Strong
Church/Weak Church 14
Ruins of a church in Thyatira By Klaus-Peter Simon - Own work |
I see in John’s short message four distinct
strengths. As before, we will examine these this week and look at the
weaknesses of the church in the following post.
The first strength I find in the
church at Thyatira was that they were a church hard at work serving the Lord. I
know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and patience, and
thy works; and the last to be more than the first (Revelation 2.19). What
jumps out at me here is not just the mention of them but the fact that this
service for the Lord was increasing. It was growing. This is something I aspire
to for my own church.
Growth is an important concept in the
Christian life. We see that in the New Testament emphasis on growth in grace
and in the parables of the talents. We see it as well in the Apostles’ request
that God might increase their faith.
Luke
17:5–10
5
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say
unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in
the sea; and it should obey you.
7
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him
by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8
And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird
thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt
eat and drink?
9
Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I
trow not.
10
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our
duty to do.
Jesus’ answer reveals a startling
truth. If all you do for your company is what you were hired to do you are
unprofitable to them. Think of it this way: if you are hired to $20 worth of
work and you do $20 worth of work they have not made a profit. They have
exchanged $20 worth of work for $20 worth of service or product. But if you
find a way to do $25 worth of work while they are paying you $20 you have given
them an increase, have you not?
You say, “Why would I do that?” Right.
That is the union attitude. Why should I do something to make my company or my
employer more profitable? That attitude, embraced by union workers the world
over, is soundly rejected by every small business owner on the planet. They
want growth, they want increase, not just stability.
Now put that mindset into the
religious environment. Churches value stability. “Don’t rock the boat. Don’t
change too much too fast. Don’t lead us out on a limb. Don’t start too many
ministries.” Ah, but God values increase. He is looking for growth, for profit,
for return not just custodianship. I am not saying a church has to become
unstable. I am saying that to pursue growth like God wants us to, in a variety
of areas, we are going to need to prioritize growth like we have historically
prioritized stability. Let us give Him an increase.
The second strength is that they were
a loving church. Charity is mentioned specifically in Revelation 2.19. John
does not say to whom this charity was expressed but it is a wondrous compliment
nonetheless. Without this, everything else is pointless, as Paul points out so
eloquently in I Corinthians 13.
1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I
am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity, I am nothing.
3
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to
be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Whatever else your church is good at,
it must be good at loving God and loving people. Else what is the point?
The third strength John mentions is
faith. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith… (Revelation
2.19) Faith is what births us into the Christian life in the first place,
and faith is what deepens us in that Christian life. Indeed, everything we do
is supposed to be done in faith. I plan to write a rather long blog series on
the subject next year. It is absolutely critical in a Christian and in a
church.
The last strength John mentions is
their patience. I know thy works, and charity,
and service, and faith, and
thy patience… (Revelation 2.19). Patience and faith often go hand in hand
in the Word of God. The latter needs the former like a crop needs rain. But
this patience is not something we are supposed to exercise toward God alone. We
must also exercise it toward one another.
These four strengths mark the church
at Thyatira, but John spends considerably more space exploring her weaknesses.
Stay tuned next week as we turn our attention toward those.
See you then.
No comments:
Post a Comment