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Tag: wolf

Not ME – the deception of SIN
“Not me,” we boastfully sang out as children.

We gleefully sang each verse of the children’s song so familiar we knew the continuous scratches in our 45 rpm record. Who’s afraid of the BIG BAD WOLF? — a story also told on our little black and white television and eventually in living color by Walt’s colorful characters. (We knew the story and song by heart.)

“Who’s afraid of the BIG BAD WOLF?” Not me.
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Who's afraid of the big bad wolf,
the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf,
"Who's afraid of the BIG BAD WOLF?"  
[then 5 familiar notes of melody during which we sang out: 
NOT MEEEE!]
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I’m not even certain ANY version of the song from “The Three Pigs” even included our unanimous care-free response of each little pig; but my sister, brother and I all knew where the story was headed.

A Father’s Letter to his Gentile Children

Now you’re probably wondering what a children’s song has to do with the Apostle Paul.

(I’ll make the connection before the last verse of his letter (so to speak) as we suddenly discover a HOT TOPIC for the church.)

In the year of our Lord 49 to A.D. 51

As the Apostle Paul nears completion of a Second Missionary Journey he sends a letter to a church back in Macedonia from where the Apostle to the gentiles had been forced to flee. Paul’s heart for these new believers looks back to Christ’s love in them.

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.
First letter from Paul, Silas and Timothy to the Thessalonian church 2:7

Thessalonica

The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians
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What do you do when travelling away from home and separated from loved ones? We do our best to communicate at a distance, (before hand-held phones) traditionally by letter.

Again, from Corinth, the year ~ A.D. 51 
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These new believers in Christ Jesus in Macedonia receive communication from Paul, a father to them in the faith. Silvanus we know familiarly as Silas and their young protoge Timothy has been their trusted courier and also a pastor to believers in distant towns.

[READ 1 Thessalonians 3 for details that complete the ACTS journey to Athens.]

Like any good father the Apostle encourages and also exhorts these young believers to maintain their new-found righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

.. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
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Is this not what every child wants to hear from its father? 

'Well done, good and faithful young follower of Christ' 

Even in other parts of Macedonia and HERE IN CORINTH ACHAIA the Thessalonian faith has become an example to others.

The Apostle then recounts their struggles in other cities.
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2: ²But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. ³For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive…
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Remember this, and remember the big bad wolf who will knock at our door later.
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5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.

Three Weeks in Thessalonica- Acts 17

Opposition to the Gospel in Philippi and then Thessalonica

We are proud of you

11 For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
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CHILD of God, Christ is at work in YOU.
Good job, son! Well done, daughter.
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14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind..

but Satan hindered us
- DO YOU BELIEVE IN SATAN?
  - “Not me,” will be the response of many 21st century claimants of Christ.
- Yet the Lord Jesus AND Paul both include along with the Gospel warnings about the fallen angel Satan who huffs and puffs at the door of faith of every Christ follower.
.. we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.
1 Thessalonians 2:18 διότι ἠθελήσαμεν ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ μὲν Παῦλος καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς καὶ ἐνέκοψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς ESV

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.

Furthermore then we beseech you..
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Many long-time servants of the Lord Jesus may detect a certain fatherly embrace of Paul opening his arms to his Thessalonian children of the faith. 

The more formal quaintness of the King James Version perhaps captures the Apostle's love for these saints best.
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Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians 4:1 KJV

(Some may even recall familiar and more formal prayers of your own childhood in Christ simply at hearing the plea,

WE BESEECH YOU.
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A General Thanksgiving (from the A.D. 1928 Anglican Prayer Book)

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men; We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

 And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may he unfeignedly thankful: and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
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NEXT: from Thessalonians 4-5 – WARNINGS

to the children of the Lord facing that Big Bad Wolf, who disguises himself as light while he huffs and puffs at the saints approaching the narrow door of eternal life.
July 13, 2023
The Time Is Near For Our Church – Ephesus
The Revelation of Jesus Christ

John to the seven churches

Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus…

“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Christ, our risen Lord and Savior holds in His right hand the angels of the churches. Christ, our returning Lord and Savior stands in the presence of His golden churches – the believers to be taken-up along with those who have gone before us.

Yet each letter to the churches is specific to a group of believers: praise for faithfulness and call to continued faith. For not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will be taken-up. Not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will stand as a light of witness as a lampstand on His right. For some will be separated to the King’s left and He will say of those who did not glimmer with the light of Jesus, “I never knew you.”

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:46 KJV

Therefore: The warnings for the seven churches are addressed to the saints of every generation until the last.

You with ears to hear, let the scripture of Revelation speak to your eternal soul.

EPHESUS

Maps change. Borders change. Buildings rise and fall. Nations rise and fall. Ephesus, like any other place on the map of this temporal world has changed over the years. Do not make the mistake of thinking of these letters to seven churches as being to “places.” These are letters which address some specific issues of faith encountered by the people of the churches.

What does not change is people. We are sinners: no matter where we live; no matter when we live… or die: we are sinners.

Into any part of this world, whether you call it Turkey (21st c.), Greece (BC), or Asia, as written in the Book of Revelation: enter Jesus Christ and every decaying building and dying man has new meaning.

The population of Ephesus at the time of John was about 200,000 people. Over the centuries control of this area of Asia moved between east and west: Rome and Persia (among others).

We know that wars and time will cause Nations and buildings to stand no more. We know that we live in a flesh even more temporary than these. Yet the message of the Gospel from the first century until the 21st and to the Last Day endures.

The people of Ephesus and the people of Pen Argyl (where I live) are essentially the same: we are sinners with the certain hope of resurrection in Christ Jesus. Yet the warnings for Pennsylvanians or Ephesians, for Romans or Americans, for men and women of any city, in any state, in any country and in any time until now is: follow Jesus Christ as your Lord. He IS and will return.

Into our individual cultures and local towns we must BE the CHURCH. We must BE HIS SAINTS, or have our lampstand removed.

We have nowhere to stand without Jesus.

Each Christian in every Church must shine a light for Christ Jesus.

Our choice is Eternal Life and Light OR Death, Darkness and the punishment we deserve for our many sins.

Revelation 2:

To the Church in Ephesus

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

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This is all High Praise from our Lord. Take note. These are good things for our church to continue. These are good things for us to continue.
- Patient endurance.
- Do not put up with those who are evil (and we know many who are evil).
Here’s one a 21st c. seeker-friendly church might miss:
- “… tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
When was the last time you, a fellow saint of your church, or even a church leader challenged ANY to find them to be FALSE christians?

I’m not talking about those seeking to repent, change, and grow in Christ Jesus. Our Lord challenges the church to identify the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29

Some of us in what WE, ourselves listen to, read or watch as ‘christian teaching’ need discernment to recognize wolves in the shepherd’s clothing of the pulpit.

IF you see no cross of sacrifice; IF Jesus is going to do something for you, IF ‘god’ wants you to have it NOW, beware.

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4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

Some of you have been born again in the Holy Spirit. Do you remember when you were first on fire for the Lord?

Acts 4: 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Our Lord exhorts the church to continue in our boldness for returning to the love we had for for Jesus and for His Gospel at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

UNLESS YOU REPENT!

Heaven OR Hell? That’s really the consequence of repentance or disobedience, isn’t it?

Why would Jesus keep a lampstand for our diminishing flicker after our wick has burnt dry?

Our Lord closes His specific cautions to the church at Ephesus with an encouragement, as so often the Letters of the Apostles encourasge us.

6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Again, recall that the warnings were to a specific church with specific challenges, just like your church or my church. The works of the Nicolaitans are unknown with certainty (perhaps warning enough for false teaching).

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Hear the cautions for our Church. NEXT: Smyrna
October 1, 2013