Come back to First Thessalonians
chapter 4. It feels good to be here this
morning. Although I told Vicki in a weird
way it felt good being sick. I said I was able to lay down
and I didn't have to feel guilty about not being somewhere or
doing something. I said in a weird way it kind
of feels good. But I'm glad to be here. I'm
glad that part's over with for a while. In this flesh it always
comes back, doesn't it? It's just profile. The title of the message this
morning is A Walk That Pleases God. A Walk That Pleases God. Frank spoke to us this morning
out of Romans. Had to do with justification.
This chapter follows right along. It has to do with our sanctification. So let's look at this. Paul exhorts
the believers here in Thessalonica to walk in a manner that is consistent
with their calling. So you walk in a manner that's
consistent with your calling. He says in verse 7, For God hath
not called us unto uncleanness. We were born to that. He's not
called us to that. He's called us unto holiness. Scripture says in Ephesians 2,
we have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God ordained that we should walk. God has ordained it that we should
walk in these good works. Paul always instructed the churches,
if you go throughout his epistles and read them, he speaks of the
of Christ and redemption by Christ and God chose us, but he also
speaks of our walk. And that's what he deals with
right here in this chapter, in these first twelve verses. And
he says, furthermore, that is to continue the instructions,
we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul uses language here that is fitting for brethren, not
rebels. He said, we beseech you. We exhort you. That's fitting
for the family, isn't it? That's how you instruct the family.
Now, what Paul has to say is by the authority of Jesus Christ. These commandments and these
things that Paul gives us here, he says, I have this on the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ gave these commandments
to the apostles and they gave them to the church. Gave them
to us. That's what he's done. As they
were taught of Christ, they taught the church. And here it has to
do with a believer's walk in his home, in private, in public. A believer, a person who truly
believes the gospel, who truly believes God, is the same either
place. He's the same. You could sneak
into his house and you wouldn't know the difference, really.
They're the same whether they're in public or in private. They
live their lives, listen, they live their lives before God,
not before men. We walk and live before God,
not men. And when a person is aware of
that, is born of God, he's the same either place. Now here's
a question. a believer, walk in such a way
in this life that it pleases God? Can I walk in such a way
that it pleases God? Well, the answer to that is yes.
Yes. We can in this life. We can walk
in such a way that it pleases God. That walk first begins by
faith. It begins in faith. You know,
the Scripture says without faith, it's impossible to please God. Well, what's the flip side of
that? With faith, it's possible to please God. Faith believes
all things are God. Faith ascribes all glory to God. Faith looks to Christ for all
things. Faith lays hold of Christ as
its wisdom It's righteousness. It's sanctification and redemption. Faith looks to Christ for all
we say. And then it's a walk of love. It's a walk of faith. And it's a walk of love. You
walk in love for one another. You walk in love for God. Christ
said, Peter, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things.
You know I love you. You know I love you. It's a walk
of love. It's not hypocrisy. It's real
love. And then it's a walk of submission
to His will and self-denial. Now we say, Lord, what would
you have me to do? Before hearing the gospel,
before being brought under the sound of the gospel and faith
in Christ, there were things I wanted to do. There's things
I planned on doing, I wanted to do. Had nothing to do with
it. God wasn't even in the picture. God was not in any of my thoughts.
But that's not the way it is now, is it? Lord, what would
you have me to do? And when He changes your path,
when He changes your direction, when He changes your plans, you
don't get all bent out of shape over it. Because He will do it. It's a walk of submission. And
then it's a walk in holiness. Scripture says, follow after
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Yes, there
is such a walk that pleases God. And this walk, listen now, it's
not in the flesh, it's in the spirit. It's a spiritual walk
with God. Enoch walked with God, and he
was not from God. Enoch walked with God. Turn over
to Romans chapter 8. Look in verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sent in his own Son,
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in
the flesh. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit." It's not a walk in the flesh, it's in
the Spirit. It's a spiritual walk, and it's in the Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
They're always feeding the appetites of the flesh, going after the
desires of the mind. But they that are after the Spirit,
they mind the things of the Spirit. They're after the things of God.
They are after those things which please God. They love those things
which please God. For to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in
the flesh, now they cannot please God. I don't care how charitable
that person is. It doesn't matter how kind that
person is. That person who's in the flesh
cannot please God. But that one who's in the Spirit,
who's born of the Spirit of God, that person will please God.
But you're not in the flesh, he said in verse 9. You are not
in the flesh. You're in the Spirit. If so be,
if so be, that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His. He's lost.
No matter what he professes, he's lost. And if Christ be in
you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive
because of righteousness. That's what Paul's saying here.
This walk pleases God, but it's a spiritual walk. It's a walk
in the spirit. There are many who try to imitate
this walk. They try to imitate it. They
fall far short of it when it comes to love and mercy. When it really comes to loving
the brethren and loving God and desiring His will, that's where
they fall. He says, you know what commandments,
that is what charges we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Paul did
not make up any of these commandments. He didn't reach back to his pharisaical
days of self-righteousness and pull this up, no. He said, these
commandments I have, that I've given you, are from the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, don't put a question
mark on the Word of God, because some man wrote it. It was written
by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. God
used men, just like He uses men here to preach. and teach and
instruct. He used these apostles in writing
the New Testament. But it's Christ who gave it. It's Christ who gave us this
Word. He gave it. For this, he says, is the will
of God, even your sanctification. The Scripture speaks of the believer
as being washed You can look over in 1 Corinthians 6.11 if
you want to see this. It speaks of the believer being
washed, sanctified, and justified. And all of these are of God. Leave out any one of them, and
that person is lost. Leave out any one of them. You
can talk about being justified all day, but if you're not sanctified,
if you're not born of God, You do not have a new nature that's
born of God, you're lost. You cannot leave out washed.
You cannot leave out sanctified. You cannot leave out justified.
You can't leave out any of them. Not at all. And they're all God. We do not sanctify ourselves.
I didn't make myself holy. I can't do that. I cannot do
that. That's the work of God. That's
His work. I do not justify myself. I do
not wash myself. That's all of God. It's all of
Him. It's of God from beginning to
end. Even, He says, your sanctification. Now, this word sanctification
is probably the most confused of all of them. You know, we
talk about being justified, legally said to be justified. Righteous
before God, not guilty. That's the word I'm looking for.
Not guilty. But this word sanctification,
I think most people get confused on it. I think many of them get
confused on it. But it's used throughout the
Word of God. It's throughout the whole Word of God. You know
it's mentioned over 30 times in the New Testament? This word
sanctification is mentioned over 30 times throughout the New Testament. And let me give you three meanings
that it basically means. First of all, it means to set
apart. To set apart. Take something
that's common and set it apart for God's use. Over in Genesis,
it says God sanctified the seventh day. Doesn't mean He altered
that day or made anything, He just set it apart. God rested
the seventh day. Then it means to regard or declare
something or someone to be holy. And then it means to purify and
to actually make holy. To truly make holy. First of all, we were set apart
by the Father in election. He set us apart. He took us from
the sons of Adam and set us apart in Christ. chose us in Christ
to set us apart by divine election. And then He regarded, He declared
us to be holy when we were redeemed by the blood of His Son, declared
to be righteous. When Christ redeemed His elect,
they were declared righteous, holy. And then we are made holy in
regeneration. We are made holy. When we were
created in righteousness, it says over in Ephesians chapter
4, we were created in righteousness and true holiness. Made that
way. When that happened, when that
happened, there was a new nature born of God. created after the
image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that new nature that's born
of God is without sin. And it never has sin, and it
never will sin. We have an old nature that continually
sins and stays with us until we die. Until that day comes,
we'll have that old nature that just raises up its ugly head
and constantly, constantly warring against us. There's a constant
warfare going on. He's not going to win the battle.
He's crucified with Christ. But there's a new nature that's
born of God that does not sin. That's when we experience sanctification
inwardly, when we're born of God. Now, your sanctification,
your election, your redemption, your regeneration, Paul says
it's by the will of God. You didn't just happen to come
in here and hear the gospel and believe it. No, it's by the will
of God. Every person that's ever been
saved or ever shall be saved is by the will of God. By His
will. And that being so, that being so, you're not your
own. You're not your own. You're not
to be used for common use anymore. You belong to God. We are for
His use. We are His servants. We are His
children. You are not your own. You have
been bought with a price. The scripture says you have been
bought with a price. Therefore, listen, glorify God
in your body and your spirit which belong to God. Christ redeemed
the whole land. He redeemed all of them. You've
been set apart. You've been declared holy. And you've been made holy. You've
been made holy. You've been made the righteousness
of God in Christ. And Paul says, this being so,
you've been born of God. You have a new nature that's
born of God. This being so, he says to them,
and to us, abstain from fornication. Which mostly has to do here with
sexual impurity. Which at that time, it's a lot
like our day, but at that time it was just totally acceptable. Nothing wrong. Nothing wrong
with it. They saw nothing wrong with it. He's saying you abstain from
this fornication. Abstain from homosexuality, incest,
immoral behavior, adultery. He said, you abstain from these.
God has saved you from these. You're different. You're different. You don't walk after the world.
You're not of the world anymore. You're different. And Paul mentioned
this to them because it was so accepted in that day. And he
says, every one of you should know how to possess his vessel
in sanctification and honor. We still live in this flesh.
We still live in this flesh. And the motion of sin still wars
in our members, doesn't it? It still wars in our members.
It's still there. We feel it every day. We feel
that conflict every day. But we don't obey it. It's not
our master. It's not our master. Paul said
in one place, make no provisions for the flesh to fulfill the
lust thereof. Don't give fuel to the fire. And here's the reason why he
tells them this. When he tells them, he says that every one
of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification
and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, evil desires,
feeding the lust of the flesh. And here's why. The believer's
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in you. And the Scripture teaches us
this over in 1 Corinthians 3.16 and 1 Corinthians 6.19. It says
the believer's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells
in you. And He says don't defile that. Don't defile that. Before conversion, we went about
to fulfill the lust of the flesh. The desires of the mind is what
says over in Ephesians 2. That's how we lived. We didn't try to put a check
on anything, not really. As long as we didn't get caught. As long as anything goes, as
long as we didn't get caught. But after conversion, we walk
in the Spirit. and we mortify the deeds of the
flesh. And our desire, and I can say
this with confidence, every believer's desire is to please God. Every
believer's desire is to walk in love toward one another. It's
to do that. The thing that troubles you the
most now is that you don't love like you
should. You don't walk like you want to walk. Oh, I wish to God I could love
more than I do. I could leave God more than I do. Those are
the things that make us mourn. Those are the things. Our desire is to please God.
But to keep this in context, to keep it in context, this has
reference here to a husband's conduct toward his wife. If you
keep this in context, that's what it has reference to. When
you talk about know how to control his vessel, that every one of
you should know how to possess his vessel. And every writer
that I was reading said this has to do with the husband's
conduct toward his wife. That it should always be honorable.
It should always be an honorable conduct. And that's what that
had reference to. Not acting like the Gentiles
which know not God. You're not like that no more.
Yes, we have sin dwelling in us. We know that. But you're
not what you used to be. God-haters. Walking after the
flesh. Not anymore. You love God and
you walk after holiness. Your desire is to please Him.
You're not like, he says, the other Gentiles who know not God.
And that no man, he says, go beyond and defraud his brother
in any matter. That you deal with men honestly
and with integrity at all times. All times. Never take advantage
of your brother In Adam or in Christ? You say, well, he's no
lost man. No, you don't take advantage
of him either. Not at all. You deal honestly and you deal
with integrity. But to stay with the context,
here's what it means. You honor one another's marriage
and you don't go after your brother's wife. That's what it means. That's keeping it in its context.
