Shabbat Shalom everyone. Open your Bibles, please, to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the first 12 verses that the apostle Shaul Paul wrote to the brothers and sisters in the city of Thessalonica. And he wrote to them in those 12 verses something that is extremely practical, especially for us today. And when you realize we just sang this song, "How Great Thou Art", and when we think of a living God who is so great, who is so supreme, who was willing to enter humanity in the person of Yeshua, our Messiah, Jesus the Messiah, you can imagine this Holy One, the Holy One of Israel, who entered into this world that is so great, yet he is willing to deal with things that are so practical in the lives of mankind, and in the life of everyone that belongs to him.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verses 1 to 12, the apostle Paul pointing to the importance of living a sanctified life, a life that we called holy life, practical holy living. Let me read these verses. We read in verse 1 furthermore, "Then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Yeshua, that as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandment we gave you by the Lord Jesus, by the Lord Yeshua, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the lusts of the desire or concupiscence, as the Gentiles which know no God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also have forewarned you and testified.

For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despises, despises not men, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren, which are in all Macedonia. But we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more, and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commended you, that ye may walk honestly towards them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

And I'm pausing here in verse 12, before we are, Lord willing, going to deal with the subject of the rapture, or the catching up, or the snatching up of the assembly, of the ecclesia, of the church, which we will deal with it in our next ministry meeting. But brothers and sisters, can you imagine? We're just saying of God, how great thou art. And yet that great God, how great he is, the creator of the universe, the upholder of all things, was willing to send his Son and enter into this world in order to save sinners like you and I, but also to lead us on in spiritual maturity.

He didn't only come to this world in order to forgive our sins, and to give us a hope to be in heaven, but he also want us to live a life that is pleasing to him, beloved brothers and sisters. And that's why the apostle is reminding the believers. He says to them, "For ye know what commandment we have given to you by the Lord Yeshua, and for this is the will of God, even your sanctification." This is verse 3. The reason that God has left us here on earth is that we, in a way in which the Lord will lead us, will be set apart and a sanctified people for the Lord.

That would give him honor. That will give him glory. That will give him joy in his heart. That will bring blessing upon you and I who are believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. And especially, beloved brothers and sisters, listen. The Thessalonians were younger believers. They were only for a few years in the Lord, in the Messiah. They lived in the city of Thessalonica where there was much idolatry in that city. There was a fornication. There was all kinds of sexual immorality in that city of Thessalonica. And oftentimes sexual immorality is connected very much to idolatry. And there was that link between idolatry, sexual immorality. And those believers in Thessalonica were saved out of there.

They were purchased by the blood of Yeshua, the Messiah. And they became part of the family of God. But they lived in Thessalonica. They were influenced by the people around them. And the Apostle Paul wanted them to live for the Lord in the midst of a godless world. In the midst of idolatry and sexual immorality and all the things that is going on in the world in which we live in. Let me remind you that in the first chapter of the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul said to them that ye have turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God. You used to live like that.

You used to be there. But you have turned to God in order to live for him and to wait for his son that is going to come back from heaven to take us to be with him in glory. So this is very practical chapter. In fact, chapter four immediately, obviously following chapter three. And in chapter three, if you remember what we pointed out in a previous meeting together, that the Apostle Shaul Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica in order to establish the believers. To establish the believers is to strengthen them, to cause them to become mature, to cause them to become stable. And then they can go ahead and become servants of the Lord.

So they will preach the gospel to the rest of the people around them. That's why you notice that verse one of chapter four, the first word in chapter four and verse one is furthermore. I've already told you why I sent Timothy to you in order to establish you in the faith. But wait a minute. There is a furthermore things that I want to tell you, beloved brothers and sisters of the city of Thessalonica. And so he tells them in these first 12 verses of chapter four, three things. Number one, I want you to seek to walk in holiness. Holiness. This is verses one to eight. Thessalonians, brothers and sisters, I want you to seek to live a holy life.

Number two, verses nine and ten. I want you to seek to live in harmony among yourself, to have a love among the believers. And thirdly, in verses 11 and 12, brothers and sisters of the Thessalonians, and he's telling us as well, I want you to seek to live a decent and an honest life. Verses 11 and 12. Well, we're going to go over those verses, and those verses are very practical. The vast majority of these verses deal with sexual immorality. And you know very well, beloved brothers and sisters, that sexual immorality is existing in general in the world everywhere. It happened in the past. It's happening today. And it will happen in the future.

And the world and Satan and the flesh tells us, you know what? We do not need to follow the instruction that the Lord has given to us. We know better than what God says in his word. When God in Genesis chapter 2 says, "Let therefore a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his own wife, and the two shall become one flesh." God meant it. He has established a family, the home. It's an institution that was given to humanity by God himself. Imagine, in the Garden of Eden, even before sin has entered into this world, God formed Adam. From the Adamah, from the ground.

And then he caused him to slip, and out of his side, he created Chava in Hebrew, Eve. And he brought Chava to Adam, and he united them together in marriage. What a beautiful picture of the relationship between God and Israel as the wife of Jehovah, and the Messiah, and the assembly, the church, as the bride of Christ, the bride of the Messiah. This is a wonderful relationship. And the Lord wanted this for us all. But sin came in, as you know very well. Adam disobeyed God. Sin came into this world. And from there on, things have deteriorated. Man thought that he knew better than God.

Cain went out of the presence of the Lord. And he went away from the things of the Lord. And you know what God said in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. He saw the human condition. And you notice what he said. And I'm going to read this verse. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. And that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is evil all the day long. In the English it says continually. In Hebrew it says kol hayom. All the day long. And God knew our hearts. He knew that the thoughts, the imagination of our hearts is evil.

And it's not evil once in a while. It's evil continually. It's evil all the day long. That's why we are called sinners. That's why we needed forgiveness. That's why the Messiah had to die on the tree. In order to pay for our sin and sins. So he saved us. And he purchased us by his precious blood. And he brought us to be part of a redeemed company. But we find out very quickly. That even though we are forgiven. And even though we have a new nature. A divine nature. We are struggling every day of our lives. Because this old nature is still here. And there is a struggle that we are carrying on every day.

It's like a battle. The flesh lusts us against the spirit. And the spirit against the flesh. And they are contrary to each other. And the question is. Who will win? To whom will we give food to grow. And to mature. And to win the battle? Well if we are going to feed the old nature. The old nature is going to win. If we are going to feed the new nature. The new nature is going to win. Because the new nature is a divine nature. That is going to defeat the old nature. If we allow ourselves to walk in the spirit. And not to walk in the flesh.

As Galatians 5 and verse 16 tells us. So here the apostle Paul. Now he is speaking to believers. He is speaking to you. He is speaking to me. He knows our problems. He knows our challenges that we face. But he also wants a blessing. For the people of God. Like Moshe. As we read in the book of Leviticus and Numbers. And Moshe gave instruction to our forefathers. To the people of Israel. And Paul Shaul giving instruction. To the believers in Thessalonica. Or anywhere else among the churches of Asia Minor. So he says. Number one. Walk in holiness. Number two. Walk in harmony. Number three. Walk in decency.

In honesty. In order that you will be blessed. And you are going to be a testimony. In the world in which you live in today. And so we begin with the word walk. Notice that. Verses one to verse eight. He is dealing with the thought of walking. In holiness. And that's why it says here in verse one. Furthermore. Then we beseech you brethren. Achim. We beseech you. We beg you. We charge you. We challenge you brethren. And exhort you. By the Lord Yeshua. That as ye have received of us. How ye are to walk. And to please God. So ye would abound more and more.

So the apostle Paul began with using the word to walk. Interesting. Verse one used the word walk. And also verse twelve used the word walk. In verse one. Walk as to please God. In verse twelve. That ye walk honestly towards all them that are without. You know that when you think about walking. You know. We are walking every day. We are walking from. When we get up in the morning. We get up and we walk to the bathroom. To the kitchen. Later on we go out of the house. We walk to the car. We drive the car. We get out of the car. We walk and we go to work.

We go to school. We go wherever we go. Walking is a representation of the way we do things in our lives. The way we conduct ourselves in our life. The Bible teaches us in many places. Ephesians four one. Walk worthy of the vacation wherewith you were called. In Ephesians four verse seventeen. Walk not as the goyim. As the Gentiles walk. In Ephesians five and verse two. Walk in love. The apostle Paul is telling them. In Ephesians chapter five and verse eight. Walk as the children of light. Walking represents the lifestyle of those that belong to Yeshua. To Jesus the Messiah. So the first thing he began is by explaining the thought of walking.

Important to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Can you imagine? If we would have just get our salvation. And leave God aside out of our life. And said God I do not want you to bother me in my life. And just say I am so happy that you have saved me. But I walk my own way. I am the captain of my ship. I am the pilot of my plane. And don't you God tell me what to do. Well in historical biblical time as we read in our reading. Those of among our own people Israel who violated the law of God.

They were killed. They were judged by God under the law. Imagine if God would have deal with us the way he dealt in previous history under the law. If he will deal with us today in this present day. We would probably none of us going to be at the meeting today. Because of our sinfulness and our way he were in us. And yet God is drawing us. Seeking to help us to live a life that is pleasing to him. So the first thing that we find out in verses 1 to 8. That Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to seek to please God. To give God pleasure. To give God pleasure in his own heart.

You see he said furthermore. Then we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Yeshua. That as ye have received of us how ye are to walk and to please God. In order that ye will abound yet more and more. You know God wants us to please him. To give him joy in his own heart. To please him. In John chapter 8 and verse 29 Yeshua says. I always do the things which pleases God. Yeshua pleased God in his life. He pleased the Father. He always gave pleasure to God. And we know how much joy it gives us. When our children. When they obey and they please their mother.

And their father in their obedience to him. Well we are called to please God. We are to seek to please him. And when we don't please him. It's dishonor him. And it makes him sad. It makes him sad. And so he said I want you to please me. Israel was called to please God. And you and I are called to please God. Beloved brothers and sisters. And in order to do so. We are to seek to live a life that is set apart for him. A life that is sanctified. A life that is devoted to the Lord Yeshua. The Messiah. So the first thing is seek to please him.

