Partners Pt. 2 1-23-2022

WALK WORTHY PARTNERS Pt.2 Sunday January 23, 2022 Scripture Reference: Romans 1:1-7 (NLT) "This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. 6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace." Romans 1:1-7 (NLT) Intro. A. Let's begin today by looking at the verses we are studying last week. (read) I want to take just a few moments to review what we talked about last week. I realize that with seven verses to study we didn't get very far, but I believe these first words of Paul are extremely important for us if we are to Walk Worthy. I said last week that introducing yourself as a slave does not seem to be the wisest things to do, but as Paul told the Corinthian church the ways of a follower of Christ seem foolish to those who do not follow him. Here is what he told them. "When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means." 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 (NLT) 1. Let me say this again because I think it is one of those things where there can be no compromise. If we call ourselves follower of Jesus. NO ONE IS A TRUE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST UNLESS THEY ARE ENSLAVED TO JESUS. Let me remind you again of the five things I said that it means to be a slave of Christ. I can't elaborate on these today, but if you missed last weeks message, I encourage you to go to our website and watch the message. First a slave was someone who was owned by his master. A slave existed for his master and his master only! A slave serves his master, and he exists to serve ONLY his master. A slave belongs to his master. For Paul calling himself a slave meant he had the highest, most honored, most kingly position the world had to offer. Again, if you missed what I shared last week I would encourage you to watch the message online. Trans. OK let's look at one more of Paul's credentials he talks about in this first verse. I. PAUL'S CREDENTIALS We have talked about his being a slave, now the second thing he tells us is that he is an Apostle. A. An Apostle Of God. 1. Before we talk about what Paul meant by calling himself and apostle there is something else important to note here. We spent all last week talking about what it meant for Paul to call himself a slave. In doing so he reminds them of his humility, but in this very next thing he uses to identify himself, he declares his authority to teach them. Paul had to deal with those in the churches he established who didn't feel he had this authority. Here in this letter he doesn't explain himself he just declares that he has authority to teach, just as the original 12 apostles. 1. What this word means is that he is someone who was sent out. An apostle is an ambassador or a representative, and in this case, Paul is God's ambassador and representative. Let me point out two important things to know about an apostle. a) An apostle belongs to the one who sent him. This follows the thinking Paul was sharing with us about being a slave. We see Paul's apostleship though out his other letters. Truly Paul is seeking to represent God and his word not his own ideas or opinions. b) An apostle possesses the power and authority of the one who sent them. This is a reminder to us of the Great Commission. Jesus said, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 29:18-20 (NLT) Trans. Now this is still a part of V.1, but I want to speak about Paul's Calling. II. PAUL'S CALLING. We just talked about Paul being an apostle, but he also tells us in V.1 that this is his calling. The NLT translates this as "chosen" but the meaning is the same. Pauls' calling meant several things. a) First it means that this was not what he chose. Here is what Paul said God told him in his testimony before King Agrippa. "Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future." Acts 26:16 (NLT) b) Secondly this call was not because of his ability. Here is what he told Timothy. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him," 1 Timothy 1:12 (NLT) c) Most importantly as we noted in his apostleship, this was Divine call. This is why as I shared with you in a message a few weeks back that when he was giving his testimony to King Agrippa, he said that He could not ignore this vision God had given him. Trans. Now I want us to take some time to talk about what he was called to do. Which was to preach the good news, the Gospel. A. To Preach The Gospel. Then Paul proceeds in next four verses to tell us what this Good News is so let's explore this. 1. First this Good News is something that was promised to us in the Old Testament. If you heard my introductory message, I talked about how Paul beautifully and powerfully connects the Old Testament to the New in the book of Romans and here he begins this connection. I believe that it is extremely important for us to understand that the message of the New Testament does not invalidate or make void the message of the Old Testament. Sadly, I see a lot of this in churches and even in Christians these days. Let me remind you of what Paul told Timothy. "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) If this is true, which it is of course, what scripture was Paul referring to? The OT. Yes, it is true that some of the Old Testament practices are no longer valid or necessary, but those few things like animal sacrifices do not invalidate the whole teaching of the Old Testament. Part of Jesus' frustration with the religious teachers of his day was that they had twisted and misused the teaching of the Old Testament for their own purposes. Jesus is the subject and author of the gospel, but the gospel began long before his physical birth. Look at these verses. "This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written: "Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. 3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the LORD's coming! Clear the road for him!' " Mark 1:1-3 (NLT) "For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: 'He was counted among the rebels.' Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true." Luke 22:37 (NLT) 2. Secondly this is the good news about Jesus. 