That's what Paul says. Because God is the avenger of
all such who go about and destroy their brother's marriage. They
go after their wife. He says you don't do that. You
don't do that. God will destroy all who go a
whoring after the flesh. He says here in verse 7, For
God hath not called us unto uncleanness, God hasn't called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness. He's called us to walk the life
of godliness. That's what Paul's teaching these
Thessalonians here. And I tell you, we don't overlook
this, do we? We deal with it. We are instructed
out of this. He's not called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness. He didn't save us in our sins.
He saved us from our sins. God has saved us from our sins. Now, he that despises these commandments,
these instructions, these charges, he doesn't despise man, he despises
God. God's the one who gave. This
is the Word of what? God. It's not called the Word
of Paul. It's not called the Word of Peter. It's the Word of God. These instructions
we have here, if a person despises this and says, I don't believe
that, we don't believe God. You don't believe God. For someone
to say, I don't believe that. It's not that you don't believe
me. You don't believe God. You don't
believe the instructions and charges. Christ said, if you
keep my commandments. Well, that's from Genesis to
Revelation. He said, then are you my disciples
indeed. He that despises these commandments
that are given here in the Word of God, it's not that he despises
the man who gave them. Oh, he may despise the man and
use it as a disguise for his hatred of God. That's what happens
really. I think most people disguise
their hatred of God by hating his servants who preach the truth.
They say, well, I don't hate God. Just you. I don't hate God, I just hate
you. No, you hate God. That's the
honest truth. It's the truth. But now you who have been born
of God, you've received the Holy Spirit.
He says the Holy Spirit is in you and you know what I'm talking
about. Those who are born of God, when they hear the Word
of God, they say, that's right. They say, Amen. When the Word of God is read,
when the Word of God is preached in truth, they say, Amen. You
know why? Because they have the Spirit
of God in them. Because the Spirit of God witnesses
in them that this is so. This is the truth. He said, but God has given unto
us His Holy Spirit, and it's the Holy Spirit's job, if we
want to call it that, to convict and to convince us so. And He
does. He does. You know these commandments
are of God by the Spirit of God that dwells in you. But as touching
brotherly love, as touching this saying of brotherly
love, you need not that I write to you. I don't have to write
about this. For ye yourselves are taught
of God to love one another. We can teach our children how
to behave in public so they do not embarrass us. You can teach
them how to behave, how to conduct themselves. You can teach them
how to be mannerly. You can't teach them how to love. Love
is either in you or it's not in you. You can instruct them
and tell them that, but I tell you what, it's either there or
it's not there. And Paul said, there's no need for me to write
about this. Paul wrote about abstaining from fornication and
other places wrote about sin, but now he said, this thing of
love, God will teach you. The Spirit of God that's in you
will teach you this. If the love of God is shed abroad
in your heart, God will teach you to love. And this love is
above earthly love. It's above earthly love. It's
divine love. I want to read you this one more
time, over in 1 Corinthians. We've read this, and you've read
it many, many times over the years. But you listen to this,
love. This is of God. I read this the
other night, and I thought, my, this is divine.
This is divine love. This type of love is of God.
something you and I can teach. The flesh it is. All this is
of God. Look in verse 4. Love suffereth long and is kind. Charity or love envieth not. Charity vaunteth Not itself. It's not puffed up. It doth not
behave itself unseemly, rudely. It seeketh not her own. And she's
not easily provoked. She is not easily provoked. Thinketh
no evil. Well, I know what you meant when
you said that. No, you don't. No, thanks, no evil. When I read this, I'm telling
you, it made me want to crawl under my desk and just lie and
come back out again. When I read this this week, I
thought, God has to teach this. God has to give this. Rejoice is not in iniquity. It
doesn't rejoice in iniquity itself or in anybody else. It rejoices
in the truth. And this love that God will teach
you, Paul says, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, and endureth all things. That's the love, Paul
says, I don't need to write you about, God will teach you this. That's the love that's of God.
That's totally opposite of the flesh, isn't it? Totally opposite. And this love is an inward work
of grace and it affects the whole man. It affects every part of
your being. And it will cause you to walk
after holiness because you love the God of holiness. I read you
this morning, give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
I wonder how many did that today. I'm thankful God's holy. You know, the very fact that
God is holy ensures us that He'll show mercy. It ensures us He'll
love. He'll show love. Because holiness
is this, it's perfect. And if God did not show love
and mercy and grace, it wouldn't be perfect, would it? The fact that He's holy, He's
perfect in every way, ensures us He's going to show mercy.
