Christ In You, You In Him

11-2-25

Hoonah-Hadley

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Call to Worship Psalm 32:1-8

Daily Verse 2 Thess. 1:12

Christ In You, You In Him

“That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Once again, as we read over our lesson there is a dominant thought process, an overwhelming repetition of “God”, “Father”, “Christ”, “Lord”, “Jesus” “He”, and “His”. I may have missed one, but I counted 35 references in 12 verses. Our Call to Worship in Psalm 32 ties in nicely with our message and could have easily been our title in verse 7 “You are my hiding place.” When we make Christ our hiding place, He in us, we in Him, “according to His grace”, it is our prayer and God’s goal to count us worthy of His calling, to “fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness” in us, for His glory. We are here to taste and see that the Lord is good, to study, to dine, to be encouraged strengthened, forgiven, saved, redeemed, cleansed, filled, transformed, to take up our crosses and follow Christ, our hope, so it is with fear and trembling that we mention or recommend any other sources less they are built on the same foundation. Corrie Ten Booms classic, “The Hiding Place”, Eric Metaxas “Bonhoeffer”, or A.W. Tozer’s “Man the Dwelling Place of God” are all Christ centered, God glorifying real life stories of the power and authority, the mercy and grace of our Lord that has us at the center of His ministry. With His word, through His word, in His word, it is our prayer, His plan, our Lords purpose to “fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness” in us. Psalm 91:1-2 “Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…”

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“I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” How do we abide, how do we dwell, how is Christ’s name glorified in us and we in Him? Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, 27:8, Revelation 22:14,17 etc. etc. etc. We get on our knees in humble adoration, we pray, we praise, we meditate, we come to the river of life and drink, we come to the tree of life and enter into the gates of the city, we knock, seek, search, we cry out as the lepers did, like Zacchaeus we  climb trees, we touch the hem of His garment, we wash in the Jordan 7 times because He told us to. How does He fulfill all His good pleasure in us? We put off the old, put on the new. We change the way we speak, act, breathe, walk, live, we do not conform to the patterns of this world but are transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Rom. 12:2) We make Christ our dominant thought process. We continually, consistently set our face like flint, we take up our crosses, set our filthy rags at the curb on garbage night, we heed the prophetic word until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in our hearts. (2 Peter 1:19) We worship, praise, shout, we build our homes, our lives on the solid foundation, the chief cornerstone. Ezra 3:11 “And they sang…praising and giving thanks to the Lord…then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.” We confess our sins,  forgive those that trespass against us, we love as He loved us. We trust God, we obey, we have childlike faith. We listen for that still small voice that leads us beside still waters, that prepares a table before us. We put extra oil in our lamps. We rise with Him, rest in Him, come to Him with confidence, go in His strength, lean on Him. We are in the world but not of it. We dwell in Him, cloth ourselves with Him, we make Him the object of our affections, the desire of our heart.

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Vs. 3 “We are bound to thank God always for you…because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of everyone of you abounds toward each other…” Those that walk with God are always moving in the right direction. Today, yes, but every day, the hope, the goal is to make progress in our walk with God, to become more Christ like, to “grow” in His likeness. You’ve heard it enough, we said it before, but we, individually and corporately are under construction. Romans 12:3 tells us “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Paul, the same penman in our lesson tells us that “faith grows”. No matter, a measure of it or a growing faith is cause to thank God “always” for you, that is always. “And the love of everyone of you abounds toward each other.” We see in this verse gratitude, faith and love, a recipe that “fulfills all the good pleasure of His goodness.” This spirit is present with us each Sunday, it is food for the soul, heart medicine, therefore “We are bound to thank God always for you.” Your consistent presence is evidence of your growing faith. Vs. 4 “So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.” Fact: when you are in Christ, He in you, persecution and tribulation are part of the program. Matt. 10:22 “And you will be persecuted…for My name’s sake.” John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Patience and faith are like the ingredients in “All Day Apple Butter”. You take a crock pot, peels some apples, add clover, cinnamon and brown sugar, peel some more apples, add clover, cinnamon and brown sugar, layering it, repeating until full, then put the thing on low and every couple hours mash it down. That’s life, everyday requires patience and a measure of faith, layer them.

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Vs. 5 “which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God…” There is a great history lesson to be had for us in the context of these verses. Aside from the greeting, The New Geneva Study Bible gives this 1^st chapter the title: “God’s Final Judgment and Glory”. This is what modern day scholars call “Eschatology”, eschatos is the Greek word for “last”. In simple, frank layman terms, this is end time preaching. There are songs, teachings, trainings of all sorts, books, predictions, people spend millions of dollars preparing for the end. There are bunkers throughout the world to hide in, stocked with food and water, many of which are built by “Christians”. What these verses are teaching us is that regardless of when that day will arrive, God’s judgment is righteous, that we need not hide in a bunker, but in Christ. The penman is saying, that despite the persecution and tribulation that believers face, love, patience and faith in Christ will find “worthy of the kingdom of God”. In the end, Christ is the only one that will and can save us. It is through Him and only Him that we may enter into His gates with thanksgiving. The 1^st five verses Paul is boasting of those “counted worthy”, verse’s 6-10 is the doctrine of the apocalypse. Vs. 7 “to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel…” This is what we call the sandwich effect. Paul “boast”, compliments, gives his hell fire and damnation speech, then closes with prayer and encouragement. Vs. 12 “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God…” Looking for a bunker to hide in? Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He is our hiding place. Amen.