WEBVTT 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:06.780 In the foreword to the book, Fearfully and Wonderfully 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:12.279 Made, Philip Yancey relates regarding someone 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:17.039 attempting to describe the color scarlet to a 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:22.359 person who had been born blind. To that blind 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:27.660 person, the describer declared, well, it's like 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:34.049 the sound of a trumpet. Gansey continues, in 00:00:34.049 --> 00:00:39.049 a sense, metaphorical symbols are the only way 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:43.810 for us to grasp spiritual truths, which explains 00:00:43.810 --> 00:00:48.969 why the Bible uses them so lavishly. The human 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:53.189 body expresses spiritual reality so authentically 00:00:53.189 --> 00:00:57.570 that soon the common stuff of matter will appear 00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:04.349 more and more like a mere shadow. The doctrine 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:08.730 of the church is one of the most significant 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:11.030 doctrines we can study in the New Testament. 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:18.650 The church is compared to a body. That analogy 00:01:18.650 --> 00:01:22.170 is probably the most frequently used one in the 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:27.950 New Testament. Have you ever wondered why? I 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:31.049 think it's because that analogy shows the relationship 00:01:31.049 --> 00:01:36.189 of the members. to each other, as well as to 00:01:36.189 --> 00:01:40.950 the head. Furthermore, that analogy shows that 00:01:40.950 --> 00:01:45.430 each member has a part in the body through the 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:50.030 gifts given to him, and that growth occurs in 00:01:50.030 --> 00:01:52.750 the body when each member does its own part. 00:01:55.010 --> 00:01:58.250 We must remember that the church is a living 00:01:58.250 --> 00:02:02.359 organism. not merely an organization of people. 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:07.920 The church pulsates with the very life of God 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.479 himself. It is true that some churches, so -called, 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:19.000 are merely organizations of people involved in 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.240 various activities. They are little more than 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:28.360 social clubs or community service centers. political 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:32.319 action committees. But what I'm talking about 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:37.280 is a local church in the biblical definition 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:41.879 of it. I have written for you on the outline 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:44.620 in your worship folder a possible definition 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:49.900 of what a local church is. We do not have time 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:54.719 to look at this in detail as a study. I commend 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:58.219 that to you. If you have never studied about 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:03.360 the local church in the New Testament, I have 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.919 put down the scripture text which would undergird 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.680 each of the phrases and clauses in the definition. 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:14.800 But the definition itself reads like this. The 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:20.259 local church is a called out body of believers 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:26.360 in the Lord Jesus Christ in a given area. In 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:28.800 other words, geography enters into what a local 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:36.060 church is. It meets together for worship, fellowship, 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:41.800 and instruction. It must be properly organized, 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:46.419 autonomous from external authority and interference, 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:54.319 and fulfill its mission to glorify God. In other 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:57.620 words, just a group of Christians meeting somewhere 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:02.479 does not constitute a church. For each of the 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:05.539 phrases or clauses in this definition is important 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:10.180 to the total meaning of what a local church is 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:14.740 all about. Now from that definition, let me move 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.439 ahead to say this, that a local church may be 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:24.589 healthy or unhealthy spiritually. The church 00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:28.350 of Laodicea is an example of an unhealthy church. 00:04:29.750 --> 00:04:34.329 As Jesus addresses that church, he tells them 00:04:34.329 --> 00:04:37.370 that while they thought they were in great shape, 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:42.569 being rich and wealthy and in need of nothing, 00:04:42.970 --> 00:04:47.629 that in fact his diagnosis of their true condition 00:04:47.629 --> 00:04:53.990 was that they were wretched, miserable, poor, 00:04:53.990 --> 00:05:00.230 blind, and naked. That's a sick church. Another 00:05:00.230 --> 00:05:04.389 example of a sick church is found in the city 00:05:04.389 --> 00:05:09.589 of Corinth. That church boasted of its gifts, 00:05:09.709 --> 00:05:12.970 which it possessed and exercised in abundance. 00:05:14.149 --> 00:05:16.970 And yet as the Holy Spirit addresses the church 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:20.970 through the pen of the Apostle Paul, He rebukes 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:26.029 them for their pride, their carnality, their 00:05:26.029 --> 00:05:31.050 compromise, their divisions, their immorality, 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:35.129 their self -centeredness, and their abuse of 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:42.170 God's gifts. They were a sick church. But today 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:45.629 I want to talk about a healthy church. What are 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:49.069 the signs that a church is spiritually healthy? 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:55.490 The health of a church is evidenced in its worship. 00:05:56.610 --> 00:06:00.089 I'm using that word worship as a key word which 00:06:00.089 --> 00:06:03.990 will become an acrostic for us. You see that, 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:07.589 I hope, in your outline. Each of the letters 00:06:07.589 --> 00:06:13.209 in the word worship will give us a word which 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:17.810 is a symptom, a sign, of what a healthy church 00:06:17.810 --> 00:06:21.490 is. There are seven signs of a healthy church. 00:06:22.230 --> 00:06:26.610 And I find these seven signs in one of the New 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:30.350 Testament churches, and that is the church located 00:06:30.350 --> 00:06:34.730 in the city of Thessalonica. There are two epistles 00:06:34.730 --> 00:06:38.110 addressed to them. I ask you to turn there with 00:06:38.110 --> 00:06:43.670 me as we see the seven signs of a healthy body, 00:06:43.889 --> 00:06:50.029 a healthy local church. I hope that you will 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:52.129 stay with me because at the end of the sermon 00:06:52.129 --> 00:06:58.250 I intend to zing all of it. What is a healthy 00:06:58.250 --> 00:07:02.589 church? A healthy church is known, first of all, 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:08.990 by being word -centered. The W in our acrostic 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:15.420 stands for Word. Capital W. It must be centered 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.819 upon the Word of God. It must be a doctrinally 00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:24.180 healthy church. A church might be known for its 00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:28.399 social ministry, its community services, its 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.160 friendly spirit, its exciting atmosphere, its 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.540 famous preacher, its large or wealthy congregation, 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:41.019 but still be a basically sick church if it is 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:46.160 not centered upon the Word of God. When you are 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:49.699 seeking for a church, if you should move, that 00:07:49.699 --> 00:07:52.459 is the kind of a church you should look for first 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:56.360 of all. A church that is centered upon the written 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:59.379 revelation that God has given us in the Bible. 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.819 Now, a word -centered church is a church that 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:08.360 will, number one, preach the word. In writing 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.019 to Timothy, the Apostle Paul said, preach the 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:14.420 word. The time will come when the people will... 00:08:15.710 --> 00:08:19.790 not endure sound doctrine, healthy doctrine, 00:08:19.930 --> 00:08:24.189 but will desire to have teachers who will tell 00:08:24.189 --> 00:08:27.889 them what they want to hear. So he says, Timothy, 00:08:28.110 --> 00:08:32.409 preach the Word there in Ephesus. When preaching 00:08:32.409 --> 00:08:35.870 the Word, there are two important aspects that 00:08:35.870 --> 00:08:37.850 every pastor should be concerned about. Number 00:08:37.850 --> 00:08:41.950 one, he should preach doctrinally. When we come 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:44.049 to the Word of God, we must always be looking 00:08:44.049 --> 00:08:46.809 for those doctrines that God has given to us, 00:08:46.929 --> 00:08:53.090 the truths that tell us about Him, that tell 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:55.730 us about us, that tell us about the world that 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:59.929 we live in. A church that preaches the Word should 00:08:59.929 --> 00:09:02.129 preach it doctrinally, and secondly, should preach 00:09:02.129 --> 00:09:05.289 it devotionally. For it is not enough that we 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:07.629 learn with our minds what the doctrines are, 00:09:07.710 --> 00:09:11.000 but we must have our hearts drawn near. to jesus 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:14.600 christ we must be drawn in our love to him devoted 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:18.740 to him as a person and so our preaching needs 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:22.759 to be both devotional and doctrinal and i personally 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.840 think the best way to do that is to do it expositionally 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:30.620 by the way the church in thessalonica was a word 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:34.360 -centered church you will notice in verse 8 for 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.139 the word of the lord has sounded forth from you 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:41.340 not only in macedonia but also in every place 00:09:41.340 --> 00:09:45.059 your faith toward God has gone forth. Over in 00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:48.080 chapter 2, verse 13, he says, And for this reason 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.779 we also constantly thank God that when you received 00:09:51.779 --> 00:09:55.440 from us the word of God's message, you accepted 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.580 it, not as the word of men, but for what it really 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:02.879 is, the word of God. So the church at Thessalonica 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.960 was a church that was founded upon the word of 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:09.889 God, and then it preached the word of God. to 00:10:09.889 --> 00:10:16.090 all the area around where it was. A church that 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:19.230 is known for the Word of God is a church also 00:10:19.230 --> 00:10:22.129 that will have people committed to the Word of 00:10:22.129 --> 00:10:25.169 God. It's insufficient for the pastor or for 00:10:25.169 --> 00:10:27.169 the Sunday school teachers to preach the Word. 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:31.070 The people themselves, the members of the church, 00:10:31.129 --> 00:10:34.649 must be committed to the Word of God. Several 00:10:34.649 --> 00:10:37.370 weeks ago we talked about five levels of commitment. 00:10:38.359 --> 00:10:40.580 Every one of you here today is on one of those 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:43.600 five levels. And I would guess that most of us 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:45.759 could probably kick ourselves up a notch in our 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.500 commitment. The first level is that of hearing. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:52.399 You are here to hear the Word of God. That's 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:55.000 level one, and that's good, but it's not really 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.000 enough. The next level is that of reading the 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.919 Word, doing it ourselves, getting into it. The 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:05.200 level after that is the level of studying the 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.899 Word. But even that is insufficient. We must 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:11.379 come to the place of memorizing the Word, the 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:15.620 fourth level. And then that memorization of the 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:17.860 Word of God should lead us to the deepest commitment, 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:22.320 and that is the commitment of meditation. Allowing 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:25.940 the Word of God to transform our minds, to renew 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:31.000 us in our thinking. If a church is going to be 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.639 healthy, the people in the church must be committed 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:37.120 to the Word and receive... The word not is just 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:39.379 the word of men, but what it really is, the word 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:43.940 of God, which effectually works in you who believe. 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:48.419 This is chapter 2, verse 13. The only church 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:50.399 that is word -centered is the church that will 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:55.200 stand for the word. In Jude, verse 3, Jude exhorts 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.820 us to earnestly contend for the faith, which 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:02.559 was once for all delivered to the saints. There 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:06.090 is a time and a place for every one of us. to 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:10.169 stand for the Word of God. I remember a preacher 00:12:10.169 --> 00:12:13.909 saying years ago in a sermon, stand for something 00:12:13.909 --> 00:12:17.590 or you will fall for anything. Don't just stand 00:12:17.590 --> 00:12:21.850 for something, stand for the Word of God. We're 00:12:21.850 --> 00:12:24.570 living in a day when false teaching is erupting 00:12:24.570 --> 00:12:30.389 everywhere around us. Stand for the Word of God. 00:12:31.210 --> 00:12:34.370 That is the faith, the body of truth that has 00:12:34.370 --> 00:12:36.909 been once and for all delivered to the saints. 00:12:37.250 --> 00:12:42.070 Stand for it. And then, fourthly, if we're going 00:12:42.070 --> 00:12:46.809 to focus upon the Word, we as a church must be 00:12:46.809 --> 00:12:50.029 willing to suffer for it. The Thessalonians were. 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:53.250 The Word was delivered to them in the midst of 00:12:53.250 --> 00:12:57.379 persecution. Read about it in Acts 17. And after 00:12:57.379 --> 00:12:59.600 Paul's departure, that affliction continued, 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.419 and Paul reminds them, we were appointed to this. 00:13:03.980 --> 00:13:06.740 Never let it seem strange to you that as one 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.200 who is willing to commit yourself to the Word 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.320 and stand for the Word, that you must then suffer 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:15.679 for the Word that will come. It may come in the 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:22.500 light way of mocking and jeering, or it may come 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:29.330 in a more heavy way. That of physical abuse and 00:13:29.330 --> 00:13:35.190 even martyrdom. So however we may be called upon 00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:37.750 to suffer for the word of God, let us never think 00:13:37.750 --> 00:13:41.210 it to be something strange. As though suddenly 00:13:41.210 --> 00:13:44.169 in our generation or in our day or in our place, 00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:46.769 we are called upon strangely to suffer for the 00:13:46.769 --> 00:13:49.350 word of God. Because that has been the norm for 00:13:49.350 --> 00:13:52.070 the last thousands of years since God began to 00:13:52.070 --> 00:13:56.450 deliver his word to men. A church that is a healthy 00:13:56.450 --> 00:13:58.730 church will be noted for being word -centered, 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:01.929 and it will be preaching the word, be committed 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:04.529 to the word, will stand for the word, and be 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:08.350 willing to suffer for the word. The second key 00:14:08.350 --> 00:14:10.830 word that we're looking at is the word outreach. 00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:16.029 And our acrostic O represents outreach. A healthy 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:19.750 church will be known for its outreach. The Thessalonians 00:14:19.750 --> 00:14:23.279 were. I remind you again of verse 8, which says, 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:26.159 The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:30.759 in every place, including Macedonia and Achaia. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.159 The same thing is said in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians. 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:43.120 In that verse, the apostle says, Finally, brethren, 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:45.740 pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:49.419 rapidly and be glorified. You see, Paul's concern 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:52.370 was, that the Word of God should reach out and 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:55.009 spread rapidly and be glorified. And how is it 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:58.190 glorified? By people obeying it, believing on 00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:02.570 the Lord Jesus Christ. This is outreach. A healthy 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:05.450 church is one that is involved in evangelism 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:10.269 and discipleship. The two go together, don't 00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:12.330 they? Winning people to Christ and then seeing 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:16.570 them built up in their faith. Bringing them to 00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:19.279 the Savior. that then they may learn to walk 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:23.320 with him, evangelism and discipleship. A church 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.879 that is not involved in outreach is not a healthy 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:30.480 church. That's all there is to it. A church, 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:32.659 if it is to be healthy, must be reaching out 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:35.200 to the lost and seeing people won to the Savior. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.039 And more than in just a local sense, it must 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.080 involve the world. A healthy church has an outreach 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:46.460 to the whole earth. It must be a missionary -minded 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:50.129 church. As someone has said, Jesus' last command 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:53.549 should be our first concern. And so it is in 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:57.029 a healthy church. There is an outreach both locally 00:15:57.029 --> 00:16:02.409 and across the globe. The third word that would 00:16:02.409 --> 00:16:05.409 represent a sign of a healthy church is the word 00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:09.370 reproduction. R in worship is for reproduction. 00:16:09.929 --> 00:16:13.230 The Thessalonians were that way. Look at verse 00:16:13.230 --> 00:16:17.870 6. The apostle says, You also became imitators 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:21.129 of us. I'm back in 1 Thessalonians 1 now, verse 00:16:21.129 --> 00:16:25.590 6. It says, You also became imitators of us and 00:16:25.590 --> 00:16:28.830 of the Lord, having received the word in much 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:31.309 tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 00:16:31.490 --> 00:16:34.830 so that you became an example to all the believers 00:16:34.830 --> 00:16:37.590 in Macedonia and Achaia. What is he saying here? 00:16:38.029 --> 00:16:40.429 He's saying that they were a reproducing church. 00:16:41.129 --> 00:16:43.730 In the first place, Paul intimates that he had 00:16:43.730 --> 00:16:48.470 followed the Lord's example. And then the Thessalonians 00:16:48.470 --> 00:16:51.509 had followed his example, those examples set 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:55.169 by his missionary party. In turn, they set an 00:16:55.169 --> 00:16:59.289 example for those who were in Macedonia and Achaia 00:16:59.289 --> 00:17:02.230 and believed. And so there was a reproduction. 00:17:03.690 --> 00:17:07.250 When I think of this term in relation to a healthy 00:17:07.250 --> 00:17:09.410 local church, there are three ideas that I have 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:14.920 in mind. One is the equipping of believers. We 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.119 talked about this last week, the equipping of 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.259 believers so that they will exercise their gifts 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:24.059 in the work of service under the building up 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:29.039 of the body of Christ. This is the kind of reproduction 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.539 that all of us should be involved in. Learning 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:36.019 what our spiritual gifts are, then exercising 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:40.500 them. Equipping believers to exercise gifts. 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:46.849 Secondly, multiplying leaders. The Apostle Paul 00:17:46.849 --> 00:17:49.009 was concerned about this, for in writing to Timothy, 00:17:49.150 --> 00:17:52.470 he said to him, look, Timothy, the things that 00:17:52.470 --> 00:17:55.069 I've committed to you, you commit also to faithful 00:17:55.069 --> 00:17:59.829 men who in turn will be able to do that. He was 00:17:59.829 --> 00:18:02.289 saying, Timothy, raise up leaders. What I have 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:04.450 committed to you as a leader, now you in turn 00:18:04.450 --> 00:18:06.490 commit to others that they may be raised up. 00:18:07.950 --> 00:18:10.450 This is the second important aspect of reproduction, 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:13.069 and we must see it happen in our church, and 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:16.759 thank God it is happening. For as we are equipping 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:19.839 ourselves and exercising our gifts, God is raising 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:22.359 up those he has appointed for certain places 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.380 of leadership within the body. Leadership is 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.400 important in any church. And leadership needs 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:32.500 to be multiplied, especially as the church grows. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.599 You know what usually happens in a healthy body? 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:40.359 As people exercise their gifts, as the body grows 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:44.880 spiritually and as it grows numerically, There 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.599 needs to be more people who can be freed from 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:50.200 whatever they're doing in the world so that they 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:53.640 can equip other believers. What I'm saying is 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:56.019 that as the body functions, there are certain 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:58.019 people that God then will call out from within 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:00.819 the body to be a part of the staff of the church. 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:04.539 The purpose of the staff is to equip believers 00:19:04.539 --> 00:19:07.079 through the work of the ministry. And that kind 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.660 of a reproduction will take place as believers 00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:12.200 are equipped. Some of them, called of God, will 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.799 rise to the point of leadership. and become so 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:17.579 critical in what they're doing that they will 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.440 be added to the staff of the church that they 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:24.779 give their full time to reproduction. But then 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:28.359 thirdly, when I think of reproduction in a healthy 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:30.460 church, I'm thinking of branching out in new 00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:35.240 branch churches. We are the result of a branching 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:39.240 out of the Edina church. Now on the first Sunday 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.200 of March, we're going to celebrate our third 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.380 anniversary, and we're planning for a big day. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:46.740 God willing, at that time, we'll be meeting at 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:48.400 Northwestern and won't even be here in our own 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:50.799 sight, but we're going to make it a big day anyway. 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:57.180 But it's been three years now since there's been 00:19:57.180 --> 00:20:00.819 a branch church planted. And it's the burden 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:03.160 of our elders that another branch church be planted 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:09.599 soon. How is that going to happen? It's going 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.160 to happen only as we are committed to it, to 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.190 see it happen. It's got to happen, first of all, 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:16.190 by our being willing to put some money into it. 00:20:17.309 --> 00:20:20.890 One of the reasons that God has been able to 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:25.809 cause rapid growth here in development of this 00:20:25.809 --> 00:20:28.289 church has been the willingness of the church 00:20:28.289 --> 00:20:32.369 in Edina to invest money here so that we could 00:20:32.369 --> 00:20:34.869 afford to have a staff larger than we could support 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:39.250 in ourselves at first. And as we think of another 00:20:39.250 --> 00:20:42.069 branch church, part of our vision involves... 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:45.630 establishing a larger staff and that little group 00:20:45.630 --> 00:20:47.670 of people will be able to manage it first. We 00:20:47.670 --> 00:20:49.829 want to financially support it to get it started, 00:20:49.869 --> 00:20:52.809 to move it along. So there can be rapid growth. 00:20:52.910 --> 00:20:55.829 It takes that kind of commitment. But it will 00:20:55.829 --> 00:20:58.450 also take the kind of commitment that maybe some 00:20:58.450 --> 00:21:00.509 of us will need to go to that next location, 00:21:00.730 --> 00:21:04.410 wherever it is, for at least a period of time 00:21:04.410 --> 00:21:06.750 to begin teaching Sunday school until somebody 00:21:06.750 --> 00:21:09.809 comes on board there who can do it. We're giving 00:21:09.809 --> 00:21:11.930 some other kind of leadership so that that branch 00:21:11.930 --> 00:21:15.670 church can function and grow rapidly. It may 00:21:15.670 --> 00:21:19.170 involve our going. One of the reasons that we've, 00:21:19.269 --> 00:21:22.250 in some ways, have been struggling in the first 00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:24.089 three years has been the lack of willingness 00:21:24.089 --> 00:21:26.109 of a lot of people to do that from the church 00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:30.730 that began us. Some, thank God, have. And we 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:34.970 have needed more. We're at the place now that 00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:37.170 God is raising up leadership right from within 00:21:37.170 --> 00:21:39.130 our own ranks, and that's great. But as we started 00:21:39.130 --> 00:21:41.589 Branch Church, we must realize that we're going 00:21:41.589 --> 00:21:44.470 to need to staff it with leadership for the first 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:47.829 little while. I believe in Branch Churching. 00:21:48.049 --> 00:21:50.950 That's part of the cycle of a healthy church. 00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:53.849 The people are equipped, you see, and then God 00:21:53.849 --> 00:21:57.470 raises up leadership as the equipping takes place. 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:01.420 And then as a church is... Developing and maturing, 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.680 it's a natural thing for it to branch out and 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:09.180 to start other churches. The fourth key word 00:22:09.180 --> 00:22:14.440 is the word submission. S stands for submission. 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:19.920 How important the submissive spirit is in a church. 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:23.059 And where there is this kind of a spirit, it 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:27.789 evidences spiritual health. The Thessalonians 00:22:27.789 --> 00:22:29.710 were this way. They were in submission to the 00:22:29.710 --> 00:22:32.549 Lord. In verse 9 it says, regarding their conversion, 00:22:32.829 --> 00:22:37.269 that they turned to God from idols to serve. 00:22:38.789 --> 00:22:42.450 And I like that. They turned from their pagan 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:45.170 idolatry to God. Actually, I got that reversed. 00:22:45.289 --> 00:22:47.769 They turned to God from their pagan idolatry. 00:22:47.829 --> 00:22:49.930 But the reason that they turned was that they 00:22:49.930 --> 00:22:55.029 might serve the Lord. They wanted to get involved 00:22:55.029 --> 00:22:59.109 in ministering. Thus they were submitting themselves 00:22:59.109 --> 00:23:01.109 to the Lord, saying, Lord, what will you want 00:23:01.109 --> 00:23:04.470 me to do? I think we see this same submissive 00:23:04.470 --> 00:23:08.470 spirit in chapter 2, verse 13, where it talks 00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:11.829 about how they received the Word. It says, You 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:15.490 received from us the Word of God's message. You 00:23:15.490 --> 00:23:18.250 accepted it not as the Word of men, but for what 00:23:18.250 --> 00:23:22.190 it really is, the Word of God, which also performs 00:23:22.190 --> 00:23:25.559 its work in you who believe. He's suggesting 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:28.279 here the kind of submissive spirit they had to 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:32.000 Paul's teaching. He says, when we spoke to you, 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:34.960 you did not listen to us just as another teacher, 00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:37.920 but you heard this word that we presented for 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:41.799 what it really is, the Word of God. And submission 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:46.140 is just all over the place in that verse. The 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.279 Thessalonians were saying, Lord, what do you 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:50.779 want us to do? And God was showing them, and 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:54.059 they did it. It does not mention the ordinances 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:57.220 specifically here in this book, that we have 00:23:57.220 --> 00:23:59.579 no reason to think that they were different than 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:02.259 the other churches, that they were being baptized 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:06.319 as people believed in Christ, that they observed 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.460 the Lord's Supper, those two ordinances or commands 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:13.720 that He's given to us. Then they were concerned 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.099 as well about holiness of life and their submission 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:20.089 to God. Over in chapter 4, Verse 3, the apostle 00:24:20.089 --> 00:24:22.950 reminds them, now this is the will of God, people. 00:24:23.910 --> 00:24:25.990 You're in submission to the Lord, here's what 00:24:25.990 --> 00:24:30.410 he wants, your sanctification. That is, that 00:24:30.410 --> 00:24:34.450 you abstain from sexual immorality. That each 00:24:34.450 --> 00:24:36.349 one of you should know how to possess his own 00:24:36.349 --> 00:24:40.910 vessel or body in sanctification and honor, not 00:24:40.910 --> 00:24:44.589 in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not 00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:49.440 know God. So he reminds them that in their submission 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:53.099 to God, there's holiness involved. There should 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:55.140 be a difference in the way they would live and 00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:56.920 the way that the world would live. They should 00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:59.839 not be like the Gentiles who were ignorant of 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:05.339 God. The Thessalonians obeyed the commands of 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:08.740 Scripture. But undoubtedly the Apostle Paul had 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.799 taught them, as he had other churches, the principles 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:17.660 of Scripture as well. There are some places where 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:23.640 the Word of God does not give a yea or nay. We 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:25.440 will get into some of these in Romans chapter 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:29.960 14, the first part of 15. These are called the 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:33.240 doubtful or the disputed things, those gray areas, 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:36.559 those cultural matters where the Word of God 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:39.160 does not say you should do this, you should not 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:43.319 do that. What do we do in cases like that? The 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:46.420 answer is that we... apply the principles of 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:52.779 Scripture to determine what we ought to do. One 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:55.500 principle of Scripture is found in Galatians 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:59.660 5 .13. This is an example only, where it says 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:02.640 that our liberty that we have in Christ should 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:07.680 be tempered by love for others, so that we just 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:10.140 do not go out and do our own thing because we 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:12.900 feel we have liberty to do what we want, but 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:16.069 we remember how others... will be affected by 00:26:16.069 --> 00:26:19.710 the way that we live and what we do. But there's 00:26:19.710 --> 00:26:22.089 another kind of submission here in Thessalonians 00:26:22.089 --> 00:26:25.150 I want us to look at in chapter 5 and verse 12. 00:26:27.509 --> 00:26:30.329 The Thessalonians were in submission to the Lord, 00:26:30.430 --> 00:26:34.009 but they were also in submission to their leadership. 00:26:35.210 --> 00:26:37.990 He says, but we request of you, brethren, that 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:41.630 you appreciate those who diligently labor among 00:26:41.630 --> 00:26:46.000 you and have charge over you. in the Lord and 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.039 give you instruction, and that you esteem them 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:52.779 very highly in love because of their work." So 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:55.140 the Thessalonians were noted for their submission 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:58.440 to those that God had put in charge over them. 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:05.980 That too is a sign of a healthy church. I pity 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:08.779 those churches where leadership and people are 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:12.740 in a tug of war. How tragic are the divisions. 00:27:13.369 --> 00:27:17.190 and the hurt that results from that kind of a 00:27:17.190 --> 00:27:20.390 situation. And I would suppose that most of us 00:27:20.390 --> 00:27:23.410 here this morning have had experience in that. 00:27:23.549 --> 00:27:26.670 How I thank God for the kind of spirit that is 00:27:26.670 --> 00:27:31.349 a part of our fellowship. And as Ephesians 4 00:27:31.349 --> 00:27:34.309 says, we need to guard that, that kind of unity. 00:27:36.029 --> 00:27:38.450 It's produced by the Holy Spirit, but we need 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:43.819 to guard it. A spirit of submission is a sign 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:46.720 of a healthy church. Let me move ahead to the 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:48.680 next key word, and that is the word hospitality. 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:58.480 H stands for hospitality. A healthy church is 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:03.920 noted for being friendly and warm. There is a 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:08.500 genuine expression of personal cordiality in 00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:11.920 its membership. The people care for one another. 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:15.700 The Thessalonians were that way. Turn over to 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:19.579 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and notice what Paul 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:25.720 says and what it implies. In verse 10 he says, 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:28.720 Even when we were with you, we used to give you 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:32.059 this order, If anyone will not work, neither 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:36.170 let him eat. For we hear that some among you 00:28:36.170 --> 00:28:39.250 are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:43.069 at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such 00:28:43.069 --> 00:28:45.549 persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus 00:28:45.549 --> 00:28:48.869 Christ to work in quiet fashion and to eat their 00:28:48.869 --> 00:28:51.349 own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow 00:28:51.349 --> 00:28:55.309 weary of doing good. Apparently the Thessalonian 00:28:55.309 --> 00:29:00.269 people were so well known for their hospitality 00:29:00.269 --> 00:29:05.140 and their caring for one another, that some within 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:08.140 the church took advantage of it. And instead 00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:11.099 of working and earning their own living, eating 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:13.700 their own bread, they were mooching off other 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:17.880 people. They'd knock on the door about 5 o 'clock 00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.180 at night, it'd be supper time. Well, of course, 00:29:21.180 --> 00:29:24.140 the people would invite them in for dinner. And 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:25.440 maybe it would get late and they'd say, well, 00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:27.160 why don't you sleep here? Well, sure, we'll do 00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:30.079 that. Next morning they'd get up and knock on 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:31.859 somebody's door about 8 o 'clock in time for 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:34.289 breakfast. They were just going from house to 00:29:34.289 --> 00:29:36.910 house, and that's how they were freeloading. 00:29:38.769 --> 00:29:40.970 And so the apostle commands that those people 00:29:40.970 --> 00:29:43.529 who are like that, if they can work and don't, 00:29:43.529 --> 00:29:46.210 they shouldn't eat either. It's not a lack of 00:29:46.210 --> 00:29:48.269 hospitality, it's not to care for their needs. 00:29:49.390 --> 00:29:52.089 But the custom of the church, and what Paul encourages 00:29:52.089 --> 00:29:54.690 them to keep on doing, was simply to care for 00:29:54.690 --> 00:29:57.490 one another. And that's how we should be known. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:00.460 There ought to be the kind of fellowship, and 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:02.420 I think there is developing within our church, 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:05.359 the kind of fellowship where people genuinely 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:09.799 care for each other in needs and sorrows and 00:30:09.799 --> 00:30:14.680 weaknesses. There are people who come to our 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:16.640 church from the outside and they say that they 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:19.019 sense a different spirit here. That's encouraging, 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:20.859 but it doesn't mean that we've arrived by any 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:27.940 means. We need to develop. within our small churches 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:33.440 and within our church at large, the kind of caring 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.819 hospitality that we see reflected in this healthy 00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:41.700 church in Thessalonica. The third, or rather 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:45.160 the next letter that we come to is the letter 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:49.799 I, and it will begin our word interdependence. 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:54.839 A healthy church is noted for its interdependence. 00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:57.980 We introduced that word to our thinking a couple 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:00.619 of weeks ago when we talked about the members 00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:04.420 of the body. In the first place, of course, there 00:31:04.420 --> 00:31:07.019 must be unity among the members of the body. 