If you would like to follow passage in your Bibles, if you have the Pew Bible, it's page 1173, 1 Thessalonians 4.
! I'm actually going to read the section that Zach preached on last week and then flow into the next section verses 9-12.
That'll kind of help us to see how this all connects, I think.
So, Paul writes to the Thessalonian church,
Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
For that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.
But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
You can see some phrases that Paul uses again in the second part that he used in the first part,
about the idea of, for you yourselves have been taught, and so forth, and I ask you to do this more and more, those kinds of things.
So I think all this connects.
Generally speaking, we try hard to please people, and that's appropriate, at least usually.
We certainly are not to be people pleasers.
The Bible's pretty clear about that, in the sense that we would sacrifice truth and righteousness to accomplish that.
But when we do something, I think we do hope that people are pleased by our efforts.
Surely, we don't begin to do something with the expressed intention of irritating other people, like, I hope this really ticks them off.
You know, we don't start that way.
I'm sorry to say that some people, even believers, are not immune to such immature and unspiritual reactions,
but that really should never be a pattern of life for us.
Even more important than living so as to please others, however, is living to please God.
I mean, do we want God to be pleased with the way we live?
I hope we do.
The author of Hebrews reminded us that without faith, it is, what, impossible to please God.
So, if we have any desire to please God, that can only really happen if we have trusted the Savior,
if we have been born again in Him.
Paul told the Corinthians that God was pleased with the foolishness of preaching,
which God uses as a means to make Himself known through the proclamation of the gospel.
Salvation is, remember, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone,
revealed through the Scripture alone, or the glory of God alone.
So, that's the faith that we have.
That's the understanding of the gospel that we should believe.
The author of Hebrews, remember, commended Enoch as one who pleased God.
So, I take it from that that it must be possible for us as believers to be able to please God with the way we live.
Though we who belong to Jesus Christ have the capacity to please God, it's not automatic.
We read in the Scripture that sometimes God is not pleased.
Surely we don't want that.
These are specific statements.
There are specific statements in the Bible that declare that God is pleased if we do what He says.
That's what we have in this particular text.
So, if you want to please God, Paul tells us in this first Thessalonian letter how we can.
And what he declares to us through the written revelation, I think it's practical, it's understandable,
but it's not always very well accomplished or very easily accomplished.
But if we want to please God, this is what we're called to do.
So, the areas that kind of shape in this passage, at least in my understanding,
first, Paul deals with what Zach did last week, how we use our bodies to please God.
And then the next two sections in the little passage that we read after that,
how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ, how we treat other believers,
and then how we conduct our business.
All of those are important in our understanding of how to please God.
So, I'm going to sort of do a little bit of a recap on some of the things that Zach said,
not because I think he missed anything,
but because I think it's sometimes good for us to be reminded,
and this also kind of gives us a movement ahead into the rest of the passage.
So, if we are to please God in the way we use our bodies,
we have to meet the goal of holiness.
I want to start out with some preventative maintenance just for a minute.
I mean, we may need to hear some things again, so that's what we're going to do.
Growing in Christ means learning how to walk through life in all kinds of situations
with the goal of pleasing God.
Because of factors such as our own sinful tendencies,
the allurements of the world,
and the relentless tempting of the enemy,
we need periodic checkups.
Without realizing it, I think we suffer something I've kind of called carnal creep.
All right?
We slowly slide towards sin without realizing how far away we've wandered.
Now, anything with the word creep in it usually isn't good.
And by the way, though we may creep into carnality,
we do not creep into righteousness.
Okay?
That's a challenge.
That's intentional.
That's work to do that.
That's the direction we should be going.
Well, Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians
to accept as a priority some mid-course corrections,
and we would do well to pay attention.
So, what is at stake here is doing the will of God,
pleasing God, being set apart,
becoming sanctified people of God.
To be set apart to God is the will of God,
and when that happens, God is pleased.
So, there is to be a difference,
an uncommonness in our walk.
It should be a walk of holiness,
a walk of purity.
One way that we should look different
than the walk of the world is,
and by the way, I think sometimes we think
Christians should be weird.
No, they shouldn't.
Okay?
We're not weird.
Okay?
We're not, we're different.
All right?
That's not, there's two different things there.
All right?
I've met some Christians that were probably that way, weird.
But we're to be different,
and the world should pick up on that.
And I think that as we understand
what Paul is saying here,
we'll get that.
The word sanctification is kind of a big word,
but it doesn't need to be a foreign word to us.
It carries the idea of being uncommon,
different, special, set apart for a purpose.
We belong to God because he purchased us.
