The Abundant Life

Passage:  1 Thessalonians 4:1-2  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.

 

Main Point:  Pleasing God begins with the gospel, then continues with obedience… all so God can show you the abundant life Christ promised to those who trust and obey.

·         Lesson 

Some people think that the Christian faith is really a list of "do's" and "don'ts."  Passages like what we will be looking at over the next couple of days may give that impression - if they are taken out of context.  The first word in our passage today puts it in context:  "Furthermore" - meaning there was  some before we need  to know about.  What was that?  In summary, it was the fact that Paul was thrilled that the faith of the gospel was strong in them, that they weren't giving in to persecution, and that they were growing and serving the Lord.  The gears shift here to some areas in their lives that need attention.

     Pleasing God STARTS with obeying the gospel (that personal choice to take Jesus as Lord and Savior, forsaking self and living under His control), but obedience to the gospel will quickly involve how we live our day-to-day lives, not just our weekend activities.  Our walk is our character, our values, and our priorities.  Our walk is our behaviors and our world-view.  It is one thing to talk like a Christian and quite another to think and act like one. 

     Pleasing God, therefore, CONTINUES with certain moralities, principles, and priorities.  No one can say he is pleasing his boss when he  only shows up for work, while he disparages his boss and his company in his off-time.  He should, rather, honor his boss and  his company by good behavior that is "scandal-free."  What we do in our "off time" is NOT to be inconsistent  with who we are on the job.  Likewise, the Christian cannot truly be "Christ-like" if his behaviors are inconsistent with Christ's.  There will always be differences, but the direction of change should be toward Christ, rather than away from Him. 

     The whole motive is that our lives will be Christ-like, God-pleasing, AND abounding more and more.  This refers to the abundant life Christ promised to give.  We are forgetting about that in Christian circles today.  The conservatives argue for morality, the liberals want freedom from all boundaries.  The truth is, Christ instituted boundaries and morality for the PURPOSE OF helping us live our lives more abundantly.  There are fences around our marriages so we can know the  amazing abundance and joy such a relationship can bring to us.  There are fences around our pocketbooks so we can experience the awesome freedom of mastering our money instead of our money mastering us.  There are fences around our lives so that the Lord will be able to show us how wonderful life is under His care, provision, and protection.  It is far better than without.

Devotional:       I am personally thankful for our passage today.  It fills me with the hope that what is to follow  will be to my benefit, not my restriction.  Satan convinced Eve that God was withholding good from her, and so enticed her.  God's restrictions are FOR our good, not INSTEAD OF our good.  Remember - God is Good… All the time; All the time… God is Good.  Thank you, Lord, for always giving me reminders of what you require of me, lest I soon stray and think you have already gotten all of me there is to have.  Forgive me for the times I go too far, and above all, Lord, glorify yourself in me always - your way - for it is GOOD!  Amen.

Holler for Jesus,

Greg Yount

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Just-a-Thot - Devotional thoughts - http://justa-thot.blogspot.com

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