WEBVTT 00:00:01.429 --> 00:00:04.030 Someone has observed that many years ago they 00:00:04.030 --> 00:00:10.310 did not put up signs reading men working. But 00:00:10.310 --> 00:00:13.009 then he observed you could tell what men were 00:00:13.009 --> 00:00:18.829 doing back then. Would you open your Bible please 00:00:18.829 --> 00:00:21.989 to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 as we think about 00:00:21.989 --> 00:00:26.649 this theme of work. Firming up our foundation 00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:31.679 with regards to work. We're going to read a couple 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:36.500 of verses from 1 Thessalonians 4. They are verses 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:41.060 11 and 12. This is, of course, Labor Day weekend 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:43.640 and so it seems fitting for us to reflect upon 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:49.380 what the Bible has to say regarding work. I have 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:52.320 read theologies about different aspects of life. 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:57.109 I don't ever recall reading or even seeing. theology 00:00:57.109 --> 00:01:00.009 regarding work, and yet God has some important 00:01:00.009 --> 00:01:03.950 things to say to us in His Word about our work. 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:08.349 The text that we're going to read is penned by 00:01:08.349 --> 00:01:10.629 a man who was acquainted with hard work. That's 00:01:10.629 --> 00:01:16.129 the Apostle Paul. It was written by Paul to encourage 00:01:16.129 --> 00:01:20.629 and instruct new believers in their faith and 00:01:20.629 --> 00:01:24.079 in their lifestyle. in the midst of a pagan city, 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.980 the city of Thessalonica. Paul preached in that 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.719 city on his second missionary journey, Acts chapter 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:36.519 17 tells us about it. Having crossed the Aegean 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:40.359 Sea, leaving behind Asia and entering Europe, 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:44.599 Paul then went on to preach at the city of Philippi. 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:47.980 Following that, he proceeded down the Ignatian 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:53.409 Way, which was a major military and commercial 00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:57.849 road linking the Aegean and the Adriatic seas. 00:01:59.049 --> 00:02:01.709 After traveling about 40 miles down that road, 00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:06.150 he came to the city of Thessalonica. And as his 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:08.610 custom was, he went into the city to preach in 00:02:08.610 --> 00:02:12.750 the synagogue. As a result of that, there were 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:16.169 some Jews who believed, and there were many Gentiles 00:02:16.169 --> 00:02:21.930 who also believed. So successful was he that 00:02:21.930 --> 00:02:25.889 persecution broke out in the city against him 00:02:25.889 --> 00:02:30.090 and his message. Even after he left the city, 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:36.030 the opposition continued. Arriving a bit later 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:39.770 in the city of Athens, Paul dispatched Timothy 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:44.090 to return to Thessalonica. As it says in chapter 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:47.729 3 verse 2 of this very book, we sent Timothy, 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:50.569 our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel 00:02:50.569 --> 00:02:54.909 of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as 00:02:54.909 --> 00:02:58.930 to your faith. So he dispatched Timothy to go 00:02:58.930 --> 00:03:01.490 back to Thessalonica where persecution was still 00:03:01.490 --> 00:03:05.550 raging. He wanted to hear a report as to how 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:10.590 the church was doing. This letter then is Paul's 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:13.030 response to what Timothy brought back in his 00:03:13.030 --> 00:03:16.319 report. In verse 6 of chapter 3, he says, But 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:20.280 now that Timothy has come to us from you, and 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:22.979 has brought us good news of your faith and love, 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.419 and that you always think kindly of us, longing 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:29.460 to see us, just as we long to see you, for this 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:32.900 reason, brethren. And he goes on to explain his 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:36.280 burden for them in writing the letter. You see, 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:38.800 there were some who had already come to the city 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:42.599 of Thessalonica to undermine Paul's credibility. 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:47.319 It wasn't that they were necessarily Paul's enemies, 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:49.159 but they were enemies of the gospel. And they 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:54.039 knew that they could undermine Paul in his credibility 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:58.900 and thus undermine his message. And there were 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:02.120 others who were spreading false doctrine already 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.580 in the city of Thessalonica. And so you can see 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:07.800 that wherever the church has planted, Satan is 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.419 right behind the planting doing what he can to 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:14.819 disrupt God's work. There were those who were 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:17.600 teaching false doctrine regarding the Lord's 