Church Family, Philippians 1:3-6 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. This morning as I was praying for my church family, this passage jumped into my heart, so I prayed it back to God while thinking of you. After all, it is good to have your pastor pray for you with JOY, right? The alternative of praying for you with regret and disdain would be tragic. But I pray for you with joy because of our glorious partnership in the gospel. Over the last two months we have seen God give us glimpses of His glory through our worship times together. We have seen God transform lives for His glory in the salvation of over 20 people. God is truly good! So where do we go from here in our partnership in the gospel? Backwards is not the answer. The only way we can go with the gospel is FORWARD. In other terms, FULL STEAM AHEAD!! We will press ahead with full enthusiasm and energy of taking the transformational gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Don’t get comfortable and rest on the past achievements, our mission is before us, not behind us. When the Apostle Paul addressed the Ephesian elders at the end of his third missionary journey, Paul knew that he had to go back to Jerusalem. The problem he faced was that he would surely be arrested and possibly killed because of his investment in the gospel. His final words to the Ephesian elders were as follows: “And now compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me. I only know that in every city that the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:22-24 We have an “unfinished task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” No matter the future, no matter the number of days I have left…I will finish the race…I will complete the task ahead of me…my life is not my own---it is yours Lord Jesus! When I read this passage, I picture the apostle Paul as the Rocky Balboa of the Christian faith. Nothing can stand in our way---Full Steam Ahead! The Bible tells us the “Gates of hell will not prevail against us.” Listen, church, Matthew 16:18 is true. We are called to finish strong and “punch holes in spiritual darkness.” God will empower us to victory for His glory. So our next step is to stay focused on the “unfinished task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Get your boxing gloves on…its time to punch holes in spiritual darkness! Fighting Together for the Gospel, Pastor Todd
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 01:47:53 +0000
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