Church Covenanting Service
[0:00] Amen. You can be seated. I want to introduce to you Matt Tyler. Many of you already know him, and if not, then hopefully you'll have a chance to get to know him this evening.
[0:16] You all know that First Baptist Church has been such an integral part of the story of this congregation from the very beginning. So First Baptist planted this church as First Baptist Allendahl, Allendahl Baptist Church.
[0:30] When it became the church at Seaweed Bay, that was First Baptist doing. They were behind that work. And then when the elders at First Baptist discussed how to best serve this congregation and decided this needs to be an autonomous church, the elders at First Baptist Church got behind this work.
[0:48] And so you may not know all of the work that they've been doing behind the scenes, all the many ways that they've been praying for us, praying for you, seeking the Lord's guidance as we've moved forward, all the ways that Matt in particular has been an encouragement to me.
[1:04] I still remember one of the first conversations I had when I heard about Seaweed Bay. It was with Matt and some of the other guys from the Pillar Network, and I left that conversation saying, I have no idea what an Allendahl is, what a Seaweed is, but I couldn't shake the thought of coming here from my mind.
[1:23] And I believe that that's an answer to the Lord answering the prayers of these elders at First Baptist Mount Pleasant. And so I asked Matt to come and to speak to us tonight, just to give a charge to the church as we get established this evening, a charge to the pastors as well as the leaders of this flock.
[1:41] And we're just excited to hear from him. So, Matt, if you would come up and bring the word to us tonight. Yes, sir. Well, it is a joy to be with you guys tonight.
[1:53] And I'm so thankful to that conversation that Jonathan and I were able to have. And it's been a couple of years ago now when we first met.
[2:04] But on behalf of the members of First Baptist Mount Pleasant, the elders, the deacons there, just want to say greetings. They're having we're having a service right now and they're praying for you and they're thankful for you.
[2:16] And we are excited for what God is doing out here. And several years ago, I could I think Trey could speak to this. We were in an elder meeting discussing how to best serve this church in this community.
[2:29] And we just ran around the room in an elder meeting and asked the question, OK, does there need to be a church in all and all? And the answer was obviously yes. Does there need to be a Baptist church in all and all?
[2:42] And the answer was yes. Is Siwi Bay that church? And as we talked and considered and prayed and went before the Lord about that, the answer was yes. And we're so thankful that God has allowed us to play a very small part in his eternal plan.
[2:56] It didn't start just a few years ago. It started a long time ago, really in eternity past. As God the Father and God the Son were working things out in what we call the covenant of redemption.
[3:10] They had a plan for all and all. They had a plan for you. They had a plan for those who don't know it yet, who live in this community, who are going to be impacted by the gospel that this church shares, but that you share.
[3:23] And so tonight, I want us to look to a passage of scripture. I'm not going to keep you long. There's food out in the lobby. And that would be dangerous.
[3:35] But I felt led this week to look to a passage of scripture I can honestly say is my favorite in all of the Bible. But we're going to look a little bit broader than just my favorite verses.
[3:47] We're going to look to Colossians 1, verses 15 through 20. So if you have a Bible, I want to encourage you to turn there. Colossians 1. Colossians 1. Verses 15 through 20.
[4:09] I've entitled this, All Things to the Glory of Christ. Let's read God's Holy Word.
[4:19] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
[4:38] Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things.
[4:51] And in him, all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning.
[5:02] The firstborn from the dead. That in everything, he might be preeminent. For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And through him, to reconcile to himself all things.
[5:18] Whether on earth or in heaven. Making peace by the blood of his cross. This is the word of the Lord. Would you pray? Let's ask for the Spirit's help.
[5:30] Oh God, we praise you for this night. But not just for this night. We praise you for all that you have been doing in the hearts and the lives of your people in this church up to this point.
[5:40] And we praise you for all that you are going to continue to do in the hearts and the lives of your people in this church. And in this community. And around the world. Through the efforts and the ministries of Seawee Bay Baptist Church.
[5:55] We ask now, though, that you help us in our weakness. That you would keep us focused upon you. That our eyes would be open to see your beauty. That our ears would be open to hear the glorious goodness of your grace.
[6:11] And, oh God, that you would bend our wills. That we might be conformed to the image of Christ. It's in his name that I pray. Amen. In 1914, on December 24th, in the middle of the Great War.
[6:27] There was much loss. There were many who were dying. On that Christmas Eve, two opposing sides laid down their arms.
[6:40] And they met in the neutral ground in between the two fighting forces. Or you would call that, actually, the deadly ground between the two fighting forces. And they came together. And they began to sing hymns.
[6:53] And Christmas carols. And to fellowship together. Those who were enemies, at one point, came together to spend time together. To acknowledge this day.
[7:06] Both pagan and Christian alike. To acknowledge this day as something special. Now, I can't prove it. But I believe that that moment in human history, that probably will never be reproduced.
[7:18] I mean, think about that. But that moment in history, I believe, was led by some Christian individuals. In the throes of war. Who decided, we're going to lay down our arms.
[7:31] And we're going to glorify God on this day. Now, we know the war raged. And things were horrible. But for that moment, the people of God drew the masses together for a time of peace.
[7:47] In this text that we look at tonight. In this charge, to you as church members. And to you who are elders in this church. Pastors in this church. I want to remind you that all things.
[7:59] All things. Not some things. But all things. Are held together. They're being sustained. All things. Are being redeemed. All things are working together, as Paul wrote.
[8:11] For the glory and for the good. Of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And so, if we look at these five verses. It's interesting.
[8:22] And important to point out. That five times in five verses. The two words, all things, are used. Five times. In so many verses. The two words, all things.
[8:35] Are used. And they're used. To show that God. Chose. To use his son. To send his son. To redeem.
[8:48] All things. And so, we look first. It says, by him, all things were created. Now, this doesn't mean that Christ. Was created. That's heresy.
[8:59] But, Christ is eternal. And in Christ. All things were created. By Christ. All things were created. When you look back to the creation account.
[9:11] You see the Trinity present there. And so, I think it's important for us to look at the history. Just briefly. Of this church. You see. By him, all things were created.
[9:22] It wasn't by First Baptist Mount Pleasant. That the Baptist Church was created here so many years ago. It was by Christ. You see. It was Christ who moved in the hearts of his people.
[9:36] To draw them together. To form what is his bride. It wasn't the works of men or women. It was the work of God. And some individuals got to play a part in that.
[9:48] You see. Because by him, all things were created. You see. Christ had a plan. For this particular church. And for this particular community.
[10:01] Long ago. Long before the world was created. God had planned in Christ. To gather you together. In this place. And so, we praise him.
[10:13] That he brought people along. In the way. That through Sea Wee Bay. And through it being the church that it was. Many years ago. And along the way. And by God's grace. Where we are today. We praise him for that.
[10:25] But let us not settle for where we are today. Church. Let me remind you. That all things were created by him. But we will see in just a moment. All things are being held together by him.
[10:37] And all things are being reconciled. Unto him. And so, yes. We celebrate today. But today is not the ending point. Today is merely a diving board. Into the pool, if you will.
[10:49] Of what God has planned for you. And for this community to come. You see. All things would be reconciled to Christ. But first.
[11:01] All things were created. And what a joy it is. To be a part of his created order. Second thing that we see in this text. As we look at this idea of all things.
[11:13] We see through him. And for him. All things were created. So, he created all things. And yet through him. And for him. All of these things. Were created.
[11:25] The eternal son of God. Through whom God. Made heaven and earth. According to John. Or first John 1. 3. All of these things. Were created for him. For his glory.
[11:36] For his enjoyment. And so. When we think about. This community. Let us not. Think about this community. As just.
[11:48] People living out in homes. In different areas. Of all in all. McClellanville. And in. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In.
