T he church at Thessalonica was its own publicity. It needed no press agent. Paul wrote: “We need not speak anything.” In other words, “We do not have to tell about you. Word has gotten around and everybody is talking about what kind of Christians and what kind of church you are.” What a wonderful thing if more church- es had. such a reputation today! How did the Thessalonians do it? Not by hiring a good public relations man. Not by expensive publicity. Not by shows and stunts and suppers. “ From you sounded out the word of the Lord.” It was their clear testimony to the Gospel that did it. One might call this “The Early Gospel Broadcast.” Thessalonica was a Gospel broadcast- ing station both audio and video for their witness was both heard and seen. The words “ sounded out” occur nowhere else in the New Testament. They carry the idea of rolling thunder or the clarion call of a trumpet. Dr. MacLaren calls the Thessalonians “ God’s Trumpet.” Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “ If the trumpet [or bugle] give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare him- self to the battle?” Here we have the battle, the bugler and the bugle. We are in the battle, we are the buglers and our testimony is the bugle. Alas, too often the bugle is muffled and muted, confused, indistinct, the notes are flatted and slurred. Today the church is not sounding a clear trumpet call to doctrine or duty and men do not prepare for the battle. There is a wrong way to sound the trumpet. Our Lord said: “ Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matt. 6:2). This is Pharasaic ostentation and much of our bragging and boasting in our religious bodies today sounds more like this trumpet than the clarion call of the Thessalonians. What was the trumpet note of these Thessalonian Christians? The church at Ephesus had works and labor and patience (Rev. 2:2) but at Thessalonica it was a work of FAITH, a labor of LOVE and a patience of HOPE. The Ephesian works were not mixed with faith, their labor was not warmed by love, their patience not forti fied with hope. The Thessalonians showed their faith by turning to God from idols, their labor was the service of the living and true God and their hope was manifested in waiting for God’s Son from heaven. Here was a church with a great reputation and we do well to ask: Is this what men are saying about our . churches today? It is not enough to say we are putting up more buildings, raising more money, attracting more people? All this can be done without the Holy Spirit. If our people are not turning to God from idols, serving the living and true God and waiting for His Son from heaven, then we are not sounding God’s trumpet; we are merely blowing our own horn. Are we producing a bet ter grade of Christians who are really born-again, sep arated from the world, submitted to the Lordship of Christ, filled with the Spirit and winning others? Are we developing members who are living broadcasting sta tions, sounding out the Gospel by life and by lip in the home, in business, in school, in social life, seven days in the week? If we are not doing that, we had better close down the main station! Let us look a little more closely at the three-fold testi mony of these Thessalonian Christians. First, they turned to God from idols. They had been converted! “ Convert ed” is a good old word which we do not hear much now in our church life. We heard it when I was a boy in the little country church where I grew up. We not only heard about conversion; we saw conversions. People came to that old church sinners and went out saints; they THE KING'S BUSINESS
:
^
rA j /tè' '¡pvs
-*
^
^
tc
-4
-<
^
j
gospel broadcasts
by Dr. Vance Havner
8
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker