WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:10.620 Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:19.100 We are in Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3 verses 7 through 13 we'll be considering this 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:24.039 morning. Along with what Will said, I would encourage you to continue to prepare your 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:29.400 hearts as we complete the Lenten season over the next week or so. Mark your calendars for 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:34.780 those Easter Holy Week services. They are very special services. Please make plans to attend. 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:39.399 I'm excited about that. I hope you are too. I told one of our members this morning that 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:46.480 God and His love and kindness gave us Easter. It happened, but it's also happening. We have a 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:55.460 reminder every year we get to celebrate this amazing news of Jesus defeating death, rising from the grave. 00:00:55.460 --> 00:01:00.280 It changed the entire course of history, and we celebrate it each year. It happened, 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:05.340 but we also celebrate that it's happening in the coming weeks. So continue to prepare your hearts 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:12.599 for that. Ephesians chapter 3 verses 7 through 13, Paul's going to continue to draw out for us 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:17.819 what this mystery of the gospel is, what it looks like in our lives. He's going to help us to see 00:01:17.819 --> 00:01:23.359 more of what God intended as He reveals and works the gospel into our lives as believers. So look with 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:28.239 me at Ephesians 3 verses 7 through 13. Paul says this, 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:35.060 of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:40.900 working of His power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:47.180 to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:53.820 the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the 00:01:53.820 --> 00:01:59.160 manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:05.219 This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:13.420 in whom we have boldness and access with competence through faith in Him. So I ask you not to lose heart 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:21.060 for what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Let's pray together. Father, this is your word. 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:27.839 This is your time. These are your people. And I ask that you would be present with us, that you would 00:02:27.839 --> 00:02:36.219 bless us in a unique and special way during this time, not because of what I say, because of 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:42.799 anything that I might be or the way that this pulpit is represented, but only because of your truth. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:51.600 May my words be your words. May the truth that is proclaimed here take hold in the lives of these 00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:57.880 your people. I pray these things in your heavenly and righteous Son's name. Amen. One of the primary 00:02:57.880 --> 00:03:04.760 philosophies of ministry when you work with junior high students is the managing and the organizing of 00:03:04.760 --> 00:03:12.180 chaos. The wiring of the brain of a junior higher is this combination of random attention levels, 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:20.460 spurts of energy going in all kinds of different directions. There's this crazy cocktail of hormones 00:03:20.460 --> 00:03:25.980 that's constantly brewing in their bodies. And especially for junior high boys, this is true 00:03:25.980 --> 00:03:32.280 when we play games. We know, myself and Winnie, any staff member that we have, we train them to know 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:36.020 that when you work with junior highers, when you play games with them, you've got to know that at some 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:42.380 point chaos is going to ensue. Like all of your structure is going to fall apart. And if you like 00:03:42.380 --> 00:03:47.700 structure and rules in a game, forget about it with a junior higher. Chaos is going to ensue. Things are 00:03:47.700 --> 00:03:53.660 going to go crazy at some point. This is never truer than in the first 20 minutes of junior high life. 00:03:54.020 --> 00:04:00.060 If you come across the street to the lodge on Wednesday nights, from six o'clock till about 620, 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:05.840 is kind of a hangout free time for our junior highers. And you ought to sign a waiver before 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:10.979 you enter the gym because it is chaos. There are dodgeballs, there are kickballs, there are 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:16.439 basketballs, there are volleyballs, there are finger blasters, there's shoes flying, like whatever they can 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:25.399 find is being thrown or shot or dodged, whatever it is. You really should come take a look sometime. 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:32.739 If the students are amped up enough, if they've had enough caffeine, the normal use for each ball 00:04:32.739 --> 00:04:38.259 will change. You can see it in the eyes of some of these junior high boys. A basketball will roll his 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:44.139 way and he'll take it. And in his eyes you can see, I don't want this to be a basketball. I want this to 00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:50.079 be a kickball. And he'll do it. He'll turn a basketball into a kickball. There was one time when I entered into 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.859 the gym and I was struck by one of those basketballs that had turned into a cannonball and I realized 00:04:55.859 --> 00:05:01.240 very quickly the importance of using athletic equipment for what it's meant to be used for, right? 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:08.379 You don't use volleyballs for basketball or basketballs for dodgeball. Each ball has their intended use. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:15.500 The instinct, my instinct is to intervene to remind the students of the intended purpose and plans 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:21.480 for each of those balls, all of the athletic equipment that's there. The intent for Paul as 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:26.360 he now speaks to the Ephesians is the same. It's almost as if he's refereeing a game, but instead of 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:31.480 dodgeball or kickball, Paul's going to lay out for the Ephesians, he's going to lay out for us what the 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:38.879 purpose and plan is for the church. You see, for many of us, our sinful tendency is to lose sight of or 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:44.500 confuse why it is that we exist as a church. Our sinful tendency is to think primarily about ourselves, 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:51.839 to focus on our own personal individual relationship with Christ. Paul's going to show us how our sin, 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:57.519 the beauty of the gospel, and the resulting nature of our mission as a church, including even, Paul says, 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:04.240 our suffering, is all for the glory and the growth of God's kingdom. Paul's going to frame for us the 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:10.360 nature of his ministry, but he's doing so to exemplify, to point us and show us what the church should look 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:17.980 like. So, with this loving, pastoral, but declarative voice, Paul's going to tell the Ephesians two things, 00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:22.879 two primary things regarding his ministry. So, if you're taking notes, start with this. Paul's going 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.860 to tell them the purpose of his ministry, the purpose of the church, why it is that we exist. 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:34.860 Paul tells the Ephesians, and he tells us that the church exists for a two-fold purpose. The first is to 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:41.040 reach the world with the gospel of grace. The gospel that Paul explains that he is a minister of is one 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:47.500 that is marked primarily by grace. He is first marked by grace. Paul is first a recipient of it, 00:06:47.520 --> 00:06:53.560 is what he tells us. In verse 8, he calls himself the very least of all the saints. The emphasis that 00:06:53.560 --> 00:07:01.879 Paul is placing is clearly upon God's favor and God's mercy. A more literal translation of this 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:05.540 descriptor, very least of the saints, would sound something like this in the original language, 00:07:05.659 --> 00:07:12.159 that Paul would say he is the lesser least of all the saints. As he's known to do now in Ephesians, 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:18.759 Paul's going beyond conventional grammar. He's going beyond conventional speech to make a clear point 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:24.839 about where he stands before the Father. It'd be easy for us to assume, though, that Paul's just using 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:30.639 some kind of pious hyperbole, right? That he's saying, well, this is what I used to be like. He's just being 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.699 humble. How could we think that with all the great things that Paul has done, the churches that he's 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:40.259 planted, the great obedience that he's shown, the suffering that he faces, how could he say that he's 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:47.899 the lesser least of all the saints? Well, Paul's reminding us that he and each of us is members of 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:53.500 Christ's body. Although we grow in our obedience, we continue to be the least of all the saints. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:08:00.560 Paul knows that even our best, most honorable, most godly moments earn us nothing before the 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:06.000 Father, that we continue to be the least of all the saints. The only thing that we add to our 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.819 spiritual ledger before the Father is debt. For Paul, the great apostle, and for each of us, this 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:18.399 must mean a posture of humility and a posture of brokenness. We must be constantly aware that we are 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.899 servants of Christ. We live in this never-ending cycle, right, where we see our sin and we experience 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:29.099 God's grace, and we see our sin again, and we experience God's grace. It's this never-ending 00:08:29.099 --> 00:08:35.179 cycle. It's in this cycle that we're constantly aware of our weakness. It's in this cycle that we 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:41.639 are regularly dependent upon God's grace. Sinclair Ferguson said that it's in this dependence that 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:48.879 we begin to see ourselves as servants rather than masters to our fellow believers. What does Paul say 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:54.039 he dwells with? He dwells with the saints. He's the least of the saints. He's recognizing his place in the 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:59.439 kingdom. He never separates the two, though. He recognizes that we are both sinners and saints. 00:08:59.579 --> 00:09:05.659 We are simultaneously marked by our sin, but we're also reclaimed and made righteous by God's grace. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:12.279 This means that we must have an attitude of servanthood towards each other and those outside 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:18.620 of the church. It's because of this truth that Paul starts with of our brokenness and our restoration 00:09:18.620 --> 00:09:24.019 that we live lives. We must live lives that are marked by love, that are marked by compassion, 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:30.439 that are marked by gentleness and kindness. Why do we do all of it? Because Christ did it first. 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:37.259 When we sacrifice, when we give, when we serve, when we love, when we show compassion and kindness 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:43.699 to our neighbors, we are giving and experiencing the kingdom as Jesus founded it for us. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:51.279 Jesus, who was the greatest of all creation, became the least. The one true heavenly king took on flesh. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:58.639 He came to earth and he died for his people. Paul's purpose and our purpose is to model that same 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:04.699 love. It's all because of that same love, because of the unmerited favor that God showed us in Christ. 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:10.980 This is what Paul calls the unsearchable riches of Christ. They are unable to be tracked out, 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:17.419 unable to be traced. The love of God which was displayed to you, Southwood, was unfathomable. 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:23.799 You can't understand it. It doesn't make sense. Your heart and your mind can't comprehend why God 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:30.120 would love you in this way, but you respond in it and because of it. So, the first purpose of our 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:35.240 ministry is to reach the world with this gospel of grace, to live out of our humility and our 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:41.799 brokenness. The second half of our purpose that Paul tells us is to offer the light, offer light to 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:47.779 the darkness that plagues all men. Chapter 2 told us about the dividing wall of hostility that existed 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:53.759 between God and the Gentiles and how Jesus broke that down. But now Paul is telling us to go beyond 00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:00.479 that, to take the light of the gospel and carry it to all people and to all places. We've seen the light, 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:06.500 we've experienced the light, now we go as light bearers into the world. We've been shown the glory of 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:12.340 Christ. Now we get to take it to all of the world, to every part of our lives, to apply the gospel 00:11:12.340 --> 00:11:19.019 where we live and we work and we play. We get to partner with God. We get to join Him in this process 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:27.080 of reversing the fall, of taking back what was His, taking back what was lost and damaged. So, this means 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:34.340 some challenging things for you, for us. It means we don't just sit here in the pews, receive God's Word, 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:39.340 and then go about our business. It means that the gospel needs to be taking hold in every corner of 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:45.600 your life. It means that you should be on the cutting edge of reconciliation. It means that you 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:51.220 should perform your work with utter integrity, that you should live honestly in your relationships. 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:57.399 It means that you should take up the fight against injustices. You should declare truth to your 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:02.560 children and to your children's friends about the broken and cynical generation that they're a part of. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:07.579 It means that you should honor others with love. You should work for social change. You should grow 00:12:07.579 --> 00:12:13.539 a garden. You should cook good food. You're bringing beauty and glory back into the world, 00:12:13.979 --> 00:12:16.219 into all the places that have been touched by the fall. 00:12:18.459 --> 00:12:24.139 And while you do this, you're constantly remembering, constantly renewed by the humbling reality 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:27.179 that God chose you to offer this light to first. 00:12:27.179 --> 00:12:33.659 You're carrying what you have first experienced. You are God's light bearers to the whole world. 00:12:35.099 --> 00:12:40.899 If you watched the national news or glanced at headlines this week, then you know Starbucks made 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:47.500 the news. After starting in their home market of Seattle, Starbucks just this week rolled out a 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:54.740 nationwide campaign called Race Together. The idea is for all of Starbucks baristas at all of their 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:59.740 locations along with the cup of coffee that they serve to start a conversation about racial 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:06.519 reconciliation. They can write a note on the cup. They can share a quote. They can offer a quick thought 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:12.600 about the problems that are plaguing our country and our community. Now, as you can imagine, this has 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:18.419 caused a lot of controversy. Some think it's a great idea. Some think it's a great way to get people 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:23.240 talking, but there are other people who just want to receive their coffee or they don't want to have that 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:30.580 conversation with Starbucks baristas. Despite the pushback, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:36.019 is standing strong. He released a memo to his employees this week, and this is what the memo said. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:42.019 He said, I'm asking you to perform the small gesture of writing Race Together on a cup, 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:48.940 and if a customer asks you what this is, try and engage in a discussion. Tell them that we have 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:55.420 problems in this country with regard to race and racial reconciliation, and that you believe that 00:13:55.420 --> 00:13:59.800 we're better than this. We believe the country is better than this, and if this makes you have a 00:13:59.800 --> 00:14:04.260 conversation with a customer about the need for compassion, the need for empathy, the need for 00:14:04.260 --> 00:14:09.900 love for others, if you can do that with one customer one day, you're making a significant difference 00:14:09.900 --> 00:14:16.400 as we move forward. Now, I'm not here to give you the official position of Southwood's leadership on 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:21.439 Starbucks on this move that they've made or mine and Will's official position. I'm not here to 00:14:21.439 --> 00:14:27.879 criticize or challenge Starbucks. I'm here to criticize and challenge you as Christ's church. 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:34.439 Listen again to the last part of what Howard Schultz said. He said, if this makes you have a 00:14:34.439 --> 00:14:41.039 conversation with a customer about the need for compassion, the need for empathy, the need for love 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:45.720 towards others, if you can do that with one customer one day, you're making a significant difference 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:52.720 as we go forward. My first thought as I heard about what this coffee company was doing was, 00:14:53.040 --> 00:14:59.180 forgive us, Father. Forgive us that we have coffee companies doing what we should be doing 00:14:59.180 --> 00:15:06.060 as a church. Forgive us for not starting better conversations. Forgive us for not having compassion, 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:13.160 empathy, love, cultural awareness, and sensitivity. Forgive us for missing the purpose of your church 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:19.039 and the reason that you have placed us in this world. Now, Southwood, you need to know that you 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:25.919 are doing lots of great things. I believe in you. You are engaged in the city. You're engaged in the 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:32.980 lives of your neighbors and your friends. But until we have spread the light to everyone, what is the 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:39.019 glorious, amazing gospel of grace, until we've spread it everywhere, coffee companies are going to do it in 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:46.840 our stead. Lead the way in your workplace. Lead the way in your children's schools. Lead the way in your 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:53.299 friendships and in your neighborhoods. Love what God loves by bringing it into the darkness. Don't let 00:15:53.299 --> 00:16:03.939 others do it for us. Step in. Lead the way. Be light bearers. Paul has told us that the ministry, 00:16:03.940 --> 00:16:09.440 his ministry, his ministry and the ministry of the church, has this purpose of advancing the kingdom by 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:16.160 reaching the world with the gospel and taking light into the darkness. He answers for us this second 00:16:16.160 --> 00:16:22.020 question then of what is God up to then when He works? Why are we doing all of this? What is God's 00:16:22.020 --> 00:16:28.940 plan? So the second thing that Paul tells us is what God's plan is for the church and for ministry here. 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:37.300 Ultimately, Paul tells us that God is, His plan is to display power and to raise up glory in our midst. 00:16:38.040 --> 00:16:45.240 God is working to display power and to raise up glory in our midst. To better understand this idea of 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:50.940 power and glory being proclaimed, we need to look back and remember this principle that Paul's been 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:57.220 building upon of the heavenly places. Look with me at Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20 where God, 00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:03.060 Paul told us this about God. He says that God worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:08.240 and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. It was emphasized at the beginning of 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.759 Paul's letter that God is firmly established in heaven and that Christ upon His resurrection 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:16.900 was seated in His right place with God. He was seated in the heavenly places. 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:24.039 The second chapter of Ephesians in verse 6, we are told that God did what? That He raised us up 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:30.399 and He seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So just as God was faithful to 00:17:30.399 --> 00:17:36.619 raise up Christ, we were merited with all of Christ's obedience. We were merited with His 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:43.500 resurrection and His conquering of death. So we were seated with Christ in heaven. But the idea continues. 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:48.579 Look at verses 9 and 10. They say this, 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:56.000 To bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:03.059 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and the authorities 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:09.920 in where? In the heavenly places. Do you see this repeated theme of the heavenly places that first we're told of 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:14.340 God's dwelling, Christ's dwelling, and our dwelling? But now that we're told that as the church, 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:20.360 we are to proclaim back to the heavenly places the glory of God, that His plan the entire time was 00:18:20.360 --> 00:18:26.500 from earth as citizens of God's kingdom here, we are to proclaim back to the angels and God Himself 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:32.600 what is the glory, the majesty, the holiness, the mercy of God. 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:43.859 This glory, we're told, is seen in the manifold wisdom of God, and it's shown even in our suffering as God's people. 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:50.859 A few important applications that I want us to draw out from this plan that God has for His church, 00:18:50.959 --> 00:18:59.379 three big applications. The first is this, is that the church, the church by its very nature exists in what one 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:05.880 commentator calls colorful hues. The church exists in colorful hues. The proclamation of the gospel 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:12.100 that Paul has been spreading is not just intended to bring individuals in the kingdom, but to actually 00:19:12.100 --> 00:19:19.420 create this ever-broadening, ever-expanding, always-diversifying place called the church. 00:19:20.300 --> 00:19:25.960 We as the church are the theater in which God displays His manifold witness, wisdom, excuse me. 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:32.940 The wisdom of God is this most wonderful counsel of God, His sanctifying power, His predestinating 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:40.559 will, His sovereign election. And how has it worked out? It's worked out in manifold ways, in diversity, 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:47.779 in many facets. This means that if we as the church are properly reflecting the wisdom and the revelation 00:19:47.779 --> 00:19:54.220 of God that we claim to have seen, then we must embrace what it means to belong to a people who are 00:19:54.220 --> 00:20:02.120 diverse, what it means to belong to a people who don't look like us sometimes, who do different 00:20:02.120 --> 00:20:09.500 things, who have different interests, who look and smell a little bit different than us. There are two 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:16.519 major ways that Paul wants to see diversity in his church. The first is through our sin and our 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:25.000 brokenness. This means that there's no filter, no type or degree of sin in which you or I or any other 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:32.379 person may not struggle with. It means that we welcome anybody who's sick into this place. A hospital 00:20:32.379 --> 00:20:38.819 doesn't turn someone away because they're too sick or because of some particular illness, right? So too, 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:44.220 should we never turn our attention and our hearts away from the brokenness, the sinfulness, 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:50.480 the doubts, the messiness, the worry that relationships with the world will bring us. 00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:57.420 We must have diversity in our sin and our brokenness. The second way that we should have 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:03.779 diversity is in our racial and social makeup. Paul tells us that the church is going to be filled with 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:10.980 people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, every life stage, every personal history, 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:17.039 and varied financial backgrounds. And this is something that we should long for, that we should 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:23.420 celebrate, we should praise God for. It means that we should champion and embrace ways to diversify 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:28.559 where and when we can as a community. I want you to think for a second about the people that are sitting 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:32.700 next to you in the pew. It's okay to judge them for a second because I'm going to ask you some 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:39.039 questions, okay? Do you think that they live a similar lifestyle as you? Do you think that they desire 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.879 the same things as you? Do you think they have the same general needs that you do in your life? 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:50.299 I would expect you to say yes, that's okay. I would expect us to be a group of people who are 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:56.399 generally like-minded, who have similar interests, similar needs, similar desires. But I want you to 00:21:56.399 --> 00:22:02.839 think about your next-door neighbor now, or the parents of your son's friend at school, or the people 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:08.759 on the sidelines of the soccer field, or who are in theater practice with your kids. Are they a little 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:14.159 different? Do they talk a little different? Do they come from a little less pedigree than you do? 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:21.859 And do you feel like we're missing something at Southwood without them? You should. There should be a 00:22:21.859 --> 00:22:28.259 hole in your heart, there are empty places in our pews, and there should be a desire within the life and 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:35.319 the body of this church for a more diversified group of people. Because this, Paul says, is one of the 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:41.339 infectious implications of the gospel, that you're so amazed by the fact that you were saved that you 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:47.180 can't help but get more people in here. You can't help but get more people who would also be amazed by 00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:54.079 the fact that they were saved, that you would desire to show God's manifold witness to the world. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:02.139 The second application of this plan of God to display His power and His glory is that we might see in the 00:23:02.139 --> 00:23:10.740 face of our suffering our need and the glory of heaven. I don't intend to give a full explanation or a 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:17.339 great thesis on the topic of suffering this morning, but I think it's necessary for us to recognize what 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:23.980 Paul's saying. This primary point at the end of our passage, and it's this, that our suffering is ultimately 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:31.480 intended for the glory of God and His church. There are all kinds of mysteries, uncertainties, 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:41.000 frustrations, hurts, and scars that result from our suffering. But God's promise is that nothing else, if 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:47.920 nothing else, that they would cause us to long and desire more for heaven, that they would cause us to long 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:54.980 and desire more for God's healing grace. Look at what Brian Chappell says about Paul's suffering. 00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:56.519 He says, 00:23:56.600 --> 00:24:03.220 From an earthly perspective, his, that is Paul's suffering, hinder his ministry, they endanger his life, 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:09.600 and spoil his reputation. But from heaven's perspective, he sees that God uses even suffering 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:15.259 for the great glory of bringing us together for the praise of our Savior. Listen to this. 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:22.639 This is the ultimate sign of our genuine calling. We are so enraptured by grace that we would be willing 00:24:22.639 --> 00:24:29.919 to die to self and live for God so that we might bring together many centers of many kinds to be a 00:24:29.919 --> 00:24:39.119 witness to the Savior in heaven and on earth. This is the infectious implication of the gospel. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:46.219 That we would desire so greatly for God's kingdom to expand that we would recognize God's purposes 00:24:46.219 --> 00:24:52.439 and even embrace the suffering that we have in our lives so that more might be added to the number 00:24:52.439 --> 00:25:02.000 of God's kingdom. But this is foolish and unwise. The world looks at us and is confused. They laugh. Why 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:09.399 would we embrace our suffering? Who would embrace their suffering? The Easter story that we're going to 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:16.360 celebrate in the next few weeks tells us that there was one person who did. Jesus embraced his suffering. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:23.940 He said, though he desired for the cup to pass, his desire was that his father's reign would increase, 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:30.480 that his father's kingdom would increase, and Jesus would endure the greatest pain, that Jesus would 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:37.420 endure the greatest suffering on our behalf. His pain and suffering, his torture and torment, 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:43.560 are what now give us hope. They give us hope that God is actively working in our suffering, 00:25:44.320 --> 00:25:51.400 that God is drawing us to himself in our suffering, and he is advancing and growing his kingdom through 00:25:51.400 --> 00:26:00.360 our suffering. Suffering, Paul tells us, results in the growth and the glory of God's name and God's kingdom. 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:09.859 Ultimately, Paul's message as he describes the purpose and the plan of God in the life of a believer in the 00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:20.839 church is that our faith, this church, is not about Jesus and me. It's about Jesus and us, that we exist as 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:28.619 a corporate gathered group of people. Our chief desire should be for the glory of God and the gathering of many 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:34.479 types of people to God, people of different tastes and interests, backgrounds and struggles. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:42.539 Faith, Paul tells us, is not an isolated, one-time transaction with God, but rather an engaged, 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:49.479 regular, integrated relationship where many different people come together for one common 00:26:49.479 --> 00:26:57.479 interest, and that is the glory of God. By showing love, by showing grace and favor to all those that 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:05.880 Jesus died for, we are displaying the manifold wisdom of God. And we are proclaiming to those on earth 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:14.880 and to our Father in heaven what is his glorious and mighty reign. God's desire is that we would be 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:21.880 willing to die to self and to live for the sake of God's glory and the others of this community. 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:30.120 The greatest implication of the gospel is not just that God died for you, but that he died for us, 00:27:30.280 --> 00:27:38.680 for the entire world. May we worship God, may we live as his followers and embrace his mission 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:40.580 to this end. Will you pray with me? 00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:52.299 Father, this doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that you would die for people like us, 00:27:52.859 --> 00:28:02.179 that you would choose to display your glory in this way through weak, through broken, through messy 00:28:02.179 --> 00:28:08.039 people. But Father, it's what you chose to do because that's how you are going to receive the 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:13.519 greatest glory. So I pray that you would prick the hearts of these people and that you would help 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:18.819 them see the greater body that they are connected to, that you would also prick their hearts and lead 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:25.000 them to share the gospel with others, with their neighbors, with their friends, and with their family. 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:31.740 And Father, would you give us a perspective on our suffering? Give us a perspective on what it is 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:39.240 that you're doing, not only in our hearts, but in the life of your church. And grow in us a desire for 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:45.400 your kingdom, for lost souls, that people might know you as we know you. Thank you, Father, for your 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:47.980 love and for your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:55.759 For more information, visit us online at southwood.org.