Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“Vital Signs of a Healthy Ministry” Part Two
Romans 15:13-33
Review
Paul closes his letter with some personal matters which can be approached in a few different ways.
I have chosen to deal with this section by focusing on the insights it provides into successful ministry both personal and as a church.
Last week we covered four of the six signs of a healthy ministry.
When you go to the doctor or are taken to the hospital they continually monitor your vital signs; blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen.
When in a certain range, these indicators signal good health.
When one or more of the vital signs strays very far outside the “normal” range, the doctor assumes something is not healthy and some sort of action needs to be taken.
I would hope that those serious about the health of ministry as individuals and our ministry in this world as a church should pay attention and continually monitor the vital signs found in this passage.
I believe there are four stages that could be applied to each of these signs of health.
1. They are present and strong.
2. They are absent.
3. They are developing.
4. They are waning.
As we review a bit from last week and then finish up the final two vital signs, I encourage you to evaluate which of these four stages characterizes your own ministry and Chico.
? Convincing evidence of spiritual maturity
Paul had become convinced and was still persuaded by strong testimony and reports of what God was doing through the Roman believers in regard to the Roman believer’s spiritual maturity manifested by a lifestyle of goodness.
The believers in Rome had acquired quite a reputation.
So much so, that it convinced Paul of the genuineness of their faith and the level of their spiritual maturity.
This was a goodness that seeks ways to meaningfully touch people and pursue connection.
It is a strong sign of spiritual maturity.
As we mentioned last week, goodness is a broad term under which we might find many other associated terms.
Goodness has many facets like a skillfully crafted diamond designed to reflect the character of an infinite God.
God is good.
As that goodness touches the creature it breaks out in traits like love, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, grace.
By employing a particular tense and voice, Paul provided a grand clue as to the source and foundation of the Roman believer’s spiritual maturity or goodness-filled lives.
He used a perfect tense participle -- indicating an action in the past with continuing observable results (footprints).
He employed the passive voice -- indicating an action done to the subject.
Paul acknowledged that the Roman believer’s lives were filled with goodness first having been filled with a thorough knowledge of the truth which continued to impact their life AND then being continually enabled to admonish one another.
You might say their obvious demonstration of goodness was the result of having been well taught and continually being enabled (by the Holy Spirit?) to admonish one another.
“admonish” = to put in the mind, warn, advise, instruct, rebuke for wrong doing, exhort,
We need more than admonishment from the pastor in Sunday sermons.
These Believers were mature because God enabled them to effectively admonish each other.
This assumes two things.
Skill in the art of admonishing one another.
Humility in the heart to accept it from one another.
A healthy body interacts on a spiritual level.
A healthy body gets below surface chit chat to talk about things that really matter.
A healthy body is serious about sharing and living the ways of God.
When we are well taught and continually sharing the applications and implications of what we are learning to life, we will find ourselves manifesting a life full of goodness.
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. Col. 1:28-29
A healthy ministry exhibits obvious signs of spiritual maturity, Christlikeness.
The number of people is not necessarily an indicator of health.
The size of our budget is not necessarily an indicator of health
The beauty or size of a facility is not necessarily an indicator of health.
Even though these are the indicators most used to measure ministry success; buildings, bodies, bucks.
Our level of Christlikeness and obedience is one biblical vital sign of ministry health.
Even though we may be well taught, we still need continual reminders.
Continuous teaching and reminders must be part of a healthy ministry.
A related element of a healthy ministry then is continual courageous reminders of essential truths.
? Courageous reminders of essential truths
? Compelling sense of God’s calling and anointing
Paul took his ministry to the Gentiles seriously.
It was a compelling call.
He considered himself a priest, the Gentile’s representative to God.
Every ministry, in order to remain healthy, must be driven by a compelling sense of God’s call.
Paul loved the Jews but ministry to Gentiles was his life calling.
As individuals and as a church we must become aware of God’s call.
Who has God called us to minister to?
You can’t have a healthy ministry without targeting someone to minister to.
It is time we got clear on our mission.
It is time we realized that we are in this part of the county for a reason.
