I stand before you this evening with fear and trepidation. How can anyone be worthy to name the name of Jesus Christ… much less devote one’s life to the proclamation of the Gospel? I know too well my own shortcomings and fallings, the ways I don’t measure up to the task I’m signing up for.
Ultimately, though, I am confident enough to stand in this pulpit and proceed with this ordination process because my trust is not in my own ability, my character, my decision to go into the ministry, or even my ability to meet the qualifications that have been listed. My trust lies in the One whose name I proclaim. Where I fail, Jesus succeeds. When I am unworthy, Jesus is worthy. When I am overcome by my own sin, Jesus overcomes me by his grace.
I’m reminded of the words of Charles Wesley in 1740:
Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?
I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.
Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood!
He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move,
Justice lingers into love.
There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.
My conversion story is one of baby steps into the Christian faith. I first prayed a sinner’s prayer when I was just four years old. How much I understood at that time, I don’t remember. I do remember my excitement and enthusiasm for my newfound faith. When I was six and just learning to read, Mom and Dad got me a little black Bible and I set out to start memorizing Exodus. Don’t ask me why! I chose Exodus.
When I was in the ninth grade, our church held its first Disciple Now. The theme was Not Ashamed. The whole weekend was about standing boldly for our faith. At the end of that Disciple Now, I decided to never be ashamed of Jesus, even though most of us were a little ashamed of those ugly red T-shirts we had that year!
Just a few months later, now ten years ago, I went to Romania for the first time on a mission trip. People say that mission trips will change you. Well, that mission trip set the course for the rest of my life. I still shudder to think of what my parents went through when I, as a naïve but “on-fire for God” nineteen-year-old bought a one-way ticket to Romania without knowing the language, culture, or how I would be able to support myself. I’m thankful they had enough faith to let me go.
Those years in Romania formed me as a person and as a minister. The opportunity to preach every Sunday in Romanian churches; the opportunity to live among the poor and downtrodden; the chance to see America from the outside-in and begin to understand just how blessed we are, and at the same time how upside-down our priorities are. And of course, it is impossible to overemphasize my meeting Corina and what she means to me.
And now, God has brought me to this place, where my home church affirms that the call of God is on my life and invests me with the authority to preach the Word, baptize, and serve the Lord’s Supper. We are so thankful for the opportunity to serve at First Baptist Church in Shelbyville under the leadership of a man I have long admired and respected, Kevin Minchey.
If I am going to be a good Baptist minister, I should start thinking in “3’s”, so I tried to come up with three characteristics that I hope and pray will be true of my life in Christian ministry. But finally, I realized that one belief trumps all.
I pray that I will always believe, teach, and live out the Gospel message that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead. I hope my priorities, my practices, my choices, my marriage, my parenting, my life as friend and co-worker and family member, my life as pastor and preacher will send out the message that Jesus Christ is King.
If Jesus is King, then we should be spreading His influence into our world by taking up our crosses, denying ourselves and showing that there’s a different way to live, a way that subverts the empires of our world and exalts our Risen Savior. A way that provides a foretaste of the life to come, that is part of new creation spilling out, in and over the old world that is passing away.
True Christianity is not merely life-changing; it is world-changing. Emphasize only the changing of individual lives and we will fail to call political systems, philosophies and human structures to account under Jesus’ lordship. Emphasize only political systems, philosophies and human structures and we will compromise in our work for worldly progress while people remain dead in their sins. But put the message of Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for individual sinners together with the biblical call to bring our world under the lordship of the Risen Jesus, and we have an explosive message that rocks our world to its very core. It is the apostolic message of Christianity.
Acts 17:6-8 They dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
What if we heard these words again from those in our own generation? “These Christians are turning the world upside down! They are acting against the Caesars of our day. They are de-throning the idol of Money by giving away their possessions and downsizing. They refuse to worship the idol of Sex by committing to chastity, purity, and faithfulness in marriage for life. They are acting against the idol of Power by modeling the self-giving love of their King. They are disobeying the idol of Success by praying for their competitors, making career choices that put family over finances, and seeking to be above reproach in their business practices. They are acting against the idols of Leisure and entertainment by sacrificing vacation time to go to foreign countries and help others who will never be able to return the favor. And most of all, these Christians are saying there is another king, Jesus.”
May it be said of me. May it be said of us.
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog
To read this article in Romanian, click here. Pentru a citi acest articol în limba română, apasă aici.
