More & More
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
More and More
by Rev. William “Buck” Day
We now turn to our Scripture for the day. We are continuing to work through the book of 1 Thessalonians and we are looking at the first part of the fourth chapter, so I invite you to follow along as I read on the screen before us. (1 Thessalonians 4: 1-12)
Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you knows how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrongs or exploits a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one.
God’s word for us this morning! It is a good rich word. Let’s pray.
Mighty and holy God, thank you. Thank you for your word. And Lord we ask that your Spirit would be fully present here now to speak to us the things that we need to hear. Lord may the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God. Amen.
Well, there was a study recently at the Association of Canadian Studies and also through Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. They were asking questions about faith and unbelief and, in the process of that, they found an interesting anomaly around faith in God. They found all the typical kind of responses and percentages of those who believe and those who don’t believe; but the interesting thing that they discovered was that ten percent of the people believe in God, sometimes. Sometimes they believe in God; sometimes they don’t. And that is probably pretty accurate for our world, because we live in a world where God is really taking a back seat to our own wants and our own desires in so many different areas. Let me give you a couple examples of how I kind of see that being played out in our world.
The first one was just recently from Mark David Chapman. Mark David Chapman was denied parole for the sixth time for his killing of John Lennon. After the parole hearing he was interviewed and he said that he had considered killing a number of high profile people but he chose Lennon because of his accessibility. He said after that, “It wasn’t about them, it was about me. It was all about me.” See, he acknowledged that his motivation for killing was instant notoriety. He then goes on and says, “I realized that I made a horrible decision to end another human being’s life for reasons of selfishness.” He was selfish. But, you don’t have to be a murderer to be selfish. All you have to do is to put yourself first. How often do we do that in our own lives, if we are going to be really honest with ourselves?
The second example comes from last year’s Super Bowl in Dallas. They say that there were at least one hundred thousand people that went to the Super Bowl—it was kind of an influx in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Mostly, men focus on, obviously, the football game; but the law enforcement authorities were actually gearing up for a huge influx in sex trafficking that was going to happen during that week. You see, major sporting events always spurn a major influx of thousands of prostitutes into the area wherever the game is going to take place. The authorities said that in the midst of that they were coming to the sad reality that many of those who were involved in prostitution were actually victims of human trafficking. This influx of men for Super Bowl is seen as a gold mine for those that are involved in the sex industry. As you think about it, prostitution and related sex trafficking are really all about self gratification, aren’t they?
The world has not only walked away from God but it has lost a lot of its moral compass, as well. And sadly, this is nothing new to God. I think about the phrase from Ecclesiastes that was written most likely by King Solomon that says, “…there is nothing new under the sun.” And, that is true; there is nothing new under the sun. People have been walking away from God since the Garden of Eden. I say that all as a precursor to kind of set up our message today. It is our fourth in a series from 1 Thessalonians and now we are beginning to hit some hard topics. Next week I am going to be on study leave so I won’t be here, but we will finish up 1 Thessalonians the last two weeks of the month. But having said that, I want to also put a word of caution out for parents with maybe some young children. Our topic today, or one of the topics we will be talking about, is sex in marriage; so it might be a little bit inappropriate for some of the younger children. So parents if you need to make that call, feel free to get up and walk outside with your children. You are welcome to come back maybe halfway through the message but I just want to put that out there so you can make that decision in terms of where you are with your children.
So we are at the beginning of Chapter 4 and, in the big scheme of things, Paul is making a hard shift here. Up to this point he has really been talking about defending himself against those who were following him in every church and every town he went into to try to discredit his ministry. But now what Paul is doing, Paul is beginning to shift his focus to the more practical side of living and addressing the activities of how you live your life. In the midst of that he is doing really more what we typically think of when we think of Paul and his teachings. He is much more directive in the terms of the things he is saying and the things that he is talking about in this text. So what Paul is doing today is he is addressing some things that he thinks are deficiencies that both he saw when he was with the church in Thessalonica and probably what Timothy saw when Timothy was there. Remember Paul sent Timothy to the church to check up on them because he was worried about them. Timothy has now returned and Paul is writing a letter back to them as a part of that. In particular what Paul and Timothy have seen is maybe beginning to address some specific topics today around the topic of sex and marriage and also work. It kind of hinted at that.
If you have your bibles, I invite you take your bibles out. If you haven’t, use your pew bibles or bring your own; that is even better. In Chapter 3, verse 10, Paul kind of hints at that where he says he wants to come and see them face to face. In the midst of that he says “I want to restore whatever is lacking in your faith.” So when he gets to Chapter 4 he begins to ask them to focus on living lives that are pleasing to God. He tells them that they are already making progress in that regard and then Paul adds, “I want you to do so more and more.” He says that twice in our text, if you caught that, once in verse 1 and again in verse 10. You can see that. That is the end of verse 1 where he says “you should do so more and more.”
What Paul is saying is that pleasing God is not a one time thing. To please God really means to make it a way of life rather that is continually built upon over time so that your life pleases God more and more. He uses the word “sanctification” in that third verse. Sanctification is typically a theological word. It is about transformation, really. Many times what I will do when I am referring to this—what I will use is a phraseology that you will hear a lot from me—is that we want to follow Jesus more and more, closer each day, as we move forward. That is really all about the same thing of what Paul is talking about, this idea of pleasing God more and more. Paul says in our text really pleasing God, when we boil it all down, when we get down to brass tacks, pleasing God is really about unselfishness and growth. We want to look at each of those as we work through our text today.
Paul says that one of the ways to please God is to move through more and more unselfishness and we see that in verses 3 through 8. At first glance you don’t necessarily see the word “unselfishness” as part of that. It is rather about controlling your bodies and not exploiting others. As you think about it, isn’t that the point? Unselfishness can only be practiced in the context of relationships. The relationship that Paul is referring to here is the marriage relationship. In verse 9 of our text he says that love is the basis for this unselfishness. This idea of loving others actually pleases God. That is what we are supposed to be about. So as we delve into this, maybe a little background might be helpful for us to get us up to speed in terms of what Paul is thinking about.
In a Greco Roman world it was known for its sexual promiscuity. Paul at this point when he was writing this was most likely in Corinth and both the city of Corinth as well as the city of Thessalonica had their own kind of gods. Each city in that time had their own little set of gods. These gods needed to be “serviced” by prostitutes and they would typically roam the streets at night so that people could worship through acts of immorality. Beyond that they say that most men in this day did not limit themselves to one sexual partner. Most of them had a mistress who was not only a physical person that they were involved with but also kind of their intellectual sparring partner. Many of them also had a concubine which was a slave which they could visit whenever they wanted to; as well as many of them would just use harlots which were just kind of a one time quick and easy sexual gratification. In addition to that they also had their wives. Their wives typically were meant to manage the home, manage the affairs of their home, and also to provide legitimate heirs for the family. In fact, one history book put it this way. It said, “There’s probably never been another period of time when there has been more extravagant and uncontrolled vice than under the Caesars.”
In the midst of that, Christians typically were seen as, and even now I think it still carries on, kind of prudish perhaps or puritanical in their views kind of towards sex. As a result they generally get kind of a negative attitude towards the world, when you think about Christians and sex. Some of that may actually be true, probably with good reason because we believe that sex is a good gift. It is a good gift that has been twisted and broken by the fall in the Garden. We need to channel and control our sexual energies appropriately. To that end what Paul is saying in our text here, is that sex is to be used between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship and he adds it should be done with holiness and honor.
Now let me unpack that a little bit because that is not exactly what it says up there. Verse 4 in that phrase exactly that says “how to control your own body” that phrase most experts say, in the whole book of 1 Thessalonians is the most difficult verse to translate. You may, if you look in your pew bibles, there will probably be a note on the bottom, a footnote that says that there is an alternative reading for that phrase. That alternative reading is “how to take a wife for yourself.” Now if you look at these translations, both the one that’s here and the one in the footnote, both of them have difficulties when you look at them trying to figure out which one is the best one. But the majority of modern scholars prefer this “take a wife” version for a couple of different reasons. One, because of some of the language that is in the text and the verbs and the nouns and how they get used tends to lean you towards this idea of taking a wife. In addition it is the context of the passage where Paul is talking about abstaining from fornication. And also some of the words that are in this phrase also get used in other places in Scripture in reference to a wife. So all of that kind of is, at least for me, a preponderance of evidence of what we are talking about here is the phrase “taking a wife for yourself.” So in that then I think what Paul is saying is that the only proper God-given context for sexual activities is in heterosexual marriage. That is how we please God. Sexual activity happens in that context, in the relationship between a man and a woman. Then Paul continues and he uses the words it is to be done “in holiness and honor.” Holiness and honor means unselfishness and restraint.
When we focus on our own desires rather than our spouse’s, sex can quickly become a weapon that can be mean or wound. I have no doubt that there are some of you in this room that have experienced that firsthand. Holiness and honor is contrasted against a world that doesn’t know God and saying, “This is the way that you please God, by holiness and honor in the context of marriage.” Holiness and honor when we think of it in the marriage relationship is really about putting the other person’s needs and desires before your own. What we are talking about here is servanthood. What will you do to honor your spouse by putting their sexual desires above your own?
So one thing that I will sit down and tell every couple that I sit down with and do marriage counseling with, when we get to the time when we talk about sex and their sex life together, I will say to them every time, your sex life together is ultimately a function of servanthood: How can you serve each other physically putting their needs, their desires above your own? So what Paul is saying here is that living a life that is pleasing to God includes your sexual life—your sexual life by being true to your spouse and by serving them.
But for Paul pleasing God isn’t just limited to the bedroom, it also includes the importance and the value of work—in verse 9, where it says “Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters…”. In the church here in Thessalonica there seems to be some evidence that the people in the church, a lot of them just kind of abandoned their jobs; they walked away from them. It is not that they lost their jobs; they just plain walked away from them. If you have your bibles open, if you look at Chapter 5 verse 14, in that Paul is telling the church to warn the idlers. Most experts say that what Paul is referring to are these people who walked away from their jobs. Beyond that the reason that they walked away from their jobs is because they have heard about the return of Christ, which we will talk about in two weeks, (My little plug there for you…..)…and they were excited about it. They were saying, “Christ is going to return. He is going to return anytime. I don’t need to do any more work. I am just going to take my job off and sit and wait for Christ to return.” And that is what Paul is addressing here in this passage. Paul is speaking about this idea that work is an expression of brotherly love. For when we work we aren’t a burden to the community. In that day when there was someone out of work, when someone was struggling, the church took care of them. That could be a whole other sermon right there, couldn’t there?…about that, today? But rather he said when you work it is a demonstration of your love through your work. Your work is demonstrating your love to the community and as a result you begin to strengthen that community. So to love your brothers by working, Paul is saying that is how you show you are living a redeemed life. You are growing in your faith more and more. You are pleasing God to say that.
To that end Paul has three specifics that he has in mind right here at the end. The first one is this idea to live a quiet life. Now that might seem as a contradiction to this situation we are talking about; but Paul is really saying, “O.K. you are excited about Christ’s return. Whoa, big dog! Whoa, slow down! Don’t make a spectacle of yourself,” is what he is saying. Calm down your enthusiasm. Secondly, he is saying “Mind your own business.” He is saying, “Don’t be a busy body. Be about the work that you have been given. Just do that.” And then finally what he is saying, he is saying work with your own hands. Don’t take the Greek idea that manual labor was only for slaves and it was beneath you, rather work just as Paul did when he was in their midst. That is what he says, “I worked to show you how this is supposed to go.” So Paul’s desire was that in all our daily lives we would win the respect, win the respect of those outside of the church and not be dependent on those inside the church. Think about that, those outside and those inside. What Paul is doing is he is bringing both those worlds together. He is bringing both those worlds together because in his mind the most important thing in all of this is to spread the gospel; that more people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that they would begin to have a relationship with him so that they can could begin that sanctification, that pleasing God more and more. That is what was first and foremost in Paul’s mind. That is what drove him. That is what the church is supposed to be about is bringing people to Christ. And we do that by the way that we live in our world and the way that we work in our world. So, pleasing God is all about growing more and more in your life with God.
Despite the fun and the laughter, thirteen year old Frank Wilson was not a happy camper. It was Christmas Eve and he had received all of his presents but he wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy because this was his first Christmas that his brother wasn’t there. His brother had just been killed recently by a reckless driver. He missed his brother. He missed the companionship that he had with this brother. So as the Christmas Eve evening was beginning to wind down and the relatives left, he put on his new plaid Christmas jacket that he had received as a gift and put all of his other gifts on his new sled. After saying goodbye to the relatives he headed out. He had to go find his scout master.
He was a Boy Scout. He wanted to talk to his scout master because the scout master always had a way to kind of help him work through when he was feeling a little blue. So he was making his way to an area over to the Boy Scout leader’s called The Flats. The Flats was a part of the town where those who were not as well off lived. So he went into The Flats, he found the scout leader’s home, he wasn’t there. So Frank began to hike back through the streets towards home. As he did he caught in the houses he walked by glimpses of Christmas decorations and trees and all of that. But one house in particular caught his mind. He looked through the window and he saw a couple of stockings hanging over the fireplace that were limp and he saw a women sitting in front of them crying. As he looked at the window it reminded him of the stockings that he and his brother would hang on the fireplace in their house. Then he had an idea. He said, “I haven’t done my good deed for the day.” So he went up to the door and he knocked on the door. The woman opened the door and greeted him. She saw the sled full of toys and she thought he was collecting for underprivileged kids and she said “I don’t have any toys. I don’t have any food. I don’t have anything to give you.” She said, “I don’t even have any for my own children.” Frank replied, “That’s not why I am here.” He said, “Would you please choose whatever gifts you would like to fill up your stockings for your kids.” She said, “God bless you.” So she began to take some candy and a toy airplane and some other presents from the sled and she took his Boy Scout flash light. He almost said something but he didn’t. When the stockings were full, she came back and she thanked him. She said, “Tell me your name.” He said, “It doesn’t matter, I am just a Christmas Scout.”
So as he left there was this unexpected spark of joy in his heart that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Before he left The Flats he had given away all of his gifts including his new jacket. He was now shivering as he was treading towards home. He already knew what was going to happen because he knew his parents were going to say, “What did you do with the gifts?” and that is exactly what happened. When he got home his dad said, “Where are the presents, Frank?” He said, “I gave them away.” “The airplane from Aunt Susie, the coat from Grandma, you gave them away? Weren’t you happy with them?” He said, “Of course I was happy with them.” Then the mom chimed in, “How could you be so impulsive? How am I going to explain it to the relatives that worked so hard to pick out these gifts with love? How am I going to explain this to them?” The father chimed in right behind her, “Frank, you made your choice. You know we have no more money for presents.” So now with his brother gone, parents disappointed, Frank once again, was dreadfully alone. He didn’t want the gifts back and he really just wondered if he would ever experience that kind of joy again in his life. So as he walked up to his room that night he went to bed and he cried himself to sleep.
Well, the next morning as he came down the stairs he could hear the Christmas music playing on the radio. Then an announcer came on and the announcer said, “Merry Christmas, everyone! There is a great Christmas story that is coming to us today from The Flats. A crippled boy has a new sled. Another young man has a new jacket that was left by an anonymous teenager. Several families were given gifts for their children by this anonymous teenage boy who called himself the Christmas Scout. No one could identify this young man but all the kids in The Flats believe he has a direct relationship with old St. Nick himself.” At that point Frank could feel his father’s hands around his shoulders and his mom said through her tears, “Why didn’t you tell us? We didn’t understand. We are so proud of you son.”
Unselfishness. Pleasing God starts with unselfishness and growing in our faith. It is about looking beyond yourself, looking to those around you, and it starts with those who are closest to you—your spouse, your family, your church community and the world.
Would you pray with me please?
Mighty and holy God, thank you. Thank you that you are the one who calls us to live beyond ourselves in every aspect of our lives. So Lord we ask that as we come to the table today that we would once again be reminded that we did not learn that from ourselves but we learned it from you. So mighty and holy God we thank you. We thank you for your example. We thank you for your extraordinary gift and Lord we are grateful and it is in your name we ask that. Amen.