WWUTT 506 Do So More and More?

Do you claim to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Do you claim to love your neighbor as yourself? Good! And now you must do these things more and more when we understand the text.

You are listening to When We Understand The Text, an online Bible ministry so that we may know all the riches freely given to us by God.

For questions and comments, send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky, and greetings all. Hey, I apologize for this lesson being so late today.

I didn't get the chance to record it before I headed off to Arkansas this weekend. My plane got in this morning.

I came home and spent some time with Becky and the kids, made lunch for everybody, ran a couple of errands, and now sitting down to record the lesson in 1

Thessalonians 4. So thank you for bearing with me today, and God willing, the lesson should be on time tomorrow.

Hey, before we get started here, I'd like to take a moment to pray for Houston. A historic flood in Houston, Texas is a result of Hurricane Harvey.

In fact, they're saying this is already the worst flood that Houston has ever seen and may be the worst flood in American history.

The rains that have been falling on Houston are moving back out into the Gulf, but then meteorologists are even projecting those rains could come back into shore again.

They could see another foot or more in some places of rainfall.

So this is a massive, massive flood with no signs of receding anytime soon.

So we certainly want to lift up the people of Houston to the Lord. Let's go to God here in prayer before we jump into our lesson in 1

Thessalonians 4 today. Lord, we thank you for the salvation that has been given to us in Christ.

And knowing that there is nothing on this earth that can take it from us, not even a natural disaster. No offense from any person, no ideology in this world, no scheme of Satan.

Nothing can remove from us the seal that has been placed on our hearts by the

Holy Spirit of God. And so, first and foremost, we want to thank you for your goodness, the love and kindness that you continually show us on a daily basis through your son,

Jesus Christ, using all things to shape us more into his image, pursuing holiness, longing for heaven, looking upward to that glorious kingdom that has been promised to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, God, for remembering your servants always. Lord, we ask for safety for the people of Houston.

We ask for comfort for the people who are watching their streets flood, their basements flood, their friends be forced out of their homes, many of their homes even lost.

And Lord, I pray that there would be a peace on the hearts of the people, knowing that you are

God and you are still in control. And there is an opportunity here to show love to people through the service that is going to be done there in Houston, Texas.

I've already been reading about help programs being mobilized and disaster relief that's going to be making its way down there to southern

Texas to try to help people with with the disaster that they have experienced over the course of just a single weekend.

And so, Lord, I pray that you keep those workers safe. And I pray that opportunities and doors are open for the gospel to be shared.

And people will hear about a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that doesn't come with receding floodwaters, but a peace that comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is going to be disaster in this world. And, Lord, we pray that you come quickly so that we are delivered from the futility that all creation has been subjected to because of the sin of Adam, the sin of all mankind.

But, Lord, while we endure in this time and in this place in which we are, may we give glory to you for all things and look at every opportunity that is available to us to share the gospel with somebody else and still even be able to praise

God in the midst of a storm. Lord, teach us through these things to rely more fully upon you and long all the more for that precious, imperishable kingdom that is to come.

Deliver us, Lord Jesus. Deliver the people of Houston. And we pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. Let's go to our text today, 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning in verse 1.

I will read through verse 12. The Apostle Paul says, Amen.

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, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent upon no one.

So you might have noticed that there's a couple of times in this section where Paul instructs the

Thessalonians to do something more and more. The first time comes up in verse 1, where he says we have heard about how you are walking in holiness, walking in a manner that is pleasing to God.

And we encourage you to do this more and more. The second time Paul says it is in verse 10, where he says to grow in brotherly love, showing love to the brotherhood, that's brothers and sisters in Christ, and do this more and more.

So Paul is singled out here in just these 12 verses that we have read, the first and second greatest commandments.

When Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment? He said, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

A second commandment is like it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself. Dependent upon these two commandments are all the law and the prophets.

So it's those two commands that Paul has encouraged the Thessalonians to grow in more and more.

That they would grow in holiness, walking in a way that is pleasing to God, and that they would grow in opportunities to show brotherly love to others, especially the brotherhood.

