1 Thessalonians Lesson 4: Tribulation and Faith :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: October 8, 2021 by RR7

Chapter 3: 1-5

“Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, ² and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,³ that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. ⁴For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. ⁵ For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”

Thanks for the responses and emails concerning the last lesson. Wow, it is encouraging to know that people actually read them, and it makes you think enough to write to me.

We continue to see the dangerous growth of socialism and communism in North America. These two philosophies hate Christianity because we are free thinkers, and with the Holy Spirit in us, it is difficult to fool us.

Sadly, as we can see from the last elections, both in the US about a year ago and the Canadian elections a week or so ago, many Christians are blinded and do not have their lives grounded in the Bible. There is no way that these evil, corrupt, and lying leaders could have been elected without the help of many ill-informed or simply rebellious Christians. I recall one young preacher fellow telling myself and others that he was voting for President Biden after much prayer and thinking. Wow! So, God led him to vote for a man who murders babies by the millions. No, God did not. But we hear this over and over.

Last week we explored Paul’s conversation about the persecution that he was suffering at the hands of his own countrymen. In particular, a lot of the Jews hated Paul, they hated the truth, and many of the pagans hated him as well. As more and more people got saved, they had less and less business.

False doctrine and false gods are big business, even today. Right now, right here in Canada, we have at least the Alberta government that is actively trying to shut down one pastor. They have arrested him 3 times, and they seem to target him. But make no mistake; as socialism grows here in Canada, the governmental hatred for Bible-believing Christians will grow at the same rate. Like the Soviet Union, there will be a state-sponsored religion. Even the Anti-Christ will have a religion and a false prophet. The masses need someone or something to believe in, someone or something that transcends themselves.

Before we get into the lesson, let me ask you a question. What if the vaccine mandates are a test run to see who the resistant will be in the event of the Mark of the Anti-Christ? We see hundreds of nurses and doctors who would rather resign or be fired than take a vaccine. What do they know? As well, we are being told that the remaining nurses and doctors are being asked to sign NDA agreements. They are not allowed to talk about what they are seeing. This is not the mark of a free society.

What we do see is that a lot of people will take the vaccine so as to have their lives back; they are not thinking about the long-term effects of this vaccine. They are not making rational decisions; they have been couped up for 20+ months, and the authorities are promising them freedom and a return to ‘normal’ if they get the vaccine. But this is not going to be the case. Governments never give back power once they take it. They will want more and more control of our lives.

Paul left, verses 1

Even the great Apostle Paul got to the point that he could no longer bear the hardships that were being dished out. He left and sent Timothy back. It could be and most likely was that his presence, as the noted missionary, caused pain for the church there in Thessalonica. He was more of a hindrance than a help, as the enemies came for him and caused trouble for the whole group. Timothy was certainly a capable leader and minister, but his presence was not a cause for trouble.

All too often, our spiritual foes think they can stop the movement by cutting off the leaders. They killed Jesus, and that sparked a revival in Jerusalem. They killed Stephen, and that sparked the export of the Gospel to all of Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia Minor. Over and over again, every time one of our enemies attacks, they end up making the Gospel bigger, stronger, and spread far and wide. The Gospel was bigger than Paul. It is bigger than any of us. Timothy was just as capable as Paul to teach and to lead.

This is very, very important for us to know. We preachers, we older preachers, need to prepare young men to take our place when we go. We need to be diligent in mentoring and disciplining these young men to make sure that the Gospel moves ahead when we are gone, no matter the case. We all leave, whether by persecution, death, or a U-Haul. Have we done our best to prepare the next generation to carry the torch? In regard to freedom, I think it was Ronald Reagan that said that losing freedom is only one generation away. It is important to prepare the next generation for the Gospel and freedom. Sadly, those who take freedom for granted are prone to lose it, and it takes a long, long time to get it back.

Timothy Came verses 2-3

Timothy came and did an awesome job. All too often, we all want to be like Paul, the famed Apostle. But there was a faithfulness in Timothy that was priceless. He had been nurtured and prepared by his grandmother and mother with the Word of God, and one day it was his turn to lead. His turn to take this church in Thessalonica that was being persecuted and help to steady her, help ground her in the faith. Remember, Paul was actually here just a short time, a few weeks or a few months at most. It was Timothy who did the grunt work; it was Timothy who stepped into Paul’s big shoes and filled them.

God always has someone to fill the empty shoes; He prepares them and sharpens them for his use; He gets the glory as they do the good work. We should be excited that God is not done; He is still calling men to do the job. Oh, that we would tell the young men that there is no greater calling than the service of the eternal Kingdom! Tell them that fame on earth is temporary, but to be famous with God is eternal. Tell them that the efforts for the Kingdom are eternal. Pray that these young men will find wives that want to make the trip in the ministry with them and that will pray for and support them. Oh, for more Timothies in our day!

Their faith Grew, verse 5

This is what happens when we put God first, no matter what happens. This is what happens when the right spiritual leaders point the people to Jesus and Jesus alone. This is what happens when the Bible and the proper teaching of it are the center and foundation of a local church. Persecution grows the faith of the saved and often weeds out the pretenders.

When we understand that serving the Lord may cost us our lives, it makes us have to make serious choices about serving Jesus. I could not imagine almost 40 years ago, when I landed here from Barbados, that one day serving Jesus may be illegal in Canada. It is not yet, but it is certainly moving that way. The Lord’s churches are the bastions of freedom. We are all about freedom: the freedom to choose, the freedom to forge your future, and to deal with the consequences of those choices. One of the most repeated phrases in the Bible is ‘choose you.’ When God created man in ‘His Image,’ He gave man the freedom of choice and the consequences of that freedom.

We can see that we are getting closer and closer to the end, and that will bring more and more pain for the Lord’s churches. As we get closer and closer, we will see more and more deception, more and more people who claim to work for God but obviously work for the devil himself. These very people will be the ones to pursue us. Remember, the religious leaders killed Jesus, and they killed Stephen. The only hope we have is that we will grow in our faith in these troubles and that we will be more and more secure in Jesus, more and more secure in His Word, more grounded in His promises, and more determined to live faithfully, no matter what. Lord, increase our faith.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)

Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

1 Thess. Lesson 3, Dangers from your Own Countrymen :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by RR7

Chapter 2:10-20

“You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; ¹¹ as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, ¹² that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. ¹³, For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.

“For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, ¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, ¹⁶ forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. ¹⁷ But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁸ Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. ¹⁹ For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? ²⁰ For you are our glory and joy.”

Over the past few weeks, we have seen stark changes to the political and relationship landscape here in North America. As one of my dear friends put it, “Who would have imagined that we would be seeing the rise of communism in America in our lifetime?” He is right, and the fruit of this terrible philosophy is death, lots of death to those that stand for the truth and freedom. The Gospel, however, is still unchanged, and people’s need for the Gospel is unchanged. Jesus is still in charge, and the plan for the New Millennium is moving forward unabated. It is more and more important that we, God’s children, keep our focus on the promises and plans that the Lord has for us in His word, His Holy Bible. This is the only security that we have.

As we continue our look in Thessalonians, I pray that you are growing in Jesus and allowing Him to change you as the Holy Spirit forms Christ in us. Paul is encouraging this church to endure, last time we looked at the Gospel, and it is that Gospel that is the very foundation of all we have in Jesus. It does not need to be redone, redefined, or repackaged. It needs to be shared over and over again; Jesus is the only name whereby we must be saved. Don’t get off track, don’t get off message, and don’t get into arguments; state the truth in love and let the Holy Spirit do His work.

Today, we will look more into this letter, and we will see that one of the things that are associated with the Gospel is danger. We have been, well, at least I have been, spoiled here in North America to have been able to serve the Lord in relative comfort and without much risk to me, my family, or the life that I live, and I live a very good one. But that, it would appear, is changing right before our eyes. At times, I feel like a guy stuck on a train track; the train is coming, and I can’t get off. Maybe you feel the same way as well.

Let us take a look at Paul’s words to this church.

Walk Worthy of the Lord, verse 12

Paul did not say to walk worthy if the circumstances are good and things are going your way. No, simply walk worthy of the Lord. The idea is this: what does your walk in this life say to others about how God is to you, and who He is in your life? The Lord is Holy; we should be. The Lord kind; we should be. The Lord is loving; we should be. The Lord is merciful; we should be. The Lord was, at times, brutally honest; we should be as well, at times. The Lord was faithful; we should be. On and on we can go, but you can see the picture clearly. Jesus put it this way: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

No matter the circumstances, even when no one but God is looking, do what is right. In the time that Paul was speaking, the Roman government was still in charge, and they were a pagan government. They did not like Christians, and somewhere in the middle of the first century, Christianity would become illegal. Yet, these Thessalonians were called to walk, to live worthy of Jesus. We are now living in a time when Christianity in North America is coming under attack more and more. There are restrictions on free speech and on what we can say about certain people and actions. If one would be technical, there are some parts of the Bible that would be deemed as hate speech.

Do not let the way that you are treated determine how you live. Seek the Word of God, love the Word of God, read the Word of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to control you. God is still in control, and I know that it does not feel that way often, but He is.

