Nine Essentials For Growth (Last Sermon)

Introduction

A few weeks ago I received an email that asked the question, When are you going to be preaching your last sermon? I took that as rather an ominous thought. I know he didn’t mean it that way, but it took to made me sort of think, does that mean I’m soon to die? And that’s it. That’s my last sermon. It reminded me to read of a true story that happened some two years ago, Brother Sewell Hall told.

That his father, Brother Yader Tant, who was getting old, was going to be coming over and going to preach at Roswell his last sermon. Brother Sewell said, you know, it’s such a busy day on Sunday, and he had so much to do, but if this was Brother Tant’s last sermon, he was going to be there. They have a four o’clock service at Roswell, and they have a six where Brother Sewell is back in Ember Hills. And so he got everything together and rushed up there to hear Brother Tant’s last sermon. However, when David began to introduce his dad and it’s going to be his last sermon when Brother Tant got up, he said, Well, I think David sort of had it wrong. He said, Well, my last sermon ever to preach, I hope not.

It’s just, I titled it this way, if it were my last opportunity to preach to someone before he dies. That’s what I’m preaching today. Well, that’s a common sermon. Nearly every preacher would say. I have a last sermon in that respect. And in that sense, I thought, well, what’s my last sermon today? It’s not going to be a funeral, I want you to know. Starting off with. We’ve been blessed to be here these last 31 years. July the first, at least, would make exactly 31 years ago that we moved to Orlando to begin work with the South Bumbae Church. And it’s been a blessing and a privilege to us, really. And I want, before we go any further, to thank you, this congregation for the wonderful reception you extended to us yesterday afternoon.

Marvelous. And the generous gift that you’ve given to us monetarily. It is just beyond words for us to tell you how we feel and how thankful our hearts are. You’ve been such a blessing. And we’ll try to purchase something that’ll always make us remember and think about you in times that we have left to come. We are grateful.

Great things He has done. I appreciate your accolades and your thoughts for thanking us for many things we’ve done, but we’ve done nothing more than what was our duty to do. And probably left a lot undone we should have done. The Lord gave me a wonderful wife with Arlene and through all our lives, marriage together. She’s been right at my side, encouraging and working together. And the both of us have worked to glorify God. And I hope that we’ve left with you at least an influence that will help you always set your goal to serve the Lord. And whether we see each other again or not, that one day around the great throne of the Lord, we will sin the Lord and throughout eternity. That we’ll give praise and glory unto him.

Indeed, I want you to know that this is a congregation that really has great influence, not because of me, but because of you, and because of what it stands for. And the things that I want to say this morning really are to say what’s the future going to be. And trying to think, well, what would I preach here? I’ve decided that I wanted to talk about nine essentials for growth. I believe that the church here has a great future for you. And so, just sort of quickly, I’d say some of these things are they’re not new. In fact, I think of the passage in 2 Peter chapter 1 when the apostle Peter wrote how that the things that he was writing, he said, even though you know these things and be uh established in the present truth, I feel that my responsibility, as long as I’m in this tent, to stir you up by way of remembrance.

1. Founded Upon Preaching of the Word

And even as the apostle Peter could write and say, here are things you already know, but I want to remind you of them. It’s from that point of view. That I really want to talk this morning about essentials for growth. And obviously, I’m sure you’d list probably the very first one. That it must be founded upon preaching of the word of God. Even as the apostle wrote to Timothy, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

It amazes me that the truth that is told in this passage, that this point, that some will not receive it. You’d think that everybody would want to receive the word of God and and desire heaven as their eternal destiny, but that isn’t true. In fact, there are some people who really get upset when you preach the truth. Some people find it boring to study and read the word of God. Some people really just don’t want it because in their own opinions they have another direction they want to go in, according to what they think is best and right. But a church that’s really a church of the Lord is founded upon the word of God. It is not just a social gathering, though we love one another and should spend time socially together.

It is not a time just to be entertained, and though we all like to have entertainment from time to time. But what we really have when we come together is understanding of God’s word. And in fact, that as we have men who preach the word to have the attitude, as expressed in chapter 4 and verse 16, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. This church is blessed already with young man named Greg. Greg has shown himself to study the word, to know the word. He’s growing, and I mean, it is amazing to me how well he does at his age. But I also want to tell you some good news.

