Fellowship with God

This was originally a sermon from Oct. 09, I preached it again last night. I also incorporated another sermon at the end last night that I will post at a later date.

I Thessalonians 4:1-10

1Finally, brothers, 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. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.


Fellowship with God goes beyond privilege (though certainly it is true that we are so privileged that we may know God), fellowship is a necessity for our "walk" with Christ. We can live without privileges in themselves, but those things that are necessary cannot be forsaken. The necessity of fellowship isnt that we be comfortable, though it produces comfort, the importance of this is subjection. Subjection is recognizing that God is above us in moral standing, and living "upward" that we progress in a holy way of life.

Verse 2 says that these men do what they do "by the authority of the Lord Jesus". First remember this as a warning of claiming the unclaimable for self. We can do nothing of ourselves, the only power of any significance is that of Christ, therefore we must have that same Christ in us before we can commit ourselves to lives dealing in significance. One of my earliest lessons on this topic was with my dad, years ago. He being an former biology major and an astounding student of the Bible, when we were discussing health he pointed out to me a thing which has stuck: the importance of blood. Blood carries everthing that is necessary for proper function (oxygen, nutrients, etc). It also carries that which can destroy us, the things which are harmful often take the bloodstream to be the quickest means of travel. Good blood perpetuates good health. Bad blood hinders growth. And of course if you run out of blood all together you die. We, as Christians, believe, we know that there is power in the blood of Christ. We also know that it is Christ which liveth in us that we have that same life he "liveth".

God's authority is in all He does. What is of God has God's authority. So we must be filled with the things of God, then in turn we receive His authority. We have no means of our own by which we overcome the flesh, no means of our own by which we battle demons or raise the dead. NO! It is by Christ that lives in us that we have authority, that we have strength which is not of ourselves that we combat the things which are not of God's Spirit. If we have not the things of God and Christ in us then how then can we say that we are of God?

Verse 3 is one of my favorite verses, because of the first half. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." Here I'll take a moment to distinguish between specific will and general will. Specific will is the individual direction God gives you, specific to your life. General will is the direction all have been given, through the Word of God. Having spent a large portion of my life doing things simply because I was instructed to do so, these 9 words made "purpose" make sense. Even if we do not have a specific instruction, these verses show how we are to live. It also proves to us something very available: 1) Salvation and 2) Sanctification.


If I take a specific road it will lead me to a specific place. I can take Highway 35-South it will lead me all the way to Corpus Christi, (which is quite literally the end of the road and a pleasant ending at that). Apply this to what we know of God. He has willed things for our life, but if we are not on His path, His will, then we never arrive at these specific destinations He has put ahead for us. That may seem like a tangent or a misplaced thought but now I go back to the topics of salvation and sanctification. Salvation is not to be earned, it is to be accepted. God has willed that we be sanctified, before we are sanctifide we must accept salvation. DONT WAIT FOR SALVATION! This miracle has already happened, now it must be realized, recognized and lived by. Living by it is living the sanctified life, that is, to live holy lives. Holiness is just as available to someone who has been a Christian for 5 minutes as it is for someone who has been a Christian for 60 years. To live holy is to live according to the knowledge which we have. The new Christian is responsible (and accountable) to that which he knows, what understanding that has been given to him he must live by; and what knowledge there remains to be gained he must seek out and pray for understanding. The "mature" Christian is responsible to that much more. He is accountable to all his understanding. He is also responsible for the teaching of that which he has gained, that the younger may benefit from his gaining as well.

7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Verse 7 furthers the fact that we are called to be holy people. The things which are of God are holy things, therefore put in the things of God and we learn of sanctification. In giving this sermon I used Garfield's example of osmosis, whereby he lay his head on a book and was 'learning by osmosis'. When we seek God, then we must put in the things of God, we must bring ourselves in contact with all sorts of holy things. The Bible gives testimony of God, it is a manifestation of His truth. When we read the word of God and put its truth into us we are putting in knowledge of God.

Where there is love there can be no malice and where there is malice there can be no love. So in putting in what is pure, holy and loving (that which is of God), that which is impure and selfish must be removed.

We know from verse 8 that sound instruction based on scripture is to be lived by. All instruction that is of God, that is scriptural, that is good, is endowed with His authority. There is no authority by which man can live, truly live except the authority of God, and His authority is in these instructions. This means that when we do not submit to Biblical instruction we are not merely rejecting thought, but God. To defy God's law is to defy God.

9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.

These men did't need to be told to love each other. Many times parents remind their children to love each other (as brotherly love isnt always prevelant between brothers), but these men knew God and so they knew love. God was in them, His love was overflowing out of them and they were pouring into one another. Fellowship with God produces this fruit, this love. The more they knew God the more they loved one another. A great privilege of this fruit is the sharing of it. We have opportunity to give testimony, to share our fruit, to tell people of the goodness of our God and His works in our life. Then we have the opportunity to encourage others to cultivate their relationship with God that they too know this love.

Choosing to do what God has willed isnt about prayer or sacrifice, its about obedience. When we obey there is within us produced a desire to do God's will, which means we desire to put the things of God in us that we better serve Him and do His will. Prayer, sacrifice, discipline, testimony: these are fruit which continue to nourish us that we be furthered in a life of obedience.

We need fellowship with God, if we dont spend anytime with God we will never get to know Him, and never have holy things in us. We must put in Holy things, that Holy fruit come out. Then we must testify about it.

God has called us to holy lives. Remember, always remember that in this life of servitude there is a life more free than the life of any earthly king. Living holy is not living with chains to restrict you, it is to live with love to uplift you.