Live To Please God

Live to Please God (1 Thess. 4:1-12) We are all a “work in progress”, with “room for improvement”. (1 Thess. 4:1) God wants us to “overflow” in love So we must resist the temptation to become complacent as regards are spiritual maturity. A.W. Tozer said, “Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life. We have learned to live with un-holiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.” Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian & philosopher, told this parable, which he called “The Wild Duck of Denmark; A wild duck was flying northward with his mates across Europe during the springtime. En route, he happened to land in a barnyard in Denmark, where he quickly made friends with the tame ducks that lived there. The wild duck enjoyed the corn and fresh water. He decided to stay for an hour, then for a day, then for a week , and finally, for a month. At the end of that time, he contemplated flying to join his friends in the vast North land, but he had begun to enjoy the safety of the barnyard, and the tame ducks had made him feel so welcome. So he stayed for the summer. One autumn day, when his wild mates were flying south, he heard their quacking. It stirred him with delight, and he enthusiastically flapped his wings and rose into the air to join them. Much to his dismay, he found that he could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn. As he waddled back to the safety of the barnyard, he muttered to himself, “I’m satisfied here, I have plenty of food, and the area is good. Why should I leave.?” So, he spent the winter on the farm. In the spring, when the wild ducks flew overhead again, he felt a strange stirring within his breast, but he did not even try to fly up to meet them. When they returned in the fall, they again invited him to rejoin them, but this time, the duck did not even notice them. There was no stirring within his breast. He simply kept on eating corn which made him fat. Our “walk” is our lifestyle It should be pleasing in His sight (1 Thess. 2:4; 1 John 3:21-22; Col. 1:10) Our motives must be right (Eph. 6:6) Even when doing good people often act with “mixed” motives.

We are called to sanctification (pure, set apart, holy) (Lev. 11:44; 1 Thess. 4:3 & 7; Rom. 12:1; Eph. 1:4; 1 Pe. 1:13-16) Sanctification is a theological term that describes the ongoing process of the Holy Spirit rooting out sin from our hearts. Sanctification is both an event and a process. We can say with confidence that we have been sanctified and we are being sanctified. Holiness is the end result of sanctifying grace at work in our hearts. Holiness is an ongoing process of growing in grace throughout our Christian life. God will never stop calling us into holiness. One of His deepest desires for our lives is that we embrace the call to holiness, and by His grace live a holy life. The Old Testament speaks about "the beauty of holiness" (1 Chron. 16:29, 2 Chron. 20:21, Ps. 29:2, 96:9), the inner attractiveness that is apparent when someone begins to function inwardly as he or she was intended. Not through our own power (Rom.7:15-20), but by the power of His Holy Spirit at work within us (1 Thess. 5:23) Including abstaining from sexual immorality (Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; Titus 2:11-14) Thessalonica was rather like San Francisco. There was business and commerce and the usual hustle and bustle of a large city; there was culture and beauty and art. But there was also degradation and sin, shame and sordidness. The Thessalonians were driven by the same forces that drive us. Believers are not immune from sexual temptation. King David, a man “after God’s own heart” lost a son because of his sexual sin. King David’s son, King Solomon, supposedly a paragon of wisdom, had his walk with God ruined because of his sexual practices. A national ministry leader in a country outside the United States stated that over 50% of the pastors in his country have used Internet pornography. A confidential survey was conducted among 350 “Christian” men. Of these, 64% struggle with sexual addiction or sexual compulsion, including but not limited to using pornography, sexual self-gratification, or other secret sexual activity; 25% admit to having an affair at some point during their Christian life, and 14% admit to some other form of sexual activity outside of their marriage. A Christian cannot play around in these areas and not get burned. As Solomon said in Proverbs 6:27-28,

“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife: whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.” To reject sanctification is to reject God (1 Thess. 4:8; 1 Sam. 8:7) The Holy Spirit encourages us unto brotherly love (Phileo, Gk) (1 Thess. 4:9; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:10) We should seek a “quiet life”(to be meek) (1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Cor. 10:1; Prov. 17:1; Ecc. 4:6; 2 Thess. 3:12; 1 Pe. 3:4) Meek/Gentle (Ps. 37:11) = Maintaining Control with the aid of God’s Holy Spirit Gentle individuals exhibit power under control. They are able to maintain a calm disposition in spite of criticisms, misunderstandings, or injustices. Being meek does not equate with weakness. It is not insisting on asserting one’s own rights, views, or plans. We should pull our own weight and not be dependent on others (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:7-12; Eph. 4:28) This is an important aspect of our witness