Legacy: 30 Year Celebration

Well, 30 years is a long time in some ways.

Some of you remember it like yesterday, others of you say, I was not born 30 years ago.

I was still in school 30 years ago.

So even for me, 30 years is a little hard to conceive of what was happening in 1989 when a group of people said, let's begin Orchard Hill Church.

But here's what we know is that many thousands, and that's not an overstatement, many thousands of people have heard about Jesus Christ through the ministries of Orchard Hill over those 30 years, and thousands have come to follow Christ or grown in their following of Jesus Christ because of what takes place at Orchard Hill.

And as you think about that, it isn't ultimately about the programs, although programs are helpful for that, but it's it's how God has worked in people's lives.

And it's certainly a great legacy that we have here at Orchard Hill.

What has been.

But here's something that's true about a legacy.

And that is a legacy is not formed by trying to create a legacy.

A legacy is formed by doing things with routine excellence toward a goal.

And you know that this is true because this is true not just in church, but it's true in your life, it's true in your family, it's true in your business.

In other words, if you begin in your family and say, I want to create a legacy, and you try to create a legacy, you probably won't create a legacy.

But if you show up day after day and do things with routine excellence, with gentleness, with kindness, with intentionality, you will one day look back and say, This family has been built, and it is a strong family.

And the same thing's true in your business, and it's true in the church.

And what has been true at this church for 30 years is that people have, with routine excellence, showed up and said, we want to be part of what God is doing.

And that's part of what has made this place such a special place.

And I'd like to take just a few moments and point us to a passage today that rather than looking back, hopefully looks ahead, although it will hopefully build on what has been.

And if you were present a few weeks ago at the dedication of 1620 Penn Avenue in the strip district, I referenced this same passage, but I want to emphasize something very different within it.

And here's the passage that I'm referring to.

It's the very end of the book of Acts, the last two verses.

And it says this it says, for two whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to him.

He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

And in this, I believe we see a little bit of what has created a legacy in the Christian world in general, and specifically at Orchard Hill Church, and that is we see that Paul welcomed all who came and he proclaimed the kingdom.

And as a church, going all the way back 30 years ago, what has been important here is saying we want to be a church for the unchurch, for the D-Church, for people who are spiritually hungry but yet haven't been connected to a local church community.

In other words, we want to welcome all who came.

And the way that we have stated that in the past has been we want to reach seekers and build believers.

Now we say we want to help people find and follow Jesus Christ.

And helping people find Jesus means that we don't elevate our preferences over what it takes to be accessible so that when somebody comes, maybe for the first time, that they're able to say, you know what, this is a place where I can come to try to understand who God is, how God might relate to my life.

And then we want the second part of this, just to be teaching the kingdom or building believers or helping people find and not just find Christ, but follow Christ.

And this is the idea of saying, once somebody comes into a relationship with Jesus Christ, then what is next?

And it's this idea of saying, I want to be able to say that I am growing in my relationship with God.

And to say that we want to help people find and follow Jesus Christ is really just a restatement of Matthew 28, the Great Commission, go into all the world and make disciples.

And in a sense, it should be the calling of every church.

But it's something here at Orchard Hill that defined those early years and has continued to define this church over all of these years, and that is saying, how can we be accessible to everybody and yet be pushing toward the kingdom?

But here's what I would like to emphasize here this morning.

And I think that this is true of what has been, but also can be true in the days ahead, and that is this little word boldness.

It says, he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness.

And I mentioned that I spoke a little bit from this passage at the dedication of the strip district location.

But I was reading through a translation after that again, and I came to this, and there was a little footnote about the word that's used here for boldness, and the footnote launched me into a little study of the Greek background of this word, because sometimes there are words, just like there are in English, that have a technical meaning, but then they come to have a broader meaning as you understand them, especially that's specific for the time.

And this is a word that has a little bit of specific meaning for the time.

The Greek word is parisia, and I realize that doesn't mean anything if you're not familiar with Greek, but here's what the word connoted: it connoted a privilege to speak one's mind.

Often people in those days lived in totalitarian cultures, meaning a culture where if you spoke your mind, you could be in trouble.

In other words, there was a risk to speak your mind.

There were certain citizens that had protection, and they felt free to paresia, to speak with boldness, but not everybody did.

And so the word came to mean somebody who spoke their truth openly, boldly, freely.

And it meant somebody who at times would speak their truth even in a way that was bordering on ignorant outspokenness, and even if it was at risk to themselves, that they were open and didn't hide their convictions.

In other words, this word became something that was spoken of as a word that helped people to say, I will be open with everybody, even if there's a risk involved.

Here are a few places where this verse is or this word is used.

Acts, I'm sorry, Mark chapter 8, verse 32 says this, and he spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Mark 8:32

Says he spoke plainly, the word there paresia.

In other words, he spoke out of his truth so that others would hear it, and then he was rebuked.

