Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Philippians 1:18-26 Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Good Morning. Happy Father’s day. Whether you have a good earthly father, a bad earthly father or you never knew your earthly father, we gather this morning to worship our perfect heavenly father. Because of the nature of the trinity, God has never not been in relationship within the godhead. The Father has always been a good father. Think for a second how much we learn on the job and figure things out midstream. But God the Father has always had perfect knowledge and perfect relationship as a father. As many or most of you will celebrate Father’s Day this afternoon, take a minute to reflect on the truth of God as Father.

Will you pray with me and give thanks? One of the ways fathers take care of their children is by feeding them. Please pray with me as we ask our Father to feed us his word this morning.

Father in heaven, you are holy. You are a giver of good gifts and you lavish them on us. Thank you that we have certainty of salvation because of Christ. Would you, through your Spirit, help us to bask in appreciation of your perfect Fatherliness today? We come here with different weeks and perspectives. Some of us are tired and worn out. Some of us are indifferent to your glory. Some of us are feeling thin in our faith. Father speak to us in our weaknesses. Don’t let the high bar of this passage allow us to dismiss it. Help us to sit in it, see the glory of Christ more and cause us to live differently. You word causes things to happen: Worlds exist, dead bones dance, sins are forgiven, your kingdom advances. Please give us ears to hear and greater faith to believe your word. God will you speak to us now?

If you were to die tonight, how certain are you of your destiny?

Second question, can you see death as better than what you have in life?

Those are hard questions. But they are incredibly important questions to answer. These questions get at the main point of our passage this morning. A Christ honoring life. Paul is challenging his audience and us to examine how we understand things with an eternal perspective.

Last week we looked at Paul’s current situation in prison. He was facing trial with the potential of punishment by death. Despite these dire circumstances, he maintained a perspective that saw God working to advance the gospel. Even as others tried to afflict him through preaching the gospel, he was filled with joy. The reason for his joy was that Christ was proclaimed and the gospel advanced.

Now in verse 18 he looks forward to what he is confident will happen in the future. Paul knows that Christ will be honored no matter what. Whether life or death. Paul’s goal is to honor Christ with whatever the future holds. He does this in several ways: his hope and joy in salvation means he lives with greater urgency in life. And his purpose for the progress and joy of others. As Paul’s joy increases, so does his desire to see others’ joy increase too.

A Christ-honoring Life means three things in this passage: A joyful life. An urgent life. And a discipling life.

I.

Philippians 1:12-18 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Intro

Good morning. If you are a visitor, welcome. If you haven’t been here in a while, welcome back. If you weren’t in Sunday School this morning, we have the Pineault family with us today. They are one of the missionary families that we support and they are back from Panama. I would encourage you that If you haven’t had a chance to greet them or meet them for the first time, please do so after service. Nate, Christina, Noah, Caleb and Luke, we’re glad you are worshipping with us today.

This morning we are continuing our way through the book of Philippians. The title of our series is Joyfully following Jesus Together ‘til the End. I pray that this book blesses you as it has me. It’s a joy and an honor to study, think, pray, write and preach every week.

Last week we looked at this idea that we are partners in the gospel. And the source of this partnership is that we first have partnership with Jesus in salvation. Because that partnership will not fail, the gospel partnership will not fail either. And the purpose of the partnership is to make disciples of all nations.

One component of making disciples is to see the gospel advance. That’s what Paul begins to describe in this section of his letter from verses 12-26. We’ll look at the first part today and the rest next week. Today we’ll look at verses 12-18 that highlight the current circumstances in which he wrote the letter. Next week we’ll look further at his future hopes for advancing the gospel.

Would you join me in prayer? Let’s ask God to illuminate this text for us. That we would have a greater appreciation for what Paul is saying. And for the Holy Spirit to apply this to our hearts.

Almighty God you are holy. You are Author and Creator of this universe. You are full or power and yet intimately involved with your creation. Thank you for sending Christ into this fallen world. Thank you preserving your people with the Holy Spirit. We have fellowship with you this morning because of Christ.

For all who believe in the gospel this morning, we have a common union with Christ. We share in the same partnership as the Philippians enjoyed with Paul. Let us not move past this too quickly. Now I ask that you would give us ears to hear and minds to think hard about your word. Keep us from distraction, help us fight against familiarity. Speak to us and strengthen our faith. We love you and we want to know Christ more, so that others might know Christ too.

Last week Paul opened his letter with a prayer and a promise for the Philippians. Now he continues with an update on his circumstances. It’s similar to a missionary update we might receive now. As he gives an update to his friends at Philippi, Paul also uses the opportunity to teach them a key point about this gospel partnership. The gospel advances through circumstances. Put another way, God uses our situations to advance the gospel.

In our passage there are four main sections all with the same result: the gospel advancing. Verses 12-13 show the gospel advancing through hard situations. Verse 14 sees gospel advance despite fear. Then in v 15-17 we see gospel advance through different motives.

Philippians 1:12-18 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Intro

Good morning. If you are a visitor, welcome. If you haven’t been here in a while, welcome back. If you weren’t in Sunday School this morning, we have the Pineault family with us today. They are one of the missionary families that we support and they are back from Panama. I would encourage you that If you haven’t had a chance to greet them or meet them for the first time, please do so after service. Nate, Christina, Noah, Caleb and Luke, we’re glad you are worshipping with us today.

This morning we are continuing our way through the book of Philippians. The title of our series is Joyfully following Jesus Together ‘til the End. I pray that this book blesses you as it has me. It’s a joy and an honor to study, think, pray, write and preach every week.

Last week we looked at this idea that we are partners in the gospel. And the source of this partnership is that we first have partnership with Jesus in salvation. Because that partnership will not fail, the gospel partnership will not fail either. And the purpose of the partnership is to make disciples of all nations.

One component of making disciples is to see the gospel advance. That’s what Paul begins to describe in this section of his letter from verses 12-26. We’ll look at the first part today and the rest next week. Today we’ll look at verses 12-18 that highlight the current circumstances in which he wrote the letter. Next week we’ll look further at his future hopes for advancing the gospel.

Would you join me in prayer? Let’s ask God to illuminate this text for us. That we would have a greater appreciation for what Paul is saying. And for the Holy Spirit to apply this to our hearts.

Almighty God you are holy. You are Author and Creator of this universe. You are full or power and yet intimately involved with your creation. Thank you for sending Christ into this fallen world. Thank you preserving your people with the Holy Spirit. We have fellowship with you this morning because of Christ.

For all who believe in the gospel this morning, we have a common union with Christ. We share in the same partnership as the Philippians enjoyed with Paul. Let us not move past this too quickly. Now I ask that you would give us ears to hear and minds to think hard about your word. Keep us from distraction, help us fight against familiarity. Speak to us and strengthen our faith. We love you and we want to know Christ more, so that others might know Christ too.

Last week Paul opened his letter with a prayer and a promise for the Philippians. Now he continues with an update on his circumstances. It’s similar to a missionary update we might receive now. As he gives an update to his friends at Philippi, Paul also uses the opportunity to teach them a key point about this gospel partnership. The gospel advances through circumstances. Put another way, God uses our situations to advance the gospel.

In our passage there are four main sections all with the same result: the gospel advancing. Verses 12-13 show the gospel advancing through hard situations. Verse 14 sees gospel advance despite fear. Then in v 15-17 we see gospel advance through different motives.

This morning we will look at the verses 3-11 of Philippians. Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with a prayer that sets the table for the rest of what he has to say. He begins by encouraging the Philippians and has them fix their eyes on their partnership in the gospel. As we look at ways we can partner in the gospel, we also need to understand and appreciate the glorious fuel for this partnership. Please pray with me that this would be clear to us.

Father, author of life, thank you for the blessings of children. Thank you for the Opsahls and their desire to disciple their children in the fear of you. May we as a church support not only Luke and Courtney but all of the families at Grace to make disciples. We pray for Pastor Dave and Gerri as they continue their sabbatical. Please give them rest this week as they have time to rest, focus on their marriage and in all things that they would seek to bring you glory during this time.

