Evidences of a Healthy Church (Pt. 3)

Intro/Review

- This morning we are going to finish up looking at Evidences of a Healthy Church.

We are going to look at the remaining imperatives that are listed in these final verses… and

- we will finish this first letter that Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Believers.

These past couple of weeks we have been working our way through 16 Imperatives that should be evident in a healthy church. Imperatives are things that we should be currently doing and that we need to keep on doing until the Lord calls us home!

So far we have looked at the first 11 imperatives…

1 - Live in Peace

2 - Warn the Unruly

3 - Comfort the Discouraged

4 - Help the Weak

5 - Be Patient with Everyone

6 - Don’t Repay Evil for Evil

7 - Strive to do Good

8 - Rejoice Always!

9 - Pray Constantly

10 - Be Thankful in Every Circumstance

11 - Don’t Quench the Spirit

Open your Bible’s with me this morning as we look at the last five of these imperatives… 1 Thessalonians 5:20-28… (Read)

Meat:

The second imperative that we find, under the evidence of “Spiritual Growth” is…

3.2 Don’t Despise Prophecies

I didn’t go over this one last week because it is one that requires a few extra minutes to look at.

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 yet complete… 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 utterances of the Word… The word despise carries a strong indication, literally meaning “to consider as nothing, or 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 of 1 Thess. 5… which says “21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.”… This is our next Imperative…

When Paul says to “Test all things”, what he means is we are to…

3.3 Examine Everything Carefully

With Spiritual Growth comes Spiritual Discernment… Spiritual discernment is the ability to distinguish divine truth from error and half-truth. Spiritual discernment in essential for us as followers of Christ, but also for the health of a church.

The Word Examine is a common, New Testament word that often refers to testing something for authenticity. It entails distinguishing between true and false, right and wrong, or good and bad.

I believe that this comes directly after the imperative of “not despising prophecies” for a reason… although prophets may be held in high regard, everything they say is not necessarily to be accepted; those who hear them must apply tests to see whether a given saying comes from God.

Just because someone is in the position of “Pastor” at a church, great or small, doesn’t mean that he is speaking the truth…

Just because a “Preacher” is on T.V. doesn’t mean that he is speaking the truth.

Just because a “preacher” has lots of money and private jets to get around… doesn’t mean that he is speaking the truth…

It is not only prophesy that is to be tested or examined… but Paul says to “Test ALL things” Examine Everything!

When Paul says to examine Everything he doesn’t leave much room for exceptions; it includes every issue and idea that might confront us as believers. When we do this, it should help us to naturally hold on to what is good and reject what is evil…

What is our examination tool?… The Word of God… Every believer should carefully examine all things with the Word of God. Our habits, the places we go, the things we do, the language we use, the songs we sing, the company we keep, the job we hold, the church we join, the evangelists and missionaries we support, the tracts we give out on the street or from house to house… We need to ask ourselves… Does this match up with what God’s Word says?

If there is something in your life that you are unsure about, place that “something” beside the Word of God, and if the Bible calls it a sin… then your opinion doesn’t matter… you need to stop doing whatever it is!

There are people who have different convictions regarding certain things. For example…(Let’s see if we can stir the pot a little)… There are some that will tell you that… every form of dancing is a sin… We should Only sing the old hymns in church… The KJV is the only version of the Scripture that we should use… Any type of alcoholic drink should not be consumed… The list could go on...

These are personal convictions… I have my own personal convictions, maybe you have your own personal convictions… but your personal convictions are not my obligations… However, the instructions that we find in here (hold up Bible), God’s Word, are everyone’s obligations.

When Paul preached in Berea, we are told that the believers were “examining the Scriptures daily” to see if what he said was true. This needs to be our response as well…

A pastoral mentor that I had, as Melissa and I were dating, used to end his sermons by saying “don’t take my word for it”… Meaning, “go and study it out for yourself to make sure it is true.”

And when we study it out for ourselves, and the Lord reveals to us some changes that we are to make in our lives… we are to…

3.4 Reject Everything Evil

v.22 “Abstain from every form of evil.”

Paul continues to urge the Thessalonian believers… and us, to maintain a godly witness among the world.

The devil tempts us through three avenues.

the lust of the flesh

the lust of the eye;

the pride of life.

Through these avenues, Satan tempts, draws souls away from God, and condemns them. It was through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life that Jesus, Himself, was tempted. But Jesus did not succumb to temptation… He fought off the temptations with the Word of God…

We are to do the same… and if the Word of God calls something a sin, then we are to reject it! … … Folks, We must guard our witness. We must be careful how we present ourselves, so that we are perceived in a positive manner that exalts the Lord and points others to Him. We are not our own; we have an obligation to live upright, above reproach… and rejecting everything that is evil...

There is one more evidence that I believe should be found in a Healthy Church… and The last two imperatives fit right in with this final evidence…

A healthy church will have…

Servant Leaders

Faithful Members

Spiritual Growth… and…

4. The Love of Christ

Mike Botma and I met with a lady this past week that said she has been to different churches throughout the years, but she always comes back to Pierson Bible Church. She said “I walk in the door and it just feels like home”… She said that she cannot explain it… well I can… I believe what she is feeling is the love of Christ that is permeating from all of you.

Paul prays for the Thessalonian believers…

vv.23-24 “23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”

and then he says…

v. 25 “Brethren, pray for us.”

This is the imperative… this is one of the ways that we can show the Love of Christ…

4.1 Pray for One Another

Paul leads by example and prays for his flock and asks them to pray for him, Silas and Timothy as they continue to minister where they are called.

We are to pray for one another on a regular basis. Very little is more encouraging to me than to hear from someone… “I am praying for you”. I will be the first to admit that I need those prayers. Prayers to stay focused on what God has called me to do… prayers to rightly divide the word of truth… prayers to have victory over the temptations that come my way…

I have said it before… I pray for all of you on a regular basis. whether I am going through the church directory, the prayer chain list of requests or just casually praying for you by name… and I encourage you to do the same for my family and I, do the same for the board members and their families, do the same for the ones that are here today, the ones that aren’t… we are to pray for each other…

If you are not sure who to pray for… let me suggest…

(The Five Finger Prayer)

1. Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for

those closest to you. They are the easiest to ones to remember. To pray

for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach,

instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They

need support and wisdom for pointing others in the right direction.

Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders.

Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and

administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact

that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It

should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain.

They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger, the smallest finger of all, which

is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

This brings us to our final imperative…

4.2 Greet Other Believers

v. 26 “26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.”

all of the imperatives that we have gone over these past 3 weeks… are in a form can be translated as “do this action, and keep on doing this action”…

All of them… except for this one…

15 imperatives written in a form where there is an encouragement to continue the action and life-style.

So why didn’t Paul also say, “Greet, and keep on greeting, one another with a holy kiss?”

Well … that is just creepy. You come into church and everyone is just kissing each other over and over.

Say hello. Shake hands. Hug on the shoulder. A quick holy kiss.

Greet one another … then stop!

This one imperative ties all the rest together. Paul desired that they love one another and dwell together in unity… What was the first imperative??… Live in Peace… Paul knew that more difficulty would surely come, but if they stood together, in love, they could endure. We desperately need unity and Christian love for one another.

We need the help and strength of those around us, to keep us focused on doing these imperatives, so that we continue to grow as a Healthy Church, that is Ready and Waiting for the Return of Christ.

Closing:

Paul closes out this letter by saying…

vv. 27 “27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.”

He knew the Holy Spirit has inspired the writing of this letter. He knew the benefit it would be to the church. He charged them to read it among all the brethren. Paul desired them to continue to grow and mature in the Lord, conforming to His image.

We need to hear and heed the Word of God in our day as well, conforming to the image of our Savior. We need to make it a priority to study and meditate upon the Word of God. It must continue to be the emphasis and priority of our services and our lives.

v. 28 “28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

What closing words of comfort for the church. Paul prays for the grace of the Lord to be abundant in their lives. He wanted them to experience His grace and enjoy the victory that He gives.

Oh, how we need His abundant grace in our lives as well. We need Him every moment we live. We need the grace and guidance of our Lord. I pray that we will continue to grow in His grace, as we follow these imperatives…

May the Evidences of a Healthy Church…

Servant Leaders

Faithful Members

Spiritual Growth… and

The Love of Christ…

Be found here at Pierson Bible Church.

Prayer: