Marks Of A Mighty Church (Part 3) Series

Marks of A Mighty Church (Part 3)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 8/23/2015

A pilot was flying over the South Pacific when he noticed smoke coming from one of the many deserted islands below. The pilot flew closer and, sure enough, there was a man there with a great huge beard and tattered clothes sending the smoke signals. When the pilot landed, the man was overjoyed. “I’ve been on this island all alone for eleven years and I was beginning to lose hope!”

The pilot noticed something odd, and then asked, “If you've been all alone on the island for eleven years why do you have three huts?" The man smiled. “This hut is my home. This one next to it is my church. I go there every Sunday to worship God.”

“That’s very touching,” said the pilot, “How about that third hut?”

With a bitter look on his face, the survivor replied, “Oh, that’s where I used to go to church.”

Committing to a church can be difficult. You like the preaching at one, but you aren’t so sure about the music. You love the people at another, but the preaching is not as solid. No church is perfect. But some churches are a little closer than others.

The church in Thessalonica fit that category. Unlike more problem-prone churches—such as Sardis or Laodicea—the church in Thessalonica was an exemplary church. In chapter 1, Paul praises them for being an energetic church, an elect church, an evangelistic church, and an expectant church. In chapters 2-3, he describes them as a scriptural church, a suffering church, and a strong church.

In short, the Thessalonian church was a mighty church that set an great example for churches like ours to follow. As we begin reading chapter four, Paul writes, “Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way even more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1 NCV).

As a young church—only about two years old—the Thessalonians where just learning how to live the Christian life. And, as Paul says, they were already doing a pretty good job, but he wanted to encourage them to keep up the good work. And, in so doing, Paul points out three more marks of a mighty church.

First, a mighty church avoids lust.

• AVOIDS LUST

In the following verses Paul writes, “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways… God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 NLT).

The moral climate in the Roman Empire was not healthy. Immorality was a way of life and sexual standards, in particular, were very low. Prostitution was legal and widespread. Explicit, pornographic paintings populated public art galleries and private collections. It was socially acceptable for men to engage in sex with teenage boys, male prostitutes, or slaves of either gender.

It seems the more things change, the more things stay the same. Earlier this week I learned about Ashley Madison—a dating website that deals in adultery. A match-making website for married people looking to cheat on their spouse, their tag line is—“Life is Short. Have an affair.” The site, which prides itself on secrecy and security, made headlines when hackers stole and exposed the names, email addresses, credit card information and secret sexual fantasies of 37 million cheating spouse. It’s hard to sympathize with the “victims” in a case like this.

But this just demonstrates that adultery, fornication, pornography, homosexuality, and other sexual sins remain obstacles to holiness. To be holy means to be “set apart” or consecrated. In the Old Testament God implored Israel, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 NIV).

At bottom, God's call to be holy is a radical, all-encompassing claim on our lives, our loves, and our very identities. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ requires nothing less than death to our fallen, egocentric selves in order that we might live in and for him. To be holy means that all we are and all we have belongs to God, not ourselves, and that every aspect of our lives is to be shaped and directed toward God.

Although holiness is much more than mere morality, as Paul points out, a life of holiness will find expression in our sexual relationships. As Christians, we dare to believe that sex is precious, and God created it to be fully experienced only in the most precious relationship—marriage. Sex isn’t casual. It wasn’t created for boyfriends and girlfriends. It wasn’t even meant for serious couples who intend to get married. It doesn’t matter whether its pornography, or premarital sex, or homosexuality, or adultery, if it falls short of God’s purpose and plan for sex, it’s un-holy. To be holy requires us surrender our lives—including our sexual relationships and desires—to God, because he is holy.