God's Will For Your Life

All right. King's Kids, you can go ahead and head out to your King's Kids class. God bless you.

! And the rest of us, we've been making our way through 1 Thessalonians. That's where we're going to be again this morning.

We were just in chapter 3 last week. We're going to be in chapter 4, verses 1 through 8 this week.

If you are using a pew Bible, that's going to be on page 1173. Now, in the passage this morning,

Paul is going to make a shift in how he's addressing these young but incredibly faithful believers.

Paul has just shared Timothy's good report that their faith has been strong in the midst of persecution,

which is exciting and encouraging for Paul to hear. And now he's going to turn his attention

to some ways that he wants the Thessalonians to grow in their faith and in their character.

So this morning, we'll be in 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 through 8. And here's where we're going as we

look at the passage, just so that we're all on the same page, so to speak. The first move of the

passage this morning is going to be our new aim, okay? Our new aim. Next, Paul is going to give us

three pictures of holiness, three pictures of holiness. And then lastly, we're going to be looking

at three motivations for holiness. So let's hear what Paul has to say to the Thessalonians and to us

as well. Picking up in verse 1. Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus

that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing,

that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,

that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of

lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is an avenger in all these things. As we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you,

for God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this

disregards not man but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

And may God bless the reading of his word this morning.

All right, so the first move of this passage is our new aim. As we read that, I'm guessing that

what stands out to you as we hear those words is the serious tone that Paul takes in this passage,

especially when we contrast it to what we heard last week in chapter 3, where there's a lot of

celebration that was just going on over the fact that the Thessalonians were standing strong, right?

But now things take a shift in Paul's tone. And that's because he wants the Thessalonians

to take seriously this call to guard against a sin that is a very real threat to their faith.

The Thessalonians, by God's grace, they've been faithful. They've been strong in the midst of

persecution, which is absolutely worth celebrating. But persecution is not the only danger on the

horizon. So there's a seriousness that's happening here. There's sobriety to Paul's words.

But even so, there's still warmth there, right? Notice how Paul begins the passage in verse 1.

Finally then, brothers or brothers and sisters, finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge

you in the Lord Jesus. Even though he's about to talk about the serious call of holiness on the lives

of the Thessalonians, Paul, he doesn't just come out swinging, right? He doesn't come out making

demands. He approaches this with an appeal, which is consistent with how he treated them when he was

with them, how he's spoken to them actually throughout this entire letter. If you remember back in chapter 1,

verses 11 through 12, Paul says,

This is what good dads do, right? Is that even though they wield authority, they seek to win their

kids to the goodness of obedience, to the goodness of listening and following and doing what dad says.

So good dads teach their kids to obey and they win them to obedience.

Why? Because they love their kids.

And Paul loves the church at Thessalonica.

So everything that he says in this letter, in this passage, he calls them to because he loves them.

Okay? That's the heart behind this appeal.

So what is he appealing for?

Verse 1 again.

That as you received from us how to walk and to please God just as you are doing,

that you do so more and more.

However, Paul is calling them to walk in a way that pleases God, to conduct their lives in a way that pleases God.

And encouragingly, he says that they're actually already doing this, but he wants them to press into it more and more,

that you do so more and more.

Now, just as we thought just for a minute on Paul's heart for the Thessalonians, let's pause for a moment and let's ask ourselves,

what kind of God is this that Paul says that they should please?

Because God is, he's all over this passage, right?

Unsurprisingly.

Paul calls the Thessalonians to please God.

He says that their sanctification is the will of God.

He says that the Gentiles who give themselves over to lust reveal that they do not know God.

He says that the Lord God is an avenger.

He says God has called the Thessalonians to holiness, and those who disregard those words disregard God.

So, who is this God who Paul is calling us to orient our lives around pleasing?

And I know this sounds like a very basic question like Christianity 101, but seriously, what kind of person is this God?

If you look back on chapter 1, verse 4, I think it's on the same pages in your pew Bible.

Paul writes this, 1 verse 4.

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he, that God has chosen you.

That this is a God who has set his love on you.

A God who has chosen you in the midst of your sins to rescue you, and he did not do that begrudgingly.

He does not love you with annoyance and irritation.

He's not a God who just kind of holds his nose around you.

