Ordination and Induction of Aaron Scott - Sermon

It's a tremendous joy and privilege to

be with you this morning, even just for

the singing. It's been fantastic to hear

you singing this morning. So, thank you

uh this afternoon. We What? It's so

weird, isn't it, doing we're not used to

doing this on a Saturday afternoon. What

are we doing this afternoon? All right,

there we are. Yes. It's a a great

privilege to be here to address you uh

this afternoon on this very special

occasion. special you personally as

you've heard uh because it's a joy to

see my friend Aaron uh you've really

confused now I've got to really doubly

think about it haven't I um in this

special I mean my my memory here how

could I sum up Aaron back then it's

basically a slightly grumpy old man

trapped in a young p person's body

that's basically um and it it seems

nothing's changed probably

Um, but it's been a good 15 years, maybe

something like that. To see you set

apart for a ministry today is is is so

thrilling. But it's also super special

for you as a church. It really, really

is. And we've heard a bit about that

today. Now, we've heard some sobering

words already spoken to Aaron and by

Aaron today. I hope just to bring one

more word really that I hope will

encourage, maybe inspire, maybe

orientate us a little bit as we continue

together uh as Christ's body. Lots of

people have mission statements, don't

they, for their lives. Uh companies have

a mission statement sometimes. Churches

have mission statements, too. Here in

Colossians 1 verse 28, I think we have

Colossians 1:28

maybe Paul's

aim in life and ministry in a very

simple phrase. Simple so that Aaron can

remember it. All right. What does he

say? Him we proclaim.

Sometimes people ask me what my job is

and I tell them that I'm a pastor and

then they tell me, "Well, what does that

mean?" Um, and I, you know, what that

involves and and if, if it wasn't too

obscure for them, I would say something

like this. My job is to proclaim him.

The summation of everything Paul

preached and taught, making fully known

the word of God, as he says in verse 25,

was simply Jesus Christ.

He is the message. He is the means for

ministry. He is the goal of all we do.

Erin, may I submit to you that this is

the one thing that God has really set

you apart for today. to proclaim Jesus.

Make it your whole ambition, your whole

work, your whole life to proclaim

Christ.

If we were to sort of slightly tweak it,

maybe broaden it even more and simply

say, "Your aim is to bring people to

Jesus."

Bring people to Jesus in your preaching,

in your pastoral care, in your marriage,

with your neighbors, in your community.

Bring people to Jesus. That is the

heartbeat of Christian ministry. It's

what Paul lived for and suffered for.

And he's what he is calling us all to,

not just Darren. today.

And let me show you three reasons why

bringing people to Jesus should be so

central to your life and our life and

ministry. Firstly, Aaron, bring people

to Jesus because he's the one we all

need.

Look how Paul describes his ministry in

verse 24. says, 'Now I rejoice in my

sufferings for your sake, and in my

flesh I am filling up what is lacking in

Christ's afflictions for the sake of his

body, that is the church, of which I

became a minister, a servant according

to the stewardship from God that was

given to me for you to make the word of

God fully known. Paul had been called by

God, to make the word of God fully

known. And I think he sums up what that

word is. Verse 27 tells us, "God chose

to make known how great among the

Gentiles are the riches of the glory of

this mystery, which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory."

The mystery, it's been revealed. The

essence of all that God's word is about

is this. Christ in you, the hope of

glory. And then comes verse 28. Him we

proclaim. Simple really.

But why?

Well, one thing Colossians draws out

back in chapter 1 verse 18 is because

well, God thinks it's all about Jesus.

He He wants Jesus to be preeminent. He

says supreme.

God thinks it's about the son. But more

than that, we proclaim Jesus because

Jesus is the one we need.

first because Jesus is the revelation we

need. I mean, think again about what

Paul has already told us in the book of

Colossians. We didn't read this, but

back in verse 15 tells us, I mean,

amazingly, Jesus is the image of the

invisible God. That's what it says. He

is the revelation of God. You know, for

centuries, uh, humanity has been groping

in the darkness, wondering, is there a

God? What might he be like? Philosophers

have speculated.

Religions have offered their best

guesses. But in Jesus, at last, God can

be truly known. And when you see Jesus,

you see God himself. He's a revelation.

Aaron, bring people to Jesus because in

him they will encounter God.

