If you would take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
tonight I want to focus on just one verse. And that is verse
58. Dr. MacArthur, I saw yesterday
after he performed the funeral memorial service for Glenda Houghton,
he asked me, he said, Steve, what are you going to preach
Sunday night? And I said, 1 Corinthians 15 verse 58. And he said, oh
great, I just preached on that at the funeral service. So I
said, well, great minds think alike, I guess. So, I'm eager to look at just
this one verse and I pray God we'll use it in our lives to
strengthen our resolve in serving the Lord as I read this passage,
the title of this message is, Steadfast Saints in a Changing
World. So I want to read, it's just
one verse, 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58. Therefore, my beloved
brethren. Be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil
is not in vain in the Lord. The ancient city of Pompeii is
well known in history as the Roman city that was literally
buried under an outpouring of volcanic eruption. The date was August 24, 79 A.D.
and Mount Vesuvius blew its top. resulting in one of the most
catastrophic natural disasters that has ever been recorded in
history. Mount Vesuvius spewed deadly...a
deadly cloud of volcanic gas and molten rock and ash at the
rate of 1.5 million tons of debris per second. And this explosion
released thermal energy 100,000 times greater than the atomic
bomb that was dropped on Japan in World War II. Volcanic ash
was blown 21 miles up into the atmosphere. And the result was that the city
of Pompeii was immediately buried in debris anywhere from thirteen
feet deep to as high as twenty feet deep. Human bodies were
literally immediately frozen in suspended action. Some were
found in cellars as if they had run into basements for security. Some were found in upper rooms
of buildings. But one most notable discovery,
as archaeologists have begun to dig, was coming across one
Roman sentinel. He was found buried in ashes
at the city gate where he had been placed to guard the city. And as they peeled back the layers
of the ashes, there he was standing erect with his spear in hand,
guarding his position, not running in the midst of the chaos. There
while the earth shook beneath Him, there while the flood of
ashes and cinders covered Him, He held His position. He stood
His post. And there after two thousand
years, this faithful man was still found as though still on
duty. This is the very kind of resilience
that God requires of each and every one of us that where He
has placed us, there we must hold our position and serve the
Lord. And we are presently in this
age in which we live being buried under an avalanche of cultural
upheaval and rank paganism, under the ashes of a sexual revolution
that is overwhelming the culture in which we live. And nevertheless,
we cannot run to the hills. We must hold our position. We must guard our post. We must
be found faithful in being steadfast in the midst of a changing culture. And as it were, holding the spear
of the Word of God and being a dynamic witness for the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is precisely what Paul says
to the Corinthians as we come to this very well-known chapter
on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and our
resurrection as believers. As we look at this one verse
tonight in verse 58, there are several things that I want you
to note and I want to just walk through this very important verse. as we look at this text, I want
you to note first the conclusion drawn. I want you to note the
very first word of verse 58. It is, This is one of the most important
words in the vocabulary of the Apostle Paul. When Paul says,
therefore, it acts as a bridge that connects what was taught
previous to the application that he will now make. And where this
verse sits at the end of this chapter, what the word, therefore,
signifies is based upon the doctrinal truth that he has laid out in
the previous 57 verses. He comes now to verse 58, and
this word, therefore, leads directly to how this must change our lives. And what we see here is that
doctrine must always be translated into duty. And what we believe
must radically affect our behavior. And what we learn must significantly
transform how we live. Doctrine is practical and it
always leads to how we should live our lives. That is what
Paul is saying as we come to this word, therefore, on the
basis. of this profound theology of
the gospel of Jesus Christ and the resurrection therefore. Great preaching men always gets
to the therefore. Great preaching always has the
bridge that leads to the application, and that is exactly what we see.
I want to draw to your attention some of Paul's therefores in
his writings. If you would turn back to Romans
chapter 12 and verse 1, this is one of the most well-known
therefores that the Apostle Paul ever wrote in his inspired epistles. And we read in Romans 12 and
verse 1, I urge you, brethren, and the
thrust of this is based upon the first eleven chapters in
the book of Romans. It's not enough to just know
the truth. It's not enough to simply have
information, it must lead to transformation and sanctification
and so having laid out His case for the gospel in the first thirteen...first
twelve Excuse me, first 11 chapters, Paul then comes to this critically
important word, therefore, that is a bridge that now leads into
the practical section of the book of Romans. That is not to
say the first 11 chapters are not practical, but Paul spells
it out. He goes from indicatives to imperatives. He goes from simply stating the
truth to now how the truth must be lived. If you come to the
book of Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1 is another
one of Paul's most famous therefores. As you know, the way the book
of Ephesians is laid out, the first three chapters deals with
doctrine. The last three chapters deal
with duty. And it's not either or, it is
both and. Both are critically important
and in that order. Doctrine first, then how we are
to live out the truth of the theology. And so as we come to
Ephesians 4 and verse 1, Paul begins with this very important
word, therefore. And it's been well said, whenever
you see a therefore, see what it's there for. And the word
therefore is like a bridge that connects learning with living. It connects the truth with transformation. And so in Ephesians 4 and verse
1, Paul now makes the transition from the doctrinal section now
to the practical section. And he says in verse 1, therefore
I the prisoner of the Lord implore you. to walk in a manner worthy
of the calling with which you have been called. If you look
at chapter 5 and verse 1, is another very important therefore. Paul is always getting to the
therefore. Paul is always bringing this
down to a bottom line conclusion and putting it in front of the
listeners of his readers and in front of us, therefore this
is how you must live. And so in Ephesians 5 and verse
1. He writes, therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children. You can look up other verses
on your own, Philippians 2 verse 1, Philippians 4 verse 1, and
it's not restricted to Paul, Hebrews 3 and verse 1. Paul would
always come to the therefore and spell out for the reader
and for his listeners how this must affect their daily life. I think I've shared with you
before, but when I studied in my Doctor of Ministry class at
Reformed Theological Seminary, I went there to study under Dr.
R.C. Sproul. And I remember the first class
that was immediately before Dr. Sproul's class. The professor
said to us in class, men, I'm going to come hear you preach
one time, and I'm going to sit on the very front pew. and you're
gonna be halfway into your sermon, and I'm gonna hold up a placard,
and there's gonna be just two words on that placard, and they
are gonna be, so what? Question mark. So what does this
have to do with my life? How should this revolutionize
the way that I'm living? How does this translate into
a shoe leather religion? The word therefore is the so
what of Paul's preaching. And men, as you preach the Word
of God, you men who are in our Doctor of Ministry program, you
must get to the so what. You must get to the therefore.
You must follow the example of the Apostle Paul as well as others
of sacred Scripture. Come back, if you would, please,
to our text of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 58. And the point is very simply
this, all truth that we learn must lead to a therefore in our
daily lives. But I want you to note second,
in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58, not only what we have seen,
the conclusion drawn, but I want you to note second, the compassion
shown. Because Paul, after he says,
therefore, he says, my beloved brethren. That is a term of great
endearment for the Corinthians. Early in this letter in chapter
4 and verse 14, he refers to them as my beloved children.
And in chapter 10 and verse 14, he refers to them very simply
as my beloved. And as Paul is teaching them,
he is affirming to them his love for them. And this is a remarkable
thing because no church was more challenging to Paul to love than
the church at Corinth. The church at Corinth was carnal,
they were immature. The church at Corinth stretched
the very outermost limits of how carnal can someone be and
still be a Christian? How carnal can someone be and
still be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, the church
at Corinth pushed the outermost limits of lordship salvation
and the necessity of repentance. But here Paul refers to them
as brothers and sisters in Christ. And this shows Paul's enormous
love, even as he teaches the truth of the Word of God. And
even with those who caused him the greatest heartache and the
greatest pain, Paul is exemplifying in his own ministry. what he
called for in chapter 13. And just to remind you, in 1
Corinthians chapter 13, Paul said, if I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels but do not have love, I've become a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy
and know all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith
so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. You know how the rest of this
chapter goes, the love chapter. And Paul has taught that without
demonstrating love for those to whom we minister, no matter
how right we are in what we say or what we do, we are nothing
more than a bunch of hot air trying to minister to other people. We must love those who are even
the most difficult for us to love. And so we see the compassion
shown by the Apostle Paul. It is very significant that he
refers to them again as my beloved brethren. And as you think about
people to whom you minister and people whom you are serving,
some people are easy to get along with. Other people are quite
a challenge to get along with. You've heard the saying, to live
up above with those that we love, that will be glory. But to live
down below with those that we know, that's another story. And
it can be challenging to love certain people as we serve them. But we must rise above it by
the grace of God and put our shoulder to the plow and continue
to minister to those who are the most challenging and the
most difficult. Love is patient, love is kind,
love does not take into account a wrong suffered, etc., etc. But I want you to note now, third,
as we look at our text in verse 58, I want to come to what is
the very heart of this passage. Not only the conclusion drawn
and the compassion shown, but please note third, the charge
issued. Notice what Paul says in the
middle of verse 58, and as he writes this, It is addressed
not only to the Corinthians, but it is addressed to each and
every one of us who are beloved brethren. He says, be steadfast,
immovable. This implies that they were in
danger of being moved away from God's will and God's work and
even from God's Word. It shows that Paul would have
to say to them that you've got to be steadfast, you've got to
hang in there as they found themselves in the midst of this godless
culture and godless society in Corinth. but also within the
church with all of the hyper-emotional abuses that were going on inside
the church at Corinth which was a distraction for them as they
were into hyped-up emotion that was preventing them from really
moving out in their ministry for the Lord, Paul must say,
be steadfast, immovable. This is a word for each and every
one of us here tonight, that wherever the Lord has placed
us to serve Him, we must be steadfast and immovable. Now, this word
steadfast is a word that means literally out of the original
language, be seated. It means to be sitting down. And the idea is not being inactive. The idea is not being passive. The idea is to not be so easily
moved around by circumstances or by infatuation. but that you
would have your feet nailed to the floor right where the Lord
has placed you, that you would drop anchor right where you are
and not be daydreaming about another place to serve the Lord
as long as the Lord has placed you right where you are. I love
what Jim Elliot said, that great missionary who was martyred by
the Akka Indians. He said, wherever you are, be
all there. In other words, it's possible
to have your body in a particular location, but your mind is someplace
else. Your heart being drifting away. And the point of what Eliot is
saying is, wherever God has placed you, you need to be seated, you
need to be sitting down, you need to be pouring yourself in
what the Lord has entrusted you to do. This word for steadfast,
it means to be settled. It means to not be like the wave
of the ocean, being tossed back and forth, but to be firmly,
wholeheartedly situated right where God has placed you. This is in The present tense,
it means that we are to be always steadfast. It's in the active
voice, meaning we must take action and take the initiative to be
always steadfast. It's in the imperative mood,
which means it is a command from the Apostle that we must be steadfast
exactly where the Lord has placed you to serve. I remember when
one church search committee approached me about coming to be their pastor. And in the course of that conversation,
they shared how the previous pastor was only there for two
years and he left. And the previous pastor was there
for just a short period of time and he left. And they wanted
to know how I could assure them that if I came, I would be there
and stay there. And I remember they said, we're
looking for a pastor with Jesus in his heart and glue on his
feet. Well, you and I need to have
Jesus in our heart and glue on our feet that we would be steadfast
right where God has placed us. And then he adds this word, immovable.
Do you see that there in your text? Be steadfast. And that is really the same idea
only with greater intensity. It means that we must be firmly
persistent to serve the Lord right where He has positioned
us. Just like that Roman guard when
Mount Vesuvius just blew up. and holding his position. The
word immovable means an inability to be moved. There is great virtue
in holding your position and serving the Lord right where
you are. So I want to ask you this question,
where has the Lord employed you in His kingdom? Where has God,
by His sovereign providence, placed you? Wherever that is,
you need to be all in, and you need to have your shoulder to
the plow, and you need to have your feet nailed to the floor,
and you need to be immovable and to be steadfast, and that
is an apostolic command from the head of the church, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And this begs the question, can
you ever move? from one ministry to another
ministry, and the answer to that is, yes, of course, but you must
be certain that it is God who is moving you and that it is
not you moving yourself. but that it is the invisible
hand of God who is moving you to another place. But until God
moves you to a different ministry, you need to remain steadfast
and you need to remain immovable and that is desirous of the Lord
Jesus Christ for your life. Now, I want you to note fourth.
the constancy required. Please note the next two words
in the New American Standard translation. After he says, therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast immovable, he then says, always
abounding. in the work of the Lord. Always abounding is just one
word in the original Greek and what it means is to super abound. It means to exceed the requirements. It means to do more than would
be expected of you. It means to go the second mile,
to third mile. In a sense, your motto is, whatever
it takes to get the job done, that is what sacrifice I'm willing
to make. That's what this word abounding
means. It means to go over and above
and beyond what would be required. It's not trying to do as little
as possible for the Lord. It is exceeding what would be
the expectation. It means to be an overachiever
in redoubling your efforts for the Lord. And this very word
is used in Philippians 1 verse 9, I pray that your love may
abound still more In other words, what Paul is praying for the
Philippians, however much you're loving right now, you need to
love even more, and not just more, but more and more. In 1 Thessalonians 3, in verse
12, Paul writes, may the Lord cause you to increase and abound
in love for one another. And then he'll say in 1 Thessalonians
4 verse 1, and he'll repeat it again in verse 11, excel still
more. In other words, you're doing
a great job. He affirms the Thessalonians but despite the great job that
they're doing, he says you've got to do more. You've got to
excel still more because the Lord demands the very best that
we would have to give. So he says, always abounding,
not just some of the time, not just when it's convenient, not
just when it's easy, not just when things would work out that
I could do it, but to be always abounding even when there are
obstacles, when it would require greater sacrifice, when it would
be difficult to serve the Lord given the situation, to be always
abounding in the Lord. Notice he says, always abounding
in the work of the Lord. The work of the Lord here refers
to gospel work. It refers to kingdom work. It refers to ministry work. And this word for work is a word
from which we derive the English word energy. In other words,
there is an expenditure of energy on our part as we do the work
of God, as we are steadfast and immovable right where the Lord
has placed us that we're always abounding, we are doing more
than what is required And this work requires extraordinary investment
of energy. God's work always requires an
expenditure of energy. There are no easy places to serve
God. There are no easy assignments. There are no cupcake places to
serve the Lord. They all require sanctified sweat. They all require a burst of energy
that only the Lord can give to us as we put our shoulder to
the plow in the part of the vineyard where the Lord has placed us
that we push by the grace of God forward in the assignment
that He has given to us. And that as long as we are on
this earth, We never retire from God's work. We may retire from
our vocation, but we never retire from the work of the Lord. And
as long as you and I are on planet earth, there is a work that God
has for us to do. Ephesians 2 verse 10 says that
God has foreordained good works for us to walk in. Whatever you
are doing for the Lord, there is still room to abound still
more. Can it be said that any of us
here tonight pray too much? Is there not room for more prayer?
Can any of us here tonight say, you know, I witness for Christ
just too much? I talk about the Lord too much
with unbelievers. Can any of us here tonight say,
you know, I'm just doing too much discipleship? I'm just pouring
my life into other people too much? Probably not. Certainly I don't pray enough.
Certainly I don't witness enough. Certainly I need to abound, yet
more and more in the work of God. And so what Paul is saying
to us is, let us be always abounding in the work of the Lord and not
to be moved away from it, not for there to be distractions
that would prevent us from being steadfast and immovable and to
have our feet nailed to the floor and to be carrying out the work
that the Lord has given to us. One of the chief ways that we
glorify God here upon this earth is by doing the work that the
Lord has given to us to do. God is a working God. We are
made in the image of God. And one way we reflect the image
of God is by joining God in the work that He is doing here upon
the earth as He uses us as His instruments. We bring glory to
God by putting ourselves into the work that He has given us
to do. I want you to note finally, fifth,
the concentration kept. How can we be always abounding
in the work of the Lord? How can we be exceeding the requirements
of what we would perceive for us. How can we go the second
mile? How can we keep pouring ourself
into our duty and into our God-given assignments in the church. How
can elders shepherd the flock with even greater care? How can
deacons give their life away yet even more? How can Sunday
school teachers pray more, study better? How can nursery workers,
how can those of us who go out into the community and witness
for Christ in hospitals and in prisons and in jails? How can we be always abounding
in the work of the Lord? Well, the answer is at the end
of verse 58. This is the how of the so what. This is...this is what is required
if we are to fulfill this charge. He says, knowing. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast and movable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing." You've got to know something.
