Lasting Greatness
Romans 15:18-22
Intro: Have you ever been around someone who like to toot their own horn? All roads lead back to them and what they’ve done for the betterment of mankind. Most often, those who accomplish the greatest things in life don’t really need to toot their own horn. They do not need the accolades and recognition to feel secure in who they are. And yet we were created for greatness! Our Creator is known for His greatness, and He wants to do great things through us, the ones who have put our trust in Him.
-Let’s look at some great thoughts today from Rom. 15. The greatest thing we can do in life is to do life with God, letting Him do great things through us!
1. The Greatest Legacy
What Christ does through us (18)
Romans 15:18a I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…
-What do you want to be remembered for? I’ve been to a couple of funerals in the past few weeks and have found myself asking this question. What difference does my life really make? Could I be making a greater difference? It’s not my goal in life to get people to say nice things at my funeral. That may or may not really be my legacy. But I think most of us really do want to make a difference in this world.
-As we go through life, there are many different marks of success. When a young person graduates from high school, we cheer for them and hope they dream big dreams and follow those dreams. Finishing a college degree is another mark of success. Finding a good paying job is a mark of success. Getting married, having a baby, buying a house or car, getting elected to some level of leadership, earning a promotion, receiving various awards – these are all marks of success.
-You can read about Paul’s resume of accomplishments and successes in places like Philippians 3 and 2 Corinthians 11&12. But Paul isn’t taking credit for his successes. In Phil. 3, he says he considers all of his credentials and accomplishments as dung compared to knowing Jesus. And now in our text he says he only wants to talk about what Jesus has done through him.
-What has God accomplished through your life? Remember, God doesn’t always look at our ability, only our availability. He will equip us and help us accomplish what He calls us to do as we surrender to Him.
-Each one of us is unique with a particular set of gifts and abilities that God put in us for a reason. He wants us to give those gifts to Him and let Him use us to do what is in His heart to do. Some of you can speak, some can lead, some can work with their hands and build or restore or clean or be creative. Some can teach, others can earn money and give generously to those in need, and still others can encourage and motivate others to keep going. And some of you have been blessed with lots of mercy and compassion and are great listeners. You care deeply about people and you feel what they feel. God wants to accomplish great things in and through your life if you will let Him! When we invite God to work in us and through us, we will one day realize that we do have a lasting legacy that will outlive our time on this earth by far, because God sees us and knows us, and is using our lives to help others along the way. Philippians 2:13 it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
-The greatest legacy you can leave behind you is what Christ has accomplished in and through your life!
2. The Greatest Joy
Leading others into life with God (18)
Romans 15:18b … in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--
-Jesus gives 3 examples of lost things being found in Luke 15. The first was a lost sheep, the 2nd a lost coin, and the 3rd a lost son.
Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
-So Jesus was giving us heaven’s perspective about the joy and celebration over one sinner coming to God through repentance. Being involved in helping someone turn the corner from not doing life with God to trusting Him and doing life with Him – we get a little taste of heaven’s joy when that happens! It’s not a pride thing or simply a “Yeah team” thing. It is genuine happiness and excitement because someone has just come alive in their spirit and are on their way to fulfilling their greatest purpose in life – which is to know God and enjoy Him forever!
-Many people describe their own feelings when they turn their hearts completely to God. Some say it was like a huge weight was lifted off of their shoulders and they feel so light they feel like they could fly! The greatest high is being forgiven and made clean through faith in Jesus! And that joy is reawakened every time we get to share or witness a genuine life transformation in someone else!
-Notice the words Paul uses to describe his ministry to the Gentiles. Christ had helped him lead many Gentiles to obey God. That is what becoming a follower of Jesus is all about – obeying Him. It is more than just praying a prayer, asking God to forgive us. Salvation really happens when it changes a person’s life from self-serve to God-serve.
-As we have opportunities to share our faith in Jesus with others, we need to model obedience to God. If somebody asks you why you do what you do, you should be able to say, “Because I am a follower of Jesus and I want to obey Him. It’s who I am and it’s what I do!” Not because we’re better than anyone else, but because Jesus has made a difference in our lives and we no longer live for ourselves.
-Now it’s important that we understand something. God doesn’t ask us to create an outcome or force results. He asks us to obey Him. So if we will simply look for opportunities to help others learn or experience something about God, we are obeying His command to go and make disciples. If we refuse to do what He asks us to do, then we are not really following Him.
-One study says that it takes 84 people to help one person become a follower of Jesus Christ. A person might hear about God’s love and forgiveness dozens of times and see it in action dozens of times before they ever come to a place where they know they want it for themselves. What if you are #84 for your friend or neighbor or family member? What if you are #29? Each and every time we share our faith, it counts! It matters! It makes a difference and helps bring people one step closer to calling on the Lord to be their forgiver and leader. And anything we can do that will help us communicate the truth about God better is a step in the right direction. Welcome opportunities to develop your story. The adult SS class is going through the Bible based study, Becoming a Contagious Christian. You may not feel called to be an evangelist per se, but God has called you to share your faith with those around you! One of the greatest joys is learning to reach out and connect with others in a way that can bring them closer to Jesus.
3. The Greatest Influence
The power of the HS (19)
Romans 15:19 … by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
-With all the amazing things Paul did, including writing a large portion of the New Testament, he couldn’t have accomplished anything without the power of the Holy Spirit. The HS is the 3rd person of the Trinity (Tri-unity). There is one God, revealed in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Jesus told His disciples that He would return to His Father in heaven, but that the HS would come and be with them and live in them. And as we read Luke and Acts, we find numerous occasions when the HS would come upon people in power.
-Luke 24:49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
-God wants us to live beyond our own natural abilities and receive supernatural power to help others and to show them who He really is! 1 Corinthians 12 lists several manifestations of the HS, which occur on a different level than everyday life. God wants us to minister to others in His power, not in our own!
-If anybody could have tried to use their natural giftedness to accomplish the supernatural work of God, Paul could have. Instead, he said that God had worked through Him by the power of signs and miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. And that is all he wanted to talk about. Nothing else was worth the ink.
-The greatest influence you can have when ministering to others comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. And it’s not some spooky, voodoo kind of experience. The Bible calls it being filled with the Holy Spirit so you will have the power and the boldness to be a witness of who Jesus is and how He can change a life. Unfortunately, we settle for so little when God has so much in store for us. In fact, God’s dreams for us are so big, that there is no way they can be accomplished by human power alone. They are only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-The only way Paul was able to effectively preach the good news about Jesus to all the people he did was through the Holy Spirit’s power.
4. The Greatest Mission
To reach unreached people (20-22)
Romans 15:20-22 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand." 22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
-Paul’s ambition was fueled by his mission. He was the apostle to the Gentiles, bringing them the good news about Jesus. That was his mission. But he also felt strongly that God wanted him to reach people who had never been reached before.
-Let me just say that you don’t have to go to Africa or Asia or China or India to find unreached people. As our country gets farther away from the knowledge of God, there are many people around us (even in our small community) who really don’t know much about Jesus. And what they think they know is often informed by sitcoms or the latest historical documentary which rejects many claims of the Bible.
-What would happen if each of us began to take the Great Commission seriously? Go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey Me – Jesus. What if every Christian in Elgin, Imbler, and Summerville began sharing their faith everyday with anyone who would listen – Not in a “used car salesman” kind of way, but from their hearts as genuine followers of Jesus? Is it possible that every person in our community could be reached with the message of Jesus and His grace? Whether or not they accept Jesus isn’t the point – even though God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance. But could the Church in Elgin, all followers of Jesus Christ, make that its mission: to offer every person a clear presentation of the gospel – the good news about Jesus?
-Imagine the possible results? Only God knows. But if somehow we accomplished that, would our task be done? No! Part of the Great Commission says GO! The church should be a sending agency of believers who are called to preach the gospel to unreached people everywhere. Maybe we’d go to neighboring towns, other states, or other nations. Already we are investing in the gospel around the world through the support of our missionaries. But maybe God is calling us to something more that can only be accomplished through His power!
-Start somewhere. Begin with friends and family. Talk to your neighbor about where he or she believes they will go when they die. As we saw back in Romans 10:13-15 "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent?
Conclusion: We do have a mission. To let people know about Jesus and teach them to obey Him fully. If you want to do something great for God, first, let Him do something great in you! Maybe you’ve not experienced God’s forgiveness yet. That is the place to start. Ask God to forgive you for the things you’ve said and done that were offensive to Him. He will forgive! Then ask Him to be the leader of your life! “Lord, forgive me. Lord, lead me.”
-Maybe you need the power of the Holy Spirit in your life so you can lead others to follow the Lord and obey Him. Just ask! The Bible says that God will give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. If you need to let the Lord do a work in your life, would you allow me to pray for you today?
