SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Walk in holiness (vs 1-8):
(a). Right attitude (vs 1a)
(b). Right actions (vs 2-3)
(c). Right Appreciation (vs 6-8)
(2). Walk in Harmony (vs 9-10)
(3). Walk in Honesty (vs 11-12):
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• At the F.A. Cup final a diehard fan remarked about it to a woman sitting nearby.
• That he was surprised to see an empty seat at such an important game.
• The woman explained, “It was my husband’s, but he died.”
• The man replied.
• “I’m very sorry to hear that! But I am really surprised that another relative, or friend.
• Didn’t jump at the chance to take the seat reserved for him.”
• “Beats me too,” she said.
• “But they all insisted on going to the funeral.”
• TRANSITION: That story is funny because the woman had mixed up priorities:
• The apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians Church and says.
• “Get your priorities right!”
• The priority of every Christian is to please God:
• That is emphasised in verse 1: “Live in order to please God”.
• KJB: “Walk so as to please God”.
• Amplified: “Walk so as to please and gratify God”
• And the first twelve verses of this chapter tell each one of us how to do that.
• The section divides nicely under three headings.
(1). Walk in holiness (vs 1-8):
1”Finally, 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.“
Ill:
• Everybody lives to please somebody.
• It might be a wife = husband or boyfriend/girlfriend,
• May be a child = parent or someone else.
• Sadly, some people just live to please themselves.
Ill:
• A churchwarden arrived at a vicarage to keep his appointment with the vicar,
• But the vicar’s teenage son answered the door and said:
• “I'm afraid he won't be able to see you after all
• He's just had a letter offering him the post of Bishop of the Bahamas!'
• The warden replied:
• “But he's only just been appointed to this parish.”
• “Yes, I know”; said the son, “But he's being offered a car, six weeks' annual holiday.
• And twice the salary. So, he's gone to his study to pray for guidance.”
• The warden then asked: “What about your mother, is she praying with him?”
• The son replied: “No, she's up in the bedroom packing the suitcases.”
• TRANSITION: Some people just live to please themselves.
• But that should never be the attitude of the Christian!
(a). Right attitude (vs 1a):
• Note the words, “As in fact you are living” or “Just as you are walking”.
• That phrase tells us that the apostle Paul is not rebuking them for disobedience,
• But rather affirming them in their Christian walk.
• And encouraging them to continue their growth pattern.
• In other words, he is saying.
• “You’re doing really great! But don’t settle there! Excel!”
Pleasing God ought to be the major motivation in their life.
• Because the Christian faith is a relationship and not just a set of religious beliefs!
• Our aim, our goal in life to please God.
Ill:
• Jesus could say, (John chapter 8 verse 29):
• “I do always those things that please the Father”
• Pleasing God means much more than simply doing God’s will.
• It is possible to obey God and yet not please Him.
• i.e. Story of the little boy on a long car journey,
• Who stood up on the back seat of the car and refused to sit down?
• When threatened by his parents, that if they have to stop the car he was in big trouble!
• The boy sat down and said,
• “I may be sitting down in my body, but in my mind, I’m standing up!”
• TRANSITION: Pleasing God means much more than simply doing what’s right.
• It is possible to obey God and yet not please Him.
• i.e. The Pharisees at the time of Jesus were good at that,
• “Worship God with their lips but their hearts were far from him”
• (Matthew chapter 15 verse 8 & Isaiah chapter 29 verse 13)
(b). Right actions (vs 2-3):
“For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified;”
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
ill:
• Do you remember the old days (before Covid-19)?
• When you could book a ticket to watch a game of football or a concert.
• I have been to a sell-out football game,
• Where the stadium has a capacity of 99,354 (the biggest stadium in Europe.)
• And I went and found my seat that was ‘sanctified ‘for me.
• ‘Sanctified’ simply means: ‘reserved’ or ‘Set apart for a special use’.
Question: What special use is the apostle talking about?
Answer: is found in verse 3b:
• That we use our bodies and the gift of sex in the right way.
• “That you should avoid sexual immorality”.
• The apostle Paul instructs the Thessalonian Christians:
• That if they want to please their heavenly Father,
• They need to play or live by the rules!
• ill: Football: want to please referee you play by the rules.
• ill: In school or work if you want to please your employer…… the rules of employment.
• If the Christian wants to please their heavenly Father:
• They too need to play by the rules.
• Those rules say, do not misuse God’s good gift of sex!
Instead the apostle Paul tells us how: “learn self-control” (vs 4).
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
• The apostle Paul tells these Christians,
• To be aware of how our bodies work, how our sex drives function.
• Understand what weakens it and what strengthens it.
• The control of the body is something WE must achieve,
• No-one is going to do it for us.
• No-one remains pure by accident we need to take positive action.
Quote: The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true:
“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes.
In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves.
The process never ends until we die.
And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”
(c). Right Appreciation (vs 6-8):
“And 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.
• Like any good human parent will deal with their children when they do wrong,
• , God our ‘heavenly Father’ will deal with his children when they sin.
Ill:
• A church member criticized her pastor,
• Because he was preaching against sin in the lives of Christians.
• “After all,” the church member said,
• “Sin in the life of a believer is different from sin in the lives of unsaved people.”
• The pastor replied,
• “Yes, it is, it is worse.”
• i.e. It is worse when a police officer commits a crime than an ordinary person,
• They should have known better and they should have set an example!
• i.e. It is worse when a Christian man or woman commits sin than a non-believer,
• They should have known better and they should have been an example!
Note: The judgement mentioned here:
• Is not a reference to eternal punishment,
• But to the discipline of the heavenly Father within his family.
• e.g. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1-10.
• Give a more detailed explanation of this.
Notice:
• To help us stay pure.
