A Living Church Part 1

For to Jesus phoned her new life comes to a church when revival begins.

There is no doubt we can use a great awakening now.

What are the indications that God is making his presence known in a special way today we begin a series that tells us what they are from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning to with Dr. Erwin Sir who is clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line vasculature as we embark on what happens when God comes to church. May I ask if you have experienced times of special visitations of the spirit gave the answer to your question is yes. I'm thinking way back many years ago when there was a genuine revival that affected many churches in Canada and the United States.

It was a time when God came to church in a very evident way. People were giving their testimonies telling about how not only that they had been converted but that God was delivering them from sin and as a result of their testimony. Other people began to believe how desperately we need to hear from God today.

Now this series is actually based on first Thessalonians were the apostle Paul is speaking to a church that is in great need, but also needs great encouragement. I hope that you're in a place possibly where you can open your Bibles to first Thessalonians chapter 1 and will talk about this important subject of what happens when God comes to church. Let's listen carefully to God's holy Word and the instruction that relates to us today. Sometimes God comes to church disabled. God always comes to church is always there factories everywhere.

Yes, of course, so in that sense he is always with us, but sometimes the manifest presence of God as the ancients used to call it is much stronger than it is.

At other times there are times when God comes to church in such a way that there is greater blessing greater conviction and greater joy than you and I have ever seen in a congregation when God shows up because remember the reality of God is much greater than our experience of God.

And when God shows up people know that God has shown that he's come to church fact in this series of messages I'm going to be telling you in a future message how God showed up in Chicago in eight teen 58 in ways that you perhaps have never heard about began in New York City came here to the city of Chicago and other cities of America that as secular historians said that the revival of the 1858 wasn't the event of the century. God showed up today I'm going to simply tell you very briefly about the 1740s Northampton Massachusetts there was an evangelist by the name of Jonathan Edwards and Jonathan Edwards began to preach and people were converted, almost spontaneously, and he began concerts of prayer throughout the area. Then he teamed up with an evangelist by the name of George Whitfield was converted in England actually born in a tavern in England. So you can understand his heritage and his background but he was converted and became a great evangelist and a great friend here in America as well, particularly a friend of Benjamin Franklin of Franklin did not accept Whitfield's message they did become friends, and the revival was so great that Benjamin Franklin says that one could not walk down the street without hearing songs sung in different families on every street.

God showed up in New England. The crowds were so large they go preach to minors and the description is that the minor stood there and they wept and the tears would go down there so he faces making furloughs on their cheeks. As a result of that, there was deep conviction of sin, but there was also a passion for God that always is part of revival all that you had was conviction of sin. There people who are saying you don't what would I do if God were to take all my sins away. I'd had nothing to do. I have a hideout at such a vacuum in my life that I wouldn't know what in the world where in the world to turn both will you see the passion of God fill that and so people began to pursue God and to seek him out and there was so much righteousness that according to one biographer, one could leave a bag of gold in the street and would still be there in the morning, even if it was there all night. In other words, you see, converted people don't steal so you could leave a bag of gold and no one would take it because the revival was so intense. It's estimated that 50,000 people were converted as a result of what we call in America. The first great awakening. There's no doubt that God showed up. It was in response to prayer, but was also the sovereign work were God sometimes comes in. Simply decides that he's going to do the extraordinary usually is work is imperceptible, but sometimes it is powerful and sometimes it is visible and when it is. Everybody knows God has come to church fact throughout history. This is often happened go back 2000 years 2000 years. There was a city north of Athens called Thessalonica. Today it is known as Salonika. Think of a map of the reason there is Athens and then you go up the coast along the AG and see and there is Thessalonica. The apostle Paul decided to go there with a man by the name of Silas and they held meetings in the synagogue. The Bible says that when they were there. They stayed with a man by the name of Jason.

Don't know too much about Jason, but he allowed them to stay in their home and Paul was there for three weeks reasoning in the synagogue and what Paul did as he argued this. First of all that Jesus had to suffer, which was a very new concept to the Jews because they thought wept that the Messiah wouldn't suffer a just come to rule and then secondly he proved that Jesus fulfilled the suffering predicted in the Old Testament and Jesus was the Messiah and the Bible says that many God-fearing Greeks believed an interesting expression, God-fearing Greeks and some prominent women.

It says believed and were converted now. This created a riot. In fact, the Jews didn't like what was happening so this is the story they go into Jason's house. It says in acts 17 and when they could not find them. That is Paul and Silas. They drag Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them and they are all acting against the decree of Caesar, saying that there is another king named Jesus so they drag Jason out of the house and he has to post a bond before he can get free Paul and Silas decide to leave town and they go to Berea now has Paul is thinking about this experience he saying I wonder onion.

I taught them all of this about the church. There was some new converts what about the leadership of the church did the church survive Bible says that he prayed for them night and day. But you know you never know church planting. What a challenge, you know, we here at the Moody church want to plant churches. Pastor Herzberg, our executive pastor part of his job description is to be the director of church planting what we'd like to do is to raise up young men who are able and trained and begin churches. We haven't been able to do that. One problem is time and scheduling and another quite frankly, if I may be very upfront today. One problem is money. If you look at our bulletin.

You'll notice that we are falling behind in her general fund and we don't say much about this, but there are many ministries we cannot do because we're constantly behind in our general giving so that impacts us, but Pastor Herzberg's had experience in church planting and that's what we'd like to do. Would like to become a church planting church, but you can imagine, the apostle Paul. Here he is a struggling with how in the world that they do so he goes to Berea, then he goes to Athens and he ends up in court that he sends Timothy, who wasn't associated with a riot. He sends Timothy and that he says go check on the church and bring me word Timothy comes and says Paul, you won't believe it. This church is thriving, and so the book of first Thessalonians was written by Paul to this thriving church that was only a few months old. Unbelievable to think of the characteristics of this church because God showed up. God showed up.

Now you know in ancient times you could switch religions and when you switch religions what happened is you. You began to serve the southern God and you got the rules and regulations connected with it but it didn't change your heart. What happened in this pagan city was as the gospel came in actually changed people's affections actually changed what they love and what they hated. That's what the gospel does changes us from the inside out, and as a result, you have here now the characteristics of the church that is alive brand-new with all the problems of a new church and of course eventually they would have all the problems of an old church because every church has its challenges but want to church it was when you turn pleased to first Thessalonians chapter 1 the letter that Paul wrote to this thriving church and very briefly, I'm going to list for you. Five characteristics of this church that had come alive as a result of the gospel being preached in it.

This is a church in which no doubt God attended in his presence was incredible. Paul gives a greeting and then in verse two, we thank God always for all of you constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before God and our father your work of faith and labor of love steadfast of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all, it was a transform that church for you get this faith. This faith that inspires work where you get the kind of love that can be a labor of love where you get the hope in the midst of the pagan world that believe that there was no hope.

The only answer is through the gospel and here. These qualities were birthed in their hearts, by God, and where ever you have a church that has the right to be called the church it should always have the characteristics of faith, love and hope. And if we do not have that we are not converted, so Paul, Paul is saying here that what you letters experiencing is a miracle of God infected these three virtues are really given in the right order, aren't they faith looks to the pastor what Jesus Christ is done. Love serves in the present and hope in yours, knowing that there's a future. The endurance of hope it's not hope so. It's the sure confidence that God is on your side and no matter how tough it is in your vocation. No matter how much you hate Monday mornings, no matter how difficult it is in your relationships within the family. You always know that God is there and that his help is present and a better day is coming. It's a transform to church because God showed up. Secondly, you'll notice that it is also it is also a confident church does it get its confidence from notice what Paul says for we know, brothers, verse four loved by God that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. It is a confident church will who began the church whose idea was it. I when I was going to a one room schoolhouse and by the way, I think it was in high school I finally discovered that there were some schools in the city where you had great one in one room in grade 2 and another. We had never heard of that we had great one over here the teacher began with this row.

Then she left the great ones and went to the grade 2 all the way to grade 8 and in those country schoolhouses. Sometimes there were squall's and sometimes there were arguments and even fights. And of course as you know, I steadfastly stayed away from those kinds of things. But what the teacher always asked is, who started it. That's what she wanted to know let me ask you who started the church whose idea was it. It was God who chose you, Paul says it's God who started this. This is nothing to do with human origin. It is the Lord God who begins the church through choosing people to eternal life, and what does he choose them for to leave their sins. Yes, he chooses them out of the world, but they are for himself. God wants you, it's your heart. It's everything that you own all of your love and so God chooses us for himself and once you know that you know that the God who chose you is not going to give up on you and is going to be with you until the and and that gives confidence and pulses are word came onto not in word only if all that you hear from me today.

Our words so that you conceptually understand the message and so that you can know what I'm saying.

If all that happens if, as if that's all that happens to you, then we have failed in our prayer life and in our yielded nests because the word should never go out just in word only, should always go out with the demonstration of power that the power to convict the power to change the power to transform. That's the way the word of God should out and much conviction that's settled conviction that you belong to God that God is number one in your life and that really nothing else matters about God and his promises is that overwhelming conviction that you should experience when the word of God is read and when it is preached. If it goes out in word only, it's not transforming it may, it may challenge the mind. You may learn new ideas, new insights, unless it is transforming to the heart, not just the emotions but the actual heart.

Then of course there's a disconnect in you and I know people don't wait to hear the word called my family last night in Canada and there's a man who died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 75, a very very wealthy farmer who wanted to buy up most of the land in his area and almost did, and that the only thing that was said at his funeral about his spiritual life was that he attended church and need always say to the pastor.

Good sermon well all right will take that good sermon better than I guess that sermon, like the woman said that to the door to the pastor.

You know your sermon is like a cup of cold water to a drowning man.

Think about that a little bit folks think about it, but his wife says he had no spiritual interest at all. Not came and sat came and listened, always left unchanged. That's the word in word only when it comes with the power of God and conviction. There's that's settled idea of walking with God and knowing that you do, even apart from arguments, even apart from the apologetics for the Christian faith. Well anyway pulses.

It was a confident church. It was a joyful church will notice in verse six he says that and you became imitators of us and of the Lord for you received the word in much affliction, with joy you put those two words together. Those two phrases you received the word in much affliction. I mean, the blood was running down their backs because of persecution, yet you received the word with much joy, how do you have joy you can't unless God shows up. Will this is pastor Sir, let me have a personal word with you. Wouldn't it be wonderful that if we, in our churches today saw the same power of God bringing about the transformation of lives and effecting a culture that's the way the early church was we think for example of this church in Thessalonica to which the apostle Paul wrote in the midst of persecution in the midst of the heavy hand of the state. The church continued to be vibrant and powerful. Let's pray toward that end for our churches, and you know the ministry of running to win continues only because of the support of our many people who listen and who become a part of this ministry. I like to think that they actually become a part of the running to win family running to win is actually heard in more than 20 different countries of the world and we can expand this ministry because of people like you, would you consider making a special gift.

We have some wonderful supporters who are willing to match your gift up to $90,000 so I hope that you take advantage of this everything that you give will be doubled. Ask God what he would have you do and then what you can do is to go to RTW offer.com will be giving you that again if you need to catch a pencil all leg get that to you again or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for standing with us. Let me ask you this question you may have been no listener to running to win for many many years have you ever connected with us if you ever been a part of this ministry. I hope that you will be. Let me get that info that contact info again. RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for joining hands with us because we believe that this ministry is touching thousands upon thousands of lives. And it's because of people like you who are helping us and we appreciate so deeply.

Your prayers and your love.

It's time now for another chance for you to ask pastor looks or a question about the Bible or the Christian life. The return of Christ is been expected for almost 2000 years.

It's appropriate that Robert should ask this question. When will the second coming of Christ happen and what events will happen around that time, Robert. You have to keep in mind that some of us believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ is going to happen in two stages. First of all, there will be the rapture of the church. First Thessalonians chapter 4 when we are snatched up and we are taken to be with the Lord, the dead in Christ rise those who are alive are transformed and together we are with the Lord now.

We believe that that could happen at any time, and it could have happened years ago actually on the other hand, we also believe that the return of Jesus in glory. The glorious appearing takes place after the rapture at least seven years after the rapture, maybe a little bit more than seven years now this is Matthew chapter 24.

Now, if you read Matthew chapter 24 you know that there are signs that lead to this glorious returning of Christ.

That's when the Bible says that the gospel is preached when false prophets comment all kinds of various things happen earthquakes and wars, so that might be an answer to your question now.

I don't want to get too complicated Robert but follow this carefully for just a moment. I believe that even today, we can see some of the signs that will lead to the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ.

They may be beginning to form. Now, and if that's the case, it might be that the raptors close and even though we don't know what signs exactly precede the rapture. Remember, it could happen at any moment.

Bottom line, let's just be ready no matter when and how God chooses to wrap up history.

We know that Christ is coming all of the details we can discuss and perhaps disagree about, but he is coming and we will be accountable. Thanks for asking Robert God bless you and you have a good day. Robert keep looking up. Thank you Dr. Luther if you'd like to hear your question answered.

Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask pastor Luzerne or call us at 1888-218-9337 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us have run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 running to win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago next time more on why the joy of the Lord can be ours. Even when we face the pressure of persecution for our faith. Thanks for listening, Dr. Erwin loser this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church