THE SENT ONE--John 20:21

John 20:21 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

-Today, you have heard a challenge to you the Church, Colby’s testimony and now I would like to share a word that will affect both, you the Church and Colby.

Ordination relates to the ordering of the church or the exercise of authority within the church. The Church is the Bride of Christ, therefore, Jesus loves His Bride, the Church.

ORDINATION

- to set in order, “to arrange”, to appoint to office.

—the appointment of a person to be an officer in the church and the reception of the authority of that office and the grace to fulfill its responsibilities by prayer and laying on of hands.

According to Christ, “the greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matt 23:11).

Christ illustrates this model of servant leadership by taking the posture of the servant, washing the disciples’ feet before the Last Supper, and commanding them to go and do likewise (John 13:1–17).

Bound by the imagery of servanthood, the exercise of the Christian authority in church office is principally about helping the church mature (

Ephesians 4:11–14 (KJV 1900)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

, identifying and developing gifts in members of the body and channeling those gifts into corporate action, and rebuking and correcting those caught in sin so that the church may fulfill its mission.

We read about the appointment presbyters or elders (Titus 1:6–9); overseers or bishops (1 Tim 3:1–7; Phil 1:1; 1 Pet 5:1–4); pastors (Acts 20:28; Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 5:3–4); evangelists (Acts 21:8; Eph 4:11); and prophets (1 Cor 12:10; Eph 4:11; Acts 11:28; 13:1; 21:10).

However, most churches agree that the central terms that name church offices are “overseer,” “presbyter” (or “elder”), and “deacon.”

Overseers and presbyters teach and rule (1 Tim 5:17), shepherding the people of God (1 Pet 5:3–4), exercising church discipline (Matt 18:15–17; 1 Cor 5:1–13), managing the finances of the church (1 Tim 3:5), and guarding the deposit of faith through sound teaching (2 Tim 1:13–14).

These officers are appointed through prayer, fasting, and the laying on of hands (Acts 13:1–3; 1 Tim 4:4; 5:17–22). Paul implies that a special grace is communicated through the laying on of hands (1 Tim 4:4; 2 Tim 1:6).

It can be readily seen that the qualification lists for elders/presbyters and overseers are virtually identical (1 Tim 3:1–8; Titus 1:5–6).

Today, the Faith Family of FBC Zachary is affirming and recognizes that:

-Colby possesses the gifts necessary for ministry

-Colby has a special calling from God for service to His Church and Acknowledging a divine call to ministry.

-Today, the ceremony of ordination commissions the candidate to the task

So, now that we understand the manner and purpose of ordination, as well as the role of the one being ordained, I would like to speak to both, you the Church and to Colby.

ABRAHAM'S FAITH

Romans 4:18-25

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

In this passage Paul lists several key characteristics of Abraham's faith:

First, the apostle declares of Abraham that in

In hope against hope he believed

The terms hope and faith are related, but they are not the same.

Hope, in this case, is the desire for something that might be true or might happen, whereas faith is the firm confidence that it is true or will happen. The ancient patriarch had hope when, from the human vantage point, there was absolutely no basis or justification for hope. Yet despite the seeming impossibility hoped for, he believed it would happen as God said. All was “beyond hope” as far as Abraham’s and Sarah’s bodies were concerned—but “on hope’ rests everything on God’s word and promise.

The object of Abraham's faith was God, and in particular His promise that he, that is, Abraham, might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." When the Lord had taken Abraham "outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them,' and He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be,' then [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteous-ness" (Gen. 15:5-6).

Second, Paul declares that Abraham

He believed God without becoming weak in faith

(vs19) To become weak in faith is to allow doubt to cloud and partly undermine belief. Abraham had been trusting God for 25 years, acknowledging, as Paul had just intimated, that "God . . . gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist" (Rom. 4:17).

“Considered”- to consider attentively; fix one’s eyes or mind upon.

As far as we know, Abraham had witnessed no miracle of God. He had never seen God raise a person from the dead or call anything or anyone into being who did not already exist. Yet he firmly believed that the Lord was easily capable of doing such things. Commenting on that characteristic of Abraham's faith, the writer of Hebrews said, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.' He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type" (Heb. 11:17-19)

Not being weak as respects of Faith—Abraham considered his physical condition, stared his obstacles right in the face—

Third, Paul tells us that Abraham's faith

He was Not Discouraged

by his own natural weakness

(vs19). Because Abraham's faith in God was strong and unwavering, his own ignorance and weakness were no obstacles to his trust. He therefore did not falter when he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old. Abraham's natural procreative power was now gone, as good as dead, yet that physiological fact did not diminish his faith. Natural impotence was no problem to Abraham, because his faith was in the supernatural God who had created him in the first place.

Many generations before the time of Abraham,

Noah had demonstrated similar unwavering faith in God. When the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark, he had never seen rain, because all the earth's necessary moisture came from mist and dew. Yet for 120 long years Noah faithfully continued to build the ark, for no other reason than that it was God's will. In obedience to God, he gathered the animals exactly according to the Lord's instruction and led them into the ark before it started to rain, a phenomenon unknown until God then sovereignly opened the floodgates of the heavens.

"By faith Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark" (Heb. 11:7). Noah did not build the ark because he saw a need for it but solely because that was his divine commission. Not only did he build the ark because of his faith in the Lord, but while he built he was also a faithful "preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. 2:5) to the unbelieving multitudes around him, who doubtless ridiculed him incessantly about his seemingly foolish and pointless construction project. That is the kind of undaunted faith that Noah's descendant Abraham had.

