FAITHFULNESS OF OUR FATHERS

Romans 15:14 - 33

INTRODUCTION:   

The Clay City Christian Church dates back to March 11, 1871 when the church was organized with 11 charter members.  Just over three months later, construction of a church building was begun on June 20, 1871.  That small brick building was completed in just under a year, on June 7, 1872.  That building was located on South 4^th Street.   Services were held there for over 48 years until August 11, 1920. 

On that fateful day, August 11, 1920, during a severe thunderstorm, lightening struck the tall spire of the church.  Due to the height of the spire and a lack of adequate fire fighting equipment in the community, the building burned to the ground.

For a time, there were discussions about rebuilding the structure but nothing ever came of the discussions and eventually the active members of the Clay City Christian Church drifted off to other churches in the area.

Some 28 years later, under the leadership of Pearl Willis, minister of the First Christian Church of Flora, a census of the Clay City area was taken to determine the advisability of reorganizing the Clay City Christian Church.

Once it was determined that there was interest in reestablishing Clay City Christian Church, Brother Howard Yonaka was chosen to organize those who had expressed a desire to see the church begin to meet again.

Over the next 10 months, Brother Yonaka taught small groups in private homes.  Brother Yonaka was a very detail-oriented Bible teacher and he published some of the Bible study books he authored during that period; many of which are available to borrow from our church library.

In early 1949, through funds made available from the Christian Restoration Association of Cincinnati, OH, a hall was purchased from the Masonic Lodge and made ready for a house of worship.  On August 21, 1949, 29 years and 10 days after the devastating fire that destroyed the church’s original building, the first Sunday School and worship services were held in the new meeting hall.  36 people were present and 22 of them became charter members of the church.

For the next two years, the church met in the former Masonic Lodge under the leadership of minister, Howard Yonaka who divided his time between Clay City and the Sailor Springs Christian Church.  Plans for a new meeting place were begun shortly before Mr. Yonaka closed his ministry with the church on November 1, 1951.  On that date, Talmage Pace was called to serve the congregation full time.  Mr. Pace served the church for two years and about 50 members were added to the church under his ministry.

In March of 1952, during Mr. Pace’s ministry, ground was broken for a new church building on a large lot at the corner of 9^th Street and US route 50.  We are meeting in that same building.  The land for this building was donated to the church by the family of the late Elmer Easley in his memory. 

Construction on the new building began in June of 1952 and by March 29, 1953, it was enclosed and the basement was sufficiently finished to begin holding services in it. 

After Talmage Pace resigned, the church was served by a number of supply preachers, chief among them, L.L. (Slim) Converse.  In due course, Floyd Stabler of Mt. Vernon, IL was called to lead the congregation of the Clay City Christian Church.

While the congregation met in the basement of this facility, work continued on the auditorium but it slowed considerably due to a lack of adequate finances.  Eventually, the church decided to finance the completion of the building through the sale of $26,000 of church bonds.  With those funds secured, the upstairs portion of the building was completed by the end of 1956.

When  Floyd Stabler’s ministry concluded, the church was served first by Dale Scheffler, John Dorney, E.C. Morton, Dan Donaldson, Don Sigler, Alex Cavenaile, Rod Farthing, Robert Hodshire, Keith Graham, Mike Sweeney, Paul Spickerman, Barry Sykes, Jeff Noah, Andrew Evans and Carson Root.

Youth ministers for the church have included Chris Colman, Don Sanders, Mark Luzadder, Chad Graham, Honey Harrison, Paul Dyke, John Trinkle and Nate Alexander.

On March 21, 1965, the congregation completed construction of a parsonage located just east of the church building.  In 1985, the 4,000 square foot New Life Center was constructed on the north side of the original church building and, at that time, the auditorium received a major facelift. 

In 1963, the church made the decision to tithe 10% of all Sunday School and worship offering to mission works.  By 1969, the church was giving 20% of all offerings to missions.  It would be difficult to calculate how much money the church has given

What I have given is largely a history of buildings and preachers.  That does not even begin to tell the whole story of Clay City Christian Church.  I wish I had the records and the time to permit me to list all the people who have served this church as elders, deacons, trustees, Sunday School teachers, youth coaches, committee chairpersons, committee members, and on and on and on.

Ultimately, the history of Clay City Christian Church is the history of people…because the church is people: people who have joined forces to advance the cause of Christ, the mission of the church and the spread of the gospel. 

In that regard, this church is not different than the church in Rome where the apostle Paul, the preacher, and the Roman Christians, his partners, teamed up to the glory of God.  In that team, there were responsibilities for both the preacher and his partners.  I suspect they are the same responsibilities that the team must fulfill in our day and in our place.

I.                    THE PREACHER

A.     His glory: being a servant of God (15:14-17)

In Romans 15:14-17, Paul wrote:

^14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ^15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me ^16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  ^17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

Some may misunderstand this calling to ministry but Paul never misunderstood his.

·         The position of the minister is that of a servant.

·         The glory of the ministry should be in being a servant of the Living God.

·         The recognition a minister should seek is the recognition that comes from the Lord.

The work of the church has often been hindered by those who saw the ministry as a means to private gain, whether material wealth or personal power.  Paul recognized that the glory of being a preacher of the Gospel is the honor of serving God.

B.    His greatness: Christ working in him (15:18-19a)

. ^18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— ^19 by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.

In the work of ministry, nothing that is accomplished should be done through the power of the flesh.  It is to be the power of the Lord working through yielded and available people.  It was the great preacher Phillips Brooks who defined preaching as “truth through personality.”  Perhaps ministry could be defined as “God’s work through personality.”  The church must always remember that the work of the ministry is not simply for the Lord, it is by the Lord: the Lord working through a person to fulfill his will.

C.    His gift: fully proclaiming the Gospel of Christ (15:19b)

^19b So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

Paul never took shortcuts with the Gospel, never rounded off the corners to make it more acceptable, never compromised its truth to make it more appealing.  Paul was proud to say that he had fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ – both that which confronted as well as that which comforted.  The church of our age needs ministers who will not compromise the truth of God: they will fully proclaim the gospel of Christ.

D.    His goal: to tell the untold (15:20-22)

^20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. ^21 Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.”

^22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s goal had been to take the good news of Jesus Christ to people who had never heard it.  With that as his priority, as long as he could find places where the Gospel had not been preached, he would not be sidetracked from that mission.  That is why he had never made it to Rome to preach.  There was already a church in Rome.  It was an established congregation that had been founded by others and while Paul would have loved to have meet these brothers and sisters, while he would have loved to encourage them and be encouraged by them, it was not his priority.  It was not his calling.  He was called to take the good news of the Gospel to people who had never heard it.

The church of our generation needs ministers who will not be sidetracked into any other pursuit than that to which God has called them. 

The work of the church has relied heavily on the service of people who have been called to vocational, professional ministry.  But no preacher, no matter how gifted, can do the work of the church.  He is called to equip and lead the church to do the work of ministry in all of its various forms.  And that brings us to consider Paul’s partners in ministry.

II.                  HIS PARTNERS

^23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, ^24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. ^25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. ^26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. ^27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. ^28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. ^29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.  ^30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. ^31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, ^32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. ^33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul called on the Christians in Rome to partner with him in his ministry.  He needed them to assist him financially so he could take the Gospel to Spain.  He needed for the Gentiles to assist him in taking the Gospel to the Jews.  He needed for the Christians to assist him by upholding him in prayer.

This church has had the benefit of the ministry of many talented, dedicated individuals who went on to other places of service when they left here.  You have a responsibility to them.

·         You have a responsibility to remain faithful in the work to which they gave themselves while they were among you.

·         You have a responsibility to uphold them in prayer in their current places of service.

CONCLUSION:      

In July of 2000, the Atlanta Braves played a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies.  The score was tied at 6-6 in the ninth inning.

As the game went into extra innings, the Rockies used all of their relief pitchers.  (Major league teams have 25 person rosters, 10 of which are usually pitchers.  Of those, four or five are starters, and the rest are relievers.)

Without any relief pitchers left on the bench, the starting pitcher from the night before was sent out to pitch an inning.  He had pitched numerous innings the night before but went out again and held the Braves.

In the 12th inning, the Rockies had a terrible choice.  Should they send out one of their two remaining starting pitchers, who would have to play over the next two days, or a utility player?  They chose to send an injured catcher, Brent Mayne, to the mound.

The manager asked Mayne: "Can you pitch?"

"Sure" said Brent, even though he had never pitched at any level in his life.

A few pitches went over the catcher's head.  One flew behind a batter's back, but Mayne managed to get the Braves to ground into two grounders and a fly ball out to get the Rockies out of the inning.  In the bottom of that inning, Mayne's position came up to hit.  With an injured batting hand, he couldn't.  So the Rockies sent out a new player who had never had a hit in the major leagues.  He drove a run in to win the game.

Why tell this story?  Because sometimes teammates have to fill uncomfortable positions.  Sometimes they have to do it even when they are hurt.

·         Are you being asked to full an uncomfortable position?  Get in the game.

·         Do you feel as if you’ve been sitting on the bench and that no one has noticed you?  Get over it and get in the game.

·         Have you been hurt?  Stay in the game.

·         Are you still hurting?  Stay in the game.

The apostle Paul was persecuted, beaten, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, imprisoned repeatedly and suffered in countless ways for the sake of the ministry of the Gospel.  But he stayed in the game.

Jesus Christ was the stone that the builders rejected so he knows what it is to be overlooked, undervalued, refused, accused and abused.  He was denied but not defeated, despised but not destroyed.  He was down but never out. 

·         He endured all that Satan could do to him; will you not endure what men can do to you?

·         He died for you, will you not live for him?

INVITATION:                        #150 – “I’ll Live For Him”

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