Fresh Manna 2021

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Strong Tower Radio

A More Excellent Way

Sean Reed

A More Excellent Way Part 1

♪ Fresh manna fell to the ground as a gift from God while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

It was fresh from the ovens of heaven, baked by the master baker himself.

How the Israelites must have anticipated the taste and smell of each morning's delivery.

Just like the Israelites, you too can experience the taste and smell of fresh manna.

Today you'll be listening to Sean Reed, pastor of the Holland Seventh-day Adventist Church.

You know, it's good to have purpose, isn't it?

Last Sabbath, my wife and I went to church somewhere else, and I'm not encouraging you ever do that.

I think this is the place you should always come to church here.

But it was a little weekend off for us and so we went to another church and we sat down in the congregation and we enjoyed the service and we were blessed, but it was a different experience for me because there was nothing for me to do.

I'm used to doing a lot on Sabbath morning, but it was a different experience, and it was rejuvenating, and it was a wonderful experience to listen to someone else preach.

But it's nice to have something to do on Sabbath morning.

It's nice to have a task, something to focus on, something to accomplish that is blessing others.

It's good to have a task, a job that you are personally called to do.

And as Christians, the reality is, whether or not you have a specific, identified job to do in your church, or on Sabbath morning, a ministry position to fulfill, each 1 of us, as a member of the body of Christ, we have a mission.

The verse probably we go to instinctively when we think about the mission of the church is Matthew chapter 28.

Some people have termed it the Great Omission because all too often many Christians don't live out this commission, but God calls us to have meaning and purpose as followers of Christ, and this is really the commission, the mission, that he has given to us.

Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That's the mission that God has given to us as believers.

Yes, a mission He's given us as individual believers in Christ, but a mission He's also given to us collectively as a family of faith, as a church.

Our job, our mission, our focus, our goal is to grow God's kingdom.

To find men and women, boys and girls all around us who need Jesus.

Who we can share the gospel to and invite them to be part of God's family.

It's the mission that is driven by a realization of that most famous verse in the Bible, John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And God wants us to give that message to others.

It's the love of Christ that draws people to Him.

And our job as a church is to love people for Jesus so that His kingdom can grow, so that others can experience the hope that comes from knowing Jesus and walking with him day by day.

This is a message, this is a mission that is essential for the great hope we have of seeing Jesus again someday soon.

John 14, if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also.

And in Matthew chapter 24 in verse 14, this chapter that is about the return of Christ and lets us know how we can know that his return is drawing near, in verse 14, there's an essential need that has to be accomplished, a task that needs to be finished before Jesus returns, it's Matthew 24 verse 14, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, then the end will come.

We look forward to seeing Jesus, don't we?

Imagine what that will be like when we see Jesus face to face.

We have so many paintings of Jesus, And maybe you have a favorite artist, Christian artist, and maybe there's a particular painting of Jesus that appeals to you.

But just imagine what it'll be like when we see Jesus face to face.

I think we're going to instantly recognize him.

Even though we've never seen him face to face, we're going to instantly recognize him.

What a wonderful experience that will be to see Jesus.

And our mission today is to make sure that there are as many people as possible who when they see Jesus will respond with joy.

We have waited for him and he will save us.

Every ministry of our church is focused on letting people know about Jesus.

Whether it's a food truck ministry giving groceries in the community, whether it's a Sabbath school teacher teaching Craterole and pre-kindergarten kids, whether it's a deacon or a deaconess, whatever the ministry might be, caring for the facility of giving Bible studies, whatever ministry we have as a church, every single ministry, we're to be focused on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

And while the gospel is being shared around the world, we don't want Holland to miss out.

We want to make sure that right where God has placed us, we're effectively and faithfully sharing his message.

Sometimes we feel as if the task, the cause, the mission that is given to us is beyond our ability.

Because we are incapable on our own of being effective in sharing Christ with others.

But that's why Jesus said, I will give to you the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit enables and empowers us and gifts us and prepares us so that we can be effective in fulfilling the mission of sharing Jesus' love with others that He has given to us.

We're going to eventually make our way to 1 Corinthians 12, which is our passage for this morning, but before we go there, let's go to the book of Ephesians.

And let's note here how it is that God enables us to fulfill the mission that he has called us to fulfill.

Ephesians 4 begins with directing our attention to Jesus, Jesus who has ascended back to heaven as our Lord and Savior and Redeemer, but Jesus who has given to us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And in verse 11, the Bible speaks about how it is that God enables us to fulfill the mission, the ministry of sharing Christ with others that He has entrusted to us as Christians.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11, beginning, and he, this is speaking of Jesus, gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and some as teachers.

5 roles, ministry roles, that God mentions there.

Not all of us are pastors and teachers, not all of us are evangelists, although more of us need to be evangelists, not all of us are prophets or apostles.

