SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: November 2, 2012
Date Preached: November 4, 2012
Church: Oak Park BC (AM)
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series: A Series In Romans
Title: Harmony is Godly
Text: Romans 15:5-9a [NLT]
ETS: Paul let the believers in Rome know who empowered their actions and then the reasons for those actions.
ESS: Paul’s letter to the Romans let’s believers today know who empowers us and the reason for our actions.
Introduction:
Last week we saw how Paul fleshed out how believer are called to stand with each other and NOT to judge or condemn each other!
Paul even goes on to say that this is one of Christ’s main objectives in His coming… to bring a peace that we cannot achieve on our own… a peace that will allow us to live and serve WITH one another!
This is a peace that will allow us to live a life that the world will stand up and take notice of because of our love for one another and our REFUSAL to judge and condemn each other OR the world!
This morning we are going to look at the some key verses from Romans 15 that reinforce what Paul started in ch14…
This morning we are going to look at v5-9 and see how that living in harmony with each other is not something God just hopes for… it is what God has commanded!
In ch15 v.1-4 Paul reaffirms what he had taught in ch14 and says that the strong in the faith must be considerate and sensitive to those who are weaker in the faith… and that we cannot seek to please ourselves.
Paul points out in v3 that Christ did not seek to please himself and in v4 he tells us that the Scriptures teaches us this principle as well, and then Paul commences to lay out teaching on how to achieve what he has taught.
So, this morning we will be reading ch15:5-9 out of the NLT and it will be on the screen as well…
[FOLLOW ME AS I READ 15:5-9a]
5May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore, ACCEPT [here’s that word again…remember last week what we learned about accepting one another…] accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them…”
Now as we look at this section of Paul’s teaching I want us to see how he breaks it down into small bites where the church in Rome can take it in and begin to put it into application within their lives…
Now, I want us to go back to v5 and take a look at the first thing Paul addresses pertaining to US as believers ACCEPTING one another… Paul mentions here that this is possible because it is God’s Provision…
[SHOW v5 here]
5May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
God’s Provision So We Can Act – v5
To fully understand what Paul is saying here we need to remember what he wrote in ch14… do you remember? He told the believers in Rome that they were to get along by respecting one another, and NOT judging or condemning each other…
So what is here in ch15 is the logical continuation of that teaching… IF those believers were to get along, and not judge or condemn each other it was going to take great PATIENCE on their part…RIGHT?
And Paul also understood that because we are all human and we all fail on a constant basis that there would be some discouragement among the believers because things would not go as they should…
Paul knew that these believers were going to need BOTH patience AND encouragement to accept the believers who did NOT agree with them or did not see things the way they saw them…
Paul also knew that this kind of patience and encouragement was something that believers coujld not do on their own…
Paul knew they would become quickly DIScouraged quick… they would quickly LOSE patience… if they had to rely on their own power! SO…
Paul writes here that to ACCEPT one another and not be judgmental and to be able to NOT condemn one another that their help would have to come from God! So he wrote… “May God, who gives you this patience and encouragement help you…”
Paul understood that what was required and for believers to NOT be judgmental OR condemning of each other was something NOT natural…
You see our ‘natural’ state is sinful and selfish… Our natural self has NO patience with those who disagree with us… so we ‘naturally’ judge and condemn that which don’t agree with…
SO… Paul tells us that God grants believers with the patience and encouragement to ENABLE them to live as He has called them to live! Because of Christ we CAN live as He wants us to live…and that is in ‘complete harmony’ with each other!
Let’s not overlook the last phrase of v5 where Paul says, ‘…as is fitting for followers of Jesus Christ…’ Here Paul is speaking about our public witness… our public persona to the world!
How many times have you invited people to church and have them tell you that they don’t want to come because the church is filled with hypocrites and all they do is fight… I have heard it many times as a pastor!
The truth is one of the BIGGEST reasons for people NOT coming to church is that they don’t see any difference between the church and the world… so what’s the point… what’s the use?
Here Paul is saying that when we ACCEPT each other in the love of Christ as we should… this is not only what Christ wants BUT this is a great witness to the world around us! When they see that we LOVE each other in spite of all differences… this draws them!
We are called by Christ to ACCEPT our brothers in Christ and God is going to provide His followers with the patience and encouragement to allow us to ACCEPT our brothers and sisters in Christ, even when we don’t see eye to eye on things…
So we find Paul letting us know that God is going to provide believers with His provision of encouragement and patience so that we can live as He would have us to live. Then in v6 Paul reveals to us what that type of life is supposed to look like![SHOW highlighted v6 here]
Our Actions Based On God’s Provision – v6
6Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul says, ‘…then ALL OF YOU…’ which the term ‘all’ here is the Greek word phreh-neh-oh which means to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek or to strive for something…
Paul’s implication here is that ALL of us are to be on the same page, with the same goals, with the same desire to please and serve God. We must be on the same side!
The basic implication here is a focus on the collective and the FELLOWSHIP and how important it is… the LONE believer out on his or her own can be faithful and can serve… but we were created to do this as body of believers!
Let me give you a clue of what I mean… When Jesus asked the disciples who did they think He was, Peter gave his answer that Jesus was the Son of God… the Messiah.
Jesus affirmed Peter’s answer and then Jesus made a statement that we often quote, but in practice we often lose sight of…
[SHOW Matt 16:18-NLT here]
In Matt 16:18 [NLT] Jesus said, “…I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Jesus was clear here that Peter was going to be instrumental in the building of the church… but it is the CHURCH that Hell will not conquer! Jesus says that He would build a church… NO WHERE did Jesus say, “Hey Peter, you are the man and I am going to count on you alone for spreading the Gospel!”
Jesus instituted the church as a collective of believers… a collective of believers that gather in local fellowships to do the work of Christ!
[SHOW highlighted v6 here]
So Paul’s ‘…all of you…’ comment focuses on a collective fellowship and NOT the accomplishments of individuals! We are a body called to get along with one another so that the world will see how AWESOME our God is…
[SHOW highlighted v6 here]
Then Paul describes what this body is called to do… he says, ‘…join together with one voice…’ What is a better indicator of unity and solidarity among people than they speak as if they are speaking with ONE voice?
Paul calls them to know each other, accept each other and offer a united front to the world around them… Let the world know that our goal is the salvation of their soul… our goal is UNIFIED!
Paul says here that we should ‘…join together…’ this is translated in other bibles as ‘…in one accord…’ and it is the Greek word Ho-moth-u-madon
Now this is a very unique Greek word! Of its 12 uses in the NT, 10 of them occur in the Book of Acts, but Paul uses it here to help us to understand the uniqueness of the Christian community.
Ho-moth-u-madon is actually a compound word that consists of two words meaning to "rush along" and "in unison".
But the image being portray is almost like when we go to see a musical… There is a cast, and they are in sync in singing the notes of the songs, but also they are in sync with their own movements AND the movements of those around them!
The notes of each individual are different in harmony and in pitch and tone...but they work together for a common sound!
Now when we take this concept and apply it to the spiritual realm, specifically the local fellowship of believers…
We can see that as we are directed by the Holy Spirit, we become like the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a great concert master! The Holy Spirit blends our lives together as different, but unified members of God’s church.
So Paul established the focus of this teaching here in that it is directed to ALL OF YOU… this teaching is for all within the fellowship. Meaning that ALL of us must be willing to ACT upon this teaching…
[SHOW highlighted v6 here]
The 1st action on our part is ‘…join together…’ and the next action is for us to be of ‘…one voice…’ these are 2 actions that will take OUR own initiative…God is not going to force our hand! We must be willing to act!
But there is one more aspect about joining together in one voice that I want to point out… the word used here for ‘voice’ is the Greek word ‘stoma’ which basically means mouth and refers to the human mouth… BUT
In this context it carries with it a military implication… our ‘voice’ which comes thru our mouth, is based on the Word of God… Our message that we VOICE in unity is the MESSAGE of God!
When we’re unified & accepting of one another, the message we bring to the world also carries a military application in that we march against the powers of darkness with the message we carry…
So when we bond together in love and acceptance it carries great force and we can BE a great force in the world FOR CHRIST!
When we do this… when we accept one another and join together in one voice to be a force for Christ in this world… this brings honor and glory to God! This is very pleasing TO Christ and reflects our praise of Him!
So Paul says in v7 to ACCEPT one another as he had taught in ch14… but Paul gives one more reason why… and we see this reason WHY in v.7-9:
The Reason for our Actions – v.7-9
[show v.7-9… follow me as I read]
[in this verse there is that word again - ACCEPT… remember last week what we learned about accepting one another…]
7Therefore, ACCEPT each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them…”
So what Paul is telling us is that we are called to accept one another, but we don’t ‘accept’ one another for ourselves, but we do it to the glory of God!
Paul then gives the example of Jesus as He accepted us as believers, even though we were ENEMIES of God, Christ came to bring salvation to all of us and He accepts us when we come to Him!
But even Jesus did NOT do this for His own satisfaction BUT He did it to bring glory to God, AND as we must see Christ as the example for us as well.
Our acceptance of each other is for the glory of God… and when God is glorified and lifted up, all men will be drawn to Him!
A few weeks ago our choir sang a song entitled, “The reason for my worship is YOU!” The song epitomizes the life of the believer in that ALL of our actions are to be wrapped up in glorifying God thru our lives!
Today you have heard how Paul shared with the Roman church and also with US today…
God calls us to act and he equips us for that action…
The actions that are essential for believers are unity within the fellowship and a willingness to be obedient to Christ’s calling…
Finally the reason we do ANYTHING for God is not for our own glory, it is not for our church’s glory, it is NOT for any glory toward us… but the reason for our obedience and action is to glorify God!
So the question for you this morning is how can I put this into play in my life? Well I can see areas where we can apply this teaching to our lives in a very practical way!
We cannot do things on our own, we are powerless outside of God’s strength in our lives! That strength comes only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! BUT we still must learn to lean on God in every area of our lives! But preacher HOW can I do that?
First, you have to get closer to God so that you can hear Him when He speaks to your heart! To do that it…
…means DAILY Bible reading. Taking God’s word into our hearts! David said, “I have hidden Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You! The more we know about God and study His word, the more we will know about what He wants for our lives!
…it also means a dedicated DAILY prayer time. Scripture tells us to be praying always… or always in state of prayer within our hearts, but what I mean here is a set aside time where you get away from the distractions of the world and PRAY! Pray that God will speak to you, that He will reveal Himself to you in a mighty way! This is NOT the time to pray for the sick or for others… this is YOUR time with God! Pray for your ability to move closer and closer to Him. When you do this, your other prayer times will be enriched and blessed as well!
Pray and meditate on what you read in God’s Word… This means that when you read your Bible that you pray for God to speak to your heart about what you just read. Now here is the hard part about this type of prayer… this type of prayer means sitting and listening for God to speak to your heart! It is a prayer of silence and meditation… something we are not comfortable in doing! God tells us in Ps 46:10 to “BE STILL and know He is God!” how often do we rush through our prayer time asking God for direction, only to get up and get going before God has spoken to our hearts!
God has laid out specific actions for believers to take… in this passage we have learned that our specific action is ACCEPTANCE of each other!
Acceptance does not always mean agreement with, but it DOES mean loving each other, and not judging or condemning them!
Part of ‘accepting’ one another is ‘joining together’ as a fellowship. The fellowship of God cannot be a factor in God’s kingdom when we are fragmented and separated, we are challenged by Paul here to JOIN TOGETHER for the glory of God!
Today Paul also told us that we are called to ‘join together with ONE VOICE…’ or as some translations put it ‘in ONE ACCORD’ meaning with ONE mission! One direction! One Focus… we are the SWORD of the Lord in this world and we must focus on the task at hand! The fields are WHITE for harvest and we must be willing to go forth and work… ONE MIND/ONE VISION!
We have been equipped by God’s Holy Spirit and God empowers our ability to do His bidding. Our actions have been set before us… but WHY do we do these actions? Well the focus of our actions must also be of ONE ACCORD as well! Our actions are to bring glory to God…
Our actions are out of obedience, but they are to glorify the God we proclaim!
Our actions have other results:
Our actions of acceptance & joining together give the world a great picture of Christ
Our actions of acceptance & joining together open doors of opportunity to share Christ with the lost
Our actions of acceptance & joining together draw us together in a bond that enables us to love, even when love is hard…
BUT our actions are for ONE main reason and that is to give glory to God! These actions have great results, but the main reason is glorifying God!
This means that our focus must be RIGHT, when it comes to our obedience to Christ!
This means that when we are doing things for the kingdom, we must FIRST ask, is this glorifying God?
What is our focus today? It MUST be about giving the God of our salvation the glory and honor He deserves! He is the reason we can celebrate… he is the reason for our freedom and salvation… he is the reason we have eternal life! ALL our actions should be… MUST be to give Him glory!
So as Bro Ken comes… I want to open the altar here this morning… come if you have been seeking to serve God on your own terms and for something other than giving God the glory He deserves! Come, confess and be cleansed!
GIVE EVANGELISTIC INVITATION HERE…
