Are You Pleasing God? - [1 Thessalonians 4:1-6]

Are You Growing in Holiness and Pleasing God?

Our God is a consuming fire and think about that as we go through the message this evening. Our God is a consuming fire. So I appreciate that. Thank you for your reading today. So let me ask you the question.

I like to always start off sermons with a question because it gets you thinking a little bit and the question I have today is Are you growing in holiness? You don't have to answer that but think. And let me see if I can answer if I can ask it in just slightly different way.

Are you growing in holiness now, I understand that was the same question. But I was hoping to kind of wake some of you up. Looks like you're a little sleepy out there. Remember free food afterwards. So.

But if you took and you examined your life today, if you really took your life and you examined it and you said Today compared to yesterday or today compared to last week or today compared to last month or today compared to last year or today compared to five years ago.

Have you grown in your holiness? Have you seen over time that you've grown closer and more and more like your Savior Jesus Christ. Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to say every day is roses and we always see this increasing movement towards holiness.

But there should be a steady climb in your maturity if you were to look back in your life. From the time you were saved and it may even been just a short time to today. You may be saying I only go on a little bit.

But for those of us that are a little more mature, we should see a path of continued growing in holiness. So, are you growing in holiness today? I'll ask it again. Can you see this? Arching upward in your faith.

Where you want to plateau or even are you on a downward spiral for some people? It's really an important thing to understand in your own life. You really need to kind of stand back sometimes and think about your own spiritual life as how things are going.

So the second question I have the first was are you are you growing in holiness? The second question is are you pleasing? Yourself more today than you're pleasing God. Are you pleasing yourself? Are you pleasing other men?

Are you pleasing anything but God or is your desire this evening to please God? And as I talked about even this morning when I was asked to come up and just talk a little bit about what I'm going. To preach here about and that is are you pleasing God?

When you wake up in the morning, are you looking to satisfy your needs first? Me. Are you looking to satisfy the needs of others first? Or are you looking to satisfy the desires of your God? Do you even know what it means to please God and we'll talk more about that in detail.

But do you even know what it means if someone were to ask you today? Are you pleasing God? Do you know what that means? To please him. The third question I have is one that is a little more theological in perspective and the question I have is are you Growing in your sanctification.

Are you growing in your sanctification. Have you been sanctified? More and more each day and we'll go into what sanctification is as we get a little further down in the message. But think through these things.

Because they'll be important and as we heard our God is a consuming fire. We should desire to please this God not out of fear of hell and damnation. But we should be willing to serve him and desiring to because his son Died and rose again to take the punishment that you and I deserved upon a bloody cross and Today I'm going to share with you three imperatives three commands in the scriptures.

That when rightly understood. One will make you think about your own desire to please God and why I desire to please God. And not only do you want to please him, but you'll want to do his will. You'll want to do his will now.

It sounds simple. It sounds real simple. I want to please God and do his will and In a lot of ways it is simple and you'll see from our text it can be. But it's a lifelong process it is something that we are continually striving for.

So let me begin. Why don't you open up your Bibles? If you don't already have them open to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4. 1st Thessalonians chapter 4. I Believe in the pew Bibles. It'll be somewhere around page 987 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and I'm going to be reading verses 1 through 8 of 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.

I'll be reading from the ESV version. Follow along with me if we as I read in your own Bibles, it says this 1st Thessalonians 4 1 through 8. Finally then brothers we ask and we urge you in the name in the Lord Jesus that as You received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.

Just as you just as you are doing. That you do so more and more. For you know what instructions he gave you through the Lord Jesus for this is the will of God your sanctification. That you abstain from sexual immorality.

That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. That no one transgresses and wrong his brother in this matter because the Lord is an avenger of all things as We told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore Whoever disregards this disregards not man but God Who gives his Holy Spirit to you and if you were here this morning pastor Harrington preached all about the acts of the Holy Spirit from the book of Acts and Remember our God is a consuming fire again as we go through this text fits in so well.

