3 Ingredients For A Successful Church
Text: Acts 17: 1-9
A. What we need in the church is some more
trouble-markers! Trouble-makers? Yes, Trouble-makers!
That’s what the enemies of the church called the Christians at Thessalonica.
They said they were the ones, “who have caused trouble all over the world” v.6
Our church needs trouble-makers like the
trouble-makers at Thessalonica…
We need people who are ready to shake up our world in the same way that the Thessalonians shook up theirs.
Where there was darkness, they brought light.
Where there was hatred, they brought Love.
Where there was sadness, they brought laughter.
Where there was bondage, they brought liberation.
Where there was death, they brought life.
They took a world that was tired & troubled & tangled; they put that world back on its feet.
B. Are you ready to turn our world upside down for Jesus Christ?
Read Acts 17: 1-9.
The 1st key ingredient that enabled these Christians was:
1.THEIR INTEGRITY: honesty, sincerity.
V.4: Luke tells us that Paul’s preaching was successful in Thessalonica.
A.God-fearing Greeks:they wanted more than their pagan culture could offer them, so they turned to the God of the Jews, and after Paul came to their synagogue they turned to the Messiah.
B. The world here was a world of incomparable immorality. Slavery was universally accepted.
Homosexuality was rampant. Sexual permissiveness was the rule of the day. Human life was cheap & pleasure was primary. Christianity introduced a new element: Integrity.
C. No wonder these Christians were causing trouble in their world.They were doing something that been forgotten;They were living lives of Integrity.
v. 9: these Christians had “turned to God from idols to serve the living & true God.”
D.We need a fresh dose of Integrity today as Christians
To cause trouble in our world. When we refuse to live by the truth, then we are not living the kind of life that will be approved by God.We as Christians, must live lives of Integrity so that the Non-Christian world will sit up and take notice.
The 2nd key ingredient of the church at Thessalonica was:
2.THEIR INTENSITY: very strong, very emotional, emphasizing. Why else would they be accused of causing “trouble all over the world” or “turning the world upside down” if they were not intense in their commitment to Christ?
A.The intensity of the church of Thessalonica didn’t die down;Paul says, (1 thess.1:8) “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia & Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.”
B.They proclaimed an intense message: They preached Christ Crucified, & Christ risen, & Christ available to all who would come.
C.We must recover this spirit of intensity in our Churches today: We have too many members at ease in Zion. Too many preachers w/o a message to proclaim.
Too many Deacons and Sunday School Teachers captured by complacency. We have too many people who have lost their intensity.
The 3rd key ingredient to the church at Thessalonica was its:
3.THEIR INVOLVEMENT: include, require, participation.
*Paul & his companions were willing to be involved in the lives of the Jews, God-fearers, & leading women of Thessalonica.
*Jason was willing to be involved by taking Paul & company into his home, knowing it would mean trouble for him.
A.We should have the same attitude of wanting to be involved. But instead:*I would get involved if I had enough time… *I wish our church could be more evangelistic, but I’m not able To witness…
*Everybody know what everybody else ought to be doing but they’re not doing anything themselves.
B.Like the Thessalonian Church, we need people to be involved in our church. We need everybody’s help to build the kingdom of God. Jesus said; “ I will make you fishers of men…” So the question is, “are you going to fish or just sit there?”
The disciples at Thessalonica were involved in the life of the Church, intensely committed to God’s work, & characterized by integrity.
Do they still make Disciples like that?
I believe they do & you can be one of them.
You can be a world changer, not because you are so smart, or because you know all the right things to say, but because God is empowering you to be a mighty force in his kingdom.
I hope you are ready for God, because I know he’s ready for you.
