To dry up

Lesson #3 pages 10-12

We read the following in II Thessalonians 1:

1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

We have determined that Paul – Silas – and Timothy are three men who are laboring (or working) to help establish and strengthen a local New 

Testament Church (NTC) in the city of Thessalonica . . . which

we have learned is a sea port city that is comprised (made up of) several different nationalities (Jewish, Greek and Roman) citizens . . . 

So the church that was located in this city was not much different than the modern day church which you and I attend today . . . 

Often our fellow church-members are today also from varied backgrounds and even from different countries - But even though we come from different places we are all united here for only ONE purpose – and that purpose is to honor the God of our salvation.

The concerns that the apostle Paul had regarding this ancient church – might well be the same type of concerns that Paul would have for our church today if he were alive and communicating with us by letter (or email).

The church in this city that was located in ancient Greece, has been defined for us as one that has the same type of foundation which our present churches have . . . 
 
The author of this letters begins . . . the church “in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ . . .” the local church of The New Testament (NTC) is built by God’s POWER not man's power.

Today the church to which we belong is a church that is also IN GOD – which means that we only exist through God’s power –and not by way of our own intelligence or our own strength.

The local church of The New Testament has been founded (established) upon God’s Son JESUS CHRIST . . . and the church to which we belong

today has also been established (or based/built) upon this same Jesus – 

To have "such a foundation" as this tells us that the only way that our local church can be “over powered” is for God’s power to be "insufficient" to protect us – and for Jesus Himself to fail . . . 

Now we have all known of “churches” that no longer exist – in fact this church of the Thessalonians can no longer be found as a "functioning local NTC" . . . 

Does this mean that God’s POWER failed them – and does this mean that Satan overcame Jesus Christ?

No – what this means is that the particular church at this specific location just "dried up on the vine" . . . people moved out of the community . . . there was a lack of interest among the younger generation - and when the "old 

people" died - the church died with them.  

Because this particular church is no longer "alive" - does not mean that there are no longer religious organizations in the city of Thessalonica - what it means is that "religion" has replaced Christianity.

The PURPOSE of the local church of The New Testament is to glorify GOD and not to glorify man.  You see what often happens to a local NTC

is that even though Satan cannot overpower The Truth by way of a direct frontal attack . . . 

he can introduce the disease of "false teaching" . . . It is true that Satan cannot overcome Jesus Christ and destroy the Lords’ church . . . but Satan CAN and DOES attack the individual lives of the church-members . . .

Now if THE PURPOSE of the local church of The New Testament is to glorify God . . . what better way to make this church “dry up” than to deceive the church leaders as to the REAL PURPOSE of a local NTC . . .

Rev 2: 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

My point here about the church of the Thessalonians having long since dried up – is not to leave the impression that Satan fought against God and gained control so that he destroyed the Lord's church . . .

My point is - that Satan wages a war in the personal lives of every single child of God who loves God’s Truth.

1Pe 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

It is simply not conceivable for Satan to overcome the POWER of God . . . it is just not possible to think that Satan could destroy (tear down) that organization which has been built upon Jesus Christ {referring to the NTC}.

Mt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock (not upon you but upon MYSELF – the rock of ages) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

So when a church "dries up" – this does not mean that the gates of hell have prevailed over Christ . . . what it means is that Satan has won a victory in

the lives of those church-members who NO LONGER love Jesus Christ as they once did . . . 

Notice Rev 2:4 and 5 . . . Jesus tells this church that she has "left her first love" and that unless she repents – Jesus will leave her (remove her candlestick) . . . 

So a church that fails - is never defeated by the power of Satan – a church that fails is defeated from WITHIN . . . and this occurs when "the church-member" no longer has a desire to be separate from the world – but instead she has a desire to PART OF the world – 

this is exactly what it means to “leave your first love” . . . and if this was enough to motivate Jesus to “divorce” the church of Ephesus – it will also be enough to motivate Jesus to “divorce” our church as well . . . 

As we consider these thoughts – I simply want to establish for us the attitude of heart that is necessary for worship to “take the place” of religion - so that we might remain true to our first love Jesus Christ . . .

Luke 17: 9  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. 

God does not owe any man a debt of gratitude for services rendered as a Christian . . .

Ec 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. 

When (as God’s children) we have done that which is our duty to do – our attitude should rightfully be that “we are unprofitable servants”.

It is essential that (as children of God) – that we should constantly be aware of the fact that “to be saved” does not mean that are NOT GUILTY . . .