[11:58] In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In.
[12:08] In. In. In. In. In. In. In.
[12:23] In. In. In. In. has been created for the glory of God in Christ. I hope you are stirred on this evening that as you drive from this place and as you leave from this place, members of this church, that you begin to see all in all, not just as a place where you live and where you come to worship, but as a place that has been included in these all things, the all things of Christ.
[12:54] And do you know what he allows us to do? He allows you to play a part in going and finding it. I think about little kids on Easter.
[13:05] Now, I know this illustration breaks down, okay? All illustrations do, right? This one really breaks down, but it helps me. Think about kids on Easter. You know, we put out the eggs.
[13:17] And let's just say you've got some eggs out here in the nice grass, and, you know, adults, we go out and we hide the eggs, and you let the kids loose to go run after the eggs. What do the kids do?
[13:27] They run. They tear. And they start finding eggs, and they're throwing them in their basket, and they're so excited about what they're finding. But before long, the obvious eggs are gone. What do the kids do at that point?
[13:42] They begin to look back at the adults, because they know that some of you guys hide them in the hard places. And they start looking, and what do you start doing? You start pointing. Look under the tire.
[13:53] Look under the bush. And you start helping them find the eggs, because you know where they are. You see, friends, God has given us a role in his kingdom, in the all-thingsness of Christ, that we get to play this role of going out and displaying his beauty and finding his children and sharing the gospel with them.
[14:16] And many times we run out of moments like this really excited. And we're going, and we're telling them about the new church. We're telling them about Christ. And we're telling our neighbors and our coworkers and our family all of the wonderful things of God.
[14:28] But a few years from now, the romantic side of being part of a church wears off. And things get hard. Not every Sunday is an up Sunday.
[14:40] Not every month is an exciting month. Sometimes the numbers go up. Sometimes the numbers go down. Sometimes we don't sing your favorite song or don't study your favorite book of the Bible. But it's in those moments.
[14:51] Where do you look when things get hard? I hope we, like the little kids in the Easter egg hunt, begin to look back not to an adult, but to our Savior.
[15:05] We begin to look to him and we begin to say, what do we do now? How do we glorify you now? Where are your people now? How do we worship you now? We don't look around to other things.
[15:16] We look back to the one who has created all things and to whom all things were created for. All things were created through.
[15:28] In him it goes on to say, all things are held together. So he's the creator of all things. All things were made through him and for him, but he's also the sustainer of all things.
[15:42] Do you know right now there's not one atom in all of the universe that is in chaos or that is out of order? Because if there were one, all of existence would cease to exist in that moment except for the Trinity.
[16:01] But you see, God in Christ is sustaining all things. He's keeping all things together for the glory of his Son right now. He's doing that in your life and in my life.
[16:12] And do you know he's done that through this church? There have been seasons that were difficult in this church. There have been seasons that have been great celebration in this church.
[16:22] But in all things and in all times, Christ the sustainer has ruled and reigned. And so Jonathan, Trey, what is it that you will turn to when things are difficult in this church?
[16:40] Where will you look? Where will you look for the foundation and for the propping up of that which will sustain this church? Friends, it is just Christ. There's nowhere else to look.
[16:51] There will be many things that will tempt you to turn to them. Many strategies, many helps, many opportunities will be offered. But the only one who has all things in his hands is Christ.
[17:08] Because you see, it goes on to say that he is before all things. He is the head of the church. He is the Son of the living God. In 1 Corinthians 12 and in other places in Scripture, we see that this idea that Christ is the head of the body.
[17:24] That we as his church are the body. And he is the head. He is moving and shaping and working every part. And every part is equally as important. Some of us don't like being the toe, but the toe is important.
[17:38] You know, I had a friend in high school. She cut her big toe off. Cutting grass. She was quite the athlete. After she cut her big toe off, she had to learn to walk again.
[17:49] And for that year, her athletic career was on pause. And so if you feel sometimes, church member, that, man, you know, I don't have a place.
[18:01] I don't have a role. Let me tell you, yes, you do. Because when I look at the fruit of the Spirit, when I look at those attributes, the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, the kindness, and self-control, all of those things, those are roles to play in the church.
[18:18] You know, a smile across a room can be the role that you play. A card sent to someone on their birthday, just letting them know that you know about them and that you care for them, that could be the role that you play.
[18:31] A kind word, even when you know that you are right and the person you're talking to is wrong, you show a little bit of self-control and kindness, that could be the role that you play in the church. And all of those roles are important.
[18:44] And so it's not just to be up here on the stage or to be in a Sunday school class leading. Those are important. But you have a role to play and that role has been secured in the work of God through Christ for his church and all of that is being held together by the finished work of Christ.
[19:05] It says he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. We don't have time to go into that. So we're just going to move on.
[19:18] The third thing I want you to see tonight, first we've seen that through him all things were created. Second, we've seen through him and for him all things were created.
[19:31] The third point and maybe the most important or the one we're going to spend the most time on is through him all things are reconciled. through him all things are reconciled.
[19:46] You know, it's an interesting thing to think about reconciliation. Like, what does reconciliation mean? It means to be made right. It means that that which was wrong at one point is no longer wrong, it's now right.
[20:01] And so through him all things are reconciled. but what we can see from this text is nothing, now hear that, nothing will be made right apart from Christ.
[20:16] Nothing. There's no making anything right apart from the love and the heart and the grace of Christ.
[20:27] Listen to verse 19. For in him, this is my favorite, I love this. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. What Paul's writing there is in Christ all the fullness of the Trinity, God the Son, God the Father, God the Spirit, were pleased to dwell.
[20:46] Now later in Colossians, do you know what Paul says? And in him you are made complete. Think about that for a moment. In Christ the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and in him, dear Christian, you are complete.
[21:04] There's nothing that you lack. You have been made right. You have been reconciled. You are experiencing a life of completeness that you could never cultivate on your own.
[21:20] And so nothing can be made right apart from Christ. And so many of us try and spend our lives making our lives right or making other people's lives right by helping them live moral lives or to do good things, which is fine.
[21:34] But to do that apart from Christ leads to nothing. So members, can I challenge you?
[21:44] Can I charge you? Don't settle for anything less than Christ. Settle for nothing less than Jesus. Demand him and him alone and don't demand anything more because to add to or to take away from Christ is not to get Christ.
[22:06] It's to get it wrong. And so members, as this church moves ahead, don't demand anything more from your pastors, from your elders than Christ.
[22:18] Christ. And if they're giving you Christ, feast upon him because he is a bread that will always satisfy. He is a well of springing water that will always nourish.
[22:31] And all of these other things, they will let you down. So demand Christ. Cry out for Christ. Look for Christ.
[22:43] And when you find him, when you hear of him, and I know Jonathan is preaching Christ, I know Treg preaches Christ, they give you Christ, feast upon him. Allow the other things of the world to wash away and allow Christ to become that which you gaze upon, that which you meditate on, that which you think deeply upon.
[23:08] You see, it's in him that your neighbors, that your family, and your friends will be reconciled to God. I know if we went around the room and I said, do you have loved ones or neighbors or friends that you think need to come to church and need to know Christ?
[23:25] All of us would, absolutely. We could take a list, we could take some time of prayer, and we would all identify those people. but all too often, I know in my own life, I do a lot better job telling those people how they can make their lives better than I do in telling them about Christ.
[23:48] But friends, when you're part of a church that gives you Christ at every turn, when you're at a church where you demand Christ at every turn, it's then that you are prepared to give Christ, to share Christ, to show Christ.
[24:06] And then, as you pray for your neighbors, your family, and your friends, it's then that God is pleased to work. It's then that God begins to draw those for whom Christ died, and it's then that those folks will be reconciled.
[24:22] The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will begin to rule and reign in their hearts as it does in yours. Because we love our neighbors.