You know I am thinking about two men. In biblical time. In past history. Who pleased God. Who walked in a way that was pleasing to the Lord. You remember the man by the name of Hanok. In Hebrew we call him Hanok. Hanok. In English you call him Enoch. Chapter 5 of the book of Genesis. And verse 24. Enoch walked with God. What does that mean? He walked with God. He walked in such a way in his life. That he was so pleasing to God. That the Bible says that God took him. He took him. He raptured him. And he took him out of this scene. Into the immediate presence of God.

Enoch pleased the Lord. And then God took him. A few years later. There was another man. When God was ready to put judgment upon the face of this world. Through the flood. We read in Genesis chapter 6. That Noah walked with God. And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And Noah pleased him. And God used Noah to bring his family into the ark. And when the judgment came upon the face of this earth. Only Noah. His wife. His children. And their wives came on the other side of the flood. In fact beloved brothers and sisters. In Enoch and Noah. We see two distinct groups.

Enoch was raptured before the flood. And Noah went through the flood. And came on the other side to the new world. Enoch represented the heavenly company. Noah represented the earthly company. Those that pleased God. And God preserved them. Enoch was taken to heaven. And Noah entered into the new world. To please God brothers and sisters. It is so important. The apostle Paul said to them. You have already have been instructed by me. Ye have already received of us. How ye are to walk in such a way. That it is pleasing to God. You know when we live for the Lord. And we make decisions that are honoring to him.

We give him joy. But when we fail him. And we don't obey him. We don't give him pleasure. We don't give him pleasure. And that's why Paul is so insisting on that. In writing to the Thessalonians. In these verses. Secondly. Not only that. As we are to live in holiness. We are to please God. But we are also to seek to obey God. Obedience. Is so important. That's why he is giving us to us. In verses 2. And verse 3. And for ye know what commandments. We gave you by the Lord Yeshua. For this is the will of God. Even your sanctification. That ye should abstain from fornication.

Now sexual immorality. Fornication is sexual immorality. And you know it is so interesting. Beloved brothers and sisters. That in the time in which we live in. Like in the days of the past. The one thing. That is constantly being paraded before us. Is sexual immorality. Is fornication. You find it on television. You find it on the internet. You find it in the mail. You hear about it in the radio. You find it everywhere. On billboard and all these places. Every time you find it. You find it. Because Satan knows very well. The inclination that we have. You see sexual relationship. Between husband and wife. Is God given.

But sexual relationship. Outside of marriage. It's not given by God. And therefore the apostle Paul. He says listen. You know what the commandment. That we have given to you. By the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. For this is the will of God. What is the will of God? Your sanctification. That you should abstain from fornication. That's the will of God. Now if the will of God was. That there will be. Fornication existing. Everywhere. At all time. By all kind of people. Then God will allow it. But scripture gives us. Clear instruction. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. For a moment. Notice what he says here. In verse 4.

God said through the apostle. Who wrote to the Hebrew believers. And he told them. In verse 4. For marriage is honorable. In all. And the bed is undefiled. But then he adds there. But. Who mongers. And adulterers. God will judge. In other words. Beloved brothers and sisters. God is instructing. His people. To sustain. And maintain. A life that is honoring unto him. In submissive to him. And many times. When we fail in this. We don't honor the Lord. And our disobedience. Only. Ultimately. Does not. Bring blessings. But. Judgment of God. And so we read. In verse 2. You know. What commandments. We gave you. We gave you.

By the Lord. Yeshua. Notice the apostle Paul. He said. It's not my thinking. It's not my opinion. I gave it to you. We gave it to you. When we met you. When we were in Thessalonica. It was. Given to us. By the Lord. Jesus. By the Lord. Yeshua. And what is the will of God? Your sanctification. Your sanctification. And he continued. That ye should abstain from. Fornication. From. Sexual immorality. Now sometimes. When we think of the word. Sanctification. Or. Holiness. We think of someone. That has a halo. Over his head. And he is a holy man. Or she is a holy woman. But the word.

Holy. Come from the Hebrew word. Kadosh. Or. Lekadesh. And. To be sanctified. Lekadesh. Means to. Set. One. Self. Apart. For the use. Of God. And when God said. That I want you to be sanctified. He is telling us. I want you to set yourself. To live a life. That is set apart for me. And when we don't do so. We ultimately. Do not set ourselves. Apart. For the Lord. And it doesn't please God. And then God. Cannot. Bless us. And we cannot enjoy. A relationship with the Lord. And so he is saying it. You know. It is for our own. Well being. That God. Gave us.

This. It's because. He doesn't want us. To end up. To bear the consequence. Of. Sexual immorality. And the Corinthians. Have experienced this. The Thessalonians. Have experienced it. In the history. Of Israel. They have experienced this. And every time. We find out. How much sorrows. Comes along. The way. Of that. Which is. What we know. The sexual immorality. As he called it. Here. Fornication. And so. Setting one apart. To be set apart. For the Lord. It's only. Bring blessing. For the people of God. So. The believers. Are not only. Called to seek. To please God. Verse one. One. But they are also. In verses two. And three.

