March 27th - Instructions for a Perfect Church

Prayer Requests

Pastor Aaron Healing / Resignation

Christians in Ethiopia

Jennifer - Brother's Wedding

Ryan French - Broken Arm

James Band Festival

Text - Nehemiah 5

Last week we talked about the building of the wall in a hostile situation. Nehemiah commissioned several tactics to make sure everyone was ready, what were some of them? Everyone built the wall while holding a weapon, others stood back and held extra weapons in case of attack, a trumpeter would sound the call at the place of attack and everyone would rally to him, and workers were working directly on the wall closest to their homes and families.

What sort of material were they using? New or old? A little of both, one of the great lessons is that the wall was built out of the old wall, just as Christ's church is built out of redeemed people. Something sort of related that I think is cool is a quote by Patrick of Ireland, in Ireland there were and are stone walls everywhere, definitely different than the defensive wall in Jerusalem, but stone walls none-the-less. Patrick looked at one of these walls and saw a spiritual parallel in his life, he said,

"Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on the top of the wall."

It's a good picture of us, totally useless and then redeemed and made useful. So, moving on in Nehemiah, in chapter 4 the great danger is external enemies who want to kill and/or oppress the people of God, a lesser danger is those in Jerusalem who start to doubt that the wall can be rebuilt, and are grumbling. Now we're going to see that this internal problem goes deeper than just grumbling.

Nehemiah 5:1-5 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, "With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive." There were also those who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine." And there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards."

Due to the enemies outside of Jerusalem, and past problems, the people in Jerusalem are running out of their personal food stores and are needing to buy it from the storehouses in Jerusalem. In order to be able to afford this food, they are making deals with those that own the grain, by mortgaging their property. A mortgage is putting up a piece of property for money, as collateral on a loan, it comes from two words in Olde English, Mort and Gaige, which mean, Death and Pledge, so a Mortgage is a death hold on you by the one you've mortgaged something to. Not a great thing to be in.

The "what" they are doing is bad, but what is worse is the "who" is doing it. The nobles in Jerusalem are the ones who are exacting these charges, as we'll see in a moment, the people are upset because though they're all Jews, it is the poor Jews who are facing the severest consequences. We often look at kings like Artaxerxes who do somewhat nice things for one or two of the Jews as good kings, but Artaxerxes was overall a pretty wicked king, and he had some pretty hefty taxes out over the lands he controlled. The Jews were having to mortgage their land to be able to pay these taxes as well, and if they can't pay the king's taxes, the payment then reverted to sons and daughters, and Persia would take them off to be slaves in some far off land.

This is extremely sad and when Nehemiah hears it he responds well.

Nehemiah 5:6-7 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. I took counsel with myself,

Let's pause here, Nehemiah is ANGRY at the sins against his brothers and sisters. Is being angry a sin? It can be, but everything can be a sin, very few things are always sins.

Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Nehemiah is angry, but he doesn't sin, but he is also very careful to check why he is angry, it says, "I took counsel with myself." I believe he paused for a moment to consider why he was angry and to think about some scripture, and especially how to best approach the problem. He could have just freaked out and said, "That's it, I'm leaving you and going back to my cushy job in Susa, deal with your own fool problems!" But he remembers some Bible verses and he decides that if these people really want to honor God, then by sharing the law with them, they will repent.

Nehemiah 5:7-8 and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, "You are exacting interest, each from his brother." And I held a great assembly against them and said to them, "We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!"

Nehemiah calls Jerusalem together to stand in court against those who are breaking the law and causing so much pain in Jerusalem. He immediately goes to the Law of Moses,

Exodus 22:25 If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.

It doesn't get any clearer than that, yet the nobles in Jerusalem are exacting interest, which means they loan money expecting more money in return. It's a good way to make money, but it's also a good way to tear a community apart, and God absolutely forbids it within the people of Israel and in the church.

Nehemiah points to the opposite end of the spectrum, that many Jews were sold into slavery, or sold themselves into slavery, during the exile, and many of the people, including Nehemiah, had been making every effort to buy their freedom and bring them home. This is one reason Nehemiah is so angry as well, because what the nobles are doing is in effect making people slaves in Jerusalem, people who had just been freed from the Babylonians.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Americans are not my brothers and sisters, but I am still furious when I see commercials like the "J.G. Wentworth" ones where the lawyers are offering to buy annuities. They don't say so, but I'm sure they're offering less than 75% of the value, it is a great way to prey on the poor. The "Title-Pawn" and "Payday Loan" places are the same, exacting huge amounts of interest on the poor so that they are poorer at the end of the week than if they had just had no money. As you grow up, whichever industry you get into, please please please don't let it be one where you exploit the poor and drive them farther into debt. God absolutely hates it, many passages attest to this fact, this one in Nehemiah is especially clear.

Avoid getting into massive debt as well, because this makes you a slave, it shackles you to possessions and makes money more important in your life than it should be.

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

There is good news though, Nehemiah's rebuke of these sinning nobles has an effect,

Nehemiah 5:8 They were silent and could not find a word to say.

This is exactly what is supposed to happen when we preach the law to lawbreakers, showing that they have sinned against Heaven.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Now that they know they are sinning, Nehemiah drives for the correction,

Nehemiah 5:9-12 So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them." Then they said, "We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say."

Nehemiah calls for a complete correction, a complete adherence to the law, not some compromise or a slow change, but he says, "This very day!" Hey says, stop charging them interest, he says, give their land back, and give their past interest back. Interest back then would have been just as today, a percentage of the loan added to the loan, except back then it wasn't just on money. If I loaned you a hundred pounds of grain, I'd expect a hundred-ten pounds back, if I were to charge you interest.

These nobles can't argue with the law of God, so they promise to repent, Nehemiah then wants to make sure they hold to it,

Nehemiah 5:12-13 And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said "Amen" and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

The priests administered an oath and Nehemiah gave the example, saying basically, if you don't do what you've promised, may God do bad things to you. This is reminiscent of the Law of Moses promising curses for law breakers. Let's pause here just momentarily, because we've all broken the law of God, and not just a little, but quite spectacularly. This law that the Jews are under here is a good law, and it is meant to cause them to live long and happy lives together, but it is so perfect that often times we fall from keeping it,

Romans 7:10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.

So let's see how we are redeemed from under the curse of breaking the law:

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree".

So that leads to probably our most important application, that we are NOT saved by the law, we are saved by Jesus Christ. But then, should we abandon the law all together?

Romans 3:31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

This law leads for happy congregations, even if it can't save our souls. All of the people in attendance are happy with this new law and say, "Amen", which means "Truth" and is affirming that the law of God is good, then they praised the Lord for giving such a good law.

Nehemiah now is going to step out of the chronology of the book real quick to preach at us. I love this little addendum because it shows that Nehemiah really understood his role as proto-savior of Israel, or the one who was delivering the Jews from both external and internal dangers. Christ fulfilled this so much more perfectly, but Nehemiah does it about as well as a man can.

Nehemiah 5:14-15 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

Nehemiah looks back over twelve years of service, well after the events of the Book of Nehemiah are over, and is able to affirm his words with his actions. We're not 100% sure when Nehemiah was made governor of Judah, my guess is right after the walls were finished, but the exact details are not given. But for twelve years he was the governor of Judea and he had certain rights as governor. One of those rights was to live like the king of Judah, but he didn't, and one of the reasons was because the past governors, from right after Zerubbabel died to when Nehemiah showed up, required the full food allowance, asking for all manner of food and wine daily, which greatly taxed the people. Nehemiah knows that one of the reasons a leader should fear God and follow his commandments is because those under him will follow his example, just as the evil governor's servants were mean to people as well.

We've read this verse a lot of times, but it is such a wonderful verse, lets read who we should imitate so we can point people at our lives and likewise tell them to imitate who we're imitating:

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

During all of this time, Nehemiah IS getting paid, by Artaxerxes, and Artaxerxes is able to pay him because Artaxerxes is taxing the people. If Nehemiah had taxed them, they would have been doubly taxed. Our government is a terrible example, but just so you know, the fewer taxes the better, even if that one is big, because then it's easier to know where your money is going and to keep track of it. Let's see what Nehemiah did with his pay,

Nehemiah 5:16-18 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.

Nehemiah had a lot of people to feed, but he did it out of his own paycheck, even though he could have made the taxpayers foot the bill. One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is in Psalm 50, it tells us that God likewise is not demanding from us money or possessions, but something so much more valuable,

Psalm 50:12-15 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

So if you are put in a position like Nehemiah, where you make a ridiculous amount of money, don't think it's because God loves you more, for we saw on Friday night that God loves all of his saints equally as he loves his beloved Son Jesus, but that you ought to be using whatever money you have to invest in his kingdom and alleviate the suffering of the poor and to glorify his name. Know that if God has given you an abundance, it is so you may give out of that abundance.

2 Corinthians 8:14-15 Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."

Nehemiah is a great writer, if he had just left it at that, we may be able to say all sorts of strange things about his motives, but he tells us exactly why he does what he does:

Nehemiah 5:15,19 ...because of the fear of God... Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

Let me give you the New Testament Parallel real quick as we're running out of time, Luke 19:

Luke 19:1-2 He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

Tax collectors were the chief of sinners in most peoples' eyes, they were sell-outs to Rome and also greedy, as we see that Zacchaeus is rich, it confirms the stereotype, which is almost always true.

Luke 19:3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature.

Not only does this refer to Zacchaeus' literal height, and also to how most people saw his character.

Luke 19:4-7 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

It looks as though Jesus is mingling with the worst sinner in Jericho, which he definitely did on occasion, but here is not what he is doing,

Luke 19:8-10 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Zacchaeus was wealthy, but he was also using that wealth for great good, and very careful not to defraud anyone, but if by some chance he did, he made sure to pay it back twice what the law required. Jesus goes on to tell a parable about how some people are rich and others are poor, and that richness or poorness are not indications of sin or blessing, but are entrusted to people by God to use for good.

So to our application, you may be like Nehemiah and Zacchaeus, hugely wealthy, and that's great, but know that much is required of you. Or you may be poor, and in that case you must know that much is required of you. Jesus is our great example, I think we've read this verse recently, but it is such a great verse that I'd read it everyday if I could,

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Your second application is that Jerusalem was being rebuilt, it was going to be beautiful, but who cares how beautiful the city is if the people are all slaves and miserable inside. We must seek to build the church, but we must hold to the laws and joy of Jesus Christ so that we are not defrauding or mistreating our brothers and sisters. Who cares how massive the church is if we're no better off inside than outside? If the Son sets us free, we shall be free indeed.

We could go on to read passages like 1 Corinthians 3, 5, and 6 where sin inside of the church at Corinth is tearing it apart, cliques are formed, sexual abuse is tolerated, and Christians are suing and defrauding one another. It is a miserable church and one we must strive not to be. As Christ has forgiven you, let us also forgive one another, as Christ has set us free, let us not enslave one another, but let us love one another as Christ has loved us.

If we do so, we will have the perfect church.

February 27th - Count the Cost

Prayer Requests
Pastor Aaron Preaching
Swift Cantrel Preaching
Indian Christians murdered
David - College
Kyle - Mt. Paran
Greyson - Mom health, Uncle health, Job interviews
Tyler - Job interviews
Kari - Friend in hospital, Dance teacher's husband cancer
Tyler McIntosh's collar bone
Jennifer - Magnet Decisions

Text - Nehemiah 1

We're starting this morning the book of Nehemiah. There are many different types of writing in the Bible, the Epistles are letters which are to instruct and edify. Zechariah, which we just finished, is prophetic, it is teaching through dreams and visions and word-pictures. Other types are the poetry of Psalms, the wisdom of Proverbs, and the Narrative of the Gospels and Acts of the Holy Spirit. Each of these requires a slightly different teaching style, and Nehemiah, which is a Historical Narrative, will be best taught not line-by-line, but so that you see the major theme of each major event. If you get lost or confused it is imperative that you ask questions, because something that may seem totally obvious to me might be lost on you, since I've spent so much time already in this book.

Nehemiah comes as a package deal with Ezra, so much so that sometimes this book is called Ezra-Nehemiah. They are split up mainly because of scroll length when they weren't written in books, but on scrolls. The reason we are not going to Ezra right after Zechariah is because Ezra is an extremely fast paced, numbers-based, book which is really useful for giving us the timeframe of Zechariah, Haggai, Nehemiah, and Esther, but with not a lot of didactic material of its own. It would literally take us years to get through Ezra because every chapter would have us going to another minor prophet.

The reason we chose to do Nehemiah after Zechariah is because in Zechariah the major rebuilding effort was the Temple, now the major rebuilding effort in Nehemiah will be the wall of Jerusalem. Both of these books happen after the Babylonian exile, Zechariah in 522-518BC, and Nehemiah quite a bit later in 445BC. Remember that Jerusalem was burned in 586BC, so the fact that Jerusalem lay in rubble for so long is a very important point as we get a little farther into Nehemiah.

After the Jews were allowed to go home after the Babylonian exile, starting about 535BC, there were two major returns. The first was when Zechariah and Zerubbabel and Joshua led many back. The second was led by Ezra, quite a bit later. During this time there were trickling of Jews back in, but even as we see in the book of Acts in the AD40's that many Jews had not come back but had lived in foreign lands for hundreds of years.

It is very important to remember that God dwelt in a temple in Jerusalem during this time, so to have no interest to be near to Jerusalem was to have no interest to be near to God. In our days though, we remember that Jesus Christ, God the Son, created for himself a temple of flesh and dwelt in it; that if anyone is born again then the Holy Spirit dwells in them and they are a temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

It is massively important that we recognize that a Jew living willingly outside of Jerusalem in the 5th century BC was rejecting God. To the contrary, Daniel was forced to live outside of Jerusalem and he reacted this way,

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Daniel knew where God dwelt, and prayed towards him, not at all happy that he was a prisoner in a foreign land. Remember this point, because it will be very important for our application at the end.

So that brings us to Nehemiah. Nehemiah is a man born outside of Israel in Persia (Modern Day Iran), he is probably about 60 years old, and many think he was probably a very smart and handsome man, because of his job he had as the Cupbearer of the king of Persia. A Cupbearer isn't just a waiter, it is a much more trusted position. It can be so high as to be the second in command of a nation. The Cupbearer is responsible for making sure the king is not poisoned, so it is a very trusted position. There have been no lack of Cupbearers in history who have betrayed their kings to death in order to try to steal the throne.

The Cupbearer is privy to all manner of military and kingdom secrets, and his advice is readily sought and desired by the king. So the first thing we learn about Nehemiah is that he has done very well for himself in the world, he is probably the richest and most powerful Jew in the world at this time, more so than even the governor of Jerusalem.

At this time, the land of Israel/Judah aren't even called by their names, but are called the "Province Beyond the River." Which river do you think it's beyond? The Jordan. It is a dark, dark day for Jerusalem, but Nehemiah seems to be oblivious, so let's start into Nehemiah,

Nehemiah 1:1-3 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire."

The twentieth year is the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, so that definitively dates this book to 445BC. The month of Chislev is November, this will be more important in a bit, but not right now. There was constant traffic from Jerusalem to Susa, a capital city of Persia, some of whom would be Jews. Nehemiah talked with his brother named Hanani, who was either just coincidentally in Susa where Nehemiah was, or more likely perhaps Hanani sought Nehemiah out to try to improve the condition of Jerusalem. Nehemiah asks, basically, "How is the rebuilding of Jerusalem coming?" I don't think he gets the answer he was expecting at all, he is told they are shamed, in great persecution from surrounding peoples, and that their walls are still in shambles and the gates are wide open to any oppressor. The Holy Spirit greatly convicts Nehemiah and Nehemiah instantly goes into mourning.

Nehemiah 1:4-5 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments..."

Nehemiah goes into great mourning, both for the condition of Jerusalem, but I think more so for his own sin of being so affluent in a sinful place.

His prayer is fantastic, he starts here by quoting Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9. He shows himself to be well versed in the Hebrew scriptures, he quotes Daniel, Moses, and Ezra, and I love his beginning to this prayer, to the Lord God of Heaven. This prayer is asking both for forgiveness of the people Israel, and also for Nehemiah, and I think his opening shows that he has not mixed any of the Persian gods into his worship, but sees that God is the only God and Saviour. His prayer continues,

Nehemiah 1:6-7 Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

Nehemiah confesses great sin before God, starting with the nation, then to his own house, then even himself. He is totally broken over this sin, as evidenced by his fasting and weeping for days, not just minutes. He continues now by appealing to God's faithfulness and that he responds to repentance,

Nehemiah 1:8-9 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'

Nehemiah confesses that Israel's sins led to the exile and the condition of Jerusalem now, but he continues the verse from Deuteronomy, that if they repent then they will be returned to a place where God dwelt. Nehemiah is hoping for this repentance to lead to God turning his eyes and ears back in favor towards Jerusalem.

At this point we see that it was very clearly the sins of Israel that led to their great pain and destruction. Sometimes when bad things happen, it is the result of sin, especially in the context of a whole nation. But it is not always the result of sin. Like if you stub your toe you shouldn't go to try to figure out, "Which sin was it that God is punishing me for in the stubbing of my toe?" As children of grace, we do not expect every sin to receive a retribution, since they have been paid for on Calvary's cross. But we also have to see in the falling of nations and bad things that happen to cities can be seen to be punishment from God,

Amos 3:6 Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?

Does that mean that cities that have disaster in them are worse and cities that are safe was better? No, Jesus answered that question by saying, "Unless you repent, you shall likewise perish." (Luke 13:1-5) Disaster is a punishment for sinners, and also a warning. This is a complex issue and I encourage to read Psalm 73 when you get a chance, which tackles it a lot deeper. Not everything bad that happens is a result of sin, but some things are. Like the condition of Jerusalem right now in Nehemiah's day is definitely a result of sin. Nehemiah is praying that God will forgive them and build them back up,

Nehemiah 1:10-11 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."

This is recognized as one of the greatest intercessions in the Bible, asking God to listen and save and rescue his people. We'll see much more next week on how Nehemiah brings it to fruition, but we need to remember that the beginning of all success starts with prayer. When I'm witnessing I like to remember that we have to talk to God about people before we talk to people about God.

John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

We see in this case that Nehemiah is a worshipper of God, but he needs to do his will. It is impossible to be a follower of God and not be changed. Nehemiah at this point is a great sinner, he lives in absolute wealth and extravagance while his people perish. We'll see next week that he does God's will, he is changed, he does act on his worship of God.

This is very similar to one of my favorite conversations Jesus had in Luke 18,

Luke 18:18-30 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."

There is a young man very like Nehemiah who has the world by the toes, he has every good thing, wealth, food, respect, power, and yet he is confronted with the fact that these things have become his idol. You can't go to Heaven by selling everything you own and giving it to the poor, what you must do is love God more than anything else, and we see that this young man wouldn't repent, and walked away sad, walking away from the greatest treasure in the universe. Jesus said that it was easier to get a two-ton dromedary through a 1 millimeter hole than to get a sinner into Heaven.

Jesus' followers recognized that they wouldn't make it either, so they said, "That sounds impossible." This is similar to Nehemiah's condition, in that he is the Cupbearer of the king, he cannot leave. He has all sorts of classified information, he knows where armies are, how big they are, how major campaigns are being waged, the tactics of the Persians, building projects and weaknesses of cities and provinces...if he asks to leave, it is very unlikely that the king will let him go. We'll see next week that what is impossible with men, is possible with God. After four months of praying, Nehemiah is allowed to return to Judah, leaving all manner of wealth behind him.

And this is not a call to leave all money and comfort, but it is a call to love God more than money and comfort. In the New Testament we see Christians with families and houses and wives and parents and children and even some with great wealth (Lydia), but these must not be your idols, or they will keep you out of the kingdom. Whatever you lose in this world will be repaid many times over in Heaven, Jesus calls us thusly,

Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

None of us should enter lightly into following Christ. He does not say, "Try it for a little while and if you don't like it, then go on your way." He does not say as many have dubbed "Pascal's Wager" that "It is better to believe in God and be right than not to believe in God and be wrong." or "If I'm right, then I'm fine, but if you're right, I'm fine."

No, Jesus calls for a much deeper and more committed discipleship. It is a discipleship that says if your own brother hates you for being a Christian, that you continue to be a Christian. It is a discipleship that says if you lose your life you will rejoice, if you lose your house you will continue to follow, if none go with you, you will walk alone with Christ.

Luke 14:25-33 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

So your application today is to not love the world or the things in the world, but to recognize that there is salvation and hope and everlasting happiness in only One. He requires much, but he also promises much, do not enter into his discipleship lightly, endeavor to be the best disciple he has ever had, or don't claim to be a disciple at all. Nehemiah prayed for 4 months before he decided to leave his worldly paradise to do the work of God, please be likewise praying and counting the cost, knowing that whatever you lose in Christ will be repaid to you many times over in Heaven.

Also, pray for your nation, for your church family, for your biological family, and for yourself, that you would be strengthened to withstand the temptations of the world, that you would be accurate representations of Christ in the world, and that through your life and ministry many would be saved. When we pray we don't pray towards Jerusalem, but towards Heaven, knowing that through Christ we are heard and that our prayers have great power because of him who has effected them.

Finally, as we'll look at next week, that Nehemiah is a type for Christ, he shows us some things about Christ which wouldn't take place for almost 500 years. Jesus Christ, God our Comforter, (Nehemiah means God comforts), stepped out of the kingdom of Heaven to be poor, to exchange our spiritual poverty for his spiritual affluence, he came to save his people, and he has secured salvation for those who once were exposed to the world without hope. Set your affections on this Christ, know that he always lives to make intercession for his saints, know that he has paid for all of your sins, both confessed and unconfessed, that he took our sins on himself and confessed them for us, so if we follow him, repenting towards him, and placing our full faith in him, then we are totally forgiven and will be welcomed into the kingdom of Heaven.

July 25th - Manasseh - Chief of Sinners, Least of Saints

Prayer Requests
Summit

Geil's hand (multiple) injuries

Donnie's Back

Alyssa's injuries

Kari's dance wins

James' camp and knee

Dave's flying schedule
Hesus & friends witnessing
Students traveling

Hannah teaching next week

Text –2 Chronicles 33:1-13

Today we’re going to look at one of Jesus’ great great great grandfathers. It is truly amazing that Christ’s genealogy contains such wickedness and that he redeemed many of his ancestors. David was an adulterer and murder, Bathsheba was an adulteress, Solomon was a result of that adultery and a great sinner himself, Rahab was a prostitute, Tamar pretended to be a prostitute, Cain killed his brother, Adam was the first sinner, etc, and the beauty of all of these is that Christ paid for their sins on the cross, though they existed long before him.

But even though they were before him, who was greater?

John 8:53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?"

Matthew 22:42-45 "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

Christ had a pretty spotty genealogy, it was made up of great sinners, of Jews and Gentiles, of kings and paupers, and yet it did not impact his life or ministry. This is the first lesson I want you to learn before we go any farther. There is a resurgence of a false teaching that you can be cursed for things your ancestors did and that you need to specifically rectify their sin in order to do away with the curse. It’s closer to voodoo than Christianity, but it’s becoming a prominent belief in many churches as they go apostate.

Ezekiel 18:1-4 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge'? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

In Christianity we have a promise of a complete rebirth into the family of God, that Christ is able to redeem all of our sins and any sins and curses in our genealogy. Christ is utterly bigger than our sins, otherwise how could we possibly expect him to save us from them?

Today we’re going to look at one of Jesus’ grandfathers who is in the running for chiefest of sinners of all time, an utterly evil man, but one with a wonderful outcome. So let’s read the Chronicle of his lifetime;

2 Chronicles 33:1-13 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asherahs, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall my name be forever." And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses." Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

v.1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

A little bit of context here, Manasseh’s father’s name was Hezekiah, he did some very prideful things which Manasseh would have seen. Isaiah came to him and told him he would die, but Hezekiah prayed to God for deliverance and Isaiah then told him he would live. In order to train Manasseh up as a king, he and Hezekiah reigned together for about eleven years. It’s neat to see that while two people were ruling Israel, really Israel only had one king because of their unity, which sort of points to the Trinity a little.

Manasseh lived altogether 67 years; remember that he lived to be pretty old, because that’s going to be important later. He reigned the longest out of any king of Israel except for Jesus Christ who is reigning still.

v.2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.

Instead of looking to the history of Israel, Manasseh looked to the history of pagans, forgetting that it was God who gave the land of Israel to the nation of Israel, forgetting that God drove out the pagans whom he was now following.

v.3-5 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asherahs, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall my name be forever." And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

Part of his outright wickedness was that he refused to learn from the lessons of his father, who had torn down idols and tried to bring Israel back to worshipping the true God. There was no pagan deity which Manasseh missed in his idolatry, the Baals are the fake creator and sustainer gods, the Asherahs are for worshipping nature, your translation may say groves which would be trees for worship, and the hosts of heaven are either or both the planets and stars and/or angels. Look where he did it too, besides in all the old places which would be scattered throughout the countryside, he’s also done it in the temple, the very house of God.

In order for this to not just be a history lesson, we have to see that today we have Baals, Asherahs, and host of heaven worship in every false religion, in Oprahanity, in the “Green” movement, and in horoscopes and evolution. This wasn’t just a problem which existed in Manasseh’s day, this is still going on today, and remember that this is evil in the sight of God: abominations of the nations.

There is a test you can easily do to see just how evil a nation has gotten. They may be worshipping money and sex and all be atheists, but if they’re not doing this next step, then they haven’t sunk to the lowest level:

v.6 And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom

We know from other sources that this was to the god Molech, the god of money and wealth. The ultimate low is when a nation begins to murder its babies. In another place God asks Israel if their sexual sin is worth burning their babies in the fire. Today in America we offer up over 3,000 babies daily to the god of money, sex, and convenience.

The place that this took place was such an evil and disgusting place that later Jesus Christ would use it to paint a visual picture of Hell, Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom. Oh how much he must hate it when a nation goes so apostate as to sacrifice its babies.

v.6 and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

I love this verse because for all of the evil that Manasseh did, we see that God is not ignoring it, but that God is provoked to anger and about to act. We know that there is a God in Heaven and we rejoice that he will judge on earth.

To really make the point the Chronicler continues showing how great a sinner that Manasseh was:

v.7-9 And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses." Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

There is a reminder that God blesses nations that honor him, but that he will reject and destroy those who dishonor him. Instead of instantly crushing the nation though, God sent prophets and warnings:

v.10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.

Here we see that it wasn’t just Manasseh who was sinning, but the people under him were happily being pagans as well. The Chronicler puts it pretty gently that they paid no attention. Check this out:

Hebrews 11:37-38 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy— wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

One of the prophets that went to Manasseh was Isaiah. There is a tiny chance that Isaiah was actually Manasseh’s grandfather on his mother’s side, since Isaiah’s daughter and Manasseh’s mother had the same name, and tradition tells us that not only did Manasseh ignore Isaiah’s call to repent, but he ordered for Isaiah to be arrested. As Isaiah fled he hid inside a hollowed out log, and Manasseh gave the order for the log to be sawn through.

I really, really, really hope you’re getting an idea of how wicked Manasseh was! You’ll be glad at what happens next:

v.11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.

Aha! He got what he deserved, the far superior army of Assyria came in and took many sinning Jews from Judah and Jerusalem and took them to Assyria, included in this is Manasseh the king who was taken to Babylon. In a day he fell from being a king to being a prisoner.

My Bible I think may have mistranslated this point that they took him with hooks…I think the Hebrew says they found him among thorns, which is neat because we see Manasseh fled and hid amongst his chosen gods, the Asherah groves, which couldn’t save him. And just as Isaiah died hiding, so did Manasseh get captured. He is very fortunate at this point that he didn’t die, because while Isaiah went to a very good place, Manasseh at this point would have gone to a very bad place.

v.12 When he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

Having realized that his gods couldn’t save him, he seeks the God of history who has consistently been saving people since the beginning, including his fathers and grandfathers. He humbled himself, fell on his face, and begged God for favor. Do you think God will answer? Let’s see.

v.13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.

