1 Thessalonians Series - Living to Please God

       

Living to Please God

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

If we are honest with ourselves, what pleases God is to do his will, love one another, and live a sacrificial life. It means in everything we do in life, not just while people are watching. Paul was an example to the believers in Thessalonica. He had lived holy and blameless in front of them and had instructed them in what pleased God the Father. Like our Lord Jesus, we may find ourselves in the gardens of life praying and seeking God’s will and purposely living to please him. Let’s look at the beginning portion of the text, “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;  that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” 

Paul had a shepherd’s heart as well the Father’s heart for the people. Life was not to be lived by our wills, wants, and desires. Jesus had given this admonition, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt.6:33) to all who would believe in him and follow in His steps. Paul had instructed them in the doctrine of sanctification, the setting apart for holiness. It was always God’s will for them to be blameless in the sight of God, for there is nothing that God doesn’t see. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3) 

It is in pleasing God that we find peace, security, and his abundant grace. Paul didn’t want this to be a one and done moment in life, it was to be done more and more. For life is not a one and done moment. It is perpetual, a living process to the end. Paul addresses the issue addressed in Jerusalem with the other apostles (Acts 15), the actions taken were not prerequisite to salvation, for no act or work of the flesh can bring salvation, it is a free gift through grace by faith in Jesus Christ. (Eph. 2:8-9)

Paul set the parameters for them in pleasing God, the first was abstaining from sexual immorality. The giving of the body to an intimacy outside of the union of marriage. Paul knew and instructed it was more than the physical, but also the spiritual. But the Grecian and Roman culture had permeated the lives of the gentile world with sexual pleasures in the pagan temples as well in other areas of life. Paul taught them their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit as he did in other cities. The intimacy they had with God was not to be shared with the world and its passions. They were set apart for God, holy and honorable. For this pleased God, in whom nothing is hidden and God will hold all accountable. “The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Heb.4:13 NLT)

Application - The Grecian and Roman culture is still alive and prospering in the world today. And so has the desires of the sinful flesh. It has permeated just about every aspect of life in the world. But our God has raised a standard in our times, it is the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus defeated death, hell, and Satan on the cross and those who live by the cross (bear) shall not be overcome by the sinful flesh desires of the culture of the world. It is this standard that pleases God. We are to give ourselves as living sacrifices daily to God, “...in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom.12:1-2), we are to love God and one another, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (1 John 4:11-12, Mark 12:30-31) Like Thessalonicans, many say I know that, but it isn’t just head knowledge, but heart knowledge as well. It must be an internal part of our daily lives to please God, our creator, Savior, and Lord. For without holiness we will not see God, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14)

Next, Paul knew he had instructed the believers on what the command of Jesus was to all believers. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) Let’s read the next portion of the text, “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

The world around Paul was anything but a quiet life, especially in preaching the gospel, but in his desire to please God, Paul knew to find rest. It came by overcoming the world’s passions and lifestyles. While Jesus was in the world he had told the disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The quiet life that Paul alluded to wasn’t living in a monastery, or subsiding in a solitary life in the wilderness. Paul instructed them to be quieted in the soul and spirit, to not to be a part of the chaos of the world. This pleases God the Father. Paul taught as did Jesus to live out this type of quiet life, Jesus would find a quiet place, secluded from but not a part from the world. Paul knew the pleasure of God’s peace and that Jesus had overcome the enemy on the cross, he would seek a place by the river (Acts 16:13), and instructed the believers in the quietness of the soul and spirit. For in the world, problems, strife, and chaos abound. Paul knew how easy it was to be caught up in the world, to be involved in gossip, and thus disrupt the peace and serenity of the spirit and soul of a believer. It also hampered their witness with the unsaved, for the world would be watching them and determine that if they lived as the world does they weren’t much different than themselves, and wouldn’t listen to the good news for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Paul desired the believers in Thessalonica to live productive lives in the Spirit and in their daily lives to win the favor of those who were watching their witness for Christ, for this pleased God the Father.

Application -  In my life, as I worked in the world as well as pastored a church, I knew I was being watched by those who were looking to see if I was genuine, authentic, or just another hypocrite who told people to live one way, then lived another depending upon who I was around. I desired to be the real deal in my world and life. I worked with his own hands to provide for my living, and I tried to live in holiness in all aspects of my life so that I would please God the Father. I knew I couldn’t preach one word and then live another. Holiness is the being set apart for God’s use and purpose. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Tim. 2:21) 

Sanctification is a life process, not a one and done. Our lives are our witness as well as our words. This is why Paul urged us strongly to live lives of living sacrifices before him and others. For in doing so, we could be the godly influence to those who are in the world around us. We should desire to win the respect of those who live around us, so that they can see the Gospel of the Good News isn’t just words but life changing. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor.5:17) 

Let God work in you his sanctifying work of holiness, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love.” (Eph.1:4)

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. And he wants to empower you with the Holy Spirit. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second, B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis