The True Servant

Romans 15

As we continue in the book of Romans, Paul is still talking about the strong being an example for the weak. It’s not that the strong have to give up their freedoms for the weak, but it is that they must consider the weaker in what they do.

It’s like when you walked with your children when they were small. Their little legs couldn’t keep up with yours, so you slowed your pace to match theirs so they could keep up. Even now, if I’m in heels and Pastor Ed and I are walking together, he has to slow his pace to match mine, so I’m not left behind.

The stronger are to sympathize with, minister to and encourage the weaker. Share Scriptures with them, to help them build up their faith, not to tear them down. Give them hope rather than cause them to despair. Remember the goal, it’s not to win, it’s to all make there together.

It doesn’t mean that if they’re wrong or if they’re in sin to jump in with them or to turn a blind eye. If you see them about to go off a cliff or fall into a ditch, stop them. Reach out and pull them back.

At the end of the day, our calling, our duty, our reason for living, is to glorify God together; as one voice, in one accord, as one body in Christ. Like a choir in perfect harmony. If we’re bickering, or making each other feel guilty about trivial things, how can we be in harmony? How can we glorify God together. We’ll come back to that.

If you can and if it helps your neighbor, as much as is in you, be a good example to your neighbor, don’t live for self. Christ didn’t live to please himself, if he had, we’d all be lost.

Jesus, denied himself, he chose not to walk in his rightful place of honor, even to the point of lower himself to wash the disciples’ feet. You must remember that washing someone’s feet back then was not like it would be today.

Today, we wear socks and closed shoes most of the time. In the summer we may wear sandals, but when do we walk, because most of the time we’re in a car, but when we walk, we’re walking on paved streets and sidewalks, not dirt roads.

So to wash someone’s feet then was a job left to the servants of the house, not the Son of God. But he did it to show humility, to show that the one who makes themselves the least, to show that the one who serves, is the greatest.

There was a part in a movie called Maid in Manhattan, where the main character, a hotel maid played by Jennifer Lopez, had just gotten fired and the head butler played by the late Bob Hoskins had just quit in which he says something profound and something for us to remember as we navigate this Christian journey.

The excerpt was this, “To serve people takes dignity and intelligence. But remember, they are only people with money. And although we serve them, we are not their servants. What we do, Miss Ventura, does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling.”

There are a couple things I’d like to point out in that excerpt. 1. “To serve people takes dignity and intelligence.” When we serve others, we are not less than, we are carrying out the mission and calling of God. We are doing exactly what Jesus did and what God has commissioned us to do.

And 2. What defines us is how well we rise after falling. We fall down, but we get up. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So in the church, your desire should be to serve, not to be served.

The next thing Paul wants to make clear in this letter, is this Gospel is not just for the Jews, it’s for the Gentiles as well. Jesus came so that none would be lost. He said I came to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus wasn’t just waiting to see if he ran across someone needing salvation. He sought them out, he went looking for them and so did the Apostle Paul.

We’ve been learning about the promises of God in Sunday school and this text tells us Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God keeps the promises he made to their ancestors. It doesn’t matter when God made the promise, He will keep it. You just have to wait for it to manifest.

But Christ also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. So whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile we all have a reason to give glory to God. We were created to make God’s praise glorious.

Paul refers back to some Old Testament writers to remind us of why we’re here. He begins in verse nine with

“For this I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.” This is a quote from Ps 18:49 which says – “For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.”

In verse 10, Paul says, “and in another place it is written, Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”, which comes from Deut 32:43 – “Rejoice with him, you heavens, and let all of God’s angels worship him. Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles, and let all the angels be strengthened in him.” That’s for everyone, all the people of the earth. There’s no reference to color, creed, nationality, or gender, all means all.

Then in verse 11, Paul continues, “And yet again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.” Now he quotes from Ps 117:1– “Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth.”

And if you needed just one more, in verse 12 Paul quotes Isaiah saying, “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.” This comes from Isa 11:10 – “In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.”

After Paul gives them all these reasons to praise God he offers a prayer. He says, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

When God is your source of hope, is there anything you’ll lack? What would your life be like with complete joy and peace? Can you imagine? But you have to trust God.

Do you trust God with your whole heart? In your mind, do you believe he will do what he promised he’d do? Then, and only then, only when you trust him like that, can you experience complete joy and peace.

Only when you trust him will you overflow with confident hope, not by your own power, but through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So often we attempt to do things in our own power, with our own limited knowledge and our own few contacts. Holy Spirit has unlimited power, all knowledge and doesn’t just know everyone, he knows who we need to connect with to accomplish what needs to be done. So our first connection should be to the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever been around those people who love to name drop? People who try to base their importance on who they know. Well I’m here to tell you today, there is no one better or greater to know than the Holy Spirit, the third person in the God head. The one who

• Dwells within us when we invite him.

• Who comforts us when we grieve.

• Who convicts us when we’re wrong.

• Who guides us when we’re lost.

• Who befriends us when we’re lonely.

• Who encourages us when we’re disheartened.

• Who helps us to remember what thus saith the Lord—he brings the Word of God back to our remembrance just when we need it.

• Who prays for us when we don’t know what to pray.

• Who comes to our aid at just the right time.

You want to be able to name drop? You want to be connected? Know the Holy Spirit, let him dwell in your heart and you’ll be unstoppable. There’ll be no limit to what you can do, because if God be for you, who can be against you? But be careful not to boast, because if it had not been for the Lord on our side where would we be? We’d be lost with no hope.

I stopped by to let you know this morning;

• for those of you who know the Lord Jesus,

• for those who have proclaimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior,

• for those who have been saved by the power of the Holy Spirit,

this salvation is not about you. It’s not about what you’ve done or accomplished. The message you have, the one God placed inside you,

• is about Christ and him crucified.

• It’s about Jesus being born of a virgin.

• It’s about him coming and being the perfect example of how we are to live our lives.

• It’s about pointing others to the soul saving, life giving cross of Christ.

And here’s where the Word of God tells why we, Love Christian Center, is here. This is what it’s all about for us. In verse 20 Paul says, “My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.”

Love Christian Center is a church plant, that has been called to the unchurched, unsaved man, woman, boy and girl. We are called to those who may never have heard about Jesus, so

• What we do may not look like the other churches you’ve been in.

• What we do may seem unconventional.

• What we do may seem strange.

But…

• What we do, is meet you where you are

• What we do, is preach an unadulterated Gospel

• What we do, is teach the whole Bible

• What we do, is welcome you the way Jesus welcomed them. With open arms, with the love of the Lord and inviting you to come just the way you are.

• What we do, is try to get the message to as many people as possible so those who have never been told about Jesus will see and those who have never heard of him will understand.”

We’ve been back to in person worship a year now, so if you live here in the Douglasville, GA area and you are one of those who are unchurched or unsaved, you can make up your mind to change that today. You can come to 3500 Hwy 5, Ste 101 and join us at 8:45 for Sunday school and 10:00 for worship service.

Do it next week. Make the commitment now, don’t say, “As soon as I get myself together” because we can’t do it ourselves. If we coulda, we already woulda. Or “I gotta get something to wear”, come with whatever you have we’re not concerned with what you have on, we’re concerned about your soul. When you see Jesus, when you stand before the throne of God, it won’t be in the clothes from your closet, so come on in.

If you are part of a ministry, please pray for us as we pray for every church open in Jesus’ name. For every church who has Christ as their foundation.

If you don’t live in the Douglasville, GA area, you can join us on zoom for our Sunday and Wednesday services and Thu morning prayer. Go to our website at www.lovechristianctr.org to get the zoom codes, all times are Eastern.

This Christian journey is not a sprint, nor is it meant to be taken alone. It is a constant battle, fought day by day together. We may slip, we may fall, but when we do it together we are there to pick each other up, dust each other off and continue moving.

Pray for one another because the Bible says, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” This message is to the believer, but that can be you right now, just pray,

“Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you were born of virgin and died for my sins. Please come into my heart, I give you my life, in your name I pray, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family, now connect with us here in person or online so we can walk alongside you. We thank all of our financial partners and supporters and pray God’s abundant blessing upon you for your gracious gifts. If you are so led to support this ministry financially, please go to the giving page of our website. Please ma’am, please sir share this message on whatever platform you are viewing.

If you are here in the sanctuary and you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the doors of the church are open.

If you would like to make Love Christian Center your church home, we welcome you.

Maybe you made that confession and strayed away but would like to rededicate your life, we invite you to come.