Three prayers in 2 Thessalonians

I'd like to turn to 2 Thessalonians, please, 2 Thessalonians, and we'll take some readings from this epistle of a church that was being persecuted, and Paul is writing to believers that are going through times of distress in that regard. Now I'm going to have to break into the reading for the sake of time. So come to chapter 1, 2 Thessalonians 1, and in verse 10, he's been speaking about the manifestation of the Lord Jesus when he comes in his power and glory, when 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.

Now notice the prayer at the end of chapter 1, 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 you'll notice the prayer that God would count them worthy of this calling, just in connection with that verse 5, which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer, counted worthy of the kingdom. Now come to chapter 2, and again I'm going to have to count on your knowledge of this chapter, he's speaking about events that will follow the rapture of the church and the manifestation of the man of sin and so on.

Come down to the end of the chapter again, and we see another prayer, verse 16. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Now chapter 3, notice verse 1, finally brethren pray for us.

Down to the end of the chapter, verse 16, now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always, by all means, the Lord be with you all. And then we have the salutation at the end of the epistle. So that's all we'll read, we trust with the Lord's blessings.

I want to draw your attention this morning to these three prayers of the Apostle in 2 Thessalonians. In the Thessalonian letters we find Paul records five prayers in total. There are two in the first epistle and then we have these three, excuse me, in the second epistle.

Paul is following a similar pattern to the Lord Jesus. He presents his coming to his disciples in the upper room and then in chapter 17 of John he prays for them. So we have the high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus in John 17.

So Paul is praying for these to whom he has brought the gospel and he has brought the truth of the rapture and the Lord's return, he's brought that before him and now he prays for them. It's not that Paul in any way felt that he didn't need prayer himself, that's why I read the verse at the beginning of chapter 3 when he says simply, brethren pray for us. He felt the need of their prayers and he prayed for them and he was following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Brethren sisters we need to pray for one another. We need each other and we need to pray for one another.

Now Paul, he gives thanks for these believers. First of all in chapter 1, that their faith was growing exceedingly and their love for one another abounded. So first of all he's appreciating these saints and for the marks of Christlikeness that were found in them, they were undergoing tremendous persecution and yet in that difficult circumstance they were enduring and their faith was growing, their confidence in God was growing and so Paul gives thanks for them in that regard.

And further he notes with them as he approaches the difficulty that existed, he notes with them in chapter 1 that they would not always be persecuted. In fact the day is coming and coming soon when the persecutors will themselves be suffering the vengeance of the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes in his power and glory. And so he turns their minds to the fact that the coming of the Lord lies ahead and he will be revealed from heaven with the angels of his might in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and they will not always be persecuted.

It's better on before for them and yet Paul still prays for them. Now it is interesting to notice the same pattern that exists in the Lord's prayer for his disciples in John 17 and these three prayers that we have read together from 2nd Thessalonians. In that in John 17 three times over in three verses we have the Lord specifically saying I pray, I pray.

So in John 17 verse 9 I pray for them, I pray not for the world. So obviously the believers are distinct from the world. He's not going to pray for the world.

This world is marked for judgment. I'll come to that in a moment. Again in John 17 verse 15 the Lord said I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that they should be kept from the evil.

So the thought is the believers preservation while in the world. Preservation in the world. Again John 17 verse 20 neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.

So there's inclusion in his prayer of all believers in the world. Now what I would like to do is draw the parallel between those three statements of prayers of the Lord in John 17, one prayer of course, but those three specific times when he says I pray with these three prayers of Paul in 2nd Thessalonians. So let's take a look as we move through.

First of all I pray for them, I pray not for the world. The distinction between the world and the believers. Paul has that in mind in chapter 1 doesn't he? These believers were suffering saints and yet they were remaining faithful and Paul says in verse 5 that the righteous judgment of God will see to it that they are counted worthy of the kingdom of God.

Counted worthy of the kingdom of God. That is determined by how you and I live our lives down here. Now heaven is already guaranteed.

The blood of Christ has settled that hasn't it? And yet we are to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. The degree of kingdom worthiness is won by the victory of the believer now in the circumstances of life in which he faces. How faithful has he or she remained to God? The degree of faithfulness determines the degree of worthiness for the kingdom that's about to come.

That will be a tremendous day when Christ will be admired in all them that believe. You notice he doesn't say he's admired by all them that believe. That's certainly the case but he's admired in all them that believe.

Now what Paul has in mind is just this. In that coming day when the Lord is manifested in his glory and the armies of heaven arrive with him and when he shall appear in glory we shall also appear with him in glory. In that day you and I will be reflecting the degree of Christ-likeness that was found in our lives down here and now, all right? The degree of worthiness, if you will, for the kingdom.

Equate that with the degree of reward, if you will. But that is earned here and now by the degree of our faithfulness to God. Our Christ-likeness as displayed in our life now will be manifested then.

And so Paul begins to pray that the degree of their Christ-likeness would be maximized now. And that brings us to the prayer at the end of the chapter. Verse 11, wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill, that is fulfill in these saints all the good pleasure of his goodness, all of it, and the work of faith with power, fulfilling all the good pleasure of his goodness, that is doing his good pleasure, in other words, doing his good pleasure.

In Ephesians chapter 2 you remember that Paul brings out there that the reason why God has saved us is there are good works that we should be performing, good works we were created in Christ Jesus to do, so that practically speaking our obedience now is going to be doing his good pleasures. We obey his word, that is doing his good pleasure, and that will be reflected then in that coming day. Now I wonder, brethren, just to challenge our hearts, how much are we interested in doing his good pleasure as opposed to the pursuit of our own pleasure and setting our own agenda, or do we actively seek from day to day, I wish I knew more of this in my own life, to be actively led and guided by the Lord in all things.

Attendance to his word will do that for us in our lives. So, how much are we interested in that? Notice he talks about every work of faith. That would contribute to what will be seen in us in that coming day.

All that draws upon his power as we live for him now to do his work and to do his will will be seen in answering glory then. And so Paul prays, in effect, that this would be maximized in their lives. Verse 12, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, so that it is possible for us as believers now by how we live to bring glory to Christ, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you.

If we had that mind, which was in Christ Jesus, as we've been hearing, that would bring glory to him. And Paul's prayer that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him. You know, it is astounding to think that I am glorified in him.

I can somehow, I can somehow grasp that because he has saved us from yawning hell and he has brought us to his bosom and he has given us such a bright and glorious future. Glorified in him. But to think that he is going to be glorified in me, I get your head around that one.

He is going to be glorified in me, that's beyond astounding. How is that possible? Well Paul covers that, according to the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The source of it all is grace, the grace of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not deserve the glory to which we are going. It's all of grace and it will be seen then in that day, what a tremendous day when we stand as it were shoulder to shoulder with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords when he comes in his power and in his glory and he reclaims planet earth from the usurper and he establishes his right to reign. We have a bright future and the degree to which we reflect glory is determined by how we live now.

So I pray for them, said the Lord Jesus, I pray not for the world and you and I should pray for one another that there might be that increasing degree of Christ-likeness displayed in our lives and in that coming day. Now the second one then, the Lord Jesus said I pray not that thou should take them out of the world but that thou should keep them from the evil. In chapter 2 Paul addresses the issue of going through the tribulation.

These dear believers had been introduced to wrong doctrine and that had a tremendous destabilizing effect upon them. It seems that perhaps a letter had been sent as though it was from Paul but it wasn't, that they were already going through the tribulation and the persecution that they're under seemed to endorse that. But Paul writes and says no, no, no, first of all there's the rapture and our gathering together unto him and then there will be the manifestation of this man of sin.

There'll be the apostasy, the falling away and then we'll follow a man. We refer to him as the Antichrist and he will come on the scene. That hasn't happened yet.

So Paul is countering the error that has been presented to the assembly. But at the end of the chapter he first of all indicates that they will not be going through the wrath. In fact God never intended that they would go through the wrath.

He gives thanks that from the beginning God had chosen them on to salvation and to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their destiny was glory, not wrath and how God had worked through the gospel and so on to bring them into that. We have that from verse 13 in those verses that follow.

Now we come to the prayer at the end of the chapter, verse 16, now the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Now there's a lovely prayer in that. It begins with the word really in the original himself, himself the Lord Jesus Christ and God even our Father.

The Lord Jesus Christ on perfect equality with God even our Father. This one who has been opposed by Satan, he has been victorious already in this chapter. He overthrows the man of sin, Satan's masterpiece and so he is the one who is going to comfort these dear believers.

That is Paul's prayer. Notice the three blessings that he outlines here. He hath loved us.

This is the divine attitude of love, unceasing, unqualified, uncalled for but how he has loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation. The divine attitude of love, the divine assurance, everlasting consolation, it's unending and good hope through grace, hope that's the divine anticipation of what lies before that expectant confident expectation of the imminence of the rapture that at any moment we can hear his shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. That's a good hope, isn't it? That would stir our hearts, that would encourage us, that would bring us joy and comfort.

It wouldn't be much joy and comfort to think we were going through the tribulation and so Paul is writing to comfort and assure these dear believers. Verse 17, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Comfort your hearts, that's an internal work, that's a work done within.

