Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

As we get started this morning, let me ask you this… What determines whether something is dead or not?… VITAL signs.

Pulse, blood pressure, oxygen levels, brain function

There are certain things associated with living, breathing organisms, that indicate there is still life.

As Paul gets ready to finish up his first letter to the “brethren” in Thessalonica, I believe he is sharing with them what a Healthy Church looks like… A Church that is living for the Lord…

So, What are the vital signs of a church?

Is it buildings… is it full pews… is it overflowing offering plates?…

Let me say this… it is none of the above and many pastors succumb to depression when they measure their success by any of these factors.

Walt Disney was a dreamer.

His crowning vision was EPCOT(Which stands for); Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

He envisioned the perfect city of 20,000 people, using all of the most modern advances in technology.

There was only one problem… Walt Disney died before his dream was ever realized.

His dream was so big, complex and outside the box that no one else in the Disney company ever caught the dream and had no idea what to do after Walt was gone.

What Walt Disney intended as a living breathing perfect city turned out only to be a entertainment center.

Disney’s world would only become a place to visit.

Jesus left a blueprint for His church so vast, so marvelous, and so innovative.

A living, breathing, expanding organism that would permeate and transform the whole world.

The problem is, that as time went on, His followers lost the vision and couldn’t wrap their minds around such a magnificent plan.

Rather than a community of loving, passionate followers of Christ, dedicated to demonstrating the power of the Christ-transformed life in a dark world, they began to do what they knew best.

Build buildings, run organizations and develop entertainment centers that would hopefully draw the crowds to hear the story… but completely miss the transforming power of Christ.

Over the next two weeks, as we finish this first letter to the Thessalonian believers, I want you to show you some “Evidences of a Healthy Church”.

This morning, lets look at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15… (Read)…

Meat:

From the latter part of Chp.4, through the verses leading up to where we are today, Paul has dealt with the rapture of the church, the end times, and the church’s responsibility to be aware and committed during the time leading up to the Lord’s return.

Our text today is certainly needful in the latter days; but in reality, these verses paint a picture of what the church ought to resemble at any time, whether it be throughout history or moving forward into the future.

The first evidence of a healthy church is the fact that it has…

1. Servant Leaders

v. 12 “12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,”

There are some that look at these two verses and think that Paul is referring to Pastors.

Which, he is… but Pastors are not the only ones in a position of leadership over the Church.

We have Elders and Deacons as well.

Dave Colburn, Mike Botma, Travis Orcutt, Danny Hall, John Vandenburg, and Bob Ellick, are all leaders here at Pierson Bible Church.

As Servant Leaders of the Church, we have certain responsibilities.

We may not all have the same gifts, which is actually a blessing.

We cannot all be the Pastor, we cannot all be the building and grounds guy, we cannot all be the Board president… we cannot all take care of the sound booth every Sunday…

We all have our own gifts that God has given us to use and we all have our own duties that we are to fulfill with in the position that God has called us to… That being said, even though our duties may be different… we share the same responsibilities.

first of all, as servant leaders, we are responsible to…

1.1 Work Hard

Paul says to “recognize those who labor among you”…

This word “labor” involves more than just working or laboring among people.

It goes beyond just doing a simple job or task.

This word has the idea of “laboring to the point of exhaustion, and then to keep on laboring; to toil to the point of weariness; to work beyond what one is capable of doing.”

Contrary to what some may believe, as a Pastor, I work more than one day a week… just ask my family.

There are days that I leave the house in the morning and don’t get back until after the kids have gone to bed.

Many times, Dave has worked several hours at a job site, taken Lora to different appointments, gotten her laid down and comfortable for the night and then stays up to prepare for his Sunday School lessons, or putting together a sermon…

Mike Botma, taking over the role of Board President after the passing of Steve Ziny… we are still finding things that Steve just took care of and we didn’t even realize it.

Travis and John spending many hours working with the sound system trying to work out all the squealing, buzzing and other issues…

Bob, trying to navigate through the never ending list of projects, repairs and maintenance of our buildings...

Dan, involved with the praise and worship team, also, being willing to help with whatever arises in any way that he can… all while navigating the set backs of Cancer and as of recently, his diabetes…

These guys don’t just show up for a couple of hours, once a month on a Thursday night, talk about whats going on and then head back home to wait for the next board meeting… … They want to see Pierson Bible church grow, they want to see lives changed with the Gospel of Christ and they work hard towards that goal.

Secondly, A servant leader is one who…

1.2 Leads by Example

The Christian Standard Bible translates v. 12 like this… “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,”

A healthy church does not have a board of dictators, but a board of servant leaders that lead by example.

Leaders that are living out what they say they believe and encouraging you to do the same.

Along with leading by example, through living out what they say they believe, a servant leader has the obligation to “admonish” you… The word admonish means to “ give a warning”…

There are all kinds of warnings in life.

Most products we purchase have labels warning about improper use.

I found a great list of these kinds of warnings.

Believe it or not, these are all real.

- a label on a snow sled which says: "Beware: sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions."

- a fishing lure, with a warning that reads: harmful if swallowed.

- A warning on an electric router made for carpenters cautions: “This product not intended for use as a dental drill.”

- A warning label found on a baby stroller cautions the user to “Remove child before folding”

- A container of body spray says, “Caution: Do not spray in eyes”

- A cartridge for a laser printer warns, “Do not eat toner”

- A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, “Do not drive with sunshield in place”

Now… We can laugh about these, and think, who would be foolish enough to need such warnings?

But apparently someone did something goofy enough, or some lawyer, thinks somebody is, or will be, foolish enough, or should we say, stupid enough, to think about eating toner from a laser printer cartridge, or driving with the sunshade in place.

The owners manual of a car used to show you how to adjust the valve lash of your engine… but now it warns you not to drink the battery acid…

When Paul talks about the church leaders admonishing or warning the church members, he is referring to “instructing or advising someone about avoiding wrongdoing.”

This is one of the “not so pleasant” aspects of being in a position of leadership… Confronting people that are actively indulging in sin.

This goes along with leading by example because the “Do as I say and not as I do” mentality will not get you very far if you are looking to be a successful servant leader.

You cannot expect people to make being at church a priority in their life, if it is not a priority in yours...

You cannot expect people to make studying God’s word a priority in their life if it is not a priority in yours…

You cannot expect people to live for Christ, if you are not leading by example and living for Christ yourself....

A servant leader works hard, leads by example and is…

1.3 Loved

v.13 says that we are “to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.

Be at peace among yourselves.”

The church is encouraged to love their leaders for the work they do.

A Leader that is loved and supported by the congregation they serve will be more beneficial and fruitful in their ministries.

Think of how you treat the ones you love…

You pray for them,

You help them in their time of need,

You encourage them in many different ways...

And it should be the same with the Servant Leaders of the Church.

We need to be praying for them, helping them in their time of need, encouraging them in many different ways… Why… because we love them and are thankful for the labor they put into the ministries here at Pierson Bible Church...

I am so thankful for the men that I am able to serve alongside of and I am thankful to have a church family that hold encourages us, takes care of us and hold us up in prayer.

That leads us to our second evidence of a healthy church… Which is…

Thousands of members!… … Don’t write that down… I am just seeing if you have been paying attention… Thousands of members is not evidence of a healthy church, but faithful Members is…

2. Faithful Members

When I say faithful members, I am not just talking about showing up every Sunday.

I mean you are devoted to the ministries of the church.

You are involved when and where you are able.

You joyfully support the Church in a financial way.

You actively pray for your church family…

That is what it means to be a faithful member...

It also means that you have a desire to grow in your walk and relationship with Christ.

You have a desire to live in a way that honors Him.