Insight into a Missionary Heart – Pt. 1
Romans 1:8-10
July 29, 2007
This morning we finished the introduction to the book of Romans.
And Paul laid a very important and insightful foundation for this book.
It is about the gospel, and not just any gospel, but “the gospel of God”, the one “promised beforehand through His prophets”, the one “concerning His Son”, who was the God Man, and the one meant “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake.”
And Paul gave us tremendous insight there in those first 8 verses.
Tonight we actually begin the letter.
You will remember in verse 1, Paul said,
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,”
And if you will recall we talked about:
The Man
The Ministry
The Message
And Paul gave us an overview.
Well tonight, we are going to look a little deeper
Into what made this great apostle tick.
Tonight we gain some insight, not only into Paul, but also into WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GREAT MISSIONARY
And of course, Paul set the standard for missionary work.
He embarked on three missionary journey’s, wrote more than half of the New Testament and planted numerous churches and eventually was martyred for Christ.
So tonight we are going to begin our look at what this man tick.
I asked you during that first sermon in Romans,
“WHAT TYPE OF PERSON DOES GOD USE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL?”
Or
“WHAT TYPE OF PERSON PREACHES THE GOSPEL?”
Tonight we are going to begin looking at that a little deeper.
And there are 5 things we see in our text tonight that help us understand what it means to have a missionary heart.
#1 HIS PRIORITY
Romans 1:8a
“FIRST, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
It is by no mere coincident that Paul used that word there.
“First”
He was letting the Romans see of first importance what mattered to him, and
What do we find Paul doing first, but giving thanks?
He was dedicated to thankfulness.
If I were writing this letter, I might have started off with pointing out how the Romans needed to straighten up, or maybe with a theological dissertation, or maybe a report on how I was doing.
And certainly Paul will get to those things in this letter, but he made it clear that before he did anything else, he first wanted them to know that he was grateful.
HE WAS GRATEFUL FOR WHAT HAD ALREADY OCCURRED.
If you will remember we talked about this in regard to worship.
A vitally important part of worship is gratitude.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
If you will remember Paul taught us the motivation for worship, “by the mercies of God.” In other words, we are motivated, not to get something new, but because of what God has already done.
Paul could have immediately started in on how this church could be better, or stronger, or bigger, or more effective, but he didn’t. In stead he first offered thanks that there was even a church there at all.
SOME TIMES WE CAN GET SO TASK AND GOAL ORIENTED THAT WE ARE NOT GRATEFUL FOR ANYTHING BUT THE BIG THING.
An attitude like that can discourage you quickly.
FOR EXAMPLE:
We send a team on mission, and we can easily get caught up in that team having success, and winning people to Jesus, and growing the kingdom. Paul would have first been thankful that there was even a team going.
What we must remember is that every step taken is by God’s grace.
Before we get so ambitious to conquer the world, first be thankful that He saved you, and that he called you, and that you were able to respond, and that others responded, and that there is an opportunity.
All of this was by God’s grace, don’t forget to thank Him for that.
So while we are ambitious, don’t forget to be thankful, for in all truth, God has already done more than we deserve.
When we aren’t thankful, we set ourselves up for disappointment.
In fact, the opposite of thankfulness, is greed.
A greedy person is greedy because he can’t see how good he already has it.
Learn to recognize what God has done and be grateful,
Because it is more than we deserve.
And this really was a staple in Paul’s ministry.
Lenny pointed this out in Sunday School this morning.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 3:15-17 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 “pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I think you see the point.
But a great missionary heart takes nothing for granted.
He is not so ambitious that he can’t see
What God has been doing for him all along.
So don’t miss the priority of a missionary heart, and that is to constantly keep track of all that God has done and to be thankful.
First his priority
#2 HIS PERCEPTION
Romans 1:8b
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all,”
This again, I think teaches us a lot.
WHY DIDN’T HE THANK THE ROMANS FOR THEIR FAITHFULNESS?
WHY DIDN’T HE THANK THEM FOR STANDING STRONG?
Because Paul understood two things.
1) THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
2) THE SALVATION OF JESUS
Instead of thanking the Romans for their faithfulness, Paul thanked God, because Paul understood that the only reason they were there and faithful was because of God’s sovereignty.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
And Paul said he thanked God “through Jesus Christ” because he knew that not only was it God’s sovereignty, but Jesus sacrifice that allowed this church to be who they were.
They could not have been strong on their own.
John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Paul knew their success was not a result of human achievement,
But was a result of the working of God,
And so he gave credit where credit was deserved.
Sometimes I think we get too eager to accept credit for our success, or to attribute success to the receptiveness of the people. And while there is a definite human element involved in salvation, we must not forget that it is all a result of the working of God.
Mark 4:26-29 “And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he himself does not know. “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Given Sporadically
Grows Supernaturally
Gathered Suddenly
The only reason that seed did anything was because of the supernatural work of God. That parable accurately illustrates how little we really do
In regard to winning the lost into the kingdom.
And Paul was perceptive of that.
He didn’t fail to give thanks,
And he didn’t fail to give thanks were thanks was due.
That is the heart of a missionary.
His priority His perception
#3 HIS PRAISE
Romans 1:8c
“because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
And here we see what it is that causes a missionary to rejoice.
Paul is happy, Paul is rejoicing that their faith is not stagnant, but that it is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
This could of course mean that they were a mission’s active church,
But mostly I think it reveals that people were encouraged by their faithfulness.
We aren’t told specifically what, but we can estimate what sort of struggles a church that was planted in Rome must have faced.
Rome was the death place of both Peter and Paul.
It was Rome that ran Christians into the coliseum and fed them to the lions.
This was no easy place to serve Christ.
And yet they were so faithful that it encouraged others.
I wonder if it might have been the Romans that Peter referred to.
1 Peter 5:8-9 ‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
And this is the type of encouragement that the church in Rome is obviously offering.
Not only that, but it reinforces what we spoke of this morning, that saving faith is accompanied with obedience.
The world was not encouraged because they “believed”, but because they obviously obeyed.
And this was the reason Paul rejoiced as well.
And I can say this is well.
THER IS NO GREATER FORM OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO A MINISTER THAN THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE FLOCK.
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
A minister is encouraged when his flock is faithful.
For one, it lets the minister know that he is not wasting his life.
2 Corinthians 3:1-3 “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
A missionary heart is one that is encouraged when people are faithful to the Lord.
But what is even more amazing to me about Paul here is that Paul did not plant this church. These were not “Paul’s Children in the Lord”.
And yet Paul is still rejoicing at their faithfulness.
THE HEART OF A MISSIONARY BEATS FOR THE KINGDOM,
NOT FOR PERSONAL GLORY.
Listen to some of these statements by Paul
2 Corinthians 12:15 “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Acts 21:10-14 “As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
A great missionary heart is one who rejoices in the big picture, not just one who rejoices in his own success.
There is no room for bitterness or jealousy in a missionary heart.
I can show you a negative example of this in Scripture.
TURN TO: LUKE 9:37-56
But of course Paul displayed a true missionary heart.
He rejoiced over their faithfulness, even though it was not because of something he had done.
His priority, his perception, his praise,
#4 HIS PURPOSE
Romans 1:9a
Now if you will notice, Paul sort of crams this point in there.
It doesn’t really have anything to do with the point he is making.
This statement is sort of thrown in there FYI.
“God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son”
It doesn’t really have anything to do with why he is thankful, or why he is rejoicing, or why he is praying for them.
But it is necessary to be in this list.
Because a missionary heart must have a sense of purpose.
And here Paul mentions his purpose is to serve God.
And Paul does that by preaching the gospel.
Now you may or may not be a preacher.
1 Corinthians 12:14-18 “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”
You may have a different gift and purpose.
Paul was a preacher, and in order to be faithful, he had to preach.
We heard what he said this morning.
1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
He even enlisted prayer to help him be faithful to this purpose.
Ephesians 6:19-20 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
A MISSIONARY HAS A SENSE OF PURPOSE
AND IS EAGER TO SERVE GOD BY FULFILLING HIS PURPOSE
Romans 12:6-8 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
That is a missionary heart, that does what he can to the best of his ability,
And he does it because he is serving the Lord.
His priority, His perception, His praise, His purpose
#5 HIS PASSION
Romans 1:9b-10
Now I think this point really drives home the essence of a missionary heart as good as any in Scripture.
Just look at the wording Paul used.
“how unceasingly I make mention of you”
You get the idea that Paul is literally chewing God’s ear off about the Roman people. We don’t know what Paul specifically prayed for them, but we do know he prayed for them.
And he did it “unceasingly”
“always in my prayers making request”
Here, not only is Paul praying unceasingly, but every time he prays, he mentions the Romans, and here we learn that he is requesting something of God every time he prays.
Paul is relentless in pleading with God about something.
“if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.”
Now look at that statement, for it gives us great insight into Paul’s heart.
Here is a man who never stops praying, and every time he prays he is asking God if he can finally go to the Romans.
And notice he says, “at last”, kind of makes you think he is disappointed every time he has not been allowed to go.
Notice he uses the word “succeed in coming to you.”
That makes me think that he has even tried to come several times and has been thwarted in his plans.
THE POINT:
A TRUE MISSIONARY IS NOT WAITING ON GOD TO FORCE HIM,
HE IS COUNTING ON GOD TO STOP HIM.
And even seems to be discouraged only when he is not allowed.
I mean look at Paul’s life.
Acts 16:6-10 “They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
Philippians 1:8 “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 2:18 “For we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, more than once — and yet Satan hindered us.”
1 Corinthians 16:5 “But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia;”
As far as Paul is concerned,
The command to go has already been issued,
And unless God reaches in and stops him, he is going.
And that is a heart that beats missions isn’t it?
I mean we pretend like we want to go, and then act so disappointed if we don’t get the opportunity.
And I only condemn myself here.
I would be lying if I told you I’d never been relieved when someone wasn’t home when I knocked on their door.
Paul on the other hand was heavily discouraged.
You get the feeling that nothing could stop him (accept God)
From spreading the gospel.
And that is really echoed in this statement here.
”For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.”
In verse 11, he will throw in and “I long to see you.”
In verse 13, he adds, “often I have planned to come to you”
In verse 15, he adds, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
I mean this guy wants to go.
THAT IS A GREAT MISSIONARY HEART.
He is first of all thankful for all that God has already done.
He is perceptive that it is God who has done it all.
He is rejoicing at every advance of the kingdom no matter if it was because of him or not.
He is committed to serve God in whatever area God has equipped him.
He is passionate about going, until forced to stop.
It’s no wonder Paul was such a successful missionary.
With a heart like that, who wouldn’t be?
That is a missionary heart.
HOW IS YOUR HEART?
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Maybe tonight, it is time to allow God to change your heart, so that it beats totally for Him.
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON PREACHES THE GOSPEL?
The person that really wants to.
Pray
