"Our Purpose" By Director of Fellowships Rod Williams May 21st,
2017
You may be seated. I want to do something, here, this morning, and, the reason why I'm doing it is because, sometimes, we see each other in worship, but we really don't know what each other does. Make sense? So, this morning, what I would like to do, in sending out a thank you to the different departments in the ministry, and, if you would, stand and be recognized, I would appreciate it. So, we're going to start out: Members of the Preaching and Teaching Team, stand. Advancing Education Team. Women's Ministry. Men's Ministry. Music Department. Children's Church Teachers and Helpers. Seniors, our Seniors, please stand. Teen's Ministry. Visitation Team—those who visit homes and hospitals and—please stand. Ushers. Military Ministry. All of you who provide rides for people to come to church, please stand. People who work the sound system and screen. And isn't a blessing to know that ministry is going on around you, and you're sitting beside somebody, not knowing what they do? Now you can say, “You know what? I have a brother who can help in this situation.” “I have a sister who can help this way.” Okay? Now, I would like for you to please stand, when I call out these next—how would I say?--anyway, when I call it out: If you have been in this ministry forty-plus years, please stand. (I'm giving everybody an opportunity to think about it, how long. I'm going to prolong this s a little bit.) All right, if you have been in this ministry anywhere from thirty to thirty-nine years. Please stand. Wow. If you have been in this ministry for twenty to twenty-nine years, please stand. Good to see you, Joe. If you have been in this ministry for ten to nineteen years, please stand. And, if you have been in this ministry for one day to nine years, please stand. Amen, amen, amen. Amen. I understand y'all are celebrating women's month, this month. Amen. All the women, if you would, all the women stand? I just want to say thank you all very much for the part you play in ministry. And, guys, if you didn't recognize that, we all were born of a woman. Unless, unless—anybody here wasn't born from a woman? Help me out. Okay. So, women, thank you very much for what you do in ministry. You know, I've been thinking a lot about, just Heaven; Heaven, Heaven, Heaven. And, I was thinking about how our focus needs to be on Heaven. You know, we're not in this race to have something to do; we're in this race to be saved. And, I was thinking about Heaven, and I said to myself,when we get to Heaven, there will be no more pain, I don't have to go work a job, no more worries, no more suffering, and whatever else you guys add onto it. Come on, give me some; help me out up here: No more bills, no more laundry, no more sickness—All right, so, I'm glad everybody's participating, you know, because this is what it's about. It's about us feeling comfortable with one another. It's about us taking out time to consider one another, to respect one another... And, let's face it: I look forward to rejoicing up in Heaven with the Saints. I'm looking forward to rejoicing with you. And, you know what, I can come by and visit you in your mansion, and say, “Hey, you know what? I just want to watch TV with you. I just want to drink coffee with you.” And we get the opportunity to walk the streets of gold. It's not a Hollywood boardwalk; streets of gold. We get the opportunity to dance around the throne, worshiping our God. Can you see it, Church? Can you see it? We have to. We have to see that, what we do, we're doing it to make it into the Kingdom. That's the bottom line. Some of us might be here today, and you're heavy-hearted. That's all right. Some of us may be fighting tremendous spiritual battles. Some of us are uncertain about the future. Some of us maybe dealing with financial issues. Some of us maybe dealing with marriage issues. But, I can tell you this: Give it all to Jesus. Give it all to Jesus. Give it all to Jesus. Give it all to Jesus. How many know we're God's people? We're God's people, right? How many know that God will provide everything that we need? How many of us trust God? At times, right? It depends. So, we have an understanding, as Christians, of what God can do for us. And I got to thinking about the simple fact that our hope is in Jesus Christ. Don't give up, and don't give in to Satan's trap. Now, the title of the message this morning is called, “Our Purpose.” Each and every one of us are individuals; God created us uniquely. We all have a purpose. And, one thing about when you find what your purpose is, you put energy, passion, time into that purpose. And I was thinking about what is common amongst all of us? Our purpose. Our purpose is living for Jesus Christ. But, in that purpose, someone may say, “I know my purpose is to work with children.” “I know my purpose is to work with the elderly.” “I know my purpose is to teach.” “I know my purpose.” And, it's very important that we understand that, because God has given each and every one of us a unique ministry, and we should respect and honor it. And we should respect, each and every one of our purposes. It doesn't matter who we are. It doesn't matter what position we have. How many people here were born in this world, and, all of the sudden, you was the church superintendent? How many people were born in this world, and, all of the sudden, you was the head of women's ministry? Men's ministry? Anybody? I don't even remember getting hit on the butt, when I was born. I don't know why they do that. Nurses, can you help me with that? Oh, it encourages them to take a deep breath. Oh, okay. I don't remember that. I'm quite sure it happened. So, this thing of, our purpose, living as a Christian. Do you know that people are counting on us? People are counting on us, in our jobs, in our families, wherever we go, we have a purpose. It should be that, when we walk into a place, they see Christ. It should be that people come up to you , and say, “You know what? I need you to pray for me.” I'll just share an example: I cycle, and I've got this nice little black bike, a Genesis bike, twenty-nine inch rims; real nice bike, right? And, I said, “God, you know what? I want to use this to bring glory to your name.” So, I got—y'all are going to laugh at this, but I'm very serious—so, I got one of those little bag/pouch that you put on the seat-post—people who ride bikes know what I'm talking about—and I've got my spare tube in there, I've got my church cards in there, and I've got a little bottle of anointing oil in there, you know? So, anyway, I was riding my bike one day, and I saw this gentleman on the corner. And, we just started talking, casually, and he was telling me about the hard times and hardships in his life, and what was going on, and I said, “You know what? Do you mind if we have a word of prayer?” He said, “Yes,” and we had the word of prayer, and, at the end of it, he was like, “Thank you.” And guess what I did when I was done? I got on my bike, pedaled home, and said, “Thank You, Jesus.” Because, God can use anything that we have to bring glory to his name, no matter what. Theme Scripture this morning is going to be from Second Chronicles, chapter seven, I believe verses eleven through fourteen. It says:
2 Chronicles 7:11-14 Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; [this is the key verse:] If my people, [are we God's people?] which are called by my name, [are we called by His name?] shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; [it says:] then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
I don't know if this is being recorded or not? Is this being recorded? It is? Oh, man, I've got to stay behind here. Okay, we're God's people, God is telling us, “Hey, look, you've got to humble yourself. You've got to pray. You know you've got to seek My face. You've got to turn form your wicked ways.” He said, “Then will I hear from Heaven, and heal the land.” He said He'll heal the land. You know what, Saints? I can honestly stand up here and say I am a sinner saved by grace. You know, let's take off all the church stuff, and get real about it. None of us are no better than anyone else, we just serve God. And we have to realize that, we're not here, just only for ourselves. If you look around this room right now, people are here from different walks, different backgrounds, different ages, you know, different hairstyles, but somebody reached out to us and shared the Gospel with us, and we are where we are right now. How are we doing that? Are we out and about, being busy about God's business? Are we out and about sharing with people? Are we out and about caring for people? Because, we're the Church; we're supposed to be the light. The government shouldn't tell us how to do and what to do. Let's listen to God, and let God tell us how to do it, show us how to do it. This message is not going to be long, I guarantee you, because, we need to really consider what we're about and what we're doing. When you say you're a Christian, show me. That's what the world is looking at. They might give us a hard time; they might curse us on our job, they might belittle us, they might ignore us, but that's all right. They ignored Noah, but that day came, that day came. And that's what we have to look forward to, that day when we're taken up. You know what? God, I thank You so much, You've kept me all this time. Every day was a struggle. Every day, I had to rely on Him. I don't know about y'all, but I know what God brought me from, and I'm thankful and grateful for where I'm at today. Give the Lord a praise. How many people feel, at times, like, in your mind, it's like a railroad track, confusion going on, and you can't focus, you're just like, “Where are these crazy thoughts coming from?” Anybody? Okay. Do you know what's the solution for that? Go ahead, you can say it. Prayer. Okay. But, think about this: when all that stuff is going on, renew your mind in Christ. That's it: Renew your mind in Christ.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
That's all we've got to do: Renew our minds. How many people like to work with a team, a team of people? Anybody? Many hands make light work. Do you know we're a team? Do you know we're Christians, a group of people? There's people that want to be like us, but they don't want to live like us. That's a big difference. “Hey, I like—I see how God blesses you, and, man, I mean, there's a glow about you, this...” And you can say, “Hey, you know what, you can h ave the same thing. It's free.” “Well, I know I'm going to have to give up this; I know I'm going to have to give up that. I know...” You know. It's more, “What I'm not going to be able to do,” than, “What God help me, or elevate me to do.” And, I think about a lot of times in ministry when we get busy, and life just takes its toll. And, Satan cones I, and he says, “You don't need to hang with them. Stay home; go golfing, go fishing—I'm going fishing this Wednesday, so, anyway—but I'm going with a brother. We're fellowshipping two by two. But, we have all been there; we have all allowed something to take the place of God. Anybody here want to make me a liar? Please do. I want to be knowing... So,when those times come, we've got to stop and remember who we are. And, for brothers and sisters, it's our responsibility to help each other stay on track. We have to be accountable to each other. We have to be able to humble ourselves, and say, “You know, I know this person is looking out for my best interests,” because all of us are different. I have a very driven attitude, but I love people. It might be taken the wrong way. “Hey, he's trying to take charge!” or, “He is too aggressive!” or, “She is too...” You know. We know who we are. Have anybody—let me see here. Let me make sure I do this right. Let's talk to the married couples right now. Well, I'm married, too. (“Your wife's not here!”) Yes, definitely. Yeah, everybody else will tell her. Okay, husband and wife: The husband is like, “You know what, I want to do something for my wife, and I want to show her that I love her.” So whatever that “we do” part—all you husbands know—So, we do it, and their reaction is not the reaction that we want. We want her to be so cheerful and happy, and you get this, (grasping his hands together as though holding something, and looking down at his hands with an expression of, “What is this, and why in the world would you think I would want it?”) “Oh. Thank you.” Anybody? I mean, come on, we're in church; we can talk about these things. Yeah, you know. Okay, ladies, you go all out, “I'm doing this and that,” because y'all are multitasking everything. We're like, “Okay.” She got dinner set up. She got this set up. And then it's like, “Hey, I got all this planned for us, right here, and everything,” and we're like, “Man, could you have included us in this right here? I got this going on...” Husbands? Anybody? Okay, okay, all right, good. Then we're comfortable... But, you understand that both people love each other, it's just that, the way the love is being shown is different. And we have to understand that God loves us, each and every one of us, as individuals, but He cares and shows us in different ways. Let's look at First Corinthians, chapter twelve, verses eighteen through twenty, and this will be the last Scripture. I told you it wouldn't be long, but, if God's in it, that's what makes the difference.
1 Corinthians 12:18-20 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.
There's only one ministry, and it's God's ministry. There are other ministries out there that are serving God, that are in God's will, and we're all one big ministry, but this ministry, this facet, is Christian Fellowship Ministry, and God placed us here as it pleased Him. So, are we going to have conflicts, disputes, misunderstandings... Are we going to have those things? Yes, right? They happen. But, we have to realize Who placed us here. You know, I've got to look over to Andy and say, “You're my brother. No matter how we feel right now, we're in Christ; let's work this out.” Or Pastor Brand, “Hey, thank you for showing me and raising me up and teaching me,” or whatever that is, ask God when you have a dealing with a brother or sister, ask God how to use you to minister to them. Because, we're all in this together, Church. We're all in this together. And I just want to say thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to come up here and just talk, just talk as a family. That's all it is; we're just talking to each other. And I'm just thankful and grateful, and God bless.
|
|
|
|
