ROMANS 1:8-15 BE ENCOURAGED TOGETHER2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 1:8-15 Be Encouraged Together

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015.

We are here this evening in Romans chapter 1, looking at verses 8 through 15. And so as we begin to study this passage, I'd like to take a moment and read through it with you. Romans chapter 1 verse 8 says, First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.

that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request, if by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established. That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me."

Verse 15. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Here we're continuing on the study of the book of Romans. We began last week with the introduction as Paul introduced himself and those he's writing to, but he also in the midst of that shared the gospel quite powerfully and encouraged us in that.

Well, now as we go on in these next few verses, verses 8 through 15, Paul is sharing with his recipients, the church there at Rome, about his plans to go to Rome. And as he shares about these plans to go to Rome, the thing that the Lord really highlighted for me in the title of the message this evening is that we are to be encouraged together.

Paul was desiring to go to be with the Christians who were in Rome. And there was going to be this encouragement that resulted as he was with them and as they were with him. And so that's kind of a theme that we see here in these verses as we look at Paul's plans to go to Rome. Now, as we go through this passage, there's something I want to remind us about. And that is that we as believers in Jesus...

are not designed to be loners. We are not designed to be all by ourself in the Christian faith. God has designed us in such a way that, well, every Christian needs other Christians. And other Christians need us. We have this interdependency. It's the way that God has designed us as the body of Christ. And so there's this need for

From me to you and from you to me and from us to one another. But there's also great benefit. It's not just a need, but there's great benefit then when we meet that need and do spend time together as believers in Jesus and

there's great benefit on both sides as we care for one another. And you can see that Paul explains that here as he expresses his desire to go to Rome. And as we consider these things about being encouraged together, I would encourage you to consider your fellowship, your connection with other believers around you, and specifically our times together as we gather together at church.

We could also consider, along with that, times and opportunities to go out from our church. As we pray for the missionaries on Wednesday evenings, there are opportunities sometimes throughout the year to go to Okinawa, to go to Virginia, to go to Watsonville, to go to these different places where God has sent out a pastor and begun a church.

And it's very similar to what Paul is addressing here, his desire to go and visit a work that is going on. In the same way, we can consider what Paul is saying here for our own selves regarding those churches that he's established and sent out from our midst.

And so I want to encourage you to be encouraged, but together. And remember that we're not called to be alone. God hasn't designed us to be loners. It's just me and Jesus. That's all I need. And the Lord would say, no, that's not true. You need other believers in your life. And so with that, as we begin looking at verses 8 through 10, the first of three points is to keep asking God for opportunity.

As we think about the need to minister to one another, the need to have one another and to encourage one another,

It's not something that happens necessarily automatically. And so there needs to be this intention on our side, this drive on our side to keep asking God for opportunity to minister to one another. Check out verse 8 once again. It says,

And so Paul, as he's beginning this section, he says, okay, first things first, I want you to know, I really thank God for you. And I thank God for your witness because, well, your testimony, the testimony of your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

You've probably heard the expression, all roads lead to Rome, because in those days, the way the Roman Empire was established and the roads that they had established and built, it was a common thing that you could travel to Rome, and it was something unique to

that was different from prior empires. It was more difficult to get around, but Rome and the Roman rule made it possible to travel and to go to Rome. And so there was this hub of communication, this hub of commerce that was there in Rome. It was a central hub now for the whole world to

And so as a result of the church being there and all the roads that were there and the exchange of information and the commerce that was going on, information about the church, word of the church, their testimony and their witness was spread throughout the whole world as a result.

And so Paul begins talking about his thankfulness. And you can see in the Apostle Paul here his love for the Christians there. Now, I mentioned last week that Paul had never been to Rome.

But he did know a lot of the people who were at the church in Rome. And at the end of the book in chapter 16, we'll see him, you know, specifically mention these different names that they are to greet and people that he knew. And so there was a lot of people that he knew that went to Rome. And so he had these connections there.

to the church in Rome. And it caused him to have a great care and concern and love for the people of that church and a desire to see them and a thankfulness for their witness, their growth, and their testimony. I think...

And we can relate a little bit, you know, with the great work that God has done in the different guys that he sent out. And we have, you know, maybe you've never been to Okinawa, but you know some of the people in Okinawa. And so,

we automatically have this care and concern, and we can be thankful to God in a unique way because, well, we know some of the people that are there, and they're involved in the work, and the same is true in Virginia and Texas and the different places that God is working. And so this kind of care, this love for one another as believers is appropriate as modeled by the Apostle Paul here.

Well, then in verse 9, he says, And so Paul's not just thankful for the church in Rome, but he's also praying for the church at Rome. And so he says, God is my witness. I'm praying for you.

I think maybe just kind of assuming some things as Paul makes this declaration that God is my witness.

wanting to make sure it's clear. Maybe he was experiencing or he had experienced something that you and I experienced where we say, hey, I'll pray for you. Maybe you're fellowshipping after service or something and you share a situation and someone says, yeah, can you pray for me? And you say, oh yeah, I'll pray for you. And then you walk away from that and then you forget all about it and you never pray for that situation, right? That's something that we're familiar with, that we're common

It's common to us because, well, we've all done that. But Paul says, I want you to know this isn't just something I'm saying. God is my witness. I'm praying for you. And I always pray for you without ceasing. Every time I'm spending time in prayer, I'm praying for you there in Rome.

He says, I'm serving the Lord with my spirit, or it's kind of an expression to say with my whole heart. I'm giving everything to serve the Lord in the gospel, and he's my witness that I'm praying for you. Rome was on Paul's prayer list.

And so when he would sit down to pray and he would pull out his list, he would pray for the church at Rome. Now, this was something that was common in all of Paul's letters. Whenever he wrote to the Corinthians, when he wrote to the Ephesians, you know, he would let them know that he was praying for them. And so you see this love that the Apostle Paul has for these believers. And he was serious about

about prayer. He was serious about lifting up the needs of those people continually. And so he says, I make mention of you always in my prayers. You can see he has this real concern for them. And so he's constantly praying for them.

And again, it shows us, he's modeling for us this attitude and this heart that you and I need to have, that we need this prayer for one another, this thankfulness for one another, this connection to one another in this way, because God hasn't designed us to be all by ourselves. Well, one of the things that he prayed for in verse 10 is revealed. He says, making request,

if by some means, now at last, I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. And so as Paul is praying for the church at Rome continually, he says, here's one of the things that I've been praying for. I've been praying that I would be able to go there to Rome. He says, I'm making requests as I pray for you.

And this idea of making requests, it's not just like a casual desire, but there's a fervency that's expressed. It's a need. It's a long for. It's an asking or a begging. And so he's asking, he's pleading with God that he would be able to go to Rome. It's a strong desire that he has. And you can also see it in where he says that I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

And I really like this thought that Paul's expressing here. The way that I would kind of describe it is that Paul is pushing the limits of God's will or testing the limits of God's will. Now, I don't mean that he's trying to see how much he can get away with and still be a Christian, but he's testing the limits of how much can I do for God?

How much can I do in accordance with God's will, with what he's called me to do? And I see an aggressiveness in the Apostle Paul here as he says, I've been making requests. I've been desiring. I've been praying. I've been asking. I've been trying to find some way in the will of God to be able to come to you. And I like and I appreciate this aggressiveness that the Apostle Paul has.

You know, a lot of times we approach the will of God with a passiveness. We're kind of like sitting there and we're just like, okay, well, you know, if God works everything out, then I guess I'll go. If God works everything out, then I'll guess I'll do that. You know, if God just lines it all up and just throws it in my lap, well, then I guess then that's his will. And we're just kind of like sitting there waiting for God to do everything. It's a passive approach, right?

But until then, I'm just going to sit here because nothing's happening. God hasn't put it in my lap yet. He hasn't put it all together and just given it to me. Paul is expressing something entirely different than that. There's an aggressiveness here. He's not just sitting and waiting, but he's trying. He's testing. And you'll see it later on as well. He's attempting to go to Rome. He's trying it out.

Now, Paul is completely submitted to the will of God. So he's not just trying to do whatever he wants to do. And so that's why he says that I may find a way in the will of God. So it's not just, well, this is what I want to do and I'm going to find a way to make it happen. But it's not like that. He's not going rogue. He's going and he's like, okay, can I go? Can I go? Okay, that door is shut. Okay, how about over here? Can I go? Can I go? Can I go now? Okay.

Oh, that door is shut. Okay, well, let me try this. And can I go now, Lord? And so he's submitted to God, but he's eager. There's this passion. There's this intensity in his aggression, in wanting to go and do all the things that God has called him to do. As I was thinking about this, it reminded me of the account that we have in 1 Samuel chapter 14. You might remember that. You don't have to turn there, but it's the account of Jonathan and his armor bearer.

And they take a pretty big step of faith. That is, the Philistine army is there camped against them. And the Israelite army is there in fear and not really wanting to engage. And Jonathan is there with his armor bearer one day. And he's kind of talking with them. They're going back and forth. And Jonathan says, why don't we just go over to the Philistine garrison and just see what happens?

He says in 1 Samuel 14, 6, he says, And so Jonathan didn't just sit there in the tent where he was, where he had been for years.

I don't know exactly how long, but they'd been camped there for some time. And he didn't just sit there and say, well, if God wants us to defeat the Philistines, then he'll bring a Philistine to my tent and let me hit him over the head. No, he said, let's go test the waters. Let's go find out if God wants to deliver the nation. He doesn't need a lot of people to do that. He can deliver by many or by few. It's his choice. It's just as easy for him.

But let's not just sit here. Let's go do something. Let's go find out if this is what God wants. And so they go over to the garrison and Jonathan says, okay, if they tell us to wait here, well, then we know we got to split. God hasn't given them into our hands. But if they tell us to come up here to where they are,

Well, then we know that God's with us. He's called us. And so sure enough, they go, they stand at the garrison. The Philistines taught them and say, hey, why don't you come up here? Let us teach you a lesson. And Jonathan and his armor bearer go up and they have this victory there at the garrison and it sparks the rest of the army to join with them. And they pursue and they defeat the Philistines in that. It's a good picture for us of, I think, what Paul is expressing here as he's seeking to find a way in the will of God.

He's not just sitting there waiting for it all to happen for him, but he's going out and he's saying, okay, can I go? Is this right? Do you want this, Lord? He's submitted to God. So he's not just forcing his way, but he's trying, he's trying, he's trying. And Paul has been trying to go to Rome repeatedly, repeatedly.

Which means that he was trying to go. He attempted to go and it fell apart. It didn't come together. And then he attempted to go and it fell apart. It didn't come together. In verse 13, he tells them, I often planned to come to you. I made many plans. All right, you know, this next trip, I'm going to go here, I'm going to go there. Then I'm going to go to Rome. But then those plans fell apart.

And so, okay, well, I guess God doesn't want me to go to Rome. Okay, well, I'm going to try again. So next time when I'm over in this area, all right, then from there, I'm going to go to Rome. And you can see this trial and error in a sense, you know, he's trying, but it's, well, it's made clear this is not in God's will. And so he's submitted to God's will, but he's aggressive. He's pushing the boundaries. He's testing the limits, asking God if he can go, trying to find a way.

And so as he's writing this letter here in Romans chapter 1, he still hasn't been to Rome. He's tried many times. He's planning to go to Jerusalem to deliver the finances, the financial gift that had been collected for the saints at Jerusalem. And then his plan is to go to Rome after that, which he ends up going to Rome after that, but not the way that he planned. He goes as a prisoner as he was arrested there in Jerusalem.

But here Paul is expressing that finally, at last, after many failed attempts, I am praying that I will succeed in getting to Rome. I'm going to try again, and I'm praying that God will take me there. I think Paul models for us something really important about being encouraged together. And our fellowship with one another, our ministry to one another, is

and that is that we need to keep asking God for opportunity. Things are not always going to happen, you know, you get it right, home run, first time up to bat. There's going to be a lot of times where you try and fail, where you plan and it falls apart. There's going to be a lot of times where you try to put it together, you try to go forward, and then it doesn't happen. That's going to happen. That's part of life. That's part of ministry.

But we need to press on to keep on asking God for opportunity. And I want to encourage you to find a way to be encouraged together with other believers, to even be aggressive in your attempts, in your testing. Now, again, submitted to the Lord's will. So not just doing whatever I want to do, but testing.

Lord, can I do this? Can I go forward? Can I minister in that way? And so as we have on Wednesday evenings, the time of one another ministry, as we conclude the service on Wednesdays, I want to encourage you to be aggressive in that. Approach it with an aggressiveness that as you come to service, Lord, I want to be

Well, used by you in this time. Lord, can I pray for somebody? Lord, will you give me a word to share with somebody? Will you give me a scripture to encourage somebody with? Will you use me in some way? And test the limits. Test the boundaries. See what God will allow you to do in the same way that Paul does. Find a way. Be aggressive. Ask God. Make requests as you have opportunity to

in your life to share the gospel with people around you. I would encourage you in similar ways. You know, sometimes we get discouraged because we were hoping we'd have a chance to share the gospel at this situation with that coworker, with that family member or something. And maybe we planned it and had it all thought out, you know, but then it just fell apart. But then don't just quit. Don't just give up. Find a way.

And look for another opportunity and ask God for another opportunity. And even if you have opportunity to share and it's rejected, don't just quit and don't just give up, but find a way. Be a little bit aggressive. Now that doesn't mean offensive, you know, or like in your face, but be aggressive with God saying, God, I want to, I desire to make an impact. I desire to be used by you.

This is the kind of heart that God desires for us to have towards people around us. That you can see, you know, Paul's motivation here is his love for the Christians there. And as we have this love for one another, as we have this love for people around us in the world,

It should prompt us, it should cause us to have this same type of heart to say, I need to find a way. God, please give me an opportunity. I want to be part of the work that you're gonna do in their lives.

And so as we have opportunities to minister to one another on Wednesday evenings or Sunday evenings, as we have flashlight fellowships where we go out and seek to pray for people in the parking lots, as we have opportunity with the world around us, unbelievers that we come in connection with, that our hearts would be aggressive with God saying, God, please give me an opportunity. I want an opportunity to be used by you.

As we pray for our missionaries on Wednesday evenings, I would encourage you, you can kind of add this to your prayers for them as well. One of the things that you can pray for is, Lord, would you give me an opportunity to go and to encourage them? I can pray for them from here and you can do a work, but Lord, would you send me to go and encourage them and to be a blessing to them, to strengthen them? Now, as we pray for these things, as we're asking God for this opportunity to

It's good. It's the right heart that we need to have, but we also need to recognize that it may not be fulfilled for many years. Towards the end of the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 15, verse 23, Paul says, well, he says, no longer having a place in these parts, talking about where he has been ministering, he says, having a great desire these many years to come to you. And so he says, I

I finished the work here in this area, and for a long time, for many years, I've wanted to come to you and share the gospel there. And so later on, it's going to be fulfilled. Now, it's even going to be a few years after Paul writes this letter. And so as Paul's writing this letter, he says, for many years, I've wanted to come to you. But it's also going to be several more years after writing this letter that he actually gets to Rome.

And when he does get to Rome, it's not in the way that he planned. Instead, he arrives in Rome as a prisoner as he had appealed to Caesar. But I point that out just to say God may fulfill that prayer in his time, which may not be our time. But that doesn't mean we don't keep on asking. That doesn't mean we stop or give up.

but that we keep looking for those opportunities, that we keep seeking to be used by God in one another's lives. And so that's the first point I'd like to encourage you with today. Keep asking God for opportunity. Don't give up. Don't be passive about it, but be aggressive with God and ask God to use you. God wants to use you. He wants to do great things through your life. And so ask God for those opportunities.

A lot of times we don't ask because, of course, we're not worthy. But I'll talk a little bit more about that in this next point. Moving on now to point number two, verses 11 and 12. Here I want to encourage you to impart and receive encouragement. As we talk about being encouraged together, as Paul is expressing this desire to go to Rome to be with the Christians in Rome, he expresses this desire to impart encouragement

but also to receive encouragement. And that's really important for us. Many times, as I talk about this aggressiveness in the heart of the Apostle Paul, we kind of link in our mind aggressiveness with arrogance. And that's because a lot of times those who are aggressive are arrogant. And so it's a reasonable link to make. But Paul in his aggressiveness, it's not based out of arrogance alone.

but it's based out of his confidence in God's grace. And as you look at verse 11 and 12, he demonstrates humility. And so it's this aggressiveness, but it's not based on his pride. It's based on his confidence in the grace of God and his desire to be used by God. Let me read to you again, verse 11 and 12. He says, for I long to see you.

So Paul continues to express really his love for the Christians there in Rome. He says, I long to see you. I have this desire. I desire greatly to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift.

He's saying, I want to go be there with you that I may, he's not saying that I would be able to give you spiritual gifts that you could use, but that I would be able to exercise my gifts among you, that you could be blessed as God works through me in the spiritual gifts that he has given to me. Now, I'd like to remind you that the word for gifts, as we talk about spiritual gifts, is

gifts, it's a variant of the word for grace, or it's an extension of the word for grace. And so gifts are attached to the grace of God. And this is important to grasp hold of. It's important for us to understand, to really let it sink into our hearts that spiritual gifts are not about our maturity or

They're not about our holiness. They're not about how great we are or how wonderful we are or how good looking we are or if we had a good day or a bad day. Spiritual gifts are based upon the grace of God. They're based upon God giving us his goodness that we don't deserve. Exercising spiritual gifts is part of God's goodness towards us.

that he enables us to minister to one another, to make an impact in each other's lives. But it's not based upon our worth or our value or what we can contribute or how good we've been. It's based upon God's grace. And as we have this ministry,

request, as we keep on asking for opportunity from God, we need to approach it with that understanding so that we don't stop asking because, well, I messed up this week, you know, I stumbled in this area, or I forgot to read my Bible today. And so, you know, no use asking God for opportunity. No, this asking God for opportunity to be used by him

needs to continue because it's based upon the grace of God. Now Paul says, I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift. He says, I want to go there and I want to exercise the gifts that God has given to me so that you may be established. And this is the goal. This is the objective of exercising spiritual gifts. It's so that other people would be strengthened and established.

We talked about this quite a bit a couple weeks ago as we looked at 1 Corinthians chapter 14. And the point, you know, the whole objective, it's got to be motivated by love. It's got to be done decently and in order. The goal of spiritual gifts is not to be a star, not to be famous, not to be in the spotlight, not to feel good about yourself because you did a lot of good, but to be a

The goal, the objective is for others to be established, for others to be strengthened. And again, specifically talking about our Wednesday evening services, I would encourage you, this is the right heart, this is the right attitude to come to Wednesday evenings with, with this longing to see one another, with this desire to reconnect with each other, but then also this desire to impart some spiritual gift to

to be used by God to strengthen other people, to help them be victorious in their lives and to overcome in their walk. But notice Paul's humility as he goes on in verse 12. He says, I want to be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. You see, there's humility here in the Apostle Paul. He says, I want to go and impart spiritual gifts, but it's not just that.

It's not just that he wants to go and exercise his gifts. He says, I want to also go and receive from your giftings and receive from the work that God is doing through you. The New Living Translation here in verse 12 puts it this way. He says, when we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. So when we get together, I want to encourage you

But it's not just about me coming there to encourage you. I'm going to be encouraged by your faith. And you see there's this back and forth reciprocation that takes place. Notice the words here in verse 12. He talks about being together. He talks about the mutual faith. It's a faith that we share together.

He says, both of you and me. There's this back and forth. There's this ministry to one another. And again, let me remind you that Christians are not designed to be loners. This is the way that it's supposed to be. We need other believers and other believers need us. And there's great benefit for us to care for one another.

to have concern for one another, to pray for one another, to impart spiritual gifts and receive as others impart their gifts. I think a lot of times as Christians, we get stuck in one side or the other. We only receive or we only give. And it's out of balance. I would ask you to consider, how are you doing in regards to imparting and receiving encouragement?

As we talk about being together as believers, sometimes we only receive. And so we may come to a service like we did this evening, and you come because you're hurting. You come because, well, I need to be ministered to. I need that time of worship. I need a solid teaching. I need that kind of encouragement. Man, it's been a rough week. And so we show up to service, and it's just like, I just need to be ministered to. And we all know what that's like.

But we need to look for a way to encourage somebody else. We need to be careful that we don't only come to receive. That it's not just, I have needs, and so I'm going to show up and meet my needs. But we need to be asking God for opportunity. And the way that God works, I've shared this many times before, the way that God works is, as we seek to meet the needs of others, God meets our needs. He does.

But when we're only concerned and consumed with ourselves and our needs, well, then we miss out on meeting other people's needs and then our needs don't end up getting met. And so we need to be careful that we're not just receiving, that we're just recipients, that we come to church, we sit in service, we receive, receive, receive, and then that's it. Or it doesn't have to only be a church service, but whenever we gather together, it's just receive, receive, receive, and then that's it. We need to impart as well.

But we can also get caught up in the other side where we only impart. And so we get together and I just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And I don't listen. Or we gather together on a Wednesday evening and I impart and I share what God's put on my heart and what I've prepared, but I don't receive. There needs to be both sides.

Paul says, I want to be imparting to you, but I also want to be ministered to by you, by our faith, encouraging one another. And sometimes in our pride, we can, well, we can build up these walls and not let others see the struggle or weakness. We don't let other people minister to us. And that's not good. Sometimes we're not open to instruction or correction. And so we give, but we don't let people minister.

pour into us, minister to us. And Paul shows us the proper balance. Have an aggressiveness, have a desire to give. That's really important. Also be ready to receive encouragement. And think about it this way. Even the apostle Paul needed to receive. He needed them. It wasn't just that, well, man, that church at Rome, they really need me. And so I got to go.

It wasn't just that, but he needed them. And he needed that encouragement that they would bring to him. And that's something really important to remember for yourself. Don't think of yourself as greater than the Apostle Paul. You need that encouragement as well. But also don't think about leaders in the body of Christ as if they were greater than the Apostle Paul. I know it can be really intimidating, but listen, one of the reasons why God brings back Pastor Tom twice a year is

is because he needs the encouragement that we have to provide. He comes back and he encourages us, but he also needs our encouragement. Joanna needs our encouragement as well. And sometimes we think, you know, well, they're like, you know, light years ahead of us in the Christian walk. They probably don't need that much encouragement, but that's not the truth. And if you don't believe me, ask Michelle after service, she'll tell you.

They need that encouragement. Listen, Pastor Cisco needs our encouragement and I need your encouragement and I need you to exercise your gifts in my life and I need you to pray for me as I pray for you. There has to be this mutual exchange between us. That's the healthy and proper balance. Don't think that

That there are those who don't need that type of ministry or encouragement. Yes, we do get intimidated. Yes, I know what it's like to sit down with somebody and think, okay, they've got the whole Bible memorized. I mean, what can I say to them that's really going to be meaningful? But you know what? It's not about new information that's never been heard before. It's about being genuine and expressing that love and care and concern for one another.

And yeah, there's a scripture that we all know, but there's value in sharing that scripture that we all know. Yeah, there's truths that we can share that we all know, and there's value in restating those things that are known. And yeah, their prayers are more eloquent than yours, but it's meaningful to them as you pray for them. It means something. It's real ministry that takes place. Christians are not designed to be loners, and that includes us.

apostles and pastors and teachers and all kinds of Christian leaders. We need this mutual exchange. We need one another. There's great benefit for us when we care for one another. If you think about it in these terms, you can come to service and

And Kim Sorian can lead us in worship and she could do the best job that's possible and offer for us the best leading in worship that's ever been imagined. And then I can get up and I can share the best message that has ever been taught in the history of the whole world. And yet you could still walk away having missed out on the fullness of what God wanted to do as we've gathered together. Because you received...

as we were led in worship. You received as the message went forth, but there also needs to be the imparting. You need to give, and I'm not talking about money. I mean, you need to exercise your gifts. You need to encourage someone else. You need to pray for somebody else, and I'm not saying it has to be, you know, like a formula. Every service, it has to be this way, but we get into these patterns where we just come, we hear, we sit, we listen, and we leave, and

And we're never involved in giving. We're never imparting and we're lacking. And so it could be the best service that has ever been given, but still you didn't experience the fullness of it because you weren't engaged in the giving and receiving. You were just receiving. We need to be on both sides, imparting and receiving encouragement. Well, finally, the third point in verses 13 through 15 says,

We see the need to be ready to preach the gospel. Verse 13, Paul says,

I referenced this verse earlier. Paul had tried to go to Rome often. He tried many times and he was unable to. The plans fell apart. The Lord shut the doors. But he was aggressive with God, looking for a way. Can I go now? Can I go this time? Can I, can I, can I, can I? Asking God, seeking that opportunity.

God had called the Apostle Paul to be an apostle to the Gentiles. And so to go to Rome was really a strategic destination because it was a central place. It was a prominent place. And what happened there would spread to the rest of the empire. Even as he shared earlier, I thank God because your witness, your testimony is being spoken about as people go in and out of Rome and

They're being impacted by your testimony. And notice what he says here. He says that I might have some fruit among you also. He's desiring to be fruitful. We've talked about the idea of stewardship many times as well. And this is Paul being a good steward of his apostleship. I've been called to the Gentiles. This is a major hub where the Gentiles get together. And so I want to go there and I want to be fruitful and use what God has given me to be effective.

amongst the Gentiles as God has called me. In verse 14, he says, I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. Paul here divides the world in the same way that the Greeks would. That is, they call them Greeks and barbarians or civilized and uncivilized or educated and uneducated.

And Paul says, I'm a debtor to both, whatever it is, whether they're civilized or not, educated or not, the gospel is for all people. He says, I'm a debtor. I like the way that the New Living Translation puts it. He says, for I have a great sense of obligation to

to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. Paul has this burden, this sense of obligation. I need to preach the gospel. We saw this also in 1 Corinthians 9, where Paul says, this burden is laid on me. Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. And so he had this great sense of his call and what God had called him to do. And his call is to preach the gospel.

to the wise, to the unwise, to the civilized, to the uncivilized. Warren Wiersbe says this about this obligation that Paul has. He says, Paul was gripped by the gospel. His whole life was controlled by it. He's called to be an apostle. He felt himself a debtor to the whole world. And then he asked the question, has the gospel gripped you? It's a good question for us to consider. Has the gospel gripped you today?

that way? Do you feel yourself a debtor? Do you feel a sense of obligation to share the gospel? Now, none of us are called to be the Apostle Paul, but we are called to be who God has called us to be. And part of who God has called you to be is to be one who makes disciples. And that doesn't mean that you have to stand on a corner and shout out scriptures. But going back to the beginning of

It means that as we are living our lives and in contact with people around us, it means that we're asking God for opportunity. We're testing. We're seeing. Is this going to be an opportunity? Can I at this time share the gospel? Is this going to be the chance for them to hear about God's love? And we're aggressive with God. Again, not necessarily.

Doesn't mean we're upfront and offensive in people's faces, but aggressive with God. God, can I? Will you give me opportunity? As we have this conversation, has the gospel gripped you in that way that you keep asking God for opportunity to share what God has done?

Paul says in verse 15, so as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. He says, look, I've been called as an apostle to the Gentiles. I'm indebted to the whole world, and I have a sense of obligation. I need to share the gospel with them. And so I'm ready. I'm ready to come and preach the gospel because that's what God has called me to do. I'm ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. Now, as Paul's talking about preaching the gospel...

He's writing to a church. And so these are believers that he's speaking to. Remember in verse 8, he says, your faith is spoken of. So they've heard the gospel, but he's talking about preaching the gospel to them. Now, why would he preach the gospel to them if they've heard and responded to the gospel and their faith is reported to the whole world? Well, because the gospel is not something that we just need to hear one time.

In fact, you can think about the book of Romans, as I shared last week in the introduction. Really, the book of Romans is all about the gospel. Paul expounds it to great extent and then shares how it impacts our life. It's about the gospel. And we're tremendously blessed by the book of Romans. In the same way, as Paul is going to be there to preach the gospel, they're going to be tremendously blessed. It's necessary for us to hear and be reminded of the gospel.

just as it's good for us to study the book of Romans. We need this reminders. We need these truths restated and declared boldly. But in addition to that, I think that the apostle Paul is talking about joining with them in reaching out to unbelievers. As he's talking about preaching the gospel to you who are in Rome also, I picture in my mind, and maybe it's just because of our context, but I picture a mission trip. I mean, this is what we do when we go on a mission trip.

We gather together. We say, let's go to Watsonville. Let's help them do an outreach. And we'll do a VBS at the park. And we'll preach the gospel. We'll invite the kids to Jesus. We'll minister to the parents. And we work together to share the gospel. And I think that's what Paul's talking about here. He's like, I'm ready. I want to go there. This is what God's called me to do. I'm indebted to all people. And so I want to join with you in the work that God has called you to do in bringing the gospel to the

the people of Rome, to the unbelievers around you. And as we consider these things this evening, we also need to have that heart to be ready to preach the gospel. God's called us. We often refer back to this Great Commission, and I'll be referring back to the Great Commission many times because we're going to be studying the gospel as we study the book of Romans. We're called to make disciples, to bring people to Jesus, to share with them the love of Christ.

to give them the opportunity to receive what he has done for us. And so as we're out and about in our community, we need to be ready to preach the gospel. As we have opportunity to join together, like Paul would with the Church of Rome, and reach out as we gather together for flashlight fellowships or other outreach events, or as we have opportunity to go to various places and join with the works that are going on,

We need to be ready to preach the gospel. And even as I just mentioned about us being encouraged and the need for us to be reminded of the gospel, I would say even as we have the times of one another ministry, that we need to be ready to preach the gospel. Because even as believers, the truths of the gospel about who Jesus is,

about what he's done for us, about what he's promised us, about the victory that he's accomplished for us. These are things that we need to be reminded of. And they're simple truths, and we feel foolish many times sharing these things to people we know that they already know them. But it's needed for us. And so I would encourage you, even in our times of one another ministry, be ready to preach the gospel, to declare these truths, to remind us about what God has done.

God has designed us to need one another. And so if we're gonna experience the fullness of the life that God has for us, well, it's gonna be together. We'll be encouraged together. We're gonna spend some time now and just invite the Lord to do a work in ministering to us through one another. And Kim, you can come on up and get ready. And Kim's gonna lead us in a few songs. And I wanna encourage you

as she does, to be asking God for opportunity, to be finding a way. Maybe there's a verse that you've been thinking about this week that stood out as you were reading your devotions. Maybe there's someone that's on your heart that you really just want to pray for them. Maybe there's a specific thing that God's given you to share with somebody. Or maybe you're like, I don't have anything. Find a way. Be aggressive with God.

And I would ask that you would pray right now, God, give me opportunity to encourage, to establish someone. Don't give up so easily. Keep asking God for opportunity. But then also, in this time, be ready to receive encouragement as well. We need to give. We need to impart. But also let people minister to you. Maybe God wants to do something different. And so be open to that. Receive encouragement. Be open to...

the exhortation or the prayer that is offered. And so we're going to spend this last few minutes in the service to just worship the Lord together. And at any time during the worship, you're free to minister to one another. And as I've been sharing, it may take the form of a manifestation of the Spirit, which we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, with a word of wisdom or word of knowledge, something specific that God gives you by the Holy Spirit. And as He gives you that,

that I would encourage you to get up and to go and minister that to somebody that God puts upon your heart. Or if you don't have someone specific, then find a way, find somebody and share. I don't even know if this applies to you, but here's what God's been speaking to me. Here's what God's put upon my heart. Or maybe it's a verse.

And it can be in that form as well. And so share verses with one another. Share things that God's been showing you from the word during this time as well. And again, be free to get up to go and minister. And maybe, you know, you want to minister to Adam or Tina in the sound booth. It's okay. Interrupt them. Pull them down. Whoever you, the Lord puts upon your heart, minister. Ask God for that opportunity and share that scripture. Or maybe it's a prayer. Pray for somebody. Encourage them

by presenting their needs before the Lord and minister to them in that way. And so she's going to lead us in a few songs. And during this time, you just be free, be led by the Holy Spirit and keep asking God, don't give up, but find a way to minister and be open to receiving the same from someone else. Let's worship the Lord.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.