Last Message Continued:

     God has been good to us!  I wish we had more time to invite important people to this last service at TUMC.  God has worked swiftly and we have moved forward quickly over the last month.  In preparation for today, it would have been good to have an exhibit of pictures from Al Romer's and August Alexie's ministries.  I think people would have looked a lot younger then.

     If we had time to plan for today’s service, it would have been interesting to hear testimonies of important events in the lift of the Anchorage Moravian Fellowship since it began to use TUMC 31 years ago in 1978.  Information should be written as to how Br. Romer began the Fellowship, who the major players where, and some high points of that historic and important time.  Certainly in the future we must thing of a proper time for this.

     Is today a sad day?  I doubt it!  Today we leave TUMC with Thanksgiving.  We should thank the TUMC members and their leaders.  They put up with us for a long.  These walls will leave us with many good memories.  It is here where our church grew in its infancy and now is able to walk on its own feet and experience a self-supporting status that we now hold as a 501c3 organization.  Certainly again, thanks to the efforts of our present Joint Board and The Rev. Grant Shimanek who led the charge for organization and strategic planning for the Anchorage Moravian Church, we now have a mission statement with core values to guide us into the 21^st Century.

    Our Church will enter into one of it's busiest weeks as we prepare to worship next Sunday at our new Church.  Two weeks from now, it will be fitting to celebrate our first Thanksgiving Lovefeast, November 22 in the new building at Robin Street, in east Anchorage, Alaska.  We will celebrate our first Communion service on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29 at the new Church location.

     Brother Peter Green, President of Alaska Moravian Church is already looking forward to an invitation so we can dedicate the new Church for the Lord’s use.  At this dedication service, we will assure there is plenty advance notice, so we can worship with great understanding of our history, where we are going and at this time we will truly worship with great joy.

     Let’s take a look at 2 Corinthians 11:23-31; here we see that as we work for the Lord oftentimes it is at great expense.  The minister or Church Elder or Church worker must be more.  Paul says that he was more of a minister than the false leaders and teachers. He was able to make such a claim because he went well beyond in laboring and sacrificing for Christ. 

      Every minister of Christ should go well beyond most in laboring and sacrificing for Christ.  We must go forward in diligent labor and sacrifice; this is a big answer to the strongest critics of the Church.  As an Anchorage Moravian congregation we must move forward with diligent labor and sacrifice so that we can meet the desperate needs of people who live around us for Christ.   It’s interesting in this read from Paul the Apostle that he labors and suffers more than most men do for Christ. Note the general sacrifices and sufferings of Paul.

a.  He labored more than those who were claiming to be ministers of Christ.

b.  He suffered beatings and stripes beyond measure, that is, a countless number of times.

c.  He suffered being imprisoned far more than those who claimed to be ministers of Christ. Clement of Rome says that Paul was in prison seven times.

d.  He often suffered the threat of death. He was almost constantly facing death for Christ. Imagine living under such pressure! What an unbelievable love this great minister had for our Lord!

     Only eternity will record what Paul suffered -  "Once stoned" and "shipwrecked three times" and in prison at least seven times.   Paul also had to contend with brothers in the Lord; who professed to be Christians, yet were only making false professions.  In 2 Cor. 11:26, they stood as a constant threat in opposing the mission of the church and the true servant of Christ.

     The application for us today is that we can learn is Paul's faithfulness through all his sufferings. Nothing turned him away from Christ or his ministry.  Like Paul we should not be discouraged.  Christ had called him to preach and minister, and he would not be stopped except by death.  Paul lived in a state of blessing.  According to Matthew 5:11 it says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake".  And in Matthew 10:22 it says, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved".

     Another point is this.  Paul laid down the principle that a minister or Christian worker must boast only in his infirmities and sufferings for Christ, not in his position, achievements, accomplishments, or results.  In the natural men do not applaud rejections, weaknesses, sufferings, and shameful experiences. But when a minister or Christian worker suffers for Christ, he has something to boast about—something that is acceptable to God - our faithful witness of Christ to others the best way we know how.

     I trust that this message will be used by the Holy Spirit to stir each one of us to totally commit our lives to Christ even though there are family members and people around us that try to discourage us.   And as we look at further developments of the Anchorage Moravian Church, which I think will in God’s heart become the most beautiful Moravian Church in Alaska, may we remember instead not to boast about this, but learn that the true spiritual way is not to boast about our numbers or how nice our church is.  May God’s Spirit help us to stop seeking recognition and praise from men, but to boast only in our wonderful Lord and His glorious grace—the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Lastly, Praise the Lord, no matter the opposition, God will deliver his dear servants to continue on in the ministry and to preach Christ. The minister of God and Christian worker is truly called and no matter what happens God will continue to use them to share the gospel of Christ and to minister to the needs of people.  If you are discouraged, God will strengthen you to overcome all disappointment and discouragement.

© Copyright 2006 Anchorage Moravian Church
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