I. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS - HOW THE CHURCH GOT STARTED (Acts 17)
A. Evangelism and discipleship
1. Paul was interested in reaching everyone with the Gospel, but he stared where he would get a hearing, in the synagogue.
2. Paul took his cue from the Lord, as he considered the OT Scriptures (Luke 24:27, 44-47), and from those, he was “explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead.”
3. Some of the Jews were persuaded as well as a number of devout Greeks and “not a few leading women.” It was clear from Paul’s letters to them that he was busy teaching them much about God and the Scripture very soon after they trusted Christ. Though there is no indication how long Paul might have remained with them, the reaction of jealous Jews made their association a brief one!
B. Riots and persecution
1. The Jews contacted the local “rent a mob” and began an uproar in the city. The believers with Paul realized that Paul would be the central focus and it was not safe for him and Silas to remain, so they sent them away by night.
2. With Paul gone, the mob rushed to the house of a known follower of Paul (Jason). In frustration, not being able to find Paul, they dragged Jason and some of the other brothers before the city authorities, charging them with riotous behavior and potential treason! Jason was forced to put up bond money before being let go. We do not know what happened to him after this.
C. Separation and concern
1. You can imagine how Paul felt about these new believers, unable to see them or minister to them, knowing that they would pay for their association with Christ.
2. He reveals something of that concern in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5.
 

II. PRESENT STATE - WHAT THE CHURCH WAS LIKE
A.They were under severe persecution – 2:14b-16; 3:4. It is not unusual to equate health with tranquility and even popularity. This little church was being threatened with extinction due to sever persecution, a persecution that would likely lead to the death of some.
B.They were not financially well off – There are hints of this in the text. The fact that Paul continued to work (2:9 ff.) while he was with them suggests that they were not supplying his needs. That may have indicated lack of generosity, but that does not seen to be their character. Rather, they were probably poor. Wealth and prestige are often assumed to be the blessings of the Lord and thus the sign of health. That was not true for this church.
C.They had some considerable confusion concerning eschatology (4:18 ff) – The Thessalonians seemed to understand something about the return of Christ, but they were unclear concerning the value of His coming in relation to those who had already died – as if their death led to a hopeless state. They did not seem to have a superior handle on theology (much less eschatological charts and books and video presentations). How could this church be healthy without that!
D.They received far less than Paul had hoped to give to them in terms of instruction (2:17) – It was clearly Paul’s desire to disciple these believers, but the discipleship course was never completed! Paul had been taken from them and they were left basically alone. So serious was this matter that Paul was concerned that they might turn from the faith.
E.They were vulnerable to turning from the faith (3:5) – How could a church that was healthy be on the watch list of the Apostle as one that was in serious danger of apostasy?
F.They may have been lacking in love toward one another (3:12; 4:9) – This is hinted at a couple of times in Paul prayers for them. Love for one another is an important indicator of our spiritual health. Did this mean that they were sick?
G.They were likely marked with impurity and possibly immorality (4:3-8) – People who were recent converts of paganism may very well struggle with living their new life for the glory of God. Paul rather sternly makes it known to them the importance of a holy life style. Could a people who had to have this as a reminder be a healthy church?
H.They were on occasion guilty of not working and making themselves dependent on others (4:11-12; 5:14) – To live in a difficult environment with the hope of the soon coming of Christ might lead one to be become lax in duty, waiting for the Lord. Why worry about such matters? Why work if His coming is immanent? Could this be a healthy church?
I.They may have been struggling to respect and esteem those in leadership (5:12-13) – Paul apparently had to remind the Thessalonians that it was appropriate for them to honor their leaders, recognizing the work they do for the ministry. Perhaps they were being critical and unloving toward them. A perfect church? Hardly! But, believe it or not, this was a church that was healthy. How do we know that? Let’s listen to Paul as he assesses the church. I am suggesting the same nine characteristics found in Dever’s book.
 

III. APOSTOLIC EVALUATION - HOW PAUL ASSESSED THE CHURCH
A.They responded to expositional preaching – They had received the Word with joy (1:6) even amid much persecution, knowing that it was the Word of God (2:13). We can be confident that Paul had been diligent to teach them the “whole counsel of God” as was his custom everywhere he went. 2:3-4 make this very clear.
B.They gave evidence of having a well-formed Biblical theology – If this letter is indication of what Paul had taught them while he was with them for such a brief time, we should be astounded. He had taught them election (1:4), a rather detailed explanation of salvation (1:5), much on eschatology (4,5). They were versed in Bibliology (2:13), the judgment (2:16), Satan (2:18), the nature of the Word (4:8), death and resurrection and eternal life (4:13 ff.). They clearly knew something about the theology of God and specifically of the theology of Christ.
C.They had a clear understanding of the Gospel – Certainly the Gospel had been preached and the people of Thessalonica understood the message of the Gospel, enough to make it known throughout the world (1:5; 2:2; 2:16). They knew what they must make known and they knew what happened to those who reject the Gospel.
D.They understood the essence of conversion – What happened to the Thessalonians was genuine. They turned to God from idols. There was repentance and faith.
E.They were given to evangelism – The Thessalonians wanted others to know what they had discovered through the preaching of the Gospel and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Paul makes it clear in 1:5, 8 that they were active in making known the Gospel.
F.They willingly accepted identification with the local church – It is not always easy to identify with a group that is being beat up for standing alone and bucking the establishment, but they did. What a title to be known as: “the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
G.They accepted applied discipline – Remember that I said this church was healthy, but not perfect. Sometimes discipline is necessary. We get a little insight into this in 4:8 and 5:14-15.
H.They were committed to on-going discipleship, accepting the counsel of the Apostle Paul – this is certainly clear throughout the letter regarding their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope. They demonstrated their level of discipleship in their love for one another (4:9). They knew they lacked certain things in the faith (3:10), but they were willing to pursue those things needed, accepting counsel and instruction.
I.They responded appropriately to leadership – This was done in their general respect of Paul, and in their willingness and desire to imitate those who brought them the Gospel (1:6).
 

Conclusion
1. Healthy churches are not necessarily big churches or wealthy churches or churches with beautiful facilities or with multiple staff or churches who are following the latest programs or who are on the cutting edge of technology. Healthy churches are certainly not perfect churches. But healthy churches are churches that please God in the areas that He has revealed in His Word.
2. Generally speaking, the way we normally measure the health of a church is in the immediate measurable statistics, the readily apparent stuff like numbers and dollars and even trying to quantify spiritual changes in terms of numbers of conversions, baptisms, new members, and so forth. We preach that God gives the increase, but we try to measure how well we are doing it!
3. Dever says and I would agree, “Biblically we find that God’s Word is replete with images of delayed blessing. God, for His own inscrutable purposes, tests and tries His Jobs and Josephs, His Jeremiahs, and even Jesus Himself. The trials of Job, the beatings and selling of Joseph, the imprisonment and mocking of Jeremiah, the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus all remind us that God moves in mysterious ways. He calls us more fundamentally to a relationship of trust with Him than to a full understanding of Him and His ways. The parables of Jesus are full of stories of the kingdom of God beginning in surprisingly small ways but growing finally to a glorious prominence. Biblically, we must realize that the size of what our eyes see is rarely a good way to estimate the greatness of something in the eyes of God….Simply put, we need churches that are self-consciously distinct from the culture. We need churches in which the key indicator of success is not evident results but persevering biblical faithfulness.”
4. As God gives the check-up, may He be the one who declares us to be healthy because we please Him in what we do and in what we are becoming in Him!