I Think it's appropriate again as I preached in Sunday school right context context context if you're here for Sunday school to understand Why Paul was writing to the Thessalonians in the first place.

Why was it? Why did he find it important that he had to write this letter at all is the question you should be asking. It's believed to be the first letter and possibly the oldest letter penned by Paul to this church and It's a great piece of material that we can read.

Describing what God sees important in the Christian life. Thessalonica if you have your maps in your back of your Bible was actually located in Greece and at that time in Greece Thessalonica was the capital of the modern Roman occupied Macedonia.

So it was actually a very large city, and and it was actually a central point. It was actually a central trade route where many various trades would come into the city. And then branch off and go different directions.

So it was this great intersecting of roots and people coming and going and it was said that Thessalonica itself had some of the best of the best of Objects and spices and luxury items and all sorts of things they had that they could indulge in because of this trade route necessity.

With that also came many foreign visitors there were people from all over that would come through Thessalonica either pass through or stop in and trade and and give their goods and then leave. But again would indulge in what was there at the at the church or at the city itself?

Paul is said to have actually visited this area in his second missionary journey and During this journey. He was actually driven out due to Jewish opposition and actually the hostility that he was Experiencing while trying to preach the gospel to these people in Thessalonica.

So he fled the region probably fear for life, but instead he actually sent Timothy another worker to actually be there and teach these people. Timothy was there to train up the local church this newly developed body of believers and Paul's letter here.

He's he's writing back to the church, and he and he wants to encourage them as best as he can saying I've heard what you've done. I've heard what you've done and we even see that in some of our text and we'll see it in other places.

But I've heard what you've done. But in standard polling fashion, he says do more. Do more Excel all the more in your Christian faith and a little background just on the book itself. Paul moves in this letter from the first three chapters and the first three chapters.

Really are dealing with declarations their statements their Announcements involving one's Christian walk and most of that is chapters 1 2 3 all about doctrine and and these declarations and then he moves into chapters 4 5 which really cover exhortations.

Exhortations, how do you apply? I've taught you what you know in chapters 1 2 3 now take this information and apply it to your life. And that's what Paul is doing here as we get into our text. Now I think it's important to to just cover a couple details.

I think that you know. The majority of our text as we'll see is found in verses 3 through 6 that I'm going to be going over. But I really want to cover some of the details in 1 2 Versus 1 2 just to really give you some things to kind of build a foundation on.

The first word you see there. In your translation depending upon what you have is probably the word finally. Finally, right? Some may have some other things now, it's a good translation finally and if you again, we're at Sunday school.

We talked a little bit about the differences on how words change over time now if I were up here and I was saying and finally. Some of you may be closing your Bibles putting down your pens. Getting ready to leave maybe thinking about what I'm gonna have for dinner now or whatever.

It might be right finally is in our minds a ending of something and Paul isn't using it in that context here the NIV does a does a great job actually here translating this and it translates it if you have an NIV it says as for other matters.

As for other matters again, this is Paul's change. This is his move his direction from chapters 1 2 3. Then he says finally now we've seen in other places where Paul has said finally and he was ready to end the letter and he realized just how glorious a God is that we serve and how great Jesus Christ is and how preeminent he is and he goes off for two more chapters.

That's not the finally here. Paul is actually saying finally, let's move from this and go into this subject. Let's get into what I want to talk to you about is what he's saying here when he uses the word finally.

Then you'll see the next or the third word probably in your translation prices brothers. Sisters don't feel left out. This is actually a generic term brothers and sisters is more of a Familial type of a family type of Representation here, so it's he's saying brothers and sisters in essence.

And he's using this as a term of affection he's saying brothers brothers in Christ brothers and sisters in Christ. Here comes some some hard things to hear. Here it comes, you know, I had doctrine you had some basic things that you know about in chapters 1 2 3.

