Jesus at the Center of the Church
The Model Church • Message 8
Bryan Jones
October 1, 2023
A. Introduction (1 Thessalonians 1:2-9)
Today we’ve run out of bad churches, so today I want to look at a different church. A church in Thessalonica. Believe it or not, this is a blueprint or a model for a healthy church, so I wanted to end this series by taking a look at this church, and drawing out a couple of things for our church moving forward because our desire is that Jesus would be at the center of our church.
So, to do that we need to know what our church is going to be about… right?
Before I give you why this is a model church let me give you some background...
It was named after the sister of Alexander the Great, Thessalonike. It’s one of the few cities from the New Testament that exists today and is one of the most important cities in Greece.
Thessalonica’s location and use as a port made it a prominent city. We know that the Romans had a practice of building great roads. One of them, the Via Egnatia, came right through Thessalonica.
Because of this road traffic ran through it, and because of the trade and activity of the port… this was a heavily populated place, but it was also a place of immorality and idols…
Paul himself founded the church in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey in Acts 17. He was only in the city for a short time because he was forced out by enemies of the Gospel.
Because Paul had to flee, he was concerned for the new Christians here. After all, it was a culture hostile to Jesus, and a sexually immoral culture.
Timothy and Silas went to visit and came back with great news, the church was on fire. The people had been faithful and hadn’t fallen back. So, Paul writes this letter in 1 Thessalonians to encourage…
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NLT)
We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He goes on…
1 Thessalonians 1:6-9 (NLT)
So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
Notice, you have become an example… I love how the NIV says it, you became a model… Those are big compliments. Paul is going, you are the model of the church we are calling people to be like…
Have you ever noticed how many denominations there are? It’s a little overwhelming, isn’t it…
Now, John Ortberg said this in one of his books …
Even among Christians there have been thousands of denominational variations and movements, and every one of them thinks they are right. I grew up in a Baptist church, and we looked forward to the day when we would be in heaven and there would be no more divisions. Some Lutherans would be there, represented by Martin Luther. Methodists would be there, represented by John Wesley. Some Catholics would be there (though this idea was a little more controversial), represented by the pope. And we Baptists would be there, represented by … Jesus.
There are so many denominations…. Now I’m going to have to offend some people here, do you know there are no mentions of denominations in the Bible?
Our loyalty has to be to this (Bible) above anything else. That’s why when people ask me what denomination are you, or what denomination is Brookwood, I’m going to answer like this… We are a 1 Thessalonians 1:5 church…
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (NLT)
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be His own people. For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.
I want to highlight two things here word and power…
Notice it says the Gospel, or Good News goes forth in word and power.
Now if this is a model church, we would be wise to look closely at what caused this church to shake the foundations of the world. What caused the people around to take notice in a few months after this church was founded…
This is what it says… It was a word and power church… and that’s what I believe God has called us to be…
B. The Model Church with Jesus at the center is built upon…
1. Word. (John 8:32; Ephesians 1:17; Colossians 2:3-4)
Think of truth… This is doctrine, theology, creeds, wisdom and knowledge. It’s training and classes. It’s truth. I want more of this. I want more people learning the truth of God, so they don’t fall away from faith, or get swept up in false beliefs.
How many of you have a decision you would like some wisdom or direction on? Anyone?
This book has all the answers. You won’t find the answers on Facebook, Reddit, or Instagram.
Imagine a church filled with people who know God’s truth and who have the mindset of Christ.
If we are going to be a church that keeps Jesus at the center, we have to know the Word…
That’s why I’m so encouraged by people diving into the devotionals. It allows you to build your life on Jesus and know His Word…
John 8:32 (NLT)
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What is the truth? It’s the Good News… and notice what it does, it sets you free.
Colossians 2:3-4 (NLT)
In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.
But let me issue this warning you can know the Word of God and not be transformed by it. The devil knows more of the Bible than most of us ever will… so it’s not enough to simply know the Word, we need the Spirit of God to transform…
We need…
2. And Power. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24; 2:4; 4:20; Ephesians 3:20-21)
Think of Spirit. This is miracles, it’s signs and wonders, it’s an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it’s the supernatural. I want more of this… I want encounters with God that would cause our faith to awaken to deeper levels, that would cause the cynicism and the secularism in the church to shut down because people can’t deny God’s at work…
How many of you have a situation that you need God to transform or a person you need to transform?
You can’t transform yourself or others, but the Spirit can. If our church is going to keep Jesus at the center, we need the power of God as well.
Listen to what the Bible says about the power of God…
1 Corinthians 2:4 (NIV)
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
1 Corinthians 4:20 (NIV)
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
Think about it like this. there are two wings on an airplane… to fly right you need both… Or there are two peddles on a bicycle, turns out you really need both to go forward.
