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Please remember that sermon notes are meant to act as a guide and may not be exactly what was preached.
We were at the Air and Space Museum in DC a couple of weeks ago. There, we saw the capsule that was sent into space, how small they were and how big the rocket was that pushed that very small capsule into space. The information there explained about the animals that were sent into space. From 1948 – 1961 we sent monkeys and primates to test the effects of the launch and the effects of being off of the earth and in orbit.
A rocket launch is, by definition, one long, controlled explosion, with the energetic results of that explosion streaming out of the bottom-mounted engines and propelling the vehicle into space. I cannot help but think two things:
One, the animals used in space exploration. They were placed on top of a controlled explosion a highly explosive rocket, a huge bomb, and sent into space with no thought or choice about what they were doing.
Two, unlike the monkeys, the men and women who have since gone into space, were and are all volunteers, they know the risks, they have seen the results of human error and faulty equipment. They do so, and did so, in the full knowledge of what could happen.
We are and will be talking about pleasing God. God’s will is your Sanctification; vs. 3. Since it is God’s will then being sanctified would be pleasing to Him as you walk in holiness. Sanctification is not something that happens just in Sunday morning services or discipleship classes. It is to take place in every aspect of your lives. Every aspect of your life should be sanctified unto the Lord!
“Do this even more” vs. 1 & 10 – please God and love one another…
Be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 2:17-18
The admonishment that Paul gives to the Thessalonians about sexual immorality is one we would be well to heed. In that time and culture the well-to-do had slaves—concubines—the reason one got married was to have a wife to manage the household, and have legitimate heirs. Their culture allowed for, and considered normal, the temple prostitutes, both male and female, as well as sexual relations outside of marriage.
Their culture was immoral and the church had received instruction on how to live and please God from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We too have received instruction through the Word of God. It has been proclaimed to His Church through the Word of Truth and in our own bible reading. We learn and grow in the knowledge or our Lord.
The problem of sexual immorality is seen in our culture today, maybe even worse than what they had in theirs. Just about every TV program revolves around sex… and not just between a man and a woman… Prostitution is illegal in all but one of our states and territories, Nevada is the only U.S. jurisdiction which allows some legal prostitution in some of its counties. But illegal prostitution takes place in every State… especially where there is a drug problem…
Sexual immorality is seen everywhere you look. If you want to see how bad things really are watch a talk show as people applaud and laugh about the grossest types of sexual sin…
Pornography use in the U. S. is at an all time high and that has bled into congregations throughout our country and the world… “Pornography hurts adults, children, couples, families, and society. Among adolescents, pornography hinders the development of a healthy sexuality, and among adults, it distorts sexual attitudes and social realities. In families, pornography use leads to marital dissatisfaction, infidelity, separation, and divorce.”
We as Christians are to keep away from all that! And Paul says the reason is because we know God’s love, we know Him as Father, we know his holiness and we are called to be holy as He is holy, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)! Knowing God and His love for us is supposed to make a difference in what we say, in how we act, and in our relationships with one another and in our keeping away from sexual immorality. The Lord tell us in 1 Corinthians 6 to, “Flee sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.”
Vs. 9-10 We are to love even more…
We, as Christians, are not like the monkeys who were strapped to a bomb who gave no thought of what they were a part of. NO, we know that the Lord our God, the Holy one, our creator has called us to sanctification, to walk in holiness and to love one another.
You are no monkey, you now know the risks. In fact, you know the outcome of not growing in obedience and knowledge, of not being sanctified. Are you prepared? There is no risk in following Christ, walking in holiness, of being sanctified, of loving one another—there is no risk in pleasing God!
But there is a sure and certain expectation of not walking in holiness (See Hebrews 10:26-31). Christ is coming back in judgement. Will He find us worldly or Christlike? Loving one another or unloving, disobedient, and unforgiving?
Digging Deeper
- Are you pleasing God?
- Is every area of your life sanctified unto the Lord?
- Are you walking in holiness?
Further Reading: Leviticus 18, Proverbs 5:15-23, Proverbs 6:20-7:27, Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 5:1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 Corinthians 7:1-8, Galatians 5:19-21 (19), Ephesians 5:3-5, Colossians 3:5-7, James 1:14-15, 1 Peter 1:14-16, 1 Peter 2:11, 2 Peter 1:1- 12
Dayton First Church of God 