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Sunday, 26 June 2011 06:21

June 26, 2011

“THANKS”

1 Corinthians 3:6

By Pastor Ole Lillestolen

What I want to say most to you today is “Thank you!” And there are so many things we would like to thank you for as we think back on our time here with you as your pastor and wife.

First let me say “Thank you for accepting us as part of your family”. Of course the whole thing of being accepted somewhat goes with the territory of being a pastor. It’s not like you move in to a new community cold, having to find people to develop relations with the way we did when we moved to Pennsylvania before we went into the ministry. But, we have felt a special sense of being part of your family.

That doesn’t always happen to spiritual leaders, especially ones who don’t always tell people what they would like to hear. I was thinking of Moses and a lot of the Old Testament prophets, remembering that Moses was often rejected by his ‘flock’! In fact, in Numbers 16:2,3 we read that there was an uprising against Moses where, “two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown . . . assembled together against Moses and Aaron.” I’ve never had a delegation come to tell me, “It’s time for you to leave and let someone else take your job!” I’ve often wondered why this hasn’t happened, but we have truly had a wonderful time of fellowship and of working together during these 24 years. Thank you!

We also want to thank you for the way you have provided for us. Hartland is a wonderful place to live, and there have been many times we’ve been sitting on our deck looking out over the yard and church property thinking how much like a park it all looks. And the house has been more than adequate for us, especially after the new garage and upper living space was built. Two people sure don’t need that much space, but it has been great to have it when we’ve been entertaining, and it will be a great house for a larger family to move into.

But, I chose my text for this morning because one of the things we appreciate most about our time with you is that we have always had the feeling that we are a team working together. I may have been planting, but someone else has been watering, and God has been making things happen.

We were reminded of this part of our experience here again at our farewell reception. Bethany is full of people who are willing to work to make times special. You all worked hard to make this farewell special, but one of the hallmarks of this church, that people notice and comment constantly about is the fact that there are so many willing workers here!

It wouldn’t have been much of a ministry if it were all up to Myrna and I. And that is not the way God planned for it to be. In Ephesians 4:11-13 we read that God gave the various leadership gifts to the church for the express purpose of “equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.” And, you have embraced your calling in ways that have been an absolute blessing to us.

Over Bethany’s history in this community there has been a constant question: “Is this a church for Bethany (Maybe even just for Norwegians) or is this a church for Hartland and the surrounding area?” Another way of putting this is to ask whether Bethany is introverted or extroverted. Jesus commissioned us to be extroverted, focused on others.

That’s maybe not exactly the right term, but Jesus commissioned us to be focused on reaching out, not just in! In Matthew 28:18-20 He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   Your commitment has been to reach out and to do the work that it takes to do that.

But, our text reminds us that it takes all kinds of work to accomplish this task.   The Apostle Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”

We used to live in farm country and watched this process of planting and watering. To a large degree the watering was taken care of by rain, but not always. There was also irrigation, and there was a lot of work involved in that, as in every stage of this whole process. Modern farming takes equipment, but equipment doesn’t just show up, ready all by itself. A lot of it has to be put together and be maintained, and fixed when it is broken. You can’t do the “real work of farming” until you have done the menial work of getting everything ready to do that work. And then it is cultivating, planting, weeding, spraying, hauling, picking stones, cultivating, and then, finally, harvesting. Oh yes, and then hauling that crop to a bin, moving it to the grain elevator for sale, and then cleaning up the hot, damp bin for the next time around.
Church work is like that. It isn’t all just one kind of thing, and in today’s world if you don’t do the work to make it worth their while to come to church, that world we are trying to reach simply won’t come! But, you have been great at doing the work of providing great ministries, like the youth program. That has consistently taken up to twenty volunteers coming each week to provide a fun and inspiring evening for the children and youth of this area. You even built a beautiful facility to make that ministry as good as it can possibly be.

Choirs, Sunday School, Van ministry, Prime Timers, Bible Studies, Men’s ministry breakfasts . . .   There are times I wonder, “Is this effort really worth it all?” Then I see one person who is being reached who is not being reached with the gospel in any other way and I realize that there is not enough we can do to make sure that individual gets the real opportunity to get to know that Jesus Christ died and rose for him or for her, so that he or she can open their hearts to Him.

Again, the Apostle Paul describes his ministry approach by saying in 1 Corinthians 9:22,23, “I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel.” Right now I have in my mind a man that comes to men’s ministry breakfast and that’s just about his whole church experience so far. If he ever gets to heaven it will be because of that ministry! How much is it worth to make those eggs and pancakes every month? One soul?

An extroverted church is a church where the congregation gets involved in doing all kinds of work so that one by one people can come to know the Lord! Bethany has been that kind of church and we so very deeply appreciate your commitment to being all things to all people to save some! “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.” Please don’t ever become an introverted church that isn’t willing to put out the time and effort to show your friends and neighbors that Bethany and the people of Bethany have something very special to offer them. Today, many unsaved people will not appreciate what they are missing until they have experienced Christ, and that is where your commitment comes in.

The last thing I want to bring up in the way of saying thanks, is the fact that you have given Myrna and I the privilege of being involved in what God has been doing here at Bethany for these many years. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”

We have worked hard together, and we have sought to help each other as well as to reach out to others with God’s love and grace. But, for my part, even though I can preach a fair sermon and have made a lot of friends through my ministry, I know that I cannot take credit for the good that has been happening here at Bethany these years.

I take to heart Jesus’ insight in Luke 17:10, "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" I have done what I have done because I have been following His orders, but God is the one who has done the real work in your hearts and in the hearts of others who have been touched by the ministry of Bethany. I feel very much like I have been more of an observer than a doer, or at least like the two year old kid who fancies himself helping his father carry a heavy load. Yet I wouldn’t trade my privilege to be part of what God has been doing here for anything.

Bethany is not a club with great performances. Bethany is a place where God works on transforming hearts through the blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. Bethany is not a place for getting permission from God to do what we want to do, only to find out that it was a bad idea after all. Bethany is a place to come to allow God to change the way we think so that we engage life in ways that we can rejoice eternally to have experienced. Bethany is a place of forgiveness, of getting back up and moving on in a new direction, of hope, of help, of reaching out to those who feel alone.

Myrna and I have been privileged to have been able to be a part of what God has been doing here and we have many, many wonderful memories. Thanks for everything. Thanks for the memories. God is good!