Onward and Upward

Embracing the Mission with Paul

Bible Passage: Romans 15:14–33

Summary: In Romans 15:14–33, the Apostle Paul expresses his confidence in the Roman believers' spiritual maturity while detailing his future ministry plans, including travel to Spain and the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. He emphasizes the importance of mutual support and the role of prayer in accomplishing God’s mission.

Introduction

School’s started back again. For me these days that means fall sports season is upon us and I can be as busy as I’d like to be. For young people it’s a time to shake of the summer and start thinking about the new school year. For high school students its time to begin thinking about what they want to aspire to in life. Some aspire to be sports stars, music stars, or social media influencers. There’s a profession that didn’t exist when we were growing up. If you wanted to make obscene amounts of money for being cute or full of great advice or loud and obnoxious at playing games, sorry I’m starting to show my age on that one. But if you were aspiration was to be famous it was generally through movies, tv, sports or music. You had to have some serious luck to be in the right place and time or really good at sports, music or acting, etc. Now with a decent video camera and any number of crazy ideas, you can build a business taking video of yourself and sharing it with the world. The information you share doesn’t even necessarily have to be all that useful or it can be very useful. I sometimes watch one young gent who has amassed millions of followers (and therefore advertisers and money) cutting grass for free in neighborhoods where houses have been abandoned. Who knows how long that avenue will last but some of the people we watch have been doing this “work” for 10 years and have built actual businesses off they’re YouTube channel. One couple has a team of 14 or so people who work for them and their travel channel. All that to say in our society very few would probably be willing to admit they aspire to be ordinary and unseen. It’s not what our culture values, despite the fact that they are far more many of us than there are of those who are “influencers”.

1. Spiritual Growth Matters

Romans 15:14–16 “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

You are full of goodness

Paul was satisfied

Romans were full of goodness

Romans were partners with Paul in ministry - all of us are partners in Gospel mission

You are filled with knowledge

You have grown in knowledge

You are able to teach one another

You are prepared to be part of ministry with Paul - we need to be prepared to share in mission

You are boldly encouraged

Paul wrote boldly to remind them

He was coming to partner in offering

Goodness and knowledge prepared them to give as the Spirit led - we all need to find our place

2. Sharing Christ's Mission

Romans 15:17–21 “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’”

Paul proud of his part in mission of Christ

Proud to work for God

Spoke only of accomplishments for Christ

Joyous to bring Gentiles to obedience - Fulfilling the mission of sharing the Gospel truth

Spoke boldly of work accomplished in the Gentiles

Spoke only of what Christ accomplished

Credited the Spirit for the transforming power

Fulfilled the mission wherever he went - Anxious to do the work

Proud to continue sharing the Gospel to unreached

Planned to continue

Planned to keep going to unreached

Built only on foundation of Christ - Didn’t want to be shuffling deck chairs on Titanic

Call for all of us is to take Christ where he hasn’t been. You have co-workers, classmates, people you meet that may only see Christ in you. They are your mission field. You are called to go and share Christ. I’m praying weekly for opportunities to share Christ where I go during the week. God is opening doors through my co-workers who know what I do on the weekends. I’m not talking about my running either.

3. Strategic Mission Planning

Romans 15:22–29 “This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.”

Time to visit Rome

Paul often hindered coming to Rome - Busy preaching to the lost in other areas

Now free to come to Rome enroute to Spain

Longed to finally spend time with them - Looked forward to building them up

Taking an offering to Jerusalem

Currently engaged in taking offering to poor in Jerusalem

Churches throughout Macedonia and Achaia collected the offering

Owed debt to first church - Shared in spiritual blessing of Paul’s ministry they supported

Stopping on the way to Spain

Planning a missionary journey to Spain

Looked forward to brief time of sharing with Roman church

Believed it would be on his way to Spain - His opportunity to preach to them and get support

4. Prayer: The Mission Fuel

Romans 15:30–33 “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Maybe in concluding, you could stress the necessity of mutual prayer, as Paul requests from fellow believers. These verses reveal how prayer fuels the mission and builds community. Encourage your congregation to commit to praying for their local church initiatives and missionaries globally, assuring them of the power of prayer in realizing God's plans. The act of praying together not only strengthens faith but unifies the mission under Christ's love.

Call to prayer in preparation

Ask church to pray with him

Call was to prepare for his ministry visit

Call was to partnership in prayer

Call to prayer for safety

Asked they pray for his safety

Asked for deliverance from hostile unbelievers

Asked for prayers for himself and his ministry

Call to prayer for success in ministry

Asked for acceptable ministry to saints in Jerusalem

Asked for completion of his ministry so he could come to Rome

Asked for success in his ministry in Rome as well

Prayer is the foundation of all we do for the Lord. We’re commanded by Christ to come to the Father in prayer. We’re not coming to Him because He doesn’t know what’s up. We’re commanded to come so He can prepare us for the work He wants to accomplish. When you move out into a ministry you need preparation and so does the mission field you’re going into. The only power we have to do anything worthwhile for the kingdom is to come to God in prayer and ask Him to do the things that only He can do. You don’t have the power to save. You don’t have the power to change. When Simon saw the Spirit fall on new believers as Peter laid hands on them, he was amazed and wanted the same power. Acts 8:18–20 “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” None of us have the power to do the miraculous. It always comes as the result of prayer and preparation. So be ready. Be prepared and go and do the work Christ has called you to do. For most of us that’s the ordinary parts of life. Living a Spirit filled life that people see and want to understand. So go be ordinary Christians this week and see the world changed as you share Jesus without fear.