Book of 2 Thessalonians - Ch. 3, Vs. 1-18 (02/24/2002)

Second Thessalonians, chapter 3, verse 1.

Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the

Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you.

This thing of prayer, is prayer something that every

Christian can do? You sure?

You're sure? You're sure that everybody can pray, that everyone that's a

Christian? You still say yes?

Well, it's yes. I have to check you once in a while.

Well, prayer is something that every believer can do.

Now, every work that is successful, does it require prayer,

Virg? It requires prayer.

All prayer comes from God. Everything goes back to God.

I would say yes. David? Well, that's not the question.

Every work, every work that is successful, does it require prayer?

Brother, I guess it's your work, I don't know if it's the world's work, but what are you talking about?

Is it the world, the church? Is it anything like that? I'm talking about any work that you do.

As Christians, in the world, in the church, any place, does it require prayer?

Roger? Yes. It has to have prayer behind it, doesn't mean you have to pray, but somebody prayed.

Paul's asking these people for prayer so that the work may benefit them. Now, how does the work benefit you when

I'm praying for somebody else? Greg? How does the work benefit you when

I'm praying about somebody else? All right.

You cannot pray and it not benefit you.

The body of Christ so benefits something that he has done, the whole body.

When you pray for somebody else, the Lord works with them and helps with the whole body.

That's true, but the whole body might not know it. And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not the faith.

Now, these unreasonable and wicked men, do they have the faith,

Greg? No. That we may be delivered from that kind of an individual.

David, what does he mean delivered? All right.

How do you do that? That's right, not running around looking for the wicked and unreasonable men.

But the Lord is faithful who shall establish you and keep you from evil.

This word establish, Greg, what does it mean? That's right, and you're fixed in that position.

But the Lord is faithful who shall fix you in one position and keep you from evil.

Right now, the church is in disarray. We need to establish it, only we can't do it.

We get it from the Bible. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that you both do and will do the things which we command you.

Now, we have confidence in the Lord as touching you.

Where is our confidence placed? In the Lord, not in the person, but always in the

Lord. We have confidence in the Lord concerning Virg, concerning Greg.

That you will do the things that you have been made known of, known with.

There are 22 commandments in the first letter. Paul had confidence in the

Lord touching them. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into patient waiting for Christ.

What is this patient waiting? Russell, what's he talking about?

Alright, you're not going to rush it up, are you?

You're not going to put it off, are you? Yes, it has to be, because I have very little.

He will do it. Only the

Spirit of God can make that love real in our hearts. I cannot make it myself.

Into his patient waiting. This does not mean that you're supposed to argue about pre -millennial, or pre -tribulation, post -tribulation, all -millennial, but that you are to be patiently waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ.

Now, patient involves a lot in it. That's not just sitting on a pew and waiting.

What is patience? What all does it involve, Greg? You never waver.

You never sit down and do something else. You're patiently waiting on the

Lord, but you're active while you do it. Now, we command you, brethren, in the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the traditions which he received even of us.

The traditions of us. Let's start backwards. What's he talking about, the traditions of us?

Verge? What does it involve? Well, he ties it down to not after the traditions which he received of us.

Roger? All right.

But he makes it a point of not listening to other people. They'll spread all kinds of rumors about me.

They'll write letters one to another about me. Paul talking. But he says, withdraw yourself from every brother that walketh disorderly.

We just had a lesson this morning on that. That very thing. You don't decide on your own that he's disorderly and shut him off.

You watch him for a season, two seasons if need be. And now we command you, it has force.

Brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourself from every brother.

He's not talking about outside. Not talking about a non -Christian. He's talking about a brother that walks disorderly.

I know men who insist that we should go into the bar rooms and sit down on a stool and drink a beer with them and witness to them.

Is that the way you do it? David? No. Unfortunately, I know a young lady who became an alcoholic the following night.

God says we are to withdraw ourselves from the disorderly. Certainly we are to witness to them, but we are not to fraternize on their level.

For yourselves know how we ought to follow us. For we behaved in ourselves, not ourselves disorderly among you.

For yourselves know how you ought to follow us. Paul could make a statement like that, but I can't make it.

Unfortunately. Don't do as I do, do as I say. You'll be like the crowd that you run with.

That has proven to be so true. Believers need to be very careful with whom they associate.

Very, very careful. Neither did we eat any man's bread or not, but wrought with our labor and travail the night and day that we might not be chargeable to any of you.

He didn't eat anything without paying for it. In every age there has been fanciful people, freeloaders.

One such group believed that his return was so imminent that they sold everything they had, turned it into cash.

I don't know why. You can't take it with you. And then they got up on the rooftop and waited on the

Lord wrapped in white sheets. Somebody told them to.

Why the rooftop? Couldn't the Lord draw you from the ground? If the rooftop was good, why not a mountain?

And the Lord will provide clothes for you. How does the

Lord dress a spirit, Russell?

Yeah. That's what you're going to be after you die.

Yeah. Well, I don't know.

I haven't been privileged to see. I haven't made the trip.

I wouldn't be here if I had. If you believe he's coming, if you really believe that, you'll be someplace busy sowing the seed that he intends for you to sow.

Doing something for him that he intends for you to do.

Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example, ensample unto you to follow us.

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Paul was an ensample. Now, return to Greg once more. What does ensample mean?

All right. That's right. The ensample can be example to us.

But it is as you would take a die and place it on a wooden block and strike it repeatedly with a hammer and you leave the ensample on the wood.

Men who can work and would rather support themselves by begging should not get one morsel of bread.

It is a sin to minister to necessities that are merely artificial.

If any would not work, he should not eat. This would put a lot of ministers out of the church.

The Thessalonians had a few fanatics who simply withdrew themselves and decided that they were going to spend all of their time looking for Jesus' return.

Paul says, don't feed them. If they didn't feed them, what would they do?

Would they die of starvation? No. They'd change their mind.

For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all but are busybodies, doing none of their own business, yet overdoing in the business of others.

It's a busybody. Busy about everybody's business but their own.

Nature abhors a vacuum. So if not doing one's own business, one is apt to meddle with his neighbor's business.

Idleness is the parent of busybodies. You're not busy enough.

You remember the children of Israel? How they wanted free.

They wanted to go. And they kept crying about it. What did Pharaoh say? This was long before Moses showed up.

What did Pharaoh say about them, David? Right.

He said, you're not busy enough. If you've got time to moan and groan about that, so I'm going to not provide you a straw.

You have to go get your own. But the tally has to remain the same. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our

Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work and eat their own bread.

This doesn't sound very spiritual, does it? It doesn't sound very theological.

But it certainly is practical. It would solve a great many problems in the average church if the busybodies, the troublemakers, would work with quietness and do something constructive.

It is interesting that the man who is the biggest troublemaker in any church is the smallest contributor.

In a church I was once. I happened to be talking to the treasurer.

And this fellow came up in conversation. And I said, well, he's a well -to -do man.

And I'm sure he just wants to know where his money goes. He wants to know how it's being spent.

And the treasurer looked at me with a funny look. And he laughed and he said, that man doesn't give $10 a year to the upkeep of the church.

But ye, brethren, be not weary in well -doing. Joy, do you ever get tired of the work that you do?

All right. We all get tired in our work, but not of the work.

And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

What does it mean, Burge, to note that man? What does it mean when he says, note that man?

Write his name down so you won't forget it.

Take note of the fact that this is that character. People in the church ought to withdraw from troublemakers.

However, many people more or less court their favor. Now, this is not this church, but the average church.

We're not average. They more or less court their favor because they don't want those people to talk about them.

And they know they have a long tongue. But withdrawing from the gossips would be the best thing that could happen in many, many churches.

Yes. Yet, it says, don't count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Attempts should be made to win him back. Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means.

The Lord be with you all. Now the Lord of peace himself.

Who is this, David? Jesus. He's the Lord of peace. What does

Lord mean, Greg? Give you peace always by all means.

Russell, to have peace, and it's given to me by the

Lord, by all means. What's that little phrase mean? Alright.

The Lord be with you all. Well, here he adds the salutation in his own handwriting.

The epistle thus far had been written by someone to whom he dictated, as was his custom.

But he now adds his own autograph. This autograph was proof of the genuineness.

Their attention to perhaps called in this on account of a spurious epistle.

There were those that were not of Paul. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle that I write.

You can look for this. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen. His letter ends with a benediction. It is the conclusion of a wonderful epistle.

Which teaches that the knowledge of grace, rather than leading in fanaticism or laziness, brings peace to our heart.

And we cannot have peace if we're lazy. Is anything from anybody?

I take it by that silence you want to go home. The next book, is it

Timothy? Russell, would you dismiss us today, please?