You remember what Paul said to the Corinthians,
you are not your own.
What?
You are what?
Bought with a price.
Therefore, glorify God in your bodies.
So how we live is to be different
from the way other people live.
How does that look?
Well, he tells us negatively,
some things have no place in the life of believers.
And as Zach addressed this faithfully and firmly last week,
we are to abstain from immorality.
This is a negative aspect of Paul's counsel.
We learned last week that sexual immorality is a general term
describing various forms of behavior that the Bible calls perversion.
We should not be surprised when we see that in the world,
though it is in the world and always before us,
it ought not to have any place in our lives.
To abstain from immorality suggests that we do not participate in the things that would lead in that direction.
Somewhere along the way,
instead of concentrating on pleasing God,
we might begin thinking about pleasing ourselves.
And when that happens,
we begin to see things in the world that appear to answer
the desire for our own pleasure,
which falsely promises to satisfy our appetites.
With approval of flesh
and the encouragement of the enemy,
we start down that slippery slope of perversion.
So Paul says it's time to pump the brakes
and do a rapid 180.
Years ago, I remember coming across a commentary by Warren Wearsby,
and he said something like this
as he was describing this problem of a worldly attitude
and a worldly walk by a believer.
He said,
Anything in the Christian's life
that causes him to lose the enjoyment of the Father's love
or his desire to do the Father's will
must be avoided.
I like that.
Because there are some things that sometimes we do and say
that, frankly, we know
cause us to lose the enjoyment of the Father's love.
And sometimes they cause us
to leave the desire to do the Father's will.
Well, you know that immorality has destroyed countless marriages
and families and careers and churches and reputations.
And for those who have managed to dabble in such things
without actually being exposed,
their lives are at best weak and ineffective,
failing at the very core of Christian responsibility,
which is to please God.
Thankfully, there is a God
who gets our attention,
changes our hearts,
and turns us around.
That's great.
But if we get involved in those things,
we're going to be in trouble.
And we're going to bring chaos
in our lives and the lives of others.
Positively, again,
we are to maintain control.
The believer should be marked by holiness and honor
to provide what we need to live such lives.
We're given the Holy Spirit.
We are to be controlled by the Spirit.
You probably are aware in Galatians chapter 5,
Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit.
The last one he mentions is self-control.
How do those two work together?
Well, on the one hand,
we are to be controlled by the Spirit.
On the other hand,
we are equipped by the Holy Spirit
to exercise control over ourselves.
So it's the Holy Spirit who gives us the desire
and the energy to be self-controlled
to the point that we avoid,
even flee from those things
that you read about in the first eight verses.
Always, the nature and work of the Holy Spirit
is holiness.
When we're under his control,
we are moving in the direction of holiness.
One author I came across some time ago said this,
to go on living in impurity
is a direct insult to the divine giver
and a sin against the Holy Spirit
who is the power unto holiness.
He supplies not only the desire,
but also the ability to live a life of purity.
His indwelling puts an end to the pagan plea
that man has no power to resist impure desires.
For believers to go on living in immorality
is to repudiate the gracious provision of God for holiness
and invites his sure judgment as the avenger of sin.
The way to escape is to fly to the giver
and accept and cherish his gift.
So, question,
do we possess a passionate love set on pleasing God,
or is there a passionate lust fixed on satisfying
our carnal desires?
Verse 6 always puzzled me a little bit.
In the text, again, you heard from last week,
that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this manner.
I used to scratch my head and think,
what are you talking about brother here?
I thought this was talking about this individual.
Well, it is true that maybe immorality occurred
and broke up a family or something like that.
I could see how that would hurt another brother.
But it might be simpler than that.
I think Zach hit on this last week.
It goes something like this.
We never sin in a vacuum.
Our sin has a ripple effect on the body of Christ.
When a brother or sister in Christ falls morally,
the church is marked as hypocritical.
The world looks at that,
eh, they're all alike.
Ministry is made more difficult.
The enemy is given more ammunition.
The credibility of Christ takes a hit.
But also, the potential ministry of the person who sinned
is marred or sometimes destroyed.
And God will discipline that individual
and possibly discipline the church
depending on how they respond to the sin
further impacting the work of Christ.
It's a big deal
not to walk in holiness.
If we think we can play around with impurity
while maintaining our walk with Christ,
we really are deceiving ourselves.
And if we blow this off as no big deal,
we are reminded that
to disregard the warning
is not disregarding mere man,
but it's disregarding God.
God has given us this Holy Spirit
to go toward impurity
puts us at odds
with the purpose of God
to sanctify us
and to conform us
to the image of Christ.
