ROMANS 15:14-33 REACH OUT BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 15:14-33 Reach Out Because Of The Gospel

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 15. We will be finishing out the chapter, but let's begin first by just looking at verses 14 through 17 and reading through that portion together. Romans chapter 15, verse 14, it says...

Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God.

Verse 17. Verse 18.

As we look at Romans chapter 15 this evening, again, we'll be finishing out the chapter, and the title of the message is Reach Out Because of the Gospel. And we've been talking, of course, about the gospel because that's what the book of Romans is all about. And throughout the whole book, we're going to be talking about the gospel.

Paul's been talking about the gospel and how he's not ashamed of it because it's the power of God to salvation. And he went through all the details of the gospel, why we need it, how to receive it, how it works, justification, sanctification, all the doctrinal details, how the different, you know, roles are played as far as the nation of Israel and the Gentiles and how that works in each of their lives. And so we've seen what the gospel is, but

over the past few weeks since chapter 12, we've been talking about how the gospel changes our life and not just, you know, changes our status with God and changes our position in, you know, looking forward to eternity with God and all of that. But then there's also the practical implications and applications of the gospel. And so in chapter 12, we began to see that and what we're to do in response to the gospel and to what God has done for us.

And so we've seen many ways that the gospel changes our life. And we talked about the past couple weeks, the liberties that we have and how we, you know, handle that and treat one another in those things. Well, now Paul kind of transitions a little bit out of that stage of the letter and he begins to talk more personal once again. We're in the finishing stretch now of the book of Romans. And

And it goes back to, it's very similar to many of the things he was sharing at the beginning in Romans chapter 1, talking about his desires and his plans and what he wants and how he wants to go visit Rome. And so he's talking about his own ministry. And as he does, we get to see some important principles from the Apostle Paul.

And I would suggest to you that we can learn a lot from Paul's example regarding our response to the gospel message. And so that's why I've titled the message, Reach Out Because of the Gospel. And because what we see here in Romans chapter 15 is the heart of the apostle Paul is to reach out. And the gospel has impacted him in such a way that he is reaching out to people around him.

I used to say it all the time, and maybe I should start bringing it back some more, that Christianity is an outreach. It's not a self-help program. And this is something that we need to be reminded of and to make sure that we're grasping hold of and that the Christianity that we're living out is not the self-help program version of Christianity, but really understanding that Christianity is really all about

reaching out to others. There's some who would suggest, you know, well, I tried that, you know, Christianity. I tried believing in Jesus, but, you know, then I still had all these problems. And, you know, I had these marriage issues and those didn't go away. And, you know, I tried believing in Jesus, but I still didn't have money. And so that didn't work out. Or I still had hurts and, you know, things didn't go away. And I would suggest that if you're trying to use the gospel to make your life comfortable, you

then you're using the gospel wrong. That's not what the gospel is for. That's not what Christianity is all about. That's kind of like trying to use a screwdriver as a hammer, you know, and you can sit and pound the nail and pound the nail with the screwdriver, but not much is going to happen. It's not going to be effective because that's not what it's designed for. That's not how it's meant to be used. And the gospel message and the impact that the gospel has in our lives, it does make a difference. It

it's only effective when you use it the way that it's designed to be used. And so we need to receive the gospel in such a way that we're using that as an outreach, that we're letting that change our perspective so that we're not so focused on making ourselves comfortable or fixing our own problems that we want fixed, but

but really looking outward at the people around us and how does God want us to minister to them and how can we make a difference in their life? And so this evening, I want to encourage you to reach out because of the gospel. And we're going to walk through five points as we look at the example of the Apostle Paul and see his heart in regarding reaching out to the people around him. And so we're going to start in verses 14 through 17 with point number one.

And point number one is reach out from grace. The place where we reach out from is very important. The source of our reaching out is very important. The mindset and the attitude that we have when we're reaching out is very important. And Paul sets here the example for the kind of attitude that we are to have as we reach out, that we are to reach out from a position of grace and nothing else. In verse 14, he says,

Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. And so pay attention to Paul's attitude here.

As he's writing to them, remember the things he's just been sharing about Christian liberties and how they're to respond and treat one another and how they're to evaluate, you know, all these different things that are, you know, some details and technical things, but then also some very personal things and very, you know, things that were core to people that he had to deal with. And so it was very sensitive subjects that he was dealing with. But as he's writing those things, he now goes into verse 14 and he says,

I'm not writing all these things because I have doubts about you. I have confidence concerning you, he says. You are full of goodness, and you're filled with all knowledge, and you're able to admonish one another. Notice Paul's attitude. He's not coming from the point of saying, now listen, Romans, I am absolutely superior, and you must listen to me because I have a

an amazing intelligence that you would not believe. And I know these things far better than you know. And I've thought through these things much more than you've thought through them. And so you listen to me as I write to you about Christian liberties or as I write to you about the gospel and all the implications and all the applications and all the details and technicalities of the gospel. He says, look, I'm not writing this to you from the perspective that you can't know these things unless I write to you.

He says, I'm writing to you, but I also have this confidence that you're full of goodness and you're filled with knowledge and you're able to admonish one another. He says, you guys are able to hear from God also and you are equipped to help each other grow.

And so he's not writing the letter with the idea that if he doesn't write this letter, that church is doomed. He's writing the letter saying, hey, this is coming alongside of you to remind you of the things that you've been taught and the things that you know. Check out verse 15. He says,

And so he says, I've written to you boldly on these things. I've spelled them out clearly. I've gone into the details for you, reminding you, not trying to teach you something that you could not know unless I taught you, but just reminding you of the realities that you've already learned. Now, I think this is a little bit interesting because, man, as I look at the book of Romans,

It's brilliant. It's amazing. And of course, you know, it's the word of God. And so we have an awe of the book of Romans. And

And yet Paul says, I'm just reminding you of the things you've already learned. And that's the reality is that it is the word of God. And yet so many times we make it much more than it really is in the sense that, you know, we overcomplicate things and we feel like, well, only certain people have this special knowledge and only they can, you know, bring forth that knowledge. But God's designed Christianity in a way that's made the

The knowledge of God and wisdom from God and insights about God and the gospel accessible to all believers.

And so it's something that we all have access to, and it's not like privileged information, you know, for special eyes only. And so Paul says, look, I'm boldly writing to you because I'm reminding you of the things that you've already taught, the things that you've already learned. He says, I'm writing boldly, not because I'm arrogant or it's not an air of superiority that he's expressing here.

But he says, I'm bold. Notice the end of verse 15, because of the grace given to me by God. And so the place where Paul is writing this from, where his heart's at, where his mind's at, it's rooted in the grace of God. And I'm able to write to you these things boldly, Paul says, because of the grace that was given to me by God. Now, remember that grace is

is goodness that is not deserved or earned. It's God's goodness towards us that we cannot take any credit for, that we cannot say, well, he's good to me because I'm good or because I do this or because I do that. But recognizing that it's just God's goodness towards us with no requirement on our part.

There's nothing that we can do to earn it or deserve it, but it's just because God wants to be good towards us. And he says, look, God's been good to me. God's done a great work in me. And it's just God's grace in my life. It's just God's work in my life. And what is that work? He explains it in verse 16.

He says that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Paul says, here's the ministry that was given to me. Here's what God did. Here's the work of the grace of God in my life. God made me a minister of Jesus Christ, specifically to the Gentiles.

Paul had a specific mission that God had sent him to evangelize those who were not from a Jewish background. But he had this ministry, this special call of God by God's grace. And Paul is clear, and he makes sure to point that out as often as he can. You see that all throughout the book of Acts and all through the letters that he writes. Paul's opportunity to serve God was because of grace.

And that is the same for every one of us. Your opportunity to serve God is because of grace. Your opportunity to serve God is not because you are so amazing. And it's not because you're so intelligent. It's not because you're, you know, so whatever. It's all about the grace of God. And sometimes as Christians, we get mixed up about this. As you think about the idea of reaching out to

ministering to unbelievers, there's a lot of times that Christians can get caught up in the mentality thinking, you know, I've got it figured out. I know how to present the gospel in such a way that, well, they have to receive it.

Sometimes people come up with the attitude that, you know, I have these awesome arguments for the faith, and if only people would listen to what I have to say, they would turn to Jesus, guaranteed, because, you know, I've got it all laid out. I've got the, you know, the package ready. You know, I've got the arguments, and whatever they bring at me, I can shoot it down, and I can prove, you know, and we can kind of develop that mentality that we have all the answers, right?

And if only they would listen to us, you know, if only we'd have an opportunity to share, then boom, it would definitely take place. But it's placing a lot of reliance upon our arguments and our great intelligence and our great logic. And that's not the basis by which we have an opportunity to reach out. We have an opportunity to reach out. Listen, this is an amazing thing. God could use you at any day, on any moment, whenever he wants to,

to come in contact with somebody, maybe you know or you don't know, but to connect with them in such a way that you have the opportunity to share the gospel with them and invite them to receive salvation that impacts them for the rest of eternity. And you could play a major role in that. Any one of us at any time, God can do that. And that's all because of the grace of God.

And so let's not get mixed up and think we have all the answers. God, you know, should use us or can use us or does use us because, you know, we're amazing. But coming from the place of grace, remembering that everything good in our lives, everything good that we have, everything good about us is a work of the grace of God. But as you consider about reaching out from grace and it's not about your awesome arguments, it also works the other way too.

Because then there's another, you know, group of Christians who would say, you know, I can't reach out. I can't share with that person. I can't minister to them because, you know, I don't have anything intelligent to say. And I don't really know the Bible that well, or I don't really know how to resolve this, or I'm not that smart. I don't know how to deal with that. And we can, you know, come up with all of those things as well and talk ourselves out of reaching out because we forget that the opportunity for you to reach out is from grace, right?

It's not about how awesome you are. It's all about the grace of God. So Paul says in verse 17, therefore, I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. Paul says, God's grace has made an impact in my life. And by God's grace, I've been given this opportunity. I'm a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. And so I have reason to glory. Why does he have reason to glory? Because of grace.

Because of God's goodness towards him. If your life and ministry is dependent upon the grace of God, you will have reason to glory. In other words, if your life and ministry is dependent upon the grace of God, God's going to be at work. And there's going to be good things. There's going to be miracles that take place. There's going to be, you know, needs that are met. There's going to be things that God is doing as you are dependent upon his grace. But

when we're dependent upon our own selves and our own resources and our own thoughts and ideas and words and wisdom, we're not going to have much reason to glory because we don't have anything of ourselves. And so as we have the opportunity to reach out, as we have the opportunity to connect with people around us, we need to make sure that we come from the position of grace like the apostle Paul did.

And you can share doctrine, not because I am the authority. I have studied this for 40,000 hours. And so you should listen to me. I have a PhD or, you know, whatever. You don't have to have that type of role to be able to share the truth. You could share the truth from the position of grace and say, you know what? This is what I've received from God. This is what God has shown me.

And that's all the credentials you need. You don't have to have, you know, some great elaborate thing. You can reach out from a position of grace. You can reach out from a position of trusting God. And that's important because Christianity is an outreach. It's not a self-help program. It's not about how you can make your life comfortable and awesome. It's about impacting others.

Think about it. If the whole point of Christianity was for your life to be comfortable and awesome, then as soon as you got saved, Christ would take you just right directly into heaven. Just immediate rapture, boom. You say the sinner's prayer. Yes, thank you, Jesus. Amen. And you're gone because you're going to be comfortable and awesome in heaven. That's going to be great. But he doesn't do that. He leaves us here. Why? Well, because he wants us to make a difference in

and the lives of the people around us. It's the great commission, right? And so we need to reach out, but we need to make sure that we reach out from a position of grace. Not our credentials, not our IQ, not our experience, not, you know, from some kind of superiority that we have or some, you know, special thing, but just trusting in the grace of God and the goodness of God and just accepting what God has done for us. As a recipient of God's grace, you are fully qualified to

to reach out to others. You're fully qualified to minister to the people around you. Well, going on into verse 18 and 19, here we have point number two, and that is reach out by the Spirit. And so as we reach out, as we look to minister to people around us, we need to understand that it's not in our strength and in our resources, but it's in the power of the Holy Spirit. In verse 18 and verse 19, here's what Paul says.

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient in mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. We saw in verse 17, Paul has reason to glory. He says, therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus.

But the reason that he has to glory, he makes sure to point out, it's not because of myself. It's not because of himself. He says, here's the reason why I have to glory. It's the things that Christ has accomplished through me. And great things have happened. In verse 18, he says that the Gentiles have become obedient. Here, Paul is explaining that his ministry has been fruitful as he's been reaching out to Gentiles,

Gentiles have become obedient. They've received the gospel message. They've responded to it. They've turned their lives around to Jesus Christ and they've planted churches as a result. And there's been establishing of congregations and elders and he's done these incredible works from city to city, city to city, as Paul has gone through these different areas on the missionary journeys that he took.

And he's explaining here, this is a work that Christ has accomplished through me. Again, Paul wants to make sure it's clear. This isn't because I had all this great wisdom and I did all these things. It's the work that Christ has done through me. And so there's reason to glory. Great things have happened. But then as he goes on into verse 19, he says, in mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God. Mighty signs and wonders, miracles have taken place.

The book of Acts tells us that unusual miracles were accomplished by the Apostle Paul. God did a mighty work. There was mighty signs and wonders as he went through that region or went through that area with the gospel message. But notice how he says in verse 19, it's by the power of the Spirit of God.

His ministry has been successful. It's been fruitful. There's been great works that have taken place. There's been people, multitudes of people that have been saved. There's been miracles that have taken place. And why is it that Paul has experienced such awesome success? Well, going back to the first point, it's because of the grace of God.

It's God's goodness. It's not because of Paul's credentials. It's not because of Paul's personality or Paul's, you know, awesome whatever. It's the grace of God along with, in verse 19, the power of the Spirit of God. It's not that Paul did this ministry from his own resources, that he was just, you know, really charismatic and really, you know, persuasive. And so people just responded because, you know, he was so charismatic and persuasive.

Now, if people responded, Paul's saying, it was the power of the Spirit of God. It was the work of the Holy Spirit. I didn't do miracles because I was super holy and I fasted for 24 days and then prayed for that person and they were healed. It was by the power of the Spirit of God. And so he says in verse 18, let me read verse 18 again. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me.

Paul says, I'm very careful. I don't want to dare to speak of anything that Christ has not accomplished through me. Another way to say that is, everything I did, Jesus gets the credit for. I would dare not try to say that I did anything apart from Christ or that I did anything for my own strength or resources. Everything I did, Paul says, is

Everything about my ministry, everything about my life, it was Christ working through me. Christ accomplishing it through me in my words, in my deeds. So that Paul says, I was just the conduit. I was just the delivery system. I once heard a burrito described as,

as a delivery system for guacamole. The tortilla is just the delivery system just so you can get the guacamole, right? Or maybe you think about a taco, the carne asada, right? The tortilla is just the delivery system. It's just so you can get the carne asada from the plate to your mouth. Like that's what it's for. Paul says, that's what, I'm like the tortilla. You know, I just, I'm just the one that God used. He put me there and then he worked through me

to get the gospel to them, to get the Holy Spirit to them, to get the work of God to them. I'm just the conduit, he says. And so I dare not speak of any of those things that Christ has not accomplished through me. I'm not going to take credit for anything, and I'm not going to talk about anything that wasn't the work of Christ. He did these things by the power of the Holy Spirit. I think this is important for us to consider because I think it's interesting sometimes how we evaluate things

the people who minister to us. I'm sure you have your favorites, right? Your favorite teachers, maybe on K-Wave or at conferences. You have, you know, those ones that you really enjoy. And we all have that. And we all have those, perhaps those messages that really stand out. You know, it's like, man, you know, for years later, you're thinking back to that one message that was just, wow, that message was so good. Now, why was that message so good? Why was that message so good?

Was it because the person who taught it studied so hard? Or they had their points, you know, so well crafted that, you know, you were able to just really enjoy that? What makes a message good? Well, I'll tell you what makes a message good. The power of the Holy Spirit. What makes our favorite teachers our favorite teachers? What makes them have an impact in our lives? It's the power of the Holy Spirit.

You see, we think that we know why we like our favorite teachers. Remember in Corinthians, Paul dealt with this as they were kind of, you know, dividing over, well, I prefer Apollos or I like Paul, I like Peter. And others would say, well, I just, you know, stick to Jesus. I like Jesus the best. And there was these divisions and discussions. And we could have those kinds of discussions as well, you know, like, oh, I like this teacher. He really, you know, is a really great teacher.

And we think we know why we like that teacher. We think we know why, you know, that we're, you know, ministered to by them.

And we'll say things like, well, because they're just really funny. It makes me laugh. And then while you're laughing, then they bring in the spiritual truth. And it's like, oh, wow, like Gail Irwin, right? He gets you laughing. And then, boom, he brings the point home. And you're like, you get caught off guard. But you receive the truth. And you enjoy it at the same time. And so you might think, wow, yeah, I like this guy because he's really funny. And he really ministers to me because of that. Or you might look at another person and say, well,

I really like their ministry and their teaching because of all the applications and illustrations that they do. And it just comes alive. And it's just so effective. And so it makes it really powerful for me. And we could have all these reasons why this person or that person or the other person ministers to us, why we like them, why their ministry is powerful, or why we don't like them that much. But here's the reality. Let me give you a different perspective. Those favorite teachers that you have,

It's not because they're funny. It's not because they have illustrations. It's not because, you know, they're really dynamic or you like their personality. If someone is ministering to you, it's because God has given them that role in your life. That's it. It's because God has given them that role in your life. And the power of the Holy Spirit brings the message that they prepare to you in a unique way because God's given them that role. That's the reality. And God could...

God could give someone else that role in your life. Think about it this way. Have you ever thought it was strange when other people don't appreciate your favorite teacher? It's like, oh yeah, I heard that guy, you know, it's like, it's okay. You're like, what's wrong with you? That teacher is powerful and man, it's just amazing and just so impacting and wow, it's just so incredible the way...

Or you think about maybe even just a particular message. You walk away, you talk to someone later on, you go, man, that message really spoke to me. And the other person's like, really? I didn't get nothing out of that. I was falling asleep. It was boring. Why is that? It has nothing to do with the teacher, with the person. It has nothing to do with the personality or the clothes that we're wearing or the tone of the voice, if it's monotone or not. It has nothing to do with any of that. All of that is just superficial stuff on the external.

If a message impacts you, it's because God has given that person a role in your life and the Holy Spirit brought that message home to you. It's the power of the Holy Spirit. If there's a particular person who really ministers to you, it's because God has given them that role in your life. And that person may not have the same role in other people's lives. And so it's no surprise then that that doesn't minister to them greatly. And that's okay. But what we need to understand though is we're not...

Don't give too much credit to the person is the point I'm trying to make. Paul says, look, I can't boast about anything in me. It's Jesus Christ through me. And people responded to Paul's message, not because of his personality or because he was funny or he used good illustrations or he had this technique or that technique or, you know, did it this way or that way or was this height or that, you know, whatever. None of that stuff matters. What matters is that God chose him and called him to accomplish that work. There was a time...

quite a few years ago now, where I would attend conferences and I would dread when I would see Brian Broderson on the roster. And prayerfully, this message will never get back to him. But I used to dread it, you know? It was like, oh my goodness.

And a lot of times, you know, it'd be in the afternoon and, you know, you're sitting through a bunch of teachings and stuff all day long and it's like, oh man, Brian Brodison. And so we used to have a system, we would joke around with Pastor Tom, we'd be like, you know, we kind of scale, you know, our favorite speakers by how many candies we have to eat during the message to stay awake, you know. And so, you know,

And so it's like, oh man, yeah, you're just going to have to like just be eating candy constantly when Brian Bredesen's teaching. I just, oh, I would just, it was just so hard. I just didn't like to listen to him. It was so hard to stay, you know, pay attention. And it just really didn't minister to me at all. But that's not how it is anymore. It's interesting for me. I love to hear Brian Bredesen now. And when I listen, when I hear, it impacts me and it really hits me.

