Final Words to my Faithful Flock in South Africa
Some months ago my wife and I, after much prayer and counsel from loved ones and my elders, made the decision to accept a call to move from Hillcrest South Africa to a church in Mobile Alabama, USA. December 8 will be my installation at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church.
On the first Sunday in June I delivered my farewell sermon to the flock at Hillcrest Baptist Church. This is the message I left with them.
In November 2005 I received a call from HBC to be your pastor. There were 42 members. The vote was 41 yes, and 1 abstention. One person was not at all sure about this 28-year-old, wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn with no experience and no track record, who preached way too long, told way too many stories, and seemed more like a stand-up comedian than a preacher of God’s word.
When we arrived, Kim and I, without children or possessions, moved into the 5-bedroom manse [parsonage].
All our worldly possessions were being transported here on a ship, that promptly got lost.
My most expensive possession was a new laptop I brought with me, loaded with the latest Bible software, which promptly got stolen.
We bought a cat, named Starbucks. Who promptly got killed by a car. We wept about that. A lot.
My first pastoral visit was to a young mother who had lost her husband in a car accident. On my way out the door to pray with the family, Kim advised me solemnly saying, “Whatever you do, don’t tell her that you know what she’s going through because we just lost our cat.”
I was that inexperienced that my wife felt it necessary to remind me of that. And she was right to do so.
At HBC we encountered a small church with no young adults’ group and lively music consisting of a trumpet, a mandolin, two pianos, and an organ. The sound system had not been updated since the 1970s, and the senior citizens in the church, which were 38 of the 42 members, said they couldn’t hear or understand me because I spoke too fast with a mongrelized accent.
That was when HBC realized the cost of hiring a newbie was just beginning, so 14 years later….
4 LEGACIES I HOPE TO LEAVE WITH YOU
1. THE GOSPEL OF THE CROSS
Acts 20:20-21
how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is EVERYTHING.
Paul didn’t go house to house declaring and teaching the details and timing of eschatology, or current events in the Middle East as a sign of the end times, or politics, or climate change, or whatever the trendy flavor was that year.
Paul preached … repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I hope that is a legacy I have left at HBC. I have made a point of including repentance from sin, and faith alone in Lord Jesus Christ as Savior in almost every sermon.
And if there is one thing you should take with you for the rest of your life it is that the person and work of Jesus Christ alone is what saves you.
The verse I have quoted most in my sermons is this one…
Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This is the verse that God used to save me, and to me, it is the most precious verse in all the Bible. And I hope so for you too.
Once, when Charles Spurgeon was preaching on this passage, his grandfather was sitting on the platform behind him. At one point he heard the godly older man whisper to him: “Tell them that again, Charles, tell them that again.”
So today, in my last sermon at HBC I want to tell you this again: your salvation is safe and secure because of the cross. Cling to the gospel, to Christ, trust fully in him and his work on your behalf, and everything will be fine.
But if there are two things you take from my 14 years with you, the second would be this…
2. THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE BIBLE
Acts 20:26-27
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Paul did not have a hobby-horse or an ax to grind. He didn’t harp on his pet doctrinal controversy, nor did he skip tough passages, nor did he leave out the parts that might offend people. He declared to them “the whole counsel of God.”
I hope this is something you have learned from me: read, know, study the whole Bible.
The second most quoted verse in my sermons has been 2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
When people ask me what we do to attract people to HBC, I say we preach 45 minute sermons, New Testament in the morning, Old Testament in the evening, we never skip a difficult or controversial text, and we tell people that if they won’t repent of sin, they shouldn’t call themselves Christians.
I have preached verse-by-verse, and chapter-by-chapter through Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, Nehemiah, Esther, 50 Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Luke (which took 6 years), Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Philemon, 1 Peter, Jude, and 5 chapters of John, in total 411 chapters, or just over a third of the chapters in the Bible.
Our church’s tag line is “ Where Truth Matters ” (a phrase culled from the title of John MacArthur’s anthology of his landmark sermons). And HBC has developed a reputation in the community, in the country, and even internationally as a place where biblical truth is taught, believed, and practiced.
Read your Bible every day and apply what you learn from the pulpit each week, and you will be complete, equipped for every good work.
3. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ELDERS
Acts 20: 17
, 28
Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him… Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
If there is something I hope you remember about my ministry it is that I did not do it alone.
I run everything past the elders. Every decision we make about caring for this church, we make together as a team. And, not many know this, but every decision we’ve made has been unanimous. We don’t vote. We talk, and e-mail, and pray until we agree.
These elders have wisely guided me, gently rebuked me, and continuously encouraged me. They have taught me and learned from me. They have led me and followed my lead. And we’ve done this for 14 years. I am the pastor I am because of them.
Trust these men. They are accountable to God for your souls. They work harder than you can imagine. And they do it for free, they do it for you, they do it for the Lord. Don’t complain and grumble. Pray for them and honor them with gifts, with respect, and with words of appreciation.
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
4. THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETERNITY
Acts 20:32-33
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
Paul’s closing words alluded to the inheritance of all saints, the eternal inheritance of Heaven.
When I was in seminary, I chose a topic for my thesis that would change my life. I did my thesis, my doctoral dissertation, and wrote my first book on the doctrine taught in this verse…
2 Cor 5:9 – 10
So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
And its companion text…
1 Cor 3:14-15
If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
We will all receive rewards for our faithfulness in the work we do for Jesus.
We will all forfeit reward for our unfaithfulness and poor stewardship of money, talents, time, availability, and other resources.
I have tried to live my life, and to season my preaching, with the flavor of this doctrine.
If you have missed it, here it is in a nutshell:
We are not citizens of South Africa or Alabama or Earth. We are citizens of Heaven.
We are a race of Heavenites, a nation of God’s people. And we need to live that way.
This temporary, earthly life is the layover in the airport on our way to a better country. Our final destination is our home in Heaven. So live like it.
Invest in the kingdom work financially.
Commit to serve your local church.
Prioritize church and home group attendance.
Evangelize the lost.
Find your identity in Christ and your future inheritance.
Cease from your anxiety about this life.
Strive for eternal dividends.
CONCLUSION:
Hillcrest Baptist Church, South Africa, thank you for being the best church in the world. You are healthy, thriving, and exemplary. Excel still more. I’ve taught you everything I know. Now it’s time I do it again on the other side of the globe.
Pray for me as I teach Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama what God can do through…
THE GOSPEL OF THE CROSS
THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE BIBLE
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ELDERS
THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETERNITY