1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 1. Furthermore, then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit. You may be seated. Look here at your Bible, if you will, because this chapter addresses the return of Christ for his own. The closing verses of this chapter remind us that Jesus is returning. In verse 16, the Bible said, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. And so I'm preaching tonight on responsible at Christ's return. That is, the return of Christ should affect us in our daily life. If what we say we believe about Christ does not affect our life, something is wrong with us. Nothing is wrong with the doctrine and with the teaching of the Lord's return. But if we're not living like we should be living, there certainly is something wrong with us. So I'm preaching on that tonight, responsible at Christ's return. Let's pray. Fathers, we bow tonight. God, we give all our burdens and all our cares and all our concerns into your hands. We pray that you bless us now as we open up the book of God. I pray that your spirit will guide us in all truth. I ask you, God, to take the words of the scripture and make them preeminent in this service. I pray you'd make known your truth to us as we gather together here tonight. I ask you, God, to open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of the truth of God. Thank you, Father, for motivating us through the power of the book of God. Thank you, Lord, for sowing in our hearts the wonderful truth of Christ's return for us. I ask you, God, now to give us grace and power, peace and purpose, and open the eyes of those that come to hear the word of God as they look upon the pages. Make real to them the truth of God, and we'll praise you for it tonight, for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen and amen. I love the stories of great men of days gone by. Robert Murray McShaney, the Scottish preacher, once said to some friends that were gathered together, he said, do you think Christ will come tonight? One after another said, I think not. After hearing their response, Robert Murray McShaney quoted this text, the Son of Man cometh at an hour when you think not. And I want to say that whether or not you think he's coming tonight or he's coming in our generation, it will not change the plan of God and it will not change the return of Christ. And so in this chapter, the Apostle Paul encourages us to be responsible at Christ's return. Now much of the material that we have covered thus far in our study in the first three chapters looks back with fondness upon the salvation of those at Thessalonica and their spiritual progress among the believers in the assembly at Thessalonica. This chapter looks forward practically and also doctrinally. And so tonight this chapter looks forward practically. That is in the practice of the Christian life in light of the Lord's return. And it looks forward doctrinally as well. And so the practical aspect is found in the first 12 verses of this chapter. The doctrinal aspect is found in chapter four, verse 13 through verse number 18. And so just as every chapter in this book of the Bible has a mention of the return of Christ, this chapter is no exception to that. And so we learn as we look closely at this chapter that the return of Christ should affect our conduct. That is, if I believe the Lord is returning, it should affect my conduct. In the first eight verses, Paul is addressing their conduct. Holiness and sanctification and purity are addressed in this passage of the Bible in verses one through verse number eight. The Bible said in verse seven, he said, for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. God has called every believer unto holiness and not to uncleanness. And so the coming of Christ should affect my conduct. And then secondly, the coming of Christ should affect my charity in verses nine through 10. And so Paul addresses the factor of brotherly love and he desires for it to flourish among these believers. And then in verses 11 and 12, we find out that the coming of Christ affects our character, amen. I believe that you and I ought to live not only a holy life, we also should live a life of honesty among our peers. The Bible said here in chapter 4 and verse 12, that you may walk honestly toward them that are without. He's speaking of those outside of the faith, outside of Christ, that our lives should be exemplary toward them and that you may have lack of nothing. And so the coming of Christ, should also affect our comfort in sorrow. The Bible said here in verse 13 that you and I are not to sorrow even as others which have no hope. And Paul is addressing the departure of their loved ones. And he is answering some questions they must have had about what happened to their loved ones who died in faith and yet Christ have not come back yet. And so, thank God, the coming of Christ affects our comfort in sorrow. And so as we begin chapter 4, Paul connects the right belief with the right behavior. You say, why do you make so much of a big deal about doctrine? None of us can know how to behave unless we know what we believe. So Paul connects the right belief with the right behavior. He said, if you believe Christ is coming, that you ought to live a holy life. He said, if you believe Christ is coming, that you ought to be an honest Christian. He said, if you believe Christ is coming, that you ought to possess your vessel in sanctification and honor. If you believe Christ is coming, that you ought to abound in brotherly love. If you believe Christ is coming, that you ought to recognize, hallelujah, that the coming of Christ is the hope of every believer, and it's our hope for deliverance. It's our hope for a better day. And so he makes the connection between doctrine and duty, between believing right and behaving right. How can a person know how to live sanctified if they don't look to the Bible to find out what their responsibilities are? What is it God says today about personal holiness? Somebody helped me preach a little while. In fact, I thought today when I read this verse in the Bible, I met people that God had called them to this ministry and God had called them to be this or to be that. To this day, I've been preaching this Bible now almost 42 years. I never ran into anybody that said, preacher, God has called me in the holiness. I said, I never have ran into anybody who confessed exactly what the Bible said. I said, preacher, I know one thing. I know God has called me to holiness. Thank God I want my heart to be clean. Somebody help me preach a little while. I want my life to be clean. I want my testimony to be clean. I want my character to be clean. I want my life to commend the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we look at this chapter, Paul is connecting the right belief with the right behavior. And so if you believe that Christ is coming, John said in 1 John 3 and verse 3, and every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure. That is, if you believe Christ is coming, that you'll be living a clean and a holy life. any characterization of the coming of Christ in a person's life that does not lead to holiness. It's a characterization, my friend, that is foreign to the Bible. And so this chapter challenges us to personal holiness. Not only does it remind us of the hope of the believer, it reminds us of the holiness of the believer. Sadly, our country and its churches has turned their back upon personal holiness and purity and the type of life that a Christian ought to live. And I want to say when I got saved, you could tell the men from the women. Somebody say amen. You could tell the Christians from the world. You could tell those that were living for God and sold out and dedicated to God. They didn't look like, dress like, talk like, live like those that were in the world. And yet we're in a sad day and hour in which the banner has been dropped and the standard has been lowered. And my friend, the banner has been lowered so low that a person in the world can walk right in and fit right in among those that profess to be saved. And so not only does this chapter deal with the hope of the believer, but also with the holiness of the believer. Now the chapter is divided into two sections. First of all, Christian responsibility and holiness in verses one through verse number 12. Christian responsibility and holiness. I'm preaching tonight on responsible at Christ's return. In fact, if you're living right, you don't have to die with apprehension. If you're living clean, you don't have to be ashamed at the Lord's return. The second section of the chapter deals with Christ's return and our hope. Verse 13 through verse number 18. Now, the Bible said, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank God you and I that are saying we are living in life of the coming of Christ. I should have been living today. They asked George Whitefield, they said, what would you want to be doing if Christ came back today? He said, well, what I have done. What I have done, are you living in life of the Lord's return? It's very important, Christian responsibility and holiness. Now, if you and I profess to believe that Christ is returning and yet our life shows no evidence of it, we're ignorant or mistaken or we're spiritually deceived. And you know, here in the Bible Belt, we learn to talk about just about anything without living it or being what the Bible said. Now, I mean, we know how to discuss prayer. We know how to analyze prayer. We know how to talk about prayer. But the question is that when the prayer room opens up, where are we at when the prayer room opens up? I say we know how to talk about prayer, but we need to get back to praying. Somebody help me. and preach a little while tonight. And so if one proclaims that they believe Christ is coming, and yet their life shows no evidence of their belief, they're either ignorant, mistaken, or spiritually deceived. And so in this passage that precedes the truth of Christ's return in verses 13 through 18, is the section that deals with Christ's return and the believer's hope. But the preceding passage deals with sanctification, purification, holiness, and living right for God, amen. So you and I ought to live clean before the Lord, amen. In verses number one and two, he deals with pleasing God and progress in the Christian life. In verses three through verse number eight, he deals with sanctification and purity. And then in verses number 9 through verse number 12, he deals with harmony and honesty in the believer's life. And so the first section deals with pleasing God and progress in the Christian life. I wonder if our life is pleasing to God in light of Christ's return. If Jesus came back tonight, would he be pleased with your life? If our Lord returned right now, would he be pleased with your life? You say, well, I'm not doing like they are. Stop comparing yourself with every back slid Christian that walks up and down the street today. Start comparing yourself with this blessed book and find out what God says, so you'll know what He desires for you to do. If He came back today, what would He say? What would Jesus say if He came back today? If He should come today and find my hands so full of future plans, however fair, in which my Savior has no share, What would he say if he should come today and find my love so cold, my faith so very weak and dim? I have not even looked for him. What would he say if he should come today and find that I had not told one soul about my heavenly friend whose blessings are all my way of ten? What would he say if he should come today? Would I be glad, quite glad? Remember that he died for all, and none through me had heard his call. What would he say? What would he say about our life if he came today? Would he