If you are in Christ right now, you are loved with a, and here I quote from the theology tome that is the Jesus Storybook Bible,

that that is God's heart for you.

If you are in Christ.

So, do not lose sight of that God as we hear about our responsibility to honor him in this passage.

Okay?

That God, the God who is worthy of all of the honor and all the glory and all of the praise and who has somehow set his love on us,

not because we deserve it, deserved it, but because he is gracious,

that God is now the controlling center of our lives.

We belong to him, and now his desires are our commands.

Our lives are about pleasing him, no longer about pleasing ourselves.

This is our new aim as Christians, to please God.

He is the one who sets the agenda.

We accept his authority, and we strive to do what honors and makes much of him in every area of our lives,

resting in the fact that he knows what is best.

And there is no component of our lives that does not fall under this call to please God.

And one of the things that pleases God is our sanctification.

So, if you look at verse 3,

For this is the will of God.

Okay, pause really quick.

If you came in today wanting to know God's will for your life, get excited,

because you are about to hear it.

For this is the will of God,

your sanctification.

So, congratulations.

You now get to live the rest of your life knowing exactly what God's will is for you.

It's for you to grow in holiness and in Christ-likeness.

You are welcome.

Now, that word, that word for sanctification,

we can also translate that as holiness, by the way.

Sanctification, holiness.

So, again, verse 3,

For this is the will of God,

your sanctification,

that you abstain from sexual immorality,

that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God,

that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter.

So, what Paul gives us here is he's giving us three pictures, if you will,

of what holy sexuality looks like.

Remember that our aim as Christians is to please God,

and part of pleasing God is following his will for our bodies and how we use them.

What we do with our bodies sexually matters to God.

So, this isn't something that's off limits.

Okay, we don't get to just take this thing and separate it from our faith.

So, we're going to look at those three pictures,

and then after that, we're going to look at three God-centered motivations for holy sexuality.

So, three pictures of holiness, three motivations for holiness.

That's where we're going to be headed for the rest of this sermon.

All right, first picture of holiness.

This is at the end of verse three.

That you abstain from sexual immorality.

Now, when Paul uses that term, sexual immorality,

you might be wondering what all he has in mind there.

The Greek word that is translated in your Bible as sexual immorality

is the Greek word porneus, which comes from the root for pornea.

And if you're thinking, huh, that sounds an awful lot like one of our words in English.

And you would be absolutely right to think that and make that connection.

Pornea, in the Greek, it functioned as this kind of all-encompassing junk drawer term

that referred to just all sexual activity that happens outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

Okay, so this is everything that goes against the established sexual ethic of the Scriptures.

In Acts chapter 15, when the Jerusalem Council affirms the glorious reality

Acts 15 · chapter mention

that the gospel is not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles,

one of the instructions that they give the Gentiles for how to live as believers in the Messiah

is to abstain from sexual immorality, porneus.

It's the same word.

So what Paul is teaching, the Thessalonians here in this letter,

is consistent with the teaching of the apostles in other places,

and it's consistent with what we're taught throughout the rest of the Scriptures as well.

So just to be clear, sex outside of marriage, that is pornea, that is outside of God's good design.

Homosexuality, that would be pornea, that is something that is outside of God's good design.

Prostitution, which was something that was readily available in that culture at that time,

that would be pornea, outside of God's good design.

Adultery, pornea, you get the point.

And for the Christians in Thessalonica, the idea of holy sexuality,

a sexuality that stays exclusively within the context of the marriage between a man and a woman,

this would have been a difficult concept for the Greek believers to get on board with

because the culture in Thessalonica was, shall we say, sexually loose.

Just about the only sexual act that that culture would have disagreed with was adultery,

and it was because of how that messed with the family lineage.

Okay, don't mess up my family line, right?

Just about everything else outside of that was mostly considered fair game.

So this idea of sexual holiness, this would have been a significant adjustment for many Greeks

who God had rescued out of a pagan and a sexually loose culture,

which should encourage us because our culture is also quite broken when it comes to sex and gender.

So there is a lot that we can relate to here with our brothers and sisters in Thessalonica,

even though we're 2,000 years removed from them.

Now, before we go on, I want to draw attention to a few things that can fly under the radar

that we need to acknowledge, that I think would be helpful for us to acknowledge.

If you're here this morning and you are a committed follower of Christ,

these are some areas where I think that you're most likely to fall into the temptation of sexual immorality.

We're capable of falling into anything apart from God's grace,

but I think that these are probably the strongest temptations for us.

First off, men, men in the room, you and I know this,

pornography has an incredible draw,

and it's incredibly, incredibly accessible.

If you have a smartphone, you are maybe three clicks away

from seeing anything that your sinful mind can imagine or desire.

That's how accessible this abomination is.

And let me also just say that this does not have to have the word porn attached to it

in order for it to be sin,

because you can get the same lustful high off of a music video or a scene in a movie,

and just because it doesn't have the word porn to it

does not mean that it is outside of God's design.

So here's the reality.

If what you are seeing on a screen

awakens in you a desire for any person other than your wife,

it is pornea.

It's outside of God's command.

And if you're single and you don't have a spouse,

it's still pornea.

Okay?

It is something that is off limits.

Now, if that happens to be you this morning,

and you are hiding,

and you love your Lord,

and you want to stop dishonoring Him through this sin,

then you have got to bring it to the light.

You've got to confess it.

And honestly, you can come tell me.

You can come and tell one of our elders.

And I can promise you this,

that we are not going to shame you.

Satan wants to shame men that are stuck in this sin.

And that is not how God changes sinners.

He changes them with forgiving and empowering grace,

and that's what we want to help you latch onto.

Okay?

That's where we're going to point you

if you get this thing out in the light.

We're going to point you to God's grace

as the means of fighting this thing.

Okay?

And that same thing,

that goes for any kind of sexual sin

that any of us might be caught in right now.

I want everybody in the room to hear that.

So if you are dating,

and your significant other,

and you are doing things that God has said not to,

let's get that out in the open.

Let us resist that with God's grace.

Confess it,

and let's work against it.

If you are experiencing homosexual desires,

and you are afraid of other Christians

knowing about that,

let's get that out in the open,

and let's work through that with God's grace.

Talk to one of us pastors and elders.

Talk to your life group leader.

And then lastly on this point,

I want to say to my dear sisters in the room

that you need to be careful

with the novels and the stories that you read.

I know that there's growing numbers of women

who are struggling with visual pornography,

so I just want to acknowledge that.

But by and large,

for women,

the main issue, I think,

is probably going to be in the stories

that you choose to read.

And I'll just say the same thing

that I said to the men,

which is that if you read something

that awakens a desire in you

for a man who is not your husband,

then that is pornea.

That is something that is against

the command of the Lord.

And again, I would say,

get it out into the open.

Bring a mature sister into that

and fight it with God's grace.

So flee, abstain,

distance yourself from sexual immorality.

And by the way,

extreme measures on this are not extreme.

If our Lord Jesus said to tear out your eye

and throw it from you

in order to avoid lusting,

it is not crazy to toss out your smartphone

and get a dumb phone.

That would not be crazy.

What would be crazy

would be not treating the sin

like the spiritual disease that it is.

That would be crazy.

Okay?

So abstain from sexual immorality.

The second picture of holiness.

Control your body in holiness

as one who knows the Lord.

Control your body in holiness

as one who knows the Lord.

Verse four.

That each one of you

know how to control his own body

in holiness and honor,

not in the passion of lust

like the Gentiles

who do not know God.

Now that word know

for know how to control,

Paul isn't talking about

just knowing information

like you know the capital of Wisconsin

or you know the freezing temperature of water.

That's not the kind of knowing

that he's talking about.

He is talking about knowing

like it's a life skill.

It's a learned competency

which involves intentionality.

Nobody stumbles and falls

into sanctification.

Okay?

That doesn't happen.

It comes from building

a momentum of holiness

and growing in knowing

how to control yourself

so you can use your body

to glorify God

and not for your sinful pleasure.

Which is the exact opposite

of the culture

that these Greek Christians came from.

Paul says that the Thessalonians

should not be like the Gentiles

who do not what?

That they do, yes,

that do not know God.

Those who don't know God

do not have an issue

with handing themselves over

to the passion of lust

which makes sense

because if you don't know God

your primary aim in life

whether you know it or not

is to please yourself.

