Make This Place Sing

Matthew, you have answered the call to become a Deacon at a peculiar time in the life of First Baptist.

We have voted to change the way things are organized.

We will have Elders who will lead and care for the flock.

We will have Deacons who will manage the flock and make sure nothing gets in the way of our mission to Make Jesus Known.

Matt, it doesn’t matter what anyone says about anything.

It doesn’t matter who is for or against or who is ambivalent and just don’t care.

Only one things matters and that is Jesus and making Jesus known.

Matt, making Jesus known starts with you and your relationship with Jesus.

My devotion time this week took me to Isaiah 12, and it shouted at me to be used tonight.

Isaiah 12:1 “You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”

Matt, the Lord was angry with you.

You were dead, your spirit was dead in your trespasses and sins.

You were living under the wrath of a holy God

A God where the very scent of evil wakes up his righteous anger.

And like the smoke from the fires you have fought would cling to your clothes

The stench of your sin clung tightly to you - it choked out your life.

Until one day Jesus came to you.

He brought you to life, He showed you who He was and He showed you who you were.

You didn’t like what you saw - you repented - you turned away from a life that revolved around you

And you turned towards Jesus.

And when you did, He comforted you.

And look at how He has blessed you - with a devoted wife, a daughter who is now your sister, and a son, another child on the way.

They are your first ministry - Jesus calls you to them first.

Isaiah 12:2 ““Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.””

Because you are saved, you know that only God is your salvation.

There will be times you will be afraid and He will remind you to trust Him and Him alone.

Men will lead you astray - but the Lord has one primary goal - to bring you good and give Him glory.

There may be days that you repeat to yourself over and over and over again

“the Lord God is my strength and my song,”

And He will be

Isaiah 12:3 “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

You will draw water.

Have you ever drawn water from a well?

I don’t mean turn on the pump, I mean toss the bucket down and use the crank to pull it back up?

That’s hard work - and Deacon work is going to be hard work.

Your job as a Deacon will be to make the organization of this church sing so nothing gets in the way of us Making Jesus Known.

The area you will be assigned to will be your responsibility

To be a trouble shooter - if there are problems, those you are working with will count on you to help.

You will be an organizer - when there is a job to be done and no organization exists, it will fall on your shoulders to recruit the right people

To train them what to do and to help them get the job done.

You will be a comforter and encourager - as your team works, there will be times that feel like things didn’t work right.

You’ll be the one to comfort the team and remind them of their mission to Make Jesus Known.

When the job takes longer than you expected, you will be the encourager and cheer leader to help folks see the value of working hard to make Jesus known.

Your job as a Deacon is to make the membership of this church sing in harmony so the world will know of our love for Jesus.

No one wants to hear what a dead church has to say.

No one wants to hear what a joyless church has to say.

And now one wants to hear what a fighting church has to say.

But everyone wants to hear what a church where the members love each other has to say.

You will be assigned an Elder to help reach out to his families.

Not like the old Deacon family ministry plan of cards and birthdays and more than you can handle

But more like a friend getting to know other friends in the church.

Welcoming new people.

Assuring those who may not be comfortable yet with the direction of the church that it’s going to be OK.

That Jesus wouldn’t take us on a journey if there wasn’t a promised land at the end.

Your job will be to be a unifier.

And that job becomes much easier when you draw from the well of your salvation, remembering just as Jesus changed you.

He will change others as well.

Your job as a Deacon is to make this church sing so the First Baptist Church of Gray will make Jesus Known in Jones County and all of Middle Georgia.

We want to so make Jesus the core of everything we do that our folks, no matter where they are

Be in on the ball field or the board room

They will all know, just like you, that Jesus is their strength and their song.

They will have the aroma of Jesus all over them.

And dead people all over the county will be raised.

And Jesus will change hearts and minds

And our corner of the world will be a place where we can be proud that our children and children’s children live

Because Jesus revived His church and awakened a community.

And He allowed you to be a part of that great awakening.

Someone may say, Acts 6 says Deacons are nothing more than table servers.

But I would ask them to read a little closer.

