2020-10-28 Romans 1:8-12

Romans 1:8–12 ESV

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

I. We support the mission of God through intercession.

Romans 1:8–10 ESV

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

A. God’s hand is seen where the gospel is proclaimed.

Romans 1:8 ESV

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

Illus: As we begin to look at what Paul prayed for, it is important to see what was happening.

Paul was viewing the contagious, expanding gospel of Jesus Christ transforming the world.

For Paul the church in Rome was proof that the gospel was bigger than his ministry as it was out growing his travels.

Intrinsic in verse 8 is the understanding that a healthy church will be a church growing through the the spread of the gospel.

Here me out on this, If we are a healthy church, our faith should be proclaimed in Vidalia, Louisiana. If we are not, the message stops here in our building.

Let’s define what that looks like. Yes, I am confident that the message of Christ is proclaimed each and every time I approach this pulpit.

That does not mean the gospel is proclaimed in Vidalia. If the gospel, the great news of God’s forgiveness, starts from my lips and ends in your ears, the gospel is proclaimed in this church, but it is not being proclaimed in our city.

For the gospel to be proclaimed in our city, it must come from you.

Every person in our church has been placed in their jobs, hobbies, and lives to be a gospel presence to those around them.

For the gospel to be proclaimed in our city, we need to get the gospel out of this building.

Philippians 1:3–6 ESV

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

B. Do not underestimate the immense importance of intercession.

Romans 1:9–10 ESV

9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Illus: Paul was frustrated. He wanted to be in Rome. He wanted to join the church in reaching the empire with the gospel.

Up unto this point, he could not be there. That said, he joined the roman church in the way that he could. Through prayer.

He prayed to join, and he prayed for the church.

Prayer is becoming more and more of a lost discipline in Christian lives.

Sure we may pray before meals, but the discipline of regular prayer is lost to the noise of the never ending, never stopping lives we lead.

There is an importance we must embrace again to the quietness of the soul which comunes with God.

Paul sought out the heart of God on behalf of the believers in Rome.

Embracing prayer will have to be an intentional decision.

It must be the intentional decision to turn off your phone, your tv, and your life to seek the face of God.

Will it be difficult at first? Absolutely. Your mind will wander and you will feel the drug like withdrawal of the over-connected life.

Perhaps I can say it bluntly like this, are you finding fulfillment in the never ending nonstop notifications and conversations from your phone, or are you finding fulfillment in conversation with God?

Philippians 4:4–6 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

II. We support the mission of God through fellowship.

Romans 1:10–11 ESV

10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—

A. There is an essential importance in being present.

Romans 1:10 ESV

10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Illus: Paul was not so prideful to tell the Roman chruch, I am thankful that you can get all you need from this letter. He was not so prideful to say, all you need is to tune into my livestream, get my newsletter, and then read my book.

Paul knew that there is a certain amount of spiritual growth that can only happen through physical presence.

He knew that he needed to make it to Rome.

I feel like I am a broken record lately.

When the Rona took us online, many grew comfortable with attending in their pjs at the chruch of the livestream.

The great irony in reopening the church was that those who were the first to come back were not the younger, healthier members who would be least affected by the virus, but instead the older senior saints.

I have actually been suprised by the push back of folks who say that an insistence on physical attendance is asking too much.

I’ve even read “church experts” that say churches who build their model on physical attendence will become a thing of the past.

But the entire point of church is not that you would be entertained by the images on a screen, but to have both a pastor and the membership of the church invest into you.

Look at where the early church began. We are a far cry from the healthy biblical fellowship described in this church.

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

B. Fellowship is more than friendship. Fellowship is a spiritual investment.

Romans 1:11 ESV

11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—

Illus: When we talk about fellowship we think, church game night or stuff our self church gluttony I mean fellowships.

I want to be clear. We absolutely need to have fun together. We need to hang out with one another.

But fellowship is not fellowship if it does not lead to spiritual growth.

Do you have relationships with others that challenge you to grow spiritually.

Do you have people in your life that have the freedom to speak truth to you?

Just as you need to find those quiet moments to commune wiht God, you need to find time with a believer who will intentionally encourage you to follow Jesus.

My fear with the way we currently do small group ministry at our church is that very few of our small groups are small. Most are to the size that you have a teacher that teaches you a lesson, but the fellowship of personal growth never happens.

You need friends whom you can have Jesus conversations with.

You need time each week to, perhaps lunch, with a friend to talk life with. Fellowship is more than a potluck meal and more than a Sunday school class. It is the intentional relationship that exists to grow in faith.

Hebrews 10:22–25 ESV

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

III. We support the mission of God through encouragement.

Romans 1:12 ESV

12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

A. Every person needs encouragement.

Illus: One of the growing issues I seen in all people is the growing selfishness of every person.

We are all in it for ourselves.

From the way we approach relationships, to the way we approach the world to the way we approach church we want to know what is in it for us.

This selfishness has bred an across the board hopelessness as people no longer invest in one another but constantly look to themselves.

What would happen if the church became a place of encouragement?

What would happen if we would open our eyes to see one another in our struggles.

What would happen if we made it our goal to build each other up.

1 Thessalonians 5:8–11 ESV

8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.