You've got to have your mind fixed on something. You've got to have a perspective.
You've got to have an outlook. You've got to have a mindset,
knowing that your toil is not in vain. in the Lord, that every
sacrifice is a wise investment on your part. No matter how small
it may be perceived, no matter how unseen it may be by human
eyes, your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Let's look at these
individual words. First of all, the word toil. Knowing that your
toil... That's a Greek word that means
to labor to the point of exhaustion. I think back to when I used to
play football and there would be times in certain games as
the game would come down to the very end of the last play of
the game, to be so exhausted because you have given every
ounce of energy that you have to give. that your teammates
literally have to come alongside of you and put your arm around
their neck and help you even get off the field and help you
get back onto the bus because you've got nothing left to give.
And just like some of these marathon runners as they go through the
finish line and they just collapse. They have nothing left to give.
That's what this word toil pictures. It means an intense, all-consuming,
all-demanding, all-giving effort that the expenditure of the effort
and the energy in your service of the Lord. He says it's not
in vain. The word vain means empty. of no effect, but it has the
negative not in front of it. In reality, this is a double
negative. It's a figure of speech known as laieties. It's like
Romans 1 verse 16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. That is Paul's
intense way, using a figure of speech of saying, I am fired
up for the gospel. I am excited for the gospel.
I am enthusiastic for the gospel. For him to use a double negative,
not ashamed. That's exactly what Paul is doing
here when he says, not in vain. That's a way of saying in an
amplified way is that our toil is highly profitable. It is a
valuable investment of your time and your talent and your treasure,
no matter how small it may be. It is not in vain. It is not in vain because God
sees it and because God knows it and because God remembers
it and because God uses it. And because God rewards it, this is the concentration of
focus that we must keep if we are to be always abounding in
the work of the Lord, that every sacrifice, every expenditure,
every presentation of myself to go beyond what would even
be reasonably accepted...expected in order to get the job done
in ministering to someone else, Paul says to you and to me, it
is not in vain. And it will all come out on the
last day as the Lord is keeping impeccable records And the Lord
Jesus said, behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with
Me to give to every man according to his work. Right now, as R.C. Sproul says, counts forever,
every expenditure of energy. And who is the greatest example
of this? The greatest example of this is none other than the
Son of God, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ in His earthly
days here upon the earth. We are to follow Him. And as
we follow Him, we follow His pace and His labor and His tireless
effort. In John chapter 4 and verse 34,
Jesus said, my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and
to accomplish His work. Jesus was saying that the work
of God strengthens Him, it sustains Him, it satisfies Him, it is
the fuel in part within His heart and soul to know that His life
is counting for the mission that the Father has given to Him and
sent Him into this world. As you and I do the work that
has been assigned to us, there is a sense of strength that we
draw from that. The more that we give, the more
that we have, it's just like an athlete. If all you do is
sit on a sofa and do nothing, you'll have no strength. You'll
have no energy. But if you will get up and work
out and run and lift weights and push yourself, you will have
greater strength, you'll have enlarged lungs, you will have
endurance and stamina simply because you have gotten up and
given yourself to training. The same is true in the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ. that the more that we give ourself
to the Lord, it is like our food. It gives us strength. And one
reason why some are so weak in their faith and so weak in their
Christian life is they are a spiritual cul-de-sac absorbed unto themselves
and they are not giving themselves away to others. The more you
give in the work of the Lord, the more it comes back to you.
And Jesus said in John 5 and verse 36, the works, plural,
the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish. Jesus
was consciously aware that during His days here upon the earth
that there were works that the Father had given to Him to do
even before His finished work upon Calvary's cross. And in John 9 in verse 4, Jesus
said to His disciples, we must work the works of Him who sent
me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can
work. Please note, Jesus did not say,
I must work the works of Him who sent me. He said, we must
work the works of Him who sent me as long as it is day. A sense of urgency. about doing
the Lord's work now. And in John 17 verse 4, as Jesus
came to the end of His life, that great high priestly prayer,
Jesus prayed to the Father as He turned His eyes to heaven,
and Jesus prayed, I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished
the work that You have given to me to do. It glorifies God
to fulfill in full the purpose and the assignment that the Lord
has given to us. And upon the cross, His last
words, it is finished. The work of redemption was accomplished
as Jesus labored and toiled upon Calvary's cross in order to accomplish
our salvation. And in this sense, beloved, we
are saved by works. You are saved by the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. His sinless life and His substitutionary
death, it required work on His part. And He now calls us to
follow Him as we do the work that has been entrusted to us.
Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain. As I bring this
message to a conclusion, I want to ask this question, how are
we to be doing God's work? I want to give you some words
to help define how we are to be doing God's work. Here is a so what. Number one, urgently. We must
have a sense of immediacy about doing God's work. Not next month,
not next season, not next year, now, this moment. Tonight, this week, we must be
doing the Lord's work now. And one reason is because just
a few verses earlier in verse 52, he said, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet
will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we
will be changed. Christ could come back at any
moment. When He returns, we don't want to be on the sidelines.
We don't want to be sitting on the bench. We don't want to be
up on the grandstands. We want to be down on the field.
We want to be all in. We want to be serving the Lord
when the Lord comes back. And He could come back at any
moment. We must be serving the Lord now, urgently, second, wholeheartedly. with our whole heart, not simply
going through just empty motions of rote routine. Colossians 3
verse 23 says, do your work heartily. That means from the depth of
your soul and not just superficially showing up but that your heart
is in it. Third. upwardly, meaning that
what we do, it is for the Lord. We don't do this ultimately for
ourselves and we don't do it even ultimately for the people
that we serve. We do our work as unto the Lord. In Colossians 3 and verse 23,
the same verse, Paul writes, do your work as for the Lord
rather than for men, and then says, it is the Lord Christ whom
you serve. Even when you serve others around
you in the assignment that the Lord has given to you, You ultimately
are serving the One who has enlisted you and placed you in this place. Ultimately, we serve the Lord. Fourth, humbly. We must serve
the Lord humbly. Whose work is this? This isn't
our work. Ultimately, this really isn't
even our church. It's God's work. It's God's ministry. It's God's church. All that we
do to serve the Lord is in reality a fulfillment of His work and
His assignment. Fifth, discerningly. And we must
discern and detect what the will of God is, where He wants us
in the vineyard to be carrying out His assignment. We don't
want to be doing what the Lord never assigned to us to do, sick
sacrificially. We must make great sacrifice
whenever we serve the Lord. There's an old saying we used
to say in football, no pain, no gain. You've got to pay the
price if you want to be on the winning team. You've got to sacrifice. You've got to pour yourself into
what you're doing. And the same is true with ministry. Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes
nothing. It is ministry in which we are
toiling That leads to triumph. Seventh, selfishly, selflessly,
excuse me, forget I said that. selflessly. We never serve the
Lord to draw attention to ourself. We never serve the Lord to put
us in the spotlight. We never serve the Lord in order
to be seen by men. We're not like the Pharisees
who pay their tithes publicly so that all could hear and give
our prayers publicly. No, we...we...we want Christ
in the spotlight. We want Christ in the place of
preeminence. We want everyone to see Christ
as we carry out this assignment. It is for the fame of His name,
not for us. Eighth, patiently. As we do God's
work, we must remember that our reward is not in this lifetime.
There will be pleasure. There will be encouragement.
But we must remember there is a sense of delayed gratification.
that our reward is in the world to come. Ninth, enduringly. We must never give up. We must
never give in. We must persevere in what He
has given us to do. And I must add tenth and finally,
dependently. It is by His grace and by the
strength that the Lord gives to us. It is in our weakness
that His grace is perfected and matured. We serve the Lord in
the ability that He gives to us. And there is a sense in which
as we consider what is required of us, we say, who is adequate
for this? And the answer is none of us
are adequate for this, but He makes us adequate. And there
is no greater joy than to know that we're being used by God
to carry out His purposes, that my life is counting for time
and eternity, that my life is attached to something bigger
and greater than me, that I am pouring myself into the eternal
kingdom of God and being used by the Lord. What joy fills and
floods our hearts as we serve the Lord. You're familiar with the name
William Carey, father of the modern missions movement. In 1793, he left England, never
to return again, to go to the mission field for over 40 years. to never even take a sabbatical.
Even David Livingston came back from the heart of Africa once. But as Cary went to India, he was steadfast. He was immovable. And he did not see his first
convert for seven years. The average person today, after
a few months, would have said, this obviously is not God's will
for my life. I'm misinvesting my life. William
Carey was immovable. And after seven years, he saw
his first convert. Then his son, Peter, died on
the mission field. His wife, Dorothy, suffered a
nervous breakdown. His fellow missionaries died. Then his wife, his first wife
died. But he remained steadfast. He
remained immovable right where God had placed him. And he remarried
a second time and his second wife died. He translated the
Bible into the Sanskrit language. There was a fire in the factory
where it was being printed and his work of multiplied years
went up in smoke. Then his other son died. There were divisions within the
work and disharmony. This man never left the mission
field. This man never left the work
of God because he believed that God had placed him there and
he was there by divine appointment and he would not be moved until
God Himself would move him. There he stayed for the next
forty-three years and he was asked what was the success of
his mission. And he said these three words. I can plod. He wasn't the fastest. He wasn't
the brightest. He was just the most steadfast.
He was just the most immovable. And he summarized the success
of his work by, I can hang in there. I can endure. I can press on. I can plod. As I bring this message to conclusion,
I want to ask you, where has the Lord placed you to serve
Him? What is the assignment that you have received from Him? There's
not a one of us here tonight who is in Christ but that God
from before the foundation of the world has pre-scripted good
works for you to do. There is a task, there is an
assignment for you. There is a place in the vineyard
and a place in the kingdom where you to put your shoulder to the
plow and pour yourself into the work of God to the point you've
got nothing left to give, that you are exceeding the requirements
of what would be so desired. Where has the Lord placed you? And how can you depend upon His
grace? How can you trust? and the inner working of the
Holy Spirit in your life to cause you to super abound in the work
of God. It will be in part by accomplishing
the work that He has given to you to do that you will bring
glory and honor and praise to Him. as you expend much energy
in the service of the Lord. If you're here tonight without
Christ, there's no way that you can work your way to heaven.
There is only One who can do the work for you. And that is
the Lord Jesus Christ. And what you need to know is
that He came into this world and He lived a sinless life in
your place. He met all the requirements of
the law that you have broken again and again and again. And
He went to the cross and He was lifted up to die and He bore
the sins of His people. that all who would put their
faith and trust in Jesus Christ on the basis of His work on our
behalf, there is forgiveness of sin and there is the righteousness
that He has secured to be given to you. If you've never put your
trust, if you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ, He says,
come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest for your souls, for my burden is easy and my yoke is light. May you flee to Christ tonight. Him who comes unto me," he said,
"'I will in no wise cast out.'" Let us pray. As heads are bowed at the close
of this prayer, for any who would like to talk to a counselor tonight,
to my right, to your left, or two doors, elders will be there,
godly men, humble men who would love to show you how to commit
your life to Christ, to talk with you further, to answer questions,
to pray with you. And if you have never entered
in to the rest of the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in His work
alone to save you, I would urge you, do not leave here tonight
without doing business with God. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day of salvation. Father in heaven, thank You. for the work that You've given
to us to do, the tasks, the assignments. And Lord, we want to glorify
Your name by carrying out Your gospel work, Your kingdom work
here upon the earth. I pray that You give us clarity
of understanding what it is that You would have us to do. And
may we pour ourself into Your work in such a way. that we have
nothing left to give. May we know the pleasure and
the joy of giving ourselves sacrificially to Your work. In Jesus' name,
amen.