Walking Together in the Kingdom

Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically from the audio and may contain small errors.

Well, I want to introduce to you Scott Whitson, and Scott is our Director of Missions for the Southwest Metroplex Baptist Association, of which our church is a member. And so, our church, as Southern Baptists, we cooperate with other local churches, and Scott does a lot of the heavy lifting to help all those churches work together and network. Dr. Scott Whitson—I I know he's probably a little embarrassed if I call him that, but he is a doctor. He grew up as a missionary kid in Tanzania, is that right? And he's been serving faithfully here through the Southwest Metroplex Bats Association. And so Scott and his wife, Leslie, were actually here my first Sunday, January 5th of 2020 in support. And so Scott does a lot of work that's behind the scenes that nobody sees. And Leslie wants to say amen, but she can't too loudly, because it's just bad. But he does a lot of work behind the scenes just to help churches stay healthy, to help

churches be smart about their decisions, resource them in any way that he can. And so I know that I have personally felt extremely welcomed by Scott and the Southwest Metroplex Baptist Association, and that has been a wonderful service to our church. So if you would, would you please welcome up Scott Whitsom with a big hearty Amen. Well, good morning church. It is good to see you. Thank you, Pastor Drew. I like myself more now after that introduction. Wow, thank you so much. And for the Offertory and the Prelude worship music, thank you so much. That was just a blessing. Noah, great to connect with you. Welcome. I'm glad I'm not the only guest here in church this morning, but it is a joy to be with you. And there's just some things I wanna share with you today. And so pastor, thank you so much for the high privilege it is for me to come and to occupy this space for a few moments this morning.

I don't take that lightly. And it really is a pleasure. This is one of the great joys that I find is just being able to fellowship with God's people. Because as I travel across the county, my wife and I are in different churches about every Sunday, we realize this, in every church, there are people who just truly love the Lord. And we have different ways of expressing it. There are different values that we hold onto and how we do church and what it looks like. And yet, God is in the midst of it all and God is working. And today, I want to just share with you some thoughts that have been very close to my heart. But as I was thinking about our gathering this morning, I was just thinking about a story I'd heard about a man who had kind of come to quite a despairing moment in his life. And he just thought to himself, you know, life isn't worth living. And so he found the tallest bridge that he could go to,

and he was planning to jump off it. And right at that moment, as he was about to jump off it, this other man walks up to him and he says, don't do it. The guy who was about to jump said, Well, why not? Nobody loves me. And the man said, but God loves you. Do you believe in God? And the jumper said, well, yes. And the man said, well, me too. He then asked the man that was about to jump, are you a Christian or are you a Jew? And the jumper said, well, I'm a Christian. And the man said, me too. Remarkable. Are you Protestant or Catholic? The man said, well, I'm Protestant. He said, this is amazing. I am too. Well, what denomination are you? Baptist. He said, oh, holy coincidences of all. I too am a Baptist. So let me ask you this, are you a Northern Baptist or a Southern Baptist? The jumper said, well, I'm Northern Baptist. And the man said, amazing, me too. Now, Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist? To

which the man said, Northern Conservative Baptist. And the man replied, I can't believe this, I am too." Then he asked the man about to jump. He said, now are you Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes region or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern region? And the man said, Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes region. And the man replied, amazing, I am too. The man then asked, now are you a Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes region council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes region council of 1912, and with newfound enthusiasm and excitement, the jumper said, Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912, to which the man who heard that when he had walked up said, Die, you heretic, and pushed him over. I don't know, perhaps, how appropriate that kind of humor is in today's culture, but I find it remarkable how it mirrors the divisions we often have

in our lives and in our communities, which sadly is often reflected in the church. Maybe you haven't been in a church where there's never been any division. I would like to hear about that church. As my dad used to remind me, where one or two are gathered, one or more has a problem. I find that age-old wisdom still true in our day. How quick we are to draw lines around ourselves and to consider our brand, our tribe, our own peculiar interpretation of this or that to be the only way. You know, this morning I want to invite us to think a little bit more deeply about what it means to work together for the Kingdom of God. It might surprise you to learn, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, there will not be a special place reserved just for Southern Baptists or Northern Baptists or those in the assembly of God Church or the Methodist Church, but know all who profess Jesus as Lord, we will

