9-3-23 Sermon "Building God's Kingdom" 16 Minutes

Romans 12:9-21

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 12 verses 9 through 21. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Romans 12:9-21 Paul's message to the church in Rome in these verses cover the relationships that they have with the people around them,,, both saved,,, and unsaved! And he gives them instructions that helps them to accomplish this task! Romans 12:9–21(HCSB) 9 Love must be without hypocrisy(hip oc-risy). Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Matthew 16:13-20 and we seen that when Jesus ascended to heaven,,, Peter,,, and the other disciples,,, were given the job to build the church!

Today as Christians,,, we have been given this job as well.

They,,, the disciples I mean,,, were tasked with building the church with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.

Using the help of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all that God wanted them to do.

Again,,, as Christians today,,, we share in this same responsibility!

Going forward we must be sure that no matter what happens,,, we keep our relationship in the Lord strong enough that we hear Him leading us in the way that we should go!

Because if we aren't able to hear His directions,,, we will never accomplish the job that we have,,, and the church will never grow!

But I told you,,, that if we listen,,, and obey when He speaks,,, nothing will hold us back,,, we will do the job that God has for us,,, and there is nothing that satan or anyone can do to stop it!

But we must remember that this is God's church,,, not our church,,, not any denominations church,,, but God's!

And if we stand with Jesus the way that Peter and the disciples did,,, during the early days of the church,,, nothing will stand in our way,,, because with God on our side,,, with Jesus Christ as our foundation,,, our "Solid Rock",,, we have nothing but better days,,, ahead!

This morning we will look at these verses in Romans 12:9-21,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 9-10 said: 9 Love must be without hypocrisy(hip oc-risy). Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.

As I told you at the beginning,,, Paul's message to the church in Rome in these verses cover the relationships that they have with the people around them,,, both saved,,, and unsaved!

And he gives them instructions that helps them to accomplish this task!

And this first sentence in verse 9,,, is a key ingredient to the success of this message.

Love must be genuine,,, it must be sincere,,, being sure that we never try to fool people,,, or act that way just to make ourselves look good.

While we are showing this love,,, we are told to,,, Detest evil; cling to what is good.

By doing so,,, again,,, this helps others see that we truly care,,, when we make it a point to try to change things that are evil instead of maybe ignoring them or lettings things be,,, and then being sure that we make a conscious effort to hold on to everything good!

And we continue to show love for one another when we show affection to each other like family,,, and love others more than they do us!

This reinforces Jesus' command to put others before us!

In Matthew 23:11–12 it says: 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

___________________________________ Verses 11-12 said: 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

In verse 11 the key thought is the last clause—serving the Lord—and the first two clauses explain how a believer is to serve!

As believers serve God,,, they should be enthusiastic and diligent.

Paul tells them that they are to be joyful in hope,,, because their hope in Christ is the basis of their rejoicing as seen in chapter 5:2–5,,, and 1 Peter 1:6–9.

In affliction,,, (“distress,,, trouble,,, or pressure”) believers are to be patient.

Also Christians should continue in prayer to God for wisdom,,, guidance,,, and strength,,, in all things.

___________________________________ Verse 13 said: 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

Both of these ministries,,, meeting needs and being hospitable,,, involve helping others.

Again,,, showing others that we truly care for them,,, that we are concerned for them,,, is the best way to show God's love!

___________________________________ Verses 14-16 said: 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Paul’s words in this section relate to a believer’s reactions to the actions and emotions of others,,, whether they are Christians or not.

The hatred displayed in persecution usually has a tendency to make us respond in hatred,,, but Paul commanded,,, Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse,,, and another example can be seen from the words of Jesus,,, in Matthew 5:44 that said: 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Perhaps,,, Paul was thinking of Stephen as he was being stoned,,, Acts 7:59–60,,, and of Jesus Christ,,, while He was on the cross,,, Luke 23:34.

They both modeled these words and responded to persecution even to death by praying for God’s forgiveness of their persecutors.

Christians should be able to understand and share the feelings of others,,, both believers and unbelievers.

That's why Paul shared the words,,, Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

Related to this is the next command,,, Be in agreement with one another.

Being in agreement with other Christians is crucial to show that we understand,,, and care,,, about what they are going through.

This idea is then presented in negative and positive details: Do not be proud,,, in other words,,, “not thinking highly” of yourself,,, and,,, be willing to associate with people of low position.

These orders are summarized in the command,,, Do not be wise in your own estimation.,,, because this type of attitude will make it impossible for them to see that you care about them.

___________________________________ Verses 17-18 said: 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.

The Old Testament principle of justice was “an eye for an eye”,,, as seen in Exodus 21:24,,, but Paul commanded,,, Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Paul then commanded believers,,, Live at peace with everyone,,, reinforcing the words in verse 16 that said: “be in agreement with one another,”.

But,,, recognizing that limits do exist,,, Paul included the words,,, If possible, on your part,.

Harmony with others may not always be achievable,,, but believers should not be responsible for causing disagreements. (cf.

Again,,, we can hear the words from Jesus in Matthew 5:9: "The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God."

___________________________________ Verses 19-21 said: 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

We should never take matters into our own hands,,, vengeance belongs to God,,, because God has promised to avenge His people: It is Mine to avenge, I will repay (Deut. 32:35; cf. Heb. 10:30).

David’s refusal to kill Saul on two occasions when it seemed that God had delivered Saul into David’s hands is a classic biblical example of this principle.

In light of God’s promise to execute vengeance,,, a Christian should therefore feed his enemy and quench his thirst—in other words,,, respond to his evil,,, with Christian love.

In verse 20,,, heaping burning coals on his head,,, along with the first part of this verse,,, is a quotation from Proverbs 25:21–22 that said: 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Helping rather than cursing an enemy may cause him to be ashamed of his actions,,, and turn to the Lord in repentance.

So by doing these things,,, we conquer evil with good.

___________________________________ Paul has given the people good advise,,, by showing them ways that will help others to see the love of God!

This is very important to the mission that we have been given of building the kingdom of God!

That should always be our focus as we fulfill our days in the communities where we live,,, work,,, and play!

I say this because,,, No-one will want to attend a church if it's members aren't focused on treating others,,, those that aren't members,,, and those that are members,,, with dignity and respect,,, in other words,,, everyone!

And these verses,,, if we remember them,,, try our best to fulfill them,,, as Jesus and others have commanded us to do,,, will go a long way towards building up the church in the way that Jesus wanted us to do!

So this next week,,, as go about our daily routines,,, remember these words to lift others up before ourselves,,, being genuine in showing them love as we help those less fortunate than we are,,, each and every day,,, by putting "our" feelings on hold,,, as we build others up,,, and continue,,, "to build,,, God's kingdom",,, the way,,, that we've been commanded,,, to do!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------