Romans

All previous talks from this series are available on our website. So if there's any you've missed or would like to catch up with, you can stream them or download them. And we'll begin Romans's 15 verse 1. We who are strong or to bear with the failings of the week and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good to build them up.

For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement that they provide, we might have hope. May the god who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had so that with 1 mind and with 1 voice, you may glorify the god and the father of our lord, Jesus Christ. Except 1 another then, just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to god. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of god's truth so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and moreover that the gentiles might glorify god for his mercy.

As it is written, therefore, I will praise you among the gentiles. I will sing the praises of your name. Again, it says, rejoice eugentiles with his people. And again, praise the lord all eugentiles. Let all the peoples extol him.

And again, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse will spring up, 1 who will arise to rule over the nations. In him, the gentiles will hope. May the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced my brothers and sisters that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct 1 another. Yet I have written to you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again because of the grace of god gave me to be a minister of Christ's Jesus to the gentiles.

He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of god so that the gentiles might become an offering acceptable to god, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to god. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the gentiles to obey god by what I have said and done, by the power of signs and wonders through the power of the spirit of god. So from Jerusalem, all the way round to iriricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 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, rather as it is written, those who were not told about him will see.

And those who have not heard will understand. This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and that you will assist me on my journey there. After I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the lord's people there. For Macedonia and Akaea were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the lord's people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it and indeed they owe it to them. For if the gentiles have shared in the Jews spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material things. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.

I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ. I urge you brothers and sisters, by our lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the spirit to join me in my struggle by praying to god for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea, and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the lord's people there. So so that I may come to you with joy by god's will, and in your company, be refreshed. The god of peace be with you all.

Oh, man. Well, good morning. My name's, Pete Woodcock. I'm pastor of the church here, and we've been having a wonderful journey for a couple of years. Through the book of Romans.

It's been fantastic. And, it's 1 of those things where I I personally as a preacher would love to just say, okay, we're gonna start again. Let's go back to chapter 1 verse 1 because, you're just getting into this amazing amazing book. Let's pray. Father help us now.

This is your word, and it would be shocking if we would pay it little attention. We pray, please, that by your spirit, you would impress truths on our hearts and minds and actions and wills, that we wouldn't carry on the same after we've heard your word, but by your spirit, we would change pent, we would, look to you for help to work these things through in Jesus' name. Oh, man. A pastor who, was talking to some students who had gone off from the church to universities around the country in America, and who had come back home in their semester. And, were really pleased with their achievements and, their degrees and all of the all of the university achievements that they had achieved, unlike their parents that didn't have those opportunities.

The pastor looked at these students and leaned over the pul pulpit and said this. Children. You're going to die. You may not think you're going to die, but you're going to die. 1 of these days, They're going to take you out into the cemetery, drop you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face, and go back to the church and eat potato salad.

When you were born, you alone were crying, and everyone else was happy. The important question I want to ask is this, when you die, are you alone going to be happy leaving everybody else crying? The answer depends on whether you live to get titles or live to get testimonies. When they lay you in the grave, are people going to stand around reciting the fancy titles you earned or are they going to stand around giving testimony of the good things you did for them? Will they list your degrees and awards, or will they tell about what a blessing you were to them?

Will you leave behind just a new newspaper column telling people how important you were, or will you leave crying people who give testimonies of how they've lost the best friend they ever had. There's nothing wrong with titles. Titles are good things to have. But if it ever comes down to a choice between a title and a testimony go for testimony. Brilliant advice, isn't it?

In other words, let's look to your death day. What have you achieved? In other words, he's saying that the service of people The getting of testimonies, the love, the commitment, the giving of ourselves to people is the most important thing in the end. We know that really. Now, we're coming to the end of this magnificent letter of Paul to the Romans.

I mean, so rich in teaching and doctrine. It's it's magnificent. We've spent a couple of years in it, and it hasn't been enough, really. But it is wonderful. And we're seeing right at the end here, Paul's heartbeat.

I mean, you see it right the way through the book, obviously, but particularly here, Paul's ambition is to serve the lord Jesus Christ and therefore serve people. Paul goes for testimony. Even though he's got the title apostle. He goes for testimony. Not for his own glory, but for testimony to the glory of the lord Jesus Christ.

Look at sentence verse 17. Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to god. Now, it's this that drives him to serve the glory of Christ Jesus, to testify about Jesus That's what directs his whole goals of life. That's what directs him. That's what his life is about.

Look at verse 20. It was it has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was was not known so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. He has a very simple, but very big, ambitious ambition. And that is to preach where there was no church where the gospel hadn't been heard because he wants Christ glorified. Where he isn't glorified now.

Paul clearly believes when you read Romans that god has a wonderful plan for his life, which is what I'm entitling this sermon and not that 1. God has a wonderful plan for his life. And that wonderful plan is to go for testimonies, whatever the cost. He's gonna serve. He's going to preach the lord Jesus Christ to people and go for testimonies.

In the very first verse of the book of Romans chapter 1, Paul calls himself a slave. He says he set apart for the gospel of god. That's the lord Jesus Christ, the good news of God. Jesus. So Paul thinks of himself as being a slave of god, a slave of Jesus, a slave for telling people about the good news of Jesus.

And that slavery is what he considers the wonderful plan that god has for his life. Paul's not his own. His life is not his own. He has no rights. His message isn't his own message.

He's not original. He's a man under orders, a man under authority, a man under a message, a man under commands. He didn't, appoint himself as an apostle. The lord Jesus Christ gave him apostleship. And as an apostle, as all apostles do, he suffers Apostals don't live in Hollywood or in big mansions and earn great money.

Oppostals always suffer because they are preaching, communicating, living out the gospel of a crucified lord. And so they suffer. These apostles, and Paul was 1 of them, is the foundation of the New Testament church, in doctrine, in teaching, and in life star. But I think the astonishing thing is when you come round to Romans chapter 15 towards the end of this book that he and he's he's suffered and if you know his story, he suffered unconditionally in telling out the gospel and he still unconditionally embraces the life, and he calls it joy. Because this life has a purpose.

It has a meaning that when he's gone and now he has gone, he will be a blessing to millions of people as he is right now. Because he goes for testimony, and not just title. It's not just that he's an apostle. The title is working for testimony. He has no other gender in his life, but the lord Jesus Christ.

That's his ambition. Look at verse 20 again. It has always been my ambition to preach a gospel where Christ was not known. See, the truth is if Paul lived in, in London, he he wouldn't come to Kingston. He wouldn't bother to come to Kingston.

He would go and live in some Bengal community in London or a Muslim community. Or an estate that hasn't heard the gospel. Paul actually wasn't sort of looking around London, for the best place where you get the best local amenities or where you actually get the best, schools for your children. His ambition was way bigger than that. His ambition was that those that haven't heard the gospel would hear the gospel.

It's a massive ambition. You see it? There's quite a difference if you compare Paul to the city of Rome, of course, he's writing to Rome, but it's quite a quite a difference. Excuse me. I got a very tickly cough.

Rome full of pride, full of power, full of 7 hills that it's so proud of, and building around, and building on top of full of the king of the world, the Caesar, full of mighty armies marching out and ruling He caught Rome there going for titles and power. And you have little Paul, a Jew who's become a and clearly has an eye problem and some physical, deformities and goes around just with a simple message of a crucified lord died and risen and ascended and coming again. A message he called good news. Testimony, testifying to the goodness of Jesus, 1 is title and power. And which one's still standing?

At the time, who would ever thought Rome would fall? At the time, the Roman authorities writing their titled books, whoever reads them, except a few odd historians, all the way around the world. If you go for testimony, all the way around the world, people are reading Paul. And that's what you have at this end of this book in this last half of chapter 15. You have this sort of exposure, if you like, this anatomy of a missionary.

Of Paul. He exposes himself, his heart to us, that what is it he's living for? And that challenges us. 6 things, I think we see. I'll try and be quick.

6 things, 6 testimonies he goes for. 6 testimonies. First 1, the testimony of prayer and preaching part 1. The testimony of prayer and preaching part 1, you see it in verses 13 to 16, the first half of 16. See what he wants of others.

See what he's investing in others in his prayer. Look at first 13. It's a beautiful sentence. May the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit It's a beautiful, other centered prayer, isn't it? For other people, It's beautiful.

What a big, fulfilling, god overflowing, holy spirit empowering life he wants for other people? Not some dull, weary, small minded existence. He doesn't want that for people. He wants people to have this big, fulfilling, god overflowing, holy spirit empowered life, 1 that has hope and joy and peace, just to look at the words there. I mean, that 1 sentence is worth a few sermons, isn't it?

It's a marvelous sentence. And this is why he's written the letter. He's written the letter so that as a result of understanding these deep and wonderful and glorious truths in the gospel. When you get to grips with that, your experiences of these truths will fill you with all joy, with peace and hope, and overflowing as you, as you trust in the lord Jesus Christ. There's no small minded religion here, is there?

The testimony of the prayers, do you see it? Yeah. There's a noise. It's not that. It's not that exciting.

No small minded religion. The testimony of his prayers for others Thank you very much. Then look at verse 14, to 16. I myself and convinced my brothers and sisters that you yourselves are full of goodness filled with knowledge and competence to instruct 1 another, yet I have written to you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again because of the grace god gave me, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles. You see what he's saying?

He's just shown us what his prayer was in verse 16, and now he's showing us sort of really why he wrote the book, why he preaches, why he teaches them. And he says, you you know this knowledge. You have enough knowledge of the stuff that I've written in this book to actually live it out to instruct other people. He acknowledges not just having facts, not just knowing doctrines, It's living them out, living them out in your life. And you, you know, you know this, he's saying.

You already know these things. Nevertheless, even though you know them and have an understanding of these things, I am reminding of you of them and I remind you of them quite boldly. I'm in your face, underlining, saying, look at this 1. The whole book of Romans, he seems to be claiming here, is a reminder. This is what you know, you know the lord Jesus Christ, You know he's died for you.

You know it was all of grace. You know that you should, therefore, love 1 another. But I remind you, and I'm doing it really boldly. And I wanna say that that's what preaching is. Preaching is not just being an orator.

Preaching is not just talking about your personal preferences and some insights that you have into a Bible passage. That's not preaching. Preaching is saying the old message It's not trying to find new stuff. It's proclaiming that which is old that you know and underlining it. And and putting it in bold so you boldly get it.

So a preacher is just a bold reminder. That's my job. My job is to remind you not to think up new thoughts, but to remind you boldly And Paul says, I'm reminding you boldly. Why? Because of the grace of god given me, the very engagement in ministry and in preaching and teaching and writing the book of of Romans is a matter of grace, grace of god.

In the bold reminding of the truths that you know in the lord Jesus Christ. So please don't be offended by preaching. You should be praying that those of us preachers would boldly remind you. You don't want me to come up here and just say nice little thoughts, and here's the little thought I had, and here's a nice little story. You should be praying that I'd be in your face.

You. It's that sort of stuff. You know? You may be even praying that I should name you you know, go through that. This means this to you and boldly underline it.

Why not if we wanna grow in grace? And why does he do this? Why is he doing this bold reminding so that they'd be competent to instruct 1 another? That's what he's saying. He's pushing them into ministry.

His prayer and his preaching is getting them to be competent to be able to instruct 1 another. And that's what all the stuff is from chapter 12 when you know all of the doctrines of chapter 1 to 11 than the outworking of all that love stuff that we've been seeing in so many sermons from chapter 12 to this right now They're all just glimpses. They're all just ways that this prayer and preaching should embolden us and to struck us so that we too would go for testimony in other people. Who are you testifying to? So there's the first of the testimonies, the testimony of prayer and preaching part 1.

Here's the second the testimony of priestly duty verse 16. Look at verse 16. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of god. So that the gentiles might become an offering acceptable to god, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. An amazing sentence.

Now, Paul doesn't call himself a priest. No man should. But, for a moment, he borrows the language of priesthood, which is found in in the old testament. And he uses that metaphor for what he's actually doing. And the main function for a priest in the Old Testament was to tell forth the word of god, the instruction of god to the people, and and to offer up sacrifices on behalf of the people to God.

That was the main thing. So that's what Paul's saying here. Paul proclaims the gospel on behalf of god, and he offers this wonderful Lord Jesus Christ to the gentiles. And then when they're converted, he offers them like a priestly offering. He offers them back to god.

So he he he's he's not offering lambs, he's not offering grain offerings, he's not offering blood offerings, but he's offering the gentile converts back to god. It's an amazing thing. I mean, then those gentiles obviously offer their bodies as living sacrifices as we see in Romans 12. It's a great way of seeing life, isn't it? Presley Judy.

Here was a man that had to travel a lot. And a lot of that would have been mundane, walking, dirty, you know, feet aching, He was exposed to the elements, then he was threatened, and then he was beaten and even left as dead, and then he was rejected, and then misunderstood stood, and then lies about him, and then so called super apostles coming up and saying he hasn't got any gifts. He goes through all of this. And yet as he goes through that, he sees himself in the temple in the Holy of Holis, offering up sacrifices to god. His weary traveling And some of the mundane stuff he has to go through in order to preach the gospel and the violence and the pain he has a dazzling different view.

His picture is that I'm in the temple. Offering sacrifices to god. That's a wonderful thing, isn't it? He does his priest priestly duty, And in doing his priestly duty, there will be so many testifying from the gentiles that I heard Paul And I came to Christ. I mean, what an agenda in life?

What an agenda for life? The whole of the world to bring people as acceptable offerings to god. What an ambition? And then they themselves offer their bodies as living sacrifices as they live out the gospel. Now you compare that to any other job and any other ambition, and they're all a bit trivial, aren't they?

This is god's agenda, and actually nothing less will satisfy the human heart. Anything else is gonna bring discontentment We go out into the world with the good news of Jesus, like priests, in the temple, in the holy place. Whatever job you do, however boring it may be, However, annoying the people are, actually just see what you are. You're there. With priestly duties to bring people to Christ.

Look out for that. Pray for that. It gives you a whole different perspective on the mundane job that you've got, doesn't it? The gospel. The gospel shared is a song in heaven's court.

The gospel shared with children in the Sunday school. It's a fragrance to god that many of those dear children will come to know the lord Jesus. So the testimony of converts his priestly duty. Third testimony. The testimony of praising, appraising servant the testimony of a praising servant, you get that in verses 17 to 19.

Look at verse 17. Therefore, I glory. He's praising. He's glorifying. I glory in Christ Jesus in my service of God.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the gentiles to obey god by what I have said and done. By the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the spirit of god. So that from Jerusalem, all the way to all the way through to Eliricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. See, Paul is glorifying. He's praising He's so utterly thankful that he has a meaningful life, something that has such big purpose.

Even though he has to do tent making, to keep himself, you know, alive in this world. There's a more meaningful thing to do. So he's so thankful that Christ, that the lord Jesus Christ would accomplish his mission through him. This is an awesome thing, and Paul is thankful for it. Look at verse 18, the second half of verse 18, what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the gentiles to obedience to obey god by what I have said and done.

The testimonies that are so thankful that he did that The stories people are saying. Now I was living in Rome. I was quite a rich bloke. I was living in Rome. I was a very poor servant girl.

I was living in in the Roman empire. And I was a jailer. I was living in the Roman empire, and I was a very posh well-to-do woman. My name was Lydia. And this man came with the gospel and proclaimed it to me He was broken.

He'd been treated violently. He was a man that had to work intent making to pay his own way to tell me this good news. And Paul say, I praise god that I had that opportunity to go for testimony. He himself preached the entire 1500 miles from Jerusalem to Illiricum, which is now sort of present days sort of Albania, that sort of area. That's not bad, is it?

In sandals? It's not bad, is it? And all glory goes to Jesus Christ. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to have done that because I've done something meaningful.

He says, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. He didn't strip it down. He didn't have different versions of it. He fully explains it wherever he is, whatever part of the world he's in. He preaches the gospel of the lord Jesus Christ, not a watered down version, but the real, beautiful version of the lord Jesus Christ.

So Paul's ministry is this pioneering ministry and he says that actually from Jerusalem to Illiricum, I I've actually completed. I've done the trailblazing. I've done that trailblazing ministry. I did it by powers of signs and wonders through the power of the spirit of Christ. Signs talks about significance.

That's where sign comes from. The significance of God's kingdom demonstrated powers. This is god that has power over nature to change people's nature. Wanders are the effects that happen with this gospel, and Paul says that that is the, gift that shows what a real apostle is. This is true apostle.

This is trailblazing, apostle, pioneer ministry that he's going into. With the power of god. By the way, I think what is interesting here because he's testifying to what God has, Christ has done through him in this vast area. But I think it's interesting because he seems to have the opinion that if he set up a church in the city of that area, he's evangelized the whole area. You you could read this.

I mean, look at verse 23, but now there is no more place for me to work in in these in these regions. It sounds like, you know, he's been to every handler, every home, every town, every every village, every, you know, He couldn't have done that. But I think what what he he says is once he's evangelized an area, and there's a church in that area. I think he expects the church to carry on evangelizing until everyone's been reached. It seems to be the unspoken expectation.

Now that's a challenge, isn't it? So Paul doesn't need to come to Kingston to Cornerstone if he was coming to London because he expects us to have reached the whole borough of Kingston. Now that's something on us, isn't it? The priestly duty to go out and tell everyone. I mean, I think we ought to do some mad things.

So I say that from the pulpit, and I I know, you know, people say, oh, that's Pete's a bit no, come on. You know, is there a duty on us to somehow think about how we would reach perhaps we go with the other churches in the borough? How we would reach every single person in this borough. That's a start isn't it. Every person to hear something of the gospel.

I think Paul is saying. That's what he would expect a church to do. And we need we need money to do that. We need people to do that. Perhaps we should have not Camry pie, but kingston, whatever.

Yeah? You know, we go to not I was thinking we have Camry pie, a little magazine for that area in Camry, Norburton knob, that's what I was thinking of. The Norburton knob, the Sirberton what would that be? Sickle? Yep, Herbertton's son or Tollworth Well, I can't think of him that, well, I can, but I better not say that.

But, you know, why, why not, but, you know, that would cost us a lot of money, but Isn't there someone with enough money to do that? So Paul is praising that, wow, This is being part of the work of Christ. He's a praising servant and what a joy it is to bring the gospel to all these people. Will we know that praise? Will we know that praise in our life?

Will we sit down at the end of wife and said, everyone in Kingstonborough heard the gospel. Fourth testimony, then the plans for proclamation. You get it in verses 20 to 24. See, Paul is not for retirement. He hasn't got some silly little job where he's handed a sort of gold watch or a big massive million pound check at the end of it and then he can sit and spend it.

He's got a much bigger job than that, and he's much more excited about life than just looking forward to that. He's not for retirement. He's still got work to do. Look at verse 20 and 21. Look.

It has always been my ambition He still got this ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation rather as it is written, then he quotes the Old Testament, those who were not told about him will see and those who have not heard will understand. So this is a testimony of plans for proclamation, This is Paul's mission statement from the old testament. Paul utterly believes that if he goes to those who haven't been told they will see. They get converted in other words. And if he goes to those who have not heard, they will understand he believes in the power of the gospel.

That's his personal mission statement. The gospel itself is like it's it's like magnetically draws unconverted people to it. And it magnetically opens their eyes, if you can have that. So this is his this is his plans for proclamation. And then he says in verse 22, this is why I've often been hindered from coming to you.

I wanna come to see you. I love you as a church. That's why I'm writing to you. I really wanna come to see you, but I haven't been able to because I've been getting on with the mission that god's called me to. But then he says verse 23, but now You see his plans here.

But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, because there's a church planted and they should get on with the job. And since I've been, longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through But you will assist me in my journey there, Spain, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. Paul plans proclamation missions. Paul Paul wants to launch his mission to Spain from Rome, and he wants them to help.

I'm gonna come to see you. It'd be a great time, and I expect you to help me. Because you're a church, and you're about mission. So Paul's testimony of plans for proclamation. Here's the fifth testimony.

Paul the postman. Postman Paul You get it in verses 25 to 29. It's odd. He's got plans to go to Spain through Rome and pick up some finance and go and preach to Rome, but he suddenly becomes a postman. I've got verse 25.

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the lord's people there. For Macedonia and Akaya, were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord's people in Jerusalem. Now when you read that, that sounds a bit surprising. I mean, can't someone else be this postman? You know, can't someone else get on a little mo mo ped or something and delivery drive this money to to the lord's people, the Jews in in Jerusalem that are having a rough time?

Isn't this a distraction to his ambition to go to Spain? Has he just been distracted? And the answer is no, because all these things work together. This is a crucial aspect of gospel work. And this is what he's been showing us in chapters 12, and 13, and 14.

The gospel that goes out to all kinds of people that have never heard it unites people together in the 1 body, the church. The church is essential and an essential part of the gospel. It is the witness of the gospel. Here is a message that can bring different people groups with different likes together. And so that's what he's doing.

It's an international gospel. It overcomes barriers as we work out love for 1 another. That's the church. See, if you're if you're anti church, you don't understand the gospel. If you're a divisive person, then Paul's dealt with that in in Romans chapter 14.

You don't understand the gospel. Don't pretend you do, Paul is saying. It's so important. I long to go to Spain, but I'm gonna go to Jerusalem with some money that I've, I've I've got the gentiles to raise to help the brothers who are Jews in Jerusalem going through a hard time. Unity of the church is so important.

We must understand that. Church isn't a club that I join and leave. Church is god's people. And it's so important It's where the gospel is seen in action. And that's why Paul's passionate about collecting money from the gentiles to take to the Jews in Jerusalem.

It's an international gospel of unity. It's a wonderful thing. Here is Paul remember a Jew taking the good news of Jesus to the gentiles. And he suffered much for doing that. Now he's taking the gentiles money back to the Jews, and he suffered much for doing that.

But that was so important So, Paul, his testimony of being a postman Paul's preparing for this mission in 2 ways to Spain. He writes the book, of Romans to convince Roman Christians, and then obviously all of us down history, that this gospel is global. It's not just a local little gospel. It's not just for Jews. It's not just for gentiles.

He's writing this book to show that the the church is essential. In the proclamation of the gospel. And then the second thing is he's taking money to Jerusalem and showing the practical expression of being a postman on that. So there's there's 3 destinations in mind. Let's just get this.

First, he's gonna sail from Corinth where he's writing this letter from to Jerusalem. Sorry, yeah, to Jerusalem. Taking that collection. Second, he's gonna travel from Jerusalem to Rome. He's only passing through.

He's looking forward to seeing them. And thirdly from Rome to Spain to do his priestly duty. You get it? If he did that by ship, The first journey is 800 miles. The second journey is 1500 miles and the third journey is 700 miles.

That's a minimum of 3000 miles. If you did it by foot, it'd be longer. 3000 miles, which is exactly twice as far from what he's already just done, preaching the gospel from Jerusalem to Eliricum. It's 1500 miles. You see?

His vision hasn't dimmed. It's doubled as he's got older. You think about the uncertainties and the hazards of doing that. But he goes for it. He's a postman with money to take to the saints in Jerusalem, from the saints, the gentiles.

He's a postman coming back to Rome, to enjoy meeting them, and bring them blessing, he says. And then he's a postman, and he's gonna go on Spain and bring the gospel message. Paul's testimony, postman Paul, postman Paul, What a what a what a wonderful blessing. Here's the sixth 1, last 1. Said there were 6.

It's the last 1, and then there's 16 applications. It's the testimony of prayer and preaching part 2. That was the first 1, but now it's part 2. You see this in verse 30 to 33. I urge you brothers and by our lord Jesus Christ that by the love of the spirit and by the love of the spirit to join me in my struggle, by praying to god for me, pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord's people there.

So that I may come to you with joy by god's will. And in your company, be refreshed the god of peace be with you all amen. Paul is asking for prayer for his proclamation journeys and his ministry amongst the people, pray for me, he's saying, pray for my preaching, pray that I preach unity to the Jews. Pray that the Jews won't be so proud. They they might say no to the gentile money.

We don't want that filthy, Luca. Pay that they'll be sensible. Pay for unity. Pray for my preaching, pray for my teaching. Pray for joy and refreshment.

I wanna be amongst you, and this will be so refreshing. That's churches meant to be, joy and refreshing as we work together to evangelize the world. Let's pray. Let's be refreshed in each other's company. Let's let's be refreshed in our commitment to take this gospel to the world.

Let's be refreshed. So let's just think about this. What is your ambition? What is your ambition? Do you even have 1?

Or are you just floating through life? You're just floating down a river, and maybe something good will happen. Probably not there. You'll probably just go over the edge. What is your personal goal in life?

What do you hope to achieve? In your life, your 1 and only life. What do you hope to achieve? What will you look back on When you're in Kingston hospital and breathing your last few breaths and think, actually, I I, I was quite successful there. What will your sense of satisfaction be?

Or put it another way. Other than your children, what gets you up early in the morning? Or other than your children, what keeps you up late at night? What eats into your free time? What is free time?

When a person's got to know you, what do they say about you? What drives you? What's the thing that you wanna talk about? Are you going for title or for titillation? Or any other thing, or are you going for testimony, gospel testimony?

What are you committed to? Life will be over pretty soon. What was that all about? What do you want for your children? All these children that are being born is wonderful.

What do you want for them? The world tells you, indoctrinates you. What do you want? Wouldn't you want a child to grow up like a young man that really believes he should go to the Sentinel Islands. Even though the whole world thinks he's not mad, but he plans and prays and goes.

He's killed. Is that a waste of life? Is that a waste of life or Do you want a child that just grows old and fat and made some money and dies and has got titles, but no 1 cares? You can guarantee those, those people on that island, if you know the story, they'll be converted. You could almost guarantee that.

I'd I'd bet my wages on it that they get converted. Yeah? May not be today. It may be in 30 years time, so you can't get me. But, you know, I'm onto a certain bet here.

They'll get converted by his giving his life. And it was worth it, wasn't it? You see, I I never understand it when people say, oh, he had a good innings. He went to a ripe old age. At 99.

Yes, but it's pathetic because no 1 can think up anything decent to say about him. It's just things like I've got a little story that when he was a child, he fell over and cut his knee. Ah. People find it hard to think up any stories. Well, what about the little child that we were hearing about, I was hearing about some time ago, who was only 4, but said they loved Jesus and died at 4, and the funeral was so packed out.

About this little child. That's all life worth living, wasn't it? Well, Philip Jensen, he's a preacher who was over here. He was telling me about his his grandchild. He was 17.

He died cancer at 17. And if you wanna wanna hear 1 of the greatest sermons I've ever heard, listen to Philip Jensen preaching at his grandchild's funeral. That was a life worth living. It was 17 years of a life worth living, better than 99 years of a waste of time, What are we living for? Title or testimony, god's testimony.

Or about prayer and preaching? Pay. Pay for preaching in this pulpit. Pay for bold preaching. Pray that we won't just stand up and tell stories and give ideas.

Pray that I'd be bold. Pray that Tom will be bold in his preaching. What about priestly duty? What about our taking out the gospel to people that don't know? Some of the children and some of the parents and some of the teachers that came in last week to the Christmas journey literally do not know about Jesus, almost nothing.

1 parent complained that we were saying, un Christian things because we said that Mary had a baby before she was married. And that wasn't a Christian way of living. Surely, they need to get married before they have a baby. It's extraordinary. Well, no, it's great though, isn't it?

Because we're now in the world that doesn't know we can take the gospel to them. What a joy to do that? Our priestly duty. Come on. We've got at least Kingstonborough to do.

Is it a hundred and 75000 people? Can't we do that? Can't we at least pay for a leaflet to be delivered or something while we pray? Can't we? Yes.

Our sister is giving her wedding ring for the gospel and her watch. Why not? Well, not your wedding ring, but, you know, yes, we can do that, can't we? Can't we use our gifts and Think about how we proclaim the gospel and plan gospel present. It's interesting.

We don't know whether Paul got to Spain or not. The academics say he didn't. Church history said he did. We don't know. It's interesting.

Why don't we know? I'd love to know, wouldn't you? Did Paul get to Spain or not. But that's not the important thing. The important thing is that Paul had an ambition to go to Spain We've gotta have ambition, otherwise we die, vision, or we perish.

All these babies, what do we want for them? I'll tell you what I want I want to be an old man sitting in the front there looking up a little, you know, 1 of these little like Lucas with all his energy and preaching at me and going boldly at me and telling me the gospel and reigniting my heart with the gospel so that I could give some more of my pension so that he could go out and preach the gospel. Isn't that what we want for our children to be missionaries, to go and to preach, and then the happy family reunion when Christ comes on that wonderful Christ mass when we eat and feast together and tell the stories, And we've heard that testimonies and our children have brought many to life because they preach the gospel and not just been about money and education and nice little settling down, boring lives. Don't we wanna be a postman for unity? To say, I'm not just, you know, I'm gonna be committed to church.

We're gonna love. We're gonna serve. We're gonna get into the scriptures. What about this? We try to write this.

There's great gifts in in designing this. Take this. Take that. Just leave it on seat. Take it.

Think about someone you could give that to or post it through a door. Invite someone. To the Christmas services. Come, pray. Come and pray at 4 30.

Sit there and say, oh, I'm fed up with these songs. I don't particularly wanna hear Dean, although I don't know why you wouldn't. But I'm gonna sit there and, okay, it's a bit crowded. I'll go at the back. I'll go into the little room at the back.

I'll get a few of us. We're trade lord blessed him as he preaches the gospel so that people will be converted. Do that. If it's too crowded, too long, take a few out. Spurgence was asked, what was the, what was his success?

Why was he success? We said my people pray. He'd often have 500 to a thousand people when he preached underneath him in the hall below, praying as he preached, No wonder people were converted. So, come pray for Dean as he preaches. And then verse 13, let me leave you with this.

They're just such wonderful words. May the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. If you live for him and trust in him, you'll know the fullness of hope and joy so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what I want for my children And I hope that's what you want for yours. They would be so hopeful filled with joy and peace and trusting in him.

Father god help us please, to go for testimony and not title, amen.