“Something More”
March 16, 2014
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Grace and peace to you.
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.
Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
As I was reading this Scripture in my morning devotions this week, it touched me in a way it never has before. These were some awesome people. Notice some of the things Paul says about them. 1. Their work was produced by faith. 2. Their labor was prompted by love. 3. Their endurance was inspired by hope. That’s pretty awesome. But it continues. 4. They had POWER! 5. They had JOY! 6. They were a model to all the believers in that area. 7. They were missional. They received the gospel with power – but they also shared it with power. 8. Their faith became known everywhere. 9. They had turned from idols to serve God and were waiting and anticipating the return of Christ. They were a pretty awesome church! They were a pretty awesome group of people. They were spiritual; they were active; they walked the talk. They were living their lives in such a way as to please God, chapter 4:1 says. They were a loving people, chapter 4:9 says. What a wonderful Church this was! They seemed to be on fire for the Lord! They were going and sowing and growing! Praise the Lord!
But something was still lacking in their faith. Something was missing. These wonderful people needed something more. Paul went on to say,
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified...” 1 Thessalonians 4:3
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
These people would put most of us to shame. Their work, their faith, their dedication was awesome. But they needed something more. See, you can do all these things; you can do awesome works; you can look pretty good – and still not be fully surrendered to the Lord. You can do great and awesome things; you can work miracles – and still hold back from the Lord. You can still be unsurrendered and still serve God. Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23
WOW! You can call Jesus your Lord; you can preach in His name; you can cast out demons and do lots of miracles in Jesus’ name – and still miss it? How is that possible? Because there is power in the name of Jesus. It is never us and our skill or power that does these things. It is always Jesus. Jesus will always be true to His name and Word – even if flawed and warped people use them. But the one who enters the kingdom is the one who ‘KNOWS’ Jesus intimately. It is not the part time Christian who makes it – but the one who is ‘all in’. It is the one who puts evil doing away from Himself, through God’s help, that will be found worthy.
In the Thessalonian Church they still lacked one thing. They weren’t all in. They were not sanctified wholly. That word ‘sanctified’ comes from the root ‘sacred’. In the temple if something was sanctified, it meant it was given to use for holy purposes only. It was separated from the rest of the items to be used for holy purposes; godly purposes.
What it means for a person to be sanctified, or wholly sanctified, is to be completely dedicated to God. That person has surrender completely to the Lord. Whatever God wants; whatever God desires; whatever God wills – that sanctified person is willing to do it. Paul wrote,
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
Do you think that there were some in the Church who were doing these things? I think so – otherwise why would Paul even mention it. There were those who served God and the flesh at the same time. There was those who were not able to control their own bodies. For some it may have meant sexually – for others it may have been their words and attitudes – for still others it may have meant taking advantage of a brother or sister. Whatever it was – there was sin in the church. There was sin in the heart.
That is such an unhappy way to live. You are unstable; you are up and down spiritually and emotionally; you are hot one minute and cold the next. God wants something more for His child. He wants a stability and a faithfulness that only comes when you remove all rebellion; all selfishness; all self-rule from your heart. Paul writes,
“…so we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more” 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
There is something more that God wants from us. Other people may look at us and think we are perfect; we are flawless; we don’t have the problems they have. But it is an illusion. We all need something more.
There are a lot of spiritual teachers who would tell you that you don’t need anything more. “You are saved. You got your ticket to heaven. Just trust Jesus. He loves you just the way you are.”
The truth of the matter is that God DOES love us just the way we are. But He doesn’t want us to stay there. He wants us to grow. He wants our love to grow more and more. He wants a deeper relationship with us than we now have. It is God’s will that you be sanctified – that you are totally surrendered to Him. Don’t hold back. Whatever destructive habit you have; whatever sin enslaves you; whatever self-centered attitude dominates your life – God wants to free you through the power of Jesus.
God wants you to live a stable, happy, grateful life. He says,
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess 5:16-18
This is how I want to live, don’t you? I want to always be thankful in ALL circumstances – and some won’t be so good. We will still have tough times. But I want to have an attitude of prayer where I just slip in and out of conversation and communication with God. I want to be in that perpetual state of rejoicing. That’s a happy place to be. And it is possible for the sanctified.
If you are wondering how to be sanctified – let me share with you how to do that. First of all, this is an experience for Christians. You need to be saved. You need to have come to a place where you make the choice to follow Jesus. If you haven’t done that – you need to begin right there.
If you have confessed your sin, asked forgiveness for them, and turned from them – yet still know something is lacking – this may be something more God is leading you to. Maybe you find yourself losing control of your temper or giving in to that temptation or just spiritually unstable. You know you are saved. You know you love the Lord – but your spiritual walk seems so powerless; so sporadic; so inconsistent.
First you need to tell Jesus all about it; how you feel. They you need to pray for power; pray for the Holy Spirit in your life to give you the grace to live victoriously. As we surrender our whole hearts to Him – HE will do it.
Pray a simple prayer like this,
Dear Jesus,
I love you. I have invited you into my heart. I have made you my Savior. I am living for you and doing lots of things for you.
But I know I need more. I need more of You. I need more power. I am unstable and inconsistent in my walk. I pray you would fill me with the Holy Spirit. I pray Your will would be my will. I pray my heart would be completely Yours. Right here and right now – I give you the rule of my life. From this point on, when you reveal Your will – I will do it.
Thank you for the new joy and victory that is mine.
SONG
