Excel Still More

August 10, 2025 Elwyn Johnston

1 Thessalonians 3:11 – 4:12

Verse of the Week: “Then your way of life will win respect from those

outside the church” 1 Thessalonians 4:12

1. Stand out, don’t blend in.

“God’s will is for you to be holy” 1 Thessalonians 4:3

“without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

“be holy, for I am holy” Leviticus 11:44

• Resist cultural drift

“as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and

please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.”

1 Thessalonians 4:1

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept

the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

• Live a sexually pure life

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain

from sexual immorality” 1 Thessalonians 4:3

“Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and

honor” 1 Thessalonians 4:4

“God didn’t call us to be sexually immoral but to be holy.”

1 Thessalonians 4:7

“who rejects this is not rejecting man but God” 1 Thessalonians 4:8

“your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…you are not your own; you

were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your

life.” Proverbs 4:23

“Where can go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your

presence?” Psalm 139:7

“confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that

you may be healed.” James 5:16

“Two are better than one….for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But

woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him

up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9 & 10

2. Live differently to make a difference

“we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each

other….you already show your love for all the believers. But we urge

you, as believers, to excel still more” 1Thessalonians 4:9 & 10

“aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work

with your own hands” 1 Thessalonians 4:11

• Don’t allow the storm around you to create a storm in you
  
  “we are not ignorant of satan’s schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11


• Write your own story. Don’t try to write someone else’s.
  
  “one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a
  
  quarrel not their own.” Proverbs 26:17


• Don’t just dream it – do it!

“Then your way of life will win respect from those outside the church”

1 Thessalonians 4:12