A New Year
For Our Church
Philippians
2:12-16
Tonight, I
want to preach “A NEW YEAR FOR BPC”
A) Several
years ago when our country was showing signs of economic instability, right in
the
heart of the
nation there was a pocket of prosperity!
* It was the
booming city of Wichita, Kansas!
*
Unemployment rate was only 3% …….
* It had a
$14 million city hall under construction and the board of education had just
approved a $30 million building program.
* Right in
the midst of a nation plagued with economic problems, there was a pocket of
prosperity!
B) What does
our world need most as we exit 2011 and enter the new year 2012?
* Can I tell
you that, what we need is pockets of spiritual prosperity!
* We need
groups of dynamic believers scattered all over the place.
* We need
colonies of heaven, living clean lives as children of God in a dark world full
of people who are “crooked and perverse” (morally corrupt), as Paul points out
in v.15.
C) That’s
the church … That’s the way it was meant to be and the world needs it to be!
* What will
enable a body of believers to be this kind of church?
* Let me
give you four things this tonight that will help BPC to become this kind of
church …
The first
thing we must have is:
(1) A CONSUMING PASSION TO KNOW JESUS!
A) A well
known Christian motivator says there are two questions he asks as he comes to a
group to
begin his work … “What do you want?” and “Where are your men?”
* What do we
want as a church?
* What are our goals?
* What is
our fulfillment through service?
* Ask Paul
what did he wanted … Look at Phil. 3:10
“That I may know him, and the power …”
B) The way
he put it, he wanted to know Jesus better!
* He doesn’t
leave the impression that his desire was mild … It was a driving passion!
* It was
knowing Christ at any price!
* Now almost
20 centuries later, this is still where the action is … There is no real
spiritual life apart from Jesus Christ!
C) This is
the day that Christians need to honor their vows!
* This is
the day in which Christians need to let Christ be the center of their lives!
* This is
the day in which Christians need to seek Him, the living Word in the written
Word!
* This is
the day that we should talk about Him … That should be something that comes
natural!
D) We should
share Him because He is the best we have!
* And it’s
no surprise that if we do these things, our relationship will be alive.
* John
explains it in John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
* John 10:10
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it …”
* A pocket
of spiritual prosperity will be found only when there are Christians who have a
consuming
passion to know Jesus!
The second
thing we must have is:
(2) AN OVERFLOWING LOVE FOR OTHERS!
A) Paul was
not only inwardly excited, he was outwardly motivated!
* His love
reached out to others … And the reason is no secret …….
* Christ
filled his heart with love for others.
* Paul
practiced love in action … Love reaching out to others at a great cost to
himself.
B) Love
which got him in prison … Stoned … Persecuted …….
* Does
loving this way come naturally for those who trust Christ?
* Well, it
begins with trusting Him, but it is enhanced by other exercises …….
* For
instance: It’s necessary to get near people before we can love them!
C) It’s also
in order to pray for the necessary love!
* That’s
what Paul did for the Philippian Christians … Phil. 1:9 “And this I pray, that
your …”
* Paul
wanted these Christians to overflow in their love for one another.
* When you
truly love one another as Christ does, you love them in spite of their faults!
* If we want
a great church in 2012, we must have an overflowing love for others!
The third
thing we must have is:
(3) A WILLINGNESS TO PAY THE PRICE!
A) There is
no bargain day in the kingdom of God!
* Jesus made
that very clear in Matt. 13:44 … He told of a man who sold all that he had in
order to buy the treasure which he found
hid in a field.
* In Matt. 19:16-22 He told of a wealthy young
inquirer that the way to eternal life was to sell all that he had and give to
the poor!
B) Turn to Luke 9:57-62 for some more good
illustrations …….
* v.57 …
Here was a man who was evidently attracted by the grace of Christ.
* He came to
Jesus apparently of his own accord and declared his readiness to follow Him.
* But Jesus
immediately tested him by saying in v.58 “Foxes have holes, and birds of the …”
C) It’s as
though Jesus was saying, “If you follow Me, you must not expect earthly gain!”
* “I don’t
promise an easy time down here … I don’t guarantee temporal comforts …….”
* “I have no
home Myself … I have no riches … If you follow Me, it means a life of
self-denial.”