But those aren't the only individuals that God is calling to be active and engaged in the mission in ministry of his church, because notice how the Bible continues in verse 12.

He lists these 5 categories of ministry positions, and then he tells us why God gives the church apostles and pastors and evangelists and teachers and so forth.

Notice in verse 12, all of these are for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up the body of Christ.

So why does God give us pastors and teachers and evangelists and apostles and prophets?

What is the purpose of the individuals called to those ministry roles.

God places them in the church so that the rest of us, all of us, can be equipped and prepared for the work of ministry.

God wants every single 1 of us, in other words, to be involved in ministry for Him.

And so God gifts and equips certain individuals to help the rest of us be prepared and trained for ministry.

And so, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in other people's life and ministry, God helps us to be prepared for ministry.

And then he continues here in verse 13, this ministry, all of us being involved, equipped, and prepared for the work of service to build up Christ's body, this will happen until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man or woman, this word man is being used collectively for mankind or humanity, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

In other words, ministry happens so that we can become more like Jesus.

So we're prepared for ministry so that we can be active in service and building up Christ's body, and through that ministry of building up Christ's body...

By the way, how is the body of Christ built up?

It's built up by more people becoming part of the body of Christ.

So by sharing the gospel and helping others know about Jesus, we're building up the body of Christ, and God has given pastors and teachers and evangelists and prophets and apostles to the church so that all of us can have the training that we need to build up Christ's body.

And as we're active and engaged in ministry of building up the body of Christ, we're going to become like Jesus.

In fact, we need to be active and engaged in ministry until we're exactly like Jesus.

Well, those of you who raised your hands do not have to be involved in ministry anymore.

But the rest of us do, because we're all not exactly like Jesus.

This is an ongoing necessity of us being involved and active in ministry, until we become like Jesus.

Verse 14 of Ephesians 4 continues, as a result of us becoming like Jesus, and we become like Jesus by being involved in ministry of sharing the gospel and building up God's kingdom, as a result verse 14, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, but, " verse 15, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by whatever joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." That's God's dream for his people.

That all of us together would be working to build up God's body.

Each 1 of us having an important part to play, each 1 of us essential and necessary for the mission that God has given us.

We're building up his body, we're building up the kingdom of God, we're growing and becoming more like Jesus, and this is happening in love.

A More Excellent Way Part 2

Fresh manna fell to the ground as a gift from God while the Israelites were in the wilderness.

It was fresh from the ovens of heaven, baked by the Master Baker himself.

Today you'll be listening to Sean Reid, pastor of the Holland Seventh-day Adventist Church.

I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Corinthians.

Let's just bow our heads and invite God's Spirit to teach us this morning.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you do speak to us through Scripture, and we ask that you would do so this morning.

May your Spirit lead and guide us into all truth.

Last Sabbath we looked in 1 Corinthians 12 at this remarkable plan that God has for His Church.

A plan where everybody is filled with the Holy Spirit, where everybody has a talent, a gift, a capability that is being used to grow God's kingdom.

Imagine a church like that, where not just 20% or 30% or 50 or 60 or 80 or even 90% of the church members are actively engaged in ministry, but 100% recognize the gift or ability, the talent that God has given them and is actively utilizing that in ministry.

Our mission, after all, as a church is to take the gospel to the world, starting with where we are, and just imagine a church that everybody is doing that.

Everybody is agreeing and understanding that you have a gift that I don't have, and so you use the gift God has given you, I'll use the gift God has given me, we'll collaborate together and we'll be more effective in reaching people with the good news of the gospel.

We would think that would be an incredible church, wouldn't we?

But according to the Apostle Paul, that's not good enough.

That's what we just heard read when Tom was reading the Scripture.

It started there in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 31.

After Paul has gone through this description of God's plan for the Christian Church, where all of us are working harmoniously together, each 1 of us recognizing that God is gifting us with talents and abilities to use for the building up of the kingdom of God, Paul goes through and discusses that, and then in verse 31 of 1 Corinthians 12 he says, "...

Earnestly desire the greater gifts, and I show you a still more excellent way." So there's something more excellent, something better than a church that is cooking along harmoniously with everybody fully engaged and involved in ministry.

There's a more excellent way for sharing the gospel with those around us.

Now, we like doing things a better way, don't we?

In fact, in our lives, we're oftentimes looking for more efficient and excellent ways to accomplish the tasks of life.

There are people who make their livelihood in figuring out how you can fold your laundry better and put it in your drawer in such a way that your life will be 1 of peace and tranquility.

There are individuals who have figured out exactly how you should wake up in the morning, and a sequence of activities to do that will set you forth on a day that will be more excellent.

Prayer, Bible study, that's an excellent way to begin your day.

There are companies with products and services that help us accomplish the necessary tasks of life in a better way and a more excellent way.

And when it comes to the church, God has a more excellent and a better way for us to function and to accomplish the mission of sharing the gospel with those around us, a way that is even better than all of us using our gifts harmoniously working together to share the gospel.

What could possibly be better than a gifted, engaged, Christian faith community?

1 Corinthians chapter 13 is often called the love chapter.

It's the chapter that you read leading up to Valentine's Day, husband, so you can begin to think about the kind of person I need to be so when I say Valentine's Day to my wife, I love you and I give you some flowers, she'll believe me.

This is the way I need to be living, right?

Paul describes for us what love is like, And we quickly realize that the more excellent way that the Apostle Paul is speaking of, what is even better than a gifted, harmoniously working together church that is active and engaged in ministry, what is better than that, is a church that is filled with love.

Love is more essential than capability and giftedness and talents.

I want to hasten to add that that does not mean that it's okay for us not to be engaged in ministry.

After all, love motivates us to be involved and engaged.

It doesn't mean that gifts and abilities should be neglected or ignored.

No, because love challenges us to use all that we have and all that we are in ministry for God.

Yet, as the apostle Paul outlines for us in 1 Corinthians 13, if we lack that essential foundational necessity of love, then everything else is meaningless.

Let's consider that a little bit this morning.

Thinking about love, Thinking about what it is that makes us as a Christian church, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian faith community, effective in fulfilling the mission that God has entrusted to us.

Yes, employing our gifts in active ministry.

Yes, respecting the role that each person in our church has to play in collaboratively sharing the gospel with those around us.

But love is the center of an effective, mission-driven faith community.

That should be as no surprise to us, of course.

We, after all, we know that God's preeminent quality characteristic is love.

If we could only describe God with 1 word, we all would likely choose that 1 word, love.

John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, Jesus is speaking to his disciples.

Jesus is speaking to his closest followers there on the night of Jesus' betrayal, and he is reminding them of the central importance of love.

He says a new commandment, John 13 verse 34, a new commandment I give to you that you love 1 another even as I have loved you that you also love 1 another by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love 1 for another." What is the central quality-defining characteristic of a true Christian faith community?

This is the way that people will know that we belong to Jesus when we have love for each other.

But just as we need all of us collectively bringing the gifts and the talents and the capabilities that God has blessed each 1 of us with, just as we need all of us to be a truly gifted effective church, we need all of us together to be a truly loving church.

Each 1 of us exhibiting love personally, and each 1 of us collectively sharing love with those around us.

Just as the gifts are given to benefit the whole, as 1st Corinthians 12 reminds us, and just as we need all of the members of the body of Christ to have the giftedness that God wants us to have, so it is, that God puts love in your heart and mine for the benefit of the whole.

And each 1 of us together, loving God with all of our hearts, and loving others as God has loved us, we are able to be a community of love.

And how is it that we can experience it in our lives?

When we Think about the Holy Spirit being active in our lives.

We think in 1 Corinthians 12, as we studied last Sabbath, the gifts of the Spirit, the capabilities, the abilities, the talents that God gives us so that we can be effective in communicating the good news of the gospel with others.

So we can be effective in building up God's faith community, God's church, so we can be effective in growing God's kingdom.

We think of the gifts of the Spirit, the abilities that he gives us, and the Bible also speaks of the fruit of the Spirit.

There in Galatians chapter 5, let's turn there together.

Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit.

The gifts of the Spirit are the abilities, the capabilities that God gives us through the Holy Spirit to be active and engaged in ministry, the fruit of the Spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to make us like Jesus.

So that we have the qualities, the character of Jesus active in our lives.

Galatians chapter 5, and let's take a look beginning in verse 13.

Galatians 5 beginning in verse 13, Paul says, For you were called to freedom, brothers, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve 1 another." When Paul mentions the flesh, it's speaking of our natural inclinations and desires, the selfish intents of a human heart.

He says because we are free in Christ, don't use our freedom to fulfill our own desires, but rather use our freedom that through love we can do what?

He continues, for the whole law is fulfilled in 1 word in the statement you shall love your neighbor as yourself, but if you bite and devour 1 another, take care that you are not consumed by 1 another.

There are 2 options we have as Christians, as a faith community.

We can motivate it by love, as Jesus said, this is how men will know that you're my disciples because you love 1 another as I have loved you.

We can be motivated by love and demonstrate love in how we interact with each other, and by doing so, we bring delight to the heart of God, we fulfill the law of God, which is love, and we are effective in growing God's kingdom.

The other option for a faith community is, in verse 15, if we choose to be selfish and to simply think about what we want in our way of doing things, then it will end up with verse 15, we will bite and devour and consume 1 another.

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A More Excellent Way

A More Excellent Way Part 2

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