I wanted to get through the whole
chapter, but we're just going to look at the first five verses. That's a good stopping point,
a good set up. Read with me 2 Thessalonians
3 verses 1 through 5. Brethren, pray for us that the
word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, even
as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable
and wicked men, for all have not faith. But the Lord is faithful,
who shall establish you and keep you from evil. And we have confidence
in the Lord, touching you, that ye both do and will do the things
which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ. Brethren. This is addressed to
the brethren. God's word, these epistles, are
written to the church. They're written to God's people.
Brethren, it's a precious term, beloved term. We're brothers
in Adam, all men and women are brothers in Adam, but not in
Christ. And this is who he's addressing.
He just warned us in chapter 2 of deceivers, how they deceive many and God even sends
strong delusions. The wicked one and false religion,
his ministers, their greatest method of deceit is applying
the Word of God to everyone without exception, especially the promises
of God. The promises of God, Scripture
says, are in Christ. The love of God, we've pointed
out so many times, is in Christ, Romans 8, 39. Like the ark, Noah's
ark, where was the love of God? There's nothing but wrath and
judgment outside the ark. God did not love people outside
the ark, but he loved those in the ark. And that's vital because
it's a great deception that's being used today to apply the
word of God indiscriminately. You can't do that. I write you
a letter, you write me a letter, you address it to whom you write
it, and you say all these things. Well, so does the Lord. Brethren,
brethren, brethren. Now, it says here in verse 1,
finally, brethren, these are my last thing I want to leave
with you, he says. Finally, brethren, pray for us. Pray for us. This may be a play
on words, but yet this is throughout the scriptures that we are to
pray for one another. Pray for the brethren, especially. Pray for all men. That's what
Paul told young Timothy, didn't he? He said, well, God will have
all men to be saved. Not that he wants every single
person to be saved, but he will have kings and paupers saved. presidents and poor people, say. And so we're to pray for all
men. But he says, brethren, pray for us. I know he's speaking
of Paul and Silas and Timothy particularly. But we're told
to pray for one another. Look at Psalm 122. This is a
wonderful psalm. Psalm 122. Brethren, pray for
us. Pray for one another. Our brother
just prayed for us and our children, all of us. Psalm 122, what a wonderful psalm,
listen to it. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet, whose
feet? God's people. This is God's house. Who dwells in your house? Your
family? Well, that's who dwells in God's
house. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem." That's
the church, New Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city. Who built it? Christ did. It's compact together. It's united. It's joined together. Where do
the tribes go up? See, there's a people out of
every kindred, tribe, nation, people. But they're all in God's
family, in God's hand. Tribes of the Lord. Why do they
go there? To the testimony of Israel. to the Word, to the Gospel,
to give thanks. They come to worship the name
of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are set thrones of judgment.
God's Word judges us and teaches us. The thrones of the house
of David, the sheer mercy. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for the peace of God's church. They shall prosper that love
thee. They shall prosper that love
thee. Peace. So David prayed, peace. Peace within thy wall
and prosperity, spiritual prosperity within thy palaces for my brethren
and companions sake. David said, I'm a companion of
them that fear thee. Those are who I spend time with,
David said, my brethren. For my brethren, my companions
sake, I will now say, peace be within thee. Because of the house
of the Lord our God, because of this wonderful place that
He's given us, to worship the Lord, to hear His Word, where
He's promised to be with His people, I will seek their good. I'm going to pray for them, because
they will prosper. I love that. Go back to our text. So pray
for us. Brethren, pray for us. And he
says this at several verses of Scripture I'm going to show you,
but I'm going to run out of time if I'm not careful. Finally,
brethren, finally, brethren, pray for this, that the Word
of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, even as it
is with you. He asks, he beseeches the people
to especially pray for him and those who preach the gospel.
That's who he's primarily speaking of. Pray for us. Why? Why should we pray for the preacher?
