words well so we come again to this
first epistle of Thessalonians and now chapter 4 and this evening
we'll just read the first two verses of this fourth chapter
and then read as follows furthermore then we beseech you 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 you would abound
more and more. For we know that what commandments
we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Well, we see here as the apostle
commences these verses, he says, furthermore, then we beseech
you, And really he's requesting, requesting earnestly, and the
things which he's going to speak to them, they might truly listen
to, and not just pass them over. And it was because, quite clearly,
the Apostles' love to the brethren at Thessalonica. And he was concerned
then for their spiritual good, their spiritual blessing. And
as we have this as an example for us today, Surely we should
also desire that the Lord would be with us and indeed bless us
indeed and bless the brethren, bless each one. He says, then
we beseech you. It wasn't just a mere word without
any feeling. It was a real desire that God
would indeed look upon them and have mercy upon them. And so
he beseeches and then he says, and he exhorts. by the Lord Jesus. That, of course, was always the
mark that the Apostle directed the churches to, and that was
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that was to follow his great
and blessed and glorious example, to realise the great love of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle knew it himself. He had walked so contrary to
God in such an opposite direction until that wonderful day on the
Damascus Road. And what a change that was. That
changed the Apostle's life. Well, it's still the same today. When the Lord, by His grace,
looks upon us, causes us to consider our ways, there is an amazing
change. Because we come to that realisation,
what a blessing it is when we do, that we're not our own. There was a time when we were.
We desired only to please ourselves. What a blessing if we realise
we're not our own, but we're bought with a price. And that
great price was none less than the blood and the life of the
Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy then for us today
if the Lord gives us a right understanding of how we've been
purchased and therefore surely give us that desire that we might
indeed exalt the Lord Jesus Christ for all that he's done and all
that he's said. and also then to follow his wonderful
and gracious example. Remember, he set the example
before us in love, so that his name, the name of the Father,
the name of the Son might be lifted up and honoured and glorified. And so he goes on to say that
as you have received of us how you ought to walk, and to please
God. Well, the apostle was able to
speak very honestly and very clearly. He'd set before them
in the epistles, the epistles to the Thessalonians and others
to the other places, directed them how they should walk. They
should walk in the fear of the Lord. They should do his commands. They should follow his precepts. because all of those things were
God honoring. And so he doesn't leave them
in any doubt. He says that as you have received
of us, how you ought to walk and to please God. Well, we haven't
physically today got the testimony of the apostles, but we have
got the wonderful writings that are left on record that were
written To the various churches and what a wonderful thing therefore
for us today to have this To have an understanding of it and
to not turn away from it And so the Lord says as you have
received of us Well, we have received the Word of God and
it's a blessing if we received it into our heart Not just into
our head You see the true work of God The work of his grace
doesn't stop in our head. It moves into our heart and it
moves us because we realize what great love the Lord has toward
us in giving his life that we might receive the wonderful gift
of eternal life. And so he says that as you have
received of us how you ought to walk and to please God, well,
we cannot be ignorant of the Word of God. We cannot say, well,
I don't know. We do know. Sometimes we don't
want to know. But it's good when the Lord gives
us a tender conscience, a conscience desiring to honour and glorify
our God, thinking of what he's done to such unworthy sinners. It's amazing, isn't it, to think
the Lord of life and glory should have come into this sinful world
with the great commission to give his life a ransom for many,
to pay the price required to save our souls. Well, the hymn
writer says, doesn't he, very beautifully, on such love, my
soul still ponder love so great, so rich, so free. say whilst lost, in holy wonder,
why, O Lord, such love to me? Hallelujah. Yes, indeed. Praise
the Lord for what he's done, how we ought to walk and to please
God, so ye would abound more and more in setting forth those
things which God has done so that through our lives we might
abound in the desire to do God's will. To cast aside all our own
little thoughts or directions and realise we have a wonderful
Saviour, a merciful Saviour, who has set before us such a
glorious pattern to follow. And what a mercy He's come and
touched our hearts. and made us willing in the day
of his power to forsake all, take up our cross and to follow
him. So you would abound, abound,
that means to be full really, abound more and more to continue
in this God-honouring way and not to turn aside from it. And
then he says, for ye know what commandments we gave you by the
Lord Jesus. They weren't the commandments
of men. They weren't the commandments
of the Apostle Paul. He gave to them the word of God. What a wonderful privilege it
is for us today to know that we have the Word of God, the
Word of God to follow. And what a blessing it is when
God gives us grace so that we truly desire to follow the Lord
Jesus Christ when we think, and it's good to think, and it's
good to meditate on what he has done to redeem our souls. So we can say, furthermore then,
we beseech you, brethren, We can indeed, or perhaps request,
request in the most kind and tender manner from real and hearty
love and affection for us and with a view to our good and the
glory of God. What a mercy it is, what a privilege
to be used in our little lives to serve the Lord and to follow
Him and to take up our cross daily and to follow Him, that
despised and crucified man, or ponder, to think that the Lord
God, the second person in the Trinity, was so willing to come
into this sinful world and to give His life to pay the price
for all our sin, all our sin, to realise it's washed away in
the precious blood of the Saviour. Well, may we ponder these things
and realise how wonderful they were, the Apostle desired the
Thessalonians might really appreciate them. That's why he says, we
beseech you, brethren, how true it is and how wonderful it is. Well, may God give us grace to
follow this way and to realise what a blessing it is to follow
that despised and crucified man and look forward to that day
when by his grace we shall be found with him in glory forever
and ever. Amen.