be there together. And so how is it that we come so quickly to draw these lines around ourselves? How is it that we can come to the conviction that we actually don't need one another? I find it amazing and quite disturbing in our day of more connectedness than ever before. It seems as if we are becoming more disconnected from one another. Not only in our neighborhoods, but in our families, and often even so in our churches. Dr. Drew has already introduced me as the director of the Baptist Association. I'm proud he could get the name correct. People tongue-tie that quite frequently. Southwest Metroplex Baptist Association. It didn't always used to be called that. The fact when the Association was founded back in 1864, it was identified as the Alvarado Baptist Association. You see, a group of Christians came together under the conviction that God wanted churches to be

planted in little towns all across this area so that people would have a place to go and worship. And so five churches gathered there in Alvarado in 1864 and they formed what we know now as our own Baptist Association. Only two of those those five churches are still in existence today. First Baptist Alvarado and Bethesda Baptist Church. And all of the Southern Baptist churches in Johnson County that you drive around and see on any given day like today are there because there were people who believed that community needed a gospel witness.

There were churches that banded and worked together to establish those churches. In fact, when I think about your own church history, perhaps you're not aware of some of the things that led to our gathering here today. Back in 1970, our association borrowed the whopping sum of $5,000 so that we could buy this five-acre piece of property. This was long before Hidden Creek existed. was simply known as County Road 716. And the land sat there with payments being made for almost 10 years before a young planter in February of 1979 known as Jim Stevens was identified. And the vision began to eventually take birth. Along with groups in the association, First Baptist Burleson had members that came out. students participated and they surveyed and discovered 203 homes in this vicinity. One third of them identified themselves as Baptist in background but had no place of

worship. They were not attending anywhere. And so Stevens along with First Baptist Burleson and long as the association decided that a a new church was needed on this side of Burleson. And so in February of 1979, Jim Stevens began working. And by March, they had their first service within a year, by May of that year, actually. This church was running 48 in Sunday school and 50 in worship. And not long after that, by September, the church was running 65 in worship. You see, God was helping the church to grow. People were being saved. They were being added to the church. And then finally, the church took out a $175,000 loan, which 1st Baptist Burleson co-signed the note for. You know what co-sign means? That means they're holding it, right? But they co-signed on the note for this church to be built. And although there were moments of great celebration and high standing like the time you joined

the association and when Dr. Ed Schmeltikoff preached out here on October 12th in 1980, almost 40 years ago to this day, celebrating the plant that God had established here and the work that was beginning and beginning to flourish and to grow, there would also come seasons of great difficulty and hardship. Like some of you long timers perhaps were members at that time. I don't know David when you joined this church. You look old enough to have been here ever since the beginning but I know David okay so he deserves everything that comes at him. Okay there you go. It was before Kent Shirley's time. In fact you've had seven pastors in the life of this church. But there were struggles even though there were highs. And early as 1985, the church was already in default on its loan. But your association stepped in with financial assistance to help you get caught up and to

sustain you for a season so that the church could land on firm footing. Within a year, however, the financial struggles returned. And so the state convention that you are a part of, Texas Baptist, First Baptist Burleson, the association all stepped in financially to help things stabilize, to make sure you had enough income so that the debt could be paid and the work could continue to progress. There would be other challenges and perhaps you already know about all of those and yet one of the most significant challenges occurred in 1997 when the church burned to the ground. But once the insurance had been paid off, the volunteer Christian builders rolled in with their workers and RVs and they went to work and churches from all across the county supplied meals and they brought in and provided for the workers. And little by little, the building began to take shape and it was eventually completed.

And so here we are today. I give you this history for two reasons. First, you simply might not be aware of the story behind this church. It gives you some insight into where you have come from and what God has been doing over the years. And it's amazing, isn't it? Second, I give you this because it illustrates what I want to just touch on briefly this morning. That you cannot help but realize that this church is a product of combined efforts of of people working together, of shared vision, of individuals and organizations pulling their resources and their efforts so that a church could be established here today, that a gospel presence might be firmly rooted here, and that this would be a place where people within your community, even in walking distance, would have the opportunity to come and to hear the good news that Jesus still saves. You see, you exist today because there were people deeply in the past who believed that

God wanted something significant to happen here. So the word that I want to just implant in your mind, in your spirit for just a few moments, is a word quite honestly that I feel we have lost something of. It is the word partnership. The dictionary defines a partnership as a person associated with another or others in some activity of common interest, and a relationship usually involving close cooperation between parties having specified joint rights and responsibilities. In the Bible, the word that is used for partnership is one that you are no doubt familiar with, for it can also be translated fellowship. It's called koinonia. It's used throughout the pages of Scripture. And it simply refers to an association involving close mutual relations and involvement to join with others in some activity, especially with a close bond, a two-sided relationship that

involves both participation and fellowship. And so it's partnership, it's fellowship. it's translated as participation, other times it's translated as unity. It's an idea that is woven throughout the Scriptures. We find that we have koinonia with God. We have koinonia with the Son. We have koinonia with the Spirit. We have koinonia with the Trinity through the observance of the Lord's Supper. We are to have Koinonia, this fellowship, partnership with one another. If you have your Bible for just a brief moment, I want us to turn to Acts 16. And let this be a launching point, a foundational thought to just lead us into a broader understanding of the value and importance of partnership. It says beginning in verse 1, Paul and Silas, Paul also came to Derby and to Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. But his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. And Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him. And so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places. For they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and the elders who were in Jerusalem. That's back in Acts chapter 15. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily. Here we have Paul and Silas and Timothy now joining together in their missionary enterprise. And they're continuing to expand the good news of the gospel to areas that had never heard about Jesus and didn't know what it meant to follow Him and to tell them simply the message that Jesus bid them tell, the kingdom of God has come. And to inform them how they can be a part of that great kingdom.

You're no doubt familiar with the missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas and then Paul in Silas and here we have this team of believers going out carrying the good news of Jesus working together. We see that Luke joins them. In fact, a little bit later in verse 10 we see apparently that the physician Luke joins in now in this missionary endeavor. Truly, they began to work together and it says the result was the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. I've often reflected why Jesus prayed in John 17, Father, I pray that you would make them one, even as we are one. Then the world will believe that you sent me. You see, there is something profoundly important that takes place when the people of God, churches, work together in unity for the kingdom. It is this core foundational idea that I'm identifying this morning as partnership,

as fellowship, as unity, as participation working together. So my premise today is that we can do more together than we could ever do by ourselves. And you as a church can go farther and faster and do more for the Kingdom when you partner and work with other like-minded believers who are equally devoted to the gospel, the good news of Jesus, than you could ever possibly do on your own. We see this modeled not only in the Trinity, we see it modeled not only in the early missionary enterprise, but we're instructed that this is to be a way of life for us, where we are to work together, following the example that Scripture gives. Oh, you know the rest of the story of Acts chapter 16. Time eludes us to go through all of the story where they were going into Asia and the spirit forbid them. Then Paul had the dream, the vision of a man of Macedonia saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.

And so Paul and his companions quickly went to Macedonia and they ended up at Philippi and there on a Sabbath, they went to a place where they assumed some believers might be gathered for prayer and they met Lydia. And the Bible says, God opened her heart to the Scriptures. She and her whole household believed, and they were baptized. A short time later, Paul is going back to this place to preach and to teach, and to teach them deeper in the ways of God and the kingdom. And they're followed by a slave who is possessed by an evil spirit, saying, these men are sons of the Most High. It irritated Paul to such a degree that he commanded the demon to be cast out. The owners of the slave is seated to have Paul and his companion put in jail because their livelihood. her fortune telling ability had now been nullified. And yet it was in the midst of the jail in the middle of the night

where we find him worshiping and praising God and God intervenes with the great earthquake and the prison doors open and the jailer thinking that all of the prisoners are going to escape immediately draws his sword and Paul says, don't kill yourself, we're all still here. And the jailer runs in trembling and says, sirs, what must I do to be saved? You see, He saw something in them that was attractive to them. And that very night, He and His family believed that they were baptized and a church was birthed right there in Philippi. The result of all these people working together with the Spirit of God, working, drawing people to Himself. See, that's one of the reasons why partnership is so important. It's what God uses by the power of His Spirit to grow His church and to lead people to Himself. So for this reason, as Paul began to preach and teach, and the church began to grow in Philippi,

oh, he had such a profound love for this church. And how they supported Him. You remember what he said in Philippians 4, verses 14 to 16? It was kind of you. He's talking to the church at Philippi, the church that he's established right here. As you Phundupians know, you yourselves, in the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership. Koinonia, with me, except in the giving of receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent help for my needs again. And in chapter 1, oh, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for all of you with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. You see, this church was so indebted to Paul that they partnered with him as Paul and his traveling companions went on from there. See, that's the power of partnership. It has a profound effect.

