Pursuit of Holiness 2 Character Matters 1 Peter 1:15-16

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Have you ever had someone come to you and tell you that someone else said you had done or said something that goes completely against your character? How do you respond to them?

I had someone come to me and tell me that they heard that I had said something against another person and it was very disturbing to them. My response was to ask them if I had ever given them any reason to believe, that in my character, I would do such a thing.

They thought for a minute and said “no”. You see character matters when it comes to the way we live and the things we do. If someone says we have done something that goes against our character would it not seem right to check it out before jumping to conclusions?

When it comes to God, His character, His attributes, makes all the difference in how we perceive Him and His actions. There is one attribute of God’s that amplifies all the others, His holiness. God would not be God if it were not for His holiness.

The holy character of God is what sets Him above all of mankind and it is what is supposed to set us above others outside of Christ as well. If we are a Christian, that is we have asked Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior, asking for forgiveness of our sins and placing Jesus as Lord over our lives, then we are called to be holy in character just as our God is holy in His. None of us gets a pass on this; every one of us believers is called to be holy as our God is holy. Character matters to God. Keeping up with the Jones’s. One of the problems we come to when we think about being holy is that we tend to compare ourselves to those around us; this is called a cultural holiness, keeping up with the spiritual Jones’. This is not at all what God desires, that we look like others, we are supposed to look like Him, conformed to the character of His holiness.  What was that? “How in the world do we do that?” We do that by walking in obedience to His commands and His will for us. When we walk in obedience to God something begins to happen in us, we begin to be conformed to the image of God. Our whole being; soul, mind, affections and wills come into harmony with that of God’s. Rom. 12:1–2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. When you think about God’s holiness what picture comes to mind? His holiness can best be described as His majesty, purity and moral perfection, all qualities of character because character matters. But, holiness is one of God’s attributes, the one that makes Him perfectly God. Holiness is as important as His existence because holiness makes all He does right and just.

Can we say that about ourselves? That we always know what is right and just? More often than not we agonize over these kinds of decisions. We ask, “Is this the right thing to do?” God never asks that question because He knows what is right and just, and because of His holiness He never hesitates to do it.

God’s holiness is perfect and because of that it is always free from evil intent. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. Just as darkness can not exist in light so no evil can exist in God, He is the essence of moral purity. Character matters and because God is holy He always conforms to His own character. All His thoughts and actions are consistent with His holy character, unlike us, who so often falter in living a consistent holy life. We easily get caught up in unclean thoughts, bitterness, grumbling, vengeance and what ever else we struggle with. This never happens to God and because it does not He expects the same of us. This is why He says be holy as He is holy. There you go again, “How can I be holy like God is?” Sometimes we look at holiness as if it were a bad thing, it is not. Think about the benefits of God’s holiness; if God is perfectly holy than we can be comforted that His every action toward us will always be right, just and perfect. I know there are times when we question that and complain about the circumstances we are in. Often that is when the enemy or one of his minions comes charging in to tempt us to sin against God in some way, like Satan did with Eve. Gen. 3:4–5 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The one thing Eve forgot was that because of God’s holiness He can never be unfair to us, more often He is more merciful to us than we deserve, because He is holy in all His actions, including mercy. How do you feel when someone hurts you by complaining about you? The holiness of God is a faith issue for us to grapple with, that God is holy and because character matters He will only act toward us in what is right and just. When we complain against God saying He is unfair we are saying He is unholy. It would be less hurtful to Him if we just denied His existence rather than to doubt His character. To complain against God is to act wickedly, Job 40:1-14 Instead of complaining about God’s holiness we should be praising Him for it as Moses did. Ex. 15:11 “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Even Jesus tells us to lift up God’s name as holy. Matt. 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, How many times have you read in the scriptures about God’s holy name? One scholar says that the prefix holy is used before God’s name more than any other attribute of God. If we were to think about the attributes of God without holiness attached to His character, He would cease to be God. It is His holiness more than anything else that makes Him worthy of praise. But God demands more of us than we just acknowledge His holiness. He commands us His children to be holy as He is holy because character matters. He rightfully demands perfect holiness in all His moral creatures. It is because of His perfect holiness that He does so. He can not ignore or approve of any evil committed by His people. Doing so would mean He lowered His standard, something He can not do because He is holy. Hab. 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. This also means He can not overlook or excuse away any sin we commit, no matter how small it may seem to us. To Him it is an offense. His holiness does not allow for our flaws or short comings, that is why we are told to make every effort to be holy. Heb. 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Thank God for Jesus who paid for all those sins we hope God overlooks but does not.

Because character matters we are blessed by God’s holiness because He will never tempt us to sin. James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; There are times when we feel like we have no choice but to sin in some “small” way. Judges 3:4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses. But we always have a choice not to sin. 1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. When we fail to trust God and do what is right there will be consequences for it. Because God is holy He hates sin. Hate is the only word that truly depicts how God feels about sin. Zech. 8:17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD. The more we grow in holiness the more we should and will hate sin as well. Psalm 119:104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.  od is a holy God and hates sin more than we can imagine.  We need to be careful not to be trifle with sin, excusing them away, when God hates them.  We need to change our thinking about this; every time we sin we are doing something God hates. There is no peaceful coexistence with sin in our lives; sin is one thing God never ceases to hate. This is one of those things that we need to transform in our minds so we hate sin as much as God does. Gen. 39:9 How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Youth who complained that he could never get away with anything. When we live in peaceful coexistence with our sin we are asking for discipline from God over it. God is not partial to any person that He would overlook sin in our lives. VS 17. In fact He seems to judge the sin of His people harder than those who don’t know Him. Seem to be harder on our own. Why? Because we represent Him here. Heb. 12:4-12 The more we think about the holiness of God the more, hopefully, we will recognize our unholiness and take action to change it.

All of this should make us more grateful to Christ for His sacrifice so we could enjoy the grace from it to learn to live a holy life, the life God commands us to have. He says be holy because He is holy. Character matters, especially to God.

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Can you think of a time when you acted out completely against everything you believe and are? Maybe it was a time when the kids pressed your buttons enough for you to go off the deep end, leaving you screaming and ranting out of control. Maybe you had a person enter into your life that seemed to do all they could to be extremely annoying all the time and at some point you lost it with them and bit their head off.

When you did these things how did you feel? I can remember one time many years ago when we had foster teens that one of them threatened our family and I lost it. To me it felt like an out of body experience where I was watching someone else act out. That was the last foster teen we had.

