Marks of A Mighty Church (Part 1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 8/9/2015
A man reportedly approached Charles Spurgeon one Sunday morning and said, “I’ve visited many church these past few years and all of them seem to have problems. So I keep going from church to church looking for the perfect one.” The famous preacher told him he had many saintly people in his congregation, but it was far from perfect. “No, my church is not the one you're looking for,” said Spurgeon. “But if you should happen to find such a church, I beg you not to join it, for you would spoil the whole thing.”
Those words have been restated and repeated countless times. Someone even translated the thought into poetic prose:
I think that I shall never see a church that's all it ought to be;
A church whose members never stray beyond the straight and narrow way;
A church that has no empty pews, whose pastor never has the blues;
A church whose elders always speak, and none is proud and all are meek.
Such perfect churches there may be, but none of them are known to me.
But still, we'll work and pray and plan to make our own the best we can.
Since local churches are made up of sinners saved by God’s grace, no church is perfect. 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. And as we read Paul’s letter, we discover several characteristics or marks of a mighty church.
In chapter one, for instance, Paul highlights four qualities that made Thessalonica a mighty church. And although, our own church may never be perfect, I think we can certainly come close by following the example of the Thessalonians. So what are the marks of a mighty church? First, Paul describes it as an energetic church.
• AN ENERGETIC CHURCH
In a museum in Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that. In many churches 4% of the members do about 96% of the work.
It reminds me a little boy in Sunday School. After hearing his dad preach on “justification,” “sanctification,” “purification,” and all the other “—ations,” a minister’s son was ready when his Sunday school teacher asked if anybody knew what “procrastination” meant. The boy said, “I’m not sure what it means, but I know our church believes in it!”
Well, the church in Thessalonica didn’t believe in it. They were a hardworking, energetic church. Paul writes, “We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NLT). Here, and all throughout his letter, Paul praises the church in Thessalonica for their activity, their work, their deeds.
This was a church that was doing things—they were energetic.
The NIV translates this phrase: “your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love” (NIV). Faith in Jesus ought to manifest in works. Our love for God and for the church ought to prompt us to labor. The great thing is—when your labor is motivated by love it really doesn’t feel like work.
Jacob knew all about that. In Genesis we discover a beautiful love story about Jacob and his beloved Rachel. The well outside of Paddan Aram wasn’t the best place to meet women. A heavy stone covered the top of the well. Normally, all the shepherds in the area would gather at the well with their flocks then together they lifted the stone off the well to water the sheep. One day, Jacob relaxed by the well waiting for some big strong guys to come help him move the stone when all of a sudden the most beautiful shepherdess he’d ever set eyes on approached. It was love at first site. Jacob jumped to his feet and single handedly pushed the massive stone aside so that Rachel could water her sheep. Jacob spent a month mooning over Rachel and wanted desperately to marry her, but he couldn’t afford an engagement ring let alone a dowry. So he told Rachel’s father: “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban agreed. And the Bible says, “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her” (Genesis 29:20 NIV).
Isn’t that beautiful? It should be the same way with church’s love for the Lord.
In God’s church, everyone has a special job to do. We’re all called to work until Christ comes again. We are very blessed here at the Grove to have plethora of volunteers who work and serve in a variety of way—whether it’s VBS, cooking at Camp Mac, teaching a Sunday School class, singing at a nursing home, outreach ministry, helping hands ministry, or putting a new roof on the church building. Each of us are called to a labor of love. So if you’re not serving in some way, I want to prompt you to get to work because a Mighty Church is an energetic church.
Secondly, a mighty church is also an elect church.
• AN ELECT CHURCH
Paul continues describing this mighty church when he says: “We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people” (1 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT).
Paul reminded the Thessalonians of their status as God’s “chosen” ones. Very few issues cause more confusion and even arguments among Christians than the issue of “election” (being chosen by God). The idea that the church is God’s elect or chosen people runs all through the New Testament. All Christians recognize this, but disagreements arise as to how God choosing us relates to us choosing him. Unconditional election is the belief that we choose God because he chose us. Conditional election conversely is the belief that God chooses us because we chose him. Each view attempts to reconcile the Sovereignty of God with the free-will of human beings. Which one is correct? Honestly, I’m sure not it works. I’m just glad it does.
That God loves us and chose us to be his people ought to inspire gratitude, fill us with a sense of worth and value, and motivate us to be the kind of people that he’s chosen us to be. To understand the significance of being chosen by God, just think of all the times you weren’t chosen.
Maybe you were an uncoordinated kid. One of the ones who was often chosen last for the kickball team in gym class. And even then, only because there was no one else left to pick. Maybe you didn’t make the team. Maybe you were passed up for the promotion or turned down for a date. You’ll likely never be elected President or chosen to compete on American Idol. But you were chosen by God. Unlike the kids in the gym, He didn’t shrug His shoulders and say, "Well, I guess I’ll take her if no one else will." To be chosen by God means we are His first choice and His best choice.
Why did God choose you? Is it your dashing good looks? Your irresistible personality? Your unparalleled wit and wisdom? None of the above. God chose you because of his love for you. “God loves you and has chosen you,” Paul said. He chose us to be his people. Embrace your election by God and let it empower you to be the person he chose you to be. A mighty church is an elect church. It’s also and evangelistic church.
• AN EVANGELISTIC CHURCH
Paul has already praised the Thessalonians for their “faithful works and loving deeds.” One important work of the church is sharing the gospel. Paul writes, “And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God” (1 Thessalonians 1:8 NLT).
The Christians in Thessalonica were not only an energetic and elect church; they were also an evangelistic church. They were constantly sharing their faith and sharing Jesus. Some people hear the word evangelism and have an immediate negative reaction. They envision hokey TV evangelists or door knocking campaigns or sign-wielding street evangelists. Or maybe you imagine guys like Billy Graham or Kirk Cameron and you just think, “Well that’s not for me, I just couldn’t do that.”
I’m reminded of an old Peanuts cartoon. Lucy says to Charlie Brown, "I would have made a great evangelist." Charlie Brown answers, "Is that so?" She says, "Yes, I convinced that boy in front of me at school today that my religion is better than his religion." Charlie Brown asked, "Well, how did you do that?" And Lucy answers, "I hit him over the head with my lunch box."
While that’s definitely not the best approach, the truth is—there are a lot of different ways that you can share your faith. You can tell your friends about the difference God has made in your life. You can spark spiritual conversations with your relatives and co-workers. Or you can simply invite your neighbors to attend church with you. We live in a culture where the majority of people identify themselves as Christians, but many of them are so disconnected from the church and the Bible, that they have no idea what it means to live the Christian life. But many of them want to. According to a study by Barna Research 25% of unchurched Americans say that they would be very likely to attend church if a friend would make the effort to invite them! Think about that… that’s 1 in 4 of your friends who would be willing to come to church and hear the Gospel if you invited them to go with you.
A mighty church is an evangelistic church, because—like a fire—if a church isn’t growing, it’s dying. Let’s follow the example of the Thessalonians and let the message of Jesus ring out from here to everywhere. Finally, a mighty church is an expectant.
• AN EXPECTANT CHURCH
As Paul brings this section to a close, he reminds the Thessalonians: “you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead” (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 NLT). The Thessalonians spent their lives with an eye on the clouds and ear for the trump. They waited anxiously for the day of Christ’s return. Sadly, I think many of us have lost that sense of expectancy.
The return of Jesus Christ is a vital part of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. History is not an endless succession of meaningless circles, but a directed movement toward a great event—the Second Coming of Christ. Christ’s coming was foretold by prophets, proclaimed by angels, and promised by Jesus himself. Jesus said: “I will come again” (Jn. 14:3). The Bible declared: “Christ will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting on him” (Hebrews 9:28 NIV).
Are you waiting eagerly for his return? I think a lot of Christians are afraid to say "no" to that question. They instinctively know that the answer should be "yes…of course I’m looking forward to His return." But in our heart of hearts…is that really so? All too often it seems that we’re so caught up in our lives here on earth—the immediate and temporal—that we hardly give a thought to eternity.
Not the Thessalonians, though. They looked forward to Christ’s return with eager anticipation. The hope of his return carried them through troublesome times and spurred them on to even more loving deeds and works of faith.
We’ll come back to the Second Coming in a few weeks as Christ’s return is a recurring them throughout this letter.
Conclusion:
In the meantime, we may never be the perfect church—at least, not on this side of heaven. But I think that by following the example of the Thessalonians we can be an energetic church, an elect church, an evangelistic church, and expectant church. In other words, we can be a mighty church!
Next week, we’ll continue through Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and discover some more marks of a mighty church.
Invitation:
For now, maybe you’re not a member here… maybe you’ve been visiting for a while… maybe you’re still looking for that perfect church. Well, as much as I love the Grove, we’re not a perfect church. But we might just be a mighty church and if that’s something you’d like to be a part of then I want to invite you to talk with me while we stand and sing.
