The doctor, in his best professional manner, asked if anything had happened to shock or upset his nerves. “No,” the man answered, “unless it was a letter I received this morning.” He showed the doctor a letter which stated in part, “If you don’t stop running around with my wife, I am going to blow your head off.” The doctor then said, “Well, that’s a simple matter. Why don’t you just stop it?” The patient’s face fell as he said, “But doctor, the fool forgot to sign his name.”
Churches face problems today. Often the problem seems simple enough, yet it seems almost impossible to solve the problem at times. Many groups have discovered this, and they produce helps, but often these helps are not so helpful.
For example, if a pastor paid attention to his mail, he would find solving the problems of the church seems easy. The advertisements say all it takes is a postage stamp. For example,
(1) IF A CHURCH HAS AN ATTENDANCE PROBLEM, we are told this is easy to solve. All the pastor has to do is respond to the mail sent him from companies that provide printed materials, tapes, and videos, and if the church will purchase these items, the attendance will double or triple in weeks. Also...
(2) IF A CHURCH HAS FINANCIAL PROBLEMS, pastors are told this problem can also be solved easily. Again, all the pastor has to do is respond to the mail he receives from companies that provide printed materials, tapes, and videos for a set price and they guarantee that within weeks the church income will double or triple.
All over this nation church workers in many churches respond to these offers, but usually find that they have wasted a lot of time and money.
Then some of the successful churches have marketed themselves. They send out literature telling other churches how they have had tremendous success doing things a particular way.
Then they tell churches if they want to learn how to be successful, they are holding a seminar at their church and for $150.00 a person they can attend and learn how to be successful also.
All over the nation pastors and staff members have flocked out to seminars by the thousands to learn how to build successful churches for the Lord. But, many times when they come back home from those seminars and try to implement those programs, they discover the things that brought the other church success does not bring them success.
However, this is not a bad way for a church to learn how to please the Lord. That is, to look at a successful church and learn from them how they pleased the Lord.
Again, I believe one of the best churches we can pattern after was this church that existed in 51 AD in Thessalonica. THIS WAS A MAGNIFICENT CHURCH!
If we pattern after this church we also will be a very successful church for the Lord. What kind of church was the Thessalonian church?
I. IT WAS A COMPLYING CHURCH
That is, they complied with the SPOKEN WORD that we now have as the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD! When Paul spoke, they listened and they obeyed.
A preacher has to be careful what he says to new converts because so often they are so eager to please the Lord they will do almost anything without even questioning it.
Illus: This young man who was recently saved came to his pastor about some marital problems. He told how his wife was giving him a hard time. The preacher commented in sort of a joking way during the conversation that he needed to take her over his knees and spank her. The next time they came to church, the pastor noticed that this young housewife had a frown on her face. He asked her why she was so sad. She said, “Preacher, you know why! You told Jimmy to spank me, and he did!”
As God moved on the apostle Paul to preach the Word of God, those people did not just listen, they obeyed!
Look at verse 5. Paul said, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance...” Paul was saying that when he preached the gospel to them, they recognized it was not him speaking, but it was God speaking to them!
One of the things that determines whether a church will be used of God is what the members of that church decide to do with the Word of God.
As we drive across this country we...
• Can not help seeing church buildings under construction.
• See some that have just recently been built.
• See some that are hundreds of years old.
It stands to reason that a church that has been around hundreds of years should be much stronger than one that has only been around a few short years.
If all the people are going to do is go to church and let the Word go in one ear and out the other, they will never be used of God.
Paul said that the Thessalonians had received the preaching of God’s Word as the powerful Word of God, not the words of men.
Notice something else in verse 6, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord...”
Did you know that before you can become a follower of the Lord, you first must be a follower of a godly leader?
You see, the Lord is not here for us to follow PHYSICALLY, but God has placed godly men and women here for us to follow. Paul told them to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).
The Christians in Thessalonica were willing to follow God’s man as he led them to the Lord, and in the Lord.
Also, notice something else in verse 6. When they COMPLIED with the Word of God, they not only followed the man of God, they went farther. “And ye became FOLLOWERS of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in MUCH AFFLICTION...”
You already know that life is made up of what we consider to be good days and bad days. This is why we greet each other with the question, “How are things going?” You also already know that is the wrong question to ask some people, unless you have an hour or so to listen to how things are going!
Illus: Some days do not go very well. Someone has said, “You know it is going to be a bad day when:
• You call suicide prevention and they put you on hold.
• Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
• You turn on the news and they are showing emergency routes out of the city.
• Your twin sister forgets your birthday.
• You wake up to discover your waterbed broke and then realize you don’t have a waterbed.
• Your horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the freeway.
Yes, some days things are just about that bad!
However it is how we respond to those bad days that determines whether or not God will be able to use us.
The church at Thessalonica was a fantastic church! IT WAS A COMPLYING CHURCH. They heard the spoken Word of God and COMPLIED with those things God spoke to them even during MUCH AFFLICTION.
Why did they respond to the Word of God that way? Because...
II. IT WAS A CONVERTED CHURCH
The church of Thessalonica was made up of people who had been converted to Christ. The churches of America should be made up of people who are converted to Christ, but often there are people accepted into churches as members who have never been converted to Christ. This is why we hear about so much evil in some churches today:
• You can take an idolater and put him in a church leadership position, and when he should be carrying out the work of God you will find him somewhere worshipping his idol(s). (Television, camping, fishing, hunting, etc.
• You can take an unsaved person and put him in a group that is trying to do the will of God and it makes no sense to him whatsoever.
The reason we have so much chaos in churches today is largely because we have admitted so many unsaved people to be members in our churches.
This is why the Lord is going to say to many on judgment day, “I never knew you.”
Notice, Paul gives us an analysis of the Thessalonian church. Let me show you, from the Word of God, why he said it was a converted church.
Look at verses 9b through 10 and we will see several things we need to consider:
A. FIRST, THERE WAS A TURNING AWAY FROM THE IDOLS THEY ONCE SERVED.
It would be difficult to exaggerate how radical of a change this implies in the lives of those believers.
• They left their dead idols to worship the living God.
• They left that which was false and accepted Him Who is true.
• They rejected their idols, which were many, and accepted the God, Who is ONE.
• They let go of the visible and tangible, to grab hold of the God Who is invisible and intangible--beyond the reach and sight and touch.
• They quit worshipping idols made by human hands and fell down at the feet of the One Who created them.
Perhaps some are saying, “This does not apply to us because we do not have and worship idols today.” If you do not think we have any idols in this land you are mistaken. Paul walked through Athens and was amazed at how many idols and gods they worshipped. If he were to visit us today he would be SHOCKED at all the idols we have!
The reason we do not think we have idols is because we do not know what an idol is! What is an idol? An idol is a “God substitute.”
• That is, anything that takes the place of the worship of Yahweh is idolatry.
• Some worship at the altar of money, power, and fame.
• Others bow down to their careers.
• Others bow down to the god of pleasure and recreation.
• Some bow to the god of sports, food, alcohol, or sex.
In Ephesians 5:4, Paul used the word “Idolater” to describe the “immoral, impure, and greedy.”
There can be no true turning to Christ until we have turned away from our idols. Paul said that in conversion THERE IS A TURNING AWAY FROM THE SERVING OF IDOLS.
B. THEN THERE WAS A TURNING TO THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD.
Paul pointed out that those believers did not just turn away from idols, they “...turned to God...to serve the living and true God.”
Illus: In some of the legalistic groups, much preaching is on WHAT YOU MUST GIVE UP when you accept Christ. That is, you have to QUIT...
• Cursing.
• Smoking.
• Drinking.
• Lying.
• Dancing.
• Gambling.
• Watching movies.
And on the list goes. Everything they preach about is what a Christian must not do.
But, Paul commended these people because of WHAT THEY DID DO. If we are going to win the lost to Christ, we had sure better tell them WHAT THEY CAN DO! The Christian life does not sound very appealing if all one can do is stand around with his hands in his pockets until Christ returns, or one does and goes to Heaven.
Why did the Thessalonians TURN “FROM IDOLS...”? HERE IS THE ANSWER, “TO SERVE THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD.”
Remember, I told you already that an idol is a “God substitute.” It is only when we get rid of the substitute that we are ready to take on the REAL THING.
If I claim to turn away from my old sinful life yet I do not begin to live a life of service to God, my claim is not legitimate.
Illus: Bob Dylan sang a song filled with good theology. “You may be an ambassador to England or France; You may like to gamble, you might like to dance; You may be the heavy-weight champion of the World; You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls; But you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Yes indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
If we have been truly converted we will find ourselves serving the Lord.
Conclusion/Summary:
THERE IS A TURNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING, THEN A TURNING TO THE LORD TO SERVE HIM!
Paul tells us why we SERVE HIM DAILY. Why? Look at verse 10. We read, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
I. IT WAS A COMPLYING CHURCH
II. IT WAS A CONVERTED CHURCH
