Theological department dedication sermon held on 20 April 2015
Text: 1 Cor 9:16-27
I have a friend who is pastor in the Kgalagadi Desert in Botswana. A very tall and interesting man. When somebody asked him how long he took to prepare for a certain sermon, he answered that it took him 35 years, referring to his time in the ministry.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is a great privilege for me to share with you a message that the Lord has planted in my heart, a message that is not new, or just for tonight, but a message that was planted in my heart already 33 years ago.
There are many reasons that people preach the gospel of the Lord. Many people do it for money. When I was a pastor In Botswana I was selling my Japanese Import vehicle, and buying another second hand one every year, because I did a lot of distance on the vehicles, and the vehicles were very affordable. One of the children in the congregation approached me, and said that he wanted to be a minister, because I drive a new vehicle every year!
Others may bring the gospel for status. In the time of Paul the apostles, who were disciples of Jesus, were called apostles. We know that Paul was not a disciple of Jesus, but that he was an apostle in the true sense of the word, (slide 1), in the sense that he was sent by God to the nations, to bring the Word to all people, far and wide. But Paul's authority and status was in question, because he was not one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
Some people study theology because they think they can please God by following him, and others because they think that they can solve their own spiritual and emotional problems by studying to become a pastor him or herself. You can just imagine how a pastor or congregation will suffer when these problems have not been solved, but even escalated into bigger problems!
Some people will say that they preach because they want to! They enjoy it to preach! It is always nice to see somebody that is enjoying what he or she does! But all of us knows that preaching is not always fun. So often preaching is real hard to do. Not because the voice of God is not clear, but because we are concerned about the crowd, rather than the will of God.
I believe that we have so much to learn from the apostle Paul in this regard. In verse 16 of 1 Cor 9 he states clearly that preaching is a calling to him! He is compelled by the Lord to preach… And that is Paul's reason for serving the Lord! He has a heavenly, supernatural calling!
This calling makes such a difference in the life of Paul. He does not even demand remuneration. He views himself as a slave in charge of the household of God (oikonomos), who takes responsibility for the proper managing of the household. His remuneration does not lie in any monetary reward, but being part of what God is doing. In a sense Paul's refusal of remuneration shows the fact that he takes ownership of God's household. Not in any way denying God's Lordship over the house, but really taking charge and responsibility over the believers that he ministered to.
But this ownership does not accumulate status. It is actually the other way round. The more Paul takes responsibility, the more humble he becomes. Part of taking responsibility means that he becomes a slave in verse 19 to really serve the fellow believers. Paul does not only become a servant, as many translations state. He becomes a slave, and empties himself to make a difference in so many other people's lives.
Paul becomes a Jew to the Jews, he becomes weak for those not under the law to win them for Christ. Paul becomes everything for everybody to win them for Christ. This is so different that what we are seeing in our country at the moment. There are so many selfish motives amongst culture and political groups, and people are really struggling to look beyond themselves and their own interests.
The well-known George Bernard Shaw once said:
- "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
- I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
Theologians are often prone to get stuck in ivory tower theology, a theology that becomes totally detached from the real contexts in which we lived. When we were students we often joked about university as a place where you learn all the more about all the less, and end up knowing everything about nothing.
Therefore it is important that theological activity, to my view, should always be anchored in the real world. We need messengers of the gospel that become weak to the weak, and incarnate the world, and make a difference to those who are suffering.
Paul is doing all of this, to be a part of God's unfolding plan, to take part in the proclamation of the Word. Just being part of the wonderful experience of spreading the gospel, makes it worthwhile to Paul. One of the mottos of the Hillsong Church in Australia is that it is not the part we play, but what we are part of. That is very important to keep that in mind throughout your life.
In all of this perseverance and discipline is of the utmost importance. Especially as students of God's Word we need to bring our own bodies and minds under control. We need to follow through in our calling, in order to receive the prize. Paul in a sense denies his remuneration and offers the gospel free of charge, because he desires the eternal prize, the crown at the end of the race. Denying earthly rewards, and sacrificing so many things, is worthwhile in the light of the heavenly reward.
I know that many students in this department are studying part time, doing another work as their way of earning a living. In days where you may experience hardships, you can look back at Paul and his attitude in his ministry. That he endured everything, and persisted, in order to share in the fruit of the gospel. I believe that all who are faithful will see the fruit of their ministry, on earth, and one day in heaven.'
Paul places a major emphasis on perseverance. He states that all messengers of the gospel must make sure that they do not call others to the race, but be disqualified themselves. We are often relieved when we delivered a sermon, and think that our job is done. According to Paul our job actually starts after the sermon has been delivered. It is important that we do not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk. May we be faithful in the way that we also adhere to the message that we have been preaching to others.
There is a story of a preacher who preached to thousands of people in a stadium. Taking the bus on his way to the hotel, the bus driver gave him too much change. As he walked to the back of the bus, he counted his money, and realised that he was given too much change. Since it was only a small amount, he briefly pondered about just pocketing the extra change.
But he decided to turn back though the other passengers entering the bus, and returned the excess change to the driver. The driver replied that he recognised the preacher from the service earlier that night, and wanted to test the preacher to see if his money was where his mouth was. Often the success of our ministry is connected to our personal integrity.
Conclusion
I conclude with the story of the young, energetic pastor delivering his exam sermon. Full of himself he raced up the steps of the pulpit, only to trip on the last step, and falling onto the pulpit. All of his sermon papers got mixed up, and he stuttered and stumbled throughout the sermon. Eventually the young man stepped down from the pulpit with a head bowed down very low. As they entered the vestry, a wise old elder told him – "dear young man, if you ascended the pulpit in the same way that you stepped down, you would have come down in the same way you ascended it!"
A missionary in Africa, Coillard of the Zambezi, said the following, looking back at his ministry:
''A friend told me one day, 'Thou are the foot of the Church, and wherever you go the Church goes with you.' 'Oh,' I said, ' that is beautiful! The feet of the Church, that is the lowest part of the body, that treads in the mud very often, and in the dust, and if the feet of the Messengers of Peace are so very beautiful in the sight of God and of the angels, what most be the body? And if the body is so beautiful and so glorious, what must be the Head?'
May God forgive me! If I had known how to love, how different my ministry would have been! It seems to me that it is only now I have some slight glimpses of what love is: "true love, the love of God which loves unselfishly, without calculation, without response; which loves in spite of hostility, ingratitude, or even hatred. God is love. May God live in me, that I may live with Thy life and love with Thy love."
Paul also describes in Philippians 2 how Jesus became a slave in order to serve us. May we allow Him to live in us, that we may live with His live and love with His love.