To be saved means that we have been FORGIVEN - it will never mean that we are innocent . . . 

if we have been saved - the only difference between us and the lost man "in hell" is that even though we have committed the SAME CRIME "we" have been pardoned – while he has refused God’s pardon.
 

The man who realizes the true meaning of being “set free” from the burden/bondage of this guilt - is the man who forsakes "religion" – and spends his life offering worship to God.  

Religion is something that we practice or something that we DO . . . it is an activity that is accomplished . . . 

while worship is something that we offer in the form of a (sacrifice) as we "give our lives away" regarding the sacrifice of SELF WILL so that we might accomplish GOD’S will.

Until next time . . . try to think of ways that we can separate "being religious" from being a Christian.

Remember and worship

II Thessalonians – lesson #2

1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

This letter was written to a Local NTC in the ancient city of Thessalonica – located in modern day Greece . . . if we let them - the things which Paul

wrote to strengthen this church in ancient Greece – will also strengthen our local church today . . . and if we let them - the warnings from Paul of 

things which would hinder the worship of this church in Thessalonica – are warnings that we should also consider today - as things to avoid in our local church as well . . .

Now the very idea of “a church” – brings to us at once to the concept of worship . . . after all “a church” is considered to be a house of worship –

but . . . Have you ever wandered just exactly what the term “worship” actually means . . . How do we worship – What do we worship – When do we worship – What is the purpose of worship?

Worship is a commandment from God that has been given to man . . the “concept” of worship is clearly implied in the first of the TEN Commandments.

Ex 20: 1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

The first of the Ten Commandments is given in verse 3 which follows . . . but these first two verses are important because it is here that God clearly defines who HE is (He is our deliver) and He also clearly defines who We are . . .

We are (the ones that have been delivered) we were once in bondage – but God set us free . . .

This knowledge of what God has done for us - is to be the very basic foundation of our worship . . . if we refuse to humble ourselves before God – if we

refuse to see that we are “in bondage” to sin – and that God is our only hope of deliverance – then we will never submit to the commandments (that

actually set the stage for our PROPER worship of God).  Previously we have mentioned “our rule of faith and practice” as it relates to worship . . . It is

IN the first few of the TEN Commandments that God teaches us WHAT to worship – HOW to worship – and WHO to worship . . . as well as teaching us the

 CONSEQUENCES of worship . . . and the consequences of NOT worshiping.  Commandment #1 is that as a TRUE worshipper God commands that . . . we only serve HIM and no other . . .

Ex 20: 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God commands those whom He has delivered from bondage to REMEMBER that without Him – they would still BE in bondage . . .

This is the answer to the question of WHO we should worship . . . God commands that we worship ONLY the God that set us free from the

bondage of sin . . . the implication being – that if we have NOT been set free from the guilt of our sins through salvation – then we cannot offer 

proper worship to a God that we have refused to obey because of our unbelief.  The purpose of Ex 20: 1-2 is to establish 1) Who to worship and 2) the REASON for worship.

The WHO is for us to Worship the God that saved your soul – and the REASON for this worship – is to basically advertise to the world that we 

are not the least bit ashamed of God and we are not the least bit ashamed of what God has done for us from a spiritual perspective . . .

Pride is a funny creature – we are not too proud to say in public that God blessed us with good health – or that God blessed us with a new car . . . 

but we are often ashamed to say that God {through faith in Jesus and repentance of our sins} has blessed us spiritually with his salvation . . .

Human pride {in regard to the concept of worship} is similar to a man who is dying with Cancer – who upon being treated by a Doctor – refuses to 

give any credit to the Doctor . . . but claims to have cured himself by changing his diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle . . . religion is 

something that has been designed for the man who thinks that he is able to help God “save him” by changing his lifestyle and turning over a new leaf and becoming involved in the community

– while genuine “Christian Worship” has been designed for the man who knows that God is his savior - and that as a sinner – “his lifestyle” has

played no part at all in his own salvation – other than to admit his guilt before God – other than seeking God’s forgiveness – and trusting in Jesus FOR that forgiveness . . .

So where does this lesson indicate that you and I are individually - in terms of religion or genuine Christian worship?

What does it mean to each one of us “to be delivered from the bondage of sin” . . . is this something that we think that we could have

eventually accomplished  on our own – or do we understand that without Jesus – we are without any spiritual hope  what-so-ever?

Do we sometimes feel that we have earned a “thank-you” from God in return for all the good that we have done in our religion . . . ?

