The future day

2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 and we read at verse 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled, rest with us. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the Lord will bless to us the further reading from his word with what we've been privileged to hear already this afternoon. We have just sung though we pass through tribulation, that is in terms of trial in life, but we as believers in the day of grace will certainly not pass through the tribulation. It will be that period of time that precedes the coming of the Lord Jesus and manifestation that our brother has just spoken to us about and what we have just read about here in 2nd Thessalonians and chapter 2. Now these dear believers in Thessalonica were passing through tribulation, passing through persecution, passing through deep trial to the extent that there had been alleged evidently by a letter, a fake letter, we live in a day of fake news, well there was fake news in that day too because they got a letter presumably presented as though it was from Paul that they were already going through the tribulation.

And of course Paul is writing to correct that error and he will get to that mainly in chapter 2. But here he touches upon the subject in chapter 1 and he is indicating that there are those that are troubling the Saints. And his point here in chapter 1 is this, that that is a serious business, seeing it as a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. In other words, Paul is saying this, those that are bringing the pain to you now, there's coming a day when God will bring the pain to them, and that's a serious thing.

Now I take it it was those that are in the world that are in view here, certainly, unbelievers. And God is going to judge them and God is going to do it in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who will appear and assert his lordship. That's what the tribulation period is all about.

He's asserting his lordship. So far as this world is concerned, he is the Lord of lords. And it's all heading up to the climax of this tremendous event that we have read about.

So in these verses 7 through 9, it's showing to us the severity of that judgment on unbelievers. When all the fullness of divine justice will be unleashed in the revelation of Christ, and this world will be seen to be so wrong in what it did when it crucified the Lord of life and glory. The last that the world saw of him, he was hanging in shame, in agony, suffering, bleeding, torn, pierced, scourged, mocked, with spittle running down his face, hanging upon a cross.

And they mocked him in his sufferings. But he that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh, and the Lord will have them in derision. Behold the bridegroom! Behold, he cometh with clouds, to our text, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, radiating out from the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the glory of his power.

What a tremendous day that's going to be. I would not like to be left behind at the rapture for the tremendous events that will take place upon this world. And it is so close, brothers and sisters.

We can almost hear his footfall, can't we, on the threshold of the door. And then to reach the climax in this tremendous event. But I want you to notice, in view of that, what we have here toward the end of the chapter.

It's Paul's prayer for these Saints. You'll notice that, in view of the fact that when the Lord comes, the Saints are going to be with him. So the rapture takes place.

Immediately we go to the bema, the judgment seat of Christ. Then there is that presentation, I take it, in heaven. His wife hath made herself ready.

There's a marriage of the Lamb, and then there's this tremendous event. And I take it the marriage suppers will follow through the millennial day. Now, so just before I touch on that, just recap then on the seriousness of what it is to bring trouble to believers today.

I thought that this would link in with how the meeting started, with our brother's word on the need for love. We're introduced to a New Testament assembly in Matthew chapter 18, and in that section, in the context of that chapter, the Lord Jesus is showing how that it is a serious thing when believers are caused to stumble. A serious thing.

And if one is found straying, then we are obliged to go after them, for the Son of Man gave his life for them, and it is not the will of the Father that one of them should perish. Therefore, you and I ought to highly value every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, and if we see one going out of the way, go after them to recover them, to bring them back. And if it happens to be a breakdown in fellowship, one-on-one, then there's the procedure that follows there in Matthew chapter 18.

So we are to love one another. Back to our section now, verse 10. He shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe in that day, because our testimony among you was believed.

So he is coming. He's going to be admired, and he is going to be glorified, notice, not by those that believe, but in those that believe. No doubt we will admire him, but that's not what he's saying.

He's going to be admired, he's going to be glorified in all them that believe in that day. So these are believers in our Lord Jesus Christ that have already been to heaven, but in that day they are going to be seen to be made like unto our Lord Jesus Christ, radiating his glory. This is where we began on Saturday morning, isn't it? His glory shining through us, to the degree that we haven't gotten away, to the degree that reflects the degree of Christ's likeness in our character that has been earned down here by faithfulness to him and to his Word.

So the degree of glory that's going to be seen in us in that day is determined by how you and I are living right now in our lives. Our brother Sidney Maxwell often quoted, he used to say, he's not concerned one bit about getting into heaven, the blood of Christ has secured that. But what concerned him was how he would come out of heaven on this occasion.

In other words, to what degree would he be reflecting the glory of Christ? Because that is being earned by faithfulness to him right now. So he will be admired, and as a result of what is seen in believers, then in turn he will be admired for the work of sanctification and glorification that will be demonstrated and manifested in the believers then. So we come to Paul's prayer in view of that.

He says this, wherefore, also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power. So Paul is praying that the degree of glory that they will radiate in that coming day will be maximized. That's a thought.

So this is the degree of kingdom worthiness that he's talking about, and that is won here and now by the victory of the Christian, how he has remained faithful throughout life, how he has served the Lord with faithfulness, how he has demonstrated the love of Christ to others, and all of that in that coming day will be seen. And the degree to which you and I have been fulfilling all the good pleasure of his goodness. It's going to be seen, so how do we get along at fulfilling all of his good pleasure? Is that what we're all about? Fulfilling all his good pleasure or tell me, is it all about is our lives all about fulfilling our own good pleasure and whatever brings pleasure to me, that's what's going to determine what I'm going to be doing.

So do we mark to the beat of his drum or do we mark to the beat of our own drum? Do we set our own agenda or do we seek to please him? That's the challenge of Christian living. Notice that expression, every work of faith. Every work of faith will contribute to what will be seen in us in that coming day.

What's every work of faith? I take it that is simply this, everything that you and I have done for God, everything that you and I have been seeking to do for Christ, that is drawing upon his power as we live for him here, as we work for him now, as we seek to serve him now, that will be seen in answering glory then. Verse 12. That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ might be glorified in you and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the source of it all is the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Why grace? It's just because you and I don't deserve glory in any way shape or form. And to think of this, that in grace he has reached down and saved us poor sinners of the Gentiles on the road to hell and deserving it every bit.

And yet he has saved us and he has called us and he has brought us into his family. He's placed us as sons in his family and he has taken up his role as father. What kind of love is this? We didn't deserve it in any little bit shape or form.

And then in the course of Christian living he has drawn alongside, he has put within us a little desire to seek to please him and to seek to live for him. And in order to carry that out he has given us the resources and he has given us the power and he has given us the opportunity and he has supplied every need the whole way through, all in grace. And then finally he's going to send his son to take us out of this scene altogether, to give a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, with the trump of God.

And we're going to rise together with those that have passed on before, changed in a moment, and together with them we'll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And we never deserved it one little bit, it's all of grace. And then after all of that event in heaven, then we're going to come out with him as he is manifested as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And think of it, we'll be standing shoulder to shoulder with him in that glorious day of unveiled glory. Marvelous, isn't it? Resplendent in his glory as he comes to reclaim planet earth that has usurped his authority. He claims it for his own, it's his by redemptive right, and you and I are linked with him with bonds that cannot be broken.

It's our privilege to live for him now in the day of his rejection, and then in that coming day to be seen with him, to be manifested with him, to be reflecting his glory and radiating it in that glorious day of manifestation. May we live our lives now to maximize that, in order that he might have maximum glory when he is revealed from heaven. The Lord bless his word to our hearts.