• Paul mentions two things in verses 7-8.
FIRST THING TO NOTE:
• We have been called to growth (vs 7).
• “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
• Quote: Living Bible:
• “For God has not called us to be dirty minded and full of lust, but to be holy and clean”
ill:
Plant
• Option 1: Put it on the windowsill (plenty of light)
• Feed it clear water (occasional a bit of baby Bio).
• Option 2: place it in a darkened room,
• Feed it on Coke-Cola.
• You don’t have to be Alan Tidmarsh, or Monty Don,
• To know which plant is going to grow.
• TRANSITION: As Christians if we want to grow:
• We need to make sure we are living right.
• Not polluting our bodies & minds with the wrong stuff!
(SECOND THING TO NOTE): To reject holiness is to reject God (vs 8).
8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God,
who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Ill:
• Hetty Green has gone down in history as “America’s Greatest Miser,”
• Yet when she died in 1916, “Hetty” Green left an estate valued at over $100 million.
• She ate cold oatmeal because it cost to heat it.
• Her son had to suffer a leg amputation,
• Because she delayed so long in looking for a free clinic that his case became incurable.
• She was wealthy, yet she chose to live like a pauper.
• TRANSITION: Every Christian:
• Has limitless wealth (power of the Holy Spirit) at their disposal,
• Yet they live like Hetty Green (spiritual paupers).
• The apostle Paul says:
• To disobey God’s instructions is also to reject God’s helper,
• The Holy Spirit who strengthens us and helps us to keep the instructions.
• The number one job of the Holy Spirit.
• Is to make us HOLY!
(2). Walk in Harmony (vs 9-10)
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.
Ill:
• In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels,
• Threatening him with her fist if he didn’t.
• Linus. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?”
• Lucy replies; “These five fingers…….
…Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit,
They form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”
• Linus replies:
• “Which channel do you want?”
• Then turning away, he looks at his fingers and says.
• “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
• TRANSITION:
• God wants us his people to be united, in harmony with each other:
• This is so basic and right at the heart of Christianity.
(1). You know the truth (vs 9).
“Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other”.
• Having talked about sexual love.
• The apostle Paul now changes the subject and develops it into ‘brotherly love’ (vs 9).
• He was not telling the Thessalonians:
• To acquire something new,
• But he is urging them to get more of something they already have!
• He was encouraging them to get more of what they already enjoyed.
• You can never have too much Christian love.
God wants us his people to be united, in agreement with each other:
• God is love:
• Therefore, his children should reflect love (ill: like Father like son).
Ill:
• Fish do not attend classes to learn how to swim
• (pun: even though they swim in schools),
• Birds do not attend classes in order to fly.
• They do it automatically, it’s their nature.
• Because a fish has a fish’s nature, it swims; because a hawk has a hawk’s nature, it flies.
• Because a Christian has God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4),
• He loves, because “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
(2). You need to increase (vs 10).
“And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more”.
Ill:
• The Australian coat of arms pictures two creatures.
• The emu, a flightless bird, and the kangaroo.
• The animals were chosen.
• Because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens.
• The point being:
• Both the emu and kangaroo can move only forward, not back.
• The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards,
• And the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail.
• TRANSITION:
• Those who truly choose to follow Jesus become like the emu and kangaroo,
• The apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians to keep on keeping on:
• To keep moving forward in their relationships.
• To allow their love to grow more and more.
(3). Walk in Honesty (vs 11-12):
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.
• Honesty, Paul tells the Thessalonians is so important:
• Having spoken about Christian behaviour among each other.
• He now talks about Christian behaviour among unbelievers.
In fact, he says three things:
FIRST: Lead a quiet life (vs 11a).
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life”
• The apostle tells these Christians to keep their spiritual feet firmly planted on the ground.
• He tells them to calm down and engage brain.
• They cannot escape the routine of everyday life,
• Using the excuse Jesus is coming soon.
• Instead they must learn to see the Lord’s hand in everyday affairs.
Ill:
• Someone once asked the great reformer martin Luther he was asked,
• “What would you do if you knew the Lord was coming back this evening?”
• He replied, “I would plant a tree.”
• He believed that he was in the will of God planting a tree that day.
• So therefore, he need not have to change his plans.
SECOND: Mind your own business (Vs 11b).
“Mind your own business”:
• Because some of these Christians were not busy.
• Having given up work as they waited for the Lord’s return,
• They had become busybodies:
• They spent their time interfering in the affairs of other people.
• They had become collectors of juicy titbits of information.
• And no-doubt started spreading these tales around.
• The apostle Paul tells them to:
• Keep their noses out of other people’s business.
• And to sort out their own affairs.
THIRD: Work with your own hands (vs 11c):
• To these foolish Christians who gave up their jobs in order to wait for His coming.
• Paul says, “Don’t sponge off others, earn your own living”.
• The early church showed very practical love for each other.
• By sharing their money, food and even their possessions.
• But it did not encourage people to live forever on handouts.
• Not working, did not mean these Christians were super spiritual,
• It simply meant they were lazy!
• Being lazy meant they were unable to pay their bills,
• And therefore, they lost their testimony with the unsaved merchants.
SO, THE APOSTLE TELLS THE CHRISTIANS AT THESSALONICA:
• If they follow his advice in this chapter, two things will happen:
• Verse 12:
• (a). They will win the respect of outsiders.
• “So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders”.
• (b). And they will not be dependent.
• “And so that you will not be dependent on anybody”.
• These verses challenge us:
• The world (our non-Christian friends, neighbours and work colleagues)
• Will judge us and form an opinion of us; based on how we handle these things!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=tWzs8iy0GXJbJpJOUGuVdmZlRQqHyiCV
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/2iOTn9gQK0U
