Fighting for My Pea Patch

Many believe that Ezra wrote the actual account of this man Nehemiah. Nehemiah worked on building the physical realm of Jerusalem while Ezra worked the spiritual realm. You might could say that Nehemiah worked on “rebuilding the ruins of the City” while Ezra worked on “rebuilding the ruins of the people.” They both worked together to rebuild the city and the people of God. So, many believe Ezra was the scribe who penned these words in the book of Nehemiah.

Both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are written at a time when God’s people had been exiled. The city of God had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Many of the best and brightest had been carried into captivity, possibly in an effort to “Babylonize” the people of God. But there were remnants that remained in Jerusalem. And over the years, several groups had returned to the city.

Now, some 70-100 years later, paraphrasing what is taking place, Nehemiah is meeting with some friends who have come from Jerusalem, and he is asking how things are going there. And here is what he discovers:

• The remnant that are in the city are in great affliction, they were in hard times;
• The walls of this once great city of God laid in waste and the gates thereof are burned with fire;
• But far worse, this once great nation had now become a reproach to God;

Nehemiah heard these words, and before he prayed, notice what he does. Verse 4 says, “When I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days . . .” Can I just stop right here and say it’s OK to cry and to mourn. John 11:35 tells us that when Jesus came to the tomb of His friend “He wept.” Now our problem is not that we cry and mourn at times, the problem is when we STAY that way.

So, Nehemiah “wept and mourned certain days,” How many days, I don’t know, but then look at what he did, “He fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Notice when Nehemiah had a broken heart, his first choice was to go to God in prayer. It wasn’t an afterthought, it wasn’t something he was going to do when he got around to it, it wasn’t a last-ditch effort. No, the first thing he did was to fall on his knees and call out to the God of heaven. Nehemiah decided he was going to “Look toward the hills from whence cometh our help” amen! It wasn’t the last thing – it was the first thing.

So Nehemiah “. . . wept and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” But Nehemiah’s prayer didn’t allow him to change his position among the people. Notice this: Nehemiah’s position was that as the King’s cupbearer. And it was a high, trusted position, Yet, although he had a high position in the King’s house, he didn’t let that negate his position and responsibility as part of the family of God. The moral of this story is folks, Don’t allow your position at work, or your education level get in the way of your position in the family of God! YOUR POSITION SHOULD NEVER CHANGE YOUR POSTURE WITH THE PEOPLE GOD!

In verse 5, Nehemiah is going to begin this prayer, and notice how he begins, He begins by attributing 3 separate titles to God. He begins by saying, “I beseech thee, O Lord God of Heaven (there’s the first one), The great and terrible God (there’s the second one), that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:”

• The Lord God of Heaven – speaks of a Ruler
• The Great and terrible God – is Nehemiah giving Him reverence
• But the God who keepeth covenant and mercy – is a God of relationship.

Nehemiah viewed God the way we ought to view God. He is our supreme ruler, Heaven is His home, Earth is His foot stool. We should honor and revere Him and fear Him, But I’m glad He is my God and I have a personal relationship with Him. David said in the Psalms, “The Lord is MY Sheperd . . .”  I’m glad this morning that I have a personal, one-on-one relationship with the God who created the universe, who hung the moon and the stars.

I believe your prayer life will reveal a lot about how we view God. Talking with God ain’t like talking to your friends. So let me share a few things I see in Nehemiah’s prayer beginning in verse 6:

NOTICE FIRST THE CALL

Verse 6 begins, “Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, . . .”

How many of you agree with me that this is Nehemiah doing the praying? And who is he praying to? The God of Heaven right? Why would Nehemiah pray to the God who is all knowing, all powerful and all present, why would Nehemiah say, “LORD, would you listen to me? I’m talking to You.” So we ask, why even pray this?

I think sometimes we view prayer as an obligation. But what it really is, is an Opportunity. God doesn’t have to listen to us. Nehemiah said, “LORD, I know you are on the throne, and I know that down here, I’m simply the King’s cupbearer, I’m just one of your children. But Lord, if You would, if you have some time, would You listen to what I have to say? Would You please listen to my prayer?”

“Lord, I know You don’t have to listen to me, but Lord would You please hear my prayer?”

Folks, if you and I can get to the place where we pray not out of Obligation, but as an opportunity to get into the presence of God, where we can call out to God and say “LORD, it me again, I need You Lord. Will You hear my prayer?”

The Call of Nehemiah, not notice:

THE CONSISTENCY

Verse 6b “. . . which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants,”

This was not a one and done prayer like we so often prayed. This is something he prayed everyday until he heard something from God. I just think there is something to be said about a consistent prayer life.

You know, I believe God hears us the first time we prayer. But I also realize the Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing. I think God doesn’t answer us sometimes because He want to know if we will be consistent, if we really mean business or not. I know folks that have prayed for loved ones to be saved for years before anything ever happened. But they never gave up and they prayed consistently. Folks, I just believe God loves a consistent prayer life.

God wants our consistent prayer, not our convenient prayer.

The Call, the Consistency. Now Notice:

THE CONFESSION

“. . . and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.”

Nehemiah could have pushed the responsibility for the things that went wrong for Israel on to the generation that brought this destruction to the city of God and the people of God . . . but he didn’t. He said, “I and my father’s house have sinned.” Nehemiah said, “God, I’m just as guilty as they are.” “Lord, I have sinned as well, and I don’t deserve Your mercies, I don’t deserve Your grace, but I’m confessing to You now that I have sinned.” Nehemiah confessed that he needed God.

You know something folks, as God’s people, we are not exempt to messing up sometimes, we are not exempt from sinning sometimes. But it is up to us to go before God when we do and confess our sins. John tell us in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And let me tell you right now, if you are a child of God and say you don’t sin, or you haven’t sinned, you’re a liar and the truths not in you. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

The Call, The Consistency, The Confession, Now notice:

THE CONFIDENCE

Verses 8-10, “Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.”

So here is Nehemiah talking to the all-knowing God, and Nehemiah says, “God, do you remember that promise you made to Moses?” And what Nehemiah was saying here was not so much that God would remember, but Nehemiah is going over in his mind the faithfulness of God and all that God had done for His people.

Sometimes folks, I get into a place where I’m talking to God and while talking to Him, I start remembering what God has done for me. I start remembering when God first cured my daughter’s cancer. Then I remembered when her cancer came back, and I found myself praying the same prayers again. It’s not that God forgot my prayers as much as it is I’m reminding myself that if He could do it then, then He can still do it now.

Nehemiah was confident that the God who delivered the Children of Israel for Moses, can deliver the children of Israel again!

Folks, you and I can be confident that if God has done it before, He can do it again. I look around our Nation and how far we have gotten from God. And I ask myself, “Lord is there any hope for America anymore? Lord can you bring revival to America again? Can you bring revival to my home and to my church? And I will say just as the prophet Ezekiel, “LORD GOD THOU KNOWEST!”

The Call, The Consistency, The Confession, The Confidence, now Finally:

THE CUPBEARER

Nehemiah finishes the chapter with these words that seem as though we’d have been fine without them, but here they are, “For I was the King’s cupbearer.”

This was a high-ranking position within the Kings Court, a very trusted position. The cupbearer was the one willing to bear the poison to save the King. Because of that, this was the most trusted position in the Persian Empire. Nehemiah was willing to give his life so that the King could be sparred.

Isn’t it ironic that it is the prayer of this Cupbearer that opened the windows of Heaven for God to once again restore the people of God and the City of God?

Now, let me share that second text with you so can get this text in context, as I tell you about another Cupbearer, who bore the bitter cup of my sins and your sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. Matthew 26:39. records for us that Jesus fell on His face and prayer to the God of Heaven:

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

The weapon of warfare Jesus used that night in the Garden was the weapon of prayer. This was a prayer from a Son to His Father – Jesus said, “Father.” It was a prayer of sorrow – “Let this cup pass from me.” But it was also a prayer of complete surrender – “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

Jesus drank this Cup of Sin, Sorrow, and Separation, so that you and I could drink from the Cup of Salvation. The cup that I should have drunk, Jesus drank for me! Thank God today, that you and I can be Saved Through the Prayer of a Cupbearer!

If you have your Bible with you, I’m gonna ask you to turn to I Corinthians 16, and beginning in verse 13: In I Corinthians 15, Paul has just written the best discourse on the Resurrection that you will find anywhere. Chapter 15 is chalk full of doctrinal truth. But in chapter 16, Paul is going to change gears. He kind of gives some summary remarks, and he begins to call some people by name. Notice in verse 13, he says:

^“13 Watch ye (BE ON GUARD – BE ALERT), stand fast in the faith (YOUR FAITH WALK IS NOT GOING TO BE A CAKE WALK), quit you like men, be strong (DON’T GIVE UP EASY). ¹⁴ Let all your things be done with charity (BECAUSE WITHOUT LOVE, IT DON’T MEAN SQUAT). ¹⁵ I beseech you (I BEG YOU, I IMPLORE YOU), brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) ¹⁶ That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth (CAN I JUST SAY RIGHT HERE, I THANK GOD FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BECOME CO-LABORERS TO RALLY POINT BIKER CHURCH) ¹⁷ I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. ¹⁸ For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.”