Are called. To obey. The Lord. Obey. The Lord. In a very. Practical. Way. I mean. I don't have to tell you. The consequences. That come. Upon. Many families. Many homes. Many relationships. Are broken. To pieces. And I'm not talking about. Unbelieving world. I'm talking about. Among us. The people. Of God. How many. Ruins. Have happened. Historically. Among the people. Of God. The pain. And the sorrows. That came. Because. We. Have not. Set ourselves. Apart. Sanctified. Ourself. To the Lord. And we bear. The consequences. Later. And so. The apostle. Is saying. This. To the. Thessalonians. Book of Acts. With me. To Acts. Chapter. Fifteen. When the.

Early. Assembly. The church. Gathered together. In the city. Of Jerusalem. And when. The apostle. Paul. Came. And declared. To them. What. The Lord. Had been doing. Jerusalem. Was vastly. Made out of. Jewish believers. And so. They gave. A command. What. To instruct. The believers. Now. From among. The Gentiles. Who came. To know Yeshua. So. We read. In chapter. Fifteen. And verse. Twenty. It says there. But. We should write. Unto them. That they. May abstain. Notice that. Number one. From pollutions. Of idols. Number two. From fornication. Number three. From things. That are strangled. And number four. From blood. That was a command. That was given. In order to help.

The non-Jewish Christians. Or believers. In their spiritual growth. Notice verse twenty-eight. And verse twenty-nine. For it seemed good. To the Holy Spirit. And to us. To lay upon you. No greater burden. Than these necessary things. And that ye should. Number one. Abstain. From meat's offer. Unto idols. Number two. Abstain. From blood. Number three. And from things. Strangled. And number four. And from fornication. For which. If ye keep yourself. Ye shall do well. Fair ye well. Shalom. Shalom. He is saying. To the brothers and sisters. Of the Gentiles. Who became believers. In Yeshua. The Messiah. Notice. Again. Time and again. The encouragement. To abstain. From this.

And you know. Satan. Is a crafty. Crafty. You might say. A person. A creature. He is constantly. Parade. Before us. And stir us up. In an area. That he know. That man has weakness. Believers. Unbelievers. He know. Our sin nature. And you know. Very well. How to. Shoot arrows. In order to. Entice us. And to cause us. To fall. And when we don't. Keep ourselves. Close to the Lord. We are no match. For him. And therefore. We are ending up. Disobeying the Lord. And ultimately. Fall into sin. And the pain. And the consequences. That come. Because. Of such. A way. Such. A lifestyle. And so.

It's very practical. You and I might say. Well. Why do we need. To talk about it? Well. I didn't write it. The Apostle Paul. Writed by divine inspiration. He wrote it. To believers. Just like you and I. And instructing them. For their well being. In order to bless them. And this is. Really. Can. Help us. That we can seek. The Lord's guidance. And help. You see. Because. We are to seek. To please God. Verse 1. We are to seek. To obey God. Verse 2 and 3. But not only this. He continues. And he is very much. Speaking about. This practical. Issue. Of fornication. Of sexual immorality. In verses 4 and 5.

He is telling us. He is telling. To the Thessalonians. You need. Not only. To please God. And to obey God. But you need. To glorify. God. In your life. You need. To seek. To give him. The honor. And the glory. That he deserved. This is verses 4. And verses 5. Of 1 Thessalonians. Chapter 4. And notice. What he is saying. That every one of you. Should know. How to possess. His vessel. In sanctification. And honor. And honor. Not in the lust. Of. Your craving. And your desires. Even as the Gentiles. Which know. Know God. You see. What he is saying here. He said. I want you. And he is now.

Speaking very practically. You notice. He said. That every one of you. Should know. How to possess. His vessel. You see. Brothers and sisters. Our bodies. Are simply vessels. A woman's body. Is a vessel. And a man's body. Is a vessel. Within this vessel. The Lord had given us. Various ways. In which we are to live our life. He gave us members. Of the body. Eyes. And ears. Mouth. And nose. And so on. But he also gave us. Members of the body. For the physical relationship. In a family relationship. For physical relationship. Between husband and wife. And so. What he is really saying. He said. Look.

If you want to glorify God. You ought to know. Every one of you. Notice that he used that expression. Everyone. The brother. And the sister. The man. And the woman. Every one of you. Notice he says. In verse 4. You should know. How to possess. His vessels. In other words. How to handle. The body. Which the Lord had given to us. How to use it. In the context. Is the. Sexual immorality. In here. In the context. He is speaking about. The necessity. Of living. A life. That is pleasing. To the Lord. So he does not. Want. The people of God. To use their bodies. In a way.

That it's not pleasing. To him. In. And that's why. He is mentioning. Everyone. Use the vessel. In notice. In sanctification. And in honor. What does that mean? To use the body. In setting it apart. For the Lord. In. Setting it apart. For the husband. Or for the wife. That's what he is really saying here. You would know. How to. Possess your vessels. In sanctification. In. In honor. Now let me read to you. A couple of verses. Turn to 1st Corinthians. Chapter 6. Now this is something. That we often. Don't like to talk about. But the Bible. Speaks about it. And we are passing through. 1st Thessalonians.

And we are arriving. To certain passages. That are extremely practical. And at times. They speak to our hearts. In order to change. Our manners. And to help us. To please God. To obey God. And to glorify God. In 1st Corinthians. Chapter 6. In verse 19. The apostle Paul said. To the brothers. And sisters. In the city of Corinth. He said to them. Don't you know? He says what? Know ye not. That your body. This is the vessel. That your vessel. That your body. Is a temple. Of the Holy Spirit. Which is in you. Which ye have. Of God. And ye are not. Your own. He says. Brothers and sisters.

He is saying. To the Corinthians. Don't you know? Don't you know? That your body. Is a temple. Of the Holy Spirit. Of God. Which is in you. Which ye have received. Of God. And you are not. Your own. You know. Brothers and sisters. We realize. This. Sufficiently. That we are really. Not belong. To ourselves. Anymore. That we belong. To God. God. Have. Saved us. Through the person. Of his son. The Mashiach. Yeshua. And really. We don't fathom. That really. We think. That we are still. Our own captains. But the apostle. Paul says. Your body. The temple. Of the Holy Spirit. Which is in you. The body.

Become a temple. In the body. Resides. The person. Of the Holy Spirit. Of God. The Holy Spirit. And he. Resides. There. And when. We. Grieve him. When we. Hurt him. He's grieved. And he cannot. Have. Liberty. To use us. In our life. So you are not. Your own anymore. And why. We are not our own. Verse 20. Tells us. For you have bought. With a price. Therefore. He says. You have been bought. With a price. Therefore. Glorify. God. In your body. And in your spirit. Which belongs. To God. Don't you know. He is saying. To the believers. At Thessalonica. In this case. The believers. At Corinth.

Your body. Become a temple. This temple. This temple. Is the temple. Where God. The Holy Spirit. Is residing. And he's the one. That ought to be. The one. That guide us. And govern us. In order to help us. In staying close. To the Lord. Very interesting verse. That the apostle. Is mentioning here. In this. Verse 19. Turn to. 2nd Corinthians. Chapter 5. And verse 15. Now. I know. We don't read. Those verses. Often. But our. Apostle Paul said. That he died. For all. This is the Messiah. Jesus. He died. For all. Why? Why? Notice. The day. Which live. Should not. Henceforth. Live unto themselves. But unto him. Which died.

For them. And rose again. You see. Beloved. Brothers. And sisters. Let me read. Let me read. This again. Verses 14. And 15. Together. For the love. For the love. Of Messiah. Constraint us. Because. We thus. Judge. That if one. Died. For all. Then we're all. Dead. Verse 15. And that he died. For all. The day. Which live. Should not. Henceforth. And sisters. We are no longer. To live. For ourselves. But we are to live. For the one. Who died. For us. Our bodies. Are the temple. Of the Holy Spirit. Which have been. Purchased. By the precious. Blood. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. We are not. Our own. We belong.

To the Lord. Jesus. Yeshua. The Messiah. And therefore. Everyone. Everyone. Verse 4. Of 1st. Thessalonians 4. Every one of you. Should know. How to possess. His vessels. In. Sanctification. Bik Dusha. Bik Dusha. Bik Dusha. In Hebrew. And in honor. Bekavod. To use. Our bodies. In order. To set it apart. For the Lord. And to honor him. By the way. In which we live. Especially. In the context. In relation. To fornication. To sexual immorality. And what a pleasure. That gives to God. And you know. Sometimes. Some of us. Says. Well. Therefore. I messed it up. You see. Because I fail. In my life. I've sinned. Some of us.

Came from a past. History. That was dishonoring. To the Lord. The way we live. He said. I've already messed it up. Why are you telling me. All this. Well. The answer. Is simply this. The reason. That Yeshua came. Is to save us. He knew. Our failure. He knew. Our sins. He knew. Our old nature. That's why. He came. But when he came. To this world. And he paid the price. For our sins. Now. He wants us. To seek. To live on. For him. From here on. And if we fail. And we do fail. At times. As believers. And sin. Creep into our life. What do we do?

Is the door shut? No. 1 John 1:9. Said. If we confess. Our sins. Just. To forgive us. And cleanse us. For all our righteousness. In other words. There is no such a thing. As being hopeless. Because the door. Is always open. For the believer. To be restored. Back to God. And that's why. We can. Please God. We can. Obey God. We can. Glorify God. When we. Allow ourselves. As it says here. Every one of you. Should know. How to possess. His vessel. In sanctification. And in honor. And not. Look at this. Verse 5. Not. In the lusts. Of the cravings. As the gentiles. Which know. Not God. I see.

We all came. Some of us. Of course. Coming from among. The nation of Israel. Some of us. Are Jewish. Some of us. Are not Jewish. Are from the nations. Gentiles. Came from a past. History of failure. And sin. And in love. For you and I. Yeshua. Died for us. On a tree. And paid. The penalty. That we had. To pay. We could not. Pay this penalty. He paid this. For us. But now. He wants us. Not to live. Anymore. Like we used. To live. In the past. But to live. In a way. That is pleasing. The Lord. In sanctification. And in honor. Not. In the lust.