He's going to show it to somebody. He's going to show it sovereignly.
He's going to show it. He's going to do it. It's an inward work of grace.
And it will cause you to walk in such a way as pleasing to
God. And Paul says, I exhort you in
your walk to study, to be quiet. And here's what this means. Be
very ambitious. Very ambitious about this. Be
very ambitious in being quiet in your homes. Where you work. In your heart,
where it begins. Strive to maintain this quietness,
he says. That's what he said. Strive to
maintain this quietness. Here's what Henry's commentary
says. Make it your ambition and goal
to live peaceably in your home and church and business, to cause
no disturbance and turmoil by tailbearing, gossiping, and unkind
words or accusations. You know, over in Proverbs 6,
in verse 19, it says, there are a few verses, it says, six things
do I hate, yet seven are an abomination. And the last one is he that causes
discord among brethren. He says be quiet. Be very ambitious
about this. Very ambitious about it. It's
better to be quiet. And I thought of this. Home ought
to be the place. Be quiet in the home. It ought
to be the place where children can come to and get away from
the unrest of this world. It ought to be that. Shame on anyone that's not. It ought to be that. where they
can come to a place of safety. It's sad not many children get
to do that. It's sad. But it's so. Where there is unrest,
fighting, you can be sure it's satanic. He's a master. Satan is a master of tearing
down the home. A master at it. Paul says, Study to be quiet. You're very ambitious to keep
this peace. In your home, in the church,
wherever you go, he said, you study to be quiet. And listen,
do your own business. Keep your nose out of everybody
else's affairs. That's what he said. Unless they ask you. One guy said, he said, everybody's
entitled to my opinion. No. I know another one for that,
but I couldn't say it here. Keep your nose out of other people's
affairs unless they ask for help, unless they ask for advice. Then
pray about it and think about it before you really give the
advice. I've learned over the years,
I don't always follow it, but I've learned over the years,
if you haven't thought about it, don't talk about it. You need to give
some thoughts and prayers. I have to say that's one of the
many things I really admired Henry for. He didn't just pop
off. He thought about it. Prayed about
it. And that's why he's saying, do
your own business. And work with your own hands.
Be industrious. Energetic. Don't depend on someone
else to provide for you all the time. Don't do that. Don't be
a freeloader or take advantage of charity of God's people. But,
and now if you need help, take it. We all need help. One time or another, we are going
to need help. And when we need help, take it
when it's offered. But Paul's talking here, let
me show you over here Let's see, chapter 3. He says in verse 10, For even
when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would
not work, neither should he eat. But we hear that there are some
which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, freeloaders,
taking advantage of God's people. I've seen this over the years.
I've seen some people come in and take advantage of the sheep. They take advantage of you, working
not at all of busybodies. They're just busybodies. Paul
says don't be like that. Don't be like that. Walk honestly
toward them that are without. The Scripture says provide all
things honest before all men. Provide it, he said. All things. Don't expect the world to support...
Listen, don't expect the world to support the church. That's
one thing he's saying here too. Don't expect them to support
the gospel. Don't look to them to support the gospel. Don't
send the kids out here to have a car wash so we can do something. No, you don't do that. We're
going to have bake sales and car washes. We'll give as the
Lord gives to us. If we don't have it, we won't
do it. Provide all things offered for all. Here's the summary of
it. Walk by faith. Faith pleases
God. Mortify the deeds of the flesh.
Love one another. Keep out of the affairs of others.
Lead a quiet life and go to work. This is the commandment, he says,
of Christ. This is the walk that pleases
God. This is the evidence of your sanctification. And your talk, your conduct,
the believer's conduct is evidence that God's done something for
him and in him. If God's done something for you,
I promise you He'll do something in you. It's not all outward. There's
an inward work of grace. There's a new birth. There's
a new creation. And it happens in this sanctification.