In Acts chapter 4, we see this word used several times.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 4, verse 13 is a place where we see it.

Acts 4:13

Here's what we read.

It says, when they saw the courage of Peter and John, they realized that they were unschooled ordinary men and were astonished that they, and that, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

The word here, courage, paresia.

In other words, these men, even though they didn't have all the qualifications, all the background, everything you would expect, they spoke with such conviction, such courage, so plainly and openly about Jesus that they said, there has to be something about the way that these men are speaking.

Then Acts chapter 4, verse 29.

Acts 4:29

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness, parisia.

Acts 4, 31.

After this they prayed, and the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God parisia, boldly.

In other words, they spoke with conviction and plainly about what God had done.

And here's what I believe has been true at Orchard Hill for 30 years, and will define the future, and that is it isn't just the boldness that comes from stage, but it's the boldness of people who believed enough in something to say, I want to tell you and invite you into something where I believe you can find life.

You see, what happens so many times is people will say, Well, I'm interested in maybe spiritual things for myself, but we don't often speak as boldly as we can.

But part of the reason God has worked so miraculously in this place has been hundreds, thousands of people who speak with paroisia, boldly, into the culture, not obnoxiously, not with an axe to grind, not to try to prove a point, but simply to say, I want you to come to understand who Jesus Christ is.

There's a man named Penn Gillette, who is known for his magic with uh Gillette or Penn and Teller, and he said this, he's a known atheist.

Here's what he said: he said, I don't respect people who don't proselytize.

I don't respect that at all.

If you believe that there's a heaven and a hell and that people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and think that it is not really worth telling them that this would make sense because it's socially awkward for you?

How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them?

And what Pen Gillette is saying is, why don't you, as Christian people, speak with more paresia?

Why don't you have more boldness if you really believe what it is that you're saying?

And here's the issue that I believe is significant for the future, and that is if as a church we ever start to say, well, we have programs, we have people who do it, and the thing just happens, rather than saying, it is part of my calling to speak about the word of God clearly to people, to say, whoever wants to come can come, and I'll be part of their lives, and then I'll invite them into something more.

You see, that's how God often works is through people who simply say, I have a belief, a conviction about what is, and I'm willing to speak and proclaim what is.

And the truth is, when you and I see that in people, it's compelling.

We find it motivating when we see somebody exercise or practice this idea of paresia.

There's an example of it.

It certainly wasn't tied to paresia, but in literature, in the book Jane Eyre, the story's told of a woman who had a very troubled life.

And she came to work in the house of Mr.

Rochester, and the two of them fell in love, and it looked like everything was going to be fantastic for her.

He proposes, they're ready to get married.

And as the wedding ceremony is unfolding, the minister asked that timeless question: Does anyone have any reason that the two of them should not be married?

That these two people, I don't ask that question, by the way, because I don't want the answer.

Um, at least not that late in the game.

And somebody stands up and says, Mr.

Rochester is already married.

And you can imagine the way that that unfolds.

And Mr.

Rochester begins the process of saying, give my horrible life a glance.

He was married to a woman who was who was ill and mentally incapacitated in some ways, and he had done his best to be honorable, and here was his one glimpse, his one hope of life, was Jane Eyre.

And Jane had found her one glimpse of life.

With Mr.

Rochester, they just had this one little problem.

And Jane makes this speech.

She says, Do as I do.

Trust in God.

Believe in heaven and meet me there.

Laws and principles are not for times when there is no temptation, but they are for times such as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor.

I love this line.

If at my individual convenience I might break them, then what would be their worth?

I will keep the law given by God.

There I put my feet.

Do you know why that book has been turned into movies, been read over and over?

Yes, it's a love story, but it's actually kind of a tragedy.

Part of it is because when you get there, you say, What would I do in a situation like that?

Would I have that kind of courage of conviction?

Would I do what she did or would I cave?

And what she does is compelling in such a way that in literature that story is told over and over, and it's a story that is still in our modern mind because we say there's something about somebody who believes like that.

You see, boldness, paresia is not obnoxiousness.

It's not saying I have the answers and I want everyone else to have the answers.

What it is, is it's saying I have a conviction about who God is, and it informs the way that I live to such an extent that when other people are aware of it and see it, they start to say, there's something about the way that you live your life that matters.

And it draws me.

And this shows up in college campuses, shows up in places of business, shows up in marriages, shows up in high schools, in the after prom parties and the decisions that you make and the way that you live, it shows up when your friends get together and they all start to talk about somebody and you choose to jump in or not jump in.

It shows up over and over again in terms of how you choose to live and then what you say about it.

You see, if we simply say, hey, I'm just going to live a good life and that's just what I do, but I never invite somebody, never speak about it, then there isn't really paresia.

I'm just simply choosing good.

If I speak about it without living it, then what I'm doing is I'm perpetuating the notion of hypocrisy.

But if the courage of conviction rests inside individuals along with a boldness, then what happens is people come and they experience life change, and we get to say 20, 30 years from now, maybe five years from now, maybe longer, that we got to see the story of life change continue to be told through what God has done together in this place.

And in the strip district, and in Butler County, and in future venues that we have a chance to be a part of.

There's one more verse that I want to highlight that has this word paresia in it.

And it's in 1 John chapter 2.

1 John 2 · chapter mention

And it's a little unexpected in this verse.

And the reason that I want to highlight this is because what you could do after hearing this right now is say, Well, I'm going to go out and be more bold with my faith, more bold in the way that I interact in this world.

And you might be able to live that way for a short time.

But you see, parisia comes from something that's deeper.

And it comes from actually celebrating and having confidence that isn't trumped up but is rooted in who we are in Jesus Christ.

Here's what we read in 1 John 2, verse 28.

1 John 2:28

It says, And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears, we may be confident.

We may be parisia and unashamed before his coming.

Now, why is the word paresia used here not for speaking something, but for a state of being?

And I believe that what it's doing here is it's functioning as a way to respond to what God has done in Jesus Christ, because it's talking about a future judgment, and it's saying that one of the things that happens if you've come into Jesus Christ is that you can live with a sense of full confidence.

You see, the reason that I can stand here and talk about boldness is not because I say I'm good and other people are bad, and I want people to be good like me, but it's because I know that my status is based on what Jesus Christ has done on my behalf.

And if you and I get that, we live in that, we rest in that, what will happen is we will be so taken with that message that we'll want other people to see it.

And here's how that works in reality, and that is all of us are looking for something to tell us that our lives are good, that they matter.

And what happens when you come to have this sense of paresia from God, this sense of confidence because of what Jesus Christ has done on your behalf?

All of a sudden, instead of saying, I need to get a verdict from all kinds of things in my life, and I'm striving and trying to get something to tell me I'm okay, I live with a sense of saying, God has declared something over me that is bigger than any other verdict I can get.

You see, that's beautiful beautiful and freeing in our culture.

And yes, it's proselytizing to use the word that Pen Gillette uses.

But you know what, we make no apology that we want to convert people, not because we think we have it all figured out, but because we know something is valuable.

Maybe here's a way to think of it.

If I were to say to you that I found a cure for cancer, and there's plenty of the cure, there's no limited resource.

I I found enough that it could be available to everybody.

And then I said, but don't tell anybody, because it might be socially awkward to tell somebody that that I found a cure for what they have.

You would say, that is ridiculous.

If you have a cure for this ravaging disease that destroys homes and families and lives, wouldn't you want that to be available to everybody you could make it available to?

And you see, when you and I come to understand just a little bit of what God has done and offers, then we will by nature say, I want to be somebody who speaks openly, plainly, boldly about these truths.

And what we have a chance to be a part of.

It's something that some people had a chance to be a part of 30 years ago, many over these years, and that is seeing the next generation come and be able to say, This is a place where I found God.

This is a place where I grew in my relationship with God.

And one of the things that's so cool when we talk about a legacy is that there aren't a lot of places you get to leave a legacy.

I mean, most businesses, when you leave, people forget about you in a few years, even your family to a certain extent.

I mean, that's a little better, but uh to a certain extent, you don't most of us know the names of our great-grandparents, and our great-grandparents never got to see us.

But, but a hundred years from now, when probably very few of us, except maybe Joey Fike, will be part of the church here, this place and the campuses that we get a chance to help establish in these years that we're part of Orchard Hill, will still be proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ.

And there will be thousands of people again who've never thought about coming to Orchard Hill today, who will be experiencing the grace of God because of the investments that are made in this time.

Yeah, I don't know what the next five years will hold.

I hardly know what the next five days will hold.

But what I do know is that the investments made in something that has eternal significance are something that I'll never regret.

I know some of you may be here today and you may be saying, Well, you know what, I don't really care about church, I don't even care about God, I don't want to have paresia, I just want my life to work out, and I just want God to help me here today in what's going on.

But you see, God is basically saying, Come as you are, and I'll work.

I may not work everything out exactly as you want, but as you encounter God, what will happen is you'll say, I want other people to experience what I've experienced.

And the first step for you may just be to come.

It might even be to come today and say, I don't have confidence about my future.

Because I'm counting on me rather than on Jesus.

And what we often say here is that it's what Jesus has done on our behalf that we use when we stand before God.

And so this is an opportunity, even maybe today, just to say, God, I'll trust you.

Father, we pray very simply as we're gathered, that those of us who come to faith in your son Jesus Christ, would live with boldness, parisia.

And God, for those who who aren't certain where they stand, I pray that even today would just be an unapologetic call to say, consider Jesus Christ once again as the real answer for the things that are challenging and that you're facing in your life.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.