say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Would he say, son, daughter, I'm well pleased with your life. And so Paul said that our life ought to be acclimated to pleasing God, amen. So there's a gentle reminder in the opening text here in verse number one. Furthermore then, we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us, that is, you remember what I taught you when I was there? as you have received of us, how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more." And so Paul had diligently taught these believers the truth of God. Now listen to that. The reason we come to this service It's to pray and open up the Bible and find out what the marching orders from God are. The reason we come to this service tonight is to find out what heaven has for requirements for our twice born soul. What we need to do is live by the rule of God and by the truth of God. And in the short time Paul said I was with you, I told you how to walk. I told you how to please God. I told you what the Bible said about how you could walk and please God. Now listen carefully. He mentions that they had already received these truths. By the way, a lot of us here tonight have received far more than we have responded to. We live in such an entertainment crazed society where our generation is more concerned about the latest social media out than they are what the scriptures have to say. I don't know much about social media, but I will tell you this, if you'd like to talk about this Bible, I'd be glad to sit down with you. and tell you what God's word has to say. I'd be glad tonight to sit down with the Bible and discuss what the teaching of Paul is concerning the coming of Christ for his own. And so Paul said, myself and my companions have given you instructions for the Christian life. And by the way, this is not an entertainment venue. We didn't just come to sit and look the preacher while he's up there preaching. We come to hear what God's word has to say and find out what God desires for us to do. And so Paul in his gentleness and Paul in his wisdom is reminding them of their Christian responsibility. Now address them fondly by the term brethren. Furthermore, then we beseech you brethren, we've already said 17 times throughout this first epistle, he addresses them as members in the family of God. And I'm thankful that there came a day when I got into the family of God. I did not get into the family of God because some man in a robe with a collar turned around backwards sprinkled some water on my head. And nobody ever got into the family of God because somebody recited something over your head and sprinkled some water on your head. If you could get in the family of God like that, Jesus would have never come and died. He died so he could shed his blood. And that blood washed away my sins. And when I turned from my sins and turned to Christ, thank God the blood of Jesus washed away all my sins. The Holy Spirit came in on the inside. And thank God I got into the family of God. I got in the same family you did the day you bowed your sinful knee and cried out to God in faith. turning from your sin and taking Christ. And so Paul addresses them as brethren. He addresses them fondly by the term brethren. He addresses them kindly by beseeching them and exhorting them. He said, furthermore, then we beseech you brethren and exhorts you by the Lord Jesus Christ. And those terms are very important. In fact, his appeal is punctuated by two phrases. He said, we beseech you. That's language that is used very often in the New Testament. Paul said, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies to live in sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. You say, preacher, God knows my heart. That's exactly right. But the world doesn't know your heart. God has chosen that the body be the billboard to display his grace and power for that grace that brought salvation will teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and to live soberly and righteously ungodly in this present world. And so Paul said, we beseech you brethren. And that is that that term is used four times in the first epistle and the second epistle to the Thessalonians. In fact, in this chapter, in verse 10, and indeed, you do it toward all the brethren which are in Macedonia, but we beseech you, brethren, that you increase more and more. And so in chapter five, in verse 12, here's what he said. He said, and we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. And so he's beseeching them, and that word means that he entreated them with urgency. You see, it's urgent that you and I Live the type of life that God can be pleased with. I said it's so important that Paul addresses it with such urgency, that they live their life in such a way that they would please God and be prepared for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, we beseech you, and the Bible said not only that, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that phrase, exhort you, is found twice in this epistle. It's found again in verse number 14 of chapter five. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. And so in beseeching them, he had entreated them. in exhorting them. He had advised them and sought to stimulate them to future action and wise choices. So tonight, we come tonight so God can help us beseech you and exhort you in light of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now his gentleness as a father and his wisdom as a preacher is so effective in this passage of Scripture. He knows already these believers had already been informed. Now let me just stop right here and say this. Every truth from the Bible that you have learned, you should live. Only in the Bible Belt do people set themselves up as spiritual experts and yet show no example of the truth that is in their life. They claim to be experts about witnessing, but they never show up at visitation. And if you witness to somebody, they're sure that it was not right. There's something wrong with his witness, I'm sure, while they sit in their easy chair on Saturday, while we go out and sow the seed of the Word of God. It's so wonderfully evident that Paul was gentle and wise, and yet these believers were personally informed about walking in obedience to God and pleasing Him. He said in verse two, for you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. So first of all, in this chapter, there's a gentle reminder. Secondly, there's a godly responsibility. In verse one, he said this, he said, how you ought to walk and to please God so you would abound more and more. Now, walk in the scripture is the simplest term for obedience in the New Testament. And you and I know that to walk with God, we must be obedient to the Bible. No such thing as a walk with God, no such thing as a fellowship with God, communion with God, closeness to God. if a person is not walking in obedience to God. And Paul had already addressed the believer's walk in chapter 2. Look in verse number 12 of chapter 2. He said that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. He said walk worthy of God, and he's already addressed that in the second chapter. To walk worthy means to walk in such a way that Christ is deserving of such a service. To walk in such a way that Jesus Christ will receive the obedience of your life as he is worthy. To walk in such a way as merits his loveliness, his lordship. To walk in such a way that he is deserving of your service and of your labor because of who he is. And because of what he's done, I am absolutely taking it back today to people who have created their own little idea of what is right and wrong. And it has nothing to do with what the Bible said. I'm saying simply that many people are able to get satisfied with their own walk. The problem is the standards they set up are not even found in the Bible. Well, preacher, I don't think there's anything wrong with this. My question is, what saith the scripture? If the Bible is against it, you don't need a voice if you have a verse. And I've had them say to me, well, I just don't feel convicted about it. Well, dead people never have. That's exactly right. You don't have to feel anything. You know what? If you kill somebody, you don't have to feel anything. They will take you to jail, put you in prison, and you tell the judge, I just didn't feel convicted about it. Guess what? You've broken the law. Whether your conscience has been offended, or your heart has been bothered, or you're just a reprobate without God, you will go to jail if they catch up with you, amen. So tonight there is in this passage of scripture, the reality that you and I must walk worthily before God. And they had already had the personal instruction here. The Bible said, you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God. That is they had received the personal instruction. Now it's very important when a person gets saved that they get personal instruction about how to live the Christian life. and to get instruction sometimes, it may be more than what you are looking for because it's gonna affect your life. How you ought to walk and to please God. They had received personal instruction and the powerful importance of living for God. Listen, it matters how you live your life. If you live reckless, you're a discredit to the cause of Christ. He said that our lives ought to please God. Now I'm sure that righteousness now does not please the world. I'm sure that holiness now does not please the world. But you and I are not trying to please the world. We're trying to please God. Then they were prompted by the influence that a walk of obedience would bring. He said, so you would abound more and more. That is, the more you walk for God and the more you walk in obedience, the more you please God, the more your life grows. Every step you take in obedience to God, it causes you to grow spiritually. Every time you say no to temptation and yes to God, every time you say no to the devil and yes to the Holy Spirit, every time you say yes to God and obedience, it makes you stronger to make the right choices in your life. So listen carefully. So you would abound more and more. Now obedience is one of the keys to spiritual progress. Now how can a person grow if they don't obey God? Now you can't sit home two services out of the week and expect to grow spiritually. You can't treat the services at church as if they don't matter when God said we're supposed to come. And not only that, if you miss the meals at the house of God, you're gonna suffer spiritually because you have missed the meals at the house of God. So one of the keys to spiritual progress and growth in Christ is to obey Christ, to follow His instructions, and to strive to please Him by living a pure and holy life. Now in 1 Thessalonians 3, He told us this, and verse number 12, 1 Thessalonians 3, 12. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another. and toward all men even as we do towards you. In 1 Thessalonians chapter number four, how you ought to walk and to please God so you would abound more and more. So as they were to abound in love toward each other, so they were to abound in spiritual growth by obeying and pleasing God. You say, preacher, how can I go to another level? Now, by the way, there's no such thing as stopping in your spiritual progress. There's nobody here in this room that has got so far in the Christian life that they don't need to grow. I preach revivals and I'm telling you, you'd be surprised across this country at the people who believe they've come as far as they need to go. And I want to tell you, I'm here tonight because I need to go a little bit farther. I'm here tonight because I need to grow a little bit farther. And I want to say tonight, every Christian here it needs to grow farther in the Lord. And