Exhortation, Part 2

All right, good morning. Glad you're here. It's good to see everybody. I want to invite you to stand with me.

We'll pray and we'll get started.

Lord, we just thank you for the day. God, we give you praise, Lord, and we just bless your name. Lord, we lift praise to you this morning. And we just ask your blessing upon this time, Lord, and just prepare our hearts to receive from you this morning. Lord, God, give us ears to hear and hearts to receive. In Jesus' name, amen.

My doubts and my failures, you won't be through. You are the peace in my troubled sea. Oh, you are the peace in my troubled sea.

Lord, we just give you praise this morning, God, and we just, we glorify you. Jesus, Lord of heaven, deserve grace that you have given. On this earth, you're worth the sacrifice. You may mercy be. My death, the stars, Jesus, your love, Jesus, your love, Jesus, your love, Jesus, your love.

Praise the one who lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my life. Into the dark, Israel, you breathe. Out of the sight, declare the grave. Has no cross sealed.

His.

Lord, come on, praise him. Come on, sit down.

Sorry about that. Christ is my firm foundation. The rock on which I stand. And everything around me is shaken. I've never been more glad. I put my faith in Jesus. Cause he's never let me down. He's faithful through generosity. He's faithful in all generations. So why would he fail now? He won't... I've still got joy in chaos. I've got peace that makes no sense.

So I won't be gone with. I'm not held by my own strength. I've built my life on Jesus. Yes, Lord God, we know that even when we're not faithful, Lord, you will never fail. Lord God, you are always faithful. You will never fail, Lord God, and we thank you and we pray.

Working in this place, I worship you, I worship you. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God. That is who you are. You are here, touching every. Worship you, worship you. You are here.

You're working, you're working. You never stop, you never stop working. You never stop, you never stop working. Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you're working. You never stop, you never stop. Lord God, we just thank you, Lord, that you are here. Lord God, we just thank you, Lord, that you keep your promises, Lord God, that you are always faithful.

Lord, you are unchanging. Lord God, you are unwavering, Lord, and we thank you, Lord, that it's not dependent on us. Lord, when we fail, when we fall short, God, when we are unfaithful, Lord, you are not. Lord, you are still good, and you are still kind, and you are still faithful to keep your promises, Lord God. Lord God, we just praise you this morning. Lord God, we lift all glory and honor to you.

This morning, as Pastor Ryan comes, Lord, I just ask that you would overflow him, Lord, with your Holy Spirit. Lord, go before him. Give him the words to speak. Lord, give us soft and receptive hearts, Lord God, to receive it. Father, we love you, and we praise you, and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You guys can go ahead and take some time and greet one another.

Good morning. I'll give you enough time.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. A handful of things to take note of. Over on the left-hand side, as always, are the things that go on throughout the week. I would highly encourage you to find yourself a spot to get plugged into. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, a reminder that tonight is our intercessory prayer.

That's 6 o'clock down at the other end of the hall there. So come join us for that. Ladies, there is a women's breakfast coming up this Saturday, February the 8th, at Steamy Joe's. 8 o'clock a.m., so ladies, take note of that. And then there is a new Grief Share group that's going to be starting up on February the 18th. They will meet every Tuesday from 1 to 3 here at Calvary.

And it'll run through the 13th. If you have questions, you can speak with Holly Gage about that. And then we have a little ministry spotlight again this week. For one of the ministries that we have here at Calvary Chapel, the ministry is Agape Fruits. And there's actually a little bit of a fundraiser that's gone on this morning. There was breakfast before first service, and then there will also be breakfast in between the services for a donation,

if you would like to go back and take advantage of that. But Agape Fruits serves meals twice a month, the second and fourth Sundays here at Calvary Chapel. And there's a little video to show you kind of what they've been doing and how to get involved. All right. So if you would like to get involved in this, please do. If you would like to get involved in this, please do.

If you're involved in that, Jordan, I just want to raise your hand real quick. There's Jordan back there. You can go talk with her. Other than that, after the service, if you have the opportunity, run to the back and grab a little breakfast and drop a little donation in the basket for them. Those are the things that are going on. If you would, make sure that your mobile device is silenced.

For our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 62. Psalm 62. Look at the New American Standard for this part so that hopefully we sound the same. If you need a copy, there should be one in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 62, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 62 for the choir director, according to Jedith Thune, a psalm of David. My soul waits in silence for God only. From him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will you assail? A man that you may murder him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence.

They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position. They delight in falsehood. They bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse. Say, Lord. My soul waits in silence for God only, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I shall not be shaken. On God, my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Say, Lord. Men of low degree are only vanity, and men of rank are a lie. In the balances they go up. They are together lighter than breath. Do not trust in oppression, and do not vainly hope in robbery. If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them. If God has spoken, twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.

And lovingkindness is yours, O Lord, for you recompense a man according to his work. And so, Lord, as the psalmist says, our souls wait silently for you, because you are our rock and our salvation. And so, Father, as we wait upon you this morning through the hearing of your word, Lord, may you speak to our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit and minister to us in the areas where we need to be ministered to. Lord, convict us.

