 Let's get into our study first. That's the lonely chapter 4 and what we're looking at the apostle Paul is making it clear Is that the church is supposed to love one another? And so he's been speaking to us and we saw this in chapter 4 He's been speaking to us concerning the way we're to treat one another. He's building on that right now So let's begin at verse 9. I'll read to verse 12. We'll get into our study Paul writes, but concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia, but we urge you brethren that you increase more and more that you also aspire to lead a quiet life to mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you that you may walk properly toward those who are Outside and that you may lack nothing So as we've been going through first Thessalonians and all we got to chapter 4 in chapter 4 the apostle Paul was urging and exhorting believers About their way of life and he had noticed in verse 1 He had urged and exhorted them to walk and to please God Now as I've been mentioning to you when you read the word walk in the context of the writings of Paul very often The word walk is speaking concerning your way of life. It's your walk The walk of the believer if you will so he's been speaking concerning their lifestyle their way of living And he said you're to strive to please the Lord So obviously living to please the Lord isn't something that is done occasionally living to please the Lord isn't something That's done sporadically. It's not something that is done seasonally if you want to please the Lord You make it a habit of life. It's your way of life daily. So it's not to be sporadic It's not to be occasional. It's to be a manner of life in which you've disciplined yourself to As an apostle his desire is that they may do this but to also notice a bound more and more In other words, I want you to grow. I want you to grow in maturity I want you to grow in your spiritual commitment Because the Christian life is intended to be a life of continual and steady growth It's not supposed to be a sporadic thing where I'm doing real well, and then I'm not doing well Now I'm doing real well, and I'm not doing well two steps forward one step back It's to be a continuation a progression and all it's something that we have bound more and more in It's built on a simple desire to do what pleases the Lord and it's built on really obedience to him That the way of life that a Christian is to live is an obedient life Because there's a joy in being obedient to the Lord and this is something that a lot of people don't understand We obey God. Yes, we do, but we do so because he's our father. We obey him Because we love him. That's why we obey the Lord in 1st John in chapter 5 verse 3 The Apostle John wrote this is love for God to obey his commands There are those who say oh, I love God, but they'd never be accused of obeying him. Oh, I love the Lord You can hear people say that on TV You can hear people who are who are not known for being followers of the Lord who will say oh, no I have a love for God. I'm a very spiritual person Well John would have a debate with them concerning that comment because John says this is love for God to obey his commands And he goes on to say and his commands are not burdensome This is love for God to obey his command Jesus could say why do you call me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say Jesus could say and he did say to us if you love me keep my commands And so obedience is the mark of the believer Obedience is one of the things that is an aspect of a Christian's life. We love the Lord and we obey him Now there are those who believe that obeying the Lord really ruins their enjoyment in life They think that obedience to his word undermines the quality of their joy and Because they think like that. They say I really don't want to know anything about God. I really don't want to know anything About the Bible. Why would I want to know something about God or the Bible? That'll ruin the way that I live I'm not interested in the Bible or they might say I'm doing well without it I don't need God's word and they'll say it's just a book of rules that nobody can can fulfill So what's the use? Well, why should I even care? Why should I even read that book? I can't do the things that are commanded in it Well, Jesus would have a difference with that opinion Jesus said in the book of Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart And you will find a rest for your souls. He went on to say for my yoke is easy my burden It's light and so there are those that say no the rules and and commands of God are burdensome Jesus is no they're not what is burdensome is when you set up your own rules establish your own set for righteousness and Then fail at achieving the things that you established for yourself That's what's burdensome is trying to do everything that you think a good person's supposed to do and doing it without the power of God God never gave to me a command that he didn't give me the power to fulfill He didn't say do this and then just step back and watch me fail because he knew that I was doomed for failure without his help in the first place And so a believer really has a joy because God's commands are protecting us blessing us and God's commands are the joy of our heart and Psalm 119 verse 111 the psalmist said your statutes are my heritage forever They are the joy of my heart in Psalm 119 verse 35 He said direct me in the path of your commands for there I find delight The prophet Jeremiah in chapter 15 verse 16 said your words were found and I ate them And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart For I am called by your name. Oh Lord God of hosts and so Following the Lord and obeying him is a pathway to joy and that's what Paul is sharing in this letter He had said in verse 1 you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God So that's a key for them having a life that is blessed by God You understand in other words that what we have commanded you didn't originate with us You understand that this is God's commands and when you understand God's commands Those are the things that you're going to obey These things were not originating with Paul in his imagination These things he was commanding them to do originated with the Lord So he's been saying this kind of thing all the way through first Thessalonians Remember in chapter 1 and verse 5 How he had spoken to them concerning the message of the gospel and had said it's a message that came in power In the Holy Spirit and much assurance in chapter 2 verse 2 He said it is a message that he boldly spoke to them in chapter 2 verse 4 He said it is a message that he had been entrusted with chapter 2 verse 8 the gospel is a message that was That produced love for them and he imparted his life to them In chapter 3 verse 2 it is a message that Timothy also labored in delivering to them It was a message that they received and recognized according to chapter 2 verse 13 as the word of God Remember how he had said in chapter 2 verse 13 for this reason? We also thank God without ceasing because when you receive the word of God which you heard from us You welcomed it not as the word of men But as it is in truth the word of God which also effectively works in you who believe So he made it very clear that the commands and exhortations that they were given were divine in Origin and to reject the message is to reject God not Paul and not men He had said in chapter 4 verse 2 You know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus and in chapter 4 verse 8 He said therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God who has also given us his holy spirit So he's been writing to them concerning how they are to walk and to please God They needed to remember the urging and exhortation was really God's commands, but that's something all Christians know But it's also something all Christians must remember God's people have a commitment to God that is grounded on his commands We love them. We desire to keep them and he's made it possible for us to obey them Again the Lord doesn't give you anything in terms of a command without the power to be able to obey it He doesn't want to frustrate you. He wants to give you a taste of heaven He wants to give you to you a sense of his presence and he wants you to live in joy You need to remember that When God was speaking to the the Jews and the Old Testament book of Ezekiel in chapter 36 verse 27 God said I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes And you will keep my judgments and do them. I Will put my spirit within you and cause you see it's from the inside that we obey the Lord and Jeremiah 31 33 Jeremiah said this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days as the Lord I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God they shall be my people so you get saved and God begins as you read the word of God to basically Engrave your heart with his word so you obey him not because you're obeying these words that were on tablets of stone You obey him because he's written his word on the tablets of your heart You start to obey him in other words from the inside you begin to obey him because you love him And this is all of God and it's all his action on their behalf He gives a new heart. He gives his spirit and his word is written on hearts. That's called Regeneration being born again You see a new heart in Scripture speaks of a new nature and in John 3 verse 5 Jesus said most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water in the Spirit He cannot enter the kingdom of God Jesus was saying you need a new heart and a new nature You cannot enter into the kingdom of God through your own efforts You cannot enter into the kingdom by doing your best What you need is to be born again You need to have the power of God in your life and that comes to being Regenerated so instead of rebellion love and obedience will be the believer's way of life We keep his judgments and we do them because we're thankful to him and this thankfulness to him is worked out in real life So a life that pleases God is always a life that is centered on love for God and others Obedience is from the heart. Obedience is through relationship Obedience is through having a relationship with the Lord in such a way that you you love him and you want to To please him the other day I was at a pastor's conference. We had what is called the West Coast pastors conference so Calvary Chapel pastors came from various places from Up north Seattle down south from Mexico through the West Coast and a little east of California there were several hundred of us that gathered together and so it was for three days at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs and So I was there on Monday. It's now Tuesday, and it's an all-day thing It started at we got there around around nine on Tuesday And and it's all day and there's a lot of activity a lot of things going on It's now around nine o'clock at night and so it's been a 12-hour day for me And so I'm a little tired and so Marie and I and some friends were standing around and it's just about time to go And as I'm standing I'm speaking to a Brother I've known for a long time Who's a single man from Calvary Golden Springs and and as we're speaking I looked at him and I said you know, I'm tired I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna get going because we'd been visiting I said I'm gonna get going and he and Marie's about two or three steps from me And there's a group of women She knows a lot of pastors wives and she's visiting with them and he says to me good luck with leaving And I said what do you mean? He says your wife your wife's with a bunch of ladies right now She's not going anywhere. I said oh really I said no she is she's gonna go and he goes He's shaking his head no, she's not And I said oh no, she's gonna go. I said she's gonna go and he goes She's with her friends and I said she's gonna go watch So I said woman. No, I said um I looked at and Maria. I said honey. I said it's time to go And she looks at me and I turn and I just walk I just walked this is time to go So I walked and she says goodbye to her friends and she starts to walk to catch up to me I'm only three steps in front of her as it should be no She's walking like and so Now someone believes I'm no that's not true. She wasn't like that she was more like this no No, but she starts to come and my friend who's walking with me turns to me. He said how'd you do that? I Said how'd I do what? He said how'd you do that? He said they they never they never leave I said no, no my wife Will come she loves me She loves me. She knows I'm tired. She knows I have to go home It's not because I dominate her guys. It's cuz I love her and when a man loves his wife and Gives his life for her. She follows him. It's no big deal. Every husband here knows that. It's true It's not like you're battling of the wills, you know, you need to do what I say woman Oh, you already lost the fight if you do that you've already lost you might as well go home by yourself But it's true and every husband here knows this every husband should When you love your wife the way Christ loved the church and gave himself for her The church follows their master their savior a wife will follow the one she loves Jesus is my master. He's my savior. I follow him My wife knows that I've been placed in a position of leadership in the home and she knows I'm tired She knows I've had two long days of ministry I need to put my head on a pillow and sleep She knows that and cuz she does she follows see so it's not a matter of commands And I'm so mad. I gotta why do I have to and you men are always just you're on you put your head Your foot on our head and oh, no, it's not that at all It's working together in love and that's what the body of Christ is supposed to do We're supposed to love one another and and and minister to one another and this is what he's talking about here This is what he's developing is you see a life that is pleasing to the Lord is a life that's centered on love for God as well as For others is it's a life that is concerned for the well-being of brothers and sisters in the Lord And that's a point he's been making in 1st John chapter 3 verses 18 and 19 John said it like this Dear children, let us stop Just saying we love each other. Let us really show it by our actions It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth So we will be confident when we stand before the Lord and so to emphasize this He said this love is clearly seen in how believers treat one another It's especially revealed by how they treat one another in the area of physical intimacy And that's what we saw in chapter 4 last time We were together when he was sharing concerning God's will and had he as he had said in verse 3 You should abstain from sexual immorality And then it is especially shown in the way we treat one another Christians are to know the difference between lust and love and Believers do not live in lust like Gentiles who do not know God. He said that in verse 5 Unbelievers do not know God and naturally seek to satisfy their own desires and they do that constantly They do it habitually, but the Christian is to care for others in a manner that recognizes their value They are valuable Created in the image of God therefore to be respected And this is what the believer is to practice because it reveals God's love to a watching world You see when a man seduces a woman, he's taken advantage of and defrauding another This isn't loving the woman. It isn't showing love for her future husband He's not showing brotherly love to the woman nor to the future husband So Paul is continuing the theme of showing genuine love here in verse 9 of chapter 4 of first Thessalonians And he says in verse 9 but concerning brotherly love You have no need that I should write to you for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another And so he's continuing that theme of of love and he speaks of brotherly love and he speaks of Love a word love in the verse verse 9 when he says taught by God to love one another And he's using two different words in verse 9 Concerning brotherly love the word brotherly love is the word filial or the word filial is where you get the word city of brotherly love Philadelphia and so filial is a brotherly love and that's the word he chooses to use in verse 9 That's a family kind of love So concerning brotherly love or a family kind of love you have no need that I should write to you So you know as a brother or sister how you're to love one another is what he's saying For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another that word love at the end of that verse is the word agape So he's saying you have a family love But you also have a deeper love a God kind of love the agape love Concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write you because you are taught by God to agape One another now how had they been taught to love one another well They were taught how to love one another through God's word Paul had taught them this in the Old Testament when you look in the Old Testament book of Leviticus in chapter 19 verse 18 The command is you shall love your neighbor as yourself So you have that particular command Mentioned more than once in the Old Testament Love your neighbor as yourself is an Old Testament Command you have been taught by God to love one another you find it in the Old Testament And so loving one another is part of the commands and all the commands are fulfilled in this one word that you're to love one another And yet in the New Testament Jesus enhanced the Old Testament command Because the Old Testament command Old Testament command to love one another still applies But Jesus developed it because in John 13 verse 34 Jesus said it like this He said a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I loved you that you also love one another that enhances the command It's not just that we love one another But we're to use him as the model the question is this if Jesus says love one another as I have loved you How was that demonstrated well in John 15 12 and 13? This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you Then he went on to say greater love has no end than this then to lay down one's life for his friends And the Old Testament you had loved one another in the New Testament It's enhanced because Jesus Demonstrated to us the God kind of love when he laid his life down for us So when you look at love in scripture, you'll see that love is is not only commanded, but it's also been revealed by Christ There are things that are learned when they are modeled clearly But there are other things that are learned as they're explained and it most most Learning that I have experienced has come through both explanation and example It's one thing for someone to explain something to me That's another thing to see it lived out And there are a lot of people and all of us have been this way or no people who are who are able to Philosophize about deep things and talk about heavy things and all but they don't necessarily do the things that they're commanding others to do They can sit down with a cappuccino They can sit down for hours and talk to you about certain philosophic truths even theological things But they don't necessarily do those things and so they'll say things about we need to love one another and and everybody agrees with that Yes, we do need to love one another. Yes, love needs to be demonstrated Love needs to be experienced. I agree. But how do you do that? How do you love? How do you learn to do that? Well, most of us learn to do that by watching somebody else Because that's how you learn what love is and sometimes unfortunately When somebody uses the word love, they're not really actually Enacting it and so you begin to grow up with the wrong definition of what love is There are things that we need not only to be told but we need to have modeled before us some things are learned by watching and some things are Deepened through that kind of experience Loving one another I Can explain to my kids as I tried to when they were young and they were getting ready to get a Driver's license and they got their permit. I could explain to them about driving and I'd actually driven With them in the car all their lives but at a certain point they had to get behind the wheel and drive and Learn to do it themselves, right? And so I tried to be a good model But I also had to be a person who explained and I was the guinea pig in the passenger seat as they were learning how to Drive and all and it was not an easy thing So I learned a long time ago that that learning comes through explanation and example And then the person is given the opportunity to do it themselves and they learn to do that If you're living in a home where somebody says I love you I love you I love you, but they never treat you kindly Later on you grow up and you use the same word, but it never means what the word actually was intended to communicate So for you you learned the word love, but love was not what it what you were actually learning You were learning something else and so I need to have it modeled to me So I know what love truly is because my nature is is so selfish that that I will use the word love to Basically get what I want because someone wants to hear that word So I needed to use somebody who didn't use people as my model and that's where Jesus came in and that's why God's word Says God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us because I needed to know what love really is because the word was so Misapplied and misused as I was growing up and so Jesus said this is the greatest love to lay one's life down for his friends So in love as it's demonstrated by Christ I see that love is something that is is demonstrated by sacrifice and By service, how do I know that? Well, because when Jesus was washing the feet of his disciples He said to them You call me master you call me Lord and that's good because that's what I am if I then being your Lord and master Washed your feet then you ought to wash the feet of one another. I have done this He says as an example to you and so I learned from Christ that service is An aspect of love it just makes sense and Christ loved us. He laid his life down for us There's another aspect in that sacrifice Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for me So love is demonstrated by Christ was that he served and that he sacrificed In first John 3 16 by this we know love because he laid down his life for us and we Also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren So that's something Paul is saying that they were doing well, but it is also something they need to grow in So in verse 9 concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you For yourselves are taught by God to love one another Verse 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia so that's another aspect that we need to look at all the brethren that are in Macedonia not just your group of friends He's saying not just the ones that you hang around with in church or our fellow believers that you run across in your city But you are also someone who's learned to love and demonstrate sacrifice and service to the body of Christ at large The other believers You're able to and you do love them and that's a very important thing you love one another But you need to continue to grow in this You see it's easy to begin to think that we've arrived when indeed we have a long way to go And so what we need to do is we need to learn to love one another in the way that actually encourages them in their walks with the Lord And so he's saying you do so not just for your friends in church You do so for all the brethren, but he goes in verse 10 Continuing but we urge you brethren that you increase more and more This is something you haven't arrived completely at continue to pray that the Lord will increase your love When I first got saved coming out of a hippie background, you know ancient history Hippy background, you know we that was the theme of being a hippie You know it's to love everybody and this and that love for us was a sentiment. It was an emotion It certainly wasn't something that you physically did it was something that you use the word because it was just a great Word to use and everybody wanted more love and what the world needs now is more love and things of that nature Love love love love in this and that and I followed the four apostles John Paul George and Ringo and they would sing Concerning it and and and I very much felt in agreement with them And some of you perhaps are old enough to remember that others have I've studied that subject in your history classes But that's how it was when we grew up. It was very attractive. Let's love one another But love was not there was no sacrifice in it There was just emotion in it and all of that so after getting saved and growing up and beginning to Want to know the Lord I have made it my prayer on a daily basis now for many many years For many years God helped me to learn to love Because I'm not good at that. That's one of the things. I'm not good at There are numbers of things that I'm not good at but loving is is one of those things I'm not good at because I just I'm not and so I say God helped me to be a loving and compassionate person And I've been praying that for almost 48 years God helped me God helped me because It's easy not to be loving. It's easy. Just to let your flesh It's easy to not be kind those are things I have to die to and I've been dying to that for so long God helped me to be kind how many to be loving I can still remember at the age of 23 Somebody asked me what is it that you'd like to be known as I said one day I'd like to be known as a person who's kind Because to me kindness was one of those aspects of love that I've always been attracted to I've always been attracted to kind people. That's one of the reasons my wife Marie won my heart so quickly Because she is one of the kindest people I've ever met in my life. She's a very kind person I'm attracted to that aspect of love and all and see we need to learn to grow in that We need to love not just those who love us We need to learn to love others and to love people and other fellowships and and other churches because sometimes let's face it We can get almost like the Corinthians and we can say well, I'm a Paul and why I'm of Apollo so well I'm of Cephas. No, I'm of Jesus and and and we become carnal and we begin to divide ourselves Based on the church that we attend and the pastor that we listen to and we have to be careful You know if somebody loves the Lord, that's my brother somebody loves the Lord. She's my sister and I love her I may not agree with every aspect of the theology and that's worth Conversation about but if they have the true Christ that they know Jesus Christ and they're going to heaven their names are written in the Lamb's book of life That's my brother. That's my sister. We have family differences and we have family disputes and and I'm good with working those things out We need to but at the same time, they're mine. They're my family I don't know if you have more than one brother or sister if you come from a family. That's large You know, my family wasn't large my I only had one brother and two sisters My wife's family had six children in it. That's a bit larger. My grandmother had 13. That's a good size family She had a hundred and eighteen great great grandchildren my grandmother I have I have so many cousins. I have over five hundred cousins from the Rosales side. Oh, I don't know them I did a funeral at my at my uncle for my uncle with over 200 blood cousins that I didn't recognize I didn't know any of them. That's how many cousins I have. It's amazing, isn't it? And yet they're all my family they're all of the same parentage if you will and We have to love one another. We have to get along we belong to each other and as Believers, I I want to live at peace with all men I want to have relationship with people who love the Lord and that's what Paul is saying He's saying indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia, but we urge you brethren that you increase more and more Don't just think that you've gotten you've arrived Continue to seek the Lord to grow in your love and then he gives us some practical aspect of that in verse 11 That you also aspire to lead a quiet life to mind your own business. I don't think he said it like that, but To mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you And so he's speaking concerning how love is lived out how love is worked out He says aspire to lead a quiet life mind your own business work with your own hands You see if you're increasing in love for the brethren, there will be expressions of this kind of love You're gonna make it your ambition to refrain from being loud and meddling in other people's affairs so At this point He's preparing to speak concerning the rapture of the church. We're gonna be seeing that next study And it may be that some have misapplied what he's been teaching them about the last days and the rapture And they fail to apply the truth of his return to daily living They're supposed to be redeeming the time because the days are evil What are they supposed to be doing? Well increasing in love is to motivate them to strive earnestly to lead a quiet life Listen, I'll say this quickly. We'll look at this next time. We're together the rapture of the church when I got saved That was a subject. I'd never heard anything of I'd never heard that Jesus was gonna take the church to be with him I'd never heard that I'd never heard that I you know, I was raised in the Catholic Church I'd never heard a teachings on teaching on on anything called a rapture I'd never had and then I walked away from the church when I was 13 after confirmation and a very Infrequently ever went to church other than for a funeral or or a wedding or something like that So I never was really being taught or anything after I was 13 years old And so I'd never heard anything about the Lord's returning for the church for him to take us Which we'll be looking at in detail next time we're together And so because of that I I was untaught now I get saved and one of the things that I'm introduced to through Calvary Chapel with Pastor Chuckin and another guy by the name of Lonnie Lonnie Frisbee who was the guy who was teaching a what I would call a youth study They would speak concerning the fact that Jesus had promised to return They had shared how that the Lord Jesus Christ had made it clear that he would come for us and so I'm now hearing about something called the rapture and And people are really caught up with this and they're looking at all the signs of the times Now you need to some of you can you can retrieve this from your memory, but others have perhaps heard this During the time in the when the Jesus movement was going We were having very similar situations and that we are finding ourselves in today What we're living in today in this generation where people think it's unusual. We've never had this That's not true at all in any way We talk about climate change and let's like a brand-new thing yet when I was in college in the 70s They were talking about climate change, but at that time they were saying that the earth is freezing at that time now It's supposedly overheating. We had riots We had protests. We had marches. We had violence. We had you name it We had it it was already happening. And so my own generation is in its Rejection of the way things were we went to the hippie thing So we started saying peace and love and we got to stop the war and and all of that That's where we went, but it was very similar. There are young people today who are trying to be hippies They're dressing like hippies. They're combing their hair like hippies They're wearing long dresses like hippies and that's the guys the girls are doing the same thing Kind of freaky, but it's true and so all of this was going on and so we were thinking Something's going to happen and so I started learning about the last days and the signs of the times and those kinds of things and over the years what has happened is I have seen That people get information, but don't necessarily allow it to bring transformation At that time we were told that and it's true the next prophecy to be fulfilled on the prophetic calendar is The rapture of the church that there is nothing else that needs to be fulfilled The next fulfilled prophecy is the rapture of the church. We'll see that again next time we get together That's the next thing on the prophetic calendar and so I had friends Who were thinking well if Jesus is coming? I am not married so they would actually pray and Ask people to get married that they didn't even know I still remember a friend of mine who got saved and a girl who got saved in the Bible study they knew each other for three weeks and He and she went out to the front yard after a Bible study and prayed together. Maybe we're supposed to get married And they got married like within a few weeks of meeting each other Why'd you do that? Because Jesus is coming at any time and we'd just like to have kids. Well, that was 40 some years ago And I wondered whatever happened to him by the way because I hadn't seen him I went in the military I got out and I was pastoring a church my church in Ontario at the time after a Sunday morning This guy walks up to me and he says do you remember me and I looked at him I said yeah, and he points to his wife and her name was Linda and I he says you remember Linda and I said yeah I said you made it He goes yeah, we made it well Good because I didn't know because there were guys who were there were guys who were charging their credit cards up To the to the limit to let the antichrist pay off their bill. I Am not kidding They're still paying off that credit card 47 years later So the one thing I saw over time Was that people started to become experts on the signs of the times? So they'll talk to you concerning wars rumors of wars plagues They'll talk to you about famines and earthquakes and all of those things they have the books They have the the various Videos and all of that but the thing that I got really caught up with them and those in this church would know that is How then should I live? If I really believe that Jesus is coming back soon How then should I be living? Because my faith ought to be put into action and that's what Paul is speaking about He's saying to the Thessalonians Somewhere your eschatology your last days Teachings have given you the impression that because Christ is returning that you can live in any way that you want You were sexually looser before you got saved and you're still practicing sexual sin You loved certain people at before you were saved and you're still showing preference to some people so you need to learn what Christianity really is and Because you're getting the idea that Christ is returning at any time It seems that some of you aren't working You're not going out and doing anything to provide you need to be aware of that and so he's teaching them what they should be doing and So first he says increasing in love is to motivate you to strive earnestly to live a quiet life In a world filled with movement and stress you are to be less restless in Lamentations 326 it is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord So the ambition to live in peace promotes tranquility and the tranquility of the entire community So you're to live in a world of inner peace which is a great testimony to those who are not Now I remember that when I first got saved within a couple years I was at my parents house There was a knock on the door some Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door began to speak to me concerning signs of the times because Jehovah's Witnesses are very big on that particular subject and they began to share with me concerning You know the wars and rumors of wars and they were doing it in such a way to try and cause me to be fearful Over that and I still remember even as a new believer as they were sharing that with me And and trying to use the return of Christ as a way to frighten me I still remember telling them that that Jesus's return isn't intended to cause me to be afraid It's to give me hope The conditions of the time are intended to be a signal to make us prepared for him Even as he said in Luke 21 28 now when these things begin to happen look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws Night so you ought to be living in a sense of inner peace He's saying and that's what we're supposed to be looking for a spark to lead a quiet life Then he says mind your own business that work with your hands as we commanded you So he says mind your own business work with your hands It seems that some were going from person to person that were intruding in their life There were meddling and they weren't working and this was before there was Facebook Because we do have people who use Facebook as their way of monitoring everybody's way of life, don't we? He had already brought this up and Now he's going to later on bring it up again when he writes in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 10 and 11 Even when we were with you we commanded you this if anyone will not work neither shall he eat For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner not working at all, but our busy bodies Busy body. We don't use that word anymore. Do we a busy body is someone who busies themself about trivial and useless things A busy body is somebody who is improperly inquisitive about other people's affairs a Busy body can appear to be very spiritual in prayer in quoting scripture And that can deceive the hearts of the innocent and can be used to take advantage of them So Paul tells them mind your own business leave other people alone Instead of being a busy body and a meddler Mind your own business attend to your own concern. Don't interfere with the affairs of others He says in verse 11 instead work with your own hands in other words support yourself as we commanded you Loving your Christian family includes working with your hands in order that you will not be a burden to innocent and loving people Especially loving believers work with your own hands Jesus made it clear that it is more blessed to give than to receive So refusing to work and taking advantage of other people is to be rejected a Christian isn't to be lazy a Christian is not to take advantage of generous people If somebody approaches you for help even in our day Hence that they need money Be careful with that Because sometimes people will come to a church just like this with the intent of taking advantage of people of Saying things like boy I haven't eaten for a while or and I have money for my gas for my car and and they may come to you We have it quite often and and I'm saying this not with any kind of meanness of spirit I hope it comes off clearly. I'm just warning you be aware of that if if somebody should approach you when you leave because we do Have people sometimes who will come up and they'll see you and they'll walk up to you and they'll say do you have some money? We've had that happen so many times Just come and find one of us and we'll go and speak to them and share with them talk to them Because their people will take advantage of you. I have to say that. I'm sorry to say it But it's true. It's true. I remember this is gone. I'm for so many years, but I remember on one occasion One of the guys in our church approached me and said to me pastor. Somebody came up to me After service today and told me that they needed some gas for the car So I took I went with them to the gas Station and put some gas in his car. I want you to know that and I said well, that's great I'm I'm glad that you were able to care from and so the next week I hear it again that the same person came back on the church grounds and was asking people for some money for food For for some gasoline and they came to me and they said you know somebody came up and asked for some Gasoline and I went and put some gas in his car for a minute. I bought him a meal and I said well That's very generous of you. I'll just but let me know if they come again the next week I'm walking outside and The fellow they described him to me walks up to me in the parking lot And as I'm walking he walks up to me and he says excuse me, sir And I said yes, he says can can you give me some money for some gas? And I said have you been here before? And he says no No, wait, he said yes, I have I said you've been here before haven't you? And he said yes, and this was 30 plus years ago now, and he said yes, I have I said oh I Said and you've asked for money before haven't you and you've gotten gas and didn't you just last week get gasoline in a meal Yes, I yes, I did I said okay I said then no, I'm not going to give you anything and he says you're not going to give me anything He got he got angry at me. He said I'm you're not going to give me anything. I said no I'm not going to he says let me talk to the pastor. I smiled at him He said that's me And he gave me this look like how ungodly you're not helping somebody a person in need And he says why won't you give me some money? I Said well one if a man doesn't work neither should he eat and two I have four small children that I give an allowance to and I don't want to adopt you You know I don't need a fifth and he thought you know, but it's true I said no, I you have to work with your own hands. Well the next day I'm in the office and this is when we had an office in another location and we get a phone call and It's it's given to me. I took the phone call. It was his father His dad was on the line and he says to me pastor I want to tell you my son is going from church to church all through the city of Ontario Every church and asking for money. I'm asking you. Please don't give him anything Because he's taken advantage of the body of Christ. Please don't give him anything And I said you know he's been here already three times and I just told him that we can't be supporting him He says please don't give him anything and I said I promise you we won't we already have But we won't thank you and I hang up the phone within a short time. I hear a conversation in the front and I hear a male voice speaking to my secretary and I walk in and it's this guy And you should have seen his face. He got so like and I said didn't I tell you yesterday? That we're not going to give you anything my secretary had her purse out She was about to give him some money and I pointed at her and I said no I said didn't I tell you yesterday we weren't going to give you any money? He goes well I said listen your dad just called me and spoke to me and he asked me personally not to give you any money Because you're taking advantage of the churches Paul is saying a man should work Produce for his family. Why well, it says here in Verse 12 that you may walk properly towards those who are outside and that you may lack nothing that you may walk properly Toward those who are outside when it says outside that doesn't mean outside the building that means outside of the body of Christ So that those who are not Christians will see the nobility of your life You see during that day the church was looked at as a new cult and So they began to question concerning these these people and and all And so by working with their hands and providing and all what they were doing is they were showing themselves to be good and honest citizens It was a new religion and the heathens were suspicious of believers So when they worked and they provided for themselves it reduced the suspicion they weren't regarded as the secret society They were regarded as honest people. So working with their hands was a good testimony. It won the respect of non Christians It also revealed their dependence on God He said in verse 12 again that you might lack nothing or may lack nothing that you might not be