The Gospel Support

INTRODUCTION:

Interest:

One of the benefits, I guess, that comes from expositional preaching is that I cannot skip over passages that are uncomfortable. Our passage today is a perfect example of that point. If I were simply selecting passages week by week to preach from, I'm quite sure I would never select this passage. I could easily justify looking past the topic of this passage by using the logic that we have no issue within our church regarding this topic that needs to be addressed. Fortunately, that fact is also what makes it easier to address this morning.

Involvement:

This morning we're going to be looking at the way God has structured his church. For me personally this can feel like a sensitive topic since we will be looking at the role of leaders and your relationship as members to your leaders within the church. it would feel a bit self-serving if there were a problem within our church in this area. Thankfully that is not the case.

Illustration

When we think about the way God has structured a church, to me it seems somewhat like the way a house is built. I'm sure we've all seen houses under construction. Once the foundation is laid the next step becomes the putting up of the frame. If you drive past the house at this stage, you see 2X4s forming walls; you might see rafters being placed on top of those walls. What you see is a lot of internal structure that you know will soon be covered by plywood and sheet rock and ultimately paint. There's nothing about the framing of the house that is attractive, but the end result is meant to be attractive enough to cause us to want to live in that house.

The way God has created the structure of leadership within his church resembles that underlying structure of a house. Leadership is to form the support structure so that the church becomes attractive to the world around us, displaying the glory of our savior.

Context:

This morning we will be moving into the final section of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. As I'm sure you recall, Paul has been addressing a few issues of doctrine that needed further clarification within this young church. Now as Paul prepares to close out the letter, he gives a few final quick instructions that he wants to leave with these young in the faith believers.

This morning we are only going to look at two verses; two verses that deal with the relationship that the church is to have between the leaders and the members. It is important to remember, as I've already mentioned, that this church is very new so none of its members have been believers very long. If you think about it, that means that the leaders of the church have essentially been saved for the same amount of time as the members. It also means that the leaders would have had limited time to grow in their Christian faith and in their biblical knowledge. It is possible that they brought some biblical knowledge to their faith, but even that is questionable as we've seen most of the members of this church were apparently saved out of a pagan past and would not have learned about the Old Testament scriptures prior to their salvation. There was no pulpit committee that looked for the best possible candidate. Rather, there were promising new believers most likely selected by Paul or Timothy to take on the role of leadership within this fledgling church.

Preview:

I bring all of this up because I think it is important for us to recognize that our context is in many ways very different from the context of this church. And yet even with the differences, the core lesson remains applicable to us as well. The lesson that we can see in the 2 verses that we're going to look at this morning is: We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace.

That is a mouthful; let me say it again: We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace.

This morning since we're only looking at two verses, I'm also going to follow a very simple outline. We will begin by looking at 3 responsibilities for leaders followed by 2 responsibilities toward leaders and then 1 responsibility that leaders and followers share; So you can think of the outline as 3-2-1 this morning.

Transition from introduction to body:

We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace. Let's begin by reading our verses together…<read 1 Thess 5:12-13>

The first thing that I wanted to look at in these verses this morning are the…

BODY:

I. Three responsibilities of leaders

Paul does not actually name an office for leaders in these verses but in verse 12 he does describe 3 functions that are functions for leaders to perform within the church. Remember this is one of Paul's earliest letters to a church, in this case a brand, new church that is still in its infancy. His concern is on the functions that the leaders are to perform rather than setting out the office the by name.

Transition:

We will take these functions one at a time briefly. The first function for the leader is to…

A. Labor

We will come back to the responsibilities that the church members have toward their leaders, but notice that Paul says, “that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you.” If this idea of labor was all by itself it might be hard to show that it referred to leaders but the following items make it clear. The idea of that word “labor” is the idea of toiling through great effort. It has the idea of toiling even to the point of growing weary in the effort. It is the same word that Paul used back in chapter 2 verse 9 to refer to how he and the other missionaries conducted themselves when they were in Thessalonica. Paul said back in that verse that the Thessalonians could remember the labor of the missionary team. In that case he was clearly pointing to the physical labor that they had undertaken in order to provide for themselves while they were giving the gospel within the city. He uses the word here to indicate that the work that the leaders are doing on behalf of the church is to be recognized in a similar fashion as laborious and wearisome.

Application

Now, as most of you know I worked for many years in the corporate world before beginning in fulltime vocational ministry. One of my pet peeves when I was working in the corporate world was when I would hear pastors make statements to the fact that the work of a pastor is more difficult than the work of other church members. My guess is some of you have probably heard similar statements. Well, that statement did not ring true with me then as I knew how many wearysome my 60 and 70+ hour work-weeks were. It does not ring true with me now either as I know many of you work long hours in trying jobs. I will not say that the work of ministry is more difficult than any other form of labor, but I will say that it is equal in difficulty even if different. The time spent poring over the biblical text in determining how it applies within our cultural context is wearisome. The time spent meeting with people going through spiritual challenges is wearisome. So I do appreciate the idea of ministry being laborious probably more now than I did when I sat there in the pew. And I also know from experience, that I have it good now as a pastor who is privileged to have time set aside by the church for the sake of this labor, in that you're providing for me financially so that I can do this work on your behalf. There are also many in our church who are laboring in leadership positions such as teaching and serving as deacons on top of the wearisome labor of their regular jobs. The implication for leaders of any kind in these verses is that such is to be expected; any one of us who serves in a leadership position should expect to work hard; it is our obligation, a primary responsibility that we have been given by God.

