Download we are a rich church - Knysna Baptist Church

-1-
A Call to Prosperity, 3 John 1:1-8
1 September 2013
This morning I want to thank you for your contribution to the
ministry of this church – and I’m going to plead with you to continue,
wholeheartedly, and even give more. Money, time, prayer, hands,
assistance, whatever.
This morning is a call by me for you to be extravagant in your service to God –
because I wholeheartedly believe this is His will – and that as you are
extravagant toward Him, you will become prosperous. (This is the True
Prosperity Gospel)
Not because I’m the pastor and this is my job and where I get a salary from. I
gave up my IT career because I was fully convinced that was the best way I
could be of service to Him. We’ll see today that that is not the only way.
In 3 John 1:2 John calls Gaius a prosperous man – prosperous in his
soul, and the reason for is that John has identified in Gaius, that the Truth of
Jesus has become owned by him, and ultimately Gaius has became owned by
it. That is Prosperity – being saturated by the Truth to the point that it
controls us… That is Prosperity because it produces Treasure that
never fades.
Don’t you want that prosperity of soul?
My desire is that the ministry of Knysna Baptist Church becomes consuming
in your life. Not because you have to fit into a program, but that your life
becomes consumed with the Truth of the Gospel, and this church be the
enabler for the resultant ministry.
My desire is that the ministry of Knysna Baptist Church will not just be a place
to go to on Sunday morning, but a hub of spiritual nurturing and fuelling
which God is using for excellent and eternal purposes.
My desire is that at the end of your life you will remember Knysna Baptist
Church, not because the church was anything amazing in itself, but because
through this little church you had witnessed the power of God as soul after
soul after soul was netted into His Kingdom.
My desire is that your desire to be God’s servant will be fulfilled to the max in
this place.
Imagine that offer of support to serve the Lord. That is mine! And I want to
offer the same to you.
We arrived in 2009 – a church of about 60 attendants. If my vision was to see
an exponential growth, I would be disheartened. What is God’s vision for the
church? Will He grow us in number or will we always remain this small? I
don’t know. But what I DO know, God’s Vision for the church is that
we be STEWARDS of His Glory. And that is what we’ve seen in 1 Timothy.
We won’t be that glorious church if we aren’t Stewards!
-1-
-2Sometimes we talk about the 3 E’s of church ministry: Exaltation,
Edification, Evangelism. In each of these areas we ought to be
EXTRAVAGANT, because we are serving an extravagant God. Our hearts
given to each ‘E’.
Recently in 2013 we formed a Strategic Working Group … because it has
become apparent that the 3rd E – EVANGELISM in this ministry, is now
budding… already blossoming – the Spring of the Gospel… and we trust it
will bloom in a full Prosperous Gospel Summer, if we will only be
extravagant towards God and His Gospel.
The approach of the SWG continues to be: to identify where God is working
with His gospel, where hearts are stirred to reach out, where opportunities for
the gospel are ripe like a white harvest; And to identify what resources He has
given us, in people, money, materials; And bring the two together. (and you
might be one of those two)!
3 John 1:7-8 – captures this philosophy
(7) … they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting
nothing from the Gentiles.
(8) Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may
be fellow workers for the truth.
those who are serving the Gospel ought to be supported. The SWG wants to
stir the church to support people like these.
- where there is an extravagant going out for Jesus’ Name,
there should be a worthy support – see (v6), “worthy of God!”
we are a small church
but we are also a rich church, in real terms – when it comes to resources for
advancing the Gospel, we are very rich (compared to Bongi’s church who
struggle to hire chairs for their evangelistic outreach this week. we have access
to virtually unlimited resources via the Internet. we have Augustine
bookroom. we have money to host a pastors conference, provide Sunday
school curricula. we have contacts in seminaries, mission organisations,
business… )
– We are rich, and able… and so this passage is for us: we ought to support
those who ‘go out’ for the sake of ‘the Name’.
Notes for v7-8:
A. Extravagance is ultimately for the Gospel
-
they are going out “for the Name”, which is the same as “working for
the truth”
-2-
-3-
John 18:37 For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come
into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.
-
The Ultimate Truth: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Christ came
in the Flesh. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1
John)
-
Although we talk about being stewards of all sorts of things,
ultimately, we are Stewards of the Gospel.
o The extravagant contribution we make – financial, time,
prayer, hands, assistance, whatever – is so that the Gospel
can be stewarded!
B. Prosperity is not only for missionaries!
(8) that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
-
I said earlier that John called Gaius a prosperous man. See 1:2.
The particular place God assigns you in His plan doesn’t increase or
diminish your prosperity. You can be a missionary, or a supporter, but
you will be a fellow worker either way
Gaius: An unlikely ‘worker’… not a missionary, evangelist, pastor…
The reason John called him prosperous is not his particular place in
God’s plan, but his ownership of the Truth in His Own Life
- v3: testified to your truth
Application
I said, “Don’t you want that prosperity of soul?”.
A prosperous soul comes from being saturated by the Truth to the
point that it controls us… - The Truth of Jesus controlling our decisions and
our actions… That is Prosperity because it produces Treasure
that never fades.
-
We are rich, but we will prosper in our souls when we give
ourselves extravagantly for the gospel (Money, time, prayer,
hands, assistance, whatever).
- cf Matt 6:19,20,33a
Do not store up for yourselves riches that will perish… But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness =
o True Worldview, true importance, true urgency. Putting the
lenses on. The Gospel. (Seeing the Lost, the Living and the Lord
of the Harvest and interpreting life and people through those
-3-
-4lenses. Crowds in the office, on the sportsfield, stadium, traffic,
shopping malls)
-
(Luke 16:1-9, Shrewd with the Truth (i.e. Gospel)! And everything that
supports it.)
-
Particularly written for the normal run-of-the-mill member. Not
the missionary. Urged to participate with the missionary!
o Give yourself over. Come with eyes opened (baptismal service,
watch, visit, learn)
o Gaius’ work was:
 abnormal ('even strangers') (5)
 costly ('receive such' ESV:support) (8). There is always a
cost, because it’s work! See it for what it is! Christ our
example.
 beautiful ('you do well') (6). Producing testimony
This morning is a call by me for you to be extravagant in your service to God –
because I wholeheartedly believe this is His will, and your soul will become
prosperous in every way… investing in eternal treasures
Our positioning as a church and members…
-
Harvest among black churches
o funeral church plant
o conversion crusade
C.E. by Chansa
Daphne – evangelism
Youth and parents
Our own facilities, for training and ministry (Leadership training –
Help!)
MISSIONS WEEKEND!
Our church is small, but we are rich – Rich in resources… Imagine what can
be achieved through this ministry. We may remain small in footprint, but
create ripples into Eternity.
-4-