Transcription
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If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. No, we will not finish Romans today. We got one more week after this. But Romans chapter 16, the title of the message is "A Pastor's Heart." Because as you come to Romans chapter 16, what you see in a big way is the heart of the Apostle Paul. As he is now having written his magnificent treatise on salvation, having talked about some of the practical, practical implications and applications of salvation and God's work in our lives, Paul comes to the close of the letter. And though in all of his letters he greets people and mentions people, of all of his letters, Romans contains the longest list. It's very, very interesting because this is not a church that Paul has visited before. This is not a church that Paul has founded. But this is a church filled with people Paul knows, people who in times past have made a difference in the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
And so, as we look at it, we learn something about his appreciation for the people who partnered with him. And this is really important because sometimes what can happen is, because of the giftedness of a person like Paul, we can have a tendency to think they're the one doing it. We can look at pastors, we can look at people that are spiritual leaders and and we can say, "Wow, look at their giftedness. Look at their impact. Look at what God is doing through them." And to be sure, God is using them and God is working through them. And yet, at the same time, it's very, very important for all of us to recognize the fact that along with that man or woman of God, there is invariably a team of people, maybe in the hundreds, maybe in the thousands, who are working alongside, who are working underneath the leadership of, who are advancing the ministry and that person's name is over the front of it. But let me just tell you this, it's not that that person gets the credit. In God's kingdom, God sees exactly what's being done and who's doing it. And God remembers and God knows. That's why a list like this is so important. You may not know who these people are, but heaven does. You may feel like, "You know what, I'm working and I wonder if people really know. I wonder if John knows all that I'm doing." And I might not know, but God does. Heaven knows. And heaven takes note. That's what we read when we find this, when we look at this, that there are people who were a part of Paul's ministry that freed him up to write, that freed him up to minister, that encouraged him when he was discouraged, that helped bring healing to him when he was sick, that helped fund what he was doing, that he might do it for the glory of God. Without these people, we don't have Romans. Without these people, we don't have first and second Corinthians. Without these people, we don't have Galatians, we don't have Ephesians, we don't have Philippians, we don't have Colossians, we don't have first and second Thessalonians. Without these people, we don't have first and second Timothy, we don't have Titus. Without these people, we're missing a third of the New Testament. Listen, only in heaven are we really going to understand the impact of every single individual. Your role in the church is important. You're needed. The ministry will be stronger, will go farther, will accomplish more based on your involvement. Let me say this because I think this is important. Your involvement outlives both the length of your life, outlasts the length of your life, I should say, and outlasts the length of my ministry. Think of the Apostle Paul. He wrote this. That was 2,000 years ago. But because of the people who came along beside him, today there is a legacy, there is a power. And I'm just saying that if the Lord tarries, in the years to come, in the decades to come, there's going to be ministry that will be happening because of the ministry you did and you made possible.
It's very, very interesting to think about this. Paul expresses his love, expresses his appreciation for the people who have been a part of his ministry. And he also, in this passage, expresses concern for their continued blessing. As I read through this, I couldn't help but think, one of the great joys of ministry is not only being in the presence of God, but being in the presence of people whose love for the Lord, whose dedication to serving Him, and the way they serve Him is both a source of inspiration and encouragement. Any pastor can think back over their ministry and think of the people who have blessed them. Maybe you have been in vocational ministry, and I would suggest there are many in this room today. And and you've been in vocational ministry, and even as I talk about that, your mind begins to reflect back on the people who came along side you, the people God sent to you, the people who helped you, the people who encouraged you. Thinking back on the churches that I pastored, I pastored two of the churches beside this church. Was thinking back to western Kansas, town called Colby, and the people who came alongside a 22-year-old pastor who had a wife and a six-month-old baby. People who said, "I'll help you." People who said, "I'll come alongside you." People who encouraged us, who strengthened us, who bought into the ministry when they didn't know how and didn't know what for. For example, we did a, we did this singing Christmas tree, and we had this drama that was connected to it, and it was televised on the ABC affiliate. And it was, it was really, and I mean, they'd never seen anything like it. And so I was trying it on a piece of paper. And and one guy came alongside and he said, "I believe I can build it." And another guy did a bunch of research and found out where we could get the lights and a computer to run, which that was in the day before really computers. I mean, computers were not what they are now. I mean, all these different people who came alongside and said, "Yes, I'll help you. Yes, I'll buy in." We used to get the list from the utility company. We'd go around and we'd pass out the names out of a small group of people who said, "You know what, we'll show up on Tuesday nights and we'll go around and welcome the people who've just connected through the utility company. We're gonna welcome them to Colby, Kansas, and College Drive Assembly of God." And we'd go out and we'd do soul winning and we'd lead people to the Lord. I'm thankful for those people. I sat down and was thinking, how many people could I name? And I wasn't gonna take a long time, but I very quickly came up with 52 people who'd made a big impression on me. In Overland Park, Kansas, I thought of the people who helped us, the people who helped set up. Some of you in Joplin today, you're you're setting up and then you're tearing down, and and been there, done that. We did it at James River Church in the early days. We did it in Kansas City. I had an old green truck that I brought down here. It was a GMC, had 375,000 miles on it, held together by rust. I was a sight in Overland Park, let me tell you. Pull up to the stoplight, be a Mercedes over here, a Jag over there, and my GMC anchoring the center of the line. The manifold leaked oil, so it got a little smoked every now and then, rolling out. But I just look at him and think, "Eat my dust," and away it'd go. People helped us, though. People stood with us. And then at James River, oh my goodness, all the people who through all the years have been with us. Even as I take attendance, and you don't know it, but I'm taking attendance. There's people I remember. I remember what you did. I remember the acts of service. People who in the early days did certain things, people who were here helping, people who were blessing us, people who were, we're doing things, people who befriended us, people who, who did all kinds of different things for the church. Many of you who, who from the, the little blue building, and then the big blue building, which is the Evangelical Free Church, and you were there, and you've stayed with us through all the twists and turns and times when maybe, maybe you're wondering, "What in the world are they doing? Why would they do that?" And and staying with it and watching God bless the church and seeing more people saved. I'll tell you, as I go through 28 years, I'm more thankful than ever for those who've stayed with us and for those who have jumped in and said, "I want to be a part of it." I mean, this is, this is the reflection of a pastor. This is the reflection of the Apostle Paul as we look at these verses.
Let me just make a few observations. Diversity. There is in this list diversity of people with a unity of purpose. When you look through this list, it's very, very interesting. Of the 26 people that are mentioned, nine of them are women. And of the nine, four are said to work very hard. Paul is mentioning women. The first person in the list is a woman, which the reason why I make much of that is because this is in a culture where women were marginalized, where women certainly were not given prominence. And yet, you see in the New Testament that Paul is revolutionary in the sense of understanding that in Christ Jesus, there's neither male nor female. It's been unheard of. So you've got diversity there. There are slaves and former slaves on the list. There are influential people. There are famous people. There are relatives of Paul. There are single people and there are married people. There is racial diversity. There are people from Europe, and there are people from Asia, and there are people from Africa. That's the way the church looks. There is diversity of people, but there is unity of purpose. They're all followers of Christ. They're all committed to building the church. They're all committed to advancing the gospel. Let me just say this, because when we talk about building the church, some people are like, "You know, I'm all about events and the gospel. I'm not about building the church." No, you build the church, and the church advances the gospel, right? Jesus said, "I'll build my church." So we're committed to seeing the church strong, that the church might through its ministry advance the gospel. Whether that's through supporting missionaries and sending them out, whether that's through us going out in the community, whether it's through serving and things like Project Partnership, for advancing the gospel through the church. We're part of something bigger than ourselves. We're a part of something that does something no one of us could do on our own. Can you imagine trying to paint 250,000 square feet on your own? See you next year. I mean, listen, through the church, we have the ability to do things that are absolutely amazing. Can you imagine in one month, 400 plus children receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit? As amazing. You watch what happens in the church, the way that God is using the church, directing the church. And and what God is calling all of us to do is to be a part of the church, that the gospel might advance. And I would mention to you, among the diversity of, there's a diversity of churches in the sense that as Paul is writing to the Romans, it's not one church, it's a group of churches. We know that because when you look at verse five, "Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia." Somehow we got that verse, and that's that's the wrong verse. So there's a church that meets in verse five, I think, "and all the saints who are with them and the brothers who are with them." And there is a church that's mentioned in verse five. That's that's my bad, not their bad. Then there are different, yes, but the same doctrine. This is very, very interesting. They didn't all have the same job or do the same thing. As we walk through this list, you're gonna notice some are teachers, some are tentmakers, some are administrators, some are just hard workers. And there is a great gift and ministry that comes with that. Some are compassionate, some are sympathetic, some are friends, but all of them are loved and all of them helped the Apostle Paul. So as we look at this, we're gonna do is we're gonna kind of make our way through the list. If you have your Bibles, your iPhone, follow along. We'll highlight a few of the names.