That Brother Ken Chapman and his wife Deedra have accepted the invitation of the elders to come and work with this congregation. Lord willing, around the first or the second week of August, they’ll be moving to the Orlando area. And you know, I was thinking back 31 years ago when we moved here. One of the statements that was made by one of the elders to me was, we are an old congregation with a new beginning. And what he meant by that, if you know the history of this uh of this congregation, it it formerly was called the Holden Heights Church and a different area of Orlando. They had sold that building and kind of gotten run down the area at least, somewhat dangerous at nighttime, and they came to this particular location, built this building, at least the original part of this building.

And so that’s what they meant. We’re an old congregation with a new beginning, and they’d only been here about a year when we moved. Well, now, 31 years later, I want to say that you’re having a new beginning also. Brother Chapman and Brother Kine will indeed preach the word. You can count on that. And that’s the foundation upon which this congregation has been built and will continue to be built, and there’s great opportunities standing in front of you. I am so thrilled. And I’ll tell you, it’s very relieving, at least to us to know that indeed uh Greg’s not going to be by himself with it, though he could handle it. Yet also, Brother Chapman, who is older and with time of experience, the kind of man we told you some time ago we were looking for, is the kind of man who plans to be moving here.

2. Total Commitment and Strong Morality

I’m thankful for you. I look forward to hearing great stories of the future of how this church will continue to grow in the Lord. But indeed, if you’re really going to grow, you might say along with that has to be total commitment. You can have the finest of preaching for the pulpit, but if within the congregation they’re not members who really understand. Like Jesus said, that if you’re going to come to me, then you must hate your father and mother. That sounds unreal. Hate, what he says is, what comes first? Not your parents, not your family. But indeed, that even your own life also, if you don’t do that, you cannot be my disciple. Whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot. That’s a hard statement.

It doesn’t mean may not, sometimes will not. It’s very clear. Who is first in the life of every disciple? It must be Jesus Christ. And even more compounding. In chapter 14 and verse 33, where he says, Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. You know, that’s much easier to read than it is in reality. We live in a society, our country, where we’re blessed with freedom. And we’re blessed with the privileges of materially speaking, and we just move about with such choice. And it’s so easy for us really, even to sort of moderate our life as a Christian. That so long as we’re doing things that are morally upright, it won’t matter if we sort of put aside, maybe we might not attend every service.

Some services we might could come to, but we just choose not to. It’d be all right. We sort of count like we own tomorrow. And to really say we sacrifice, how many of us could really say that? Well, I said I’m gonna say some things that perhaps you have already heard and you’ve heard before. But I want you to turn to Matthew 13, where Jesus told a parable that’s rather short that I think perfectly illustrates this very point. In Matthew 13, verse 45, Jesus said again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. That’s just the two verses. It’s so easy to read that parable and move on without really thinking what’s behind it.

Here’s the merchant had pearls for sale. And someone came along and he found this pearl and he knew something about the value of pearls. Just as an illustration. This man had a great pearl. And this buyer, understanding the value of pearls, knew that it really was worth a lot of money. So he asked the merchant, he said, How much do you want for that pearl? And the merchant said, Well, it’s very costly. He said, Yeah, I know, I know, I know it is. It’s valuable. Well, but how much is it? And finally the merchant answered, he said, Well, really, it’s all that you have. And the buyer stood there for a moment. He thought, Well, okay, I’ve got about $75 in my pocket. That’s all I have.

I think I’ll do that. Instead, the fellow took out his pen and his card and said, Well, wait a minute. Is that really all you have? 75. Okay. Do you have anything in the bank? He said, Oh, yes. He said, I’ve got about 10,000 in saving. Oh, he said, Well, it’d be 10,000, too. Now the buyer stops and thinks, no, that pearl is still worth a lot more than what I have in my pocket and a lot more than what I have in the bank. It’s worth that. I’ll give him, if that’s what he wants, I’ll give him that much for it. But the merchant then stopped. He said, Do you own a house? I said, Yes. Well, he said it’d be your house too. You got a spin outside road house.

He said, I guess you want me to live in my RV. Oh, you got an RV? It’ll be your RV too. I guess I have to sleep in my car. He said, You got a car? You said I’ve got two cars. He said, Well, it’ll be two cars. By the way, are you married? He said, You’ve got a wife and children right now. He said, It’ll be you also, in fact. And then to the buyer’s astonishment, the man said, Look, obviously I’m not going to take your wife and children, and I’m not going to take you. You can keep your cars. Frankly, you can keep your RV and your house. You can keep that $10,000 in the bank. And even that money that’s in your pocket.

But I want you to know they all belong to me if you get this pearl. All that you have. Do we think that way with the Lord? That being a disciple means everything I have. My RV, if I have one. Myself. Finally. Total commitment, my beloved, is the real key to true discipleship and really enjoying, understanding what it means to rejoice in the Lord always. No matter what trials may come your way, and they will be. They’re physical as well as sometimes financial, or there are other ways the devil has a way of tempting us, and with the flesh, there are frailties that test us all. But when we know that, bottom line, we’ve given ourselves to the Lord everything we have, that He’s number one in our lives.

It’s only then that we understand the real joy of serving the Lord. Our church, yeah, it’ll grow. This congregation will continue to prosper in the Lord when it’s filled with members who understanding, who understand total commitment. But then with that also comes strong morality. And you see why, and how this really just fits right in. If you’re totally committed to the Lord, there’s not going to be any sign of hypocrisy. It’s not a matter of just coming at a certain service because I have to on Sunday, and then that’s it kind of for till next Sunday, or when it’s con It’s not that kind of a service that we live one way Monday through Saturday and another way on Sunday. But rather, as the apostle writes in Romans chapter 12, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

3. A Loving, Enfolding Spirit; Every Member Involved

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. You understand, you stop and think about the words of this. Our lives are a living sacrifice that is holy, devoted unto Him that in our lives, what do we do? We glorify God. It isn’t just for our own personal selfish reasons that we’re doing it. We’re giving glory to God great things he has done. And we look forward to that eternal abode with him. And therefore, what do we do day by day? We indeed present our bodies as sacrifice unto him. But then with that goes also a close, loving, enfolding spirit. A congregation that is filled with love.

I’d say that I’ve expressed or seen your expression of love in so many ways. But with one another. Not just to me, or not just to Greg or Brother Ken when he comes, the preacher as such, but you learn the brethren. Somebody said we have two congregations there. There is the north side and there is the south side. You know everybody on this side, and you know everybody on this side, but well, maybe not. Maybe we’ve got three signs over here. The chairs. I mean it’s hard to know everybody, isn’t it? I’m sure there are people here, you know, maybe those sitting right close to you, but probably not everybody over here or very over here. And as we grow in numbers, even that becomes more difficult.

But we spend some time learning our brethren. Be kindly affectioned, affectionate to one another with brotherly love. In honor, giving preference to one another. In honor, giving preference.

Announcements we made this morning about some who are ill. Or you look around, and there’s some you know that maybe are not as faithful as they should be, or having some struggles in their life. Do we really seek out opportunity to serve, to help, to see maybe what we can do, or do we sort of keep to ourselves and by ourselves? Look at 1 Peter 1 22. When he says, Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth, which are through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. It doesn’t make that a matter of choice. If you look at it, it’s not an option when you read that verse. It is an essential. If indeed our souls have been purified, if we have obeyed the gospel and we understand the love that God has manifested toward us, we don’t live just to ourselves.

We do think about others. And while you cannot know everybody or know every concern, there are some who are near enough to you that you say, Well, you know, there are times where I can extend myself. Maybe a card, a word of thanksgiving or a word of concern. If someone is ill, just simply a statement of I’m praying for you. Letting others know. In fact, in 1 Peter chapter 4, look at what the apostle says, above all things, have fervent love for one another. Why? For love will cover a multitude of sins. Doesn’t mean you ignore the sins. But you know, it says, I’m going to see what is best for you. It’s not that, oh, I can’t wait to get some gossip on you and talk about you and run you down.

It’s just the opposite of that. I’m going to seek what is best for you. Love will indeed seek what is best for the other. And so he says, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Congregation is going to grow, it’s going to have an attitude of close, loving, enfolding spirit. And then with that, every member is involved. Now, this is quite obvious, isn’t it? As in Ephesians 4 and verse 16, where he describes the church as a body, the whole body joined and knit together. By what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. You may think you’re not all that important. Probably there are some here, maybe a widow, maybe a person who is quiet by disposition.

You may think you’re not all that important, but I want to tell you, in the Lord’s sight, every joint, every person has a part, has a share in it. A couple of weeks ago, there was a bulletin article I thought was excellent. I don’t know whether you remember it, it was about the nail. How a nail in a building. You may say his nail is not very important. That’s one nail. What does it do? But if it becomes loose and indeed falls out, it’s keeping something in place. And when it falls out, that part begins to crumble. That part is not as it ought to be. And who knows but what one part not doing, what it should do leads to the next section, which leads to the next section, which really becomes old and decrepit.