The Deacons created the organization and made the organization sing with unity

So the Elders could pray and preach the Word

And occasionally a Deacon like Stephen would preach the Word

And the end result - Acts 8:8 “So there was much joy in that city.”

Because the church Made Jesus known.

When that happens:

Isaiah 12:4–5 “And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.”

Matt, you will get tired.

You will get soul weary.

Sometimes you will wonder why in the world did you say yes to this.

But one day, one day, the Lord will allow you to see something really special.

And you will give thanks to the Lord.

You will tell Brooke and Tom and Jane, all of your relatives, your kids and anyone who will listen.

“You won’t believe this, but guess what the Lord did at First Baptist?”

Your drumming will change.

The way you help with Awana games will change.

The way you live your life everyday will change.

Because

Isaiah 12:6 “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.””

For great in our midst

Right here in downtown Gray Georgia.

Jesus lives.

He inhabits a people who cry out His praises

Who long to see Him

Whose heart desire is to Make Jesus Known

So that all the town will sing

O worship the King all-glorious above

O gratefully sing of his power and his love;

Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Day,

Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Matt, you have answered the call to become a Deacon at a very peculiar time in the life of this church and in history.

The Lord has called you for just such a time as this.

By coming here this evening to be ordained as a Deacon, Matthew Davis is standing before all mankind saying, I stand for Christ.

I am a new creation.

Filled with his power.

Invincible, because my Master has made me so.

I will do whatever I am called on to do, to strengthen His church and give glory to His name.

Matthew, if you agree with that charge, please join me on the platform.

This is Mr. Matthew Davis

His wife’s name is Brooke

He has 3 beautiful children, Rylee that we baptized last week, Drake, and one not yet named or delivered.

So Matt, do you promise to strive to so live, that you may honor Christ by your life;

and do you promise, in the presence of this congregation, to accept the responsibility of the office of deacon in this church,

and to the best of your knowledge and ability to discharge all duties of this office?

Matt: “I do.”

And congregation of the First Baptist Church of Gray, do you the members of this Church, acknowledge Matthew as a deacon in this church;

Do you promise to encourage and pray for him in this office and to cooperate with him in the fulfillment of the mission of the church to Make Jesus Known?

If you do, please respond by saying, “Amen”

At this time, I’d like to ask Matt to kneel at the altar.

I’d like to request all male ordained deacons and ministers to come forward at this time

Gather around Matthew and lay hands on him or on the person in front of you.

We’ll ask our Deacon Chair, Joel Beasley to pray a prayer of dedication for this new deacons, his families and his service to FBCG.

After prayer, send everyone back to their seats.

“He Will Hold Me Fast”

One of the sacred responsibilities of our Elders and Deacons is to serve the Lord’s Supper to His Church.

We have a tradition of asking our newly ordained Deacon, as his first official act of service, to serve the Lord’s table to the Lord’s church.

To day will be even more special for Matt as he will give his daughter Rylee her first communion.

So, let us join our hearts with the hearts of our brothers and sisters before the table of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23–29 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Let us all take a moment to prepare our hearts by confessing our sins and remembering our Savior.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, I sin -

Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself,

Never think I can reach a point of perfection.

Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self,

Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable,

To live for thee and not for self,

to copy thy words, acts, spirit,

to be transformed into thy likeness,

To be consecrated wholly to thee,

to live entirely to thy glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things unclean,

from wrong associations

from the predominance of evil passions,

from the sugar of sin as well as its gall,

That with self-loathing, deep contrition,

earnest heart searching

I may come to thee, cast myself on thee,

Trust in thee, cry to thee, be delivered by thee

To see thee coming in the clouds.

Thank you for this table

For giving us our daily bread

For giving us the bread of life.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

I want to ask for Matt’s family to come forward at this time to receive the Lord’s table from Matt.

Once the last has been served, his Deacon Dad Tom Davis will man the other table.

If you sit on the left side of the sanctuary, please exit to your right and proceed to the table in front of you.

If you sit on the right side of the sanctuary, please exit to your left and proceed to the table in front of you.

The gluten free wafers are at ______________ table.

Make sure the booth is served as well as any musicians on the platform.

Matthew Pittman closes us out.