1 Thessalonians 4:1 says, “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more”. Please note this exhortation from the apostle Paul, beloved. It was not only applicable to the saints back then in Thessalonica, but it is applicable to the saints today right here in East Rochester.
And what is the exhortation? That we would choose to walk and please God more and more. Pleasing God should be the very core purpose of every single follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul wrote to pastor Timothy, he said to him, “no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Tim 2:4).
We all are aware of the reality of the constant pull of the world system and it’s subtle, and not so subtle, “mission” of seeking to conform us to its image and likeness.
The Christian life is a battle that necessitates that we maintain, biblical standards of moral purity instead of living after the carnal appetites and desires of the flesh. Having a soldier’s mentality means that we are going to put on our helmet of salvation and renew our minds with God’s word that exhorts us to walk in holiness and moral purity.
Again, listen to what Paul writes to pastor Titus. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Titus 2:11-15).
Who are you living to please, my friend? Your flesh? Your friends? Or, the One Who shed His blood to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works? SELAH
