Benefits of Attending The RB Family Conference

Introduction and Purpose of the Sermon

0:06 Now, personally, I do want to say it's good to be back after two weeks and only one large day away, but because I've been to so many places, it seems like I've been away for a month, and possibly the fact that we have driven all of those miles, Pastor Donnelly and I, out to the conference in Indiana, and then St. Martin flying out and riding down to Owensboro, and Owensboro to Dayton,

0:34 and then the 750 miles home from Dayton, Friday afternoon, and finishing up yesterday, getting in around 4 to 4, and it seems like a long time, and yet it's good to be back, and we're thankful for traveling mercies and for God's blessing and guidance in the various ministries. And particularly as I was driving home and knowing that I would have all of the ministries today, I was deeply exercised about, what to bring in all of the services, but particularly how best to use this adult class, and I believe it was tentatively announced as an open forum,

1:14 and I trust there will be opportunities for questions at the end of it, but realizing that I am released this summer for at least two to three weeks in order to minister at these Reformed Baptist family conferences, I thought it might be good to take this hour and... And to do three things, to give the bulk of the time to setting out the biblical benefits of attendance at and participation in a Reformed Baptist family conference.

1:48 The conferences sort of just came upon us, and various ones have been involved as participants, as speakers, and yet I don't believe we've ever addressed the biblical principles that come into a very sharp focus and meaningful expression, as a result of these conferences. And so I want to address, first of all, the biblical benefits of attendance at and participation in a Reformed Baptist family conference, trusting that as you pray, you will pray with greater intelligence and faith, and those of you who attend will be able to see more clearly why it is you have profited so greatly, and then hopefully some of you have ever correctly considered taking Bible classes. And so I want to address, first of all, the biblical benefits of attendance at and participation in a Reformed Baptist family conference,

2:33 trusting that as you pray, you will pray with greater intelligence and faith, and those of you who attend will be able to see more clearly why it is you have profited so greatly, and then hopefully some of you have ever correctly considered taking Bible classes. or six days in your summer time and attending one of the conferences, you'd fairly consider this in the future. And then, more briefly, I want to give just an overview of the ministries of the two recent conferences, highlighting some of the ministries that I believe would be of tremendous benefit to you were you to purchase the tapes, or, as the tapes are produced and put into our church, take library, borrow the tapes, and listen to them and absorb that material, and then hopefully, if any time remains, you'll entertain questions from some

Benefit 1: Expression of the Universal Church

3:13 of those who were at the recent conference to chime in and confirm how some of these biblical principles were validated in their own experience. First of all, then, the benefits of these Reformed Baptist Family Conferences. And I have, without straining at all, came up with six very distinct benefits, each of which has deep roots in the Scriptures with respect to these conferences. The first is this.

3:46 These conferences give a wonderful expression to the doctrine of the Universal Church, as a truth of Scripture that, though the primary emphasis in the Scriptures with reference to the Church, is upon the Church local, that is, what we are as a gathered congregation of God's people, that there is a doctrine of the Church universal, that is, all true churches local, upon the face of the earth at any given point in human history, constitute the Church universal.

4:26 It is a great privilege when we, as the people of God, are given a heightened awareness The reality of this doctrine, not in the abstract, but in the concreteness of sitting next to members of Baptist Church of Mebane, North Carolina, that church local, and members of Trinity Baptist Church, Roanoke, that church local, and members of the Albany Baptist Church local,

4:59 and many other churches represented at this conference, sitting together in a common hall, lending our voices to the singing of songs and hymns of praise to God, and sitting in the presence of our Lord Jesus, the great prophet of this church, and hearing what he is saying to the churches and servants who expound and apply the word of God. It is a wonderful felt. It is a wonderful sense of the truth that there is such a thing as the universal church.

5:36 It is one thing from the heart to embrace the teaching as it has been laid out before us here in recent weeks in the adult class. It is another thing to have the felt experience of its reality. And not only does it give us a present sense of its reality, it gives us a heightened anticipation of its beauty. It gives us a future and glorious fulfillment when, in the language of Revelation 7, 9, and 10, we shall all be gathered together from all ages, all in one place, in the praises of God.

6:19 After these things I saw, and behold the great multitude which no man could number, out of every nation, and of all tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before me. Before the throne and before the Lamb. Raised in white robes and palms in their hands. And they cry with a great voice, Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne.

6:46 And unto is given a wonderful expression to this doctrine of the universal church. We have a concrete manifestation of it with flesh and blood. Saints whose hands we can shake, whose shoulders we can. Embrace.

Benefit 2: Framework for Godly Friendships

7:08 But then secondly, the second benefit of these conferences is this. They afford a natural framework for establishing both short and long-term friendships within the universal church. They afford a natural framework for establishing both short and long-term friendships within the universal church. From such a chapter as,

7:38 that establishing long-term friendships with people who may be distant from us geographically but are part of the universal church is indeed an apostolic standard. The Apostle Paul, who had never been to Rome, gives us a full two-thirds of our chapter conveying greetings by name to various ones, or at least a half of the church. to various ones, or at least a half of the church. And in a chapter there, that Rome, and in Psalms 16 and verse 3, and in a chapter there, that Rome, and in Psalms 16 and verse 3, and in Psalm 16 and verse 3, and in Psalm 16 and verse 3,

8:22 he says, As for the saints that are in the earth, they are the excellent in whom is all my delight. On the basis of any useful, edifying thing, is that of common friendship. goals and common perspectives, the prophet says, how can two walk together except they be agreed? And where there are edifying, helpful, godly friendships, there must be a solid basis

9:01 of commonality, of perspective, of goals, and of convictions. And when we come together at these Reformed Baptist Family Conferences, we can assume that the vast majority of those who gather do share common convictions. They come out of churches of the same confessional commitment. They come out from ministries with the same ethos of honest, earnest, passionate preaching of the Word of God. They come out of churches where open-faced, congressmanly

9:39 conversation about spiritual matters is not the exception, but the rule. And therefore I say they afford a natural framework for establishing both short- and long-term friendships. The benefits of the short-term friendships are for the children and the young people. When they go off to their classes to meet among dozens who are being molded by the same parental influences.

10:10 Who have the same basic perspectives regarding the issues that are such burning issues to kids and to young people. In that age period where acceptance by one's peers is so critical to a sense of one's identity, those short-term friendships have been a blessing of God and a tremendous means of grace to many. It was evident, as I saw at the last conference, that some of our own young people spend their time in the church. They spend their time spending much of their free time, not with young people from this church, but young people from other churches. And not necessarily those of the opposite sex. Most that I can

10:51 think of were guys with other guys from other churches. And young women with other young women from other assemblies. And though those friendships may not continue on into adulthood, they are meeting tremendous needs at this critical period when so many of these stand alone. They come to the age where they are in secular, godless high schools. And to have

11:18 ten pals with young people who share the same perspectives and parents who are sharing the same perspectives in the molding of those young people, God alone can measure the benefits that this will eventually bring to them. And likewise with adults. It's been a delight for me to see within my own family, one of my siblings and her husband's established very deep friendships with one couple in this assembly, another couple that came from another congregation in the Maryland area. And I have seen this at conference after conference where

11:56 adults have found the chemistry of meaningful long-term friendships which have greatly enriched their lives, where they have felt safe to establish those friendships because there was this commonality of friendship. This is the best thing about biblical perspective. Then thirdly, a third benefit from these landed conferences is this, they afford a much appreciated opportunity for people not blessed with a sound spirit-filled ministry to sit under a concentrated ministry of proven preachers. There are people who come to the conferences

Benefit 3: Concentrated Ministry for the Underserved

12:38 who are doing the best they can with what is available to them in terms of church coverage. I think of one dear woman who with her son came from an area where there just is not within any reasonable driving distance what we would call a lively, spirit-filled, biblical ministry. She said with a holy glow on her face, I see more solid food in this one week.

13:07 In 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 18, we have a solid biblical warrant recognizing man as proven useful servants of Christ and pitting them a wider platform of influence and usefulness. We have set together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all his creed. People lining up behind their favorite preachers and saying, I'm a preacher. I only listen to Paul.

13:51 He's my man.

13:53 I listen to Apollos. He's my man. That's a carnival. But that man should receive legitimate acceptance among the churches and earn credibility.

14:07 With measure of gift that warrants that larger exposure is not in any way in contradiction to what is condemned in 1 Corinthians 1 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. How? I can't count how many people, I can't count who came up to me and do each year come up to me and say, I'm so glad to meet you face to face. The tapes of Trinity Folk that have been my main spiritual thing in terms of the ministry of the word for X number of years.

14:45 I met a man and his daughter, teenage daughter, he said for 15 years you have been a voice in our house. It's so nice now to meet the person behind the voice and the text. And then to have his teenage daughter tell me that she can't remember when my voice is not reverberating through the household.

15:07 It's to bless that ministry. Well, these conferences afford a much appreciated opportunity for people not blessed with a sound, live, spiritual ministry to sit under this concentrated ministry from the proven servants of God. Fourth benefit. These family conferences.

Benefit 4: Opportunity for Spiritual Rethinking and Conversion

15:29 These family conferences constitute a very concentrated opportunity for spiritual rethinking. These family conferences constitute a very concentrated opportunity for spiritual rethinking. Remember the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 3 when dealing with this problem of division among the Corinthians over their name of preachers, he says you've got to get a proper theology of the ministry. Well, while one says, I'm a preacher.

16:01 I'm a Paul. There was another, I'm a apologist. Not a man, but an unrealist apologist. Next up, ministers for whom you believe can teach you, or gave the gift.

16:17 so fresh more than water and plantain, that by mauling an apologist was watered but God gave. but God gave it. and clear watered what God that giveth. And then we go to the accordance.

16:32 Father, do you not hear familiar words, such vorecious and well doing? For you do see that we shall, if we faith not. jesus said i have sent you to reap where you have not previously labored others have labored and you are entering in the people of this number giving themselves to prayer where there is this concentrated ministry of the word without the opportunity of a whole week in between for the devil to come as jesus says he always does when the seed of the word is sown like a flock of birds

17:15 behind the sower seeking to plop up the scene and where young people and adults are surrounded not with ungodly people who cooperate with the devil and with their own unconverted hearts to put away the truth but where everything is intensely concentrated upon the realities of spiritual things and the truth of the word of god god often uses that as a weakening time yes i know that that framework also provides more opportunity for stony ground heroes who are caught up

17:53 in the mood with great joy, seem to respond. But Jesus said, Some who protest, some who came to me personally and testified that that week God had been pleased to grant them the gifts of repentance and faith. Others who came and said a year ago, God was pleased to save them than one or another of those family conferences. And

18:36 so these conferences constitute a very concentrated opportunity for repentance, where parents have sown with their tears, and faithful pastors and Sunday school teachers have sown by teaching and preaching throughout the months and years. These conferences often become the time when the Lord, Manifests the truth that while one sows and another waters, God dows, gives up, and gives up, in a context where it is most likely that He shall occasionally, in a very unlikely

Benefit 5: Churches Share Christ's Gifts

19:15 context, salvation is in sight. But it is most likely in that context that God would indeed do a great work of reading. Then secondly, these family conferences afford a framework for churches to share. These family conferences afford a framework for churches to share Christ's gifts with one another. And when I say Christ's gifts, I'm thinking primarily of two gifts, the gifts

