Sunday Sermon Outline: The People of Lawlessness

The People of Lawlessness
2 Thessalonians 2


Introduction: 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:3


2 Thessalonians 2, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
     5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
     13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”


I. Delusion vs. 10-12
     "... and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness."


Psalm 119:97, 119, 127, 159, 163, 165; Matthew 5:6; 7:26; 24:24


     “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
     “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light [15] Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).


II. Deliverance vs. 13-15
     “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”


     “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).


Isaiah 35:8


     “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! [2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. [3] He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. [4] The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. [5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. [6] For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1).




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Sunday Sermon Outline: Spiritual Persistence

“Spiritual Persistence”
Luke 11:5-26

I. Our Persistent Prayer vs. 5-10
     “Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and from inside he shall answer and say, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.”

     Luke 11:1, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
     Luke 11:4, “Lead us not into temptation.”
     Luke 18:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:13

II. God’s Persistent Care vs. 11-13
     “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"”

     Acts 2:38; 5:32
     John 14:23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."
     Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.”
     1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

III. Satan’s Persistent Warfare vs. 14-26
     “[Jesus] was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came about that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." 16 And others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 But He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
     “21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed; 22 but when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied, and distributes his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. 24 When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' 25 And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."”

     Luke 11:29-30, “the crowds were increasing, [and Jesus] began to say, ‘This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation.’”
     2 Peter 2:19b-20, “… for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”

Conclusion: Romans 6:16, “when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.”
     Jude 1:16-21, this world is full of “grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. 17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, "In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”


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Sunday Sermon Outline: The Parable of the Dinner

The Parable of the Dinner


Introduction: Luke 14:16-24, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; [17] and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ [18] But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ [19] Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ [20] Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ [21] And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ [22] And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ [23] And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. [24] For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’” 
     Luke 14:1, “He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread.”


I. Exalting Self v. 7
     “He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table.”


II. Picking Favorites v. 12
     “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.”
     "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).


III. Choosing Real Fellowship vs. 21, 23
     "Go out …"
     “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6)
     Hebrews 5:12, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
     “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
     Matthew 21:31-32, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. [32] For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”


Conclusion: “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” [31] It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:29-31).




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