Sunday, November 24, 2024

SERMON: THE THANKFULNESS OF JOB

 


Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to Job 1

 

      -- this morning is the last Sunday before Thanksgiving -- and it’s kind of expected that on this day we will gather together to reflect on God’s blessings and give thanks for all He has done in the past year

      -- so, in most churches this morning, you’re going to hear messages on one of the more common passages in the Bible about thanksgiving -- for instance, the story of the healing of the ten lepers by Jesus and how only one of the ten -- the Samaritan leper -- returns to thank Jesus for what He has done -- a great story of thankfulness and praise for healing and salvation through Christ

      -- seldom are you going to hear a passage on Thanksgiving from the Book of Job because when we think of Job, we think of tragedy and loss -- of sadness and despair -- you don’t think of praise and joy and thanksgiving

      -- a couple of months ago, we looked at the Book of Job from the perspective of hearing God through our circumstances -- but this morning, I wanted us to look at the Book of Job again -- this time from the perspective of how Job gives thanks to God, in spite of what was going on in his life

 

       -- there’s a reason everybody knows the story of Job, even non-Christians -- it’s because Job’s life resonates with us -- we understand it -- we understand him -- because we understand how it feels to walk through tragedy and loss and sorrow in our lives

      -- we may not walk through pain and sorrow in the same depth that Job did, but we still live this out in our lives today

      -- pain and suffering -- trials and tribulations -- are part of living in this fallen world -- and the further we get from the fall in the Garden of Eden and the closer we get to the end of the age, the more we experience tragedies and storms in our lives

      -- the last several years have been some of the hardest years the people in this church and in this community have ever had to face -- not only have we experienced unprecedented natural disasters, with storms like hurricanes Idalia and Helene, but also the personal storms of sickness and death -- every family in here has been touched by a storm of some type over the past several years

 

      -- and, so, this morning, we turn to the Book of Job because we can look at Job and learn from him -- we can see how he endured with patience and faith the trials that came upon him -- and we can see how he learned to thank God, not only when God blessed him, but also when God allowed him to experience the hard things

      -- so, let's take a moment and see what we can learn about thanksgiving from the example of Job -- join me in Job 1, and lets read verses 1-3 and 13-19 to get us started

 

Job 1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

 

Job 1:13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

 

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

 

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

 

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

 

      -- as the story opens, we see Job as an extremely successful and spiritual man -- he was wealthy beyond belief -- had a large and loving family -- surrounded by good friends -- and was a highly respected leader in his community -- people in his community looked up to him and would seek him out for spiritual advice when they had questions or problems

      -- but all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye -- through no fault of his own -- Job lost everything -- he lost all of his possessions -- he lost his livelihood -- he lost his family -- and he even lost his health -- without warning, all of Job's hopes and dreams came crashing down

      -- Job’s story reminds us that tragedy can occur at any time, at any place, to any one -- this is what most of us think about when we think about the Book of Job

      -- but there's more to the story than that

 

      -- the majority of the Book of Job involves a conversation between Job and his three friends -- Job's friends offer a multitude of reasons why Job has suffered such terrible loss -- "You must have sinned against God," they say -- "You need to repent of your sin"

      -- but Job steadfastly defends himself throughout his conversations with these men -- "I have served God -- I have done what is right -- why is God punishing me in this way when I have done nothing to deserve it? -- why is God letting this happen to me, when I have been the most faithful of servants to Him?"

      -- sound familiar? -- how many of us have had those same thoughts? -- how many of us have had those same arguments? -- here I am serving God -- going to church every week -- ministering to others in His name -- why am I going through this when others who don't even about God are enjoying great prosperity and riches in their lives?