As Paul says in Galatians chapter 6, that we must take every opportunity to show kindness to everyone, but especially the household of faith.

So our priority is our brothers and sisters in Christ. But then as we have opportunity, let us also show love to others outside the body of Christ, outside the church, and doing so charitably.

And with the disaster relief that is being mobilized in the country right now to go down to Houston, Texas, and help those people who have been affected by this historic storm.

There is a real opportunity there, not only to do works of service with our hands and our feet, but also in the midst of that work, to share the gospel with the people who are hurting and in their pain, are probably more open to hear about the gospel of Christ.

To hear that because of sin, this world has been subjected to the state that it's in. Why are there natural disasters in the world?

Why are there historic storms that take place like Hurricane Harvey? Well, because of our sin.

Now it's not because Texas is under a certain specific kind of sin that God was judging with this hurricane.

This hurricane is the result of the futility that all of creation has been subjected to because of our sin.

Ever since the sin of Adam. It's sin in general, not a specific sin in the state of Texas.

Now you will hear that from some religious extremists who will come out and say Texas needs to repent of this or else

Hurricane Harvey would not have happened. Or you will even have pagans who will say something.

I saw an article earlier today from somebody who was saying that Mother Earth was angry because of Texas oil drilling.

And so that's why Hurricane Harvey happened. It was Mother Earth getting vengeance upon the state of Texas.

And both conclusions are absurd. The reason why there are massive storms and huge natural disasters that occur in this way in the world is because all things have been subjected to futility because of our sin.

In fact, I'm going to go ahead and read that particular section so you know what I'm talking about. In Romans 8.

So if you would like, turn with me there to Romans 8. And here is what the

Apostle Paul says. Starting in verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

In other words, that God's elect would reach their full measure before the return of Christ.

For the creation was subjected to futility. That's verse 20. The creation was subjected to futility.

Not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. That is God. God is the one who subjected all of creation to futility.

To this state of decay. To this state of decline. To a state of disaster that occurs in the world.

This is part of God's wrath upon all creation because of sin.

Now it's not his final wrath. It's not a total consuming wrath. But it is the state in which all things are in because of man's rebellion against God.

Remember in the curse upon Adam, he said that the ground is now going to produce thorns for you.

And by the sweat of your brow will you eat your bread. Work was going to be hard.

And creation was not going to be forgiving. This was going to be difficult now with all things sent into upheaval because of the sin of mankind.

All of creation subjected to futility because of him who subjected it. In hope, verse 21, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope.

For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

So that longing that we have, that our bodies would be delivered from just the general sense of decay, of breaking down of the body, which you probably feel in your own body every time you wake up in the morning.

The sickness that you might experience in your body, knowing that your body is aging and getting old, knowing that even the physiology in your mind is subjected to anxiety and stress and sometimes just a general sense of hopelessness.

And we desire to be delivered from these feelings, the limitations of our bodies, how we feel so held back by them and sometimes even massively weighed down.

And it is at the appearing of Christ that we will be delivered from all things that have been subjected to futility.

Because Christ is going to reconcile all things on earth, seen and unseen, making peace by the blood of his cross, as we read about in Colossians 1 .20.

As I talked about this past weekend at the conference that I had spoken at, that the cross is the pivotal point of all of cosmic and human history.

God is reconciling all things to himself, all of creation even, through the blood that was shed by Jesus Christ on the cross.

Those who did evil instead of the righteousness of Christ will be removed at his coming and will be judged by the mighty hand of God.

But those who turn from sin and follow Jesus Christ and did the righteous things that he did will be saved in that final judgment, will be saved from the judgment, the wrath of God, and be delivered into his glorious kingdom.

And so that's what we're longing for. And all of creation itself, even groaning and awaiting the deliverance.

This is a personification here when Paul talks about this, Romans 8. This isn't like Gaia or Mother Earth.

That's not what he's alluding to at all. But talking about the futility that all of creation has been subjected to and then personifying that by saying, you know, creation itself is awaiting deliverance because when

Christ comes back, he is going to restore everything to the glory that God created it to have from the very beginning, before Adam's sin, when he looked at all of creation and said, it is very good.

We read about this at the end of the book of Revelation that all things will be restored to glory by the power of Christ.

And then we who are in Christ will even inherit the earth. His perfect kingdom will be established here and we will be forever with the

Lord. So this is what we are looking forward to. And in the meantime, while we are experiencing disaster in this world, anxiety, stress, any number of things that just remind us of the general fallenness of this world, that it's not a perfect place.

Every time we experience these things, let us find an opportunity to share with our neighbors the hope of the gospel that we have, that our hope is not in a utopia that we might be able to find on this earth because it's simply not going to happen.

Not until Christ returns, will all things be made perfect, be made new in Christ Jesus.

And our lowly bodies will be made to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself.

Paul talks about that with the Philippians. So he is our hope, not anything on this earth.

And we're reminded once again by a natural disaster that nothing in this world can truly satisfy.

It is only the deliverance that we have in Jesus Christ. That is our only hope.

So we have an opportunity now, even with a massive disaster here in the U .S., to show love and kindness to others.

And in those opportunities, as we're lending a helping hand, be able to share with them,

I'm doing this for you because Christ has commanded me to, and because he lent a helping hand to me when

I was in despair, when I was dead in my sins and my transgressions.

God showed love and favor to me through his son, Jesus Christ. And in Christ, I know

I will be delivered from all of the futility of this world into his glorious and perfect kingdom on the day that I die, on the day of judgment,

I will be standing forever with the Lord because of Christ, because of the work that Christ has done on the cross.

That is a message that we can share with all, even in the midst of trials and disasters such as what this nation is observing at the present time.

So Paul is encouraging that brotherly love to continue among the Thessalonian believers, but also that we might, by this encouragement, understand the charity that we can show to others and share the gospel in that process.

Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please

God just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. And then once again, coming to verses 9 and 10, 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.

We don't just love once, we love continually as there is opportunity for us to do so.

And in this way, we mature in love. We actually get better at it. Christ is shaping us in his image, in teaching us to love more and more.

We simply cannot rest on the love and the charity that we've done up to this point. There's still more work to do.

As long as there is breath in your lungs, there is more opportunities for you to show love to the body of believers and show charity to others as well.

Paul says this in Philippians 3, verse 13, one thing I do for getting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Let those of us who are mature think this way. And if in anything you think otherwise,

God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

What Paul is saying here is essentially this. We cannot just sit and rest on what it is that we've accomplished.

There's still work for us to do. So for getting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God that is in Christ Jesus. A lot of people use this verse to say,

I forget my troubles of my past. That's not necessarily the context that Paul is delivering this in.

Sometimes we need to remember our past so we are sure not to repeat it if it's in the instance of having repented of a particular sin.

But here in this particular circumstance, Paul says, even though he has accomplished much as an apostle, he is still alive.

There is still work to be done for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so I press onward for that goal, the upward call of God that is in Christ Jesus.

And so let us pursue those things as well. As we have opportunity to do the work of God on this earth, showing love to the body of believers, to others, giving charity as well, and that we might also grow in matters of holiness walking in a way that is pleasing to God.

And it's on that subject, growing in holiness, that we'll continue this study tomorrow in 1

Thessalonians 4. Let's pray once again. Our Lord, we thank you for the word that has been given to us that teaches us and guides us how to be more like you.

Teach us to be imitators of God as Paul instructed in Ephesians 5 verse 1.

May we be shaped more into the image of Christ as is also talked about in Romans 8.

More than conquerors through him who loves us. Meaning that we're able to take every circumstance that happens in our lives and are able to be shaped more into Christ Jesus through everything that we go through.

And I pray that even in the midst of historic disaster that is going on in the U .S. right now, that the people who have experienced these things will see you.

That their hearts will be turned towards you. That they will reach out to you and they will cry for the mercy and the grace of God who promises it to those who call on the name of the

Lord in Jesus Christ. You have not been shocked off your throne by the things that happen in this world.

You are still working even in the midst of this kind of disaster. And so we pray for souls to be saved to the glorious kingdom of God.

And may we be attentive to their cries for help. We pray and ask these things in Jesus name.

Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt