Insight into a Missionary Heart – Pt. 2
Romans 1:11-13
August 5, 2007
In Romans 1:1, Paul made a foundational statement about himself.
Romans 1:1 “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,”
Then last Sunday night
We began looking a little deeper into the heart of a missionary.
Romans 1:8-10 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 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.”
And we saw five characteristics that describe a missionary.
1) His Priority (8a)
“First, I thank my God…”
A true missionary is thankful for all that God accomplishes through him.
2) His Perception (8b)
“I, thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all,”
A true missionary knows who deserves the credit.
3) His Praise (8c)
“because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
A true missionary rejoices at the faithfulness of God’s people.
4) His Purpose (9a)
“For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His son,”
A true missionary understands that He is here to serve God.
5) His Passion (9b-10)
“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.”
A true missionary is not forced, or even willing, he desires to go.
And we learned a great deal as we saw
THE DESCRIPTION OF A MISSIONARY.
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON DOES GOD USE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL?
“He uses the type of person who wants to.”
I’VE NEVER SEEN A PERSON WHO WANTED TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS THAT NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY.
LACK OF OPPORTUNITY IS CREATED BY A LACK OF DESIRE.
Well this morning, I want to continue our study of
“Insight into a Missionary’s Heart”
By looking at THE DESIRE OF A MISSIONARY.
WHAT IS A MISSIONARY HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH?
WHY IS HE GOING?
That is what we learn from Paul here in these 3 verses.
3 things that Paul desires.
#1 TO GROW FAITH
Romans 1:11
Paul picks up right where he left off.
“For I long to see you”
If Paul hasn’t driven that point home by now, he never will.
Some people seem to think that missions is something
That is done totally and entirely against the will.
Others expect that because they don’t have the desire,
Then they are not supposed to be missionaries.
BOTH ARE WRONG.
Missions is not something that is done against the will.
It is the desire of the heart.
A person who has no desire to do the work of a missionary
Does not evidence that they are not called.
They only evidence that their heart is not right before God.
WHY?
Because missions is commanded.
And if we truly loved God, we would keep His commandments.
John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
So when Paul says, “I long to see you”
He is only evidencing that his heart is in a proper state before God,
And his greatest desire is to be faithful to his calling.
But we really covered that in greater detail last Sunday night.
Here, we see why he wants to see them so badly.
IS IT BECAUSE THEY ARE HIS FRIENDS?
IS IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE GOOD FOOD?
IS IT BECAUSE HE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE THE COLISEUM?
“For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you”
Now at first that can sound a little arrogant.
I can already hear the “nay-sayers” in Rome.
“Well that Paul just thinks he is God’s gift to the Church”
It is not a statement of ARROGANCE, it is a statement of CONFIDENCE.
Paul was a preacher of the gospel, and he was confident
That his preaching would further equip the Roman believers.
He said, “so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you,”
“impart” translates METADIDOMI
(Met-ad-ido-mee)
It means: “To share a part of”
(meta = “with” & didomi = “to give”)
It is the same word Paul used to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 2:8 “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”
In other words Paul was saying,
I want to come and give you some of what I have been given.
I want to share with you what God has shared with me.
And this is really a missionary desire isn’t it?
GOD HAD GIVEN SALVATION TO PAUL
Paul wanted to give salvation to them.
GOD HAD GIVEN THE GOSPEL TO PAUL
Paul wanted to give the gospel to them.
GOD HAD GIVEN UNDERSTANDING TO PAUL
Paul wanted to give understanding to them.
And this is the desire of Paul’s heart, as seen in all his letters.
Colossians 1:28-29 “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.”
Paul’s desire was to go and share what he had.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT
People in the bush in Africa don’t have access to the resources we have.
People in China don’t have access to freely and openly study the word.
People in Guatemala have seldom heard anything other than Catholicism.
People in the Middle East have seldom heard anything other than Islam.
But we have been blessed with tremendous privilege
To learn the word of God.
And so we go to share what we have learned.
“For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you”
But then we ask:
WHY DO YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE THIS SPIRITUAL GIFT?
“that you may be established;”
Literally it is so that they may be “strengthened.”
It is not as though Paul is implying that they are weak,
But that what he has for them, will make them that much stronger.
It will “establish” them. It will “fix” them.
It will keep them from wavering, and give them conviction.
Paul wanted to strengthen the Romans.
And this he did in all the churches.
Ephesians 4:11-14 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;”
Philippians 1:8-11 “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Colossians 2:4-8 “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
Paul wanted to share what God had given him
So that the Romans could benefit and be strengthened.
AND THAT IS A DESIRE OF A MISSIONARY
Missions is not all about going and making new converts.
Missions is also about strengthening the believers who are already there, So that they can continue to win the lost after you leave.
So first Paul desired to grow faith
#2 GET FUEL
Romans 1:12
Now here is a really encouraging verse to those who are called to serve. It is also a humbling verse.
IT IS EASY TO BECOME SPIRITUALLY ARROGANT
“I am a spiritual giant, and these people are fortunate I came. “
They are ignorant, you are wise…
They are confused, you are confident…
AND THEY SHOULD FEEL FORTUNATE
THAT YOU ARE TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR IMPORTANT LIFE
TO GO AND TRY TO BRING THEM UP TO YOUR LEVEL.
That is a foolish attitude
And it is not the attitude of a true missionary.
Paul knew he could teach the Romans,
But there were also plenty of things that they could teach him.
