I Thessalonians 1: Walk Worthy

Join Crystal this week as she digs deeper into I Thessalonians 2 and what it means to "walk worthy of God." There is so much for us to learn from Paul as he established and encouraged the new believers in Thessalonica, but also from the new believers themselves. They were known for their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope as they waited for Christ's return. The expectation of His return caused them to live differently--to walk differently--sounding out and spreading forth the Gospel!

We will be studying through I and II Thessalonians for the next several episodes. Here's the link to the study guide if you'd like one to accompany your study. 

Available Bible Studies and Bible Study Guides (affiliate links):

• It's Time.
• Arise, Go.
• Pullin' Weeds, Plantin' Seeds
• There's a Fly in my Tea!
• Study Your Bible With Me Series

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi there, welcome to Wisdom for Wednesday, your midweek pause for truth, encouragement, and practical faith. I'm your host, Crystal Ratcliffe, author, speaker, and fellow traveler on this journey of growing in God's Word. Each week we'll dive into Scripture together and have the opportunity to be encouraged in the truth that never changes. If you're able, grab your Bible, a cup of coffee, and let's seek God's wisdom together. Hi there, and welcome back to Wisdom for Wednesday. I'm so glad that you're here. We started a study last week on 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, and we looked at what the believers were known for. They were known for a work of faith, a labor of love, and a patience of hope. And because they had hope in the Lord Jesus Christ coming again, they sounded out and spread abroad the gospel. And that's what they were known for, which I think is absolutely amazing. So we're gonna jump into chapter two here. So if you haven't listened to chapter one, you need to go back and do that. Um, not that they are in a specific order, but it would just, I think, be an encouragement to you to have it kind of going from start to finish. And I did want to mention, I'm so thankful for those of you that are praying for my family, praying for my dad. I've mentioned before he's he's struggled with his health for a very long time, and we are as at the time of this recording, we are going into what we expect to be the last couple days of hospice care. So I thank you for those that are praying and have reached out to let me know that I truly do appreciate it. So I am excited to jump in here in chapter two. We're gonna break it down a little bit this time. I know last time I read the whole chapter at one time because there was only 10 verses, but I kind of want to keep a group together here. So we're gonna start reading in chapter, 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 1. For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you that it was not in vain. But even after that we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated, as you know, at Philippi. We were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God which trieth our hearts. So you can hear in these verses that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were bold in their witness for Christ. Despite the struggle, the contention and the persecution they faced, they pressed on, not allowing the opposition to stop the message of the gospel. And their work was not in vain. The exhortation it's talking about there is a persuasive discourse or the comfort of the message of the gospel that they shared. So there, the exhortation, exhortation they shared was true. They did not attempt to trick or mislead anyone, and their motives were pure. I'm not sure we can say that of everyone claiming the name of Jesus today. We should be careful about those who are making merchandise of their followers. Remember, last week we discussed how anyone can have a platform in this current information age, and many of them are capitalizing on that. And while maybe their motives start out pure with a heart to encourage fellow believers, it becomes a business, a money-making venture. And so we need to be careful because as that happens, what usually takes place is their message changes because they want to attract more followers. So just be careful with that. And we're going to read in the next section of verses more of Paul's defense against those that would personally attack him. But what we see here is that they understood the greatest audience was and still is God. And it was about pleasing him. So a couple of questions about this section. Who am I trying to please? Who are you trying to please? And then when God tries my heart or examines my heart, what will he find? Let's start reading again, or let's continue reading in verse five. It says, For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness, nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holy and justly and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you that believe, as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. In Paul's letters, he often has to defend himself against personal attacks. Those who oppose the message would try to find fault with him, and they would accuse him of things. And here we can see they've accused him of financial misconduct and glory seeking. And people will attack you when they don't like the message. So, what does it say that Paul did? How did he handle it? Well, he lived above