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:11.099 They need to function as a whole. The Thessalonians 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:16.259 apparently did. In chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians, 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:21.319 the apostle writes to them regarding Timothy's 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:25.799 report that he had brought. And he says, Timothy 00:31:25.799 --> 00:31:28.460 has come to us from you and has brought us good 00:31:28.460 --> 00:31:33.759 news of your faith and love. And that you always 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.900 think kindly of us, longing to see us just as 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:40.559 we also long to see you. Do you see here the 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:43.019 interdependence that Paul is expressing with 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:46.619 these people? For this reason, brethren, in all 00:31:46.619 --> 00:31:50.299 our distress and affliction, we were comforted 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.980 about you through your faith. For now we really 00:31:53.980 --> 00:31:57.059 live, if you stand firm in the Lord, you see 00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:59.599 how Paul is expressing how much he depends on 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:05.119 them, how important they are to him, and of course 00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:09.119 he was to them as well. Even the affliction, 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:12.559 the persecution that they had suffered did not 00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:16.759 scatter them, it pulled them together. But in 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:20.420 that unity, There is also a diversity, and there 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:24.839 needs to be a ministry to one another. This person 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:27.720 has one ability. Another person has another ability. 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:31.119 That one back there, a third. And as each of 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.619 us ministers the gift that God has given us, 00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:38.380 the body is made healthy. We see that emphasis 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:40.680 here in Thessalonians. Look in chapter 4, verse 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:46.819 9. Now as to the love of the brethren, you have 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:50.740 no need for anyone to write to you. For you yourselves 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:57.240 are taught by God to what? Right, to love one 00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:00.160 another. Notice the one another. Look in verse 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:05.259 18. Therefore, he says, comfort one another with 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:07.380 these words. You see, they were to minister to 00:33:07.380 --> 00:33:10.079 each other. They were to take this word about 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.319 the coming rapture of the church and the resurrection 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:15.569 of the saints. and encourage other people. Chapter 00:33:15.569 --> 00:33:19.170 5 verse 11, therefore he says, encourage one 00:33:19.170 --> 00:33:24.230 another and build up one another just as you're 00:33:24.230 --> 00:33:30.430 doing. And verse 13, live in peace with one another. 00:33:31.069 --> 00:33:35.230 Verse 15, see that no one repays another with 00:33:35.230 --> 00:33:37.690 evil for evil, but always seek after that which 00:33:37.690 --> 00:33:41.809 is good for one another. You see the point here? 00:33:42.569 --> 00:33:44.609 You'll see this again in the second epistle. 00:33:46.130 --> 00:33:49.569 He says, be interdependent, minister to each 00:33:49.569 --> 00:33:55.289 other, each part doing its own thing. It is sad 00:33:55.289 --> 00:33:57.309 to me that there are some people who even come 00:33:57.309 --> 00:34:00.910 to our church and come for the preaching and 00:34:00.910 --> 00:34:06.190 then leave. If that's all that this church means 00:34:06.190 --> 00:34:08.690 to you, you are missing some of the most significant 00:34:08.690 --> 00:34:12.030 aspects of Grace Church. And that's sad to me. 00:34:14.050 --> 00:34:17.670 John Donne said years ago in his famous poem, 00:34:17.929 --> 00:34:25.130 no man is an island entire of itself. God has 00:34:25.130 --> 00:34:27.730 not created us as Christians to be self -sufficient 00:34:27.730 --> 00:34:33.289 and independent of each other. God intends for 00:34:33.289 --> 00:34:37.469 us to plug in, I mean to really plug in, not 00:34:37.469 --> 00:34:41.260 just to come to church. but to come and be a 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:44.820 part of the body. That's his plan, for us to 00:34:44.820 --> 00:34:48.420 be interdependent. To the extent that we, as 00:34:48.420 --> 00:34:51.840 Grace Church, are interdependent, we are a healthy 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:55.340 church. And the final key word is the word prayer. 00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:00.019 We begin with the word, we end with prayer. It 00:35:00.019 --> 00:35:03.260 seems to me that is a proper balance. To the 00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:05.460 Thessalonians, the apostle writes in chapter 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:10.519 5, verse 17, pray without ceasing. And then he 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:15.400 requests in verse 25, brethren pray for us. Apparently 00:35:15.400 --> 00:35:19.719 the Thessalonians were a praying church. They 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:22.360 were a church growing and that knowledge of God 00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:26.599 comes through quiet waiting upon him. But as 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:29.360 well they were involved in corporate body prayer. 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:33.719 Some of the finest times of prayer that I've 00:35:33.719 --> 00:35:36.460 enjoyed have been times when we have shared in 00:35:36.460 --> 00:35:42.010 conversational prayer. In that particular method 00:35:42.010 --> 00:35:46.650 of praying, there is the sharing of hearts, the 00:35:46.650 --> 00:35:49.150 listening to one another, keying off on what 00:35:49.150 --> 00:35:51.849 the last person has said as the Spirit of God 00:35:51.849 --> 00:35:56.730 directs you. It is a healthy exercise in body, 00:35:56.869 --> 00:36:02.590 group prayer. We ought to be known as a praying 00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:09.019 church. I'm not sure that we are. This is how 00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:15.019 a body draws upon its resources. I personally 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:17.780 thoroughly enjoyed those times of prayer that 00:36:17.780 --> 00:36:21.239 we had a few weeks ago as we anticipated God's 00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:26.260 direction regarding our expansion. Not many of 00:36:26.260 --> 00:36:30.500 us would meet, 30 to 50 of us, but on those Sunday 00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:32.920 afternoons there was good fellowship and prayer. 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:38.579 It was a wonderful experience. We need more of 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:43.900 that. As we look to the future and the demands 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:47.800 that were made upon us and the needs that we 00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:50.159 have in our expansion, there is not a time, folks, 00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:52.179 when we have needed prayer as we need it now. 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:59.780 I pray to God that he will give us the spirit 00:36:59.780 --> 00:37:06.099 of prayer and of supplication. A healthy church. 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:12.599 is a praying church. The spiritual health of 00:37:12.599 --> 00:37:17.840 a church collectively depends upon the spiritual 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:23.559 health of its members individually. I want to 00:37:23.559 --> 00:37:28.179 say that again. The spiritual health of a church 00:37:28.179 --> 00:37:33.300 collectively depends upon the spiritual health 00:37:33.300 --> 00:37:39.159 of the members individually. I believe it is 00:37:39.159 --> 00:37:41.840 accurate to say that no church is more healthy 00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:47.860 than its weakest member. Let me illustrate that. 00:37:49.260 --> 00:37:53.260 You may have a wonderful heart that is strong 00:37:53.260 --> 00:37:59.360 and beats regularly. And you may have lungs that 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:06.920 are unscarred by disease or bad habits. And they 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:10.650 function well. And there may be other parts of 00:38:10.650 --> 00:38:12.670 your body that are in good shape, but my friend, 00:38:12.769 --> 00:38:16.809 if just one organ like the liver is in trouble, 00:38:16.949 --> 00:38:21.469 all of your organs are in trouble because they 00:38:21.469 --> 00:38:26.809 can't live without the liver. Now we can have 00:38:26.809 --> 00:38:30.030 a church that is 99 % in good health, but if 00:38:30.030 --> 00:38:32.889 we have 1 % of our membership that's ill, it 00:38:32.889 --> 00:38:38.789 affects our whole church. No church is more healthy 00:38:38.789 --> 00:38:45.769 than its weakest member. When a doctor examines 00:38:45.769 --> 00:38:52.809 a patient, he normally checks a number of things 00:38:52.809 --> 00:38:56.730 before making the diagnosis. He'll perhaps say, 00:38:56.789 --> 00:39:01.409 open your mouth and say, ah. Get out his flashlight 00:39:01.409 --> 00:39:04.130 and look inside there and perhaps wince a little 00:39:04.130 --> 00:39:09.090 bit at what he sees. You begin to worry. Then 00:39:09.090 --> 00:39:11.110 he sticks a thermometer in your mouth, and while 00:39:11.110 --> 00:39:13.170 he's doing that, he gets out his little light 00:39:13.170 --> 00:39:17.889 and looks in your ears and groans. And he'll 00:39:17.889 --> 00:39:26.150 feel around under your jowls. Good job. And see 00:39:26.150 --> 00:39:28.190 what he can feel here in your glands to see if 00:39:28.190 --> 00:39:30.989 they're swollen. He may check out a few other 00:39:30.989 --> 00:39:33.670 things, and then he puts them all together and 00:39:33.670 --> 00:39:38.159 makes his diagnosis. That's how Jesus Christ 00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:43.119 makes the diagnosis of a church. He doesn't look 00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:44.880 at the preaching or the teaching and say, well, 00:39:44.940 --> 00:39:46.719 that's word -centered, that must be a healthy 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:48.980 church. No, he goes on to look at the outreach. 00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:55.480 But he doesn't stop at the evangelism and discipleship 00:39:55.480 --> 00:39:57.860 and missions. He looks at the reproduction. Is 00:39:57.860 --> 00:40:03.579 this a reproducing church? But he doesn't stop 00:40:03.579 --> 00:40:05.900 there. He says, now, is this... a congregation 00:40:05.900 --> 00:40:09.159 that is submissive to my Lordship and to the 00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:14.340 leadership. He goes on then to check the hospitality. 00:40:16.820 --> 00:40:19.139 And having found the results there, he moves 00:40:19.139 --> 00:40:24.219 to the interdependence of the members and then 00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:26.320 sees whether it's a praying church. And once 00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:29.539 he has looked at all of the signs, he makes his 00:40:29.539 --> 00:40:31.900 diagnosis as to whether the church is healthy 00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:40.690 or it's ill. Now I'm going to zing you. We have 00:40:40.690 --> 00:40:43.150 talked about the signs of a healthy church, my 00:40:43.150 --> 00:40:46.369 friend. What we've talked about this morning 00:40:46.369 --> 00:40:49.570 are also the signs of health in your life and 00:40:49.570 --> 00:40:56.230 mine. Are you a word -centered Christian? Are 00:40:56.230 --> 00:40:59.750 you a Christian who's reaching out and reproducing 00:40:59.750 --> 00:41:05.909 and submissive, hospitable? interdependence, 00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:10.170 and praying. You say, well, listen, I do three 00:41:10.170 --> 00:41:14.909 or four of those things pretty well. Great. But 00:41:14.909 --> 00:41:18.909 what about the other three or four? Because you 00:41:18.909 --> 00:41:21.929 see, they're all taken together to measure our 00:41:21.929 --> 00:41:27.929 spiritual health. Our church, Grace Church Roseville, 00:41:27.949 --> 00:41:30.610 will be no more healthy than the weakest among 00:41:30.610 --> 00:41:37.230 us. That gives me, that gives you a great load 00:41:37.230 --> 00:41:40.710 of responsibility regarding our personal spiritual 00:41:40.710 --> 00:41:49.010 health. Let's pray. Our heads are bowed, our 00:41:49.010 --> 00:41:51.190 eyes are closed. We are coming to the close of 00:41:51.190 --> 00:41:58.110 the service. I wonder as the Spirit of God exposes 00:41:58.110 --> 00:42:02.090 your heart for life in the light of these measurements 00:42:02.090 --> 00:42:14.119 of health. As you examine these seven areas and 00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:16.599 then pull them together for the final diagnosis, 00:42:17.019 --> 00:42:23.000 what does it read for you? Are you an ill, sick 00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:31.539 Christian or are you basically healthy? Heavenly 00:42:31.539 --> 00:42:34.039 Father, I pray that we may see us as you see 00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:37.599 us, deliver us from the deceit of the Laodicean 00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:40.460 church, which thought it was wealthy and had 00:42:40.460 --> 00:42:43.820 no needs, but when its real needs were exposed 00:42:43.820 --> 00:42:48.340 by Jesus, they were poor and blind, miserable 00:42:48.340 --> 00:42:53.420 and naked. I pray that we may see ourselves today 00:42:53.420 --> 00:42:57.849 as we really are in your sight. So that when 00:42:57.849 --> 00:43:00.369 we are exposed to the judgment seat, we'll not 00:43:00.369 --> 00:43:06.530 be shocked or ashamed. Our heads are still bowed. 00:43:06.610 --> 00:43:08.989 I wonder if there's someone or some few here 00:43:08.989 --> 00:43:11.150 who would say today, Pastor Cole, there is sickness 00:43:11.150 --> 00:43:15.510 in my life. God has exposed that to me and I 00:43:15.510 --> 00:43:18.650 cannot honestly say that my diagnosis is that 00:43:18.650 --> 00:43:22.230 I'm a healthy Christian. I want you to pray for 00:43:22.230 --> 00:43:25.809 me. Because I want to get to the great physician. 00:43:26.250 --> 00:43:30.070 healed. I want to be spiritually healthy. Would 00:43:30.070 --> 00:43:32.750 you pray for me? Would you lift your hand? I'm 00:43:32.750 --> 00:43:34.510 not going to point you out or embarrass you, 00:43:34.550 --> 00:43:37.869 but I want to know I can pray for you. I'm basically 00:43:37.869 --> 00:43:41.949 a sick Christian today and I need the healing 00:43:41.949 --> 00:43:48.190 of the great physician. Yes. God bless you. Several 00:43:48.190 --> 00:43:55.690 others. Anyone else? Oh, Father, thank you for 00:43:55.690 --> 00:43:58.050 these who are very honest and humble before you. 00:43:59.989 --> 00:44:02.849 And wherein there is illness, I pray that you 00:44:02.849 --> 00:44:08.929 will bring healing, deep and complete. We may 00:44:08.929 --> 00:44:14.769 walk with you as healthy believers and thus walk 00:44:14.769 --> 00:44:19.250 together as a healthy church. In Jesus' name, 00:44:19.449 --> 00:44:20.010 amen.