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“Finally*¹, then, brothers*², we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received 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" (1 Thessalonians 4:1,2).

I serve with a group of several teachers in our Adult Bible Fellowship class and am taking my turn. Yesterday's lesson I taught from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 so this week in our Daily Encouragement message I would like to present that material to you, our faithful readers.

Paul had established the church in Thessalonica as recorded in Acts 17:1-9. The church sure got off to a rocky start! Essentially, the founders were run out of town! The gospel of Christ is presented by evangelist Paul: "On three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.' And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women" (vs 2-4).

"Some of them were persuaded" which established the church. Later Paul wrote follow-up letters which we have in our Bibles as 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians are essentially personal greetings concluded with a prayer. In chapter 4 he gets to the nitty-gritty and main purpose for his writing.

It's an exhortation we do well to receive today. Let me post it again and urge you to read it this time slowly as if it was a letter written directly to you (which it is) " We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more".

Good and necessary teaching includes instructions on how we ought to walk and please God. Paul had given these instructions through the Lord Jesus. The NASB version elaborates, "by the authority of the Lord Jesus". The words of instruction and care Paul offered were not his alone. They came directly from Jesus Christ, as revealed to the apostle. Rejecting the Bible's instructions is a rejection of God (4:8) and a refusal to follow the Holy Spirit's presence in your life.

These instructions were initially given when he was in Thessalonica and now he is reminding and reinforcing them in writing. That's again something we all need!

As he continues in this section he will give two specific instructions that are vitally needed in every age and every location.  They are certainly needed in the US in 2025 and they're needed wherever you live. We will develop these points over the next several days:

B e encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13