Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 15 as we continue our study through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We are currently in the closing section of this letter with Paul’s conclusion in Romans 15:14-33, Paul’s greetings in Romans 16:1-24 and Paul’s closing benediction or blessing in Romans 16:25-27. We have spent the last 1½-year’s in this letter, some 74 studies so far and as we come to the end it is a little sad, maybe not for you, but for me.
It is like coming to the end of a vacation or the end of a great book you are reading or maybe the end of the Christmas season. Paul has given to us the spectrum you might say of the Christian life, where we were and where we are at now and what a journey it has been.
We have seen Paul speak of CONDEMNATION, showing us that the whole world is guilty before God and he did this by looking at the unrighteous heathen who are condemned by creation in Romans 1:18-32. He then moved on to the self-righteous moralist who is condemned by his conscience in Romans 2:1-16. From there he shows how the super religious person is condemned before God by the commandments of God in Romans 2:17-29. And finally, he shows us how all are guilty before God in Romans 3:1-20.
Now if Paul ended this letter there it would truly be a tragic letter. But Paul doesn’t end this letter with the whole world condemned before God. You see, in Romans 3:21 through Romans 5:21 he speaks of JUSTIFICATION or how the righteousness of God has been revealed to us from Heaven apart from the works of the Law. And what an important section for now we can be cleansed from our sins; we can have our records wiped clean by the blood of Christ! But Paul does not end here with justification!
In Romans chapter 6 through Romans chapter 8 Paul deals with the subject of SANCTIFICATION or how God, by His Spirit is working on us down here so that we can fit in up there. He is working in our lives so that we may be separated from this world and He gives to us the power to live a life that is pleasing to God as we surrender our life to the Holy Spirit!
Then, in Romans chapter 9 through Romans chapter 11 Paul deals with another tough subject, ELECTION or that God has chosen us and yet we have a free will to chose Him and he does this by showing us the Jewish people and how God is not done with them yet!
And in Romans chapter 12 through Romans chapter 15, verse 13, a section we have just finished up, Paul is speaking of a tough subject, and that is the subject of APPLICATION! In other words, Paul lays it all out and is saying that now that you have the truths of God, now that you know what God has for you and what He desires of you, you need to walk according to the high calling by which you have been called. You need to apply these truths to your life and thus, it is where the rubber meets the road you might say!
And now, after all that, Paul is closing this great letter that he wrote to the church in Rome. And as he does he shows his concern for his brethren in Rome and that was Paul, as we will see as we conclude over the next several weeks this letter. Paul had a great love for the brethren in Rome and thus, he concludes with a heart of concern and love for them! With that said, let’s begin reading in Romans chapter 15, starting in verse 14 and see what the Lord has for us this morning as we continue reading through this powerful letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome.
In these verses here we see Paul speak about his ministry and he gives to us a defense for his ministry. Why would Paul need to do that? Keep in mind that Paul did not establish this church in Rome, in fact, up to this point he has not been to Rome to visit these believers. And yes, he did know some as these brethren visited other areas that Paul had ministered the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but for the most, this letter is all they knew of Paul and because of his boldness in what he had to say, he wants them to understand that they are his friends and thus, he is writing to them as friends in Christ. So with that said, let’s break these verses down as we see Paul, with his concluding remarks in this letter and specifically, Paul’s purpose for writing this letter as he shares about his ministry.
Paul starts out here saying that he knows that the Christians in Rome understand these things, that was not the issue. The problem comes because we forget about these things and thus, Paul says that he has written these things, this letter, “as reminding you.” Peter did the same thing in II Peter 1:12-15 as he wrote, “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you. knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”
And The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “So I intend always to remind you about these things, although indeed you know them and are firm in the truth that [you] now [hold]. I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance. Since I know that the laying aside of this body of mine will come speedily, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. Moreover, I will diligently endeavor [to see to it] that [even] after my departure (decease) you may be able at all times to call these things to mind.”
And lastly, in The Living Bible we are told, “I plan to keep on reminding you of these things even though you already know them and are really getting along quite well! But the Lord Jesus Christ has showed me that my days here on earth are numbered, and I am soon to die. As long as I am still here I intend to keep sending these reminders to you. hoping to impress them so clearly upon you that you will remember them long after I have gone.”
