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1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
Last time Paul prayed that he could come see the church at Thessalonica, mature their faith, that their love would abound for each other and all men, and that they would be holy and blameless before God. Today, he continues this idea of pleasing God, by what they do each day.
Questions:
Do you Supersize your meal when you get fast food?
Do you know the will of God for your life?
How do you please the Lord?
Are you just trying to get by in your Christian life?
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.
Paul is urging the Christians at Thessalonica to continue in the commandments of the Lord Jesus. Paul is saying I know you are living well and doing the things we taught you, but I want you to do it more and more. In other words supersize your love for others, supersize your faith, supersize your walk with the Lord that you continue to please Him.
There are several questions that come to mind in this passage.
How can we please the Lord?
Well I think in order to answer this we need to understand that we can’t please the Lord in our own flesh. In other words we need the Holy Spirit’s direction and power in order to be pleasing to the Lord. Sometimes we try to do things in our own strength instead of walking in the Spirit.
Romans 8:8
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him
Now back to the question, what pleases the Lord?
Well I think it is obvious in verse two. That we keep the Lord’s commandments. Those instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples and through Paul. Another way to put it is do His will. So many people have a hard time discerning God’s will for their life. They look everywhere for some divine revelation, or for God to speak to them. The truth is God has revealed his will for our lives in his word. If Christians would spend time just reading what God wants us to do, and then do it, they would have plenty to do, and would stop looking for more from God.
So what are some of the Lord’s commandments, and what is his revealed will for our lives?
Well Jesus said
Luke 10:27
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
In other words, put God first, and love your neighbor.
Jesus said just hours before he went to the cross…
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Jesus obviously wants us to love one another like he loved us. That is a big order and should occupy a great deal of our time. Can you imagine loving others like Jesus loved you? It can’t be done with our own power. We must let the Spirit of God give us the power to do this.
How about…
Colossians 1:10
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
He wants us to be fruitful in our day to day life, and learn more about Him each day. I always want to know more about God and our relationship. This always brings me closer to him, and ultimately helps me to live more for him and walk the way he wants me to walk.
How about this verse…
1 Timothy 2:1-3
2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
In other words pray and give thanks for those in authority over us. Also, that we lead a quiet, peaceable and honest life.
I could go on and on, but really it is your job to read the scriptures to find out what pleases the Lord.
Do you want to be closer to the Lord? Do you want to abound more and more? Do you want to supersize your love for the Lord?