The first one is Phoebe. Romans chapter 16, verse 1. "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well." She's from Cenchreae, which is the port city of Corinth. So technically, she's in Corinth. She's involved in in some kind of trade, some kind of business, because she's got a business trip to Rome. And as she has a business trip to Rome, I mean, it's very, very unusual because her name is a is a common slave name. So we don't know whether she, how she got her freedom, we don't know what the circumstances of that work. But suffice it to say, we do know that now she's not only a businesswoman, but she is a wealthy businesswoman, because she is a patron of many, including the Apostle Paul. That is to say, she's helping, she's funding, she's sending people. Praise God for people who have the ministry of supply, the ministry of sending, because they're sending people where they themselves aren't going, but they're able to finance the spread of the gospel. This is her. Not only do we know that about her, but we also know that she is a servant. She is a, we get our word "deacon" from it. She is a deaconess. She is a leader in the church there. We don't know exactly what she did, but she was known as a servant, and her service created a place of influence. Not only is this woman very, very influential, but here's what's interesting. Paul is sending her. And when he sends her, he, she is the one who is carrying the Epistle to the Romans, and she's going to deliver it to all three churches. She's going to read it to them. And when they raise their hands and say, "What does Paul mean by Romans chapter 8 and verse 15?" she's going to answer it. It's an amazing thing. And they didn't have verses and chapters in Paul's manuscript. But when they, "Hey, pause there a minute, Phoebe, I don't know what that phrase means. How do we apply that? What is the theological implication of that?" She is the one who is answering. I don't know about you, but I would hate to be in that role. That would be, you to have, you would have to have some serious theological chops to be able to speak for the Apostle Paul. She spent time. This is a person of depth. This is a person who has learned. This is a person in whom Paul has great, great confidence.
And then we move from her to a couple by the name of Priscilla and Aquila. Prisca. Paul uses the more formal Prisca. Luke uses the diminutive version of that name, Priscilla. And you read about them in Acts chapter 18, is one place where you see them. But Paul says, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well." In other words, this is a couple whose ministry was powerful in any church they were a part of. I love people like that who certainly have an affection for their home church, the church they came out of, but they're not so busy pining away over their home church that they're not active in their present church. Listen, praise God for where you were saved and what you experienced, but you ain't there, sweetheart. Get busy. It's time to get going. You're not there, sir. It's time to get busy. It's time to get going. Well, I know you worked hard in that church, but don't let, don't let that mean that somehow you can just sip and do nothing. This is a couple. Everywhere they went, they were difference makers. So much so that whenever they moved on, people were like, "I'm really sorry to see them go." I thank God for them. It says, "Greet also the church in their house." There's the verse. They have a church in their home. They have a church that they're leading. And we know this about them. We know that they, the Bible tells us, they they left Rome. Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews, and they went to Corinth. And as that Corinth, that they met the Apostle Paul. And they met him in the synagogue there. And the way they might have met him, a lot of theologians conjecture is that in the synagogue, you not only had the men on one part and the women on another part, but then you had the trades would sit together. So Paul, being a tentmaker, then if Aquila is a tentmaker, then they would be sitting by one another. And they'd say, "Oh, you make tents," and they would start talking and interacting. And pretty soon, they're working together, they're serving together. It's interesting as well, she's always mentioned first, which a lot of scholars have speculated why she's mentioned first, which again would have been very unusual for her to be mentioned at all in the Roman world, let alone to be mentioned first. And so some speculate that because they were in Rome and and because of her name, that she may have been from Roman nobility, that she may have been from the ruling class, and she met this humble Jewish tentmaker, and she married him. And so because she was married to a Jew, and Claudius expels the Jews from Rome, they have to leave. While they're in Corinth, they're listening, the Bible tells us, to a young man who is maybe the most prolific Greek-speaking preacher in the New Testament, a man by the name of Apollos. You see him mentioned in in first Corinthians. As they're listening to him, they realize they've got theological chops. They realize this guy doesn't know all that he needs to know theologically. So they, you know what, "You have a real preaching gift, but let us tell you a little more about about the gospel, about the about the Word of God, about the Holy Spirit, about all of that." And they enlighten him, they educate him, and they encourage him. That's Priscilla and Aquila. Others say that that notion, it's it's not so much she's Roman and he's Jewish, though that may be. It may be simply that by about the sheer force of her personality, that maybe she was far and away the more charismatic of the two. And maybe, you know, a couple like that where the wife is, or the husband, one is so much more charismatic than the other, that when you think of them together, you invariably think of the more charismatic one first. And then finally, it's interesting, they they risk their necks for Paul's life. We don't know when, we don't know where, but Paul will never forget it. Paul says, "They stood with me at great risk to themselves." And when it was okay for them to move back to Rome, they moved to Rome. And what do they do? They start a church.
