4 Essentials Of An Effective Church
Acts 16:6-10
Effectiveness is "the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result".
You can have a business and not have an effective business... Just ask the owners of Radio Shack. You can have a sports team and not have an effective sports team... Just ask the Atlanta Braves. You can have a government and not have an effective government... Gridlock in congress and a 19 trillion dollar national debt prove that. And you can have a church without having an effective church.
A group of people can gather together 3 times a week, sing some songs, listen to a sermon and say some prayers and call it "church", but that does not constitute am effective church. An effective church is a church that worships and glorifies God, disciples and trains believers and seeks to point lost people to salvation in Jesus Christ. Before we go any further let me say that I believe that Stockdale is in fact an effective church. But it is my desire that we increase in our effectiveness. In order to do so, I think it would benefit us to examine some things that are necessary in a successful church.
These attributes are seen in Paul and his fellow laborers as they surrendered to the Macedonian call. Let's look at this passage of scripture and examine "4 Essentials Of An Effective Church"
At this point Paul's ministry has recently undergone some major changes. Paul had been traveling with Barnabas for some time. They had been very successful in the Lord's work. They set out to visit the churches that they had established. But there was a sharp disagreement between the two over whether or not to allow John Mark to go with them. As a result they split up and Paul chose Silas to go with him during the next phase of his journey. These two servants of God went through Syria and Cilicia encouraging the brethren. After this they traveled to Derbe and Lystra, there they met Timothy and Paul selected him to join them on this mission. They traveled through the region preaching the Word. As a result, churches were established and verse 5 says that the churches "increased in number daily".
At this point Paul had a plan for the future, but he quickly found out that God had other plans! Though his intentions were not what God had in mind, we can see Paul's heart's desire in this text.
- Having a "desire" to minister is essential for a church to be effective. Look with me to verse 6 as we see:
ESSENTIAL #1 OF AN EFFECTIVE CHURCH: DESIRE - v6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Paul had a desire to share the gospel in certain parts of Asia. But the Holy Ghost would not allow this. Paul had the right intention just the wrong location. But his actions before, during and after this point in time show us the importance of having a God given desire to minister. Paul had been called and commissioned by none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus had a plan for Paul long before his conversion. Paul was chosen to bear the name of Jesus before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15)From the moment Jesus confronted Him on Damascus Road, Paul was obedient to his calling. He greatly desired to see people come to faith in Christ. Though he had faced many hardships and great persecution he was not deterred. Now he desires to continue the ministry that had been appointed unto him.
As a church, we have a calling... we have a specific purpose. This church was planted here 104 years ago in order to minister to this community and the surrounding areas. This church still exists because God still has a plan for us! We have recently outlined our vision for the future. And that vision is for us to be a church that serves our neighbors, encourages the brethren, invites others, disciples believers and points the lost to Jesus. In order for these things to take place...THERE MUST BE A DESIRE!
Paul's desire is illustrated in the words, 'I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.'
John Knox famously prayed “Lord give me Scotland, or I die.” This was a passionate plea from a man who had a desire to see the salvation of his countrymen. May we have such a burden to reach souls for Christ!
- I truly believe that the majority of our people desire for Stockdale to be an effective church. Desire is the first step, but we must make sure that our desire is within God's will. This leads us to:
ESSENTIAL #2 OF AN EFFECTIVE CHURCH: DISCERNMENT - v7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
From Mysia these missionaries set out for Bithynia but the Holy Spirit made it clear that this was not where they were to go. Paul did not ignore the direction of the Holy Spirit, he did not try to bargain with God, he did not get angry with God for not allowing him to go where he wanted to go, he didn't rebel against God's plan for his life and ministry. No, he simply obeyed the direction of the Holy Spirit.
If you continue to read through Acts you will see that God used these men to accomplish great things for the Kingdom. Paul realized that even though he had good intentions, Godly instruction was more important. He would be the first to tell you that God's plan was better... IT ALWAYS IS!
There are many Christians who begin to serve the Lord, then they decide what they want to do and instead of following the Holy Spirit, they follow their own desires. God tells them to go one way and they go the other, God tells them to do one thing and the do another and as a result they fail miserably.
If we are honest, most of us have done this at one time or another. Sometimes we have honorable desires but they are not what God would have us to do. So instead of being obedient, we try to fit God's will into our plans. It doesn't work that way! God knows best and He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us as we serve Him.
If we are to be effective we must follow the Holy Spirit's guidance. This is the only way for us to have proper discernment.
J. Stowell said that "Discernment is the skill that enables us to differentiate. It is the ability to see issues clearly. We desperately need to cultivate this spiritual skill that will enable us to know right from wrong. We must be prepared to distinguish light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement, and principles from pragmatics." (Source: J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 44.)
As we seek to move forward as a church we must have discernment. There may be places that we want to go, things that we want to do and tasks that we desire to accomplish. And these may come from legitimately pure desires. But God will not bless an assembly that does the wrong things for the right reasons. Let us take the proper steps to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And when He says no... we must accept that and move in the direction that he provides.
- Intertwined with discernment is direction, and direction is vital for our success. Look with me to verses 8-9 as we consider:
ESSENTIAL #3 OF AN EFFECTIVE CHURCH: DIRECTION - v8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Paul did not continue on his journey to Asia. Instead he headed for Greece. One night while in Troas, God gave Paul a vision, and this vision provided the direction that he needed to move forward. If Paul had continued on his previous course instead of following God this would have derailed his entire ministry. God wanted Paul to go to Macedonia and beyond. There were people for him to reach and there were things for him to accomplish. Fortunately he followed God's direction and the rest is history.
As a church we must not lose sight of our purpose and mission. Our hopes, dreams and desires must take a back seat to what God would have for us to do. If we fail to follow God we will miss those opportunities that are waiting. There are people who need to hear the gospel who will not hear. There are people who need to be discipled who will be ignored There are people who need encouragement who will be neglected.
In order for us to be an effective church, we must follow God's direction. God guides us through His Word and by the Holy Spirit! When God gives us a specific vision we must follow His direction.
- It is not enough to simply know what God wants from us, we must be ready to go and do it! This leads us to the final point that we will consider. Notice:
ESSENTIAL #4 OF AN EFFECTIVE CHURCH: DETERMINATION - v10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
When Paul received the Macedonian call, he did not delay. Immediately they set out to go where the Lord had called them to go. As soon as they reached Macedonia God began to move. In fact, God was already making preparations before they arrived. Again this illustrates the importance of following God. Just imagine for a moment that Paul had not had the proper discernment. Suppose that he did not follow God's direction... If this had been the case, all of the people that were reached in Macedonia and beyond would have been neglected. And chances are that Paul would not have had any success in Asia. But God knew that Paul would be heading to Macedonia and He began to prepare the hearts of those that he would encounter there. When God gives us a vision, we must take action immediately.
We must have the determination that we will obey Him even when He calls us to go places we don't want to go, even when He calls us to stay places where we don't want to stay and even when He calls us to do things that we don't want to do.
Once we begin the journey we must continue on that journey until it is complete! We must persevere in the face of persecution No matter what difficulties we encounter we must follow God.
Remember what Paul said in - 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
God has given us a vision and as we speak we are taking the proper steps to follow His direction. And God's direction requires us to do more than huddle together 3 times a week. God is leading us to "be the church" not just attend church. If we are going to be an effective church, we must "be the church" each and every day of the week. We must determine that we are going to be faithful ambassadors of Christ.
- Dr. Tony Evans said - "The effectiveness of your church cannot be measured by how well you do on Sunday morning. … The test of the church is what it does in the marketplace. What we need today is churches that are representative of Jesus Christ not only when gathered but when disseminated.”
I know for a fact that the majority of people here are excited about moving forward for the Lord. Trust me... your excitement is contagious. But it is imperative that we do not set out to do what we want to do. We must be prepared to be what God would have us to be, go where He would have us to go and do what He has called us to do.
In order for us to be prepared we must pray. We must pray individually and collectively. These verses give us 4 some insight as to what we should be praying for. Let us pray that the Lord would give us a desire, discernment, direction and determination.
When we have these things we will have "4 Essentials Of An Effective Church".
