Introduction:
Getting on Mission: What Should I Do If I Care? (Romans 15:22-33)
- I should joyfully Go to Serve Those in Need . (Rom 15:22-25)
1 Corinthians 11:1 - Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
- I should generously Give to Provide for Those in Need . (Rom 15:26-29)
2 Corinthians 8:2-4 - For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saint.
John 4:22 - "For salvation is from the Jews."
2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:11-12 - You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
- I should passionately Pray for Fellow Ministers of Those in Need . (Rom 15:30-33)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:59-01:03
All right, you can turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 15.
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And I know it's hot in here today, but that's still no excuse to fall asleep during the sermon.
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So you fall asleep, I'll just kind of, no, I won't do that.
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Anyways, you turn to Romans 15, I wanna ask you a question.
01:16-01:22
Do you remember when you started to care what the opposite gender thought about you?
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Do you remember that?
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For girls, it was probably much sooner than the guys in the room.
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For years, girls weren't even on my radar.
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Way into sixth grade, the guys sit with the guys at the lunch table and the girls sit with the girls.
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But I really remember this one moment in a sixth grade history class I had an epiphany.
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Do you wanna know what that epiphany was?
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I stink.
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(congregation laughing)
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And I don't mean that I thought that I metaphorically stunk as a human being, but no, I realized my body literally smells.
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My nose finally caught up with my BO.
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Then my next thought was, I hope none of the girls in the class notice.
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Then the floodgates opened, I realized I really liked girls and I really wanted them to think that I was cool and that I smelled good.
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And this realization that I cared It didn't just stay in my mind, but it affected my behavior, it affected how I lived from then on.
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I began to actually wear deodorant.
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I began to douse myself with the much-dreaded Axe body spray.
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I actually took a shower every day.
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And some moms in this room are like praying that for their sons right now.
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Please let him take a shower every single day.
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I started to watch what I said around girls.
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I tried to put my best foot forward, even though this meant that I often put my foot mouth. But the effort was there. My inner desire to impress girls changed how I thought, changed how I spoke, changed how I acted, and I reacted. Once I began to care, I began to change. Last week, Pastor Jeff kicked off our latest series by by calling you to answer an important question.
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Do I care about lost people?
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Do I care about missions?
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Do I care about making an impact in my neighborhood, in my city, in my country, in my world?
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Do I care about missions?
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I hope your answer to this question is yes.
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But it's not enough to just say that you care about missions to spread the good news of Jesus, you actually have to do something about it.
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Once you get motivated, you have to get moving.
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Once you care, you have to change.
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Similar to me in sixth grade, your thoughts, your actions, your reactions, and your words must begin to change, your behaviors and habits must begin to change and line up with the word of God.
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This morning we're gonna focus on Romans chapter 15, verses 22 through 33, and find three important answers to this one important question.
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What do I do if I care about missions?
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What do I do if I care about missions?
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And I believe that if we truly submit ourselves to this text and apply Paul's teachings to our lives, There is no telling how the Lord will be able to use our church to make an eternal impact in countless lives across the face of this planet.
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So before we turn to God's holy word, let's go to him and ask for open eyes, ears, and hearts.
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Father, we thank you for this time yet again we gather together as your people to worship together, to fellowship together, Lord, to sit under the preaching of your word.
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I pray that every single word from my mouth would be from you and not from me.
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I pray that your spirit would challenge us, he would convict us, he would encourage us.
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Lord, we thank you in advance for what you're going to teach us.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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All right, so getting on mission, what should I do if I care?
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Firstly, I should joyfully go to serve those in need.
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I should joyfully go to serve those in need.
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To understand the passage we're about to read, we first need to understand the context of this letter.
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Paul wrote to the Roman church to strengthen their faith by giving them a lengthy explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it should affect their lives.
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He begins with orthodoxy, which is right and biblical thinking, and shows them how it should affect their orthopraxy, which is right and biblical living.
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Romans is the highest peak of theology in the New Testament.
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And if you're willing to put in the mental effort to make that climb with Paul, you are amazed by the mountain of God's glorious grace.
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In the last two chapters of this book, Paul peels back the curtain and gives us a glimpse into his future ministry plans, and he gives some final words of encouragement.
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So with that background in mind, let's read chapter 15, verses 22 through 25.
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Paul writes this.
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This is the reason why I've so often been hindered from coming to you, but now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be helped on my journey there by you once I've enjoyed your company for a while.
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At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints.
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It's important to understand that Paul didn't plant the Roman church.
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He hadn't even visited them yet during any of his missionary journeys.
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He had been hard at work preaching the gospel to people who had never heard about Jesus.
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Paul deeply cared about missions.
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He loved to blaze new trails.
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He loved to reach unreached people with the good news of Jesus.
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And this ambition hindered him from going to see the Roman church until now.
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But he clearly states it's on his bucket list to visit the Roman church on his way to Spain someday.
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But until then, he had to travel well over 1,000 miles in the opposite direction from Rome to Jerusalem to bring a financial gift to the believers there.
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We'll get into the details of this financial offering a bit later, but I don't want us to lose sight of Paul's crazy travel schedule.
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He was bouncing everywhere like a pinball machine from country to country and city to city.
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Scholars believe that Paul traveled over 10,000 miles over the course of his missionary journeys.
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And for those of you who are frequent flyers, you're like, that's nothing.
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I've traveled hundreds of thousands of miles over the course of my life.
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Have you walked hundreds of thousands of miles?
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I don't think so.
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Paul traveled the old-fashioned way, putting one foot in front of the other or hopping on a ship.
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These journeys took time.
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They took blood, sweat, and tears.
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Paul lays out all the things that he had to experience, frequent beatings, being thrown to prison, Being mocked, Paul sacrificed his safety, his comfort, and his preferences to go to those who were in need.
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And Paul commands us in 1 Corinthians 11, verse one, "To be imitators of me as I am of Christ." What's he saying there?
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He's saying, if you want to be more like Jesus, follow my example and do what I do.
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So we should imitate Paul's heart for the lost.
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We should imitate his desire to go to those who are in need.
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Now you may be thinking, Taylor, that's really easy to say, but it's really hard to do.
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Paul lived 2,000 years ago.
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He didn't have a family like I do.
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How can I possibly do what he did?
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Well, I'm not saying you have to quit your job, sell your house, and move overseas to become a full-time missionary, even though God may be calling some of you to do that.
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What I am saying is that you need to get up and go in some way.
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This is gonna look different for all of us.
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Maybe this looks like you volunteer with a local outreach on a consistent basis.
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Maybe you have a heart for kids.
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You can volunteer at the Mars Home for Youth.
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You can sign up to tutor inner-city kids on the north side with Urban Impact.
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Your small group can sign up to provide meals for their kids' choir and build relationships with these kids who need Jesus.
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Speaking of food, you can volunteer at the Light of Life Rescue Mission to prepare and serve meals.
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It's really easy to sign up for a slot online.
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This would be perfect for you as an individual, for your family, and for your small group.
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Others of you have a passion for the unborn.
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One of our members, Alicia Thompson, works at Choices Pregnancy Services.
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If you want to get involved and plugged in, talk to her.
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She would love to help you.
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I could go on and on and on with dozens of other examples, but to make it a little bit easier for you to save some time, I put together a service opportunity packet that has over 14 different opportunities in our area for you to serve as an individual with your family or with your small group.
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And these packets are back by the AV booth on the table back there.
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This packet lists all these different organizations, what they do, and how you can get into contact with them.
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And there's so many other opportunities that aren't even on that list.
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And if you need help, please contact me.
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I would love to help you figure out how God is calling you to serve.
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Or maybe the Lord's calling you to go on a stateside or international mission trip.
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You can go with Vision Appalachia to West Virginia to build tiny homes, to put on kids programs, to organize food pantries.
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You can go with Russ Howes and James Murphy to India next summer or next year to preach the gospel in a place that is dominated by Hinduism and Islam.
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I don't know exactly how God is calling you to serve, but I do definitively know that he is calling you to serve.
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I do know that he is calling you to go and be witnesses to specific individuals in your life.
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Every single one of us in this room knows people who are dead in their sins and need to be brought to life by Jesus Christ.
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You may not be able to travel thousands of miles away right now, but you can travel a few steps outside of your door to engage your non-Christian neighbor.
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You may not have the ability to engage in a building project, but you can build up meaningful relationships at work and shine the light of Christ with your godly example.
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You may not be able to stand in front of a crowd and preach a message, but you have the calling and ability to share the gospel one-on-one with someone else.
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And you may be thinking, Taylor, I know I need to do that, but I don't know where to start.
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I don't know what to do.
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Well, I have the perfect next step for you.
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Our next Harvest Workshop is on November 4th, And Pastor Jeff and I will be training anyone in attendance how to effectively share your faith.
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We'll teach you what should be included in a gospel presentation and how you can effectively present that message to someone else.
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You can sign up for that in the back on your way out today.
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Because as Pastor Jeff told us last week, we are commanded to be witnesses for Christ.
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This is what is expected of us.
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The New Testament has no category for a Christian who has no desire to evangelize the lost and make disciples.
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This would be like saying that you're a barber or a hairstylist, but you've never once picked up a pair of scissors to cut someone's hair.
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Or saying that you're an avid skier, but you've never once gotten out of the lodge and actually got on the slopes.
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How can we claim to be followers of Christ but have no desire to get up and go to serve those in need.
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How can we claim to love Jesus when we don't point other people to the love of Jesus?
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Again, how this exactly will play out will look different for all of us, but we should have the same goal in mind, to glorify the Lord by being faithful to the mission that has been entrusted to us, by recruiting worshipers for a God who is infinitely worthy, by sacrificing our time to point lost and broken sinners to a Savior whose arms are open wide to embrace those who accept Him by faith.
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We can't control the results of our going, but we most certainly can control the action of our going.
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All right, getting on mission, what should I do if I care?
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Secondly, I should generously give to provide for those in need.
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I should generously give to provide for those in need.
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Let's return to talking about the financial gifts that Paul mentioned earlier.
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Check out verses 26 through 29.
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For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
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For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them.
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For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
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When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.
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I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessings of Jesus Christ.
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So at this time in history, there was a horrible famine all across Palestine.
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And there were Jewish believers who were persecuted for their faith.
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They were blackballed from work.
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They were thrown into prison.
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These Jewish Christians were struggling to feed their families and to even survive.
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So to provide for their needs, Paul turns to the Gentiles in other churches.
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He focuses on Macedonia and Achaia in this passage, but we know from other parts of the New Testament that churches in places such as Galatia, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth also contributed to this offering.
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But it's clear from the text that the believers in Macedonia and Achaia didn't roll their eyes and sigh when Paul made this plea.
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They weren't like my four-year-old when I tell him to share a toy with his sister.
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They actually wanted to do this.
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They weren't pulling crumpled ones out of their wallet or going under the couch cushions for spare change.
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It was a joyful no-brainer for them to provide for their needs.
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And the Macedonians weren't exactly rolling in fat stacks of cash.
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We're told that they were poor as well.
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Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8.
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In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part, for they gave according to their means.
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As I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.
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Begging earnestly to be a part of this.
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Despite their difficult circumstances, the Macedonians were beside themselves with excitement to help.
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It's like they viewed their giving as a gift they were getting.
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In Romans 15, 27, Paul explains even further why they were pleased to give.
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Indeed, they owe it to them, for the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings.
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They ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
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What is Paul talking about here?
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Why would the Gentile Christians owe anything special to the Jewish Christians?
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Because they deeply understood what Jesus said in John 4:22, salvation is from the Jews.
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Jesus himself was a Jew by birth, and he was the descendant of men, such as Abraham, Isaac, and David.
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He was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies.
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All the apostles, Peter, James, John, Paul, and the others were Jewish men.
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This message of salvation wouldn't have reached the Gentiles without these Jewish evangelists, preachers, and teachers.
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The Gentiles wouldn't be a part of the family of God without the Jews.
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Imagine it with me this way.
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Imagine on the way home today, you get in a really serious car accident.
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Out of nowhere, a good Samaritan comes and pulls you from your burning car to safety.
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You thank them profusely, you actually exchange information, and you learn you actually have some mutual friends in common.
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And several months later, you hear through the grapevine, through these mutual friends, that this guy who saved your life, "No fault of his own has lost his job.
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"And he's about to be put out on the street, "have his house foreclosed upon." Now when you hear that, would you think, ah, well, that's a shame, and just go about your day?
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No, you would call this guy and offer any help that you could because you were indebted to him for saving your life.
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It's the same with the relationship between the Jewish and Gentile Christians.
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According to Paul's logic, the Gentile Christians are indebted to the Jews for their invitation to the party of salvation.
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The very least they can do, since they're sharing in these spiritual blessings of God, is to offer their material blessings in return.
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And thankfully, the Macedonians and the Chaeans agree with this logic, and they were happy to give.
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Paul says twice, they were pleased to make this contribution.
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This really made me search my own heart this week and ask some really difficult yet important questions.
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Does this describe me?
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Is this true of me?
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Am I pleased to bless others financially?
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Am I pleased to give to my church and to those who are struggling?
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Or am I clinging too tightly to the things of this world?
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Am I giving the bare minimum to check it off the list so I can feel better about myself?
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Am I fooling myself into believing that the money in my bank account belongs to me instead of the one who gave it to me?
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And I want every single Christian in this room to struggle with those questions as well.
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Does it please you to sacrificially give?
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Does it please you to honor the Lord and help others with how you arrange your finances.
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I know some of you may be thinking at this point, oh great, another pastor talking about giving.
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What's next, he's gonna slap a big thermometer diagram on the wall, he's gonna blast up the heat even more until the offering's at a certain point.
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I'm not gonna do that.
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Because that's not what this text is after and that's not what God is after either.
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Paul speaks more to this Jerusalem gift in 2 Corinthians 9.
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Listen to what he has to say in verse seven.
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"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, "not reluctantly or under compulsion, "for God loves a cheerful giver." God wants your giving to be a joy and not a chore.
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Paul didn't guilt trip the Macedonians and the Chaons, I'm not interested in guilt tripping you either.
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I'm not the cashier at the pizza place who spins around the iPad to twist your arm and to give me a 20% tip when you didn't have your pizza delivered so that you wouldn't have to give a tip.
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I'm not the cashier at CVS who asks you to round up a dollar to give to the Boy Scouts of America and you feel terrible to say no.
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I'm a simple preacher with a simple message from God about how your finances should be stewarded.
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God doesn't need your money.
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Do you realize what God's net worth is?
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Everything.
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God doesn't need anything from you.
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He calls you to give for your sake.
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He calls you to give for the sake of others.
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He's calling you to partner with him in the greatest mission imaginable, which is pointing lost sinners to Jesus.
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Spreading the gospel to every tongue, tribe, and nation.
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As we learned earlier, this partnership includes going, but it also includes giving.
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This involves giving to your church on a consistent basis that the pastors and staff will be able to focus their undivided attention upon the work of the ministry that you can be equipped for ministry.
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Over 10% of the money that comes in at Harvest goes to fund missions.
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It goes to fund Thailand and Barnabas and those church networks that we support there.
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It goes to support LifeWise, which seeks to spread the truth of God's word in public schools such as Pine Richland.
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It goes to support Brie Schwartz with Athletes in Action who disciples college students.
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And there are a lot of other organizations that you can and should contribute to.
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But as we see in this text, the Jerusalem offering happened in the context of the church.
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The church should be your primary avenue of financial giving.
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The Lord invites you to invest in the greatest, most profitable and long-lasting entity in existence, His kingdom, His church.
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The church is plan A for evangelizing and making disciples and there is no plan B or C in sight.
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We're it.
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Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians chapter nine verses 11 through 12 to say, "You will be enriched in every way "to be generous in every way, "which through us will produce thanksgiving to God, "for the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but it's also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
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In other words, this gift to the Jerusalem believers didn't just meet their needs, but it glorified the one who ultimately met those needs.
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It led to the glory and honor of our great God.
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When you only invest in the things of this world, you will only reap temporal dividends that will not last beyond this life.
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When you invest in the things of God, you will reap eternal rewards and blessings that will never, ever be taken away from you.
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I mean, just think about it.
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You can invest in the preaching of the word.
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You can invest in the salvation of souls.
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You can invest in ministry that leads to the never-ending praise of our great God.
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This is a golden opportunity that we should jump on instead of be put off by.
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This is an amazing joy, privilege, and responsibility.
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But again, this is between you and God.
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I can honestly say that Pastor Jeff and I have no idea what any of you give or don't give.
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We're not tracking you as you go to the offering box.
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We're not peeking into your window to see if you're using the online giving tab at home, you have to decide in your own heart what you are willing to sacrifice.
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And I'm gonna say something you may never have heard in church before.
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If you do not want to give, go ahead and don't give.
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See how that works out for you.
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See how that shrinks your heart and turns you inward instead of outward.
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If you truly care about the lost, you will open up your wallet and your bank account to provide for those in need and to fund the work of the ministry.
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If you truly care about missions, you will joyfully spend and be spent for the advancement of God's kingdom.
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So getting on mission, what should I do if I care?
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Finally, I should passionately pray for fellow ministers of those in need.
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I should passionately pray for fellow ministers of those in need.
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So Paul closes out this section by asking the Roman Christians for prayer.
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Let's read what he says in verses 30 through 33.
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I appeal to you brothers by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to strive together with me your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
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May the God of peace be with you all.
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Even the Apostle Paul, the superstar of the early church, and the greatest Christian to ever walk the face needed prayer.
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He begs them by Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit to struggle with me in prayer.
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Strive with me.
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This Greek word for strive is agonizomai.
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What do you think that literally means?
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To agonize.
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He says agonize with me in prayer.
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struggle with me, fight on my behalf in prayer.
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Paul understood that ministry is a battle and prayer is one of the greatest weapons of the Christian soldier.
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As Paul heads out to Jerusalem, he brings three requests to the Roman believers.
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That he would be kept safe from the unbelieving Jews who hated his guts and wanted him dead.
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That his sacrificial offering that he's bringing to the Jewish Christians would be acceptable helpful to them, and that if it be God's will, he would reach Rome and be re-energized and refreshed by their fellowship.
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Paul knew that he couldn't do any of this in his own strength and his own power.
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Paul knew that God works through the prayers of his people.
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Prayer is powerful because we pray to a powerful God.
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And if you believe that, you will agonize in prayer on others' behalf.
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So let me ask you, do you agonize in prayer over the mission that has been entrusted to you?
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Do you fight and struggle on behalf of fellow Christians who are ministering to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of others?
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Are you praying for the missionaries that our church supports?
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Are you praying for Thailand?
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Are you praying for Barnabas and his network of pastors?
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Are you praying that we could give even more financially, that other churches in our area, when Barnabas comes, would feel that pull to give to him as well?
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I have a feeling like our prayers for that ministry will really skyrocket next week after hearing him bring the word.
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Are you praying for your pastors and elders?
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Are you praying for Pastor Jeff, myself, Dan Thompson, Rich Sprunk, and now Justin Cady, that we would faithfully love you and lead you well.
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Are you praying that God would gift us with wisdom, strength, and discernment?
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I can honestly say that none of us take this responsibility lightly, and we need your prayers.
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I don't feel bad asking you for prayer because the Apostle Paul asked for prayer, and if he needed it, I most certainly do.
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Nothing encourages me more than one of you pulling me aside after service or calling me throughout the week to tell me, I've been praying for you.
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You have no idea how much that blesses and sustains me.
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I probably wouldn't be in ministry anymore apart from the prayers of a long list of faithful saints.