Convict us where we need convicted. Comfort us where we need comforted. And Lord, instruct us in the places where we need to know the direction we're to go in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3. Second Thessalonians, chapter 3, where we come to this third chapter, started into it

last week, this third chapter that deals a little bit more with exhortation. Paul has given great instruction on end times events and things to pay attention to about the upcoming end times events, but now it's time for practical instruction. So he's been giving these exhortations, and we said that there were three main exhortations that he gives to us in chapter 3. He's going to tell us to pray hard, he's going to tell us to work hard, and he's going to tell us not to grow weary.

Last week, we covered the first one. We covered the aspect of pray hard. As Paul requested prayer for himself, he reminded the Thessalonian people. He said, I'm going to pray hard. I'm going to pray hard. I'm going to pray hard. I'm going to pray hard. And then he went into the word of God. And if you will, he had a little prayer for them as well that they, that their hearts

would be directed into the love and the steadfastness of Christ. Well, now we come to this second section about working hard. And so we pick up in verse 6, and this is what it says. Now, we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life, and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with labor and hardship, we worked day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. Not because we don't have the right to do this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order, if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat either.

For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, instead acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. There's certain parts of the Bible that are very theological. There are certain parts of the Bible that are very eschatological in nature, meaning they deal with end times.

And then there are certain parts of the Bible that are just incredibly practical. They just deal with the day-in, day-out aspects of life, and these are the things that most people say, well, the Bible has no application for my life. I can't imagine a more applicable section of Scripture for the lives of every human being living on topside of planet Earth than this section right now, because the aspect of work is one of the most important parts of our lives as human beings. Work is oftentimes viewed as a part of our lives, but it's not.

Work is oftentimes viewed as a four-letter word, right? You've probably heard people say that. You've probably maybe said that yourself a few times. And it's oftentimes viewed as this horrific thing that we have to do, and we just can't wait till we get to that magical time in our life when we retire. And a lot of people retire, and they find themselves looking for something to do.

Why? Well, because we were made to work. Like, that's actually what God intended for us to do. If you go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, you'll find that when God put Adam in the garden. He didn't say, now sit back in a hammock, eat fruit, and enjoy life, because this is man's end to simply relax and enjoy themselves and look at sunsets every single day.

No, when God put Adam in the garden, he put him in there to tend the garden. One of his jobs, of course, was to name the animals, an incredibly fantastic job. I would like to rename a few of them myself, and every now and then I do. But that was one of his jobs. But the main job that he had was to tend the garden. So when did work become a problem? Work became a problem for us.

Work became a problem for us. In the fall of man. See, the curse on man is that through the sweat of your brow, you will toil and earn your living. That's when work became hard for us. And so the fact that work is hard is an example of sin in the world. But work is actually a gift from God. As a matter of fact, if we go all the way into the future, into the end times, when

we are living in that either millennial reign with Christ or in that new heaven and new earth, we will have jobs that we do. We will not just sit on a cloud and play. We'll have a harp, which sounds kind of fun for a few minutes, but eventually we're going to have to do something, right? We'll have jobs that we're to do. And so work is an important part of our lives.

And as I've shared with you before, the Puritans had this viewpoint of work. They refer to it as simply the Puritan work ethic, and that's that work is a gift from God because it's what God has given us to glorify him through the things that we do in life. It's what gives us purpose. It's what gives us fulfillment. It brings joy. It brings joy into our lives, and it gives us the understanding that I am here for a

reason. Work is important in our lives. But the Thessalonian people, apparently, based on what it says, had come to a place where work had stopped being important to them. And my guess is that a lot of them found themselves thinking, if Jesus is coming back at any point in time, then why bother myself with the material things of this world? They probably thought of themselves as super saints, right?

They've become so spiritually enlightened. They've become so spiritually enlightened. They're spiritually aware that they know that Jesus is coming back at any point in time. So I'm just going to be about the things of the Spirit, and I'm not going to focus on the material things of this world. The only problem is, that's not what Jesus shared with us, was it?

Do you remember some of the parables that Jesus shared that had to do with the talents that God has given to us, and that we are to use those talents until the Master returns? And as a matter of fact, the knowledge of the soon return of the Master is the thing that should cause us to use those talents. It's the thing that should cause us to use those talents to achieve our goals. So in John 1, we read, Well, that's what Paul deals with here in this particular section.

