Pursue Your Ambitions

Take your Bibles, please, and turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. As we continue our study through the book of 1 Thessalonians, you follow as I read the first 12 verses of chapter 4. Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive 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.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. For that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. And to aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Father, we've read your word which is your voice speaking to us now help us to hear it we are people who need guidance from you we want to live lives that are pleasing to you so help us to listen as you tell us how to do that grant us insight now as we look into your word. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen Years ago I only been a pastor for a few weeks but I preached one humdinger of a sermon.

I remember it not because of the sermon. I don't even remember what I preached that day. I just remember what happened afterwards. A person from the church, a member of our church, came up to me and asked me this question. Is it okay for a Christian to be ambitious? Now I knew what the expected answer was.

This man wanted assurance from me that it was okay for him to pursue his career and to be very ambitious about it. And what I gave him was a sloppy compromise of an answer because I didn't know enough. I was only 29 and because I certainly didn't want to offend him. But when I look at this passage that's before us, 1 Thessalonians 4, 11 and 12, it speaks about ambition.

It does talk about ambition. The Bible does talk about ambition and we find it here in our text. Now before we get into it, let's get our bearings in this book just a little bit so we know what's going on. Paul wrote this letter on behalf of the team that had brought the gospel to the city of Thessalonica. He writes it to a champion church. It is a church that's facing the issues that every church does, but it seems to be doing well.

Overall, it seems to be doing well. And Paul encourages it to continue down the road of obedience. He says, do this more and more. He says, as you're doing. And so he's writing to a church that's doing pretty well, but he wants to encourage them to go further down this road of obedience and outline for them some more things that they need to understand.

Because he had said to them, you need to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. And that shows them how they ought to walk and to please God. And so in chapter 4, he begins to outline those things. How to walk worthy of the Lord. How to walk in a way that pleases God. So I'm going to read the two verses again.

And then we're going to look at these. And I want you to keep in mind that even though this doesn't seem like anything extraordinary, this is what we do to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord who called us into his kingdom and glory Here what he says And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. Not much there, but we're sure going to mind this one. all right here's what he says in verse 11 be ambitious for the right things be ambitious for the right things God commands you here to aspire or better yet make it your ambition make it your ambition we are by nature ambitious creatures what is ambition it's to to earnestly desire to earnestly work.

If I were to sum up ambition, to me, it's driving and striving, right? People are driven and they strive. That's what characterizes ambition. The friend that, the friend who's grown up with you, who you never see anymore. He travels all the time. He's speaking to civic groups all over the place.

He has very little time to be at home with his family. His ambition is that seat in Congress. He's driven for that. There's the high school kid who works hard in wrestling practice, and he drills and he drills and drills until he gets that single-leg takedown perfect. And he stays after practice to lift weights for another half hour, and the whole weekend he's running.

His ambition is to be state champ in his weight class. He's driven. There's the kid next door whom you rarely see. he doesn't go to many of the games at school even though his friends are on the team he doesn't go out much he doesn't have a lot of fun because he's in his room all the time studying his brains out why his ambition is to graduate at the top of the class he's driven right now god says to us here in verse 11 i want you to be driven i want you to be a driven people i want you to strive and to drive right So strive with all your might to live quiet lives to mind your own affairs to work with your hands What I don know if you see the irony in those words Make it your ambition Strive to live a quiet life to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands That just doesn seem to make any sense, does it?

But this is what God is saying. Make this your ambition. you've got to be sold out to this what is it well the first thing he says is to live quietly what is that all about for one thing god's not called us to be agitators god has not called us to be agitators in the culture of that day you would show up in the public assembly for example thessalonica had a public assembly these greek cities were very democratic. Not that you had representatives, but everybody would show up to vote on something.

And you had these guys who were the leaders, and your job was to show up and agitate for your guy and his policies. Now listen, today we live in a culture of incivility and in-your-face tactics. That characterizes our culture today. There's no more civil discussion. We have raucous public debates. And if you disagree with me, you are an enemy that must be destroyed.

That's the nature of conversation in our culture today. Listen, God has not called his people to be Sean Hannity's in Rush Limbaugh's. Alright? He has not called us to be those things. Nor has he called you to seek celebrity. Make it your ambition to live a quiet life.

He hasn't called us to seek celebrity. If only I could make a name for myself, then we could really accomplish great things. Right? Someone says, hey, I have a great idea. You've heard of the reality show, The Real Wives of Orange County? How about The Real Lives of Christian Wives?

Let's get our own reality show. Let's get it out there. Man, we'd really make an impact, wouldn't we? And he says, no! It's not found in celebrity. Maybe you just have the goal of making a big name for yourself.

It's not what it's about. Make it your ambition to live Lead a quiet life. Now, young people, you have people in your ear all the time telling you, make a big name for yourself. Be a big shot. And God says, no, look, what you want is a quiet life. God has not called us to notoriety, and he has not called us to celebrity.

He has called us to live quiet lives. can you think this with me Jesus died to free us from agitation and fame he died so that we wouldn't have those kinds of desires listen to me God says make it your ambition to lead a quiet life it's nothing better and then he says make it your ambition to mind your own affairs now this is almost an extension of leading a quiet life it tells us a little bit more it means don't become busy bodies don't become busy bodies you say well i don't go around gossiping to everybody that's not exactly what he means either in other words you can be so busy with important affairs that you have little time to concern yourself with ordering your own household you're so involved in important affairs that that you don't even order your own household he says make it your ambition to mind your own affairs listen you can be so busy trying to make america great again that you don't have time to make disciples of jesus at home I fear that so many Christians today in this country have lost sight of this you see you can busy yourself with so much outside activities that you don't have time to mow your lawn love your wife play with your kids and read the Bible together he says make it your ambition to mind your own affairs Don't be out there constantly in everybody else's affairs. Don't be out there trying to push all the big agendas. Don't make that the goal of your life.

Make it your ambition to mind your own affairs. Can you think this Jesus died so that you could be free to mind your own business Then he says, make it your ambition to work with your hands. Wow! Does that fly in the face of what our society tells us today? you know what we're hearing all the time don't you want to better yourself don't you want to go to college and get educated so you don't have to work in a factory and you don't have to dig ditches isn't that what we hear all the time aren't you young people told all the time oh guys chase your dreams you don't want to get stuck in a job somewhere chase your dreams go after it Be all you can be.

You don't want to get stuck just laboring somewhere, do you? Hmm. You know what Paul says here? Good, honest, hard work honors God. This is not what we're told today. God says, make it your ambition to work with your hands.

You know, my dad, who was a pastor, constantly said to my brother and me things like this don't ever look down on people who work who are manual laborers who work hard for their living and don't you ever be ashamed to work hard manual labor because hard work honors God and those people who aren't pastors and Sunday school teachers, but are just good, solid people who work, they honor God just as much as anybody who gets in a pulpit to preach the Word of God. Work is an honorable thing before God, he would tell us. And you know, he lived that out.

When he was 62, he resigned from the ministry at the last church he was in. He wanted to start another ministry. And at 62, he moved to Minneapolis. You know what he did? He worked third shift in a piggly, wiggly grocery store mopping floors. And then he got a better job being a gardener for some rich people.

But that what he did in his 60 Why Hard work honors God Hard work And so listen if you sitting here today and you saying I'm just a factory worker. I just work waiting tables. That's all I do. Listen, make it your ambition to do that. God says that's a good thing. don't listen to our culture that downgrades that sort of thing. Now, I know what you're thinking right now.

What you're thinking right now is, hey, pastor, when will I see you working a press at Whirlpool? Right? Some of you are thinking that right now. I know you are. Well, let me say this. God gives different people different ways to do different kinds of labor.

Listen, I'll be honest with you. I think I'd do better as a pastor than I would as a plumber. I think you would rather have me preach a sermon to you than have me get under your sink. I really think that. Okay? But you know what?