If we want to please God,
it really does matter
how we use our bodies.
Check out
Zach's sermon from last week.
You'll be blessed
and taught.
Now let's move into
what he says
in verses 9 and 10
and 11 and 12.
Verse 9 and 10,
he says,
not only do we need to
be careful
how we live our lives
in terms of our bodies,
but also he's saying
how we treat our brothers and sisters
is important.
If the first is the goal of holiness,
the goal here is love.
So again he says in verse 9,
Now concerning brotherly love,
you have no need
for anyone to write to you,
for you yourselves
have been taught by God
to love one another,
for that indeed
is what you are doing
to all the brothers
throughout Macedonia.
But we urge you brothers
to do this
more and more.
So abstaining from
the selfish, sinful actions
produced by a fallen world,
believers are called
to focus attention
and efforts
toward loving one another
by the purest of motives
and the best of conduct.
Such a response
is a strong outward testimony
to the change in us
due to the Spirit's working
of regeneration
and transformation.
So if we're to please God,
it does matter
how we treat other people.
And sometimes,
we don't treat them
all that nicely.
This brotherly love
is the supernatural love.
We're basically selfish people.
We love for other people.
I'm sorry,
love for other people
does not come naturally.
We want others
to show love to us,
but we're not so quick
sometimes to love them.
There's a selflessness
that all of us have
that we're thinking about
how do they view me,
what are they thinking about me,
do they like me,
you know,
and it's like,
just kind of forget that,
please.
It's about them,
not really about us.
Yes,
but it's a tough one.
But the Father,
actually,
it's interesting,
the Trinity here
has taught us
how to love one another.
When Paul says
in the text,
you have been taught
by God
to love one another,
I'm scratching my head
a little bit,
okay,
what does he mean by that?
And this sort of
came to mind.
The Father taught us
to love each other
when he gave us
his Son
to die for us.
That's really what
John was saying
in 1 John 4,
19.
The Son taught us
to love each other
when he said
in John
chapter 13,
verse 34,
a new commandment
I give you
that you love
one another.
The Holy Spirit
taught us
to love each other.
Romans chapter 5,
verse 5,
Paul says,
God's love
has been poured
into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit
who has been given
to us.
So,
God has been teaching us
all along,
the whole Trinity
has been teaching us
all along
to love one another.
If we fail
or refuse
to love one another,
we're not pleasing God
and frankly,
we're not without excuse.
We have been given
both the example
and the power
to love one another.
This is a supernatural love.
I've watched
over the years
a lot of Christians
take each other apart.
It's not pretty
and it's hard
in churches.
It's anything
but love.
One of the greatest
demonstrations
of the power
of God
and the reality
of salvation
in Christ
is selfless love
of one person
to another.
I think that's
one of the reasons
why we were told
in the Bible
to see how they
love one another
was a big deal
in the early church.
When Paul
told the Ephesians
men,
husbands,
love your wives
as Christ loved
the church
and gave himself
up for her,
that was in the context
of one of the most
amazing descriptions
of the love of God
toward sinners
that you will ever read.
Christ is the example.
The commandment
has been given
without qualification
in that text.
God has been given
to us.
And such a seeming
impossible love
has been made possible
by the presence
and the power
of the Holy Spirit.
He's poured out
his love upon us.
It's a supernatural love.
But it's also
a developing love.
The acknowledgement
here is made by Paul
that the Thessalonians
were doing a good job
with this.
But their generosity
and their acts
of mercy,
their selfless
service throughout Macedonia
had not gone unnoticed
by Paul,
nor had it gone noticed
to those who'd received it.
However,
in everything we do
in our walk with Christ,
there's always room
for improvement.
We don't graduate
from that
until we go to heaven.
We just keep on
more and more.
However,
I guess I could say it this way.
It's impossible
to overdo
loving one another.
I read in a commentary
somewhere,
and I forgot to
note where it came from.
I hate it when that happens.
I got this great quote,
and I don't know
who to give it to,
but there is an endless
source of divine energy
available for Christian living.
Paul was not satisfied
until he
and those he worked with
had it all.
Some might say,
but you have no idea
what I must put up with.
You would not believe
the selfless,
arrogant,
self-righteous,
and they go,
you know,
eh,
it happens.
But if God gave the command
to love one another,
and he gave us the capacity
to love one another,
it seems to me
that there's only one thing missing,
our obedience
to love one another.
No excuses,
no buts,
just do it.
And we can,
really.
We have the Spirit of God.
And in fact,
in Peter's letter,
he says this,
just,
I'm going to read this slow,
kind of let it sink in.
Having purified your souls
by your obedience
to the truth
for a sincere brotherly love,
love one another earnestly
from a pure heart.
Since you have been born again,
not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable,
through the living
and abiding word of God.
When God saved us,
remember,
he poured his love into us
so that now we have the capacity
to pour out that love
to one another.
It's there.
So when we say,
I don't know,
I can't love that person,
maybe we need to re-examine that.
Yeah, you can.
So the goals so far
in pleasing God
have been holiness,
verses 1 through 8,
and love,
verses 9 and 10.
The final one
that Paul deals with here
is respect.
And he sets the context here
that it's important
not only how we use our bodies
and how we treat one another,
our brothers and sisters in Christ,
but how we conduct our business.
So here the goal is respect.
Here are the verses.
I'm going to pick up on verse 10
running into verse 11.
We urge you, brothers,
do this more and more,
and to aspire
to live quietly,
to mind your own affairs,
to work with your hands
as we instructed you,
so that you may walk properly
before outsiders
and be dependent
on no one.
ambition.
So ambition
of a quiet life
he addresses first.
Now that may seem
a little bit paradoxical.
It's kind of interesting
how Paul says it.
Strive eagerly
and zealously
to be quiet.
Kind of weird,
you know.
But
he said something similar
to Timothy
when he said
that you may lead
a peaceful and quiet life,
godly and dignified
in every way.
So,
regardless of your personality,
there is a responsibility
to live a quiet life.
That's an ambition.
Let's see if we can figure out
what that means.
The word quiet
probably carries
the idea
of peace of mind.
It's a striving
to have a balanced,
tranquil perspective
in life.
It's not all hyper,
crazy,
or look at me,
or always stirring the pot.
It's not that.
It's living in quiet confidence
of God's providence,
trusting him
through all kinds
of circumstances,
all kinds of situations,
both pleasant
and difficult.
That says something
about those around us.
It gains
their respect.
It speaks volumes
about our great God.
And such a life
pleases God.
Closely connected
to this ambition
of a quiet life
is an ambition
of a private life.
We need to live lives
that give attention
to our own business
and not be pressing in
on everyone else's business.
It's long been a problem
among believers
to be over-interested
in other people's affairs
while failing to attend
to our own.
Paul would later
have to tell
the Thessalonians
in his second letter
in chapter 3 this,
For we hear
that some among you
walk in idleness,
not busy at work,
but busy bodies.
Now such persons
are we command
and encourage
in the Lord Jesus
to do their work
quietly
and to earn
their own living.
Pastor Mike
will get to
the idea
of something
that was happening
in Thessalonica,
but apparently
people were waiting
for Jesus to come.
And they're excited
about Jesus to come.
Is that a good thing?
Sure.
But they were so excited
and so anticipating
that return
that they quit working.
And then when they quit
working,
they run short
on things.
And then when they run
short on things,
they start depending
on somebody else
to take care of them
while they're
righteously waiting.
And Paul says,
no,
don't do that.
You have a responsibility
to have a quiet life
and a private life,
and we'll get to it
in a minute,
productive life.
That's the call.
Well,
so,
he said,
I mean,
again,
this was a problem
in the first century.
Paul attested to Timothy,
besides that,
you learn to be idlers
going about
from house to house,
and not only idlers,
but also gossips
and busybodies
saying what they should not.
That's a problem.
So,
if you would please God,
then if we would please God,
we need to take care
how we conduct our business.
Paul continues to make the case
that if we would be respected,
we should also make it
our ambition
to be that of a productive life.
Now,
we ought not to be afraid
to work with our hands.
The Greeks believed
that free men
should never stoop
to the level of manual labor.
There was a slave for that.
So,
you don't need to do that.
That's what they would say.
But the attitude
is inconsistent
with true Christianity.
There's no inconsistency
between holy living
and honest work.
By so living to please God
in what we do,
we will gain the respect
of a watching world,
and we will gain
a dignified independence.
It's kind of weird.
Looking back over my life,
I'm not sure anybody
was enamored by sermons
I preached,
but a couple times,
and this, by the way,
was done with the wrong attitude,
but we were in a church
for a while
that there really wasn't,
there wasn't paid people
to help clean
and so forth.
And so people would clean
on a scheduled basis,
you know,
and I would go in
really early
on a Sunday morning
and work on the message
and so forth,
and then I'd kind of
get my heart ready
for the day.
And a few times,
I'd go in
and realize that
the volunteer person
on the list
didn't come in
and clean the church.
Sermon laid aside,
time to clean the church.