Fourth, Abraham

Did not Doubt God's Promise

when the circumstances around him seemed to make its fulfillment impossible

(vs20). When God repeated the specific promise that Isaac would be born to Abraham and Sarah the following year, both "Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing" (Gen. 18:11-14; cf. 17:21). But the deadness of Sarah's womb was no more a hindrance to Abraham's faith than was the impotence of his own body.

Abraham trusted the power and fidelity of the God he could not see or control RATHER than the weakness and frailty all to obvious before him.

He did not vacillate between faith and doubt as many believers frequently do. When from the human viewpoint things are going well, it is easy to trust God. But when things seem impossible, it is even easier to distrust Him.

Sarah was a woman of faith, and "she considered Him faithful who had promised" (Heb. 11:11). But before her faith came to that point of unqualified trust, she had laughed at the promise she overheard the Lord making to her husband (Gen. 18:12).

It would seem from the Genesis narratives that Paul was mistaken about Abraham's unwavering faith. When "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great,'. . . Abram said, '0 Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?. . . Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir— (Gen. 15:1-3).

Abraham openly admitted before God that he could not understand how the divine promise of an heir, much less of a multitude of nations, could be fulfilled. The only heir he could see was his chief servant, Eliezer, who would have received Abraham's inheritance had no son been born to him by Sarah.

But struggling faith is not doubt, just as temptation to sin is not itself sin.

The very fact that Abraham was trying to understand how God's promise could be fulfilled indicates he was looking for a way of fulfillment, although he could not yet see a way.

Weaker faith might have simply succumbed to doubt. Sincere struggling with spiritual problems comes from strong, godly faith. Such faith refuses to doubt and trusts in God's promises, even when no way of fulfillment is humanly imaginable. God's testing of His children's faith is designed to strengthen their trust, and they should thank Him for it, hard as it seems to be at the time (see James 1:2-4). When Abraham was tested by God, he grew strong in faith.

A Christian who claims to understand all of God's truth and to envision the fulfillment of all His promises is not demonstrating great faith but great presumption. Godly faith is not full understanding but full trust, "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

Sixth, Paul says that Abraham's faith

His Faith was Characterized by His Giving Glory to God

(Vs20) Godly faith glorifies God; the One who gives faith receives all the credit. Conversely, any faith that does not glorify God is not of or from Him.

Faith in God, because it affirms His trustworthy character, is the supreme way that men glorify Him, while without faith, any attempt to worship, praise, or honor Him is a worthless, self-righteous sham. John makes the sobering declaration that "the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Sod (1 John 5:10).

When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to worship the golden image under threat of death, they calmly replied, "0 Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, 0 king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, 0 king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Dan. 3:16-18). The overriding concern of those three young men was to honor, obey, and glorify God, just as their forefather Abraham had done.

As they sailed across the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Rome, Paul and his fellow travelers encountered a fierce storm that threatened to tear the ship apart. Even after throwing all the ship's cargo and tackle overboard, they continued to founder, and everyone but Paul gave up hope of survival. Luke reports that

when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, "Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete, and incurred this damage and loss. And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.' Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told." (Acts 27:21- 25)

Not even the most hazardous of circumstances could weaken Paul's trust in his heavenly Father, and it is through such trust that His children glorify and honor Him the most.

Abraham was fully persuaded that God's promise was certain and His power sufficient, being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. This statement sums up the fact that his faith in God was complete and unqualified.

Abraham’s Reward

Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness. (4:22)

The heart of this entire passage, in fact of the whole chapter, is that in response to Abraham's faith, God graciously reckoned it to him as righteousness. In his sinful flesh, Abraham was totally unable to meet God's standard of perfect righteousness. But the good news of salvation, "the gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1), is that the Lord will take faith that He Himself has enabled a person to possess and count that faith as divine righteousness on the believing sinner's behalf.

It is not that faith merits salvation but that faith accepts salvation from God's gracious hand. Through that acceptance comes the righteous¬ness that only God can impart.

“He was fully persuaded”-he was completely certain!

Abraham trusted God to be righteous. God made Abraham righteous!

Abraham’s Faith Applied

Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (4:23-25)

The marvelous thing about Abraham's faith being reckoned as righteousness is that the same divine principle applies to every person who trusts in God's Son. The Holy Spirit inspired that truth to be written . . . for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned just as it was for Abraham.

No part of Scripture was given only for the time in which it was written. The psalmist declares, "For [God] established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments" (Ps. 78:5-7).

Paul expresses the same truth later in the book of Romans: "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).

The story of Abraham and of his faith is important to us today because men are called to

FOLLOW GOD, BELIEVE GOD, TRUST GOD AND TO GIVE HIM GLORY.

Men today have much greater divine revelation than Abraham had. During his lifetime, and for many centuries afterward, there was no written Word of God. Yet Jesus declared categorically to the disbelieving Jewish leaders that "Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" ( John 8:56).

From the human side, the key phrase in Romans 4:24 is who believe in Him. Faith is the necessary condition for salvation.- FAITH is the necessary condition to accomplish the Call He has placed on our life.

Abraham was Sent- the Disciples were Sent—

We are Sent to bear witness to the Truth of God and His Son Jesus Christ;

We are Sent to be the Light of the World

We are Sent so that our Father be Glorified!

TODAY, AS WE SEND, REMEMBER WHAT’S AT STAKE---THE GOSPEL.

LET US PRAY FOR, ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT THOSE WHOM HAVE BEEN SENT.