3 The Good News is about his Son. The meaning of Pauls' words here is that Jesus is God. Look at what he said later in chapter nine. "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen." Romans 9:5 (NLT) This flies in the face of those religions today who want to call Jesus God's son just as I am the son of Bill Boyd. He is NOT God's offspring; He is God incarnate! Jesus was the fullness of God in human form. 3. Thirdly the good news is that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Paul tells us that Jesus was born of the line of King David, which of course is the promise of the Old Testament scriptures so here again we see Paul making that connection. I have a book on Bible prophecies and while there are 333 prophecies about the birth of Jesus. If there were only 50 the odds of them being fulfilled are 1 in 1,125,000,000,000,000. I don't even know what that number is, except that is close to the price of a gallon of gas these days, LOL. 4. Fourthly Jesus is proved to be the Messiah by his resurrection. Some translations translate V.3 as "declared to be the Son of God with power." The earthly ministry of Jesus was one of humility. Even as Paul stated this in Philippians when he said, "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT) Now Paul declares that he has been raised in power. The pharisees thought they would put and end to the ministry of Jesus by having him crucified. Little did they know that they were actually unleashing his full power and authority. The weakness of his flesh was put to death on the cross and now he lives in full power through his Holy Spirit. Here is what Paul said in 2 Corinthians. "Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God..." 2 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT) The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us. Here is what Paul said, "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you." Romans 8:11 (NLT) The Holy Spirit that God poured out on His church gives us strength, conviction, and courage to do what before we were too weak to do. It was this same Holy Spirit that allowed a small group of people hiding in a room to later be accused of this. "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here," Acts 17:6 (NIV) The message of the gospel is the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul makes it very clear in this letter that Jesus literally lived, that he literally died and that he literally rose again. The resurrection is essential to the gospel message because what good is a dead savior? "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." 1 Corinthians 15:17 (NLT) 5. Now there is one more thing Paul tells us is involved in this calling and he brings this up in V.7. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. C. We are called to be Holy. I think honestly demands that we admit that there are many people who want to hear about salvation. They want to hear that their sins can be forgiven. That God can wipe away their guilt and shame and give them an eternal home in Heaven, but they are not as equally eager to live in obedience to God and be the Holy people He has called us to be. Look at what Peter said. "So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT) Friends I fully understand that we do not work for our salvation, but I just as fully understand that we work out our salvation. Here is what Paul told the Philippians. "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT) What Paul was saying here is that we are to bring to completion what God began in us when He saved us. I think the point Paul was trying to make to them and to us today is that we cannot go halfway in our walk with God. This takes us right back to where I began this message last week about being a slave. A slave cannot opt to be a part time slave. They are to be completely surrendered to their master and for us that is Jesus. I like as well that Paul admits to us that this is not easy. He tells us to do this with fear and trembling. We clearly see in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul that making this decision to follow Jesus with your whole heart does not mean that life will be a bed of roses from here on. We must daily surrender our will to God so that his Holy Spirit remains the One who is in control of us. Trans. Now let me conclude our study of these first seven verses by talking about our partnership. I entitled these two messages, Partners and here I want you to see why. III. OUR PARTNERSHIP. Let's look again at what Paul said. "Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." V.5 1. Paul said we too have received God's grace. His favor, His mercy, His love, and His salvation. God's grace includes these things. a) His love from eternity past. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:3-4 (NLT) "But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,: 2 Timothy 1:8-9 (NLT) His grace includes: b) Saving us freely, without cost. "No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved," Acts 15:11 (NLT) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast" Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) It includes: c) His constant care for us. "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (NLT) And it includes: d) The promise of us being together forever in Heaven. "Having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:7 (NLT) 2. In V.5 Paul also reminds us that we are apostles and as such we too are sent to preach this Good News. Here again we are reminded of the purpose of Mission or Evangelism. We may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but none of us are excluding from the call to tell others this good news. 3. Paul also tells us that we are called to obedience to God because of putting our faith in Him. Our obedience to God demonstrates several things. a) Obedience demonstrates wisdom. "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock." Matthew 7:24 (NLT) b) Obedience demonstrates Love. "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me." John 14:21 (NLT) Our obedience also assures us of some things. a) Obedience assures a prosperous and successful life. "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." Joshua 1:8 (NLT) b) Obedience assures our entrance into Heaven. "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter." Matthew 7:21 (NLT) c) Obedience assures we are members of God's family. "Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!" Matthew 12:50 (NLT) Just one more. d) Obedience assures God's presence. Jesus replied, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them." John 14:23 (NLT) Conclusion A. Partners. This is what we are if we are followers of Jesus, but this is a unique partnership compared to what we normally think of. Usually, partnership in let's say a business venture means that you work together with your partner to decide how the business will be run, what kind of investments you will make, and so forth. This kind of partnership means that you are sharing equally in the decisions about this partnership, but this is not so in our partnership with Jesus. In this partnership Jesus is not simply the majority owner of the partnership, He is THE OWNER of the partnership, and He is the one who decides what we will and will not do in this partnership. He is the master, and we are the slaves. 1. This is indeed a partnership like no other, but this partnership requires our fully Surrender to our partner, Jesus. It requires that in all things our response to him is "Yes Lord." Maybe today you realize that you have tried to be an equal partner in this relationship and now you understand that this will not work. A long time ago I had a fellow pastor ask me to define Sanctification. My answer was this, "Yes Lord." To be the Holy people God calls us to be it requires a constant attitude of "Yes Lord". If this your attitude in this partnership? 2