Congregation, you might ask yourself, if every member were as involved as I am, what kind of church would this be? If every member came as often and regularly to services as I do, how often would we have services? If every member purposed and gave on the Lord’s Day as I’ve just done today, what kind of contribution would we have? If every member sang as I sing, what kind of singing would we have here? What kind you could keep moving that forward, of course, and say that in God’s sight you are important. Obviously, you remember the story where Jesus watched the poor widow who cast in two mites and said she gave more than all the others who out of their abundance gave more, or at least it looked like they gave more.

4. Enthusiastic Bible Classes

But she really did more. If the Lord would know what a poor widow might do and then give that kind of estimate, what’s he saying about you? Every member is involved. But then also, if this church is going to continue to grow, it’s going to need an enthusiastic Bible classes. Enthusiastic, I say I use that word, where in Ephesians 4 and 11, we read what’s the purpose of our gathering together. He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

What that passage is really saying is God put things in place. Indeed, from the apostles and prophets, but even to this present day, those who work as evangelists and serve as elders or pastors and teachers. Indeed, God’s purpose is that every Christian come to a maturity. We’re not all at the same level. Physically, we understand in the physical world how a baby is born and it takes time, and he’s a young child, and then maybe a teenager, and finally a mature man. And spiritually, it can be that way. We’re babes in Christ at first, but what’s necessary is to grow. We grow by feeding on the milk of the word of God. And then we begin to take strong food and we grow in the knowledge of the word.

What a Bible class is to do. It gives us an opportunity to really be personally involved. You know, you may listen to a sermon and say, Well, I didn’t really get anything out of that sermon today. I don’t know that I understood anything about what the preacher’s talking about. In a Bible class, you can raise a question, you can talk about it. In a Bible class, you have a consistent approach to the word. There’s something that builds on one or the other. And so with classes, I use the word enthusiastic Bible classes. And how do you think that would start? Well, if there’s going to be growth, it’s going to start with teaching. How about good teachers? Teachers who prepared the lesson. They didn’t just sort of get the book out on the way to the building, said, Well, let’s see what’s a lesson for today, and then sort of struggle through by reading whatever the material was in the lesson book and trying to get class to participate and talk about it.

They’ve prepared beforehand. They’ve talked about it at home. They’ve thought about it. So that when they come to class, the teachers are the best prepared, have something to present to the students. But that isn’t all. If it’s an enthusiastic Bible class, it says, hey, the students are also prepared. And I think, like the teacher, they don’t wait till they’re on the road, ready to come to a class, and then beside they say, Well, and the mama says, Did you get your lesson ready? That’s too late. It’s a sad fact, though, even some parents can’t ask, did you get your lesson ready? Because the parents don’t even know where the student’s class book is. I’m a marvel at times where we have some who say to the teacher, I’ve lost my book.

Mother and Dad don’t have any idea where it is. Mother and Dad didn’t take any time to prepare their students, even let’s say, you know, on a Saturday, what a wonderful time to sit down with your child and start reading the scriptures together or talking about it. That you know what they are about to study. And are the parents themselves and the classes you’re going to attend. Did you look at your lesson before today? Did you know what your class was going to be about? You can answer that right now, can’t you? What did you do to prepare? Classes will not be boring and dull if the teacher and the students both prepare. Congregations will grow. You’ll look forward to Bible classes when you have that kind of participation.

5. Good, Calm, Steady Leadership and Meaningful Worship

But then with that, a church in order to grow needs good, calm, steady leadership. This church is blessed now with three wonderful men who serve as elders. Men who you should obey those who rule over you. Be submissive. Why? For they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. I’m going to tell you, Jim and Walcott and Ralph are men who give a lot of hours to the work. Hours you don’t really see and maybe know about. But in their thought and their prayers are for the benefit of every member of this congregation. And it’s of great concern to them to know that we have some who really are not involved as they ought to be.

That some who have sort of slipped away and fallen away. And you need to hold up their arms. But you are blessed to have that kind of leadership. That they’re not just sort of sitting on a pedestal, sort of to rule over or to be the overseers of a church. They’re not men who are just seeking honor for a position, but they’re men who are working. They’re men who are involved in the work. And I would say, along with them, we have some wonderful deacons here. Men who have really committed themselves to the work. There’s so many things going on around our building and taking care of current needs in a way that keeps us a comfortable classroom to meet in and a comfortable assembly and just simply taking care of things.

It’s amazing the commitment that we have among elders and deacons. You may not be an elder. You may not be a deacon. But I tell you, you have a part. As I was saying in the earlier point, that every member is involved. And maybe you ask of the deacons or you ask of the elders if there’s something you can do, something that might help. That you, as a member of this church, have a part in what’s going on. Indeed, hold up the hands and pray for those who are in those responsible positions already. But then number eight meaningful worship. I chose the word meaningful. I could have just said regular worship. Well, we announce that, don’t we? In Acts chapter 2 and verse 42, in describing the early church, after those about 3,000 were baptized, the scripture says they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers.

Somehow in my mind, I don’t envision those early Christians as saying, oh, this is Sunday. I guess we’d better go. And let’s see, I’ll drag myself in and I’ll hurry out as quick as it’s over. Well, I don’t envision that, do you? I believe those disciples probably understood something of what it meant, that they look forward to coming together. There was a kind of an attitude that says, I rejoice to sing praises to the Lord. I look forward to those who are like precious faith. It’s such a great privilege, really, to say the Lord will be present where two or three are gathered in his name. I look forward to it. I’ve heard people say, Well, I just really didn’t get anything out of that service today.

If you don’t get anything out of it, it’s probably because you didn’t put anything into it. You’re going to receive what you involve yourself in. So to have meaningful worship is to say, I’ve come with a purpose. In my heart, it’s the Lord’s day. It’s a day on which I’m going to serve the Lord with my whole heart, mind, and strength. This is his day. And not only have I thought about it in advance, I didn’t sort of see how late I could stay up all Saturday night where I’d be so sleepy Sunday morning and wouldn’t get anything. I didn’t do that. I rather prepared. This is the Lord’s day. I’ve come to worship the Lord. I was glad when they said, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

6. Special Opportunities to Glorify God

Then it must be our spirit and our disposition. And when you find a congregation filled with people who look forward to coming, who plan and purpose because they are totally committed, then you’re going to have a congregation that has a time in which we worship. Our singing is great, our praying is great, our preaching is great, and we are a people who are drawn closer to the Lord, looking forward to heaven itself. I might say finally, of this nine, we develop special opportunities to glorify God. I say special opportunities. What I’m meaning by that really is that there are things we can do at periods other than the announced assembly times. 1 Corinthians 15 58, the apostle said, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Always abounding. Abounding is that attitude, I’m saying in the Greek, that verb that’s used there, it’s kind of like a river at flood time. You know? What is a flood? It’s it’s gotten out of its boundaries and it’s overgone, overrun the boundaries. And so when it says always abounding, it’s almost like flooding, that there’s more to do. And I’m looking for those opportunities. I’d have to say, and I’ve told the other elders this. One of my concerns about having three services on Sunday morning and not having the evening service that we did for many years. One of my concerns is that we can say, Well, okay, amen. I’m going to go home, and now the rest of the day is mine to do what I want to do.

Today’s the Lord’s day. How much of us think about the rest of the day? Hey, there may be other opportunities. And we do say there are opportunities. Sometimes our groups will get together. Sometimes we’ve had groups that will go to a nursing home and sing for some of the members who might be there. Or maybe a time where we did some special studies, uh, maybe a special home Bible class. Or sometimes our teenagers get together on Sunday evenings, or young married couples. But what I’m saying is there are things we can look forward to. We can develop special opportunities to glorify God. Don’t feel like, okay, things done, let’s get it over with, that’s it. But rather, as a person who’s totally committed, I’m looking for opportunities to serve God and to glorify Him.

Conclusion

We’ll let this congregation grow if we have Bible-centered preaching, members that are totally committed, that all that we have, we serve the Lord. Strong morality, close, loving, enfolding spirit, every member involved, enthusiastic Bible classes, good, calm, steady leadership, meaningful worship, and with an attitude that says, I’m always looking for opportunities to glorify God in his work. My prayer is with you, brethren. I believe that you’re at the threshold of yet another new beginning. And a wonderful opportunity stand before you.

In this building now. Really, what I’ve just said, as I started from 1 Peter 1 or 2 Peter 1, it’s that you know these things that are established in the present truth. But I say them to stir you up by way of remembrance. If you’re not a child of God, you need to be one. If you would fear if you heard the sound of the last trumpet sounding right now and the Lord coming, if that would cause you to quake and tremble, then you need to check your soul and do something about it. If you’ve not been faithful as a Christian ought to be, and you know you need to have not only repentance in your life, but also the prayer of the Lord to the Lord to forgive you of sin, we’ll pray with you even today.

Or if you’ve never been baptized into Jesus Christ, that his blood may wash away your sins. Why not today? Why not even this morning? We want to extend you an invitation to serve the Lord. That every person leave this building ready for heaven. We’re going to stand and sing this song. If you’re subject to that invitation, I bid you come even now.