Dr. John Goetsch: An Uncommon Generation

take your Bible tonight and turn to Philippians chapter 2 if you will Philippians and the second chapter read just a few verses as a text we'll look at several here at the beginning of this chapter in the course of the message tonight but Philippians chapter number two and I'll start to read with verse 12 and read down to verse 16 if I may Philippians chapter 2 and starting with verse 12 the Bible says wherefore my beloved as he have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for as God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure do all things without murmurings and disputing that he may be blameless and harmless the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the world holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain neither labored in vain serving an uncommon God requires us to live an uncommon life how many of you'd agree that our God is anything but common the Bible tells us in Exodus 15 and verse 11 who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods who is like unto the glorious and holiness fearful and praises doing wonders he is the rock his work is perfect all his ways are judgment a God of truth and without iniquity just and right is he the Bible says in 2nd Samuel 7 and verse 22 wherefore thou art great o Lord God for there's none like unto thee neither is there any God beside thee the psalmist said in chapter 89 and verse 6 for who in heaven can be compared to the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord I love the writer Isaiah in chapter 40 as he describes our uncommon God verse 18 he says for whom will you liken God or what likeness will you compare unto him the workman melteth a graven image and the Goldsmith's spread it over with gold and and and and cast the silver chains he this so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth the tree that will not rot in seeketh a cunning Wortman that he might not be ashamed to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved have you not known have you not heard have you not understood from the beginning and from the foundation of the earth it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants the rubbers grasshoppers that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in that bringeth the princes to nothing he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity he they shall not be planted they shall not be sold their socks on that take roots and the earth for they shall pass away as a whirlwind and destroy and be destroyed as stubble to whom then we alike in God or shall I be equal saith the Holy One now this uncommon God deserves that his people would live uncommon lives in a culture filled with commonality it's amazing how all of us think we want to be different we think we want to be somebody special and yet it's amazing we all just fall right into step we follow the fashions follow the fads follow the crowd we talk like they talk watch what they watch wear what they wear whatever the trend is what we tend to track where are the uncommon Christians today that will serve an uncommon God in a culture filled with commonality listen we are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people and we should be showing forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light which were not a people but now are the people of God which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy dearly beloved I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul having your conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak evil among you they may by your good works glorify God in the day of visitation where are the uncommon teenagers where are the uncommon adults where are the uncommon families in a world of commonality in this passage of Scripture before us tonight in Philippians 2 I believe we see three motivating attractions to this uncommon life first we see in the first part of chapter 2 an uncommon entreaty in verse number two there is a call for sacrificial harmony in verse two he says fulfill ye by joy that he be like-minded having the same love being of one Accord of one mind not about you but I don't see much of that in this world I don't see a lot of harmony in our culture to you everywhere we look there's division there's strife there's competition there's jealousy there's envy for harmony to exist somebody's got to step out of that crowd and give up their rights give up their prejudices give up their opinions and as the Bible entreats us here to be a like-minded one loved one mind one Accord did you know that only by pride cometh contention God says show me a problem show me strife show me arguing show me division show me prejudice show me bias show me prejudice show me these things I'll show you pride only by pride cometh contention did you know that when a man's waist please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him the psalmist said behold how good and how pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity and it wonderful to come into church and since a unity that the world knows nothing about I mean we're as different in this room is night and day you're all weird but you know in a world that is at odds with themselves and with God and with everybody around them it's wonderful to come into a place like this and sense a unity and by the way one of the secrets of the early church in the book of Jerusalem was that very characteristic of unity we read of those people who were saved in the book of Acts they were in one Accord they had singleness of heart they were praising God and having favor with all the people does that does that describe our church does that describe our youth group does that describe college student your dorm room does that describe your family oh here's an entreaty for a sacrificial harmony a unity of God's people uncommon God says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed of the day of redemption let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind one toward another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you the people walk into this church they ought to see something uncommon they ought to see a harmony they ought to see a unity of the believers it's uncommon in our world today but not only is there an entreaty to a sacrificial harmony but there's a call for a selfless humility in verse number three he goes on to say let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others or the culture today is opposite of that living for self exalting self promoting self protecting self just get on social media it's all about self here's a call to some selfless humility proverbs 25 and verse 27 the Bible says it's not good to eat much honey you know what that means in the modern vernacular is stop eating dessert too much sweets aren't good for you it's not good to eat much honey in other words you can't be healthy and only eat that which is sweet and he uses that as a comparison he said it's not good eat much honey soul for men to search their own glory is not glory in 1st Corinthians 10 verse 24 there's a very convicting verse to me it says let no man seek his own but every man another's wealth how much money do you want your boss to make that ought to be your goal according to Bible let no man seek his own but another's wealth do you want other Christians to prosper do you want other families to succeed do you