How wonderful it is to look at some of the pages of the Bible and to see some names that are recorded here for all eternity. How many of you would like to think that you walked so close to God that your name was recorded for all prosperity to see? That is a wonderful thing. Now, grant it, there are some names mentioned in the Bible that I wouldn’t want to be, or even be associated with.

Paul must have thought a whole lot of these folks he is mentioning here. Apparently, from the time Paul began his first missionary journey there, they had gotten saved and have been a consistent, faithful part of that work ever since. These were some of the main leaders, some of the main encouragers of the church in Corinth. And he mentions three of them: The House of Stephanas, The House of Fortunatus, and the House of Achaicus – the First Fruits of Achaia. And here is why Paul mentions them by name: verse 15, “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.”

There’s an interesting thing that happens when you read the Bible. Let me explain that statement. For years, I have read my Bible, and in fact, have read this section, but it never occurred to me that the Word of God has the word “addicted” in it. I knew it was there, it just never jumped off the page at me.

When we think about being addicted to something in our society, that’s a bad thing. And the problem is, without God in our lives, there’s a big ole empty hole inside of everyone of us. Some people try to fill that hole with drugs, with alcohol, with pornography, with gambling. But God’s the one who created that big ole hole, and guess what, He’s the only one that can fill it.

But the world is trying to stuff that hole full of everything the world has to offer, only to come up empty. And do you know why? Because none of the things the world has to offer can fill it. The only thing that can fill that big gaping hole in your soul – IS GOD.

The thing about addicts is – they can’t get enough of what it is they are addicted to. Everything an addict does is controlled by their addiction. Every decision they make, every place they go, the people they associate with are all determined by their addiction. The more they get of it, the more they won’t of it. And another thing, addicts like to hang out with other addicts. 

But I want to talk to you this morning about a good addiction. I want to talk to you about being “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” The more I thought about this thing the more it stirred my soul. “Addicted to the ministry of the saints,” the more I get the more I want! I can never get enough. So as I thought about the message and what I would titled it, the best I could come up with was to confess to you this morning:

“HI, MY NAME IS JOE, AND I’M AN ADDICT”

And I’m not a recovered one – it’s getting worse! And the more of it I get, the more of it I want! The more I do for Him, the more I want to do for Him. The more I preach His Word, the more I want to preach His Word. Now that’s a good addiction amen! Don’t miss this, Paul said, “Submit yourselves unto such.” What did Paul mean? I think he meant that if you want to look to people who will be an example for you, these are the people you want to look to – those who are Addicted to Jesus! Because, listen, those people who are addicted to Jesus, they have your best interest at heart. So if you want to find somebody to follow, find somebody who’s “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” Somebody whose actions speak louder than their words.

Paul not only said that they should “submit to them,” but he said of them,“They helped us.” Isn’t it funny, a lot of times in the church, the people who do the most talking are the very ones who do the lest? They want to tell everybody else what to do. That’s not the way it was in the New Testament Church. Paul said, “If you want to find a leader, you look to that person that when something needs to be done, they are right there helping. They have their “hands to the plough.” I’m afraid part of the problem in the church today is there are too many people working in the ministry that are not “Addicted to the ministry.”

Speaking of addictions, I will never understand how somebody that calls themselves a Christian, doesn’t want to go to church. Personally, I like to hang out with a bunch of other addicts myself! That’s why I love our church, we got a few folks who have an addiction problem!

These are the folks Paul wanted you and I to remember. These are the people who made a difference in Paul’s life and in his ministry. There’s a couple of things Paul says about them I really want to point out.

FIRST, WHAT WAS LACKING, THEY SUPPLIED

I have come to this conclusion, if every Christian would try to supply what was lacking in somebody else’s life, nobody would go lacking; no ministry would be lacking. We’d be able to start more churches, build bigger churches, send missionaries to the ends of the earth, we’d be able to reach more souls for Christ. If all of us would get to the place that we’re willing to “supply that which was lacking.”

And I’ll tell you, the problem is we have too much stuff! And we don’t want to get rid of our stuff, and in fact, we feel like we need more stuff. Kim and I just moved, and our garage is full of what? STUFF. I believe the fastest growing business in Spartanburg County is Storage buildings. Why? Because we can’t get enough stuff. We’re addicted to it.

If we can ever learn to give up our “stuff,” I think we’d realize God will give us more than we ever dreamed of. But we must get to the place where we are willing to “supply that which was lacking.”

BUT SECOND, PAUL SAYS “THEY HAVE REFRESHED MY SPIRIT, AND YOURS”

This is going to sound pretty backwoods, but “Isn’t it refreshing to be around refreshing people?” Now, have you ever run into somebody at church that in about 5 seconds they just knock the wind right out of your sails? They’re never happy, they never have anything positive to say, they never have an encouraging word, nobody loves them, nobody cares about them? You walk away from them and hope next week they’ll have something positive to say about what God is doing in their lives, then next week arrives – and it’s the same old story? Am I the only one that’s ever run into that? I’m just being honest folks, there’s just some people that it takes me a lot of energy to be around because they suck the refreshment right out of me.

But then, there’s some people who pour refreshment into your soul. They say things that are encouraging, refreshing and uplifting. You might only be there for a minute, but you feel better when you walk away – you feel refreshed when you walk away. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of people I want to be around.

I think the daily prayer of every Christian, from the moment that we wake-up, I think our prayer should be “God, let me be a fresh breath of air to somebody today!”

As some of you know, in 2003, at the height of my ministry, my life fell apart. Sin invaded my home and robbed me of the joy of my salvation. For 10 years, I lived outside of the will of God for my life. Those were some dark days in my life. Not all bad days, in fact, I met my wife during those days, my helpmate. But they were not the life God had called me to. So, there was no real joy.

In 2013, when my granddaughter Emma was 6, Bella was 4, they were staying with us, and Emma, forced me to confront my past. She said to me, “Papa, you used to be a preacher?” Folks, that tore my nerves up.” I begged God not to let her ask another question – but that fell on deaf ears, because Emma followed that up with “Papa, will you take me to church.” And of course, Bella had to chime in, “Yea, Papa, will you take us to church?”

Do you know what I realized in that moment? I realized those two little girls became a fresh breath of air for their Granny and Papa. I realized that for the past 10 years, I was in withdrawals – and I wasn’t fairing to well. I realized as an addict, I wasn’t getting what I needed. I needed a hit of joy and peace back in my life! I needed to be back in fellowship with other addicts!

I would venture to say they are some here today that Satan has convinced you nobody cares about you and your life has no meaning. Let me just remind you that He is a liar! You know what you need to do? You need to get around some Addicts that can help fill that void your lacking, some addicts who can be a fresh breath of air to you.

This past week, that little granddaughter of mine, and her bestie, called and wanted to meet Papa for lunch. Now listen, what kind of 18-year-old wants to have lunch with their ole grumpy papa? But they wanted to share what God was doing in their lives. And as I listen to these girls share what God is doing, and how God is working through them to affect other people. I realized these girls had an addiction problem.” And I went home and God began laying this message on my heart, I knelt down in my study and I prayed, “Oh God, give me a church full of addicts in the ministry like these young women who are on fire for the ministry. God give us a church full of Emma’s and Lane’s. God help me as a pastor to be a PUSHER and get other people “addicted” to the ministry.”

Folks, I want to challenge you this morning to stand firm in your faith, serve with unwavering commitment, and surround yourself with those who are ‘addicted to the ministry of the saints‘—those whose passion for Christ compels them to supply and refresh others, demonstrating that true fulfillment doesn’t come from worldly pursuits, but from a life fully surrendered to God’s work

When you think about Elijah, there’s not really a whole lot that we know about him. We know he was a hairy man; we know that he came out of the wilderness; and we know that he was greatly used by God.

In fact, Elijah was used in a very unusual way, and because of that, we attach the reference of a great man of God or a great prophet. At a minimum, I believe Elijah was one of the most unusual prophets that ever lived.

When you look at his life, he was greatly used by God. So, I guess I would ask this fine crowd this morning, “How many of you think that we have a Great God?” How many of you believe that God still does great works today?

It would be very easy for me to preach a message titled “The Secret to How Elijah was Greatly Used of God.” But I’m not going to do that.

How many of you have eaten some of Roman’s cooking? How many of you would agree that Roman is a great cook?  Now I have had some food sometimes that I wanted to know the ingredients. You can go to Roman and ask, “Brother, what are the ingredients you used in that?” and he will probably reply, “O, a little of this and a little of that.”

Or you can ask Roy the recipe for his tri-tips, and he’ll say, “O, a little of this and a little of that.” I think these guys went to school together!

Sometimes in life we come across people that seem to be different, that seem to really be walking with God, they seem to reflect the presence of God in their lives. They just seem to have that special sauce. SO, this morning I want to speak on this thought, “THE SECRET SAUCE ON THE THINGS GOD GREATLY USES!”

To understand where I’m going, I need to give you a little background. In chapter 16 and verse 30 the Bible says, “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.”

In other words, the wickedness that was in the land before, Ahab was about to kick it up a notch and take it Evil and Wickedness to a whole new level. How many of you believe that we live in a wicked day today? I don’t think we’ve seen the end of that. It seems to me that men wax worse and worse. We see things happening in our country today that seem to have taken wickedness to a whole new level, things that make me ashamed.

What I’m saying folks is that evil is on the rise. We are tolerating and accepting today as the norm that 30 years ago would have made us blush. Evil is on the rise. And that is the setting that Elijah finds himself.

Verse 31 says, “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat . . .”

In other words, Ahab made this guy who was totally wicked look like he was just some school kid slinging out a curse word, his sins were just small things compared to Ahab.

“He took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.”

So here is a king of a nation, whose God is the LORD, and he is worshipping and serving Baal. “Baal” means little “l” lord. I’m glad there is only one capital “L” LORD in the Bible.

Look at verse 32, “And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.”

In other words, Idolatry was being restored in the nation that was supposed to get rid of it. And verse 33 says, “And Ahab made a grove . . .” They were supposed to get rid of the groves. They were supposed to get rid of all these things that would turn the hearts of God’s men to false idols.

And now they are being restored, they are being put back into place. And so God said of “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD GOD of Isreal to anger than all the kings of Isreal that were before him.” He made God mad!!!

What I’m saying is the backdrop to I Kings 17 is that wickedness is on the rise, Idolatry is on the rise. It seems to me, that there are fewer and fewer people sitting on the pews of church nowadays, and more and more people at the ball fields, or the race tracks. It just seems to me that we are not the “One Nation Under God that we once were.

And sadly, we just get into our little spiritual huddles and pray that we hold out until the rapture. Well folks, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a whole until Jesus comes.

Now look at chapter 17 and verse 1, “AND ELIJAH . . .” in the middle of all that wickedness, in the middle of all the idolatry, God decides, “I’m going to go ahead a do a work anyway!”

Wickedness may be on the rise, idol worship may be on the rise, false temples may be built, Baal may be there little “g” God – BUT GOD WASN’T DONE!

And I have great news for Rally Point Biker Church this morning, God is not finished working in our lives in this world we live in right now!

I want to show you 5 things that God uses, and the secret to the usefulness of these things.

FIRST, GOD USES THE UNKNOWN WHO HAS FAITH IN HIS MESSAGE

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”.

When Elijah comes on the scene, we know absolutely nothing about him. All we know is he is hairy, he wears leather clothing and he comes from the hills. He is just an unknown man of God – and that’s all he is.

But we read chapter 17 and 18 and in chapter 19, we see him call down the fire from Heaven, and we see this great man of God, this great prophet of God – but when he steps out in I Kings 17:1, all we know about him is that he is a man who steps out WITH FAITH IN GOD’S MESSAGE.

Our problem today as a society is that everybody wants to be know. We have snapchat and twitter and all these others accounts and we want to be influencers, we want people to know who we are.

It happens in churches as well. We talk about the size of a church, how many degrees the preacher has, how many books they’ve written, which Seminary they graduated from, how many people do they have in their sphere of influence

But that’s not what God did. God saw this man named Elijah, that nobody knows, whose name means “Yahweh is my God.” God says, “That’s the guy I’m going to use!

Elijah didn’t have a ministry; he didn’t have a church; “Hey Elijah, how people’d you run on Sunday?” he wasn’t a social media influencer;  “Elijah, how many followers you got on TikTok?”

Elijah is not known. But here is his secret sauce – HE HAS FAITH IN GOD’S MESSAGE.

Look at what Elijah says in verse 1, “Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word,”

SO, Elijah just appears out of nowhere and he takes this message that God said it wasn’t going to rain in 3 ½ years, he obediently carries this message to King Ahab – no questions asked. Elijah had faith in the message! Let me ask you, do you have faith in the message of God today?

How many of you believe that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation? The church of today is trying to replace the message of God with programs, but folks I still believe the death burial and resurrection of Jesus is still the message of the church today!

Elijah had faith in the message. And folks’ I believe that a “nobody, who believes in somebody, change impact everybody!”

SECOND GOD USES THE UNDESIRABLE WHO YIELD TO HIS WORD

Look at verse 4, “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”

Let me sak you first, how many of you like to hunt and eat Ravens? How many of you have a picture of a raven hanging in your living room? They are disgusting, unclean animals.

How many have ever watched birds feeding one another?  Now, with that picture in mind, do you want this filthy unclean animal feeding you?

Now look at verse 6, “And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.”

I could be wrong here, but I’m pretty sure that that Raven didn’t sprinkle on some Gordon Ramsey spices and cook that meat up before he brought it to Elijah. And to think he had to eat that in the morning and the evening, and it my elementary math holds up – that’s twice a day!

Now how undesirable is that? Funny how God can use those who don’t have a voice, those who can’t sing, those who can’t preach, those who are nobodies in the eyes of the world to do incredible things for the work of God.

Well preacher, I’m divorced; I don’t have the right kind of education; I’ve had an addiction; I have PTSD. The devil will tell you there are a hundred things that makes you undesirable, unable to ever be used of God,

BUT GOD TAKES DELIGHT IN USING THE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE LEAVE LYING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Look at the end of verse 4, “and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” The secret sauce is, those ravens simply obeyed God. Every day they simply did what God commanded them to do.

I think our lives and our churches would be a whole lot better off if we simply obeyed the Word of God, don’t you?

FINALLY, GOD WILL USE THE WEAK WHO SUBMIT TO HIS WORD

Look at verse 9, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

So, to give you the backdrop here, there is a widow woman, I image she is not an old widow woman, as she has a son still under her care, but a widow non-the-less. She barely has enough food to feed her own son, and here is this prophet of God asking her to make him some bread. And you know what she did?

She yielded to the man of God. She didn’t have to. God gave her the will to choose. But she yielded to God’s man, and because she did, God fill her containers up with enough food to carry her for weeks. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Get this picture emblazoned in your minds. Here comes this preacher, he says, “Go fetch me a cup of water, in the middle of a draught. Then he says, “Go fix me a cake, and feed me first,” to a woman that doesn’t have enough to feed her and her own son.

What do you think the lame stream media would say about that preacher if that widow would have posted that on social media?

Let me give to you in even better terms. What would happen if that Widow walked into this church and said to y’all, “Preacher Joe came over, told me to make him some cake, when I don’t even have enough cake to feed me and my kids? Do y’all think I should make him the cake?

So here is the wild looking Tishbite that came out of the hills, saying he’s been feed by the birds, now he wants you make him a cake, when you don’t even have enough to feed your own family. Y’all would say, “He’s crazy, you need to get him out of your house.”

But do you know what she did, she not only listened to what God’s man was saying, but she did what he asked.

I’m going to conclude with this thought, verse 12 tells us she had a “handful of mill in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse.” Now there might have been a full barrel at one time, and that cruse might have been filled to the bream – but they are not now.

Sometimes in our Christian lives, we have been full of peace and joy unspeakable. But can I submit that there are times in our lives when we are when we feel like we are just used up and there’s not much left in the tank. We think to ourselves we have nothing left to give.

Some of you may be there right now. Can I just encourage you to trust God, to believe His Word, to know that He is supplying all your needs according to His riches in glory! You may just have a little mill left in your barrel, but YOUR BARREL is not empty! Trust God

As I read this passage, I can’t help but to think of the illustration I shared over a year ago of how a nurse during the Vietnam War had been reprimanded many times, as it seems she had a tendency to drift onto the battlefield and rescue wounded soldiers. On one such occasion, she brought back not only American soldiers that had been wounded, but she also drug in Vietcong soldiers. As her commander was reprimanding her a final time, he said, “Why do you continue disobey direct orders not to go onto the battlefield?” Her response was priceless, she said, “Sir, that’s my job. My job is to go on the battlefield, find the wounded and bring them to the Physicians.” Folks, as a child of God, that’s OUR JOB. We are to go into the highways and the hedges of this world, find the broken, to find the wounded, and bring them to the Great Physician.” Let’s pray and I will share this message OUR PURPOSE: TO BRING THEM TO JESUS.

Most of us are familiar with Simon Peter, and maybe a few of us are familiar with Andrew. Andrew is mentioned 13 times in the New Testament, and in 6 of those references, he is referred to as “Simon Peter’s brother.” In fact, in verse 40 of our text, he is referred to as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”

So why is it that we know so much about Peter? Will, I submit to you that we know so much about Peter, because he had a brother – Andrew. In fact, had it not been for Andrew, we may never have heard anything about Peter. Andrew was saved first, but he’s really not the one that we know so much about. Andrew was simply saved through the words spoken by John the Baptist in verse 36, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

And as soon as the Living Word of God changed Andrew’s life, he immediately went to work on his brother, to introduce him to the “Lamb of God.” In fact, that would become the theme of Andrew’s life. The three major accounts of Andrew’s life in the Scriptures show him bringing somebody to Jesus. Here he brings his brother, in John chapter 6, he brings a little lad with 2 small fishes and 5 loaves of bread, and in John chapter 12, he brings a group of Gentiles.

So, you may say, Andrew was the tool, the instrument, the vehicle that God used to save Simon Peter’s life, and Peter in turn become the leader of the New Testament Church – and in fact, Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and over 3000 people were saved. But it all began when Andrew challenged his brother to “Come and see.”

One lesson I have learned in my life – there is no telling what God is going to do with or through a person that I, or you, have shared the Word of God with. I would venture to say that none of us have ever heard of a Sunday school teacher by the name Robert Kimball. But Robert Kimball led a young shoe salesman to Christ. That shoe salesman was Dwight L. Moody. D.L. Moody would shape America and England with the power of the Gospel and also began Moody Bible Institute. It is said that over his life and ministry, he probably led more than 1 million people to Christ. The day that Robert Kimball shared the Gospel with Moody, he had no idea what God would do through Moody.

On one of Moody’s trips to England, there was an English preacher by the name of FB Meyer. By his own admission, FB Meyer said that he was skeptical of Moody, as FB Meyer had lost a passion for seeing lived saved by the Gospel. But, He invited Moody to speak in his church and when he did, it transformed his life and ministry.

FB Meyer would travel to Greenville, South Carolina to speak at Furman University. While speaking at Furman, there was a young man in chapel who had decided to give up on the ministry and leave college. But the message FB Meyer shared changed his life forever. That young Man was Dr. R.G. Lee who would go on to preach one of the most well-known sermons ever preached “Pay Day Some Day.” R.G. Lee preached into his 90’s.

God used FB Meyer to ignite a fire in the soul of another preacher, J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman led a young baseball player to Christ, and carried him around with him so he could share his testimony. That young baseball player was Billy Sunday.

Billy Sunday came to Charlotte, North Carolina and preached a very successful Camp Revival. That revival was so successful, they invited another preacher to join them, that preacher was Mordecai Ham. Mordecai Ham preached one night and gave an invitation, and a young 17 year old boy walked down to the altar and gave his life to Christ. That 17-year-old boy was BILLY GRAHAM.

How did all that happen? Because one little ole Sunday School teacher named Robert Kimball shared the Gospel message with a shoe salesman name DL Moody.

What I’m trying to tell you Rally Point is that when you obey Christ and do what He tells you to do, there is no limit to what God can do!

As we consider this thought, “Bring Them to Jesus,” let me show you three things in the life of Andrew. You know, I don’t think God is as concerned about you reach the whole world as He is about you just reaching ONE MORE.

NOTICE FIRST – ANDREW’S PRIORITY (V.41a)

“He FIRST findeth his own brother Simon . . .”

Having just found Jesus himself in verse 36, he sets out to make sure his brother come to know Jesus as well. That word “FIRST” speaks of an attitude of importance. He had to do this before he did anything else.

That word “findeth” indicates he won’t stop until he finds him. It was a priority to Andrew that he get his brother to Jesus.

What does it take to stop us from telling others about Christ? Andrew wanted to share with Peter what he had experienced in Christ, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him.

I’ll tell you, I’m glad somebody took the time to tell me about Jesus, aren’t you? “He first findeth his own brother Simon.”

SECOND, NOTICE ANDREW’S PROCLAMATION (V.41b)

“We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”

Andrew was sure that he was in the presence of the One that had been promised by the prophets. He was sure that he was in the presence of God in the flesh.

I guess my question for us is, “Are we convinced of Jesus?” “Has He changed our lives the way he changed Andrew’s life?” 

I just think that when you come to know the person of Jesus, I think it changes your life and your priorities.

When we invite people to Rally Point Biker Church, we’re not inviting them to see what our church is doing – but we want you to see what God is doing; or to get one of our T-shirts – though we want you to grab a free t-shirt; or to enjoy the coffee and donuts – although we want you to enjoy the refreshments – those are great things, but we’re inviting them to come here and meet a person – that person is JESUS. The message that we proclaim is that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. The message that we proclaim is that we know that person!

FINALLY, NOTICE ANDREW’S PASSION (V.42)

“And he brought him to Jesus.”

The passion in Andrew’s life was getting his brother to Jesus. That word brought means “To lead by laying hold of.” That means that Andrew grabbed Peter and drug him to Jesus. Andrew was passionate about getting Peter to Jesus.

You know what Jesus said in Luke 14:23, “Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Andrew “brought him to Jesus.”

Can I close by saying this: If we really believe Jesus is who he says He is, and if He has changed your life, I challenge every one of us to BRING SOMEBODY TO JESUS.” 

As we are looking at the Scriptures, in order to fully grasp the context, we need to look through 3 separate lens:

The Lens of History – Gives us the details, tells us about the conversations, let’s us know what was occurring, and tells us who the people involved are.

The Lens of Literature – This is not just a book of History, but a book of literature, it is literal words written on pages

The Lens of Theology – that is we are going to take, it tells us who God is and What He does, but also tells us how our lives should a line with His Word

The New Testament is actually a “New Covenant,” it is something we sign on for; something God invites us to be a part of, so let’s see what God is inviting us to be apart of in I Corinthians 16, beginning in verse 5:

⁵ Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.

I think Paul is implying that come hell or high water, he is going to pass through Macedonia – he has clearly heard that “Macedonian call.”

⁶ And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.

Paul wants to spend time with the church in Corinth. This is a Church that Paul established, it was people he loved and cared for, but more than that, the journey that he is on is a journey he wants to take them on with him as co-laborers in the ministry. He wants them to have a part of the ministry, a purpose in the ministry.

⁷ For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.

I’m not there with you now, but when I come, I’m gonna stay awhile so have the VENISON ready!

⁸ But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.

And in verse 9, he’s going to tell them why.

⁹ For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

This morning, with the LORD’s help, I’m going to speak a little while on the Opened Doors that God presents to us in this life, the opportunities He gives to you and I. You understand with me that God has a great door planned for everyone of us. Someone once said there are two great things in life, and one day we will have to answer for those two things:

What did you do with Jesus? What did you do with God’s SON?

What did you do with the life, the opportunities that God has given you?

God has saved us and left us here for one PURPOSE: To bring glory and Honor to God the Father, God the Son, and we do that through the power of God the Holy Spirit that now lives within us. Let’s pray and then we’ll look at Opened Doors.

“Father, I think you for the Doors you have presented me in my life. Some of them were just small doors, but I thank you for them. Sometimes I missed the Doors, the opportunities You presented to me, and those are doors I’ll never get back. And every once and a while, LORD you presented me with GREAT DOORS, and I believe Rally Point Bike Church is one of those Great Doors. Thank you, Father, for this opportunity. In Jesus name I pray. AMEN.”

I want to say from the get-go, that the greatest privilege and honor of my life has been to serve the King of King’s and the Lord of Lord’s – it is not a privilege that I deserve, but a privilege He has given me none the less.

I’m also grateful for the Door’s of Opportunity that God has given me in my life. If we can ever get a hold of the fact that God has our lives already planned out, I think it would make walking through Opened Doors a lot easier – don’t you?

And every once in a while, God presents us with GREAT DOORS of opportunity. And it is my responsibility and your responsibility, as a child of God, when we’re sitting around in our “chair of life,” when God cracks a door open and there’s a little ray of light coming through, we are obligated to get out of that “chair of life” and go investigate that Door.

Sometimes you hear people say, “Well that door was closed for me.” What does that mean? Well, it means they got up out of the chair of life and they went and investigated that Door, that Opportunity.

God doesn’t always let you walk through a door. Now Paul states in verse 8 that he is in Ephesus. According to the Book of Acts, Paul intended to stay in Ephesus for about 3 months. But God shut the door on him leaving, and so Paul ended up staying in Ephesus for about 2 years – and the Bible records that about 2000 people were saved and the word spread throughout all of Asia. Understand with me, Asia was a massive territory.

What that tells me is that sometimes, I think that God has shut a door on me, actually means that God might have had a bigger plan for right where I am than I could ever have imagined. I’ve told the story of how Kim and I were voted on to pastor a church that we felt God calling us to, but He shut that door. We were puzzled and didn’t understand. But had we would have walked through that door that God had shut, we would have missed the GREAT DOOR that God opened for us here.

GOD ALONE OPENS GREAT DOORS

Folks, understand with me, you can open your own doors – I could have easily opened the door that God had shut on me at that other church. And many have opened doors that God had shut, and many made their own ways and made a name for themselves.

But I am not interested in making a name for myself. I want to be where God wants me to be, doing what God wants me to do, a whole lot more than I want to be doing something on my own. Because I’ll tell you, I’ve done things my own way before and usually the outcome is disastrous.

A lot of folks like to boast about what they doing in the ministry, and think they ought to be the one leading, they can do a better job, it’s all about them, but I’m gonna tell you, we are what we are only by the Grace of God. And it is God alone who opens Great Doors. And if it is God who’s opening your Door – it is a GREAT DOOR, no matter how big or small that door is – it is a Great Door. If you are in the will of God, it is a great door.

If I can use my wife for just a second, I know I pick on her a lot, but I’m serious about this one. Every Saturday, regardless of what we have going on, goes out and picks flowers to put in here every Sunday. She picks up the fruit that we serve on Sunday. Early on Sunday mornings, very early, she goes to Krispy Kreme to get donuts – whether in the car or on the bike. Then she comes in here and makes the coffee and sets up the refreshment area. Some of you might think that is nothing and insignificant, but I’m telling you, that is the door that God has opened for her and every Sunday, she joyfully walks through that GREAT DOOR that God has given her.

Every Friday, I send my sermon slide to Richard, who then downloads it to the church computer, then sets out to find the right music to lead us in the right spirit to receive the message. Early Sunday mornings, he goes and puts the flags out so that I don’t have to hurt my knees any further. Again, that may seem like an insignificant thing, but that is a GREAT DOOR that God has opened for Richard to minister.

Every Sunday morning, Sharon will come and fill the hand-washing station, and uncover the picnic tables and put out the umbrella’s. That may seem so insignificant to you – but that is a GREAT DOOR God has opened.

Little Caroline, doesn’t know everything there is to know about music, but she is determined to come in here every Sunday and be a part of our praise and worship. She is even broken when she can’t be here. To you, that may seem insignificant, but for Caroline, that is a great door that God has opened for her – and every Sunday, she gladly walks through that door!

Every Sunday morning, about an hour, hour and a half, Dennis Lawson comes in here, and ALWAYS has something encouraging to say to his pastor. To you that may not mean much, but to his pastor – it means everything. And Dennis, I appreciate you being faithful to walk through that door every Sunday morning.

I’ve shared with you how I, when I felt God calling me to walk through a GREAT DOOR, went to my pastor and shared this epiphany with him. He was so glad, because over the course of a year, he had someone to flush toilets, cut grass and clean the church. That I couldn’t see it at the time, God was developing in me a servants heart, willing to walk through any door He has for me.

And because of that, 9 different men have been ordained into the ministry, 8 men have licensed to preach, countless others ordained as deacons and elders and 2 churches have been planted. Not because of me – but because God opened Great Doors.

Folks, if we can’t obey God in the little things, how can we ever expect God to trust us in the big things?

If you and I are going to fulfill our God-ordained Purpose in 2025, we will have to be courageous enough to walk through the Doors God opens for us, no matter how large or small those doors may seem.

Biblical Scholar M.M. Bakhtin said, “The text lives only by coming into contact with another text (with context). Only at the point of this contact between texts does a light flash, illuminating both the posterior and anterior, joining a given text to a dialogue.”

Today I want to join two texts together (with context) and hopefully a light will flash and illuminate the Scriptures and become alive inside of us.

As I’ve been praying, studying and asking God to direct my steps through this series of messages on Finding our Purpose, God kind of illuminated in me some very personal and very painful experiences in my own life. So as best I can, I will not attempt to share a 3-point alliterated message with you this morning, but I’m simply going to share my heart. This is probably going to be one of the toughest messages I think I have ever shared – so bear with me. I’m asking you from the offset to extend a little grace to me this morning, as this is going to be a very difficult and very vulnerable message for me personally.

Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

The truth is, when most of us think about Job, we don’t think of Job as a “perfect and upright man.” Most of us don’t think about Job as a man who “feared God and eschewed evil.”

Most of us, when we think about Job, we think about verse 6, “Now there was a day . . .”

• “There was a day” when Satan went before God and said he was “going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it.”
• “There was a day” When God said “Hast thou considered my servant Job?”
• “There was a day” when Job lost all 10 of Jobs children.
• “There was a day” when Job lost all of his livestock.
• “There was a day” when Job lost his wealth.
• “There was a day” when Job lost his health.
• “There was a day” when Job’s wife said, “Why don’t you just curse God and die.”
• “There was a day” when all of Job’s friends came to him and said that there was some sin in his life that cause God to allow this calamity to come into his life.

When we think about Job, we tend to think about the sufferings of Job. But these bad things that happened to Job were just “a day” in his life – they were not the context of his life.

Let me illustrate this to you: Any football fans here? By a show of hands, how many of you remember Doug Flutie?

• Does anyone know where Doug Flutie is from?
• Does anyone know where he lives now?
• Does anyone know his mother and father’s name?
• Does anyone know his wife’s name?
• Does anyone know his children’s names?
• Does anyone know that in one singular moment, he threw a “hail Mary” pass in a game that was caught in the end zone for a national championship?

Most of us only know Doug Flutie for that one pass, that one day, that one moment in his life – but that “One Moment” is not the context of his life.

So, when we think about Job, in that moment, losing his children, it’s easy to dismiss the fact that he had 10 children – 7 sons and 3 daughters. Now, do you think that happened overnight? I would venture to say that it took years to have 7 sons and 3 daughters. And in fact, at the time he lost them, they were all grown, they all had their own jobs and their own homes. Why do I say that, because verse 4 says, “His sons went and feasted in their houses.”

Job didn’t accumulate his wealth, or his possessions overnight, he worked hard his whole life. So, when God refers to Job as a “perfect and upright man, one who feared God and eschewed evil,” that was not a reputation Job earned in a day – but over the course of his life.

Now here is where I’m going to get personal. While I was pastoring a church in the metropolis of Scranton, South Carolina, at 6 pm, August 16^th, 1997, my little brother Sonny was tragically killed in a single car accident. What I discovered over the course of the next few days was that there were multiple beer cans all over the floor of my brother’s car. The sheriff told me there was no reason to add that in the report as there was no reason to add anymore heartache to the grief we were already experiencing.

But that didn’t change the fact, to the first responders on the scene, my brother was just another drunk driver tragically killed while drinking and driving. To them, his life was defined in that single moment. But to me, his big brother, that was just a moment in his life, and that didn’t even begin to define my brother’s life.

• To me, my brother’s life is defined by the moment, as a 5-year-old, when he took his big brothers hand, and together we walked down the aisle of 4^th Street Baptist Church, and together we knelt and ask Jesus to come into our little hearts.
• To me, his life was being defined by us being baptized together.
• To me, his life was being defined when I travelled all over the world for long periods of time and he would constantly travel for hours at a time to ensure my wife and kids were OK while I was gone.
• When I pastored a church that was in the oldest building in South Carolina, folks would talk about how the floors needed to be redone – but did nothing about it. So, me and brother, alone, carried every pew out that church, and on our hands and knees we sanded and refinished the entire church building.
• To me, his life was being defined just the weekend prior to his death, when our church bus broke down at camp, 3 hours away, when none of the deacons had time to come get us, but my brother did.
• And his life was being defined by the conversation he and I had that day.
• My brother’s life was being defined two days prior his death, on his 33^rd birthday when he came to our house, and we walked over to the church and practiced singing a song together we planned to do that Sunday. Ironically, the title of that song was “The Last Mile of the Way.”

To me, my brother’s life was not defined by that single moment in his life, but by the life that he lived. Was he perfect – no. But that final moment was not his defining moment.

Remember at the beginning of the message I stated I wanted to join two text together to give us context? In Galatians 2:20, Paul, a man who at one point in his life persecuted Christians; a man, who after his conversion, was beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, abandoned, imprisoned, yet when it came time to define his life, Paul says these words, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paul is saying, “My life is not defined by what I did in the past, but my life is being defined by “The life that I now live . . .”

Satan has convinced some of you that a certain moment in your life prevents you from God’s love and saving grace. Satan has convinced some of you that God has no use for you anymore.

Let me ask you, are you allowing the moment that you are in, maybe you are in a great moment, maybe you are in a sorrowful moment, maybe you’re in a regretful moment – are you allowing that moment to define your life’s purpose?

Last Sunday, we began this series of messages titled 2025: A Year to Find Your Purpose. Last week I spoke on focusing on one area of your life that is keeping you from your God-ordained purpose and then encouraged each of us to ask God to renew in us the right spirit and give us a vision for that purpose.

Today, I ask you to turn with me to the Gospel of John, the 20^th chapter. Let me say that we all know there is only One Gospel, but 4 Gospel messengers. Matthew, Mark and Luke are what are known as Synoptic Gospels, because they are similar in style, and then John is completely different than the other three. John explains to us Jesus as the Son of God, and then proceeds to explain John 1:1 through the remainder of the Book. And he paints for us various portraits of Jesus in our minds and hearts as the Living Word of God.

John finishes the Book with these words, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:25). What John was saying is, “I’ve tried the very best I could to explain John 1:1 to you, but if I had 50 more years, I couldn’t begin to exhaust all there is to say about Jesus.

But in John 20, John tells us why he writes what he writes. In John 20:31, now this isn’t our text verse for the day, but it will get us to where we are going, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” So, John is saying very plainly that the reason he is writing is simply so that you and I will believe.

Truth is, I don’t believe there is a worse sin than the sin of unbelief. And the easiest way to limit God’s potential in your life to simply to not believe. The title for the message today is this, “Don’t Miss Your God Ordained Purpose.” And listen, the only reason you will miss it is simply because you don’t believe.

John 20:24 says, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.” DON’T MISS YOUR GOD-ORDAINED PURPOSE. Because if you miss it, it may not come this way again. But more importantly, don’t miss Him, because if you miss Him, you will miss everything you need.

Let me preface my message this morning by making a plug for why you should go to church. Look at verse 19 of John 20, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Let me read that again.  Can somebody tell me what the first day of the week is?  SUNDAY.

So, the first day of the week, Jesus shows up. Now listen, I know that God can show up anywhere that He wants to, any time that He wants to. 

• He showed up with me in my truck.
• He showed up with me while riding my motorcycle.
• He has shown up with me in a hospital room.
• He shows up with me in the grocery store.

But it doesn’t happen every day.  It doesn’t happen every time I get in my truck, it doesn’t happen every time I ride my motorcycle, it doesn’t happen every time I visit the hospital or walk through the grocery store.  BUT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN EVERYTIME.

But there is one place I can guarantee you that He shows up EVERY SINGLE TIME – whether we see Him or not.  And that place is “On the first day of the week,” where the Bible says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

They were assembling on the first day of the week – then came Jesus!  Sounds a lot like church to me. 

So, why do we need Church on Sunday?  1. Because we don’t know it all, but more importantly, 2. That’s where He is going to be! And listen, I don’t won’t to miss that.

Do you know who missed it? Thomas missed it. Verse 24 says Thomas was not with them “when Jesus Came.” And folks, I don’t won’t to miss when Jesus comes.

We could give a lot of reasons why Thomas didn’t come. We could say he had family over; we could say the weather was too bad, We could say he was on vacation, But the truth is, we don’t know why he didn’t come, all we know is that Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came.

Now let me give you the setting for this text. Jesus has risen from the dead. He has shown Himself to some people. We know that according to verse 19 that on the first day of the week at evening – or in modern English – “On Sunday Evening.” His closest followers are locked up in a room somewhere. They aren’t having a Watch Night Service; they aren’t having coffee and donuts; they aren’t watching the Super Bowl – they are running for their lives. Because in their minds, if they killed our leader, they would surely kill us.

So, here they are in a room, and out of nowhere, at their darkest hour – Jesus shows up! But there were only 10. We know that Judas has already betrayed Christ and taken his own life. And according to our text, Thomas wasn’t there.

Though the Scriptures never refer to Thomas as “doubting Thomas,” but we’ll put that in there as a reason he wasn’t there, because we know he surely doubted – just like we all do at times. Maybe he wasn’t there because he said, “You know what, he told us he was going to rise again, but I haven’t seen Him, so I’m just going to stay home – I don’t have anything better to do.”

Truth is, there is no reason to debate WHY he wasn’t there, the fact of the matter is HE WASN’T THERE – HE MISSED IT. And what did Thomas miss?

THE FIRST THING HE MISSED WAS PEACE (v.19)

When he wasn’t there where his friends were assembled, when Jesus came – HE MISSED PEACE. Will preacher, how do you get that? Look what Jesus said in verse 19, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Folks, there is no greater joy than laying your head down at night knowing that you have peace with God, peace with each other and peace with yourself. I’m telling you, I don’t won’t to miss that.

Listen to me, when you miss coming to church, not because you are sick or have something you simply can’t avoid, but you miss because you are too lazy or unconcerned about your life, then you miss the peace God intended for your life.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss the peace God has for my life. Thomas missed his opportunity to have peace.

Not only did Thomas miss Peace,

THOMAS ALSO MISS PROOF (v.20a)

“And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side . . .”

Jesus was saying, “Just in case you need proof that I am who I say I am, look at my hands and my side.”

Thomas doubted it, and because he did, he missed the opportunity to see the proof of the Risen Savior.

I said at the beginning that I have felt God’s presence in my car, on my motorcycle, in the grocery store. Some of you have mentioned feeling God’s presence in a deer stand – listen God can show-up anywhere at anytime of His choosing, though He doesn’t always, HE CAN. But the one place He is definitely going to be is at the Church house, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to see God show up and prove Himself to our folks.

Well how Is God going to prove Himself here? You’re the proof.

• You’re the proof that God is a healer.
• You’re the proof that God is a God of peace.
• You’re the proof God is in the life saving and life changing business.

You are the proof. Man, I don’t want to miss when God proves Himself in somebodies’ life.

Thomas missed the peace; he missed the proof.

THOMAS ALSO MISSED PRAISE (v.20b)

“. . . then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.”

The word glad in the Greek language means to “rejoice exceedingly.” I just have a feeling that when Jesus showed up in that locked room with His disciples, I just don’t think they said in a monotone voice “Well glory to God, Praise Jesus.”

No friend, the Bible said they rejoiced exceedingly because Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And folks, the least that we can do for the God that has shown up in our lives time and time again is to rejoice in Him exceedingly. I have often said, “If God doesn’t do another thing for me in this life, He has already done more than I deserve.” I like what the old Preacher Maze Jackson once said, “I don’t shout every time I go to church – BUT I’M LIABLE TOO!”

Thomas missed the Praise, and he missed the Peace and the Proof.

BUT THOMAS ALSO MISSED HIS PURPOSE (v.21)

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

Jesus gave the 10 a PURPOSE. Thomas wasn’t there to receive that purpose, but Jesus gave it to the 10 that showed up.

I think we all, as the children of God really want to know the will of God for our lives, to know God’s purpose for our lives. Wouldn’t you agree with that? Yet, it seems to me that we’d much rather being doing anything other than going to the House of God.

I can’t help but to think, “If God can’t trust you in the little things, what makes you think He’s going to trust you in the big things?” If He can’t get us to “Thrust out into the shallows waters,” He’s never going to “launch us into the deep waters.”

Seems to me there are way too many people trying to find the will of God for their lives based off of the feelings, or their pride, or on what somebody else has told them to do rather than relying on the Spirit of God to guide their steps.

“Preacher why is that so important?” Because sometimes, and I’m speaking for me, when I’m riding down the road, and I feel like a total failure, when I feel like the message I delivered the worst message I could possibly deliver and I feel like quitting and giving up, the Holy Spirit of God seems to show up and say “Preach the Word, Be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” Joe – “Do all things without murmurings and disputing’s that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the mist of a crooked and perverse nations, among whom you are to shine as lights. Holding forth the word of God, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. That I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.”

Folks, what I’m saying is that nothing will carry you through the difficult times of your life quite like knowing God’s purpose for your life. And I don’t want to miss God’s purpose for my life!

Thomas missed his Purpose, he missed the Praise and he missed the Peace and he missed the Proof,

FINALLY, HE MISSED THE POWER (v.22)

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:”

Why was that important? It was important because it was the breath of God, the infilling of the Holy Spirit of God, they were going to need to turn their world upside down for the cause of Christ.

And Thomas wasn’t there.

Folks, if we are going to turn our world upside down for the cause of Christ, we are going to need God to breathe on us, we are going to need the Holy Spirit of God living in us. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss it!

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ² Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. ³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ⁷ All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; ⁸ The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. ⁹ O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

As I think about Psalm 8 and consider the vastness of the glory God has set above the heavens, when I consider the works of His fingers, the moon and the stars that He has ordained, and looking at the splendor of His Creation, it is hard to figure out where to even begin.

Kim and I, when we were in Iraq together, the nights were so dark and the stars so bright, we spent many nights sitting outside gazing at the stars. To figure out where to begin looking was almost impossible. In fact, astronomers say there are over 100 billion stars in the sky. So, there is so much to see it’s hard to know where to start.

Truth is, many times, our lives are just like that. Some of the choices we have to make, and the opportunities that are presented to us, seem just as impossibly varied, and at the same time, just as equally interesting as all the stars in the sky.

So how do we focus in God’s purpose for our lives when there is so much to choose from? If we were astronomers, the tool we would use is the telescope. These telescopes help to focus in on one star, or one planet, or even one galaxy. So, what a telescope does is keep you from looking at everything at once, and helps you to focus on a single object, and when you focus in on that single object, that single object becomes clearer, and it becomes closer to see.

As I began work on this message, one of the things I realized I needed in my own life, was see a little clearer, to get a better picture. I, like all of us, need a vision, a clear purpose for my life. My personal intent this year is to find an area of my life that I need work on, that I need to focus on, and make the purpose and focus of 2025 to be to focus on that area I need work in and ask God to help me transform that area of my life. So my goal this year is to be single-mindedly focus on the area of my life that I feel needs to be transformed, the area of my life that I feel is keeping me from reaching the full potential God has for my life.

Just recently, I watched a Message that Dr. Billy Graham delivered to the graduating class of Liberty University some 10 years ago. Something he said in that message really starting burn within my soul. Billy Graham said this, “I remember nearly 50 years ago, I was visiting Dr. Jerry Falwell, and we were up on Liberty Mountain. There was no Liberty University here at the time. In fact, Dr. Falwell had just begun Thomas Road Baptist Church. And he started that church in a 30×50 tin building with busted out windows. He took me up on top of the mountain and looked down on the present location of Liberty University Campus, and Dr. Falwell began pointing out where every building would be build to start and grow Liberty University.”

Dr. Graham said that when he looked down in that valley, all he saw was the woods and some open fields. But when Dr. Falwell looked down in that valley, He saw the home of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the home of soon coming Liberty University.

I heard that message from Billy Graham and God began to stir my heart and God reminded me of Proverbs 29:18, “That where there is no vision, the people will perish.” I thought about our church in this little tin building in the woods here in Pauline and I began to see a “bigger picture, and bigger potential and a bigger purpose.” And I knelt down and I ask God to search me and try me. I asked God to renew in me a right spirit. I asked God to transform my mind. I asked God not to allow me to hinder our church with a punny vision, but to allow me to think big, to see big, to seek big, and to pray big prayers.

I heard it said that “the secret to concentration is elimination.” That means getting rid of anything that causes you to lose focus on the Big Thing – Your God Given Purpose.

Something I realize as I’m getting older (notice I didn’t say “old,” I said older). But something I realize is that I don’t have time to live my life the way everybody thinks I ought to live my life. So rather than wasting what time I do have trying to focus on everything everyone thinks I ought to be, I’m simply going to focus on God renewing the right spirit within me so that I can live up to the purpose He has for my life.  

As the New Year rolls around, it brings with it fresh excitement, fresh possibilities, new resolutions. My challenge to us, Rally Point Biker Church, and to each person here, let’s make 2025 be the year that we stop letting resolutions pass us by, let’s stop trying to focus on everything, but start focusing on the one thing in your life that will change everything – Your God Given Purpose.

So this morning, rather than preach a big sermon, I’m going to ask each of you to do several things.

First, I going to ask you to ask God to transform your mind and heart to a single focus.

Second, I’m going to ask you to pray that God will give you a vision.

Third, I want you to look at your life and ask this question, “If every member of this church was just like me, what kind of church would my church be?”

And finally, if you are not happy with the answer to that question, I want to ask you to pray that God will renew in you the right spirit.

Folks, let’s not allow 2025 to be yet another year that we allow unfulfilled resolutions to pass us by, but let this be a year of transformation and concentration.  

Before I get into the message this morning, I just want to give you a little head-up of what we have coming down the road to begin 2025 with. I am working on a series of message under the heading of “2025 – A Year to Define Your Purpose.” To think that the God who hung the moon and the stars; the God who set day and night into their proper place, the God who caused a catastrophic event like the Flood of Noah’s Day to move the plate tectonics to form the earth as we now know it, To think that that same God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and breathe into his nostrils the breathe of life, to think that that same God has a specific purpose for our lives individually. So, beginning in January, I am going to challenge every one of us to let 2025 be the Year that each of us define our God-ordained purpose! So, I hope you will plan to be with us.

Now, when you think about the church, what a powerful force the church is. To describe the church, I would use words like compassion, courage, committment, even contagious to describe the church. But I wonder, as we go out into the community, I wonder what words they use to describe the church. In fact, there was a survey conducted a few years ago that asked the question – “Do you have to go to church to be a good Christian?” Astonishingly, 86% of the people that took the survey said – NO. SO, as they look at the church, you might say, to them, the church is outdated, insignificant, unimpactful, and I would venture to say, even unnecessary.

I’ll tell you, man, church can be messy can’t it? I would even say that there are times in our own lives when we feel like going to church is more of a hindrance or a burden than a help or a blessing. Sometimes we just feel like the church is a barrier between us connecting with God. When the volume on the music is too loud, or the person standing next to you is singing at the top of the lungs – and out of key, or the preacher is just preaching to slow and to dry. Or maybe the church is a barrier to God when the coffee isn’t hot enough or the donuts warm enough.

Or maybe the church is a barrier to God when you look around at the people you go to church with and say to yourself, “Those people are hypocrites.” Or maybe you look around you and you realize people are looking at you and saying that “YOU are a hypocrite.” But the truth is, when you look at the church, it is always going to be messy. Why? Because people are involved – and we are messy! I AM MESSY! But that is what the church DOES, not who the church IS.

And what is the church IS, has nothing to do with us flawed, imperfect people, but has everything to do with God. So, before we can understand what the church DOES, we need to understand what the church IS.

The term church comes from the Greek word “Ekklesia.” A “gathering, an Assembly” literally “The called-out ones.” So, the CHURCH is not a PLACE, it is a PEOPLE. So, literally speaking, if you are a follower of Jesus, you do not GO TO CHRUCH, you ARE THE CHURCH. But it is easy to get that wrong to by saying “I am the church.” But that’s not quite the meaning here – remember, it is a gathering, an assembly. So, it is not I AM the church, but WE are the church. It is plural.

And as we go into this Holiday Season, I want to speak this morning on where it all began with a message titled “WHEN THE WORD BECAME FLESH.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That is three theological statements in one sentence that are going to play themselves out in these few verses as we go forward. “² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness (THAT’S US) comprehended it not.

Now skip down to verse 14:

^“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Now look at verse 18,

“No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Now, the verse I want to end on, is a little out of order, but let’s look at verse 12:

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Let’s pray and ask for God’s blessings and understanding of His Living Word.

John 1is probably one of the most profound passages in the New Testament, and here’s why: It tells us about Jesus Christ. And let me take that a step further, it tells of about Jesus Christ and His eternal existence, and about Him coming in the flesh.

Now here is what I want you to understand about that statement: For Him to be a Redeemer, for Him to be our Savior – He had to be God, yet He also had to be man – “born of flesh.” And John 1 points out that Jesus fits both those criteria.

A lot of folks are turned off in talking about Christmas, but folks, I’m going to tell you, there is no Christmas without Christ.

I read an article a few years ago about the banning Of Christmas. Interestingly, enough, one of the places this ban has had the biggest impact, is in the State of Maryland. And I’ll tell you, that it saddens me when you hear the highest offices in our land say that we are no longer a Christian Nation.

Truth is folks, without Christ – there is no Christmas. I like the way one guy put it: “You can just as well take the heat out of fire, the wet out of water and the notes out of music as to have Christmas without Christ.”

Me personally, I don’t have a problem with lights, and decorations, or even exchanging gifts. But having said that, I will say to you, I don’t want to experience Christmas without emphasizing Christ!

In the message this morning, I want to give you the theological reasons that Christ came. I will not be talking about Kris Kringle, or Santa Klaus, or Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer, but I’m going to talk about “the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.” And that is Jesus Christ. So, looking at Christmas from a theological point of view, I really want to show you:

CHRISTMAS FROM HEAVEN’S POINT OF VIEW

The first thing I want to say to you is “Jesus is heaven’s language.” It’s His idea. It is the idea of God that Jesus Christ be born.

“Well preacher, why is that important?” The bible says, “In the beginning WAS THE WORD.” And it is important to understand that Jesus Christ is THE living Word of God!

So, what is a “word?” A “word is vehicle of communication.” Words are the way we communicate with one another. It’s the way we teach. the way we preach, the way we reach one another. Words are important because they are our vehicle to communicate.

So, when the Bible says “In the beginning was the Word . . .” it is saying that Jesus is a vehicle of God’s communication. He is God’s Living Word.

When Jesus was born, He was God’s vehicle of communication with man! Jesus Christ was the heart and mind of God living among us.

• He was the Alpha and the Omega;
• The first and the last.
• The beginning and the end.

WHERE DID JESUS COME FROM?

When the Bible says, “In the beginning . . .” it is not attributing a beginning to God, as He is from everlasting to everlasting. But it refers to the beginning of His creative and Redemptive Work. So, when John tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God,” he is also stating that the birth of Jesus was not the beginning of Jesus. He was here long before Christmas rolled around.

The prophet Isaiah said, “Unto us a Son is given . . .” Well, it’s pretty hard to give something that doesn’t exist, isn’t it?

“In the Beginning . . .” Jesus predates Himself.

“was the Word . . .” Jesus is the Word.

“And the Word was with God . . .” Jesus was with the Father.

“And the Word was God.” Jesus and the Father are One. Jesus Himself said “I and the Father are One.” He also said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”

You know there are a lot of things I don’t understand, and even things I can’t explain. But there are some things I simply believe – and I believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – God in Three Persons – Perfect Trinity!

So, where did He come from and what makes Him special? He was WITH God, He came FROM God, and He IS God.

WHAT DID HE COME TO DO?

Verse 14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth.”

I don’t know what it was like when God the Father told God the Son that he was going to send Him down to dwell among the Darkness (us). All I know is, my Bible says, “The Word was made flesh . . .”

He was born of a woman who never knew a man (a miracle). God in His omnipotence, placed the seed inside the virgin woman Mary.

He had to be flesh to die, but He had to be God to live without sin. You see folks, if we could live without sin, we wouldn’t have to worry about this thing called death. But there is nobody in this building this morning that is without sin – no not one!

Jesus, on the other hand, never had a bad thought or did a bad deed. He was the perfect, sinless Son of God. He is the only One capable of being our acceptable sacrifice. He came to die for me and for you. He came to pay a debt that we could not pay.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, BUT, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 says, “God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

So WHY did Jesus come? Luke 19:10 tells us, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

WHY did Jesus come? Because according to verse 12, “. . . as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

WHY did Jesus come? Because “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”

There’s an old song called “Born to Die” that I believe sums these verses better than any words I can say:

It must have broken God’s heart

For the future He could see.

Yet He formed the hands

And feet knowing one day

They’d be nailed to a tree.

So all the world could know Him,

A gift came from above.

For God so loved the world

That He gave His only Son.

Jesus, Sweet baby Jesus,

Is that a tear of love in Your eye.

Jesus, sweet baby Jesus,

Because for me You were born to die.

Why did He come? So that you and I, through our faith in Jesus Christ could become the Sons of God – so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly! That’s what He came to do!

I want to read a poem that was sent to me a few weeks ago. Though I haven’t memorized it, YET, the more I read it, the more it has an impact on me. It’s titled

“A Christmas Letter from Jesus.”

When you look for me at Christmas, You want need a special star.

I’m no longer just in Bethlehem – I’m right here where you are.

You may not be aware of me – amid the celebrations.

You’ll have to look beyond the stores, and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment from your list of things to do,

To close your eyes and say a prayer, I’m waiting here for you.

You’re the one I want to be with, the reason that I came.

And you’ll find me in the stillness, where I’ll be whispering your name!

^“19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. ²⁰ Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. ²¹ Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. ²² But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. ²³ There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; ²⁴ Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers. ²⁵ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

Let me ask you this morning, how many of you have been here the whole 6 weeks we have been studying the book of Philemon? Well Praise God, let give Him a handclap today for allowing us together to finish our first Book of the Bible.

As we are looking at the 6^th and final message in this series of messages from the book of Philemon, Paul mentions these people who were near and dear to his heart, the people who labored with him in the ministry. Now interestingly enough, Paul mentions many of these same people in chapter 4 of the Book of Colossians.

But here at the end of this little book, Paul mentions:

Philemon – if you remember with me, he is a man of means, a man who had THE church in his house. Last week, we mentioned how Paul was reaching out to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, and Paul said to Philemon, “Receive him like you receive me. If he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account.” But in verses 19-22, we find that Paul is hoping to be released into house arrest to the home of Philemon. Paul refers to Philemon as a “Beloved Brother.”

Epaphras – who is mentioned both here and in Colossians 4. Paul refers to him as a “fellow prisoner” or “fellow servant.” Epaphras was one that was also imprisoned, not because he had done anything wrong, but for the Gospels sake. Yet Paul is stressing here that though they may be in a Roman Prison, they are not prisoners of Rome, or prisoners of Nero, but they are “Fellow Prisoners” of Jesus Christ. And again, I’d much rather be a prisoner of Jesus Christ than I would to be a prisoner of Rome. One additional point I’ll make here, though we know a lot about the sufferings and imprisonments of the Apostle Paul, they are many others that we do not know much about, but no less faithful in their service to God. It’s easy to come to church and see me preaching each week, or Richard leading the service each week – But we are NOT Rally Point Biker Church, we are just a part. All of you make us the church that we are. Epaphras, my “Fellow Prisoner.”

Marcus – (aka John Mark). As a young missionary, he didn’t impressed Paul very much and this caused Barnabas and Paul to part ways and go on separate missionary journeys. I’m glad the failures of our younger lives don’t hinder us from the work in the present, because “failure is not final until it is fatal.” Paul, we know would later say in his last letter to Timothy, “Bring John Mark with you, for he is profitable for the ministry.” It is this same Marcus that would write the Gospel of Mark. In our text today, Paul refers to him as Marcus, my “Fellow Laborer.”

Aristarchus – A Macedonian who lived in the capital city of Thessalonica and probably converted to Christianity during Paul’s 3rd missionary journey when he answered the “Macedonian Call.” Aristarchus was a close companion to Paul and Paul also refers to him as a “Fellow Laborer.”

Demas – what we know about him is that he forsook the ministry. He turned his back on God. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get at the end of my life and all people can remember me for is turning my back on God. Paul you might say refers to him as “Denying Demas.”

Lucas – He was a doctor who loved the ministry. Paul refers to Lucas as, “my Fellow Laborer.”

Although Luke wrote Luke’s Gospel, he himself is only mentioned 3 times in the Bible, here, again in Colossians 4, and again in II Timothy 4. And in II Timothy 4:11, Paul says, “Only Luke is with me . . .” As Paul is about to face death at the hands of the Roman captors, Paul mentions how only Luke is with him at the end. He has been a “faithful friend.” In Philemon, he refers to him as a “fellow laborer.” But in Colossians 4, Paul says something else about him that I think is important to note. Colossian 4:14, Paul says, “Luke, the beloved physician.” I want to look at that for just a second and then we’ll dive into the message.

The word “Beloved” appears 8 times in the Gospels. And every time it occurs in the Gospels, it always refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe that Jesus ought to be near and dear to our hearts AMEN!

“Beloved” means someone who is greatly loved or dear to the heart. And Luke is dear to the Apostle Paul’s heart. And 3 times in Philemon Paul uses this term “beloved.” In verse 1 he refers to Philemon as “dearly beloved.” In verse 2, “to our beloved Apphia and Archippus . . .” and then in verse 16, “Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved . . .”

So, Luke is someone “beloved” by Paul, but he is also a physician. He is a doctor. Now honestly, I can’t say that I have ever preached on medicine, though it is mentioned in the Bible some 50 time. Whether that is medicine, or a balm, or a sauve, or an ointment. The Bible is filled with references to medicine. And there is at least 12 times that you find a Physician in the Bible. In fact, how many of you have hear Jesus referred to as the “Great Physician?” Now, how many of you can find a verse in the Bible that actually says those words in reference to Jesus? You can’t, because it’s not there.

What is there though, in Luke 4:23, Jesus, speaking of himself says these words, “. . . Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.”

So, Jesus is saying, “Y’all are going to say to me, “Physician Heal thyself.” And we know at Calvary, that they did that when they went by the cross mocking Him and saying, “If thou be the Christ, come down and save thyself.” They said of him, “He saved others, but he himself he cannot save.”

We know that Jesus went about healing all kinds of diseases, from leprosy, to paralysis, to the deaf and blind, even raising the dead 3 separate times. So here’s this religious crowd saying, “He saved other, but he can’t even save himself.”

And you know, it’s true – he did save others, but if he’d of saved Himself, He wouldn’t of been able to save us! I’m glad this morning that I serve a Savior who put US ahead of Himself!

Now let’s get back to Philemon. Now, if I were to ask you, “What did the Apostle Paul do for a living?” Most of us would say he’s a preacher of the Gospel, he’s a missionary, a tent-maker preacher, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He is consumed with getting the Gospel message out to everyone. But he says of Luke:

And we know in Colossians 4, Paul refers to Luke as a Physician, but here in Philemon, Paul says of Luke, “He is a fellow laborer.” So that leads me to believe that regardless of what Luke’s occupation is, he has forsaken all to follow Christ.

YOUR OCCUPATION IS NOT AN EXEMPTION FROM LABORING FOR CHRIST

We have people here that are contractors, we have some that are electricians, plumbers, carpenters, A/C installer, Quality Managers, Black Smiths, Truck Drivers, Fire men, Retirees (Praise God), we have educators, college students, high schoolers,

I’m simply saying that no matter what your title is, you are not exempt from laboring in the Gospel.

You know what we can call that, “Moonlighting.” No matter what your job is, you should be moonlighting for Jesus! Moon-lighting means, “A job that you have after hours. It is a second job.”

And most people moonlight because they love what they are doing outside of their day job. It’s not about the money, it’s about doing something they love. Josh, for example, is a blacksmith by trade, but he loves working with wood.

I’m simply saying this, regardless of whether you install electrical lines, or you lead a quality section of a major corporation, or you work at a bank, or you drive a truck – there ought to be something down inside of everyone of us that says, “I LOVE SERVING JESUS CHRIST.”

“Yes, I work 40 hours a week, yes, I punch the clock – but when I get the chance, I love to steal away and be a witness for my Savior.”

All of us work at different places, doing different jobs. Do you know what that means? That means that we each have access to people nobody else in this room has access to.

So, your occupation is not an exemption from laboring for Christ.

REGARDLESS OF WHO YOUR EMPLOYER IS, YOU WORK FOR THE LORD

So when Paul says he’s a fellow laborer, he’s a fellow laborer, not for Paul – but for the Lord.

Ephesian 6:5,6 says, “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

So, I’m obeying the person I’m working for, but I’m doing it like I’m obeying Christ. Now look at verse 6. “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;”

So regardless of who your employer is, you are not working for your employer, you are working for Christ. You know, I hear people say all the time we have to keep religion and keep God out of the workplace. Well, we’ve been doing that in the government and the school systems for over 30 years and how’s that been working out?

Have you ever considered the possibility that God has you right where you are so that you can “Do the will of God from the heart.”

Now Colossians 3:23-24 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

So regardless of who your employer is, you ought to be doing the best job that you can, not to impress your boss, but because you are working for Him.

I’ll tell you folks, if you represent the Lord well, He is going to pay you a whole lot more than your place of employment.

Your occupation is not an exemption from laboring for Christ.

Regardless of who your employer is, you work for the Lord,

But finally:

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT TO BE A BLESSING TO CHRIST AND TO OTHERS.

Though as a church, we are to be about our Father’s business, the Church is not a Place of Business – it is a place of worship. The point I want to leave you with is best illustrated through this story:

When General William Booth was seeking ordination, he stood before the ordination counsel and they stated they would only ordain him if he stopped feeding all the homeless. General Booth says this to that ordination council:

“Lord, help me live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way

That even when I kneel to pray My prayer shall be for–Others.”

“Help me in all the work I do To ever be sincere and true

And know that all I’d do for you Must needs be done for–Others.”

“Let ‘Self’ be crucified and slain And buried deep: and all in vain

May efforts be to rise again, Unless to live for–Others.”

“And when my work on earth is done And my new work in heaven’s begun,

May I forget the crown I’ve won, While thinking still of–Others.”

“Others, Lord, yes, others, Let this my motto be,

Help me to live for others, That I may live like Thee.”