Well, for the first time in the service God has placed me in as pastor, we have just finished walking through the Bible during the Sunday morning Worship services! Originally set up as “Through the Bible in 731 Days” this message series grew. 2012 was a leap year so it was 366 days long. 2013 was a 365 day year and the 2 together made up the 731 days. The 731 days did not cover the entire Bible though. We finished Jude in 2013 and began Revelation the first Sunday on 2014.
Looking over the years I had been serving the Church at Lake Drummond I was heart-broken that in that time I had only preached from Revelation some 3 times. So we slowed down and walked through every verse of this book. What a study this has been and eye opening to the body of Christ! The enormity of who Jesus is, the awesomeness of His sacrifice, His love, His grace, His promises and His authority are more that we can take in at one setting. Yet gather at the table we have and fed and digested on His Word.
There were good comments and just a little angst about a sermon series lasting at first for 2 years, yet actually covering two years and eight months. Yet the walk through Scripture has been so fresh and enlightening and real. While other churches around the world are looking to the world to grow the church, Lake Drummond has dived into the Word. While others are looking for some new thing to reach people, Lake Drummond has taken the Word of God to the people. While others are seeking a scheme to get people to come to church, Lake Drummond has been actively sharing Scripture with folks in and out of the church. While 25% of the over 45,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention had no baptisms last year, Lake Drummond Baptist Church baptized 21 brothers and sisters-in-Christ since September 1st of 2013!
Have we got it all figured out? Of course not. Do we brag on this statistic? Absolutety not. Why is this important then? It’s important to see the simplicity of the Gospel message and yet understand the enormity of the same. It’s not a new message we need to share with a world with itching ears, it’s the old, old story that saves! While many are seeking some new thing we have the message of salvation, the simplicity of the cross and the love of the Father as He sent His Son to pay the sin penalty that we and we alone owed. It’s the obedience of that only-begotten Son who could have walked away yet suffered for sin He did not commit that we might be saved and be able to stand with this Son, Jesus, in eternity bathed in His glory and grace. Do we have it all figured out? No, but He does, so we seek His Word in all we do and lean not in our own understanding. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His burden is light and His yoke is easy so we cannot brag on what we are doing for in order for His grace to abound in us we must die to self! How can I, the clay pot, brag on what I can hold when I did not make myself; the Potter did. We boast not on ourselves but on His grace. We boast not on our abilities but stand before Him in obedience. We boast not on how many people we have led to the foot of the cross but we fall at His feet amazed that He would allow us to be present when He and He alone saves.
Lake Drummond Baptist Church has been in existence for 164 years now since July 27th, 2014. Our Father is using those obedient to Him and it shows. May we continue to keep our eyes on the prize and not on self. May we continue to walk the narrow path seeing Jesus as our reward without regard to the things of this world that would draw our attentions away from Him. May we live our lives as He has said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”