RISE UP AND SHINE
CELEBRATION SUNDAY
DR. JIM DIXON
OCTOBER 20, 1991
JAMES 1:2-4
This morning, I would just like to share with you three observations that God has laid on my heart relating to the capital stewardship campaign that we have just been through and the future that lies ahead of us. My first observation is this: God has greatly tested us. In these last three or four months, I believe God has tested our congregation and our church to a greater extent than He has ever tested us in times past.
First Chronicles 29 describes the call of God upon David to build the house of God and to build the temple. Of course, the temple would really be built by David’s son Solomon, but the charge of God was laid upon David to begin this process for the building of the temple and the house of God.
As recorded in 1 Chronicles 29, David came before the people. He called the people to the call of God and the building of the temple. Then David presented his personal gifts for the building of the temple. He gave out of his own wealth, out of his own assets, out of his own worth. The Bible tells us that David gave, incredibly, 115 tons—not pounds, tons—of gold. He gave 265 tons of silver. The Bible tells us that the leaders of Israel were moved, and they came collectively with their gifts for the building of God’s house and for the building of the temple. They gave collectively over a thousand tons of gold, silver, bronze, and iron. All the multitudes of Israel responded, and they gave towards the building of God’s house. They gave of their jewelry and of their precious stones.
There was a great outpouring of giving for the building of God’s house and for the building of the temple. Then a time of celebration. We’re told that David came and offered praise to God. Offering praise to God, he acknowledged that everything the people had given really belonged to God already. David said, “Lord God, we have given to you that which was already your own.” Then David makes this acknowledgement: that God had meant all of this to be a great test of the people, a test of their hearts, a test of their faithfulness.
Isn’t it always true that whenever a church of Christ is called to build, it is a great test? It’s been a great test for us. It’s a test of our relinquishment to Christ and the measure of our relinquishment. I think, particularly, it is a test of our relinquishment of our material assets and whether we’re really living for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Most of you here in this sanctuary have been baptized. You believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. At some point in time past, you were baptized. In that moment of baptism, the Bible indicates, you are expressing symbolically by way of public confession your relinquishment to Christ. Literally. When the convert goes under the water—and this is graphically illustrated in immersion baptism where the whole body goes under the water—the Apostle Paul says that we’re dying to self . . . dying to self-reign . . . dying to self-rule. We are relinquishing, in a sense, ourself to Christ, to His reign and to His rule.
Now, the reality is—and I think we’d all agree with this—that in that moment of baptism, we didn’t really relinquish all of ourselves to Christ. I mean, symbolically that’s what’s being expressed, but we’d have to honestly admit that we held parts back. As time goes by in the life of the typical Christian man or woman, the Holy Spirit constantly convicts us of areas of our life not yet relinquished. And He challenges us to relinquish what we have not yet given.
In times past, there were Christians who, even in the moment of baptism, knew they were not relinquishing all. In the days of Charlamagne, the Saxons, when they were baptized, held one arm up in the air. And in that arm they held their battle axe. They would make sure that when they went under the water in Christian baptism, their arm and their battle axe would not go under the water.
Roman soldiers in the day of Constantine did the same. They held their right arm out of the water with sword in hand, and they would not allow that right arm to go under the water because they loved war. They loved war, and they really didn’t want to relinquish that dimension of their life to the reign of Christ. They really didn’t want to die completely to the reign of Christ. So, they held their arms high. They would not allow that right arm to get wet. They wanted to be able, in the future, to take vengeance upon any enemy they chose. They loved doing that.
I think the modern counterpart . . . If we were to be so honest in baptism as 20th century evangelical Americans, we should all hold our right hand above the water with our wallet in it, or maybe our purse. I think one of the great struggles of the Christian world in 20th century America is the relinquishment of money and finances to Christ. That is one reason why a building campaign such as we have been through is such a great test. It’s a test of our relinquishment, a test of whether or not we’re really willing to die to self.
God’s got one great desire for you. He wants to see you sanctified. He wants you to be sanctified. Now, I know most of you, when you come to the Lord in prayer, that’s not your greatest request. You might have many requests of God, many things you want of Him. You might have many things that you want Him to do in your life; but your greatest request probably isn’t, “Lord, sanctify me.” But that’s the Lord’s greatest desire for you and for me. He wants to sanctify us, and He wants you to understand what sanctification means.
The word sanctification is very complex biblically. This Greek word “hagiasmos” is used in a variety of ways in the New Testament. In the past tense, it refers to something that has already happened. As Christians, as believers in Christ, we are already sanctified. Christ died on the cross. When He died and when His blood was shed, He atoned for us and for our sin. As we have come to Him in faith and believed in Him as Lord and Savior, we have found forgiveness. We have been acquitted in the courtroom of heaven. God the Father views us through the holiness of His Son. We are said to be sanctified. Past tense . . . it’s already happened.
Other times, this word sanctified in the Bible is future tense. It refers to heaven and how in heaven we will be completely, literally sanctified. We will be made perfect. When we get to heaven, we’re all going to celebrate regarding the fact that we will be then sanctified and made perfect.
In the Bible, this word sanctification is also used in the present tense, referring to a present process, a present ministry that the Holy Spirit wants to have in the life of the Christian. Right now, we are forgiven. We will be perfect. But right now, He’s in the process of transforming us and making us into the image of His Son. This process of sanctification is the process through which the Lord wants to enable us to submit more and more to the reign of Christ and to relinquish more and more of ourselves to Christ, to His service and to His kingdom—that we might die to self and live to Christ.
I look at our church, and I really believe that in these last three or four months, in very unique and special ways, God is sanctifying us through the testing that He is bringing us through. He is sanctifying us, and He is creating for Himself a people more strongly committed to Him, so that we might serve Him more faithfully in the time to come.
I thank God for the tests that He’s brought us through. Sometimes, the test has been kind of hard. I think those of us in leadership here at the church have felt like we’ve been under satanic attack. That’s really something we’re kind of hesitant to even mention or present to you because we know there might be misunderstanding. We don’t want to sound paranoid. We know that living in this fallen world, everybody has it tough. We know that living in this fallen world, everybody has tests and trials that just come by way of living in a messed-up world. But we feel like the tests and trials that have come our way in the last three or four months have been inordinate, an expression of a truly satanic attack.
Yet God has been faithful. Just this last week, one of our elders, Harold Hadden . . . Harold’s sitting right here before us this morning. We thank God for that because Harold almost died this week. I thank God for Harold Hadden. Harold’s 71 years old. He’s kind of, in my mind, what I long to be. If the Lord gives me the grace to live to be in my seventies, I want to be like Harold. He has great zeal for Christ, great zeal for Christ’s kingdom, and great love for Christ. God has really given Harold to us as a gift because Harold’s the head of our building project. Harold has experience, knowledge, and expertise that enables him to fulfill that task.
This last week, Harold went in for a routine test, and he was administered an antibiotic intravenously. Something went wrong. Perhaps they gave too much of it. Maybe they injected it too rapidly, or maybe he had an allergic reaction. But somehow, his blood pressure began to drop to 40 over 20. Now, 40 over 20 isn’t good. I assume you know that. They couldn’t get a pulse. It appears as though his heart actually stopped for a period of time.
By the grace of God, they restarted it. In fact, in his semi-conscious state, Harold can remember the nurse saying, “I got a pulse. I got a pulse.” I’m sure Harold was glad as well as all of us. We just rejoice in that. Harold was a few seconds from eternity, and frankly for Harold, that would’ve been all joy. But for us, it would’ve been hard because of the work that God still has for Harold to do.
I don’t mean to exaggerate, but I got to say this: this is a kind of example of the tests that we have been going through. I mean, Roy Collins, who’s headed up our whole fund drive . . . Roy and his wife Barbara have had medical emergencies in the last two or three months they’ve never had in their life. Barbara’s lung just inexplicably collapsed. They’ve had a hard time getting that reinflated. Now Roy has some kind of a growth in his neck. They’re checking that out. I honestly would have to say that, for all of us on staff that have been so involved with this campaign, the kind of pressures that our families have been under in these last few months have really been kind of strange and inordinate.
I think we obviously are doing something right because Satan seems to be really ticked. The great thing is that God is greater. God is greatest, and God protects His people. We are seeing the deliverance of God. It’s an opportunity for growth. God is using this to make us strong. I don’t know what you’ve gone through these last three or four months, but I know this: in the life of this church, it’s been a time when God has uniquely been working to make us strong. He’s been testing us that we might go deeper in the faith. He’s creating for Himself a people.
I have a second observation this morning, which is that God is calling us to perseverance. He’s brought us through testing, and He is calling us to perseverance. We’ve won a victory, and we rejoice; but we’ve not yet won the war. There’s more work to do. I can promise you, God is calling this church to perseverance.
You know, the Greek and Roman empires were two of the greatest empires in the history of the world. For a period of time, they coexisted on the earth. It was inevitable that they would one day wage war. And so they did. In the year 281 BC outside of the city of Heraclea, the Greek and Roman armies engaged in war. The Greek armies, 25,000 strong with cavalry and elephants, met the Roman forces, which were equally strong. The Greek armies were led by King Pyrrhus, who was king of Epirus and second cousin to Alexander the Great. The Roman armies were led by the Roman Council Laevinus.
The Greeks won that battle, and King Pyrrhus became famous throughout the Greek empire. The Greek empire hoped that Rome would just kind of submit and that would be it. They hoped that Rome would just kind of back off and it would all be over. But it wasn’t over. In the eyes of Rome, they had lost a battle, but they hadn’t lost the war.
So, the next year in 280 BC outside of the city of Asculum, the Greeks and Romans engaged in another great war. And once again, the Greek forces were led by King Pyrrhus. And once again, the Greeks won the battle. But this time, in winning the battle, the Greeks paid a great price. They lost two-thirds of the men in their military forces.
The next year in 279 BC, again outside of the city of Asculum, the Greeks and Romans fought. Once again, the Greeks were led by King Pyrrhus. And once again, the Greeks won. This time the cost was incomprehensibly great. The Greeks lost almost all of their men in that military conflict. When King Pyrrhus returned to Epirus and the crowds lined the street congratulating him in victory, King Pyrrhus was said to have stated, “One more victory like these and we will be totally defeated.” We get the expression, “pyrrhic victory,” from the life of King Pyrrhus. A pyrrhic victory is a victory that has been won at too great a cost.
Just this last week, as Judge Clarence Thomas was approved for the Supreme Court of the United States to serve as a justice, some of the newspapers called it a pyrrhic victory, a victory won at too great a cost, too great a price. I don’t know whether Clarence Thomas was innocent or guilty concerning the allegations of sexual harassment. God knows. I know that Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, the United States Senate, and everyone gathered in this room will one day have to give an account to a higher court. Surely this is true . . . During those Senate confirmation hearings, Clarence Thomas must have had times when he asked himself, “Is it worth it?” He must have had times when he asked himself, “Is it really worth it? Or is this too great a price?” Perhaps Anita Hill had times when she asked herself, “Is it worth it?” Perhaps most of the people in America watching this asked themselves, “Is it worth it?”
I must confess that during this capital stewardship campaign, I had times where I asked myself, “Is it really worth it?” I think most of our staff had times when they asked that same question, “Is it really worth it?” We had 800 volunteers laboring towards this vision set before us, and I think many of you involved in that labor perhaps asked yourself, “Is it worth it?” Maybe some of you, as you were agonizing over what God was wanting you to do regarding your pledge to our future, asked yourself, “Is it really worth it?”
I want to say, it’s worth it. This is no pyrrhic victory. The cost has been great. The call of God is greater. The vision that is set before us is worth the price we’re paying. And yet, the cost has been great. I think God wants us to understand that the cost is going to continue to be great. The war is not won.
Looking back three or four months ago, I think what I hoped was that, somehow, we’d come to October 20th and victory Sunday . . . and I hoped that we could just breathe a sigh of relief—like, “It’s all over. It’s all behind us, and everything’s done.” Of course, now I realize that’s not the case at all. I mean, a great victory has been won. It’s a miracle. Our faith was too small. I mean, we stand in awe of what God has done; and yet, it’s just a victory. The war is not won. We can’t just breathe a sigh of relief. There are further victories to be won.
I really believe God is calling us to perseverance, perseverance and steadfastness. We need to honor the pledges we’ve made over these next three years. We need to lift up a struggling general operating budget that has been impacted by our focus on this capital stewardship campaign. We’re going to need to continue to be faithful in the midst of what I’m sure will be continued tests and trials. We’re going to need perseverance, and God wants us to know it.
Whenever God calls His people into a promised land, He almost always requires that they first pass through the wilderness. There’s a tunnel of trial, a tunnel of testing that we’ve got to pass through before we can bask in the blessings. We’re not at the end of the tunnel. We’re just entering that tunnel. God is looking for a people that will persevere for His kingdom’s sake.
I want to share a third and final observation, and that is this: God is exhorting us to be a people of joy. He is calling us to be people of joy in the midst of the test, in the midst of the trials, in the midst of this call to steadfastness, in the midst of the required perseverance. He wants us to be people of joy.
When you really think about it biblically, the call for Christian men and women to be people of joy is sometimes in the imperative tense. It’s a command. Therefore, it’s something that, in some sense, we can choose. I admit that joy is biblically a ministry of the Holy Spirit. Certainly, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit we cannot experience true Christian joy. But God wants us also to understand: there’s a sense in which we must choose joy, not based on our circumstances but in spite of our circumstances. In the midst of testing, in the midst of trial . . . joy. It’s a choice that God wants us to make. God wants us to understand that without joy, there’s really very little ministry. The world’s not drawn to Jesus Christ unless the people of Christ have joy. If the people of Christ have joy, the world is just sucked in like a magnet.
We have gone through a time of pruning. In these years ahead, God is going to want to bring fruits; but it’s only going to happen as we choose to be people of joy in the midst of trial.
Just a few days last week, Barb and I went on vacation. We went for five days with my brother Greg and his wife Barbara. We also went with one of our elders, John Benson and his wife Ann. The six of us traveled around the state of Virginia for five days in a van. It was really fun. We went to Williamsburg. We saw William and Mary College, the second oldest university in the United States of America. We went to Charlottesville. We saw Monticello, where Thomas Jefferson lived. We went to UVA, the University of Virginia, and we were shown around there. It’s a historic campus. We saw the changing of the colors, and we saw a lot of beautiful countryside.
When those five days began, my brother Greg was sick. He had some kind of a bug, a virus . . . maybe a bacteriological infection. He was congested. He had respiratory problems. We were five days, the six of us, in that van. At the end of the five days, we were almost all sick. I was sick. My wife Barbara was sick. Greg’s wife Barbara was sick. Ann was sick. Only John Benson wasn’t sick because he is virtually sinless and therefore able to resist.
I was thinking how contagious those kinds of colds and infections can be. I mean, they just spread throughout that van. Christianity is meant to be contagious like that, something people catch when they’re around Christians. If you put six people in a van for five days and one was a Christian, would the other five catch that Christian’s Christianity? I promise you, only if that Christian has joy. Without joy, our faith just isn’t very contagious.
So, God is saying to us as we look at these months and years ahead, “Be people of joy regardless of the test, regardless of the trials, regardless of the sufferings, the persecution, and the perseverance. Be people of joy because I’ve already written the final chapter, and you’re going to win. So, be people of joy.”
We come to communion this morning, and it’s really appropriate that we share communion on a celebration Sunday. In many parts of the Christian world, the people who partake of the bread and cup are called “celebrants.” The Lord’s Supper itself is called “the celebration.” How appropriate that we have this time of celebration in conjunction with the Lord’s Table. We invite all of you who believe in Jesus Christ, all of you who love Him to share in the bread and cup this morning. Let’s have a word of prayer.