The Model Church, Part 5

If you have your Bible, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. First Thessalonians chapter 1, as we continue our study and looking at the model church, and what does it mean to be the kind of church that follows the church of Thessalonica?

They are the only church in the Bible that's called the pattern, and therefore they become the kind of example that we are to follow. And so as we make our way slowly, yet methodically through chapter 1, we are beginning to understand that this was the church that, number one, in verses 1 to 5, abundantly developed in the gospel.

Verses 6 and 7, they were the church that appropriately duplicated the gospel. They were mimics of the messengers and of the master, and they were models of the message. In other words, they were able to duplicate Christ, that is, live the Christ kind of life. And that's what model churches do. They want to live Christ's life, and they want to continue to grow in their walk with Christ, and that's what the church of Thessalonica did. Today, point number 3 is this, and that is they audibly disseminated the gospel.

They audibly disseminated the gospel. Look what it says in verse number 8 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and in the Caiai, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so we have no need to say anything, for they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you. Notice the range of the message.

Notice the response to the message, and then notice the reason for the message. First of all, the range of the message.

The word of the Lord has sounded forth, has trumpeted forth. It's a word used only here in the New Testament. It means to blast boisterously, blast bravely, blast in such a way that everybody hears. This was a church of Thessalonica. They were that small seaport village there on the Aegean Sea, and the Via Ignatia, that great Roman highway would run through Thessalonica, and they took supreme advantage of making sure that they told everybody who was on that trade route about Jesus Christ. All the way from Macedonia to a Caiai, and all throughout the region, people were hearing about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

They weren't ashamed of the gospel. They were excited about talking about the gospel, because they wanted to make sure that the word of the Lord would go forth all throughout the region, and the only way to do that, or the best way to do that, was to tell everybody who was coming through that seaport village, talking to them about Christ, so they in turn could go and tell others about Jesus Christ, our Lord. Paul was that kind of person. Paul had that kind of influence in them, because Paul was all about preaching the gospel.

Remember in Colossians chapter 4, when Paul's in prison, he says these words in verse number 2, Devote yourself to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving, praying at the same time for us all as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned, that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Now think about that. Paul's in prison, and he wants the church at Colossae to pray for him.

So what does he say? He doesn't say, listen, pray that I get out of prison. That would be our request. Get me out of here. That's not what Paul asked for. Or pray that I be comfortable in this cold dungeon. Nope, didn't pray for comfort either. He prayed for the opportunity for an open door to present the gospel, because that's what consumed the apostle Paul. Everything about his life was about clearly presenting the gospel, no matter what situation, no matter what circumstance he is in. We need to think about this in our own lives, because as we go through life each and every day, God has put us in a specific sphere of influence, a place where we live out our spiritual existence, a place where we tell other people about Christ, whether it's our school, our family, our job.

We are all strategically, providentially, sovereignly placed in a specific environment to be lights to a world of darkness and to speak forth the truth. Paul knew that. So while he's in prison, his number one request is, you know what?

I got to speak forth the truth. I got to tell other people about Christ. So pray for me that those doors open up and I can speak clearly about the gospel of Christ. Well, the church at Thessalonica, they'd heard the gospel. Paul had come to them. He'd preached the gospel to them. They were mimics of the messengers, and therefore they were mimics of the master himself. And Christ himself was a preacher. Paul was a preacher. They now in turn become preachers of the gospel, and they recognize that the great need before them is to tell other people about Christ.

So the range of that message was everywhere. And the response to the message, Paul says, listen, no matter where I go, no matter who I speak to in the region, they've already heard the gospel. They've already heard about you. They know. This is just a great testimony to the response of people to the church at Thessalonica. Because no matter where Paul went, everybody was speaking good things about the church because they'd already heard about Christ. What a great response to the message. That's the way it should be for us.

But my focus today is on the reason behind the message. What motivated them? What moved them? What caused them to speak forth the gospel so others would be able to hear it and respond? You know, so many times in the church we can grow stagnant and stale in terms of how we present the gospel or talk to people about the gospel. But this church was the model church. And they became a model for all the other churches, not just on how to duplicate the gospel, but how to disseminate the gospel, how to make sure other people heard about the truth of Christ.

So let's see how you measure up to their motivation. Because the first thing that motivated them was the call of God upon their life.

They were called by God. That's evident in verse number 4 of chapter 1 when he says, Knowing, brethren, beloved by God, His choice of you. And then over in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 13, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They understood the call of God upon their life, that God had called them into His kingdom, and God had called them to the preaching of the Word of God through the Apostle Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. And so they recognized that call, and now they respond by telling others about the Christ. Remember what it says over in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse number 9? 1 Peter 2, verse number 9, it says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. You are a chosen generation. You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation. You've been designed to declare the excellencies of Him who's called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. That's what you're called to do. They understood their calling. Why is it we don't tell people about Christ nearly enough? It's because we don't understand our calling from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul did. Acts chapter 9, God tells Ananias, you go tell Paul how much he must suffer for my namesake, and tell him that he is to bear my name before Gentiles, before kings, and before my people Israel. God called Paul, so Paul then would extend that call to others that they might respond to the gospel. Now, I want you to think about that, especially if you're a widow this morning. Let's say you were married for a number of years and your husband died, and we have a lot of widows in our church. You are provided with an excellent example in Luke's gospel, the second chapter, with a widow whose name was Anna.

Look what it says, Luke 2 verse number 36, and there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage. Okay, so think about this. Usually a young Jewish girl is betrothed around the age of 12 to 14. So let's say she's 13, and she's married to her husband. She's married to him for seven years. That means he dies at the age of 20, or her age at 20. It says, and then as a widow to the age of 84.

So she was a widow at least until the age of 84, okay, meaning that for 64 years she was a widow. And it says, she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God. What moment was that? That was the moment that Simeon took in his arms the Christ child, because Mary and Joseph were bringing their child, the Lord Jesus, to the temple to dedicate Him. And so it was Simeon who took the child into his arms and prophesied about his future.

It's at that time that she came up to the child, and she gave thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. In other words, she continued to do what she always did. She continued to speak about the Christ child to all those who were looking for the redemption of Israel, the redemption of Jerusalem. So she provides an example for all widows who ever live, and that is you have a great responsibility. When your husband dies, your ministry is not over.

Your ministry might just take off after your husband dies in a different kind of way. She never remarried. She probably could have, but she didn't. She was a widow. And so for 64 years she made her home in the temple. She was there night and day. She was there to pray. She was there to fast. She was there to speak forth the Word of God. And so anybody who was looking for the redemption of Israel, she would tell them about the coming Messiah. And she recognized the great call of God upon her life.

And that's what she did. And so I want to challenge you that if you are a widow today, whether you were married for five years, ten years, or 55 years, God has a special calling for your life to use you in a unique and special way. In ways maybe He's never used you before, but He wants you to make sure that you tell other people about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Turn with me, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy chapter 1. Let's say you're married and your husband's not a believer. You're married and your husband is not a believer. What do you do? You have a unique and special responsibility. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1 verse number 5, For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, Timothy, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that is in you as well.

Now, Eunice was married to a Gentile, to a Greek. Acts 16.3 says he doesn't know the Lord. But Eunice and Lois come to saving grace on Paul's missionary journey, and they in turn now are going to share the gospel with their son, or with her son and grandson. So when you go over to chapter 3, it says this in verse number 14. You however continue in the things which you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

That word childhood can be translated infancy, or the Greek word used is brifos, which speaks of a child in the womb. So, Paul is saying to Timothy, while you were in the womb, you were taught by your mother and your grandmother the sacred writings of the scriptures that lead to salvation. Oh, by the way, just let me say this to you.

Whatever your birthday is, whatever day you were born, I want you to take it back nine months, because nine months earlier is your actual biblical birthday. When you pass through the birth canal and you come out, that's just a revelation of your existence to everybody who sees you. You were actually born the moment you were conceived. That's what the Bible says in Luke chapter 1 when the angel says to Mary, that which is conceived in you is the Messiah, is the Lord Christ.

In other words, conception equals birth. When the baby comes out nine months later, that's not the actual birth. That's just a revelation of the birth. Now we see what the child looks like. But the actual birth was nine months later. That's why we don't believe in abortion. That's why abortion is murder. Why? Because at the moment you conceive, you are a child. You were formed in your mother's womb, and God has designed you specifically for that. So Paul tells Timothy, from your earliest childhood, from the time of your infancy, from the time that you were a briface, in your mother's womb, you have heard the Holy Scriptures which lead you to salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What a powerful statement. How many times that you as mothers have the opportunity to read to your children while they're still in the womb? Because they hear your voice. They recognize your voice. And if you're pregnant and you come to church, I guarantee your child hears my voice every week. So that when we dedicate them, there's a reminder, I've heard that voice before. Who is that guy? But they hear. They can hear in the womb. Why? Because there are children in the womb. But here's the important point.

Here was a mother who was committed to teaching her son, and her son's name means one who honors God, to follow the Lord and serve the Lord. He came to saving faith. He became the number one protege of the Apostle Paul, was used in a great way because he became the exact pattern of the Apostle Paul.

Can you imagine the joy in Eunice's heart, his mother, or Lois' grandmother, recognizing that their son and grandson was used on missionary journeys with the Apostle Paul, and that when he receives this last letter from Paul, he's reminded of the fact that the faith that you have, I know is in you because it was in your mother and your grandmother. I had the opportunity to lead them to the Lord, and now they, in turn, have led you to the Lord, and now you are living that life. Mother, never, never, ever minimize the influence you have in the lives of your children to teach them about the truth of the living God.

You know, it's because of my mother's faithfulness to the gospel that I'm saved. It's because of my mother's faithfulness to pray that I'm a preacher today. And I'm a preacher today mainly because of my mother, who told me at a very young age that I was going to be a preacher. How did she know that? I don't know how she knew that. Maybe she was just guessing. I don't know. But she said, you're going to be a preacher. I'm going to pray that God calls you into the ministry. And I'm saying, don't pray that.

I want to be a ball player. Don't pray that God calls me to the ministry, you know. And my mother used to always tell me, if you knew your Bible like you knew baseball stats, you would be so smart. Because I knew all the baseball stats. I knew all the football stats, but I didn't know a lot about the Bible. But she would exhort me, and she would share the gospel with me, and she would pray for me that I'd be a preacher. I stand before you today as your pastor for the last 30 years simply because I had a mother who prayed fervently for me all those years.

She's now with the Lord, but I thank the Lord for my mom and my dad. But my mom was a prayer warrior. She prayed for me. Mom, you had this opportunity every day to pray for your son, to pray for your daughter, and to teach them the Scriptures. That's just such an important element of your life. God has called you to be the mother of your children, teach them the truth, exhort them in the truth, show them the truth. If you understand the call of God upon your life, you do that. But number two, not only the call of God, but the compulsion of the love of God.

The compulsion of the love of God. What does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 14, the love of Christ compels me. It moves me. Why do I preach the gospel? The love of Christ. We love Him because He first loved us, right?

Romans 5, 5, the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. Because of the love of God that He demonstrated toward me while on Calvary's cross, right, I now am compelled by the love of God to tell other people about the God who loves me. And that's what moved the church at Thessalonica. Look what it says in verse number three, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and your labor of love.

What motivated them? The love of God. They labored intensely because they understood God's love for them. That's what caused them to keep enduring and evidence their work of faith. Why? Because God loved them. They wanted to serve their God. When you understand the love of God, it compels you to tell people about the God who loves you and that they can be loved by that same God and understand a relationship with that same God. And that's exactly what the church at Thessalonica did. They realized that Paul was there because he loved the Lord.

That's what compelled him. Why wouldn't it compel them as well? So the call of God, the compulsion of the love of God, and number three, the condition of the unsaved.

The condition of the unsaved. How do we know this? Well, look what it says down in verse number nine of 1 Thessalonians chapter one. For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. They were idol worshipers. They realized that their whole life was meaningless, but they recognized their lost condition, and God turned them around from idols to serving the true and living God. So what motivated them in this little seaport village to tell everybody who came through about Christ was the condition of the lost, the condition of the unsaved, that they are totally depraved, they're extremely darkened on the inside, they are dead in their trespasses and sin, and they are hopelessly lost without Christ.

And so it moved them to tell others about Jesus Christ their Lord. See that? So it wasn't just the call of God upon their life. It wasn't just the compulsion of love, the love of God. It wasn't just the, what point did this give me? The condition of the unsaved. I'm tired, man. I'm getting old. The condition of the unsaved. But number three, listen, it was the character of the message.

