1 Thessalonians 4:1-18

There are a few principles in life that are of vital importance to keep in mind as we seek to live for the glory of God and find true joy.  These are not complicated truths, rather, they are simple, straight forward and practical truths that will make our lives be pleasing to God, positive to others and pleasurable to us.  Too often we think that path to pleasure is through sin, and sin does provide a sort of pleasure but it is a pleasure that passes quickly and leaves a trail of bitterness and heartache behind.  True pleasure in life is found through obedience to God, service to others and a biblical perspective on eternity.  These are the vital principles after which we should model our lives.

WALK IN HOLINESS: It is God’s will that we be sanctified in our walk with God.  That means abstaining from the sins that so easily tempt us to follow our flesh.  Sexual purity is vital to the preservation of joy in our lives.  We often get confused between passion and pleasure.  True pleasure comes from living according to the principles of God’s Word.  Satan promises to provide us with pleasure by fulfilling the passions of our flesh, but these temporary highs are followed by disastrous lows that last for our life time and beyond.  The pleasures of obedience, holiness and purity provide us with a peace that dominates even the most dire of circumstances and delivers a permanent joy in this life time and beyond.  God knows that sexual relationships prior to or outside of the commitment of marriage will only diminish the joy that He has designed for these relationships to provide within marriage.  We must trust Him, walk in the holiness that he has revealed and know that it will be best for us both now and in eternity.  We must learn to say no to our bodies and say yes to the principles of God’s Word.

WORK AT HELPFULNESS: Paul commands believer to love one another and to work hard so that they can demonstrate that love by serving and providing for the needs of other people.  Satan tells us that our happiness lies in getting everything that we want and living a life of selfishness.  This is a true recipe for a life of misery.  Loving ourselves, hoarding our money or just being lazy has never brought true joy to anyone.  The basic tenants of Christianity call us to love God and love others.  God knows that we will experience our greatest joys in loving other people and by being faithful and productive in our work so that we can serve the people around us.  As we help others we experience a fulfillment in our lives and God assures us that as we do this He will also reward us for our faithfulness.  Self-centeredness and unproductively leave us feeling empty alone and depressed.  Love and hard word that focuses on others will leave us feeling useful, fulfilled and give us lasting joy.

WAIT IN HOPEFULNESS: The true key to the joy that God longs for us to experience comes from our knowledge that there is a life that will go on for all of eternity after this current life has come to an end.  This truth gives us joy and hope in the face of tragedy and the death of those whom we love the most.  It gives us a purpose that stretches beyond this life and in provides a hope that will motivate us to be faithful when circumstances are difficult for us now.  One day the dead in Christ will rise and those who are alive in Christ will be raptured and we will be eternally changed because of the work of Christ for and in us.  This is the reality of our future.  It does not matter that many of our loved ones have died.  It does not matter that we don’t have all the things this world has to offer.  It does not matter that we experience sickness or pain in this life.  What matters is that God has an eternity that will be an awesome experience and a joy that will outshine any of the hardships we face on this sin cursed planet.  Until that day we wait and for that day we wait but we wait with hope that should flood our hearts with joy no matter what trials might come our way.