"RESTORE OUR PAST…RENEW OUR FUTURE:
RESTORE AND RENEW OUR FOUNDATIONS"
Isaiah 58:12
Introduction: In 1979 Kathy and I left Southwestern Seminary to begin our ministry in Kern Heights Baptist Church in DeQueen, Arkansas. The church had an average attendance in Sunday School of 55. The building was only a few years old and was located on the northwest edge of DeQueen. While I was there the church developed a problem—it started to sink. Now I don’t mean in numbers or attitude. I mean it literally began to sink. When the church was built the congregation choose to build on ground that was created by using fill dirt. In their haste to build the church had not waited long enough to allow the fill to settle properly. The result was that the concrete flooring began to drop away from the footings and, well, the church took on a new look. Doorways were twisted, paneling pulled away from corners, bathroom sinks were lower—it was a mess. Several attempts were made to fix the problem but it continued to sink because there was no solid foundation. In contrast, the church we pastored in Ft. Smith built a new sanctuary in 1989. The steel beams that support the structure are 30 feet high. They are anchored in concrete piers that are 4 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Six feet doesn’t sound very deep except that at six feet down there was nothing but solid rock. The foundation is solid.
The foundation of any structure is vital because it serves as the base and support of the structure. The foundation determines the size, shape and strength. We all understand this concept physically, yet it is also true spiritually for the church of Jesus Christ. The foundation of a church spiritually will determine the strength and stability of its ministry as well as the endurance of the ministry.
Today as we begin our focus on our campaign to fund the cost of our renovations I want us to talk about the foundation upon which this church is built. There are many things that a church can substitute for their foundation. A church can build on tradition, the personality of its ministers, financial resources, programs, buildings and events. Yet all of these can change. Traditions give way to a new generation, people leave or die no longer being the foundation, money can be lost, programs can change or become ineffective, buildings can be ruined or destroyed and events can lose their meaning. Any of those foundations may appear adequate but over time they prove to be a shallow, worthless foundation upon which the church can last.
The text I am using today from the prophecy of Isaiah is a picture of sadness and hope. The sadness comes from the reality that the city of Jerusalem, once proud and powerful has been devastated by years of war. The walls of the city have been down so long that Isaiah refers to them as "ancient ruins." The hope, however, rested in the prophecy that from among the people there will arise individuals who will rebuild, taking those ruins and constructing new walls and who will raise up "the age old foundations," discovering once again what is timeless and certain. Those who give themselves to this task of restoration will be given titles of honor because they repaired and restored a place identified with God’s presence among His people.
This body of Christ called the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, Arkansas has some "age-old foundations." Foundations that have endured since its establishment in 1852 with eight charter members, known then as the Bethany Baptist Church. Foundations that exist today that are lasting, enduring and unchanging. What are those foundations?
Jesus asked Peter were asked to identify who others said He was. After Peter’s response Jesus said abut Himself, "…upon this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not overpower it" (Matt. 16:18). Paul would echo that statement when he said, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11). Those statements say that when it comes to the church, God’s called-out people, the church rests ultimately upon the person of Jesus Christ. It has been that way ,as the New Testament refers over 10 times to our Lord’s work ,before "the foundation of the world".
Astronomers at the University of California Lick Observatory have identified in the last month a solar system composed of three planets around the star Upsilon Andromedae within the Milky Way Galaxy. One of the planets is suggested to be 225 times the size of the earth. It has taken scientists over eleven years to clarify this recent discovery of an object 259 trillion miles from earth. Yet before this solar system was ever formed millions or billions of years ago the Lord Jesus Christ was established as the foundation of the church you and I are a part of today.
Ultimately, my friends, it’s all about Jesus. All that we are and for every reason we exist, it’s all about Jesus. We have no other basis for our being here except for Jesus. People can try to say that the church should represent this cause or this issue, but the church is about Jesus. We are not a social agency, a political action committee, a center for activities or an antiquated remnant of a nice idea. We are here because of Jesus, for Jesus, in Jesus, about Jesus, around Jesus, with Jesus and built on Jesus. We are a people whose ultimate foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul describes the church as people who make up a family. That family or "household" (v. 19) is built on a foundation of the "apostles and prophets" with Jesus being the center that holds it all together. He does not mean here the individuals but the spiritual teaching of the faith that has been passed on to them. They exist, Paul says, as a result of certain truths that bind them together.
We as a church do not have as our foundation the latest modern idea about God or Jesus. If you listen to our modern culture you will find the equivalent of the weirdness of Wicca, the multigods of Hinduism, the "one substance" of Buddhism and paganism with a dose of being passionate about whatever theology Disney is espousing in their cartoon of the year. We are built upon truths that will endure and have endured beyond the shelf-life of any other.
As theologian Karl Barth was quoted as saying, that for him all theology can be boiled down to one statement, "Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so." From this Book ,which is God’s word to us, we understand that God revealed himself in Jesus; that Jesus is God-fully human, fully God; that Jesus died for me in order that I might have a relationship eternally with God; that this relationship is only by faith, washing away my sins; that Jesus is alive and will return some day literally to take His church to be with Him.
When you strip all of the ideas of people collected over 2000 years of Christian teaching you still come back to this one truth: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That has been and is our foundation of faith, and shall be our foundation should the Lord delay His return another 2000 years.
Paul commends these to who Timothy is serving that those who are financially wealthy share their resources. By doing this they store up the "treasure of a good foundation for the future." This principle is also spiritual. There has been given to us as a church a foundation that is the Baptist heritage from which we take our name and our roots. Those who have gone before us established this church as a Baptist that cooperated with the then Southern Baptist Convention established in 1845.
It is widely known that our Southern Baptist denomination has been a point of conflict and contention since 1979. Yet regardless of the variety of "sides" one might be on, there are some principles that we as a church must champion together in order to continue the "good foundation" given to us. They are our Baptist distinctives. What are those things that distinguish us as Baptists?
We believe in the priesthood of all believers, the freedom and responsibility of every person to relate directly to God without imposition of creed or control of clergy or government. This is reflected in our belief that a person comes to faith in Christ personally. The method of declaring this publicly is by being fully immersed in water. Believers baptism is our identification with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the authority of Scripture, that it is God’s inspired word. We believe the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, is the foundation or the life of the individual and church. We affirm the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply Scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the autonomy of every local church. We believe Baptist churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to choose whomever they perceive as gifted for ministry, and to participate as they deem appropriate in the larger Body of Christ.
We believe in freedom of religion, freedom for religion, and freedom from religion. We support the separation of church and state.
These principles are things that make us unique. It has been, continues to be, and shall be to our peril where these are ignored and neglected. As we move into the new millennium it is imperative that we know we are Baptist and that we uphold and cling to those distinctives. Our foundation is that we are Baptist.
IV. We are a people who rest upon the person of Jesus Christ, the power of the doctrines of Christ and the principles of being Baptist. There is still one more foundation and that is the foundation of our forefathers. (Hebrews 9:26)
The writer of Hebrews saw written over the span of time the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus on the cross has removed the penalty of sin that stains and distorts our lives. It is from that sacrifice that God’s people have chosen to sacrifice as a way of expressing their own sense of debt to God. That sense of sacrifice is especially true in this place called First Baptist Church.
I have spent time this week reading the various documents that recount the history of this church. From its beginning in 1852 until this present day this church family has been the result of the sacrifice of its members. There are countless examples where this is true from the salary of one pastor being $284.00 a year to the well over a million dollars this church gave last year to our budget.
There is one story that I find particularly moving. November 11, 1917 the sanctuary, that we will worship in again next week, was dedicated. It was built at a cost of $100,000, which was an enormous sum in those days. What is significant is that the day of its dedication the church was debt free. As the history of the church records, "every dollar of the cost" was paid and that during the service no collection was taken. The minutes of the Ladies Aid Society of November 11, 1917 reads, "‘Opening Day’ November 11, 1917 was a great day for Jonesboro Baptists, when our beautiful new church building was formally opened. A great day in the Sunday School and a great day in the church. Mr. O. D. Allen, the builder of our pipe organ, presided at the organ, and Pastor Hobbs preached to great congregations. Dinner was served in the church by the ladies, to out of town visitors and a great time was had. "When all were filled, twelve baskets of fragments were left, from which supper was served. All together it was a very happy day." Mrs. P. C. Barton, Sec.
This body of Christ is a place where sacrifice has been a foundation stone making us, as the late Dr. C. Z. Holland, who pastored here from 1943-1964, said at the 100th anniversary, "the beneficiaries of a great spiritual heritage." This church located at Main and Jefferson is a reflection of sacrificial giving and living.
Today I am calling upon everyone who claims this place as their church family to join in a financial sacrifice for the cost of our renovation. We have done this out of a necessity but also out of a desire for ministry. Some will say, "Why did we have to spend so much on ourselves? This could be given to missions." The reason is that to be a viable place of ministry for the next century it was necessary to restore and renew our place of worship. I say to you that we are positioned uniquely to meet the ministry needs of our community. The theme of ministry was the hallmark of my predecessor Emil Williams. It is still the heartbeat of this family of faith.
Many of the largest churches in the world are in Korea. It was not always so, however. For years, Korea was ravaged by occupation forces and war. Why do we see such vibrant churches in that land today? One reason is the dedication and sacrifice of Christians who have known much hardship. One congregation in Korea was growing rapidly but had reached a point where they could go no further unless each member gave a sacrificial gift. So during a special service the people began bringing gifts to the front of the church. One older woman came forward with her little rice bowl and chopsticks. The pastor said, "Mama, you can’t give that. It’s all you possess." "You take it," she insisted. As the pastor stood before the congregation, holding that rice bowl and the two chopsticks, a man stood up and said, "I’ll give you 6,500,000 won" (approximately $10,000).
While that story touches us, we have more before us than the gift of a poor woman. We have before us the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Peter writes in his epistle, "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps," (1 Peter 2:21 ).
There is no greater example.
The foundations of this church will endure: the foundation of Jesus Christ, the foundation of the doctrines of our faith, the foundation of our Baptist heritage and the foundation of the sacrifice of our forefathers. It is now our turn, our time, our trust to restore our past and renew our future. May it be that we are those who raised up for the generations to come the "age old foundations."
Sunday, May 2, 1999
Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Jonesboro, Arkansas
btippit@fbcjonesboro.org