Celebrating the Gospel (FBC)
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Introduce Self
Thank you to Pastor for allowing me to speak and inviting me to speak tonight at the graduation.
God used Pastor Chad to influence me in a great way. It was under his ministry and preaching that God called me to full time ministry and to take the steps out to be a Lead Pastor when I did.
I’ve seen God use this man in great ways here at Freedom. His heart for the Lord and the proclamation of the gospel to those he serves has always inspired me. He taught me a number of things in ministry and life. He showed me what it means to work for the Lord. Pastoring isn’t about what you do on Sundays, it’s what your doing throughout the week. The example your setting, the people you are caring for, and your willingness to pick up a broom and mop when it’s needed.
He truly has a servants heart and a work ethic that challenges many younger men.
I remember one time he was talking with one of the young men in the church about doing some work around the property and they made the mistake of saying to him “that’s going to be hard.”
His reply is a mantra I’ve taken and repeated several times “Well, then do something hard.”
I’ve known Pastor by many names. If he hasn’t shared his nickname from his school days, please ask him. At one point we called him Pastor to the Extreme Chad Matheny because while on a men and boys camping trip, he told a bunch of young men to do all that they do to the extreme as unto the Lord. And then, the next year I think it was…we had a broke arm or hand and one young man who got a cut on his head that just poured blood all down his face.
I’m thankful for my pastor and the many lessons I learned from him.
He showed me what it mean to live for Jesus. To give my life over to the proclamation of the gospel. And it is that truth I want to celebrate with you today.
Turn over to Phil 1:12.
I want to celebrate the gospel with you today. I want you to see what it means to be Celebrating as individuals and as a church in the Gospel.
Paul wrote
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
It’s in this passage that Paul defines the power of God to us. Now, I wont’ be dogmatic about this, but I read that and believe that it would appear by identifying God’s power singularly with this one event, the Gospel, the death burial and resurrection of Christ, that we can understand the culmination of God’s power....wasn’t in creation. It wasn’t in the flood, it wasn’t in the red sea being parted, it wasn’t in the healings Jesus performed, it was in the Gospel.
The culmination of God’s power was used not to create a universe, it wasn’t used to bring light into darkness, it wasn’t used to bring man from dust, it was used to place His Son on a Cross so that you could be saved.
What does that mean to you? What does that mean to this church?
Phil 1:12-20 helps us have some understanding of this application
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Let’s Pray.
Notice first with me that part of Celebrating the Gospel is Celebrating the Trials
I. Celebrating the Trials
I. Celebrating the Trials
Paul wrote this letter from prison while he was chained to a Roman guard 24/7. So when he is talking about the things that have happened to him he isn’t speaking of any of the victories he had seen. He is referring to his false imprisonment that lasted for a couple of years.
The Apostle Paul is known as a man who was seeking to do something great for God. He was seeking to get the gospel to all that he came in contact with. He was living a life dedicated to the furtherance of the cause of Christ. In his time he was stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned, yet he had joy. He was celebrating the gospel no matter the circumstances.
He lived the truth of
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
A church like this that preaches the gospel and seeks to have an impact on its community for Jesus I’m sure there have been and know there will be trials.
The question is what will you focus on during the trials?
Paul chose to focus on two things. First, he focused on Jesus.
A. Focus on Jesus
A. Focus on Jesus
Did you know that every decision that is made at church, you might not agree with? Might not even understand.
I remember one decision pastor made early on in the ministry here. It was when we were coming over to the property. Before we baptized it from being Catholic.
This building has not always been as beautiful as you see it here today.
When we moved in here between 2013-2014 there was a lot of work and sweat equity put into this. I’ll never forget a man named Art Keith. He taught me how to do tile work. He would spend countless hours here tiling and doing grounds work to prepare this building for our grand opening.
Pastor set the date for the grand opening and it seemed the more work that was done, he more that was needed to do.
When the painters came in, the property began to make its shift. We saw the vision pastor had and it was coming together…then we turned to this back wall…do you remember what this back wall color used to be?
Royal Purple on these sides.
That was a time me and others was questioning Pastors sanity. Here we are in this building with mostly white VCT tile all over the place with a couple of purple walls.
He said then…Just wait till the carpet is put in…Which immediately made us think we were about to have purple shag carpet from the 70’s. But, we waited and once the tile and carpet were in…it worked.
If you’ll notice, there was no fuss made about that purple wall. O, there was some questioning, but no one left over the purple wall.
Buildings change and go through upgrades and remodels.
It’s been accurately stated “A Growing church is always in transition”
With that, it’s always important that no matter what we represent Christ in a first class manner.
Pastor taught me that and he taught me “God’s business is the best business to be in.”
Being focused on Jesus means the trials are not a surprise to Him or us, they are apart of accomplishing the commission He has given.
We Celebrate the trials of life with a focus on Jesus and a focus on others.
B. Focus on Others
B. Focus on Others
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
Paul wrote to the Philippians about the brethren who had gained confidence in preaching the gospel because of his trials.
He saw how is trial would be one that could be used to impact others for the sake of the gospel.
He even heard of people preaching the gospel so that they would personally benefit and that his bonds would increase. He had no desire to stop them. He had no desire to see the truth of the gospel stop being preached because of his own personal dilemma.
His desire, his focus, was on Jesus, and on Others. Because he wanted others to know about Jesus how he knew Jesus.
This mindest has been coined in recent years as a Kingdom Mindset. A mindset that says we can look different but as long as we preach the gospel, we don’t have to be enemies.
Paul knew that if they believed the gospel they would be in Heaven together one day. He was more concerned about filling the throne room of God with worshippers than filling his churches with worshippers of himself or his way of doing things.
In the midst of trials he wasn’t trying to raise support for himself or his release, he was focused on raising awareness of Jesus and the good news of His death burial and resurrection.
Jesus was the greatest example of someone focused on others.
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
He gave all that He was for the purpose of serving others.
As disciples of Christ we have the privelage of giving all that we have in service to Him. I’m not speaking of just finances, although we should be faithful in giving to the Lord through the local church, and I know your pastor is thankful for your faithfulness in this area especially through the last 6 months of uncertainity. It’s a testimony to your faith in the Lord.
Jesus gave of himself through his time and his efforts. Paul did the same.
Paul Celebrated the trials by focusing on Jesus and on others. Which allowed him to Celebrate the Task.
II. Celebrate the task
II. Celebrate the task
The task that was set before Paul is the same task we face today.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
It is a calling that is placed upon each believer. It’s firs a call to live
A. A Call to Live
A. A Call to Live
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Paul wrote of this same principle in
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
It was a message that he delivered to all of the saints of God. To live is Christ. To truly live for Christ and allowing Him to be known through our words and actions is the great calling each of us that have put our faith in the gospel has the privilege and honor of carrying out.It’s living in light of what God is going to do instead of what God did not do. Living out the calling of God on our lives isn’t always beautiful but it’s always beneficial in the end.
Some of you may have heard of a missionary named Adoniram Judson. He and his wife Ann, went to Burma in 1813 where Judson would spend nearly forty years translating the Bible and preaching the gospel. They labored for 6 years before seeing one Burmese person get saved.
During Judson’s time in Burma he suffered as few would be willing: he was denied permission from the king to preach the gospel, was imprisoned numerous times, suffered the death of his first and second wife and several of his children, and endured many other difficulties. Yet he was faithful to the work God had called him to do. Before his death in 1850, he translated the Bible into Burmese and wrote an English-Burmese Dictionary. Speaking of the trials he endured, he wrote, “Had it not been for…an assured conviction that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I must have sunk under my accumulated sufferings.”
Adoniram Judson lived for Christ because he realized that living for Christ mean that it was also a call to Die.
B. A Call to Die
B. A Call to Die
I know, that sounds a little dramatic. And it isn’t necessarily a call to die physically, although church history is riddled with stories of men and women that have been martyred for their faith and there are plenty of men and women today in foreign countries being persecuted for their faith.
For us in 21st century American I believe the application of this text can be taken to mean we are called to die to our own ideals of how life should be. We are called to die to ourselves. We are called to lay our desires down at the foot of the cross and let Jesus give us the desires He would have us pursue.
In American we will find many Christinas living lives for the pursuit of the American dream. If all we pursue is the American dream I’m afraid we will find it to be a Christian nightmare.
The Christian life is a selfless one. It’s one that I see evidenced by the hearts of the people of this church and your pastor. Thank God for churches like Glastonbury who are willing to bring in backpacks and support others at a time when some would be solely looking on the inside you’ve chosen to reach out.
You’ve chosen to deny yourselves and invest in others.
When God used Elisha to fill the widows vessels he did not ask her to get vessels that were full, he did not ask her to get vessels that were half empty, he called on her to get vessels that were completely empty of anything and then God would fill them.
Thats what our call to Celebrate the task is. Celebrating our own emptiness, Celebrating our weakness, and reveling and glorifying God in his fulness and goodness as he pours into us when we die to our selves.
We can Celebrate the Trials, We can Celebrate the Task, and lastly, we should celebrate together.
III. Celebrate Together
III. Celebrate Together
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
The word conversation in the text there means our walk or our lives. We are to let our lives represent the gospel of Christ.When we as individuals are living our lives as it becomes the gospel of Jesus and represents him, we will find that we are together two ways. First, we are together in One Spirit.
A. In One Spirit
A. In One Spirit
The phrase one spirit speaks of the fact that we should have unity and shared convictions.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Our unity is not found in our agreement upon everything.Unity is not found in the color of the paint or the arrangements of the chairs. Unity is not found in agreement of attire or other matters of opinion based upon biblical principles.Unity is found in the Gospel through the Holy Spirit.Not everyone looks at a situation and sees it the same...
I recently read about a lady who said “I was curious when I found two black-and-white negatives in a drawer. I had them made into prints. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were of a younger, slimmer me, taken on one of my first dates with my husband. When i showed him the photos, his face lit up. ‘Wow, look at that!’ he said with appreciation. ‘It’s my Old Plymouth’”
See, the unity of that marriage was affected by the different viewpoints however that couple, prayerfully, didn’t get divorced over that little disagreement because their unity wasn’t found what they saw in the picture. Their unity and a church’s unity is found in their agreement on the Gospel and willingness to yield to the Spirit as He directs each individual life according to the Word of God.
I’m thankful for the unity of believers I knew here and sense is still apart of the culture at Freedom and your willingness to love and follow your Pastor as he seeks to modernize and update methodology to get out the message of the gospel.
Don Sisk, a man in his late 80’s who served as a missionary to Japan for a number of years, worked at Baptist International Missions Inc., and now continues to serve on staff at West Coast Baptist College is quoted as saying “The Message never Changes but the Methods always do”
Just because it may look different doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
Unity isn’t found in our opinions, it is found in the Word of God through the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Then we are to be of one mind
B. In One Mind
B. In One Mind
As the Spirit illuminates truth to us and we allow our opinions to be just that, opinions, we will find ourselves of one mind as a body of believers when we are focused on the same person, Jesus Christ.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
When we have the mind of Christ as believers, there will be unity. We will be focused on loving God and loving others.
Time of Response
Time of Response
When I close a message I like to close it with what I call a time of response.
It’s during this time I’d ask you to think on the truths of the message that was preached and what the Lord brought to your attention during it.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes please?
God has done some great things here at Freedom. God can and will do continue to do great things here at Freedom.
God blesses faithfulness. God blesses unity. It’s my prayer this message has helped you see how Celebrating this church is a Celebration of the Gospel. It’s a Celebration of the trials God has brought you through. It’s a Celebration of the Task at hand of getting the gospel out and it’s a Celebration of the Unity found when believers love God, Serve Others , and have a desire to make an impact.
Pastor....