I can be happy as a laborer. If God and His providence would do that, I can be happy in that. You know, when I graduated from seminary with a master's degree, you know what I did? The first job I had after I graduated from seminary was cutting down weeds along a fence at a community college in Iowa. You know what my next job was? I helped a guy farm 1,200 acres.

And then we moved back to Indiana. I worked in a chemical plant. I worked in a trailer factory for a while. I was a high school custodian. And I worked producing grain bins, like the big bins you see out here on the corner of 309 and 37. Worked in a manufacturing place doing that.

Why? because God didn't say hey you got the ambition to be a pastor that's what you need I knew that my ambition at that moment had to be what had to be to work with my hands that's what God had called me to do and that's what I did that isn't to say you know that's a great thing it's just to say that's what your ambition ought to be and notice this he's not he's not he doesn't just want to leave it at that. He says, and to work with your own hands as we instructed you. He told them, this is what you need to be doing Not just told them but notice what that word instruction means We looked at it in verse 2 when he wrote for you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus You know those are instructions that mean that means this is what God expects.

These are commandments. I'm instructing you in the commandments of God. It's like, if you don't follow the instructions, you're not doing right. So he's essentially saying, God commands you to be this way. And listen, this wasn't theoretical with Paul. Paul wasn't saying, hey, I'm an apostle.

So, you know, this is below me. Because remember what he told us already in chapter 2? Remember what he said? He's recounting to them something. He says in verse 9, chapter 2, For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil. We work night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaim to you the gospel of God.

He knew what it was to work, and he worked when he was with them. He set the example for them. Now, can you think this? Jesus died to make you a hard worker. Jesus died to free you from the burden of laziness so that you would know the God-honoring great thing of hard work. Now does that mean that Christians should just stay at home and not concern themselves with their communities?

No, not at all. But you will have more effect on your community when you have a reputation as quiet, hard-working folk who mind their own affairs. you will have much more influence on your community if that's what you're known for live a quiet life work hard and if God wants you to have greater influence and if you will celebrity he'll take care of that you don't have to chase it if he wants you to have more influence if he wants to expand your influence he'll take care of that you don't have to worry about that You just give yourself to being what God calls you to do here. So let me ask you, what are your ambitions?

What are your ambitions? Do they line up with God's definition of ambition? They should. Are you satisfied with living quietly, living simply, and simply working? You should be. You should be.

Because that's God's call in your life. you want to walk in a way worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and his glory and live a quiet life mind your own business and work hard that's what it means you know I could I don't know if you can tell, this is one of my pet passages. I've hammered this passage for years. Just talk to my children. We just hammered this.

Why? Because it's a good life. It is a good life. If this is what God calls you to do, then do it and you will find happiness. Listen, when we start thinking, man, if only I could get a name for myself, Man, that would be a great life. It's not.

A quiet life is such a good life. It's such a good life. Parents, are you teaching your children this? Or have you sucked in what the culture has said? And said, you don't want to work like that. Now listen, people are gifted differently.

Right? If you've been gifted to read books and you're good at it, then go that way. But if you're not, don't force it. And don't ever communicate that there's something sub, there's just something that's not quite right with working with your hands. There's nothing. That is a good thing.

God calls us to it. Let's do it, and let's do it well. and let's stop this crazy crazy idea that this is something that's just not good enough all right this is what god calls be ambitious for the right things now why should you do this god actually gives us some reasons why he tells us this and he says be ambitious for the right reasons in verse 12 be ambitious for the right reasons so that you may walk two things so you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. It gives us two reasons why we ought to live quiet lives, working hard, minding our own business.

Number one, we need to live this way so that we have a good reputation with our unbelieving neighbors. A good reputation with your unbelieving neighbors. What unbelievers think about us is important. Now I understand, Jesus said they're going to misunderstand us. They're not going to get it right, but they will get some things right and one of the things right they might get is you a good worker you lazy And we need to be good workers who aren we not agitators we not seeking celebrity We just quiet people who work hard mind their own affairs And if you live this way, you will gain a reputation as good members of the community, and you will have influence.

If we really want to reach our community with the gospel of Jesus, then this is the kind of life that you must lead. if we want to reach our community then this is the way that we must that we must live now don't misunderstand me i am not saying that if you live a quiet life mind your own business and work hard with your hands that people will be converted because they look at your life that doesn't happen don't anyone ever think or say i don't say anything about jesus but i live differently and people get saved that way no they won't no one has ever saved without a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus, okay? No conversion will ever happen without that. No one has ever converted without hearing the gospel.

But busybodies and sluggards will not gain a hearing for the gospel. You see? You know, I grew up in a small town, and there was a member of our church who had a reputation in our community is kind of a lazy guy. You know why? Because he was talking about Jesus when he should have been working. He would waste entire days talking to people about Jesus and not do his work.

And although he worked little and he talked a lot, not many people heard about Jesus from him. He didn't have the reputation for it. So look, if we want a good reputation, if we want to adorn the gospel, all right, the scripture says this, for example, in Titus, it says this, in 1 Timothy 6, it says this, it says that we live in such a way not to convert people, but we adorn the gospel.

We put the jewelry and the makeup on it to attract people. Think of it this way, when you walk into the mall and you go by the store and you see the window there and you see the stuff that's in the window what is that what is that intended to do draw you in so you buy right well we're the window dressing you live a quiet life you work hard you mind your own business and people are drawn in and then we can talk to them you see Then we have more of a reputation for saying something about Jesus Then they might listen. So we do this so we have a good reputation with outsiders, and we live this way, and you need to live this way so that you are not dependent on anyone.

So you're dependent on no one. we live in a society that encourages dependence rather than independence. It encourages us to get stuff without working for it, to support our families without working for the money. Now, I'm not here, and we can have honest disagreements on some of these governmental policies. I'm not here to talk about governmental policies, okay?

That's not my job. but I think our society certainly encourages people to think that they don't have to work to receive the benefits and that's not what God says he says and by the way should we help those who do not have the ability to support themselves absolutely that's the way we show the love of Christ we're all needy we all come to God needy and physical need is just a a parable of the need that all of us have, okay? But for those who claim Christ as Lord, for those who claim Christ as Lord, at least their goal must be to work hard so that they can provide for themselves and not depend on other people. Now look, we're going to take a benevolent offering today.

Is that wrong? No. We want to help people. But our goal has to be that we work to the point where we're not dependent on other people, that we support ourselves. You know, we often think that disciples of Jesus must read their Bibles, memorize the Bible, meditate on the Bible, pray, be faithful in going to church. That's right.

But following Jesus also includes working so that you do not depend on others. That's the way we follow Christ, that you work to support you and your family. That honors God. When it comes to living quietly, minding your own affairs and working with your hands, there's a lot at stake. It not just it isn just to honor God It that we live in our communities in a way that distinctively different That we adorn the gospel.

So, how ambitious are you? How ambitious are you? Are you driven to live quietly? Are you driven to live quietly in a way that looks noticeably different from the folks around you? Not as agitators, not as celebrities, but just quietly. Do you strive to mind your own business?

Do you aspire to work hard? God has not called us to do great things. Let that sink in for a moment. God has not called us to do great things. He's called you to live faithful, quiet, simple, hard-working lives. And that we trust that God will do great things through people who live faithful, quiet, hard-working, simple lives.

It's amazing what God can do with people who are characterized that way. It's not up to us to do great things. It's up to God to do great things through simple folks. remember that by such simplicity we adorn the gospel we make it attractive so that people at least might give us a hear what are your ambitions they ought to be the ambitions that God has laid out for you make it your ambition to live this way Father thank you for your word and Lord we find that obedience to what you've called us to do leads to a much better way of living than we could ever imagine or that everyone could ever propose Father would you make this congregation a congregation of faithful hardworking people help us to live quiet lives oh we are so bombarded with the celebrity culture and we are so tempted by it help us instead to be happy in your calling.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.