There is a group of people God has called us to reach and teach.
There are people God has called us to present before Him as and offering acceptable and sanctified by the Holy Spirit!
? Clear life focus
A healthy ministry has a clear life focus.
Paul was clear about the central purpose of his ministry and who was the driving force behind it.
1. Sharing the works of God operating through us
Paul made it clear that the only important things in his ministry had to do with what God was doing through him.
It wasn’t Paul’s ministry.
It was God working through him and that was the only thing he determined to talk about.
God was the driving force.
What was God doing through Him?
Paul identifies the core of what God was accomplishing through him that he wanted to talk about; mainly seeing those he taught responding in obedience to God.
Ultimately Paul’s objective was not greater knowledge or insight or ability to recite Bible verses or great music and worship or programs although each of these plays a part.
The ultimate purpose was obedience.
This has been true from the beginning.
A passage n Amos expressed God true desire.
For I delight in loyalty (goodness, kindness) rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6
In words
In works
In power of signs and wonders
In the power of the Spirit
Paul got excited when he witnessed God working through him.
That became the subject of his conversations and focus of his excitement.
But Paul also had another passion and purpose that drove his ministry besides obedience.
2. Reaching the unreached is the heart of our passion.
? Caring personal involvement and connection
Paul demonstrated a deep love and willingness to become personally involved in the lives of others.
There are some ministries today that seek to minister without becoming personally involved on a daily basis.
The passionate pursuit of relationship with God and meaningful connection with each other must be the heart of ministry.
We find at least three ways where Paul demonstrated his heart for people and the passion to meaningfully connect.
1. Expressed his long standing desire to meaningfully connect with them
Paul began his letter by expressing his longing to visit them in Rome and also finished his letter by reminding them of this earnest desire.
For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. Romans 1:11-13
Paul felt like he first needed to share with them just why he had not yet personally visited them.
Due to his passion to reach the lost he had been prevented from visiting them.
Slide
For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 15:22-23
“longing” = long for, deeply desire, to long for something with the sense of a great need for it, a craving, often translated “lust”.
Why did Paul have such a strong desire to visit the Roman believers?
As we saw earlier he had a desire to “impart some spiritual gift” that they “might be established” and share mutual encouragement in the faith.
He also wanted to see further fruit in his ministry to the Gentiles.
Here Paul adds two other reasons for his deep desire to visit them.
? Desire for their assistance
for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you 15:24a
? Desire to enjoy their company and find refreshing rest
when I have first enjoyed your company for a while— Romans 15:24b
and find refreshing rest in your company 32
Sometimes there is no great agenda when getting together.
There is no monumental accomplishment we are trying to bring about.
Sometimes we need to come together simply to enjoy one another’s company and rest.
The word translated “enjoyed your company” is a word actually meaning “to be filled or satisfied”
It had to do with having plenty to eat and drink, filled with good things, filled with courage, enjoyment.
Paul looked forward to experiencing a sense of fullness by his time with them before moving on to Spain.
Even though God fills us with His Holy Spirit, God calls us to be His ambassadors of good will and fill up each other.
Later in verse 32 Paul not only anticipates being filled up while among them but hoped to find some rest as well.
“rest together” = “To rest together with someone, experience restorative rest with someone, find rest in someone’s company, to give and get refreshment by mutual connection.
The emphasis here is on the restorative nature of rest.
This is body life in action.
Each part of the body restores and fills the other parts of the body.
Each part of the body plays a vital role in the functioning of the whole.
This takes personal investment of each part.
How do you feel when we come together?
Self-consciousness, fear, anxiety, condemnation?
or
Rest, refreshment, peace, energizing, grace, acceptance, warmth?
What do we communicate to people who come among us?
There is refreshment in Christ as our ultimate rest.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19
Jesus encouraged the disciples to come apart and rest.
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) Mark 6:31
The famous Psalm that most people quote as “Be still and know that I am God” actually should be translated “cease striving and know that I am God.”
Quit trying to do work for God and learn to rest in Him so that you can watch Him do work for you.”
