LIVING FAITHFULLY WITH HOPE
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
(2 Thessalonians 3:6–15, NLT) “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.”
1. WORK IS ESSENTIAL
“Work the way we taught you.” V 6, Message
(2 Thessalonians 3:12, NLT) “We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:9–12, NLT) “But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.”
a. To our self-esteem.
b. Our satisfaction in life.
c. So, we will not be a burden to the local church.
d. So, we will the respect of outsiders.
e. Because we love one another.
2. WORK IS OUR PARTNERSHP WITH GOD IN MEETING NEEDS.
(2 Thessalonians 3:7, NLT) “For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.”
(1 Timothy 5:8, Message) “Anyone who neglects to care for family members in need repudiates the faith. That’s worse than refusing to believe in the first place.”
a. Learn something new.
b. Lead credibly.
c. Love sincerely.
d. Live effectively.
“When we see our worth as determined by the marketplace and the amount of money we make, we often sacrifice what matters the most—family, friends, marriages, Christian fellowship—in pursuit of success, prestige, fame, power, and other goals prized by the world. All too often there is a direct relationship between our escalating material prosperity and our increasing moral and spiritual poverty.” Darrow Miller, Life Work
(2 Thessalonians 3:13, NLT) “Never get tired of doing good.”
3. TOUGH LOVE IS THE PRESCRIPTION FOR LAZINESS.
(2 Thessalonians 3:14–15, NLT) “Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.”
a. Focus on the laziness.
b. Go them privately.
c. If repentance is not forthcoming, withhold fellowship.
d. Be gentle.
e. The purpose is restoration not retribution.
“Unless this gentleness is maintained in both private and public censures, there is danger lest we soon slide down from discipline to butchery.” – John Calvin
(2 Thessalonians 3:16–18, NLT) “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul. I do this in all my letters to prove they are from me. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
4. SEEK THE LORD’S PEACE AT ALL TIMES IN EVERY SITUATION.
(Romans 15:33, NLT) “May God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.”
(Galatians 5:22, NLT) “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
a. Peace comes from faith in Christ.
(Romans 5:1, NLT) “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
b. Peace with God results in peace with fellow believers.
(Ephesians 2:14, NLT) “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”
c. Peace with God is inner peace during turbulent times.
(Philippians 4:6–7, NLT) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
5. SEEK THE LORD’S PRESENCE DAILY.
“The Lord be with you all.” V 16 b.
(Matthew 28:20, NLT) “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“On those words I staked everything, and they never failed.” David Livingston
6. SATURATE YOURSELF IN THE GRACE OF CHRIST.
(1 Corinthians 15:10, NIV) “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”