      -- that was Job's argument -- and he says he wants the opportunity to speak directly to God -- one on one -- to plead his case to God and to tell Him that what is going on is not right

      -- and when we reach the end of the Book of Job, we see God grants Job's desire -- God comes to Job and speaks to him in the midst of a storm -- and as God speaks, Job realizes that he is not as sinless as he supposed -- that he did not deserve to be rewarded for doing what was right

      -- in the presence of a holy and sinless God, Job recognizes himself for who he really is -- a sinner -- unrighteous and impure in the eyes of God

      -- in Job 42:6, Job repents of his sin in dust and ashes and apologizes to God for his arrogance -- and God responds in a way we might not have expected

 

II.  Praise and Thankfulness in the Book of Job

      -- if you would, flip over to the last chapter in the Book of Job -- Job 42 -- and let's read verses 7-17

 

Job 42:7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

 

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver[a] and a gold ring.

 

12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

 

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

 

      -- this is what a lot of people forget -- the story of Job is not just the story of tragedy and loss -- it is also the story of salvation and restoration and blessing

      -- when Job finally quit complaining to God and started realizing that everything he had came from God in the first place -- that God is sovereign and has the right to give and to take away -- then Job was finally able to repent of his sin and to get right with God

      -- and in these verses, we see God bless Job -- we see salvation and restoration -- we see God give Job back double everything that he had lost

      -- in the beginning, Job had 7,000 sheep -- God gives him back 14,000 -- he had 3,000 camels -- God gave him back 6,000 camels -- he had 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys -- and God gave him back 1,000 of each

      -- God even gave him back seven sons and three daughters -- now, you might be thinking, "God didn't double the amount of children" -- but He did -- there is a lesson here we need to catch

      -- just because your family members might die and be taken from you, that doesn't mean they are not still your family -- Job's children had just gone ahead of him to heaven -- they were still his children -- they were still alive, just in a different place

      -- and now God has given him more children to replace them on earth -- so, instead of seven sons and three daughters, Job now has 14 sons and 6 daughters, with half of them in heaven and the other half on earth

      -- now don't take this as a principle from God -- when we walk through tragedy and loss in our lives, God is not always going to bless you as He blessed Job -- He is not always going to provide you with double for the troubles you have in life -- but God will always bless us for our faithfulness as we walk with Him through these times

      -- remember this -- with the exception of the children -- everything Job lost was still only things -- they were merely possessions -- Job still lost them in the end, because you aren't carrying anything to heaven with you when you die -- God is more concerned about your eternal life and the state of your soul than He is your financial status -- but for His own reasons, God chose to bless Job in this way at this time

 

      -- now, since our theme for today is praise and thanksgiving, this is the point in the story where you would expect to find Job praising and thanking God, isn't it?

      -- I mean, when do we normally praise and thank God? -- when things are going good, right? -- when we are blessed -- when we are healed or protected or receive financial blessings

      -- that's when we tend to thank God -- that's when we turn to Him in praise for everything He has done -- for all that He has provided

 

      -- think about your prayers -- if you're like me, when you thank God for the things in your life, I would bet they're all praises for God's blessings in one way or the other -- we thank Him for our food -- for our families -- for our homes -- for our health -- for healings and the little miracles He does everyday -- we thank Him for blessing us

      -- so, if you were looking for an example of Job praising and thanking God, this is where you would expect it, isn't it?

      -- but the author of this book does not tell us that Job praised and thanked God for blessing him here in such a bountiful way at the end of the story -- now, I think there's no doubt that Job thanked God after this blessing, but that's not real note-worthy, is it? -- isn't that what we all do when we're blessed? -- isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?

 

      -- but that's not what Job's known for -- Job is known for his patience and his trust and faithfulness in the midst of trials and troubles -- patience and trust and faith that were expressed in the form of praise and thanksgiving

      -- if you want to see true thanksgiving displayed by Job, you won't find it here in response to the blessing of God at the end of his life

      -- to see true thanksgiving and praise displayed by Job, you have to go back to the beginning of all his troubles

      -- turn back to Chapter 1 and look with me at verses 20-22

 

Job 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

 

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

    and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

 

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

 

-- now flip over to Chapter 2:9

 

Job 2:9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

 

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

 

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

 

      -- these are amazing examples of praise and thanksgiving -- "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

