Word + Walk: Can You Feel It?
Apr. 12
Written By Christopher Stephens
✝️ Sermon Recap: Can You Feel It?
Text: 2 Thessalonians 1
Big Idea: God, through Paul, lets the church at Thessalonica know that He is pleased with their endurance, maturing faith, and increasing love in the middle of pressure. Their suffering is not proof of God’s absence but evidence that they belong to His kingdom. The world’s resistance is not a sign of failure. It is participation in Christ. The church must be found persevering, maturing, and living in light of the “already” and the “not yet.”
Hello? (2 Thess. 1:1–2)
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are not just opening a letter. They are speaking to a church that belongs to God in the middle of a hard time.
The church is the body of believers who see Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and have been called out to go back into the world.
Paul gives them grace and peace, reminding them that God’s favor and steadiness are still theirs even in persecution.
For the child of God, suffering is not proof that God has left.
It is often participation in the suffering of Christ.
He Took His Call, Theirs, & Yours Seriously (2 Thess. 1:3–4)
Paul takes seriously what God called him to do, and he takes seriously what God is doing in them.
He thanks God because their faith is growing and their love for one another is increasing.
A church ought to be known for maturing faith and deepening love.
Faith is not just head knowledge. It is living out what God has revealed.
Love matters because the church is meant to be a safe haven for one another in a hostile world.
We point each other back to God through Christ Jesus.
Paul boasts about them because they are standing firm in spite of persecutions and afflictions.
“The one who is maturing in their faith desires to know more of God through His word and relationship. They begin to sin less and are deeply grieved with the fewer sins that they commit. They will often see themselves as the “Chief of sinners”. They find peace from being and outcast in knowing their lives mirror that of Christ, suffering included.”
-C.W. Stephens
Can You Feel It? (2 Thess. 1:5–10)
Paul wants the church to know that suffering for the kingdom is not strange.
The world is supposed to feel foreign to the people of God.
Being rejected by the world is not a sign that God has abandoned you.
It is often evidence that you belong to Him.
This world is not our home.
God is just, even when justice feels delayed, and one day He will settle every score.
Jesus is coming again, not only to bring relief to His afflicted people, but also to judge those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel.
The gospel is not just something to know about.
It is something that calls for response.
The Prayer (2 Thess. 1:11–12)
Paul does not merely explain suffering. He prays for faithful endurance through it.
He prays that God would make them worthy of His calling.
He prays that every resolve for good and every work of faith would be fulfilled by God’s power.
The goal is not for believers to survive with their name intact. The goal is that the name of Jesus would be glorified in them.
The church must be patient, bold, growing, and unwavering in the time between Christ’s victory and Christ’s return.
We must feel the unfamiliarity of this world without forgetting the certainty of the world to come.
We must mature in faith, increase in love, and remain sensitive to the reality that we are living between the already and the not yet.
A Prayer for Us Today
Dear heavenly Father,
I pray that you would allow the body of Christ who is hearing this prayer to know that you are a loving God. To not neglect the fact that while victory is already yours, there is a time in between that time in which we as your people, wearing the moniker of your Son Jesus the Christ must patiently, boldly, and with growth endure. Let us be unwavering as the people of Thessalonica were. Let our faith mature. By faith Lord we understand that it is not just head knowledge but that which we apply from what we glean from you. Bless us to be obedient to your will. To live in opposition to the way of this world. Lord, help us to grow in our love for each other, as we are a safe haven and a source of strength for those who are alien in this time and this world. Lord use us for your purposes in this city, in this time. Let us be a conduit that points to your saving grace and the relationship that you would have the whole world to have with you through Jesus. Let us play the background while Jesus remain front and center. When the world begins to applaud us, let us point back to you. When they notice and praise our children, let us point back to you. When we receive accolades, pay raises, and new career opportunities, let us point back to you Lord. Lord help our sensitivity to the reality of this time be always present. Help us to feel the unfamiliarity of this world while at the same time feeling the reality of the already and the “Not Yet”. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen!
