“WALK & PLEASE GOD” 1 Thess. 4:1-12
FBCF – 3/8/26
Jon Daniels OVERFLOW
INTRO – Back in my running days, “Run Through History” – 10K (6.2 miles) through the Vicksburg Military Park. Cool place to run. Pretty challenging run due to the hills all through the park.
Never been a fast runner, but I considered myself a runner nonetheless b/c I ran all the time & all over the place – all over Monticello when we lived there (Brennan ran w/ me) & all over Cleveland. I’ve run in Washington, DC, I’ve run on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I’ve run on campus of Delta State, MS State, & on the campus of Vanderbilt once when I was in Nashville. I’ve run a bunch of 5ks, a 10K in New Orleans, the Blues half-marathon a few times here in Jackson & the MS River half-marathon in Greenville, & 1 full marathon, the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis (route takes you straight through the middle of St Jude Children’s Hospital campus – kids in wheelchairs & kids attached to IV’s & all sorts of medical equipment outside cheering you on!). But I specifically remember something happening to me during this particular “Run Through History” race that humbled me greatly: I got passed by some walkers – not moms pushing their kids in strollers. These folks were elite power walkers, & they were getting after it! They looked funny, but, boy, they were moving!
Walking is a basic physical activity that most of us take for granted. But there’s a lot that happens when you get up out of that chair & walk out of here in a few minutes. Here’s what will happen: “The physical mechanics of walking involves an alternating pendulum-like motion where the body’s center of mass vaults over a stiff supporting leg, alternating between kinetic & potential energy to maximize efficiency. Key elements include ground reaction forces (Newton's 3rd Law), pelvic rotation, hip/knee flexion, & muscular activation.” (https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/physical-sciences-practice/x04f6bc56:foundation-4-physical-processes/e/physics-of-walking-and-running)
Today, we’re talking about walking – what it means to walk & please God as we continue in this series, “Handbook for Christ-followers.”
EXPLANATION – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
In many of P’s letter, he would start w/ doctrine section & end w/ practical application of that doctrine – e.g., Ephesians can easily be divided into 3 sections:
- Eph. 1-3 – Who we are – Focus is on doctrine: what we should believe about who Jesus is, what the Gospel is all about, His plans for us, etc.
- Eph 4-6:9 – How we live – practical application – Word “walk” used 6 times – 4:1 – “I…urge you to walk in a manner worth of the calling to which you have been called.”
- Eph 6:10-24 – How we fight – Armor of God & spiritual warfare
1 Thess is different in that P started the letter w/ personal words to the church about how thankful he was for them. Then a quick review of his ministry, then talked about how he prayed for them all the time, how pleased he was that they had received & accepted the W of G. Also shared his deep concern for them: their spiritual growth & the suffering & persecution they were going through.
But in Ch. 4, he gets practical about their walk w/ Christ.
We all need people in our lives who are regularly asking us, “How’s your walk w/ the Lord right now?” Not “How was your walk w/ the Lord last year, last month, or even last week?” But how is it RIGHT NOW?
I like what Warren Wiersbe wrote about comparing the Christ-follower’s behavior to a walk:
- Walking demands life – You can’t walk if you’re dead.
- Requires growth – A little baby can’t walk. Has to grow (remember the growth charts last week?)
- Requires liberty/freedom – You can’t walk if you’re bound up
- Demands light – No one wants to walk in the dark – How many of you have hit that little toe on the dresser as you’re going to the bathroom in the middle of the night???
- It can’t be hidden – People are watching you walk wherever you go
- Suggests progress – You are walking toward a goal & a destination. (Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the NT, p. 600)
That’s what we are focusing on today as we look at what it means to walk & please God.
APPLICATION – Walking & pleasing God is a lifelong pursuit.
A COOL BEGINNING – v. 1-2 – I couldn’t come up w/ a better point. Just think it’s cool to see what P says here.
First, “finally” – wrapping this up w/ a significant transition to this practical section. It’s the “So what?” section. Basically, he’s saying, “Listen up! Here’s the last thing I want to tell you & it’s really important.” And he uses a triplet of 2-word phrases to make his point.
- “ask & urge” – “beseech & exhort” (KJV) – “beg & urge” (CEV) – pretty clear that P is serious about these final instructions & exhortations. “These words really mean, ‘It is urgent & imperative for you to do what we demand.’ He is not assuming a superior position & preaching down to them. He is saying very simply, ‘God has given me a message for you. Hear it as from the Lord.’” (James Draper)
- “walk & please” – Title of sermon – Word “ought” is also translated “must.” “It is crucial & critical that you do this” - Same word Jesus used w/ Nicodemus in John 3:3 – “You MUST be born again.” Your life depends on it! So “walk & please God!”
- “more & more” – P affirmed that they were already doing this – “walking & pleasing” – But he is challenging them to do it “more & more.” “Don’t stop! Go farther! Go harder! Go stronger!” – Lit – “abound, overflow, excel.” Keep being stretched, being uncomfortable, not satisfied w/ the status quo.
As P said to them w/ the heart of a pastor, I ask & urge YOU, my church FAMILY, to walk & please God as you are doing, but do it more & more for His glory & for the advancement of His K’dom!
A CRITICAL WARNING – v. 3-8 – P then shifted to a very specific, very critical warning, one that was definitely needed in their day, & one that is desperately needed in our day – “abstain from sexual immorality!” This may make you uncomfortable; may make you mad (had a mom get furious w/ me & left church b/c I talked about the dangers of pornography in a sermon & it cause her to have to talk to her elementary-age son about it. YOU BETTER BE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT IT!); may cause you to squirm in your seat today.
P makes it clear that when you give in to sexual immorality in any form – sex before marriage, sex outside your marriage, living together w/ boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, pornography, homosexuality, or any other sexual expression other than w/in a committed biblical marriage, you are out of control (v. 4), you’re not walking holiness (v. 3), you’re not honoring God (v. 4), you’re acting like a perverted heathen who doesn’t even know God (the Gentiles practiced gross immorality in their pagan worship w/ temple prostitutes) (v. 5), you’re doing the other person wrong in every way (even if you say you love that person, or if the other person is someone you’re looking at on your phone or computer) (v. 6), you’re going to experience deep pain from the discipline of God (v. 6) b/c you are totally disregarding Him (v. 8) & grieving the Holy Spirit who is in you. P said in 1 Cor. 6:15 that when you commit sexual sins, it’s as if you are taking the body of Jesus & joining it to a prostitute. Let that sink in!
Sex is an incredibly wonderful, beautiful gift given to us by our heavenly Father who loves us so much! And from Adam & Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden to this very moment, we have done everything we can do to mess it up. It’s a worship issue – “Mind’s attention & heart’s affection.” Instead of worshiping Jesus, we give our mind’s attention & heart’s affection to our bodies, our pleasure, our lusts & desires, our belief that we know better than God, our relationships – our boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance’ that we’re living with/the coworker we’re flirting with/stranger we meet in a bar, our phones, computers, social media – we have all these idols in our lives & God hates idolatry!
We aren’t told to fight sexual immorality – we are told to flee from sexual immorality…not resist it, but run from it.
- 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
You must understand that, if you are a Christ-follower who is going striving to walk & please God, you will always be on the opposite side of this issue as the world & your non-Christian friends b/c Satan has them firmly in his grasp in this area.
- Rachel & her coworkers
A CONTINUING LIFESTYLE – v. 9-12 – P used same words he used at beginning of this chapter – we’ve got to “walk & please God” more & more, & we’ve got to “love one another” more & more.
We keep on saying this b/c it’s SO important in our lives & in the Church, but we’ve got to KEEP ON LOVING ONE ANOTHER! I’m not talking about a sappy 1980 love song by REO Speedwagon – I’m talking about a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-led lifestyle of continually loving your brothers & sisters in Christ. I’m talking about practicing phileo – “brotherly love” – the deep affection that we have for one another, not b/c we are physically related, or are the same nationality or race, or b/c we agree on political or social issues – but b/c we are eternally related to each other through our common bond in Jesus Christ. And I’m also talking about practicing agapao – that selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that God has shown to us & given to us so that we might show it & give it to others.
Eph. 5:2 – “…live a life of love, just as Christ loved you & gave Himself up for you as a fragrant offering & sacrifice to God.” – Live a LIFE of love – not just a day of love, or week, month, or year of love, but a LIFE of love.
CONCLUSION – Vicki has done aerobics her entire life. Began to have knee problems – limping, right knee bowing out. Went to dr. Got shots in knee to provide temporary relief. “You’ll know when it’s time.” 8 yrs. ago had knee replacement.
Maybe you’re limping spiritually right now. Been trying to put off dealing w/ the sin that’s injured your walk w/ Christ. But now you know it’s time. So come on!