The 4th Commandment tells us not to take the name of the Lord in vain. A few years ago, listening to a Jewish man talk about this, a better rendering should have been ‘don’t carry the name of the Lord in vain.’ Don’t use the name of the Lord to do evil and to do harm. This does not mean that you cannot stand for your rights as a citizen. Paul did; he was the first to point out that he was a Roman citizen when his rights as a citizen were impeded. But he did so with respect for the authority and in a godly way. But he stood nonetheless. We need to find these ways in our modern time, or our children will never know the freedoms that we all too often take for granted.

Danger from our Countrymen, verse 14

I heard the Gospel freely as a child. I was saved as a young man via a Billy Graham-style crusade in my little Barbados. My mom was saved at a Billy Graham crusade many, many moons ago. Just a few years ago, I was part of a Franklin Graham crusade here in Toronto that saw the Gospel preached freely to thousands and thousands. The very church that I grew up in was started by the BIMI mission out of the US. I have countless friends that are missionaries all over the world, men and their wives most often, who left the US and went to parts far and wide to freely share the Gospel.

What I am trying to show you is that the Gospel has been freely exported from the US to the world for decades going back to when my mom was saved as a young lady in Barbados. She is about to turn 88 in a month. Yet, here we are, and the Gospel is under attack in the US. The free speech that fostered the growth and expansion of the Gospel is being taken away, and the very Bible that we hold dear is hated.

Paul told the people in Thessalonica that, like him, like Jesus, they would face dangers from their own countrymen. The very people that they loved – that they would pray for and endeavor to share the Gospel with – would be their mortal enemies. We should understand that today even more.

There are people, and the number is growing, that hate Christianity, hate the values of family and love that we hold to. Hate the fact that we refuse to budge on the fact that Jesus is the only way. We refuse to tolerate other religious beliefs as valid; we love the people but cannot condone or agree with their beliefs.

Today, someone pointed out that a ‘Faith Center’ was being built in Europe, and I had not heard of it. I did a bit of research and came across an article from February 2021. In it, the author said that on May 27th this year, there was a ceremony to lay a foundational stone in Berlin to a place called ‘The House of One,’ the fruit of TEN (10) years of planning to build a faith worship center for Muslims, Jews and Christians to worship together. The price tag is 47 billion Euros. Wow, that is a lot of money! But more importantly, how can Muslims and Jews worship the same God? How can Christians and Muslims worship together? The answer is that true Christians cannot. Thus, we will be the enemy. We will be the enemy of tolerance and the enemy of peace, and on and on.

Our own countrymen will be our greatest enemies; we are seeing that right now. The vaxxed versus the unvaxxed, two classes. One is for the people, they say, and the other is a danger to the people. The world is being conditioned to seeing the non-conformers as dangerous. We who defy the new One-World Religion will be the enemy. God help us. In verse 16 above, Paul tells us that they were forbidden to preach the Gospel, and we will be too one day. That day is coming sooner than you think. Can you imagine the greatest exporter of the Gospel in the last century, the USA, making the Gospel illegal? Once again, God help us.

Satan hinders our face-to-face fellowship, verse 18

Man, this hit me. I have dear brothers and sisters in the US that I love dearly, and we have not had the privilege of face-to-face fellowship for 2 years or more. We have had limited face-to-face time here as well, even among our churches. We are just getting back to that, and I am sure that they will find a way to stop us once again. Satan hates the fellowship of true Christians. We talk about Jesus, we love one another, and we encourage one another to overcome the obstacles and trials of life. We pray for each other and carry each other, and we are able to comfort one another with a hug, or a hand on the back, or just to sit in silence and hope together.

Jesus warns us in Hebrews 10:25 not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves together,” but He adds, “the more we see the day approaching.”

The Last Day, that day is in front of us. We see the One-World Religion HQ being built, the global laws that affect all people. Once free countries are locked down, and the unrest is loud and being heard. Sooner rather than later, the crackdown will come, and these voices will be silenced. The framework for a global vaccine is the foundation for the Mark that is coming. A mark that can be traced and followed to where you are, know with whom you associate, and allow or deny you access to places. Satan is working hard to bring about his last stand against Jesus. We are seeing it; we have front row seats, and we can have confidence that God is in control. He told us what would be happening, and it is.

Look up; our redemption is very, very close. Sadly, a lot of Christians are not blind per se but have a cloudy vision.

Do you know Jesus as your Saviour? Today is the day, that day to be saved. We can see the end clearer than any generation before us, and the time to take advantage of the Gospel is now.