And a couple of times,
I hadn't finished yet
when somebody came in
and I was vacuuming
or cleaning the bathroom
or something.
It probably made more impact
on them spiritually
than the sermon
I preached that day.
And they said,
what is wrong
with this guy?
Oh, well,
I guess it's good
that he's doing that.
And I, again,
I was like irritated
that people didn't do it,
but I think what happened
was that they said,
oh, this guy,
he's doing the right thing here.
He's,
that's good to see that.
And it does make a difference
when we demonstrate
that we're not afraid to work
and that we pitch in
and help.
Paul is saying that
to a certain extent.
We need not be dependent
on other people
for our basic needs.
And all this kind of works
around that idea of love.
If we love each other,
we're not going to be
messing around with immorality.
If we love each other,
we're going to be doing
our own,
doing the right thing
by taking care
of our own needs,
by living a quiet life,
by not stirring up things.
All that's around
the idea of love
that he centers on,
love your brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians
about slaves,
about bond servants.
He said,
bond servants,
obey your earthly masters
with fear and trembling,
with a sincere heart,
as you would Christ.
Not by way of eye service,
as people pleasers,
but as bond servants
of Christ,
doing the will of God
from the heart,
rendering service
with a good will
as to the Lord
and not to man.
So when we're serving
other people,
when we're doing honest work,
those kinds of things,
it's not just doing that,
it's as to Christ,
as to the Lord.
That's the kind of service
that we're supposed to do.
Such ambition,
men pleases the Lord
and it gets the attention
of a watching world.
You've probably heard
this little poem.
You are writing a gospel,
a chapter each day,
by the deeds that you do
and the words that you say.
Men read what you write,
distorted or true.
So,
what is the gospel
according to you?
Oh, that we would set
our desires on pleasing God.
Pleasing God
is not a checklist activity
that can be completed
and considered accomplished.
It's an ongoing responsibility
that every believer carries.
And it's inclusive,
involving our personal lives,
involving our relationships
with other people,
and particularly
in the body of Christ,
as well as our interaction
with our community.
So,
we are to walk in purity
and respond in love
and gain respect
from those
with whom we live
and work.
And when that's true,
Paul says,
God is pleased.
And when we fail
at those things,
we fail to please God.
And when we act
in impure ways,
we are not loving
one another.
We are self-absorbed.
And when we fail
to respect others
by not living
a quiet,
productive life,
we're not loving
one another.
We're depending on others
to do for us
what we should be doing
for ourselves
and others.
Sometimes when the Scriptures
take us in a direction
where we're called
to look at ourselves
and make some corrections,
we stumble.
We might want to make
those corrections,
but we either believe
that we are so far off
the path of righteousness
that we can never
find our way back,
or we believe
we're just too weak
to make the return journey.
In either case,
we are thinking
that if we have failed
to please God
at that point in our lives,
we will never be able
to please Him.
That's not true.
There's a way back.
There's hope,
and there's help
in the Lord.
We confess our failures.
We trust Him
to cleanse us,
and He will.
And then we start
walking in holiness
and love and respect.
He promises
to walk with us.
He promises
to provide us
with protection
and grace,
with power
and provision.
And in the process,
God will be pleased,
and we will gain respect
from a watching world,
and the best part of it
is God will be glorified
in all of that.
So,
God will someday,
for all believers,
sanctify us completely.
He will someday
present us blameless
before Him
with exceeding joy.
And how do I know that?
Because
He who calls me
is faithful.
What does that mean?
It means
He will surely do it.
And that's the promise
that Paul recorded
at the end of this letter
in chapter 5,
verses 23 and 24
that you'll hear about
before too many weeks.
And that's God's promise
to us as well.
Let's pray.
Father,
thank You
for Your
kind grace
as You're working
in our lives.
We're flawed people,
but thank You
that You are
a faithful God
and a forgiving God
and a merciful God.
and so our
hope is in You,
our trust is in You.
Thank You
that even if we're
really struggling
and some of these things
have us
pinned down,
thank You
that by Your Spirit,
through Your Word,
with Your grace,
You're able to
turn us around
and make us
productive
and pleasing to You
all for Your glory.
May You make that happen
in us today.
If we're doing
reasonably well,
may we,
with Paul's words,
keep on doing it,
keep on
more and more
loving one another,
maintaining a purity
as we live our lives
in this world,
and serving,
working,
to be respected
by the community
and again,
pleasing to You.
Thank You
for this congregation.
Thank You
for Your kindness
that You've poured out
upon us.
Thank You
for Your mercies.
May we be
a light
to a watching world
for the glory of Christ.
In His name we pray.
Amen.