[24:35] You love this community. You wouldn't be here. I think God has great plans for this community. And I love to think that it pleases God to provide his peace for all who are cleansed by the blood of the cross.
[24:56] It pleases him to cleanse all who come by the blood of the cross. Have you ever thought about that? Like, it's pleasing to God to save, to sanctify, to glorify, to sustain, to build, to cultivate that which is glorious in Christ.
[25:22] Christ. That's what God loves to do. And the main means in which he has chosen to do that is through the church. It's through you guys.
[25:35] It's through your lives. Yes, you gather here to worship on Sundays, and we love that. We elevate that. That is a necessity in your lives. But what do we do with the other six days or however many hours?
[25:53] How is it, church, that we plan to display the all things are Christ in this community?
[26:05] how will you love them? How will you point them to the reconciliation of the cross? Well, it's by giving them Christ.
[26:20] It's a simple concept. When you have a conversation with someone, give them Christ. You pray for them in the name of Christ. You invite them into your home.
[26:32] You invite them out to lunch. You spend time with them. You live with them for the glory of God in Christ. And as you're discipling them, you bring them into this church.
[26:46] And it's here, members, remember what I said. You demand Christ of your elders. And elders, what do you do? You give them Christ. And it's this beautiful cycle.
[26:57] It's quite simple, really. You know, I've heard it said that the gospel is simply complex. I think that's true. So as we think about this passage here, for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
[27:17] And through him to reconcile to himself all things. You see, church, there's a day coming when all things will be made right.
[27:29] And Christ will return, new heaven and new earth, and all things will be reconciled. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[27:40] all that sin has tainted and darkened in your lives and the lives of my family and your families and throughout human history will all be made right. It will be reconciled.
[27:53] Through Christ will be reconciled to God whether on earth or in heaven. Now that's a fantastic thing to think about.
[28:04] There's not a cosmic power that will not be reconciled. God making peace by the blood of his cross. All things.
[28:16] All things. And so the beauty of tonight, in my opinion, is that we get to play a small part in the all things work of God.
[28:28] You see, it's a complete work but it's a not yet work. It's kind of like I was preaching this morning in Galatians and this idea that our flesh has been crucified.
[28:40] Well, our flesh has been crucified with Christ on the cross but it's also being crucified daily as I reject sin. It's a verb form that we don't really have a good explanation for in English.
[28:56] It's happened and it's continually happening. It's the same thing here. All things have been reconciled in your life and in my life but all things are being reconciled as we show and as we display and as we share Christ with his community.
[29:17] We get to play a part in that and then one day fully and finally it will all be complete because of the finished work of Christ. So elders, preach Christ.
[29:31] elders, rest in Christ. Share the peace of Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.
[29:47] Give them Christ. Members, delight in Christ. Abide in Christ. Share the love of Christ.
[30:01] Jesus said, I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
[30:14] For apart from me you can do nothing. Paul said, for in him was the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you have been made complete in him.
[30:30] This church, it's complete. Not because of what's happening tonight, but because of Christ. Let us keep our eyes upon Christ.
[30:43] Would you pray with me? God, I thank you that in him is the fullness of the Trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Spirit.
[30:57] I pray tonight for this church, for Siwi Baptist Church, O God, that she would be a beautiful bride, that she would display a glorious goodness that this community has not yet seen of the person and work of Jesus Christ, that this church would display the all thingsness of Jesus, that he is the beginning, that he is the sustainer, that he is preeminent, that he is the reconciler.
[31:38] And so, God, start with us. May our hearts be pure, may our hearts be set upon the beauty of Christ. And then, God, I pray that you would begin a great awakening in this community.
[31:55] God, those who are far from you but close to us, would you draw them to your son by your spirit and by your word. And may you use the members of this church and this church proper in this community that your glory might rain down, that your goodness might be on display in this community as it is in heaven.
[32:19] it's in Christ's name that I pray. Amen. Amen.