How To Live To Please God!

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Subject: Please God

Theme: How to Please God

INTRODUCTION

In this world many people live to please others. For example in a company some workers live to please their directors in order to gain favour again married man is anxious about worldly things how to please his wife. Furthermore on this campus many pupils live to please those at post such as compound overseer, Deeper life Chairman, School Prefect, etc in order to win favour forgetting that all these will pass away.

Desertpreacher Emmanuel delivering the word of God

SERMONIC PURPOSE

In much the same way every minister can live to please God.

PROPOSITION

In light of this I present to you that every minister can live to please God.

BACKGROUND

The scriptures under consideration was written by Paul when Paul arrived at Thessalonica on his second missionary journey. Silas and Timothy were there with him. Paul went well with these missionaries until some Jews became jealous and angry. These bitter Jews then forced Paul and his friends to leave the city. Paul later sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the infant church. On his return Timothy came with a report. In response to Timothy’s reports Paul wrote this letter.

TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE

Looking through the passage let consider two ways how every minister can live to please God

Every Minister can live to please God by being sanctify – v 3-8

According to NIV KEY WORD BIBLE sanctify is the process or work of making something holy. This is the process whereby the true believer makes a determination and discipline effort to allow the Holy Spirit to set him or her apart day by day. The Spirit of God takes the person and conforms him or her to the image of Christ. This growth takes place as long as the believer walks upon this earth.

Paul here exhorts the believers that it is God’s will for them to live their life holy.

The Minister can be sanctify by avoiding sexual immorality –vv 3

In Paul’s exhortation he informed the believers that living a sanctified life they should keep away from all kind of immoral sexual acts such as adultery, homosexuality, pre-marital sex and all forms of sexual sin.

In addition to the explanation of sanctification:

The Minister can be sanctify by being self-controlled – vv 4

The believers were exhorted to control or rule their own body in a holy way which include the proper use of sex.

In an honourable way

Not disposed to cheat or defraud not intend to deceive

Lastly not in a passionate lust. They should control their sexual desire for wrong sex. Paul make it known to them that this is how the unbelievers live their life in Thessalonian because they don’t know God. He further explain that

The Minister can be sanctify by living right with his or her brethren – vv 6

In this context Paul informed the believers not to wrong their brothers. This means the believers should not go beyond what is right, exceed prescribed limits against their brethren because it is sinful and God will punish men for such sin. They were called to live pure and sexual conduct is holy when it conform to the will of God. Finally Paul said the one who reject this instruction reject God but not men

ILLUSTRATION: 1 Peter 1:14-16

APPLICATION

Ministers of the Gospel, do you want to do the will of God? Then live a sanctify life because man by nature tend to follow the desires of the flesh and mind which are opposed to the will of God and can never please God.

God is expecting you to live a sanctify life in order to please Him. Think about this, how do you live your life? Set your life apart for God. Becareful of what you do when you are in secret the way you use your phone, I pad, laptop.

Be sanctify and avoid every sexual sin. Be sanctify. Don’t treat your brother wrongly. Be sanctify. Control yourself. Be sanctify and you will not be punished.

Every Minister can live to please God by excelling in brotherly love – vv 9-10

Brotherly love is a kindly and lenient attitude toward people and it is a very special love that exist between the brothers and sisters within a loving family and the church.

The Minister can excel in brotherly love by knowing that he/she has been taught by God to love – vv 9

The believers were aware of the duty that they have to love each other. They are brothers and sisters in the family of God so there was not need to write to them about it because it is the teaching of that they should love each other.

The Minister can excel in brotherly love by doing it more and more –vv 10

To do something more and more is to advance in amount or intensity. Here Paul exhorted them to continue grow in it because the believers were already living example of loving one another and they have been showing love toward all the brethren in Macedonia and here they grow in it.

ILLUSTRATION: Romans 12:9-10

APPLICATION

Senior Ministers and follow Bible student as ministers we need each other in order to make it through life. Living for Christ is not easy in a corrupt world that offers the bright light of pleasure but end up in suffering death. We all face temptation after temptation and trials after trials. We need the love of each other in order to stand against the temptation and walk through the sufferings of love.

The greatest threat to the church is that of internal strife and divisiveness, nothing destroy the ministry of a church quicker than criticism, grumbling, murmuring, gossiping, selfishness, cliquishness (that is tendency to associate with only a select group)

Ambitiousness (that is having a strong drive for success to have one’s own way to secure some position. The point is this: God actually teaches us to love each other as brothers and sisters. What do you have against your brother that can cancel the love you have for him because of work details? How do you react to your brethren during work details? Does it show love but in all this don’t forget that Jesus said in John 13:34-35, a new command I give you: love one another. As l have loved you so you must love one another. Therefore we are to grasp hold of this and love one another.

CONCLUSION

Are you called by God into the ministry? Are you called to do His will? Then live to please Him and you can live to please God by being sanctified and excelling in brotherly love.