Sermon for Nov. 17, 2019

This morning I'll be reading 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 6 through 13.

And I'll be reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Paul wrote this to the church in Thessalonica and it was written at the end of his letter to them,,, possibly to make sure that they remember this warning.

6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; 8 we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us. 10 In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” 11 For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others. 12 Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ that quietly working, they may eat their own food. 13 Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, as we begin this morning, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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As I told you at the beginning,,, Paul wrote this to the church in Thessalonica and this was included at the end of his letter to them,,, maybe to help them remember it easier.

He included this at the end of his letter to them maybe to help them remember it easier.

This was written to help them understand that Jesus was coming back but they don't know exactly when.

And that's true for us as well.

We don't know the hour or the day either and we must continue to work for the Kingdom of God each and every day without giving up.

So hopefully we can take these scriptures and use them to help us in our walk with God.

(2:45)

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Beginning in verse 6 it says: 6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us.

This is where it's plain that just reading one verse of scripture can cause a whole lot of trouble.

If you just take this verse by itself and use it the way that it's written,,, you will decide to ignore anyone that doesn't believe the way that we do.

But if you read farther in this part of the scripture,,, you will see that Paul gives this advise in verse 15: Yet don’t treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

This is true every time that we see someone in the church living their life opposite of the way that Christ has shown us how to live.

They must be told that they are making wrong decisions but we must be sure that it's done with love and respect for that person.

That means that there is a correct way to accomplish this and it's found in where Jesus is speaking and it says:

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

When you see someone doing something wrong,,, you must first go to them privately and try to make them see where they are wrong.

Then be sure that you are willing to forgive them if they see the error they have made.

But,,, if that doesn't work,,, you must continue to follow the advise of Jesus in where He says:

16 But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established.

If talking to him alone doesn't work then you must go with one or two others from the church and talk to him again to try to make him see where he went wrong.

Then if that doesn't work you will try what's written in verse 17,,, again from the words of Jesus: 17 If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you.

Now after you have done all of these things,,, then you can do what Paul says above but always be looking for a change in his behavior so that he can be brought back to the church.

We want to do everything that we can to keep everyone in fellowship with one another because it is important that we watch out for each other.

It's so important to be connected to a family that watches out for one another,,, especially when you might be going through something that you are struggling with.

It's so much easier to get through anything if you know there are others praying for you each day and they are available to help if needed.

(6:04)

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The main thing that Paul was trying to warn them about was to be sure that they were acting responsibly while they were waiting on Jesus to return.

Paul had mentioned this in the first letter that he wrote to them in where it says: 14 And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

It had been reported to him again that some of the people weren't working anymore or even trying to help out with anything.

They were just sitting around and waiting on Jesus to return.

We are expected to be ready for Jesus' return,,, but we aren't supposed to become so fixed on His return that we stop doing our job.

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Paul used themselves as someone that they were told to imitate.

In verses 7 & 8 it says: 7 For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; 8 we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

Paul is telling them that they were a good example while they were there.

He said that they made it a point to be self-sufficient and not be a burden to anyone.

They worked night and day to help take care of themselves.

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And then the next verse says that they did this to make themselves an example for them to imitate,,, beginning in verse 9 it says: 9 It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.

Paul says that even though they could have asked for help,,, they didn't so that they would show them how they needed to work while they were gone.

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In verses 10 & 11 Paul says: 10 In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” 11 For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others.

In these verses we see the real problem that Paul is trying to address here.

He has heard that there are some there that are walking irresponsibly.

They aren't working at all and even worse they are beginning to be a problem by interfering with those that are working.

They have quit working and were beginning to upset others because they weren't doing their jobs.

Instead of helping,,, they were becoming part of the problem.

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Then Paul leaves them with this solution in verses 12 & 13: 12 Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ that quietly working, they may eat their own food. 13 Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

Paul is telling them that they need to go back to work so that they won't be a burden to the church any more and that will allow the church to continue helping those that truly need help.

It also means that once they go back to work,,, then they can continue their good work also.

And it's when you are doing the work of the church that you are really being refilled by the Holy Spirit as you give out from yourself the love that's inside of you.

That is one part that was missing by those that were just waiting on Jesus instead of working as they should have.

They were missing out on a personal blessing that comes from helping others.

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So as we finish looking at these verses,,, I believe that we don't have any one that is guilty of this type of behavior exactly.

However,,, I think that maybe all of us are guilty of getting comfortable in our attitude of where we are as a church today.

It seems like we are just coasting along day to day without anything changing.

We are all working daily but are we working for God the way that we should be?

Or,,, are we just waiting on Jesus to show up?

We have been commanded by Jesus in where He said:

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

This was one of the last things that Jesus told His disciples so I believe that it must be very important to Him.

And to truly accomplish this we must be aware of ways that we can bring the church outside these four walls into our communities.

We have Thanksgiving coming up week after next and that's a time when we usually spend a little extra time thanking God for our blessings that we have received throughout the year.

Wouldn't it be much more meaningful if we knew that we were truly helping those in our communities?

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As I prepare this part of the sermon,,, I can't help but realize that I'm supposed to have a cure for this feeling of being discontent with where we are as a church if we are honest with ourselves.

I must be honest and admit that I don't have all of the answers.

I believe that it will take all of us paying attention and being watchful for opportunities to help.

Making a special time during prayer for each one of us to ask God to show us what we need to do and then being sure that we act on that need when we are shown what we should be doing.

If we are faithful and do our part,,, I know from experience that God is more than willing to do His part.

There is nothing that is too big for God to handle if we truly are obedient the way that we should be.

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I came across this illustration about how we seem to view the church today in a sermon by David Welch.

He said that some come to church today like they are going to a restaurant.

They are content to go as long as they like the food, service and maybe entertainment.

There is little commitment to anyone else eating at the restaurant.

There is little commitment to the actual operation of the restaurant.

They pay their bill, perhaps tip the waiter, complement the cook and leave feeling no obligation to help with the dishes.

But the church is a family, a body where everyone is committed to one another.

We join because we are committed to the growth, health and welfare of the family.

We make ourselves accountable to Christ, the head of the family.

Without accountability, there is little incentive to change.

We as a family of God are accountable to each other.

We must watch out for one another and help each other if needed.

And there are times when we must correct one another also,,, and this may be one of those times.

So I want us to be aware of anything that we need to change and I also ask for the courage to speak up and make that need known and I'm talking to myself also!

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I'm also aware that this is something that takes everyone to accomplish.

I found a story of a father and son that were camping and they were sitting in front of the campfire.

The father raked back the coals so that he could set a pot of beans to cook.

While he was doing so,,, he took one piece of coal and set it aside,,, away from the heat of the others.

The beans continued to cook from the heat of the coals that were still close together but the piece of coal by itself eventually cooled and lost it's heat.

As the father and son were eating the beans,,, he asked his son if he learned anything from the coals that evening.

The young boy said that the coals that were kept together managed to continue to heat the pot of beans but the one that was set aside by itself grew cold.

That's true for us as a church.

We must stick together and all continue to do our job or we will become cold just like the piece of coal set aside away from the others.

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So as we leave from here today,,, I want us to remember these scriptures that Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica.

Remember that we must continue to work until Jesus comes again and to remain ready for His return but be sure that we are committed to doing the job we are supposed to do and that we remain busy at that job as well.

Also remember that we are a family and it requires each of us together,,, not individually,,, to accomplish everything that God intends for us to do.

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So as we sing our final hymn,,, let me remind you that the alter is always open,,,

If you feel God speaking to you,,, don't hesitate to come,,, maybe you just have questions,,, God will answer,,, you just have to ask Him,,, whatever the need may be,,,

As we sing the final hymn,,, come if needed!

Oakdale - Hymn Page -

Seminary - Hymn Page - 382

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