It was the character behind the message. Listen, when you share Christ, you don't share a program, you share a person, you don't share a system, you share a Savior, right? We know that because of chapter one, verse number one, Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, they understood that they were in God and in Christ. And the message that was preached to them, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter one, we preach Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians chapter two, verse number two, we decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Well, that's the same message Paul brought to them. He talked to them about Christ, who Jesus was, the Messiah, explained that to them. And so now they in turn want to communicate this person to others. We can get boggled down with outlines and boggled down with the ways to share about Christ. You just need to share Jesus Christ. It's all about the person and work of Christ Himself. They were consumed with the character of their message, not necessarily the content of their message, but the character of their message.

It was Christ. And so they would want to tell other people about the Christ. So that's what they did. And then number four, or number five if you're counting, the consequences of rejecting the gospel. The consequences of rejecting the gospel. Remember 2 Thessalonians chapter one, 2 Thessalonians chapter one, it says this, verse number seven, the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in a flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified in the saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed. And it says this, it says, for our testimony to you was believed. In other words, Paul told them first time around about the consequences of the gospel.

Listen, if you don't believe in the gospel, if you don't follow Christ, eternity will be an eternal separation from the living God in eternal torment in hell. Paul didn't mince words with them, he told them the truth. And so they recognize the fact that Christ one day is going to come and deal out retribution to those who do not know Him and don't obey the gospel. You see, the powerful motivator for us to speak forth the truth is that people are not just lost, but they're on their way to hell, and they will spend eternity in hell separated from the living God, and this is the reason for their message.

This is why they were so keen on spreading the gospel, because they understood the call of God. They understood the consequences of rejecting the gospel. They understood the condition of the unsaved, the character of their message. They also understood this, they also understood the coming King. Look what it says in verse number 10, how you wait for a son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. They understood the coming King, they understood that Jesus was going to come again.

They recognize that. We get to chapter 4 and chapter 5, you see this extensively. They recognize that Jesus is going to come again. Well, if that's true, you need to make sure you're ready for His arrival. You need to make sure that you know that Jesus Christ is going to come again. The fact that Christ one day is going to arrive is a great motivator in sharing the gospel, and that's what they recognized, and that's how they lived their life. The King was going to come again. How about this? They also were motivated by the crown of rejoicing or the crown of joy.

Look what it says over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 19, for who is our hope or joy or crown of exaltation? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. What is the crown of joy? Crown of joy is one of the crowns that you receive because of sharing the faith while you're here on earth, when you get to glory. But it's called the crown of joy because the great joy is in watching people respond to the gospel and give their life to Christ.

That's the great joy. Over in Philippians chapter 4, Paul said it this way, Philippians 4, verse number 1, Paul says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, my joy and crown. He tells the church of Philippi that they are His crown, they are His joy. Why? Because of the crown of rejoicing, it's a motivating factor, and that's what caused these people in Thessalonica to share the gospel. The great joy behind sharing the person and ministry of Christ would bring them more and more joy. They recognized that, they understood that, so important.

Paul would say, in 2 Timothy 4, these words to Timothy, he would say in verse number 1, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing in His kingdom, preach the word, the coming King. He's going to come and judge the living and the dead, preach the word. People need to hear the gospel, they need to know the truth, so tell them. This was the church of Thessalonica, they were motivated to disseminate the gospel to all those who came through their little village, their little city, their little seaport village on the Aegean Sea.

And we had to ask ourselves, are we motivated like they were motivated? You say, well, I'm not an evangelist. You don't have to be. Paul told Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. Timothy wasn't an evangelist, but Paul said you had to do the work of an evangelist. Why? Because you got to communicate the truth, you got to communicate to Christ, you got to tell people about who Jesus is. Endure hardship, fulfill your ministry, Timothy. That's your call, that's our call. Whether we're mothers or fathers, whether we're doctors or nurses, whether we're coaches or teachers, whether we're students or whether we're presidents, we've been called by God to proclaim the gospel, to disseminate the gospel to the arena where God has called us to live out our spiritual existence.

May God give us the grace to accomplish that. Let's pray together. Father, we thank You for this day, the opportunity You give us to look into the Word of God. As brief as it is, it's a reminder, Lord, of this church, the model church, the pattern that's been set down for us to follow. And may we be the kind of people that follow this example, that we could become a model church in this community, in this area, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray in Your name, amen.