Paul told the Philippians that it was God at work within them both to will and to do His good pleasure.
You might say that you have never found such refreshment in God.
Well, you just may have never recognized it or His agent of refreshment as God often sends people to refresh us.
I was fascinated by the number of times Paul talks about refreshment by people.
I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men. 1 Cor. 16:17-18
… we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 2 Cor. 7:13
For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Phile 1:7, 20
The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 2 Tim. 1:16
Paul also talked about time in ministry where he found no rest.
Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. 2 Cor. 2:12-13
Slide
For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. 2 Cor. 7:5-7
Notice the mutual refreshment shared among the body passed on through sharing.
We find rest in this life but most of all we find rest at our death.
And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." Rev. 14:13
Rest in the Lord.
Rest with each other.
Refresh each other.
How are we doing? What can we do better?
2. Contributed to the physical needs of the saints
Paul took personal initiative to put people together and provide opportunities to serve each other by meeting material needs in addition to spiritual needs.
but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. Romans 15:25-27
There is any number of ways to contribute to the needs of the saints with our resources.
It is time we changed our focus from accumulating everything we can to becoming channels of God’s resources to everyone we can or at least to the ones God brings across our path.
3. Conferred the blessings of Christ
Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 15:28-29
We allow Satan to convince us we are worthless so often and have nothing to contribute to the lives of others.
In reality, we are guardians of a great storehouse of blessings.
In God’s way of doing things, we aren’t allowed to remove blessing for ourselves but we can enter the storehouse to grab unlimited blessings to confer on each other.
So much of the time we are so busing seeking blessing for ourselves that we fail to forward blessings to others.
Blessings come both in words and works.
God calls us to both inherit a blessing and BE a blessing.
God blesses us so that we might bless others.
Pass on the blessing.
Jesus said is more blessed to give than receive.
Paul had a sense of the supernatural work of Christ in him and through him and anticipated visiting the Roman believers in that blessing in order to be a blessing to them.
You have been abundantly blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph 1)
Bring it along anytime you gather with others.
You do have something to offer.
How are we doing with the personal touch among each other and among those God brings our way?
• Open expression of desire for meaningful connect (fellowship)
• Active involvement in meeting needs
• Generous sharing of the blessing of Christ
Are we reluctant to get personally involved?
Have we become too self-focused to see the needs of others?
Are we organized to meet the needs of those in other parts of the world?
A healthy ministry includes personal interaction and meaningful connection.
Finally, Paul’s ministry relied heavily on intercessory prayer.
He both prayed asked for specific prayer in much of his correspondence.
? Continual reliance on intercessory prayer
Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me
Here Paul asked for two specific things.
1. Prayer for protection
that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea
2. Prayer for acceptance
that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;
so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God
and find refreshing rest in your company. Romans 15:30-32
How are we doing in the prayer department?
There is no healthy ministry without continual prayer and intercession.
Conclusion
By observing God’s work through Paul we discover some vital signs of a healthy ministry.
? Convincing evidence of spiritual maturity
A group of believers obedient and full of goodness having been well taught and continually enabled to admonish one another
? Courageous reminders of essential truths
? Compelling sense of God’s calling and anointing
? Clear life focus
Thrilling examples of what God is accomplishing in regard to encouraging obedience
A passion to reach the unreached with the good news of the Gospel
? Caring personal involvement
A group of people not afraid to be personally involved in one another’s lives.
Verbal expression of a desire to visit and be around each other.
Not afraid to admit need.
Efforts to meet needs in the body of Christ both near and far
Able and desirous to find filling and refreshment in one another’s company.
A desire to share the blessing of Christ.
? Continual reliance on intercessory prayer
Blessing
May those who are weary and weighed down with the rigors of life in this fallen world humbly trust Jesus and commit to doing things his way; casting all your care on Him because he cares for you and promises to give you rest.
May Chico become known as a place of refreshment and rest!
May we not only enthusiastically receive God’s blessing but forward it to others.
May we increase in the art and practice of admonishment!
May God grant us an increase in all six of these signs of health!
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:33
