6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. ⁹ This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹² Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Faith is not easy an easy thing to live by. Faith tells you that God is with you …even when you are in the hands of your enemies. Faith tells you that a way will be provided … even when all of the options seem to be exhausted. Faith tells you to stand up for the cause of Christ … even when the cause of Christ seems to be in opposition to, lets say, your financial resources. Faith implores us to move forward …even when all we want to do is stand pat, and just hold our ground.

Consistory had the longest meeting of my short tenure here the other night, which means we didn’t get out until 11 PM (and from what I’ve been told there were a few of us who couldn’t fall asleep until several hours after that). At that meeting we talked about a whole lot of important stuff. It wasn’t as if we were sitting around the table eating bon-bons and playing tidily-winks (not that I know how to play tidily-winks, but I digress).

The thing that ended up concerning me, as I thought about that meeting into the early AM and then as I went into the office in the morning, is that the three things that took up the most time all revolved around one thing: money. Each one of the issues, when you boiled it down (in my opinion) found its root in money. In some cases we spent money, in other cases we found ways to spend less by cutting different portions of the proposed 2008 budget. However, the conversation was centered around the money. Faith really wasn’t a part of the conversation, and since I was running the meeting, that’s my fault. Faith was something that was, at best, secondary, if it showed up on the radar screen at all.

It’s with that backdrop in my head (and four cups of caffeinated coffee affecting my brain) that I sat down to write today’s sermon. All I could see and hear was the author calling out, "stand up for your faith! Stand up for what is right! Stand up for the cause of Christ! Do not sit idly back and let the work that should be done to build up the kingdom of God be left undone! It’s your job, as a pastor, but more importantly, as a Christian, as a disciple of the risen Christ, to stand up in faith and do the work that needs to be done." As I reflected upon Thursday night’s meeting on Friday morning, I feel like I sat idly by and did not stand up in faith for the work that God would have this church do. I was not doing, as the scripture says, "what is right". Instead I was doing what was fiscally prudent. Sometimes the two are the same. Unfortunately, in my heart of hearts, this does not feel like one of those times.

In our passage this morning the author is speaking to the Christians at Thessalonica and saying, "saying you believe and then doing nothing to back up that belief is not acceptable as a life of discipleship. You cannot be idle and claim that you carry the cross of Christ. You must work from a position of faith."

Now since that’s the message, you may be wondering how that applies to this church, this community of faith, because this place is anything but idle. Our announcement page is filled with all sorts of opportunities to "do what is right".

However, if that level of activity has become our ‘new normal’, then we must not become complacent and believe that we can rest on the good work that has already been done. We have to step out even further in faith. And it’s not easy to do. It’s not. But if it’s right, if it is of Christ, then it needs to be done.

Sometimes that step of faith exhibits itself financial. However, more times than not, that step of faith is felt in the giving of your time and talent. Just looking at the last couple of months there have been some wonderful examples of this taking place. Back in the spring we were without leaders for the Sr. High youth group as the Phelps’ were understandable stretched too thin with living an hour away, with two full time jobs, while raising their four year old. As most of you know, Kathleen Ward stepped up to the plate and she asked Peiter Staats to help her. He may have not known what he was saying yes to, but he did say yes, and now with their leadership the group is clicking on all cylinders. They stepped out in faith.

We had Luis Rodriguez look at the program of the church and say, "we need to have something for the seniors of the church. We need to create a way where they can come together with each other, and with the teens." That idea was expressed back in late summer, and two weeks ago, with the help of his son David and the Sr. High youth leader Kathleen, we were able to have a Senior Luncheon that I’m still hearing wonderful things about. He stepped out in faith.

We had Tim and Sheila Moran step up to the plate and take over the cooking responsibilities for the Pork Supper and the Ranieri family was right there with them to make sure that however they may have needed help, they were able to get it. They stepped out in faith.

There were three people who have said yes to serving on Consistory and not that I know any of their schedules intimately but my guess is that none of them are awash in free time. And just to prove my point, one of them has a three month old at home. And yet all of them said yes. All of them stepped out in faith.

As I think back over the short time that I have been here and reflect upon all of the things that have been accomplished by the Spirit of God through so many of you, I can honestly say that this church among all the other churches that I have been a part of, that this family of faith, is by far, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, the congregation that believe in the most. I believe in you! I believe in this family of faith. I believe in how the Spirit of God is working through you to do the will of God. I believe in you!

In the same breath, it feels as if we are looking at what is before us and we’re saying, "um, yeah, …I’m not sure how we’re going to do that. I’m not sure how we are going to continue to grow the program and the outreach of the church, and still take care of the current facility, let alone any expansion. I don’t know how we can do that. Let’s maintain for a little while so we can tackle these other things." And you know what? That is a perfectly reasonable understanding when you look with the eyes of the world at how much we have grown in such a short period of time.

However, faith in Christ is not about holding the line. Instead, it’s about a radical dependence that implores us to move forward, trusting not in the world, but in the Creator of all. If we look at our situation and do not see God first, like I feel in regards to the meeting that I led this past Thursday night, then we’ve allowed our actions to be dictated by the world and not by faith and that is in stark contrast to the message that we hear in our passage. Living by faith is not easy … but ultimately it is right.

This morning we were blessed to welcome new members into the congregation. Regardless of the size of the class, the fact that there are people who look at what God is doing through this church and say, "I feel like I am being called to be a part of that" is an amazingly wonderful blessing. The fourth question that we asked of each of them, and all those who have joined the Reformed Church, is, "do you promise to show in your own person the joy of new life in Christ by active participation in the life of the Church and by faithful attendance to worship, service, and the offering of prayers and gifts, to the glory of God?" The answer, both by the group this morning, and all those who have joined? "I do." We promise to give of our gifts, our time, talent and treasure, so that the glory of God might be able to be witnessed all the more clearly. We promise to do this. We promise to live by faith not by the world.

Now obviously, there are times when we fall woefully short of this goal, and it is in these times that we need to fall upon the mercy of God in our confession. But it the standard for which we strive, and the promise by which we should hold each other accountable.

We are called and we have promised to live a life of faith. Now I know that in the world such as it is that to live by faith is anything but easy. You see oil flirting with the $100 a barrel mark; we watch as the stock market goes up and down like a yo-yo; we watch as the world is anything but safe and war is viewed as an inevitable part of the landscape; we see the dollar hit new lows and the number of home foreclosures go up. We look at the world and we say, "umm…I don’t know."

But as a disciple of the risen Christ, we look at the world through eyes of faith, eyes that tell us that we are not our own, but are children of the living God, children who will supported in our need if we are willing to trust. I hope and pray that as we move forward together that we recommit ourselves to living this life of faith, knowing that while it is anything but easy, it is absolutely right.

Holy Lord, as we come to You today, we recognize that there have been many days when living a life of faith is easier said than done. These are such days. And yet, it is in that reality that we need to redouble our efforts and trust all the more that in You, O holy God, we will never be let down. Lord, let it be so. Amen.