Earlier this week, we had a discussion with the teens in our youth group about the concept of pleasing God. After we asked them, "How is God primarily pleased?", we realized this was a somewhat difficult question for them to answer. They gave several answers that probably seemed correct to them at first, but weren't because they missed the deeper point of what the Lord communicates in Scripture.
Have you ever wrestled with the question, "Am I focused on pleasing God or is my life wrapped up in pleasing myself?" The vast majority of humanity is living to please themselves. I hope it's not true, but I imagine it's possible that many church attending Christians might be in the same boat. Do we know what God wants? Do we understand what is at the foundation of pleasing Him?
In the book of Hebrews, we're told something vital that we should all commit to heart. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6). That means that as valuable as obedience is, if it isn't undergirded by faith in Jesus Christ, it cannot please God.
But obedience that springs forth from genuine faith does please the Lord. It's evidence of our communion with Christ. I like what Luke Humphrey says in his article, "The pleasure of pleasing God." He states, "Our communion with Christ is dynamic. Communion increases and decreases. If you are walking in habitual sin, your relationship with God may feel dry. If you are walking in regular obedience, your relationship with God may feel full. If you seek to please God — to find your joy in what he delights in — then your communion with God will be rich. If you seek to please yourself at the expense of God’s pleasure, then your communion will be dull." -Luke Humphrey, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-pleasure-of-pleasing-god
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Paul speaks with the church about the concept of pleasing God through obedience that is produced as the byproduct of a relationship of trust in Jesus Christ. Are you pursuing a life that pleases God? This passage can help you answer that question.
I. Do you know the instruction of Christ?
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ”
Earlier this week, I bought a new gadget. It's a digital voice recorder that can help record sermons and other training events. It has the potential to produce excellent audio when coupled with an omnidirectional lavalier microphone. So I made sure to buy a microphone as well. The microphone looks like a small battery, and I wasn't sure how it was supposed to be positioned. The voice recorder has a series of buttons with abbreviations that I didn't recognize. So how did I get this all figured out? I read the paperwork that came with these devices, then I tried using them. Good instructions help you make good decisions.
When Paul was among the people of Thessalonica, he gave them good instructions. He told them who Christ is, what He did for them, and what He continues to do in the present. He encouraged them to follow Christ's example and listen to Christ's teaching. And I think we could all agree that this was wise counsel for new Christians who wanted to grow in their faith.
Likewise, I think this is the counsel we would be most likely to give someone else if they asked us for advice on how to grow as a Christian. One of the most important things we would probably stress would be to get a copy of the Bible, and read it. Then try out what the Lord is teaching you in His word so your heart can become more and more convinced that what He says is true.
But is this counsel we're abiding by? Do we know the instruction of Christ? Earlier this week, I got a text from my uncle. He had a question about the timeline of events in Genesis 4. Later in the week, I was speaking with my father. He had a question about a parable in Luke 19. Two days after that, I had a face-to-face meeting with someone in our church family who wanted to start implementing a spiritual discipline that he read about many times in Scripture.
My point in bringing those examples up, is to say that if we aren't well acquainted with the instruction of Christ, there are decisions we won't make, and practices we won't implement, because we won't even know what God has said about them. Willful ignorance of the truths the Lord has handed to us on a silver platter is not pleasing to God. Joyful reception of His life-giving instruction, is pleasing to Him.
II. Are you willing to practice self-control?
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; ”
I am a person of simple tastes. That pertains to the cars I drive, the clothing I wear, and the food I eat. One of my favorite things to do is to treat myself to lunch. I don't like to talk when I'm eating, so it never bothers me to eat lunch alone. There are several local places that I enjoy eating lunch at, but lately, they all think I'm mad at them. I made the decision for health and financial reasons to only grab lunch at my favorite local spots, one day, or less, per week, instead of four or five times. I'm also making coffee at home, most days, instead of buying it. I'm six weeks into my new lunch habit, and four months into my new coffee habit.