But here comes some difficult teachings so brothers. You know, it's I'm trying to think of the old saying in the south with you know. Where they are just about to say something really bad about someone but they always say, you know in love or some other type of thing.

Where it's you know, she sure is nice, you know kind of a thing. But you know, this is where he's saying brothers affectionately be be ready. I'm with you in this. He wants to come alongside of them. He loves them as brothers and sisters and as one commentator said it's really the calm before the storm.

The calm before the storm it's coming. And then there's two additional words in in that same area. You'll see them in verse 1 right after brothers. It says we ask and urge you. And you may be thinking to yourself.

Well, those those are similar words in our English. They actually sound like synonyms or could be used as synonyms. But they are a little different in the Greek the way that they're laid out. For example, if ask is there it would be something like I would ask My daughter to clean her room.

I would ask someone to pass the potatoes at dinner that's really they ask it's just kind of a. It's it's a pleasant pleasing kind of could you please pass the potatoes kind of thing? And Then we have the word urge.

So not only is he asking them he's being polite about things. He urges them and this is a very different word very very different word and it's actually pretty neat because the word itself when you look at it is really related to what a military commander would say as a order to a subordinate they would be saying I Demand that you obey this and the consequences of not obeying something this urging the consequences of not obeying it for Roman military would often be death and It's similar to what we see failure to obey God and and obey his commands can bring death as the scripture says verse 2 and Also in verse 1.

We also see Jesus used twice the word Jesus. It's a small portion of text and yet Paul uses it twice in such close proximity. It's kind of interesting if you read through and you say Lord Jesus. And he goes a little further in Jesus, right?

So we have this Jesus twice in very short proximity. Why does he do that? And what Paul is really trying to say here again is brothers. What is coming is not for me. There had been times where Paul has sat back and said what I'm writing is about me.

I'm writing this. But here he's saying I know it's gonna be difficult. I know it's gonna be hard to listen to. I know. What I'm gonna tell you is is is not easy to to swallow. But it comes directly from the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's all about the sphere of authority. He is the king of kings he is the Lord of Lords and these commands these imperatives that are coming down come directly from him and Just like the Thessalonians if you're here today.

You need to understand that these imperatives are just as important for you to obey these commands that Paul gives. Need to be taken seriously. It's not just something we can pass over. It's not something we can ignore.

It's not something that is optional. No, these commands cannot be taken lightly. What's interesting though? If we look again back in verse 1 of chapter 4 We see that they're already pleasing God. Right, you see that you see where they he asks and he urges them and he says you already know how you ought to live.

And ought to please God in essence. He's he's saying you already know these things. He's encouraging them you're faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. He's encouraging them. But at the same time as Paul always says he says do more strive for more excel all the more in your faith.

Keep fighting the fight. He's saying it's not gonna be easy and he points to sanctification. Paul points the Thessalonians to sanctification. He was encouraging them to fight this fight to keep fighting this fight to beat their bodies into submission.

Because he knows that there are eternal rewards. He's saying don't think about the pleasures that you will see from the temporal side instead have a eternal focus. That's what's important in life focus on the things of God.

Paul wants to ensure that the members of the church have been sanctified and you may be asking yourself. Well, what is sanctification? It's one of those great big theological words at times. I don't understand it.

What does it mean? It's rather simple. Sanctification is simply put as the setting apart for a specific purpose the setting apart the setting aside. And one of the great examples we have in the Old Testament a couple great examples in the Old Testament, but Israel itself.

Israel was sanctified to God. Israel was set apart. They were to be different they were to be unique. They were to have a purpose that was solely to please God and to proclaim His Word. Where else do we see sanctification.

We see the utensils That were used in the temple were said to be sanctified. They were set up only for the worshiping of God and nothing else. They were not used to eat dinner and then used to serve or to deal with holy things.

They were sanctified. They would be desecrated if used for anything else. And Paul wants to ensure That the church is being sanctified. They are being set apart. They're gonna be different than the area that surrounds them and in this sanctification process God really is just saying he wants us to be more holy.

