Latest / HBCWestminster / 9.3.23 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 Pastor Danny Gardner

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9.3.23 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you have your Bibles open, if you would, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, titled this morning's message, Growing a Healthy Church. You could call it the recipe or the ingredients of a growing and healthy church. 1 Thessalonians 5, which I'll get to in just a moment. I believe that the Lord left three God-ordained institutions on earth, the government, the home, and the church.
• 0:29
  Among those three, the church is the most blessed because it is the only institution on earth which has Christ himself as its head. In fact, Colossians chapter 1 and verse 15 says he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of our all creation. The church is also the only institution on earth which Christ promised to eternally bless. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 27 says so that he might present the church to himself in splendor.
• 0:56
  without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. And the church, additionally, is the only institution on earth promised to overcome the gates of hell. Matthew 16, 18 says upon this rock, I will build my church. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And our little church in Westminster, now our beloved daughter church of Wheat Ridge, are meant to be microcosms of the church as a whole. In other words, what Christ is doing through his people on a global level.
• 1:25
  He is also doing on a local level through Highlanders and through Newlanders around the world. Christ is calling his people out of darkness and into his marvelous light. He is pushing back against the enemy's kingdom. He is reclaiming ground in people's hearts and minds. He is training and sending missionaries. He is planting and replanting churches. And he has called us to participate where we are.
• 1:53
  With that in mind, would you read with me? It's 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and I would ask you, if you're able to stand in honor of God's word, to stand as we do. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 12. The scriptures say this, We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
• 2:25
  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good unto one another and to everyone. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept lameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 2:54
  He who calls you as faithful, he will surely do it. Would you pray with me? Lord God of heaven and earth, we ask that you are magnified today as we consider our churches and our roles in them. We lean on your abounding mercy for forgiveness, and we ask for your wisdom to know how to lead our churches well. Bless us and keep us in your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. Well, as you've probably figured out, today's church...
• 3:26
  culture is obsessed with growth there is an unparalleled number of church growth books being published and purchased many pastors have become preoccupied with numbers they will ask questions like how many people are in attendance or how much can we increase our budget or how many giving units can we attract to our church how big a building can we purchase regardless of the debt we may incur i don't want to
• 3:55
  We come across as though we're not concerned with growth because we certainly are. Our church wants to grow, but our definition of growth might be slightly different. We want the Lord to be magnified. We want what John the Baptist wanted when he said that Christ must increase and we therefore must decrease. When my 13-year-old son Chase was born, he was smaller than average. He was just over three pounds. He was taken to the NICU, the intensive care unit for newborns, for two weeks.
• 4:24
  To grow, they put him on a calorie booster. Normally, babies that size, as I understand, will drink, right? Their formula, whatever they're doing, is 21 calories. That's how many calories they ingest per meal. This will probably be 23 calories. And I thought, okay, that's not much of a booster. That's less than a stick of foam. But they put him on a calorie booster because they wanted him to grow. To take him home, doctors told us.
• 4:51
  He had to weigh a minimum of 18.3 grams, four pounds. I've got to weigh in at four pounds in order for us to take him home. And I remember the day that we were taking him home. He was finally two weeks of growing. To finally take home, we could take our baby home. The doctor looked at us and said, do not allow him to cry. We thought, well, wait a minute. Babies cry. That's what they do. And he says, not this one. Don't allow him to cry. He said, because if he does, he will literally starve himself to death.
• 5:19
  He will use more calories crying than he can eat. And so do not allow him to cry. No, we wanted nothing more than for him to grow, to become healthy and strong. And he did indeed grow. We have turned that corner. He is growing like a weed now. And so we let him cry all the time at this point. You're not getting what you want. But we wanted him to become healthy and strong. And because of that, we were willing to follow that doctor's directions to a team.
• 5:49
  What we have this morning are the ingredients necessary for a growing, healthy, and vibrant church. It's like the doctor is looking at our church and saying, hey, if you want this church to grow, do these things. Follow this recipe. The Lord's commendation this morning is pretty simple. If you want a healthy, vibrant, God-honoring church to be growing in all the right ways, follow these directions. And notice first, the first ingredient and the first of the directions is this. A healthy, growing church.
• 6:19
  has leaders who lead and people who follow. Leaders must lead and people must follow. Notice again in verse 12, we ask you brothers to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. The Lord appoints leaders in every church. In fact, scripture uses the words elders, shepherds, pastors synonymously. He imbues those shepherds with authority. In fact, he says they are
• 6:48
  over you in the Lord and in the church. But notice that authority is still under the Lord's headship when he says they are over you in verse 12, but it says in the Lord. We see that although the church has leaders, it has not become a dictatorship. Rather, it is to become a theocracy and that those who are called as under shepherds as Pastor Michael is now are tasked with certain responsibility.
• 7:15
  You may say, okay, what is Michael's job as the senior pastor of Newland? He has two jobs. And notice the first, verse 12, it says he is to labor among you, labor among you. And then also in verse 12 at the end it says, and to admonish you. And so the two words, the two tasks of a pastor are to labor among the people and then to admonish or to teach the people. We're to labor, the Greek word where we get the idea exhibiting great efforts.
• 7:44
  Even to the point of exhaustion, the faithful man of God must become willing to work diligently at his role as a spiritual elder, as an advisor, as a counselor, as a disciple maker, and as a teacher. He should set the pace. He should set the bar with his work ethic. He must understand that his privileged position, and it is indeed a privileged position, means a higher expectation on him from the Lord and from others. Work and work diligently.
• 8:14
  And yet, some of the laziest men I've ever met have been pastors. One pastor has said it this way, successful leadership in the church comes from those willing to work to exhaustion for the sake of the divine mandates and spiritual objectives. They are willing to embrace the proclamation of the gospel, the establishment of churches, and the edification of believers. And believe me, friends, that is a daunting task. That is a high calling. It is hard work.
• 8:42
  The pastor, we read in verse 12, must not be a lazy man. But notice, not only does it say he is the laborer, this says he is also to be a teacher to admonish. To admonish means to give instruction that applies to everyday life. The shepherd must teach God's people not only what the Word says, he's got to teach them how to live it out. He's got to be an effective teacher. His preaching must spark a hunger and a thirst for righteousness among his people. And yet,
• 9:11
  Some of the most boring men I've ever met in my life have been Bible teachers. Again, Richard Baxter, who's both a Reformed pastor, 400-year-old, looks at it this way. So great a God have we. Such a great message do we deliver that he should be honored by the delivery of it. It is a lamentable case that in a message from the God of heaven himself, of everlasting moment to the souls of men, we should behave ourselves so neatly that God would be dishonored in his work, disgraced in sinners rather than hardened.
• 9:44
  Rather hardened than converted. And all this to our weakness or neglect. How many people, he says, sleep under us. Because our hearts and tongues are sleepy. We bring with us not so much skill and zeal to awaken them. He says the pastor must not be boring. He must lead by diligent work and engaging in teaching. And you Newlanders, can I encourage you to encourage your pastor to work hard. Amen. And also not to be boring.
• 10:15
  Amen? Amen. That one got a bigger aim. But notice that we have a job. It says, all of we as sheep also have jobs. Notice verse 12, it says, for to respect those who labor among you. And then verse 13 says, to esteem those who labor among you. To respect and to also be understood as an intimate knowledge, a deep personal relationship. It becomes the basis of appreciation and devotion. To esteem them highly in love. It's similar.
• 10:45
  respect, but the phrase holds them in the highest honor. It does respect them to an infinite degree. The shepherd is called, we know, to a difficult town based on his ability to feed the sheep. A process which, although it is a relatively described, has an emotional violation. An emotional violation. It is standing up in front of hundreds of people every week, opening your mouth.
• 11:21
  opening your mind, opening your heart, and allowing people to wander around inside of it. We know that there is nothing as blessed as a sheep who is absolutely determined to encourage their shepherd. Because I'm telling you, friends, pastors get discouraged. And there is nothing better in a shepherd's life than a sheep. If I could speak to you directly in just a moment, you have been that kind of encouragement to me. You have been a blessing.
• 11:53
  pastor, but now move to church. May I have your respect and esteem your pastor. First ingredient, got to have leaders who lead and people that follow, but notice the second ingredient. If you want a healthy, growing church, it's people must serve one another. If you want your church to thrive, it's people must deal properly with its own people. You have to commit to handle your church relationships in a God-honoring and biblical way.
• 12:22
  way. Churches are filled with all sorts of people we're going to read. Scripture gives advice on how to deal with each one. Notice verse 14. Verse 14. We urge you, brethren, admonish the idol. These are disruptive people, and we know that churches are full of disruptors. Perhaps the purpose to obey all of the commands in this section is that we must refuse to retaliate. Those who are difficult to work with, don't be like one of those people.
• 12:52
  You can be sure of it. If you begin to engage with people in the church at some point, you will be wrong. It will happen. It's always a funny phrase to me when people say something like, I don't go to church anymore. And when you ask them why, they say, because I've been wronged or I've been hurt. I've been hurt in the church. Let me take a quick survey. Raise your hand if you've ever been hurt by anyone in a church. It's everybody. A church never go to church again? That's not what it says.
• 13:25
  Instead it says, don't be a person who's difficult to work with, and if you encounter people who are difficult to work with, admonish them, encourage them. Everyone has been hurt at some point. The question is not will I leave, the question is how I will respond. Notice the second, encourage the fainthearted. He continues, he says it that way, encourage the fainthearted. These are the despondent, the worriers, the fearful, paralyzed into an action, discouraged.
• 14:06
  Paul's exhortation to the weak is that the church grab hold of and hold firmly to them, help them. The spiritually strong are to stand alongside the weak. The question that leads us with is, are we holding others up so that they won't fall? Notice also verse 14, he continues, help the weak, but be patient.
• 14:25
  with everyone, be patient with them all. Perhaps the most difficult challenge that we as shepherds and chief faiths, a great variety of people have got involved in this church, it'd be much simpler to lead a homogenous group. Everybody looks the same, everybody's the same age, everybody's the same station in life, rather than leading one made up of people from different ages and cultures. This is why I think small groups and house churches sometimes have such an appeal.
• 14:53
  I can just invite the four or five friends that I've got and then shut the door and I don't have to take anyone else. It's fun to meet with people in your living room who all look like you and act like you and talk like you. But I promise you that if that's what we do, there will be some people who are left out. It's your attitude as you come to church. All are welcome, even the people I have a hard time with. Even the people who are different than me. Be patient with all. And then notice what he says in verse 15. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil. Always seek to do good.
• 15:25
  To one another and to everyone. These are disruptive people. Disruptive people. People who are constantly causing problems. He says, how will you respond to them? Will you retaliate? Or will you pay kindness for help? That's second. People have got to treat the people well. Third, we want to help you in the Holy Church. The third ingredient, and finally, is that the Lord loves you. Look at verse 16. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
• 15:57
  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecy. Test everything. Hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. And finally, the author turns his focus to our relationship to God and involves the congregants' private devotional life. Each of us individually bears this responsibility to create our own love relationship with the Lord. He begins by describing the normal Christian life as one of joy, of prayer, and gratitude. So let me ask you, friends,
• 16:29
  Do those three words describe your Christian life? Joy, prayer, and gratitude. It might seem obvious that the Spirit-filled disciple must not reject the Spirit. Let me say that again. The Spirit-filled disciple must not reject the Spirit. They must be sensitive to the Spirit's lead. They must follow without hesitation. They must be open to the call of God through His Word. They must be committed to discernment if there is any new revelation given. But above all, all the Christ follower must be committed to personal discernment.
• 17:00
  Holiness. And that's exactly what is promised. In verses 23 and 24, we have this benediction, this short hymn of praise to close the apostle's sermon. What is promised is that if the church is functioning like it should, verse 23 says, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. What he is saying is that if our leaders leave,
• 17:31
  If our people respect and esteem them, and if the disorderly, despondent, dependent, the different, and the disruptive people are all served well, if the Lord is present, both Highland and Newland will continue to grow. Not only numerically, I don't believe that they will, but more importantly, they will grow into healthy, God-honoring churches. That is our prayer. Let me pray. Lord, thank you for your word, which speaks so clearly.
• 17:59
  and for your people who have come with hearts of praise and joy and celebration. God, thank you for communion, for whatever it represents. Thank you, God, for Pastor Michael and his new church. And God, I pray that you would bless them as he leads and that you would bless them as they follow. Lord, make us all the people who treat your people well, knowing that sometimes we will be wrong, no doubt. We will be offended at some point. But God, we know and trust.
• 18:30
  that you see all things, that you know all things, and therefore we can come, we can take whatever anyone else wishes. Lord, I pray that we will be patient with everyone, that everyone who knows Jesus Christ will find a home in Highland and New England. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.