can’t both be truth. Test it against - Bible
Stand firm on the truth that you have learned, and keep adding to your knowledge
and dig into God’s Word.
There are many diverse opinions in the world concerning the future of man but;
God’s Word gives us all the answers to the questions that we need to know
He doesn’t leave us in the dark if he thinks we need to know
God Spoke through Paul to the Thessalonians to offer them encouragement and warn
ings. We would be wise to learn and apply to our lives what Paul wanted them to
learn and apply to their lives.