So you find churches typically play towards word or power but that’s not a model church… so you have some churches that really know the word, have amazing knowledge, great doctrine, they know the Word of God… but do they see the miracles of God… they don’t see salvations, marriages restored, healings, and people gaining freedom from addictions… it’s like every once in a while God shows up and people go, ahh, see it’s all about the word, about knowledge…
But then you have people who focus on power... who have seen some of the miracles of God, and they start chasing after the miracles of God, but somewhere their roots don’t go deep and it’s almost like you can fall in love with blessings instead of the Blesser. The miracles become more important than your Maker…
I was talking with a lady in our church… she loves the Bible and she really does get the power of God… and she started talking about the power of God awakening us and tears began to fill her eyes as she said I just want God to awaken our church, I see so many people come down for prayer and I want God’s healing and power to fall…. She was a woman who was a 1 Thessalonians example…. She was word and power, and she wasn’t content with where the church was… she wanted more…
I was at a church that was predominately word. And God started to show up in youth group and there was a crazy move of God in power. And it almost fractured the church. The word people started to try and shut down the supernatural. And the power people started to push the power side on the word of God side. I sat down with a mom who was upset about her daughter. I sat down with a power person who seemed to be caught up in emotions. And this is what I led them through… We have to be both… it’s both wings on a plane…
Do you want more? Do you believe more is possible?
Let me just say this… GOD wants more for you than you do.
And God wants more for this church than we do…
So, whatever you want, let me encourage you it’s not enough, God doesn’t find our dreams too big, I think He finds them too small… listen to
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
You say America needs God, no it doesn’t… the Church needs God! If the Church gets God, America would soon feel it… - Leonard Ravenhill
When the church keeps Jesus at the center, it will be a church filled with the word of God and the power of God.
And if Jesus is going to be at the center of our church, the center of Brookwood, and at the center of our lives we must be a word and power church, we must take this model in 1 Thessalonians and pray and begin to live it out…
WORD ______________________________________________________________POWER
Typically, you will fall to one side or the other.
Your past will form which side you fall to… I’ve seen some people who have grown up in a legalistic culture, so they swing to the Spirit side or power side. Other people have seen people in the charismatic church abuse the Spirit side or power side and so they move to the Word side… but again you don’t get to choose. It’s both wings on airplanes.
Truth and grace… don’t stop being truth. Don’t water it down be both… God has called you to lead in both. And if you’re a power person our church needs you to be that. Keep going. and if you’re a word person. Keep it praise.
So, what that means is you need to find out what side you bend towards and start pushing yourself towards the other… remember it’s both peddles on a bicycle…
WORD ______________________________________________________________POWER
If you are a word person… usually you’re
- Introverted over extraverted
- Head over heart
- Structure over spontaneity
Whereas power people are…
- Extraverted over introverted
- Heart over head
- Spontaneity over structure
C. Challenge: (Challenges you will face)
Knowledge versus Union.
We can get so caught up in doctrine and classes and right thinking that we forget the end goal is abiding. It’s walking with Christ like we talked about a few weeks ago…
Wasting time in His presence.
Extraordinary versus ordinary.
Mundane versus glory… disciples mountain tops moment and they wanted to stay there… but you have got to come off.
We can so caught up in the mountaintop moments, the glory, the power, the fire… that sometimes we forget the kingdom is those things but it’s also a whole lot of washing feet and caring for others and listening, quiet moments with Jesus.
I remember there was a moment when we had a staff meeting and we closed in a time of prayer and it was like all the sudden the Spirit showed up in power… and it was so rich it was like a wave of God’s power just came over me and I couldn’t speak for a bit… some people started crying, and you could just sense God was there… I got done with the meeting and I was like, what’s next God… and I remember I just sat, then I went to some meetings, and I was like, Where’s the glory? Send me back…
The point is it’s not always like that… we can get so caught up in the supernatural that we become spiritual consumers and we fail to pour out our life in love…
D. Invitation: (Isaiah 55:9)
Mystery and Belief.
We have to be okay with what we don’t understand… God is a God you cannot explain away. I love what He says in His word:
Isaiah 55:9 (NIV)
“… so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean it’s not true… Listen don’t quench the Spirit of God with cynicism and not being open to the power of God…
Listen I think the fear sometimes when we talk about the supernatural is there are some people who’ve grown up around certain charismatic circles and you’ve seen some things done wrong… but let’s allow God to capture our hearts again. Let’s believe that anything is possible.
Do you know some miracles happen and don’t happen because of simply belief… We have to be okay with the mystery…
At my last church, we were in a meeting and there was a word guy and power guy on staff. And the power guy started saying some things that felt a little too pushy, so I went into the words guy’s office and said what did you think about that prayer meeting… I’ve never forgotten what he said…
He said, I prayed during that meeting this, God you can do anything, with you anything is possible, help me believe that…
Where are my power people, the spontaneous ones, the ones that don’t like boxes, that want the thrill of new experiences? Alright, I have a word that you are going to absolutely hate…
Discipline and Patience.
You and I have to be faithful in the day-to-day… I mentioned the church in Sardis… But you know what has transformed my life… I stopped chasing after the power because I naturally bend that way… and I started going deeper in the Word, in discipline, in reflective prayer, in listening… and what’s amazing is I almost found there was more power…
Plus, if you are a power person… you’re going, I want revival, I want miracles, I want it all. And you’re going, God, can You deliver it by next week? I get it, you guys are my people…
But trust God’s timing… Your challenge is to stay patient while staying passionate. Don’t ever let the fire of God for more die down but be willing to trust him… Don’t ever stop crying out… because it’s prevailing prayer that draws out the presence of God in supernatural ways, and the enemy wants you to quit and give up…
Let me encourage you. See, I see Brookwood doing great in these areas. We haven’t arrived but we have a head start. I see the sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. I see a longing for healing and prayer and transformation. We’re a church where we take the Word of God seriously.