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.160 return and so Paul writes this letter to them 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:24.899 now to correct the false doctrine and to encourage 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:27.980 them in their walk especially in the light of 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:31.839 persecution. One of the questions the people 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:35.420 apparently had was how do we live out our faith 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:40.589 in the midst of a pagan city like this? Thessalonica 00:04:40.589 --> 00:04:42.389 was like all of the other cities of the Roman 00:04:42.389 --> 00:04:45.449 Empire. It was filled with temples, gods, and 00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:49.970 altars. A lot of immorality went along with that. 00:04:51.170 --> 00:04:55.649 And so they said, Paul, how do we live as Christians 00:04:55.649 --> 00:04:58.889 in this kind of a culture? And so he writes now 00:04:58.889 --> 00:05:02.170 to tell them in chapter 4, in verses 1 through 00:05:02.170 --> 00:05:06.800 8, he says, you must live in purity. I know, 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.339 I know there's immorality all around you and 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:11.779 it seems like everybody else is doing it, but 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:17.600 not you. You learn how to possess your body in 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:22.699 holiness. And he says, not only must you live 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:24.759 in purity, you must live in charity. Learn to 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:29.759 love one another, verses 9 and 10. And then in 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:33.600 our text, verses 11 and 12, he says, as Christians 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:37.600 we are to live in honesty. in a pagan world. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.519 And as part of that honesty, he talks about work. 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:46.680 Notice what he says in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:51.439 11. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:56.519 and attend to your own business and work with 00:05:56.519 --> 00:06:00.720 your hands just as we commanded you so that you 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:04.660 may behave properly toward outsiders and not 00:06:04.660 --> 00:06:09.189 be in any need. And so he drops into this epistle 00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:15.889 this word about work, manual work. Now the economic 00:06:15.889 --> 00:06:18.209 situation of that day was quite different than 00:06:18.209 --> 00:06:23.750 ours. Their culture depended upon agriculture, 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:29.110 depended upon skilled trades. In fact, every 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:34.550 Jewish man had to learn a trade that was part 00:06:34.550 --> 00:06:37.490 of their tradition. And Paul was no exception, 00:06:37.930 --> 00:06:40.970 right? Paul knew how to work with his hands. 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:45.029 In fact, in chapter two of this epistle, he reminds 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:47.290 them of that. He says, you recall, brethren, 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:52.569 our labor and hardship, how working night and 00:06:52.569 --> 00:06:56.089 day, so as not to be a burden to any of you, 00:06:56.730 --> 00:06:59.750 we proclaim to you the gospel of God. Paul reminds 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:02.829 them that he had used his trade in that city 00:07:02.829 --> 00:07:07.050 to support himself. Now from Acts chapter 18 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:10.410 we understand a little bit about his trade. It 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:14.410 was working with leather. He was called a tent 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:18.129 maker. Although there are some today who studying 00:07:18.129 --> 00:07:21.509 that concept in that culture say that it may 00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:23.569 not just have been tents. Paul may have been 00:07:23.569 --> 00:07:26.649 a cobbler. He may have been a shoemaker. A maker 00:07:26.649 --> 00:07:30.949 of sandals out of leather. But the point is that 00:07:30.949 --> 00:07:35.100 Paul knew how to work with his hands. Now when 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:39.399 he emphasizes labor, work with your hands, he's 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.699 not talking about the kind of work you should 00:07:42.699 --> 00:07:46.019 do, because there are not many of us that work 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:51.560 with our hands. We work in other ways. But what 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:55.319 his emphasis is, is to work rather than being 00:07:55.319 --> 00:08:01.959 lazy, rather than being idle. Robert Frost observed, 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:06.579 the world is full of willing people, those willing 00:08:06.579 --> 00:08:11.459 to work and those willing to let them work. He 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:14.519 tells us here that we are to be among those who 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:20.040 are willing to work. Honest work and labor is 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:27.040 respectable. Not only that, I believe that honest 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:30.509 work is required. of all of those who can do 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:35.370 it. Now there are some who cannot do it. Some 00:08:35.370 --> 00:08:40.570 because of disabilities. Others because of their 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:45.289 age. And the scripture tells us that we as a 00:08:45.289 --> 00:08:48.009 body of people are to look after the needs of 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:53.970 widows and orphans. But as a general principle, 00:08:54.090 --> 00:09:02.230 God upholds hard work. Now if we're going to 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:05.450 look at a biblical theology of what work means, 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:09.269 we have to go back to where work is first mentioned 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:13.429 in the Bible. And where do you suppose that is? 00:09:14.590 --> 00:09:16.889 Right, the book of Genesis. So let's turn back 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:20.169 to the book of Genesis and to the second chapter. 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:34.340 As we begin the chapter, it summarizes by saying, 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:38.720 thus the heavens and the earth were completed 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:44.000 and all their hosts. And by the seventh day, 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:48.639 God completed His work. That's the first occasion 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:50.779 of the word work in the Bible. It's not human 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:56.009 work. It's God's work. God completed his work 00:09:56.009 --> 00:09:58.570 which he had done and he rested on the seventh 00:09:58.570 --> 00:10:03.009 day from all his work which he had done. Then 00:10:03.009 --> 00:10:05.970 God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:11.750 because in it he rested from all his work which 00:10:11.750 --> 00:10:17.309 God had created and made. And so God's creative 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:22.669 acts are here described as work. Now the word 00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:26.690 that is used here is not a word that emphasizes 00:10:26.690 --> 00:10:30.789 how God toiled and labored. It is a word that 00:10:30.789 --> 00:10:34.830 emphasizes the skill of what was done and the 00:10:34.830 --> 00:10:39.789 benefit of it. That was God's work. God finished 00:10:39.789 --> 00:10:42.970 His creating work in six days. On the seventh 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:49.230 day, He rested. Not because He was tired. God 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:52.649 exerted tremendous power in His creative work. 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:55.899 but he did not get tired. God doesn't get tired. 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:01.019 But God rested on the seventh day to set a pattern. 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:06.220 He sanctified that day to set a pattern for man 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:11.279 in his work. We see here that the creation was 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:15.899 designed by divine intelligence, that it honors 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:21.240 its creator. We see here that what God worked 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:25.419 on was not only skillfully made, but it was beneficial. 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:32.299 It was good. God saw what he made and said, it's 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:38.980 good. It's good. And so God's creative acts are 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.620 described as work, but not only that, we see 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:46.659 in the book of Genesis that God blessed mankind 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:52.909 with the gift of work. Did you see how I said 00:11:52.909 --> 00:11:59.990 that? He blessed mankind with the gift of work. 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:04.330 The Lord didn't burden us with work. He blessed 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:10.049 us with work. Look over in chapter 1 of Genesis, 00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:18.029 verse 26. Then God said, let us make man in our 00:12:18.029 --> 00:12:22.389 image according to our likeness. And let them, 00:12:22.389 --> 00:12:26.629 notice this, rule over the fish of the sea, and 00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:28.870 over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, 00:12:28.909 --> 00:12:31.789 and over all the earth, and over every creeping 00:12:31.789 --> 00:12:34.690 thing that creeps on the earth. And God created 00:12:34.690 --> 00:12:38.409 man in his own image. In the image of God, he 00:12:38.409 --> 00:12:41.629 created him. Male and female, he created them. 00:12:42.909 --> 00:12:45.850 And God blessed them. Notice that, he blessed 00:12:45.850 --> 00:12:50.940 them. And he said to them, be fruitful. and multiply 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:58.039 and fill the earth and subdue it and rule. Now 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:00.740 please notice this is before Genesis chapter 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:06.580 3. Some people have the idea that work is the 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:12.940 result of the fall in the sin. Not at all. God 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:18.000 commanded man to work, to fill the earth, to 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:23.279 subdue it. to rule it before there was ever any 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:30.100 sin within man. God blessed us with work. He 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:37.059 designated man as his vice regent, so to speak, 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:43.860 as a sovereign over this globe. And He said to 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:51.230 man, rule it. It is yours to govern. It is yours 00:13:51.230 --> 00:14:00.289 to subdue and to fill. But we can't ignore Genesis 00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:06.289 chapter 3 as it relates to work. God blessed 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:11.049 us with work to do before there was sin. But 00:14:11.049 --> 00:14:16.950 sin did change the nature of the work. When man 00:14:16.950 --> 00:14:19.590 fell into sin, he lost his privilege of rule. 00:14:20.880 --> 00:14:24.899 and was, as Dr. Charles Ryrie says, condemned 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:31.200 to exhausting labor in order to make a living 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:34.039 because of a curse on the ground. Let's read 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:39.379 about it in chapter 3. The fall has taken place 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:43.019 already, and God is now meeting with those who 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:46.460 are part of it. And in verse 17, he has something 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:51.460 to say to Adam. because you have listened to 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:55.019 the voice of your wife and have eaten from the 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:59.120 tree about which I commanded you, saying, You 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:04.419 shall not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:09.940 of you. In toil you shall eat of it all the days 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:16.700 of your life. Notice that, in toil. Both thorns 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:20.559 and thistles It shall grow for you, and you shall 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:25.179 eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of 00:15:25.179 --> 00:15:29.840 your face you shall eat bread, till you return 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.740 to the ground, because from it you were taken. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:39.899 For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:43.860 And so we see fulfilled the curse of death because 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:48.000 of sin. But in addition to that we see that work 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:53.980 changed Now there was going to be involved in 00:15:53.980 --> 00:16:01.580 work toil and sweat The ground was pronounced 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:12.580 by God good and now God says cursed Man could 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:15.940 eat freely of all the trees of the garden but 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:23.139 the one. But now God says he must eat his food 00:16:23.139 --> 00:16:29.779 by the sweat of his brow. So now we understand 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:33.419 why mankind so often does not perceive work as 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:39.679 a blessing. Despite what the fall of man did 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:44.889 to work however, Work is still a blessing. And 00:16:44.889 --> 00:16:51.889 it comes to us from God for our good. That brings 00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:54.110 me to another point that I want to make. Not 00:16:54.110 --> 00:16:58.570 only is God the author of work, but God has authored 00:16:58.570 --> 00:17:03.090 work for our benefit. Let's just think about 00:17:03.090 --> 00:17:07.529 some of the benefits of work. In the first place, 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:14.779 it gives to us a purpose. We need purpose. We 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:23.059 need meaning. We need accomplishment. We all 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:26.960 look forward to vacation, don't we? We can hardly 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:31.019 wait to get into that campsite by the lake, go 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:33.440 out on the boat, go fishing or whatever you like 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.740 to do. We can hardly wait to get out there and 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:39.299 rest. But after you've been out there about a 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:46.710 week, or two. What happens? You begin to get 00:17:46.710 --> 00:17:53.190 this restless feeling inside. You're having fun, 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.289 you're with your family, or maybe you're alone, 00:17:56.369 --> 00:17:59.269 if that's what you prefer. You're doing what 00:17:59.269 --> 00:18:02.369 you want to do and yet inside there is this nagging 00:18:02.369 --> 00:18:08.269 feeling that you want to do something. That's 00:18:08.269 --> 00:18:10.509 because you're a human being and not an animal. 00:18:13.090 --> 00:18:16.609 You're a created person and God has given you 00:18:16.609 --> 00:18:22.769 as a human being a need to accomplish. He has 00:18:22.769 --> 00:18:26.789 given you a need to be significant, to have a 00:18:26.789 --> 00:18:30.589 purpose and work does that for us. Through work 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:34.650 we have the opportunity to do things and we see 00:18:34.650 --> 00:18:38.450 our finished product. It is frustrating to those 00:18:38.450 --> 00:18:41.190 of us who are in kinds of work where you don't 00:18:41.190 --> 00:18:46.799 have that. For those of us who are in work before 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:50.240 you go home and the job is never done, it's good 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:54.579 to have a hobby. So that you can work on something 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:57.039 and see the finished product there and say, it's 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:01.720 finished! Look at it! There's a great sense of 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:05.000 satisfaction in that. You see, work is a blessing. 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:09.119 What if God hadn't given us work to do? Life 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:13.119 would be frustrating. Life would lack purpose. 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:20.779 an accomplishment, but God's given us work. It 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:24.259 would be a terrible punishment to have to work 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:29.099 without any sense of purpose to it. One of the 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:32.019 things that the Germans did to break people in 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:34.420 their concentration camps was to give them work 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:39.799 that had no meaning. And so the prisoners would 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.579 be taken out to this large pile of rocks and 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:45.240 they would labor for days and days from morning 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:50.059 till night to move it over here. And when the 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:53.000 last rock was over there, then they had to labor 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:59.380 to move it back over here. And back and forth. 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:03.380 And back and forth. Until people went crazy. 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:10.279 We need to have a sense of doing something and 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.299 work gives that to us. It's a gift from God not 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:18.759 only that work As a benefit to us provides for 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.759 our needs now, let's go back to first Thessalonians 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:25.819 412 Where Paul suggests this ever so briefly? 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:31.980 But certainly with with a point He says work 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:36.349 with your hands so that you may behave properly 00:20:36.349 --> 00:20:41.890 toward outsiders and not be in any need." In 00:20:41.890 --> 00:20:43.829 other words, he says you need to work so that 00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:48.809 you meet your needs. He had done that himself, 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:50.569 hadn't he? We read the verse back in chapter 00:20:50.569 --> 00:20:56.309 2, verse 9. Somebody said one of the hardest 00:20:56.309 --> 00:21:01.269 ways to make a living is to work for it. But 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:05.680 that's the whole idea. With work we earn our 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.480 living. We meet our needs. That's God's blessing 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:13.920 to us. If we have the ability to work for ourselves, 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:21.039 we should not depend upon others. And then there's 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:23.960 a third reason that God has given us work. It's 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.180 a benefit. It's a blessing. It is so that we 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:31.230 through our work might bless others. Look back 00:21:31.230 --> 00:21:35.809 in Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment, where again 00:21:35.809 --> 00:21:38.650 Paul talks about work. I almost use this as my 00:21:38.650 --> 00:21:44.769 text because he says in verse 28 of Ephesians 00:21:44.769 --> 00:21:53.869 4, let him who steals, steal no more. Now you 00:21:53.869 --> 00:21:56.109 know the implication here is striking to me because 00:21:56.109 --> 00:21:58.250 it suggests that there were some of the Christians 00:21:58.250 --> 00:22:05.130 in the church who were stealing. He says, rather 00:22:05.130 --> 00:22:10.650 let him labor, performing with his own hands 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:16.269 what is good, in order that he may have something 00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:23.549 to share with him who has need. One of the blessings 00:22:23.549 --> 00:22:27.130 of work is that it allows us to bless others. 00:22:28.130 --> 00:22:31.470 Paul emphasized this in a number of the churches. 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:36.079 He encouraged them to give even out of their 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:40.539 poverty so that the saints who were impoverished 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:44.599 even more in Jerusalem could have something to 00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:48.180 live on. They were under great stress and persecution. 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:52.920 And so Paul was gathering up offerings from churches 00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:56.119 here and there throughout Asia Minor, throughout 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:00.150 Greece. of modern -day Greece, and He was taking 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:02.549 all of that back to Jerusalem to minister to 00:23:02.549 --> 00:23:06.849 the needs of the saints. God allows us to work 00:23:06.849 --> 00:23:09.970 so that we can benefit others. There's great 00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:14.049 joy in that. Jesus was right, of course, when 00:23:14.049 --> 00:23:19.109 He said it is more blessed to give than to receive. 00:23:23.410 --> 00:23:29.019 Isn't it a great joy when you can find out maybe 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:35.420 even a little secretly in a sneaky way that somebody 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:40.720 has a need and then to be able to channel a gift 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:42.759 to them some way so that they don't even know 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:46.339 where it comes from. And as far as they're concerned, 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:50.720 God just dropped it on them. There's tremendous 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:54.059 joy in that and delight in being able to see 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:57.599 people radiate and how God has met their need. 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:01.480 And to be the channel for that. God wants us 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:03.859 to work to be able to do that. Now, there are 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:06.119 other reasons that God has given us work, other 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:08.940 benefits. We can advance the gospel through it. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:14.140 Through it we build up the church. Work benefits 00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:18.400 our character. Work is good for human society. 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:22.359 All of these are benefits of work. God has authored 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:27.099 work for humanity's benefits. But God makes it 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.420 clear in his word that if there are those who 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:35.740 can work, who will not work, they should not 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:40.440 be given anything to eat. Boy, that cuts against 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:43.680 the grain of our welfare mentality, doesn't it? 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:49.339 And again, I'm not talking about welfare blanket. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.880 I'm talking about those cases where people receive 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:56.799 welfare and they cannot work. That's unbiblical. 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:01.480 I appreciate the moves in a number of states 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:04.200 as well as in our Congress to make people who 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:07.380 are receiving public money more responsible. 00:25:09.380 --> 00:25:12.500 I am in agreement that our welfare system has 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:16.279 helped to destroy our society in the name of 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:19.339 doing good. I mean the people who started it 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:23.099 probably were sincere, but it's destroying our 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:27.990 society. It's got to be changed. And not everybody's 00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:30.589 going to be happy about it. But it is a biblical 00:25:30.589 --> 00:25:33.730 principle. Look over in 2 Thessalonians. You 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:36.630 know, this problem of work must have been more 00:25:36.630 --> 00:25:40.769 than we think. Paul just mentions it ever so 00:25:40.769 --> 00:25:43.609 briefly in his first letter. But in his second 00:25:43.609 --> 00:25:46.990 letter, there's a major problem. There's a group 00:25:46.990 --> 00:25:50.269 of Christians, professing Christians at least, 00:25:50.329 --> 00:25:54.589 who refuse to work. They were able to work, but 00:25:54.589 --> 00:26:00.009 they freeloaded off of others. And so Paul does 00:26:00.009 --> 00:26:03.289 not comfort them. He does not embrace them. He 00:26:03.289 --> 00:26:06.970 does not sympathize with these people. He admonishes 00:26:06.970 --> 00:26:12.250 them. Look in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians. We 00:26:12.250 --> 00:26:15.650 command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord 00:26:15.650 --> 00:26:19.119 Jesus Christ that you keep aloof from every brother 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:22.259 who leads an unruly life. That is, he's out of 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:26.579 step. And not according to the tradition which 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:29.660 you've received from us, for you yourselves know 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:32.339 how you ought to follow our example, because 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:35.180 we did not act in an undisciplined manner among 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:40.579 you. Nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:45.140 for it, but with labor and hardship. We kept 00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:47.640 working night and day so that we might not be 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:50.980 a burden to any of you. Not because we do not 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:54.359 have the right to this, but in order to offer 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.279 ourselves as a model for you that you might follow 00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:00.619 our example. For even when we were with you, 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.359 we used to give you this order, if anyone will 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:09.119 not work, neither let him eat. For we hear that 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:13.339 some among you are leading an undisciplined life 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:17.579 doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 00:27:17.859 --> 00:27:21.180 Picture there, running from here to there, one 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:24.000 place to another, checking on people, you know, 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:28.359 a busybody. They're busy, but not doing anything. 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:34.500 Now, such persons we command and exhort in the 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:40.650 Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion. and 00:27:40.650 --> 00:27:43.690 eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, 00:27:43.789 --> 00:27:46.390 do not grow weary of doing good. If anyone does 00:27:46.390 --> 00:27:48.890 not obey our instruction in this letter, take 00:27:48.890 --> 00:27:51.349 special note of that man and do not associate 00:27:51.349 --> 00:27:54.529 with him, so that he may be put to shame." You 00:27:54.529 --> 00:27:56.230 see, what he is talking about here is church 00:27:56.230 --> 00:28:00.190 discipline. That there is to be an accountability 00:28:00.190 --> 00:28:06.589 to the body. And if someone is a lazy, freeloading, 00:28:06.670 --> 00:28:10.559 busybody, He is not to eat. The church is not 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:13.559 to take up support for him. The believers have 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:16.279 no obligation to support him. He is not talking 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:19.799 about widows and orphans, etc., etc. He is talking 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:22.720 about those who can work and refuse to work. 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:29.960 Now why is he so strict on this? It's because 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:34.819 God has authored work and God has called work 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:41.160 good. It is good for us. And so we today must 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:43.980 resist cultural values that denigrate the place 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:47.740 of work. The welfare mindset that says society 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:52.619 owes it to me. The consumer mindset that says 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:57.720 I want my desires satisfied now and with no obligations 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:03.319 on my part. You see, we have to be aware of these 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:06.539 attitudes because these values have a way of 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:09.400 creeping into our idea about the church too. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:13.420 Why should I work in ministry? I work hard all 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:18.119 week. Someone should take care of my kids, my 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:20.759 family, and let me sit in church and enjoy it 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:26.900 without having to work. I've put in my time. 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:33.599 Let somebody else do it. I want to be served, 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:40.720 but don't expect me to do anything. Oh. Where 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:43.200 do you think those kinds of ideas come from? 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:48.720 Not from the Bible. They come from the world. 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:52.539 You see, the very attitudes that many Christians 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:56.839 lambaste in the world, and rightly so, they practice 00:29:56.839 --> 00:30:03.509 in the church. Work belongs in the church, too. 00:30:03.950 --> 00:30:09.609 And all of us have work to do. Well, there are 00:30:09.609 --> 00:30:11.390 many other things we can say about work, but 00:30:11.390 --> 00:30:13.349 one thing I do want to say in closing is that 00:30:13.349 --> 00:30:18.569 when you have worked well, rest well. Will you? 00:30:19.710 --> 00:30:21.569 You know, there are some people who have a horrible 00:30:21.569 --> 00:30:26.589 time resting. They're workaholics. They work, 00:30:26.710 --> 00:30:28.849 work, work, work, work, and somehow their whole 00:30:28.849 --> 00:30:33.170 identity is wrapped up in work. Well, bless the 00:30:33.170 --> 00:30:35.130 Lord, they know how to work, but they need to 00:30:35.130 --> 00:30:39.210 learn how to rest, too. You see, God worked for 00:30:39.210 --> 00:30:42.569 six days on creation. He rested on the seventh. 00:30:42.710 --> 00:30:45.289 It only took God six days to do all of creation. 00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:47.789 Now I know that's before government regulation. 00:30:48.789 --> 00:30:53.150 That's before OSHA. We understand that. But when 00:30:53.150 --> 00:30:56.539 God had finished the work of six days, He rested. 00:30:57.099 --> 00:31:00.160 And he gave us an example. Now I know we're not 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:03.000 practicing the Sabbath as a religious ceremony 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.200 and ritual and all that. That's part of the law. 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:08.539 Christ has fulfilled the law. But there's a principle 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:13.400 there that we also need to rest. And some of 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:17.619 you need to learn that. You need to be able to 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:20.980 lay your work down and rest and be refreshed. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.220 When you have worked well, learn to rest. well. 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:29.759 But we come to the Lord's table that reminds 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:34.200 us of another work of the Lord. We've talked 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:37.420 about the work of creation. This reminds us of 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:41.440 his work of redemption. When God had finished 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:45.819 the work of creation, he said, it is good. When 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:49.539 he had finished the work of redemption, he said, 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:54.559 it is finished. And we come to a table reminding 00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:58.609 us of the sufficiency of the sacrifice of our 00:31:58.609 --> 00:32:02.990 Lord. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, 00:32:03.150 --> 00:32:04.730 whether you're a member of this church or not, 00:32:04.750 --> 00:32:07.930 you're invited to come to this table assuming 00:32:07.930 --> 00:32:11.450 you're walking in fellowship with the Lord. And 00:32:11.450 --> 00:32:15.930 let us be reminded that we do not work for our 00:32:15.930 --> 00:32:21.829 salvation. That by God's goodness and grace, 00:32:22.009 --> 00:32:26.920 we rest. in the finished work of Christ on our 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:32.839 behalf. Let's rejoice today in His shed blood, 00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:44.880 His broken body for us. Let's bow together. Father, 00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:51.839 as we gather around this table, we want to thank 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:57.559 you for the wonderful work of creation that reveals 00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:04.000 your power and deity, your intelligence. We worship 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:10.240 you because of that. But if possible even more 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:12.299 so we worship you for the work of redemption 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:16.799 because through this finished work of Christ 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:22.920 we have found salvation. And as we come to this 00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:27.200 table, we quiet our hearts and remind ourselves 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:31.960 that it's by grace that we're saved, not of works. 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:41.000 And we partake of this cup with gratitude. We 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:46.619 partake of this bread in gratitude for your finished 00:33:46.619 --> 00:33:49.200 work. Amen.