All right, everyone, we're going
to get started. Morning. Romans 12, we'll be looking at verses 11
and I'm pretty sure we'll make it up through verse 13. Romans
12, 11 through 13. Now last week we were continuing
in this study here of this part of Romans 12 and we were looking
at the walk of affection, the walk in love that believers have
toward their brethren, their fellow citizens in the kingdom
of God. And we saw how that we were encouraged
to walk in love toward one another. not well and then that love we
see is formed in the heart when your brethren see how you love
them and we understand that because Christ walked in love toward
us all right he laid down his life he took our stripes he was
beaten with what we deserve to be beaten with and taking our
place and seeing what he did for us the Spirit constrains
us in love. And so in that same manner, when
we serve and love our brethren, love is formed in the heart for
our brethren. And it constrains us to want
to walk in love toward them and towards our brethren, our other
brethren as well, whether they're walking in love toward us or
not, we know that the Spirit bears that fruit of love in His
people. that manner. And so even in spite
of our natural pride, we see how the Savior, our Lord, our
God, our Creator, who is the greatest, how He took the lowest
place for His people. And so if He can do it by His
grace and power and spirit, we can do it as well being taught
of Him. So let's continue here. in this
study looking at these exhortations from Paul by the Spirit in regard
to our love, our walking, our action of love toward one another.
I've titled this, Fervent Service, Fervent Service in Tribulation,
even in the midst of tribulation. So remember that last week we
were looking at this service where We saw that play on words
of taking the lead and being the last. Taking the lead and
being the least among our brethren. And it's, you can see how it
seems odd, but he that will be the greatest among you, let him
be as your servant. That's what our Lord said, right?
Let him be the least. among you and we were looking
at verse 10 which says, be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love in honor preferring one another. And so we were talking
about the business of serving our brethren, the practice, the
walk of serving our brethren in love. And so with that in
mind, let's look at verse 11 here. Romans 12, 11, not slothful
in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And I set it
up that way because I want us to understand that, you know,
naturally we think, well, when he's talking about business,
what is he talking about? Is he talking about our worldly
jobs or is he speaking about our service and labor in the
church among the people of God? And there's differences of opinions
of what Paul was intending here and You know, we would question whether
or not it means our earthly businesses, because we know that it usually
doesn't require us to be encouraged or admonished to be diligent
in our business and in the world, right? Most of us, you know,
we have minds and an entrepreneurial spirit about us. Many of us here
in the congregation work with our hands and ourselves and you
want to work, you want to build your business and succeed in
what you're doing. And so generally, We know that
we don't need to admonish our brethren in being diligent in
their businesses. But that's not to say that it's
never needed. There are times where we grow
weary. I know in business, I grew weary sometimes. of the job and
taking the kind of heat that you can take in the world when
you're reporting to somebody or even your staff that are giving
you a hard time about what you've asked them to do. And so it can
be trying and troubling. And the scriptures do speak about
our service in the world. You can take, for example, Colossians
3. Colossians 3, 22 and 23. says,
servants, obey in all things your masters according to the
flesh. In those days, there were slaves,
but there were also people who were tradesmen and had jobs and
worked for people as well. So whether you're an employee
or a slave, as it were, he's saying, obey in all things your
masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men-pleasers,
but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do
it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." So there is
a sense in which, if he is speaking of business, or we're thinking
of it in that terms, that we are to remember that what we
do is a testimony of who we believe, and who we serve, and who our
hope is in. And so we do want to be heart
diligent workers as the Lord enables us to be, and that includes
our worldly occupations. But what does this mean, though,
in terms of the church? Because in the context here,
at least, Paul is speaking of our walk in kindly affection
and love toward the brethren. He says, so in that sense, in
spiritual things not slothful in business, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord." Well, I think it does refer to our spiritual
worship. I think it does have a bearing
on our spiritual worship and service in the kingdom of our
Lord and in worshiping the Lord as we're gathered together to
worship the Lord. And the scriptures speak of us
being a body, meaning that we're not all the same member in the
body, but we're all one body consisting of different members
with different gifts and skills and coming from different backgrounds
and being fitted by the Spirit according to the measure of faith
as it's pleased the Lord to give us. And we saw how that measure
of faith was a single word describing all the fruits, all the fruits
of His grace that He gives to us in measure, that we would
be useful in the body of the Lord. And so, in that sense,
He's saying, be fervent in spirit, in coming together as a body
in worshiping your Lord, because we're coming together to worship
our God. We're coming together to worship
the true and living God who created us and has control of all things
here in this world that we dwell in here. And we want to see,
we want to be fervent in those manifestations of kindly affections
and brotherly love, walking in that sense. And so we want to
be, we ought to be fervent in spirit, mindful of these things,
knowing just how lukewarm we can be concerning the worship
of our God. And how there's times when we're
dragging ourselves in here, You know, I know from being a member
in the congregation, you know, previous to this calling, right,
there's times where We're weary and we're tired and we've come
in, you know, we've worked during the week and it's hard. On Wednesday
nights, sometimes we're tired and sleepy and there's times
here even on Sundays. But the hope is, you know, when
we realize, wow, my flesh is really withdrawn and pulling
back here, the hope is that the Lord blesses that word. and engages
us even when we are tired and causes us to hear and to know,
I needed this, Lord, thank you. Thank you for blessing me to
hear the gospel of Christ once again. And so we don't want to
have that lukewarm spirit and be careless and indifferent to
worshiping our God and it's a fearful thing when you
realize that you're doing the least that you possibly can do
just to just to get by and have a Conscience, you know a sad
conscience that says well at least I'm still coming You know
once in a while like you don't want to get to that point because
you know when you when you feel it You're like this isn't this
isn't healthy. This isn't where I'm supposed
to supposed to be. And our Lord said to the church
there in Revelation, because thou art lukewarm and neither
cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Some people
don't mind lukewarm coffee, but I know when it's starting to
get pretty lukewarm, I usually get up and I just bring it to
the microwave, or if you don't have a microwave, you just stop
drinking it for a while because it's just not as lukewarm. You know, we were mindful of
these things. And the Lord said even to the church at Ephesus.
And the church at Ephesus, when I think of them, just from what
I've read about Ephesus and the scriptures, they were a knowledgeable
group. They knew the scriptures. They
were well taught by the apostles. So not just one, but they were
blessed at a minimum with Paul and John. John went there and
it's believed that he wrote the gospel of John from Ephesus,
that he was there when he wrote that gospel there. So those men
and women were well taught and yet it's there in Revelation
where it says you've even proven apostles who claim to be apostles
and found them to be false. You know that because you know
the truth. And then he said, but you've lost your first love. He brings he says that to them
and and we it stings our heart because we know what that is
We feel it too, and we're reminded when when we to lose our first
love and so it's a warning to us and so what Paul is saying
is we should have a fervent to boil in our spirit, in our soul,
to want to worship the Lord because we have the gospel. When you
think about what the Lord has blessed us with in giving us
the gospel and showing us that we are sinners in need of His
grace and that He's provided everything in Christ, that's
a joy, that's a rejoicing to be reminded of the hope that
we have here in the gospel of what our Savior's done. And that
brings us to the next verse, verse 12, which says, rejoicing
in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. And so we're reminded of the
hope that we have in Christ, that this isn't it, this isn't
the end. And that is a a good hope when
you are troubled and tried by this world and the difficulties
that we do experience in this world. And when we're brought
and humbled to remember that this world isn't a kind and generous
place. It's not habitable and gracious
to us by nature. It's a great comfort to know
that I'm the Lord's and I know the truth and He's coming again
as He's promised. And that's a good hope to know
that He is our inheritance and that this isn't the end of things.
So don't lose sight of the fact that our God has provided everything
richly for us in His Son. In Hebrews 3.6 it's called the
rejoicing of the hope. The rejoicing of the hope. And
we're to remain firm unto the end in that hope that He's given
us in Christ. And we're rejoicing in this salvation
because it's out of or according to His riches in grace. His riches in grace. And what
is that? What is that talking about, His
riches in grace there in Ephesians? Well, it's concerning His Son. He sent His Son, He sent the
Son of God to take upon him the likeness of this sinful flesh,
to humble himself in that manner called his humiliation when he
stooped low and became what we are yet without sin and endured
the contradiction of sinners against himself and the spitting
and the hatred and the animosity and just the constant fighting
with him who did nothing but speak truth the truth to them
and did good to the people. He did those things and he not
only did that but redeemed us with his own blood, purchased
us with his own blood. We that are undeserving and unworthy
sinners, he did that for for us and so the next thing here
notice that this hope it precedes our tribulation right as believers
we will experience we do experience tribulation but that hope precedes
it If you have no hope in Christ, well then you don't experience
the tribulation of Christ, the tribulation that believers go
through. You may have difficulties and trials and suffering and
sorrow like all men and women do, but it won't be in the name
of Christ. So that hope for believers precedes,
that hope fixed in Christ, believing He died for me. precedes those
tribulations that we experience in the body of Christ. And so,
you know, it's just not in the verse that it precedes it, but
understand, we first have a hope in Christ before these tribulations
come, all right? And so, believe, that's how we
endure the tribulation, all right? If you have no hope, If you have
no hope in Christ, that He's coming again, and that your inheritance
is yet to come, then you wouldn't want to endure the tribulations
as a believer. Having a hope in Christ, you
wouldn't want that at all, right? So it comes before those sufferings
and sorrows. And so Paul reminds us of our
hope and he encourages us to rejoice in hope even in the face
of tribulation. And as we endure these tribulations,
what happens? Well, as we go through tribulations,
you grow in patience in tribulations, right? You've had many tribulations
by now, you that believe Christ, and you begin to grow in patience.
And then as you grow in patience, you begin to grow in experience.
And as you're talking to new believers, maybe older than you,
maybe not, right? As you're talking to other believers
who are going through tribulations, you're able to encourage them
and rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ because you've
grown in patience and grown in tribulation. Look over at Romans
5. Turn to Romans 5, and Paul is
speaking hope a lot in the book of Romans. In Romans 5 we're gonna pick
up in verse 3 but you know the verse 1 he's speaking of our
justification by Christ and he's encouraging and rejoicing our
rejoicing which is founded upon the hope of the glory of God
and then he shows this this pattern of growth that the Lord works
this hope in the midst of tribulation. So he says verse 3, and not only
so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience. and patience experience, and
experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which
is given unto us." And so that's why you continue in hope. That's why even in the tribulations
and those times which expose our weaknesses in the flesh,
which humble us and show us that, no, I'm not saving myself, I
desperately need the grace of God here, that our Lord is growing
us through those tribulations. And you see that cycle. It begins
in hope, right? We hope and believe that Christ
is my Savior, and then the tribulations come, and patience has worked,
and experience has worked, and what happens? It feeds even to
a greater amount of hope, because now you're able to hope against
hope in the face of insurmountable odds according to the flesh,
because you know, Lord, I may have the sentence of death in
myself, but it's that I might not trust in myself, but in God,
which raiseth the dead. And that's a good hope. that
He works in us for the day in which we live, right? We don't
know what the day shall bring that, you know, we were created
and prepared for this hour. And we don't know what awaits
us, but we have confidence that our God does know, and He's prepared
this very people for the hour that we shall go through, and
the trials that we shall have, that we shall endure to the end
in hope, in hope. and strengthened in the inner
man by his spirit, all right? Then at the end, back in our
text, Romans 12, he says at the end of verse 12, continuing instant
in prayer. You know, and I was thinking,
and this is pretty simple really, but prayer goes on, it gets more
frequent and more intense as the trials become more frequent
and intense, right? As your trials grow in intensity,
so does your prayer. We're brought to remember, and
I can speak as one who's pretty hard-hearted in the trials, and
if I don't respond to the light trial, the Lord has a way in
turning that pressure on until I come to myself, as it were,
and the parable of the prodigal son where you come to yourself
and realize, what am I doing? Why am I continuing in this and
forgetful of my God? And he brings us to ourselves
to remember, I'm a child of God and here I am way out and who
knows where. And then we begin to pray and
cry out to him and say, Lord, have mercy, receive me and help
me. Bring me back to to your loving arm. So prayer increases
that that way and you know, when we go long without prayer, it's
indicative that we're pretty confident in ourselves. Things
are going good and we've we're on top of everything and everything's
coming together just just fine. And it's a it's a sign that we're
pretty pretty confident in ourselves and we're really just blind to
the enemies that are all about us, that we're more acutely aware
of when we are praying and seeking the Lord, because even in seeking
the Lord, we see just how close, right? You ever have those times
where you look back at a moment that you just sort of dismissed
and went on through, and then you look back and you realize,
I was in great danger then, and the Lord delivered me, and I
didn't even know it. I didn't even realize how gracious
and merciful he was to me in that hour. And you can look back
on those times and see that. And so, you know, a person who
loves the world, they don't really pray, right? Except maybe in
a light manner, they might pray, you know, carelessly, but there's
very little prayer to the Lord when they love the world and
they have all the comforts and the joys of the world in that
manner, right? And so prayer, continuing incident
prayer, it does remind us, but the reality is we're not even
gonna continue incident prayer until the Lord warms our heart
and stirs us up and brings us into those tribulations that
make us mindful and readily willing, not even willing, we just begin
to pray. Just breathing, Lord, help me. Sometimes that's all
we can pray. Lord, have mercy, help me, Lord. And we find it hard to put even
the words, the right words, but we're thankful that the Spirit
intercedes on our behalf even when we don't know what to pray
and are scattered in our thoughts and mind. The Lord puts us in
this mindset of serving our brethren, and as you pray for yourself,
don't you begin to remember and think of your brethren and what
they've said and what they're struggling with? And you realize,
if I'm struggling, they must be struggling too, and they're
going through it. It helps us even in our prayers
and serving one another in that manner as well. And so that leads
us back to that walking in love toward our brethren, all right?
As we previously read there, verse 10, be kindly affectioned
one to another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one
another. And it is good, even when you
go and you begin to pray for yourself and then you remember
your brethren, That's good when you stop praying for yourself
and praying for your brethren and say, Lord, you know the things
I have needed, but would you remember brother so-and-so? Would
you remember my sister and help them, Lord? Because I see what
I'm going through and they're going through, trials and troubles
as well, if not more so. And so, not slothful in business,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And then drop down to verse
13. in that manner and that service.
He says distributing, or in other words, communicating to the necessity
of saints given to hospitality, right? That walk, that communication
that we have, and that's continuing to serve your brethren. Turn
over to Matthew 25. Matthew 25, and this is full
of how we are hospitable and serve our brethren. Matthew 25,
34 and 40. Verse 34, Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. For I was in hunger, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took
me in, naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and he visited
me. I was in prison, and he came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when
saw we thee and hungered, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave
thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, As much
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me." And you notice those are very hospitable
things, those are very actionable, it's a walk in love toward your
brethren. I was talking to Johnny just
yesterday actually and she was just Boasting on on some of you
how you've been taking care of her and visiting her and Scott
and providing meals She's like I can cook I can do it, but you
know Barb She comes over anyway and brings me food and you know
Ken and Leah Have been visiting them, and I'm sure others of
you have reached out to them as well And and if you have him
don't let it stop you reach out to him anyway. You know it's
it's It's good. It means a lot to them. And in
doing that, you're serving the Lord. It's ministering to the
Lord when you do that. And I know it because she's delighted
and it means a lot to her to see the love that you guys have
for them as well. And you can relate it to just
times when you've been cared for as well. And if you haven't
yet, there will be a day when we need it as well. And so it's
always a comfort to do that. All right. And so One other,
the final point I'll say in closing is that, speaking of tribulation,
and that tells us that we're gonna be called upon to serve
our brethren even when times are a trial for us. Even when,
excuse me, even when there's times of tribulation, we're called
upon to be hospitable and to serve our brethren. And that
might seem harder, it might be harder. We may have less food
one day and still be called upon to see our brethren in need and
to share or be short on something and they need something and be
made willing to serve them. We pray that we'll have that
spirit of hospitality and willingness to give to our brethren. And
I was thinking, we're being called on to do that in tribulation.
And that's even true, right? When you're praying for your
brethren, continuing in prayer, you're in the trial, and yet
you're praying for your brethren as well. You're not forgetting
them, you're lifting them up to the Lord, that he would be
merciful and gracious to them and help them. But I was thinking about that
hospitality or that service in tribulation. I was actually thinking,
you know, it's actually probably harder to serve and to give in
times of comfort, right? When you have abundance and everything's
going well, it's probably a whole challenge in and of itself to
serve and be hospitable and helpful and doing those things for your
brethren in times of great comfort. Because usually when it's time,
when times are lean and tough, you're usually very mindful of
it and you're usually praying to the Lord and have a willing
spirit to serve. But remember that though, that
the Lord is well pleased when we walk in love toward one another. I'm not talking of the flesh,
I'm saying as he's proving that faith and that work of grace
that he does in his people, the Lord gives us that spirit and
I think we find that spirit when it's hard. and difficulties and
various things, you know, various troubles of that nature. So I
pray the Lord would help us in that walk of love, of being fervent,
you know, fervent service, even in times of tribulation, because
the Lord calls us to that. And I believe, you know, there
will probably be occasion at some point, if not many times,
to do it, some in greater measures of tribulation than others. The
Lord has a purpose in giving us this word for us in our day
and in our hour. So I pray the Lord will bless
that word to your hearts and help us as a body to walk in
that fervency of spirit. So let's close in prayer. Our
gracious Lord, we thank you, Father, for your word and what
you say in your word. Lord, help us to hear it. You
provide all these words of instruction, not to the flesh, but to that
inner man, that we may be strengthened in Christ and be mindful and
motivated by the love, constrained by the love that you have for
us, that we would desire to see those fruits of grace manifested
in us toward our brethren. And Lord, we pray for grace. We don't pray for tribulation.
We pray for grace, knowing that the troubles will come, but we
pray that when they do, your spirit of grace and love and
joy and rejoicing and hope would be found in us unto the praise,
the glory, and the honor of your name. It's in the name of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray this. Amen. Okay, brethren, we'll take about
15 minutes. We'll come back definitely by
1110, maybe like 1108 we'll get started on the next service.