Secondly, bring people to Jesus because

Jesus is the savior we need. Again, all

through Colossians, look back at verse

13 of this chapter. He says, "He has

delivered us from the domain of darkness

and transferred us into the kingdom of

his beloved son in whom we have

redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We

are enslaved to sin and we need to be

set free. We are held captive in the

darkness. We are condemned in our

rebellion. But Jesus, he's the redeemer.

He's the one who paid the price for our

freedom. He's the one who can forgive

us, who wipes the slate clean. He's the

rescuer who brings us into the light.

It's again verse 20.

Uh Jesus is there, the reconciler who

makes peace through his blood shed on

the cross. He presents us holy and

blameless and above reproach before him.

Aaron, when broken, battered, guilty,

wicked people come to you, take them to

Jesus who can cleanse, who can forgive,

who can reheal, who can restore. Who

else has shed their blood for our sin?

Who else has conquered the grave? Who

else has slaying Satan? Only Jesus.

Bring them to Jesus because he's the

savior we need. Thirdly, because he's

the teacher we need. He's the teacher we

need. Verse 18 says he's the head of the

body, the church. He's the Lord of our

lives, the master of the church. And he

shows us then. He teaches us and leads

us in the way of real life and hope.

Chapter 2 verse three Paul will say that

in Christ are hidden all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge.

Everything we need for life is found in

him. Jesus is the one who makes sense of

everything and makes sense of the world.

Erin, when people come to you anxious

and confused, troubled, tossed about in

life, trying to make sense of things,

bring them to Jesus, the truth, who

teaches us, who shows us the way things

really are in the world. Jesus is the

one we need because he's the revelation

of God. He's the savior for sinners.

He's the teacher for our very lives.

You may have heard me share this with

you before, Erin. I can't quite

remember, but there's a lady in my

church. She's about 50 years of age, and

she's endured a brutal life, abusive

relationships. She's got a disfigured

face from a violent partner, an eating

disorder, shattered self-worth.

When we met her, she was too afraid to

leave her house.

But we began reading the Bible with her.

We told her about Jesus. And after a few

sessions, I asked her, "What do you

think of Jesus?"

And without hesitation, and I'll never

forget this, she said, "Oh, I want him.

I want him."

And a few months later, we were able to

baptize her. She didn't know anything

about God or the Bible.

But when she encountered Jesus, she knew

he's the answer.

She didn't find a self-help program. She

didn't find her own truth. She found a

person, the son of God, who died to free

her from her sin and shame and

brokenness. She needed Jesus. And when

she found him, she found everything.

And oh Aaron, that's what we want when

we present Christ in such a way that

people realize,

yeah, I want him. That's our aim.

Eron, give your people here Jesus

because he's the one they need the most.

Give them Jesus in your preaching. Open

the scriptures and show them Christ on

every page. Give them Jesus in your

pastoral care. Point them to the savior

who who understands their pain and

carries their burdens. Give them Jesus

in your leadership. Shepherd them as an

undersheperd of their chief shepherd.

Because when they encounter Jesus, they

encounter God himself. When they find

Jesus, they find grace for their souls.

When they follow Jesus, they find a

shepherd for their life. When they see

Jesus in the scriptures, they see

everything rightly.

The church. The church here. This is

this is your mission too, isn't it?

Isn't it? To bring people to Jesus,

your neighbors, your colleagues, your

family members. Don't you know how much

they need him? Don't you know how much

you need him? Bring people to Jesus

because he's the one we truly need.

Secondly, Aaron, bring people to Jesus

because he's the one who transforms us.

He's the one who transforms us, not you.

You'll find this painfully in ministry

sometimes. How much you wish you could

just grab someone and shake it out of

them or shake it into them. Well, no, we

can't. Only Jesus can transform. Look at

verse 28 again.

him we proclaim, warning everyone and

teaching everyone with all wisdom that

we may present everyone mature in

Christ. Here's the the goal the goal of

bringing people to Jesus. It's total

transformation.

Chapter 1 vers 22 says something similar

here. It's Jesus doing the work, right?

You have been reconciled to his in his

body of flesh by his death in order to

present you holy and blameless and above

reproach before him. So the goal here is

nothing less than being transformed into

the image of Jesus, conformed to the

image of the son, as Paul says elsewhere

in Romans, to be presented holy,

blameless, above reproach, mature in

Christ.

