I Thessalonians 4:3-8 - Searching for the Will of God

 I Thessalonians 4:3-8 - 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Message: Searching for the Will of God

Time: Paul wrote this letter from Corinth around AD 51 to Thessalonica after establishing the church there. He was concerned false teachers might have infiltrated their church. His focus is on the rapture of believers. Spiritual growth should be motivated by the anticipation of the return of Christ. 

What the Lord is Saying: I have previously looked at the idea of the priesthood of all believers which is defined as all believers can render spiritual service to God no matter what lawful work they are doing. I have always loved this idea that in reality no one is better than another person. In our world, we have a tendency to place a high premium on certain people in society, those that have a higher level of position. Sometimes we do this based upon pay, thinking the more money a person makes the more important they are. We also do this on education with the idea that if a person has gone to school for many years for a degree they have more significance. Yet, in the family of God, in the church, as we study spiritual gifts, we see that each person has equal valley. I realize that is meant to speak of serving in the Church but I think we can apply it throughout life. 

So how does each person determine their vocation and how they will be serving the Lord? God's word provides us principles in our daily life. But more importantly, God has given us His Holy Spirit for direction and guidance. But in an overall arching way, today we have the will of God for us ultimately and that is sanctification. The message here is more specific to sexual immorality, but the overall the idea is the ability to make good decisions. And in this process it is embracing the Holy Spirit that is in us. With the Holy Spirit in us we are protected often from doing those things are not God honoring, but we must submit and surrender to Him and allow Him to work. He wants to work in us. 

As I was leaving Baylor University in the 1990 I wondered if full-time ministry was for me. I looked at Dallas Theological Seminary but as I did, I sensed the Lord's leading to a vocation outside of the church and a calling on my life to be a layperson, involved always in the service of the Lord. Now, over the next 10 years I would do different jobs trying to figure out where I would ultimately land and yet in those times wanting to serve Him. It was a journey for me, not a sprint. But I believe that as I have been working through these year, I have also been serving. Finding area where I can serve has always been important, from helping to teach Sunday School, to being a church treasurer, to involving myself in small men's groups, involvement in evangelism and sharing my faith and encouraging others to do the same, to active involvement online in communicating with others, encouraging them and in the process encouraging myself and learning about the power of God. I would not do anything different. There have been times of uncertainty and wonder, but I can look back now and see God was always in control. 

Summary: One thing is clear as we discern the will of God in our lives, we are to be about sanctification, always on the quest to grow in Christ and minister to others. 

Promise: As we choose opportunities to earn a living and work, it is not always easy, but we can be sure that in this endeavor we are choosing ways to give God glory and make us holy. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the journey you have brought me on and the life you have given me and the work that I have been able to see you doing in the lives of people. I am always amazed. Help me to continue to help others as you lead me and to know the best way to do this. You have worked through me in the past and I am confident then in the future.