Of the flesh. As the nations. Of the world. Do. So. Today. Because they know. Not. God. And let me remind you. I don't have to go far. Just turn the television. Just turn the internet off. Go through your emails. And you find out. How Satan. Knows very well. How to parade. Before us. The lust. Of the flesh. He knows. Our problem. He knows. Our need. And again. Let me remind you. That. Sexual. Relationship. Is given. By God. But is to be. Maintained. Within the. Family. The husband and wife. Relationship. The Lord said it already. Through the apostle. To the Hebrews. Marriage. Is honorable. The bed.

Is undefiled. It was given to us. By God. The urges. Of physical relationship. Is a God given. He had instilled this. In his own. Human race. But he kept. In order. To keep it within. The family relationship. And when it's kept. Within a godly order. There is blessing. There is pleasure. There is blessing. There is fruit for that. But when we go outside. Of God's divine order. There is a mess. And eventually. It catches us. And it causes us. To stumble. And to fall. And to later on. To look back. And to say. Lord. I have been foolish. In a way. That I have conducted myself.

And so. Not only did we. To please God. First Thessalonians 4. Verse 1. We are to obey God. Verse 2 and 3. We are to glorify God. Verses 4 and 5. And then finally. In this context. In verses 6, 7 and 8. Is. We are to seek. To avoid. God's judgment. By obeying. What he says. Now listen to this. Beloved brothers and sisters. God is going to judge. Sin. One way or another. He has to do so. He must judge. Sin. And so notice. What he says. In verse 6. 7 and 8. And I am reading. In order to avoid. The judgment of God. Because God is an avenger. He is going to deal with sin. And it says in verse 6.

That no man. Go beyond. And defraud his brother. In any matter. Because that the Lord. Is an avenger. Of all such. As we also have. Forwarded. You. And testified. Verse 7. For God has not called us. Unto uncleanness. But unto holiness. Verse 8. He therefore. The despises. Despises not men. But God. Who has given unto us. His. Holy Spirit. You see. What Paul is saying. Listen. He said. Do you think. That if you. As believers. Carry on. In your own ways. That God. Will pass by. And not deal with you. He said. Listen. God is an avenger. As we read here. In verse. 6. He is an avenger.

Of all. That do such a thing. You know. Paul said. Be not mock. Whatsoever man sows. That shall he also reap. God is not fooled. And you notice. Now. He is not dealing with us. As. He deals with the unbelieving world. He is dealing with us. As a father. As Abba. Who deals with his children. Whom he loves so much. By correcting us. When we need to be corrected. Yesterday. In our Bible class. We read. Hebrews. Chapter 12. And the apostle. Had to remind. The believers. The Hebrew believers. Don't you know. Don't you know. That. Whom the Lord. Lovers. He chastens. And he scourges. Every son.

Whom he received. Don't you forget this. For a moment. But one thing. For sure. God. Will. Have. To avenge. And to discipline. His own people. God. And so we read here. In verses. Six. Seven. And first notice. Verse. Six. The Lord is an avenger. The Hebrew word for avenger. Is nochem. He's going to get it. He's going to deal with it. Don't worry. He's going to deal with it. God is an avenger. Against all. Who live. Such. A way. And does not deal with it. And judge it. Confess it. And repent. I'm reading verse six. Once again. Go beyond. And defraud. His brother. In any matter.

Why? Because. That the Lord. Is an avenger. Of all. Such. As we also. Have. Forewarned you. And testified. Apparently. Already. When the apostle Paul. Was in. Thessalonica. About two years. Earlier. In about 50 AD. When he first came. To the synagogue. In the city. Of Thessalonica. Where he preached. The gospel. First of all. In the synagogue. Those Jewish people. Who became believers. Who were joined. By some of the Gentiles. And some women. And together. They became believers. And they founded. The local assembly. In the city. Of Thessalonica. And even then. And there. The apostle Paul said. Because they haven't been there again. He reminded them. And he said to them.

You know. We have already. Forewarned you. And testified this to you. When we were there. Many years ago. Two years ago. And of course. You can imagine. Because Thessalonica. They were worshipping idols. There were a lot of sexual immorality there. And the apostle Paul already taught. The early believers. He said. Listen brethren. When you became believers. In Yeshua. The Messiah. Don't continue. In the way you used to live before. Don't continue. In the way they used to be. In the past. This is past. This is the wrong way. Idolatry. Immorality. Is that which was existing in your life. Before you trusted in Jesus. The Messiah.

But now you became children of God. And therefore. He said to them. Listen. In verse 6. God will avenge. God will deal with all who do such. And we know. Beloved brothers and sisters. We know very well. That God. Deals with us. When we wronged him. He deals with us. He has many ways. In which he deals with his own people. We read again. In our Bible class. About the tribulation period. How God will sow. Divisions among men. Among the nations. And you remember. When we talked about the fact. That when Gideon went. To fight against the Midianites. How the Midianites. Were fighting against each other.

Because God had sent against them. This. You might say. This delusion. This cause. To fight against each other. And sometimes. God sent into our life. Things. That to cause us. To turn around. And to stop. In our path of wrong. In order that we will turn to him. He wants us to listen to him. He wants our well being. He loves us. He cares for us. He cares for us. So he sent into our life. All kind of things. That will draw us back to him. That we will stop in a wrong way. As it says here. Very clearly. That he is the avenger. Of all such.

He is the avenger. The Hebrew word. Nochem. He is going to get back. At those who violate his word. Then in verse 7. God has called us unto holiness. He is reminding the Thessalonians. Verse 7. He says. For God has not called us unto uncleanness. He didn't call us. In order that we will live our lives. In a way that is not pleasing to him. So why did he call us? Why? So we will carry on in our own way? So we will do and live the way we used to live in past history? No. He called us not unto uncleanness. In this context. He is fornication.

He didn't call us to live this kind of life. Paul is saying to the Thessalonians. But the opposite. Verse 7. He called us to be hallowed unto holiness. And again. That word holiness does not mean that we are becoming some kind of a saintly kind of a. It means in a practical way. To set ourselves devoted to him. And to abstain from that which is not pleasing unto him. That's what he called us to be. Now of course we cannot do it on our own. We need the help of the Holy Spirit of God. And that's why. Verse 8 says. Notice now. In connection with avoiding God's judgment.

In verse 8 he says. The believer who live a life of fornication. Have to remember that God gave us the Holy Spirit of God. You see we read in verse 8. He therefore that despises. Despises not men. But God. Who also had given unto us. His Holy Spirit. You know when a believer. Continue on. And on. And on. Without to judge it. And to forsake it. He does not despise men. But he despises God. The living God. We just say. How great thou art. When we live life that is not judged continually. And again the context is sexual immorality. And we don't stop it. We don't despise men.

But we despise God. And God. Notice that. Which he has given to us. His Holy Spirit. You see he doesn't talk about unbelievers here. An unbeliever. Does not have the Holy Spirit of God. It is only the believer in Yeshua. The Messiah. That he received the Holy Spirit of God. New divine nature. That is indwelling in him. And when the believer. Live this life consistently. He doesn't judge. He or she may fall. Or repent. And turn back. And confess our sins. Before the Lord. He is faithful and just. To forgive us. And to cleanse us. From all unrighteousness. And so he is saying. Listen. Don't you forget.

That God had given us. The Holy Spirit of God. And the Holy Spirit of God speaks to us. You know. Remember. We read in Ephesians chapter 4. Don't you grieve the Holy Spirit of God. You know sometimes. Why the Holy Spirit of God is grieved. Because we as believers. Think that we can do our own thing. Carry on our life. That is not pleasing to the Lord. And the Spirit of God. Will be there. Indwelling in the body of the believer. And be happy. He can't. He is grieved. He is grieved. And we don't have liberty. No joy. No blessing. Because. We did not. Glorify God.

And. Ultimately. We will not be able to avoid. The judgments of God. Because God is an evangel. He will ultimately. Will. Deal. With his own children. Whom he loves so much. Because. He says. Vengeance is mine. I will repay. Sayeth. The Lord. And so. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. You and I have the Holy Spirit of God. Indwelling us. And I just want to make a point here. All the three persons of the Godhead. Involve. In our salvation. God the Father. Have chosen us. In eternity past. We were chosen. In the Messiah. Before the foundation of the world. God has chosen us. God the Son. Yeshua.

Paid the price for our sins. When he came into this world. And he died on the tree. And he shed his precious blood. In order to save us from our sins. But God the Holy Spirit. Is indwelling us. In the believer. To lead us. To move us along. In our spiritual progress. So we will be able to please God. To obey God. To glorify God. And to avoid. The judgment that will come. Upon the believers. Not only the unbelievers. The believers. Upon us. Upon me. Upon you. When we are consistently going on. In our own ways. God. Love us so much. That he will not allow us.

To continue in our own path. Without being submissive to him. And turning back to him. And it's by the Holy Spirit. That we can do so. Not in our own flesh. Walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5.16. And he shall not fulfill. The lust of the flesh. And so beloved brothers and sisters. In the first eight verses. The Apostle Paul. In 1 Thessalonians 4. Verses 1 to 8. Encouraged the believer. To walk in holiness. Set apart to the Lord. Bekdushah. Set apart to the Lord. The context here. Sexual immorality. And it is only the Lord. That is able to help his own. In a daze in which we live in. That is so much paraded before us.

Drawing the people of God. Away from that which is honorable to the Lord. And many times we stumble and fail. When we don't allow the Spirit of God. To guide us and control us. And so the Apostle Paul is very practical in this matter. And I know it is something that was needful in the past. And it's also need in our own life today. In the years in which we live in. So walk in holiness. Be separated unto God. Verses 1 to 8. Now notice verses 9 and 10. In verses 9 and 10. It's not only walk in holiness. But also walk in harmony. We need to have harmony among the people of God.

And so verse 9 he said. But as touching brotherly love. Ye need not that I write unto you. For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it towards all the brethren. Which are in all Macedonia. But we beseech you brethren. That ye increase more and more. See he is now shifting. From walking in holiness. To walk in harmony among the believers. And in order for the believers to walk in harmony. We have to love the brothers and sisters. And loving the brothers and sisters is not easy. We are not always lovable right? We are not always make it easy for one another to love the other.

