Pastor Paul Chappell: Strong in the Lord

second timothy chapter two and we're going to read in verse number one a familiar passage and follow with me as i read down through verse number four thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of jesus christ no man that wareth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier let us pray father you have called for soldiers preachers and tonight we have recognized that calling and as i preached to them for these next few moments i pray that our church also would receive the preached word and that we also would be a church that would endeavor to prayerfully stand with them that we would be a church that is aware of some of the uniquenesses of ministry so that we might continue to be a church that helps to raise up and to train men and women as well for serving in the local church but for these four preachers tonight we pray that you would use the song we're about to hear and then the message from the word of god to help them along their way in the service of the king of kings and lord of lords jesus christ in whose name i pray amen you may be seated this past week i had meetings in washington d.c for a few days and on tuesday night after a day of meetings i found some time to do something that i enjoy doing and that is to walk around some of the memorials there in washington dc and on that evening i walked through the world war ii memorial and saw the names of fallen men and women who gave their lives for our country then i walked across the street toward the lincoln memorial and stood there for a moment and then walked to that one that for some reason always touches my heart more deeply and that is the vietnam war memorial perhaps it's because it's something closer into my age grouping and lifetime understanding and as i walk past those tens of thousands of names i first of all thank god that they gave their lives so that i might have freedom to preach the gospel of jesus christ and i found myself further more thinking about the preachers that i have known over my lifetime even some that have preached here i thought about dr tom malone and dr curtis hudson dr lee roberson i thought about dr james rushing i thought about so many that had signed my bible when i was just a young man just after i was saved men that i heard preach dr jerry falwell dr jack hiles dr john r rice i thought about dr lester roloff so many missionaries so many great men of god those that we might call the veterans those that you looked up to the older men of the faith and every name that i have just mentioned some that you may or may not have known they're all in heaven now they have like the soldiers of the vietnam war memorial already given their lives and those preachers are now with the lord jesus christ and then i begin to think as i do think often who will take their place who will stand where they stood and who will stand for that which they stood and who will come into the ranks no doubt the military must think about these very issues of fulfilling the roles of defense of our nation and constantly involving themselves with recruitment and constantly involving themselves with seeking out young people who would serve our country but forgive me tonight for having a passion and a desire to see men and women who would surrender their lives to serve the king of kings and lord of lords i have no desire to pressure someone into a life of service or ministry but i certainly want every young person to consider to be willing to give their life whether it be on a foreign field whether it be in some other capacity of ministry to simply say here am i lord use me here am i lord send me and that's why tonight with the missions conference and with these four men we rejoice because these are men who will fill in the ranks and men who will stand in the gap for their generation a preacher is called to be a soldier the christian life is not a playground it is a battlefield and the bible speaks of this as we read just a moment ago thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus notice verse 3 thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of jesus christ a pastor is both a shepherd and a soldier and god is very clear that when he calls a man he calls him with various responsibility and with a job description that is not a single description but often times varied and a multiplicity of responsibility will come and there are times when a pastor afflicts the comfortable there are other times when he comforts the afflicted there are times when he answers not a fool according to his folly there are times when he answers a fool according to his folly there are times when he reproves and rebukes and there are times when he exhorts and it must be the leadership of the holy spirit that would guide these four men into knowing how to serve god at a given moment by the leadership of his spirit first timothy chapter 1 and verse 12 the bible says i thank christ jesus our lord who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry these four men tonight have stated to us that they believe that god put them in the ministry and by the way if god's not putting you in the ministry don't even try it out just to see what it feels like we don't need someone going awol we don't need another mess up but we do need today god called men who will step into the ministry of jesus christ but we cannot do it without god's power dr sisk mentioned this this morning did he not when he preached on the great commission and he reminded us that jesus said all power is given unto me go ye therefore and dr sis made the statement that god did not call him into the ministry and say don go to japan and do what you can do because what we can do is nothing other than fail and that's why paul said in 1st 1 and verse 12 our lord hath enabled me in that he had counted me faithful and put me into the ministry you see without his strength none of us pastors or church members are able to do anything in the ministry some of you have been overwhelmed with kovid and the ramifications of it do you not see it as a test of your faith and as a calling of god to seek his strength in this hour of course you will fail of course you will quit of course you will move of course you will get discouraged of course you will become a negative person unless you are enabled by god during coven to serve the lord jesus christ there's no way to serve god in ministry in california or any other place and you can try to find another place but between now and when jesus comes mark my word every state in the union will follow the pattern of california we might as well get something done here while we can because you cannot run from the pattern but you can get full of his power to stand in the battle that's what we need tonight sometimes in the ministry we want god to do a removing job god removed this trial god removed me from this trial but god more often than not wants to do an improving job instead of taking away the problem he wants to make me a stronger christian in the midst of the problem can i get an amen there and i say to these four preachers that we must have the strength of god for modern day ministry he has called me paul said and he has counted me faithful and he has enabled me for the ministry we must have divine enablement and so i want to speak to you for a few moments about being strong in the lord finding strength in the lord for ministry today we must first of all be strong in the grace of god did you not see that in verse 1 thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus grace is that inner working of the holy spirit grace is that endowment of the holy spirit of god upon his yielded servant it is grace that causes someone to get to the house of god faithfully when they're not feeling like it it is grace that causes someone to witness when they're not feeling like it it is grace that causes them to forgive and to give and in fact anything that we might do that is pleasing to god is something that is done by the grace of god through us it is god working in and through us i introduced my wife to a man this week and and he works the office of the vice president i said honey you're going to meet a man that is one of the sweetest men i've ever met in all of my life i met him years ago he was reading a book that i had written when i walked up to his desk i said do you like that book he said i'm enjoying it very much i said i'm glad to hear that i'm the author and we struck up a friendship that way and my wife said to him said lonnie uh my husband said that you're one of the sweetest men in washington dc and he said these words he said mrs chapel if there's anything good or sweet about me it's all because of jesus christ if there's anything good or sweet about you or me it's all because of jesus christ grace you can sense it in someone's life can you not you can see it in someone's life you see it when a tract is passed you see it when a song is given you see it when a missionary is sent you see it when there's joy in giving you see it when you could be offended but you're not because the grace of god is giving you strength you see it because when you could throw in the towel you don't and you realize that's god working in and through me and we must be strong verse 1 says in this grace of the lord jesus christ we need grace for serving the bible says in hebrews 12 and 28 wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve god acceptably with reverence and godly fear grace does not bring lasciviousness and worldliness and unfaithfulness no grace will bring reverence and godly fear the grace of god will produce a difference in your life we need grace for serving may i say secondly we need grace for suffering we must be strong in the grace of the lord in times of suffering look at what it says in verse three the bible says thou therefore endure hardness say that with me please thou therefore and i say to you four preachers brother reed and brother bundy and brother whitler and brother gonzalez hard days will come you've already seen some of it i remember terry and i used to say well someday when the church gets a little larger and we get some help it maybe it won't be quite as difficult let me just tell you something ministry often times gets harder as the years go by and paul is saying to timothy endure hardness as a good soldier of jesus christ he describes the ministry in verse 4 as a as a war there's a war no man that wareth entangleth himself you see there's a real devil that's fighting against the church and fighting against god's men and he's going to be there every morning to try to knock you down and to try to discourage you but paul speaks about grace for these situations in second corinthians 12 and 9 he said the lord jesus said to paul the apostle my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore will i rather glory paul said in my infirmities that the power of christ may dwell and rest upon me never forget the words of jesus when he said my grace is sufficient for you there hath no temptation taken man but such is common to man and yet god says that he will make a way of escape and oftentimes that escape is the ministry of the holy spirit the grace of god oh the ministry is not always about mountaintop experiences we've had mountaintop experiences at lancaster baptist church and we've had 2020 and we've had covet and we've had challenges i don't know why god brings the mountaintops when they seem undeserved and the valleys when they're unexpected i'll just determine that god is god he is sovereign and when the valleys come his grace will be sufficient his grace is sufficient 25 years ago i remember reading a book by h.b london who at that time worked for dr james dobson he wrote a book entitled pastors at risk it's a book that describes some of the unique risks and challenges of the pastorate and i remember giving it to our deacons years ago and maybe just saying look at you want to know how to pray here's some things that you might want to know and i i won't even take the time to go through all the statistics that were in that book 90 of the pastors surveyed worked more than 50 hours a week 75 percent have had significant stress related illness 57 of southern baptist pastors have had some related heart condition in their lives many of them 72 said their family was ill-affected and perhaps that was some of their own fault i have no idea the statistics were alarming and the statistics were given by pastors who pastored churches of 75 to 200. i want to say tonight that there are days when challenges and hurts will come i don't mean to be difficult or alarming when i say brother bundy some of the very people that have clapped for me some of the very ones who have said i'm with you i'll take a bullet for you i think they might put a bullet in me if they have the chance today people whose children you hold who you'll visit who you'll pray who you're crying for and holding their child and dedication and marriages and funerals and go through it all maybe not even say goodbye on the way out the door maybe not even seek counsel maybe not even remember promises made at the altar years ago there are going to come some days when you just don't understand and the fact is it is impossible to follow god without hurt and without disappointment and yet god's grace is sufficient in times of hurting in times of suffering i can think of the mission field and there'll be a time when you'll train a timothy you'll pour your life into a timothy it'll come time for you to take a furlough perhaps brother reed and you're going to leave that work with young timothy and by the time you get back eight months later he's changed things all around the doctrine changed maybe the music changed maybe maybe he taught the nationals that you were just some some kind of a power-hungry american that wanted to colonialize them and who knows what in the world they might say and your heart would be broken and in those times even as paul said demons have forsaken me having loved this present world somehow you must find the grace of god to keep on preaching and find another timothy and be faithful to the calling that you have professed to us tonight over in burma judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 pounds of weights wrapped around his ankles he had been there for years his crime preaching the gospel a fellow prisoner with a sneer on his face said dr judson what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen now adniram judson said the prospects are just as bright as the promises of god by the way you talked to brother reid this week he'll tell you that he has met converts in his area of thailand who are the direct descendants of the ministry of adniram judson in burma why because somehow in a rat infested prison he found the grace of god when he could have quit when his wife's body had been sent back to burial united states of america when his children had died with malaria and various diseases when his fellow servants so-called were critical when the government was against him when he had 32 pounds of weight around his ankles when everyone else said quit he kept on going why because of the grace of god in his life church member i don't know what you're going through tonight but i want to tell you that god's grace is sufficient and i want to tell you tonight men that god's grace is sufficient we must have grace for serving we must have grace for suffering sometimes that will come from a godly man in the church brother bundy maybe someone that will say look at i understand i just want to hold up your arms hey we just want to help you out and sometimes god uses human instrumentality but sometimes you'll have to learn as david did to encourage himself in the lord god's grace is sufficient we need grace for serving grace for suffering may i just quickly say grace for sanctification now men the christian life's a holy life we did not lay hands on you tonight so you can go out and start some comedy club for christ the christian life is a holy life people come into church their marriages are hurting their hearts are heavy their grown children aren't doing what they thought their their their teenage children are struggling there's there's problems there's finances there's covet they don't need the tonight show they need to hear from god they need a man of god don't worry about coming down and trying to be cool and be at their level just go ahead and be a man of god the christian life is a holy life and the preacher's first and most important task is not necessarily to prepare a sermon but to prepare himself to be the servant of the most high god first timothy 4 and 16 take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine continue in them for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee did you hear what paul said to timothy he said hey timothy before you start teaching everybody at ephesus how to do it take heed to yourself make sure that you have your personal devotions make sure that your life is what god intends for it to be and grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus christ will not take the time but i encourage you men to read first timothy chapter three the requirements for the pastor the bible says if a man desire they also have a bishop he desires a good work the ministry is work it requires certain qualifications i'm thankful for the platform of our president and i do not say this to be disrespectful to the office but our president is not qualified to pastor a baptist church god says when it comes to someone that stands behind this sacred desk i have some qualifications and he very clearly allows us to understand that the church is not just a business it's not a government entity he gives in first timothy three family qualifications he said i want you to rule your own house well because if you can't take care of your house how can you take care of the house of god he said i want you to be the husband of one wife i want you to be a moral and a godly man and i challenge you men tonight to make your family your first ministry amen i remember speaking years ago to dr adrian rogers about ministry really i had called him about an architectural reference for our building program and he began to speak to me he had cancer at the time i'll never forget he said to me brother chapel remember the church is christ's bride not yours sometimes we get so excited to build the church and do soul winning and go to every birthday party and every event make everybody happy all the time that we forget that we have a family too the church is christ's bride not yours he said they can get another pastor you can't get another wife take heed to yourself take heed to your family there are family qualifications there are social qualifications he said i i don't want you to be giving over to alcohol i don't want you to be someone giving a to a temper keep a good testimony pay your bills invest wisely give generously avoid anger be a leader there are family qualifications there are social qualifications there are moral qualifications and all of this speaks to the need of continually growing in grace as a christian leader we must be strong in the grace of god may i say secondly be strong in the gospel of christ be strong in the gospel of christ the word gospel is so used and overused and misused and abused but may i remind you the gospel is the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ it is why we have this missions conference the world needs to hear the gospel notice verse 2 says and the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also i'm speaking here of the gospel that is of the doctrine of jesus christ first timothy 3 and verse 16 and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifest in the flesh and i love that verse by the way god was manifest in the flesh jesus christ is god in the flesh justified in the spirit scene of angels preached in the gentiles believed on in the world received up in the glory oh listen know the doctrine of christ till i come paul said give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine share the doctrine of christ romans 10 and verse 1 brethren my heart's desire and prayer to god for israel is that they might be saved every city deserves a man of god whose desire for that city is that they might be saved that's why we're here we're not here to have seen inspirations and conferences and and schools and just to do stuff we are here because there is a world that is lost and without jesus christ dr curtis huston often said the only alternative to soul winning is disobedience and you're going to have members they're going to want to talk to you about every kind of a crazy thing they're gonna talk to you about selling amway and selling oil and marching for life and and some of it's good some of it's whatever they're gonna want you to get involved in this club and that club and someone's gonna pull you this way for their favorite song in this way for their favorite song and this way for their favorite preacher and they read this on a website and they're going to find all these different opinions and somebody has got to remind them to keep the main thing the main thing and the main thing is soul winning you're going to be led around by every cause and every person that has an opinion or you're going to be the leader and you're going to be the shepherd and you're going to keep the people focusing on the gospel of jesus christ and it takes the grace of god to keep you there preaching the gospel having the missions conference giving the altar call you see the bringing of one's soul to christ is the highest achievement possible to any human being the great great aspect of any great church is not the building it's not the program it's not the budget it's that people are coming to know jesus christ the doctrine of christ the doctrine secondly not only of the living christ the doctrine of the living word of god second timothy 3 and 16 all scripture is given by inspiration of god it is profitable for doctrine for reprove for correction for instruction oh god is calling you to preach the word god is giving you an infallible and a preserved word it is a word that is for doctrine it's it's a word for reproof it's a word for correction it's a word for instruction god wants you to handle his word to rightly divide his word and let me challenge you men tonight with proverbs 22 and 28 which says remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set men before you start moving those ancient landmarks you need to ask yourself why were they put there in the first place remove not the ancient landmarks stand true to the doctrine stand true to the gospel be strong in the grace of god be strong in the gospel of god and then finally tonight be strong in the gifts of god in the gifts of god second timothy 1 and verse 6. wherefore i put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of god which is in thee by the putting on of my hands when god saves a man any man god places within that man or woman spiritual gifts divine enablements and everyone in the body has a different gift mix each of you four men have a different gift mix but god gives you these divine enablements for his church for the edification of the body of christ first peter 4 and 10. as every man hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of god if any man speak let him speak as of the oracles of god if any man minister let him do that according to the ability which god giveth and that god in all things may be glorified through jesus christ to whom he prays and dominion forever and ever that is to say if someone says hell brother gonzalez you've organized this so wonderfully then then to god be the glory how can i brag on something that god himself gifted me to do it's not me it's god through me and brother bundy what a great message and and brother reed what tremendous linguistic ability whatever it might be remember that every accomplishment in ministry is to the glory of god we see in the word of god that there are serving gifts serving gifts someone would say that the towel and the basin are the symbols of servant ministry philippians chapter 2 and verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god thought it not robert to be equal with god but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant may i say that it's a privilege to preach behind this sacred desk but some days you might be picking up tumbleweeds or washing a church van or visiting a child in the hospital it's not all about the public ministry it's about just being willing to serve god whenever and wherever he calls you to serve there are the serving gifts ministry he says here let a man minister it says in first peter 4 11 there are the leadership gifts you can read them in romans chapter 12 verses 6 through 8. in romans 12 the spiritual gifts are ministry teaching exhorting giving ruling and mercy if you had an entire leadership team made up of those with the gift of mercy you would spend a lot of time doing various merciful acts and charitable acts you may not build a building you may not organize a sunday school you may not have an offering to support the missionaries i'm simply saying discover your gifts and employ them for the work of god and don't compare yourself to someone else who does something differently or maybe in your viewpoint a little better or a little faster you be the man that god called and gifted to do what god wants you to do in the ministry and then there are preaching gifts first peter 4 11 if any man speak let him speak as of the oracles of god the word oracles means the written utterances of god that is to say what matters is not my opinion it's not my story it's not what i think it's what god says and when you speak speak the truth of the word of god paul said in second timothy 4 and verse 2 preach the word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine why for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and those teachers abound they're on the radio they're on the social media they have podcasts and they'll itch they'll tickle your ears and they'll tell you that there's an easier way and they'll make fun of your past and they'll find a way to try to seduce you and we've seen it many times and i want to tell you something that god wants you to be a pastor that's not simply trying to tickle ears and steal sheep from another flock but to preach the word of god and win the lost to jesus christ preach the word he said the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine i challenge these men and i challenge our church be strong in the grace of god the devil's going to try to get you to quit but god's got the strength you need in those discouraging moments be strong in the gospel of god never forget the calling to ministry the centrality of that calling is to preach christ and be strong in the gifts of god he's given you gifts go out and use them to reach your generation with the gospel of jesus christ

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: preaching, sermon, Christian, God, Jesus, Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster Baptist, Pastor Paul Chappell, Paul Chappell, 2 Timothy 2

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Length: 33min 50sec (2030 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 25 2020