want others to have the blessing of God upon their life more than you even want it for yourself well this selfless humility is kind of uncommon isn't it not exactly part of our human DNA but over and over again in the Bible God calls us to this this humility all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility for God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble here's an uncommon entreaty and entreaty to harmony and entreaty to humility you say man I don't I don't really know how that would work I mean this is a dog-eat-dog world this is a competitive world this is a world filled with division and strife and all kinds of problems what in the world does that even look like well notice secondly tonight an uncommon example you know the greatest example for everything the Bible teaches is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ here notice that whatever the Bible teaches you something about how you're supposed to live the best example you have is the Lord I mean if you're talking about love no better example than the Lord if you're talking about being kind no better example than Jesus Christ you're talking about having a passion for souls no better example than Jesus himself know over and over again the Lord provides this uncommon example and Jesus Christ was given a supreme position notice it in verse number 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God Jesus Christ was given a supreme when Jesus Christ showed up on the scene for his earthly ministry he began to declare himself to be God and people started picking up stones to stone him why because that was blasphemy to call yourself God but it was not robbery for Jesus Christ to take the title God he was God in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made the Bible in John chapter 1 proves the deity of Jesus Christ He is God in John chapter 10 and verse 30 I and my father are one jesus said John 12 and verse 45 he the cioth me cieth my father also Colossians 2 and verse 9 in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily Jesus Christ is supreme position but notice a shunned promotion while Jesus Christ was God it was not robbery for him to call himself God yet watch the shunned promotion of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 7 but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men here was God was not robbery for Jesus Christ to call himself God he was God and yet he made himself of no reputation I don't know that that's Illustrated any better than in John chapter 13 or Jesus God washes the feet of his disciples Washington feat was a common occurrence in Bible times people walked most places they went they lived in a very desert arid type of a place much like we do here in Lancaster they would wear open shoes sandals as we would call them today their feet on those journeys from one place the next would become dirty sometimes they would even become scarred and and perhaps have blisters or or maybe they would get caught on some thorns or sharp rocks and so the lowliest job that a servant was ever tasked with was to wash the guests feet yet the Lord Jesus Christ in that Upper Room God a supreme position yet a shunned promotion Stoops before those mere men and washes their feet a picture of the servitude the humility and the in the desire of Jesus Christ to serve to not be exalted to not be lifted up to not be built up but to humble himself proverbs 27 and verse 2 it says let another man praise thee and not thy own mouth a stranger and not thy own lips only we could get a hold of that on social media all we talked about is ourselves here's what I did today everybody clap yeah here's what I'm doing here's me everybody follow me everybody like me let another man praise thee and not thy own mouth a stranger and not thy own lips I love studying revivals tonight I love studying the evangelists that preached in the revivals and there was a period of time in the 1800s where two men became quite prominent in revival work John Wesley and George Whitfield John Wesley and George Whitfield both preached the gospel they both saw many many people saved Whitfield was the was the boy preacher with the golden voice they said his voice would travel for miles and miles as he preached in the outdoors Benjamin Franklin one time tested it he had heard much about it and he stood at the very front of a congregation outdoors in Philadelphia and while Whitfield preached he kept taking a step back Whitfield went on preaching for over an hour and Franklin was over a mile away and he could still hear him clear as a bell Whitfield had an amazing voice preached as many as 80,000 people in the open air without a microphone well know what a man blessed by God his diary reads like Ripley's Believe It or Not amazing ministry Wesley John Wesley and his brother Charles the same they they were mightily used especially over in England and and the Wesleyan revival and and and the great things that came from that are just amazing to read about it and the Wesley's of course they had a little bit different methodology than was used at that time and so they became known as Methodists and they actually established a denomination called Methodists and Methodism and and sold the Wesley's they they had a large following well many of Whitfield's followers he was he was not inclined to go the same direction as the Wesley's in some areas he was he was different in some of his approach than they were and some of his followers said George you need to start a denomination you need to you need to get your group together you need to have a denomination and Whitfield said no no it's it's about Jesus it's not about me it's not about my name it's not about my denomination it's about Christ in fact George Whitefield gave instructions that when he died he wanted this on his tombstone here lies GW the record is on high here lies GW the record is on high is that our desire what do you want on your tombstone you want your accomplishments they're all that you did all you accomplished boy look at this whereas you okay with just maybe your initials and let God keep the record a shunned promotion Jesus Christ the ultimate example a supreme position the shunned promotion think of what it says in 2nd Corinthians 8:9 you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ though he was rich a supreme position yet became poor a shunned promotion now watch this this is letter C that ye through his poverty might be rich a provided salvation you see this person the Lord Jesus Christ the supreme position God yet a son promotion said no I'm just coming to be a servant to die in a cross why so that you and I could have a salvation provided I gave my back to the Spyders my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by His stripes were healed all we like sheep have gone astray we've turned everyone to his own way and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed that he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was led as a sheep to the slaughter as a lamb before shears is dumb so he opened not his mouth he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he shall be cut off from the land of the living to the transgression of my people was he stricken yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him to make his soul an offering for sin thank God though he was gone he was willing to Humble himself come to this world died on a cross why so that you and I could have eternal life I'm the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the Sheep again is this common know we have an uncommon Savior we have an uncommon God and he's asking now for us to give ourselves to an uncommon life notice thirdly an uncommon effectiveness you see when we respond to this uncommon entreaty and follow this uncommon example of Jesus Christ we then will have a life that has an uncommon effectiveness now notice a divine design in verse 12 wherefore my beloved as you have always obeyed not in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure who designed you who created you who gifted you who gives you these opportunities it's all part of God's divine design for your life it is God that wills and accomplishes that which he wants to accomplish in her life I will praise the frame fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well o think of it this God designed a plan for our life the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord this God is our God for ever and ever and he will be our guide even unto death the man's heart divides with his own way but the Lord direct with the steps are you living in God's design tonight are you living in that divine design are you living according to his will according to his plan for your life notice a devastating damage in verse 14 do all things without murmurings and dispute Eames I find a lot of people today who I believe know that God has a plan for their life but they don't want any part of it in fact God puts a little pressure on him maybe speaks to them during the service maybe convicts them about their life and and and and and and begins to call them a direction that they ought to live and and and we we resist we say no and we say no Lord is not what's gonna make me happy that that's not how I'm gonna be fulfilled that's that's not the way to peace and and we begin to murmur and dispute against the will of God the writer in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5 let your conversation let your manner of life your way of living let your conversation be without covetousness and be content what's with such things as you have for he has said I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee you have the promise of God's presence in his divine design what God designed you to do with your life you have the promise of his presence now are you going to substitute pleasure for his presence are you gonna substitute prosperity for his presence are you gonna substitute popularity for his presence it's hard to kick against the pricks my friend God designed you God has a plan for your life and when you begin to murmur and complain I don't that I don't want to go that way Lord don't make me do that I believe God's calling young people all over this country to serve him with their life but I'm meeting very few that are answering their phone I preach in Christian school graduations as does dr. Rasmussen dr. Shetler sometimes an entire senior class not one of them not one of them going off to a Christian college now it would seem to me that in a Christian school God would be calling some of those young people to serve Him with their life I remember when we started Christian schools back in the 1970s late 1960s when our church decided to have a Christian school and I remember sitting in those boring business meetings of the church going through all the positives and negatives of having a Christian school I remember our pastor saying often we get these kids in a Christian school when they're young they'll be the next missionaries there'll be the next pastors there'll be the next evangelist they'll fill our college as with young people that will be surrendered to go and serve the Lord in the ministry and yet today in high school graduations of many Christian schools not a one not a one own I don't believe God stopped calling I don't believe God quit designing preachers I don't think God said well this isn't working well I'm not going to make any more missionaries no he's designing he's giving you gifts and he's given you opportunities and he's giving you education and he's giving you influence and yet many of us are murmuring and disputing against that call of God and we're content to settle for something else rather than the presence of God in our life a devastating damage to the Divine Design but when you yield when you yield to what God wants in your life we see finally tonight a distinct difference in verse 15 that he may be blameless and harmless the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world we look around tonight we are a wicked we're a perverse were we're a crooked generation but God wants some people tonight to be uncommon tonight just go along with the crookedness and not trying to blend in with the Traverse nests but shine as lights in the world verse 16 to hold forth the word of life [Applause] blameless harmless without rebuke in a wicked and godless culture lights in the darkness salt in the decay where the Daniel's they'll refuse to eat the Kings meat and drink the Kings wine and say I don't serve a common God and so I'm not going to live a common life where's the little eight-year-old boy tonight like Josiah allow God and his wonderful design to place him on a throne as king and by the time he reaches the age of some of you in this room age 16 he begins to seek after the God of David his father I'm not going the way of my father Amnon I'm not going the way of my grandfather Manasseh who for 57 years led the nation into all kinds of idolatry and Josiah said I'm going to be different I'm going to change this I'm going to be uncommon he begins to seek after God and by the time he was 20 he purged that land of Judah from all of their idols and all of their groves and for 31 years led an unparalleled revival where's that Josiah today where's that Elijah today that'll stand before a happened Jezebel and live uncommon oh yeah they laughed at Elijah he was a bit peculiar he was a bit odd he was a bit eccentric he was a little different than the norm but by the time it was all said and done the people saying the Lord he is the god the Lord he is the God you see when you live according to God's divine design then and only then can you make a distinct difference in this world where's the John the Baptist yeah they laughed at it they made fun of the way he was dressed they made fun of his diet they made fun of his message was all said and done Jesus said there's never a greater man than John uncommon where's the Apostle Paul today where's the man that will turn the world upside down for the Lord Jesus Christ uncommon who will make a difference will never make a difference without being different God I believe in this room is calling for some uncommon lives some uncommon families an uncommon church an uncommon youth group an uncommon generation it'll say you know what I'm tired of just fallin in step I'm tired of just following the trends I'm tired of just blending in with everything else that's going on in this world I'm going to be distinct for my Savior who was uncommon for me may we be the generation that lives uncommon

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, Dr. John Goetsch, Philippians 2, growth, generation

Id: qlcCpBQCeSU

Length: 33min 33sec (2013 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 15 2018