Mark of a Healthy Church (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16)

We are. We started a new series last

week on 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and basically what

I did was we are going over every time Paul says I am

thankful for you, meaning the Thessalonian church, and we want

to know why he's thankful. We could infer from Paul being

thankful for the church is that those characteristics is

something that we should strive for.

Those could be our spiritual goals.

Those are signs of a healthy church.

So these are good things that as SBMC, as a church, we should

strive for. Last week, Paul was thankful

that the church was, you know, full of faith, love and hope.

So we'll move on to the next thing that Paul is thankful for.

And when I say Paul, I do mean Paul, Silas and Timothy, those

three co-authored these letters. But for the sake of the sermon,

I'll just, I'll just say Paul. When I read articles or attend

seminars, you know, when I go to a conference or something, one

of those topics that I find fascinating or very interesting

at the least is topics on church visitors.

For, for instance, there's one particular study survey I should

ask, I should say it asked people looking for a church

like, what are what are the three like?

What are the most important factors in your decision to join

a church? And so there will be like a

bunch of things. And then they would just list

whatever applies the top three reasons or top three things that

people are looking for. It's probably something that you

might guess. It's number one was preaching. 2

was worship style, whether it was contemporary, traditional

and all that. And #3 was praise the music.

But at the same time, once people found the church, it was

a separate survey. They surveyed 400 people.

They asked, OK, you pick the church finally.

Now, why did you pick the church that you you were attending?

The number one and two reasons were about welcoming #1 being I

felt very welcomed by the congregation #2 being I felt

very welcomed by the pastor or one of the pastors.

So what are people looking for? Is it the preaching or is it the

welcoming? Who knows?

I don't know. All I know is that these surveys

reveal that people care about many different things.

They care about parking location, they care about child

care. They they care about the age of

the congregation and denomination.

They care about a lot of things. By the way, I saw that only 10%

of Christians are willing to drive 30 minutes or more.

I think we have like a third of our church driving 30 minutes or

more. So I am thankful for for all of

you guys. But these surveys, all it tells

us is what people prefer it it it teaches about people's

preferences. Only Scripture tells us what we

need, what's important about a church, what makes the church

healthy? What what what's something that

we need to look for when when thinking about joining a church.

Let's not worry about preferences.

Surveys only reveal what other people care about.

Let's care about what Scripture tells us, what we need, and what

we need. The simple answer is what we all

need is a healthy church. For the second time in this

letter letter, Paul thanks God for this church and today we

will find out why it will reveal mark of a healthy church.

That's the question we'll be answering today.

What is the mark of a healthy church?

Now you know, whether it's like, hey, what's Paul thankful for?

What, What, what does he think, you know, is a healthy church?

It's it's all the same. I'm just rewarding it each week

a little bit differently. But essentially we're talking

about the same thing. What are the marks of the

Thessalonian church that makes it healthy, that makes Paul

thankful God for and all of that.

What is the mark of a healthy church, A healthy church?

In a healthy church, number one, the word of God is preached

faithfully. The word of God is preached

faithfully. I know I just said the preaching

is what, what people look for the most.

And I said, don't worry about all that.

Just look for a healthy church. But when I say preaching, I

don't mean what, what most of people say when they're, when

they say I'm, you know, preaching is important.

What most people say when they say I care about preaching is

the style. OK, we're not, I'm not going to

talk about style too much. I'll just say this about style.

Just avoid the 2 extremes. 1 extreme is, is really the, the,

the pastor's personality, right? Just, you know, very little

Bible, you know, it's very inspiring, you know, maybe very

funny, very passionate, but it's just all personality and then

very little content. And the other extreme is just

all content. And there is no pastoral, no,

no, you know, it's just all to the head.

It's like a seminary professor teaching you a lesson.

We need sermons that go to the heart, not just the head.

So those are the 2 extreme examples.

Other than that, styles don't matter.

OK, don't, don't pick a church. I know most of the guys looking

around, this is your home church, but someday, let's say

you move far and you have to look for a church.

Think about these things. All right, So what we need, OK,

I'm going to talk about three things when it comes to faithful

preaching. Faithful preaching is preaching

the gospel. OK, let's turn to 1st

Thessalonians chapter 2. I'm going to read 2 one through

9. OK, one through 9 For you

yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit with you

was not without result. On the contrary, after we had

previously suffered and we were treated outrageously in

Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak

the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition.

For our exhortation didn't come from error or impurity or an

intent to deceive. Instead, just as we have been

approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not

to please people, but rather God who examines our hearts.

For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had

greedy motives. God is our witness, and we

didn't seek glory from people, either from you or from others.

Although we could have been burdened as Christ's apostles,

instead we were gentle among you as a nurse nurtures her own

children. We care so much for you that we

were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God, but

also our own lives, because you have become dear to us for you.

Remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters, working

night and day so that we will not burden any of you.

We preach God's gospel to you. That's a lot.

So let's start dissecting what we just read.

All right, Verses 2489 talks about the same thing.

OK, It's about preaching the gospel.

The first part of faithful preaching is that you preach the

gospel. That is the most important thing

about preaching. Look at verse 2.

Speak the gospel of God to you. Verse 4, we are entrusted with

the gospel. Verse 8, Share with you the

gospel. Verse 9 We preach God's gospel

to you in these short verses 4 times.

We speak the gospel. We preach the gospel.

We are entrusted with the gospel.

We share with you the gospel four times.

Paul makes it clear that is the most important thing about what

they are teaching the church. Paul doesn't say we preached

principles to you. We he didn't say VR, DS, Bible

lessons or historical backgrounds or clever stories.

He says they preach the gospel to the church.

In fact, Paul and his friends, they thought preaching the

gospel was so important that in verse 2IN spite of great

opposition, they were literally their lives were in danger.

They chose to preach the gospel. When I say gospel, I mean the

gospel that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

I grew up all my life hearing for the most part just

moralistic sermons. I truly thought faithful

preaching was preaching moralism, a Bible lesson and do

it. In fact, the first four years of

me being a pastor, I could honestly say that all my sermons

were just full of morals. In those four years I was a

youth pastor. So I am sorry for those youth

kids back then. I have two in here, Isaac and

Hannah, but they're still Christian.

God's grace thankful there after 20 something years there there

at my church. But more preaching focuses on

what I should do. It's all about human behavior

and effort. So let's say I'm preaching on

Good Samaritan, OK. And the lesson is, hey, are you

too busy to help others? So this week, go home and help

somebody. Amen.

None of this is bad, but we have to preach the gospel as well.

We can't make what to do the main thing.

In the long run. If this is all the preaching

that you hear, then I believe that it'll be more damage might

be done than than actually helping.

It trains us to ignore our heart change.

It focuses on just outside change.

It focuses on behavioral change and change happens when our

heart changes. People think that if you do good

things, eventually you will change.

That's not true. You can only fake it so long.

You take Jesus out of the Good Samaritan story and it could

literally be any religion. There's a sick guy opposite a

race that normally doesn't like each other.

Help, help, help that person, help a sick person lying in the

street. That literally could be any

religion. It's only when we point out the

gospel in the story that it becomes Christian that Jesus is

the true and better Samaritan. He binds our wounds, He pays the

cost and he promises to return. So we show mercy.

The application is we show mercy because we have been shown mercy

by God. All the things that we do is in

response of the gospel coming into our lives.

You have to preach the gospel in the story, otherwise it's just

moralism. So if there's, you know,

beginning of the year, there's a lot of people visiting churches.

And if you are visiting our church today, don't just random

randomly visit churches. Ask me or one of the pastors for

help. We will give you a list of

churches where we think faithful preaching happens.

I remember not to call you up, but David and Julia, I think I

emailed you a list of church to check out.

I gave you a list of all the terrible churches so that our

church looks good. No, I'm just kidding.

I promised we will give you a list of churches where we think

it's good preaching. OK, if you are a member of our

church, don't ask me for a list. Come on, trying to do here.

OK, so faithful preaching is gospel preaching and also

there's a lot of in here, right? Also, number 22 of the first

point is preaching with no ulterior motives.

This one, I'll keep it short because I think we all agree,

but let me reread parts of verse 3456.

It talks about like, hey, we didn't do this.

Instead we did that right? For exhortation didn't come from

error, not from impurity or intended deceive.

Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted

with the gospel and not to please people, but but to rather

God to examine our hearts, Verse 5, we never used flattering

speech. We never had greedy motives, as

God is my witness. We didn't seek glory from

people, from you, or from others.

So Paul is going on and all about, hey, we didn't deceive

anybody. We weren't trying to please

people. We only try to please God.

We weren't flattering you, we didn't have any greedy motives.

We weren't seeking, you know, self glory.

He was just saying we taught you.

We preach to you with no ulterior motives.

I'll keep this short because I think this is obvious, but I

think sometimes for some people it is not too obvious.

Maybe because they're caught up on something.

But anytime a preaching is done with too much flesh, like there

is prophecy healing our church, me myself included, we do

believe in all the spiritual gifts.

We do believe in prophecy and healing and all of that.

But we just don't think it should be happening on the

stage. OK.

The the sermon is too emotional talking about, you know, apart

from the gospel, of course. And then let's say there's a

very emotional sermon. And right after it's like, sign

up for missions. Perhaps those are ulterior

motives, a sermon that is always positive.

Sometimes we have to preach things that are not popular and

all of that. OK, so no ulterior motives.

And the last thing Paul says is you have to preach like a

parent. That is really important that

that is a sign of a healthy church is when the preaching is

like done by a father or mother for 7-8.

It's like it's got to be motherly now for seven.

Although we would we could have been a burden as Christ, as

apostles. Instead, we were gentle among

you as a nurse who nurtures their own children.

We care so much for you that we were pleased to share with you

not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives.

This is motherly caring and sharing kind of teaching.

And then 11 to 12 is now the fatherly type, as you know, like

a father with his own children. We encouraged, we comforted and

we implored each one of you to walk worthy of God.

OK, to to teach, to encourage, to sometimes correct all of that

this motherly love and this fatherly love is required.

And when when accompanied by the gospel out of the three things,

I'm pretty sure as BMC we preach the gospel from day one.

I'm I'm I'm certain of that. The second one we preach without

ulterior motives. I think OK, my opinion is we do

do a pretty good job not preaching with ulterior motives,

preaching like a parent. That's the part where I have

failed in that area more than once.

One time I, I preached A sermon and a complaint claiming

sometimes complaints are they just disagree so that I just, I

can't change our beliefs or teaching.

But I got a, a remark a little, you know, that hey, your sermon

last week, there was a little mean.

It was a little mean spirited. And I was like, no way, I'm a

nice guy. And I listened to it and I was

like, OK, so I'm a little mean. I don't know if I was having a

bad week or a bad day, but someone told one of our elders

and then the elders say, hey, this is a feedback, let me share

with you, let me know what you think.

And I and I was given that feedback and I said, OK, well

this part I do agree. The other one I'm not sure, but

definitely guilty of being too harsh.

And no one complained about this per SE.

But I know that at times I was too soft, especially on I

probably would say that at least a few times I tiptoed around a

difficult part of the Bible. There are regrets at times I'm

like, man, I should have been more straightforward.

I know it would have been a little offensive, but I should

have just said it directly and, and, and I tiptoed around

something. No one complaints about it, but

it it hurts my conscience. So while preaching cannot be too

harsh, it can't be too soft, There is this middle where we

faithful preaching kind of holds both together, both firm and

loving at the same time. OK, so a healthy church, that

part is me and whoever's preaching.

OK, now the second part is all y'all everyone else healthy

church, faithful preaching 1-2 faithful receiving the word of

God is received even in difficult circumstances,

faithful reception, receiving of the word of God.

Now, if you are visiting churches, this part you you

cannot really see by just visiting.

OK, so you could kind of judge the preaching, but this part

hopefully, you know, you would think faithful preaching there,

you know, it's there is faithful reception of the word.

But this one you cannot tell. Let's read verse 13 and 14.

Paul said something very similar in last week's sermon.

He says you welcomed my message with joy.

And this week he says something similar.

This is why we constantly thank God, because when you receive

the Word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as

just human message, but as it truly is the Word of God, which

also works effectively in you who believe.

For you brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's

churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have

also suffered the same things from people of your own country,

just as they did from the Jews. Sorry 15 two who killed the Lord

Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us?

They displease God and are hostile to everyone.

I'll stop there. So 13 is saying that you

received the word of God like it was from God, and the last week

you received the word of God with great joy.

And then 141516 is the result of of a church that is faithfully

receiving the Word of God. Now they are able to persevere

through persecution. People are dying, but they are

being faithful. They are sharing God's Word.

This is the fruit, the evidence of a church that is has received

the Word of God faithfully. I think many people listen to

sermons. We listen to the ones preached

at this church sometimes. Maybe not all of you, but I know

handful of you. You guys also listen to sermons,

you know, from kind of famous, well known pastors, like a

podcast or something. Our church, we're on Spotify by

the way, we're getting solid 5 downloads per week.

Let's get to 7, OK? That's our magic number.

But whether you're listening to someone famous or our church, we

all listen. But I would say out of the ones

who listen, only few people might receive the word.

Paul doesn't say that you heard my message, that you heard my

preaching. He says that more than once you

received it. Receiving means to accept.

It means to own it, and it means to live it out as truth in your

life. The Greek word used here for

receiving is often used between teacher and a student.

So if a math teacher is teaching the student math, the student is

going to. OK, well I guess that's how

multiplication works. And you, you receive it, you own

it, you study it, you memorize it.

And then in a test, you write the answers based on what you

learn. You receive that as truth.

And now you're living it out. It's not passive listening, but

it's active faith. So receive it, you accept it as

true, you own it and you live it out.

There are people in this service.

Well, maybe not their service, but we had in our first service,

we had, you know, a couple of youth kids.

And even if you're not kids, maybe you're here because

somebody brought you here, a friend brings you here, maybe

your spouse brings you here, maybe somebody drags you, I

don't know. But maybe you hear the message

or maybe you've hearing messages most of your life.

But at a certain point, you have to figure out, you have to

decide if you're going to receive it, not just hear it.

At a certain point in your life, you have to realize, should I

actually believe, should I actually apply these things into

my life? Once you're ready, of course,

because until you receive it, there will be very little change

in your life, if at all. There could be temporary changes

motivated by other things, but if you want true heart change,

if you want to see the world differently, if you want to have

hope, faith, joy, love, you have to receive it.

Let the word work in you so that your heart changes.

At a certain point, you got to be like, oh man, this is kind of

a waste of time if I keep coming here and not getting anything

out of it. So ask yourself, is it time for

me to receive it? Because once you receive it,

there will be real tangible fruit that you will notice in

your life. This church, there was real

tangible fruit. They were going through the

persecution. They're saying Paul says the

same people that killed Jesus, the same thing is happening to

you. People are getting killed, but

there's joy, there's hope, there's love.

They're serving, there's preaching, there's real fruit.

In the beginning of my sermon, I mentioned the survey of why

people, you know, chose a church and I said number one and two

reasons are both related to welcoming.

A lot of churches know this. The church that I used to work

for before here for whether it was the English ministry or

whether the Korean ministry, both ministries, a paid staff

was in charge of welcoming. They wanted to make sure they

know welcoming has a big something, you know, a lot to do

with retention of newcomers. So they had a paid staff doing

welcoming. I was the welcoming on the

English side. They they paid me to welcome

people. Terrible idea.

Never remember anyone's name anyway.

So a lot of churches know this. So they kind of do welcoming

well by hiring people. I think that is a terrible

approach, honestly. I think now we're trying to

artificially, artificially manufacture fruits into the

church. A church that preaches

faithfully, a church that receives the word faithfully.

They will have fruits. They can handle difficult

circumstances. They can handle the ups and

downs of their personal lives, of the church's life.

And also a church that preaches faithfully and receives the word

faithfully. They will naturally be welcoming

to new people, new people who are different, older, younger,

natural fruit will be, they will be able to, they'll have a big

heart and they'll have to, they will receive accept a lot of

people, healthy churches don't manufacture fruit.

They produce fruit. They bear fruit.

So is SBMCA healthy church? I think that is the wrong

question to ask. That is not the point of the

sermon. It's not to hey guys, let's make

our church healthy. Let's have these characteristics

and now I'm trying to manufacture fruit.

Better approach is am IA healthy Christian?

Am I receiving the word faithfully?

Am I receiving it? Am I owning it?

Am I living it out? A big litmus litmus test to see

the fruits in our lives is how we handle a crisis.

We're living in a crazy world in a crazy time.

I'm sure everyone here, if if not most, are at least at the

least heard about what's going on in Minneapolis.

I feel like George Floyd happened just, I don't know, not

too long ago it was during COVID.

There has to be 5 years. But now five years, 5-6 years

later, there are protests and just violent events happening

and the fruit is this. How do you respond to something

like that? People today are looking for

church because they want answers, they want peace, they

want wisdom, they want hope. They look at the world.

They're like there is no hope in this world.

And then some of them will come to church and said, tell me,

where is this hope? If you're not faithfully

receiving the word, you're going to be like, good question

because I don't know where the hope is the either.

If you don't let the word of God, the gospel of God change

your heart, your response to a crisis like that will be exactly

the same as somebody who doesn't know God.

It'll be like, you're right, there's no hope.

But this church, they respond, they're different.

It's a time where Christians are literally getting killed.

And Paul says your your labour is motivated by love.

Your faith is produced. Your work is faced, faith

produced by faith. You have endurance inspired by

hope. You receive the message with

joy. The Word of God worked in them.

They clung to the gospel. Hope amid suffering.

When the gospel shapes our hearts, do you know what

happens? You see fruit in these moments,

these key moments. You don't respond like everyone

else. Panic, paranoia.

I'm moving to Canada. I don't know how many times I

heard that these days. No, we don't respond like that.

We encourage, we're able to encourage grieving people.

You say, Oh my gosh, that's going on.

It's time for action. It's time to take care of

people. It's time to pray for leaders,

even the ones that you don't like, especially the ones you

don't like. Pray for police officers, pray

for victims, pray for peace. Us Christians, we don't claim to

have all the answers to the problems.

We don't claim to know how to fix the world because we believe

that Jesus will return to do just that.

But meanwhile, we have to bear fruit in this world.

We need to have compassion when there's hatred all around.

We need to have hope. People are coming here looking

for hope. We have to have hope, not

despair. We need to have courage, not

fear. And how do you do that?

Receive the word. This is not therapy, this is not

advice, this is not positive vibes.

It's the truth of God. The truth of God says this world

became sinful, started with Adam and Eve.

It is a fallen world, so don't be shocked when you see the

results of sin all around you. But the gospel doesn't end with

we're sinners, that there's sin all over the world.

Gospel starts with I'm a Sinner, but it ends with, you know what?

That's why I need a savior. That's why this world needs a

Savior in Jesus Christ who will rescue us from that sin.

That is our hope, that is our motivation, and that is the

fruit that we will bear and the world will look at us.

They'll learn our job is just point to the cross in these

messed up times. Receive the word main point.

A healthy church is marked by faithful preaching and receiving

of God's words. Let's pray.