1 Thessalonians Ch5v12-15 - Healthy Church

All right.

Well, good morning, everyone. It's good to see you.

! Just want to highlight again our Good Friday service at 11 o'clock.

! Just a slight typo in the new sheets at 11.

And, yeah, do come along to share if you want to take part.

There's opportunity to read and pray as we remember the death of Jesus for us.

And then we'll be meeting next Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

So let's turn in our Bibles, please, to 1 Thessalonians.

We're almost at the end of our study.

Okay.

We're going to read from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 12 to 15.

1 Thessalonians 5:12–15

So it's a short section, but it's jam-packed.

Lots of good things for us to consider this morning.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5, starting in verse 12.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you,

who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you.

Hold them in the highest regard, in love, because of their work.

Live in peace with each other.

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive.

Encourage the disheartened.

Help the weak.

Be patient with everyone.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong.

But always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Lord God, we come to you as the true and chief shepherd.

Lord God, we pray that you would be our teacher this morning.

And that we would be those who listen carefully to your word.

So that we who are weak may be helped.

And we who are disheartened might be encouraged.

Bless this time together, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, what's the health of the church?

Well, recently I had to go to the doctors for my six-monthly check-up.

Bloods were taken.

I did find some.

Five tubes in total.

And for good measure, they sent me away with a blood pressure monitor.

One of those devices that you wear for 24 hours.

And it goes off every hour, day or night.

So, not much sleeping that particular evening.

Thankfully, with the results all back, my cholesterol was good.

I can eat cream buns again.

And my blood pressure hasn't blown.

I am, according to the doctor, healthy.

I'm in good shape.

But tell me this.

How do you measure the health of the church?

Is it the size?

Is it the amount of programs that we have going?

Is it our talented musicians?

Or is it the quality of the coffee we serve?

How do you measure the health of a church?

Well, as we come to the close of this letter, we'll see what a healthy church looks like.

This morning is part one.

And then in a couple of weeks, we'll look at the rest, which will be part two of a healthy church.

But before we look at the health of the church, we first need to know what is the church.

No point in talking about the health if we don't know what the church is.

So let's have a look at that.

The local church.

Look at verse 12.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters.

We see the same again in verse 14.

We urge you, brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters.

And in fact, it's repeated down in verse 25.

Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

Verse 27.

I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

In fact, this term is found 15 times in the letter.

It keeps repeating.

So who are the brothers and sisters?

Well, just go back to chapter 1, verse 4, where this phrase appears for the first time.

Chapter 1, verse 4.

For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you.

Now, I want you to notice, I'm quite sure in your Bibles,

after brothers and sisters, you might have a little letter.

In my Bible, it has the letter B.

And if you go down to the very bottom of the page to the notes,

if you look along the corresponding letter,

it'll say something like this.

The Greek word for brothers and sisters, Adelphoi refers here to believers,

both men and women, as part of God's family.

Do you have that?

Yeah?

Okay.

So, brothers and sisters, we want to know who they are.

They are believers, people who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin,

both men and women, who are now part of God's family.

You see, it's a reminder to us that the church is a gathering, not of just people,

but of people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who trust him.

We're members of a family who've turned from self and are trusting in God's Son, Jesus Christ.

So, first, we're brothers and sisters, part of a family.

But more than that, we're brothers and sisters who are committed to each other.

So, look at chapter 4 and verse 9.

Now, about your love for one another.

Chapter 5, verse 11.

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up just as, in fact, you are doing.

Chapter 5, verse 13.

At the end of verse 13, live in peace with each other.

And we see the same in verse 15.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do good.

What is good for who?

For each other.

You see, you can't separate being a Christian from the church.

If you claim to be a Christian, then you should also be identified with a local church.

A family of brothers and sisters who have responsibilities to love, encourage, and do good for each other.

It's like our biological families.

I have a brother and a sister.

And what makes us brothers and sisters is that we have the same father.

But more than that, it's our relationship to our father that unites us to each other.

No one else gets to be called my brother or sister in a biological sense.

That's what makes us family.

Well, if you're a Christian, God is your father.

And because you have a relationship with God the Father, you become part of God's family.

You enter into a relationship with brothers and sisters who also trust and look to God.

So here's a summary of what I think a local church is.

It could be more, but it's at least this.

A local church is a family of brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus,

which is expressed in baptism and committed to each other,

which is identified through membership.

Well, you say, well, I didn't read anything there about baptism or membership.

You just talked about brothers and sisters and being committed to each other.

Where did you get baptism and membership from?

Well, let us go to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

So go back to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And we'll see the pattern that there was in the early churches.

People heard the gospel, the good news about Jesus, and their response to it.

So Acts chapter 2, verse 38.

Acts 2:38

Peter is the preacher.

He's the speaker.

Chapter 2, verse 38.

Peter said,

Well, how did the people respond?

Look at verse 41.

Those who accepted his message were baptized as a sign of their trust and their commitment to Christ.

And about 3,000 were added or included to their number that day.

Well, included to who?

Added to who?

The church.

The local church.

They became members of the local church.

So you see, we are a church of brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus, which is expressed in baptism,

committed to each other, which is identified through membership.

You see, knowing who our brothers and sisters are is crucial to being a healthy church.

So now that we know what a church is, what does a healthy church look like?

Well, we're going to look at two things.

Love for leaders and care for church.

That's how we measure the health of a church.

Love for leaders and care for church.

So look at love for leaders.

Let's go back to Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 12.

Let's read from verse 12.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you.

Verse 13.

Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Who's he talking about?

Well, he's talking about the leaders of the church or, as sometimes is referred to, the elders of the church.

The leaders are those who are appointed by the church and are accountable to the church.

And their responsibility is the spiritual oversight of the church.

And their work, their hard work, is seen in two ways.

Did you see it there in verse 12?

Those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you.

So first, they are those who care for you.

Now we've got a wonderful example of what that care looks like if you go back to chapter 2 and verse 7.

The care that the leaders have for the church.

Chapter 2, the middle of verse 7.

Paul is speaking.

He says,

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you.

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well.

A nursing mother feeding her infant child is a beautiful picture of the kind of care we are to expect from our leaders.

A leader is those who will watch out, protect, feed, nourish.

It's caring for the spiritual needs of the church family.

So leaders are to care for you.

And they were to admonish you.

Again, we have a good example if you look down at chapter 2, verse 11.

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children.

Encouraging.

Comforting.

And urging you to live lives worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

A good father will watch out for his children.

So picture the scene.

A little toddler who goes running out in front of their father.

They're just running and darting wherever they please.

They can't see the danger or the trouble.

The father at times needs to correct the little one.

To warn them, to steer them on the right path.

So they don't run out on the road, but keep to the pavement.

Leaders admonish.

They correct.

Encouraging, comforting, urging.

Not that way, this way.

Ensuring that the church is in good health.

Go back to chapter 5, verse 12.

So we ask you, brothers and sisters, the church, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, the leaders,

who care for you in the Lord and admonish you.

So this caring, this admonishing, must be done in the Lord.

In other words, the church belongs to the Lord.

It's not my church or your church.

It's God's church.

So the leaders do not impose their own authority.

Rather, they are to represent the Lord's authority.

We don't enforce our own will.

Instead, we teach what is God's will.

This is a healthy church.

It's like a parent, a mother and father caring for and admonishing their children.

It's giving the spiritual nourishment and correction that a church needs so that they grow and mature

and become all that God wants us to be.

It's speaking his truth, the authority of God's word for the blessing of God's church.

Now, the church has a responsibility to the leaders.

If that's what the leaders are to do is to care and admonish,

the church has a responsibility.

Verse 13.

Hold them, the leaders, in the highest regard, in love because of their work.

Now, that's quite a statement, isn't it?

Hold your leaders in the highest regard.

Now, let me clear about this.

That doesn't mean you're to treat your leaders with celebrity status and send pictures around

and say how wonderful they are.

It doesn't mean that if you meet me in the town or one of the other leaders in the town,

you don't go, oh, hello, Johnny, is there anything I can do for you?

No, it means to deeply respect their role.

Why such respect for your leaders?

Well, and I say this carefully, and I want you to hear this carefully.

The reason why we hold our leaders in the highest regard is

they are the most important people in your life.

Yes, they are.

They are the most important people in your life.

Why?

Because they are responsible for your spiritual health.

If you were physically sick and you took a turn, where are you going to go to?

The hospital, to A&E, to the doctor.

Why?

Because of your physical health.

You want to be looked after and cared for and made well

and make sure that everything is okay.

You are not going to go down the road and say to the plumber,

I have got a bad heart.

Or to the electrician, there is something wrong with my leg.

No, you go to the doctor because they are going to care and provide what you need.

Well, the leaders are there to provide for your spiritual health.

To make sure that you are prepared and ready to meet the Lord,

as we looked at last week.

You see, one day,

as a leader,

as a pastor,

and indeed the other leaders of this church,

will one day stand before God.

And it says we will have to give an account

for every single person

who has been entrusted to our care.

I am responsible.

Hold them in the highest regard,

verse 13,

in love.

So how do we love our leaders?

Well, I am going to suggest three ways in which we can love.

Here is the first one.

Become a member.

You see,

if the leaders are responsible for caring for

and for admonishing the church,

if they are to provide and exercise spiritual oversight,

then the leaders have to know

who they are responsible for.

So does that mean we are responsible for everybody

who arrives at a Sunday service?

What if they come for a few weeks

and don't show up for another few months?

Who are we to care for?

We need to know.

And the way we can know

is to identify yourself

with the local church.

To become a member.

To commit and say,

I want you

to care for my

spiritual health.

I want you

to hold me accountable.

I want you to support me

and teach me.

I want you to

love me

and watch over me.

So how do we love our leaders?

Well, by becoming

a member.

second way

to love your

leaders.

Submit to their authority.

Gosh, that's a big one, isn't it?

Do I really have to submit

to their authority?

Well, the authority

that leaders have

is not to be used

to demand their own wants.

No, the leader's authority

authority comes

from God.

God.

Now, to help us see this,

this is important,

go forward

in your Bibles

to Hebrews.

Hebrews.

So you get

2 Thessalonians,

1 and 2 Timothy,

Titus,

and then

Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 13,

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

right at the end.

Hebrews 13, verse 7.

Hebrews 13:7

So here,

in writing to the church,

the author says,

chapter 13, verse 7,

remember your leaders.

Why do we need

to remember them?

They spoke the word

of God to you.

Now look at verse 17.

Have confidence

in your leaders

and submit

to their authority

because they keep

watch over you

as those who must

give an account.

Now, can you see

the connection

between verse 7

and verse 17?

The leaders spoke

the word of God

to you

and you're to submit

to their authority.

They're not two

different things

but one of the same thing.

the only authority

that a leader has

is to teach

and apply

God's word.

We don't make

things up.

It's in the teaching

and the application

of God's word.

That is what we're all

called to submit to.

And as the church,

they are to hold

the leaders

accountable

to God's word.

So if the leaders

drift from God's word

and don't teach

what the Bible

is saying,

then it is the church

who must hold

the leaders accountable.

So how do we

love our leaders?

Submit to their

authority

because they are

teaching

the word of God

to you.

Third way

to love.

Seek out

their counsel.

Let's go back

to chapter 5

of 1 Thessalonians.

Leaders have been

provided

to watch out

for you

and to protect you.

So it makes sense

that we should

seek out

their counsel.

So ask

the leaders.

Would you come

and visit?

I have something

I need to talk over.

Something I need

to pray about.

I'd like your

input

input.

To listen to

what the Bible

has to say.

Now that doesn't

mean to say

that the leader's

words is

perfect.

But it does mean

that there is

learned wisdom

that will help you

as you respond

to challenging

circumstances

and make decisions.

They are there

to watch over.

To care.

To care

for the spiritual

health

of the life

of the church.

So verse 13.

Hold them

in the highest

regard in love

because of their work.

Live in peace

with each other.

And I am so thrilled.

I am so thankful

that there is

peace

amongst the church.

Between the leaders.

Between one another.

Between us all.

So let's keep

working this

out together.

Holding each

other accountable

and fulfilling

our roles

to one another.

Love your

leaders

who care

for you

and who

admonish you.

So that's

the first sign.

The first

mark

of a

healthy

church.

Here's the

second one.

Care for your

church.

church.

You see

as brothers

and sisters

all of us

we have

responsibilities

to each

other.

Verse 14.

And we

urge you

brothers and

sisters

warn those

who are

idle and

disruptive.

Encourage

the disheartened.

Help

the weak.

Be patient

with everyone.

Well isn't that

what the leaders

are for?

They're the

ones who

warn,

encourage and

help.

Yes all of

that is

true but

it's also

the responsibility

of the whole

church.

Look at

verse 14

again.

We urge

you

brothers and

sisters.

So we're

all responsible

for the

care of

the spiritual

needs of

one another.

We are

all to

watch out

for each

other.

I need

you to

hold me

accountable.

I need

you to

ask me

how I'm

doing in

my faith,

how I'm

doing in

my

relationship

with God.

So how

do we

care for

the church?

Well,

here's

five ways

in which

we can

care.

First,

warn

the

idle.

Verse

14.

Warn

those who

are idle

and disruptive.

You see,

the idle

or the

lazy have

a very

simple

motto

in life.

Live

to be

served.

They're

consumers,

not

givers.

Church is

a place

I come

to to

get what

I want

and if

I don't

find what

I like,

well,

I'll go

somewhere

else.

And if

I don't

like that,

I'll go

somewhere

else.

There's a

danger with

that kind

of approach.

There's

no

accountability,

no

responsibility.

It's

spiritually

unhealthy.

God

gave to

us

brothers

and

sisters.

He gave

to us

a family

who can

care for

us and

lead us

and direct

us on

the right

path.

So,

care for

each other

by warning

the idle.

Second,

encourage

the

disheartened.

Perhaps

you're

discouraged

today,

discouraged

by people's

lack of

support,

fed up

with not

being thanked

for all

the service

that you

do.

Maybe

you're

tired

from

helping

and

serving

others.

Maybe

you've

become

disillusioned

with where

your life

is at.

And in

those

moments

and in

those

times

we can

begin

to

doubt.

God

doesn't

care.

Nobody

cares.

God

doesn't

hear my

prayer.

God

can't

love

me.

And

what we

long

for in

those

moments

is for

someone

to bring

some

wise

encouragement,

reminders

of God's

truth,

promises

from God

that yes

he does

love us

and it's

a steadfast

love.

He's

never

going

to let

us

go.

And

he does

see and

he does

know.

What we

need is

someone who

will listen

to our

cries and

will come

alongside

and pray

for us.

So maybe

there's

somebody who

is disheartened

today that

you can

encourage,

care for

each other

as we

encourage

one another.

the third

way,

verse 14,

is to

help the

weak.

Now we

all experience

weaknesses.

We can be

overwhelmed by

anxiety.

We can

become

overcome

with fears.

We even

get bogged

down and

weighed down

by our

past sin.

We all

know that

dark feeling

of sinking

and drowning

under the

pressures and

strains of

life.

Well,

try harder

and do

better is

not the

answer.

We need

to get

alongside

the weak

and support

them and

carry them.

Rather than

abandon

them, we

walk their

path with

them.

We help

them to

collapse

into the

loving arms

of God.

So is

there someone

weak today?

Weighed

down by

past sin,

overcome by

anxiety and

fear?

But we

can help

them by

speaking truth

of God's

word.

Let us

care for

each other

by helping

the weak.

faith.

And

fourth,

patient with

everyone.

How quick

we are to

write one

another off.

Maybe

there's

someone who

you know

who's

drifting back

into sinful,

harmful habits.

It's easy

just to give

up and go,

well, I've

tried, and

just dismiss

them.

Well, rather

than judge

and disapprove,

instead of

wagging the

naughty finger

at people,

we respond

with patience.

Why should

we put

limits on

God's grace

and mercy?

Does God

put limits

on his

grace and

mercy towards

me?

No, we

show people

again the

path of

repentance and

faith.

We lead

them on the

right path,

and we go

again.

So is

there someone

who you're

feeling,

well, not

going to

bother with

them, I've

tried.

No, let

us be

patient with

each other.

And then

finally,

verse 15,

which kind

of wraps up

the way in

which we can

care for one

another.

Make sure,

verse 15,

that nobody

pays back

wrong for

wrong, but

always strive

to do what

is good for

each other

and for

everyone else.

Now, here's

where the

church excels

and models

the goodness

of God.

We live in

a culture

where people

pay back.

You wrong

me, I'll

wrong you.

You withhold

forgiveness,

well, I'm

not going to

forgive you.

We're good

at bearing

grudges.

We

remember.

We remember

what they

said and

how they

hurt me

and what

they did

and how

it upset

me.

But not

the church.

Verse 15,

we strive

to do

what is

good,

making sure

that we

don't pay

back wrong

for wrong.

Always

doing what

is good.

Not for

me.

how will

it help

me or

how will

I feel.

But how

will it

bless and

help the

other person.

You see,

isn't that

how Jesus

has treated

us?

Remember

what he

said?

I am

the good

shepherd.

shepherd.

The good

shepherd lays

down his

life for

the sheep.

Here is

the one who

is the

true leader,

the perfect

shepherd who

cared for

us by

giving of

his life to

death on

a cross,

by paying

for our

sins,

who corrects

us when we

drift away

and gently

by his

Holy Spirit

leads us

back.

Jesus is

exceedingly

good.

He encourages

the disheartened.

He helps

the weak.

He sustains

you by his

grace,

pouring out

his grace

in abundance.

He strengthens

you with his

power,

equipping you.

As scripture

reminds us,

a bruised

reed he

will not

break,

and a

smouldering

wick he

will not

snuff out.

Jesus is

patient with

us, never

giving up,

always forgiving.

He doesn't

pay back

wrong for

wrong.

Instead, he

remembers our

sins no

more.

As far as

the east is

from the west,

so far

has he

removed our

sins from

us.

Isn't

Jesus good?

And how

much we

need to

experience the

goodness of

Jesus,

because that

is what we're

called to do,

brothers and

sisters,

in all that

we're saying

this morning

is, let's

bring each

other back

to our

chief shepherd,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

who cares

for us

well,

and only

does what

is good

for us.

let's

turn back

to Psalm

95.

I just

want us

to close

with this

this morning.

It's how

we began

our time

together.

Psalm

95.

95.

starting at

verse 6.

6.

Come,

let us

bow down

in worship.

let us

kneel

before the

Lord our

God,

for he

is our

God,

and we

are the

people of

his

pasture,

the flock

under

his

care.

Let's

pray.

Father,

we thank

you that

you are

the good

shepherd who

cares for

us intimately

and personally.

Father,

we entrust

ourselves to

you afresh

today and

ask that

you would

encourage us

and strengthen

us.

Help us

to listen

to your

voice,

to your

word,

that we

would not

go astray,

but that we

would listen

to your

gentle voice,

for you

care for

us,

and you

correct us,

and you

do only

what is

good.

Father,

help us,

me,

and Alex

and Ralph

and Jonathan.

Help us

to be the

leaders that

you call us

to be.

Help us

to care

for the

church.

Help us

to admonish

the church.

Help us

to love

our leaders.

Help us

to do

all things

in love.

Father,

help us

all

together

to

encourage

one

another

and build

each other

up in the

faith.

Help us

to do that

today.

Help us

to do it

through the

week,

for we

need one

another.

Lead us

back to

Christ,

we pray,

our

name,

we ask

all these

things.

Amen.