Sermon
9/7/08
Romans 1:16 - The Power of the Gospel
Audio Sermon
"The Power of the
Gospel"
by Gary R. Hindman
Pastor Gary’s farewell sermon to his congregation
"I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for those who have faith”
(Romans 1:16)
I have a friend who used to march in various protests.
He had a whole trunk full of signs, one for each demonstration, until he had the
idea of a “universal protest sign.” It had just one
word, “Shame!” He laughed saying, “It works for everything!” Shame is a powerful emotion and
a very powerful word. Adam and Eve sinned against God and were ashamed. David
was ashamed of his scandal with Bathsheba. Peter denied Jesus three- times on
“Good Friday” and then left in shame. And Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, hung
himself for shame. With equal intensity the Apostle Paul makes a bold statement
of faith using this powerful word in one of my favorite passages: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” (Romans 1:16).
Paul may have been remembering how he had shamed the
name of Jesus as a persecutor of the Early Church. Or he may have recalled the
experience in Acts 17 of defending the faith with Athenian philosophers and how,
when he spoke of the Son of God dying on a cross they were offended and were
ashamed of such a God. They were “OK” with Paul as long as he kept things
general, ethereal, philosophic and reasonable. But a God who died for their sins
and was raised from the dead would have to be reckoned with and this they did
not want.
A long time ago I wanted the gospel to be only what I
wanted it to be. I was something like Thomas Jefferson who did not like some
passages of the Bible so he cut them out and just read the parts he liked! Like
Jefferson, I was ashamed of parts of the Bible. I didn’t make my own Bible like
Jefferson; what I did was try to have in black and white with no loose ends. I
studied theologians who made the Gospel palatable. I avoided passages and ideas
that did not fit my notion of reality. By the time I was 26, I had an “answer”
for all the mysteries of God.
But then I became a pastor. I met people like you, with
real life and death issues. Some were in quiet desperation, looking for a little
“good news.” There was a boy dying of cancer while his aching parents looked on.
Church members were losing their parents to old age. One lost a daughter to a
car accident. A woman ran away with the guy next door leaving behind a husband
and five kids. In the face of all this I was forced to throw away pat answers
and confront the great mysteries of life, faith and death. Slowly I began to
accept the fact that I may never understand and found mysteries I will never
fathom, but that's okay because I trust God and I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ.
I am not ashamed of the birth of Jesus in a humble
stable amid all the sights and sounds and smells of a first century barn! I am
not ashamed of the teachings of Jesus even though they challenge my life! I am
not ashamed that "the first shall be last, the last… first"; I am not ashamed
that it is hard for those who "have riches to enter the kingdom of God;” I am
not ashamed that "the meek shall inherit the earth;" I am not ashamed that "he
who finds his life will lose it; he who loses his life for Christ’s sake shall
find it." I am not ashamed of Christ’s miracles, opening the eyes of the blind
to the beauty of earth and sky; I am not ashamed of Him who opened the ears of
the deaf to the music of wind and rain and the human voice; who comforted the
broken-hearted; walked on water; turned water into wine at Cana’s wedding, who
exorcised demons, forgave sins and could foretell that which was to come. And I
am not ashamed of the death of Jesus. I am shamed by his death but not ashamed
that He chose to die for our sins. Nor am I ashamed that God brought Jesus back
again from the dead to be Lord of life and Head of the Church, his Body. And I
am not ashamed of His Church.
Are you ashamed of the gospel? I hope not! I hope you
have found its saving words to be the greatest blessing in your life, as I have.
I hope you trust in God with all your concerns knowing He will not leave or
forsake you despite the trials of this life. I hope my ministry here has helped
you in your walk with Christ. The church is a place where people find and
express personal faith. I cannot tell you how exciting it is when people come
here and grab hold of the eternal ideas that God alone is Lord of the conscience
and that you and I are to not only work out our own salvation; we are here to
serve Christ and help others, too! I love hearing testimonies of faith and see
you come alive in Christ as you find ways to serve him. It is as exciting now as
it was when I was 16 years old, saved by Christ, and began sharing my faith!
What does one say to a congregation of friends and
fellow-workers when it is his last official sermon after 19 years? I can’t think
of more fitting words than those of the Swedish diplomat and Christian believer,
Dag Hammarskjold, who said: “For all that has been, ‘thanks’; and for all that
is yet to be, ‘Yes’.” I am grateful to God and to you! I am thankful God gave me
a wife and lover, friend and companion, wife and mother of my children in
Barbara, who has been my help and support during 38-plus years of ministry. And
I am thankful for the wonderful staff of workers, here at the church. It would
be joyless and quite impossible to do ministry without our wonderful staff. I am
thankful to you, the members and friends, for God’s help, your prayers,
kindness, mercy, tolerance, blessing and support. Thanks be to God! For all that
has been, thanks. And, for all that is yet to be, yes. But it is a scary “yes”
because we are moving into a future that is yet to be. There is some anxiety for
me as well as for you. Come next week, when the dust settles, I will go from
intense involvement in our church to passivity as a former pastor. I have a lot
I want to do and a lot to accomplish after I leave here, but I will miss you. In
all this, though, I am comforted by two thoughts that can also apply to you:
First, I have always been blessed by a sense of call. In
other words, I have believed that God led me to the churches and situations I
have served. Beyond any doubt, God called me to be pastor of this church and God
is now calling me out of this church and is fitting this church for someone else,
who is good and faithful and wonderful who will lead you into a bright,
Christ-centered future. So my decision to leave here is very simple (not easy,
but simple) because I am doing God’s will and that is very, very important to
me. My call is ending here and that is natural and good and part of the
intentional will of God.
After this week I will no longer be your pastor. I will
not do anything that interferes with the life of this church and the processes
involved with finding and establishing a new pastor. You will always be in my
prayers and our friendship will stay intact and I will forever be grateful for
having had this time with you, but, harsh as it may seem, it will be best for
Barbara and me to separate ourselves from this church and its workings and
attend another church altogether. You are in good hands. I want you trust God to
be there for you.
There is a second thought for you: I have tried in my
ministry to show that it is not about me. It’s about God. It’s about His will
and God’s way, not mine. The best thing we can do is just get out of God’s way;
though at times, God lets us work alongside Him in doing His will. We are to
serve the Lord with gladness, put Christ in the center, live for Him and not
ourselves, trusting the Lord to direct all our ways and say boldly with the
Apostle Paul that we are “not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God for salvation.” Thank you for our years of ministry together. May
God bless you now and forever. Amen!
Gary Hindman, Pastor, in the last sermon to his
congregation of 19-years.
Audio by Pastor Ron Beckham
