Bringing the Word of God at The King's Church
Talk by Robin Hawkins
"Keeping On Track"
2 Thessalonians 3:1-15
We were very thrilled to get back this last Tuesday to hear that you'd had such a great time last Sunday; to hear from so many of you how the Holy Spirit came in such power on Pentecost Sunday. Well done, Mark for leading everyone into God's presence, and for not being afraid to challenge the heavy spiritual atmosphere that was there, I understand, at the start. Thank-you Stephen, for having the faith to step in at a moment's notice and bring just the right word that was needed. Well done all of you who stepped out in faith and let God use you in a way that perhaps He hadn't before.
During the week, Chris and Paul came round to pray with Julie and I - for having prayed for a fresh anointing on all those in leadership, they didn't want us to miss out on what God is wanting to do among us. A lot of us have felt for a while now that God wants to take us onto a deeper place with Him. Chris, would you like to share the word that you've had on your heart...
There were three groups of people stirring up trouble in the Thessalonian church. We heard about the persecutors in the first letter. There are always going to be critics of any move of God. Sadly, there were plenty of Christians only too ready to criticise what God did during the Toronto blessing 13yrs ago. Those of us who enjoyed the blessing were wonderfully aware of the fruit it bore in our lives in terms of drawing us closer to God. How we need the gift of Discernment.
The second group unsettling the Thessalonians were false teachers. False teachers are a problem today even though we have the NT written out before us. Imagine how much more of a problem it was for them then without the NT Scriptures to refer to. Little wonder Paul lays it on with a trowel in verse 4 saying, "We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing, and will continue to do the things we command." Paul's language here is really strong. Over and again, he uses words like "command" and "obey". He even invokes the authority of the Lord Jesus Himself.
It was vital that God's work in Thessalonica continued to be founded on God's Word. It's vital too that God's work here at King's is also. I was delighted to hear that so many of you were filled afresh with the Holy Spirit last week; but would you ask yourselves: Has it produced more holiness in you this last week? Have your responses been more godly? Have you found your witness about Jesus to have been more effective? You see it's the Scriptures that show me that that should be the outcome of being filled with the Holy Spirit? If we're going to see the Revival promised, we're going to need the genuine article, and not be satisfied with "good experiences". You know if we go just for Holy Spirit experiences in our meetings, we'll blow up - eventually. If we go just for the Word, we'll dry up. But if we go for the Word and the Spirit, we'll grow up!
This is important because in verse 6, we come to the third group that were causing problems for the church. These were a group of idlers, who weren't living according to the teaching Paul had given them. Quite apart from the fact that they were spongers and takers, they were also very dangerous. What was it Paul said to the Corinthians? A little yeast leavens the whole loaf? They could have easily led the whole church off track, away from what we now know as NT teaching. The primary issue seems to have been about not working - and who wants to work if you don't have to?
Now there are actually two issues here. One is the issue of work, and how we as Christians should view it. The second is the way Paul handled the problem, ie, Church Discipline. Both are fairly thorny issues, but I want to try and speak into the second one today - the issue of Church Discipline - hardly a popular subject!
This may be because of past abuses where leaders have "lorded it" over their flock, and failed to be the servant-leaders Jesus told us to be. But it may also be because there is something in us still that rebels against authority. We don't like coming under any kind of authority. I find the big bogeyman today is the Control-Freak! It appears that any leader who tries to steer us in a way we don't want to go can be neutralised by accusing him of being controlling!
The fact is there's authority in every walk of life. If we join an orchestra, we must expect the conductor to tell us how he wants us to play. If we join a football team, we can expect pretty direct input on how to play from the manager.
But if we join a church, it's a free-for-all, and I can do what I like!
Not according to this passage. Paul clearly expects obedience to the things he has taught them. Moreover he expects the faithful Believers to be pro-active with those who will not do so. They are to show their concern by keeping away from them. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, it keeps the faithful from being affected by this disobedience. Secondly, it is the ultimate way for the church to show its concern about their behaviour. Bear in mind this was not the first time Paul had warned them about this. In 1Thess 5:14, he'd told them to warn those who were idle, but it seems little notice had been taken of his warning then.
Now keeping away from such people might seem to us to be a pretty heavy response, especially in our day when we don't want people to feel rejected - but this isn't about rejecting people. If you as parents have to tell your children off, or send them to their room, it's not because you're rejecting them - on the contrary, it's because you love them. You are rejecting their behaviour, and you want them to grow up and mature. That's why you discipline them. In the church, Jesus wants us to grow up into spiritual maturity. We are all on the road to becoming mature disciples. Christ's own command was that we are to teach people to obey all that He has commanded us. The kind of discipline we're talking about is the ultimate expression of that.
Incidentally, we won't see this as important if we don't see holiness as a priority. John Stott observed that in evangelical Christians like us "the quest for spiritual experience and social justice has dislodged the quest for righteous living or holiness." Bearing in mind we're part of a movement in Newfrontiers that delights in "spiritual experience" and is increasingly pursuing "social justice", we might well want to think about this.
What we do need to do is to put this all into context. It would be a great mistake to see Church Discipline as limited simply to excluding people from fellowship. Our commission is to make disciples. Although we may do that on a one-to-one level when someone first comes to faith, for most of us, what we hear on a Sunday morning is the primary input of our discipling. The preacher teaches us what Jesus has commanded us to do - and all of us good people, eager to hear what Jesus requires of us, bring our Bibles, take notes and then we go out and do it - don't we?!
The fact is, it doesn't always sink in first time round - or even the second. You've no doubt heard of the preacher who kept on preaching the same talk week after week. When one of his members asked him when he was going to move onto something else, his reply was, "When you start doing it, I will."
We try to overcome this problem by taking the opportunity in Life Groups to think about the teaching given on the Sunday, and to ask ourselves what stops us applying this in our lives? If we consistently fail to respond to it, the Lord has ways of getting our attention. We may find ourselves being challenged directly or indirectly when we keep coming up against this particular problem. I remember once hearing a guy called John describe a conversation he'd had with another brother. It was apparently a bit one-sided because eventually the other brother had responded, "You know John, yours is not a listening ministry!" John, relaying this, admitted that he took that as great rebuke! But he took it, and learned from it.
Sometimes, I've had to challenge behaviour that the Bible clearly says is wrong. Most of the time, I've been able to do it gently, but it's been no less effective. I'm pleased to say that on most occasions, it's produced the desired result; but Paul makes it very clear that there are some things which, if people persist in them, are totally unacceptable in true disciples of Jesus. In 1Cor 5:9-11, Paul gives us a list of some of these sins. In such situations we are told not to have fellowship them. It is the ultimate way for us to show that their behaviour is not honouring to Christ, and to encourage them to repent.
This is an act of love towards that person, not rejection. That sin will lead them away from God. It may lead others astray too. That cannot be allowed to happen. Yet these people are not our enemies, they're our brothers and sisters. We should pray for them, asking God to give them the gift of repentance, yearn for renewed fellowship, rejoice when they finally turn, and forgive them and receive them back into fellowship once more.
Parents discipline their children. Father God disciplines us. If we sought out and listened to His Word in the first place, it wouldn't be necessary. If we gain from this morning, a fresh desire and determination to do that, this time will have been well-spent.