reproach, blameless, and he pressed on. He had a reputation of integrity and good character, and that is what he used to defend himself. And then we see in verse 7 and 8, just note that that in those verses it describes the care and the nurture of those new baby Christians. Older Christians must be willing to help others along. Don't expect them to know everything. I know that I can be guilty of that. Be patient, be kind, and love them as you call them higher, so to speak. Remember, we are all on our own journey toward walking closer to the Lord, becoming more Christ-like. Sometimes when I hear Christians talk about a specific show on TV or streaming, it's more like streaming now, I don't know. Um, maybe a show that glorifies partying or it encourages um promiscuity or it makes a mockery of marriage or has evil and dark themes. I think, how in the world can they watch that? And then I have to remind myself, it's a journey. I don't watch things I used to watch. I don't listen to things I used to listen to. I don't wear things I used to wear. It was a process. It didn't happen overnight. So just notice that love and that care and that nurture that Paul had for the new believers. And so what did Paul do? He exhorted them, he comforted them, and he charged them as a father doth his children. So to exhort is to encourage, to teach and advise. And then, of course, comfort is to calm and console them because remember, they were suffering from persecution. Paul and Silas had been run out of town because of the opposition to the message. And like I said last week, that the believers who stayed would have still been suffering the opposition to the message, I'm sure. And so he comforted them. He charged them, which means to give direction or command. And so it's interesting that so many don't want to be led like that by their spiritual leaders, their pastors, their Bible teachers. They just want to come into church, do their thing without ever being challenged to grow. So they sit in church on Sunday and then they live their life in the world how they please. I say, Lord, help us not to do that, not to be that way. Or maybe they, as we read about in this chapter, they attack the messenger, the pastor when they don't like the message. We need to be careful to recognize that God put our spiritual leaders in place. And as long as they are following God, we should be willing to follow them, to submit to them and allow them to exhort, comfort, and charge us to walk worthy of God. So I want to pause here and talk about that phrase walk worthy, because every time I see the word walk in the Bible, I just take note of it. And really, that word walk is our daily conduct. God cares about our walk and our daily contact conduct. And one of the references I checked said that walk or a form of it is found in the Bible 413 times. Now, some of you that have been here following along since the Herportion days, you might remember we even did a whole monthly theme on walking worthy, because there are so many times, so many ways we're told to walk. So these are just some of them. We are told to walk by faith, walk in the spirit, walk in wisdom, walk in love, walk as children of the light, walk in him, walk honestly, walk circumspectly, walk in the light, walk with wise men or in good counsel, were to walk in his commandments. And those are just some of the ones that I thought of, but I want to take a look at in our passage here, it says that ye would walk worthy of God who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. But I want to look over at Colossians chapter one. So flip over there if you're able, Colossians chapter one. We're going to read verse 9 through 12. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. So to walk worthy, worthy is talking about appropriately or in a way that becometh our Lord and Savior. It's walking after a godly sort. So, how do we walk worthy of the Lord? Well, we need to walk in a manner that is worthy of him, fully pleasing to him. And I know for me, this really kind of started standing out to me when I wrote There's a Fly in My Tea. That was the first Bible study when the Lord just really convicted my heart about how my testimony, my daily walk, my daily conduct reflected on the Lord. Because there were times when I wasn't walking well with the Lord. And what did that look like to others? And so at this point, the Lord put on my heart Psalm 19, 14. It's what I would call my life verse. And it says, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. I want to have a good testimony for the Lord with my words, my actions. I want my heart, the meditation of my heart to be acceptable to him. But when we walk worthy of him, what we see in this passage is we're to be fruitful in every good work. And of course, we know from John 15, if we were to look at it, we're supposed to abide in Christ. And when we abide in Christ, we have a responsibility to be fruit bearers. We are to bear fruit. We have been given a wonderful, unimaginable gift from the Lord when we accept Him as Savior. And we should be sharing that with others. And in order to do that, we have to have some fruit in our own lives. Think about the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5, 22 through 23. It says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And when the fruit of the spirit is evident in our own lives, we will be a witness and a testimony to those around us. It also says here in Colossians that we should be increasing in the knowledge of God. So we can only walk worthy if we're filled with the knowledge of his will and spiritual understanding. And that wisdom does not happen apart from God's word. And that goes back to abiding. How do you abide in Christ? You abide in his word. Proverbs 2.6 says, For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. And Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. If we will truly seek wisdom and knowledge and get into God's word, God will give it to us. I should say, if we will get into God's word and truly seek wisdom and knowledge, God will give it to us. And then it also says there that we should be strengthened with all might, patience, long-suffering with joyfulness. So we have endurance. We have endurance. We press on when things are difficult. We're in it's all done in his strength, not our own. And then we have joy, his joy. The Bible tells us that he will give us his joy. And then the last thing I see in this section is the giving of thanks. Of course, we know from Ephesians 5.20 it says giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 1 Thessalonians 5.18, we'll get there in our study eventually, says, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And so the giving of thanks always for all things can be so difficult. But as I've been writing my today's thoughts, that devotional book that I'm working on, which by the way may not meet my goal with everything going on right now. But as I've been writing and considering the children of Israel, the nation of Israel and their journey in the wilderness, I just keep going back to how would they have handled it differently if they could have developed an attitude of gratitude? If they were thankful for what the Lord had done for them with the deliverance from Egypt and then providing for them in the wilderness, if they focused on the things that God was doing, would they have been murmuring and complaining so much? I don't think so. It's an important part of our Christian life that we take time to be thankful. And that is going to be one way that we are able to walk worthy. And so then back in our back in our text, sort of, 1 Thessalonians 4:1 says this, furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. So walking worthy doesn't end. In fact, back in our text 212, that word called, he is continually calling us. First, he called us to salvation, and then he's calling us to a life of holiness and obedience and pleasing him. So this walking worthy is never supposed to end. I want to give you a few more thoughts from the the last part of the chapter there. So we're going to read in verse 13. It says this, for this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which he heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is, as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Now, I I just there's a lot in that verse. I just love it. So note how they received the message. They believed it to be true, the very word of God, and they knew it wasn't just Paul's message. So remember what they were known for in chapter one. They were known for that work of faith, the labor of love, the patience of hope sounding out and spreading forth the gospel. And if we truly believed the message, we would act on it. We would walk worthy. And then I see there too, the way that we treat God's word matters. It matters. We should treat it with respect and reverence. It's not just any other book. We need to approach it carefully. So let me keep reading here. Verse 14 for ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us. And they please not God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always, for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy. So I just want to point out here, Paul had a heart for others. The people were dear to him. We read that in verse 8, and they were his joy. We see that in verse 19 and 20. And not only that, but they would be his joy. Notice in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. Jesus is coming again. Keep your eyes up, considering the joy in heaven of seeing those you have led to the Lord or encouraged in the Lord. And so, of course, I'm gonna leave you with some more questions here. When we are serving the Lord, what's our motivation? Is it feeling better about ourselves? Is it pleasing men? Is it appeasing God's wrath? Our motive should be our love for the Lord and a heart for others. And so, my question, my final question of this lesson would be how's your heart today? What's your motive for serving the Lord? Spend some time, consider it. And I think we can learn a lot here from Paul and the believers that were living in such a way, expecting Christ's coming and how that changed them. That changed the way they lived, and it should change the way we live too. So I feel like I have talked really, really fast today. That's probably because I know I have I'm working with a short amount of time because of all that's going on in my life right now. Thank you so much for listening. I don't take it lightly that you're here. Um, I pray for you. I pray for the podcast episodes that the Lord can use them for his honor and glory and to be a help to the listeners, those that find themselves listening. So I do thank you for listening. And I just want to say that my plan is to continue on the study as scheduled with the podcast, but of course, that's going to depend on things with my family. So I'm hoping to be back here with you next week going over First Thessalonians chapter three.