Evidences of a Healthy Church (pt.1)

Intro:

As we get started this morning, let me ask you this… What determines whether something is dead or not?… VITAL signs.

Pulse, blood pressure, oxygen levels, brain function

There are certain things associated with living, breathing organisms, that indicate there is still life.

As Paul gets ready to finish up his first letter to the “brethren” in Thessalonica, I believe he is sharing with them what a Healthy Church looks like… A Church that is living for the Lord…

So, What are the vital signs of a church? Is it buildings… is it full pews… is it overflowing offering plates?… Let me say this… it is none of the above and many pastors succumb to depression when they measure their success by any of these factors.

Walt Disney was a dreamer. His crowning vision was EPCOT(Which stands for); Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He envisioned the perfect city of 20,000 people, using all of the most modern advances in technology. There was only one problem… Walt Disney died before his dream was ever realized. His dream was so big, complex and outside the box that no one else in the Disney company ever caught the dream and had no idea what to do after Walt was gone. What Walt Disney intended as a living breathing perfect city turned out only to be a entertainment center. Disney’s world would only become a place to visit.

Jesus left a blueprint for His church so vast, so marvelous, and so innovative. A living, breathing, expanding organism that would permeate and transform the whole world.

The problem is, that as time went on, His followers lost the vision and couldn’t wrap their minds around such a magnificent plan. Rather than a community of loving, passionate followers of Christ, dedicated to demonstrating the power of the Christ-transformed life in a dark world, they began to do what they knew best. Build buildings, run organizations and develop entertainment centers that would hopefully draw the crowds to hear the story… but completely miss the transforming power of Christ.

Over the next two weeks, as we finish this first letter to the Thessalonian believers, I want you to show you some “Evidences of a Healthy Church”.

This morning, lets look at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15… (Read)…

Meat:

From the latter part of Chp.4, through the verses leading up to where we are today, Paul has dealt with the rapture of the church, the end times, and the church’s responsibility to be aware and committed during the time leading up to the Lord’s return.

Our text today is certainly needful in the latter days; but in reality, these verses paint a picture of what the church ought to resemble at any time, whether it be throughout history or moving forward into the future.

The first evidence of a healthy church is the fact that it has…

1. Servant Leaders

v. 12 “12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,”

There are some that look at these two verses and think that Paul is referring to Pastors. Which, he is… but Pastors are not the only ones in a position of leadership over the Church. We have Elders and Deacons as well.

Dave Colburn, Mike Botma, Travis Orcutt, Danny Hall, John Vandenburg, and Bob Ellick, are all leaders here at Pierson Bible Church.

As Servant Leaders of the Church, we have certain responsibilities. We may not all have the same gifts, which is actually a blessing. We cannot all be the Pastor, we cannot all be the building and grounds guy, we cannot all be the Board president… we cannot all take care of the sound booth every Sunday…

We all have our own gifts that God has given us to use and we all have our own duties that we are to fulfill with in the position that God has called us to… That being said, even though our duties may be different… we share the same responsibilities.

first of all, as servant leaders, we are responsible to…

1.1 Work Hard

Paul says to “recognize those who labor among you”…

This word “labor” involves more than just working or laboring among people. It goes beyond just doing a simple job or task.

This word has the idea of “laboring to the point of exhaustion, and then to keep on laboring; to toil to the point of weariness; to work beyond what one is capable of doing.”

Contrary to what some may believe, as a Pastor, I work more than one day a week… just ask my family. There are days that I leave the house in the morning and don’t get back until after the kids have gone to bed.

Many times, Dave has worked several hours at a job site, taken Lora to different appointments, gotten her laid down and comfortable for the night and then stays up to prepare for his Sunday School lessons, or putting together a sermon…

Mike Botma, taking over the role of Board President after the passing of Steve Ziny… we are still finding things that Steve just took care of and we didn’t even realize it.

Travis and John spending many hours working with the sound system trying to work out all the squealing, buzzing and other issues…

Bob, trying to navigate through the never ending list of projects, repairs and maintenance of our buildings...

Dan, involved with the praise and worship team, also, being willing to help with whatever arises in any way that he can… all while navigating the set backs of Cancer and as of recently, his diabetes…

These guys don’t just show up for a couple of hours, once a month on a Thursday night, talk about whats going on and then head back home to wait for the next board meeting… … They want to see Pierson Bible church grow, they want to see lives changed with the Gospel of Christ and they work hard towards that goal.

Secondly, A servant leader is one who…

1.2 Leads by Example

The Christian Standard Bible translates v. 12 like this… “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,”

A healthy church does not have a board of dictators, but a board of servant leaders that lead by example. Leaders that are living out what they say they believe and encouraging you to do the same.

Along with leading by example, through living out what they say they believe, a servant leader has the obligation to “admonish” you… The word admonish means to “ give a warning”…

There are all kinds of warnings in life.

Most products we purchase have labels warning about improper use. I found a great list of these kinds of warnings. Believe it or not, these are all real.

- a label on a snow sled which says: "Beware: sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions."

- a fishing lure, with a warning that reads: harmful if swallowed.

- A warning on an electric router made for carpenters cautions: “This product not intended for use as a dental drill.”

- A warning label found on a baby stroller cautions the user to “Remove child before folding”

- A container of body spray says, “Caution: Do not spray in eyes”

- A cartridge for a laser printer warns, “Do not eat toner”

- A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, “Do not drive with sunshield in place”

Now… We can laugh about these, and think, who would be foolish enough to need such warnings?

But apparently someone did something goofy enough, or some lawyer, thinks somebody is, or will be, foolish enough, or should we say, stupid enough, to think about eating toner from a laser printer cartridge, or driving with the sunshade in place.

The owners manual of a car used to show you how to adjust the valve lash of your engine… but now it warns you not to drink the battery acid…

When Paul talks about the church leaders admonishing or warning the church members, he is referring to “instructing or advising someone about avoiding wrongdoing.” This is one of the “not so pleasant” aspects of being in a position of leadership… Confronting people that are actively indulging in sin.

This goes along with leading by example because the “Do as I say and not as I do” mentality will not get you very far if you are looking to be a successful servant leader.

You cannot expect people to make being at church a priority in their life, if it is not a priority in yours... You cannot expect people to make studying God’s word a priority in their life if it is not a priority in yours…

You cannot expect people to live for Christ, if you are not leading by example and living for Christ yourself....

A servant leader works hard, leads by example and is…

1.3 Loved

v.13 says that we are “to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.”

The church is encouraged to love their leaders for the work they do. A Leader that is loved and supported by the congregation they serve will be more beneficial and fruitful in their ministries.

Think of how you treat the ones you love…

You pray for them,

You help them in their time of need,

You encourage them in many different ways...

And it should be the same with the Servant Leaders of the Church. We need to be praying for them, helping them in their time of need, encouraging them in many different ways… Why… because we love them and are thankful for the labor they put into the ministries here at Pierson Bible Church...

I am so thankful for the men that I am able to serve alongside of and I am thankful to have a church family that hold encourages us, takes care of us and hold us up in prayer.

That leads us to our second evidence of a healthy church… Which is…

Thousands of members!… … Don’t write that down… I am just seeing if you have been paying attention… Thousands of members is not evidence of a healthy church, but faithful Members is…

2. Faithful Members

When I say faithful members, I am not just talking about showing up every Sunday. I mean you are devoted to the ministries of the church. You are involved when and where you are able. You joyfully support the Church in a financial way. You actively pray for your church family…

That is what it means to be a faithful member... It also means that you have a desire to grow in your walk and relationship with Christ. You have a desire to live in a way that honors Him.

This is where we are going to spend the rest of our time today and most of our time next week… Because, I understand that not all of us are called to be servant leaders in the capacity that the Board members and I are called to be… however, we should all be “Faithful Members”… Faithful members of the Body of Christ…

I am going to do my best to not sound to nerdy, or smarter than I really am… I am by no means an expert in the Greek language but I am thankful for the resources that are available to me as I study God’s Word… That being said…

Imperative - Instructions to be followed

In the Greek language there is a verbal form called an imperative … this verbal form is used when the author wants to issue a command, or give instructions to be followed, or express an expected outcome.

From the last phrase of verse 13 through the end of the chapter we will find a total of 16 imperatives. Each of these imperatives (except for one that we will talk about later) can be translated as “do this action, and keep on doing this action”. Because an imperative is basically an instruction to be followed, we are going to look at all 16 of them.

The first of which is…

1. Live in Peace

The last part of verse 13 says “Be at peace among yourselves.” … “Live in Peace!” … And because this is an imperative… Keep living in peace!

When all is not happening as we had hoped or expected – Live in peace.

When there are differences of views that might be bringing conflict – Live in peace.

When we wanted to take a different approach, or have a different agenda – Live in peace.

Is there a wedge between you and brother or sister in Christ? Get it taken care of… Live in Peace. Nothing hurts the ministry of the gospel more than when fellow Christians cannot get along. Also, when there is a wedge between you and a brother or sister, there is a wedge between you and the Lord. Get it taken care of!

Living in Peace with one another doesn’t mean we have to agree, or that we can’t explore alternatives, nor does it shut down robust conversations. But in all of these situations, we need to make sure that we are not letting the relationships towards those who we are called to care for and edify become relationships where there is no peace.

Is there someone in your life that you need to grant forgiveness too?… Is there someone in your life that you need to seek forgiveness from?… maybe it is the same person on both situations… Paul, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, says “Be at Peace among yourselves”… Get it taken care of! The Lord will bless you for it and will be honored by it...

Hebrews 12:14 NKJV

14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

The next Imperative is to…

2. Warn the Unruly

v. 14… “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly...”

Think in terms of parental discipline… Anybody ever have any experience with unruly children??

The warning that comes when you are seeking to teach children the consequences of the choices they make, followed by remedial action if the choice is unacceptable.

- Stop fighting or your going to get a ________ (time out, a whoopin,...) .

- You need to stop yelling or we will go home.

That is the type of warning here … a warning directed to those who are unruly and disruptive.

Some translations use the word idle.

Idle can mean lazy … but that isn’t the sense here.

It is more along the lines of “having an irresponsible attitude to the obligation to work.” Being insubordinate. Not following the rules.

We are to keep warning people like that … and in order for us to be able to give such warnings, we have to make sure that we are not guilty of the same thing. Again, you cannot warn someone about being unruly and disruptive if you are the same way… we call that, Hypocrisy!

Also, there is right way and a wrong way to confront someone about their sin. Making a public announcement or blabbing it around town would be considered the???… … wrong way!

Confronting them privately would be the better way to handle it…

Moving on…

3. Comfort the Discouraged

The specific comfort here is the type given to people at the death of a loved one.

Comforting. Consoling. Encouraging… Sometimes you don’t even say anything… Just being there as source of strength and support.

This comfort or encouragement is directed towards the “fainthearted” – a Greek word that is only used here. The “fainthearted” are those who have too few resources to meet the situation they are facing.

They are struggling spiritually... Or they feel a sense of loneliness and isolation…

They could have a financial shortfall.

We are to keep an eye out for such people and then continue to comfort, encourage and help them in any way that we can.

Which goes along with the next imperative… We are to…

4. Help the Weak

The help envisioned here is more than just giving a hand every now and then… like…

- Helping a stranger who has fallen… or...

- Pushing a broken down car off to the side of the road.

Yes, it is good to do these things, but the help that Paul is talking about here is much more than that.

We help because we have a desire to see people grow. If you fell the need to confront someone of a certain sin that they are engaged in, maybe you should offer to be an accountability person for that individual. Make a point to ask them, every week, how they handled the temptation to give in to that sin…

If it is an addiction they are struggling with and the best thing for them to do is get involved in some meetings… Maybe you can say “hey, I will go with you so you don’t have to go alone”

Folks, Paul is talking about investing in people’s lives. It is easy to say “I’m Praying for you” and we should be praying… but there comes a time, as we are praying for God to send this person some help, that we need to realize, maybe we are who God wants to send… maybe we are the ones that God wants to use to help this individual...

Keep on being devoted to those who are going through spiritual and moral struggles…

And the last one for today… and possible the most difficult…

5. Be Patient with Everyone

This word “patience” is the same one that describes the character of God who is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance… God’s relationship with us is one of patience, because His priority is to secure us for eternity.

As we help the weak, comfort the discouraged and warn the unruly not everyone will want or accept this discipline and support… Folks, not everyone will be grateful for what we do or appreciate our sacrifice.

We will have close friends, family members and other loved ones that will push us away because they would rather live in their sinful lifestyle than to give it up and live for Christ.

In times like that, we are to be patient. Patiently pray for them to yield to the holy Spirit. Patiently continue to love them and show them Christ’s love in any way that you can.

Someone once said this about Patience…

Patience:

1. Is the ability to sit back and wait for an expected outcome without experiencing anxiety, tension, or frustration.

2. Is the ability let go of your need for immediate gratification and be willing to wait.

3. Patience is the trait that displays tolerance, compassion, understanding, and acceptance toward those who are slower than you in developing maturity, emotional freedom, and coping abilities.

4. Patience is the ability to remain calm in the midst of turmoil because you know God is in control.

Closing:

We are going to stop there for today and, Lord willing, get through the rest of these imperatives next week.

I want to leave you with this… as we have looked at the first few of these imperatives today… and as we prepare to look at the rest next week…

If you are convicted that an imperative is speaking to you – take note. Then in this coming week do one or all of the following:-

1) Tell Jesus in your Spirit that this is an area of your Christian life that you want to work on.

2) Study the Scripture on your own, or with someone else, to determine what you need to do to change in that area.

3) Come before Jesus in a prayer of repentance and seek His Spirit for transformation.

4) Make a commitment to transformation.

If you discover that Jesus is convicting you in 6 or 7 of these areas … then it might be a good idea to give me a ring and we can get together for a little chat...

Prayer:

Jesus convict us with your word, even as we only look so briefly at each of these imperatives...