ROMANS 1:8-12 HOW TO BE THE BODY OF CHRIST FROM A DISTANCE2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 1:8-12 How To Be The Body Of Christ From A Distance

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 2020.

Well, as we get started in Romans chapter 1 this morning, I would ask you to consider how you feel about long-distance relationships. What do you think? Can long-distance relationships work? Can they go well? How well can you live or have a long-distance relationship? Here, as we look at the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Rome, he says,

It is in some sorts a long distance relationship that you could consider. Paul had never been to Rome and yet he writes this powerful letter about the gospel.

He'd never been to Rome, but he writes the longest of his letters, the most dense of his letters, the most powerful doctrine of all his letters to this church in Rome that he had never been to. And as he shares his heart here in the beginning in verses 8 through 12, he really gives us some insight into his heart for the church at Rome and teaches us some things about how to love one another from afar. And so I've titled the message,

This morning, how to be the body of Christ from a distance. It's something timely for us to consider. It's something important for us to understand how to be the body of Christ from a distance.

from a distance. Now the idea and the concept of the body of Christ is something we've considered a lot. We've talked about, you know, the different roles that we have in the body of Christ and the importance of each member and the ministering to one another. It's something we've considered a lot over the years. But one thing that we haven't considered that much is how to do that

When you're not together, when you're far apart, when there's distance between you, whether it be social distance or geographical distance, right? Paul was far from Rome. He hadn't been there, but here he is expressing great love and engaging with them as the body of Christ, even though he was far away. And I think it's important for us to consider these things because, well, you know the saying, out of sight, out of mind.

out of mind, right? And that's a saying because it is so easy for that to take place in our lives, that when we are distant from one another, when we are apart from each other, that, well, other things in life are capturing our attention and keeping our focus and keeping us really from remembering one another and engaging as the body of Christ with one another, right?

And so there's some intention that needs to happen on our part. There's some intentional progress in being the body of Christ, even though we're distant, that needs to take place. And Paul here gives us some good examples on how to do that. As he expresses his love for this church, the commentator William Barclay says, after almost 1900 years, the warm affection of this passage still breathes through it.

And we can feel Paul's great heart throbbing with love for the church, which he had never seen. As you read through this passage here in Romans chapter 1, you feel the heart of the Apostle Paul. And you get to catch a glimpse of his love for the Romans, again, even though he was far away, even though he hadn't been there. Now, although Paul had not been to Rome,

Rome or the church in Rome, he did know a lot of the people from his travels and connections and all of his other missionary journeys. At the end of the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 16, you'll see this long list of greetings that he gives to people that he had encountered on his journey before, but now were in the church at Rome. And so he had connections there. He's maintaining those connections. He's reaching out to them in love. And it instructs us, it helps us to think about

one another as those who are called and gathered together here at Living Water. Although we may be distant socially, although we may be distant geographically, you know, although circumstances may change and we might be separated for times and seasons, we're still able to be the body of Christ and still able to engage with one another in the things of the Lord. For the missionaries that God has sent out over the years, you know, the many that have been sent out and planted churches of their own,

We still get to be a part, even though we're distant and from afar. And sometimes it's by visiting, but sometimes it's from where we are. We get to be the body of Christ from a distance. And it can go on to extend to other Christians around us and all over the world. There are people that God has connected us to. As members of the body of Christ, he establishes us with these attachments. Just as every member in your body has attachments.

You're a member in the body of Christ and we have the opportunity to develop those relationships and to grow with each other as members of the body of Christ. And so we're going to look at Paul's example here and learn some lessons from him on how to be the body of Christ from a distance. Starting in verse 8 for point number 1, here it is, rejoice at God's work in each other. To continue to engage in

as the body of Christ with one another, even if we're separate or distant, we can follow the model here of the Apostle Paul and rejoice as God works in other people's lives. Verse 8 says,

Paul, as he begins this letter, really the first seven verses is kind of his introduction, introducing himself and, you know, beginning the letter as he usually does. But first off, before he gets into the meat of the doctrine, he says, I want you to know, I thank God for you. I thank God for you and the work that he's doing in your life that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Your faith is spoken of, that it's known. There's a testimony that comes forth from you of how good God is and how much God is doing there within your midst. Paul says, I'm thankful. I'm rejoicing at the work that's happening over there. Now again, Paul hasn't been there.

In some ways you could think, well, hey, you've never been there. It's a church you don't know. It's mostly people you don't know. Why do you care? Why would you be so thankful and rejoice? But this is a church that God had put upon the hearts of the Apostle Paul. This is one of the things to consider about the body of Christ. God connects you to whoever he connects you to. The position, the role, the place that we have in the body of Christ is not our decision.

Sometimes we can think that, right? Because we can kind of go church shopping or we can go Christian friend shopping, right? We can like, okay, this is the person I want to hang out with. This is the people, group I want to hang out with. But although we have that kind of opportunity, spiritually speaking, there is a people, there is a group, there is certain individuals that God has placed in your life for specific reasons and roles, right?

And it's not really up to you to choose that. It's up to you to find out, to hear from the Lord who it is that he has attached to you. For example, we've been talking about many times the idea of making disciples, that God has placed in your life people that he wants you to be an influence upon and to pass along the things that he is ministering to you. And you know, you don't actually get to choose those people. Those are people that God places in your life,

Because he knows what's best for you and what's best for them. There's leaders and authorities that God has placed over you. Again, you don't necessarily get to choose those. It's the Lord. He's the one who composes the body and arranges the body and makes those connections that need to be made. Why are you attached to living water?

Like, why are you here this morning? Why are you watching online on this live stream, right? Hey, there's much more comfortable circumstances that you could find. There's much better production, you know, video quality and, you know, all of that that could be found. Why are you connected here? I did a quick Yelp search this morning for churches nearby.

I found over a hundred churches within that 10 mile range of the church here. Over a hundred churches. There's literally over a hundred places you could be besides here. Why are you here? Is it because the Lord has attached you here? Right? That we gather together, not because this is our favorite.

I hope it is. But at the same time, even if it isn't, we gather together with those that God has connected us to. And here Paul is saying, look, I'm connected to you guys. I have a heart for you guys. The Lord's put you on my heart and I'm really wanting to go there. We'll see that in just a moment. And I'm just so excited and rejoicing and thankful for what God is doing in your life.

The commentator Albert Barnes says, the expression of thanks to God for his mercy to them showed the deep interest which he had in their welfare and the happiness it would give him to do them good. Paul says, look, I thank God for you. I'm so rejoicing over the work that God is doing in your life. And it let them know, it communicated to them that he really loved them and wanted God's best for them. Rejoice at God's work in each other.

Again, I think this is something that doesn't just necessarily happen automatically, but especially as we are distant from one another. Maybe we are separated for one reason or another, and there's maybe not always the opportunity to rejoice together in person. That we should deliberately take a moment and celebrate when we hear God working and doing good things in people's life. Rejoice at God's work in each other. Relationships

take work, right? We all know that. And that's true in the body of Christ as well. It requires effort. Be intentional, especially when there's obstacles, especially in seasons like this where there's challenges. Take a moment to rejoice and celebrate and to thank God for the work that he's doing in the lives of other people. Well, moving on to verse nine, we get the second point to consider this morning, and that is pray for each other frequently.

Here's how we engage as the body of Christ. Even if we are distant, even if we are not nearby, even if we cannot be in person all of the time, we can engage and be the body of Christ by praying for one another frequently. Notice what he says in verse 9. 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.

Paul says, first of all, I'm thanking God for you. I'm rejoicing at God's work in your life. And then also I want you to know I am praying for you frequently, repeatedly, continually. He starts out expressing this by saying, for God is my witness. He's making it very clear. This is not just a kind of a casual thing. You know, sometimes we can kind of slip into that. We just say, you know, things casually without really thinking about the meaning or intending the words that we say.

And sometimes we can say, hey, I'm praying for you, but not actually be praying for someone, right? I'm sure, well, maybe you've never done that, but Pastor Pooley does it all the time. He told me, no, I'm just kidding. No, but we all can fall into those things where we say it. And so Paul here wants to make it very clear. This is a serious thing for God is my witness. He's like taking the witness stand. He's making a vow. Look, I promise this is for real. I really do pray for you in this way.

God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit and the gospel of his son. I serve the Lord with all my heart, Paul is saying. And I want you to know as I'm serving the Lord, I'm praying for you. Without ceasing, he says, I make mention of you always in my prayers. Without ceasing. This idea, the word without ceasing, it means that there's not much time that passes between his prayers for them.

It's the idea of this frequency. It happens all the time. It happens regularly, every day, throughout the day. There's this continual remembrance that he has for the church at Rome. And again, remember that he's not been there. He has some connections there, but this church is on his heart. These people are on his heart. And so he's praying for them repeatedly, continually, making mention of you always in my prayers, he says.

Now this idea of making mention of you is something that Paul expressed many times in his letters. In writing to the Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 1, he tells the Ephesians, After I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

Very similar to what he tells the Romans, he wrote to the Ephesians. He's praying for them, remembering them frequently, and making mention of them. In Philippians chapter 1, Paul tells the Philippians, the church at Philippi, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making requests for you all with joy. And so he again remembers them and gives thanks and prays with joy.

Writing to the church of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 2, he says, We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. We could look at many other letters of Paul and see this same pattern. This was a practice of the Apostle Paul when he was distant from these churches, distant from these people that he knew and loved, distant from other members of the body of Christ that he was connected to. Although he was distant physically, physically,

his practice was to keep these people on his heart. And every time he had a memory of them, every time that, you know, that area, that region, that person, that family, every time that was brought to mind, he would pray. And the idea here isn't that I would spend three hours every day praying for you, right? The idea is, hey, I make mention of you in my prayers.

that it's not some great, you know, burdensome thing, but just that he's keeping them on his heart. And every time they come up in his mind, every time there's a recollection or a memory, he just says, thank you, Lord, for them. I pray that you would bless them. I make mention of you in my prayers. Many of you guys have heard me share this in the past, but this caught my attention a couple of years back and

caused me to kind of approach things differently and help me to make mention of you in my prayers. I have, you know, set up on my phone a list, a to-do app that reminds me every day that every day of the month I'm making mention of you. I'm making mention of those that are brought to memory and it gives me an opportunity that I can be praying for you as the body of Christ.

But that's not just for me to do. That's for all of us to continue engaging with one another, to maintain our relationship as the body of Christ by praying for each other frequently. Pastor William Barclay says, even if we are separated from people and even if there's no other gift which we can give to them, we can surround them with the strength and the defense of our prayers. We have a great opportunity to serve one another.

and to be part of the work that God is doing in each other's lives by praying, even if we're distant, even if it's from afar. Well, thirdly, we move on to verse 10 and 11 for the third point this morning, and that is find ways to connect with each other. Check out verse 10 and 11. It says, making requests, 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. One of the things that Paul is praying for as he prays for them frequently, he's praying for an opportunity to get there to Rome to be with them. He says, I'm making requests. If by some means I may find a way to come to you. He says in verse 11, for I long to see you.

This word long, it speaks of a great desire. He's not saying, you know, hey, if it works out, it works out. That's cool. You know, we can hang out. But he's saying, no, I'm desperately longing. I'm begging God to please let me have an opportunity to come to you. We have in prayer a great opportunity to care for each other while we're distant.

But that doesn't mean that we never seek to connect and meet in person, right? Paul could write them letters. He could pray for them. He could be part of the work that God's doing in their lives from a distance. And that's appropriate for those times of distance. But at the same time, we also need to be careful. I'm speaking now more, you know, to our situation currently. We need to be careful that staying remote...

doesn't become the new normal. That it's more comfortable for sure. It's easier. Yeah, you don't even have to put pants on. You can, you know, just pray for people at home in your pajamas, drinking your coffee and comfortable at your dining room table. And you can have those kinds of experiences and still be part of the body of Christ. And isn't that great? And yes, it is. But at the same time, Paul wasn't content with that. He says, I long to see you.

There is much more that we can accomplish as the body of Christ as we gather together, as we're able to see each other. Even in situations like this where, you know, hey, we're in a different circumstance than what we're used to for church, right?

We're more separate still, but we can see each other. There's a benefit to that. There's a value for that. Paul says, I long to see you. I greatly desire to see you. And so he's making requests, he says. He's asking God. Again, it's not just a casual desire, but when he says, I'm making requests, he's really saying, I'm asking God. I'm begging God to let me come to you. A few verses down in verse 13 says,

Paul says that he often planned to come to Rome. This wasn't the first time that Paul had reached out to Rome or wanted to get there. He had tried many times to get to Rome and so far has been unsuccessful. Even though he's been asking God and begging God, he hasn't been able to get to Rome. But he keeps on asking. He keeps on longing. He keeps on seeking for a way.

And verse 10 is so powerful to me because he says, if by some means, now at last, I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. And you see this attempt after attempt after attempt. And Paul here is saying, look, I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm trying to find a way. I'm trying to figure out a way within the will of God. And you can see here Paul exploring the boundaries of the will of God. You can see Paul attempting to accomplish something.

the will of God. But at the same time, sometimes we can have a very passive approach to the will of God. Well, if it happens, you know, then it happens. Great. But Paul didn't have that attitude when it came to connecting with the church at Rome.

It wasn't just, well, you know, whatever happens. It was, I'm trying. And so, Lord, I'm making this plan. I'm seeking you. And the Lord says, nope, nope, that's not the plan. That's not what I want. Okay, fine. Okay, okay. Lord, I'm making this plan. I'm trying again. Let's make this plan to go to Rome. And God says, nope, that's not the way. You might remember in Acts chapter 16 where Paul had a plan and the Holy Spirit said, no, don't take the mission trip that route. And so he tried, okay, well, let me go this way then. And the Holy Spirit said, no, no, don't take that route.

And so then Paul was like, well, where do you want me to go, Lord? And the Lord gave him a vision. He crossed over to Macedonia and there continued on the ministry that God had given to him. You see him trying to, kind of testing the boundaries. Now, we usually test the boundaries of the will of God the other way, right? Like how far away can I get from God? How much sin can I get involved in? You know, how much can I explore without losing my connection to God? But Paul was testing the boundaries in a different way, saying,

God, I'm not going to just go do what I want. I want to be within your will, but I'm also going to find that spot, find that way that fits your will so that I can go to the church at Rome. Why is Paul trying so hard? Why is this so important to him? He sees great value in what can be accomplished there as he meets with the church at

I like what Pastor Charles Spurgeon says. He says, Christians grow rich by an exchange of spiritual commodities. And I am afraid, I am afraid some Christians are very poor because they do not engage in the spiritual bartering with one another. Christians go rich as we exchange spiritual things, as we have discussions, as we seek the Lord together, as we pray together. We grow rich. There's great value in wealth.

And he says, I'm afraid that sometimes we're very poor spiritually because we're not interacting with one another. We're not engaging with one another. And so Paul is trying hard. He says, there's great value here. Both of us can be enriched when I get there. Paul was trying hard, but not yet succeeding. So he wrote a letter. He found a way to connect to them in the will of God, even if he wasn't able to be there in person. It's going to be several years after this letter that he finally makes it to Rome.

We just covered that at the end of the book of Acts. But he found a way. He connected with them. He wrote a letter. If Paul had, you know, our technology, I wonder if Paul would have needed an unlimited text messaging plan. I don't know. I think he would have been one of those that had like a contraption, you know, that had four or five phones attached all together. And he was like texting all, you know, writing to all the churches, encouraging the people, ministering to them.

Would Paul have used FaceTime or Zoom or, you know, something like that to connect to people that he was distant from? Would he have connected on social media in order to minister to people that rejoice as God's working in their lives? The point is, we need to find a way to connect with each other. And we have opportunities to do that today that didn't exist before. Now, Paul could write a letter today.

We can write an email. We can write a message. We can call. We can, you know, we have opportunity even when we're distant. And that's part of being the body of Christ. Finding ways to engage with one another. Finding ways to encourage each other. To explore ways to bless one another and be part of the body of Christ in that way. And so find ways to connect with each other. The commentator Albert Barnes says, "...no small part of the difficulties which young Christians experience would vanish."

This is something to think about. Reaching out on the giving side, but also reaching out on the receiving side. Listen, if you're struggling, reach out. Find a way to connect.

And there's great value in that. And you may, as he says, you may have feelings which you think no Christian ever struggled with. And yet you'll find as you reach out and connect with other believers that those things that you're struggling with are things that others have struggled with also. And we can benefit from the growth. We can benefit from the ministry that God has given to one another as we connect with

both giving and encouraging and passing on, but then also receiving. And that's what Paul goes on to share in verses 11 and 12, which gives us point number four, and that is find ways to serve each other. Find ways to connect and find ways to serve one another. Again, verse 11 says, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts so that you may be established in

That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. Paul says, I can't wait to be with you. I'm finding a way, I'm reaching out, I'm trying to figure out a way within the will of God to go be in your midst so that I can impart to you some spiritual gift. And Paul there is not saying, I'm going to go lay hands on you so that you can have spiritual gifts. What Paul is saying is that I'm going to go exercise the gifts that God has given to me there with you.

so that you'll be blessed and ministered to by the things that God has given to me and by the way that the Holy Spirit works through me. I long to see you so that you can benefit from the work of God that he does in my life. With the objective, he says there in verse 11, so that you may be established. That's always the goal of exercising spiritual gifts, for the body of Christ to be strengthened and established, built up. Read Ephesians chapter 4. It talks a lot about that.

The goal of spiritual gifts is not, you know, to be a star, to be famous, to be in the spotlight. But when we gather together as believers in the body of Christ, we need to come with this attitude that, Lord, would you use me to help the body of Christ be established, to be a benefit and a blessing to the people around me.

But what's amazing about the Apostle Paul is that he wasn't just thinking, man, you guys desperately need me. I'm so important and so amazing. And you're not going to ever be established until I get there. That wasn't Paul's attitude. It wasn't that of arrogance. And you see in verse 12, he says that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. Notice the words, together, mutual, both you and me. There is this...

opportunity paul says where i'm going to be blessed by you i'm going to be ministered to by you your faith and and your life is going to minister to me and establish me and encourage me it's not just a one-way thing but it's a a ministry unto one another i like the way the new living translation puts this verse verse 12 it says when we get together i want to encourage you in your faith

but I also want to be encouraged by yours. There's a ministry that Paul expects to give and a ministry that Paul looks forward to receiving as well. This was a church that, well, it doesn't appear that it had been around for a very long time. It was a young church in the Lord, and yet Paul had this expectation. He said, you're going to be able to bless me, and God's work through your life is going to minister to me,

just as much as I will be looking to minister to you in the power of the Holy Spirit. Albert Barnes says, The apostle did not disdain to be taught by the humblest Christians. He expected to be strengthened himself by the faith of those just beginning the Christian life. This is an important thing to grasp hold of. It's not a surprise if a pastor gets up and is encouraging, right? It's not a surprise if a pastor comes and prays for you. But you need to be reminded that pastors and leaders...

Well, they're members of the body of Christ, just like everybody else. And those that you think they don't need encouragement and they don't need prayer and they don't need ministry, they actually do. And probably from you. And you're thinking, well, I don't know. I'm just a barely, you know, beginning or I just fell along for a long time and I just barely coming back or I don't hardly know anything. I, you know, don't read the Bible all the time. And, you know, all these things that we could be thinking about. But there's ways for you to bless others around you, to minister to them.

God has that for you as part of your role in the body of Christ. Find ways to serve one another. And even those that you think don't need service, even ones that you think are established and they're strong and they don't need, Paul says, I can't wait to get there because I mean, I'm going to be serving you, but man, I'm looking forward to also the blessing that we'll have together, the encouragement that we'll both receive as we gather together. Find ways to serve each other.

And so here Paul gives us some great insights on how we can be the body of Christ even when we are socially distant or geographically distant or, you know, whatever obstacles may be there, we can still have each other upon our hearts. We can still be rejoicing at the work of God in each other's lives. We can still be praying for each other frequently and repeatedly, keeping each other on our hearts, but then also not settling for just that remote connection of

Finding ways to connect, finding ways to engage, finding ways to serve one another as members of the body of Christ. And so I would encourage you to be the body of Christ. Develop those relationships, whatever attachments that God has established in your life. Nurture those, develop those, seek to build those relationships to their fullest capacity so that we as a body of Christ could be built up, edified, encouraged,

that we could honor and glorify the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for the group of people that you have gathered together here at Living Water. And Lord, whether we are here physically or connected digitally, Lord, we thank you, God, that you have attached us to one another and made us members of your body. I pray, God, for our relationships. Lord, that we would love one another, that we would be rejoicing over your work in our lives.

Lord, that we would be upon each other's heart frequently and praying for one another. And I pray, God, that you would give us many opportunities to connect, to serve, to build up. Lord, it's what you desire for us. It's the primary purpose, Lord, of our gathering together. And so, Lord, help us to be engaged in the ministry as you've called us to. Help us to be your body. Jesus said that the world would know that we're your disciples by our love for one another.

And so Lord, would you teach us to do that? In Jesus' name we pray, amen.