Transition:

Three responsibilities, the first being labor. The second responsibility is…

B. Have charge over

This second responsibility is a bit challenging because the translation can go a couple different directions with the term that Paul uses. Most English versions are translated similar to the New American Standard with the idea of having charge over the Church. It is valid to translate it, however, like the NIV does as,“ care for you.” The reason for translating it as “care for you” is given that such a translation is more functional where as “charge over” describes more of a position. In the end, I’m not sure that it matters very much cause the idea that Paul seems to be calling out is that the leaders have the obligation to lead and protect and care for the people. A person cannot fulfill the responsibility properly of having charge over the church if there is no concern for caring for the church. Furthermore, the phrase “ in the Lord” reinforces that the leadership that the person is to exercise is ultimately under the authority of their Lord, Jesus Christ. Such a reminder places the function into the category of a serious responsibility. It can only be accepted with great humility because of all that Paul has laid out that the Lord has done already.

Application

The application for the leader is clear , though; a leader must take the responsibility of being in charge when it comes to the functioning of the church. This is not something that he can shirk. At the same time, the fact that he is leading those who have a relationship to the Lord requires that he cares about those who make up the church. After all, he is caring for those in leading those whom Christ died for.

I know personally this is a thought that continually gives me great pause as I think about the magnitude of responsibility that comes with the the function. The church is composed of people bought by the blood of my Savior. The natural response is to recognize that I am unworthy to have charge over so too precious group.

Transition:

So the second responsibility that we see in our verse for leaders in the church is to have charge over. But there are 3 responsibilities; the 3rd and final is…

C. Give instruction

This last idea really is very similar in the original language to what we would understand through our word instruction. The one nuance that may not come through as well in English is that this term carries with it the idea of admonishing and correcting through both words and deeds. The implication is that there is a need for correction of some kind on the part of the person being instructed. This correction may be only in the need for a fuller understanding in some area of doctrine, or it may be that he needs to change in behavior in some area of life.

Application

I believe the challenge for any leader in the church when it comes to this responsibility is the implicit understanding that all instruction must be based in the text of this book. We are not to instruct based on our own opinions our wisdom; We are to instruct based on what God has revealed. That means that a large portion of our wearisome labor must be expended in studying and understanding what God has said.

Transition:

Anyway, that wraps up the 3 responsibilities that are listed briefly within our verses this morning. Remember, We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace. the leaders within the church have been given 3 responsibilities that are to be our special concerns. These responsibilities fall to the leaders based upon their role within the church.

Now let's turn our attention to the responsibilities listed in our versus of those within the church toward the leaders. Within these 2 verses, we see…

II. Two responsibilities toward leaders

Paul really is writing his verses to the church members rather than to the leaders of the church. Notice, he addresses them once again as brethren. It is also significant that he says, “we request of you.” He is addressing those governed by the leaders, but he is addressing them as a friend with a request rather than as the Apostle giving commands.

Transition:

Let's look at the two things that Paul says the church members are to do. The first request that he makes them is that the church members…

A. Appreciate them

If you compare the English translations, you will find several different ways of Paul's request is translated. The KJV has the most literal translation, in that it translates Paul's request simply as “to know” them. The verb is the word that simply means “know.” Just like the English work “know,” though, this word has a very broad range of meaning. That is why it is translated in various ways such as appreciate or respect or even recognize. Idea is more than just a mental knowledge of who the leaders are; the idea is they are to recognize the particular role that these leaders have taken on within the church and appreciate them for the things that they do in that role.

Now it is significant that in verse 12 and 13 Paul uses plurals to refer to those in the leadership roles. That implies that from the beginning there were multiple leaders within the church, even though this church that was only a few months old at this point. This church members are to recognize and appreciate all of the leaders that they have within their church because all of these leaders are expected to be performing the various functions that we just described on their behalf and for their benefit.

Application

As I said at the beginning, it would be difficult to preach about this instruction if I did not feel that you as a church family were already doing this toward me and the other leaders within our church. I'm grateful that I am in a position where I can preach without concern because you do show great appreciation toward me as your pastor. I also observe you showing appreciation toward the other men who serve in various leadership capacities within our church.

Yet, at the same time , this request from Paul can serve as a reminder to you to know who the leaders are within our church and to understand more fully what they're doing so that you continue to appreciate your leaders as God would have you.

Transition:

the first responsibility that you have toward leaders is to appreciate them. In verse 13 there is a second responsibility,...

