The Missional Church

1 Thessalonians 1:6–10 NASB95

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

INTRO: When you think about “missions” what comes to mind? People who have gone to India or China? Do you think about the offerings we take up or the trips to Haiti, PA, or WV?

Well, these are all part of missions, and as a church, we seek not only to do missions, but to BE MISSIONAL. (Now, to be fair, according to MS Word, “missional” is not a real word… perhaps I’ve managed to make it up somehow- who know? -but I hope to show what I mean through our time together this morning.)

Now, if you were with us last week, we introduced this study by looking at “The Healthy Church” where we learned that a healthy church demonstrates the gospel, is confident in their calling, and lives under conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Today, we move forward from healthy to missional. Neither are exclusive, so don’t throw away what we learned last week, but instead add to it. I’ve provided an outline in your sermon guide, so if you grabbed a bulletin or downloaded that, you can follow along. Don’t forget to work through those discussion questions later on!

I’ve broken this down into 3 imperatives for a missional church member.

A Missional Church Member is an Example to Other Believers (6-7)

How do we do this? In short, we do this by becoming disciples who make disciples.

Look here in v. 6 with me. The Thessalonian church existed as the lone Christian witness in the area. Yet, they were imitators of the missionaries (Paul, Timothy, and Silas) and thus were imitators of the Lord. Paul was convinced, as we should be, that we must be a visible representation of the Gospel so that others would see our authenticity and commitment. As he said to the Corinthian church,

1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB95

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

So, #1 - As Christians, we must live as imitators of the Lord. We do this by surrounding ourselves with mentors, Godly men and women who are living out an authentic Christian life and who will model for us intimacy with the Lord. We need people to SHOW us how to practically live out the faith that we profess.

Who are you looking to?

Who is teaching you and modeling Christianity for you?

WARNING: No one is perfect in everything and it’s easy to get sucked into idolizing a figure, whether it be a Christian musician, pastor, or theologian. We need to be looking to someone or multiple someones as models, but seeking to make our relationship with Christ our own authentic walk.

Jesus taught in Matthew 5:48 that we are to be growing in how we live out our faith. Or, as Jesus put it

Matthew 5:48 NASB95

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So, we need mentors to help us grow.

But, #2 - We too are to be this model / example for others in the church! Now, I am confident that this is not ‘new info’ here, but I wonder how many of you are taking this seriously.

Being a missionary starts with being a disciple who makes disciples. If we are not modeling authentic Christianity for others- our kids, one another’s kids, new believers, old pew-sitters, etc., we can expect to see a bunch of hypocrisy and ‘pretend church’. I don’t know about you, but I want us to be real- to truly desire Jesus, to truly worship, to truly live out the gospel.

Are you doing this?

Who are you modeling Christianity for? (BTW- others are watching you, whether you are intentional or not. What are you modeling?)

Discuss: How long have you been a Christian? Have you grown in authentic faith? Who are you learning from? Who are you teaching?

The first imperative of a Missional Church is that it MUST be an example to other believers. Our next imperative that we see demonstrated in this text is:

A Missional Church Member is a Testimony to Non-Believers (8-9)

For the Thessalonians, this happened 2 ways.

First, it happened through their vocal proclamation. Look at v. 8 with me. (read)

IOW- They talked about Jesus and the Good News of His atoning work on the cross. They spoke about His forgiveness and the New Life that He called them to.

This no doubt took place in their teaching and preaching, but it also likely took place in the public square- through conversations and interactions with non-believers.

ILL- People talk about the things they are passionate for. I was talking to one of our members the other day, and when she began talking about her grand kids, I just knew that I was going to be there all day! And the thing is, when people are passionate for something, we do not even have to ask them about it before they start sharing!!

Think about it- I never asked whether you liked Tom Brady and were excited about him leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory, but some of you told me anyway. I didn’t ask about hunting or fishing, but some of you posted pictures on FB showing the world that 8-point you took down. And I didn’t ask about politics, but many people even took to the streets in poor weather to let the world know that they were passionate about a figure or party.

The missional church, both gathered and scattered through the world must vocally proclaim the Gospel to the world… not because you are told to or you are obligated to, but because you are passionate about this Jesus who came to rescue us from sin!

Secondly, it was their testimony through TRANSFORMED lives

These people in the Thessalonian church were known at one time to be idolators, sinners, wretched evil-doers who lived for their own lusts and feasted on the sinful pleasures of the world.... BUT, as Paul writes in v. 9b, they turned from these idols to a living and true God!

It was EVIDENT in their life that this church was not just a bunch of “hearers of the Word” but they had responded in ACTION. They didn’t just take in a good sermon, they applied it to their lives and it resulted in true change.

ILL: Jesus, in his famous Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), spoke about the difference between those who act on Jesus’ words - wise men - who build on a solid foundation, and those who merely hear Jesus’ words and does not act - foolish men - who build on a foundation of sand.

Jesus expects that we will be changed, transformed by His Gospel.

People take notice when things are different, and the church in Thessalonica had no need, as the text says, for the apostles to tell of their transformation because their actions spoke for themselves!

Let me ask you, friend- Does your life look different than those in the world? Is it evident that you serve a living and true God? It should be… it must be.

If our lives do not look any different, then our testimony has no power. You and I need to understand that whether or not we are intentional, people are watching and they will notice whether we are changed or whether we’re just a bunch of talk.

Discuss: How has your life been transformed? In what ways are you a testimony to non-believers?

A missional church member is an example to believers through disciple-making and a testimony to non-believers through vocal proclamation and transformed lives.

Finally, as we look to v. 10, we see that

A Missional Church Member Anticipates the Return of Christ (10)

Paul writes that the church in Thessalonica lives in a manner of waiting and looking forward to Jesus coming back.

I think that this is an area that the modern church has largely abandoned. While many folks would say things about Christ’s return, it’s usually simply hoping for God to pull us from the madness of this world.

But this is not the anticipation of the 1st century Christians. In order for us to understand this, we need to think about how Jesus spoke of His return and how it was taught by the apostles.

You see, throughout Jesus’ life, we see the pronouncements of His kingship- at His Baptism, the Mt of Transfiguration, at the cross… it was then that the Kingdom of Heaven was initiated. The King had come. You and I, if you have trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior, are living as members of God’s Kingdom NOW.

But it is not fully consummated- this will happen when Jesus returns. THEN, He will judge sin, He will separate His church from those who have rejected Him and His Gospel. It is at Christ’s return that there will be no more death or pain, sickness or sadness.

There’s more to talk about here, but with this in mind, now we ask the question, “How do we live in anticipation of Christ’s return?”

I want to point us to a parable that Jesus taught regarding this:

Matthew 24:42–51 NASB95

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Anticipating Jesus’ return is being prepared, doing that which the master has commanded when He returns. Church, we cannot be lazy. We cannot be unconcerned.

We have been commissioned by Jesus to be missionaries in this world; to be about the His work.

I wonder, if Jesus were to return today, would He find you faithful? Can you look forward with anticipation His return, confident that you are living out His commands?

My prayer is that LRBC will continue to move in becoming a more missional church. And that means that we will be made up of missional church members who live as examples to other believers, as testimonies to non-believers, and in faithful anticipation of our Lord’s return.

Where do you fit within this description? Are you a missional church member?

Discuss: How does anticipating Christ’s return effect your life? Explain why it matters.