Hallelujah, saints! Keep reading!
Today we come to message four, which is titled: “A Further Word of Encouragement”
The verses covered are 2 Thes. 2:13 – 3:5
The sections of the message are:
I. GOD’S CHOICE
II. SALVATION IN SANCTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT
III. BELIEF OF THE TRUTH
IV. CALLED UNTO THE OBTAINING OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
V. HOLDING THE TRADITIONS
VI. ETERNAL ENCOURAGEMENT AND GOOD HOPE IN GRACE
VII. ENCOURAGED AND ESTABLISHED
VIII. PRAYING FOR THE MINISTERS OF THE WORD
IX. GUARDED FROM THE EVIL ONE
X. THE APOSTLES’ CONFIDENCE
XI. THE LORD DIRECTING THE BELIEVERS’ HEARTS
God chose them. It certainly is encouraging to know that before time began God chose us. This means that our being saved did not begin in time; rather, it began in eternity. In eternity past God considered us and selected us. From the beginning God chose us unto salvation.
Now He is taking us on with eternal encouragement and good hope in grace.
Thank you Lord for the hope we have in You!
Wow! What an encouragement! Yes saints, let’s keep reading 🙂
“In 2:16 Paul again speaks of hope: “Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope in grace.”
We can be encouraged simply by considering a little about the eternal life we have received. If you feel weak, be reminded that you have eternal life. In this way you will be strengthened and encouraged. This eternal encouragement is sufficient for any environment and situation. God has loved us and has given us eternal encouragement.
I am also very encourage by this portion: “In verse 17 Paul says, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father, “Encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.” If we want God to encourage us, we need to encourage ourselves. If we help ourselves, God will help us. But if we do not help ourselves, God will not help us. If you are not willing to eat the food on the dining table, others cannot help you. But if you eat, everyone will be willing to help you. This is an illustration of the fact that we need to encourage ourselves and establish ourselves, and then God will encourage and establish us.
By faith we have been saved into sanctification. We have been called unto the obtaining of the Lord’s glory, and we have eternal encouragement, which is eternal life, and also good hope in grace. Now according to 3:5, we need the Lord to direct our hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ. ”
Amen
Before time began, God chose us unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit! Now we have God in us! We have the eternal life which is the eternal encouragement! Today I have been so disappointed by my failures but praise the Lord for msg 4! We just need to think about this eternal and precious life and then we are encouraged! What an eternal encouragement we have! Praise the Lord!
The church is a kitchen! There is surely something wrong if it is all in order and neat. It is a sign of no tasty food if the kitchen is neat. Praise the Lord that all the saints are going through the process of sanctification! We should not think that a local church is perfect. It will be perfect in the future. But now, it is a wonderful kitchen and everything in this kitchen works together for good for our sanctification and transformation! Praise the Lord for the kitchen and the divine life WITHIN US!
I was very touched by the point of the church being like a kitchen. When I first came into the church life I thought that since this is the Lord’s recovery everything would be perfect but then I was disappointed. BUT hallelujah!!! We are in a transformation stage. If the kitchen is a messy then this means a wonderful meal is being prepared. It is ok and even good for the church to be a little messy because it is in a process of being cooked and transformed!
“A kitchen is a place of process. Because of this process, many things are not ready, but they are in the process of being made ready.”
It is so marvelous that we have an eternal encouragement! Praise the Lord we have a diamond of eternal encouragement in our pocket! Let’s look away from our situations and trials and look at this wonderful diamond. This eternal encouragement is eternal life and good hope in grace. When we feel discouraged and weak, may we all remember that we have eternal life. This is not a small matter. Let us all remember in our daily life and during our daily struggles that this eternal encouragement is sufficient!
Saints, what an eternal encouragement we have. I enjoyed that the Lord has chosen us from eternity past unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth! We have the goal of obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! All this is such an eternal comfort. I enjoyed that the eternal comfort is actually just the eternal life, for what else can be eternal? Praise the Lord, we have the life of God! We were chosen from eternity to have the life of God. We also have a good hope in grace that the eternal life in us will grow and we will obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is just the Triune God expressed in us! Hallelujah!
I was encouraged by this paragraph.
“We have the real diamond, and this diamond is the eternal life as our eternal encouragement. Do you realise that you have such a diamond in your pocket? Why, then, do you look at your troubles and sufferings instead of at this diamond? Oh, praise the Lord for the diamond of eternal encouragement! This encouragement is eternal life and good hope in grace.”
How much we need to turn from looking at our problems to looking at the Lord. When we do that, we surely will be encouraged by the eternal life, like an eagle mounted with wings, surpasses all the problems.
I am so encouraged by this word! Actually, this is a further encouragement to us! As soon as you become weak, Boom! The shock treatment of eternal encouragement comes in This is the eternal life within us that is all-sufficient! “This means it is not temporary and transitory comfort and strengthening, but eternal encouragement.” Thank You Lord Jesus for loving us and giving us eternal encouragement!
2Thess. 2:13 “But we ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
WE all are in the process of sanctification. This experience is like the kitchen! “Often the messy condition of a kitchen indicates that an excellent meal is being prepared. The kitchen may be messy, but the food that is being cooked will be very tasty. If you want food in your local church to be flavorful, you must be willing for your kitchen to be messed up.” The Lord is the best Chef! He knows how to cook up a great feast!
v.17 “Encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.” –Praise the Lord! @~`~
3:5 “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ.” His word was direct, even to the heart of the Thessalonians. Our response should be the same in prayer, aimed at the Lord’s heart. This is a sister verse to the Song of Songs. In S. of S. 8:6 –“Set me as a seal on your heart, As a seal on your arm;” These words issue out of our personal, private, spiritual, and intimate fellowship with the Lord. We should mention this to the Lord each morning. Oh Lord Jesus! Set me as a seal on Your heart, and a seal on Your arm. Amen.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah ~
“God has also given us good hope in grace. This hope is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), which is the hope of the Lord’s coming(1 Thes. 1:3), when we shall be either resurrected or transfigured into glory. This good hope is in grace, and grace is nothing less than the Triune God processed to become the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. In this grace we have a good hope. We may say that grace is God Himself in Christ for us to enjoy that we may be sanctified by His Spirit and encouraged and established with eternal encouragement and good hope.” Hallelujah~~
Today, I was so impressed with the word, Diamond! YEs~~
The eternal encouragement in Us is diamond! Hallelujah~
Eternal encouragement out of eternal life within us will make us absolutely new in the New heaven and New earth!
Hallelujah!
In message 4, I appreciated two things. First of all, we are undergoing sanctification. This can be compared to a kitchen. Usually, your kitchen is very messy when you are preparing a good meal. This means that while we are being transformed, our church life can be very messy. So don’t be discouraged if your locality or your church life is messy!
The second thing I appreciated was that the eternal life is our eternal encouragement. We can be encouraged because we have the eternal life! Once again, I have to exercise my faith to look away from my pitiful condition and onto Christ, onto the fact that one day, I will be expressing His glory. Praise the Lord for such an encouragement and hope!
I enjoy this portion – our church life is like a kitchen,the kitchen may be messy,but the food that is being cooked will be very tasty!Praise the Lord that he has put us in this process of transformation.This process is not done by human hand,rather,it is done by the Lord according to His wisdom and sovereignty.
Let’s learn how to enjoy the Lord even when we are being cooked.