      -- this is the moment when Job has just been told that all of his possessions had been taken away -- that all of his servants but a handful had been killed -- and that his very own children -- all seven of his sons and all three of his daughters -- had died while they celebrated at the oldest brother's house

      -- this is the moment when his health has been taken and Job is sitting in pain and agony in the midst of an ash heap, scraping himself with a broken piece of pottery for the slightest relief

      -- and in the midst of total and complete chaos and loss, Job praised God

      -- in the midst of the trials -- in the midst of the troubles -- Job didn’t shake his fist at God and curse him as his wife told him to do -- instead, he worshiped God and offered up praise and thanksgiving

 

      -- now, keep in mind that we know two things that Job and his wife didn't -- we know how the troubles began -- they all started when Satan asked for permission to afflict Job as a test of Job's faith in God -- Satan contended that Job would not continue to worship and follow God in the midst of trial and trouble, so God gave Satan permission to take all of Job's possessions and family and health as a test of Job’s faithfulness

      -- just as an aside, have you ever noticed that Satan didn't take Job's wife and friends? -- have you ever wondered why? -- if you've read the book, I think it's obvious -- Satan knew that Job's wife and friends would not help him and encourage him but would serve as a thorn in his side during this time of trial and testing -- we all have friends like that, don’t we?

 

      -- so now we know how the story started -- and we also know how it ends -- we know that Job suffers for a while and then is blessed doubly by God -- getting back all he had and more

      -- but, at this point in his life -- here at the start of all his troubles -- Job didn't know either of these two things -- he doesn’t know why he is suffering and walking through such a tragedy in his life -- and he has no idea that God is going to restore all of his possessions at the end of the story

      -- all Job knows is that he has been trying to live a good and godly life and now, for seemingly no reason at all, the bottom has dropped out and he has lost everything

      -- Job doesn't know how this is going to end -- it seems that he doesn't have much hope of things ever getting better -- but, despite all of this, Job does something that very few of us would do given similar situations

      -- in the midst of his tragedy -- in the midst of his loss -- while he is sitting in an ash heap and suffering from painful sores all across his body -- Job worships God -- he praises God -- he offers thanks to God

 

      -- how do we respond when troubles come our way? -- what do we do when it seems as if all hope is lost? -- do we rant and rail against God? -- do we question why this is happening?

      -- or do we bow down like Job and say, "may the name of the Lord be praised?"

      -- are we only thankful for God when the sun is shining?

      -- we need to learn from Job’s example and learn to thank God and worship and praise and trust Him even in the midst of the storms

 

III.  Closing

      -- I want to bring this to a close by sharing with you a story about a woman named Sandra who was at the lowest point she had ever been in her life

      -- until recently, things had been going good for Sandra -- she lived a blessed life with her husband and their child -- and then she got pregnant for the second time -- but four months into the pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident stole her joy and she lost her baby

      -- this week, Thanksgiving week, was the time she would have delivered their infant son

      -- she grieved over her loss -- and felt even worse as troubles in her life multiplied -- her husband was having problems at work, and was being threatened that he would be transferred if he didn't take a lower paying position

      -- Her sister had called to say that she could not come for Thanksgiving -- and, to make things worse, Sandra's best friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

      -- "She has no idea what I'm feeling," Sandra thought -- "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. "For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended my car? For an airbag that saved my life, but took my child's?"

 

      -- she walked into a florist’s shop and told the florist that she needed a Thanksgiving arrangement -- the florist asked, "do you want the beautiful but ordinary -- or would you like to challenge the day with a favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special? -- are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this thanksgiving?"

      -- "Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." -- Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

      -- the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, "Hi, Barbara... let me get your order." -- She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. -- Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

      -- "Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. -- Sandra watched for the customer's response. -- Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! -- She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

      -- "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again." -- She said, as she gently tapped her chest.

      -- Sandra stammered, "That lady just left with a bouquet of no flowers!" -- "That's right, said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

      -- "Oh, come on!" Sandra said. "You can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!"