But if you know God,

truly know Him

like you know your closest friend

then the natural result of that

is going to be

an increasing and growing holiness

that aims at pleasing God.

This is the beauty of 2 Corinthians 3.18

And we all

with unveiled face

beholding the glory of the Lord

seeing Him, knowing Him

are being transformed

into the same image

from one degree of glory

to another.

Getting transformed

by seeing Jesus

by knowing Jesus.

Or in Ephesians

where Paul says

that the ministry of the church

is to build up

the body of Christ

until we all attain

to the unity

of the faith

of the knowledge

of the Son of God

to mature manhood

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4.12-13

So here's the point.

Knowing God

transforms you.

Knowing God

transforms

the very structure

of our hearts

so that we come

to love the things

that God loves.

So we control

our bodies

as is right

for those who know

the living God.

Final picture

of holiness.

Sexual sin

is never private.

Sexual sin

is never private.

This is verse 6.

That no one

transgress

and wrong

his brother

in this matter.

Now I think

that the most

direct application

of this verse

is a prohibition

against adultery.

That is no doubt

something that Paul

has prominently

in mind

in this verse

but note at the end

that he says

that no one

wronged his brother

in this matter

and the matter

that Paul

is addressing

right now

is how every aspect

of our sexuality

needs to be submitted

to the aim

of pleasing

the Lord.

So adultery

is not the only

sin

that's in view

in this verse

which means

that this verse

points us

to the reality

that our

sexual sin

regardless

of who is

or is not

aware of it

always

does damage

to the church.

that sexual

sin

is never

private

it always

impacts

more

than just

you.

By God's

good design

you are part

of a local

body

of believers

and when

you sin

even if it's

something as

private

as pornography

you do not

just wrong

yourself

you wrong

your brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

we live

in a culture

that wants

us to believe

that what we

do with our

bodies

as long

as it is

consensual

that it's

nobody's

business

except our

own

and that it

doesn't affect

anyone else

but that's

not true

because sin

always does

collateral

damage.

It always

does

collateral

damage.

Now as

important as

all this is

to know

these

things

that we

just talked

about

in and of

themselves

knowing

these

things

is

not

sufficient

to cause

us

to

change.

It's

crucial that

we know

what our

target

of

sexual

holiness

is

but

defining

sexual

sin

knowing

that we

should

control

our

bodies

and

recognizing

that sin

is never

private

those

three

things

aren't

going

to

in

and

of

themselves

help

us

to

get

to

the

target

knowing

those

things

is not

going

to

inspire

permanent

change

within

our

hearts

which is

why

Paul

ends

his

plea

for

holiness

by

drawing

the

Thessalonians

attention

to the

triune

God

because

at the

end of

the

day

you

and

I

are

incapable

in

our

own

strength

of

living

out

the

holiness

that

the

Lord

calls

us

to

in

this

passage

we

are

totally

dependent

on

the

forgiving

and

transforming

power

of the

triune

God

in order

to

live

this

way

so

let's

follow

along

with

Paul

and

let's

hear

the

three

God

centered

motivations

for

pursuing

sexual

holiness

motivation

number

one

God

is an

avenger

God

is an

avenger

verse

six

that

no one

transgress

and wrong

his brother

in this

matter

because

the

Lord

is an

avenger

in all

these

things

as

we

told

you

beforehand

and

solemnly

warned

you

so

Paul

says

that

God

is an

avenger

of

sexual

sin

and

that

should

motivate

us

to

pursue

holiness

in other

words

God

will

bring

justice

on

all

sexual

sin

when

we

stand

before

the

judgment

seat

of

Christ

which

I'm

guessing

is

not

a

typical

motivation

that

we

think

about

when

we

think

about

our

sanctification

this

idea

that

God

is

an

avenger

and

part

of the

reason

that

we

don't

think

of

that

as

a

primary

motivator

is

that

throughout

the

New

Testament

the

emphasis

in

strengthening

and empowering

the pursuit

of holiness

is

God's

grace

and love

and

mercy

that's

the thing

that gets

the emphasis

in

scripture

and gloriously

so

but

there's

still

a

category

in

the

New

Testament

for

letting

judgment

day

fuel

our

holiness

in

the

here

and

now

that's

a

category

of

thinking

and

that's

the

category

that

Paul

is

pointing

us

to

here

in

1 Thessalonians

4

6

here's

another

passage

in that

same

category

to show you

some other

places

that this

shows up

2 Corinthians

5

10

for

we

must

all

appear

before

the

judgment

seat

of

Christ

so

that

each

one

may

receive

what

is

due

for

what

he

has

done

in

the

body

whether

good

or

evil

so

every

single

person

Christian

or not

is going

to stand

before

the

judgment

seat

of

Christ

one

day

everyone

shows

up

in

the

courtroom

of

heaven

and

when

we

do

our

sexual

sin

is

something

that's

going

to be

on

the

table

that's

according

to

1

Thessalonians

4

6

another

verse

in this

category

of

thinking

James

3

1

James

says

not

many

of

you

should

become

teachers

my

brothers

for

you

know

that

we

who

teach

will

be

judged

with

greater

strictness

that

verse

is

in

the

scriptures

to

motivate

teachers

in

God's

word

to

teach

faithfully

and

to

prevent

people

from

flippantly

pursuing

becoming

Bible

teachers

and

in

a

similar

way

in

this

verse

Paul

is

soberly

and

seriously

motivating

us

towards

sexual

holiness

because

God

himself

will

one

day

judge

all

sexual

sin

!

dens

which

means

that

based

on

Christ's

faithfulness

we

do

not

look

at

judgment

day

with

the

fear

of

hell

that

is

not

how

Christians

look

at

judgment

day

because

we

know

that

the

joy

of

heaven

is

on

the

other

side

of

that

day

but

we

still

strive

so

that

on

that

day

we

get

to

hear

those

words

of well done, good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy of your master.

So by God's grace, that's the thing that we're striving for.

We're striving for that kind of faithfulness.

So that's the first motivation in this passage.

God is an avenger.

Motivation number two, God has called us in holiness.

God has called us in holiness.

Verse seven, for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

So that's that glorious reminder.

God has called us.

He has chosen us, but he has not just chosen us for salvation.

The story of the Christian life is not believe in Jesus and be saved from your sins and then

wait around until you die and go to heaven.

Okay, that's not the story of the Christian life.

When God saves you, he saves you onto a path of relationship with the triune God that goes

from now until all of eternity.

And the path that you're on right now is a path in which you are called to grow in your personal

holiness before the Lord.

No one earns their way to heaven, but we are on a path of growing and increasing holiness

that honors God.

This is 1 Peter 1.16.

For you shall be holy, for I am holy.

Right?

This is Ephesians 1.4.

God chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless

before him.

One of the commentators that I read this week says that when God called us as Christians,

he called us into the sphere where sanctification takes place.

That he calls us into a realm where God graciously starts to shape us more and more into his image

and likeness, making our character his character in the context of a personal relationship with

him.

So when God saved you, he called you into a lifelong pursuit of holiness and sanctification.

He called you to strive towards maturity as you walk with him, rooted in his love and grace.

And I can guarantee you, God's word guarantees you that this path of holiness is better than

any sexual sin that God calls you to lay down.

So whatever it is, you can name whatever struggle, anything that you are facing, whatever that thing

is that you don't want to give up, whatever desire that you want to hold on to, it is not going

to be as satisfying or as fulfilling as walking in the holiness that God has called you to,

this God who loved you and gave himself up for you.

That is going to be far more satisfying than anything that the world has to offer you.

We've been called in holiness.

Last motivation in this passage.

If you disregard this, you disregard God.

Verse 8, therefore whoever disregards this disregards not man but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Throughout this passage, even though he is appealing to the Thessalonians in love, Paul makes it quite

clear that the holiness that he is describing, it comes from an authority that is other than himself.

That these words are not guidelines or suggestions or opinions.

And that's because the ultimate source of this sexual ethic is God himself.

In verse 1, Paul says, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus.

So they are making their appeal not on the basis of their own authority.

They're making it on the basis of the authority of Christ.

Then in verse 2, for you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

The instructions, the commands, the marching orders, if you will, of this passage are instructions

that come ultimately from the Lord.

And I apologize, I lost my place.

There we are.

And then finally at the end of this passage, we're going to the last verse now, okay?

Verse 8, we have the clearest claim of authority of all, which is what we just read.

Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

So if you belong to the living God, Paul is not delivering a TED Talk, okay?

Nor is this sermon meant to function as one.

For Christians who ignore what the Bible teaches on sexuality, Paul says quite clearly that they are not disregarding men,

but that they are disregarding God, the God who claimed us and has rescued us.

When we come to Christ, God's views on sex and gender and marriage, those things become our views.

Because again, we're a people who care about pleasing God.

We are a people who care about God's will and not our own.

And so that means that we lay everything down at his feet and we say, you are God and we are not.

Give us wisdom.

So that's the posture of the Christian is sitting underneath the word of God.

Before we close, there's one final thing that I want to point out in this passage.

It's the last thing that Paul says.

And I think that this is hugely significant for this very serious topic that I hope will encourage you.

Paul says, God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

So what's the significance of the fact that God gives his Holy Spirit to us?

How does he, the Holy Spirit, how does he relate to this whole conversation surrounding our holiness?

The fact that God gives his Holy Spirit means that God does not leave us to pursue holiness in our own strength.

He does not abandon us to our sinful desires and expect us to live holy lives through sheer force of will.

He in his kindness has given us his Holy Spirit.

So work harder and do better is not the Christian path to transformation.

Okay, that is not it.

The Christian path to transformation is striving in the grace and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

That's what Christian transformation looks like.

In his high priestly prayer, praise God that this passage is in your Bible.

John 14, 15 through 17.

Jesus said this,

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever.

Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.

You know him.

Why?

For he dwells with you and will be with you.

Which means that every believer in Christ in this room is indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

Every single one of us.

Just pause.

Just be amazed at that for a moment.

That the Spirit of the living God dwells in you to strengthen you and to help you in your fight for holiness.

Whatever that is.

It could be sexual holiness.

It could be any other way.

Any other sin that you are trying to put to death.

There is no step of the Christian life that you walk apart from his empowering strength upholding you.

Which means that there is always hope for holiness.

Always.

Always.

If you have made a mess of your life through sexual sin, there is hope for holiness.

Don't sit in self-pity.

Don't fall for the accusations of your enemy.

Don't fall for the lie that this is a sin that you cannot gain victory in.

Because God is so unbelievably for you that he gave you his Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit is in you to strengthen you in this fight.

So do not give up.

Now what I'm not saying is that all you have to do is believe more in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And then snap.

Everything is going to be better.

Okay?

So that's not what I'm saying.

I'm not saying that the fight for holiness should be easy.

Because it's not.

And it's especially not going to be easy if you have built up a momentum of sin in your life that you're trying to stop.

That is something that is going to take time.

It's going to take hard and painful work in denying yourself and putting your sin to death.

But if you have the Holy Spirit at work in you, then you should abound in the hope that a new momentum of holiness is possible.

If it was just up to you, then sure.

Change is just like a pipe dream.

Like not going to happen.

But if it's up to you living in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and striving in the strength that God provides,

then you can kick despair and self-loathing to the curb.

And you can say, you don't have a place here.

You tell your downcast heart those words from Psalm 42.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

And why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God.

For I shall again praise him.

My salvation and my God.

We serve a God who has given his Holy Spirit to us.

And so as we strive for holiness, we have all the reason to boldly hope for change.

Amen?

Amen.

So let's acknowledge the fact that God is an avenger of sin.

Let's remember that God's calling on our lives involves our holiness.

And let's give all regard to the God who has graciously given us his Holy Spirit as we seek to live lives that are pleasing to him in accordance with his will.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Let's pray.

From Psalm 119, 33 through 40.

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end.

Give me understanding that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.

Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.

Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.

Confirm to your servant your promise that you may be feared.

Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.

Behold, I long for your precepts.

In your righteousness, give me life.

Heavenly Father, would you help us to trust that your way is best?

Would you help us to live lives of integrity?

We want to walk faithfully, Lord God, but we cannot do that alone.

Thank you for giving your Holy Spirit to us.

Thank you for not leaving us to our own strength.

Thank you for being both our Savior and our strength, Father.

Would you continue doing a work in our church so that we might grow in our faithfulness to you.

And it's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.