All of us have times in our lives when we act out in ways that are so bad that we can’t believe we actually did that. We wonder why as Christians, we don’t have victory over some areas of our lives as we should. We study the scriptures searching for all we need to gain victory over these areas but often it seems like we never gain any headway in them. We read passages like Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. and ask ourselves if this is really true because it does not seem to be working for me. Does the Bible really have the answers I need for my life?

Be assured, it does and there is hope. We can live the holy life we are called to as we walk in obedience to God and His word. In fact, God expects us to do so as we will see. Holiness is not just expected behavior for every Christian it is also the promised birth right for every believer. This being said the statement Paul makes is true, sin shall not be our master. 1 Pet. 2:9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

But, what is holiness? What does it mean to you to be holy? For some it is a list of rules and regulations that seem outdated and unrealistic, especially in the world we live in today. Often when people think of holiness they see people walking around judging others for their unholiness, the holier than thou crowd. But God expects His children to live holy lives and this includes us. The word holy appears in its various forms in the Bible some 600 times. The book of Leviticus is dedicated to showing Israel how they can be holy before God. Lev. 11:44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.

But how can we be holy? When you think about holiness what picture comes to mind? Is it a list of dos and don’ts? Isn’t that what the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were condemned for? Luke 11:46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

How do you feel about perfection? Is it obtainable for us and does it mean the same thing as being holy?  When you think about perfection or holiness do you get discouraged because it seems so far off from us and our lives?  Matt. 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  Do you know the definition and meaning of being holy”? It is to be morally blameless, separated from sin and consecrated to God, acting like the one we belong to.

Maybe the best way we can understand what holiness is would be by looking at how the NT writers use the term and concept of holiness. 1 Thess. 4:3-7  Paul uses holiness as a contrast to a life of immorality and impurity. 1 Pet. 1:13-16 Peter contrasts holiness to the lives we used to live where we did all we could to please our evil desires. Rev. 22:11  Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” For John holiness is the contrast between those who do wrong and are vile, wicked, to those who strive to do right.

For us to live a holy life we need to conform to the principles of the Bible and live in contrast to the sinful ways of the world. This is what the passage we began with is focusing on, putting off our old way of living and put on the new. Eph. 4:22-24 The old self is characterized as being corrupted by its deceitful desires. Gal. 5:19–21Instead of living like this we are to put on the new self which looks like Christ, created to be like God, righteous and holy. Gal. 5:22–23  Holiness is basic to the Christian life. If this is so then why do we not experience it more in our daily lives? Why do so many Christians constantly feel defeated in their struggle with sin? Why does the church today look so much like the world around it instead of different from it?

There are 3 basic reasons why this is so: Our first problem is our attitude toward sin. It is more self-centered than God centered. We are more concerned about our victory over sin than we are about how our sin grieves God.  Its all about me and not the one we hurt so badly. We are so success oriented that the battle is all about me and how I acted instead of about God and how offensive it is to Him. Only when we realize how offensive our sin is to God will there be a change of attitude toward it. David says, Psalm 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. The Prodigal son says, Luke 15:18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. When we realize how offensive our sin is to God we will take our eyes off ourselves focus on God and our relationship with Him.

How often have we read in the Bible if you love me, obey? God wants us to walk in obedience not in victory. Obedience is focused on God, victory is self-centered. Our self-centered attitude is the root of many of our struggles with sin. Until we face this attitude we will not be able to walk consistently in holiness. When we do, the by product will be victory over sin. Our second problem is we misunderstand what living by faith means. Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  There are many people who believe that it takes no effort to be holy, even so that they think if you expend any effort it is just a fleshly act, we are trying to do it ourselves. The problem with this is that the Bible no where says we don’t have to do anything to be holy in our living. Phil. 2:12–13  Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.  We must put forth the effort for us to make progress. Paul says as you have always obeyed, that is an action. Peter told us in 1 Pet. 1:13 to prepare for action, be self controlled and obedient. We have a personal responsibility for our walk in holiness. Only when we accept responsibility for our unholiness will we be able to take action to do something about it.

The third problem is that we do not always take sin seriously. We excuse it away as our humanness or we categorize our sins, some worse than others.  The problem here is that every sin eats away at our holiness.  Song of Solomon 2:15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. 1 Cor. 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  When we compromise with the little things they lead to greater downfalls. Sin is sin in God’s eyes. What it comes down to is the question, “will we be obedient to God or not?” Will we obey His commands or not?  This is where Adam and Eve went off the track. They were manipulated into thinking they could eat from the one tree they were told not to eat from. They weighed it out and did not think it was such a big deal after all it was just a piece of fruit, so why not disobey God.

What it comes down to for us to consider, are we willing to call sin, sin? Not because it seems a little or big thing but because God forbids it? If we categorize sin then we will never live the holy life we are called to. And God will not let us get away with that either.

We will be studying these problems deeper as we go on in our series. For right now we need to consider these things in our lives and hearts and choose how we will respond to them.  Will we look at our sin as an offense to God instead of a personal defeat? Will we take responsibility for our sin? Will we obey God in every aspect of our lives no matter how insignificant they seem? Are we willing to put forth the effort to live the holy life we are called to? Until we can answer these questions we will not be moving down the road to holiness but catching ourselves acting out wrongly.

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It is a special occasion for you and your spouse or you and a friend. You are going to go out to celebrate together.

The sitter has come to watch the kids and you are getting ready to head out the door. All the kids are there to say goodbye and you stop to say good night to them because you will be home late. What do you do just before you head out? You give the kids and the sitter some last minute instructions. Do this and don’t do that.

What are some of the things you would tell them? Some of the do’s and don’ts?  It is amazing the things we come up with to pass along when we are just about to head out. Sometimes it feels like these things take longer than all the preparation to be ready for the special event.

Paul has just finished teaching these new believers about what is to come in the future in Christ for the believer and the non-believer. So we can imagine that the people’s heads were all focused on the eschatological future, but they need to be brought back down to the reality of what their responsibilities are now before God. Paul gives them a reality check with a few last minute instructions in order to help them get their heads back to the present and how they should be behaving now.

Vs 12-13 He begins by reminding them and us how a believer should treat those whom God has given spiritual responsibility to for the flock of believers under their care. These are probably elders of the church who work hard to provide spiritual leadership and care for the believers. 2:8-9 They most likely are men who have regular jobs along with the time they put into the care of the church.

Paul says they are over them in the Lord indicating their position of spiritual leadership in the church, responsible before God for those under their care. Heb. 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. The believers should respect the work that these people do and hold them in high regard because of the great responsibility they have taken on. This needs to be done with an attitude of love because of the loving service these folks provide for others. Do what the sitter tells you and don’t give them a hard time. Then Paul instructs them to live at peace with each other, this includes the spiritual leadership. They need to keep the peace between them doing the things they are supposed to and the things they are asked to do.

Vs 14-15 Everyone of them should consider themselves a minister to all the other believers in the body. This means there will be times when we need to say some hard things to others, like warning them not to be idle, doing nothing, neglecting the things that need to be done inside and outside the church.

We need to encourage those who are timid, folks who seem to get discouraged easily and need cheering up and encouragement, helping them to keep on keeping on in the Lord, in their walk with Christ. Help you little brother and sister. Then don’t forget about the weak who need help of all kinds. They have not yet learned to lean on the Lord for all their needs both physical and spiritual. They need to be supported and given examples of how to live by faith in Christ.    Hebrews 10:23-25 The only way we can do these things well is by being patient with each other, understanding that each of us is trying to figure out how we are to live in the Lord. Those of us who are farther along in the faith than we should be patient with those who are not. Phil. 2:12  Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, The opposite of patience with others is retaliation of some kind. He hit me so I hit him back! We as believers do not have the option in the Lord to retaliate, to get revenge, no matter how badly we have been hurt by another. Romans 12:17-21 Instead of looking for ways to retaliate we should be kind to each other. Remember what God has done for us in Christ.  Matt. 6:14–15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. How can we do this when at times we are hurt so badly by others? That is what vs 24-25 are all about, God will give us what we need to be able to move on without retaliation but with kindness.

Vs 16-18 Paul has told the believers in Thessalonica how to live with each other, inter personal relationships, but what about our personal lives? How should we live daily, what should our attitude be? Reminding the kids about their personal attitude that night. He tells us, be joyful always. We can do this by remembering all God has done for us and how much He loves us. Our joy doesn’t come from our circumstances but from the blessings we have in Christ. We have the power of God at work in our lives, forgiveness of sins, God working in us so to glorify Himself. We are never alone because He is always with us no matter where we are. You can call your friend and talk with them. If we find ourselves loosing our joy then we need to pray. If we stay in touch with God throughout the day we will be able to keep our eyes on Him and who He is and all He has done for us; speaking to Him in the quiet moments or just in our hearts like we would a dear friend. That is how we should spend our time rejoicing in prayer, lifting our concerns before our God. Then to deal with our circumstances give thanks in all of them because God is working something out.   Rom. 8:28–29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  We know that God is doing something either in us or for His glory through our circumstances. Suffer for our own good, for the glory of God or as a witness to someone else.  Rejoice in that, pray through it and give thanks in it because we are walking in the will of God at that very moment.

Vs 19-22 Now we know what we are supposed to be doing but what about the things we are not supposed to do?  Do not disobey the sitter.  When the Holy Spirit is speaking to us we need to be paying attention and doing what we are told to do. Not put out His fire by being disobedient, resisting His leading. One way we do this is by poo pooing away the prophetic. God has shown us some wonderful things in His word that are yet to come. We should hold them in high regard instead of disbelieving them.

There will also be times when someone comes and says they have a word from the Lord for us, that it is “Gospel truth”. It is our responsibility to check it out in accordance with God’s word. If it goes against God’s word then disregard it but if it is in line with God’s word then move cautiously forward in it. Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  Don’t be afraid to check it out with other believers. 1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel. So we should not take what is evil, bad, and run with it but hold onto the good, which is what is right in the eyes of the Lord. We should not participate in anything that is evil but avoid it. This can be tricky because this may include things that are offensive to others but no to us or to God. It is their conscience that is offended not ours. 1 Cor. 8:9-13 Romans 14 is another good chapter to study on this for more insight. But I found a quote that might be helpful by a theologian Heibert; “while believers should abstain from actions which will knowingly offend others, it is not always possible to abstain from everything which may appear evil to a narrow and foolish judgment.”

Vs 23-25 Wow, think about all the things we have just covered! All these things we are responsible for before the Lord, it can seem overwhelming. The sitter will help you with your homework. God is a God of peace. He does not want us all twisted up with worry about what we are supposed to be doing. He will be our source of strength so we can accomplish the things we are supposed to be doing.  All of these things are part of the sanctifying process He has for us to make us more like Jesus. If we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, being obedient to His leading, we will be blameless, free from accusation of wrongdoing. We will be right with God first and foremost and other believers will see our progress and be encouraged.  He does not call us to be His children and then leave us to figure it out all by ourselves. He works with us to become all He wants us to be. Phil. 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Vs 25-28  Don’t forget to wash the dishes and clean up your toys. These are things that Paul wants to remind them to do regularly. Don’t forget to pray for those whose work is getting the Gospel out to others and those who are training up the believers. Make sure everyone knows that he sends his love to them in whatever way is customary.  In their culture the men kissed the men on the cheek and the women kissed the women. We shake hands or give hugs.

Then make sure to share the word of God with others. In fact Paul puts them under oath to do so. 2 Tim. 4:2  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Lastly; don’t forget that none of this can be accomplished without the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus for it is through Him that we have forgiveness of sin and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our helper and guide. In the strength of the Lord nothing is impossible for us.

Benediction: 1 Peter 3:8–9 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

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Have you ever heard the Emergency Warning System that broadcasts over the radio from time to time, testing to make sure it works properly? I know it can be annoying but isn’t it an important system to have in place?

What about the reverse 911 system we have in this county now, have you heard of it? It is designed to call lists of numbers by computer to warn people of impending disasters heading their way. If the dam were to break, a forest fire break out or an earthquake happen causing great destruction this system is supposed to warn people so they can get to safety.

If you have seen any of the pictures of the destruction in Colorado from the flooding you could see how a system like this would be very helpful, but it is only as good as those, who are warned, are prepared for such an event.

If those who are warned are not ready to go with the things they need the disaster will overtake them and they will become victims of it instead of survivors.

Paul has just finished giving the believers in Thessalonica good news about what will happen when Jesus returns in the clouds to take all believers to be with Him physically in heaven. Their fears were put to rest because they now understood what would happen at the rapture.  But one can imagine that when Paul was teaching this if some were thinking about when this would happen, then what about what is going to happen to those who were not believers.

Vs 1-3 So Paul reminds them that he had already taught them about this and that they should remember what the Lord said about it. Matt. 24:36-44 Those who are left behind will go on with life unaware of what is coming upon them. Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. This is what Paul had taught the new believers, this would happen suddenly, like when a woman goes into labor, unexpected catching everyone off guard.

Notice Paul does not include the believers in this statement, he says ‘they’ not ‘we’ as he does when he speaks of believers. There will be sudden destruction coming upon those left behind with no early warning system to prepare them for it.

They will be expecting peace and safety when they will receive destruction. It will be a time when they think the unrest in the Middle East is finally settled and the world can rest from all the troubles there. Dan. 9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  2 Thess. 2:1-12

God’s wrath which has been building over time toward man’s sin will be poured out on all these who are unsuspecting. The signs will be there, noticeable, but ignored till the outbreak. When it comes no one will be able to escape. Rev. 6: 12-17

Vs 4 But, Paul says the believers should not be caught unaware. God has given us an early warning system, His Word, to let us know what will happen and what to look for leading up to the Rapture. We should not be caught off guard.   What did people do in ancient times to have an early warning system? They had guards posted at strategic points to act as the early warning system, crying out if something went wrong or if danger was approaching. God has given us His Word so we can also be an early warning system.

Col. 1:13–14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Vs 5-6 God has delivered us from darkness into the Kingdom of His Son, Jesus. Because He has done this for us we have been warned of what to beware of and watch for. We are not like those who are lost in the darkness of the kingdom of the world under its head, the devil. How many of you know what a 72 hour kit is? How many have one ready? If you had the knowledge of the need for a 72 hour kit and didn’t put one together and there was a disaster, what would you say about yourself? “That was irresponsible of me.” Because we know what is coming we should not act like those who are asleep, blissfully ignorant, of what is coming. We should not be complacent about what is coming. Instead we should be watchful, looking for the Lord’s return and living like we are ready for it at any moment. Titus 2:11–13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3:10-16 We need to live lives that will be honoring to Christ when He comes. Acts 18:6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility.

What happens to our skills when we have had alcohol to drink in excess? Should one drive in such a condition? Vs 7 Unbelievers are unaware of what is coming because something else is in control of them. The devil has lulled them into a complacent sleep, numbness, to spiritual things. 2 Thess. 2:11-12 They are driving drunk through their lives to their own destruction. What happens to the watchman if he is asleep at his post and lets disaster come upon those he is guarding? Ezek. 33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ Vs 8 Because we belong to the Lord we should be prepared, just as the watchman is when on guard duty. He is dressed ready for battle. We should also be armed and ready for the spiritual battle with the world as well. We need to be armed with self control so not to be lulled into complacency. We should be putting on our covering to protect our vital areas, our hearts and minds. The faith we have in God will protect our hearts and our love for others will help protect them as well. Faith in God protects inwardly while the love we have for others protects outwardly. 3:12-13. The attitudes of faith and love will equip us so we will be ready when the rapture comes. Add to this the hope of our salvation, the helmet on our heads protecting our minds from attacks on our thinking. The salvation we look forward to is deliverance from the wrath that will come upon the earth like a thief. Because we follow Christ we are sure of the hope we have and not like those who live in hopelessness, blind drunk to the dangers that await them.

Vs 9 God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, the wrath of the Tribulation period. He has saved us from it through Jesus shed blood on the cross. When He returns we will be gathered to Him and taken out of the world where God’s wrath will be poured out.

Vs 10 So no matter if we die before the rapture or live to experience the return of Christ for us, we will be with the Lord for all eternity. He died on the cross to secure that place for us. 2 Cor. 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Vs 11 What should be the response of every believer who has be forewarned about the inevitable? How should we respond? Matt. 24:45-51

We need to make sure we are diligent to be prepared ourselves and helping others to be prepared as well. We are early warning systems for each other. Every time we get together we need to remind each other of these things. Heb. 10:24–25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Being reminded will help us be diligent to live in the way we should, as sons of the light, honoring God with our lives, living in love, self control and self disciplined so not to be dragged off into worldly ways.

God has called us to be alert and awake to the dangers of the world and its ways. To be early warning systems to each other and the lost so we might keep each other safe and rescue some of them.

Benediction: Rom. 12:1–2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

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To Listen ‘Open Message from Title’ and click on Listen Now or To Save: Right Click and ‘Save Target as’ Have you ever heard the saying, “Ignorance is Bliss”? What does it mean to you? It is often better not to know about something unpleasant. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or educational unawareness of something, often of something important. But what about things that are important in our lives, things that can cause us stress or heartache or harm because we do not know or understand what they mean? How does this bring us bliss? Often a lack of understanding can be more unsettling then knowing completely what is about to occur or the consequences of a decision. If you were going to have surgery wouldn’t you want to know what to expect before and after it or just wait to see what happens then? I believe most of us would rather know what lay ahead instead of waiting in ignorance. It seems that the lack of understanding that the Thessalonian believers had about the rapture was very unsettling to some of them. 2 Thess. 2:2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. This was still lacking in their knowledge in discipleship concerning the return of Christ and the rapture of the believers. So Paul wants to help them understand what to expect and what the plan is for those who have already died. Because ignorance isn’t always bliss. Vs 13 These folks lived in a time much like we do now. Their society as a whole didn’t have any hope for life after death. Most just thought once a person died, that was it, they ceased to exist anymore. This left them with dark feelings of hopelessness about death and loss of loved ones. Paul uses the term here ‘fall asleep’ to refer to a person dying. This was a common reference used in the NT for death. John 11:11-14 Where do we usually put people who have died? The word Cemetery means sleeping place, from a Greek word koimeterion. Now a lot of people confuse this with soul sleep. This is not what this means. The scriptures are very clear about what happens to our spirits, souls, when we die; Luke 23:42–43 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” 2 Cor. 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Phil. 1:23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; This is not soul sleep but the physical body put away so that it may be remade at the return of Christ, when the spirit will be reunited with a physical body. 1 Cor. 15:35-53 Paul was giving these new believers the hope they needed so they would not grieve like the unbelievers around them when they lost loved ones. Yes, we will grieve at the loss of a loved one but it must not be a debilitating grief that stops us from functioning. John 11:35 Jesus wept. Loved one moves across country. For us it is not like we will never see them again, we will when Jesus returns to gather us up. We have a hope that those who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior do not have, that we will be with our loved ones in Christ once again at the return of Christ. We will not be together with friends in Hell. If you don’t have this hope today, you can, by putting your faith in Jesus and His work on the cross for forgiveness of our sins that separate us from God leaving us no hope for the future. Vs 14 We as Christians have reason why we do not have to grieve like others, in hopelessness. God has given us proof that we gain hope from, Jesus resurrection from the dead. God has also made it clear to us that we too will be raised from the dead as well, to live and serve Christ for eternity. This will happen at the 2nd coming of Christ. 2 Cor. 4:13–14 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. Jesus death and resurrection are among the best attested facts of history, since we can be certain of this so we can be certain that those who died in Christ before He returns will come back with Him, in spirit, when He returns to gather up all the saints.2500 predictions in the Bible. Just as the prophesies of Christ’s death and resurrection came true so will this one as well. Is. 53:8-12. Vs 15 Jesus had made this clear to Paul and the early church. No one is sure how or when, it could have been when Paul was instructed by the Lord in the wilderness after he came to faith. Gal. 1:11–12 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that when He returns He will bring the spirits of those who have died with Him so that they will be given then their new eternal, physical bodies. 1 John 3:2–3 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Vs 16 Where is Jesus now? Heb. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. When the time is right He will return, bringing with Him the spirits of those who died in the faith and they will be the first to receive their new bodies. It will happen with a loud command, a shout by the archangel and a trumpet blast will sound announcing Christ’s return. Everyone on earth will know something is happening, believers and unbelievers alike. Ignorance will not be bliss then. Then those who had died, who are returning with Christ in spirit, will have their new bodies raised from the dead. This is only the Christians at this time. The OT saints who were not raised when Jesus was resurrected will not be raised until the end of the Tribulation Period. Matt. 27:52–53 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared too many people. Dan. 12:1-2 You ask; ‘How could all this be?’ God who created the heavens and the earth through a word spoken can speak again, give a command, and give new bodies to those who have died in the faith. This is not a problem for Him. Vs 17 What about those who are still alive, you ask. 1 Cor. 15:51–52 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. After the bodies of the dead are resurrected, all who are left alive in Christ will be caught up into the air to meet those who have just returned. We call it the Rapture. It comes from the Latin word ‘rapturo’ which means caught up.The time between the dead receiving their bodies and those alive being caught up and changed will be infinitesimally short, the blinking of an eye. From that moment on, ever after, we will be with Jesus. He will take us to the place He is preparing for us. John 14:2–3 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. There we will live and serve Him for eternity. Vs 18 What an encouragement and comfort this must have been for those who were so concerned about their loved ones who had died before Christ’s return. The fact that believers who have died will be resurrected to join the living saints, to be with Jesus when He comes, that those who died will get their new bodies in the air and almost immediately those who are alive will join them to be with Jesus forever, what rejoicing there is in this. We do not have to grieve as the unbeliever grieves but look forward to the time when we will be together again for eternity. What a blessed hope we have. Do you have this hope? Or are you living in ignorant bliss right now because you are not prepared for the return of Christ? You might think; “I will have time later to make Jesus my Lord and Savior. I have things I want to do now. I know it is an important decision but I don’t want to deal with it now.” Ignorance is not always bliss. If Jesus were to come back this moment there would be no time for you to make that decision.It would be over in an instant, too late to then choose Christ; you would have only the Tribulation Period to look ahead to, death, suffering and destruction, judgment from God because of the sinfulness of mankind. Now is the time, today can be your day of salvation, to have this hope of life eternal, it is up to you. Benediction: Titus 2:11–14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

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What does paradox mean? No it is not a place where you park boats. It means; a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true. Can you think of any examples of a paradox?  A paradox is a true statement that either is contrary to conventional wisdom or is seemingly absurd.  Paradoxes can be a useful tool in teaching because it requires you to think more carefully about what is being said. Most people, when they first hear a paradox, immediately decide it cannot be true. But as they chew on the thought they realize that the assumptions they held are not necessarily correct.  For example, “From death comes life” At first this will strike people as absurd because death is the end of life. Yet we see this in the world around us all the time. In order for a seed to germinate, it must first “die” being a seed. There is another way to look at this as well, from the death of a plant or animal comes food to sustain the life of other plants or animals. From one death comes many lives. Do you know that we as Christians are called to live in a paradox daily? One paradox we might understand is that in order to gain eternal life, our mortal bodies must die. We are called to live in the world but not be part of it. We are told to die to self and live for Christ and on and on. Paul used paradoxes often to get his points across to the believers. Even in this passage today he uses some seeming paradoxes to help the new believers in Thessalonica to understand their need to grow in faith and love for the Lord and in their relationship with others. The first paradox Paul gives is that sexual immorality should be avoided at all costs but our love for others should be practiced at all costs. I know you are asking where the paradox is.  Even though sexual immorality and brotherly love seem contradictory they both have a common denominator. Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.  Love for others means we would not do anything to them that we would not want done to ourselves, Vs 6. Vs 9-10 Here is a paradox for you! When we become believers, giving our life to Christ we become different even though we are still the same person. Ez. 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. God gives us a change of heart by instilling His love and His Spirit into us. 1 John 4:7-21 Meet someone who says they are a Christian. Doing this we seem to unnaturally have a new sense of feelings for other believers, we are more open to them and accepting of them. When God poured the Holy Spirit into us we now know deep down that we should have a greater love for others, especially other believers.  The Thessalonian believers had proved this out by the way they treated others already. Vs 1:3. This was something they had learned from God and not man. John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. And they were doing very well at it. But, here is the paradox; Paul says they need to do so more and more. If they are doing so well at it why do they need to do better? They had given great evidence of their love to others through their selfless giving of their affections to other believers in Macedonia. The neighboring cities of Philippi and Berea had blossoming churches in them and the love of the Thessalonian believers had reached even to them, 1:8. Even amidst severe trials their love for others reached out. Paul even commends them to the Corinthian church. 2 Cor. 8:1-5 Look Together But there is still room for improvement. Are we the best we can be in loving others, is there still room for us to improve, to do so more and more? Vs 11-12 Here is another paradox. What Paul is telling them is to be ambitious about living a quiet life, be busy at being at being peaceful. It is not the big things we do for people from time to time that make a difference in our witness for Christ, it is how we act day in and day out, a consistency of lifestyle, which makes a difference in our witness. So heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. There were believers in Thessalonica who, after receiving Christ, had quit working and were going around telling everyone that Jesus was coming back, disturbing the whole church and others outside the church. In other words they were fanatics about the return of Christ. 2 Thess. 2:1-2.  Our witness depends upon the consistent peace we have no matter what our circumstance are. Paul instructs the new believers to lead a quiet life not to be over reactive, pushy or demanding but to have peace no matter what life throws at us. To be settled in our being.  Calm in a traumatic situation, brings calmness to others. Our peace will bring peace to others instead of a reactive lifestyle which is always bumping into others and disrupting them. Living reactively causes us to loose focus on to whom we belong and to whom we serve. 1 Thess. 5:16-22 Here comes another paradox, we are told to be busy not busy-bodies. Vs 11b How is this connected with how we love others? Proverbs 25:17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and he will hate you.  How do we want people to react when we are coming down the street toward them? “Hey look here comes so and so, or Oh no here comes that so and so.” The Thessalonian church had people who were not working bit were busy bodies and it was affecting their witness.  2 Thess. 3:6-15   So he instructs them to busy and not busy bodies.  This demonstrates brotherly love because a self supporting person is not a burden to others. Paul had already set the example for this kind of lifestyle.The paradox for these believers was that in Greek culture it was considered deplorable to do manual labor while for the Jews it was a highly respected thing. The Jews, no matter how wealthy they were, required that all boys learn a trade of some kind. Work is a blessing from God and ordained by Him. Gen. 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Work is a blessing and working with one’s hands to support oneself and family shows love for our brethren because we will not be dependent upon anyone for our needs but will be able to help others who are truly in need, who can not support themselves. Acts 20:35. When we are willing to do what it takes to provide for our family needs, to live a quiet life, minding our own business, we will win the respect of others, including non-believers. Doing so glorifies God.  Matt. 5:14-16 People respect those who do not take advantage of them or others.We as believers should not expect special treatment or favors from other believers simply because they are fellow Christians.Nothing disrupts the peace of the Christian community more than the unwillingness of its members to shoulder their part of the responsibility for that community. Fanatics, busy bodies and loafers, nearly every church have them, too often wrapped all up all in one. Instead of putting their noses into everyone else’s business they should putting their noses to the grindstone minding their own business and caring for their own. Another paradox, Paul was not promoting a spirit of independence, which every believer should become completely self-sufficient but teaching personal responsibility. 2 Cor. 8:13-15  When we live in brotherly love we have the personal responsibility to strive to live peaceful lives seeking to work to provide for our needs as God supplies the work for us, minding our own business so to focus on our relationship with God and our testimony to others. Being mindful of the opportunities God gives us to share with others in need from what God has provided to us, including the gospel. All of this is living in brotherly love and is how we should treat others whom God has placed in our lives, whether for a moment or a lifetime. Think about this, another paradox; how does God increase our love for others? He does so by putting us into circumstances that force us to love more, to practice Christian love. We are called to live lives honoring to God and in love for others. I know this seems like a paradox today, in the world we live in, but with God’s help and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling we can do this;if we are willing to let Him be in control and not our selfish self-centered sin nature. Benediction: 1 Thess. 5:23-24

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Sheri and I don’t watch a lot of TV but we do like to watch some of the cooking shows on TV. There is one show I have seen from time to time where the chef always talks about taking his food up a notch. This is his way of saying that he wants to make every meal a little better than the last by adding deeper flavors and so on, taking it up a notch. I think most of us have a similar view when it comes to things we love to do. If there is a hobby we have or a profession we are in, we are always looking for ways to improve in it, going to the next level of knowledge or skill, taking it up a notch.

It is the same when it comes to our relationship with God. We should always be striving for ways to take it up a notch, ways to improve our love and knowledge of the Lord, our holiness and what He has and wants for us. Kind of like climbing a ladder, the higher we get the better the view. The higher we get on the ladder of maturity in Christ, the better view we have of who God is and all He has for us. These last 2 chapters of 1 Thessalonians Paul moves to teach these new believers some of the things they are lacking in order to take it up a notch in their relationship with God. These are some of the practical discipleship teachings every believer should learn. In this 1st section he focuses on some of the deeper truths of proper holy Christian living.

Vs 1-2 He begins with the word finally not because he is finishing his letter but has now gotten to the meat he desires to teach them. Paul knew from Timothy that these new believers had responded positively to his earlier teaching on living lives to please God. But now it is time to take it up a notch. These folks had proved their love for the Lord was genuine by the way they conducted themselves to live to please God above all others, even in the midst of suffering and persecution. List of rules and regulations to be part of Gun Club. There are those today who believe that when we come to faith in Christ that there is a list of rules and regulations that we have to adhere to or else. Mess up and you get punished or kicked out.

But this is not at all what it means to come into relationship with Christ and receive forgiveness of sin in our lives. Our conduct as believers is to be based upon our love for God and His touch and forgiveness to us in that love, even proving it by killing His own Son so we might have forgiveness and restoration of relationship with Him. It is out of our love for Him that we desire to obey His commands because we do not want to hurt or offend those we love. John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. If we love someone it will be our desire to please them, to make them happy. Paul was not asking these believers to do anything different from what they were already doing but to take it up a notch; that is to do so more and more. He urges them in the Lord Jesus to do so. It is by the authority of Christ that he can instruct them to take it up a notch. Jesus had given Paul this authority and He has given it to us as well. Matt. 28:18-20 If any believer truly loves the Lord they will have a desire to take their love up a notch in their walk with Him, living to please God.

Vs 3-4 Part of living as a believer is being holy, set apart from the world for the Lord, this includes our sanctification, the dedicating of one self to and to be loyal to God above all others. It is God’s will that we be holy for Him. This means that we are always pressing on toward the next level of our relationship with Him. Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. This is part of the conforming process into the image of Christ in Rom. 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. This all depends on how we respond to our daily experiences, to the Word of God and to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

One of the ways we can take our holiness up a notch is the way we deal with sexual temptation and sexual immorality. The scriptures make it clear that we need to stay away from sexual immorality. It should be avoided and abstained from at all costs. We can do this by self control and through self discipline. But this can only happen when we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our hearts and not the old sin nature.

Every Christian is commanded to abstain from every act of sexual immorality that lies out side of the will of God for us. This means we are to stay away from premarital sex, homosexuality, extra-marital sex and any other perversion of God’s design for mankind. Gen. 2:24–25 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. The word Paul uses here for sexual immorality is a broad Greek term, porneias; it is the root of this word we get our word pornography from. It is a term that includes all sexual sin. Think about the time the Thessalonian believers lived in, sex was loosely practiced, much like today. They had friends with benefits in the sense that they could go to one of their pagan temples and have sex with the prostitutes there and it was considered an act of worship to their gods.

But to the Christian the will of God is clear; holiness and sexual immorality can not be practiced together. Unlike the food regulations of the Jews, this can not be appealed to as a freedom we have in Christ. 1 Cor. 6:12-20

Every believer needs to take their self control up a notch in this area of life. Believers must never be the victim of circumstances of their fleshly passions. Teens in a heated situation, making out. Every sexual desire can be controlled by the believer through God’s power by the Holy Spirit in us. Gal. 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. This means when we are tempted to commit sexual sin we need to choose a way out that is holy and honorable to God. 1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.   Everyone else is doing it! Vs 5 God has called us to be separate from the way the world lives. Worldly people have no self control or self discipline because they belong to and are controlled by the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Eph. 2 We are to be holy because we know what God has done for us in Christ and His love for us in that. We understand that we were once bound over to eternal damnation but God in Christ made a way for us to be saved. We have turned from death to life in Jesus, a new way, God’s way. We are now no longer to live the old way but the new way in Christ, according to God’s will for us. Knowing God is basic to living a holy life.

Vs 6 Would you want to deliberately hurt someone? Paul has made it clear in these verses that believers must live pure and holy lives. Doing so will help us grow in our love and understanding of who God is and what He has for us. 2 Pet. 1:3-9 Paul points out for us in verse 6 the consequences for the other person involved in our immoral acts. He uses the word brother loosely meaning another person. The other person is the victim of wrong sexual activity. Sexual immorality wrongs the other person in the forbidden act which God condemns. Adultery for example. When we willingly participate in immoral sexual acts we are calling judgment down upon ourselves from God. Heb. 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Those who will not take no for an answer, by word or action, are fanning the flames of judgment to come upon themselves. Bill Clinton and his no sex statement. Sexual immorality, whatever kind, is sin and God will punish it. Paul even takes away the loop holes by saying all such sins will be punished. If we fear the wrath of God we need to abstain from all such sins because we know God condemns them. Luke 12:5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Vs 7 When God called us to Himself; He called us to be holy, separate from the ways of the world. We are now to live for Him, to please Him. God will give us all we need to live the holy life He called us to, if we allow Him to be head over us. He is willing to work in us because He will receive all the glory for it in our lives. Jesus came to take what was unclean and impure so to clean us up and make us useful for His kingdom purposes. Col. 1:21-23

Vs 8 Understand this, what is being taught is not man made rules but God given direction for holy living. If you don’t like what is said then take it up with Him. When God calls us into relationship with Him He calls us to be holy, set apart for Him. But, He does not ask us to be something we cannot be. He gives us all we need to be what He calls us to be. He gives us the Holy Spirit, His love and power poured out into our lives so we can live holy lives for Him, being all He desires us to be. The Holy Spirit helps us to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh so to live a holy life. Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, So, let’s take it up a notch and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us making us holy and useful for the Lord, abstaining from all sexual immorality. Benediction: 2 Pet. 1:10-11

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I think it is safe to say that all of us here have probably been to a movie theatre. What do they do when you are sitting waiting for the movie to begin? They play coming attractions for us to watch. What is the purpose of the coming attractions? They are there as a teaser to make us look forward to movies that are yet to come.

Do they work? When you see them don’t you say, “I would like to see that one or this one?” Yes, they spark our interest so we are looking forward to see those movies.

This is part of the advertising plan that the movie theatres have to get people interested in the movies that are coming so the people would come back to see them later on.

This is how it turns out for us in this passage we are looking at today. Paul is laying down some coming attractions for the Thessalonian believer’s to look forward to. They are topics he is about to take up in the latter part of his letter to them. Part of his discipleship plan for them.

The first part of his letter has dealt with his love and concern for the Thessalonian believers, the defense of his ministry amongst them, his character and way of living, his desire to see them again so to supply them with what they were still lacking, vs 10. Movies available on PPV the same day as in Theatres. But why wait if he can begin to instill in them more truths of God that will build them up in the faith.

So, in these next 3 verses Paul gives some coming attractions of the things he will be teaching them in the latter part of his letter.

But he starts it out as a prayer to God, the Father and the Son, Jesus. They alone have the ability to answer his prayer and make way for him to go to see the Thessalonian believers again.

Paul knew that his plans meant nothing if they were not in line with the will of God. James 4:13-17

Notice here that Paul places Jesus at an equal stance with the Father. In his mind and according to the scripture they are one, equal in every way. John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”  Col. 1:15-20 The God-head alone has the authority to answer our prayers; no one else can give us the answers we truly need.

They did answer Paul’s prayer to be able get back to see these folks again, about 5 years later. 2 Cor. 2:13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. How often do we make plans and leave God and His will for us out of them? Can we wait upon the Lord for His will no matter how long it takes?

Vs 12 If you were reading this letter for the first time and having read 1:2-3, would you say that these people had a love problem, that they were lacking in Christian love? Many would say they were great examples of loving Christians. But Paul prays that they would increase in their love to over-flowing. Not just to other believers but to everyone, even to those who are persecuting them. Matt. 5:43-48

Christian love is a trait that every Christian should have, even to the overflowing. There can never be an excess of Christian love for others. This is a coming attraction for what Paul will soon begin to teach them in his letter. The picture here is of a well filling up till it over flows out of its walls bringing refreshing to others. Philemon 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Is this the kind of love we have for others? When we are with them do they feel refreshed by our love and concern for them?

Do we think we have enough love now and don’t need to work on it? Are our lives a coming attraction that people can’t wait to see us again because our love is overflowing?

Vs 13 Paul asks that the Lord would strengthen these new believers in the faith. Only God can reach down into our souls and bring the strengthening we need. Phil. 2:13 The result of strengthening in the faith is to be blameless before God. Blameless, how can we a sinful people be blameless before God? We can do so by dealing with our sin as soon as God reveals it in our lives. Christ has made a way for us to be cleansed by His sanctifying death for our sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

When we deal honestly with our sin it will help us to be done with it. 1 Pet. 4:1-3 If we deal with our sin we will then be free of any charge against us by another person or even the Accuser himself.

Is there sin in our lives we have not dealt with yet? Are there others who could come to us and make accusation because we have not dealt with it before God?

Paul also prays that they may be holy before God when the time of judgment comes. Being holy is a separating of ourselves from the world and its desires and consecrating ourselves to God alone.

1 John 2:15-17  If people were to look at us and our lifestyles would they see people set apart for the Lord or just another worldly person?

When we are tempted by the world and its ways we need to remember that Jesus could return at any moment. If He does and we are caught up in some sin we are committing, how will we feel?

Phil. 2:14–15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Do we live this way or are we putting off what we should be doing because we figure the Lord won’t be here today so I can do what I want and then confess it and do what He wants later? Why do you think God didn’t tell us when Jesus would be back for us? 5:1-2

God knows if we knew when Jesus was returning we would put off what we should be doing to the last minute; because of the sin nature in us. But, if we don’t know, then Jesus could return this very moment and what state would He find us in, blameless and holy or in sin neck deep?

These are just the coming attractions of what Paul has to teach the Thessalonian believers and us in the next couple of chapters.

Will we take heed of them and put them into practice so we can grow in love, faith, be blameless and holy before the Lord Jesus when He returns for us?

Benediction: 1 Pet. 1:13–16  Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

To Listen ‘Open Message from Title’ and click on Listen Now  or To Save: Right Click and ‘Save Target as’.    I hate to be the bearer of bad news for some and good news for others, but school begins soon. When you think of school what comes to mind? What if I were to ask you about the 3 R’s? What do they make you think of? Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic, right? Why are the 3 R’s so important when it comes to schooling? They are the foundation of all our education to follow and the things we will use most in life ahead.

One could say they are the foundation we will build the rest of our education and life skills upon. Without these basic foundational principles we will struggle through life and there will be trials that come because we don’t have the basic tools to overcome them.

It is the same for our walk as Christians as well. There are foundational principles that we will need to help carry us through our Christian walk helping us to be victorious and mature believers. I call them the 3 R’s of our Christian walk, Raising our hearts before the Lord in love because He loved us 1st and made a way for us to enter into relationship with Him. The 2nd R is to Raise our minds to Him so we might learn and grow in our faith through our knowledge of Him and the 3rd R is Raise our hands to Him in praise, which includes adoration, confession, thankfulness and supplication. These 3 R’s will help ground us in the faith so we can face the trials of life head on with the Lord on our side. We get these through discipleship, when someone is willing taking the time to disciple us, teaching these foundational principles. This is what Paul, Silas and Timothy did for the new believers in Thessalonica that helped carry them through their trials.

Vs 1 Paul was concerned for the new believers in Thessalonica. He did not know how well he had laid the foundation of discipleship amongst them because he had to leave abruptly. His situation prevented him from returning to find out personally. So, he sends Timothy back to them to encourage them and find out how they are doing.  They had been forced to leave Berea separately and came together again in Athens to decide to spread out again to see how the churches were doing and then for Paul to wait for them to return in Corinth. Timothy heads off to Thessalonica, Silas, most likely to Philippi while Paul investigates Athens before he moves on. They were all to meet in Corinth at a later date. Acts 18:1-5

The spiritual well being of the new believers in Thessalonica mattered greatly to Paul, he wanted to make sure they had a good foundation in the Lord.

Vs 2 Timothy may have been sent to them because he would have had the least notoriety of the group. Even though he was young he had been discipled by Paul and was capable of the task. 2 Tim. 2:2  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Paul considered Timothy well equipped to serve the Lord in the work they were called to.  Timothy’s mission was to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonian believers, making them more firm and solid in the faith. He was to strengthen their wills so to fight the good fight of the faith, both individually and as a body. 1 Tim. 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  One part of the mission of the apostles was not only to win converts to Christ but also to ground them in the faith, discipling them so they could then disciple others as Jesus directed. What happens when people are saved and not discipled?

Vs 3 Timothy, by further discipling the new believers, would help them be able to stand through the trials they were facing. He would help them trust the Lord through the trials by teaching them more about who God is and what He wants for us. Too often when trials come our way we begin to doubt if we are in God’s will. Jesus warned us that we could be in God’s will and still face trials of many kinds. John 15:18–19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 2 Tim. 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,   Live fire exercises in military.  Timothy would try to help these new believers understand that God will use these trials to build them up in the faith. Then He would be able to use them in greater ways. 1 Pet. 1:3-9

When we disciple others we must help them understand that trials will come and the reason they come is to help us grow in faith. If we are doing something wrong then it is up to God to show us and He will.

Vs 4 Paul had taught the folks there that persecution could come, that they should expect these trials, and it turned out that way. His reminding them of his teaching would stir their memories of those instructions and help them not be anxious about them.  John 16:4 I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.

Vs 5 Paul gets back to his point, he sent Timothy because he was very concerned for the new believers’ spiritual welfare. He did not know how well they had been able to face the persecution. Would they walk away from the Lord and return to paganism? Were they standing firm in the faith or did Satan tempt them away by putting doubt in their minds as he tried to do with Jesus or even as he did with Adam and Eve? Paul saw Satan using the persecution of these new believers as a way to lure them away from the faith and God’s will for them to persevere on through the trials.

Vs 6 “But” What Paul had feared is not what happened. The 3 R’s they received from Paul and his companions in discipleship had taken deep root in their souls. Col. 2:6–7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Timothy comes with wonderful news of their faith in Christ, standing firm in the faith. In fact, they don’t doubt Paul’s love and concern for them at all but they themselves long to see Paul as much as he longs to see them. When they think of Paul, Silas and Timothy they have fond memories of them.

Vs 7 What Paul had intended Timothy to do for them what they had done for him, Paul is strengthened and encouraged by them. What a relief for Paul to know that the time spent discipling was worth all his efforts and they had formed bonds of love that would last. Vs 8 Paul had achieved what he had started out to do; not only did they have a relationship with Christ but they were standing firm in the faith through his efforts to disciple them. 2 Tim. 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. This kind of faith built through discipleship will continue to carry them through the trials ahead in life.

Vs 9 Paul raises his heart up to God in praise for the faith and perseverance of these new believers. Only God could do this work in them. Phil. 2:12-13 Paul knew he could only plant the seeds of faith in them, it was up to God to make them grow. 1 Cor. 3:6–7 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. But someone needs to plant them.

Vs 10 Even though things were going well with these new believers Paul still wanted to return to them. He not only wanted to see them but also continue the work of discipleship he had begun. They still needed more instruction to grow further in the faith.

His desire was to supply what was still lacking in their knowledge of God. 2 Pet. 1:3–4 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Paul goes on in his letter, as we will see, to teach them some of the things they are still lacking.

One thing they lacked was a mentor who could come along side of them to teach by example. One whom they could witness the 3 R’s of discipleship active in his life, where they could see the devotion and faithfulness to God in praise, thanks, instruction and prayer.Still, Paul sets the example of one who prays with a sincere heart for them night and day so that they would grow in Christ.

Paul had laid a foundation in their faith through discipleship that would help them grow and stand firm in the faith for years and years to come. We all need to realize that this is something we need in our lives as well, to learn and grow in our faith through discipleship and then to disciple others as well so they can stand firm in the faith through the trials that come in this world.

To set the example of faith before others as mentors and to be humble as learners as well to grow up in Christ.

Benediction: 1 Cor. 3:10-15