I don’t know about you, but I often have problems remembering things that I want to remember, like the Scriptures and yet, when it comes to things I don’t really need to remember or want to remember, I can’t get it out of my mind! After some 30 years or more I can hear a song and all of a sudden I start singing it and I remember the words like I just heard them yesterday! How amazing is that and why is that? I remember many years ago I had a pastor friend, he was an elder at the church we attended at that time, and one of his friends had died and he went to the service and at this church the leaders would sit on the stage in these big chairs, so he was up there with the other leaders. And at one point they were to run up and down the church aisles, during this service for his friend and shout out Scriptures. Now my friend is not like that but he went along with what they were doing and he was telling me that out of all the Scriptures he knew, all he could think of was John 3:16 and that is what he shouted. Thus, as he was running up and down he was saying, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Not a bad verse to shout but again, he could not think of another verse to speak forth, not one!
The Scriptures do tell us that Satan loves to accuse us day and night about our failures, or fallings and that can mess with our mind, (Revelation 12:10). He also loves to snatch Scriptures from our minds and thus, he tries to do that, (Matthew 13:19). Thus, we must be continually in the Word of God, we must read it, study it, meditate upon it so that we know what God’s Word has to say to us. As that saying goes, it is not how much you know, but how well you know what you know.
And here in verse 14 of Romans chapter 15 Paul reminds them of three things they were doing but wants to remind them to continue on, don’t forget these things. The first thing that the church in Rome was doing well is that they were “full of goodness.” Paul is speaking of a high moral character. They hated evil and loved righteousness and their lives reflected this.
Not only that, but they were “filled with knowledge.” Paul is saying that the believers in Rome were doctrinally sound, and what a statement that is. We see a problem with Christians today receiving sound doctrine, healthy doctrine and thus, it affects the way they live out their Christian faith. You see, truth and virtue are inseparable and yet, since many are lacking this truth today, we see virtue or good values lacking. You will never act like a Christian unless you think properly and you will not think properly unless you have sound doctrine, healthy doctrine in your life. Let me explain.
Pollster
George Gallup has described America as richly religious but ethically
impoverished nation. In an interview with Reformed Theological
Seminary Journal he said:
Religious
belief is remarkably high—certainly, the highest of any developed
nation in the world. At the same time, American religious life
is characterized by a series of gaps. First, an “ethics gap”
exists between Americans’ expressed beliefs and the state
of the society they shape. While religion is highly popular in
America, it is to a large extent superficial; it does not change
peoples’ lives to the degree one would expect from their
level of professed faith. In ethical behavior, there is very little
difference between the churched and the unchurched.
- “George Gallup Looks at Religion in America,” an interview in Ministry, Reformed Theological Seminary Journal, Summer 1992, p. 10
This is a problem for us because it is a lack or gap between faith and knowledge. The solution is simple and yet how often do we negate the solution and run to the latest and greatest self-help books for the Christian life? Instead of running there, may we run to the Bible, the Word of God and then not only read these things, but apply them to our lives. Let that knowledge we have be seen in how we live out our lives.
And the last thing that Paul mentions is that we are able “to admonish one another.” Folk’s, like it or not, every believer is responsible to encourage and strengthen other believers with God’s Word and we are equipped to do so! Remember what Paul told Timothy in II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So we are equipped to admonish one another and we are equipped not because we have some kind of counseling degree, but because we have the Word of God. Far too often people say that they are not qualified to help other Christians out, listen to their problems and thus, they must go to the professionals! How sad that is and it is wrong. We may not have a counseling degree as I have said, but we have God’s Word and He is the great counselor, the great physician and if we minister God’s Word it will help them wherever they are at, whatever they are going through!
Also, Paul uses the word, “able” or “competent” to admonish one another and it is the Greek word, DUNAMAI, (doo’-nam-ahee) and is based on the word DUNAMIS or that dynamic power that is used of the Holy Spirit working in us and thus, Paul is saying that this dynamic, this dynamite power is there so we can also admonish one another in the faith, encourage each other in the faith.
James Montgomery Boice says this regarding what Paul has just said. He wrote,
Do we love the Lord enough to talk about him naturally and often? Do we love others enough to bring spiritual truths into daily conversation? Do we care for Christians enough to point them in the right direction when we see that they are deviating from or falling short of it?
And do we sometimes talk about difficult things, though kindly? Once Donald Grey Barnhouse was sent an appraisal of a man who was under care of the church’s session as a candidate for the ministry. It had been prepared by a mature Christian under whom the candidate had worked and was, as Barnhouse said, “a dissection of his spiritual anatomy.” Barnhouse met with the candidate and started to review the appraisal with him. He had hardly gotten beyond the first paragraph of the four-page document before the young man reacted strongly. Barnhouse told him to jot down his disagreements while the letter was being read and they would discuss them, which they did. It was easy to see that he was deeply agitated and wounded.
When Barnhouse finished, the man demanded, “Do you agree with this?”
Barnhouse did not reply to that question, but he said, “I do not know when I have ever read a paper that more clearly reveals a heart of love in the man who prepared it. If I were to write a title, I would call it, ‘How to Salvage John Jones for the Lord Jesus Christ.’”
- James Montgomery Boice, Romans Volume 4, p. 1851
Here’s the thing. In Proverbs 27:17 we are told, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” It is so important to have people in your life that will keep you in line, that will sharpen your mind through conversation, and yes, there may be even sparks at times, but the end result, if received, is you will keep yourself sharp instead of being dull. That does not mean we go around playing the Holy Spirit and exposing everyone’s faults, at least the ones we think they have. The idea here is that we sharpen each other and thus, if done correctly, it will produce positive results in each of our lives!
The Christians in Rome knew these things but Paul is writing to remind them to be full of goodness, to be filled with knowledge, to admonish each other in the faith. He was reminding them to do what was right! Let’s face it, how often does God need to remind us of things! And truly, when you think about it, after teaching you the Word of God for the past 15 years, I am, for the most part, reminding you of things that you already know. Just as Paul was reminding the believers in Rome, even though they were spiritually strong, they needed to be reminded of the truths they already knew because they could forget them or neglect them and so can we!
We see this theme often in the Scriptures, that of reminding and remembering. We are told in I Timothy 4:6, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.” Paul is saying to Timothy and to us, that we need to give to others those things which God has given to us, things that we are following, to remind them of the things that they have.
Also, in II Timothy 2:8-15 we are told, “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Do you see what Paul is telling Timothy here? He is to “REMEMBER” and “REMIND” them of what they already know!
And lastly, in Titus 3:1-3 we are told, “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” Again, they knew these things and yet Paul is reminding Titus to instruct them on these things once again!
And thus, for Paul, he was going to keep reminding them of the things he already shared with them. Folks, when you really think about it, it is not what you know but how well you know what you know – are you applying it to your life because God has touched you and you desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him?
Now some may argue, “Who gave Paul the right to speak so boldly about these things?” Well, Paul first of all says that it is the grace of God and because of this grace that has been given to him he can be a “minister of Jesus Christ.” And Paul is specifically speaking of Gentile converts and they are an acceptable sacrifice unto God. That not only goes for Paul, but all of us, as we share our faith and someone comes to know the Lord, it is a sacrifice unto God, sweet-smelling. Of this G. Campbell Morgan said: “What a radiant light this sheds on all our evangelistic and pastoral effort! Every soul won by the preaching of the gospel is not only brought into a place of safety and of blessing; he is an offering to God, a gift which gives Him satisfaction, the very offering He is seeking. Every soul carefully and patiently instructed in the things of Christ, and so made conformable to His likeness, is a soul in whom the Father takes pleasure. Thus we labor, not only for the saving of men, but for the satisfying of the heart of God. This is the most powerful motive.”
Now the Scriptures are clear that Jesus is now our High Priest and there is no longer a human earthly institution of priesthood under the Old Covenant. Paul reminds us in Hebrews, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. . . . Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 2:17, 3:1. And in I Timothy 2:5 notice what we are told, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
You see, in the Old Covenant it was the priests who brought people to God, they were the mediator in a sense. But now Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection has enabled us to come before the throne of God. He is the mediator between God and man or that bridge-builder!
What is interesting here in Romans 15:16 is that Paul says that he is a “minister” and he uses the Greek word, LEITOURGOS, (li-toorg-os’) and it is a general term used of public officials. But in the New Testament, the word is most often used of those who serve God in some form of public worship. For instance, in Luke 1:23 it is translated “priestly service” and here it is speaking of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
Now, if Jesus is our High Priest and we no longer need a mediator, what is Paul’s point here? Very simply, it is as Peter tells us in I Peter 2:4-5, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” You see, we don’t have to go through a human mediator to reach God but we go through Jesus Christ! And we engage in this priestly role by bringing others into God’s presence as we share the Gospel with them. Thus, on the basis of this God-appointed office, which came to him through the grace of God, he is exercising that office in writing as he does to the Romans here. He is ministering to them.
And let me also say this. In the ministry of the Word of God we see the involvement of the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit! First of all Paul was the minister of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Also, he preached the Gospel of God, which speaks of God the Father. And lastly, he served in the power of the Holy Spirit, who sanctified this ministry. Folks, we are servants of the Triune God, one God manifested in three distinct persons and thus, what a privilege and what a responsibility it is. Thus, as we serve the Lord, as we serve the Triune God, our priestly ministry is to bring people to Jesus, let them see Jesus and our service must be with devotion and dedication just as the priests in the temple! It is an offering to God!
Does God’s Word change lives? You bet it does. Listen to this from James Montgomery Boice in his commentary on Romans. He wrote:
We
are concerned about social renewal and reform today and rightly
so, because we live in a declining culture and want to see the
lordship of Jesus acknowledged and justice and righteousness prevail.
We want to see the poor relieved of suffering. We want to see
broken relationships healed. What is needed is not more government
programs or increased emphasis on social work, but first and above
all the teaching and practice of the Word of God.
This is proved by what happened in Geneva, Switzerland, in the sixteenth century through the ministry of John Calvin. The city was a moral disgrace. It was notorious for its riots, gambling, indecent dancing, drunkenness, adultery, and other vices. People would run around the streets naked, singing bawdy songs and blaspheming God. The governing council of the city was distressed and passed laws designed to restrain vice and remedy the situation, but nothing worked. Public morals continued to decline.
Calvin came to Geneva in August 1536, was dismissed two and a half years later, and was recalled in 1541. He had no money, no influence, and no weapon but the Word of God. But he preached from the Bible every day, and as he did, under the power of his preaching, the city began to change. As the Genevan people acquired knowledge of God’s Word and allowed it to influence their behavior, their city became a model city from which the gospel spread to the rest of Europe, Great Britain, and the New World. Geneva was cleaned up physically. Beggars were removed from the streets, but a hospital and poorhouse were provided for them, and they were well run. Education was offered for all classes of people, poor as well as rich, and new industries flourished. There has probably never been a better example of extensive moral and social reform than the transformation of Geneva under John Calvin, and it was accomplished almost entirely by the preaching of God’s Word.
The reason, of course, is that the Bible truly is the Word of God and thus carries with it the power and compelling authority of God himself. And that is why Paul made it his business to proclaim the gospel, and why we should too. What God does today he does by his Word. Therefore, it is our priestly duty to proclaim it to a needy world.
- James Montgomery Boice, Romans Volume 4, p. 1859
Before his readers can come to the wrong conclusion and think that Paul is boasting in what he has done, he gives all the credit and glory to God who accomplished all these things through him. What a great lesson for us, that no matter what great things we may accomplish, it is God who has done these things, enabled us to do the things we could never do on our own! A humble servant of God does not engage in unseemly boasting, but rather he is conscious of the fact that God is using him to accomplish His purposes and thus, He gets the glory and not man!
You
see, we become prideful when we lose the realization that we are
nothing apart from Him, that we can’t do anything on our
own. Once we lose sight of that, pride begins to grow and we think,
“It is a good thing the Lord has me on His side or this would
never get done!” I know, it sounds crazy, but that is pride
and it is not pretty and that is why God hates it and He will
deal with it in our lives if we allow it to rear its ugly head!
What was the focus of Paul’s ministry? Today you might get some strange answers from sending letters out to the community to see what kind of church people want, to social activities, to feel good messages, to self-help promotions, but not Paul, his focus was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel message!
There is a story of a little girl who went to church with her dad and behind the pastor was a cross with Jesus on it. As this man stood at the podium, he was a big man, he completely blocked out Jesus, this little girl could not see Him as he stood up there. One Sunday one of his assistants filled in and he was a lot smaller. During the service that week the little girl turned to her dad and said, “Daddy, where is the man who blocks out Jesus?” Folks, keep the main thing the main thing, keep focused on Jesus and don’t distract people with other things, covering up Jesus!
Paul’s passion was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Listen to what Paul tells us in I Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” And listen to how The Living Bible puts this verse, “For just preaching the Gospel isn’t any special credit to me-I couldn’t keep from preaching it if I wanted to. I would be utterly miserable. Woe unto me if I don’t.”
You see, it is the Gospel message that is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe and that is what we must bring to people. And the bottom line is this. The people that God uses to accomplish His will are just His instruments and thus, we don’t get the glory, we don’t get the credit for God is the one doing it! Think about that for a minute. Would a paintbrush take credit for some masterpiece that was used to paint it? Of course not, that would be foolish! Thus, neither should we as Christians take credit for what God is doing in us and through us!
And Paul speaks of signs and wonders in the power of God’s Spirit that God’s Word has gone forth, the Gospel message has spread. Signs pointed people in a direction, a direction towards God and wonders brought people to the place where they wondered about God, it aroused them to God. But that did not save them. The purpose of signs and wonders was to open the door so that the Gospel message may be preached. Miracles were given to authenticate the messenger and the message. Remember the story in Acts chapter 14; the man that was crippled in Lystra and Paul healed him. The immediate response was pagan. The people called Paul and Barnabas gods and tried to worship them! That opened the door for Paul to preach the Gospel, which he did but they did not receive it so enthusiastically. It was so bad that they stoned Paul and left him for dead outside the city walls! But the point is that the miracle here opened the door for the Gospel to be preached.
Remember what Paul said in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Notice it does not say by miracles, by signs or wonders, but faith comes by hearing the Word of God! Also, Peter tells us in I Peter 1:22-25, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” Again, we are saved as we hear and receive the Gospel message into our lives for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes!
Now the book of Acts doesn’t tell us when Paul went to Illyricum, also known as Dalmatia in the Scriptures, but it corresponds to the former Eastern European country of Yugoslavia and he probably went there during one of his stays in Macedonia. Also, keep in mind they didn’t travel by plane or cars or trains, obviously, but went by foot usually and from Jerusalem to Illyricum is some 1400 miles! Not bad when you think about it. Today it is hard for people to drive 30 miles to church in a car and many times it is difficult for them to go from the north side to the south side of town to get to church and it is only a few miles!
Paul was not interested in building upon another’s work or foundation but to go and spread forth the Gospel message where people have not heard it yet. To justify his actions he quotes out of Isaiah 52:15 showing his obedience to the Scriptures in speaking the Gospel message in new areas.
Now let me say this regarding Paul quoting out of the Old Testament. According to James Montgomery Boice,
Leon Morris points out that this is the last of sixty-four quotations from the Old Testament in Romans, according to the list given in the United Bible Society’s Greek New Testament. It is hard to number Paul’s quotations accurately, because he sometimes quotes exactly, at other times freely, and at other times only by a passing allusion to a text. The boundary line between a free quotation and the expression of one’s thoughts in scriptural language is not easy to pin down. Still, as Morris states, “No one will question the fact that Romans is exceedingly rich in quotations from Scripture.” Going by the UBS list, Romans has more quotations than any other New Testament book. The next is Matthew, which is much longer and has only 61. (Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, and Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988], p. 515, footnote 108).
- James Montgomery Boice, Romans Volume 4, p. 1865 footnote
Paul used the Scriptures to show his point and thus, as we are sharing our faith, we too need to be familiar with both the Old Testament and the New Testament Scriptures. It is that important.
God has a special plan for each of us and we too are not to build upon another man’s foundation. Now some may argue that is what we have done here at Calvary Chapel of Manitowoc, we came here when there were other churches in the area already and a lot of them. That is true but I truly felt that when I came up here there was something different about us and many outside the church already knew that. For some reason they thought we were a cult with shaved heads and orange robes! But seriously, I don’t know how many churches in town teach verse by verse through the Bible. We have covered the entire Bible, from Genesis through Revelation verse by verse in some 14 years and we are on our way through it again. That makes us different and thus, I don’t see our church building upon another’s foundation. In fact, I think it is sad that all the churches in town don’t teach through the Word of God. And not only that, but we are a little different in the way we dress, we are casual even though we are serious about God’s Word and how we apply it to our lives. Our worship is different than other churches. And thus, people that may not be comfortable in other churches are comfortable here and vice versa.
And let me also say this. It is not wrong to enter into another man’s labors but it is also good to have a pioneer ministry and take the Gospel to new territory. And thus, we see Paul cite Isaiah 52:15 as the divine approval for this kind of ministry!
As we close this morning, keep in mind that Paul is making his concluding remarks and next time in Romans 15:22-33 we will look at Paul’s travel plans or his future plans for service. And as we have seen, Paul’s purpose for writing was to build them up in the faith, to let them see the Gospel message, the truths of God, the doctrines of God, the application of those doctrines to their lives, to remind them of the things that they have already learned, that they already knew! Let me leave you with this to think about as I close. We are told:
So popular and effective was Campbell Morgan’s ministry that he was given all kinds of offers from many different places and people. John Wanamaker, the great merchant of Philadelphia, offered to build Morgan a million dollar church if he would become its pastor. Morgan turned him down, something the wealthy Wanamaker was not accustomed to in his dealings with people. “I am God’s man,” said Morgan. “If I did that I would become John Wanamaker’s man.”
- W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 210
Who are you serving, man or God? You see, you can’t serve man effectively unless you are serving God first. That is just the way it is and when you are serving God, then the message you bring to people, empowered by the Holy Spirit will transform lives. That is what Paul believed, that is what he lived and that is what we see in his life. What about you?