Rom 15-Spiritual Warfare

| Spiritual Warfare! Romans 15:30-33

October 12, 2008 (NIV) 30I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, 32so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33The God of peace be with you all. Amen. PRAY Scripture Memory:Review: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 (NIV) Intro: The reality of the spiritual battle which wages all around us… 1. The call to prayer2. The content of prayer 1. The Call to Prayerv. 30 – I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Lit: I URGE you, brethren, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to STRIVE WITH me in PRAYER on my behalf to GodPaul appeals to his readers to pray with and for him.X      Paul URGES His readers to pray.παρακαλέω / parakaleō – exhort, to beg, to implorePaul PLEADS with his readers to pray!WHY?!?Why does he feel compelled to plead with them to do this?Unfortunately, many Christians think about prayer the same way a football coach views his options when 4th-&-15 from his own 30-yard line. You have tried everything else; nothing remains but to punt. Prayer is like admitting defeat in the Christian life. Glen DurhamDoes this describe us? Is prayer more of a last resort, when nothing else works?Do we hear God’s URGENT plea, through His servant Paul, to PRAY? X      Paul urges them to STRIVE (struggle) in prayer.This is the only place in the Bible where this particular word is used. Perhaps Paul made it up.It is a combination of the preposition with and the verb strive or struggle.The verb is used w/o the preposition numerous times in the Scriptures:Jesus uses it in Luke 13:24 when He tells us to STRIVE to enter through the narrow door.Luke 13:24 (NLT) – Work hard (strive) to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.The word, strive (work hard) is the word from which we get the English verb agonize and the noun, antagonist.Jesus is telling us we need to STRIVE, to truly STRUGGLE against sin and self in order to enter eternal life.The same word appears in 1 Corinthians 9:25: “All athletes are disciplined in their training. (NLT)” You do not see it at first; since most English versions translate the word as athlete.The New King James has, “everyone who completes.” Literally it is: “the one who struggles” — in other words, striving for the prize means exercising the spiritual gift of self-control.The same word is used of the fight against unbelief. Three times Paul refers to the “fight of faith,” striving to believe, arguing against his own sinful nature and “the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Holding fast to the faith in a fallen world is often intensely agonizing. It is a great struggle…. And prayer is both a key to success in this struggle and an indicator of the level of our willingness to struggle.Prayer is the real fight, the great struggle in the Christian’s life. Epaphras is famous for his praying because Paul forever recorded his story in Colossians 4.12 (NIV) – Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling (striving, agonizing) in prayer for you. X      Paul urges them to strive to JOIN him in prayer.v. 30 – I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Prayer, at least at one level, is certainly a private thing, an intensely personal thing. However, it is also a very crucial component in community.The family that prays together…It is amazing to me how we can fill this room for a dinner or a show, but rarely see more than a dozen willing to join together in prayer!Matthew Henry: “As God must be sought unto for the restraining of the ill will of our enemies, so also for the preserving and increasing of the good will of our friends; for God has the hearts both of the one and of the other in his hands.” God’s people truly are saints. However, they are also sinners who will be convinced only by the power of the Holy Spirit.Through Charles Spurgeon’s preaching thousands were converted. There was a revival of true Christianity in London. Few realize, however, that in the basement of the church hundreds gathered to pray during his sermons. Was Spurgeon a great preacher? Who would argue? Was Spurgeon a great preacher because a great many of God’s people agonized in prayer? No Doubt! I am no Spurgeon, but might not revival depend on our prayers, rather than my preaching?A few other side points regarding praying together: ●    Praying with others helps us come back from our rabbit trails.●    Praying with others helps us to pray more broadly.●    Praying with others encourages us to pray more.●    Praying with others gives us an extra nudge to pray rather than procrastinate.●    Praying with others builds community.Question: Are YOU among the group of God’s people who pray TOGETHER? 2. The Content of PrayerSpecific requests yield specific answers31Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, 32so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33The God of peace be with you all. Amen.Paul presents 3 requests and a prayer:1. Prayer for the dangers which he was to face2. Prayer that his ministry would be “acceptable to the saints… in Jerusalem.”3. Prayer for His journey to see the recipients of this letter 1. Prayer for the dangers which he was to face |   | Paul was heading for Jerusalem (the center of radical Judaism… ) – tantamount to a muslim who has embraced Christ going to Mecca…As he headed there, he was warned on several occasions that to go there would result in serious problems for him…It is interesting that he was pursuing a path that seemed destined to result in his suffering and imprisonment. – How many of us would be willing to go down that road, if we had a choice? 2. Prayer that his ministry would be “acceptable to the saints… in Jerusalem.”Why? Was there any danger that it would not be accepted? What could be wrong about money for the poor?Paul was the apostle of the GentilesHe often received a cold shoulder from Jewish Christians. They did not like the church being infiltrated by foreigners, those different from themselves. They wanted a pure church, one perfect in all its ways. The Gentiles did not always do everything correctly. They were coarse, uncivilized, barbarians. Unbelieving Jews viewed him as a traitor to his people, and because of them, those that believed were weary of him, wanting to avoid the fanatic, fringe label he carried.How can a church change? How can Christians chained by sorry, selfish and sinful attitudes become loving, accepting and joyful about bringing new people into the church who will force us to change? How can Paul’s service be accepted when they do not like him? They slander his behavior, suspect his teaching, and snub his presence. What will be done? As God must be sought unto for the restraining of the ill will of our enemies, so also for the preserving and increasing of the good will of our friends; for God has the hearts both of the one and of the other in his hands. Matthew Henry 3. Prayer for His journey to see the recipients of this letterPaul LOVED God’s people! He LONGED to meet others and to be reunited with those he already knew… Finally, Paul offers a prayer for his readers (v. 33): 33The God of peace be with you all. Amen. The Lord of hosts, the God of battle, is the God of peace, the author and lover of peace. He describes God under this title here, because of the divisions among them, to recommend peace to them; if God be the God of peace, let us be men of peace. The Old-Testament blessing was, Shalom, Peace be with you; now Paul writes: The God of peace be with you. Is that all? No. The God of peace be with you all.He puts them all together in this prayer. Those who are united in the blessing of God should be united in affection one to another. Matthew Henry   It is interesting to note, also, that these prayers were answered powerfully, if differently, than either Paul or the Roman church might have expected.Acts 21 explains the results of these prayers. Acts 21:17–20 records how his offering was joyous received and the resulting solidarity of the churches. In the rest of this chapter and the two chapters which follow we read how, as expected, a mob attacks. But, surprise, someone runs and tells the army commander who listens, calls together a group of soldiers, and rescues Paul. This time the answer to their prayers came through the civil government. Then, later, in chapter 23, while Paul is in jail, some of his enemies swear an oath not to eat until he is murdered. But “luckily” a boy, who happens to be Paul’s nephew, overhears the plan and tells Paul. Paul asks the centurion to take the boy to the commander, who listens to the story, assembles 200 soldiers and 70 horsemen and comes and rescues Paul from the conspiracy. And finally, Paul is sent, all expenses paid, to Rome, courtesy of the Roman army. To those with godly hearts, the request, “Brother, pray for me,” is not a cliché, and neither is the response, “I will pray for you.” The godly heart is, indeed, a heart that believes in prayer.Christians in Rome change unbelievers in Judea and Paul is delivered. Do you believe God works? Do you believe enough to fight the spiritual battle which wages all around us on your knees?  (if time) Final illustration:In The Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis writes a dialog between the flying horse Fledge, a boy named Digory, and his friend Polly as they fly toward their destination. “My wings are beginning to ache,” said Fledge. “What about coming down and looking out for a decent spot to spend the night in?” “Yes, and surely it’s about time for supper?” said Digory.So Fledge came lower and lower…and at last alighted. Digory rolled off and helped Polly to dismount. Both were glad to stretch their stiff legs. "I am hungry," said Digory."Well, tuck in," said Fledge, taking a big mouthful of grass. Then he raised his head, still chewing and with bits of grass sticking out on each side of his mouth like whiskers said, "Come on, you two. Don’t be shy. There’s plenty for us all." "But we can’t eat grass," said Digory."H’m, h’m," said Fledge, speaking with his mouth full. "Well - h’m - don’t know quite what you’ll do then. Very good grass too." Polly and Digory stared at one another in dismay. "Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals," said Digory. "I’m sure Aslan would have, if you’d asked him," said Fledge. "Wouldn’t he know without being asked?" said Polly."I’ve no doubt he would," said the Horse (still with his mouth full). "But I’ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked." He likes to be asked. Ezekiel 36.37-38 (ESV) teaches us the same thing: Thus says the Lord GOD: This I will let Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock…. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” God likes to be asked. Jesus explains why in John 14.13 (ESV) “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” A Truth to Remember: Prayer requires hard work. But it is the most powerful and life impacting work we can do. A Challenge to Consider:What is one thing you can do in the days and weeks ahead to grow in the area of striving in prayer? One thing I heard this morning was…   |