Brothers and sisters are complicated. We all have our sin nature. We all have our mannerism. There is pride. There is self-will. There is one way or another. That one lives this way. And one does things. Say things. One way or another. It's not easy to love the brethren. But you remember what the Lord said. Yeshua said many many years ago. In the upper womb. In the city of Yerushalayim. He said. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. If you have love one towards another. If we are to let the world know. That we really belong to the Lord. To Yeshua. We must practice this.

Love one towards another. It is interesting. That in verse 9. There is two times the word love is mentioned. In verse 9a. It's called brotherly love. The words there. The word in Greek is phileo. And then it says. At the end. It says. You are taught of God to love one another. The second love is the word agapeo. It's another Greek name for love. One is phileo. The other one is agapeo. There are four ways in which in Greek. They use the word love. There is the sensual love. It is eros. There is the family love. Which is stargo. There is a. You might say friendship love.

Which is philadelphia. Or phileo. And there is the God's love. Or the unconditional love. Which is agapeo. Four different Greek words. To use almost the same thing in English. For love. In Hebrew we say ahava. Ahava. You know. In Israel we have this special cream. That's called ahava. It comes from the dead sea. And it's a special cream. That's supposed to caress you. And make you feel very good. And help you to have your skin. Very well taken care of. But brothers and sisters. Here. The apostle want the Corinthians. To have the love among the brethren. Ahavat achim. Love one towards another. In other words.

To have harmony among the people of God. To have harmony among the believers. And he used these two words. Philadelphia. Phileo. Brotherly love. And agapeo. God's love. You might say. Unconditional love. And if we are going to be successful. In being a testimony to the world around us. And to enjoy harmony among the people of God. It is only possible when we really mean business. In our relationship with each other. That means that we will need to be patient. Towards one another. That means that we will have to bear with one another. That means that we will need to forgive one another. In order to have harmony.

It is not possible to have harmony among the people of God. Unless we have this set in our hearts. And practice every day. Walk in harmony. Be of one mind. And not to seek to have divisions among the people of God. And again I would like to say. That Satan knows that. We cannot fool him. He knows very well. That if he is going to cause problems among the people of God. He will sow discord among the brethren. He will cause all kind of things to happen among the believers. So they will not be in harmony. They will be divided. And yes. He doesn't take us out of heaven.

But he sure causes us not to be happy here on earth. The best thing is to learn from the challenge that Apostle Paul gave to the believers at Thessalonica. He said to them. But touching brotherly love. Ye have need not that I will write unto you. For you yourself are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do so. That is something that he is commending them. Apparently the Thessalonians had been commended by the fact that they do love the brethren. Indeed ye do it toward all the brethren. All the brethren. It was evident. So the people of Thessalonica watched the believers at the local assembly.

And they said boy this group of people. Look at the way they treat one another. So beautiful to see that. Ye do so toward the brethren that are in Macedonia. But we beseech you brethren that you will increase it more and more. So never stop. We are never to stop to bear with each other. To be patient with each other. To forgive each other. To care for each other. Because it is an ongoing challenge until we get to heaven. You know when we are going to get to heaven. We will no longer hate anyone. We will no longer speak evil about anyone. We will no longer think evil about anyone.

Or do evil to anyone. We will be without the sin nature. And we will have eternity to enjoy one another. And so finally in verses 11 and 12 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. He actually moving along and he is saying now that you are to live in holiness. You are to live in harmony. Now you are to live as it says here in a decent way. In a decent way. And so we read. And I am reading these verses 11 and 12. Now he is saying to them. Listen, you are to walk in honesty and in decency. You are to walk in such a way. Because notice it says at the thought of to study.

Now the word for study here. It means to strive. To labor. Work hard at that. In order to be quiet. To be calm. To be simple. To be the kind of a person that is at peace. And at ease. And at rest. Learn to be so. Practically he is saying to them. And then especially towards those that are without. The outside. The outside world. Who watches us. Who sees how we live our life. That he may have a lack of nothing. As he says here at the end of verse 12. To walk honestly towards them that are without. In order that we may have a lack of nothing.

Brothers and sisters. This is very practical. It is extremely practical that the Apostle Paul is writing this for brothers and sisters. Now I just want to read one verse and I'm going to close. In order to mind or do your own business. And to work with your hands. Just turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 10. See what he is really saying? There is always a danger to be busy bodies. We seem to always be in somebody else's business or affairs in his or her life. We're trying to enter in. And instead of taking care. Studying to be quiet. Doing my own thing. Working with my hand.

Doing what I need to do. And seeking to pray for each other. And not dealing with one another. And causing problems. And so on. In order that there will be all sort of friction. He says don't be so. Because that is not the way that it is pleasing unto the Lord. So brothers and sisters in conclusion. Number one. Walk in holiness. Number two. Walk in harmony. Number three. Walk in honesty. In order that blessings will flow from the Lord. And spiritual growth will come into the life of the people of God. May the Lord help us to do so. Can we say amen? Amen. Amen.