Book of 1 Thessalonians - Ch. 4, Vs. 1-18 (01/06/2002)

So I want you to open your Bibles to Hebrews 8 10. Hebrews 8 10 and 11. I kind of skimmed over this. But Greg reminded me of a thought That is presented. Let me read verses 8 10 and 11. For this is the covenant That I will make with the house of Israel after those days.

Sayeth the Lord I will put my laws into their mind. And write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people and They shall not teach every man his neighbor. And every man his brother saying know the Lord all shall know me from the least to the greatest.

The point Greg was making is this. Everybody knows there is a God. There's no way around that he put it in their hearts. But nobody knows there's Jesus unless we tell them we have to spread the gospel.

It's not automatic the knowledge of God is and that's the reason this brother Spends his life spreading the gospel. He's not spreading news about God. He's spreading the gospel. All right, that said come to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.

Walking and Pleasing God in 1 Thessalonians 4

Let's see what this holds for us furthermore, then we beseech ye brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk and To please God so ye would abound more and more.

As you have received. You do not accept the gospel. You just receive it. We're bound to grow more and more. No one grows by talking about the Bible. You have to study it. You have to look at it. You have to read it you can talk about it, but if it's in a kind of conversation like David and I we are checking the Bible.

Only by living the Holy Word will it ever amount to anything. Our walk is very important. We cannot do it as we please. You must do it as Jesus the Christ pleases. God sets no bounds on the giving of his grace to them that are faithful.

So there should be no bound on our exercising of those graces. The more negative life You live the more trouble. Distractions and unhappiness in your life will be and the less sweet use of it. Will you have.

There are different kinds of people and we have all seen them. We may have touched on some of them ourself. First is self pleasers. Two men pleasers and three God pleasers. It's that third one that we're touching on today.

God pleasers in Colossians 320. Children obey your parents in all things. For this is well pleasing unto the Lord then. Psalms 14711. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him and those that hope in his mercy.

It's easy to please him. Matthew 11 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am weak and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls. He can always be pleased. And our own welfare requires that.

That we please him. Second verse. For you know, what commandments we gave you by our Lord now. Paul was saying, you know the commandments. There's some commandments for believers. We're not without laws.

We should be disciplined and we should be in obedience to Jesus the Christ. John 14 15. If you know me keep my commandments. Three. For this is the will of God even your sanctification. That ye should abstain from fornication.

Sanctification, Holiness, and Sexual Purity

Sanctification of the believer is a work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one that places us into Christ. It has a threefold aspect. First a positional sanctification means. Well, let me ask you what is our position in sanctification.

It was David's fault. I noticed Roger didn't start until he got word. We'll wait just a minute now our first position is in sanctification. Is Positional. What's that mean? The first part of sanctification is Positional.

What does that mean? Don't need to go any further. We've been placed in Christ. That's our position. That's where we are. Second practical sanctification is a is the Holy Spirit. Working in our lives to produce a holiness in our word.

It will never be perfect as long as we're in this body so positional all thumbs positional practical sanctification. Practical is that we're being sanctified, but we'll never be perfect. Third Total sanctification.

And when will that occur. David? Right, then we will be totally sanctified. It's true. We have sanctification now. But we don't have it yet perfect. It can't be in this body. Why can it not be perfect in this body Greg?

Right. Total sanctification will be the current future when we are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ at that time both positional and practical practices. Sanctification will be perfect. That a literal meaning of sanctification is to set apart and Every child of God is set apart.

Don't think that it's only in Roman times that even the Christians were in Sex sins. Sex is involved if you think about it. Sex is involved in every religion except Christian. Christianity has no sex with it, but everything else has.

If you'll dig deep enough, you'll find it fourth verse that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and Honor not in the lust of concupiscence. Even as the Gentiles which know not God.

In 2nd Corinthians 4 7, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any manner. Because that the Lord is the avenger of all as we also have forewarned you and testified.

Don't the defraud each other where God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness. A child of God cannot Remain in sin. He cannot continue to sin. The prodigal son may get in the pig pen. But he's not a pig.

He may live like one look like one smell like one. But he's not a pig and when he comes to himself, I love that himself. He says I'm a son of my father. And he will return he therefore. That despises.

Despises not man, but God who has also given unto us his Holy Spirit. Now we've known this we've touched on this. We've discussed it. But I remember I can't help but wonder how many of us remember it in the heat of a moment.

