Romans - Week 1

Intro

Thank P. Wayne

Thank P. Desmond

Dez

P. Ben & Tracy for holding down the fort

Thank everyone

The Pursuit of His Presence is our theme for this year as P. Ben so perfectly put it.

To pursue His presence means we are actively growing our relationship with Christ.

That requires more than just Sunday.

We are starting this journey together that I hope will provide you with an avenue to a stronger relationship with Jesus.

I don’t know what you came in here with today, but there is only one solution to that problem and circumstance: Jesus.

I can teach you about healing, tithing, blessings, heaven, hell, sin, spiritual warfare, the end of the world… but if we don’t have Jesus, its just knowledge. And if you seek that knowledge without seeking Jesus, its not really about Him then is it? Its about fulfilling something in us.

You see, knowing Jesus more brings more of Him into your life. You might come in for healing, and not get healed. But if you come for Jesus, you will always receive more of Jesus… and you might also get healed!

Today, we set ourselves aside for the Gospel of God. We set aside this church for the Gospel of God. What is the Gospel? The good news of Jesus.

What does that mean? Well… thats what we’re going to dive into!

Whatever answers you’re searching for, whatever peace you want to find, whatever healing you think you need - its all found in Jesus.

So seek Jesus. Pursue Jesus. Stop searching for healing, for peace, for comfort… Submit to Jesus. Be obedient to Jesus. All is found in Him.

He is the answer and He is the provider. It all starts with Him, its all about Him, and its all for Him, its all from Him.

You might not have given your life to Christ, but we will read these scriptures written by a man who you might be able to relate to.. so just hold on.

Saul, also known as Paul.

He didn’t just have no faith in Christ…He actively fought against the movement of Christianity.

Who hasn’t wrestled with God? Who hasn’t fought against Him? Who hasn’t heard the truth and still had selfish desires? You might have them right now!

You might be so selfish right now, you can’t imagine being called a Christian because of your selfishness, your mistakes, your burdens. Maybe you don’t want to, maybe you’re afraid to, maybe you’re running, maybe you just don’t feel like you have enough info.

Whatever the roadblocks are, there is an open invitation that none of us here could stop you from.

No one can disqualify you from this decision.

Not me. Not P. Ben.

Christians try to disqualify others for their selfishness when we should be meeting them where they’re at.

By no means does that mean that anyone stays where they’re at.

Jesus isn’t seeking to disqualify anyone, but to encounter them.

Jesus wants to encounter you! THEN He changes us.

Saul was against God. He was against His followers. He supported the killing of Christians.

Stephen, a Christ follower and leader was driven out of the city and killed.

Acts 7:58 NASB 2020

When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

TikTok

Imagine such a thing ending up on TikTok today!

A man is killed for his faith and there is another man, Saul standing in support.

Imagine him trying to get a job. Or meet someone. Or just have a normal life. Would he be done?

How would Jesus treat such an enemy of Christianity? Probably be disqualifying him from serving in ministry at least. Making him pay for what he did. Destroying him with great godly, vengeance.

I’ll read to you what he did.

Acts 9:1–22 NASB 2020

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem. Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

In our disobedient, selfish, sin, we are still called.

Why? How? Because in our disobedient, selfish, sin, Christ died for us.

Jesus isn’t disqualifying you, He’s calling you. He will encounter you, and call you.

And I promise, that after you encounter Him, you will never be the same. You won’t be perfect. Thats why we need grace.

Heres what happened to Saul, who’s name was also Paul:

Teaching

Romans 1:1 NASB 2020

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Romans

Paul is writing this letter to the church in Rome. Rome was the center of the known world.

Paul has not met this church. In fact, its unclear if he ever made it to this church before he was killed.

This was an important letter because the Roman church was filled with Jews and Gentles who were disagreeing with the practices of their faith.

But Paul’s main point to them is that those things don’t matter and aren’t more important than one simple truth: sinners are saved by only faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul was in a unique position. He wasn’t a gentile, but he was a Roman citizen, coming from a wealthy Jewish family.

Now, as an apostle of the church, with authority and power he writes to the most important city in the known world to bring this message of salvation.

DC or NYC

Its like just writing a letter to DC or NYC but not knowing anyone…

Bond Servant of Christ

Before he talked about his title, he first and foremost presented himself as a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.

“one subject to the will and wholly at the disposal of another”

This is “absolute subjection and devotion to the Lord Jesus.”

Paul had experienced radical life change. He went from seeking to arrest Christians with authority from the high priest to spreading the Gospel.

Radical change

Have you ever experienced radical change in your life?

This wasn’t a new hobby or interest, He was a wholly living for God. Not without struggle or problems, but none the less, given his life in service.

An Apostle

Now, his authority is given. The title. An apostle.

An apostle is one who is sent from God as a messenger.

Think about this for a second:

Paul didn’t just grow up Jewish, but was taught by a highly respected rabbi.

He was a Pharisee which was the strictest Jewish groups there was.

He very actively fought against Christianity.

On his way to persecute more Christians, after he encountered Jesus, he immediately started preaching the Gospel.

More than anyone else in history, Paul spread the Gospel and the message of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire.

He made three major missionary journeys preaching the Gospel that he once was in direct opposition to.

With his background, past, mistakes, he’s then given the highest position he could possibly obtain in the body and given authority over other churches… He is SENT by God?

A messenger?

Switching teams

This is so drastically different - it would be like your favorite Steeler going to play for the Ravens or the Patriots!

Set apart

As a bondservant, apostle, he is set apart with a specific calling and mission - to bring about the truths of the Gospel.

His main purpose in writing this letter was to teach the Gospel of grace to believers in the Roman church.

His purpose was not to correct or to rebuke - though there are other letters that do so. But to establish foundational truths - what we would call doctrine - what we believe - that this church needed to go deeper.

If you have sound doctrine, then you have the truth. If you lack sound doctrine, then you do not have the truth.

This apostle is speaking to the church and speaks to us today so we can go deeper in our faith. A stronger, more united understanding of the Gospel and of Jesus.

Our purpose

Our purpose going in to Romans is to exalt the Gospel above any other influence that seeks to change, deny, or pervert it.

Exalt

When you exalt something, you want it to stand out.

Your sports team, your brands… you make it stand out.

What if we exalted the Gospel in our lives.

Its more than a FB post, but a way of life.

Its more than a jersey, but a way of life.

Together, we’ll establish a strong understanding of the foundations of the Gospel verse by verse.

My vision is that we are going somewhere together to pursue God’s presence.

We can’t simply gather every Sunday so you can hear a message on how to make your life better.

We’ll read, study, and grow together.

Sundays, we’ll go through verse by verse.

Wednesdays, we will take a deeper look into the scriptures.

Whatever you hear, brings notes, questions, insights and we’ll go through it together. Our youth will be doing the same.

If you miss a Sunday, you miss out on a message. If you miss a Sunday or Wednesday, I encourage you to go back and listen. Get in your word and share your insights in our FB group. Stay connected and lets stay seeking Him together.

Closing

Seeking Jesus will lead to an encounter with Him.

As we read through Romans, we’ll hear the message of salvation preached.

The message that only through Jesus can we be saved.

The message of grace, that is a free gift given to us by Christ in our salvation that grants us forgiveness for our sins.

Can we turn away from our sinfulness and give our lives to Christ?

Look at Paul - He turned away from actively persecuting Christians - to leading them.

God can take you and make you new. He can bring new life and a new future.

In Christ, that is found.