Marks Of A Mighty Church (Part 5) Series

Marks of a Mighty Church (Part 5)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 9/6/2015

For the past several weeks, we’ve explored the book of 1 Thessalonians together. As I said in the beginning of this series, every local church is made up of sinners saved by God’s grace, so there’s no such thing as a perfect church. But I do think some churches are closer than others. The church at Thessalonica was in that category. All throughout his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul praises the church for their faithful work, their loving deeds, and their commitment to Christ. You might say the church in Thessalonica was a mighty church. In reading Paul’s letter, we’ve discovered several characteristics or marks of a mighty church.

Now, as Paul brings this letter to a close, he offers some final thoughts that describe a few more marks of a mighty church. Let’s read this last passage together:

“Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil…May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (1Thessalonians 5:12-22, 28)

Paul packs quite a bit into this final paragraph. It almost wears you out just hoping from verb to verb—no less than 17 in just 10 verses. In fact, this pint-sized passage is packed with at least 12 different commands or instructions—each one representing another mark of a mighty church. Rather than hitting the highlights or grouping them into broader categories, I’d like to touch briefly on all twelve of these instructions; each of them codified in a single word. The first is respect.

• RESPECT

Paul starts of by reminding the Thessalonians, “honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work… Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work.” (vs. 12-13). Here at the Grove we’re blessed to have good and godly spiritual leaders including our elders, deacons, committee leaders and staff (and if you don’t know who they are, you can find a list on the back of your bulletin). They pray continually for God’s guidance in leading the church. Many of them—especially among our elders—are teachers in the church. They truly deserve our love and respect. So I would encourage you to express your appreciation for them, tell them how you’ve been blessed by their leadership or teaching and let them know that you support them.

• REPRIMAND

The next instruction Paul gives is to reprimand those who are not living right. The NASB puts it this way: “admonish the unruly” (vs. 14 NASB). The word translated “unruly” here can have a variety of meanings, including: idle, lazy, divisive, irresponsible, etc. Whatever meaning Paul had in mind, it’s clear that he wanted the Christians in Thessalonica to correct each other whenever one of them wasn’t living right. Sometimes Christians need a swift kick in the behind. We lose focus, our priorities get out of whack, we make bad decisions, or just act like jerks; and at those times, we need our brother and sister in Christ to lovingly reprimand us—to remind us of who we’re supposed to be and how we’re supposed to live.

• REASSURE

Next Paul tells us to reassure the discouraged or, as the NIV puts it, “encourage the disheartened” (vs. 14 NIV). Jackie Robinson was the first black person to play major league baseball. Breaking baseball’s color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. Players would stomp on his feet and kick him. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he made an error. The fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career.

We all get discouraged and disheartened at times. We need someone to stand beside us and put and arm around our shoulder. That’s why God gave us the church.