And and how does this transformation

happen? If that's the goal, what's the

means? Verse 28 again, through warning

everyone and teaching everyone with all

wisdom.

warning or or or admonishing is

necessary so that people don't lose

their way. I it's a guard rails on a on

a narrow mountain road. And faithful

pastors must warn God's people about

false teaching, about patterns of sin,

compromising with the world and so on.

It's also teaching. Teaching is giving

people all that Christ has commanded us.

Jesus said this in Matthew 28. Go

therefore and make disciples of all

nations, teaching them to observe all

that I have commanded you. That's the

systematic instruction in the whole

council of God. And it's done with all

wisdom because well, we know life is

complicated. People are complicated. And

the skilled pastor must take the

unchanging truth of scripture and apply

it uh wisely to the varied situations of

people's lives.

That's the goal. That's the means. And

there's a process here too. Look at

chapter 2 verse 6. Therefore, as you

received Jesus uh Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in him, rooted and built up in

him and established in the faith, just

as you were taught, abounding in

thanksgiving. C. Can you see there?

Rooted,

built up, established.

There's a organic growth there, but

there's also sort of a solid

construction going on as a tree sinks

its root roots deeper into the soil. a

building that's constructed brick brick

by brick on a firm foundation and it's

all as we walk in him. There's a

process.

It's a constant thing. Keep coming back

to Jesus daily drinking from this well,

feasting at his table. Never move on

from Jesus. The goal is becoming like

Christ. The means is the teaching and

warning of Christ. And the process is

walking with Christ.

Imagine uh a couple of orphans

begging on the street in rags

until along comes a loving father and he

he overwhelmed with compassion for them

and he says, "Come, no, you come home

with me." And he adopts them into his

family. But it turns out he happens to

be like a a bajillionaire. A and they

now live in this grand mansion. They

have warm beds to sleep in. They've got

kitchens full of food. They've got um

clothes in wardrobes and so on. They

have everything there.

And that night they go to bed and they

they wake up the next morning and uh

they look at each other and they think,

"Well, what are we going to do today?

What what can we do?" "Oh, I know." So

they say and they put on their old rags

again and they go downstairs and they go

out the door down the long driveway out

the gates

and start begging again.

The father comes by.

He says, "What are you doing? This this

isn't you anymore. No, you're my beloved

children now. This is not where you

belong."

And the children say,

"But we don't know how to live any

differently. This is all we've know. We

don't know how."

And then the father says, "Well, here

look,

here's your big brother. You've got a

new big brother, my beloved son. He'll

show you. Follow him. He'll show you how

to live my way in my house.

follow him. That that is really

Christian disciplehip, isn't it? We've

been adopted into a new family. We've

got a new way to live now, but we don't

know how. But God has given us his son,

Jesus, who can show us the way. Our big

brother who's right there alongside us,

Eron, this is what you're called to do.

Keep bringing people to their big

brother, Jesus,

so that he can transform them through

your warning and teaching. You're you're

helping former orphans learn to live as

beloved children. So you're part of the

process of presenting everyone mature in

Christ. So church,

you need to receive this ministry. He

Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders

Hebrews 13:17

and submit to them for they are keeping

watch over your souls as those who will

give an account." When your pastors warn

you, listen. When they teach, learn.

When they show,

imitate. Don't resist the transformation

God wants to work in your life.

And look, come with it. Look at

Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

What does it say there? Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell among you

as a church, richly, teaching and

admonishing one another in all wisdom.

And it's the same idea. You're all to be

doing this.

This isn't just the pastor's job. You

all need to be doing this for one

another, helping each other follow Jesus

more faithfully. Come, let's go to our

big brother Jesus. He'll show us the

way.

Bring people to Jesus because he's the

one who transforms us.

And thirdly, and finally, Erin, here it

gets personal. Okay,

take yourself to Jesus because he's the

one you need, too.

Look at the end of verse 29 of chapter

1. For this I toil, struggling with all

his energy that he powerfully works

within me.

It goes on chapter 2 verse one. For I

want you to know how great a struggle I

have for you. Christian ministry is

costly.

It requires toil and involves struggle.

Paul uses the Greek word agon where we

get the word agony from. It's the

language of an athlete straining every

muscle. It's a it's a soldier fighting

for his life. Ministry isn't always a

comfortable career. It's not a job you

kind of clock in and out of. It's a

calling that demands everything you

have.

You will suffer for Christ in this

ministry.

You know this. There'll be sleepless

nights praying for your people. There'll

be heartbreak when people walk away.

There'll be opposition and criticism and

misunderstanding. There will be times

when you pour yourself out and see

little fruit. There will be spiritual

warfare and physical exhaustion and

emotional depletion.

And Paul knew this in two Corinthians.

He says that ministry is when you die so

that others can live.

But may it be so. May we die, Aaron, a

little bit so that Christ might be

lifted up. I must decrease so that

Christ must increase. That's the way.

He says in verse 24 of our passage, "Now

I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake

and in my flesh I am filling up what is

lacking in Christ's afflictions for the

sake of his body that is the church."

Now what's Paul saying here? Was was

Christ's sacrifice somehow lacking

something? Was it insufficient? Now

that's not what he's saying. He was

saying that as Christ's body, the church

continues his mission in the world, we

will continue to experience suffering

just as Christ did. So, so Christ

suffered, but there was more suffering

to come that his church would

experience. And so, we we we take up our

cross and we follow him.

So, Erin, here's the crucial question

then. How can you ever think or hope to

sustain that kind of ministry? How can

you toil and struggle and suffer without

burning out, without becoming bitter,

without giving up?

The answer's right there, isn't it?

Verse 28 again, uh 29, sorry, with all

his energy

that he powerfully works within me.

You cannot serve Christ without Christ's

power. You cannot give what you don't

have. You cannot lead people to Jesus if

you're not going to Jesus yourself.

This is why you need strong a strong

personal relationship with Christ. You

need to be rooted in him as your

personal savior. Remembering daily that

you're not saved by your ministry. Your

identity isn't there. And you've been

learning this lesson over the years,

haven't you? It's not your success. It's

not your performance. It's not your

giftedness.

Christ and his grace alone.

You need to know him as the Lord of your

life. Submit yourself to his wisdom.

Follow his leading. Trust his timing.

He's your big brother, too.

You need to be someone who communes with

God in prayer and the word, not just to

prepare a sermon, but to nourish your

own soul.

You need to be someone who rests in

Christ's sufficiency,

not your own strength.

Because Erin, if you if you try to

minister in your own power, you're going

to fail. You'll run dry. You'll collapse

under the weight. But if you minister in

his energy that he powerfully works

within you, you'll find supernatural

strength for supernatural

work.

Aaron, take yourself to Jesus

because you need him, too.

And church, look, this is where you come

in.

Bring your pastor to Jesus.

He's not Christ.

Christ is the one you need, but he's the

servant of Christ for your sake. So pray

for him, encourage him, support him,

remind him of the gospel when he's

weary, point him back to Jesus when he's

discouraged. Don't put him on a

pedestal, but don't tear him down

either. Honor him as one who labors

among you.

So Erin, as you begin this ministry,

make this your aim.

Proclaim him. Bring people to Jesus

because he's the one we all need. The

revelation of God, the savior of

sinners, the Lord who gives us hope.

Bring people to Jesus because he's the

one who transforms us into his image.

And take yourself to Jesus be because

he's the one you need, the source of

power that works within you. Notice

verse 24

and also in chapter 2 verse four and 5

here Paul talks about rejoicing in this

kind of ministry. There's joy in

ministry like this in the riches of

Christ's

the riches of Christ is is joy

unspeakable.

Where else could you go?

Who else would you want to live for than

Jesus?

And and surely, Erin, if if you do this,

you won't go far wrong, I don't think.

And above all, it'll be Christ who

receives the glory. If you make it all

about Jesus, he'll surely be the one

that is glorified.

Aaron, North Bradley Baptist Church,

bring people to Jesus.

Proclaim him. Amen. Let's pray together.

We praise and thank you, oh Lord, our

father, for giving us your one and only

son, Jesus. Because in him we find a

revelation. We find salvation. We find

life. Through him we enjoy the the hope

of glory.

In Jesus we receive the presence and

power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Our God in heaven. We praise you

for him.

Make us people of Jesus, who are

obsessed with Jesus, who are all out for

Jesus, who live for him. May we be

people too, who bring others to Jesus.

We pray for our brother Aaron that he

would uh take this calling deep into his

own heart and life. We thank you for the

evidence of this already over these

years. But Lord, may as he goes from

here, may he live a life of this kind of

work and ministry. among your people

here. And let this church, we pray, be a

beacon of Jesus. May they lift up the

living Christ

so that many would be drawn to him.

Hear our prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

We're going to sing