      -- "Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do, today," explained the clerk. -- "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery."

      -- "That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk. "For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel."

      -- "So, what did you do?" asked Sandra. -- "I learned to be thankful for the thorns," answered the clerk quietly. -- "I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I NEVER questioned Him why those GOOD things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, "WHY? WHY Me?!"

      -- “It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! -- I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort! -- You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His
consolation we learn to comfort others."

      -- Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is, I don't want comfort. -- I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God." -- "I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."

      -- "Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. -- We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. -- Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

      -- Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

      -- "Take them as a gift for you from me" -- The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

      -- It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns -- I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns -- Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns -- Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain -- Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

 

      -- the familiar passage in James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

      -- the story of Job reminds us that we are called to praise and thank God for both the flowers and the thorns -- for both the rain and the rainbow -- for both the valley and the mountain

      -- it is not for the weak of heart or for the weak in faith -- it is for the man and woman of God -- the ones who are growing in grace and maturity and walking with Christ down all the paths of life

      -- we are called to look past the momentary trials of this life to the glorious future that exists because of the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ

 

      -- the lesson of Job reminds us that into every life, a little rain must fall -- because it is in the rain that we find nourishment -- it is in the rain that we find faith -- it is in the rain that we learn to trust in God and God alone for salvation -- it is in the rain that we learn to appreciate the sunshine all the more

      -- when all has been taken, on what will you stand? -- Job stood firmly on the promise of God -- and he trusted that, no matter what happened, God would be faithful to him to the very end

      -- in Job 13:15, Job exclaimed to his friends, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him"


      -- we find Job's thankfulness and praise, not in the afterglow of a double-blessing at the end of the book, but in the midst of the trial and heartache

      -- Job praised and thanked God for both the flowers and the thorns -- and God wants us to do the same -- He wants us to praise and thank Him, not only for His blessings, but also for the trials that He allows to come into our lives to draw us close to Him and to shape us into the people that He has called us to be

      -- as we close today on this Thanksgiving week and prepare to take a moment this week to pause and thank God for His presence and His providence in our lives, I want to encourage you to not only thank God for the blessings but to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the trials that we experience on a daily basis

      -- thank God for loving you enough to let them come your way -- thank God for being there with you in the midst of the storm to lead you through them safely to the other side -- thank God for the way these trials and troubles helped mature your faith and strengthen your trust in Him -- and thank God for the certainty of eternal life with Him

      -- on this last Sunday before Thanksgiving, let me share with you the words from a familiar praise song that sums up well the attitude we should have on this day:

 

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

 

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

 

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

 

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

 

-- let us pray

     

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Sermon: A LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

 

1 Thessalonians 4:1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

 

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

 

9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

 

            -- Friday night, I watched a movie called, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” -- it was based on a true story from World War II about a plan from Churchill to destroy the chain of supplies to the German U-boats that were controlling the Atlantic Ocean

            -- basically, Churchill recruited a bunch of misfits and criminals to go to an island off the coast of Africa and destroy the Italian boat the Germans used to replenish supplies on their submarines -- the problem was that this was an unsanctioned mission -- the British Government did not support it, nor did any of their European allies -- so the men and women on this mission were on their own

            -- if the British military intercepted them, they would be thrown into a British prison for crimes against the monarchy -- if the Germans intercepted them, they would be thrown into a Nazi war camp and interrogated through torture

            -- so, they had to navigate the mission on their own, through two opposing forces -- having to decide how they would live and go forward and succeed on this mission

 

-- I can't imagine being in that position -- of having everyone against you -- of having to pretend that you’re working both sides in a conflict -- two times in the movie, the team’s ship is stopped -- once by the Germans and once by the British Navy -- and both times they are questioned about why they are where they are and what they are doing

-- and I know that the men on that ship had to be thinking to themselves, “Who am I ultimately serving? Who is my ultimate authority? Who am I living for? Who am I seeking to please?"

-- those are the very questions that we have to ask ourselves daily -- who are we living for? -- what are we doing? -- and we have to make a choice -- are we living for God or are we living for ourselves? -- do we understand our mission and who we are in this world today?

-- those are the questions that Paul answers for us in this passage from 1 Thessalonians 4 -- so, let’s look at this passage together and see what we can learn from his instructions to the Thessalonians that will help us answer those questions in our lives today

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)

            -- verse 1

 

1 Thessalonians 4:1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

 

-- leaders and teachers are familiar with a principle called, “The Nehemiah Principle” -- it comes from the example of Nehemiah from the eponymous book in the Old Testament -- Nehemiah was a servant in Babylon -- God put a burden on his heart to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple and the wall around Jerusalem

-- but Nehemiah met resistance from foreigners when he got there -- and, even though the people of Jerusalem started well and were enthusiastic at the beginning, as time went on they lost momentum and slowed down and a lot of them just quit

-- so, Nehemiah realized the problem was that they had forgotten their purpose -- they had forgotten why they were rebuilding the wall in the first place -- so, Nehemiah set up a gathering every 28 days where he would remind the people who they were and why they were important and why rebuilding the wall was important to them as the people of God

-- and by reminding them monthly of the reason why they were there and why they were doing what they were doing, the people remained encouraged and energetic and the wall was completed

 

-- it’s important that we know why we do what we do -- that’s the whole basis of the book by Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”

-- Sinek’s key idea and the main thesis in his book is that “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” -- it reminds me of the quote from John Maxwell, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”

            -- it all comes down to the reason for the things that you do

 

            -- For instance, the story is told about the time the noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London -- a journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three of them at random and asked them this question, "What are you doing?"

            -- The first replied, "I’m cutting stone for 10 shillings a day." -- The next answered, "I’m putting in 10 hours a day on this job." -- But the third said, "I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals."1

            -- when you know your “why,” it informs your life and gives you encouragement to keep on with what you are doing

 

            -- the Nehemiah Principle reinforces the “why” of our lives by reminding us on a regular basis of our why -- and that is what Paul is doing here

            -- in verses 1 and 2 of Chapter 4, Paul tells the Thessalonians that they had instructed them on how they should live in order to please God -- in other words, he had told them all this before -- but now, he’s telling them again -- because Paul knew the Nehemiah Principle and he knew the Thessalonians were like us -- we have a tendency to forgot things over time -- especially our “why”

            -- so, Paul repeats his instructions to them to reinforce it and to reinspire the Thessalonians to keep on doing what he had told them they should be doing -- living in order to please God and doing it more and more -- the point is that all of us should be growing in our walk with Christ -- moving forward every day -- and when we fall -- when we fail and give in to our desires and disobey God and sin -- then we pick ourselves up and start moving again

            -- that is what Paul is doing here in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 -- reminding the Thessalonians of what he had instructed them before and how they should grow in their walk in Christ by living to please God daily

-- first, by pleasing God in our personal lives

-- second, by pleasing God in our church lives -- in our relationship with other believers

-- and, third, by pleasing God in our community lives -- in our relationship with those around us who are not believers

-- that is what we are going to talk about this morning  

 

-- before we move on to those points, let me call your attention to something important here in verse 1 -- in verse 1 we read that Paul instructed the Thessalonians “how to live in order to please God”

-- interestingly, Paul uses the Greek word dei in this phrase -- usually, when we translate that word from Greek to English, we render it as “must” -- but not here in this verse -- for some reason, most of our English translations water this down and they change this from “must” -- from a command -- to a suggestion from Paul to the Thessalonians

            -- so, we read in the NIV that Paul’s intent here is to show the Thessalonians “how to live in order to please God” -- in the ESV, it does a little better -- it reads, “this is how you ought to walk and to please God”

            -- but if we take the word dei as usually translated, Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians change from “this is how to live in order to please God” to “this is how you must live in order to please God”

            -- in other words, if you want to live a life pleasing to God -- if you want to grow in your walk with God -- then you must follow Paul’s instructions in these verses that were given to him by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit

            -- contrary to the way most of our Bibles translate these verses, these instructions from Paul were given as commands, not suggestions or recommendations -- and I think we need to be cautious to read them and receive them in that way

            -- that’s why Paul says here in verse 2 that these instructions were given by the authority of the Lord Jesus

            -- with that said, let’s look at each of the three instructions that Paul gave the Thessalonians, and let us consider how we might follow these commands in our lives today

 

            -- first, how must we live to please God in our personal lives

            -- look back at verse 3

 

1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6a and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.

