If the YouTube video above is not available, here are two other ways to view:
WFJ-26
970921PM
Pursuing the Quiet Life. I Thessalonians 4:11-12 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Christians not only have the obligation to love one another but also to be good testimonies to the people of the world. Paul’s great concern was that the Thessalonican believers earn their own wages and not become freeloaders depending on the support of unbelievers. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” (1 Thes. 4:11, NIV) seems like a paradox; if you are ambitious, your life will probably not be quiet. But the emphasis is on the quietness of mind and heart, the inner peace that enables a man to be sufficient through faith in Christ. Paul did not want the saints running around creating problems as they earned their daily bread.
Waiting quietly on the Lord as Jesus did! Mark 1:29-39; 3:20
Jesus had a full and very pressured life. His days were always long, His nights were often short. His time was constantly punctuated by the cries of enemies and friends. He was sought out by individuals, hunted by friends, invaded by crowds. He had hurried or no meals at times, and collapsed in fatigue to the point of sleeping through a storm.
Yet in the midst of constant pressures all about Him, He lived in an aura of constant peace. He lived and breathed the fragrance of a world of heavenly tranquility. To His dying hour, He was brave, bold, and confidently aware of God’s plan. If He was just like us apart from our sin, which of His habits should we imitate? Just two for tonight.
Jesus was a man of prayer. He waited on the Lord – so should we.
Jesus was a man of the Scriptures. He waited in the Word – so should we.
The keys to a quiet life are found in Christ. Join me as we look at what He found as He searched and fed upon the Scriptures.
Listen to what God intended life to be like from the very beginning. The prophet Isaiah has a profound description of life in God’s way. Isaiah and the Psalms are more on Christ’s lips than any other portions of God’s Word. This is the life Jesus lived perfectly. This is the internal quality we should seek. The quiet like is the fullness of the Spirit’s fruit of peace!
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (KJV)