We also pray for Dick and Jean Thompson and Jean continues to honor her mother by caring for her. Please help mother Joan to get the help she needs, speak to her as you know her more intimately than anyone else. Cut through confusion and fog to remind her of your promises and truth. Strengthen Jean. Let Dick be a continued source of comfort and encouragement. Help us as a body to love and support the Thompson’s during this time. Thank you for their humble example of honoring an aging parent. Thank you for that gift to our body.

Lord you are present with us. You are faithful to all of your promises and you don’t change. On our own we are flimsy and weak. We ask that your Holy Spirit would give us greater faith to trust you. The promise you make in this text is glorious, I ask that it would provide hope and assurance this morning. I pray that your certainty would bring us greater drive in ministry. Give us greater focus as a church to make disciples and bring you glory. Speak to us through your living word now. Please let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sigh, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Imagine you and a friend decide to go into business together. Some of you have already done this. Others might hear this and vigorously shake your head ‘no way’. Hang with me a second. Maybe it was to purchase a rental home or a fixer-upper. Maybe it’s opening a restaurant or a shop or offering a service of some kind. You and your friend become partners. It’s a partnership that has a point. You aren’t just becoming partners for hanging out or having fun together. That might be a byproduct, but you have a clear purpose: to run a successful business. You have risks: financial. Relational. What happens if things go wrong? It could harm your finances, but it could also harm your friendship.

What if there was a guarantee that the business would succeed? Maybe there is an investor in your business or a super successful business mogul that is backing you. The promise is that the business won’t be an overnight success, but it will succeed long term. You would still experience the ups and downs of business: growing pains, financial downturns, lean years, hirings, and firings, but through it all you had assurance that the business would outlast your competitors, it would turn a profit someday and would still stand even after you were gone. How would this assurance change things? Would you be more willing to stick with it during the hard times? Would you be more willing to charge ahead with greater focus? Would you be willing to take greater risks?

This morning we are going to look at two interrelated partnerships that are both fueled by a glorious promise that results in joy and greater motivation to continue and persevere in these partnerships; both the vertical and the horizontal.

There are three pieces to this enduring partnership in verses 3-11: first it is a Joyful Partnership.

This morning we will look at the verses 3-11 of Philippians. Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with a prayer that sets the table for the rest of what he has to say. He begins by encouraging the Philippians and has them fix their eyes on their partnership in the gospel. As we look at ways we can partner in the gospel, we also need to understand and appreciate the glorious fuel for this partnership. Please pray with me that this would be clear to us.

Father, author of life, thank you for the blessings of children. Thank you for the Opsahls and their desire to disciple their children in the fear of you. May we as a church support not only Luke and Courtney but all of the families at Grace to make disciples. We pray for Pastor Dave and Gerri as they continue their sabbatical. Please give them rest this week as they have time to rest, focus on their marriage and in all things that they would seek to bring you glory during this time.

We also pray for Dick and Jean Thompson and Jean continues to honor her mother by caring for her. Please help mother Joan to get the help she needs, speak to her as you know her more intimately than anyone else. Cut through confusion and fog to remind her of your promises and truth. Strengthen Jean. Let Dick be a continued source of comfort and encouragement. Help us as a body to love and support the Thompson’s during this time. Thank you for their humble example of honoring an aging parent. Thank you for that gift to our body.

Lord you are present with us. You are faithful to all of your promises and you don’t change. On our own we are flimsy and weak. We ask that your Holy Spirit would give us greater faith to trust you. The promise you make in this text is glorious, I ask that it would provide hope and assurance this morning. I pray that your certainty would bring us greater drive in ministry. Give us greater focus as a church to make disciples and bring you glory. Speak to us through your living word now. Please let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sigh, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Imagine you and a friend decide to go into business together. Some of you have already done this. Others might hear this and vigorously shake your head ‘no way’. Hang with me a second. Maybe it was to purchase a rental home or a fixer-upper. Maybe it’s opening a restaurant or a shop or offering a service of some kind. You and your friend become partners. It’s a partnership that has a point. You aren’t just becoming partners for hanging out or having fun together. That might be a byproduct, but you have a clear purpose: to run a successful business. You have risks: financial. Relational. What happens if things go wrong? It could harm your finances, but it could also harm your friendship.

What if there was a guarantee that the business would succeed? Maybe there is an investor in your business or a super successful business mogul that is backing you. The promise is that the business won’t be an overnight success, but it will succeed long term. You would still experience the ups and downs of business: growing pains, financial downturns, lean years, hirings, and firings, but through it all you had assurance that the business would outlast your competitors, it would turn a profit someday and would still stand even after you were gone. How would this assurance change things? Would you be more willing to stick with it during the hard times? Would you be more willing to charge ahead with greater focus? Would you be willing to take greater risks?

This morning we are going to look at two interrelated partnerships that are both fueled by a glorious promise that results in joy and greater motivation to continue and persevere in these partnerships; both the vertical and the horizontal.

There are three pieces to this enduring partnership in verses 3-11: first it is a Joyful Partnership.

As you probably figured out we are going to spend the Summer going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Philippians is a great book. It’s only four chapters but it’s rich. It’s filled with a clear picture of the gospel and how that is the power for enduring. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you might be familiar with some of the themes or even some of the verses. But maybe you have less of an idea of the big picture of the letter. As it was read, you probably recognized many verses like “to live is Christ and to Die is gain” or “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”.

Maybe you’ve heard some of these verses used well, or misused. One of the benefits of expository preaching is that working our way through the book, section by section, we will see each of these verses in their proper context. Another benefit of expository preaching is that we will better see Paul’s agenda in writing the letter, rather than bringing my thoughts to the text.

We are going to spend 13 weeks working through Philippians. Kyle, Mat Adams and Grant will also help with preaching certain weeks this Summer.

This week I want to give an overview of the book. We will look at the background so we can understand the world of the Philippians better, and then we will look at the major themes of the book that go into the title of our series. Based on the themes I see in the book, I am working off the title “Joyfully following Jesus together ‘til the end”. In addition to the themes, we will also look at a passage that forms the heart of the book that anchors all of the themes.

When coming to any book of the Bible, we need to understand the original setting and how it can affect the actual content that’s written. Let’s start with the background by answering Who, Where, and Why.

Background

First, who are the main characters in the book?

Verse 1 says that Paul and Timothy wrote the letter. Most, if not all of you are familiar with Paul’s story. He was a Pharisee, trained very well in the Jewish scriptures and was persecuting Christians until he met Jesus and was dramatically converted. It’s also noteworthy that he was a Roman citizen. This combination of Jewish heritage and Roman citizenship allowed him a unique perspective that he preached and wrote from.

He became an apostle, traveling around the ancient world preaching the gospel, and planting churches. He faced incredible persecution, and sufferings. He was imprisoned several times, including when he wrote this book.

Paul’s life as an apostle was filled with difficulty and sufferings. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul gives a description of what he faced as an apostle:

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

This is Paul’s life. These are the circumstances that he writes Philippians from. This is the context that he is able to say things like “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. He has anxiety, he clearly is suffering, and yet somehow he can still have joy and hope because of the gospel.

The next character is Timothy. Timothy was one of Paul’s partners on his travels, who joined him shortly before Paul went to Macedonia and Philippi for the first time. His mother was Jewish and his father was Greek. This gave him a unique background for ministry to the Philippians and other churches that Paul had planted. In the letter,

As you probably figured out we are going to spend the Summer going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Philippians is a great book. It’s only four chapters but it’s rich. It’s filled with a clear picture of the gospel and how that is the power for enduring. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you might be familiar with some of the themes or even some of the verses. But maybe you have less of an idea of the big picture of the letter. As it was read, you probably recognized many verses like “to live is Christ and to Die is gain” or “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”.

Maybe you’ve heard some of these verses used well, or misused. One of the benefits of expository preaching is that working our way through the book, section by section, we will see each of these verses in their proper context. Another benefit of expository preaching is that we will better see Paul’s agenda in writing the letter, rather than bringing my thoughts to the text.

We are going to spend 13 weeks working through Philippians. Kyle, Mat Adams and Grant will also help with preaching certain weeks this Summer.