It's God that we're talking about. I don't like Russell and he doesn't like me. The the fact that we don't like each other. We're complaining about God when we do that. If we'd think that way we wouldn't we wouldn't complain.

There's much a child of God is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that? He cannot continue to live in sin because the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. The time will come when the child of God will long for holiness in his own life.

Brotherly Love, Quietness, and Honest Work

But as touching brotherly love. You need not that I write unto you for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. Love is the subject and the statement he makes is rather amazing. A Believer must have love for the brethren.

It is a supernatural love that is taught of God. You can't have that love outside of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love. It is not a theoretical kind of love not just an abstract term. We have mentioned before that it cannot Be just love in the abstract it has to be in the concrete.

It has to be genuine. Such love can only be produced in the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit. Notice that after Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit brotherly love is the first thing that he mentions.

I believe that love is the identifying mark of a child of God. I will have to admit I don't always practice it and I dare say each one of you could say the same and Indeed ye do it toward all of the brethren which are in all of Macedonia.

But we beseech you brethren that you increase more and more. Don't stop go on. Love for the brethren is an area for growth and development very candidly. Some of his saints ain't very lovely. I put it like this.

To dwell above the saints I love. Well, that'll be wonderful. There will be glory but to stay below with some. I know that's a different story 11 and that you study to be quiet and to know your own business and Do work with your own hands as we've commanded you you study to be quiet.

Do you ever think about that? I? Know one person in another town. In another city in another church. That if she had to be quiet She'd explode. Well, that's an interesting common commandment for Christians.

You know, we have all kinds of schools. To teach you how to speak. I doubt if there's a seminary alive that Hasn't got a course someplace on public speaking perhaps they should also have one on being quiet.

How do you how do you teach being quiet? A lot of Saints need to take that course. A Lady went to a tongues meeting and the leader thought she was interested in speaking in tongues. So he was going to teach her.

To begin with I think that's a little ridiculous because he's going to teach her out of some talking tongues. She answered. No, I'd like to lose about 40 feet off the one I have. We need to study to be quiet.

When there's nothing to say don't say it and to do your own business. That's another good commandment. It means to mind your own business. Tend to your own knitting this way. I heard it when I was young.

Keep your nose out of the affairs of other people. This is good advice for Christians. It can only lead to trouble and to work with your own hands. I Believe every Christian should have some type of work That they are doing.

That glorifies God now to make that more strong. I Believe that no Christian Should not be glorifying God. There's only two. There's God and there's Satan. I know man's tried to slip flesh in between there, but Flesh is what?

Great, but it's carnal and the carnality is what? Against God, so there's just two you're either Praising God or praising Satan one of the other all of the time. You can't coast in neutral. Well to work with your own hands as we commanded you.

I believe that every Christian Should have some type of activity in which they are working for God 12 that you may walk honestly towards them that are without and that you may have lack of nothing. Them that are without what's that talking about great?

Right. Outside of the church. We're talking as though everybody in the church is saved. We know that's not true, but suppose they were then we'd be talking about the world. There's three kinds of death in Scripture.

Who can name one of them? Physical death. What happens at physical death? Roger what else takes place? All right, the spirit leaves the body. Death is separation. That's all death is. There's physical death.

Then there's spiritual death. Paul says that's to be carnally minded in death. You can be alive and dead. Famous judge once Went through the country and he was preaching. They had a lecture that there are millions of people.

Living will never die. There was a Baptist preacher following me and I've said Millions are now living that are dead already. And that's that's true. The third kind of death is what but what is the third?

The third kind of death. What is it? Great? Well eternal. Yes. Eternal death that's what you meant by second death. Eternal death is what? Great, that's right. And you will spend. None of you you will they will spend Their time in hell without a spirit.

I think about that. The animal has no spirit and as a body and soul We call it life and animals in man. We call it the soul. Same word same thing. So everybody has a body soul and spirit. Ecclesiastes.

What is it? Twelve seven? Read it. That is if you ever find it be if you found it now. That's not just out of Christians. That's out of everybody. Everybody that has a spirit now when you die that spirits going home.

Do you remember years ago? I showed you the three-finger exercise body soul and spirit. They were all one in Adam. They all were communing with God. But he told Adam in the day you eat of the fruit you'll die.

Now what took place what what is death? Separation. So the spirit was separated from the body and the soul. Now the spirit is still in the body. But they don't recognize it so they go through life with a body and a soul and When they die that spirit goes back to God who gave it.

Now they were not Welded to the spirit it's going home. They go to hell if in this life. You have a body and a soul and he gives you new life. It's welded to the spirit this new life. Now when it goes home at death earthly death, where does that soul go?

Goes with it and That's why you go to heaven. The third death is eternal death. That is eternal separation from God. I cannot imagine Eternally separated from God. God is in this world because we all have life.

Hope in the Rapture and the Coming of the Lord

We all are using his sunshine his rain. Everything we're using it now even that jerk over Afghanistan is using part of God's being. But he doesn't know God 13 but I would not have you to be ignorant brethren.

I heard a man one time read that I would not have you ignorant brethren. Concerning them that are asleep. They were very disturbed about those that had died before the rapture. They said what's happened.

They've missed it. We expected you to come back now while I'm alive. Well Paul's going to straighten them out. But you sorrow not even as others which have no hope now you're sorrowing like an Unsaved person they have no hope at all.

A Christian has a sorrow at death of a loved one, but he also has hope. What is the hope Roger? Right, I'm going to be with them 14 for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again. Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him God for God to bring them with him means What?

They're with him now. He can't bring them unless they're with him. They've died and they've gone to be with him. So he's going to bring them their old body is in the ground. But they're present with the Lord.

Thank God 15 for this we say unto you by word of the Lord That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord Shall not prevent them which are asleep. You must understand the old English word prevent.

It doesn't mean what we say. What do we say today? That to prevent something means what Greg? Okay to prevent you from leaving this room but in the old English the word prevent mean That what I will not go out of that door before you do you go out first free vent by the word of the Lord.

Paul's talking. Paul's assurance that he is giving God's answer to their question. Paul knows that they have been worrying about those who had died before the rapture and Wants them to know that they are dead in Christ.

And they'll have a part in the rapture. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout With the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

Paul expected him to come back in his lifetime. So did my grandfather. I remember my father saying it can't get any worse than this. He's coming any day. All I know is that it has gotten worse and I'm closer to it than he.

The Lord himself shall descend from heaven. Oh, I love that the Lord himself now. When he comes to earth. To establish his kingdom. He is going to do it. It's not assigned to angels. Angels announced his birth.

But they announced him as what as a king the king. He'll send the angels together the four corners of the earth. Of the elect who will be both Israelite and Gentile. However, there is no angel ministry connected with the rapture of the church.

Angels announced the birth of Christ, but he was announced as the son of David. The newborn king he was announced as a king. The wise men wanted to know where they could find him who is born king of the Jews.

In contrast to this at the establishment of the church on the day of Pentecost. There were no angels. The Holy Spirit himself came down when the Lord takes his church out of the world. The Lord himself Shall descend from heaven not an angel.

Angels are connected with Israel. But not with the church at all. 17 then we which are alive and remain Shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. To meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

All you have to do to be with the Lord is die, but we don't want to die. Do we? Why don't we want to die? David right, that's right. We could desire to be with him as much as humanly possible yet. I don't want to die and That's just part of our makeup.

Again the word rapture is not in the Bible caught up. At Paso our puzzle meaning to grasp hastily. Snatch up to lift to transport or to rapture. It's going to be very a very orderly. Let's think about the this rapture for a moment.

Is it going to be just everybody goes? It's gonna be very orderly. Who do you suppose the very first one will be now? We're talking about the church. Well, I think I think personally it'll be Stephen.

He was a first martyr. I think Stephen will lead and then there will be along the Apostles. And all those millions who have laid down their lives for Jesus, they'll keep coming right down through the centuries.

Finally if we are alive at the time we will bring up the rear of the parade. Will it be way down at the tail end of it most of the church has already gone in through the doorway of death. Wherefore comfort one another with these things he does not say.

Wherefore terrify one another with these words. We're to comfort each other with these very words. My Bible says wherefore comfort one another. It not only means to comfort in this usual sense of the word but also to instruct to exhort.

To talk about these things. Jesus is going to take his own out of this world someday. What a glorious wonderful comfort this is. The bodies of the dead will be lifted out. Then whoever is alive at the time will be caught up together With them to meet the Lord in the air so shall it ever be in fact.

We shall come back with him to the earth to reign with him at the time He sets up his kingdom. Well, there's a lot there to think about someday before long. I'm standing on the very edge of eternity 80 years old and still looking, but someday I won't be here.

Someday my wife won't be here and Roger may go before any of us or Matthew. Well Death brings sadness, but we have hope. Let's stand and be dismissed. Roger dismisses, please.