11/16/25 2 Thess. 3:6-16 “You Can Be an Inspiration!”

12 Nov 11/16/25 2 Thess. 3:6-16 “You Can Be an Inspiration!”

11/16/25      2 Thess. 3:6-16      “You Can Be an Inspiration!”

As we are going to talk a little about work today, I thought that I might define work.  The definitions were a little vague so I found this from David Owens.  I have to agree with him in that I have always been looking for the perfect job.  He says “I remember when I worked at an orange juice factory.  It did not last long and I got canned.  I just couldn’t concentrate.  Next, I got a job as a tailor but I just wasn’t suited for it mainly because it was a so-so job.  I tried working in a muffler factory but that was too exhausting.  Then I managed to get a real good job working for a pool maintenance company but found that the work was just too draining.  I tried to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn’t make the mustard.  I worked as a lumberjack for a bit but I just could not hack it, so they gave me the ax.  Then I got a job at an exercise center, but they said I was not fit for the job.  So, I became a professional fisherman, a job that I thought would fit me very well, but I soon discovered that I could not live on the net income.  My last job was at Starbucks but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.  Finally, I retired and found I was perfect for the job!”  Of course, this is just a fictional story but I have had many jobs in my life.  By far and away, the best job I have ever had is being a pastor.  I definitely think that God made me for this job.  Hopefully, you have found or will find the perfect job for you.  I know that most of you are real hard workers.  Anyway, Paul is going to give us a little glimpse of what working really entails.  Maybe we can improve our outlook on work.

Here is an old story. An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse named Buddy.  He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Buddy didn’t move.  Then the farmer hollered, “Pull, Buster, pull!” Buddy didn’t respond.  Once more the farmer commanded, “Pull, Coco, pull!” Nothing.  Then the farmer nonchalantly said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch.  The motorist was most appreciative and very curious. He asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three times.  “Well… Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try!”  Sometimes I wonder if we might be a bit like this.

As we read our Bibles, we often like to think that these Biblical people were really quite primitive.  And they were in many respects.  However, they did have many of the same problems that we have today.  They had a problem with alcohol and the bad things that go along with that.  Yes, today we have a severe problem with alcohol and drugs and all that go with that.  It seems that we have a hard time learning good behavior even after 2000 years.  You have heard me say that I don’t think humans have changed much in the last thousands of years but our toys have just gotten a lot bigger.  Think about that one for a minute.

Now the same thing is happening with their workers.  They had lazy people just like we do today.  They had people who knew the minimum amount of work required of them to still have a job.  They had people who knew how to stretch the system just like they do today.  Of course, they also had people who were really down and out due to no real fault of their own.  We have those today but the crooked ones get all the publicity which leaves the real hurting in a bad way.  I have known people who had not showed up for weeks and weeks and they still expected a job and to be paid.  If it were up to me, they would not even have a job.  Anyway, they were there in ancient times and they are here today.

The biggest difference between then and now is how they were treated.  In the olden days, you had to find a way to support yourself no matter what was wrong with you.  If you were disabled, you had to find a way to get food.  If you had leprosy, you had to stay in your colony and find food from people who ran away from you.  It was rough.  Today, everyone gets a disability or welfare check from someone and there are many, many who are not disabled at all, only just plain lazy.  The problem is still huge.

But that is not what Paul is really referring to here although he sure could have been.  The early church had a much better grip on the reality of Jesus than we do today.  They knew that they were supposed to be doing certain things because Jesus had instructed them.  They were still close enough to the time when Jesus was physically among them.  There were still actual eye witnesses around to verify what Jesus had said and done.  Therefore, they knew that they had to work for Jesus if they wanted a better life.  Life was tough for these people as they were persecuted by about every group around them.  So, it did not take too much for them to realize that life was so much better with Jesus than without and it is the same way today.

Now how about in today’s world.  Churches are failing left and right because no one has even told them that they have work to do.  I’m talking a lot more than the necessities like when you mow the grass or shovel the sidewalk.  You do a lot of good things for your church because you know that there are things that need to be done everywhere.  I recently heard of a pastor who would not baptize the second child of a couple.  It seems that the family baptized the first one and then disappeared from the church until now.  He told them that they had not kept the baptismal vows so he would not do the second one because he did not want to make liars out of them again.

Also, each and every believer has been given a spiritual gift or two.  You all have them.  Are you using them?  If you are not then I have to ask Why?  God did not give you this gift or gifts so that you could sit at home and twiddle your thumbs.  If every person hearing this today would begin to use their gifts, there would be a huge change in the church.  Then there are many people who say that they really don’t know what their gift is.  My answer is “Well, why not?”  There are hundreds of books written on this.  You can find help on line.  You can even help yourself.  All you have to do is remember what it is that you do that gives you the most rewards, the most happiness, the most inner satisfaction.  Chances are that is where your gift lies.  As far as I can see, there really is no valid excuse for not knowing and using your gift.

There is no room for idleness in your church.  You do not have to be super busy using your gift as some people are.  But you would really be guilty of not loving Jesus if you don’t use it at all.  God made you to do good works for Him.  When you start to do these things is when you will start to really live life to its fullest.  You will be full of God which we have talked about before.

I would like to mention one thing here that we do not think about very often.  When you are using God’s gift to you, then it will seem like you are not working at all.  I will use myself as an example.  I spend a lot of time preparing and giving sermons and services.  I have been creating a new service every week for years, even after I retired.  Yes, sometimes I get a little tired but then I rest and I am fired up again.  You see God has gifted me with this ability to preach for Him.  The same can be said of all His gifts.  Some people never tire of giving hospitality.  Some never tire of teaching.  Some never tire of helping.  The list goes on and on.  This is a reason why it is important to know your gift.  You will never get too tired from using it.

The next thing I want you to notice here is that these disciples never quit.  They sometimes went day and night.  They all had jobs or they had the ability to do something or make something that everyone could use.  Paul was a tent maker.  He would do this when he had some slack time.  The others were the same way.  There was no way that they wanted to be a burden on those they were serving.

How do we do with this in our modern world?  That depends on where you go.  I have found that the smaller churches do much better serving with their gifts and other things than the larger churches.  I think that one of the reasons for this is that it is easier to hide from work in a larger place. It is so much easier to hide so no one ever knows your name.  But people also hide in smaller places but it is easier to see them there.

Another problem we have today is that we have so many churches that are run by non-Chrisitan people.  This is not necessarily a bad thing but one we must be aware of.  I think that a church should have a mixture of believers and what I call seekers.  This is a good thing.  However, sometimes the seekers get into places of leadership.  This can result in people straying away from the written word of Christ.  We have seen this happen in the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Methodist churches.  Whole denominations have strayed away and yet they think they are right.  Well, they are not.  When we see this happen, then we must figure out a way to stop it.  Sometimes this might be a little harsh but it is necessary.

Anyway, we have to be aware of what is happening around us and be ready to take action like many places have already done.  This takes the whole church to do this.  As Paul says, if a man will not work, he shall not eat.  Now this is strong.  The church in ancient times was much more communal than today.  They had to work together to survive.  But today, things are a little different.  We don’t generally all live together.  But there is still work to be done.  Notice it says that those who will not work as opposed to those who cannot work. We have lots of people who cannot work for a wide variety of reasons.  Those are the ones we are to be helping.  But those who will not work is another story.  We have lots of these people on our welfare roles today and they need to be put to work.  I do not have much time for these people because I have had to work my whole life.  Anyway, Paul and his followers worked hard and they paid their own way and that is what we need to be doing today.

The last thing I want to bring up today is the warning that comes with all of this.  In the old days just like today, they had people who did not work but what were they to do about it.  We have idle people and busybodies.  I’m also sure that they had their share of gossipers, liars and embellishers.  Today, we have them just about everywhere we look.  To put it mildly, they are very annoying.  According to today’s worldly standards, we should get totally mad at them.  Then do things that probably can’t be undone.  Unfortunately, that is how things work today in our secular society.

Paul does not go that far.  He says to take special note of them.  I today’s world, that would not be too hard.  The hard part would be to only take note of them and not do something drastic like our society calls for.  Remember that we are talking about believers that do these things.  We are to treat them as we have already been told.  First of all, just ignore them.  If they no longer have an audience, they just might quit doing the wrong things.  Of course, in order for them to be ashamed, they have to know what they are doing is wrong.  Therefore, if this does not work, we go to them by ourselves and tell them.  If that does not work, then we get a church official to come with us.  If that still does not work, we bring it up to the church as a whole.  We have already been told how to do this.  We are never to treat them as an enemy.  Hopefully, they have only been misguided.  We want them back in our midst.  We want them back so that they can be on the road to being a good Christan.

It is kind of like when you join the armed forces, one the things that you have to do is give up a lot of your identity.  You have to sort of be like everyone else.  There are good reasons for this that I won’t go into today.  Another thing that happens is that everyone has to get a series of vaccinations.  It’s interesting to watch these young people go through this.  In the 80’s there was a new way of doing these shots and that was without needles.  I don’t know how they worked but it was like a laser would blast them into the arms.  The only catch was that if you moved, you could get quite a bad cut from the laser.  So, they had the normal people passing out or getting sick plus they had the injured who had moved, sometimes badly injured.

The same is true when the Christian pulls away from the inoculation prescribed by the Great Physician to keep us healthy for the battle that lies ahead. The vaccine is “good” for us to keep us from being negatively affected by the bad environment in which we may find ourselves. But, how many Christian soldiers “jerk back” when they feel the pressure the Great Physician applies and cause themselves unnecessary misery.  Many people think they can do everything themselves and do not need God.  They are wrong, eternally wrong.  Please don’t be one of these people.

Today, we have looked at the work involved in being a Christian.  Being a Christian does not mean you can sit idle.  Through your gifts you are to work as much as you can and you will find that this really is not work at all.  I once knew a person at the Post Office that was always beaming and happy.  That was because when he wasn’t working at the Post Office, he was working for Jesus in his church, our world which included the Post Office.  He was an inspiration.  You can be an inspiration also if you just work for Jesus.  He loves you and will always be with you, helping.  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.