B. Esteem them

It is slightly tricky to translate Paul’s language at the beginning of verse 13 but the overall meaning is clear. Paul uses a verb that means to regard or consider something coupled with the term that means to think very highly of someone or something. when you put the two terms together it is clear that he means to have high estimation or high regard in your minds toward your leaders. in fact he makes this extra clear by including the words, “in love.”

Application

The idea is pretty simple, there really ought to be true affection between church members and church leaders. What is most significant, though, in this verse is that the basis for that affection is the work that the leaders do. Sometimes it is easy to let personalities get in the way of our affections toward one another. Sometimes we just find people unlikable because their personality is significantly different than ours. At other times it is easy to let personalities become the basis for our affections. In other words, it is easy for us to like people who have a personality that we find likable. Yet neither situation lines up with our verse. Paul is saying that you are to have affection for the leaders in your church because of what they do for you, not because of who they are. Granted, I would hope that any leader in the church, myself included, would strive to be essentially likable; But likeability is not what should be a factor in whether or not a leader is held in high esteem; the determining factor if the work that the leader is doing on behalf of the church.

I do think it is significant that Paul places this instruction right after mentioning the responsibility that leaders have to admonish members within the church. It is hard for a person to like someone who is correcting something that needs corrected in his are her life.

Illustration

Think about it, I know this is true even with my wife. I know that there is no one who loves me more than Grace does. I also know that there are times when she must correct me because I am wrong in some actions or understanding. Even though I know she loves me, it can be hard at that moment to have an attitude of holding her in the high esteem that she deserves.

Such is even more the case within the context of the church when a leader is in a position of needing to confront incorrect thinking or behavior of one of the church members. And yet because that is the very responsibility that he has, the church is to respond to such actions by holding the leader in high regard.

Transition:

We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace. For all of the members of a church, that means that you have two specific responsibilities toward, appreciate your leaders and hold their leaders in high esteem.

There is one final phrase at the end of verse 13 still; a phrase that is set off as a stand-alone sentence that really groups leaders and church members together showing us…

III. One collective responsibility—Live in peace

“Live in peace with one another.” This is the final instruction that broadens itself out to include everyone within the church, leaders and members. It is talking about the attitude and actions that they are to have toward each other. To be at peace really means that there is no division within the church. The way that peace is maintained within the church is when right relations are maintained between the leaders and the members. The leaders faithfully fulfilled their responsibilities, the members appreciate leaders for that effort, and they lived together in mutual peace.

Application

Obviously, this would be very important instruction for this young church being formed in a hostile environment such as Thessalonica. I think we're all aware, though, that we're increasingly living in a similar hostile environment. The church is increasingly coming under attack from the outside American culture. What we're seeing in our versus here is the formula that God has given for us to ensure that while we are attacked from the outside, we do not allow ourselves to be destroyed on the inside. When we are strong within the church; When there is proper relation between the leaders and the members; then the church is strong enough to endure whatever outside attacks may come. We need to understand that the primary danger to us as a church comes from division within.

Illustration

I have a habit of sitting down with any man who is nominated for the position of deacon within our church for the first time. Frequently I have met with the man and his wife if he is married. The purpose of our meeting is to warn him that should he take the role of Deacon within our church, he can anticipate becoming the focus of spiritual opposition because God's enemy wants to destroy the church. It is important for him to know that as well as for his wife to know the same. Of course, we know that God is stronger than any attack, but both the man and his wife must be prepared for the attack by maintaining careful and intentional spiritual discipline.

Really, this sermon gives me a chance to give the rest of you a similar warning. Satan wants to destroy our church. Our church represents Jesus Christ throughout the community of Sterling Heights and the other cities around us. Because of this, our church it's seen as a real threat by Satan; and as long as we continue to diligently proclaim the gospel message and the truth of God's word, we remain such a threat. In fact, our goal should be to continually be an increasing threat in the eyes of Satan. We should want to be seen as a church that is on the front lines opposing his opposition to our God. Yet, as long as that is who we are, we need to anticipate that he will attack us. The way that we can withstand any attack that he may throw at us is by maintaining proper spiritual discipline. When we do, we can weather Satan’s attack in any fashion it may come through the power of God. One of the primary ways in which we do that is to follow the instruction of these verses so that we live in peace with one another. That is our collective responsibility whether we are leaders or members of this church.

Transition from body to conclusion:.

We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace. We must engage in our collective responsibility—live in peace.

CONCLUSION

We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace.

This morning has been a bit like looking at a house when all that is standing is the framing: we can see the support structure that will provide the strength of the finished product. Underlying the finished product of the church is the relationship between the leaders and the members. For the gospel to be effective, for the church to be attractive and it’s members growing in faith, our structure must be strong. The gospel support of the church is the relationship between leaders and members.

The leaders have 3 responsibilities: they must labor, they must have charge over the church, they must give instruction within the church.

Members have 2 responsibilities: they must appreciate their leaders, and highly esteemed their leaders. They must do both of these things because of the responsibilities that the leaders Perform on behalf of the church.

And collectively we all have one responsibility: live in peace with one another. We must live in peace for us to be the church that God intends for us to be.

We must each carry out our God-given responsibilities within the church for there to be peace.