He is Coming! 2 Thessalonians 3

Intro

Well, the time has come to conlude our study of the letters to the Thessalonians. Have you enjoyed our little study this summer? Do you think we should do more book studies? One of the things that I have enjoyed about it is that we have to deal with topics as they come. I enjoy taking a topic and unpacking it, but we don’t always hit the full spectrum that way. This has forced us to look at topics because it is right there and we can’t get away from it. It’s been great!

If you have enjoyed the book study, Which Book Would You Like To Do Next? I’ve been thinking that we will just keep doing these summer series, and I’m open to any book you’d like explored. Just fair warning, you pick something like Psalms, it might take us a few summers.

So, with all of that, let’s dive into the final chapter of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 3:1–5 ESV

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Paul kicks the final chapter by reminding the church to pray for 2 things:

Pray for their Pastors. The interesting thing about Paul’s request for prayer is that he’s not really asking for prayer for himself. He’s actually asking for them to pray for the spread of God’s word. Paul is more concerned about seeing the gospel preached to all people in all nations and less concerned about himself. Even as he asks them to pray for deliverance from evil men, you get the idea that he’s more concerned about how much these evil men are hindering the spread, and less concerned about what the men are doing to them.

So I’m going to pick up that idea and let you know that I would really appreciate your prayers. We may not have to hide from the authorities or face the challenge of being arrested for the calling on our lives, but Mitch, Michelle, Darren, and myself face challenges as your spiritual leaders that we can’t always communicate. It is hard work and it has challenges that other professions won’t face or even understand.

But I would say the biggest prayer I would ask for is a gift of wisdom for all of us. Pastor Mitch and I have a steep learning curve ahead of us as I still figure out being a lead pastor, he figures out being a youth pastor. Darren has the challenge of having his feet in both ministry and the work place, while my wife tries to support all of us and fill any holes that start to appear. So please pray for us, because our heart is to see this church be a beakon of hope through spreading the good news of Christ to everyone in our corner of the province.

Pray for Each Other. We talked about a few months ago how a spirit led church will fight for the bond of unity in the Spirit. Well, Paul shares that his prayer for the church in Thessalonica would be that they would be established in the Lord, talking about Jesus, and that the Lord would protect them from the evil one. Paul’s prayer is that they would be established in the love of Christ, the teachings of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus.

This is even part of how Jesus taught us to pray. Two majors aspects of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 is that the kingdom of God would come to earth, and that we would be delivered from the schemes of the evil one. Pray for the church as a whole, that we would keep our eyes fixed on the cross and seeing God’s will accomplished here as it is in heaven. May we be established in the teachings of God’s word so that we won’t be shaken by the storms of life. May we be aware of the schemes of the enemy, that nothing would come between us and none of us would fall. Our faith is not a solo mission, but a cooperative effort, and it is only made strongers when we pray for one another.

How can We Pray for You?

Then Paul transitions into one last admonishment to the church. A couple weeks ago, we saw Paul call out the idle within the church, and he repeats the admonishment, but it is a little stronger this time around.

2 Thessalonians 3:6–12 ESV

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Harsh words, but maybe not as harsh as the other choice of Paul’s word. He calls them busybodies. The greek word for busybody could also be translated as meddler, or labor waster, aka time waster.

Paul is very intentional to differentiate between two groups of people here. There is a difference between those who aren’t able to work vs those who aren’t willing to work. Aren’t Able vs. Aren’t Willing. In Paul’s day, those who weren’t able to work were either those who were physically not able, the widows and the orphans. Women couldn’t work, and so a widow would have no income, children were supposed to work for their parents, so an orphan had no parents to work for, and thus had no way to provide for themselves. They were not able to work. They were the ones the Apostles repeatedly taught the church to care for and watch out for.

That is different from those who weren’t willing. The lazy, the unmotivated, fill in the blank. These are the people who are more then capable to work and chose not to. What was happening is that church would gather for their feasts and prayer times, and these people would show up expecting to eat. They were becoming an unnecessary burden on the church, and Paul was giving the church permission to not involve them in their meals.

This isn’t anything new to us. As long as there have been programs and systems designed to help those who need the most help, there will be those who will try to find a way to abuse the system and take advantage of it. It’s not just economy that is affected by idleness. If we are idle parents, then either the other parent has to step up and bear the burden of your lack of parenting; if both parents are idle, then you can’t be disappointed with how the kids turned out because they had to raise themselves. If you are idle in your marriage, don’t be surprised if there is resentment or distance between you and your spouse. Again, either one will bear the load of the other, or no one will bear any of the load and both will wonder.

Idleness definitely applies to church, and your spirituality as a whole. If you are idle in your faith, don’t be surprised when your prayer life is powerless or nonexistent. Don’t be surprised if reading the word of God is hard and feels like a task to be done, instead of a privilege to be enjoyed. In fact, I will go one record in saying that Idleness is what will kill the church of North America. Too many people are all too willing to come and consume, instead of give and get involved. Everyone wants kids ministry, but only a few are willing to make it happen. Everyone is excited about the youth ministry getting going, but how many have talked to Mitch and offered to get involved? Men want a men’s ministry again, but no one wants to lead it. The list goes on and on. We expect these things, but what are we willing to do to make it happen?

Are There Areas in Your Life Impacted by Idleness?

Paul then changes gears:

2 Thessalonians 3:13–15 ESV

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Paul then addresses those who have been working, have been doing there part to support not only themselves, but those in the church who need the extra support. Thos that have been working, have been serving, don’t grow weary. Don’t grow faint, but stay strong in doing the right thing. Work hard, be an example to others, because you don’t work only for yourself, but for the Lord.

The last line of this section really got me, and here is some honest talk. Paul tells the church that if anyone doesn’t obey, have nothing to do with that person. Don’t treat them as an enemy, but warn them as a brother. This is a struggle of mine, and here is why. There have been times when I have stood up here and asked for help or called the church to action. When I do that, depending on what it is, I have different expectations of different people, depending on the request. I have high expectations for some, medium expectations of others, and low expectations of the select few. Just being honest. When someone I have high expectations of does not rise to meet that expectation, I will assume the worst. Why? Because I expect this individual to know better, and because they have acted contrary to what I think they know, they must be doing out of malice. If they are doing it out of malice, then they are my enemy.

The reason I share this is because this last verse is a reminder that no one who calls themselves a believer is my enemy, but a brother or sister who needs to be warned. I share this because I’m sorry how this sentiment can hurt the person I have high expectations of. I’m sorry to anyone who may have felt like I distanced myself from you and didn’t know why. It may have been because I think highly of you, I expect much of you, and when you didn’t meet expectation, I wrongly held it against you.

The reason I bring this up now is because today is communion Sunday. Jesus taught his followers in Matthew chapter 6 that if you go to the altar to offer a sacrifice and remember that your brother has something against you, leave the sacrifice and make things right. This is me trying to make things right. I’m sorry for hurting you unjustly, and I hope you can forgive me, as we prepare to take communion. Paul warned in 1 Corinthians that we should not partake in the last supper in an unworthy manner, and though we are not offering a sacrifice, we are remembering Jesus’ sacrifice.

Communion

Paul finishes 2 Thessalonians with this blessing, and this is my prayer for you as we close service.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

Let’s pray.