I think of the example of our founding in missions. Back in 1792, scholars often tribute William Carey as the father of modern missions. He lived in England at the time. But in that year, 1792, He wrote a little pamphlet after God had convicted Him that we needed to be on mission with the good news. He was simply entitled an inquiry into the obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathen. And He preached from Isaiah 54, verse 2, enlarge the place of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords and strengthen the stakes. His famous message preached at the Nottingham Baptist Association in England. Expect great things from God. Attempt great things from God. And yet many of the clergy chided him. Churches opposed him. Their reasoning was if God was going to save people, He wouldn't use you to do it.

God can save whoever He wants and He doesn't need us. But that was not Carey's conviction. Within a year he moved to India to begin his mission work, where he would stay for 40 years. He endured hardship after hardship, deaths of a wife, children. And yet he was firmly resolved that this was the call of God after he had labored a number of years. Something profound happened. Two other Baptist missionaries came to join him, John Marshman and William Ward, with their families. And instead of Carey trying to do everything, translate the Scripture, preach to the people, and disciple all the new believers, now this famous three missionary team developed into the Sorentmoor mission. Marshman became the preacher, Ward became the printer, and Carey, who was gifted at linguistics, translated the Bible into some 35 languages. And together, the tide began to change in India, in his generation.

You see, I remind you of these things to simply remind us of what Paul is talking about and what he illustrates, the value of partnership and the importance of us working together. I'm reminded again, this is the responsibility of the pastor. And he talks about how the responsibility of those who lead is to train, to raise up, to mentor people within the church for works of service, according to Ephesians 4, 11-13. So that the ministry, the body might be built up that we all would attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood. But you know, quite honestly, sometimes I wonder if the mentality in many of our churches is no longer partnership, but a sole proprietorship, where we have come to the place where we believe we can do it all alone. I can well remember being fresh out of seminary at our first church in Oklahoma.

Going to the funeral home, a widow, her husband had just died. And as I was standing there visiting with the funeral home director and this widow talking about the plans for the service, the need to go get a suit to have her deceased husband presented in. I said to her, I'll be happy to go get that. The funeral home director looked at me and said, Pastor, you don't need to do that. And I'll never forget what the widow said. And he looked at him and said, oh, that's okay, that's what we pay him for. I have never heard that sentiment said, but I have seen it expressed a lot in churches over the years. You see, the pastor's role is to train and to equip you for working together. And this team working together can do far more as gifted as Pastor Drew is than he could ever do on his own. That's why we work together. That's why you're a part of an association. I just want to close with some simple thoughts about what might

you do in response. Are you living and working in partnership with those around you? Are you demonstrating partnership as a church? There are many ways people can be involved. But it all begins with a deep spirit, a deep, a miding ethos that says, in Christ we are one body and we value others who profess Jesus and we desire to work together. South Bearlesson, you are here today because there were people a long time ago that had a vision for what you are now experiencing. I wonder what people will experience in the years to come because of the vision that God puts on our hearts. And may it be equally said of us one day in the years to come that here we are and this is what God has done because way back in 2020 in the midst of a pandemic there was a a church called South Burleson that had vision for the kingdom that was far greater than themselves and they worked tirelessly and they partnered with anyone who professed Jesus

as Lord and together they worked to building up the kingdom of God. I think God would be glorified. I think South Burleson your best days are still right around the corner where God wants to do with you far more than you could possibly imagine. But I'm equally convinced it will come about when we lose the I and we embrace the we and we start working together with brothers and sisters, with people in the church, with neighboring churches, with different organizations, all for the purpose of building the kingdom. That's my prayer for you as a church, that you would be known as a cooperating church that works with others under the banner of Jesus,

and does things for His glory and for eternity's gain. Father, thank you this morning for the privilege to just think about your word, to look at the examples of Paul and Silas and Timothy, and to hear how the church of Philippi supported them, and how you grew a great work, and a church was established that had a continuing influence on that missionary team's life, how we've seen it in our own history. We're reminded today that we're here today because we are standing on the shoulders that have gone before us. And we want to say to you, Lord, that's the kind of people we want to be, people who work with others for your glory, not for a name for ourselves, so that people will know the name of Jesus. I pray you would bless Pastor Drew. I pray Lord that your hand would be upon this church and as they put their hand to the plow and labor in the fields around them

with one another and with others, you would be greatly glorified. You would expand and grow your kingdom as you see fit. I ask this in Jesus name and God's people say.