Missionary Commissioning Service for Steve Hofmaier

In this part of the sermon: The service begins with an introduction to Steve Hofmaier's commissioning for the Philippines. Hofmaier shares his testimony, tracing God's leading from his conversion at 16…

Hofmaier recalls his recognition service three years prior for finishing the academy, where Hymn No. 379 was sung, connecting it to the present commissioning service as a special, memorable time.

Huffmeyer and the congregation by Pastor Albert N. Martin. This night puts me very much in remembrance of a night some three years ago when, along with my brethren, I was recognized for the finishing of three years of work in the academy. Upon that night, you may recall, we sang Hymn No. 379, which we sang also again this night. Very special time to me that was. I'd like to begin these words with the words of another hymn. Tonight, when all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view, I'm lost in wonder, love and praise. When the elders asked me to come and give a ...

0:32 - 1:42 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is no such thing as a uncommitted Christian, a Christian who lives for himself. That lesson was clear to me at that point.

Hofmaier describes God's dealings with him as a 'road' with milestones, leading him to his current point of missionary service, emphasizing God's continuous guidance.

I'd like to speak of these dealings, by the way, and just thinking of that as a road which leads me to this spot. And the beginning of that road was when I first began to walk with the Lord. I was at a church youth camp when I was just 16 years old. And the issue there was that I had to lay down the rebellion of my heart in seeking to go my own way and surrender to Jesus as my Lord, as well as my Savior, because there is no distinction.

2:23 - 2:56 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The service begins with an introduction to Steve Hofmaier's commissioning for the Philippines. Hofmaier shares his testimony, tracing God's leading from his conversion at 16…

Hofmaier humorously recounts the church's Thanksgiving tradition of newly married men thanking God for their wives, using it as an opportunity to publicly thank God for Carol and 'embarrass' her.

Another milestone at this point recently within the past year. Was God providing for me? Providing for me a helpmeet that I might not go just by myself to the mission field. And since I won't be here this Thanksgiving, you know, this church, for those of you who are visitors, our church has a Thanksgiving service.

8:49 - 9:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Hofmaier acknowledges the 'giants' he and Carol will face in the Philippines: Satan's grip, their own remaining corruption, opposition from wicked men, the challenges of a new…

Hofmaier uses the biblical metaphor of 'giants in the land' to describe the formidable challenges he and Carol will face in the Philippines: Satan, indwelling sin, wicked men, new culture, and missing loved ones.

Now, as we come to the end of those milestones, those things that bring me and Carol to this place, let me speak a little bit of what lies ahead. When I was there and saw that it was a goodly land, I must also report realistically that there are giants in the land. The land is not without giants. There is the great giant there of a devil, a devil who holds in his sway.

11:05 - 11:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The elders lay hands on Steve and Carol, formally commending them to the Lord's work. They offer prayers of mingled sadness and joy, acknowledging the challenges of the mission…

The elder praying contrasts the familiar imagery of a snowy Christmas song ('treetops glisten,' 'sleigh bells tingle') with the hot, humid, crowded reality of the Philippines, highlighting the cultural and environmental adjustments the Hofmaiers will face.

A climate where they will never see the treetops glisten or watch the children as they listen. They hear sleigh bells tingle in the snow. Going to a land where it's hot and humid all year round. Going to a crowded city.

22:24 - 22:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: all that Christ the head of the church calls upon the church. To do he will furnish the church to accomplish in his strength and in the power of his spirit that's the bottom line

Martin quotes James Henry Thornwell, who argues that the church cannot delegate its God-given duties, including missions, any more than a man can delegate the care of his family, emphasizing the church's inherent competency.

He was debating primarily another leading theologian who was supporting the pragmatic establishment of other agencies other than the church to do the work of missions and to this fundamental premise Thornwell came again and again the duties of the church are duties which rest upon her by the authority of God he has given her the organization which she possesses for the purpose of the church. Of discharging these duties you see his argument it is Christ who lays the duties upon the church it is Christ who has given the organization of the church by which the duties can be discharged she can the...

43:06 - 44:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the church is constituted the pillar and the ground of the truth and everything in conjunction. With the propagation of the truth God is entrusted to his church

Martin quotes Thornwell again, asserting that the church's power is purely ministerial and declarative, not discretionary, and that it must adhere strictly to Christ's commands without adding or subtracting.

If our form of church government is based upon the word of God it is adequate for all emergencies and then he goes on to say God has appointed the leadership he has in his church for this very purpose and gave them no authority to shift the responsibility the heat and the burden of the day upon creations of their own. If the church can delegate one party. Part of her work she can delegate another until the church relinquishes all of her distinct Christ given responsibilities again listen to Thornwell as he articulates clearly the teaching of the word of God as under the old dispensation nothin...

44:07 - 45:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the church is constituted the pillar and the ground of the truth and everything in conjunction. With the propagation of the truth God is entrusted to his church

Martin quotes Thornwell's core argument: 'Is the church as organized by Jesus Christ and his apostles competent to do all that her head has enjoined upon her or does she require additional agents to assist her?' This underscores the church's self-sufficiency for missions.

Under the new no voices to be heard in the household of faith but the voice of the son of God the power of the church is purely ministerial and declarative she is only to hold forth the doctrine enforce the laws and execute the government which Christ has given her she is to add nothing of her own to and to subtract nothing from what her Lord has established. Discretionary power she does not possess put in simple biblical language if you love me he will keep my commandments teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you one other quote again in which Thornwell brings the i...

45:07 - 46:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Feel the burden of maintaining a climate in this place that will not grieve and quench the spirit and thereby cut the very lifeline that ties us to our brother and his wife in the bonds of spiritual dynamics.

Martin references Thornwell's argument against independent agencies, stating that if churches are dead and not giving or providing volunteers, the solution is to cry to God for life in the church, which will then produce laborers and open purse strings.

You heard in his testimony the spirit of God, the spirit of God, the spirit of God, the spirit of God, the spirit of God, the spirit of God, the spiritual dynamics that were operative in your life as a people that became the very matrix out of which his consciousness of his own gifts and calling and identity as a servant of God grew. And we've come to this hour because in spite of all of our sin and failure, God has helped us to some degree to maintain by grace a climate in which the Holy Spirit has not been grieved away. It's one of the points that Thornwell makes. People argued and said, wel...

63:58 - 64:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain your commitment to care for their temporal needs.

Martin uses the analogy of a soldier not serving at his own charges to illustrate the principle that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel, justifying the church's financial support for missionaries.

Then he asks some questions. What soldier ever served at his own charges? Does our government expect the soldier to go out and earn the money for his own uniform, buy his own rifle, buy his own ammunition? Of course not.

71:03 - 71:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Have the vision that with this new responsibility, Lord, is there some more that I can do so that this will, in a sense, not make a dent in cash flow, but the response to the new ministry brings a new response of sacrifi…

Martin compares the church's finances to the widow's barrel of oil that never ran dry, illustrating God's abundant provision when the church gives sacrificially.

Well, you see, it's like a revolving fund that when we give, the Scripture says, it shall be given unto us, not in equal measure, but what? Good measure, pressed down and running over. Do you see the vision of that? You've heard the little truism, you can't out-give God.

72:26 - 72:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Have the vision that with this new responsibility, Lord, is there some more that I can do so that this will, in a sense, not make a dent in cash flow, but the response to the new ministry brings a new response of sacrifi…

Martin recounts a tiler asking where the church gets money for its building, using the opportunity to boast in God's provision through the hearts of the people, reinforcing the principle of principled giving.

And your elders who are aware of some of the inner mechanics. And we, stand amazed. I had a wonderful chance to witness to a tiler working in the basement of the building this past week. He said, this is a beautiful building.

72:54 - 73:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We then contended that systematic giving is a part of our religion, part of our worship, and a part which cannot be performed by proxy any more than prayer or praise.

Martin quotes Thornwell on systematic giving as a part of religion and worship that cannot be performed by proxy, extending this principle to the church's evangelization work.

He was a great giant in the land. This is what he says in summing up his case, about the whole matter of support for missions and that the church should be the agency of support. He says, when we pleaded that systematic giving is to be viewed as a part of religion, our brethren still viewed it as a scheme, a piece of machinery, and they called it your plan, Mr. Thornwell.

73:57 - 74:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain frequent, full-orbed communication with Steve and Carol.

Martin humorously shares his wife's comments about his predictability and her own unpredictability, using it to introduce his 'predictable' third charge to the congregation.

And then finally, finally, I charge you as a congregation and some of you already know what I'm going to say. I'm glad I'm predictable. That's what my wife always says to me. When she does something I expect, she says, well, isn't it lovely?

75:22 - 75:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain frequent, full-orbed communication with Steve and Carol.

Martin compares letters in the apostolic church to a 'lifeline of spiritual communication,' arguing that frequent, full-orbed communication from the congregation will be a vital lifeline for the Hofmaiers.

I'm going to make a statement. They may sound extreme, and I wrote it down and I looked at it and I said, Lord, can I say that in faith? And I said, I believe I can. Letters were the very lifeline of spiritual communication in the apostolic church.

76:06 - 76:21 Read in full sermon

The point: You just stream of consciousness. You just write whatever comes to your mind. You don't know how that will minister to their hearts and their feelings.

Martin gives the example of writing about a child losing front teeth to illustrate 'full-orbed communication,' showing how small, personal details can minister to missionaries and keep them connected.

You don't know how that will minister to their hearts and their feelings. To have a letter in which you tell them that your little one just lost her two front teeth and then they'll try to imagine what she looks like with the little hole in the head right in the front. That's what I always say to the kids. I say, uh-oh, got a hole in your head when they lose those two front teeth.

77:11 - 77:27 Read in full sermon

The point: You just stream of consciousness. You just write whatever comes to your mind. You don't know how that will minister to their hearts and their feelings.

Martin describes receiving 'phony' letters that start like apostolic epistles but often end with a request for something, contrasting this with genuine, full-orbed communication.

I get letters from some people. They start out like an apostle. Grace, mercy, and peace to you, my esteemed and my beloved brother. And they go on and on and on and it's so phony.

77:47 - 77:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Write a letter and say look in the directory you see such and such a name. I'm that person. Maybe send a little picture of yourself. Just give a little biographical sketch of who you are and what your family is and what …

Martin shares his personal experience of how much it meant to find letters waiting for him when traveling, describing the joy of 'full-orbed communication' with tidbits about church life.

Maybe send a little picture of yourself. Just give a little biographical sketch of who you are and what your family is and what your basic concerns are and assure them of their prayers. Oh dear people you will never know. Take it upon the word of someone who's just felt it for a matter of weeks being severed from you God's people.

78:55 - 79:14 Read in full sermon