Live His Image Series

Opening Video: I am Sin by ignitermedia

Series: Imitators

Summary of first 3 messages using power points

Sermon: Live His Image

Scripture Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18

1Finally, brothers, 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.

2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

4that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,

5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

6and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.

11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,

12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Thesis: To be imitators of Jesus and to do God's will means we lead moral and holy lives. To be imitators of Jesus and to do God’s will means we love each other. To be imitators of Jesus and to do God’s will means we work hard and keep ourselves from drowning in debt to others.

T.S. – Let’s look at the first way we are to live for His image and to do God’s will. We do this by being biblically pure and biblically moral. It’s more commonly called having integrity!

I. Live for His image by living a life with Integrity (1 Thess. 4:1-8)

a. Have you wondered what God's will is? We are told that God's will is for us to be sanctified.

i. To live holy lives, to live by biblical moral values, to have integrity. Verse 3 points this out to the Thessalonians.

b. Integrity’s definition:

i. Integrity is the following of moral or ethical principles. When someone is said to be a person of integrity, this generally means that he/she is considered to have a strong moral character. Integrity is thought by many to be one of the most important virtues a person can possess (from http://reference.yourdictionary.com/word-definitions/Definition-of-Integrity.html)

ii. Quotes on integrity:

1. You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here's how - guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend you’re spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do's and don'ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately... yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it - emotional and spiritual damage will occur. Charles (Chuck) Swindoll

2. "The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is the light that guides your way." ~Heraclitus, 535-475 BC, Greek Philosopher