back to index2018-08-12 Paul's Defense of His Ministry Part 3
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If you can turn your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 15 verses 14 through 16, I'm going 00:00:13.000 |
I'm not going to go into too much detail today, but I'm just letting you know that we're switching 00:00:18.600 |
I know most of you probably are using the ESV. 00:00:34.280 |
So we're not saying that everybody has to use the ESV, but we're just letting you know, 00:00:40.120 |
again, I'm not going to go into too much detail that throughout the years we've come to the 00:00:44.960 |
conclusion, at least in the pastoral staff and the leaders that we prefer the NASB because 00:00:50.000 |
it is closer to the original language and we felt like they did a better job as we were 00:00:54.560 |
studying through it to translate it to get us to better meaning. 00:00:58.040 |
So whatever translation you use, I mean, ESV is a good translation, but I'm just giving 00:01:02.880 |
you a heads up that starting from next week, I'll be reading out of the NASB and the verses 00:01:08.040 |
that we're quoting and the Bible that I will be reading out of is the NASB. 00:01:14.280 |
But today's the last day I'm going to be reading the ESV, but the passages on the screen will 00:01:20.120 |
So if you get confused, just to confuse you today, that's what I did. 00:01:28.240 |
I was all prepared to present and then I forgot to bring it. 00:01:33.920 |
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, 00:01:39.440 |
filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 00:01:42.340 |
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder because of the grace 00:01:46.500 |
given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service 00:01:51.520 |
of the gospel of God so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified 00:01:57.960 |
Gracious God, we thank you so much for the privilege that we have to worship you. 00:02:06.640 |
Help us, Lord God, to recognize the gift that we have, that our worship, our service, our 00:02:12.240 |
giving, our fellowship, all of it may be a reasonable act of worship. 00:02:16.800 |
We pray, Father, that your word, what you have ordained to bring your church to salvation, 00:02:22.240 |
to sanctify us and ultimately redeem us, will fulfill its purpose this morning. 00:02:29.480 |
Again, as you know, as we're starting through the book of Romans, typically when we get 00:02:34.480 |
to chapter five where we are now up to the end of the chapter, chapter 16, it's kind 00:02:45.240 |
So typically we think of the meat of the book of Romans is in the first eight chapters, 00:02:52.880 |
And then starting from chapter nine through chapter 11, it's kind of like the, you know, 00:02:57.040 |
it gives you an outline of redemptive history in the nation of Israel and what he's planning 00:03:02.940 |
He's going to bring in the Gentiles and later on the Israelites are going to be grafted 00:03:12.680 |
And so some of you lean more heavily toward the imperatives. 00:03:16.760 |
You don't have the patience for the indicative. 00:03:19.320 |
These are the doctrines, so therefore this is what we ought to do. 00:03:24.520 |
Some of you guys just want to tell me what to do. 00:03:27.520 |
Like all the whys and the foundation, that's great, but tell me what should we do? 00:03:32.920 |
How should a Christian respond to this tremendous grace? 00:03:37.240 |
But by the time we get to chapter 15, just kind of like one big gigantic sermon, this 00:03:41.040 |
is why he wrote the letter and then the end and then you move on. 00:03:44.200 |
And so many people have asked me already, I think mindset-wise, I've already kind of 00:03:52.920 |
These are legitimate questions, but chapter 15, where we're at up to the end of the chapter, 00:03:57.920 |
I'm actually taking a bit more time than normal because what is contained in here is actually 00:04:04.160 |
Paul's application of everything that he's been teaching. 00:04:08.540 |
This is his own description of his ministry, of his life, and why he wrote this letter 00:04:14.360 |
So chapter 1 through chapter 11 is about the gospel of Christ. 00:04:19.740 |
Chapter 12 to chapter 15 is about the application of it in the church. 00:04:23.780 |
And then chapter 15, where we are at to the end, basically Paul is describing himself. 00:04:29.600 |
He's describing how he's applying the very things that he's been teaching. 00:04:33.960 |
And so I'm taking a little bit extra time and our focus this morning is going to be 00:04:42.360 |
And I'm not going to go this slow throughout the rest of the chapters, but I think it's 00:04:46.580 |
important enough for us to realize the application of it because it has ramification on all of 00:04:56.020 |
I know that reading Christian biographies is probably often recommended, and I highly 00:05:00.060 |
recommend it because it encourages us and men and women of faith that have gone before 00:05:04.340 |
us and who set an example of what we ought to do. 00:05:07.700 |
So a lot of times we think of Christian life and then we have these ideas, but we don't 00:05:12.020 |
know what it should look like in the life of an average Christian. 00:05:17.220 |
But sometimes the danger of reading these biographies is that they highlight certain 00:05:24.980 |
And then after you read it, you think, "Wow, these are super Christian. 00:05:28.540 |
These are people that are not normal or average. 00:05:35.060 |
In fact, I don't really like reading biographies for that reason because oftentimes it's highlighted 00:05:44.580 |
I remember early on as a Christian reading about Martin Luther and how he would wake 00:05:49.340 |
up at three in the morning and spend three hours in prayer. 00:05:52.480 |
And then when he was busy, he would pray four hours. 00:05:55.200 |
And then during the day he preached five sermons and then how he wrote all these books and 00:06:00.420 |
And after you read that, your first response is challenge. 00:06:09.680 |
You talk about missionaries, how they left everything, went into the jungle, ate one 00:06:13.240 |
meal a week and you know what I mean, drank crazy things. 00:06:17.220 |
And then they became Christian and they planted 50 churches all over the world. 00:06:21.220 |
And you read that, it's like, "Wow, that's great." 00:06:22.940 |
And then second response is, "Okay, I can't, that's never going to happen to me." 00:06:27.940 |
So a lot of times you read these biographies and then you highlight and sometimes exaggerate 00:06:32.740 |
Like these are superhuman beings that a few select people were able to experience that 00:06:39.660 |
most Christians wouldn't even be able to relate. 00:06:44.260 |
But the thing that I love about the scripture, the scripture, if you read every character 00:06:49.540 |
in the Bible, they're all flawed human beings. 00:06:56.420 |
You see, even David is a man after God's own heart. 00:07:02.300 |
Abraham, you know, even though he was a man of faith, he's afraid that he's going to get 00:07:07.980 |
killed because of his wife and then say, "Hey, lie that you're my sister so that I can save 00:07:15.100 |
I mean, every single human being is completely flawed. 00:07:19.140 |
Even the writers of the New Testament, you know, a lot of people reject the Bible and 00:07:23.700 |
they say, "Oh, this is written by man for their own advantage." 00:07:26.380 |
Humanly speaking, it makes absolutely no sense because the writers of the New Testament made 00:07:34.200 |
When Jesus was resurrected, the authors who wrote about it described themselves as cowards 00:07:41.260 |
and unbelievers and they weren't the ones who first ran to the grave. 00:07:45.620 |
And in fact, even after they saw him, some of them doubted, "How could this be?" 00:07:52.140 |
There's no human being written in Scripture that comes out perfect. 00:07:58.400 |
And that's part of the reason why I love the Scriptures because it's honest and it's just 00:08:06.300 |
So the only individual that comes out glorified is God and God alone. 00:08:14.780 |
The reason why I mention all of this is we were just at a retreat and we said the first 00:08:18.940 |
and most important vision of our church, what we're trying to work toward is God-centered 00:08:25.180 |
worship where we don't scan the church, we don't scan our society, we don't scan our 00:08:31.340 |
generation to find out, you know, what is an itch that our generation has and then we 00:08:35.660 |
start to scratch that itch and then more people will come to our church. 00:08:40.780 |
Our desire in our church that every church ought to have based upon Scripture is God-centered. 00:08:52.660 |
And the reason why this is so central to the church is if you build a church, trying to 00:08:59.180 |
scratch the felt needs of the church is no different than giving a child candy at 11 00:09:07.180 |
They'll be happy for the moment but long-term you know his teeth are going to get rotten. 00:09:12.100 |
Long-term you know you're raising a child who thinks that the universe revolves around 00:09:15.660 |
them and they may be, the parents may be able to put up with that but as soon as he steps 00:09:20.380 |
out of the house, no one's going to tolerate that. 00:09:26.020 |
You're actually creating a child who's going to be rejected everywhere he goes. 00:09:30.740 |
So to build a church based upon what makes you happy actually ends up ruining you. 00:09:41.300 |
That's why when Christ is exalted and we are reminded that the goal of our life and the 00:09:49.960 |
Not only is He glorified but when He is glorified we experience true life. 00:09:55.980 |
Not the superficial life, not just superficial scratching of our back because it's itching 00:10:01.820 |
but when we recognize the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as the Lord of our life, we 00:10:08.020 |
experience what God intended from the beginning of creation. 00:10:16.660 |
That when God looks at, when people look at us, that they are to see Christ glorified 00:10:27.180 |
I mention all of this because Apostle Paul was a man who understood this very clearly. 00:10:33.500 |
He was so deeply affected by what happened to him that it affected everything that he 00:10:40.300 |
Every sacrifice that he made was directly affected by what happened to him when he met 00:10:49.700 |
This morning I'm going to be looking at the short passage in verse 15 and 16 how Paul 00:10:57.780 |
So the first thing that he says, mentioned in verse 15, he says, "But on some point 00:11:03.860 |
I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder because of the grace given me by 00:11:09.100 |
And I know it's a passing thing that he says but it's important enough for us to stop and 00:11:13.700 |
take a look because he says this almost every time he mentioned his ministry that his ministry 00:11:18.180 |
was not by his works but by the grace that he was given. 00:11:26.620 |
Not only to Paul's ministry but to our daily spiritual life? 00:11:31.160 |
