May 15, 2021: SOAP #4181:  1Chronicles 25-27; 1Thessalonians 4

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 4:1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God… 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable…
7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

OBSERVATION: The reason for such admonition and warning is found in God.  God our Creator has the right to set such boundaries.  He has the right to determine what is appropriate and what is inappropriate.  He created us with a purpose in mind.  He created us with to excel in certain areas, and in order for us to excel in those areas, we have limitations.  Doing some things will harm us, and harm our potential.  God has placed those things off limits for our own good. He calls them sin.  They are against His nature, and we were created in His image. God created us to live holy lives for that is the only way we can fulfill His purpose.

God gave us these guidelines; God also gave us His Holy Spirit!   Since the fall, God has known that man could not keep His holy commandments.  Man must have help!  At the same time God gave the commandments to Moses, He also gave the sacrifices to be made when they would be broken!  There was only One Who kept the law perfectly and His sacrificial death is accepted as payment for our sins.  After Jesus died, rose, and ascended back to heaven, God sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to dwell in our lives.  He is the “help” we needed to motivate us and empower us to lives pleasing to God.

APPLICATION: The only hope I have of living a life pleasing to God is to acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit, learn to hear His voice, and to follow His leading. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, I need your help in understanding how God’s word applies to my life.  Then I your help to live in a way that pleases God.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!