1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Romans 3:23; Matthew 28:18; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Matthew 6:33, 17:21; 1 Samuel 17:39, 19:8; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 11:6; John 1:3; Isaiah 40:31; 1 Peter 4:8; Proverbs 10:12
We are walking in today: How To.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 1) Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2) For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3) For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4) That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5) Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6) That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7) For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8) He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. On Monday we walked in, I choose to be stuck, Tuesday, believing, speaking and acting. Then on today, how to. God shows up this morning with this word, because we need to be taught how to walk in this race. In reading the Bible and studying, it is necessary to see how things are connected. For example--it is essential to recognize how obedience is connected to faith. Read James 2:14-26. Likewise we must understand how sin and consequences are connected--Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. There is no mysterious process you have to learn to see these connections. No formula you acquire through academic training. You just read, study and think--using the mind of God, that He gave us. Applying that mind to the word that He gave you. The Bible reads if we don't study we won't get the point and not be in position to respond properly. If we neglect to see how things are connected--the word context, relates to how words and phrases are connected. Here is a connection that we ought to see. A connection between the facts and obligations in His word. God generally responds to our need for information by giving us facts--the truth of God. Which is stated in a factual expression, in His word--God directs us to engagement and obligation. It is essential for us to see how the facts and obligations are connected. we will never get serious about obligations until we learn and accept the facts! The facts that God obligated us to respond as He directs! This is in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. Let's look into the passage for facts. Fact #1--you receive from us, from how you ought to walk and please God. Keep this in mind, that Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonia, they had received apostolic instructions in Acts 2:42 about how to walk and please God. Today in bookstores and libraries, you will find a whole section of books that are about how to do various things. There are sometimes referred to as 'how to' books. They are considered practical, providing instructions on how to build things or learn behaviors. The New Testament, is the book we have about how to respond to God. Discover how to be disciples of Christ. How to think, how to feel, how to speak, how to act and react. Put this down as a fact revealed by God through the Apostle Paul, which he said, you receive from us, how you ought to walk and how to please God. Fact #2--you know what commandments that He gave you through the Lord Jesus. This is perspective, but the purpose is to emphasize what God has revealed through the Apostle. The instructions we need--the commandments are given, ordered--given by authority. What we ought to do. What we should not do. How we should behave to please God and honor Christ. We have on the pages of the Bible, commandments given through the Lord Jesus. He has the authority to issue the orders that God gave. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Our duty is to learn those commandments and to live by those orders. Fact #3--God did not call us to uncleanliness but to holiness. This is in verse 7, when you think about the gospel--think of God calling sinners. When the gospel is faithfully proclaimed, God identifies our problem--which is sin. When the gospel is faithfully proclaimed God tells us of His provision to forgive us, in Christ. When the gospel is faithfully proclaimed, God tells us what we should do to respond, to obey the gospel. To come out of sin and into the water of baptism--into fellowship and His identity. Now why would God call us out of sin and into fellowship with Him? That we might be holy! 1 Peter 1:15-16 15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. God calls us to respond to Christ that we might live to please Him. To walk in His ways so when we accept God's call and after we are baptised, if I participated in any uncleanliness, God did not call us to live in that way! God did not call us into anything, but holiness! This is a fact. When people who have been baptised fall back into sin and thus participate in uncleanliness instead of holiness thy are not living as God called them to live. When I participate in anything that is not in harmony with God's will--I am not responding to His call, His call is in holiness. Fact #4--He who rejects that doesn't reject man, but God who has also given us the Holy Spirit. Notice the pronoun in verse 8--includes everything from verses 1-7, that is concerning the teaching written by Paul in this passage. He who rejects this is guilty of more than just rejecting the man who is teaching it, he is guilty of rejecting God Himself. The same God who gave His Holy Spirit to the Apostles to write this. This is an interesting grammatical construction here. Look again at verse 8, he who rejects this--do you recall some other verse in the New Testament that has the same kind of construction? As stated Jesus said in Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. This is the same construction in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 but the behavior and result is negative. He who rejects this teaching, he who does not accept these facts, has rejected God. There are four facts given by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:8. You receive from us how you ought to walk and how to please God. You know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. God did not call us into uncleanliness, but holiness. He who rejects this--doesn't reject man but God. Who has also given us the Holy Spirit. We need to shift gears, you remember when you read and study the Bible, we observe how things are connected. Facts are given and based on those facts from God, obligations enforced--notice how obligation is firmly set in the passage. We urge and exhort--you should, you ought, you should have seen, you should know, no one should. What do these words and phrases signal? Obligation. What is obligation? It is what should be done! The constraint of consciousness--which we do, what we should do, we are obligated by the facts!
Now with all of that being said--we ought to know how to remain unstuck! We are called to holiness! God's will, we will do! He told us to do this, not that other thing! God comes to tell us today 'how to'. We gotta read and study His word. Fiveamprayer, you have got to know, that you know, that you know! Study His word from Genesis to Revelation, praying for wisdom for what you have read. You know that you have got to walk this thing out. We have been prepared and are being prepared for all that He has for us! He is giving us instructions--now is the time to pay special attention of what we are to do. Fiveamprayer this is your part! You wanted to do something, now God shows up with what you are to do--setting down your ways and thoughts and only, walking and moving in obedience to what He instructs! No more can we say that we don't know, but we are gonna try something. God is telling us what to do and where to find the answers! This is a open book test--but you will never pass the test if your book is sitting there closed, just collecting dust! In this technological age we must never forget to have our face in His book! That is where we must spend some face time before His written word that we grow and receive instruction! Seek Him! Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. We must know how not to fall, how to walk by faith, how to only think His thoughts, how to cast down imaginations. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to all righteousness. We gotta know how to. That God is calling us to another level. He is teaching us how to stand. The battle is not ours it is the Lords! The race is not given to the swift but to he that endures until the end. We have to learn how to fight the devil! We must be suited up in the whole armor of God! We must learn how to tell the devil to get behind us! We are to pray and not faint! We must call ourselves into a fast--Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. How to let the world know that we are Christians--John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, how to renew our minds--in His word! That is how we get a new mindset, reading His word prayerfully, to allow the awesome power transform us! Sometimes we have to stay in the Spirit of the Lord, listening to gospel all day and keeping yourself humble and before Him. We have gotta know how to! How to stand in the evil day, these are the last days, the days of the book of Revelation. We need to know what is coming. We need to be seeking to have a closer relationship with Him! We have been given so many tools that we don't know how to use. It is high time we learned! Take a look at David, a man after God's own heart, a mighty man of battle,yet in his youth he was not skilled in using sword or armor--1 Samuel 17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. But how could he ever have the victories that God gave him if he had not prepared and learned to use the weapons and tools for battle?! There was a time when his skills increased that he no longer only had a slingshot and staff as his only weapons. 1 Samuel 19:8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. This scripture would not be true is there was not some time for David to learn about weapons and have time to practice and gain skill with them. We are to study and gain the necessary knowledge and skills needed for what God has purposed in our lives. 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The workman is not ashamed due to knowing there is skill utilized that was gained under apprenticeship, study and practice. God is giving us everything we need to be prepared and ready. To be able to walk this out by faith, not by sight. Will you submit to His will, His way? Will you yield and be quiet? Do you know how to do it? Are you seeking how in His word? A praying wife can save her husband. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the church, giving His very life for it. Are you loving your wife as Christ loves the church? Do you know how to do that? Are you seeking God for the answer to that question? We must fall on our face before Him, seeking Him. Some times we have got to go into our prayer closet and shut the door and pray. Do you know how to pray? God is calling us to pray. We will need to know how to fight this devil. We must be suited up in the whole armor of God. The enemy is roaming the earth like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. Do you know how to fight him? Tell him, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper! When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will lift up a standard against him! How to. It is gonna take your faith! That is how we please Him! Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We are instructed to lean not to our own understanding, since we are in desperate need of teaching, our understanding isn't much. That should not be a hard thing to set down! Look to He who made all things--John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Trust Him--at all times! There is the power of life and death in your words. Do you know that God has given us authority and power? Speak His word, that is what He responds to. When you pray you can bind and loose things. You can decree and declare some things. Are you sealing your prayers in the blood of Jesus? Asking that Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? We must pray over our marriages, our children, our church, ourselves! We need to know how. We have walked in how to stay unstuck--trusting God! Leaning only to His understanding not our own. Get into your word, and a true relationship with the Father! He will speak to you and talk to you. Seek Him daily! We lift up fiveamprayer to find out how to be still, that is is already done--wait on the Lord! Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. We walk by faith and not by sight! We lift up prayer requests, have them to learn how to stand and keep seeking You, no matter how it looks. The focus remains on Him! That He is willing and able to heal, deliver, cover, keep and protect us! That we can place our cares on Him for He cares for us! We no longer have to carry them around in worry, it is finished, it is done! Trust and believe that the Father had got it all taken care of! Fiveamprayer, keep seeking Him! We must learn to cast down every imagination that would attempt to exalt itself against the knowledge of God! We come to ask for forgiveness, we come to repent. Teach us Lord, how to forgive, so that we can be forgiven. Teach us how to let it go. If we don't forgive the devil does not have to obey our rebuke--because we are walking in unforgiveness. Set that thing down. Why would you walk around disarmed, by walking in unforgiveness?! Free yourself and let them go--forgive them! Thank You Lord for casting our sins into the sea that the are remembered no more. That You would forgive us with no condemnation, thank You God! That You would cast our sins away as far as the east is from the west. Thank You God for teaching us to say and stand on nevertheless, Thy will be done!
We seal this prayer in His precious blood, by His Spirit: How to!
Welcome to the overflow...
We must love, fiveamprayer! 1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Lord teach us how to love each other--to love like You Lord. Jesus said I do what I see My Father do, let us do the same! Thank You God! The world will know us by our love! Love covers! Hallelujah! Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Thank You Lord, You have taught us that we can make sure to never be stuck again! You have given us the tools. To God be the glory! No longer stuck! Trust, forgive, seek Him more and more--a personal relationship, we have the how to's from God! That is how we can stand. Thank You Lord! Use your tools and seek Him in His word today! Seek Him like never before! Visit us on facebook, it will encourage you! Have a blessed day!
Musical Selection
Judith Gayle, Teach Me Lord: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Men of Standard, Yet Will I Trust In Him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Men of Standard, Standing In Your Will: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
No comments:
Post a Comment