Because once we forget that the only reason why you and I are here is because God was 00:11:41.620 |
We begin to look at what we have, what we don't have, and we begin to compare and covet 00:11:45.260 |
and all of a sudden grumbling begins to creep into our hearts. 00:11:48.780 |
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3.10, "According to the grace of God which was given to me 00:11:55.660 |
like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and another is building on it, but each man 00:12:03.460 |
He sees himself writing this excruciating letter and he recognizes that his ministry 00:12:12.860 |
It wasn't simply out of obligation but God's grace. 00:12:16.380 |
Again in 1 Corinthians 15.10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am." 00:12:25.420 |
It wasn't because he was a diamond in the rough that was sitting there that nobody noticed 00:12:32.840 |
Everybody else bypassed him but this diamond that was sitting in the rough, he somehow 00:12:41.020 |
The Bible describes us as dead in our trespasses. 00:12:46.620 |
It wasn't like a diamond in the rough that everybody bypassed. 00:12:57.020 |
And the only reason why you and I are here is because he had complete mercy on us. 00:13:04.620 |
Everything that we have, the reason why you're able to sit here and even listen to what I 00:13:17.860 |
But the only reason why you were even attracted to Christ, why you're here listening and understanding 00:13:23.580 |
what I have to say is because God opened your ear. 00:13:30.840 |
He put certain people in your life to bring the gospel to you and it was by the mercy 00:13:35.980 |
It is the kindness of God that led you to repentance. 00:13:38.480 |
If there's somebody in your life that cared enough for you to bring you to church or share 00:13:52.160 |
Everything that we have, even our ministry, even our hardship was by the grace of God. 00:14:02.340 |
A Christian who lives his life in continual grumbling is like an individual who wins a 00:14:14.240 |
You know, the Lakers are playing against the Warriors and LeBron James, you know, performs 00:14:19.880 |
We get to the seventh game and this is the sellout ticket. 00:14:23.340 |
You know, the Warriors are looking like they're going to finally lose. 00:14:31.900 |
We're in the seventh game, they're in the Staples Center and somehow you win the ticket 00:14:37.220 |
and you're elated that you got the ticket, but the whole time you're headed toward the 00:14:40.420 |
Staples Center, you're complaining about how far the Staples Center is. 00:14:44.940 |
And when you get there, you're complaining about how the parking is horrible. 00:14:48.820 |
And then when you get there, you're complaining about how long this line is to get in there. 00:14:52.740 |
And then when you get in there, you're complaining about the location of your seat. 00:14:56.620 |
And then when you get to the seat, you're complaining about how hard the seat is. 00:15:00.180 |
And then when you get there, you complain about how nasty the food is and how overpriced 00:15:05.940 |
And the whole time you're experiencing this free ticket to get to this game, you're complaining 00:15:13.540 |
And you forget about what it is that you have. 00:15:20.460 |
That's a Christian who won the greatest lottery and we spend the rest of the time complaining 00:15:26.800 |
about the church, the people, our surroundings, what we have, what we don't have, air conditioning. 00:15:33.220 |
I mean, the kind of stuff that we grumble about in the context of what it is that God 00:15:37.940 |
has given us when we lose focus of what it is that we have in Christ. 00:15:47.460 |
In fact, eventually he dies because of his faith. 00:15:50.420 |
He is head beheaded, but he never forgot what it is that he had in Christ. 00:15:56.920 |
As difficult as his life was, because he met Christ, he understood this as his grace. 00:16:02.340 |
The reason why he's able to be in a position to teach other people about the love of Christ 00:16:12.320 |
Not only does having a proper perspective of what it is that we have in Christ, his 00:16:17.420 |
grace, it keeps us humble because it is by grace. 00:16:22.940 |
It's not anything that you've done because our natural tendency is, you know, you walk 00:16:30.760 |
You say, "Oh, you know," not to be judgmental. 00:16:36.720 |
You walk in, you know exactly who's taller than you and shorter than you. 00:16:45.580 |
Who's good looking, who you don't think is good looking, who's athletic, who's not athletic. 00:16:54.040 |
We all have a tendency that if we think we're a little bit better or if we've done a little 00:16:57.640 |
bit better, if we've read a little bit more, we have a tendency to think that, "Oh, this 00:17:03.680 |
And so our natural tendency in the church is when you're doing well, you come to church 00:17:08.640 |
and you measure everybody based upon what you think you're doing well. 00:17:13.200 |
And then if you're not doing well, you kind of draw back. 00:17:16.420 |
"Oh man, you know, I don't want to be here at church and everybody's judging me." 00:17:19.740 |
And then we have communion table inviting people to come. 00:17:23.420 |
And then you say, "Oh yeah, but I don't deserve it." 00:17:30.340 |
The only way that we can be reconciled to God was by His mercy. 00:17:37.420 |
And that's what the gospel teaches us at its core. 00:17:40.300 |
It humbles us that no matter how high you are, no matter how low you are, the gate to 00:17:48.860 |
And so recognizing and understanding that grace not only causes us to have a different 00:17:57.180 |
Romans 12.3 says, "For through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to 00:18:01.700 |
think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound 00:18:06.260 |
judgment, as God has allowed it to each a measure of faith." 00:18:13.860 |
The scripture says we've been saved by grace, not by works. 00:18:23.260 |
A Christian who boasts is contradicting the very core of what he professes. 00:18:30.580 |
A Christian who boasts about his righteousness, about what he is doing, what he has accomplished, 00:18:35.140 |
goes directly against the very core of what he professes. 00:18:40.020 |
Because what he professes is, "I was a sinner in need of his mercy, and God had mercy on 00:18:47.340 |
Instead of striking me dead, he sent his only begotten Son to save me." 00:18:50.140 |
So an individual who begins his walk with God with that confession, to be filled with 00:18:58.580 |
First Corinthians 4.7, "For who sees anything different in you? 00:19:04.620 |
If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" 00:19:09.780 |
Any boasting as a Christian, for any reason, goes directly against every song that we sing, 00:19:20.380 |
See, Paul was a man who God used tremendously for his work. 00:19:27.620 |
And if there's one thing that God was concerned about this man, it was pride. 00:19:33.740 |
And in Corinthians it says God deliberately put a thorn on his side. 00:19:39.500 |
To remind him that it is only when he is weak, Christ is strong. 00:19:46.500 |
So the fact that Paul describes his ministry as the grace of God, not because of his talent, 00:19:51.620 |
not because of his Roman citizenship, not because of his great education, but why? 00:19:57.820 |
In 1 Timothy 1.15.17, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ 00:20:02.860 |
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. 00:20:08.140 |
He was diamond in the rough that everybody bypassed. 00:20:11.740 |
He said he was saved because he was a sinner. 00:20:14.100 |
Verse 16, "But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ 00:20:20.460 |
might display his perfect patience as an example to those who are to believe in him for eternal 00:20:26.940 |
Not to highlight Paul, not to look at this diamond in the rough that was claimed for 00:20:30.940 |
God's purpose, but if God can clean that filth off of that man, it's to highlight his grace. 00:20:39.540 |
It's to highlight Christ, not Paul, not his ministry, not his work. 00:20:45.500 |
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and 00:20:54.580 |
If we put our confidence in anything else but Christ, it's just a matter of time that 00:21:03.740 |
If we think in any way that we add to anything that Christ has done, it's just a matter of 00:21:12.780 |
Again, he says in 1 Corinthians 3, 5-7, "What then is Apollos and what is Paul? 00:21:18.460 |
Servants through whom you believe that even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one, 00:21:21.740 |
I planted Apollos' water, but God was the one who caused the growth." 00:21:26.500 |
So then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes 00:21:34.040 |
So at the center of our walk with God is the emptying of ourselves. 00:21:41.700 |
And even in the way that we are sanctified at times, if we're not careful, we get sanctified 00:21:49.140 |
We become more disciplined, we become more this, we become more that. 00:21:52.140 |
And all of these things in and of itself is not bad. 00:21:58.500 |
But the central calling of every Christian is to empty himself. 00:22:06.420 |
And just like Christ said, "He who finds his life will lose it." 00:22:13.380 |
How much of our energy, how much of our life, how much of our decision do we confess one 00:22:19.360 |
thing at church on Sunday and live the rest of our lives trying to be somebody? 00:22:27.260 |
Think about how much of our life we profess to have been crucified with Christ and it 00:22:33.740 |
is no longer us that lives, but Christ who lives in us. 00:22:43.840 |
This is the fellowship that we participate in. 00:22:45.900 |
And then Monday through Saturday, work hard to become somebody. 00:22:56.980 |
Because at our very core of our life, we're living a contradiction. 00:23:04.500 |
The gospel not only causes us to celebrate, it causes us to be humbled. 00:23:12.980 |
Secondly, Paul's ministry was an act of worship. 00:23:18.100 |
In Romans 15, 16, Paul says, "To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering 00:23:23.260 |
as a priest, the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, 00:23:35.260 |
This is a test to see how many of you are thinking critically. 00:23:43.380 |
We've been studying through the book of Leviticus. 00:23:47.820 |
What scene do you get when you read that verse? 00:24:02.060 |
So Paul's describing his ministry as a priest offering up sacrifices to God. 00:24:07.740 |
In fact, the very word that he uses here for minister is the word "letruo." 00:24:11.940 |
Some of you guys may remember that from previous sermons that I gave. 00:24:15.420 |
So some of the verses translated that word, "letruo," as worship in Romans 12, verse 00:24:22.900 |
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living 00:24:26.180 |
holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." 00:24:32.420 |
It's the word that is used here in verse 16 to minister. 00:24:37.100 |
So Paul is saying his ministry of grace is an act of worship that he gives to God. 00:24:44.020 |
And then the Gentiles that he's preaching the gospel to are the sacrifice he's offering 00:24:51.660 |
What does it mean for a sacrifice to be acceptable? 00:24:53.540 |
If you remember the book of Leviticus, in order for an animal to be offered to God, 00:25:03.820 |
It had to be without blemish, without defect. 00:25:06.660 |
So does Paul mean that he's looking to the Gentiles to see who's perfect, who's got the 00:25:12.860 |
straight nose, whose back doesn't hurt, who has clear sight, 20/20 sight? 00:25:22.940 |
We know, even just from the book of Leviticus, that the only way that a sacrifice in the 00:25:28.380 |
new covenant can be made perfect is by the blood of Christ. 00:25:32.500 |
So he's describing his gospel ministry as giving and offering to God. 00:25:37.020 |
Ultimately, again, not only is our salvation initiated by God's grace, his whole ministry 00:25:49.940 |
So his whole description is like a priest who has come to worship God. 00:26:00.780 |
First Thessalonians 2, 19-20 says, "For who is our hope or joy, our crown or exaltation? 00:26:07.780 |
In the presence of our Lord Jesus that is coming, for you are our glory and joy." 00:26:18.460 |
When we think of worship, again, in the context of religion, in the context of Christianity 00:26:25.020 |
that you grew up in, when we think of worship, we think of Sunday, right? 00:26:31.500 |
And typically, it shouldn't be, but typically, we think of worship and we think of like, 00:26:36.580 |
"Oh, I wonder what sermons are going to be given today. 00:26:41.140 |
You know, I wonder, and then we kind of get in the habit of just critiquing worship. 00:26:45.980 |
It was good, it was bad, I liked the songs, I didn't like the songs, you know, and we 00:26:52.620 |
In every other context, when we say, "You worship something," what do we mean by that? 00:26:59.340 |
It means you are obsessed, that's what that means. 00:27:10.380 |
You talk about it too much, you invested too much in that. 00:27:13.980 |
You fall in love with a girl, like you worship that girl, right? 00:27:18.240 |
It means that you're thinking about her too much, you're investing too much, you're sacrificing 00:27:22.980 |
That's what that word means when we say worship. 00:27:25.620 |
Something that is very valuable to you, that you're willing to give everything in exchange. 00:27:30.980 |
So the word worship in and of itself, even the way we use it in plain language, in English, 00:27:44.300 |
In fact, when we say, "You should stop worshipping that," "We should stop worshipping her," it 00:27:53.260 |
But when we think about worshipping God, we think about a time, we think about an activity, 00:28:01.500 |
we think about an event or a sermon or songs or how we open up our mouth and how things 00:28:08.620 |
That's what Jesus meant when he said there's going to come a time when he's going to be 00:28:11.580 |
looking for worshippers who will worship in what? 00:28:19.500 |
When Paul said, "In view of this great mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, 00:28:28.780 |
which is your reasonable act of worship based upon this grace," that's exactly what Paul 00:28:37.060 |
Paul was worshipping God through his ministry. 00:28:46.860 |
Because God did not send his only begotten son and die for our sins. 00:28:53.380 |
Was crucified and resurrected and interceding on our behalf, depositing the Holy Spirit 00:28:58.980 |
just so people who don't go to church can go to church. 00:29:04.900 |
He didn't do all of that so that people who don't pay can pay. 00:29:10.340 |
People who aren't generous could be generous. 00:29:13.980 |
People who aren't involved with church to be involved with church. 00:29:18.620 |
He didn't have to send his only begotten son and absorb our sins to do that. 00:29:25.760 |
The whole point of his sacrifice is to restore the worship that was lost. 00:29:34.140 |
So the thing that God desires more than anything else in view of this mercy is to worship him. 00:29:41.860 |
Let me ask you, when was the last time you really worshipped God? 00:29:47.180 |
I'm not talking about when's the last time you came to church, when's the last time you 00:29:55.540 |
The way we use that word for any other purpose, in every other context, the way we would use 00:30:02.520 |
that word to describe the way you are obsessed with sports, where you are obsessed with vacations. 00:30:10.980 |
When was the last time you worshipped God biblically? 00:30:18.980 |
Where somebody told you, "Wow, you are really obsessed with your God." 00:30:25.860 |
See, that's what God desires, and the reason why recognizing his grace is so crucial, so 00:30:34.500 |
central is because until we recognize his grace in our life, worship is manufactured. 00:30:48.480 |
Not something that you determined to do, not something because you tried hard or you showed 00:30:54.620 |
But when you recognize what it is that you have in Christ, you worship. 00:31:01.820 |
Philippians 1, 21-24, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 00:31:07.860 |
If I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know 00:31:13.640 |
But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, 00:31:23.180 |
He's sitting in prison, instead of writing to this church and saying, "Hey, can you guys 00:31:40.900 |
He's writing as he is chained, as a prisoner, saying, "If it was up to me, I'd rather die. 00:31:58.140 |
He said, "For to me, to die is gain, because that means I get to go to Him, and I'm ready 00:32:07.740 |
He got a taste of God's goodness, and he was so consumed. 00:32:14.140 |
He was so consumed with the things of Christ that even if he died preaching this gospel, 00:32:22.100 |
he said, "I'm ready, but the only reason why I will stay is because God is not done with 00:32:31.460 |
He says, verse 24, "Yet to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 00:32:36.420 |
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress 00:32:42.820 |
Paul was not a better man than us, humanly speaking. 00:32:46.460 |
In fact, he calls himself the worst of sinners. 00:32:58.460 |
Paul met the resurrected Christ, and his eye was opened, and he was never the same. 00:33:04.220 |
His desire to be with the Lord, which caused him to worship, caused him to ultimately give 00:33:12.340 |
What God desires is worship, not to put in our time, and you know the difference. 00:33:18.660 |
When you come to worship, you have a certain allotment of time that you allow in the church, 00:33:25.660 |
because it's a necessary burden that you have to bear. 00:33:28.940 |
So Sunday you come, I'll tolerate an hour and a half, if you're good. 00:33:36.240 |
If I like your sermons, I'll give you 10 more minutes. 00:33:39.300 |
If the worship is great, maybe a couple more songs. 00:33:48.020 |
You had to put in more work than you needed to. 00:34:02.140 |
When it's worship, you can't help but to be around other people worshiping God. 00:34:07.740 |
Because when you really worship, it creates joy. 00:34:16.620 |
When you're not worshiping, it's just putting in your time. 00:34:32.460 |
They got together and they said daily, they were breaking bread. 00:34:38.340 |
They're hanging on to the words of the apostles. 00:34:43.420 |
They were just selling their stuff and giving it to the church people, sharing with one 00:35:07.940 |
Third and finally, Paul's primary ministry was to preach the gospel. 00:35:14.540 |
His primary ministry was to preach the gospel. 00:35:17.060 |
Second Timothy 4, 1 and 2, it says, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ 00:35:21.220 |
Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing, His kingdom, preach 00:35:27.500 |
the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience 00:35:34.340 |
So in verse 16, it says, "To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly 00:35:42.620 |
Paul says it repeatedly over and over when he describes his ministry, that he's a minister 00:35:46.580 |
of Christ for the gospel of Jesus Christ, over and over again. 00:35:51.340 |
And almost every time he describes his ministry, it's for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:35:57.700 |
Sometimes we can get carried away thinking like the primary role of the church is to 00:36:01.780 |
take care of sick people, or the needy people, or the poor people. 00:36:07.540 |
Those are things that God commands us, that they should be the character of a Christian. 00:36:12.260 |
But the primary purpose of the church is to preach the gospel. 00:36:20.980 |
This is a military term that a commanding officer uses to his subordinate. 00:36:24.620 |
I charge you, I command you in the presence of God, of Christ Jesus. 00:36:28.340 |
Just in case my authority is not enough, I command you in the presence of God, Jesus 00:36:33.140 |
Christ, who is the judge, the living and the dead. 00:36:36.860 |
The God that you're going to have to stand before, and by his appearing and his kingdom, 00:36:41.740 |
the King of kings and Lord of lords, I command you, preach the word. 00:36:56.580 |
When you preach the word in season, you're a genius. 00:37:01.980 |
Something great about your sermon, something great about your ministry, because it's in 00:37:07.500 |
The testing is how much you believe about the word when it's not in season. 00:37:12.940 |
I can tell you that in almost 30 years of ministry and preaching, there are more years 00:37:18.620 |
that I can tell you was not in season than in season. 00:37:22.300 |
There are more periods when people were not interested. 00:37:25.140 |
And again, every field has their own challenges. 00:37:28.140 |
Some of you guys who are lawyers, doctors, or engineers, you all have specific challenges 00:37:36.380 |
As a pastor, one of the most excruciating things that I have had to do is preach and 00:37:43.580 |
teach in front of people who could care less. 00:37:50.100 |
Whenever at this church, I have to qualify that to protect myself. 00:37:58.260 |
I've been in Bible studies where, "Hey, let's turn to Romans." 00:38:09.540 |
I poured out studying this passage and putting it into Bible study format illustrations. 00:38:17.820 |
And I poured my heart into it, and they're looking at me like, "Hey, it's kind of going 00:38:25.380 |
I've given sermons, I poured my heart out in tears, begging the church and preaching 00:38:33.500 |
And the first guy comes up to me, he's like, "Man, you were loud." 00:38:42.100 |
Every pastor who's been preaching for a long time has experienced some of that. 00:38:51.580 |
And the temptation that we have when it is out of season is to say, "Well, it's not working. 00:38:59.700 |
And I keep hearing, sadly, that more and more churches are moving away from studying the 00:39:05.100 |
Bible because people are not interested, which is true. 00:39:10.620 |
I had a conversation not too long ago, a couple years ago, as I was preaching through or teaching 00:39:19.860 |
He got word that somehow a lot of young people were coming to our church. 00:39:23.660 |
And so he was in his late 50s, and he's been in ministry for a while, and he's struggling 00:39:27.980 |
in ministry, but somehow he heard that our church was growing. 00:39:32.420 |
And so we got together, and he was asking me about our church philosophy, how I teach, 00:39:39.460 |
And so he knew that we were teaching the Bible, so he actually came on our website. 00:39:43.620 |
He listened through some of our studies through the book of Isaiah. 00:39:46.620 |
And when we sat down, the first thing he said to me was, "They actually come for that?" 00:39:54.300 |
He's like, "You're just straight teaching Isaiah. 00:40:03.540 |
And then he shared with me, the reason why he wanted to meet with me was he wanted to 00:40:09.640 |
What are you doing, because he can't just be teaching the Bible, because there must 00:40:15.580 |
So I'm sitting there telling him, he's like, "No, I mean, that's not it. 00:40:20.420 |
We just teach the Bible, and then we just try to practice what it says. 00:40:27.460 |
And then he told me that he was considering switching his ministry philosophy, that he 00:40:32.380 |
was doing all this market-driven stuff, and it's not working. 00:40:35.580 |
So he wants to go and just maybe because if I start teaching more heavier stuff, that 00:40:54.180 |
Because the first six, seven years of the church, they didn't come. 00:40:59.900 |
And the general atmosphere, general spiritual atmosphere, especially where we live right 00:41:04.440 |
now in Orange County, yeah, I mean, if you meet an average Christian, is there a hunger 00:41:14.140 |
So if you're planning to do this to attract people, don't do it, right? 00:41:23.500 |
It's hard because he's a struggling pastor, and his livelihood and his identity is all 00:41:29.340 |
And he's afraid that if he goes down this path, I mean, right now he's trying to change 00:41:33.200 |
his ministry philosophy because he's losing people. 00:41:35.340 |
And if I change my ministry philosophy, what if we lose more people?" 00:41:41.840 |
So if it's going to lose more people, I'm not sure if I can do it." 00:41:45.940 |
So I told him, "If you choose to do this because you think that this is somehow going to bring 00:41:52.180 |
more people, don't do it because you're doing it for the wrong reason. 00:41:57.460 |
You have to first be convinced that this is what you need to do, in season or out of season. 00:42:10.040 |
If people came in looking for candy and you're going to all of a sudden give them broccoli, 00:42:14.040 |
there's going to be a lot of people who got used to candy who's not going to want to stay, 00:42:20.800 |
But are you convinced that this is what God called you to do? 00:42:29.380 |
The scripture is clear that the only hope for mankind is Jesus Christ. 00:42:39.700 |
Anybody who reads the scripture, anybody who pays any attention to anything that they're 00:42:43.820 |
reading in scripture, the only hope is Jesus Christ. 00:42:49.700 |
And the moment we begin to think, "Well, you know, that doesn't work, so let's try something 00:42:55.660 |
We try teaching the Bible, it doesn't work, so let's try this program. 00:43:00.420 |
Let's maybe focus our attention on evangelism. 00:43:03.700 |
Let's maybe focus our attention on social justice or whatever it is. 00:43:06.900 |
It's not working, so let's try something else. 00:43:09.060 |
There's a reason why he says to preach in season and out of season, because Paul, when 00:43:25.060 |
And the last letter that he writes to Timothy is telling him, "Do not move from what you 00:43:35.740 |
Even if everybody leaves, you stay the course." 00:43:39.220 |
That's why he says, "I command you in the presence of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, 00:43:44.180 |
who is to judge the living and the dead, who is the king over all things, I command you, 00:43:51.780 |
preach the word in season and out of season." 00:44:01.900 |
But you and I do not have any other hope except Christ. 00:44:13.300 |
We have people who are staggering from church to church looking to connect with people. 00:44:17.340 |
Loneliness did not come in because of lack of people in our lives. 00:44:26.100 |
As soon as sin came in, shame caused people to hide. 00:44:30.700 |
And that's why you can be in a room filled with people and feel absolutely alone. 00:44:37.340 |
The problem of loneliness is not lack of community. 00:44:46.300 |
Until our vertical relationship with God is restored, our horizontal relationship with 00:44:54.020 |
The problem of relational issues is not communication. 00:44:59.220 |
You can have all the tools to properly communicate and then not do it. 00:45:03.980 |
Everything that we communicate comes through a sinful filter. 00:45:07.660 |
So if somebody asked you, you know, they cooked a meal for you and then you don't like the 00:45:15.740 |
You may be salty, you may not like it, but you're already thinking in your head, "If 00:45:22.420 |
You clearly, you know what's in your head, but now you're thinking, like, "If I say 00:45:29.500 |
And if they get mad at me, they're not going to invite me again." 00:45:31.980 |
And, you know, you're thinking through all of these things before you say, "It's all 00:45:39.260 |
Everything that we communicate comes through a sinful filter of self-protection, self-preservation, 00:45:46.740 |
my reputation, what are you going to think of me? 00:45:49.840 |
It always comes through some kind of sinful filter. 00:45:54.060 |
So you can have all the tools of properly communicating, but until the sin in us is 00:45:59.780 |
rectified with the blood of Christ, communication is just having all the tools but have no hands 00:46:15.500 |
Anybody knows who does any kind of work, any kind of research knows that there's enough 00:46:19.420 |
food being produced every year to feed the whole world over. 00:46:26.220 |
It's just concentrated and hoarded by a small group of people, which is us. 00:46:32.020 |
So the problem with hunger in this world is not lack of food. 00:46:35.540 |
It's a sin in the world that causes some to hoard and see the needs of the rest of the 00:46:47.180 |
So it's not simply like, "If we could just produce more food, people would be better." 00:46:50.940 |
Every single human problem that you and I can think of, it came in because of the fall. 00:46:57.620 |
To think that somehow a problem that was started by sin, that we're going to somehow solve 00:47:09.300 |
The only solution that you and I have for this sin that came into our lives, into this 00:47:14.540 |
world that ruined everything, it ruined our marriages, it ruined our children, it ruined 00:47:19.620 |
our community, it ruined our economy, it ruined our family. 00:47:32.580 |
And the only way to get to Christ is through his blood. 00:47:38.060 |
That's why he said, "Preach it in season and out of season." 00:47:44.100 |
Preach it in season and out of season, because it is the only solution to all of man's problems. 00:47:53.140 |
Let me read this one passage and then we'll wrap up. 00:47:59.820 |
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of 00:48:04.140 |
speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. 00:48:07.700 |
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are 00:48:11.480 |
being saved it is the power of God, for it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of 00:48:15.500 |
the wise, and the cleverness of the clever will set aside." 00:48:25.900 |
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 00:48:28.860 |
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was 00:48:33.180 |
well pleased through the foolishness of this message, preached to save those who believe. 00:48:37.660 |
For indeed, Jews ask for signs, Greeks are searching for wisdom, but we preach Christ 00:48:48.820 |
Until the church recognizes that the solution is not man, is not our money, is not our hard 00:48:59.940 |
That's why the first and the most important vision of our church is Christ-centered worship, 00:49:05.220 |
God-centered worship, because all the things, even the things that we don't connect with 00:49:16.820 |
Problem with our children, it's connected to our sins. 00:49:21.260 |
Even our illnesses, that was not intended in the Garden of Eden, it came in as a result 00:49:32.060 |
You see, when you have people who love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, 00:49:37.420 |
mind, and strength, and we adore Him, and we are affectionate for Him, fellowship happens. 00:49:47.980 |
You fill a room filled with people who love Jesus. 00:49:51.160 |
You don't have to tell them, "Hey, why don't you talk about this, these three questions. 00:49:58.340 |
You have a room filled with people who love Jesus. 00:50:07.880 |
You fill a room filled with people who adore Jesus, you could play music with one guitar, 00:50:20.740 |
You fill a room filled with people who are in love with Christ. 00:50:25.380 |
You can get somebody who's stuttering, who's at least educated in communication, and if 00:50:31.220 |
he mentions Jesus, if he reminds anything about Christ, they want to listen. 00:50:42.860 |
So much of what I say right now is contingent upon your heart. 00:50:55.740 |
People come up to me and say, "Oh, you know, I really enjoyed the sermon," and they were 00:50:59.060 |
so affected, and then the same sermon somebody would say, "That was long," or "You yelled 00:51:08.620 |
And I've come to realize that more than what's happening up here, if you come in with fertile 00:51:16.100 |
hearts to worship God, the Word of God will bear fruit. 00:51:22.040 |
If you come in to worship God, you will sing louder, with more passion. 00:51:31.420 |
You don't have to have the best sounding music. 00:51:32.980 |
You don't have the most loudest and the best, beautiful, most vocalist. 00:51:38.740 |
Church just happens when you fill it with true worshipers. 00:51:44.060 |
That's why all this, like, you and I are so blessed with money, with air conditioning, 00:51:50.180 |
this nice room, with people, with education, with Bible translation. 00:51:54.300 |
We have all of this, but it also functions as a distraction. 00:52:03.180 |
That's why sometimes when you travel and you go to a remote part of the world in villages, 00:52:08.540 |
worshiping in a room crammed, 105 degrees, sweating, and you come back thinking, "Wow, 00:52:14.140 |
that was worship," and you want to do that again. 00:52:30.660 |
I want you to have a relationship with this Jesus. 00:52:35.460 |
Not through me, not through the testimonies of other people. 00:52:45.420 |
That the first thing that comes out of your mouth is, "I'm a worshiper of Jesus Christ." 00:52:52.500 |
When was the last time you worshipped him and somebody said, "Wow, you are obsessed 00:53:00.140 |
I pray that that would be our testimony more than anything else, that we would be a room 00:53:18.620 |
Again as our worship team leads us, let's take some time to consider all that we have 00:53:25.700 |
because of his grace, that as a response to that, that we live in worship, and then ultimately 00:53:36.380 |
that all of this would lead to God's glory, that his name may be magnified. 00:53:41.700 |
So let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.