That the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified. If the Lord speaks through him,
he'll speak to us. If the Lord prospers him spiritually,
he'll prosper us. If the Lord blesses him with
the word, he'll bless us with the word through him. This is
the Lord as chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
we live. So you pray for him and he'll
bless you. They will prosper that do so. that the word of the Lord will
have free course, run well. He used that term in another
epistles, that the word of the Lord may run well. Where do we
want it to run? What course do we want it to
take? What course do you want the word
being preached this morning to take? You want it to go straight
to the heart. Whose heart? Well, not only your
own. Now there's some people in this
room whose hearts haven't been broken yet. And what we want,
what we desire, what we pray for more than anything is that
that word, like an arrow from the quiver, the bow of our God,
will go straight to their heart. Pray for us. Because it's not
by my, not by my ability, I don't have it. not by power, not by
persuasible words of man's wisdom, but it's by his spirit. Come,
oh north wind, blow, oh south, upon thy garden, and let the
spices flow hath. May the spirit of God speak through
this poor vessel and take one of his arrows. The gospel is
the power of God unto salvation, and may he take one of those
arrows. May He take this word, which is as a sword, a two-edged
sword, and it must come from His mouth, not just mine, and
take that arrow, that sword, and pierce a hard heart, wound
and heal, kill and make alive. That's what we pray for. And
that the word of the Lord might be glorified, whether anyone
believes it or not. And some will. Amen. God must
be glorified. He's worthy in it. That the word
of the Lord may be glorified as it is in you. You know, there
are times when you hear the word, when God does glorify His word,
not the preacher. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels that the excellency of the power might be of God and
not of men. When the people heard those poor
fishermen speak with power and authority and people's Hearts
were broken and they were brought from the kingdom of darkness
and the kingdom of his dear son, from death into life. They took
note that this is of God. These fishermen, those who knew
Simon and Andrew all their lives growing up, they thought, these
boys didn't have that in them. This must be of the Lord. And
so God's word has glorified it. There are times when you hear
the Word of God preached in power and gloriously, and you glory
in it too, don't you? Pray to that end. Pray that this
will be more than a Bible study. Pray that this will be glorious. That we might behold His glory.
That's salvation. That God might be glorified.
You know, if that is our true desire, If our true heartfelt
desire is that God might be glorified, we'll be begging the Lord to
speak to the preacher. Glorify your son. That's what
Christ did. Christ was a preacher and he
walked along one day and said, Father, glorify thy name. And
it thundered. And if you'd ask for the same,
my thunder. Lord, my thunder. To some, it
was just thunder. Others, they heard God say, this
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Glory, glory. Let the Word I have free course
and be glorified even as it is with you. Don't you want some
who have never seen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ to glory
with you in the Son of God? Wouldn't that be wonderful? If
that person sitting beside you or in front of you or behind
you has never seen His glory, would finally see His glory.
And after this is over, say, wasn't that wonderful? This is how He does it. Pray
for us. And verse 2, that we might be
delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all have not
faith. In Psalm 2, most of you know
Psalm 2, some may not, but it says, and this was quoted by
the church in Acts 4, and they gloried, they marveled. The church
came back and they were suffering persecution
and the Jews wanted the church to be blotted out. It was after
Peter and John were beaten and came back to the church and they
all quoted in their prayer Psalm 2. And it says this, why do the
heathen rage? And you know religion is all
the rage. And the people imagine a vain
thing, speaking of the Jews, Imagine the vain thing. They're
still waiting on Christ to come. He has come. Kings of the earth
set themselves. Rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and against his anointed. Say, let us break
their bands asunder and cast away their cords from them. What
they wanted then and what they want now is to put the church
out of business. They want the church to be gone. All this talk of Sovereign God
and His Christ, they want this to be gone. These people that
proclaim this, they want this to be gone. You know what the
next verse says? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. All have not faith. All God's
people have faith. There's one Lord, one faith,
one Father, one God of all His people, and they all believe
the same way. One hope of their calling. One hope. And they all have the same faith,
but all men don't have the same faith. And those who don't believe
this gospel that I'm preaching this morning, they don't have
the faith. They're preaching another Jesus. And there's nothing that most
of religion would like better than to put us out of business,
to see us fail, to see us fall, to see these doors shut. And
that's a fact. That's a fact. Nothing some would
like more than to see me fall, see me fail. But the Lord is faithful. What's
my hope? What's your hope? What's our
hope? Well, the Lord is faithful. Look back at our text. It says,
the Lord is faithful. Faithful as he that calleth you,
he'll do it. The Lord is faithful. He shall
establish you. and keep you from evil. Now Paul was fearful and worried
for some, as I am. You cannot be a pastor, you cannot
be a watchman, you cannot have some discernment and not see
that all have not faith. All under the sound of my voice
don't believe yet. I hope and pray that all will,
Paul was worried about some. It's not unbelief to worry, but
it's love to worry about those who are in unbelief. Look at Hebrews chapter 2. Go
to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 2. All have not
faith. He said we're confident in the
Lord touching you. You both do and will do the things
we command you, and that you have faith and keep His commandments,
His Word, but all don't. Hebrews, like all of God's Word,
is full of warnings and promises. Right? Look at it with me. Hebrews 2, verse 1, we ought
to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard,
lest at any time we should let them slip. Some people have let it slip. This thing of apostasy doesn't,
isn't it all of a sudden, you know, just, you let it slip, let it slide
until their foot slides in due time. Verse 2, if the word spoken
by angels steadfast at every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if
we neglect so great salvation? He said, we ought to give them
more earnest heed. And over in chapter 10, he says, let us exhort
one another and so much more as we see the day approaching.
The more earnest heed, the older we get and the longer it goes
on, the more serious we ought to be. How that this ought to
mean more to us than anything or anyone on planet earth. Because
lift up your heads. Your redemption draws nigh. Now
is our salvation nearer than we first believed. So the older
we get, the more serious we ought to be about this, and the less
care and concern for this world. And we're leaving this planet. Chapter 3, holy brethren, see
who he's talking to. Hebrews 3, holy brethren. Verse
6, Christ is a son over his own house, whose house are we if,
if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm
unto the end. You say, Preacher, I thought
we were kept by the power of God. I thought we would be faithful
because the Lord is faithful. We will. But how do you know
we're being kept by the power of God? How do you know the Lord
loved Jacob? How do you know? Because Jacob wrestled with the
Lord, and the Lord wrestled with him, and Jacob held on and said,
I'm not going to let you go. Till you bless me. I'm not going
to let go. If you hold fast. If you hold
fast, it's because you hold fast. But how do you know someone's
being held by the Lord? They're holding on to Him for
dear life. Right? Look at the next word. And rejoicing. Mercy. Not only hold the confidence
of the faith, hold to the faith, but you rejoice in the gospel.
You ever quit rejoicing in the gospel? You never did rejoice
in the gospel. Right? If the gospel ceases to
be sweet to you, it never was sweet to you. If you grow tired
of this light manna, you're not God's people. You're going to
be left out of the promised land. So, verse 7, he says in Hebrews
3, as the Holy Ghost said, today if you hear his voice, harden
not your hearts. Today. What is he talking about? Today. Today has always meant
today, hasn't it? Well, Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday and today. Today. If you'll hear His voice. Oh Lord, speak. Pray with me,
would you? Pray for us. Pray for me. Pray
for Brother Marvin. Pray for Brother Gabe. Pray for
Joe. Pray for us. Why? Today. This might be the last day. Really? Really? Wouldn't that be wonderful for
God's people? Huh? Come quickly Lord, but hold on.
