Evidences of a Healthy Church (Pt.2)

Intro/Review

Last week we started to look at this final section of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian Believers… Paul is closing out this letter with giving us a look at “Evidences of a Healthy Church”.

Last week we started to look at theses evidences and talked about how a Healthy Church will have…

1. Servant Leaders

Leaders that…

1.1 Work Hard

1.2 Lead by Example

1.3 Are Loved

We also started looking at another evidence… and that is...

2. Faithful Members

Paul then began to list off 16 Imperatives that faithful members should currently be doing and should continue to do until their time on earth is finished… we were able to get through 5 of these…

2.1 Live in Peace

2.2 Warn the Unruly

2.3 Comfort the Discouraged

2.4 Help the Weak

2.5 Be Patient with Everyone

And that is where we are going to pick it up this morning. Let’s read our passage together… 1 Thessalonians 5:14-28…

Meat:

As we go over the rest of these imperatives, I want to mention that there are some that are pretty obvious what they are saying and we won’t spend a whole lot of time on them, but there are some that we will look at in depth and make sure we really understand the point that Paul is trying to get across…

Also, I want to say that; Just because Paul mentions all of these here, doesn’t mean that the Thessalonian believers were struggling in all of these areas at the time. Remember, Paul is writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit… And, The Holy Spirit, as God, knew exactly what would happen in the future of the Church and the specific instructions that we would need in order to be a Healthy Church, that is ready and waiting for the Return of Christ.

We pick up our list in v.15 “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”

There are 2 imperatives in this verse that go hand in hand… the first one is…

2.6 Don’t Repay Evil for Evil

AND

2.7 Strive to do Good

We are not to repay evil for evil because the Bible teaches us not to… but also, when we choose not to repay evil for evil, it shows the world that we are different, it is evidence of our relationship with our Heavenly Father…

Matthew 5:9 “9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”

I believe, here in Thessalonians, that Paul is just Paraphrasing the words of Christ from…

Matthew 5:43–45 NASB95

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

This goes right along with what we looked at last week… “Live in Peace and Be Patient with Everyone…

You never know who might be watching and what kind of impact your non-vengeful reaction will have on people…

Stuart Holden (1874-1934), the author of "Prevailing Intercessory Prayer", was in Egypt and met a sergeant in a Highland regiment. "How were you brought to Christ?" he asked this bright Christian.

The sergeant responded: "There was a private in the same company as myself who had been converted in Malta , and I gave him a terrible time. I remember one night in particular when it was very rainy and he came in wet and weary from sentry duty. Yet, as usual, he still got down on his knees before going to bed. My boots were covered in mud and I threw them both at him and hit him twice on the head. He kept kneeling and praying.

The next morning when I woke up I found my boots beautifully cleaned and polished at my bedside. This was his reply to me and it broke my heart. That day I was brought to repentance."

(Slide) … Do not repay evil for evil and Strive to do Good!

The next one is pretty self explanatory… v.16…

2.8 Rejoice Always!

When you are persecuted … rejoice.

When the spiritually lost are found … rejoice.

When obedience to Christ is evident … rejoice.

When life is overwhelming and we feel imprisoned … rejoice.

Think of a situation – any situation – and in that situation continue to rejoice because the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Corrie Ten Boom in, the book entitled, “The Hiding Place” relates to an incident that taught her an important principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck.

Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. Their Scripture reading that morning in 1 Thess (Chapter 5) had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed… (and thanked God for the fleas)

During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.

May we have the same attitude as Corrie Ten Boom and the same attitude of the Apostle Paul… Remember from our study through Philippians…

Philippians 2:14-18 “14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.”

The next one is found in v. 17…

2.9 Pray Constantly

Pray and keep on praying. Pray about anything and everything. Pray on all occasions.

This does not mean we must always be mumbling prayers. The word means “constantly recurring,” not continuously occurring. We are to constantly be in touch with God so that our praying is part of a long conversation that is not broken.

That being said, if we are in constant communication with God, then we should be mindful of the things that we say, the words that we use, the tones that we take with others… so on and so forth…

Also, as faithful members of the Body of Christ… We are to be…

2.10 Thankful in Every Circumstance

v.18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

“In Everything Give thanks”… Paul’s simple, direct statement doesn’t allow much wiggle room to be ungrateful…

John MacArthur says “(In everything) refers to all that occurs in life. No matter what struggles, trials, testings, or vicissitudes occur in the lives of Christians (with the obvious exception of personal sins), they are to give thanks.”

If we are living our lives as faithful members of the Body of Christ, if we are honoring Him with our daily walk, if we can say with confidence the words of Job…

Job 27:5-6 “5b … Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.”

Then whatever comes our way, we can be thankful for. What a great promise and word of encouragement we find in...

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

This means that … God’s providence—His sovereign blending of all the circumstances, in the life of the believer, to bring them ultimate blessing, should be what causes us to be thankful for everything in life… Why?? Because according to His Word, we are assured that it fits into His eternal purpose and plan for our lives…

Even in times of great anxiety, fear, worry, and stress, a prayerful attitude of thanksgiving should characterize believers… Again, Corrie Ten Boom was even thankful for the fleas…

V.18 ends with “ for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

This statement actually ties in with last three imperatives we just looked at…

It is God’s will for us, as followers of Christ, to express constant joy, constant prayer, and constant thanksgiving. And God not only mandates these imperative acts of righteousness, but He makes it possible for believers to express them —and He is extremely pleased when they do.

The next imperatives that we are going to look at, I have put in their own category as another evidence of a healthy church… A healthy church will have servant leaders, faithful members and…

3. Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth is not just an evidence of a healthy church, it is a necessity… Earlier this week I had taken a couple of the kids to a yearly doctors appointment. At this appointment, one of the first things the nurse does is take measurements of the kids’ weight and height… They want to make sure that they are growing… and my goodness, do they grow up fast!

It is a sign of good health and proper nourishment… same thing within the local church. A healthy church will have evidence of spiritual growth. People that are growing in their relationship with Christ as they receive nourishment from His Word.

If we are going to grow spriritually we must take follow the instruction that Paul gives, in v. 19 “Do not quench the Spirit.”

3.1 Don’t Quench the Spirit

We are going to take a few minutes and unpack what it means to “Quench the Spirit”…

To fully understand what Paul is saying hear, I think, we need to be reminded of what it is that the Holy Spirit does… He has several different ministries that He fulfills.

Convicting People of Sin

Regeneration - this is cleansing people of sin at the moment of salvation.

Indwelling - The Holy Spirit lives in us

Baptism - The Baptism of the Spirit is that ministry whereby the believer is placed into the Body of Christ

Sealing - This kind of goes along with the ministry of baptism, but it is different… not only are we Baptized by the Spirit at the moment of salvation, but we are also sealed... forever!

Filling - All of the ministries mentioned before, in connection with us as believers, happen at the moment of salvation… and only happen once. The filling ministry of the Spirit, however, is the possession of only those believers who meet certain conditions. Which means that a believer can be filled by the Spirit one day and not the next...

The filling of the Spirit does not mean you are getting more of the Spirit. It means that the Holy Spirit takes full control of the individual. In order for that to happen, as I said before, there are certain conditions that have to be met.

And that is where Paul’s instruction comes in…

The metaphor quench means “to extinguish, stifle, or retard” the power or energy of something… Sometimes Scripture represents the presence of the Holy Spirit as a fire… such as at Pentecost...

Acts 2:2–4 NKJV

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And so, Paul warned the Thessalonians not to smother the Holy Spirit’s work within them, comparing such quenching to extinguishing a fire…

Remember, Christ, before He ascended into Heaven promised to send a helper, a comforter… the Holy Spirit is that Helper, that Comforter… It is not in our best interest to quench or extinguish a promise from the Lord.

The question is, how do we quench the Holy Spirit? Again, using a list comprised by John MacArthur, I will share with you different ways in which we can quench the Spirit...

Failing to Study God’s Word - We, as Believers, grow spiritually only as we feed on God’s Word… Peter illustrates it this way… “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it [they] may grow in respect to salvation”

Are you regularly feeding on the Word of God? or are you starving yourself all week long, just to come here on Sunday morning to get a little nibble? If you are not regularly feeding on God’s Word then you are quenching the Spirit…

Certain attitudes can quench the Spirit - Believers can quench the Spirit’s work through self-will, stubbornness, pride, indifference, and insensitivity regarding God’s will.

Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us as believers is to reveal to us the Will of God. We quench the Spirit when we say “no” to His leading, when we resist His Will…

If we say no to His guidance, if we refuse to yield to the Word of God and have an attitude of stubbornness and pride, then we will quench the Spirit…

Paul says, “Don’t Quench the Spirit (and continue not quenching the Spirit)”…

Moving on in our text… V.20 “Do not despise prophecies”

3.2 Don’t Despise Prophecies

When Paul says “Prophecies”, He is talking about the Word of God… The church was exhorted to treat the Word of God with the utmost respect and accept it with full assurance. When Paul wrote this letter, the Scriptures were not complete yet… Obviously… he still had to write 2 Thessalonians…

As these new Scriptures were spoken… Prophesied… The believers of that day were not to despise the utterance of the Word… The word despise carries a strong indication, literally meaning “to consider as nothing, to look down upon.”

Prophesying could refer to the written Word, such as the letter that Paul is writing... or it could also refer to those who expounded upon the Word, teaching and preaching of the Word… Such as Pastors of today...

Folks, what Paul is trying to get across here is that… we are not to consider the Word of God of little value. We are to embrace it and accept its teaching. We need to allow the Word of God to bring profitable change in our lives.

As Paul would study the Scripture for himself, no doubt he came across the command that God had given to Moses and the Israelites…

Turn with me, if you will, to...

Deuteronomy Chapter 6

Read vv. 6-9

Folks, God’s Word is…

Authoritative

Infallible

Completely without error

It is sufficient for all of our Spiritual Needs

It is the source of victory over sin and the forces of evil

And...

It is the ultimate source of our spiritual growth

Prophecy… The Word of God… is essential to the health of the church, which is why Paul urged the Thessalonians not to despise it.

This ties in with the v. 21 but we will have to finish this Chapter next week.

Closing:

Did you take my advise last week? Did you ask God to reveal to you any area in which you may need to change? If not, then I encourage you to do so…

If you did follow my advice, did He reveal anything to you? Are you taking the necessary steps to make the changes that were revealed? If not, then I encourage you to do so…

Now that we have added to the list of imperatives, I will leave you with the same challenge…

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 that transformation.

Prayer: