Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

When we choose to follow Jesus, we are walking in his steps.

When soldiers are trained how to clear a minefield their instructor tells them to step precisely in the footprint left by the person in front of them.

The concept is simple: since the person in front of them stepped on a spot that didn’t set off a landmine, the only spot guaranteed to be safe was the ground under that footprint.

Stepping anywhere else means risking death.

The person at the front of the patrol is called the “point man.”

His job is to make sure he clears any mines or booby traps before moving forward.

Everyone else’s job is to walk where he walks and step where he steps.

When we say we’re following Jesus, living as Jesus lived and doing what Jesus did, we are letting Jesus be the point man in our lives.

I am sure that we have all heard about the good life.

Living the good life, having the good life, or getting the good life… The problem with the good life is that good does not necessarily mean the same thing to everyone.

For one the good life may be the possession of material things, yet different things are important to different people.

To others the good life is not what we possess materially, but what we possess physically... How many of us would exchange valuables for good health and long life?…

Once again, good health to one is not good health to another.

King Solomon said this in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 (ESV) “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.”

But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”

3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

4 I made great works.

I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house.

I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces.

I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem.

Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.

I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.

11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

I cannot stress this enough... for us as believers, as followers of Christ, life is not about living, or obtaining the good life, BUT about living the life that God has ordained for us.

We are to live out what we say we believe!

In Chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians, Paul devoted a substantial portion of this letter pouring out his heart and desire for ministry.

In case there was any doubt, Paul assured them of his love and devotion for the Lord and His church.

He presented a challenge to them through the life he lived before them.

As we come to Chapter 4, Paul turns his focus toward the church and the life we, as believers, are to live.

The passage the we will read today serves as an exhortation to all who read these words… to live a sanctified life that glorifies the Lord.

Lets read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8…

Meat:

As we go through this passage today and we consider “Living the Life of the Believer”… I want you to see the...

Responsibilities of Believers:

and the first responsibility that I want you to notice is, we are to...

1. Know the Commandments

vv.1-2 “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.”

When I here that word “Commandment”, I instantly go to…

1.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make idols.

3.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6.

You shall not murder.

7.

You shall not commit adultery.

8.

You shall not steal.

9.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10.

You shall not covet.

These of course are the ten commandments given to the nation of Israel… And these are a great starting point and guide for our Christian lives… Notice I said “Starting point”… “Pastor, these are “THE COMMANDMENTS”, they are literally called “The Ten Commandments”… you cannot possibly be implying that there are more than this...”

As a matter of fact, I am… and it is our responsibility to know what the other commandments are and it is also our responsibility to follow them…

“Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Amen.”

Christ had given them a charge to fulfill, a life to live, and a ministry to perform.

This was not an option; it was an obligation.

The Lord has not merely suggested that we live according to His words, but He has commanded that we do so.

That is one of the biggest hindrances and pitfalls of the modern church today.

Many, even those who are willing to serve the Lord, treat His Word and His desire for us as if it were a buffet.

We don’t have the right to pick and choose when it comes to the things of God.

We are commanded and obligated to live according to His way and His will for our lives.

We cannot read any passage of Scripture and pretend it doesn’t apply to our lives.

All Scripture is there for our teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, and it is our responsibility to know it and to be obedient in following what it says.

The Thessalonians had heard from Paul how they were to live… So now pleasing God was no longer an option it was their responsibility.

Likewise, We can no longer just have the desire to please God with our lives, it is our responsibility to please Him.

Remember from our study in James,

This leads to our second responsibility as believers and that is to live...

2. A Life of Purity

Many today are seeking the will of God for their lives and seem to have a hard time discovering what it is that God wants of them.

Much of the lack of knowledge concerning God’s will can be attributed to a lack of knowledge of the Bible.

Some, however, may know what God’s will for their life is and yet refuse to embrace it.

These verses are very clear in regard to God’s will for our lives.

He desires and expects us to live:

2.1 Sanctified

v. 3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification...”

This speaks of “consecration, purification, a sanctified heart and life, holiness and purity.”

The meaning of the word goes back to the Old Testament where holy items were chosen for use in the temple...

Let’s say they need a pot.

The priest would go to the shop and there would be dozens of pots.

He buys one … one pot chosen from among many.

Outwardly it may even look exactly the same as the pot next to it on the shelf … and that pot is brought to the temple.

It has been set apart.

It has been made holy.

It has been sanctified… If you have put your faith in Christ, if you have asked Him to forgive you of your sins and take control over your life… you have been sanctified!

Romans 6:22 says… “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

I believe we are more familiar with sanctification than we care to admit.

We know the life God expects us to live.

The Holy Spirit reveals whether our lives and actions are in accordance with the will of God.

If you are seeking God’s will, then you should be seeking a life of purity and sanctification!

Secondly, A life of purity will be one that is...

2.2 Isolated

Now, before you pack everything up, go home and lock the door… let me explain what I mean.

If we go back to my previous illustration about the pot that was purchased for the temple, we can get a better picture.

*** Illustration: Have some sins listed on paper and some things that glorify God listed on paper… put them in their corresponding pots (Sanctified/Sin).***

We are to isolate ourselves from the things in this pot.

This does not mean to completely isolate ourselves from the world, but the things of the world.