MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Powerpoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com & request #481.)
TEXT: Philippians 1:12-14; Galatian 6:9; Deuteronomy 6:4-7, 33:7;
Ephesians 3:16-19, 4:8; Luke 12:28; John 3:17
(The basic idea & most of the illustrations in this sermon were gleaned & adapted
from a message by the late Russell Martin of Miami, OK.)
At the beginning of a new year news magazines & newspapers often feature highlights of the past year; pictures & articles of celebrities who died, & notable events that occurred; along with plans & predictions for the new year.
And during our adult Bible School this morning we will do about the same thing for our congregation.
While the reports of the past year will be interesting, I personally would like sometime to hear a report that covers the past 20 years or so – from when Ridge Chapel consisted of just 6 people, this one building – no classroom or fellowship annex - & this was just a plain room with no beautiful windows or church decorations.
Since that day God has blessed us wonderfully with a whole procession of willing workers. Now here we are today to thank Him & praise His name!
And I think that Christians need to do exactly the same thing for our Nation also!
ILL. I have read that about 350 years ago in a small colonial settlement on our Atlantic Coast, the elected officials commissioned the clearing of a wagon roadway 5 miles westward into the wilderness.
But some of their fellow colonists stood up & protested the decision, complaining, "Who will ever find occasion to take a wagon as far as 5 miles westward from the coast?"
Here were colonists who had braved the dangers of sailing 3,000 miles across the storm tossed Atlantic. Filled with vision & determination they had worked & sacrificed to build their homes in the new world.
Then they lost the vision that got them there, & settled down in contentment, com¬pletely uninterested in going any further. How quickly those pio¬neers lost their vision!
PROP. I suggest to you today that we who are Christians have been called by our Lord, Jesus Christ, to be courageous pioneers, helping to build highways that men may find that city whose builder & maker is God!
Little wonder that the scripture tells us, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" [Galatians 6:9].
ILL. Jack Dempsey told of a young boxer in the old days of bare knuckle bouts, which would end only when one opponent in the prize fight was knocked out or unable to finish, who was matched with a very strong opponent. After the fight he telegraphed his father in Ohio just 7 words, "Feeling wonderful. Won easily in 84 rounds."
How about that! It took him 84 rounds to win the fight "easily." We stand amazed in the face of such persistence keeping on & on amid bruises, cuts, left jabs & solid rights to the jaw.
Likewise, the victories for Christ we long for & look forward to with anticipation ultimately depend upon the Spirit of God that works within us, the vision that motivates us, & the perseverance that we exhibit.
And the Apostle Paul, as a prisoner in a Roman jail, is a perfect example for us. Listen to his words in Philippians 1:12 14,
"Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard & to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
"Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously & fearlessly."
What a thrilling spirit! "No matter what happens," Paul is saying, "I rejoice, because God is able to use that to make the good news of Jesus known, & to encourage others to speak the word of God more courageously & fearlessly."
ILL. I like the stirring song whose chorus says,
"The fight is on, O Christian soldier, & face to face in stern array;
With armor gleaming & banners streaming, the right & wrong engage today.
The fight is on, but be not weary; be strong & in His might hold fast.
If God is for us, His banner o'er us, we'll sing the victor's song at last
I. WE MUST BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO CARES ABOUT US ALL
Now if Christians are going to accomplish the task God has given us, then we must believe with all our heart that God cares about us, & not be afraid to proclaim it.
I ask you, have we been faithful in keeping the command that God gave to Israel & to us? [Deuteronomy 6:4 7]. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your strength.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home & when you walk along the road, when you lie down & when you get up"
This is God's world. He made it. He is still in it. He is guiding it toward a purposeful goal. Yet there is an attitude of hopelessness & helplessness prevalent in much of society today.
Listen to these words adapted from, "Cry, The Beloved Country."
"Before the Lord God made the sea & the land,
He held all the stars & planets in the palm of His hand.
And they ran through His fingers like grains of sand,
And one little planet fell alone.
Then the Lord God hunted through the wide night air,
For the little dark planet on the wind down there.
And he stated & promised He'd take special care,
So it wouldn't get lost again.
Now a man don't mind if the stars grow dim,
And the clouds blow over & darken him,
So long as the Lord God's watching over them,
Keeping track how it all goes on.
But I've been walking through the night & the day,
Till my eyes are weary & my head has turned gray.
And sometimes it seems maybe God's gone away,
Forgetting the promise we heard Him say.
And we're lost out there in the stars.
Little planets, big stars, blowing through the night, And we're lost out there in the stars."
"We’re lost out there in the stars"? Oh no! This great God who holds the whole world in His hands; this God who stops making worlds & fashioning stars to attend the funeral of a sparrow; this great God is best described by His only begotten Son when Jesus questioned His disciples:
"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, & tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?" [Luke 12:28]
And what of this promise in Deuteronomy 33:27? "The eternal God is your refuge, & underneath are the everlasting arms."
Let us work on & pray on & pioneer on so that men may hear: "A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing. Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing."
II. WE MUST BELIEVE JESUS IS THE CHRIST, OUR ONLY SAVIOR & LORD
A. Now if Christians are going to accomplish the task that God has given us, then we must also believe with all our heart that Jesus is the Christ, our only Savior & Lord, & not be afraid to proclaim that, either.
When the fullness of time was come, God came down from heaven in the form of a baby. He came to the world as a servant, & became obedient unto death, even death on the cross.
Hear John the Baptizer's introduction of our Savior, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." Somehow we can never get over the wonder & mystery of that! Who can comprehend such love?
Jesus is the greatest love story ever told. He wrote the details of the love that will not let us go in His own blood at Calvary's cross.
ILL. When our modern medicines & washing machines are as obsolete as blood¬letting & the one horse shay; when our space shuttles take their place in the dusty museums alongside the steam engine & the buggy whip; when the stars grow old & the leaves of the judgment books unfold; His story of love will still be young!
B. Hear the Apostle Paul praying, [Ephesians 3:16 19], "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
"And I pray that you, being rooted & established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide & long & high & deep is the love of Christ, & to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Jesus left the hallelujahs of the throne room for the hell brewed hisses of earth's inhabitants. He left the hosannas of Heaven for the nails of the old rugged cross. And still He knocks upon our heart's doors saying, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away" [John 6:37].
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" [John 3:17].
At the cross, God defeated the powers of darkness at the moment of their proudest triumph. He shattered the shackles of their tyranny to set the sinner free. It is a glorious phrase found in Ephesians 4:8 (KJV), "He led captivity captive." Which means that God turned the tables on Satan – that Satan’s seeming triumph, God used for Satan’s ultimate defeat.
ILL. Someone wrote: "They nailed Him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, never guessing that He would make it a throne.
"They took Him outside the city gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe to let the King come marching in.
"They thought to wipe out the memory of Him in the minds of men, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they sought to discard.
"They thought they had God pinned to a cross, helpless & defeated. They did not know that it was God who had taken them captive & conquered the powers of evil.
"He did not conquer in spite of the dark powers of evil He conquered even them. He led captivity captive, & set the captives free!"
And the wonderful thing for us today is that this risen, reigning Christ who can save to the uttermost, is the same yesterday, today, & forever for you, for me, & for whosoever will! It is by the glorious gospel of this unchanging Christ that we are commis¬sioned to build the roadway of redemption to the least, the last, & the lost.
INVITATION: Will you come …?