then not only are they to walk worthily, the Bible said in chapter two, verse 12, and walk faithfully, chapter four and verse one, but also they are to walk honestly, chapter four and verse 12. The Bible said that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without. That is, honesty and holiness are companions in the scripture. Now, the first two commands, that is, walk worthily and faithfully, are commands that are before God. If you're not walking in this way wordly and faithfully before God, then your life before the world will not be what God desires for it to be. I believe every Christian ought to be honest. First of all, honest before God and honest about themselves. But the command in chapter four, verse 12, is for us to walk honestly toward them that are without. That is, if you were employed by a man who is an unbeliever, they ought to find you to be a very honest individual. You ought not to be hanging out in the restroom for half of the day. You ought to give that employer a good honest day's work. You ought to be honest with them on the job. And you ought to be honest. I never will forget years ago, I was working in a manufacturing facility. This has been many, many years ago. And there's a group of men from our church that were all working there together. When we took that job, we took it with the understanding that our work hours would be this, and that would allow us to go to church. at the appointed times and to be there on Wednesday night for the prayer meeting. The company got a new plant manager, and he decided he was going to rearrange all that and change the agreement. We sat down in the office, and all of us, and he said, well, fellas, we're going to have to make a change. And one of us stopped him and said, hold on a minute. We had a verbal agreement when we took this job that we would work these hours because we go to church faithfully, and we don't want to miss the services at the house of God. And he said, well, it looks like that you fellows are going to have to decide whether you're going to eat or whether you're going to go to church. And I leaned up in the chair and a friend of mine jumped in the conversation before I could get it out. And he said, sir, he said, I was eaten before I came here, and I'll be eaten after I'm gone. And we said to the gentleman, thank you for the offer, but no thank you. They kept everything as it was and we continued on. Then one time they began to pressure us about certain things to be done. I looked at him and I said, sir, I said, if this goal is physically possible, the men that work for me will accomplish that goal if it's physically possible. I give you my word on that. You see, if you're honest and straightforward, and if your life is clear, then you can walk honestly. And this command in chapter 4 verse 12 speaks of our testimony before the world. You and I that are saved ought to have a good testimony before the world. The Bible said how you ought to walk and to please God. Now their walk was directed by the principles of Scripture. How do you know? Verse number two, for you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. See, our walk is regulated by the commandments of God. There are hundreds of commands in the New Testament for you and I as believers. Our walk is regulated by the principles of the Scripture. Not only that, our walk is to be pure before the Savior. In fact, the keynote of this section is verse seven. God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. This is a walk that would please the one who saved them and who was returning for them. The Bible said in chapter two, those that persecuted them, please not God. But the Bible said this about Enoch, that before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. And I'm certain that it's impossible to please everyone all the time. You know why? Because some people are carnal and selfish and self-centered, and they don't care anything about pleasing God. All they care about is getting what they want. But you can please God. And the Bible said you ought to walk and to please Him. Yet we're instructed to please Christ in our walk and to live in light of his return. Now Jesus has left us this example. The Bible said in John 8, 29, and he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Now Jesus has left us this example. He said, what I do in my life is always those things that please God. Jesus had no period in his life where he was carnal, selfish, self-centered, or drifting from his father. He did always those things that pleased his father. So what am I to do? Well, I'm to strive to please God. Now sometimes it may be convenient to stay out of church, but it doesn't please God. It may be convenient. You say, what do you mean? Well, Aunt Gertrude, she came by the house and she came all the way from Timbuktu or wherever she lives. You say, what'd you tell her? I said, well, every Sunday night we head for church a little after five. We'll be back. What time is it over? Well, I don't know, whenever we get done. That's when I'll be back when it's done. You're welcome to go. And you know, they always come from a nudist colony. You know why? We don't have nothing to wear. Well, I'm not going anywhere dressed in such a way that I can't walk in the church. We ought to strive to please God. We ought to love Him. Love him enough that if he came back tonight, we wouldn't have to bow our heads in shame and say, well, Lord, I should have, but I didn't. I should have pleased you, but I didn't. I was pulled by my own flesh or by my friends or by my family. Lord, I should have loved you, but I didn't love you like I should. Believers ought to strive to please Him by loving Him, by serving Him, and by obeying Him. You see, in order to be responsible at Christ's return, we need to walk and to please God so we would abound more and more. Let's stand together tonight with our heads bowed.