He wants us to be more like him as we continue to study God's Word as we pour over God's Word and we and we Desire to know him more. It's kind of a catch -22 because we see our sin all the more and Then we want to get rid of that and we study more and we see even more sin and we study more and we see Even more sin, but that's what the process of sanctification is.

It is that Understanding that we are wretched. And only a Savior Can save us? So we are to be set apart and Again, Paul is saying you already know these things again in verse 4 and verse 2 of chapter 4.

We see he says in this text for you know, they already knew. But he says keep going keep going these things. I'm going to tell you again are not optional. They must be obeyed. The commands of God must be obeyed and and you may be sitting here today and you may be going well, that doesn't sound very very Nice, that doesn't sound very fair.

It doesn't sound very just when someone can command me to obey. Right, who is this God that can command me of such things? And if you have those questions you need to remember God is the creator of everything in this universe.

Including yourself and myself and he has the right and the privilege to demand whatever he wants from us. And bible says clearly who are you to question the things of God? You aren't we are not Paul also we see in verse 2 a couple words into verse 2.

He says instructions instructions. So just before we get into the imperatives, he says here comes some instructions. And this word itself in its context Is to bring attention to the reader. It's essentially one of these wake up attention.

Instructions are coming. Here comes some commands. It's similar to what those who drive you're driving down the road and you see a construction site. And there's a warning sign big orange sign says warning, right?

That's what Paul is essentially putting up in front of them warning here comes something. Or with your appliances when you buy an appliance and it's got this great big warning sticker that says don't mix this hairdryer and put it with water.

Because you will suffer the consequences. You will suffer the consequences. You can do it, but you will suffer the consequences. And these instructions have have a connotation of authority. Coming from them they are powerful.

So Paul is saying here comes something big. And this authority that it talks about the best way I could describe it if you've ever been near or around military bases. You may see a sign on some military bases and they'll often be posted on on Chain-link fences or something that extent where they will say something the event of warning restricted area.

You've probably seen those warning restricted area. And if you get the chance to ever go to some of those top secret, we're not supposed to know about bases. Out in the desert. Where there aren't a lot of fences, but there are signs.

It will often say something like warning restricted area. Use of deadly force is authorized. Well, that should tell you something you should be going. Whoa. Whoa. Well, that's what paul is saying here.

Essentially. He's saying warning. What i'm coming at you with use of deadly force is authorized. Now you as an individual walking in the desert running against this sign have the right to go. And keep walking into this restricted military base.

But you have to be ready to face the consequences. There will be consequences. The same thing with god's commands as we get into these imperatives god's commands will have consequences. Either temporal consequences and or eternal consequences.

Lastly in verse three before we get into our section that I want to get into from the imperatives. You'll see that paul talks about the will of god here. I don't have time to dig into this at all. In in what time I have.

But paul wants to show How people can find the will of god? And what's interesting is if you've ever done a google search or a bing search for those really cool people out there nowadays. If you've ever done one of those and you said will of god, how do I find the will of god?

What's the will of god for my life? You know, there are thousands of questions out there and there's just as many answers and the majority of them are wrong. No surprise. But finding the will of god paul says here is very simple.

It's your sanctification. God wants you to be sanctified. That's the will of god if you learned anything today and you walk out of here and you don't hear anything else. The will of god for your life is your sanctification your continued growing in holiness.

Your continued study of your of his word and as you do that more and more you will sin less and less. But that's the will of god. Everything else you do get great wise counsel to make wise decisions. But if you want to take a job that isn't sinful take the job god will bless it as long as you are.

Following his commands and in his will simple. When I was looking up some of this there are tv shows there are uh, uh. Camps, you can go to week-long camps. There are books and everything about finding the will of god and I think paul lays it out pretty simple here be a pretty short book sanctification.