That's the result of the word of God, that invigorating word of God infusing us with strength and with comfort to be assured that God's purposes are sure and establish you. I take it that would be in our outward testimony that we would be fortified and strengthened by the instruction of the word of God as he gives it even in this epistle. So the comfort that Paul has in mind, no doubt, is to be assured of his coming when he will arrive to the air to take us away from tribulation wrath and so this would establish them, this would strengthen them.

Comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word is the RV, the revised. Every good work and word, he turns the order around and that's good to note because there's a principle there. The word of God would encourage action before advice, practice before precept, doing before directing every good work and then word.

So live it out first and then encourage others as well. So until the coming of the Lord, Paul is praying that they would personally know the Lord's presence with them and that inner solace, that outward stability that he brings when his presence is known in spite of those adverse circumstances that are around. So he is praying really that they would be preserved and comforted as the Lord prayed that they wouldn't be taken out of the world but that they would be kept while in the world.

Now the third prayer in John 17 was verse 20, neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. So it was a prayer for all, there's a prayer of inclusion and a prayer for their blessing. As Paul prays here in verse 16, he includes all believers in the world.

Now the Lord of peace himself gave you peace always by all means the Lord be with you all. See that, it's inclusive. He has in mind the blessing of all the believers and what a tremendous thing that is to think of it.

There was conflict all around and these dear believers were under persecution, it was pressing heavily upon them, they were a young church, young converts, and there's this distress in the assembly that has come not only from wrong teaching but there was a man that was acting disorderly in chapter 3 and so there was the possibility that that young church would be disrupted and they would be further distressed not only from without but also from these circumstances that were in. How will this be countered? Well Paul's going to pray for them and that's good, we need to pray for one another. What is he going to pray? Notice how he approaches it here in verse 16, now the Lord of peace himself, not a beautiful title of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of peace himself, the one who has faced already the horror of Calvary, the one who on that night as he was leaving his own he said my peace I give unto you the Lord of peace himself, himself, not an angel, himself, that one who was once down here, that one who is now even now touch with a feeling of our infirmity for he was in all points tempted like as we are and the book of Hebrews will bring before us the great truth that he brings his high priestly ministry to bear his sympathy to bear upon us as he handles our case.

He is interested in every circumstance that we might face in life and he is able, he is able to succor, he's able to intercede, he's able to bear us up and when he prayed in John 17 he had you and I in mind too, didn't he? Not for these only he says but for they also which shall believe on me through their ministry and that comes right down to our day, that comes right down to every believer in this room. How good to know the Lord has prayed for us and he intercedes still and Paul prayed for these dear believers and he says the Lord be with you all. So he doesn't pray that they would be delivered out of the trials but rather that they would know the Lord's presence, the Lord of peace himself while they are in the trial and so he says that he would give you peace always in the sense is at all times and by all means in every way at all times, times, the times that was the issue at the in the assembly at Thessalonica wasn't it both in the first epistle and in the second epistle, the times that they were going through.

The first epistle they thought that those who had died had missed out on the rapture, the second epistle those that are living they thought I'd missed out on the rapture and they were in the tribulation, the times but the Lord of peace himself give you peace always at all times and by all means. How will that happen? He says the Lord be with you all, he includes all the saints. I would take it that would even include the disruptive man too, chapter 3. How will he be restored? Well he'll be restored if the Lord of peace is with him just on a practical note as you and I pray for one another you know there's some things and sometimes there's battles that you can't win and it doesn't matter what you say it's going to be wrong or what you do it's going to be wrong, going to be interpreted wrong.

How do you handle that? How do you pray for a brother or sister in that sort of situation? Well why not just pray for their spiritual blessing and leave that with the Lord, let the Lord deal with it. Pray for their positive spiritual blessing that they might know the Lord of peace in their everyday experience and life because if they come into the good of that they'll be easy to live with, won't they? Praying for their spiritual blessing if they have the mind of Christ as we've been hearing from Philippians chapter 2 and if we have the mind of Christ well then there'll be harmony by definition, it'll be automatic. So we pray for one another and I thought of the of the Lord Jesus in this connection of being the Lord of peace you remember the disciples in the storm and here comes the Lord walking on the sea and if you were to interpret that he's the one that has overcome the world, he overcomes the storm, he overcomes the sea but he went to them and he went up onto them into the ship and when his presence was known in the ship the wind ceased, the wind ceased.

He's the master of the storms, he's the Lord of peace, he's the Lord of peace and all is calm and all is peaceful when he, the Lord of peace himself, when he is with you. That's Paul's prayer. We can pray that for one another as well and as we've been reminded we need one another, we should pray for one another that we might be counted each one worthy of the kingdom, counted worthy.

We can pray that we will be comforted with his presence. We can pray that we might each one know the calm of knowing that the Lord of peace is with us and that will be the answer to difficulties that might arise and to even the difficulties that arise in life from within. The Lord bless his word to us.