This exceedingly great sinner was forgiven, restored, and saved; he went from being the chief of sinners to the least of saints!

v.13 Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

One of the neatest things about this is that you remember that Manasseh reigned the longest out of any king…well he got saved late in his life. Manasseh’s father Hezekiah had what could for all intents and purposed be called a death-bed conversion, though he got better. The beauty of a grace-based religion is that salvation is available while you still have breath in your lungs. You can be a thief nailed to a cross utterly unable to do anything good and still be saved by trusting in the crucified Messiah who was dying for your sins.

There are precious few examples of people getting saved in their last moments in the Bible. However, they are there, and they are there so that we do not despair for older people and that we have hope in death-bed conversions, but they are rare so that we don’t rely on them. If Christ is so great as the Bible makes him out to be, then we want to come to him as soon as possible, and not like Manasseh who had godly parents and grandparents yet sinned and did much damage to himself and his country because he would not come to God early in his life. I would love for you to go home and read the first sixteen verses of Matthew 20 for a great parable on this topic.

The remainder of the story recounts the partial repentance of Judah, but once again Manasseh’s son would go astray, but this opened the way for Josiah to be one of Judah’s greatest kings, but that’s a story for another day.

So your conclusion is that Christ is able to save even the most evil of people, he paid a magnificent price on the cross for all of our sins, so we must flee to him to receive mercy and forgiveness. The earlier the better, for we are doing no-one any good by seeking life and pleasure anywhere else. Our nation would make Manasseh’s nation blush for the rampant nature of our sins, so I implore you not to partake in the idol worship of America, but see that the Lord is God, and submit yourself humbly to him.

August 2nd - The Sin of Idleness

Prayer Requests
New School Year
Sarah and Tyler China Trip
Pastor Aaron’s Surgery
Lee Preaching
Daniel's Job Situation
Brad Teaching for the First Time
Baby Snyder

Text – 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

There are two things you can do when this life is all you have.

When Corinth had stopped believing in the resurrection from the dead, and believed that this world was all there was, what’d they do? They went nuts, sinning all the more, they wanted to get as much out of this life as they possibly could because they didn’t believe there was anything to come.

Thessalonica went the opposite route, which is what we’re going to look at today. I think I’d probably take the Thessalonica direction, which is sit down and stop doing anything that didn't give me instant gratification. We’ll see that Thessalonica and Corinth weren’t that dissimilar in their motives, just their application was different. Paul doesn’t even consider whether they may be right or not in their response if there were no Resurrection, because there is a Resurrection.

The Emergent Church likes to ask stupid questions like that, “I know that Paul wrote Romans, but what if he didn’t? Would that make any difference?” Stupid questions like that. Some if questions are good, like, “What if Christ hadn’t resurrected from the dead?” Then according to Paul we would be much to be pitied among all people, and Christianity would be a dead religion.

1 Corinthians 15:16-19 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

There’s no reason to keep throwing out conditions, “Well, I know that Christ rose from the dead, but if he didn’t, but Christianity was still true, would we be justified in going nuts, or in quitting doing anything?” It’s a dumb question, and Paul didn’t even give it a second thought.

So a real quick overview, why did Paul need to write Second Thessalonians? Because they thought they had missed the rapture. Had they? No. What two things have to happen before Christ returns? A massive falling away from true Christianity, and the coming of the Antichrist.

So that’s our background for this passage, because people thought they had missed the rapture, they weren't being good Christians.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 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. 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.

It’s a pretty straightforward passage, but there are some neat contextual things in it that will make it blossom for you, and hopefully help you put this passage into application.

v.6 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.

This isn’t pointed directly at the people who were being lazy. Paul doesn’t call somebody out and tell them to get up and get a job. He tells the congregation as a whole to keep working, and to disassociate themselves from people who wouldn't work. Surely some who would hear the reading of this letter would be the very people Paul was talking about, and surely it would cut them to the core knowing that they were sinning against Heaven as declared by Paul.

The tradition that Paul taught them, was it something new that he had made up? No, which Testament was it from? The Old one. We’ll look at it a little more in verse 9.

v.7-8 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.

What was Paul’s profession?

Acts 18:1-3 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

Paul was a tent-maker. This is an awesome profession for him, because it allowed him to make tents pretty much anywhere. It’s not like he needed really special tools, especially since the tanner would do most of the dirty work. Paul mentions things to do with tents all over the place, it’s one of the reasons I’m sure he was the main author of Hebrews. Check out a cool verse that you’d never know what it means if you didn’t know Paul was a tent-maker.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The word for divide, which is sometimes translated “handle”, is orthotomeo, it means to make a straight cut, to accurately measure and then snip. This is how Paul would have rightly measured and cut tents, and he’s applying it to the Word of Truth. If you mismeasured and miscut, what would happen to your tent? It’d be lop-sided. Same with your theology.

It was a totally normal for Pharisees to learn a trade, it was supposed to keep them humble and in touch with the people. It’s pretty neat that Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, would be a tent-maker though, ‘cuz it’s a prophecy fulfillment from 2400 years before he was born.

Genesis 9:27 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.

Who is Shem? Israel. Which people group did the Messiah come from? The Semites. Who are the Japhethites? Gentiles, specifically Europeans. Dude, God has this whole thing planned out long before it happened.

Galatians 1:15-16 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…

There is no mention of the professions of Timothy and Silas, so its impossible to say what they did with Paul, whether they helped him or did other things, but this letter is clear that they worked doing something.

The point is that they worked hard while they were in Thessalonica, and paid for everything they ate. Was it because they didn’t deserve to be supported by the church?

v.9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

They could have subsisted on the congregation for two reasons, but they wanted to set an example. Paul said it best in his letter later to Timothy.

1 Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages."

Paul appeals to two separate laws. The muzzling of the ox, from Deuteronomy 25, refers to letting the ox eat while it is working, for it should share in the harvest. The second about a laborer, from Deuteronomy 24, sets strict requirements for the Jews not to hold back wages. Those familiar with the Old Testament would recognize also that the laborer in that passage is associated with a sojourner, a person who just stops by for a while, who the Jew was required to house and feed. This was Paul, Silas, and Timothy, they they worked.

So Paul and Silas and Timothy didn’t work because they had to, but because they had full rights to food and shelter, but they worked to set an example. One of my favorite parts about being a volunteer pastor is that I am right here with Paul, everything I do with you guys is because I love you and I love Jesus, not because I get money for it. Granted, the more I do it, the more I wish I could do it full time, so sooner or later, hopefully sooner, I’ll find a church to pay me. As you grow up, even if you might go into full time ministry, I implore you to get a job where you work with your hands.

On the basis of this example, Paul is going to give a pretty strong admonition.

v.10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

This is obviously talking about someone who is able to work, but isn’t. We are to totally take care of a person who is unable to work because of a valid reason. If you’re not willing to work, Paul says you ought not be allowed to eat. Consider this when you’re doing chores or helping around the house. Your parents are going to provide for you either way, but you really should do your best to pull your own weight, and we'll see why it a little bit.

v.11-12 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.

What’s a busybody? Someone who has so much time on their hand that they’re getting into mischief, either through gossip, or just annoying people. God doesn’t like these people.

1 Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

Peter lumps it in with such serious sins as murder and larceny. We need to stay away from gossip. Paul gives them a gentle exhortation to start working again and earn their own living. His is the beginning of church discipline, you point out that something is wrong, and gently ask them to fix it. What if they won’t fix it?

v.14-15 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.

The next thing to do if someone won’t correct their ways, is to disfellowship them. That is, stop talking to them, stop letting them come to church, stop associating with them in every way. The goal is so that they’ll realize that their sin is serious, be ashamed of it, and repent.

We don’t do this to be mean, we do it to straighten out a wayward friend. Sin is serious and it will wreck your life, not to mention your eternity, so it is very important that we consider someone’s holiness, repentance, and regeneration as more important than their feelings.

v.13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

It is tempting, since the world is such a wicked place and we seem to be doing so little good, to just stop doing good altogether. Paul reminds us not to do that. We are storing up crowns in Heaven, we are serving the Living Christ, our good deeds, no matter how little reward we see out of them, are for his namesake and are therefore totally worth it. The best way to get a lot out of doing good is to not expect to get anything in return. That way, when you do something good only because you’re being obedient to Christ, and you get something good back, all the better.

Even if we never get anything back, we need to keep doing good, because it’s the right and godly thing to do. But I guarantee you’ll get something back. We’re going to talk about this a lot more in about a month when we get into First Peter.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Whatever job you’re doing, remember that you’re not just doing it for the money or for your parents or boss, but that ultimately your boss, your master, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything you do reflects on him, so we ought to do everything as well as we possibly can.

So that’s the letter, here is the conclusion, which is a benediction.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

The Lord of peace is Jesus Christ. No matter what you’re going through, he is capable of giving you a peace beyond all understanding, because he has for you taken on and defeated death, he has reconciled you to his father, you were once his enemy, but now you have peace in his blood. And to top it all off, he is with us actively establishing our hearts in hope through good works and words. He has a wonderful plan for us, a plan towards sanctification and allowing us to minister in his name. Even when things look bleak, he is our God, and we are his people.

Finally, what got this whole letter kicked off? A false letter came in from Paul that said they’d missed the rapture. How do they know this letter is genuine?

2 Thessalonians 3:17-18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Paul, who had some sort of eye problem, signed this letter. We don’t have the original, but I imagine it was big and blocky and scribbly.

Here we bid adieu to our beloved Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Next week we will look at Psalm 24 with the new Middle-Schoolers, then go to Peter on Pentecost, and then we’ll be in First and Second Peter.

Any questions, comments, or insights about these letters to Thessalonica?