So the question I have is are you sanctified? Are you set apart for the glory of god? Are you even growing in your faith? Are you reading your bible? Are you praying to god? Are you desiring him more and more?

And are you fellowshipping with other believers? It's important christians. So paul now wants to expand he's prepared them. He's got them ready in verses one two and three and he kind of steps back and he's getting ready for here comes the hammer.

Here it comes. I have tonight three Imperatives as I talked about earlier and they'll be in question form. First question is this not an easy question, especially from the pulpit. It's not an easy question, but paul here says.

Avoiding Sexual Immorality

Are you avoiding sexual immorality? Are you avoiding sexual immorality? We see paul in four verse three b. He says abstain from sexual immorality. And again, this is a command. It's not optional. It's not a I I I'll obey it if I can.

For the christian. It's a command. You are commanded to stay away from sexual sin. No matter the cost. Are you staying away from sexual sin? No matter the cost? Are you doing that today? Paul couldn't be any clearer here.

These are the times where people want to take and go well. The greek says or the hebrews says or if we translate it into aramaic and then into this and into that it then says this. It's clear. It's clear.

In the greek and in the english it's translated here. That it would not permit any form of sexual sin. Oftentimes when i've talked to people and i'm sure you've probably heard this too. They'll say How close can I get before i've sinned.

How close can I get to that cliff before? I fall off and die. And christian that's the wrong question. You should be asking your question should be if you perceive that as sin if the warning sign is there if the danger Do not enter restricted is already posted and you see it before falling over the cliff.

The bible says turn repent. And go the other direction run flee. Do whatever you can. What does the word? immorality mean. Simply defined as immoral behavior. Often in sexual matters lasciviousness or promiscuity.

It's the transgression of moral norms as the dictionary says normally with laws. Established by another and that other is the creator god the word here for sexual. Most of you know the greek word here for sexual when I say it.

You'll know exactly what i'm saying. The greek word is pornea pornea. We get our english word Pornography out of this word or porn for short and the word is not specific to imagery. Pornographic imagery were images at all.

But it includes all matter of sexual behavior and any sexual behavior that goes against what god has commanded. You could include such things as lust adultery sexual perversion sex out of marriage, etc.

For what paul uses here in his word. So, let me ask you this. Sisters. Are you lusting after that character in your romance novel? More brothers. Are you lusting over images? Or others that might be walking around.

Do you have trouble turning your eyes away? That's what paul is talking about here. And ask yourself if you're doing these things if you were to step back and think to yourself. Am I pleasing god. Are these activities pleasing to god.

And we see he commands not to be involved in these things. Now I need to just give a little bit of background a little bit about jewish history and and the society that the Church was living in. Even Jews as we talked about earlier were set apart.

They were different. They were what were considered monolithic. And yet all the other cultures all the gentiles all the non-jews any person outside of judaism. Had what would be considered a very loose loose view of marriage?

Pagan cultures were very different. And remember not only in thessalonica. Did we have this we also have paul who's writing this letter from corinth. Corinth was said to be one of the worst places. One of the most perverted places of sexual things.

And thessalonica was not much better with all of the activity that went in and out of their place with the travel. Both of these cultures had a very depraved view of intimacy. The thessalonians and even the corinthians, but the thessalonians were being taken out of a culture that was completely opposite.

If you wanted to Commune with the gods if you wanted to worship a god. Most times you would go into a temple and you'd be Be greeted by a priestess. Who would either take you into the back? Where you would commune with the gods through a temple prostitute.

Or some other means of sexual perversion. That's how they communed with the gods. And paul is saying here children you are not to be like this the children of god you are not to be like this. You are set apart.

You have been sanctified for something better Than your temporal temporal pleasures. Jewish non-jewish societies it was known very well. It was clearly documented most of the time. What they would do is you would have a wife.

And that wife would be there to assist with raising the kids. Teaching them what they needed to know before going off on their own and mature and so forth all the while you would have Slaves concubines and or mistresses that would fulfill your other desires.

