Romans 15:14-21

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SLIDE 2

Romans 15:14–15 ESV

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

Rom. 15.

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SLIDE 3

Romans 15:16–18 ESV

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. 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,

Rom 15:16-

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SLIDE 4

Rom 15.19

Romans 15:19–21 ESV

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.”

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PRAY

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INTRO / REVIEW

We are quickly approaching the end of our study in Romans. There might be just, one more study before we transition over to the book of 1 Corinthians… and interestingly, today’s message sets a sharp contrast to the tone of our next study.

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In Romans… Paul is not addressing problems. He is not confronting sin. In fact, in today’s passage, we will see that Paul is encouraged by the state of the believers in Rome, reflecting back to something he said in chapter 1:8… where he told them… that their faith is proclaimed in all the world.

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The church in Corinth? Not so much. -

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In fact, in most of Paul’s letters to the churches, he had to address issues and conflicts. People were abusing doctrine. People were accepting sin. People were abandoning grace for law. Paul wrote to pastors who dealt with similar trials and counseled them on how to address these problems.

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But… such was not the case in Rome.

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Yes, they had the common challenges of being a diverse people who were called together in unity and fellowship. As we saw in previous studies… they were incompatible people, called together to worship God in unity.

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Paul wasn’t rebuking them over their differences… He was merely instructing them on how they can glorify God in their differences.

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According to … these were people that other Christians liked to talk about… and not in a bad way. Their faith was proclaimed in the world, by those who witnessed it, and experienced it.

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In today’s passage… we will see… that this is still the case for Rome. They are a community of believers who are doing well… and Paul recognizes that in the closing of this letter.

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Today’s passage begins what is recognized as being the third section of this book. Chapters 1-11 focus on doctrinal teaching, the underlying theme of most of it being… grace.

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This church didn’t need correction, but they did need instruction. They were doing well with a solid understanding of the gospel.... But Paul poured into them… showing them how the Gospel brought grace to so many different aspects of doctrinal understanding.

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From there… chapter 12 up until chapter 15:13… Paul called them to live as people who were shaped by that grace… not only as individuals, but also, as a church community.

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Then, beginning here in vs. 14, and to the end of the book… Paul get’s personal. He’s bringing it all to a conclusion… he’s sharing his heart… he’s sending his greetings.. and he’s giving a final appeal.

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This message is going to focus heavily upon vs. 14… Paul is encouraged, and he is encouraging. Why? Because these believers are good and knowledgable.

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Here’s where I ask the question: What made Rome different than say, the church in Corinth, or the church in Galatia? Those churches had some serious issue… but Rome, was going strong?

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I ask this questions, simply because, the climate of the church in our world today, is the same. Some churches are doing well, and some churches, are having serious struggles.

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In some churches, the people are growing in their faith… they are clinging to sound doctrine and their lives and ministries are fruitful.

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And yet, around the corner… you might have a church that is wrought with scandal… the people are not growing spiritually, and the climate is more about war than it is worship.

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Both reflection and experience can give us the answer. When we bring our flesh into the equation, we bring problems… but, when we bring a willingness to set aside our flesh, out of love for one another… then those problems go away. Add to that, the fruit of sound doctrine and genuine faith in the Gospel… and you will see… why some churches are like the Romans… and some are like the Corinthians.

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Let’s focus in on the example of a strong church… beginning again, here in vs. 14.

SLIDE 5

Romans 15:14 ESV

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.

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This brings us to our first point.

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SLIDE 6

Encouraged ()

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Paul was encouraged… and so were the people in Rome. We see this presented in four different ways.

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SLIDE 7

They satisfied their leaders

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As a leader in the church, Paul looked upon the state of the Romans, and was satisfied. - This word could also be translated… ‘convinced’ or ‘made confident’. There was no doubt in Paul’s mind, that these believers in Rome, were walking in genuine faith.

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This isn’t to say, that Paul was their leader. Yes, I’m sure they respected him and embraced his instruction… but for this church to be as strong as it was… SOMEBODY WAS LEADING.

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And they were leading well. In fact, chapter 16 will show us… that some of these leaders were known to Paul. People like Prisca and Aquila… Epaenetus… Mary… Andronicus… Junia… Ampliatus… Urbanus… and the list goes on.

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I’m sure, even as Paul wrote this letter… these leaders were also encouraged.

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When you are up close and personal… sometimes you lose perspective. Maybe, you focus on little, normal, every day problems… and fail to recognize that in an overall sense… things are going great.

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These leaders may have been counseling Jewish believers and Gentile believers on how to fellowship in harmony… and after a while… maybe it became weary. Maybe they thought that their fellowship was wrought with division.

