Baptist City Blog

While we contemplate the crucifixion of our Lord, listen to this thrilling sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles!

Seeing We Have This Ministry...

2 Corinthians 4:1

"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;"

If you have a ministry in which you work in your church, let me remind you that it is a great privilege to be able to serve.  I have had the privilege my entire life of being involved in the ministry to some degree.  Because I have been involved in it for so long, I have to be careful that I don't take for granted the privilege I have to serve God.  Think with me if you will; the God of the Universe allows frail and sinful humans like you and me to represent Him.  God could have chosen many other objects to represent Him, but He chose us.  God could have created something that could never sin to represent Him, but He chose humans, who have a choice to sin or do right, to represent Him.  No matter how big your ministry is, you are privileged to work for Christ.  Because we are privileged to work for Christ in a ministry, we are reminded in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 to do several things.  

First, seeing you have this ministry, don't quit! Notice it says in the verse above, "...seeing we have this ministry...we faint not;" The ministry is not going to be easy.  There will be times when the ministry will seem like it doesn't profit at all, but you must not quit.  There will be times in the ministry when trials and tribulations will come your way, but you must not quit.  There are people who depend on you to keep going, so you must not quit.  God is depending on you to keep going, so you must not quit.  

Second, seeing we have this ministry, be honest.  In verse 2, God talks about living honestly.  In other words, you should be honest in how you deliver the Word of God.  You have no right to deliver the Word of God to fit your own lifestyle or opinion, your responsibility is to deliver the Word of God truthfully.  Too many times we try to make the Word of God fit what we believe, but instead we should make what we believe fit the Word of God.  Furthermore, be honest in your dealings with people.  Remember you are representing Christ.  Don't ruin the ministry with an immoral life.  Be honest with what you tell people.  Be honest in how you live.  You represent Christ; therefore, you should be honest.  

Third, seeing we have this ministry, then make it about Christ and not about you.  God says in verse 5, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord..." Too many people want to talk about themselves more than they talk about Christ.  Listen, the ministry is not about how many degrees you have or what you have accomplished, it is about Christ. I am weary of Christians who constantly remind people in the pulpits or classes they teach of how many college degrees they have, what they have accomplished or how great they think they are.  The ministry is not about you, the ministry is about Christ; so make it about Him.  

Last, seeing we have this ministry, live for the eternal.  In verse 18, we are reminded to live looking "...at the things which are not seen..."  If you are going to be successful in the ministry, then you must not live for temporal things, but you must live for the eternal.  Take your eyes off of possessions and money and place them upon the eternal treasures you lay up in Heaven.  That is the only way you will survive the ministry until you die.  

The ministry is a great life. "Therefore seeing we have this ministry...," let's live according to what God commands us in 2 Corinthians 4.

Four outstanding sermons for the week of 4/10/11 await you at www.baptist-city.com.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

The Core of Most Trouble

1 Corinthians 10:7

"Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."

It seems like nearly every week you hear about another sports figure being arrested or getting himself in trouble with females.  In recent years, many of the admired sports figures have lost their clean image because of revelations about improprieties with women or run-ins with the law.  Society constantly tries to figure out why these public figures get themselves into so much trouble, but they continue to avoid the answer to the problem.  Society wants to run to psychiatry to find out the problem when the Scriptures have the answer.  The answer is found in the verse above.  

The children of Isreal did wrong when they stopped working and started playing.  Notice the verse says, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Accroding to the previous verse, you will notice that this lifestyle led Israel to doing "evil things." Because they stopped working, they had time on their hands to do evil.  Their playing around got them into serious trouble.  

One of the main reasons that sports figures get themselves into so much trouble is because they are playing when they should be working.  The core of most trouble is playing when you should be working.  Rarely do you find a person getting into trouble when they are working. Most people get into trouble when they have too much time on their hands and are playing.  

When I was a teenage young man, I kept myself out of trouble by working.  I often tell young people that I wasn't any better than they are, I was just busier than they are.  I started working everyday at age 13 to keep my summers filled and to stay out of trouble.  My parents did not have to force me to work, because it was my desire to work and stay out of trouble.  My parents had chores for me around the house, I knew that work would keep me out of trouble.  

Parents, the best way to keep your children from getting into trouble is to teach them the value of working.  By allowing your children to sit and play video games and watch TV all day, you are teaching them to play and not work.  Don't get me wrong, I believe there should be time to play, but work should always come first.  Give your children chores around the house and make them work before they can play.  

Likewise, as an adult you should be a worker and not a player.  If all you do is play, then you will find yourself getting into trouble more often than not.  Stay busy working and you will keep yourself from doing wrong.  The best repellant to sin is work.  Sin doesn't like work; sin likes to play.  So if you will stay busy working, then you will find it is much easier to stay away from sin.  

The core of most trouble is playing and not working.  If you are having trouble overcoming sin, then look at your schedule and see how much of it is filled with work.  If you will tire yourself through work, then you won't have the energy to do wrong.  We all have a sin nature inside of us, so the best way to keep that nature from controlling us is to work.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Building on Another Man's Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:10

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."

Life is a series of building upon that which others have already built.  What I have right now is a result of what someone has built for me.  My job now is to build upon what has been given to me so that the next generation will also have a foundation upon which to build.  

In the verse above, the Apostle Paul acknowledged that someone will build upon the foundation that he laid in his lifetime.  Though Paul built a great ministry, it was only the foundation for the following generation to build upon.  Whether or not the next generation liked the foundation, it was their responsibility to continue to build upon the same principles set forth in that foundation for the next generation.  

When I think of this, several thoughts come to mind.  First, life is not all about you.  You have no right to think that your life is about what you get out of it.  Let me remind you that everything you have, someone before you had to build the foundation for it.  For example, there are many patriots in the past who built the foundation for a free America. The responsibility of each generation is to build upon the foundation using the exact same principles that made their foundation strong.  Likewise, we fundamental Baptists should build upon the principles that previous generations gave to us.  Don't change those principles, but keep building upon those principles by passing them on to the next generation.  

Second, by living for the present and not for the next generation, we ultimately destroy the foundations that were previously laid.  One of the greatest mistakes this present generation is making is that they are destroying the foundations for the next generation. Sadly, the next generation will have to repair what the present generation is destroying if they want to enjoy the privileges that we have today.  

Third, we should be thankful and give respect to those who have built the foundation upon which we stand.  I watch many leaders today who destroy the leaders of past generations by downplaying their accomplishments.  There are pastors who have a national platform that are destroying the name and reputations of previous builders.  In fact, if they could replace the names of previous patriots with their own name, they would do it in a heartbeat.  We must be careful not to forget what the previous generations have done for us and give them their due respect.  

Christian, let's be careful about destroying the foundations that have been built for us.  Instead, build upon those foundations by using the exact same principles that previous generations used to build the foundations for us.  The least you could do as you build upon another man's foundation is to continue to build by teaching the next generation the fundamental principles that built the current foundation upon which you stand.  Be sure to build upon the foundation of your family, heritage and the fundamental Baptist beliefs that the next generation can build upon. Don't be guilty of destroying the sure foundations of principles that have already been tested.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Square Pegs Do Fit in Round Holes

Romans 12:2

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Transformation is always a hard process.  The reason it is so hard is because you are changing the form or shape of something into another form or shape.  You often hear that you can't make a square block fit into a round hole.  That is true, but with a transformation it can fit into the round hole.  You often see children playing with shaped blocks that must be put into a hole of the same shape.  It is always interesting to watch a child try to force a shaped block into a different shaped hole.  It doesn't work!  As much force as you try to apply to a square block, you are not going to make it go into a round hole.  The only way a square block is going to go into a round hole is if it is conformed into a round block to fit into the hole.  

In the verse above, God commands us to "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed..." You will notice that conformation leads to transformation. If you conform to the world, then you will be transformed into the world's likeness.  If you conform into the image of Christ, then you will be transformed into His image.  It all comes down to what you allow yourself to be conformed to. When you got saved, you were like the square block that needed to be put into a round hole.  At first living the Christian life was awkward, but the more you conformed to the lifestyle of Christ, and became like Christ, this resulted in making the life of Christ easier to live.  

How do you allow yourself to be transformed into God's image?  It is simple, don't fight the conformation process.  Just like the block needs someone to chisel off the edges to make it round, you need to have the world's lifestyle "chiseled" off. That is where preaching comes in; every sermon you hear is God's chisel chiseling off the world's rough edges.  Reading the Scriptures on a daily basis is chiseling off the world's form.  When you go soul winning, you are letting God's chisel conform you into His image.  When you spend time in prayer, you are being conformed into God's image.  Simply put, the only way you will conform into the image of Christ is by doing what God commands you to do.  While you do what God commands you to do, you are renewing your mind which will transform you into His image.  

Christian, don't ever stop the transformation process.  Keep conforming yourself to Christ.  Every time you hear a sermon, let it conform you into Christ's image.  Every time you read the Scriptures, let Them conform you into Christ's image.  Always remember that conformation is what leads to transformation.