The world’s perspective of RELIGION is all about the good that WE HAVE DONE . . . while God’s perspective of Worship is all about what JESUS  has done . . . So as we analyze our lives . . .

Do we practice religion (which will honor us) – or do we worship God (which will honor ONLY Jesus Christ)?

You see a true worshiper – a real “right out of the Bible” Christian is defined (not by pride) but by “humility” – the man who worships God is 

a man who denies himself as he hides behind Jesus . . . Because he is a man who is “submissive” unto the will of God . . . the man who is a real 

Christian does not see himself as “doing good” – but rather the Christian sees himself as an UNPROFITABLE servant.  

We mentioned this very thing in our last lesson – it bears repeating because the presence of PRIDE in our heart will totally ruin any attempt that we make to worship God.

Luke 17: 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

So as we consider this concept of worship – can we see the differences that exist between the worship of God through obedience and the worship of ourselves through religion?

The first of the Ten Commandments clearly deals with the worship of the God which saved our souls . . . thou shalt have NO OTHER GODS before me . . .

And the next one is just as clear . . . Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Let’s take just a few moments and look at these two commandments with the idea of comparing religion with Christianity . . .

Religion makes a pretense of worshiping God – but in reality – religion is designed to allow a man to feel good about how much he has helped God.

To have no other gods before me means that worship requires us honor God - and we do this through obedience . . . while religion requires that

we not offend the world with the truth about sin – so religion is where we learn the art of compromise and how to be politically correct - so as to be able to reach a greater number of people with our “religion of 

compromise” . . . is it better to tell a 1000 people a lie that will make them feel better about themselves – than it is to tell a 100 people the truth which they need to hear about how their sins have separated them from God . . .  

Do you see the problem with the compromise of religion?

I think a big new church building is a very good thing – and I also think that “reaching more people” in our church is also a good thing . . .

– but I do not think that hiding part of the truth in an effort to be “less offensive” and attract more people to “our religion” serves any useful purpose at all.

The real unvarnished truth is simply this . . . if your choice of which church to attend is based upon the size of the building or upon all of the “things

that are offered” to engage the youth . . . then this is proof that you have completely left “God and The Truth” out of the equation altogether . . .

The Truth can be taught in an un-air-conditioned tent by an uneducated preacher to a group of individuals who are more concerned about

Worship than they are about entertainment - and who are more concerned about learning more about God than they are concerned about what

everyone will think when they find out that they go to “that kind of a church”

thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them . . .

I am not going to a church that does not provide activities for my children . . . I am not going to a church that does not have a new building . . .

Explain to me how this is any different than bowing down and serving a golden statue (a graven image) as your god?

I will not worship God – unless I can do so on MY TERMS . . . or in a building that do not have to be ashamed of . . . or unless the preacher is 

highly educated . . . unless they a youth program . . . This choice is yours to make . . . but this is religion 101 – this is SELF WORSHIP not GOD worship . . .

I will not worship in a church – where the truth is compromised . . . where entertainment is used to attract . . . where the pride of religion has 

replaced the humility of Christianity . . . once again – this is your choice to make – but you should recognize the difference between Christianity 101 and religion 101.

END Lesson #2

Religion or Christianity

II Thessalonians – lesson #1

1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

1)    A message from . . .

           a)    Paul

           b)   Silvanus

           c)    Timotheus

2)    The recipient (or the audience)

            a)    The church of the Thessalonians

   i)       In God

   ii)    In our Father

   iii)  In the Lord Jesus Christ.

1a) Paul - is the apostle Paul who was saved on the road to Damascus

1b) Silvanus – was also known as SILAS.  It was “Paul and Silas” who were in prison when the Philippian jailor was saved.

1c) Timotheus – or Timothy was a companion of Paul.  Timothy’s mother was a Jew but his father was a Greek.

Paul (in the company of Silas and Timothy) wrote a letter that was to be delivered to the local NTC (New Testament Church) located in the city of Thessalonica

This city of Thessalonica was a seaport – it was formally named Therma and it was inhabited by Greeks, Romans, and Jews.

It was from these different nationalities that the apostle Paul organized a NTC.  And it was to this church that this letter of II Thessalonians was being sent.

2) The church of the Thessalonians was a local NTC similar to our church today.  Their rule of faith and practice was no different than the rule of faith and practice which we follow in our church today.

By “rule of faith and practice” we refer specifically to two things . . . 1) HOW we actually function as a NTC and 2) specifically what we TEACH as a NTC.

Now what this means to our church today – is that the things which Paul taught to this church - also applies to the worship of our church today. 