It's a very different life. And it was difficult for the church. Again, these people were being saved out of this society. That it was 180 degree turn for them to understand what paul is saying because that's all they knew.

That's what they grew up in. To them that was normal. It's not much different than it is today in our society. We see what god abhors as being normal. So first paul commands the church to abstain from sexual immorality.

Strong words here. And he shows what god thinks of these things that he's not pleased with those who disobey these commands. But look with me now in verses four and five of our text and let me get quickly into the second one the the second one here.

Living in Holiness and Honor

The question I have out of this is are you living in a way that is holy and honorable to the lord? Are you living in a way that is holy and honorable to the lord? Is your wife one that exemplifies the great grace and mercy you were shown by your savior?

Or are you like the israelites in the desert grumbling and complaining every day? The second command that paul gives here in our text says each one of you Know how to control your own body in holiness and honor.

Again, this isn't a nice to have this is a command you are to control your own body. You are to control your own body. Paul makes no slight grammar change or paul does make a slight grammar change here.

And you may see it if you look at the first imperative to the second imperative as we get into it here. There's a slight change. Just kind of interesting if you see it, that's great. But paul in the first is really the imperative is in the negative.

The second imperative as we're going through now is is really in the positive. But focusing more towards the sinner or the individual than the sin itself where the first was directly Pointed towards the sin focused on that the word control here the word control in in the greek Translates in our bibles.

It gives emphasis. It's strong language in it. It actually means to possess to to grasp a hold of to master over. You are to be a master over your own body. And why would paul be writing such language to this church.

Why would he need to write to them and and and ask them to do these things to have? Mastery over their own bodies, and I think it's clear. We talked about that earlier very distinct. From the conduct in their society that they were being asked very different.

They were to be set apart they were to be sanctified. They were to be a beacon to those in the pagan culture. They themselves were to be the light in the darkness. And are you a light in the darkness tonight?

Or does the world have trouble seeing your light. The word body here the word body that paul uses quickly has Two different really interpretations when you look at the text if you study this in depth the word literally translates into object or container or vessel.

And here we definitely see the word used metaphorically. But the argument comes down to the word body and what body really means and you may be saying well body says body. It's body right here. It says body, right?

The greek word again is translated as object container or vessel. And it can either mean one's body. My own. Or as we've seen in other parts of scripture. There is one that's called the weaker vessel.

And it's the wife. So some theologians will say well paul must be talking about the wife here. Now i've studied this myself and i've i've done some in depth and. Really neither of them change the overall command here based on how you understand it.

But I find it difficult that paul is specifically Talking about a wife here when he's talking to a church of those that are married and unmarried. I really think that paul is focused on your own body.

You need to have mastery over your own body. You need to control it. The body includes both the flesh and the mind. We are to control our our minds one. Which is where everything pretty much comes out of?

But we need to stop it before the act actually occurs. And that's our bodies. So we need to be in control. We need to have this control as paul talks about this mastery over our bodies physically and our minds.

Specifically paul is referring to sexual sins here. But in general he's commanding all sins. We must have mastery over our bodies in all sins. And what is it here in our verse in our verses that paul asks that we need to have control over?

Is it is it control over our anger? Is he saying, you know church? You're really angry. You need to have control over that. Is it control over our finances? Is it control over our eating? Were they just a gluttonous church?

That's not what paul is saying. Paul here is saying you need to have control over your passionate lusts your uncontrollable urges. And the best way to describe again what pagan culture was like is that nike slogan just do it.

Just do it. If you want to do something just do it. It doesn't matter. Such actions christian are are selfish to the core. You're fulfilling your own desires. Christians are to have the fruit of the spirit.

Christians are not to have the the opposites of the fruit to the spirit. Now paul says here we shouldn't expect any more from the unsaved. They're pagans. They don't know god. They haven't been sanctified.