This week I want to give an overview of the book. We will look at the background so we can understand the world of the Philippians better, and then we will look at the major themes of the book that go into the title of our series. Based on the themes I see in the book, I am working off the title “Joyfully following Jesus together ‘til the end”. In addition to the themes, we will also look at a passage that forms the heart of the book that anchors all of the themes.

When coming to any book of the Bible, we need to understand the original setting and how it can affect the actual content that’s written. Let’s start with the background by answering Who, Where, and Why.

Background

First, who are the main characters in the book?

Verse 1 says that Paul and Timothy wrote the letter. Most, if not all of you are familiar with Paul’s story. He was a Pharisee, trained very well in the Jewish scriptures and was persecuting Christians until he met Jesus and was dramatically converted. It’s also noteworthy that he was a Roman citizen. This combination of Jewish heritage and Roman citizenship allowed him a unique perspective that he preached and wrote from.

He became an apostle, traveling around the ancient world preaching the gospel, and planting churches. He faced incredible persecution, and sufferings. He was imprisoned several times, including when he wrote this book.

Paul’s life as an apostle was filled with difficulty and sufferings. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul gives a description of what he faced as an apostle:

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

This is Paul’s life. These are the circumstances that he writes Philippians from. This is the context that he is able to say things like “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. He has anxiety, he clearly is suffering, and yet somehow he can still have joy and hope because of the gospel.

The next character is Timothy. Timothy was one of Paul’s partners on his travels, who joined him shortly before Paul went to Macedonia and Philippi for the first time. His mother was Jewish and his father was Greek. This gave him a unique background for ministry to the Philippians and other churches that Paul had planted. In the letter,

This Sunday the sermon was given by guest pastor Dave Linde. We don’t have a transcript of the sermon, but the audio is available as usual.

Mark 9:14-29 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

This Sunday the sermon was given by guest pastor Dave Linde. We don’t have a transcript of the sermon, but the audio is available as usual.

Mark 9:14-29 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

INTRODUCTION

The title for this sermon came from a line in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together. Reflecting on passages like Romans 12:3-8 he wrote, “In a Christian community everything depends upon whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain.” The picture he was trying to paint is something like a crane hoisting up a beam, held by a chain. If any link in the chain is faulty the entire beam will inevitably fall, possibly destructively and dangerously. So it is, by God’s design, with the church. God has given us a commission, and in order to accomplish it everyone must properly perform their God-given function or use their God-given gifts to that common end. If we do not, we cannot fulfill the purpose which God has given us. If we do, we demonstrate the power of the gospel to the unbelieving world.

To help you all see all of that in the text and to help you understand how to put it into practice I mean to name that which the passage assumes (the commission this passage directs us on how to fulfill), I mean to name the various aspects of our role in fulfilling God’s charge to the Church, I mean to help you see your individual and indispensable role in all of this, and I mean to name two specific applications (one for Mother’s Day and one for my upcoming Sabbatical).

Would you pray with me, then, that the text and our application of it would be clear? Would you join me in praying that the Spirit would be pleased to convict and inspire us to obey all that God calls us to in this passage? And would you go with me before God asking him to strengthen the moms at Grace and Grace during our time away?

GOD’S COMMISSION

Apart from its larger context this passage might be a bit confusing. Imagine if I said to you all something like,

“Now I want you guys to work together. You need each other. You each have certain gifts and abilities that you need to put into practice. Make sure not to think your gifts are more or less than they really are, but use them to the best of your abilities.”

On one hand, that all sounds fairly reasonable and sensible. On the other hand, something critical is clearly missing. Have you figured out what it is? It’s missing the end or goal. Work together toward what end? You need each other for what purpose? Put your gifts and abilities into practice as well as possible to what goal?

And so it is in our passage for this morning. What does Paul expect his readers to accomplish by heeding his charges? To what end does he expect them to be humble, perform their functions, and use their gifts?

Implied in this text is the Great Commission. That is, in light of the gospel that Jesus accomplished and Paul explained in the first 11 chapters of Romans, God left his people with a specific commission—a specific charge for Christians in light of the new life he purchased for us by the blood of his Son. We find it in Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,