🙏 Walk It Out: 5-Day Devotional
Day 1 – Grace and Peace in Hard Places
📖 2 Thessalonians 1:1–2
Walk It Out: Where have you assumed that hardship means God’s favor has left you? Write down one burden you are carrying and thank God that His grace and peace are still available in the middle of it.
Day 2 – Is Your Faith Growing?
📖 2 Thessalonians 1:3; James 2:17
Walk It Out: Ask yourself honestly: Is my faith merely informed, or is it being lived? Identify one area where God has already shown you what to do. Obey Him there today.
Day 3 – A Safe Haven Church
📖 2 Thessalonians 1:3–4; Galatians 6:2
Walk It Out: Think of one believer who may be weary, isolated, or discouraged. Reach out to strengthen them. Offer prayer, encouragement, or practical help that points them back to Christ.
Day 4 – This World Is Not Your Home
📖 2 Thessalonians 1:5–7; Philippians 3:20
Walk It Out: What part of this world has been pulling too hard on your heart? Name the idol, comfort, or cultural pressure. Then pray, “Lord, train my heart to long for Your kingdom more than this world’s approval.”
Day 5 – The Gospel Demands a Response
📖 2 Thessalonians 1:8–12; Romans 1:16; Romans 6:3–4
Walk It Out: The gospel is not something to admire from a distance. It calls for response. Repent where needed, obey where needed, and recommit yourself to living for the glory of Jesus this week.
🗣️ Adult Bible Class & Family Discussion Questions
What does Paul’s greeting teach us about the identity of the church?
Follow-up: How does knowing we are “in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” reshape how we see ourselves?
2 Thessalonians 1:1–2; 1 Peter 2:9–10; Ephesians 2:19–22
Why does Paul thank God for their faith and love instead of merely complimenting them?
Follow-up: What does that teach us about who deserves credit for spiritual growth?
2 Thessalonians 1:3; Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 3:6–7
What does it mean for faith to be “growing abundantly”?
Follow-up: How can you tell the difference between knowing truth and living truth?
2 Thessalonians 1:3; James 1:22; James 2:14–17; Hebrews 5:12–14
Why must love for one another increase in a suffering church?
Follow-up: In what ways should the church function as a safe haven in a hostile world?
2 Thessalonians 1:3–4; Galatians 6:2; John 13:34–35; Romans 12:10
How does spiritual maturity in sin differ from spiritual maturity in Christ?
Follow-up: What are the warning signs that someone is growing numb to sin?
Ephesians 4:19; Romans 1:21–22, 28; John 3:19–20; Psalm 119:9–11
Why does Paul say their suffering is evidence of God’s righteous judgment?
Follow-up: How can persecution actually confirm kingdom identity instead of disprove it?
2 Thessalonians 1:5; Matthew 5:10–12; Romans 8:17; Philippians 1:29
What does it mean to live in the “already and not yet”?
Follow-up: How does that help believers endure seasons where justice feels delayed?
2 Thessalonians 1:6–7; Romans 8:18–25; Hebrews 10:35–37; Revelation 21:1–5
What is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God?
Follow-up: How does obedience to the gospel show that a person truly knows Him?
2 Thessalonians 1:8; John 17:3; Matthew 7:21–23; Romans 6:17–18
Why is Jesus’ return both comforting and sobering in this passage?
Follow-up: Which side of His return have people in our culture tried to ignore most?
2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Acts 17:30–31; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 19:11–16
What does Paul pray for at the end of the chapter?
Follow-up: How would your life look different this week if your greatest goal was for Jesus to be glorified in you?
2 Thessalonians 1:11–12; Colossians 1:9–12; Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 4:11
📄 Scripture Reference List
2 Thessalonians 1
Acts 17:1–9
Ephesians 4:19
Romans 1:21–22, 28
John 3:19–20
James 1:22; 2:14–17
Galatians 6:2
Philippians 1:29; 3:20
Matthew 5:10–12
Romans 8:17–25
Hebrews 10:35–37
John 17:3
Romans 6:3–4, 17–18
Colossians 1:9–12
1 Peter 4:11