And so, he's going to do two things. He's going to give a command, and he's going to give an example. The first thing that we see is the command. Notice what it says in verse 6. Now, we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life, and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

He says, I command you, brethren. He says, I command you. Now, it's in here. interesting that he uses this word command because it's a strong word not only does he use the word command but he uses a command with the authority of Jesus Christ because he says I command you in the name of our Lord Jesus now why is he so strong well because if we were to go back to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 we would fat we would find that he dealt with a similar issue and 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 only in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 the first letter that he wrote about a year before this he said I exhort you that you work with your hands and lead a quiet life that's what that was his exhortation only his

exhortation wasn't followed and so now he has to get a little bit stronger and say this is not just a friendly suggestion this is a command according to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ there so as he says what he's about to say there's great authority that goes into this which should make all of us as believers in Jesus Christ realize that what he's going to tell us about what he's going to tell us about what he's going to tell us about what work is not just a suggestion. This is closely tied to the witness in our lives. He says, now we command you, brethren, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from anyone who is unruly, any brother who is unruly. Now, when you first hear that, you usually think

somebody who's living some sinful lifestyle, right? We think about somebody who is living in some gross immorality, somebody who is doing something awful, somebody who is being disorderly and maybe they're causing division or dissension, but that's not what the word unruly speaks of here. The word unruly literally speaks of someone who's not falling into rank, but the idea is that they are idle or they are lazy. In other words, people that won't work. I love the way that

Kenneth Weiss translated this. He said, those who have an insufficient inclination towards disciplined work, an insufficient inclination towards disciplined work. In other words, they don't want to get a job. They don't want to get a job. They don't want to get a job. They don't want to job. That's what we would say in today's culture. Stay away from brothers who don't want to get

a job. And when they do get a job, they don't want to work. We've all been around those people, right? We've all been around people that will not get a job. And you're going, everybody on God's ding-dong green earth is hiring right now. How do you not have? Well, I'm waiting for a management position, right? Kind of like a National Lampoon's Christmas. Well, Clark, I've been waiting for a

little bit of a management position, something that fits me just a little bit better, right? No, you're not waiting for a management position. You're waiting for somebody to give you money. He says, stay away from those people. They are unruly. They have no inclination towards work. They don't want disciplined work in their lives. You know what I have found with most people? I

actually had a guy tell me this one time. He hadn't worked in I don't even know how many years. I don't think I could count it on my fingers. He hadn't worked in a really long time. And he said, you just got to understand, I'm not one of those kind of guys that likes to punch a clock. I'm not making this up. These are his exact words that he said. I'm not the kind of guy that likes to punch a clock. I'm a little more free-spirited

than that. I'm like, well, then you better be a little more free-spirited about your groceries then, right? Because that's what happens when you're a guy that doesn't want to punch a clock. Because at some point in time, you got to go to work. Sometimes you got to just get a job. In the past, I've talked to a lot of people who have been in the business of working.

Especially young people. I'm not picking on young people right now because the guy that made that statement to me was 62 years old, okay? So this is not a young people problem. This is an everybody problem. But I have talked to young people before that are like, man, that job doesn't pay enough. I may have to get a part-time job too. I'm like, welcome to the real world, son.

I've strung three of them together before to pay all the bills because that's sometimes what you got to do. Because that's life. That's the world that we live in. And things are expensive. And especially men, we need to realize that God, has laid a responsibility on us. And the responsibility that God has laid upon us is to be providers for our households. That doesn't mean women can't work, but it does mean

that at the end of the day, that responsibility falls on you and God's going to hold you responsible for those things. Matter of fact, it's either 1st or 2nd Timothy where he says, if a man doesn't provide for his family, he is worse than a heathen. Those are strong words. And so Paul says, if somebody is unruly, they are idle, they are lazy, they have an insufficient inclination to do good. And so Paul says, if somebody is unruly, they are idle, they are lazy,

they have an insufficient inclination towards disciplined work, keep away from them.

That's strong talk. Now, the idea is not excommunication. We don't kick them out of the church. But it does mean that there's an aspect of fellowship that they begin to lose. And quite frankly, it kind of happens naturally. Can we all agree with that? That when people aren't willing to work, you have a hard time wanting to spend a great deal of time with them because either A, they want you to pay for everything, or B,

they only complain about the fact that they don't have anything and that your life is so much better than theirs. And all you can think is, yeah, because I have a job. And so there's an aspect of separation that takes place. And it reminds us of something. We should understand something as the body of Christ. The body of Christ should operate in such a way that to be separated from the fellowship should cause pain because the

fellowship is so enjoyable, because the fellowship brings so much peace and comfort and joy into our lives. That's what we're to be as the church. So that when that happens and they find themselves drawn away from, they go, man, I really miss the fellowship. I should correct the things in my life. And so Paul gives this command. He says, stay away from brothers who will not work,

who are unruly, who are idle, who are undisciplined in their lives, because they are not living according to the tradition which you received from us. In other words, you're not living according to the apostolic teaching, that had been being given, which is a teaching of work. Well, then he goes on to give an example. He says, for you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it.

But with labor and hardship, we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. Not because we do not have the... to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you so that you would follow our example. He says, for you should know how to follow our example. And he gives them a handful of things, five things that are the example that he left for them. Number one, we were not undisciplined.

We were not undisciplined. It's another form of the exact same word that he used when he said unruly. We were not undisciplined in our work ethic among you. We exampled a strong work ethic. We exampled those who had a sufficient inclination towards disciplined work. Our lives were not like that, and you saw how our lives were. He says a second thing. We didn't freeload when we were

among you. We didn't take anyone's food. We did not show up and say, listen, we're going to really need you to give us some food. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to do what we need to do. And we need all of these things from you. He said, we didn't show up and act that way with you. No, instead, number three, we worked with hardship and labor. We worked with hardship

and labor. That word labor can also mean travail, and it speaks of a woman in labor. That's what he means when he says, we worked with hardship and labor. There was great toil among you. You see, when Paul would show up in a community that the church couldn't afford to pay him yet, he had a job that he would work everywhere that he would go. He was a tent maker. And sometimes that's an important thing for us to have, if need be.

Paul's idea was, I do whatever is best for the spread of the gospel. And among the Thessalonian believers, the best thing for him to do was to show up and to have a secular job in order to pay for his bills so that he could minister the gospel. That meant something really interesting in his life. That meant that he would have to work all day long in a physical job. And then

on the evening and weekends, he would not only have to prepare his mess, but then give his messages. And I'm here to tell you right now, the best thing for any young person that ever wants to go into ministry is to spend some years doing that. Because if you don't spend some years doing that, you have a really hard time appreciating when a church pays you to be their pastor. I spent 10 years doing this. I spent 10 years working landscaping, groundskeeping,

and construction in order to pay to support my habit. I spent 10 years working landscaping, groundskeeping, and construction in order to pay to support my habit of ministry that I really enjoyed a lot. And because of that, I am so incredibly grateful for the fact that the church here is able to support me to be able to be on staff full-time. Because that's the best for the spread of the gospel here.

And I haven't stopped working hard since. And that's exactly what Paul says. I gave you an example. We gave you an example that we were not undisciplined. We weren't freeloaders. But we worked hard. We labored hard with our hands. Not only in the physical work that needed to be done. But they labored hard with their hands in the spiritual work that needed to be done. Because sometimes,

it's hard to tell the difference between the two. Number four, he says, he says we did this because we did not want to burden you. He didn't want to be a burden to them. He didn't want it to look like he was only there for the wrong reasons. And so, as he set this example, he says, one last thing, he says, even though we had the right to do this. Even though as a painter, as a hers besonders, we should do this in such a way so as not to make itち

as apostles, as ministers, we had the right to accept payment for what we were doing in the ministry. We chose not to so that we could set an example for you. We wanted to set an example of what it looked like to be a hard worker amongst you. Well, as I was studying through this and thinking about this aspect of example, I started thinking about something. I started thinking about

it in my own life, and I started thinking about it for you all as well, that I think when we read in Scripture that it says that Paul or anybody else says, my life was an example to you, you should ask yourself a question. Is my life an example to the people that are around me? Is my life something that people can look at and say, that's an example that people should follow? Is my life something that I could tell somebody else, you should follow my example as I follow Jesus Christ? You know what one of the biggest things that brought me to the Lord was? I was washing

dishes at a camp. And the lady that was speaking at this particular camp was sharing a story about her son. You see, her husband ran a school of ministry and many of the students would live in their home during a time of internship. And she said, my son would watch these kids and their example of these young men that would get up early every morning to have their devotions before they would ever go and work at the church with my husband.

And that example changed everything about who my son was and showed him what it looked like to be a man of God. And as I was washing dishes and not walking with Jesus, I remember thinking, nobody in the world would look at me and say, that's an example I should follow. Actually, it's the exact opposite. People would hold me up and say, that's who you should not be.

And that was one of the things that broke my heart and brought me to Jesus. Because I was like, I don't want to live this way anymore because I don't want to be the example of what not to be. So I started following Jesus. So I think there's four things I want you to think about. Number one, are you an example to the believers and the unbelievers? Are you an example to the unbelievers around you?

Can the people around you look at your life, believers or unbelievers, and say, that's a really good example? Sometimes it's a little bit easier to have an example for unbelievers because if your life is even just a little bit different, they go, wow, that's crazy. I can't believe you would live that way, even if maybe you're still a little bit carnal in some of the things that you do. Are you an example to the unbelievers around you?

Is your life lived in such a way that they look and they say, I see Jesus. I would like to pursue Jesus. Or I would like to understand a little bit more what that looks like. But even more than that, are you an example to the believers around you? Do people around you look at your life and say, that's an example that I should follow? That's somebody whose life I should emulate.

That's somebody that I could look up to and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm gonna follow Jesus as I watch them. Is your life an example to the believers and the unbelievers around you? Number two, is your life an example to your coworkers? Is your life an example to your coworkers? If I was to go to your place of employment and I were to ask the people that are around you,

that work around you every day, if I was to say, can you prove to me that they are a believer by the way that they conduct themselves at work, what would they tell me? Would they say yes? As a matter of fact, they set an example for everyone else to follow because they are the first one here, they're the last one to leave. They always do what they are asked to do and even sometimes go above and beyond.