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But Paul brings a broader perspective to the table. He is in Corinth… where the problems in church are huge… and he’s telling these Roman believers… and these Roman church leaders… that HE IS CONFIDENT… HE IS CONVINCED… HE IS SATISFIED … with the state of their faith.

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UP CLOSE… you always can, and will… see the problems. There will ALWAYS BE PROBLEMS. Even in the best circumstances… and a leader who is always focused on the problems… CAN TOTALLY… LOSE FOCUS.

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Paul is looking in from the outside… as one who knows how to compare between the state of many different churches… and he is telling them… - they are doing well. He is satisfied.

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NEXT SUB POINT.

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SLIDE 8

They were full of goodness

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THIS literally means… that they were full of positive moral character.

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If it’s being said of them… then obviously, it’s being expressed amongst them. Hypocritical goodness exists in word only… but this was not that kind of recognition.

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Paul wasn’t telling them… that they were full of ‘good words’. - He wasn’t saying, that they had a reputation for saying nice things… for posting nice words on social media… for having nice bumper stickers...

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That would just be a label on the bucket… Paul wasn’t talking about the label… he was talking about the contents of that bucket. -They were literally… full of goodness…

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When people are ‘full of something’… it’s usually easily seen and recognized… and generally in a negative manner… and some of you are thinking of farm terminology… language not appropriate for church… - but the illustration that is popping up in your head, proves the point.

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I know what you’re thinking… you’re thinking of people being FULL OF CRUMMYNESS… or FULL OF INSINCERITY… or FULL OF CRUDENESS… -we recognize this stuff when we talk to salesman… or the listen to the politician…

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When you are full… filled to the top… brimming over… - it is seen, known and experienced by other people.

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The believers in Rome… were brimming over with positive moral character.

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Here is what Paul wrote to a couple other churches on this matter…

SLIDE 9

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

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SLIDE 10

Galatians 6:10 ESV

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

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The believers in Rome… were encouraging… and they were encouraged… because it was recognized by others… that they were good people… expressing goodness… and doing good things.

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Next sub point under ‘ENCOURAGED’

SLIDE 11

They were filled with all knowledge

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Obviously… Paul wasn’t calling them omniscient. Obviously Paul wasn’t telling them that they had a grasp on all the finer issues of doctrine. If so, chapters 1-11 would have been unnecessary.

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They still required a growing experience of acquiring more knowledge… but- they were filled with the knowledge that mattered most.

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We know this, by their fruit. - They loved each other in diversity… they had a faith that was known all over the known world… they displayed strength… they displayed character..

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How did they do this? By having a strong grasp on the impact of sovereignty upon free will? By embracing a balanced yet controversial stand on antinomianism. By comprehending the finer nuances of pneumatology?

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No… they didn’t know that stuff. But they did know the Gospel.

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They did know the story, the message and the impact of Jesus’s prophesied life, message, purpose, death and resurrection.

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The reality of the Gospel… their knowledge of the Gospel… impacted them in a positive way.

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If you think about it… everything we need to know… about honoring the word… about walking in love… living for God… and being a people of worship… is wrapped up in the Gospel.

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The word prophesied it all… in ages past, the patriarchs looked forward to the same Gospel events that we look back to. The person, the life, the ministry, the death and the resurrection of Jesus, are outlined in the writings of the law and the prophets.

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The story of Israel looked forward to it.

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An integral part of the Gospel.. as Paul defined it in … is the scriptures.. In fact.. he repeats it to get the point across.

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… Jesus died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures. Verse 4 He was buried and raised… in accordance with the Scriptures.

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Knowing the Gospel… will give you a great respect for the Word..

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But also.. knowing the Gospel, should impact you to walk in love… for as reminds us… that God did all this… because of His love for the world.

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A knowledge of the Gospel will also motivate a person to live for God. Why? For one to be transformed by the message of the Gospel, they have to believe it… they are called to repent.. and in it all.. they recognize Jesus as Lord.

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If you have a Lord… you are a servant… and you serve at the bidding of your Lord. The Gospel aligns us, as servants, to our master… so that we will be a people, who live for God.

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And, knowing the Gospel… will also make us a people of worship. Unless we forget the magnitude of what the Gospel has accomplished… we should respond to it, naturally and appropriately… with worship.

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HOW DID THEY BECOME A CHURCH THAT WAS ABLE TO DO THIS? Well, the next sub point tells us.

the next sub point under Encouraged:

SLIDE 12

They were able to instruct one another

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They lacked a lot of doctrine… especially before Paul delivered this letter… but they knew the Gospel, and they were sufficient at discipling one another, in a knowledge of the Gospel.

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The believers in Rome knew that knowledge wasn’t something to be hoarded. It was instead… something to be shared. Something to be passed on to others.

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They understood the principle that Paul passed on to Timothy in

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SLIDE 13

2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

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THIS IS THE PATH THAT TRUTH SHOULD TAKE. Especially, life giving truth. The fruit in Rome proved that these people knew how to teach one another…

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Let’s move on… second point.

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SLIDE 14

Reminded ()

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SLIDE 15

Romans 15:15–17 ESV

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. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

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I want to consider this section with two sub points… the first being:

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(Reminded) By God’s appointed messengers. (15:15-16a)

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Paul had a specific mission. The church in Rom, fell under that mission. Paul’s calling made him an appointed voice to the people in the Roman church.

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His message, wasn’t about him, or his agenda, or his book sales, or his ego.

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Paul’s message, was about the Gospel, getting out to the Gentile world.

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Here’s how this applies to us.

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WE OBVIOUSLY NEED TO BE REMINDED. - Human nature, and the constant repetitious nature of the Bible show us… that people need reminders.

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Let me say this… be careful, who you let, remind you.

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There are a lot of people trying to speak into your life… and we have to assume, because the scriptures tell us repeatedly… that some of those people are wolves in sheeps clothing. They’re on your tv’s. They are on your social media. They are trying to get you to go to their churches and to their rallies and to their crusades…

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Some of those people are spreading a tainted doctrine. Some of those people are bringing a poisonous influence. Some of those people, though very entertaining, and very popular… are not very good.

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Paul had a message which was for a specific people. The Romans were those people. Know this… there are people who are called to speak truth into your life. I hope that I am one of them… if not, I don’t know why you come back. But I hope that there are a bunch of people, who are called, designed and destined by God, to speak into your life, specifically.

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As you grow in your faith… with discernment… learn who those people are… and learn who those people ARE NOT.

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Next sub point…

SLIDE 17

(Reminded) For God’s holy purpose (15:16b-17)

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Here is why Paul Paul is bringing a reminder to their lives.. -Not only is he called to do it… but he recognizes a higher, holy purpose in it.

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Paul calls his ministry a priestly service of the Gospel in vs 16. It was the priest’s job to serve as a go between… for God and the worshipper. Under Jesus, we have all become priests…

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SLIDE 18

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

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WE ALL HAVE ACCESS TO GOD… So Jesus is the end of the exclusive class of priests… He has given us all access..

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But what Paul is saying… is that he is still doing something of a priestly manner for the Gentile believer.. it’s… a ministry… a service… between the worshipper and the God. -

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Because He has brought the Gospel to them..

They are now, acceptable before God… and therefore priests themselves..

And now, because of Paul’s priestly service of the Gospel… the offerings of the Gentiles are acceptable to God, and sanctified by the HS.

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This is why Paul teaches them… this is why Paul reminds them… - He wants these offerings before God… to increase. He wants the glory that is brought to God… to continue… not only amongst the saved Jewish people, but also amongst the Gentiles..

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this brings us to our final point.

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SLIDE 19

Declared ()

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SLIDE 20

Romans 15:18–21 ESV

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.”

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We’ll consider three sub points here… the first:

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SLIDE 21

It is only in Jesus working through us, that our ministry will succeed in word and deed (18)

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A lot of words are spoken… and a lot of deeds are performed, in the guise of ministry… that don’t involve Jesus.

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Be it guilt, or pressure, or the drive to please others… or pride… or some legalistic sense of trying to earn salvation… - whatever it might be… -If it’s motivated in flesh and mind…

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It won’t succeed.

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Paul speaks often of his own failing strength… and how His words and deeds… are not a matter of His own doing.. but of Christs..

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SLIDE 22

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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next sub point.

SLIDE 23

It is only in Jesus working through us, that our ministry will succeed in power (19)

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We can succeed in strategy… or in planning… or in teamwork. - But a success that baffles the onlooker… a success that can only be explained with the answer, “God did it”.

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… is the one that we are hoping for.

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final point.

SLIDE 24

It is only in Jesus working through us, that our ministry will succeed in bringing the lost to the light (20-21)

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SLIDE 25

1 Corinthians 1:21 ESV

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

1 cor

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Paul declared, in some of the places where he did ministry… that he would declare nothing but the Gospel.

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Why? Because he recognized… that the power to bring salvation, was not in a good debate… not in an argument… not in a logical explanation..

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No… it was in power of the message preached, combined with the convicting work of the HS.

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SLIDE 26

John 16:8–11 ESV

And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

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It is only in Jesus working through us, that our ministry will succeed in brining the lost to the light…

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We can’t save anyone in our strength...

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But we can be a voice… that carries an impressive message.

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pray.