Sermon Tone Analysis

- Ministering together in the will of God has implications for what we expect, in what we do & in how we do it

- Ministering together in the will of God has implications for what we expect, in what we do & in how we do it

Date: 03-02-19 822 Echuca

- Ministering together in the will of God has implications for what we expect, in what we do & in how we do it

- Expectations for one thing can play heavy on our mind & can cause untold chaos with our emotions

- We may expect something to turn out a certain way & if it doesn't, we can feel let down, big time

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- Often, what we do is linked to our expectations

- Plan A may work out, but if it doesn't, then we need to be happy with plan B

- Of course, I'm speaking here of the will of God

- Life doesn't always turn out the way we wanted it to & sometimes by the will of God, God says yes; but sometimes He says, “hold on or wait”; but at other times, He says “No”

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- The will of God is like a coin with two sides

- We can never see both faces of the coin at once – & as far as God's will is concerned, we can only see the one side of the coin

- The other side is unknown

- This is the important point & deserves repeating – we can only see one face of the coin

- There is one facing us which we always have before us – the will of God that is revealed in Scripture

- The other side, we only can see with a mirror - & that is in hindsight

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- The general will of God is revealed in Scripture – for example

—18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

- Well, there is nothing to debate about the will of God here – giving thanks in everything is the will of God

- Everything does not mean absolutely everything (western perspective)

- He is not saying we are to give thanks for sin – but we are to have a thankful attitude in every circumstance

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- The hidden side of the coin that is only revealed in hindsight (that is, down the track) is God's providential or governing will – how He orders circumstances to happen

- God’s providential will for each of us (e.g.

regarding a life work and a life partner) has not been revealed in Scripture, so that, in praying for guidance, it is right to add ‘by God’s will’

- As Paul says in v.32 in our passage: “that I may come to you in joy, by the will of God

- If circumstances permit, then, Paul will come to Rome

- If not, then, in hindsight, he will know that it was not the will of God for that to happen at that point

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- We are coming to the end of the Epistle to the Romans with only one chapter left

- In this passage, today, Paul explains why he hasn't been to Rome & what led him not to visit, until he was free to do so

- But he also, I think, is encouraging them to be involved in supporting his ministry work, as well as urging them to labour in prayer together for his journey that may, by God's will, lead him to be able to visit them

1.

That All May Hear (vs.

22-24)

- Here is a story from an unknown author...

- Here is a story from an unknown author...

Luigi Tarisio was found dead one morning with scarce a comfort in his home, but with 246 exquisite violins, which he had been collecting all his life, crammed into an attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau.

In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of all that music all the time he treasured them; others before him had done the same, so that when the greatest of his collection, a Stradivarius, was first played it had had 147 speechless years.

Yet, how many of Christ’s people are like old Tarisio?

In our very love of the church we fail to give the glad tidings to the world; in our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it.

When shall we all learn that the Good News needs not just to be cherished, but needs to be told?

All people need to hear it.

- You may have seen that Donald Trump really, really, wants a wall built between Mexico & the US

- He has a steely determination & the will to make it happen

- I do not doubt that he will get the job done

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- The apostle Paul also had a steely determination & that is to preach the Gospel to those who have never heard it

- Last week, we saw how Paul received a commission from Jesus Himself to bring the Gospel to the Jews, but especially to the Gentiles

- He would start in the Synagogues which had a mixture of Jews & Gentile proselytes – a proselyte is a Gentile convert to Judaism

- When the Jews rejected the message, he decided to go directly to the Gentiles

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- But he had a commission from Jesus & he was not at liberty to say to himself - “Oh, I might stay on Cyprus & minister to the congregation I established there – besides the weather to too good there to pass up the opportunity

- No way could he do that – he had specific directions from Jesus, so it was the will of Jesus that he move on to other places that have never heard of Christ & what He has done to bring the world into obedience to God

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- But now, Paul has fulfilled a portion of that calling to take the Gospel to those regions & now he sees an opportunity to come to the Roman church & finally meet them in person

—22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you

- Some have said that it was Satan that had prevented him from coming to them – as in here

—18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.

- But we read the Scripture in context don't we

- Here's a moment to reflect on how important context is & how I could consider you a better interpreter than some theologians because you pay attention to context

- It's not hard, but it does require you to lock down on what you are reading – before & after the passage

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Q.

What prevented Paul from coming to the Romans?

The will of Jesus

- Paul's commission from him – he tells us here, so it is not rocket science

- You are not numbskulls when it comes to reading & understanding if you pay attention to the context

- v.20 He did not want to build on another man's foundation – where the Gospel had already been preached

- v.21 as it is written – those who have not seen, nor heard (a hint)

- v.22 For this reason, I have been prevented

- v.23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions

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- That means that those regions have been evangelised & it is now up to the pastors & teachers & other ministries in the churches (still need evangelists) to carry on the work

- As he says in 1 Cor.

- I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase

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Q.

How could some theologians say that it was Satan who prevented Paul?

- Because they relied too heavily on skipping & jumping around the Bible without prioritising the context of the passage you're reading

- So it is relatively simple

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- But he hasn't stopped in the will of Jesus

- He is going to kill two birds with the one stone

- He will visit them on the way to Spain where the Gospel has not been preached

- Even though the visit will be a get to know you visit, he is eager for them to contribute to his mission to the un-reached areas

—6 and they have testified to your love before the church.

You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

- The Christian church gives generously in the cause of Christ & that is said to be a manner worthy of God

2. Unity in the Church: Gentiles to Bless the Jews (vs.

25-29)

- This journey of Paul's is, in fact, going to take him in the opposite direction from Rome

- He has some last finished business to attend to as a result of his ministry of the Gospel in the areas of Macedonia & Achaia

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- Now we need to be a bit perceptive as to why he wrote this part in his Epistle

- This part about the Gentiles sharing in material things with the Jews

- He has just spoken in his Epistle about weak & strong Christians

- We identified the weak as those Christian Jews who found it difficult to eat meat from the Roman marketplaces because it was either unclean or may have been offered to an idol

- We identified the strong as the Christian Gentile who had never been shackled to the Mosaic law in the first place

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- He wanted these both groups to accept one another & to stop judging one another because they are both part of the body of Christ

- In this passage, it is interesting that he reminds the predominately Gentile church that the Gentiles in Macedonia & Achaia begged him for the opportunity to help their poverty-stricken Jewish brethren in Jerusalem

- This passing comment must have triggered their conscience somewhat

- Here are the Gentile Christians in Rome looking down on what they considered pathetic Christian Jews who just couldn't break with some of the provisions of the Mosaic law – what is wrong with them!

- This comment from Paul was not only an explanation of why he is travelling to Jerusalem before coming to see them in Rome, but it is further reinforcement for them to start accepting each other fully!

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- Once he has made the delivery of all the monetary gifts from the Gentiles, he will then travel to Spain to continue his evangelist mission & visit the Church of Rome on the way through

- Rome is at the centre of the Empire – Paul has evangelised the East of Rome, he will now seek to evangelise the West of Rome & catch up with the church of Rome on the way through

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Q.

In passing, what was going on in Jerusalem, that was so urgent that the Gentiles in the East gave generously to them?

- I covered this when we journeyed through Acts

- With the first Pentecost, the church got started & then persecution began

- The Jewish authorities governed the people through the Synagogues

- To be an upstanding member of the community, you needed to be well placed & respected in the Synagogue