Developing a new habit requires internal motivation and self-control. But it can be extremely difficult to practice self-control when you're surrounded by people who don't share your values or goals.
The culture in Thessalonica. like many ancient cities, wasn't Christian in its priorities. All sorts of vices were practiced, including the vice of sexual immorality. That concerned Paul. He wanted to see the new believers in the city put their faith into practice, but he also knew it would be hard to develop new habits in a context that wanted them to embrace their old values.
Are we willing to practice self-control in our era and in our city? God's goal for our lives is that we grow in holiness. Scripture refers to the process we're being brought through as "sanctification." It's the process the Holy Spirit is facilitating in those who trust in Jesus, to produce holiness in our lives.
There are many issues Paul could have singled out among the Thessalonians when he was encouraging them to practice self-control and grow in holiness, but he chose the issue of sexual immorality. Why do you suppose?
For most people, that's the most difficult internal passion to get under control. It also has many far-reaching and devastating consequences when it's left unbridled. Sexual activity outside the bounds of heterosexual marriage, grieves the heart of God. And when we're conscious of the fact that immorality is a dishonor to Him, but we practice it anyway, it carries the same effect as walking up to Christ, slapping His face, and telling Him to "shut up!"
The phrase "sexual immorality" that Paul uses in this passage, comes from the Greek word "porneia" which was a general term for adultery, fornication, and other forms of sexual sin. Paul knew all about the lives these new Christians had been rescued out of. Porneia had been one of their guiding passions, just as it was for the culture around them. He didn't want them to fall back into it now that Christ had lifted them out of it.
What about us? What about our culture? What about professing believers in Christ? Are we willing to practice self-control which the Holy Spirit empowers us to exercise, or will we spend the rest of our earthly lives slapping Christ's face and telling Him we don't want to hear what He has to say?
III. Do you believe the Lord will avenge sin?
“hat no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ”
One of the greatest blessings, and challenging responsibilities the Lord has entrusted to me, is the privilege of raising children. I want to give them good counsel, and the Lord made something clear to me many years ago that I think was an immense help. He made it clear to me that He wasn't only calling me to correct their behavior, He was also calling me to appeal to their conscience. Lasting change is more likely to take place when we model and communicate truth to the head, the hands, and the heart.
Paul was appealing to the conscience of the Thessalonian Christians. He wanted to make it clear to the Thessalonians that the Lord sees what we do and how we treat one another. His eyes are always upon us, and He will intervene on behalf of those who are being hurt or taken advantage of. He will avenge sin, and will not shy from disciplining His children in order to bring their lives back in line with His will for them.
IV. What has God called you to?
“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”
As Paul reinforced these truths, he wanted the Thessalonians to understand more about God's calling on their lives. He stressed that God hasn't called His children to indulge in impurity. We're called to embrace holiness, and if we ignore this fact, we aren't just ignoring our pastors who may have taught us, or our teachers who may have instructed us, or our parents who may have modeled it for us. We're disregarding God who has given His Holy Spirit to us to point us in the direction of all truth, and empower us to live out our faith in the midst of this dark world.
Now, I don't care how far you've run from God in the past, or how many times you ignored His voice so you could do whatever you wanted. At this moment, as far as I'm concerned, that's all ancient history. The Thessalonians had their back stories, and we have ours as well. I care more about the present and the future. How clear has God's calling on your life become to you? Are you hearing what He's trying to tell you from this passage?
The motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels. A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now he can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line and electricity. One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish attached on top. No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more drudgery of walking to the stream. Now it is possible to go camping and never have to go outside.
We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places, of getting out into the world. Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings as in our living room. Thus nothing really changes. We may drive to a new place, and set ourselves in new surroundings, but the newness goes unnoticed, for we’ve only carried along our old setting.
The adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind. -David Roher
Are you ready to leave the old life behind so you can finally experience a new life in Christ? Are you ready to pursue a life that pleases God?
© John Stange, 2020