“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.”
PAUL WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM WITH HIS PREACHING
THEY WOULD ENCOURAGE PAUL WITH THEIR FAITHFULNESS
“each of us by the other’s faith”
Remember, they were in Rome.
The place that would eventually kill Paul, and Peter…
The place where Christians were fed to the lions…
The mother place of emperor worship…
(8) “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
Knowledge or no, their very faithfulness in the midst of such circumstances would encourage anyone.
They knew how to live for Jesus.
And Paul was expecting to get refueled by them.
HERE IS WHY
The missionary life can be discouraging.
Satan constantly throws in your face how ineffective your ministry is.
Satan makes sure you see people when they defect.
And at times you can wonder with Elijah, “Am I the only one left?”
Paul witnessed the defection of Demas
Paul witnessed the fear of John Mark
Paul had argued with Barnabas
The Galatians were struggling with circumcision and legalism…
The Colossians were being drawn into mysticism…
The Corinthians were sexually immoral and were doubting Paul’s apostolic credentials
The Thessalonians has believed a lie that they had missed the 2nd Coming
And Timothy is in Ephesus wanting to quit because of persecution
Sometimes in the ministry you can feel like
The weight of the world is on your shoulders.
You just need to see that someone is real.
You need to see someone standing firm.
You need to see someone desiring God.
PAUL COULDN’T WAIT FOR THE ROMANS TO ENCOURAGE HIM.
I SAW THIS FIRST HAND
In China, I was given the opportunity to teach 5 preachers in the underground church.
We talked about Matthew 10 and the reality of persecution, but the necessity to stand strong despite the hardship.
At one point, the leader of the group said, “I feel inspired”.
I might have had the Scriptural understanding,
But they had the daily application.
I encouraged them through preaching,
They encouraged me through faithfulness.
AND THIS IS THE POINT.
Missionaries don’t just go to give, they also go to grow.
They go to have their faith tested, challenged, and grown.
They go to learn more of God.
They go to experience God in newer ways.
They go to share, and they go to learn from those they share with.
And Paul was no different. He went to grow faith, and to get fuel
#3 GAIN FRUIT
Romans 1:13
Here again this verse begins with the desire of the missionary to go.
“I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far)”
You would have to be blind to fail to see Paul’s desire.
It is ridiculous to think that our lack of desire is acceptable.
These first 15 verses of Romans are saturated
With missionary zeal and desire.
But here in verse 13, we see yet again why Paul wants to go.
“so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.”
And this is one that probably rings more true to our understanding.
SURELY WE REALIZE THAT MISSIONS IS ABOUT GAINING FRUIT
You will remember talking about fruit in our study of John.
We learned in John, that every believer is expected to be fruitful.
John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “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.”
John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
I mean the expectation of fruit is obvious.
And we even talked about the different kinds of fruit.
THERE IS PROOF FRUIT
This is the fruit of the Spirit
This is the fruit of good works.
This type of fruit is your proof that you are a Christian.
Which is what Jesus said just a moment ago in John 15:8, “that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
And that type of fruit is important,
But that is not what Paul is talking about.
Paul is not going to Rome to show off his fruit.
Paul is not going to Rome to prove that he is a Christian.
Paul is looking for the second type of fruit.
THERE IS PRODUCE FRUIT
And very simply, produce is what the land owner
Expects to receive from the tenant.
In fact, you will remember that God was extremely angry with Israel because they did not produce the fruit they were expected to produce.
Isaiah 5:1-7 “Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”
Jesus echoed this sentiment in His parable of the vineyard.
Matthew 21:33-41 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. “When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
God expected fruit from those who rented His vineyard.
SOME DAY, GOD WILL EXPECT FRUIT FROM US AS WELL
Paul knew this so he wanted to go to Rome
“so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.”
And to be specific, the fruit Paul speaks of is the fruit of converts.
John 4:31-36 “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.”
Philippians 1:22 “But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.”
Colossians 1:5-6 “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;”
This is even why Jesus said you can spot a prophet
By the type of converts he produces.
Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
The point is simple.
God expects produce from those He has enlisted as His servants, And Paul was eager to gather the produce.
In short, his desire was to grow the kingdom of God.
AND THIS IS CERTAINLY A DESIRE OF A MISSIONARY
We desire to grow Christians
We desire to grow ourselves
But we must also desire to gather in the harvest.
This was Paul’s desire.
And it is the desire of a missionary.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR DESIRE.
Do you desire to help other Christians grow stronger in their faith?
Do you desire to allow others to encourage you to grow stronger?
Do you desire the growth of the kingdom of God and to lead others to Christ?
That is the Missionary Heart
And if we do not have it, then our heart is not right.
BECAUSE THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD
I want to encourage you to allow God to examine your heart,
And see if God would desire to make a change in you.
That may be in regard to your priorities. Maybe it’s time you allow God to have full control of your life.
BUT THIS MORNING IT MAY ALSO BE IN REGARD TO SALVATION.
It is impossible to truly desire the growth of God’s kingdom,
Until God’s Spirit dwells within you.
And I’m not just talking about a willingness to go on a mission trip.
(I went on mission trips when I was lost)
I’m talking about the desire to be a missionary.
You cannot share what you do not have.
This morning, if that is you, I invite you to give your heart to Jesus Christ.
But mostly this morning,
I ask you to allow God to examine your heart,
And to tell you if you are in need of a change.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