All men have my faith. And we want them in the Ark,
don't we? Pray for that. Pray for that. Look at chapter
5 of Hebrews, chapter 5 verse 11. It says, we have many things
to say unto you, and hard to utter, but some are dull of hearing.
I worry about those who grow dull of hearing. Very worried. Let us not sleep
as do others. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. That's what David wrote. We all get sleepy. The apostles
got sleepy. And the Lord rebuked them. Couldn't
you watch with me one hour? Watch. Pray that you enter not into
temptation. We're not there yet. None of
us are. I'm not there yet. Paul said,
I haven't arrived yet. He said, but this one thing I
do. I press. It's a pressing matter. Brethren,
pray for that. Look at chapter 6 of Hebrews,
verses 4 through 6. It's impossible for those who
were once enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift, made partakers
of the Holy Ghost, tasted the good word of God, the powers
of the world to come. That means those who seem to
have a great interest in the gospel, if they should fall away,
to renew them again. They've crucified the Son of
God all over again. It's serious. Brethren, pray
for us. Pray that we don't fall away. None of us. Look at Hebrews
10. Look at verse 38. 25 is the one he says, not forsaking
the assembly of ourselves together, as some do. And verse 26 means
if we sin willfully, that means leave the gospel, forsake the
living God, and we do it willfully. People do what they want to do.
Oh Lord, don't let me have my will in my way. But chapter 10,
verse 38, now the just shall live by faith. And he'd draw
back. And faith is given by the Word
of God and maintained by the Word of God. Faith is maintained
by the Word of God. When Paul one time said, keep
yourselves in the love of God, what does he mean? Keep God loving
you? No, God loves His people forever. The only way you know God loves
you is under the sound of the gospel. If you get out from under
it, He may not love you. If you can stay out from under
it, He didn't love you. So it says,
the just shall live by faith, walk by faith, be maintained
by faith, kept by the power of God through faith to the last
time. But if any draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in them. But look at it. Verse 39, we are not of them
who draw back under perdition, but of them that believe to the
Savior of the soul. Paul just said that, he said
I have confidence in the Lord touching you. Not everybody,
but most. And he was sure thankful. And
remember he gave all the glory in chapter 2 verse 13 to God,
we're bound to give thanks Always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because it's God that chose you. To salvation through sanctification
of spirit and belief of the truth. He's the one that's going to
keep you. We can't keep ourselves. And
yet, if we're kept, God gets all the glory, doesn't He? If
we fall away, we get all the blame. We can't say, well, God's
sovereign and He just, it wasn't His will. That's fatalism. No,
no. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. Through faith. And faith is maintained
right here. Right here. How do you know somebody
believes? They're going to be believing tomorrow. They're going
to die in the faith. They're going to keep believing.
They're going to keep hungry and thirsty and the sign of life. They fall away. My soul has no
pleasure in them, God said. Look at chapter 13 of Hebrew.
As said, this whole book is full of warnings and promises. Warnings and promises. Chapter
13, verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. We're kept by God's love, aren't
we? Well, we'll... Let's keep loving
one another, shall we? Shall we? Otherwise, we'll have
to fall in love. Verse 7, he's talking about praying
for the preacher. Remember them which have the
rule over you. That's talking about prayer. Remember them in
prayer. Pray for them who have spoken unto you the word of God,
whose faith follow, considering the end, the purpose, the goal
of their conversation, their preaching. Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Why did he say that right after
that? Because he's the same. He sent out preachers. He left,
didn't he? He went back to glory. And right
now, a man is in glory. Jesus Christ, the same man. This
same Jesus, so, so come. But He didn't leave Himself without
a witness. He said, when He was here, He
sent not only 12 apostles, but 70 more out there. My sheep. He said, I've got sheep that
are not of this fold, them also I must bring. How does He bring
them? Through the preaching of the gospel. And He sends out
these gospel preachers. He's the same. So remember them
in prayer. If He gathers you, if He gathers
your children, He's going to do it through the preaching of
the gospel. Remember them. Go down to verse
17. Obey them that have the rule
over you and submit yourself. They watch for your soul. They
must give an account. Oh, that they may do it with
joy and not with greed. That's unprofitable for you.
Pray for us. Now go back to our text. You
see that? Pray for us. Obey them. Now look at this,
verse 4 in our text. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 4. We have confidence in the Lord,
touching you, that you both do and will do the things which
we command you. That you will do the things which
we command you. Are there no gospel commands?
Is there nothing for a believer to do? Oh my. Oh my. Oh, do not be deceived. He that's just a hearer only
and not a doer. Our Lord said, if you know these
things, the Lord Jesus Christ said, if you know these things,
happy are you if you do them. If you do them. Our Lord said,
he that loveth me keepeth my commandment. Did the Lord tell
us anything to do? Oh my. The whole sermon on them
out. Now, it's not to be saved. Oh, by the deeds of the law,
none will be saved. By the works of the flesh, nobody will be
saved. We're not saved by doing. We're saved by Christ doing.
But salvation is unto good works, which God hath before our name,
that we should walk in. We're not saved because we do
good work, but we're saved that we might do good work. That's
why he saves it. Like Onesimus, you remember the
story of Onesimus, that runaway slave? Thief and a robber and
ungrateful and went out like a prodigal into the world, stole
from his loving master. And Paul wrote, there's a picture
of Christ in that Philemon, he wrote to Philemon and he said,
He was before unprofitable to you, but now he's profitable. He before, he was worth nothing. He was worthless. He was no good
for anybody. Certainly not God's glory, no
good to anybody around him, sure no good for himself. But God has made him worth something.
He was no good before. does some good. That's what he's
saying in our text, verse 4. We're confident you'll do the
things which we command you. Our Lord said at the end of his
Sermon on the Mount, he said this. Now listen to this.
This is what he said. He said, Whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
man, a wise man. But everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine and doeth them not is a fool, is a fool. And so I say to us what Paul
said, and remember one time Mary said to his disciples, whatsoever
he sayeth unto you, do it. Do it. So he said, I'm confident. And Philippians 2.13 says, it
is God which worketh in us, both to will and what? Do, of his
good pleasure. God's people are made willing.
All right, verse 5, let's close. It says, may the Lord, and here's
a brief prayer in this. He asked them to, urges them
to pray for him. And history hears his prayer
for them. The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and
the patient waiting of the Lord. Here's what he said to the Ephesians. He said, Oh, that Christ may
dwell in your hearts by faith, you being rooted and grounded
in love. Love to him. If you love him,
if he loves you, you're not going to fall away. If you love him,
you're not going to want to fall away. You're not going to want
to let go. If you love Him, if He loves you, you're going to
love the brethren. If you love Him, you want to love the brethren,
them to love you. Verse 18, in our, not, but in
Ephesians. He said that you might be able
to comprehend with all the same, the breadth, the length, the
depth, the height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge,
that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. That's
why you pray, that you might be directed in the love of God,
that your hearts might be filled with praise and thanksgiving
and gratitude and amazement and wonder that God should love you. Because if you do, if you keep
that thought in mind, you will love your brethren. You will. May He direct you into
the love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ. Isn't that how He started on
it? Isn't that what this is all about? Didn't He start by saying,
now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ and our gathering together with Him, which necessitates
Him loving us to the end that we might be gathered. which necessitates
us loving one another to the end, because we're going to be
gathered together forever. We need to love one another now,
or we're going to spend a long time together. May the Lord direct our hearts,
because out of the heart are the issues of life. Love's not from the head, it's
in the heart. Into the love of God. Love for
Him, love for His truth, love for His word, love for His people,
love for His kingdom, love for His glory, and the patient waiting
of Christ. Wait, I say. Wait. He's near. Just wait. He's coming. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it
was today? Today. Okay. Thank you.