The Plowman

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, June 13, 2010.

I’ve heard it more times than I can count.  I’m sitting in a home visiting with a family before a funeral.  I’ve been called by the funeral home and asked to do the service because the family has no church connection.  And one of the family will say, “Daddy never went to church.  He just worshiped God in his own way.”  I’ve had men tell me, “I worship God when I’m out on the lake fishing.”  I don’t say it – but I think it – “Just how much worship goes on while you’re out on the lake?  Please describe the average service there in the boat.”  I don’t doubt that God’s name comes up – I’m just not sure it is expressed in a worshipful manner!  An increasing number of folks fail to see the church as relevant to their spiritual lives.  The church is full of hypocrites.  The church is outdated.  The church is stuck in the past.  The music belongs in a museum.  The sermon is a history lesson.  In short, the church has nothing to offer me.  Given the access we know enjoy through the internet do we need a local church?  What is the value of being in a church when I have access to the greatest teachers in the church 24 hours a day 7 days a week through my computer?  I meet with a couple of friends at least once a week and we discuss the Bible and what the Lord is doing in our lives.  We are accountable to each other – why do I need a church?  Most of the folks at church aren’t committed to God and all they are interested in is my money.  Why bother with joining a church.  I just don’t need the headache.  How do you answer that?  What would you say to that person?

We are considering the “church.”
Three weeks ago we talked about the “church dater.”
Those who flirt with the church but refuse to make a real commitment.
Two weeks ago we look carefully at the Church as the “bride of Christ.”
We talked about how marriage was created to mirror the relationship of Christ and His Church.
We also consider the church as a body and a living temple.
Now this evening, “Why do I need the church?”

Let’s start by acknowledging that this is a legitimate question to be asking.
It would be easy to brush this aside and say, “What a silly question, of course you need the church.”  Really?  Why?
As one who has put his trust in Jesus Christ, I’m already part of the Church, why do I need to belong to one of the thousands of fragmented groups called churches?  I’ve been accepted by God, I’m loved by Christ why do I need the church (little “c”)?
Let me give you the short answer: because the local church is a visible, tangible, real-world expression of the body of Christ.

What is it that the church does best?
The local church is the best means for showing your neighbors the transforming power of the Gospel in granting to you new life and that new life becoming the foundation for a new society.

• Baptism – marks us as the people of God.  It declares I’ve identified with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection (Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:4).
• The Lord’s Supper – shows our continuing fellowship in Christ (Mt. 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).
• Church Discipline – shows the world we are serious about walking in obedience before Christ and are committed to one another for spiritual good/development (Mt. 18, 1 Corinthians 5).

Let me give you two other reasons for why you need the church.

1. You need the church because sanctification is a community project.
2. You need the church in order to worship appropriately.

The church matters and you need to be a part of it because:

• The local church is a visible, tangible, real-world expression of the body of Christ.
• When a church lives out the Gospel together it displays the transforming effects of the Gospel for the world to see.
• Sanctification is a community project.
• It is the means of worshiping God appropriately.

 

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An exposition of Romans 16:1-23. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, June 13, 2010.

Introduction
One of my favorite philosophers is the great Yogi Berra.  Yogi has been credited with great insights like, “It ain’t over until it’s over” and “when you come to a fork in the road take it.”  Of course Yogi also said, “I didn’t say all those things I said.”  But my favorite “Yogism” is, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”  You have to admit that is true!  You can also learn a lot just by listening.  You can learn a lot about a person by what they say.  You learn what is important to them and what they value just by observing their conversations.  This is especially true in “unguarded” moments.  Off hand comments.  Incidental statements.  That means there are things to be learned in those passages we often skip over in the biblical text.  Text like the close of Paul’s great letter to the church at Rome.  The apostle has given this great statement on the gospel.  He has delivered this profound theological treatise on salvation by grace through faith, then he called his readers to live a life founded upon those truths.  As he concludes his monumental work he sends greetings to some of the faithful in Rome.  Our tendency is to skip over those remarks or give them a cursory read.  But that is a mistake.  To do so is to miss something helpful.  Here, in these closing remarks, is a great insight into the heart of this great servant of Christ.

Last time we considered the marks of a missionary heart as we worked through chapter 15.  We saw that the missionary heart views all of life as service to God.  Every act is a sacrificial act, a priestly service to Christ and his kingdom.  Further the missionary heart is focused on the glory of God, it dares to dream big and knows the task cannot be accomplished alone.  But that is not the whole story.  Those 4 characteristics are vertically oriented.  They are concerned with God and his glory.  What about the horizontal?  What about concern for our fellow man?  What about our heart for other believers?  That will be our focus this morning in chapter 16.

Text: Romans 16:1-23
He is a towering figure in the Scripture.
A man of great intellect - holding what will be the equivalent of multiple doctorates.
A man of unquestioned spirituality.
Author of roughly half the New Testament.
A pioneer for the gospel and the kingdom.
But what I’m interested in, for our purpose this morning, is his heart.

Allow me to point out three marks of a missionary heart from our text.

1. A missionary heart loves profoundly.  (16:1-16)
2. A missionary heart is passionate about the truth.  (16:17-20)
3. The missionary heart is contagious in its enthusiasm.  (16:21-23)

So we have the heart of a missionary - loving, passionate about truth and contagious in its enthusiasm.  Does that describe your heart?  If a visitor attends your Sunday School class, your Bible study - is that the impression they leave with?  How about a worship service?

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church.

 

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An exposition of Romans 15:14-33. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 30, 2010.

Introduction
We’ve been commanded to “take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”  We are told to preach the Gospel to all the world.  That is not a unique assignment given to a select few, that is our Lord’s call to all the people of God.  We, you and me, have an obligation to be on mission.  “Oh, I’m not called to the mission field.”  Really?  Are you a Christian?  Then you are a missionary.  You are called.  It was Spurgeon who said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.”  Where is your mission field?  It is all around you and the fields are white unto harvest.  It used to be popular to have signs at the exist of churches reading, “You are now entering the mission field.”  I like that.  It is certainly true and it was a good reminder that we are always and everywhere on mission.  But the truth is the mission field was in the hallway leading to that door.  It was in every classroom.  It was in the worship center.  Anywhere there is a person who has not yielded his or her heart to Christ and become engaged in the worship of the true and living God there is a mission field.  The passion, the heartbeat, of the church is to spread the name and the fame of our God.  Some will be called to give their lives in foreign lands for the sake of that glorious name.  If that is God’s call to your heart you must not settle for anything less.  Others will serve on short-term trips to various peoples.  Others will never set foot in a foreign land but they will weep over the peoples of the world and bath them in the tears of their prayers.  Some will preach in cathedrals and country churches.  Some will fill stadiums and convention halls.  While others will cradle babies and sing them sweet gospel songs and tell them of Jesus who died and rose again.  Some will knock on doors and boldly testify of God’s saving power.  Others will quietly serve their neighbor and gently speak of Jesus’ love.  But this one thing is certain none of us can claim exemption from missionary service.

Whether it is across the street or across the globe, whether it is through bold proclamation or quiet service we are under orders to take the message of God’s love revealed in redemption through Christ’s blood to our world.  We are a people on mission.  And the task is not complete until every living soul is actively engaged in the worship of God or we are called home.  His is an amazing story.  He “got it.”  He understood that he was called.  It was his consuming passion and thus he is a great example for us to follow.  Our text this morning give us some insight into the great missionary heart of the apostle Paul.

Text: Romans 15:14-33
Paul is nearing the end of his great letter to the church at Rome.
He has demonstrated our desperate need.
He has made clear God’s great provision.
He has revealed that salvation is by grace, through faith.
He has laid out the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
He has declared that God is faithful both to his people and his promise.

Paul has also spoke clearly about the life we’ve been called to live.
We’ve seen that church is about living the faith together.
This passage reveals somethings about the heart behind Paul’s ministry.

How do I know if my heart is where it needs to be?  How can I be sure my mind is focused as it should be?  I want to be on mission - how do I get there?  As we walk through this passage together I want to point out 4 marks of a missionary heart.

1. The missionary heart views all of life as service to God and that life is to be lived for the benefit of others.  (15:15-16)
2. The missionary heart remains focused on God’s glory.  (15:17-19)
3. The missionary heart dares to dream big.  (15:20-29)
4. The missionary heart knows the mission cannot be accomplished alone.  (15:30-33)

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church.

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church.

 

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An exposition of Romans 15:1-13. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 23, 2010.

Introduction
If you knew that you had 24 hours to live what would you do?  It is an interesting question.  One day left on this earth, how would you spend it?  One thing is certain your answer would reveal what is important to you.  Your answer would tell us what really matters to you.  The truth is none of us know what we would do.  We can speculate.  We can say what we would hope that we would do but there is no way of knowing with certainty what we would do if put in that circumstance.  Of course the other thing is none of us knows how much time we have left.  But there is one who knew exactly how much time he had and we know what he did.  After three years of ministry Jesus announced his time had come.  He set his face as a flint and he marched toward Jerusalem for the last time.  His disciples begged him not to go.  They said this is the wrong time.  “The authorities are determined to kill you.  Don’t go.  Not now.”  Jesus said, “Now is the time.”  He was welcomed in triumph on that Sunday as he made his way into Jerusalem.  By Friday he had been arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to die.  How did he spend his last day?  With his disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God and he prayed.  What did he pray?  It is recorded for us in John chapter 17.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.  (17:11)

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me…”  (17:20-21)

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one…  (17:22)

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.  (17:23)

It is significant, given the circumstance, that this was Jesus’ prayer.  Think about it.  There is so much he could have been praying for but foremost in his mind was that the church would be one.  His prayer was for unity within the body of Christ.  Why was that so important?  Because it has a direct bearing on the church’s message and credibility, “So that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”  The quality or degree of our unity will either attract or repel the world.  They will either be draw to our message or drive from our message by the quality of our life together.

The church, because it is made up of people like you and me, has struggled with this from the beginning.  The church of Galatia was fragmented due to legalism.  The church at Corinth chose sides based on favorite leaders.  Pergamum was divided and diluted because believers had married unbelievers.  Things were so bad in Laodicea that our Lord just said they made him sick.  Many believe there were real problems in Rome.  Some have suggested that petty bickering and bitter rivalry caused some members to turn on others and even give them over to the authorities declaring them traitors to the Empire.  The modern church doesn’t fair any better.  Churches divided over the color of carpet or which side of the auditorium the piano belongs on are all too common.  Thus Paul’s message to Rome is as important and pertinent today as it was 2000 years ago.  The need is for unity.  Our text is found in Romans 15 beginning with verse 1.

Text: Romans 15:1-13

Again we are talking about life as God intends it.
The church is about our living the faith together.
This is the laboratory where we learn to love and forgive.
This is the place where we butt heads and learn to get along.

In chapter 14 Paul makes it clear we are not to sit in judgment of one another.  When it comes to disputed matters or matters of conscience we are to be convinced in our own minds and grant freedom to others to disagree or see things differently.  Further we are not to be the source of our brother’s failure.  Love reigns in liberty.  I choose to limit my freedom for my brother’s sake.

As we consider the opening section of chapter 15 I want us to see that…
Thesis: The church that genuinely honors Christ diligently seeks to display biblical unity.

2 things are clear as we follow Paul’s argument.

1. Unity demands that we follow Christ’s example of patience and selfless sacrifice in dealing with one another’s weaknesses and failures.  (15:1-6)
2. Unity demands wholehearted acceptance of others with the goal of establishing a fellowship filled with joy, marked by peace and abounding in hope.  (15:7-13)

Conclusion:

• This is a tall order but it is not as if we have nothing to guide us.
• We have our own experience of grace and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
• And this is to what end?
• 15:3 - that we might be a place filled with joy, marked by peace and abounding in hope.  That is the fruit of genuine biblical unity and that is to be the goal of this fellowship.

 

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An exposition of Zephaniah 3:9-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, May 9, 2010.

Introduction
The language is vivid, bold and undeniable.  That’s what makes it so terrifying.  God is coming in judgment of the nations.  He is coming in judgment of those who continue in unbelief regardless of where they live or what nation they call home.  For He is the righteous Judge of all the earth.  It is to Him every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.  When that day is described as a day of “distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry” you understand it will be a day of terror.  If you dwell on that message for any length of time you will get depressed.  It is a message, if you believe it, that will eat at you.  If you understand that He means what He says, you will live in dread.  And if that was His final word you would have nothing to live for.  But it is not His final word.  His message of judgment is accompanied by a word of hope.  For instance at the end of Amos, after the prophet thunders the judgment of God he ends with these words, “I will plant them (Israel) on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God” (Amos 9:15).  He is a God of grace and mercy, a God of kindness and love, and so the prophet Zephaniah ends not with judgment but with hope.  Our text this evening is found in Zephaniah chapter 3 beginning with verse 9.

Text: Zephaniah 3:9-20

1:1-3:8 speaks of a coming Day of Wrath.
3:9-20 speaks of a coming Day of Joy.
A day that promises both conversion and restoration.
This promise of conversion and restoration does not replace judgment but comes after judgment.
It is a mistake to assume that grace demands that judgment be turned away.
There have been repeated offers of grace.
There have been multiple pleas to repent.
Now judgment must come - but there is life after judgment for that remnant that believes.

Back in the 1st section 1:1-2:3 - there was the threat of judgment and a call for repentance.
In section 2 2:4-3:8 - that same message was taken to the Judah and the surrounding nations.
Now comes the promise of a New Day.
A day of blessing and peace all because of the grace of God.
Judah doesn’t deserve a new day.
The surrounding nations do not deserve blessing.

As we walk through the remainder of this book I want to point out three things as we seek to draw words of encouragement and hope for today from this sermon from the 7th century b.c.

1. A call for self-examination - (3:9-13)
2. A Cause for rejoicing.  (3:14-15)
3. The comfort of resting in His promise.  (3:16-20)

There’s a new day dawning.  A day of joy and peace for the people of God.

• Are you in that believing remnant?
• Are you part of that worshiping crowd?
• Are you trusting in His precious promise?

 

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An exposition of Romans 14:13-23. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, May 16, 2010.

Introduction
It’s the thing that brings beauty to the symphony.  It is what enables each individual instrument to shine and yet become part of a greater beauty.  Harmony or unity within diversity.  No one wants to go to a concert and hear a monotone performance any more than they want chaos.  Each instrument doing its own thing without regard for the others is just noise, it’s grating and irritating.  But the whole, brought under the control of the conductor, playing off one another and working in harmony is exquisite.  So it is within the church.  “How beautiful it is for brothers to dwell together in unity,” the Scripture says.  On the other hand there is nothing as ugly, irritating or discouraging as a divided, dysfunctional and disjointed church.  The Bible is clear when you come to faith in Christ you are not left to your own devices.  You are made part of the whole.  You are made part of the body of Christ and God intends that you join with a local body of believers where you share your life, give your talents and seek to grow and mature in your faith.  The church is the place where we live our faith together.

Thus the church is essential to our well being spiritually.  You cannot be the person God has called you to be if you are not vitally and essentially tied to a local church.  Now listen to what I said.  I did not say you cannot be a Christian.  I said you cannot be the person God has called you to be if you are not tied to or connected with a church.  It is here in the laboratory of living together that we learn how to love and how to forgive.  It is here in the daily business of life together we knock the rough edges off each other and begin to look more like the Lord Jesus.  But life together is not easy.  Sometimes you make me mad.  Sometimes I tick you off.  We say stupid things to each other.  We can be uncaring and hurtful.  We are, after all, flawed children of Adam.  The issue is, what do we do about it?  How do we respond to the hurt and the disappointment?  Too often we in the church exhibit more of the power of the world to divide then we do the power of the Gospel to make us one.  As Dr. MacGorman used to say to us in seminary, “A divided church has nothing to say to a broken world.”

The church is to be a place of harmony.  A place of love, compassion and acceptance.  It is here we ought to feel the freedom to fail.  It  is here we ought to feel the freedom to confess our sin knowing that we are going to find love and acceptance.  It is here we ought to be able to confess our doubts and fears knowing that there are others who’ve traveled this road and know those same doubts and fears.  We ought to be able to question and express our differences knowing that iron sharpens iron.  It is here we ought to hear the sweet song of the Gospel bringing peace to our soul.  Sure we are all different.  We are each unique but together, under the Lordship of Christ, we are to be God’s symphony.  Our text this morning is found in the 14th chapter of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.

Text: Romans 14:13-23
This is life as God intends. Last time looked at “disputed matters.” Those questions not spelled out explicitly in the Scripture. Those areas where there is room for honest disagreement between genuine believers. Issues about which we may have strong feelings but issues not worth dividing over. Paul continues that line of thought.

Last time was about how we ought to look at things.

• We are to embrace fellow believers as brothers & sisters to be loved and not as projects of reform.
• We are to ensure that our own hearts are right when it comes to disputed matters.
• We are to remember that we will each stand before God and give an account for our own life.

This morning we turn our attention to the demands of biblical unity.  How do we build on the foundation Christ has laid?  What are we to do to maintain the unity of the Spirit?  As we explore our text we are going to discover that…

Thesis: Biblical unity demands an eternal perspective, a steadfast determination and a guiding conviction.

There are three demands of biblical unity found in this text.

1. Unity within the body demands a steadfast determination not to be a source of stumbling.  (14:13-15)
2. Unity within the body demands a fixed point of reference anchored to that which is eternal.  (14:16-18)
3. Unity within the body demands a settled conviction about the importance of edification and self-sacrifice.  (14:19-23)

 

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This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church.