Thanks for taking the time to read the message. I hope that everyone is doing well. I am thankful that the bad storms in the Midwest didn't come where I live, but those who were affected need our prayers.
We are coming close to the end of our study of II Thessalonians. After today's message, I will have two more messages on this epistle before we finish up. In our passage today, I want to focus on the two themes that Paul is addressing. Next week, I want to come back and focus on one verse in particular from this passage that is very much misinterpreted and misapplied.
As we have seen through our study thus far, Paul has been addressing the theme of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He is attempting to answer the questions and the misunderstandings that the believers at Thessalonica had surrounding this topic.
In our passage for today, Paul is addressing the apparent problem of people waiting for Jesus to come and being idle and not working. They were just waiting for Jesus to come at any minute, so they stopped engaging in the other parts of life.
Paul tells the people to stop being idle. No one knows exactly when Jesus is going to return. As we eagerly await the return of the Lord, we need to live our lives for the glory of the Lord in all aspects. That means that we need to work and earn a living. It means that we need to be out engaged with the world showing forth in everything that we do that Jesus is the Lord of our lives.
While Paul is mainly addressing idleness by not working and earning a living, I also want to focus on the fact that while we wait for the Lord Jesus to return, we don't want to be spiritually idle. As Jesus told us, we don't want to be like the servant who wasn't doing his master's business when the master returned from a long journey. We don't want to be ashamed at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
There are at least two ways that we can do this. First of all, we need to focus on finding ways to tell others about Jesus. We need to find some way that we can be about fulfilling the Great Commission. Make it your goal to find some way to tell others that Jesus loves them and wants them to come to Him to find life. Also, we need to honor the Lord Jesus in the way that we live our lives. We need to put Him first in all that we do. Everything we do needs to be done for the honor and glory of the Lord as we wait for Him to come again and restore all things.
Now, Paul also speaks about something in this passage that I would like to address. He made it clear that he and his associates did not take anything while they were ministering among the people. They even paid for their own food. Paul did not want it to look as if he was in it for the money so to speak. Now, Paul made it clear that it was alright for a minister to be paid. But, it's not about the money.
We have so many ministers and churches that have turned people away from Jesus because of money and things and riches. So many are turned off when ministers live extravagant lifestyles and ask for more and more money. It is not right. Those in the ministry should live modest lives for the honor and glory of the Lord. They must be examples of laying up treasure in Heaven and not laying up treasure on earth.
Let each of us live lives that honor the Lord while we wait for His return. Let us all find ways to serve Him and do good. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I have been having a spell of poor health again. I am supposed to go to the doctor next week. Please keep praying for me. Thank you.
Pray that all will be safe at the Olympics.
Pray for the safety of the candidates as they campaign here in the US.
Please remember to pray for those affected by the bad storms. The states of Kansas and Nebraska were hit hard by storms this last week. There are also many still recovering from Beryl.
Let us keep praying for peace. We need to pray for peace in the Middle East. The situation there is precarious right now. Also remember to pray for peace in Ukraine and Sudan.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Afghanistan and Mali. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our current sermon series. I will post the verses on Monday. May God bless you all.
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