They are respectful to the boss. They are respectful to other employees and would your other employees say they're even respectful when the boss isn't around? What would your coworkers say about you? Because you may not realize this, but the people that you work with, you spend more time with them than you do your family. Therefore, the greatest example that you set

to the people around you are to the people that you work with. And so what would your coworkers say about you? Are you an example to them of what it looks like to follow Jesus in the way that you conduct yourselves at work? Number three, this is for kids. Are you an example to your friends at school? Could they look at you and say, that must be what it looks like to follow Jesus

or would they look at you and say, if that's a Christian, I don't know that I want any part of it. Can they look at you and say, the words that come out of their mouth, the way that they act towards the people around them, the way that they work in their schoolwork, the way that they treat teachers, the way that they treat other kids, that's a really good example of what it looks like to be a Christian and I would like to emulate that example in my life. I used to talk to college kids about this all the time because I was a firm believer in the fact that even if you don't have to go to class, you should go to class. And college kids forever were like, oh, but you know, it's not really all that important that I go to that class.

Like, yeah, but here's the thing. If you decide that going to class is not that important to you, then you will decide that going to work is not that important to you. You will decide that you don't need to show up that day at work. And can I just go ahead and say that maybe we've experienced that in this culture today, that for a long time college kids thought I really don't need to go to that class and for the past 10 years they've thought to themselves, I really don't need to go to work.

I mean, it seems like maybe that's what's happened, right? Because the way that you conduct yourself in school is the way that you are going to conduct yourself in the rest of your life. And so are you an example to your friends? And now parents, I'm gonna hit you really hard here. Are you an example to your kids? Are you an example to your kids? I need you to know something.

Your kids aren't listening to what you say. Trust me, your kids are not listening to what you say. They're watching what you do. They're watching what you do. Because if you tell them it's really important to go to church and you show up to church once a month, you know what you've just told them? It's really not that important to go to church because we only go to church once a month.

I'm here to tell you, if you go to church, if you go to church every week, your kids will probably go to church every week. If you go to church twice a month, especially you dads, your kids, when they grow up, they'll go to church once a month. If you're going to church once a month right now, dads, your kids, they won't go to church. Those are proven facts.

Those are statistics. It's just all that there is to it. Because they will watch your example. I've had kids come through my youth group before where they seemed really on fire for Jesus, but they were not receiving an example at home and it was so much harder for them to walk with Jesus. Now, that doesn't mean kids can't overcome that because I have watched it

happen over and over again where I have seen kids overcome their bad example at home because they have said, you know what? Jesus is still more important to me. But I'm talking to you Christian parents, you that claim that you are believers in Jesus Christ. The way that you live is what your kids will hear more than anything else in the world. If devotions aren't important to you,

if being in God's word and in prayer every day is not important to you, it will not be important to your kids. Listen, if you don't serve in church, your kids won't think it's important to serve in church. And if you start saying, you know, you should really be serving people around you, they should have every right to say, but you don't. That's disrespectful, but that's just true.

What you think is important, your kids will think is important. And we have to be able to, like Paul say, you should follow my example. Paul could stand up to them and say, hey, listen, this laziness, this unruliness, this undisciplined lifestyle, you didn't see this in me. That's not the example we gave you to follow. Now get back to what you're supposed to do. And I'm here to tell

you right now, all of us in this room, all of us watching online, you got to start setting an example. And that's not legalism. And that's not me trying to be harsh on you. That's just the reality of scripture, is that everybody's watching your life. Somebody's watching your life. I remember in junior high, we were eighth graders and went to Christian school here. And the

teacher came to us and said, you boys are who all of these kids look up to. And we were like, we don't want them to look up to us. And she said, it doesn't matter. They are. And they watch what you do and they do what you do. And so whether you want to be an example to people or not, you are either a good one or a bad. What kind of example are you setting for the people around you?

Now, as he then gave that example, he gives another command. Notice what it says in verse 10. For when we were with you, we used to give you this order. If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busy bodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ

to work in a quiet fashion and to eat their own bread. Paul starts off by saying, when we were with you, back during the time when we were with you on a consistent basis, we had this command at that point in time. Do you remember the command that we were talking about? Now, I want you to think about something. This letter is being read. Out loud to the Thessalonian believers, meaning that they were hearing it for the very first time,

and perhaps the guy reading it was reading it for the very first time. And can you imagine what it was like to be one of the unruly people in the church, one of the people that didn't have a job? Probably kind of like if that's you this morning and you're like, why is he talking to me? I'm not. The Bible is, right? I'm not trying to single you out. The Holy Spirit's singling you out. Don't

shoot the messenger, even though that's what usually happens. But can you imagine the reading is like, some of you aren't working and somebody's like, remember what we told you when we were with you? If a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat. And all of a sudden, all the people that weren't working in the place kind of went, oh. See, there were lots of communal meals that took place at

this point in time in the early church. It was sort of a standard amongst the church that they did this quite frequently. They called them love feasts. Sometimes that was even a part of their communion celebration. And people would show up and they would bring nothing. And they had no intention of ever bringing anything. It's not like you show up to church for the very first time, you know, and everybody's like, there's a potluck afterwards. Why didn't

bring anything? That's okay. This is your first Sunday. Come join us. By your 29th Sunday, and you heard the announcement for a month and a half, they expect you to bring something at that point in time, right? And all of a sudden, people are going, wait a minute. That feels really harsh, right? If a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat. What about in the book of Acts when everybody

had all things in common? Wasn't the church kind of like the first experiment with communism? No, it wasn't. I hear these things sometimes. They're like, isn't the church where everybody's supposed to get something for free? No, it's not. Even salvation was not free. Everybody says salvation is free. No, it's not. Salvation cost Jesus everything. It is incredibly precious, and it

is incredibly costly, and it was paid for by somebody. It was paid for by somebody. It was paid for by somebody. It was paid for by somebody. It was paid for by somebody. It was paid for by somebody. someone else. He says, if a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat. I'm here to tell you right now, this principle would solve a lot in our culture today. Only if you bring this principle up in our culture today,

the proverbial poo hits the fan, right? Well, that's not very loving. That's not very kind. That's not very gracious. I thought you were at church. Listen, we should hold people responsible. Well, I've shared this before. I get the exciting duty on a pretty consistent basis of getting to deal with whether or not someone receives free food or any sort of help with their bills, right? And so on a pretty consistent basis, I get this. And we had one

particular human being show up, and they gave me the sob story. I should have been writing sob stories down all these years, right? Because there's been some great ones. And they gave me the sob story, and I'm like, oh, wow, that's pretty bad. Okay. So I give them a whole bag full of food back there. I have no problem with that. That's what it's there for. I want to support people that are in need. I'm a very generous person

when it comes to that sort of thing. Fill up bags full of food. Send it with her. This human being comes back three days later and says, I need more of that. Only this time I need, and started laying out the demands for what this person needed. I said, well, let me see what I can do. And I helped one more time. I said, did you already go through all the food that I gave you? I'm thinking, that would have lasted my family a week.

I said, did you already go through all the food that I gave you? Yeah. Yeah, we did. And this is what we need this time. So I gave some more food. They took a handful of Diet Cokes out of the container back there, because they said, surely these are free too, right? Their words, not mine. And I said, sure. Three days later, they show up again. I said, you know, I can't be your grocery store anymore. At some point in time, I need you to go

ahead and start buying your own groceries. And you know what they told me? Well, that's not very loving. And that's not very kind. I thought you were a church. I thought you were supposed to act like Jesus. And I just had to say, I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm praying you get some things straightened out. And you got to deal with it sometimes. And it's really hard. But these are

biblical realities that we live with. Is that at some point in time, you're going to be a church. You're going to be a church. You're going to be a church. You're going to be a church. You're going to be a church. We hold people responsible. At some point in time, we say, if you are able, you should be willing. Notice it says, if someone is, let me make sure I quote this correctly. For even when

we were with you, we told you this, if anyone is not willing to work. Now, there's instances where people can't. There's instances where there are physical disabilities that keep people from working. And I am completely understanding of those. And I will do anything I can to help somebody that's in a situation where they're not willing to work. And I will do anything I can to

help somebody that's in a situation where there is a physical disability that keeps them from working. Because that is not their fault. Life happens sometimes. And that is why we're here. But that's not what's being talked about. It's talked about the willingness to work. And in our culture today, I think one of the best things we can do is apply this principle. That if you're not

willing to work, that you shouldn't be willing to eat. And I'm incredibly patient with people when it comes to that. But at some point in time, we do have to hold people responsible. He says, for we hear, and this is kind of what prompted this entire thing, for we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined lives, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. For we hear.

I think that's important for us to pay attention to is that word always gets back to people in charge. You may try to hide some things, but it's always going to get found out. He says, we hear that there are some among you who are leading an undisciplined life. Again, I think if you were listening to this letter being read, your heart's starting to pound a little bit harder, and you're starting to sweat just a little bit because he's going, oh gosh.

He says, we hear that there are some among you who are leading an undisciplined life. Same word from unruly. You're not working. You're being lazy. You're being idle. You're leading an undisciplined life, and you are not working. Instead, what are they doing? They are being busybodies. Busybodies. I don't think I can use the names that are used oftentimes today, although there was a great

interview where somebody said, I really don't care, and named someone. But I don't want either of those names to be in this church, so I don't want to get in trouble for using them. But busybodies are everywhere, are they not? Busybodies is described like this, busying themselves about everyone else's business. Meddling in everyone else's business. because you know what tends to happen when you don't work?

You get bored. And you know what you do when you get bored? You meddle in everyone else's life. Now listen, I'm about to step on some toes here. I don't mean to. This is the Bible for the most part doing this, not just me. I've tried to weigh my words very carefully here, but I want you to know something this morning. If you have thought of three people that you think are busybodies, as I mentioned that,

I need you to know something, you might be one of them. Right, I mean, because sometimes, what are we really good at doing with God's word? You know who needs to hear this. You do, right? You're the one that, I thought about putting a whole Jeff Foxworthy thing together. You might be a busybody, right? So I did come up with a handful of them. If you know what's going on in everyone else's life,

always you might be a busybody. If you think you are the solution to everyone's problem or you have the solution, to everyone's problem, you might be a busybody. If your greatest desire is to, as my daughters say, spill the tea, you might be a busybody, right? If everybody comes to you to tell you everything that's going on within the church, you might be a busybody.

Because those are some things that people do in their lives, right? And listen, those are problems in the church. Because problems in the church are people that always think that everybody else's problem is their problem. Now listen, I'm not talking about caring about each other because the difference between a busybody and a concerned church member is a busybody only cares about what's going on.

A concerned church member cares about how to solve what's going on. And they keep it to themselves. And they're not sharing it with everyone else around them, always. We all know the people that if you want the news to spread, they're the ones you tell, right? They're the mandatory reporters. They're the leaders of the church. And so if you want the news to spread, that's who you tell.

Because everybody will know by the end of the day, right? Churches are like small towns. You can fart at two o'clock in the afternoon and everybody knows by five o'clock in the evening, right? Oh man, it's a good thing my wife's not here. She said if I ever use that word again, she's never coming back to church. Can't use that one in second service. Have to use fluff-a-buddy.

Anyway. But listen, that's the problem in churches, right? Is being busybodies. It's always about everybody else's business. And sometimes that's because we're not focused. I'm reminded of a story from the Old Testament. The Old Testament, the story of Joseph. Remember Joseph was in Potiphar's household and Potiphar's wife started looking at Joseph and going, he's a hottie, right?

And she started kind of chasing after him. And you know what Joseph was always about? He was always about his master's business. And so he was able to withstand all of the temptation of her throwing herself at him every single day propositioning him and doing all these things. He was able to withstand, you know why? Because he was always about his master's business.

Listen, the best way that you can not become a busybody is to always be about the master's business. What has God called you to do? Well, God's called me to solve everyone's problems. Nope, that's not what he's called you to do. What has God called you to do? And if you're about that, then it's really hard to gossip about everything else going on. It's really hard to be focused on everything else going on.

Because God calls us to do what he has called for us to do. And if I am pouring myself into that wholeheartedly, then it's really hard for me to be about everybody else's business and to meddle in everyone else's business. It says, we hear that there are some who are leading an undisciplined life who are doing no work, but are acting like busybodies. And so notice what he says.

Such persons, the people that aren't working, just acting like busybodies. They have nothing else to do but to repent and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ two work in a quiet fashion and to eat their own bread. To work in a quiet fashion, I love that. First of all, let's look at the word work. Because he wants to go work, right? Get yourself a job. Well, what do I do while I'm trying to find a job?

Well, I remember my dad telling me something one time when I was in my early 20s. And I had just come back from Bible college and it was time for me to find a job. And he said, you need to understand something Ryan. until you find a job your job is to find a job in other words if you don't have work then you have work because you got to go find a job and you should work at it from 8 to 5 every day because that's called pounding the pavement that means that you need to put in applications that means you need to follow up on applications it means you need to hone your job skills you need to work on your resume you need to do everything that you can to get yourself a job because that is the best way you can keep yourself out of trouble that is the best

way you cannot become a busybody that is the best way to be about the Lord's business is to have yourself a job and if you don't have one make it your job to get one but I want you to notice what he says about your job work and she knows that word it's a really important word work in quietness brothers and sisters I think that in today's world we are missing the glory of keeping our mouths shut shut right Chuck Smith used to always say this I don't know if it's original to him or or or if it's from somebody else he said it's better to be to remain silent and be thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt right let me say that again for those of you a little slower in the back it's

better to remain silent and be thought a fool then to open your mouth and to remove all doubt sometimes the best thing you can do is just work quietly man I used to work quietly I used to work quietly I used to work quietly I used to work with guys and they complained all day long about everything listen construction workers are just cheerleaders right they're full of drama and gossip that's just all that don't let anybody tell you that dudes aren't like that okay everybody's like oh girls are always gossiping listen you go sit at a break table on a construction job site and I'm here to tell you right now drama and gossip is coming out of that thing and they would complain about everything they would talk about everybody and all this all this stuff

would go on and and i remember at one point in time i would try to defend things or defend myself or defend people and i'll never forget god just saying right this is what i've got going on on social media right now like like all of the misinformation is spreading i don't know if y'all are on social media or not but but there's all kinds of misinformation going out right now and i'll be like well actually and god's like because working in quietness brings a great deal of peace listen there comes times where you got to say something there come times where you got to speak up sometimes the best thing you can do is just put your head down and do your job and it's sometimes the greatest example you can set for the people around you

