Heart For God; Heart For His Church

Keith Falconer

Romans 1 • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Romans 1:8–15

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Heart For God; Heart For His Church

We pick up our journey through Paul’s letter to the Romans. Question: What’s the focus of Paul’s life? He doesn’t leave us guessing: verse 1, “… set apart for the GOSPEL of God.” Verse 5, “… to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.” Verse 15, “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

The focus of Paul’s life - his ‘mission statement’, if you will - is to spread the Gospel for the sake of his name - for the glory of Jesus Christ - around the world.

Most of us here, in this place this morning - love God. You know the importance of the Good News of the finished work of Jesus Christ - the Gospel. There is no other hope for the human race.

But how do you feel about the church? This church?

“The institutional church is so (pejorative adjective). When I go to church I feel completely (negative emotion). the leadership is totally (adjective you would use to describe Richard Nixon) and the people are (noun that starts with un-). The services are (adjective you might use to describe going to the dentist), the music is (adjective you would use to describe the singing on Barney), and the whole congregation is (choose among: ‘passive,’ ‘comatose,’ ‘hypocritical’, or ‘Rush Limbaugh Republicans’). The whole thing makes me (medical term).

No question that the church is far from perfect.

“I love Jesus, so of course I love His Church.” Oh, but which Church do you love? Do you love the idea of invisible gathering of Christians around the world .... Do you love the church IDEAL … if only people would get their acts together - we could have THAT church?

.... What about THIS church? What about the people who are sitting beside you, right now, as we worship here, this morning? How about the people on the other side of this room? Do you love THAT church? Do you even know what’s going on in their lives today? Because that’s the church the Bible tells us to love. This very imperfect church filled with people who will disappoint you, hurt you even … and so often just can’t seem to get their act straight.

How does your love for Jesus Christ show itself in your love for this body of believers?”

We are dealing with the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. I’ve already mentioned that Paul is writing this letter to a church he didn’t start, in a city he’s never been to. We haven’t talked yet about why he’s writing this letter in the first place. He didn’t just sit down at his desk, put his feet up with his laptop on his lap - and decide, “I’m going to write a systematic theology. Now, where should I send it? Well, Rome’s the most important city around - so I’ll send it there.” He didn’t do it that way.

Here’s what’s going on. , He’s nearing the end of his 3rd missionary journey. He’s been through the Eastern Mediterranean … preaching Jesus Christ, seeing people come to faith in Christ and planting churches to carry on spreading the Good News in their areas … city after city, he’s been to. Now he’s in Corinth - he’s there for a few months, then headed back to Jerusalem, with an offering for the Christians there … who are in financially tough times. Wants them to see that they are loved by the church around the empire

Now Paul has a vision for a new mission field … a place where Jesus hasn’t been shared yet … that mission field is Spain. Rome is on the way to Spain - and Paul sees this important city as a great place to get support for that mission and to be a home base for outreach into that new field. So one of his purposes is to prepare the way for him to actually get to Rome.

With that background to help us, I think we’re ready to dig into this morning’s passage. Paul is still in the ‘introduction’ phase of the letter. In letters of the day, it was very common for the person writing, after introducing himself (which Paul does at the beginning) and after greeting the people he’s writing to (which Paul does in v.7) to then offer some type of thanksgiving or prayer to the gods - usually concerned with the health or prosperity of the readers. Paul uses the normal form of letter-writing, but he adapts this common form for his own purposes. In verse 8 - He offers thanksgiving. But this is a specific thanksgiving ....

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1 THANKSGIVING

Verse 8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”

It’s hard for us to imagine how huge an impact it has on Christians scattered throughout the territories of the empire, to know that there is a church in Rome.

25 years ago, on the Eastern edge of the Empire - the frontier hinterland of Judea and Galilee - the Jewish leaders through they were stomping out the influence of Jesus from Nazareth, once and for all. They thought they had put an end to this threat to his security - before he could cause them any more problem. They put him to death - with the permission and might of Rome itself. It was a Roman governor who handed him over to death; It was Roman soldiers who flogged him and pounded the spikes into his wrists and feet; it was a Roman spear that pierced his side; and it was Roman soldiers who stood guard at his tomb. One more failed Jewish Messiah. That’s over.

But Jesus didn’t stay dead … and the movement he began, didn’t end. His followers worship Him as God and now, that Christianity that was fledgling way out in Jerusalem … has spread to Rome itself.

Rome - the very heart of the empire. “ROME” - people speak the very name with awe. Everyone hopes that they’ll be able to visit there at least once in a lifetime - to see the sights and to stare in wonder and awe. The center of law, of culture, the center of worship for every kind of false god under ths sun. Oh, but the Church of Jesus Christ is there.

What an encouragement to Christians around the empire. No wonder Paul begins with thanksgiving.

I want you to notice THREE THINGS about Paul’s thanksgiving.

FIRST - Notice WHO He is thanking God for. “… I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you ....”. See Paul’s heart for the church? “I’m thankful FOR YOU.” Can we learn from Paul’s example here? This may seem like a small thing - but it’s not.

How are you at expressing your thanks to your brothers and sisters in this church? You know how important thanksgiving is … we all teach our kids, from the time they can understand … somebody does something thoughtful .... gives a gift … “What do you say? ....”.

You know the experience - so many of you do - of trying to be thoughtful … giving the gift of your time and emotional energy - trying to be faithful to the Lord by ministering to HIs church - - You don’t do it for a pat on the back … you do it because you care. So you serve .... love … teach Sunday School, Kidmo or Youth Ministry. And sometimes .... sometimes … you just get, so, weary. Your shoulders start to sag.

.... Then, someone comes along, out of the blue and says, “I just want you to know .... I THANK GOD for you.”

What does that do to you? You know what it does. It’s breath in your lungs, a cup of water, in a parched wilderness. A shot of adrenaline.

And some of you here - are so good at that. Some of you are so attentive, so careful to notice things to be thankful for … and you seek out people and express thanks to God for them. I don’t know if you realize just HOW POWERFUL that ministry of encouragement is. May we grow, more and more, AS A CHURCH, all of us - into encouragers, like Paul.

SECOND thing I want you to notice about Paul’s thanksgiving, is what he’s thankful FOR. Verse 8, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, BECAUSE YOUR FAITH is proclaimed in all the world.”

“I’m thankful for your FAITH” - He’s talking about faith in Jesus Christ. “I’m thankful that you have saving faith.” Word has spread .... people around the empire have heard that there are Christians in Rome - they are living in ‘the obedience of faith’ as Paul puts it in v. 5. Nothing special about the Christians … no great church buildings they’ve built to rival the pagan temples … no massive budgets or overflowing crowds. Paul is thankful for the one thing that counts … their faith.

That brings us to the THIRD thing I want you to notice about Paul’s thanksgiving. Notice WHO he’s thanking here. He’s encouraging the Christians in Rome by expressing his thanks TO them. But he isn’t actually thanking THEM. ..... He’s thanking God. Do you see that? Verse 8, “I thank MY GOD through JEsus Christ for all of you ...”.

I thank GOD FOR YOU. This is important too. Stop and ponder for a moment. Why does Paul thank God for these Christians?

If he’s excited about their faith - why doesn’t he thank THEM for responding to the message they heard and putting their faith in Jesus Christ?

The answer to that question is because, as we’ve already been seeing in this letter - because faith is GIFT. God’s gift - that’s why He gets the glory for it.

And here we’re back to the question I’ve asked a couple of times in the past couple of weeks: “Why are you a Christian, Christian?” “What sets you apart from every stubborn rebel against God that you know? And we all know plenty.

“Well,” you say, “the difference is that I trusted in Jesus Christ. I have faith.” Sure you do. But why do YOU have faith?

, “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart ...”. Thanks be to GOD NOT YOU … you were SLAVES of sin - now you’re free - obedient from the heart … so how did you get free? .... GOD DID IT!

, - “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may BOAST.”

Who are you going to thank for your faith - - somebody has to get glory for that. You have 2 options - you can take credit for that yourself .... “I’m a Christian because I had the Good sense to see my need for the Savior.” “I had the wisdom to know that I can never earn my way to God’s favor.”

You can thank yourself … or you can thank God. “… you have been saved through faith. AND THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING … it is the gift of God … not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

May we follow the Bible. “I thank MY GOD for you … and for your faith”.

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2 PRAYER

In v. 9, Paul moves on to show his heart for the Christians at Rome, in another way:

, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I mention you (10) always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.”

We don’t know for sure but it’s very possible that Paul has heard that there are people telling the Roman Christians, “Paul doesn’t care about you. He’s supposed to be the Apostle to the Gentiles … he’s made 3 trips around the Mediterranean - and he’s NEVER BOTHERED to come and see you. Face it folks, he just doesn’t care.”

Paul says, “NO - That’s not true. God is my witness.”

: “I do not want you to be unaware, brother, that I have often intended to come to you ...” <Grk word - ‘PLAN, PURPOSE’ - it’s a strong word> (but this far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.”

“Many times, I have planned to come to Rome to see you … and always, God has shut the door.”

“Even though I may not have been able to get to you physically … but that by no means says, ‘I out sight, out of mind’. I’m praying for you,” he says. “In fact, v. 9, “WITHOUT CEASING” … “ALWAYS IN MY PRAYERS”.

“Over and over, on and on … I’m praying about you!”

What’s he praying? Verse 10, second half of the verse: “ .... that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.”

Okay — how many of us here pray for opportunity to be with your church family?

Here’s the apostle Paul … always on the go, working tirelessly, insulted, arrested … attacked, attempted executions and left for dead ....

Saying with overflowing heart: “When I’m on my knees, and nobody else is looking, but our heavenly Father … I am relentlessly, over and over, begging … asking God: “Please, if it’s your will .... could this be the time? Would you let me go to Rome? I’m sure they’re wondering why I haven't’ got there yet. Please, can I go?! Would you let me go .... now?!”

Don’t miss this heart - not just for the vague - impersonal Church around the world … but for this, specific, local group of believers? We need to see this in our society.

We need to see this in a Christian culture where the importance of life in the local church weighs so lightly on the shoulders of so many.

KIDS MISSING

“AT LEAST WENT TO CHURCH .....”

When you aren’t here with the body on Sunday morning - you may not realize it, but this whole body is affected.

Romans, Volume 1: Justification by Faith (Romans 1–4): An Expositional Commentary Prayer and God-Directed Service

Christians frequently lose the desire to serve others. They lose it in different ways. Criticism will lessen our zeal for service. It is much harder to serve those who criticize us than to serve those who praise and think well of us. Fatigue will lessen it. We grow too tired to serve and thus inevitably think more of ourselves than other persons. Sin also destroys our desire to serve others. This is because sin breaks contact with God, who is the source of right motivation and desire, and because it focuses attention on ourselves. Sin is really self-centeredness rather than other-centeredness. These and other factors turn us from what we are to be as Christ’s representatives.

What will keep us on target? The one thing that will keep us from falling to these temptations is prayer. Prayer will overcome an undue oppression from criticism. Prayer will redirect our energies, so we will not be so tired. Prayer will strengthen us for doing what needs to be done in spite of our tiredness. Prayer will keep us from temptation.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged:

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness:

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge:

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he’ll take and shield thee.

Thou wilt find a solace there.

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3 LONGING

The third thing I want us to see from our text this morning, is Paul’s longing. He’s made it clear that he wants to go to Rome - but why? Why do you want to go to Rome so badly?

, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you ...”.

“I want to go to Rome because I want to minister to you - to give to you - to strengthen your faith.” The road doesn’t end when you become a Christian … you need to be strengthened. You know that - if the enemy of your soul can’t keep you from getting saved … he’s going to attack you relentlessly to keep you from setting down roots and becoming established like a mighty oak.

So, when you think about Paul saying that he wants to come and strengthen you … well that makes perfect sense. Can you imagine having the Apostle Paul saying, “I want to come and visit you at Maranatha?” “Please do!”

But notice how Paul catches himself at the beginning of verse 12. Verse 11, “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you ...” .... then he catches himself - v. 12, “… that is, that we may be MUTUALLY ENCOURAGED by EACH OTHER’S FAITH, both yours and mine.”

In other words, This isn’t a one way street. Paul is saying, “What I mean - is that if I can get to you, we will BOTH be encouraged. I’m confident that God will use me to bless you .... and you will bless me.”

“I NEED YOU,” Paul says to the Romans - - “I. NEED. YOU.” And I say to you -

Maranatha, I NEED YOU. I need your faith in action. This is a church body. 1 Corinthians - each part of the body is important or the body can’t be healthy.

You may think, “Well, what do I have to offer? I cant’ preach. I can’t lead a Bible study … I’m only a teenager .... I’m 90 years old .... what can I do?”

Oh friend - if you belong to Jesus Christ - God has gifted you with a spiritual gift that this body needs - - And you don’t have to look for it. You don’t need to take a test to ‘discover your spiritual gift’ - you just have to BE HERE … pray for this church, and live out your faith in love.

God will use you … I promise you that. Whether you are 15 or 95 … God will use you … this church will be strengthened … and so will you.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."

"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."

That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 –only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."