* I don’t
know if he ever followed the Lord after hearing that.
D) v.59
…Jesus notices another man and it appeared that he desired to follow Him!
* So Jesus
looks at this man and gives the invitation, “Follow Me.”
* And the
man gave his excuse for not following Him right then, “Lord, suffer me first …”
* This man
was saying, “Lord, I love You, and I’ll be ready to follow You someday …….”
* “But I’ve
got an aged father, and I can’t leave him … When he passes away and I bury him,
then I’ll follow You.”
E) Notice
Jesus’ response in v.60 … Jesus as it were said, “You must not put anything
first!”
* “If My
message has touched your heart and soul … If I have your trust and confidence
…”
* “If you
feel a divine call to represent Me in Israel, don’t wait until family
circumstances change.”
* “Begin now
to tell others what God has done for you and what He can do for them.”
* I don’t
know if he ever followed the Lord after hearing this.
F) v.61 …
Another man offered himself to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow thee; but let me
first …”
* Note the
words “but” and “first.”
* The man
was willing to follow Christ, but something else needed to be handled first!
* That
little word “but” has hindered many from following Jesus!
* “I’ll
follow You Lord, BUT I can’t give this up.”
* “I can’t
yield wholly to thee because …”
G) This man
said, “Lord, I’ll follow You, but I must first go talk it over with my family!”
* Jesus
answered in v.62 “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back,
is fit …”
* We need to
realize this more and more … That Christ must have first place in our lives!
* There is
no indication that this man ever followed Christ either after hearing this.
H) It’s hard
today to get people who are willing to pay the price for serving Christ!
* They are
like these men in Luke 9 … They only want a partial commitment!
* But wherever
a body of believers who has a contagious faith from which light is shining in a
dark world,
somebody is paying a price!
* Hear the
Apostle Paul cry out in Phil. 3:7-8 …….
* Paul is
saying, “I have given up everything to win Christ!”
I) This is dependent
upon what we want to be as a church in 2012!
* A crowd
who will settle for nothing less than being a pocket of spiritual prosperity
will pay the price!
* Will you
pay the price in Christ’s service?
* Can we
depend on you?
* Will you
help?
* Or will
you be one of those who say, “I will, BUT let me FIRST …”
J) We need committed
christians … We need church workers … We need help in fund raisers …
* We need
people to help in the children’s churh … Will you help?
* Or will
you make your excuse, “I will, BUT let me FIRST …”
* How bad do
you want to see the church grow in this year?
* Are you
willing to pay the price … To sacrifice your life for Christ and His church in
2012?
The fourth
and final thing we must have is:
(4) A
CONFIDENCE THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE THE RESOURCES!
A) David
Livingstone, a missionary to Africa for 18 years came home to speak at a
University!
* He got up
to speak, face wrinkled by 27 fevers, darkened by the sun, with one arm hanging
limp due to a lion’s bite.
* He gave a
speech that left the audience quiet with amazement.
* He closed
out with, “And you know what … I’m going back!”
* He said,
“Shall I tell you what sustained me amidst the toils, the hardships and
loneliness of my life?”
* “It was
the promise of Jesus, ‘Lo, I am with you always …’”
B) The
Apostle Paul through all his afflictions said in Phil. 4:19 “But my God shall
…”
* God has
proven that verse true time and time again!
* Abraham on
Mt. Moriah …….
* Abraham
named the place “Jehovah-jireh,” meaning “The Lord will provide!”
* The widow
of Zarephath … The lad who gave his lunch … etc.
C) I could
use many other Bible truths concerning God providing for His people!
* Listen BPC
… We have to have confidence in our God that He will provide the resources we
need to
build a church … The money is out there … The people are out there …
* My
question to you is … Will you commit your life to the service of the Lord this
year, to help
in any way
you can, to let’s build a church for God’s glory!
CLOSE
A) A pocket
of spiritual prosperity … A likely description for a body of believers …….
* Ready to
be the church our community and our world needs in 2012.
* And the
four things that will enable us to be the church God wants us to be is …….
B) A
Consuming Passion To Know Jesus … An Overflowing Love For Others …….
* A
Willingness To Pay The Price …
* And A
Confidence That God Will Provide The Resources!
* Come to
Jesus today and tell Him that you want Him to have all of you!
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