Sermon Tone Analysis

! *“Faith on the Frontline” IDOP 2005.**

Romans 15:30-33*

Romans 15:30-33 30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in /your/ prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which /I have/ for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

33 Now the God of peace /be/ with you all.

Amen.

*Before US forces converged on Fallujah, in Iraq*, 35 *marines swayed to music* and *asked Jesus Christ to protect them.*

Men with *buzz cuts* and *clad in their camouflage* waved their hands in the air, M-16 assault rifles laying beside them, and *chanted lyrics in praise of Jesus Christ* in a yellow-brick chapel.

They counted among thousands of troops surrounding the city of Fallujah, seeking solace as they awaited Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's decision on whether or not to invade Fallujah, with many soldiers coming from the conservative American south and Midwest, have deep Christian roots.

*In times when fighting looms*, *many soldiers draw on their faith to help them face the battle.

This month*, *car bombs* at *two **Baghdad** churches* and at a hospital treating the victims of those attacks, *killed at least eight people and wounded dozens*.

*Victims of the blasts outside the churches *were carried by injured friends or relatives in torn and bloodstained clothes and rushed to the Yarmouk hospital.*

Theirs is “Faith on the Frontline”*

*Paul* in his account of events in Romans 15, is writing to Roman Christians.

He *expresses* his *affection and longing* for them and *promises them that he will visit* Spain, but first he must return to Jerusalem.

*In the meantime*, he *requests their prayers*, for a very difficult assignment, at the *frontlines of the battle*.

*In our world*, *the name of Jesus Christ causes division* and, all too often,* suffering.*

From North *Korea**, **Eritrea**, **Columbia** to **Sri Lanka*, *Christians are* *jailed, isolated, beaten and even murdered for their faith.*

"In some places," says *Elizabeth Kendal*, a *spokeswoman for the WEA Religious Liberty Commission*, "there is *'active persecution*,' where *authorities are involved* and *persecution is systematic*, operating in accordance with *discriminatory and oppressive laws*.

In other places there is *'passive persecution*,' where *persecution occurs at the community level*.

*Christians in some countries **are protected* from severe persecution *by good government and the rule of la*w, Kendal adds.

"*In countries where human rights are not respected*, *Christians lack protection* and *persecutors appear to have unofficial permission* to *act with impunity."*

So *what can people who enjoy religious freedom do* to help those who are persecuted?

*This week* is the IDOP and we consider the nature of “*Faith on the Frontline*”.

Right *now around the world* *over 200 million are suffering for their faith*.

*Today,* on November 21, 2004,  *we join* with Christians all over Canada and *in over 130 countries* *to stand with our suffering sisters and brothers* and *pray for God's peace and grace* in the midst of suffering and hostility; *pray for the physical needs and safety* of suffering Christians and their families; *pray for the persecutors*; and *thank God* for His faithfulness in the midst of tribulation.

How does Romans 15 relate to our Purpose of this week: First we see the focus in *Paul’s Purpose*

Rom 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, *for* the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit,

A person who *fulfills a divine calling* is one who has* a clear purpose in his service for the Lord*.

The preposition *for* has the sense of “*on behalf of*,” or “*with regard to.*” *Now I beseech~/urge you* introduces the exhortation to the readers to *pray for his protection and ministry.*

Before giving that exhortation, Paul declared unequivocally that *the overriding purpose for his request* was to glorify *our Lord Jesus Christ.*

Ø      We *focus on the IDOP* for the *purpose of Glorifying God.*

When we *unite in prayer* with our brothers and sisters *who suffer*, *we recognize* who is in *control* and there is a *purpose* in the events of their suffering.

Please turn to 2 Cor 4

*Paul told the believers at Corinth*, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor.

9:23), which is to say *for Christ’s sake*, *the source and power of the gospel*.

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (10:31).

 

2 Corinthians 4:5,11 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

11 For we which live are alway *delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake*, that the life also of *Jesus might be made manifest* in our mortal flesh.

Now over to Chapter 12

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses *for Christ’s sake*: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

In his closing remarks *to the Galatian* churches Paul wrote, “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body *the brandmarks of Jesu*s” (Gal.

6:17).

And *to the Philippians* he said, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have *suffered the loss* of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may *gain Christ*” (Phil.

3:8).

*The faithful Christian witnesses* *for the sake of those who need the Lord* and he *serves for the sake of those who need help*, but *his supreme motive* *always should be to serve His Lord and Savior*, in whose name and by whose power he ministers to others.

* *

*Paul rejoiced* in the fact that, *if he succeeded in reaching **Jerusalem* with the contribution of the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, *Christ would be glorified*, *within the church and before the on looking world*.

For Paul, *the Lord would be glorified* *by the willing and loving generosity of the Gentile contributors* as well as by the g*rateful reception of the gift by the Jews to whom it was sent*.

Christ is always honored and glorified when His church is unified in His name and in His service.

Ø      Perhaps you read this week of the *father who lost his pregnant wife and seven children in a fire*, who could *testify to God’s comfort* in the midst of suffering.

His *testimony to God’s provision* even while unexpectedly taking his family from him *shouts before a sleeping world of the power of God*.

Not only did Paul *minister* on behalf of the glory of Christ but also *for the sake* of *the love of the Spirit.*

This phrase and the idea it expresses are not found elsewhere in Scripture.

*The context, however, seems to indicate that Paul was speaking of his love for* *the Spirit.*

*Devotion to the glory* of the *Lord Jesus Christ* and love for His Holy *Spirit* should be the *foremost and ultimate motive for all Christian living and service*.

In gratitude for the divine grace by which Christ saved us and for the divine power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us, everything we think, say, and do should express our love for them and bring Him glory and honor.

We have seen What our *Purpose* should be, now we see an example for: *Prayer*

Rom 15:30 (Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit), that ye strive together with me in /your/ prayers to God for me;

*Paul now urges his fellow believers in Rome* *to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.*

Ø      *The most important thing we can do* for our suffering brothers and sisters is *ferverant prayer**.*

/ /

/Sunagoµnizomai/ (*to strive together*) is an intensified form of /agoµnizomai/, which means to intensely *struggle*, *fight*, or *yearn* in petition and is the term from which we get the English “*agonize*.”

The word was *originally used of athletic events,* especially gymnastics, in which contestants, such as wrestlers or boxers, *struggled against each other*.

For “*Faith on the Frontline*”, *Prayer is the battle*.

Sometimes the “*opponent*” is our *unredeemed flesh*, which continues to *wage “war against the law of [our] mind*, and [makes us] a prisoner of the law of sin which is in [our] members” (Rom.

7:23).

Please turn to Colossians 2

*Prayer* is always, in one way or another, *a struggle against sin and evil*, whether in us or around us. *Paul’s struggle* on behalf of believers at Colossae and Laodicea doubtless included many hours of agonizing prayer on their behalf, that:

Colossians 2:1-4 For I would that ye knew what *great conflict* I have for you, and /for/ them at Laodicea, and /for/ as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2 That their hearts might be comforted, being *knit together* in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

!! Then over to Chapter 4

Near the end of that letter, *Paul sent greetings from Epaphras*, who was from their fellowship:

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is /one/ of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always *labouring** fervently* for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  

*Our finite minds cannot reconcile** the power of prayer with God’s absolute sovereignty.*

As with the Trinity, and many other clearly revealed but humanly unfathomable teachings of Scripture, we simply acknowledge their absolute truth.

Any *seeming inconsistencies* are *due to the limits of our human comprehension.*

We know from His own Word that *God is sovereign and immutable.*

*Yet we also know* from that same Word that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).

Or as we studied last week:

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked /is/ an abomination to the LORD: but the *prayer of the upright /is/ his delight.

*

* *In dealing with suffering* it does become *hard to reconcile* the *sovereign God of the universe*, with the *suffering of his saints*.

But *as we will see there is a purpose in the suffering* to *actually show the sovereign God* of the universe *through the suffering of his saints.*

Although *Paul asks for protection* while in Judea, in this present passage Paul is *not* *speaking primarily about struggling in prayer against the forces of evil*.

*His emphasis here* is rather on *earnestly struggling along with his brethren in **Rome** in their prayers to God for him.*

*He makes many similar requests in his letters.*

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit,” *he counsels the Ephesians*, “and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf” (Eph.

6:18–19).

*During his first imprisonment in Rome, he implored the Colossians*, “*Devote yourselves to prayer*, *keeping alert in* it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well” (Col.

4:2–3).

*In his second letter to Thessalonica, he said*, “Finally, brethren, *pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified*” (2 Thess.

3:1).

*In dealing with persecuted brothers and sisters* we can see a *Purpose, Prayer and now:*

 

Prayer for our suffering brothers and sisters should be for *Safety, Success, & Satisfaction*:

!!! Safety

31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe (Disobedient) in Judaea;*,** *(15:31/a/)

*Disobedient* is from /apeitheoµ/, which carries the basic idea of *being obstinate and unpersuadable.*

*In this context* it refers to *Jews* who obstinately *refused to believe* the gospel and therefore were *disobedient* to God, whose Son, the Messiah, they rejected.

It is therefore rendered “do not believe” in the King James Version.

The same verb is translated “disbelieved” in Acts 14:2 (NASB), referring to *Jews who “stirred up the minds of the Gentiles, and embittered them against the brethren*,” specifically, Paul and Barnabas (see 13:50).

*From the time* that Paul first “began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God’ ” (Acts 9:20), *Paul was marked for death by Jewish leaders* in Damascus (v.

23) and shortly afterwards by Jews in Jerusalem when he began preaching the gospel there (v.

30).

By the time he wrote the letter to Rome, he already had *endured ridicule, imprisonments, lashings, beatings, and even stoning* by Jews who fiercely opposed him and the gospel he preached (see, e.g., 2 Cor.

11:23–25; Acts 14:19; 18:12; 20:3, 19).

Please turn to Acts 20

 

*Paul’s request* *to be delivered* was *not* for the purpose of his being spared further persecution or even death.

He unselfishly wanted *to be delivered* only to the extent necessary for him to *complete the ministry* the Lord had given him.

*While his ship laid over at Miletus*, he told the elders from Ephesus who came out to meet him:

Acts 20:22-24 22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that *bonds and afflictions abide me*.