 

 

            -- one of the most life-changing books I have ever read is Pat Morley’s book, “The Man in the Mirror” -- the book revolves around the question, “Who is it that I see when I look in the mirror? -- Am I the same person in private that I am in public?”

            -- what he is talking about is our integrity -- our authenticity -- our wholeness -- that is the same thing that Paul is talking about here in these verses

           

            -- whenever I used to disciple people, in our very first meeting, we would ask the person if they were saved -- if they had received Jesus as their Lord and Savior -- invariably, they would always say yes -- and then we would ask them, what were they saved from? -- and the answer was always the same -- saved from my sins -- but finally, we would ask them, what were they saved for? -- and people stumbled with that question

            -- Paul gives us the answer here in verse 3 -- Paul tells us that it is God’s will that we should be sanctified -- set apart from the world -- set apart from sin -- holy in all that we are and all that we do

            -- that means that we have been saved from sin and saved for sanctification and holiness

            -- that means we have been saved to be holy, inside and out -- at church -- at work -- and in private -- that means that our walk with Christ is never separated into compartments, but we are the same person at home as we are in church -- that means that the person who looks back at us from the mirror in the private of our lives should be just as sanctified and holy as they appear to be in public

            -- and, as Paul points out here, the gauge of our sanctification and holiness is most clearly expressed in how we handle sex in our lives

 

            -- if there is any one area in the life of a Christian that the church has really mishandled, it is in the area of sexual relations -- just as the Pharisees attempted to force holiness by adding rule after rule to God’s commands, so the church has attempted to force holiness in the area of sexual relations by condemning and repressing it -- giving Christians the impression that this is something that God looks down on

            -- but that could not be farther from the truth -- God created us male and female -- He gave us one another to complete each other -- Adam was not complete without Eve -- and God gave us the gift of sexual relations in marriage as a physical act whereby a husband and wife become one in flesh and in spirit

            -- sexual relations in marriage unites a husband and wife as one and this holy, God-ordained union, points us to the ultimate union we have in Christ when we are saved

            -- that is why God forbids sexual relations outside of the marriage bed -- because when someone has sex before marriage or with people they are not married to -- they are sharing a part of themselves that is reserved only for their spouse -- and that part can never be taken back

            -- sexual intimacy apart from marriage is not a good idea -- it affects your body -- it affects your heart -- it affects your spirit -- 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”

            -- God wants to protect us from this -- He wants to protect our bodies -- He wants to protect our hearts -- He wants to protect our spirits -- He wants to keep us from defiling ourselves -- so, He commands us here in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 that we should be sanctified -- holy and set apart and different from the world -- and that we should avoid sexual immorality

            -- the Bible is clear on how we do that -- the start of 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee from sexual immorality” -- if you want to defeat the temptation of sexual immorality in your life, the answer is to run -- to do like Joseph did with Potiphar’s wife -- run when the temptation of sexual immorality comes knocking

            -- God knew how difficult the lure of sexual relations would be for us, so He doesn’t tell us to stand up against it and resist it -- He doesn’t tell us to ignore it and hope it will go away -- He says, “Flee sexual immorality -- when you are tempted in this area of your life, run”

 

            -- Paul goes on to tell us that we should learn to control our own bodies in a way that is holy and honorable -- not only in the area of sexuality, but in all the lusts -- in all the ways that lust manifests in our lives

            -- when we hear the word lust, we always think of it in terms of sexuality, but lust manifests in greater ways

            -- as we read in 1 John 2:18, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

-- anytime we desire something in an ungodly manner -- when that desire comes over us and take control of us -- when passion for that item overcomes us -- that is a form of lust

-- and that can be sexual lust -- but it can also be jealousy -- it can be coveting -- it can be desiring something that someone else has or that someone else is -- it could be desiring something that God has not granted us and reaching out and meeting that desire regardless of what God thinks

-- and when we do that, we can wrong our brothers and our sisters and take advantage of them as we take what we should not

-- so, Paul tells us here to learn to control our own bodies -- to not give into our lusts like those who do not know God -- for we are not like the world -- we have the Holy Spirit within us who empowers us and enables us to live holy and sanctified lives for God -- remember that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control -- and that is what Paul is calling for us to do here if we want to live a life pleasing to God

 

            -- look back at the second part of verse 6

 

1 Thessalonians 6b The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

 

 

            -- there is always a consequence to sin -- even though our sins were forgiven on the cross, when we sin against God in this way, there is a penalty that must be paid -- and people who give into sexual immorality or who give into other passionate lusts as Paul mentions in this passage are going to suffer the consequences of the choices they have made

            -- as we have discussed in Bible study, one way God punishes us for our sin is by pouring out His wrath on us -- by taking His hand off us and allowing the consequences of our actions to fall on us -- there is always a price to pay for the sins that we commit

            -- but this is not how God intends for His people to live -- He did not call us to be impure, but to live holy lives in Him -- He had given us His Spirit to help us do that

            -- so, focus on that instead of the sin that calls out to us -- fix your eyes on Jesus -- keep your mind and your heart and your eyes fixed on Him -- and you will not fall into sin and the punishments and consequences that these sins carry with them

            -- so, Paul cautions the Thessalonians -- and us -- here, to not reject these commands and instructions, because we are not rejecting man, but God Himself who gave us these commands for our good

 

            -- so, in order to live life in a way that pleases God, the very first thing we must do is to make sure to please Him in our personal lives -- to make sure that the person in the mirror is holy and sanctified as God calls us to be

            -- let’s move on and look at how we can please God in our church lives -- in our communities of faith

           

-- verse 9

 

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more

 

            -- in telling the Thessalonians how to please God in their church lives, Paul says that he doesn’t have to say anything about brotherly love to them -- they understand that -- they are doing that

-- when we think of brotherly love -- phileo love -- we think of family -- and for Christians, church has become our family -- an eternal, spiritual family that supersedes any bonds of blood or familial relations

-- when we are born again -- when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and are washed in His blood and are forgiven of our sins and reconciled with the Father -- we are born again as the children of God -- in John 1:12, it says, “to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God”

-- look around you right now -- this is your family -- we are your brothers and sisters in Christ -- and this relationship will continue throughout eternity

-- because of this, we are one with Christ and one with each other -- one family united in Christ and united in His love

-- the Thessalonians understood that -- they loved each other -- they cared for each other -- these new family bonds were as important to them as the bonds of their original families -- more so, even, in some cases, especially because a lot of blood families rejected their family members when they converted to Christianity

 

            -- and the Thessalonians understood that this family was not limited by the walls of the place where they gathered for worship, but it extended outward to all Christians -- to the universal church -- to the entire body of Christ, wherever it may be found

            -- we see that when Paul talks about the Thessalonians loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia -- their family included all Christians in Macedonia and even beyond -- this is why the churches in Asia Minor responded to Paul’s call for donations to help Christians living in Jerusalem -- it wasn’t out of a sense of duty -- it wasn’t in order to win brownie points with God

            -- it was because someone in their family was in need, and their hearts went out to them in love and care and their money went to them as a tangible example of their love

 

            -- and I’m going to say something here that’s going to ruffle some feathers, but it needs to be said -- immigration was a hot topic in this recent election -- I don’t think it’s too much to say that Trump’s victory, in large part, was because of his stance on immigration

            -- and I agree that illegal immigration is a problem in this country -- we have a path for people to come into this country legally -- and I think we should support people who are doing so because our country is a country that was founded and depends on immigrants -- whether they are coming from Europe or Ireland or Asia or Mexico

            -- because the thing is they are coming here searching for the American Dream that we have promised to the entire world -- they have seen the Statue of Liberty and heard the words of the call at the bottom of the statue:

 

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

 

            -- they are coming for freedom and for salvation from the conditions they have been living in -- we have invited them in and we should not discourage them from coming in accordance with our laws and regulations

 

            -- but here’s the deal -- whether these people come in legally or illegally, if they are Christians, they are our brothers and sisters -- they are family -- and we are called to love them just as we love our blood relations

            -- we need to remember that when we talk about immigrants and about people in other countries -- we need to remember that these aren’t just a group of people, but these are individuals -- husbands and wives -- mothers and fathers -- sons and daughters -- family members to you and to me -- people that God has called us to love and to care for, just as Paul is commending the Thessalonians here for loving their brothers and sisters in their local church and throughout all of Macedonia

 

            -- and, although he says that he doesn’t need to instruct them about brotherly love, he does remind them that they have been taught by God to love each other -- the love he is referring to here is not brotherly love, but agape love -- unconditional love -- the love that goes beyond and that reaches out regardless of who someone is or where someone is

            -- Paul says that our agape love for our brothers and sisters in Christ should be increasing and abounding more and more every day

            -- that is how we please God in our lives in a church community -- by remembering our family and loving those in that family however we can, more and more every day

 

            -- so, first, we live to please God in our personal lives -- second, we live to please God in our church lives -- and finally, we live to please God in our community lives

            -- verse 11

 

1 Thessalonians 4:11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

 

            -- there is an old cliché that says that we may be the only Bible that others will read -- and that is what Paul is trying to point out here to the Thessalonians

            -- he is telling them that they must live exemplary lives in the community -- to lead quiet lives -- to not lead lives of rebellion -- to not be known as people who are out-spoken or who fight for our own ways -- but who lead quiet lives and mind our own business and do our jobs to the best of our ability, no matter what our jobs are

            -- that we live out our faith with our hands and in our communities and in our speech and bearing in public so that others might see us and be drawn to Christ because of our example

 

            -- Paul’s instructions here reminds me of Martin Luther King, Jr’s, quote:

 

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

 

            -- that is what Paul is saying -- if we want to live a life that is pleasing to God in our communities, then we have to live quiet lives, productive lives, meaningful lives -- lives that attract the attention of others and draw them to Christ simply because of how we live

            -- not giving in to panic -- not giving in to worry and anxiety -- not giving in to outrage and fear and rebellion -- but lives truly and fully lived for the Lord -- content in His presence and pouring out agape love to all around us

            -- living life this way wins the respect of outsiders and makes them see Christians in a good light

 

            -- the Apostle Peter said something similar in 1 Peter 2:12, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

 

 

III.  Closing

            -- let’s wrap this up

            -- there is a scientific principle that there are only two states in life -- either something is growing or it is decaying -- either it is alive or it is dying

-- and that is also true in the spiritual plane, as well

 

-- if you are not growing in the Lord -- if you are not growing in your walk with Christ -- then you are decaying -- you are stagnating -- you are going backwards

-- we must be moving forward -- we must be growing and moving in Christ if we are to be successful in our Christian lives -- and we grow in our walk with Christ by living to please God daily

-- first, by pleasing God in our personal lives -- by living sanctified and holy lives -- by avoiding sexual immorality and the passionate lusts of the world

-- second, by pleasing God in our church lives -- in our relationship with other believers -- by loving our Christian family with both brotherly love and agape love

-- and, third, by pleasing God in our community lives -- in our relationship with those around us who are not believers -- by living quiet and mindful lives that serve as examples of Christ’s love and presence to those around us

-- this is what God wants -- this is what God commands -- this is how we should be living life every single day

 

            -- let us pray

[Note: Sermon outline based on blog post from Dave Black]