he says work in quietness and eat your own bread what does he mean by that be content with what you have be content with what you have i've said it over and over again we live in an economy that is driven by covetousness we have an economy that is constantly running out of food and we are completely driven by ouriseries we have an we live in an economy that is constantly running out of food and we are perfectly driven by driven by, you want what they have. Therefore, work hard, go out, and get it. And we're not very content with things anymore. I read this whole article the other day about the fact that the abundance that we have in the United States right now is causing so much discontent because there

are so many choices. You ever try to go buy toothpaste? I hate buying toothpaste because I show up and I'm like, do I want it to whiten my teeth? Do I want it to not give me cavities? Do I want it to give me a winning smile? Do I want it to win friends and influence? How can a toothpaste do that? And then there's one that says, it does it all. I'm like, well, that's the

one I want. I want the one that does everything, right? And that's all of our lives. And then we go buy something, maybe something you've been saving up for, and you get it, and what happens? The new version of it comes out. And you're like, oh, now I need the new one. Listen, work in quietness, eat your own bread. Be content with what you have because it solves a whole multitude

of issues. Brothers and sisters, whether we like it or not, our work ethic is tied to our witness. And God has called us to occupy until he comes back. And the best way to do that is to be about our master's business, to keep ourselves. Focus by being about our master's business, by providing for our family's needs, and by working hard because our work ethic is our witness. Amen? Well, this morning is Communion Sunday.

And so hopefully my ushers are getting ready to head on in here, although no one's moved yet. And so I'd like to invite the worship team to come on up. And as we get ready to partake in communion, I always like to take just a few moments to talk about what that means for us. Because communion is a really important part of who we are as believers in Jesus Christ because it declares the death of Jesus, the very reason that we have hope, the very reason that we have purpose. And so as always, I like to point out that inside of these trays, there's two cups that

are stacked together. The bottom cup has a little piece of cracker, and the top cup has a little bit of juice in it. And in and of themselves, there's really nothing significant about those two things, but what they represent for us. It carries an incredible amount of significance. Because on that last great night of the feast, Jesus took the bread. The bread that's not what we usually think of. A nice fluffy loaf of bread.

It was unleavened bread. Almost looked like a giant saltine cracker, but there was so much significance, so much symbolism in the bread. You see, the bread was first of all unleavened. And leavened in scripture always speaks of sin. And so it speaks of the purity or the sinlessness of the bread. But that bread was also pure. pierced for the baking purposes and striped because of the way that it was baked.

And so as Jesus held up this bread that was pure and that was pierced and that was striped, he said, this is my body. And it's a perfect reminder that that's exactly who he was. He was sinless and he would bear the stripes that would ultimately bring us healing. And his hands and his feet and his side would be pierced for us. Can you imagine what it was like for Jesus to hold that up?

Perhaps a tear running down his cheek as he says, this is my body. Take and eat. And then he held up that cup. And in the Passover ceremony, there were several cups that were passed around, communal cups that were drank out of, clearly before COVID. Several cups that were drank out of. And the very last cup was called the cup of redemption. And that's the one that he held up.

And he said, this is the cup of the new covenant and my blood that is shed for you. You see. Blood was always important to the work of the gospel. God had told them that the blood has so much significance to it. Don't ever drink blood because the life is in the blood. And the sacrifices always involve blood because the life is in the blood. And so when Jesus held up that cup and he said, this is the cup of the new covenant

and my blood that is shed for you, he was reminding them that new life is in the blood. And so as we partake of these things, they don't actually become the body and the blood of Jesus, but they are so significant to us and explaining to us that we are saved by the sacrifice of his body and by the shedding of his blood. And so we're told when we do this to make sure that we do so in a worthy manner. So if you're here this morning and you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I would highly encourage you to do that first.

It's as simple as inviting him to come in and forgive you of your sins and repenting of all the things that you have in your life. Scripture tells us he'll come in and he'll make you brand new. If you're here this morning and you're a believer, then it's time to clear out the things that need dealt with. It's time to remove the old leaven. So it's a great time as they lead us in this last song to ask the Lord to search your heart

and see if there's anything that would be hindering your fellowship with Jesus Christ. And so as the ushers come forward and hand out the elements, if you would stand and we'll partake together and allow the Holy Spirit, to do whatever needs to be done in your hearts today.

We come before you. We thank you, Lord, for your body that was broken for us. Lord, for enduring the crown of thorns. Stripes on your back, Lord, for enduring the nails for us. Father, I thank you for your body that was broken. And Lord, I thank you that your blood was shed for us. Father, your blood that guaranteed the remission of our sins. Father, the blood of Jesus Christ that has the life in it.

So Father, we thank you for your blood that was shed for us. And Lord, may we always keep in mind the sacrifice of Jesus. And may we know and understand that that sacrifice, is our purpose. That that sacrifice is our reason. That that sacrifice is our hope. So Father, we praise you and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's partake. And if you'd bow with me one last time.

Father, I pray that you would be with us as we go out from here. Lord, may your Holy Spirit be with us. And may we take the things that we have learned, and may your Holy Spirit minister to them to our hearts. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.