Mount Isa Baptist Church

What God Wants the Church to Be - Part 2

1 Thessalonians 1:1-9 & 3:6-9

1. A Suffering Church: 1 Thessalonians 1:6: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit”. The Thessalonian church didn’t have it easy. In fact, any church that is saved and surrendered to Christ is going to have a difficult time. As soon as the Thessalonian church began, they experienced opposition. Persecution began immediately for that church. The church that is saved and surrendered to Christ is going to anger, annoy, irritate, and get someone’s back up; therefore, suffering will come. Paul meant that since the world couldn’t directly persecute Jesus anymore, it would persecute His followers. The apostle was willing to suffer for the one who had suffered for him. Wouldn’t it be great to be persecuted for being Christ like because you’ve turned the world upside-down? If unbelievers became irritated about your church, it would probably mean that it was correctly preaching the gospel in a manner that exposes sin. The church that confronts the world is going to suffer.

2. A Soul-Winning Church: The Thessalonian church had a marvelous two-fold testimony. The first way they spread the gospel was by living exemplary lives. Paul said to them in 1 Thessalonians 1:7: “so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” Other people could look at the Thessalonian church and be attracted to Christ by what they saw. The Thessalonians were like Jesus Christ. They set a pattern for everyone else. Paul did not have to tell others about the conversion of the Thessalonians because they told it by their lives. If people look at us, can they say the same thing? The second way of spreading the gospel is through a verbal witness of the Word. 1 Thessalonians 1:8 says, “From you sounded out the word of the Lord …in every place.” Our Christian testimony should never be independent of God’s Word. It should only be an echo of God’s truth. An echo always repeats what is originally spoken. God has put His voice in you – the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want you creating your own words; He wants you to echo His truth.

3. A Second-Coming Church: vs.10 says the Thessalonians turned from idols to serve God “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” Jesus promised He would come back and gather the faithful to be with Him forever. Consequently, the ideal church should be expecting, anticipating, and looking for Jesus to return. Did you know that many churches aren’t waiting for Christ’s return? Peter said in 2 Peter 3:3-4: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” There are Christians who don’t ever talk about the return of Christ, as they say that there is too much confusion surrounding that issue, and there is no sense in adding more confusion to what already exists. Every church that is truly committed to being what God wants it to be must be aware that Jesus is coming again. Anticipation of Christ’s return should motivate us to live godly lives for His service in the present.

4. A Steadfast Church: 1 Thessalonians 3:8 says, “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.” Standing fast in the Lord means two things: not wavering doctrinally and maintaining a steadfast love. A person can stand fast doctrinally but dry up spiritually. That’s why a Christian needs to stand fast in terms of love. When you stand firm on the Word of God without wavering and in a commitment of love to one another, you’ve got a strong stand. The Thessalonian church stood firmly on the Word of God.

5. A Submissive Church: The Thessalonians unconditionally submitted to the Word of God. What kind of Church are we? If Paul were alive today and had to write a letter to our church, what would he be saying to us? Would he be praising us for the things we are doing, or would he be reprimanding us for all the wrongdoings and evil?