Introduction
Have you thought about what your resolutions for 2016 are going to be? That seems to be the thing to do during this time of the year. The problem is that only about 8% of people achieve what they "resolved" to do at the beginning of the New Year. Despite the low statistical success, the Scriptures do speak of setting goals and pursuing them. For example, Paul says, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). So, I would like to suggest a goal for us for 2016: TRANSFORMATION! Last week, we saw that the love of God is supremely demonstrated in the incarnation of Jesus Christ that we celebrated at Christmas. We also saw that we are called to incarnate that love in our relationships and ministry (everything we do is personal ministry). We reflect Christ in our lives when others can see the glory of God in us because we have been in his presence. And we do that by faith in Christ because his incarnation marries grace and truth. As we think back to what we considered last week, and think forward to 2016, I desire that we can get to the point where we, sinners redeemed by the grace of God, are able and willing to help other sinners saved by the grace of God to become more like Jesus for his glory. Starting to be used by God to help others is not easy. Some of us may have to be pushed out of our safe little nest because we lack courage to be used by God. Yet at the end of the day, the biblical model of change in the church of Jesus Christ is this – God transforms people's lives as people bring his Word to others.
(Sermon heavily based on Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hand)
I. God Has Many Tools in the Toolbox
A. When you think of personal growth and change, what comes to your mind? 1. A pastor, an elder, or a professional counselor? 2. The Bible says that every last person who has been redeemed by Jesus Christ is an instrument of change in the lives of those who are around them. a. This is true of every one of you. 1) Kids, I want you to pay attention to this one because this is true of you as well. a) God, your God, calls you to help people around you to be more like Christ. b) Don't think that God doesn't have any serious use for you till you get older. 2) This is also true of you who feel you are too old for God to have any use for you. b. This is literally true of all of us. B. When dealing with his people, God has many tools in his toolbox, namely, YOU. 1. The problem is that a lot of God's children don't see themselves this way. 2. They think of ministry as something for the paid professional. 3. Maybe they will pray and provide meals, but that is it. 4. The thing is that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things in the lives of others. 5. What mission board, what ministry, what local church would use the people God used in the Bible? a. Moses – an exiled murderer with a speech impediment in the twilight of his life. b. Gideon – fearful and hiding c. David – the young shepherd boy who had no military training d. Peter – who publicly denied Christ e. Paul who persecuted the church 6. God never intended us to simply be the objects of his love. We are also called to be instruments of that love in the lives of others. C. Who are the people God uses, and what are their qualifications? Does God only use certain people? Why some and not others? Am I one of them? Read Eph. 4:11-16 again. 1. Christ has given his church leaders, not to bear the full ministry load of the body of Christ, but to equip each member to join in God's work of personal transformation, 12. Eph. 4:12a (NIV) – … to prepare God's people for works of service.... 2. No local church of any size could hire enough staff to meet all the ministry needs of a given week. 3. In the biblical model of ministry, much more informal, personal ministry goes on than formal ministry. 4. The times of formal, public ministry such as this one are meant to train God's people for the personal ministry that is the lifestyle of the Body of Christ, 12. a. Think about your own life. b. Isn't it true that change has not come only through the formal ministry of the Word? c. Hasn't God also used ordinary people to change your heart and transform your life? 5. The body metaphor for the church is such an apt metaphor! a. A body grows healthily only as each part does its work. b. My ankle as a reminder how the whole body needs to be working together. c. Each part of our body was designed by God to do something that is going to benefit the whole body. d. So is the Body of Christ. 1) Not all of God's people are the same. 2) Each of us has been gifted, called, and positioned to do our part in God's kingdom work. 3) Our histories, personalities, abilities, and maturity levels differ and that is how the Redeemer wants it to be: a complete set of tools in his hands! "Ephesians 4 propels us beyond a life consumed by personal happiness and achievements. Your life is much bigger than a good job, an understanding spouse, and non-delinquent kids. It is bigger than beautiful gardens, nice vacations, and fashionable clothes. In reality, you are part of something immense, something that began before you were born and will continue after you die. God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into his kingdom, and progressively shaping them into his likeness – and he wants you to be part of it." Paul Tripp 6. So, your life is bigger than you ever imagined! a. Though you live now, you stand hand-in-hand with Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Matthew, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Machen and generations of unknown believers who understood their places in the kingdom of God and did their part in its work. b. As you keep this huge perspective in view, you will be able to live and serve effectively in the small world God placed you. II. God Transforms People's Lives as People Bring His Word to Others, 11b (pastor/teachers).
A. The changes God produces in his people are directly connected with the ministry of his Word. B. So, we are not only to preach the Word, but also counsel the Word, talk the Word, live the Word, eat the Word, etc. C. So we must want our pastor to preach the Word, but also we must want to talk the Word ourselves. D. In personal ministry, we want to bring more than a heart of compassion, a willingness to listen, and a commitment to help bear someone's burden. 1. These are good things, but there is more. 2. I want to bring the heart-changing truths of the Scripture to people in the midst of their situations and relationships. 3. This is the truth-in-love model Paul speaks of in Eph. 4: the combination of powerful truth wrapped in self-sacrificing love, this is what God uses to change people. E. If it is true that there is more informal ministry than formal in any given week, we must make sure that our counsel in those informal moments is governed by the Word of God. 1. Suppose your friend tearfully tells you that she found porn in her son's phone. 2. Maybe your golf or hunting buddy says he is thinking about leaving his wife. 3. Whatever you say to them is going to be personal ministry or counseling. Is it going to be governed by the Word of God? 4. We often forget that God's Word is our primary tool of change. Instead, we come up with a little personal wisdom and personal experience and let words fly. F. God not only placed people next to each other in order to create a system of growth in Jesus Christ, but he also ordained what we are to give each other: his Word. III. The Life That Comes from God's Word
A. The great drought in the Northeast of Brazil between 1980-85 and the ensuing results of the rain. B. The transformational power of God's Word is no less dramatic. C. Personal ministry brings the rains of God's Word to the parched ground of the heart. D. A complete transformation may not take place overnight, but our lives will burst forth in new beauty of character and new fruitfulness of life. Isa. 55:10-13 – For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. E. The changes brought about by the ministry of God's Word point to two wonderful realities. 1. We are, in fact, God's children. He has promised to be our God, to be with us, and to bless us. 2. These changes point to his glory. a. The flowers and fruit that the rain produces give glory to the One who sent it. b. As we bring God's Word to one another, we are all signs pointing to his glory. "What is the hope here? It is the hope of the kingdom. The King has come and sent his children to one another with his life-changing Word. People who were lost find their way; people who once [were] paralyzed with discouragement walk in hope; alienated people live in community as broken relationships are restored; confused minds think in ways that are true, pure, and right; and the person who once lived for his own power now rests in God's. God's rain waters the roots of the heart, and the person's life bursts forth with new fruitfulness. This is the way of the Lord, the hope and work of his kingdom." Paul Tripp IV. The Best Way to Minister to One Another with the Scriptures
A. Isaiah 55 should instill a great deal of hope in us. B. But it also raises a couple of questions 1. What is the best way to minister biblically to another person? 2. How can we best bring the power of Scripture to another person's life? C. Usually when somebody comes to us with a particular issue, say, marriage problems, most of us might grab our phones and catalog all the marriage passages and give to them. E. But there is a significant problem with just doing that. 1. The Bible was not written as an encyclopedia a. An encyclopedia is a collection of independent articles that can be read on a particular topic regardless of what the other articles say. b. The Bible is one story where everything is interconnected (that's why I have a hard time with publishing NT alone). c. There are themes that go through the whole of Scriptures. d. So, if we are going to help our brother/sister who is struggling with their marriage with a passage about marriage like Eph. 5, we have to be sure to place Eph. 5 in the context of the whole story of the Bible. 2. Let's put a little more flesh on the problem that you are trying to help your brother/sister with. a. Let's say you are talking with a wife who is in the midst of an all-out war with her husband. b. Everything in their lives has become a contest for control. c. They say unkind things to each other. d. He has buried himself in his work, and she has found refuge in her children. e. They spend time with each other only when duty demands it. 3. What is wrong with their marriage? a. Would you agree that that their problems run deeper than communication, role division, work, parenting, and time management? b. These issues are the fruit of a much more deeply rooted set of problems. c. So what do you think would happen if all we did was to solely speak about the duties of the husband/wife? d. Probably add a little more wood to the fire because they would then have more things to demand from one another. 4. So it is important that we don't treat the Bible as an encyclopedia because it is not and our problems are not encyclopedic either. They are intertwined. 5. In the Bible every passage is dependent on one another and the whole Bible is held together by interdependent themes that run through it. F. Being biblical in my ministering to others means that my counsel reflects what the entire Bible is about: the story of redemption with Jesus Christ as the main character. 1. So when talk about Eph. 5 with people who are struggling with marriage, we do so in the context of God's story. 2. When we talk with teenagers about the issues of youth, we do it in the context of God's redemption. G. We need a message big enough to overcome our natural human instinct to live for our own glory, pursue our own happiness, and forget that our lives are much, much bigger than this little moment. H. God's story is that message. V. An Example
A. What do we learn from the story of the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Seas? 1. Do you see a hero named Moses and a call to be like him? 2. Do you see principles for dealing with difficulty? 3. Keys to leading a rebellious people? 4. Hints for crossing large bodies of water? 5. The seven habits of highly effective nomads? 6. All these things may be there, but they are not the point of the account. B. The Exodus throughout the Bible points to our need for a Redeemer who delivers us from slavery, defeats the enemy, and leads us in the way we should go. C. Does the Exodus story have anything to say to our warring couple? 1. It tells them about who they are, why they are struggling, and where hope and help can be found. 2. The themes that run through the Exodus story also run through every marriage passage because the marriage passages apply God's redemption to one of the most important relationships of life. 3. Do you think that the idea that the Redeemer lived, died, and rose again so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him and his glory would have an impact on our warring couple? 2 Cor. 5:14-15 – For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. VI. The Rebar in God's Word
A. Let me quickly give three rebar that run through God's story on redemption that you must pay attention to as you minister to one another. Dan 4:34-35 – At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" a. From the rise and fall of governments to tomorrow's weather to the exact location of every human being, the universe is under God's control. b. He has the power and authority to do exactly what pleases him, anywhere he chooses to do it. c. At any moment in time, the right answer to the question, "what is God doing?" is, "Accomplishing his plan." d. Does this theme have any practical impact on our couple? You better believe it. 1) This theme is meant to be a great practical comfort to us. 2) As you look around you, don't things often seem to be out of control? 3) Doesn't it often look like the bad guys are winning? 4) Haven't you cried, "Why me?" or wept at the suffering of another? 5) Don't you sometimes feel lost in the crowd, as the custodian of a small and relatively meaningless life? 6) Don't you daily face your powerlessness to even change yourself? 7) To all these questions God says, "Take heart, I am in complete control. I am the definition of holiness and love. All of my ways are right and true, all of my decisions are best, and I will not rest until my plan has been completed." 8) As child of God you are part of that plan. 9) So, our couple's constant war of words, competition for power, and mutual condemnation are rooted in a deeper battle about who or what will rule their lives. a) Marriage exposes their controlling desire to get what they want. b) When my hope is in my ability to rule the day, my spouse becomes a constant threat rather than an intimate companion. c) This destroys any hope of experiencing the loving, self-sacrificial unity at the heart of any good marriage. d) God's sovereignty calls me to entrust my spouse and myself to the Lord, and to joyfully do what he says is right and best, knowing that my hope rests in his power not mine. 2. The second rebar is God's amazing grace. a. In all the drama of the story of redemption, one reality repeatedly comes to the surface: we live in a world where there is grace to be found. b. God is not only sovereign, he is also abounding in grace. 1) When dealing with Adam and Eve's disobedience, God made it clear that he was going to do more than punish them. 2) He was going to send the seed of the woman (Christ) to defeat the enemy and provide redemption for his people (Gen. 3:15). c. This grace justifies, providing complete forgiveness and unwavering acceptance with God d. This grace adopts, welcoming us into his family with all the rights and privileges of sons and daughters. e. This grace enables me to think, say, and do things I could not do in my own strength. f. This grace transforms, radically changing every aspect of my life g. Grace is the thick rod of rebar that runs through the concrete of the biblical story and the story tells me in a thousand different ways that God has made a way to deal with my deepest problem: sin. 1) It reminds me that my life doesn't need to be imprisoned by my own rebellion, defeated by my own foolishness, or paralyzed by my own inability. 2) God's grace is most powerful and effective at the moment of my greatest weakness. 2 Cor. 12:9 – And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. h. You might ask, is this really practical and life changing? 1) Think of our couple again. 2) One of the most significant problems in their relationship is that grace is absent. 3) There is no willingness to look within and confess deep-seated sins, so they never find sweet forgiveness. 4) There is no vertical hope to carry them in dark and discouraging times. 5) There is no rest that comes from entrusting each to the God of grace. 6) There is no faith that he will give them all they need to respond to each in godly ways. 7) With all their obvious difficulties, what is most shocking is the profound gracelessness of their marriage. 8) As a result, their relationship is reduced to human demands, human performance, human failure, human judgment, and human punishment. 9) There is no hope or power for change. 10) And because they are not soaking in the fountain of God's grace, they do not extend it to one another. i. Any attempt to talk about marriage as a stand-alone feature will fail because their only true hope is God's heart-transforming, relationship-revolutionizing grace. j. Only in the fullness of grace can the biblical principles for healthy marital relationships bear lasting fruit. 3. The third is God's glory. a. Have you ever been to a birthday party where there was a kid that couldn't have any fun because he wanted the presents that the birthday boy/girl had gotten? b. Not only wanted the presents but also wanted to be the center of attention. c. What do parents usually say? Johnny, it is not your party. You are not supposed to get presents and be the center of attention. Look at how everybody else is having a good time. You can too if you drop this silliness. d. So it is with the grand story of the Bible. 1) With everything that goes on on the pages of the Scriptures, at the center of the story is the Lord. 3) Paul summarizes the story this way, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen." (Rom. 11:36) e. We were made for his glory, and we are called to display his glory in everything we do. 1) There is probably not a day when we do not plot to steal glory that rightfully belongs to the Lord. 2) When we compete with one another for glory, we fail to experience the unity that can only be found when we join together to live for him. 3) At the bottom of a broken marriage, a shattered family, or a forsaken friendship, you will always find stolen glory. 4) We crave glory that doesn't belong to us, and we step on one another to get it. 5) Sin causes us to steal the story and rewrite it with ourselves as the lead, and with our lives at center stage. 6) When we do that, we become just like Johnny, not enjoying the party because we were not designed to receive glory, but to give. a) We don't suffer well because suffering interferes with our glory. b) We don't find relationships easy because others compete with us for glory. c) We don't serve well because in our quest for glory, we want to be served. f. Yet the story of the Scriptures is story of the Lord's glory. 1) It calls me to an agenda that is bigger than myself. 2) It offers me something truly worth living for. 3) The Redeemer has come so that glory thieves like you and me could live joyfully for the glory of another. "The central work of God's kingdom is change. God accomplishes this work as the Holy Spirit empowers people to bring his Word to others. We bring more than solutions, strategies, principles, and commands. We bring the greatest story ever told, the story of the Redeemer. Our goal is to help one another live with a 'God's story' mentality. Our mission is to teach, admonish, and encourage one another to rest in his sovereignty, rather than establishing our own; to rely on his grace rather than performing on our won; and to submit to his glory rather than seeking our won. This is the work of the kingdom of God: people in the hands of the Redeemer, daily functioning as his tools of lasting change." Paul Tripp http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/12/transformation-eph-411-16.html
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