The things which "strengthened" their worship – will also "strengthen" OUR worship . . . and the things which HINDERED their worship are things which will also hinder our worship.

What Paul taught to this church at Thessalonica - he also teaches to our church as well . . .

2abc) The church of the Thessalonians IN GOD . . . the significance of stating that this church was IN GOD – IN OUR FATHER and IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST is simply that the Truth rests completely in the entirety of the Godhead (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost).

When a man worships God – he worships God the Father – he worships God the Son and he worships God the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit.

I John 2: 22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

Our worship of God – is the way that we honor the entire Trinity . . . The fool has no fear of God’s divine power and justice – but the humble 

servant (the man who desires to be a true worshiper – he) has yielded his heart to God’s will.

The unbelieving have no faith in the power that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ possesses – but the man who believes – the man who has experienced godly sorrow – he understands his guilt – he

recognizes the promise of forgiveness and he trusts in the power of the blood of Jesus to bring this forgiveness into his heart.

Those who are living in rebellion fight against the leadership of God or The Holy Ghost as God’s divine Spirit leads them toward The Truth . . . but 

the man who has fallen in love with Jesus – is a man who allows himself to be lead into all truth.

The whole concept of church and “worship” is GOD centered not man centered.

The NTC was not organized and built to honor man – it was organized and it was built to provide man the means (the way) to properly honor God.

Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

This tells us that there is only one way to bring glory to God . . . and that ONE WAY is in the church that was built not upon man but upon Jesus Christ.

Worship is not to be confused with religion . . . religion is something that centers upon man (or the worshiper) while the true “worship of

Christianity” is something that is focused only upon GOD.  To be a Christian is to “Christ centered” -- in fact the very term CHRISTIAN actually means “like Christ” – so to be a Christian means that our lives and our worship resemble CHRIST . . .  while

the proper definition of being religious is to be SELF centered . . . When we look at religion what we always see is a man (group of men) . . . but

when we look at worship all we are able to see is God . . . For instance – if I asked you if you were religious – what would you say?  

If you said yes I am religious – you would say . . . I know I am religious because of “what I do” . . .  I GO TO CHURCH . . . I know that I

am religious because I DO GOOD THINGS . . . I know that I am religious because I READ MY BIBLE . . .

To say that you are religious – and to prove it . . . you will ALWAYS be required to back-up what you say with an explanation of how YOU have  

DONE something GOOD which puts you in a religious category.  BUT if I were to ask you if you worshiped God “as a Christian” . . . you would

never prove yourself to be "a Christian" by listing all of the “religious activities” that you perform in your life . . .

Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

A true Christian is a man who possesses these fruits of the Spirit in his life . . . a true worshiper is a man who also possesses these same type of fruits.

Love is simply compassion for others – joy describes being happy – peace is brought about by contentment - longsuffering is identified as patience while we wait on God’s promises to be fulfilled – gentleness deals both 

compassion and patience as we handle the emotions of others with care – goodness describes our character – faith describes what motivates us – meekness tells of a willingness to be humble when our position does

not necessarily required us to be – temperance speaks of moderation . . . sort of a mixture of compassion – patience – and justice . . .

These fruits of the spirit do not describe any type of religion – but they DO describe CHRISTIANITY . . . these things have nothing at all to do with any type of “church activities” at all . . . but they have everything to do 

with our heart felt "attitude" toward others . . . and our heart felt "attitude" toward God.

You see a true worshiper – a real Christian is defined by HUMILITY – the man who worships God is a man who denies himself and he is a man 

who is submissive unto God . . . the man who is a real Christian does not see himself as “doing good” – but rather the Christian sees himself as an UNPROFITABLE servant.

Luke 17: 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

This type of submissive and humble attitude is simply NOT ALLOWED in the world of religion – if we perform religious activities we must 

advertise all of the things we have done so that we can prove our claim of religion . . . but if we perform genuine “Christian activities” in our 

worship of God – we are not at liberty to think more of ourselves than we ought to think. 

Even as a saved man/woman -- we are guilty of the blood of God’s only begotten son – and nothing we can do in this life OR in the next life will 

ever be able to change the fact that OUR "PERSONAL" SINS  are what nailed Jesus to the cross.   

If we are saved – it is true that we are forgiven - but it is also true that we are NO LESS guilty than the lost man who will spend his eternity in hell.

So you see – the whole idea of worship “is for a man to admit his own personal guilt” and to set God aside in his life as being so very special that his life is a reflection of the admiration that he has for God.  

End Lesson #1