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Are you praying for our church staff?
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Are you praying for our ministry leaders?
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Are you praying that as they continually pour themselves out week after week after week, that they would be continually replenished by the Holy Spirit.
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Are you praying for the other believers in this room?
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Are you praying that this church would be a sending base for compassionate and faithful witnesses for Christ?
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Are you struggling for other believers in prayer consistently?
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Or are you just focusing on yourself?
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When you get home, I encourage you to make a list in all the Christian servants and ministry endeavors that you need to be praying for on a regular basis.
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This list can include people that you know and love as well as people that you've never even met before.
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Keep this list in your Bible and pray for these individuals every single day this week.
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I guarantee you that your prayer life will receive a strong shot in the arm if you commit yourself to this habit.
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This call to prayer in Romans 15 is so encouraging because we know that God answered all these requests with a yes.
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We know that Paul made it to Jerusalem with a financial offering, that they were pleased by his arrival.
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God protected Paul from death in Jerusalem even though he was beaten and imprisoned.
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We know from the book of Acts that Paul made it to Rome even though it took a long journey by ship and a shipwreck to get there, and when he got there, he was placed under house arrest.
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Ministry probably didn't work out the way Paul was hoping and expecting, but it worked out the exact way his God intended.
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In verse 32, Paul prays according to the will of God.
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His eyes were continually fixed upon that.
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Paul prayed expectantly because he knew that God can make the impossible possible.
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He knew that God can make a way in the face of dead ends and roadblocks.
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But he also prayed submissively, knowing that God's plans were far greater than his own, that the accomplishment of the will of his heavenly Lord and Master must be his supreme focus and desire, and that must be our supreme focus and desire.
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The will of the Lord.
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Let's fix our eyes on that as we pray for his work, as we pray for his people.
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So at the end of this message, you may feel overwhelmed by all that you've been called to do if you care about missions.
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You may be thinking, Taylor, I know I need to do all this, but I'm just stretched so thin.
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I don't think it's possible.
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How can I do this?
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Let me encourage you with the same words of blessing that Paul gave to the Roman church at the end of this passage.
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May the God of peace be with you all, amen.
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Never forget that you are never alone.
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God hasn't left you stranded and defenseless behind enemy lines to carry out this mission by yourself.
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Not only do you have brothers and sisters in Christ around you, but you have a heavenly Father who will never leave you or forsake you.
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Paul describes him as the God of peace.
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Listen, you don't have to worry about what's gonna happen if you choose to get up and go for the gospel.
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You don't need to live in fear over what people will say and do.
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You don't need to stress out about the results of your going, your giving, and your praying.
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All you must do is take a simple step of faith today and trust that the God of peace will direct every single step of obedience after that.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we come to you and we thank you for this awesome mission that you have gifted to us.
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Lord, we so often view it as a burden.
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We so often view it as a list of chores that we have to complete before we can do what we really want to do.
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Lord, I pray that we would realize that this mission is why we're here.
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This mission is what gives us life, it's what gives us joy, that we are here for a reason.
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So many people in this world have no reason for living, they have no reason for being.
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We have the supreme reason to glorify you by making disciples, Lord.
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I pray that we would get motivated, we would get moving.
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we would faithfully serve this community, that we'd faithfully give to fund the work of the ministry, and that we'd be in prayer for one another and for other faithful servants of Christ.
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Or may our church be known as a body that cares about missions and does something about it.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Romans 15:22-33
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
How is the Lord calling you to get up and go right now?
How can we serve together as a small group?
What are the next steps to make this happen?What holds people back from generously giving to the church, charitable organizations, and those in need?
Read 2 Corinthians 9:7 - What does it look like to be a cheerful giver?
Does this describe you?Who in particular is the Lord calling you to “strive together with in prayer” on a regular basis? E.g. a missionary, a pastor, a ministry leader, a fellow believer at work or at church.
Breakout
Pray for one another, for the leaders of our church, the members of our church, and the missionaries that we support.
Pray that we would seek to be a church that goes, gives, and prays.