SATAN IS OUT TO SHAKE YOU UP

Christians who are Holy Spirit-filled will be able to work through times of emotional drama in their lives.
(Notes from August 2 2009 message)
Paul's Cure for a Dysfunctional Church

Vs. 18 “We want to come to you.” 18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. 1 Thess 2:18)

It’s the Elders’ desire to bring people in the church to a fuller spiritual life. We desire to see our people grow in their spiritual life. Paul wanted to evaluate spiritual needs. If they were growing, teach them more. Lead them, mother them, father them.

I believe there is in these passages in I Thessalonians, Paul’s cure for a dysfunctional church. And why there are so many

Dysfunctional - Definition: (A cultural term, not a biblical term)

1. relating badly: characterized by an inability to function emotionally or as a social unita dysfunctional familydysfunctional behavior


2. not performing as expected: failing to perform an expected functiona dysfunctional bureaucracy
   
   Satan hindered us -- On a different occasion "the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Jesus" (so the oldest manuscripts read), Ac 16:6, 7 forbad or hindered them in a missionary design; here it is Satan, acting perhaps by wicked men, some of whom had already driven him out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:13-14) compare John 13:27, or else by some more direct "messenger of Satan -- a thorn in the flesh" (2 Corin 12:7, 2 Corin 11:14). In any event, the Holy Ghost and the providence of God overruled Satan's opposition to further His own purpose. We cannot, in each case, define whence hindrances in good undertakings arise; Paul in this case, by inspiration, was enabled to say; the hindrance was from Satan. GROTIUS thinks Satan's mode of hindering Paul's journey to Thessalonica was by instigating the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers to cavil, which entailed on Paul the necessity of replying, and so detained him; but he seems to have left Athens leisurely (Ac 17:33, 34, Acts 18:1). The Greek for "hindered" is literally, "to cut a trench between one's self and an advancing foe, to prevent his progress"; so Satan opposing the progress of the missionaries.—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
   
   Satan will try just about anything to hinder the church family from accomplishing its biblical purpose.

Footnote:

• I have a new Kodek and the video recording for Sunday's Message was only for 30 minutes which was about 10 minutes less than my message. And the GB was higher than the old Kodek. I can only upload 1GB at a time. The old Kodek would give me 22 minutes per 1 GB the new one would give 1GM for about 11 minutes.
• I will post Sundays video message later today. The message is in three parts due to the explaination above.