Lift me Up

1 Thessalonians 4-Part 2
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.  1 Thess. 4:3-5  NAS


LET IT GLOW

When I was in junior high school, there was a group of us girls from my gym class that went to a track meet. One of the events we participated in was  hanging from a bar over your head for as long as you could. Since I was short back then, too, and I could not jump up to reach the bar, someone had to lift me up to it. I think Paul was lifting up a standard for Christians in verses 3-5.
Paul didn't beat around the bush did he? If I want to know God's will for my life, here it is-sanctification.

"This is the will of God, let it be your will also," stated Jamison, Fausset, and Brown Commentary.

We have learned that sanctification means set apart.

The David Guzik's Commentary has this to say:

The idea behind sanctification is to be set apart from a godless culture and their sexual immorality. In the first century Roman Empire, chastity and sexual purity were unknown virtues. Even though immorality was thought to be normal or good, Christians were to follow God's will, not society's. Paul said this was a commandment (verse 2), and that was a military term describing an order from an officer to a subordinate, and the order comes from Jesus not Paul.
Those who do not know God do not have the spiritual resources to walk pure before the Lord; but Christians do. Therefore, Christians should live differently than those who do not know God.
Satan's not-very-sutle strategy is often to do all he can to encourage sex outside of marriage and discourage sex in marriage.
We live differently than the world when we possess our body in sanctification and in honor. Immorality is the opposite of honor, it degrades and debases the self, reducing us to slaves, acting more like animals than humans.

Now that is good. Did you catch the phrase "walk pure before the Lord?" It think that sums it all up. Our thoughts and actions should be pure. After all, the Lord Jesus knows them. We know that thoughts can lead to actions, so we have to guard our minds. I don't want to sin with my mind and body.

LET IT GROW

Look at the last part of verse 3-abstain from sexual immorality.

Joni Eareckson Tada said in her devotional book, Diamonds in the Dust:

God telling me that I should be holy is like His telling me to scale the high jump at a track meet. But wait. Who's that in front of the high bar? Could it be? Yes, it's the Lord. And He's there to give me a knee up.
In fact, Jesus even helps me pace myself as I take a run at the jump. The first step is to "avoid sexual immorality." That means "just say no." Turn on the keys to the ignition and leave. Hang up the phone. Turn off the TV. Cancel the subscription. Having taken this first step, I'm closer to the high bar.

Second, "Control [your] own body in a way that is holy and honorable." In other words, value your body. Call the media a liar when it sells beauty cheap. God did not created body parts. He created you.

Third, "No one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him." Don't be a fake. Don't entice others. Be honest with yourself. Admit that you can't handle temptation.

Lo and behold, you are up and over the high bar of holy living, all because you paced yourself with Jesus at your side. Don't think that God's will for you to be holy is too high a standard. He's provided graceful steps for you to get a good running start. Now all you have to do is take them.
Lord, lift me up. Encourage and empower me to take these small but important steps of obedience in order to more easily scale Your high standards.

*Just to let ya know, I won a ribbon for hanging around. I think it was 3rd place, but not sure. It's been too many years.


LET IT GO

Let Jesus lift me up to His standards for my life.

Take steps of obedience, walking pure before the Lord.

Act like I'm sanctified, set apart.