Now, I could tell you with great confidence and clarity, Brian Broderson has not changed. He teaches exactly the same as he has for the past 20 or 30 years. And I know because I can go back and listen to his older messages from the time when I was like, oh, I can't stand, you know, it's so hard to listen to this guy. It just doesn't, you know, hit me at all. It doesn't impact me at all. He didn't change. What changed? Well, God's given him a different role in my life.

And the Holy Spirit takes his words and impacts me with them. He brings the application. It's the Holy Spirit who gives life. And so it could be anybody. That's the point. God could use anybody. And he could give anybody that role in your life. Because it's the work of the Holy Spirit. It's not the work of the person. Now, all of that to say, now it's your turn to reach out by the Spirit, recognizing that

That it's not that you have to come up with some awesome thing that nobody's ever heard of in order to share the gospel with somebody. You can have as an effective ministry as the Apostle Paul if God chooses to do that. It's not about that. You don't have to come up with the system. You don't have to figure out. All you have to do, start from a place of grace and then rely upon the Holy Spirit.

And if God wants you to have an impact in somebody's life, you're going to have an impact in their life. Even if you say the words wrong, even if you get the lines mixed up and you say the joke, you know, the punchline at the beginning and the lead up to the punchline at the end, you know, even then, God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, does the work. You're just the delivery system. You're the tortilla. God's bringing carne asada to hungry people, okay? And it's the power of the Holy Spirit through you, okay?

And it's so important for us to understand that we rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, you know Acts chapter 1 verse 8 where Jesus says, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. You need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so I would encourage you to be asking God to fill you with the Spirit and be looking to God and

When you have opportunities to minister to people around you, that you reach out, not with the mentality, not with the idea, all right, I've got the system, I've got the words, I've got the argument, I've got the right things to say, you know, I've got this and I know how to handle this and I've answered all these questions. You know, when you approach someone, when you have opportunity, when you're conversing, you be calling out to God and asking God to bring forth his Holy Spirit to work through you

It's not your strength. It's not your wisdom. It's the work of God. And so reach out by the Spirit. Well, moving on, verses 20 through 24 now, point number three, reach out to a new group. I want to encourage you to think about this one. Reach out to someone different than you've been ministering to thus far. Verse 20 says,

And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation. Verse 21, but as it is written, to whom he was not announced, they shall see. And those who have not heard shall understand. Here Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 52, verse 15, as he's explaining, my aim, he says, my goal is to preach where Christ was not named.

He says, I made an effort to make sure I didn't build on somebody else's foundation, that I didn't go behind Peter and start a ministry after Peter had already been there and done the work, that I wanted to go where nobody has gone before with the gospel. Now, as Paul talks about this, of course, we understand that Paul says,

was an apostle and he had a specific and unique call in his life. It was a specific type of ministry. We could maybe think of it as a church planter today, that there are those who go and they plant churches and they don't stay there for 30 years to pastor the church, but they plant the church, they get it going, they get the elders set up, and then they move on to another area where there isn't a church and plant a church there. And that is what the apostle Paul did.

Paul had the call from God to plow new ground, to bring the gospel where it wasn't already. And so he didn't stick around in one place for too long. He spent a lot of time in Ephesus and a lot of time in Corinth, but those were kind of the exceptions. And for the most part, he went from place to place and place to place, but he didn't stick around in one place for too long.

Verse 22...

For this reason, I also have been much hindered from coming to you. So he says, my aim has been to preach the gospel where nobody else has preached. And so this is part of the reason why I've not been to Rome yet. We talked about this at the beginning of Romans in chapter one, that Paul had not been to Rome. There was a church established there, but it wasn't established by Paul. We don't know who established the church, but

But as he's writing to them, he says, look, I've been wanting to go to Rome. I've been wanting to go visit you. But he says, look, I've been much hindered from coming to you because, well, first of all, I'm really focused on preaching the gospel where the gospel has not been brought. And so as he looks around the region of Asia Minor and all around Jerusalem and everywhere, he

There was lots of opportunity for him to bring the gospel to regions that didn't have the gospel. There was much to do. There's a lot of people who need to hear the gospel. And so I've been focused on that. But I think he's also saying here, I haven't been in a hurry to come to Rome because the gospel has already been brought there. You're already a church. It's already established. And so it's not as high on my priority list, even though I really want to go, but because the gospel has already been brought there.

And so I've been focused here where there's these areas where the gospel has not come. In Romans chapter 1 in verse 10, Paul said, look, I've been praying to God and just trying to find a way in the will of God to come to you. And that stood out to me then. It continues to resonate in my mind and in my heart that he's kind of pushing the boundaries of the will of God. God, can I please go to Rome? Can I please go to Rome? Can I please go to Rome? He really wanted to go to Rome.

He even said in verse 13 of Romans chapter one, I plan to come, but I was hindered until now. And so he had these plans. He was trying, he was trying to make arrangements, trying to work it out, trying to find a way. But there was a work that God had called him to do and to bring the gospel to an unreached area, to those who did not have the gospel.

Verse 23, he says, but now, no longer having a place in these parts and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey and be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. And so Paul says, I've made it my aim to preach the gospel where nobody else has preached the gospel. But now, he says, I don't have...

a place in these parts. In my neck of the woods, Paul says, I've gone to all the regions I can go to. I've brought the gospel to all of those regions. And so now I'm setting my eyes on the horizon and I'm looking for new areas to bring the gospel. And where does he set his eyes? He sets his eyes on Spain. And so he says, I'm going to head to Spain and

But I want to go spend some time with you, hang out with you guys for a while, and then you can help me move on from there to Spain. And so here's what Paul's talking about if you want to consider the geography for a moment.

There on the bottom right, you'll see that's where Jerusalem is. So that's the nation of Israel. That's the Mediterranean Sea, which is the big body of water there right in the middle. And so the red arrow is the area that Paul is talking about saying, this is where I've been. This is where I've been preaching the gospel. And so you have, you know, north of Jerusalem and then all the way over to Achaia where Corinth is and in Greece and that area. And so everywhere in between, he's gone back and forth in that area. He's

preach the gospel in that whole region. And so he's writing to the Romans, which is right there in the midst of Italy, kind of right in the middle of the map. And then he set his eyes on Spain. And so you can kind of see the picture here. He's like, okay, I've filled up this whole side of the map. I've hit those areas. I've brought the gospel there. Now I need to go somewhere new and plow some new ground and bring the gospel where it hasn't been brought before. And

And so he says, what's the farthest place I can go to? You know, let's start there. And so he's headed to Spain. That's his desire. He wants to go reach out to Spain and bring the gospel to them. You can see the heart here of the Apostle Paul, to reach out to a people that haven't heard, to people that haven't had the opportunity yet. And as we look at Paul as the example for us, again, I want to encourage you to reach out to a new group.

Again, Christianity is an outreach. It's not a self-help program. It's not about how you can be comfortable and just not have to sweat or stress or struggle with anything. It's about reaching out. It's about impacting the lives of others. Now, you have a different calling than the Apostle Paul, I'm pretty sure of it. You're probably not called to be a church planter. Maybe you are, and God could definitely do that. But I can tell you with confidence this, you are not called to be a church planter.

to only connect with people that you already know. I can tell you that with absolute certainty. That's not God's calling for you. That the rest of your days, the ministry that God has for you is to only minister to the people that you know right now. That's not God's calling for your life. I can guarantee that because you're called to make disciples. And as you make disciples, guess what? When you disciple somebody, well, they mature, they become a disciple, and then they start making disciples. And then, well, you need to work on discipleship.

A new disciple now. Once they've matured and they're making their own disciples, well, now you need to start making a disciple of someone else and start investing in someone else. And it's going to be constantly changing. God has not designed us to just be, you know, our own circle. Like, okay, it's just the 15 of us. Like, you know, just all the way until the rapture, man. Just the 15 of us. Let's just all talk to each other and minister to each other and pray for each other and encourage each other. And that's who, you know, all we're going to pay attention. That's not what God wants.

That's not what God wants at all. Now, listen, I know all of us have unsaved friends and family. And of course, with our unsaved friends and family, we need to be sharing the gospel. We need to be living out the gospel. We need to be an example. We need to be a witness. But at the same time, and try to understand my heart here, I'm not trying to be weird or anything, but there comes a point where you've shared everything that needs to be shared. There comes a point where they know where you stand and they've heard the gospel message and

And now it's really on them. Of course, as you have opportunity, you will share again. But there comes a point where, okay, you kind of have to change your focus. You kind of have to change your perspective. Of course, you always pray for them. Of course. Of course, you share as you have opportunity. But you need to start investing some of that effort, some of that sharing, that time, that energy into those who perhaps will receive the message of the gospel.

Yeah, we have co-workers and friends and family. Yeah, they're not saved, and we need to reach out to them, but as there's not a reception for that. Now, I'm not saying, you know, the first time they say, you know, I don't want to hear about that, then you go, okay, well, never mind then. I won't ever bring it up again. No, no, of course. I'm talking about years. You know, you spend years investing in people and reaching out and sharing and demonstrating, and you're living your life before them, but

But then you kind of need to set your eyes on new horizons. You've shared all that you can share. You've given all that you can give. And maybe God wants to stir up some changes in your ministry and who you minister to. And my suggestion to you is to mix it up. Spend some time with someone different. If you're spending time, if all your time that you spend with people is the same people that you've been spending time with, you know, for the previous two years or five years, you need to mix it up. You need to do something different.

Start investing in someone new. Start praying for someone that you haven't been praying for yet. Start reaching out to and seeking to minister to someone that you've not had an opportunity to minister to yet. I would encourage you to do that. Reach out to a new group. God wants us to stay fresh in that way and to continue to reach out to people that he places in our lives and in our path. But it's easy. I know, I know it's real easy and it's real comfortable for us to only minister to the people that we're already comfortable with.

I know that, but that's not what God's called us to do. And so we reach out from grace by the Spirit to a new group. Well, moving on to point number four in verse 25 through 28, here we see that we need to reach out to believers in need. In verse 25, Paul says, but now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. And so Paul's explaining his desire to go to Spain. He wants to go to Rome on the way to Spain. But before he can even do that, he says, I have to go to Jerusalem.

Why? To minister to the saints. And he is talking about a specific ministry of bringing some financial resources to the saints in Jerusalem. In verse 26, he says, "...for it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem."

And so there was a situation there in Jerusalem where there was people in need. There was the poor and there was a famine that was taking place. In Acts chapter 11, we read about that. There was a prophet named Agabus who stood up and spoke by the spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world. And so the disciples responded to that word of prophecy that came forth and they determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

They said, we want to help. There's going to be a famine and there's going to be this situation, these poor and needy believers in Jerusalem. We want to be part of that. We want to help meet that need.

And so Paul has been ministering to the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. He talks about also the church of Philippi. And so these churches in those areas gather together their resources. They give them to the apostle Paul. And now he's going to take this gift from these churches to Jerusalem. Verse 27 says,

He says,

And so he says, we've received this collection from all these churches and it's the right thing to do. It's right and it's good to bless those who have blessed you. They've been partakers of the spiritual things from the Jewish people and from the believers specifically in Jerusalem where the church began and then the gospel spread from there. And so they've benefited greatly from the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and

And so he says it's appropriate for them to minister to them in material things, for them to help them in their material needs. And so it's right and good to bless other believers who are in need. And it's right and good to bless other believers who have blessed you. Paul tells us in Galatians 6, verse 10, And so as we consider Christianity as an outreach program,

We need to look around, not just to unbelievers, not just to those that we haven't had opportunity to minister to, but maybe look around to see what kind of needs might there be around us.

And how can we do good to the household of the faith? How can we do good to other believers? It's a good thing. It's a needed thing. It's something that God wants us to do. And so verse 28, Paul says, And so again, he's sharing his plans.

I want to go to Rome and then to Spain from there. But first I have to go to Jerusalem, finish this ministry that I've been called to and bringing this gift and helping these who are in need. Well, finally, verses 29 through 33, we have point number five, and that is reach out by supporting missionaries. And so as we consider reaching out, of course, God wants you to be personally involved in reaching out.

And as you do, you reach out from grace, you reach out by the Spirit, and you reach out, you know, be praying about maybe some different people that God wants you to be ministering to, or maybe some believers that are in need. But then also, in addition to that, I would say, we reach out by supporting missionaries, by being a part of others who are on the mission field and doing the work that God has called them to do. It's not a substitute. So we say, well,

I don't minister to people, but I send money or I pray for those who do. That's not enough. This is kind of in addition to that. We need to also be involved with it personally, but then also engaged in prayer and in support of those who are doing the work. Verse 29, "'But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.'"

Here you can see that Paul is looking forward to spending some time with the church in Rome. And he's looking forward to it and he says, it's going to be a great blessing. Now again, these things are very similar to what he was sharing in Romans chapter 1. In Romans chapter 1 verse 11, he says, I long to see you so that I can impart to you a spiritual gift so that you can be established. But then he goes on to say that we might be encouraged together to

By our mutual faith, both of you and me. And so he's talking about there's going to be this blessing together where we get to exchange with one another the gifts that God has given to us and the things that God has done and the things that God has said and the way that God has worked. And we'll get to have this blessed time together when we finally get to meet.

And so I'm going to come to you in the fullness of the blessings of the gospel of Christ. I'm going to come to you and it's just going to be a time fully just blessings and joy and rejoicing and just exciting. It's going to be so great. And so he has this confidence that when he goes, it's going to be a beautiful time for them as believers. Now, think about this verse. And I would encourage you to meditate on this as we prepare for next week. Listen. Listen.

Pastor Tom and Joanna are flying in and they're going to spend, you know, the next month with us. And I know it's easy for us to think, you know, they never need to be ministered to, you know, they don't really have any needs. Everything's always awesome for them, you know, and they are blessed and God is doing a work. But listen, we, I think we need to make some effort to make sure that as they come here, we do the best that we can to make their time available.

where they could describe it as being, you know, the fullness of blessings in the gospel of Christ. I would encourage you, make sure you go out of your way. Let them know their loves. Let them know they're prayed for. Let it be a great time of joy and rejoicing. Let it be a great time of refreshing. Don't think of it as, you know, well, they're coming and, you know, you need to be ministered to by them. And for sure. But as Paul said, you know,

We share and exchange in Romans chapter one, verse 12, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. And so I would encourage you to share with them what God's doing in your life. And that will encourage them. Share with them how you pray for them. Share with them scriptures that God's put upon your heart and speaking to you through. Let that be a time of just full rejoicing for them.

In January, we also have Pastor Tom Hallman coming and we might see some others as well who are coming in for the missions conference. Same thing, like let's, as we have opportunity, let's let them just experience the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ, that they could come and just be encouraged and receive great joy and just be ministered to.

Dave Downs is also going to be in town, I think, this week or so. And he might be here on Sunday. And so, again, opportunity for us to just let them know they're loved and let them be refreshed. And Paul is so looking forward to that. And I can tell you that our missionaries look forward to that as well. And so don't think of it. I know it's easy to think of them as, you know, above that. They don't need to be ministered to. They don't need to be encouraged. Everything's always awesome for them.

But things are awesome and God's providing for them. But you know, you can be a part of being a great joy and refreshing to them as well. Well, moving on, verse 30, it says, Verse 31.

Verse 32. Paul has three requests that he asks for prayer for. That he would be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe. So pray for me about this, he says.

And then he says also that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints. As I bring this financial gift, that they would accept it, that they would understand. It's, you know, just a gift out of the goodness of the heart that, you know, we just so appreciate the work that God has done. Then he also asks for prayer that he would be able to come to them with joy, that they'd be refreshed together. And so he says, be praying for me about these three things.

Now, verse 30, you probably recognize. It's one that we've used often. I think it's appropriate to highlight again. Now, I beg you that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me. Notice Paul says, I beg you. And again, as I've been sharing, missionaries need support. They need our support. They need our prayers.

And so there is that need and our missionaries would beg you as well. Please, would you please pray for me? And that's why we devote Wednesday nights. We have that time of prayer for our missionaries and they would beg you and they would say, yes, please take advantage of that time and pray for me. We need prayer. They have hard work ahead of them. They have spiritual war that is going on.

And so they need that prayer. But then also there's the other side of this. And that is that you have the great privilege of partnering with missionaries by praying for them. And you get to be a real part of the work. He says, strive together with me in prayers to God for me. You get to join me and lock arms with me in the work that I'm doing by spending time in prayer for me. You get to be a real part of the work, but then also that means you get to be a real part of the reward.

You get to be a real part of the work and that means you get to be rewarded when you enter into eternity as you've spent time praying for and lifting up the needs of our missionaries. You will get rewarded along with them for the work that they did.

David Guzik points out that Paul says, strive together with me. It's a word could also be translated agony or agonize with me. It's the word that Jesus used as he talked about, or he said to, you know, Peter, James, and John, hey, pray with me in the garden of Gethsemane. And he says, pray with me. And he went and he agonized and he prayed there in the garden of Gethsemane.

And Guzik points out that those three disciples, Peter, James, and John, failed at that critical moment to pray with Jesus. They left him alone in that struggle. And Guzik goes on to say something we should take to heart. We must not leave our ministers and leaders to struggle alone. We must not leave our missionaries to struggle alone. I beg you, strive together with me in prayers to God for me. And so lift up our missionaries. I would also say,

a little bit selfishly like Paul, I beg you that you would strive together with me in the ministry, that you would be in prayer with me, join with me in the work that God wants to do by praying for me, by lifting up the opportunities that I have, by lifting up the work that God wants to do in me and then through me as the guacamole delivery system, right? I'm the tortilla. It's not about me, but God wants to do a work.

And you can be part of it with our missionaries and with our leaders. Verse 33, now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. May the God of peace be with you. God is a God of peace. He will give you peace. But again, we need to have the right perspective. Christianity is an outreach. If all you want is the peace,

All right, I'm going to get saved. I'm going to believe in Jesus. I'm going to try to spend time with the Lord and walk with the Lord because, you know, I really want peace. And if that's all you want, you're using that tool wrong. You're using the gospel wrong. It's not about just giving you peace. That's not what it's for. That's not why God has given us the Holy Spirit so that you can have peace.

That's not the limit. That's not the extent of it. There's so much more that God wants to do. But you only experience that peace, the way that you experience the God of peace is by fulfilling the call that he's given to you, by living out the life that he's called you to live. And so I would encourage you to be reaching out because of the gospel. Don't just be thinking about yourself, the whole, you know, how does this impact me? What about me? What about me? What about me? What about all the rest of the people around you?

How can you minister to them? How can you reach out to them? How can you make a difference in their lives? Make sure you approach it with the right heart, the right attitude. You come from grace. Not your works, not your efforts, not your intelligence, not your accomplishments, but the accomplishment of what God has done for you. We come from the basis of the cross. We're all sinful.

and desperate, lost without him. And so then we also reach out by the power of the spirit, not relying on our own strength and resources, but calling out to God, God, would you do a work through me as I have this conversation, as I meet this person, as I talk to them, as I pray for them. Maybe we need to mix it up and not just meet with the same people and talk to the same people and share with the same people and pray for the same people. Mix it up. Look for someone new. Look for something different that God wants to do.

It's not just the same people that he wants you to minister to for the rest of your life.

Reach out to believers in need. Not only do we reach out to the world around us, but others around us who are believers in Jesus, they need some support. They need some help as well. And so we need to be looking for those opportunities. And then finally, we reach out by supporting our missionaries, lifting them up, joining together with them by praying to God for them. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, that you not just redeem us and give us the opportunity for everlasting life, but that you give us the opportunity

But Lord, you give us then the privilege and the opportunity to be part of your work, to have a role in things that will last for eternity and have great rewards in the life after this one. Lord, thank you for that privilege. I pray that you would help us, Lord, not to just acknowledge it or not to just accept it or even not to ignore it, but Lord, that you would help us, Lord, to engage in that privilege and to start walking in

or to continue walking, or to develop and to walk further, and to grow more in reaching out to the people around us. Lord, I pray that you would help us to impact greatly the people that you've placed in our lives. May we have a big impact upon them. May we shine brightly your love, your light for them. Lord, that they would be changed, that their hearts would be changed.

that they would have greater things in store for them in this life and in the life to come because we've been a part of their lives. Thank you for that privilege. Help us, Lord, to walk in it, trusting in you, your grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, God, I pray that you would empower us, fill us all with your Holy Spirit, give us opportunities to reach out and help us to take those steps as you call us to. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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