A Walking Faith

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Someone has rightly said that Christianity is shoe-leather faith.  That is, it affects our daily life.  It's a walking faith.  It's a working faith.  It's a living faith.

This passage is very simple, very direct, and very practical!

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12........

And he wants them to do the basics. There are four basic exhortations in these verses......

Here they are: love each other more, lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your hands. 

Now how practical is that?  How basic is that? 

Love each other more, lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your hands.

That takes Christianity right down to the basics.

This is a new commandment that Jesus gave while He walked the earth......

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

This is simple and basic........difficult if we are in the flesh, not if we have surrendered our self to the Lord Jesus!

I want to stop a moment and say that this is not a works based doctrine.......this is what is produced because of our faith.

This is the way of Christ!

Love one another more.........I quoted this from Bro James’ celebration of life....Romans 12:9 “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”

Love without hypocrisy, basically love without being self-centered!

Loving without regard of how this is going to affect you! That is how Jesus loves!

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

This is all traits/characteristics of Jesus Christ and should exist, to some degree, in the life of those that say they believe!

Hey, these Thessalonians were loving the folks from Macedonia....maybe it was easier to love those believers....Paul is calling them out of their comfort zone and telling them to increase their love more and more!

Go ahead and surrender all pride and worry and just love folks that come from anywhere!

Love them enough to desire the best for them and also love them enough to tell them the Truth unashamedly!

Study to be quiet.....live a quiet life......I told of something I heard about a missionary going somewhere to preach and help.....he did so everyday and a man had a store and stood outside and watched this preacher everyday. They never spoke a word to one another......The store owner got saved by watching this man......no words were exchanged, the preachers “walking faith” spoke for the Gospel of Christ.

I like the idea of being quiet, you seem to learn more when you are......

Some have this meaning stay out of public affairs, like politics........there is some debate, but this has more of a not being anxious and over-zealous, resting, peaceful!

Lamentations 3:26 “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.”

Ecclesiastes 4:6 “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.”

Do your own business.......this part might have something to do with staying out of public affairs......patrons representing clients........

I would say that this can be used in how you understand it, don’t be a busybody!

It is tempting at times......but mind your own business!

Now, there are some people will tell you to do that, while they are minding yours!

There is a simple truth to this in the life of Jesus Christ! It seemed that He was in everybody’s business and upsetting everyone’s apple cart.....

The simple truth is that He was doing the will of His Father in Heaven!

John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

John 5:19 “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”

By doing that Jesus tells us this: John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

This is what a Christ-like walk of faith does it testifies to the separation from the world and the world system then hates it!

Work with you hands.....living honestly among men.....

So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody!

Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

My Paw-In-Law quoted this all the time 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

Mr. Buck would say “No worky, no eaty!”

I mean, over and over and over he tells them, look, work with your hands, be quiet, don't be a busybody, and these very practical things.

Why?  There was a compelling reason. 

And the compelling reason is simply understood by carefully following the flow of the text. 

The next subject that he begins in verse 13 is the rapture of the church, followed in chapter 5 by a discussion of the return of Christ and the Day of the Lord. 

And he spends a great portion of time discussing those events.  In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 again he spends an entire chapter talking about the return of Christ.

Now let me give you the scenario. 

The Thessalonian Christians had been given the gospel.  And they believed and received Jesus Christ.  And a church was formed and Paul was there long enough to get it started.  And they were real and they were genuine ............... It was a good church.

But the end of chapter 1 verse 10, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” it gives us a hint......They were waiting on the Son to return......... 

Paul had taught them about the return of Christ.  And they were waiting for the return of Christ.  I mean, they were literally, actually, waiting for Christ to come.  What had Paul told them? 

He must have told them they had reason to expect its possibility.  Did Paul believe it could possibly happen in his lifetime?  I can't imagine any other reason why he would tell them to wait. Since even Jesus didn't know the hour of His coming, Paul didn't know. And they were waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.

Obviously they were enthusiastically waiting.  In fact, they were so enthusiastically waiting that they thought, some of them did, they might have turned the wrong direction and missed it.

I mean, Jesus is coming, why mess with these worldly issues?  Get our pajamas on and get up on the rooftop and wait. He'll be here soon.

This is an interesting thing to think about because we might expect Paul to say the Lord is coming very soon, so here are the five essential things you need to do. 

And the list would go like:

Evangelize the corners of the world, preach every waking moment on the street corners the gospel of Jesus Christ,

pass out literature to every breathing human being,

buy the billboards across town, paint it on the walls. 

He doesn't.  Jesus is coming. What should we do?  Love each other more, lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your hands.

What? ............. God is never in a state of panic and God's people who reflect God's character shouldn't be in a state of panic either.

And have we forgotten that the underlying foundation of all of our evangelism is the credibility of our living, right? 

I mean, we live in an agitated, upset, disoriented, messed-up world so why world so why would agitated, upset, disoriented Christians have anything to offer it? 

But Christians who are characterized by love, who lead quiet, peaceful, tranquil lives, who mind their own business with great care, and who faithfully discharge their duties as they were, are going to show a lifestyle to the world that may make Christianity attractive!

I believe we should live anxious for Christ’s return......in this manner, our anxiousness for His return is lived by following Jesus’ example!

Jesus told the 10 servants in Luke 19:13 “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”

Paul gives us a practical way to live out our anticipation for Christ return, which is opposite of worldly system!

John said at the close of the prophecy of Revelation 22:7,12-13, 20-21........Even so come, Lord Jesus!

2 Timothy 1:8-12........