Moving On
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
On April 19, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur, having been relieved of command by President Truman, and having been invited to address a joint session of Congress, his most famous words. He stated, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” Those words are actually from an army ballad, but he immortalized them into the hearts and minds of all Americans. Old soldiers just fade away; but what about old ministers? What about old church members? Or even old churches? Are they—are we—just supposed to fade away?
In our passage today, Paul has seen his ministry come to an end. But he does not see himself fading away. Instead, he sees himself moving on to a new ministry, a new ambition. He gives the Romans a clear picture of what he desires his next phase of ministry to be. Fading away does not even enter into his mind. Nor should it enter ours. As we study this text, using Paul as our example, I want us to get an idea of how we can know when our ministry is over and how we can move on to a newer one. So we are looking at four attitudes that Paul demonstrates in these opening words of his conclusion.
First, we will see Paul being humble about his old ministry. Second, we see Paul’s being honest about his old ministry. Third we see Paul’s being honored about his old ministry. Finally, we see Paul’s being hopeful about his new ministry.
Humility
Honesty
Honor
Hope
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Humility
Humility
The first attitude that Paul demonstrated in this text is an attitude of humility. If we as individual servants of Christ are going to have a successful ministry, and if we as Highland View Baptist Church are to have a successful ministry, then we must be individually humble and collectively humble. Notice how Paul describes the church of Rome.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
Do you see the humility in this? Paul, who is the apostle of the apostles. The one who has ministered over much of the known world. The one who would eventually write more letters in the New Testament than anyone else. This man wrote to the Roman Church that it he was satisfied that they were full of goodness and knowledge and that they were able to instruct one another. The word satisfied is the same word that he used in Romans 14:14 when he said that he knew and had been persuaded that nothing was unclean in itself. According to what Paul wrote in Romans 1:8, the faith of the Romans had been proclaimed everywhere. They were known for their maturity. He talked about wanting to be encouraged by them when he was able to visit in Romans 1:12. And now he is talking about their being full of goodness. In other words, not only are they well-known for their faith. He knows that they are as a whole full of moral goodness. That isn’t to say they were perfect, but that they were mature morally speaking. They not only had the faith, but the lifestyle that went along with it.
They were filled with knowledge. In Romans 15:15, Paul states that he was writing as a reminder. In other words, all that he just sent in this letter was something they already knew. So not only did he believe that he could be encouraged by the Romans—that they were spiritually mature enough to offer the apostle of apostles encouragement, but that they actually knew what he had written and were smart enough to teach, warn, admonish, instruct, counsel each other. In other words, even the Apostle Paul was expendable.
Now, I like C.S. Lewis’s definition of humility, that it is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. And here is Paul acknowledging that the Romans were mature, faith-filled, knowledgeable believers who could bless him and each other. Paul’s ministry was not all about him. He didn’t need to be front and center. But as we’ll see, he did not wallow in self-pity and think lowly of himself.
How about you? How about me? How about us as Highland View Baptist Church? I can tell you from experience how easy it is as a pastor to have the gospel ministry become about me. And I can tell you that when a ministry becomes about “me” its hard to see anyone else as being full of goodness or knowledge. It’s hard to see that they too have teaching abilities. They too can counsel and warn and instruct one another.
As a church it can feel like we are the last bastion of hope in the secularizing society. We can easily forget or refuse to see that there are churches all around that God is using in the gospel ministry. They don’t all agree with us on second and tertiary doctrines, but we agree on the essentials. We can and should partner with them, but to partner with other churches takes humility on the part of churches.
Honesty
Honesty
The first attitude that Paul demonstrated that we need to follow is humility. The second is honesty. One cannot be humble if they cannot be honest. Just as an individual must be honest with himself/herself, so a church body must be honest with itself.
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Paul is honest in his writing to the Romans. Let’s quickly take a look.
Paul’s ministry was a ministry of grace. He did not deserve to have such a ministry. In fact, he did nothing to deserve it. As he wrote and spoke about many times, he was a persecutor of the church. He did nothing to deserve the calling of apostleship. It was of grace. Do you see your ministry as a ministry of grace? Whether you’re a Sunday School teacher, a deacon, a instrumentalist, a singer, an Outpost host, a stay at home mom who ministers to her children, a custodian, a pastor; whatever our ministry might be, but it is a ministry given to you by God’s grace.
Paul’s ministry was a ministry of Christ Jesus. In other words, Christ is the object of Paul’s ministry. Woe be to Paul if he does not preach Christ! Is Christ the object of our ministry? It is so easy to forget Christ as our objective. It is not simply that we glorify Christ, but that we bring others to glorify Christ. We make much of Christ. Ministry is about the name of Christ, not the name of Chris, not the name of Highland View Baptist Church or any name within this building or any name given to a body of believers. Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles. While, Paul knew the gospel was to the Jews first and then the Gentiles, he understood his ministry was primarily to the Gentiles. He never lost focus on that. How easy it is to lose focus on those for whom God has called us, especially when the world is at our fingertips. YouTube ministries, podcast ministries, Snapchat ministries, and more! The closer the world gets through the internet, the more unfocused many can become. Forget about Highland View! Forget about the McNair community! We are not content to minister only in local churches. In fact, we can begin to feel like our talents and gifts are being ignored or underutilized. It’s easy to think that those to whom we minister is too small a group, whether it is to our children, a small church, a small Sunday School class, or a fledgling small group.
Paul’s ministry was an offering. All of Paul’s work was done so that he’d have an offering to give to God. He worked by the power of God so that those to whom he ministered would be acceptable meaning that they would be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Your ministry, my ministry, our ministry as a church are to work in conjunction with the Holy Spirit to prepare people for heaven. Leading worship service helps prepare people for heaven. Teaching Sunday School is to prepare people for heaven. Rearing your children is to prepare them for heaven. Meaning that our ministries, whatever they may be, are important beyond measure.
I am reminded of a quote by John Brown to pastors of small churches, but could be applied to all who sometimes wonder if their ministry matters.
“I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ, at His judgment-seat, you will think you have had enough.”
Honor
Honor
The first attitude that Paul displayed about his ministry was one of humility. The second was one of honesty. The third attitude is one of honor. It is appropriate to feel proud of God’s work through you. It is good to feel honor when Christ has used you to forward his kingdom.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
Paul felt honored that God was working through him. He was proud of his work, but only in that it was the power of the Holy Spirit working it through him. Humility does not mean ignoring what God has accomplished through you. It’s not pretending as if nothing was done. But humility realizes that we do not have the capacity to do anything apart from the Holy Spirit. It is not only that God sustains our lives by giving us breath, but he sustains our ministry by breathing life into them.
Certainly, Paul had powers we don’t have. He was able to do signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit, but as Paul had already said earlier,
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
And as Peter reiterates
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Every ministry given by the grace of God is empowered by the Spirit of God. Thus, we ought to have the same mindset as what Paul wrote to the Colossians.
For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Have you thought through the fact that though God does not need you for anything, he wants you for many things. He doesn’t have to use you. He doesn’t have to gift you. He doesn’t have to empower you. Yet he chooses to do so. He wants you to participate with him in the ministry. He desires so that he graciously gives it to you. He gives the energy and empowerment to get it done. What an honor! And when we see how God has worked through us we can say, “What an honor it is that God would use me to do this!”
When we think back on all that this church has done and the difference it has made in the lives of so many, we have reason to boast in Christ and feel honored by what God has done through us and have hope as to what he will continue to do.
Hope
Hope
Which leads us to our last attitude. So we have seen Paul’s attitude of humility, then moved to Paul’s attitude of honesty, and just saw his attitude of honor. Those were all toward his old ministry. And I am sure that Paul brought those over to his new ministry, but I want to focus on the attitude that Paul had in his new ministry, namely hope.
and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul has proclaimed the gospel throughout most of the known world. He had proclaimed it from Israel to modern day Albania, about 1,000 linear miles, but he didn’t go in a straight line; it is estimated that Paul traveled over 10,000 miles in his lifetime spreading the good news. There were churches, including Rome and Colossae and Laodicea that he had never been to. Other Christians had started these. The gospel was spreading like wildfire. He had established churches himself, sent letters, and did so much. The gospel had been fulfilled in the region. In other words, the gospel was established. This ministry was over. But Paul was not going to fade away. He was moving on. His hope, his dream, his ambition was to proclaim the gospel in a brand new place, a place that the gospel had yet to be proclaimed. His ambition was to go to Spain.
He saw Isaiah’s words as a call for him.
so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
Paul didn’t need a Macedonian call in a dream. He had the message of Scripture beckoning him to be its fulfillment. He did not need to hear God say, “I have many in this city” because he had hope in the gospel. He believed it to be the power of God unto salvation. Paul believed that if it was proclaimed, at least some of the people would believe and be saved. Do we believe that as strongly as Paul did? Do we believe that people will believe if they just hear the gospel message?
Paul had hope. He had an ambition. Most likely Paul was writing from Corinth in 57 AD. Which means he had about 7 more years on earth. When he left Corinth, he would begin his long trip back to Jerusalem with stops along the way. Within a year, Paul was arrested, imprisoned for two years in Jerusalem, then under house arrest in Rome. He was released and some say he went to Spain like he hoped to do but we don’t know for sure. He would be re-arrested, imprisoned, and beheaded. But his ministry never died; it did not fade away. Even in prison he would write letters. While imprisoned, he wrote to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and later his second letter to Timothy. Though his ministry and circumstances changed, he always had an ambition for gospel ministry.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This year is Highland View’s 60th anniversary. If these walls could talk, they’d tell tales of ambitions, hopes, desires, successes. They’d tell of God’s energy working through faithful men, women, and children’s toils. They’d tell of former ministries and moving on to newer ones. And they would proclaim that old churches don’t need to die. They don’t need to fade away. They can move on to newer humble, honest, honorable, and hopeful ministries. They can move on to new ambitions to see Christ proclaimed among people who have never heard both across the street in the McNair Apartments and across the world among the Lono people. Our aim is to make much of the name of Christ by the power of God.