19:53 that are highlighted by Peter in 1 Peter chapter four. Two gifts that are highlighted by Peter after speaking of spiritual gifts in general. Verse 10, Verse 21, Peter 4, according as each hath received a gift ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Now two gifts are highlighted. If any

20:18 man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God, if any man ministers or serves, and in a very wonderful way these conferences afford a framework for the churches to share Christ's gifts, to share his ministering gifts. Churches have had to give up time that otherwise their pastors might have given to them or to their own local assembly in the preparation of their message. They've had to give them up, some of them, for a large day. I know this very day, Pastor Cacino is in a pooping exchange

21:02 with Mike Brackett because of the pressures of preparation. It was felt that for him to come back to the conference after losing four times and come up with fresh material. He'll be laid to much upon him, so he's preaching prayed over, warmed up. There's a difference between a warmed over, unprayed over, sermon from a barrel, and a prayed over, warmed up by the Holy Ghost, sermon once preached before.

21:29 And it's said that he was preached the better the second time than he did the first time. And so the people there in Richmond were the benefactors because the people at Trinity Church in Roanoke were willing to give up their pastor they might minister to others. And they will in turn experience the fulfillment of the Lord's promise in him, and run over shall men return into your bosom. Then the great principle, he that would save his life shall lose it, but he that will lose his life for my sake in the gospel is the same, shall save it. And likewise

22:10 with the serving gifts, the hours spent throughout the week in the planning and the preparation. Many hours spent throughout the week by the deacons and members of the sponsoring churches. The marvelous opportunity they have in order to build up a tremendous reward of grace. Even the cup of cold water given in his name shall not fail its reward. And again

Benefit 6: Validation of the Local Church's Centrality

22:37 in Matthew 25, it is much as you've done it unto the least of these mightier ones, you have done it unto me. And so both in speaking gifts and serving gifts these family conferences are more a framework for churches to share Christ's gifts with one another. And then sixth, these family conferences wonderfully validate the biblical doctrine of the centrality of the local church to accomplish the purposes of God. Both the centrality and the local church to accomplish the purposes

23:21 of God. We've gone over this. This ground in the manifesto that God has ordained but one pillar and ground of the 315 and that is his church. And these conferences wonderfully validate both the centrality and the supremacy of the local church in God's purposes.

23:45 Because all of them are sponsored by a specific individual local church and its elders. And they commit themselves to this ministry so that there is not some expensive conference center that must be first of all underwritten in terms of large outlays of capital. And then if it's underwritten you don't want it unused so you've got to have a conference director. And then you've got to find ways to fill it up throughout the year to make it financially viable and you have a de facto parachurch organization bleeding funds and energies away from the local church.

24:26 They seek an existing institution in the case of both of these recent conferences, colleges that are already committed to their buildings. They want to run conferences in the summer for that very reason. It keeps people in the building paying money. And they also in the case of Bryan College are warm evangelical Christians and they come in a privilege to serve us in this way as well as having their buildings built and seeing some capital returns instead of empty buildings that need maintenance and resulting capital losses.

25:11 And so I always come away from these conferences thanking God that God has indeed made his church happy with it for any of the benefits that it hard and long appear to me to be very solid biblically based benefits derived from these reformed Baptist family conferences. Now then, secondly and more briefly, a brief account of the ministries of the recent Huntington Conference. And it's taken me weeks to get into my head. No longer is it the Glutton Conference but the Huntington Conference.

Overview of the Huntington Conference Ministries

25:55 For years it met in Glutton, Ohio at a, I believe, a Mennonite college there. And for the past two years and for the foreseeable future, though there will be a sabbatical next year, it meets at the Huntington College in Huntington, Indiana. And I've circled where Huntington is. Here's Fort Wayne, Indiana.

26:17 You can see Indianapolis is about in the center and all roads lead to Indianapolis. It's in the northeast quadrant of Indianapolis, or Indiana. And then of course you have Illinois over here, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey this way. The facilities are those of a Brethren in Christ college up to about 700 million square feet.

26:47 And it's a beautiful, air-conditioned, beautifully tiered, so that even when it's full, people are no further away than they are in this particular auditorium. The configuration is very similar, except it's a sharp angle because it's their arts and performance center. Air-conditioned, excellent sound system. They have a large field house with three full basketball courts and a level lap-to-the-mile tartan track. An indoor

27:16 swimming pool with beautiful weight room. Outdoor ball fields. Facilities on first break. And it makes it then very convenient to plan the various activities for the adults and for the children. But then I want

27:33 to just underscore and highlight several of the ministries that I believe would be a great profit to you were you to obtain the tapes and listen to them. Pastor Donnelly was asked to speak on the theme of discipleship out of the gospel. And he told me in the week that we spent together, or the five days that we spent together before we left weeks ago today, to start driving out to Huntington, Indiana, that he doesn't remember when he went through such mental and spiritual agony and prepared a series of messages. And he finally settled on what he entitled Paradoxes of Discipleship in the Gospel of John. And he spoke on the

28:09 principles of discipleship in the Gospel of John. And he spoke on the principles of discipleship in the Gospel of John. And he spoke on the paradox of discipleship, reality, and falsehood. For John speaks of those who believe, and yet to those who hate the devil. And he

28:33 opened up very powerfully that there is a belief that is saving faith. There is an apparent attachment to Christ that is not a true attachment to Christ. Then he opened up in the second message the paradox of knowing and misunderstanding. How again and again the disciples are said to know, and yet how again and again in John they did not yet understand. And then

29:00 what I found was a highlight to my own heart, the message on the paradox of authority and submission. In which he opened up the great principle that to the extent that we are in submission to God, we shall have authority with men. And that's a seeming paradox, but beautifully illustrated in the life of our Lord, and in the Gospel of John. And then the last message I want to hear on tape, because I was back in my room during the last minute preparation for my own message, was on the paradox of glory and the suffering. Again, most powerfully

29:40 illustrated in the life of our Lord, but also his life becomes the pattern for his people. And then for every married couple, and every individual in the couple, every engaged couple. Anyone ever thought they would get married? I urge you to get the two messages by Pastor Andy Hamilton. In fact, I plan to

30:01 propose to the elders that we have him come for a week and give us this material spread out much more thinly than he did. He really concentrated about six messages into two. And he was asked to speak on the subject of the maintenance of unity and romance in marriage. And in his first message, he went to her appetite before he got into the Scriptures, and his messages were thoroughly biblical. He

30:30 wove it up, text after text, in an accurate and balanced way. But to get our attention, he said, I want you to do a little test on your marriage to see if you've got any real need for these messages. And then he set out ten indications, ten symptoms of a marriage that's got problems. 1. Little or no prayer together as a couple.

30:55 2. Little or no interaction regarding spiritual things. 3. Little or no plans.

31:00 4. Free recreational time is spent apart from one another. 5. When the wife is carnally content to fulfill her duties as a mother without fellowship with God or with her husband.

31:14 6. When there's a lack of felt affection, especially a man towards his wife. 7. When the tenders are all gone and never come back.

31:24 8. When physical relationship is flat and unfulfilling. 9. When life feels trapped.

31:34 10. When unresolved conflicts don't get solved over the long haul. 11. When there is a role reversal.

31:43 12. When men are silent and passive. 13. When a wife is sick, married, or depressed.

32:09 I urge you to get those tips as he opens up the biblical perspectives on unity and romance in marriage. And then I preach these sermons in the Doctrine of Hell. The first sermon is one I've not preached before. It's a combination of various principles that are articulated on other occasions, but is conscious, I trust, of God's help in the preaching of the three sermons, one in the Doctrine, the other on one's Hell, and the third on who's going where and how to avoid it. And then the

32:44 final night of the conference, preaching on why children should plead Christ. I'll say more about that when I review the second conference. And then I would recommend the first of Pastor Parenti's two presentations in which he opened up a New Testament perspective on music in the Church. And that was most helpful as he emphasized the authority to the New Testament, and Colossians 3.16 in

33:13 particular, content in the New Testament. Content is of supreme importance. And music in terms of text is of far greater significance than anything else when it comes to the worship of our God. There were some 600 people present at the conference. God gave us good weather for

Overview of Owensboro and Dayton Conferences

33:34 the entire conference, and for those who were kind. But then as many of you know, as you followed the ministries, we had a transition with a weekend in Owensboro, Kentucky. We had given some talks and we had some meetings. And I was there for the first time in 45 years since I was there, with the ordination of their second elder, Pastor Keith Maddy. We now

33:55 have a third elder, John Hope. And the Church is growing. We have a Christian school with 180 plus children, a lovely clan. And that weekend, the deacon in whose home we stayed, Mr. Bluer, John

34:10 and Nancy Bluer, have become dear friends. Here's an example. Long-term friends. We made, as a result of the Mid-America Conference some years ago, he said it was the largest attendance they'd ever had on that Lord's Day morning. They had an

34:26 overflow room with a large TV monitor in it. And I was privileged to teach the adult class. They gave you an hour and 15 minutes. They met a half hour earlier and asked me to speak on the marks of a healthy church. And God was very gracious

34:43 in enabling me to set out for the church. And I was privileged to set out that subject in a fresh way that I had not dealt with it before. And many said they were helped and confirmed in their vision for a godly church. And then Pastor Hustett had preached in the morning on God's desire that he blesses people with all of his heart. One of the promises of the New

35:04 Covenant, where God says he will watch over his people to prove them good with all of his heart and with all of his soul. And then I was asked to preach in the evening on the faith of Gans from James 2.19. Thou believest God is one that evens all sin and tremble. And in all of those services

35:24 of the Lord's Day, there was a sense of God's nearness for which we were most grateful. Then briefly, the Dayton Conference, about a four hour, five hour drive from down in Owensboro, Kentucky to and over to Dayton, Tennessee to what you

35:46 might call the southeast quadrant of Tennessee. Tennessee being narrow and wide in relatives. And Dayton is the home of Bryan College, the Christian liberal arts college. The faculty are openly committed to verbal inerrancy and in which they do attempt to bring every discipline under the scrutiny of the word of God. One of

36:12 mine is a graduate of that college. And there again the facilities, though older, are very adequate. They have a large amazement. They also have a softball field, soccer field, a good auditorium, air conditioned, quiet, conducive to the worship of God and the preaching of the word of God. A stable room in the

36:40 cafeteria. They have an outdoor pool, tennis courts, and all of the dorms are air conditioned, which makes it a nice plus. Now the ministries that I work in, the sponsors of that conference, the Sister Church of Mebane, Grace Baptist Church, where Pastor Sportner and Hendricks labor in the gospel, those brethren assess that though each year it seems they say the same thing, that God continues to enlarge his capacity, our capacity to receive, and he continues to give out at his infinite capacity. And they felt that it was a ministry of the highest standard, and that it was a ministry of the highest standard, and that it was a ministry of the highest standard, and that it was a ministry of the highest standard, and that it was a ministry of the highest standard of any of the conferences. Pastor Cosimo's

37:25 four messages from Philippians 3, 4 to 14 on Paul, the model of a Christian, were a wonderful display and experience of spirit-filled, expository, applicatory preaching. The exposition was obviously responsible, going out, carefully studied the original text. The homiletics, clean, easy to follow. And our brother has been given a very warm, tender, whimsical, yet authoritative way of preaching the word of God. All of you have offered, I am sure,

38:02 from that series of messages. And then Pastor Hustek from the series on the Lord of the Church, who has succeeded us here since the beginning of time. But what is the church's distinct and exclusive in the world? Be with God in the light.