Then we come to verse 5. "Epenetus, greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia." I just love that. Think of all the people who came to Christ under Paul's ministry. Think of all the people he saw saved. Think of the dynamic salvations. Think of the Philippian jailer, who was maybe the first convert in Europe. But here Paul is saying, "Listen, this guy in Asia, he was the first convert." Almost every pastor is going to remember those people who were the first person saved. I can remember the first person saved in Overland Park. It was a, it was a young woman who came to our house. Had never met us. She had given our piano player, who was a retired woman, $20.00. She heard about us, said, "Give him $20.00. I just want to help them out." And and then we told the piano player, "Hey, when you see her, tell her thank you. Tell her we'll pray for her." Based on that, she called us one morning. She came to our house. She was very distraught. She opened her purse, had a purse full of prescription drugs. She was, she was totally stressed out and ready to take her life. She said, "I'm going to take my life. I just thought I would come to see you first." And Debbie and I talked with her, and then Debbie prayed with her. She was gloriously saved. Flushed. And I'm not, I'm not saying we, you know, people have to kind of figure this out. And I'm not suggesting this as the way everything ought to go. But she flushed all of her medicine down the toilet right in that moment. She knew. She knew she was radically different. She went on to get her master's, to get her doctorate, got married, had a family, moved to Washington D.C., serving the Lord, loving the Lord. Our first convert here, it's interesting. He came to the office in January of 1992. And I can remember him coming in and saying to me, his name was Jeff, saying to me, "I had already told his coworker, 'I'm going to kill myself.'" His coworker said, "Well, you ought to go see Pastor Lindell." And I can remember him coming in and saying, "I want to be honest with you. I've been in the military. I'm bipolar. I have all kinds of psychological problems because of the way I grew up, because of the way I was raised, all these things." He went through the whole litany of of those things. And he said, "So what do you think? Do you have anything to say to me?" I said, "Yes, I do. There's a God who loves you, and He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. And if you put your faith in Him, He will turn you into a new person and radically save you." And he gave his heart to the Lord. And he's since gone on, married, his family, went on to pastor. Today, he's in the missions department for the International Four Square Church. So cool to watch. Paul remembers that first convert.
Then there's a woman by the name of Mary. We don't know much about her except she worked hard for you. The the word "worked hard." Paul uses that word of himself very often. "I worked hard. I worked night and day. I worked very hard." She worked hard. The idea is to the point of exhaustion. Paul knows her, knows of her, and knows what she's done in the Roman church, working to the point of exhaustion. And would you notice it's past tense? Which means that maybe now she's gotten older, maybe now she can't work as hard. But Paul says, "Make sure that you greet her."
And then there's Andronicus and Junia. "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen." So these are relatives of Paul. We don't know how they're related. We don't know whether she's a sister of Paul, or whether it's a brother-in-law's and his wife. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me, and they are fellow prisoners. So somewhere along the line, they were doing prison time with Paul. You couldn't get too close to Paul without winding up in jail yourself. And they're well known to the apostles. So these are people who go back to the beginning. In fact, Paul says, "They were in Christ before me." Here's what I find interesting. Is it possible? It's only speculation. But is it possible that these two shared Christ with a radical hater of Christ, and planted the seeds that ultimately sprouted and grew so that Paul became the mighty spokesman of the gospel? I read this and I thank God for all the people who from the beginning are constantly planting seeds. And you just don't know. You don't know who you're gonna share Christ with. You don't know. You might say, "Well, I got this family member and they hate God and they want nothing to do with it." Keep planting seed. You don't know. Someday you may see them do things you never imagined possible. But their kinsmen, their relatives, as are others that we read about in the chapter. In verse 11, you've got Herodion. In verse 21, you've got Hospitable. But at some point, they they were imprisoned with Paul. And and their ministry is something Paul appreciates.
And then there's another man by the name of Ampliatus. It's kind of a unique name. Maybe you got, you're expecting a child and you're saying, "I, I don't want a name like everybody else's." Right there you go. There may be a middle name. Maybe, maybe do that. Start there. "Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord." Here's what's interesting. A slave name. If you go to the catacombs in Rome today, and you go down in the earliest part of the catacombs, so you're really dealing with first-century believers, you'll find a big, big tomb with the name Ampliatus on it. Just tells you something. Here's a slave who became influential in the church. It doesn't matter your background. It doesn't matter who you are, where you've come from. There's a place for you, and God can use you. And God used this person in such a way that Paul says, "I love that guy." Tell, tell Ampliatus, tell him, "Dude, I love you. You're awesome."
And then you come to another, verse 9. Urbanus and Stachys. "Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ." So, so here's Paul. We don't know anything about this guy, but Paul says he's doing the same thing I'm doing. He's right alongside me. He's, he's helping me. I mean, we've heard about Paul and Barnabas, and Paul and Silas, and Paul and Timothy. But here's Paul and Urbanus, and we don't even know what happened and what went on there. But Paul says he's my fellow worker. I sort of love about Paul. Paul always sees himself as a part of a team. Paul understands that there are other people, and what they're doing is is equally important. And so Paul has that, that team spirit. And "my beloved Stachys." And again, would you notice he calls them his beloved? This is an unusual name. It would mean "ear of corn." So we don't know if that's a nickname. I mean, it's really, scholars are like, "What?" I mean, so maybe it was a nickname like, "Cobb, tell Cobb, I love him." You know, we don't, we really don't know. But here's what I think is so interesting. Paul's not afraid to tell people he loves them. You know, a lot of, a lot of guys are, for whatever reason, not able to do that. You know, it makes you uncomfortable. I think it's a good thing to be able to say to, without letting society come in to say, "Man, you know what, bro, I love you, and you're awesome. Josh, I love you." It's a good thing. Paul's careful how he does it. It's very, very interesting when you look at who he tells. He says, "Greet my beloved Ampliatus." I mean, tell him I love him. "Greet Ampliatus." Tell him I love him. "And Stachys, I love him." And then, "Greet the beloved Persis." So that's a woman. So he's not gonna say, "Greet my beloved Persis." You know, he's not gonna, Paul, Paul understands that's gonna cause some, like, "What? You guys got a relational thing going on there?" So Paul says, "Everybody loves her. Greet her." But he's careful. In other words, there's a place for boundaries. I just think it's an interesting thing that's included.
And then there's Apelles. "Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ." In other words, this is a guy. What does that mean? There's something about him that the hand of God is on him in a unique way. We don't know what that means, but but the hand of the Lord is with him in a unique way. And then there's the family of Aristobulus. "Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus." This is an interesting person because he would have been a brother of Herod Agrippa I, the first. In the Bible, he's the one God struck down, Acts chapter 12. This guy is a grandson of Herod the Great. So that kind of gives you an idea. Friends of the Caesars, friends in Rome. I think he's a really good friend of Caligula, maybe even Claudius. But he's there. And when he dies, what happens is his whole family becomes a part of Caesar's household, and Caesar kind of takes over all the assets and the family and the care of the family. And so now, suddenly, here's this family of this guy. So in this interesting, Herod the Great tried to kill the Lord Jesus, but now Herod the Great has great-grandchildren who are followers of Jesus. The ability of God to redeem anybody. The ability of the Lord to overcome legacy. You think if anybody's left a bad legacy, it's Herod the Great, right? But here you've got his grand-great-grandchildren, and not only do they know the Lord, but now they're in Caesar's household. So they're like, they're like running around in the palace, and they are Christians. Amazing. And then there's Herodion. Look at this. "Greet my kinsman Herodion." He's from the family of Herod. We don't know exactly where, how, but Paul himself is related to the family of the Herods. This is really, it's a very, very small world.
And then you skip down to verse 13 because I realize you can't, don't have time to do all 26 names. "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord. Also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well." This is very, very interesting. Who is Rufus? Well, first of all, he's chosen in the Lord. She said, "What does that mean?" Somehow God has set him apart, and it was obvious to the church, or can't say that. But beyond that, what's interesting, if you go to Mark chapter 15 and verse 21, this is, this is when Jesus is being crucified. He's being led out to be crucified, and they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene. Where's Cyrene? It's northern Africa. So this is an African man who is coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. Paul mentions Rufus. Why does Mark put this in there? Because Mark is writing this gospel account from Rome. He's saying, "You wanna know who this guy's kids are? You know them. It's Alexander and Rufus." So now Paul, as you go back to Romans chapter 16, Paul is saying, "Greet Rufus." So here's, here's it's a very, very interesting thing, that interaction. And again, why are all these names in the Bible? Because God knows individuals. The church is big. I'm talking church, capital C, across the globe. The church has, over the course of time, no telling how many, whether it's, you know, hundreds of billions or trillions, however many people have come to Christ. But God knows every single one. God knows you. He knows where you're at. You matter to God. He cares about you. And so that our names are written down, so that you and I get the idea that the gospel is for all, and yet it's very personal. It's to each individual. And God sees what you do and sees how you serve. Reminded of Hebrews 6:10 that says, "He is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you've worked for Him and how you've shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do." Listen, heaven took note. Yesterday, a Project Partnership took attendance. You get to heaven, God will remember. Heaven took note. Who is serving where they were? God, God's got a record of the Dream Team. I'm not saying that in a, in a kind of a crazy, oppressive way. I'm saying it in a way like, "Hey, nothing you're ever gonna do, no place you're ever gonna serve, is gonna go go unnoticed by the Lord." That is such a great thing.
And then Paul moves into three pieces of advice, and we'll move quickly through this. Avoid people who cause disunity. It's a very, very interesting statement. I mean, here's Paul. I mean, it strikes me almost odd in the one sense, he's, "I thank God for this person, this person, this person." This person is going through this lesson. It's like, "Let me just take just a minute and say, if people are troublemakers, don't have anything to do with them." It's a very interesting thing. "I appeal to you, brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them." I'm not saying you shouldn't go to them and talk to them, and neither is Paul. You should go confront them. But if they're like, "Nah, don't care what you say. I got my opinions. I'm top of my opinions, and I'll do I think what I want, and say what I want, and do what I want." But if somebody's toxic in their heart, part of it is doctrine. There are some people who are doctrinally off. There are other people who are just plain divisive. What, what that the way that plays out is they're just, they're never happy with anything. You ever met somebody like that where, you know, God is working in a powerful way, and they're like, "Yeah, but..." They have all the different things they're saying, and running down the life group leader, or running down the youth pastor, or running down the lead pastor, or running down the campus pastor, or running down the, well, the building, I don't know why they don't have. I mean, then whatever it is they're doing. Listen, nobody has the perfect life, and nobody had, nobody's the perfect person, and life is lumpy. And and what do we do in life? You learn to overlook the lumps and celebrate the good things. That's the way that works. But there are some people who are, who are, I hate to use the word, but they're toxic in their heart. And if you're not careful, their poor spirits will ruin your good spirit, because you become like the people you hang out with. And so sometimes what you have to do, even though you may have a long-term relationship, is you have to say, "Listen, you know, you're always so negative, and I love the church, and I love the leadership, and hey, I realize, you know, nobody's perfect. They're not perfect, and neither am I perfect. But God is doing a great work, and I just think you're constantly discouraging people to to celebrate the grace of the Lord. And I'm just asking you not to be that way around me." And sometimes people say, "You know what? You're right, and I'm gonna change. Help me." And at times, we're gonna say, "Well, you know, I'm just telling you the truth. If you can stand." And at that point, you need to say, "Bye. See you." And avoid them. And that's not easy. He says, "They deceive the hearts of the naive." Some do that.
Then he says, "Stay away from evil." This is an interesting thing. Verse 19. Look at it. "For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." You know, sometimes I feel like what happens in the church, there's kind of a a line of thinking that in order to understand some types of sin, you got to experience some types of sin, because if you don't experience it, you have nothing to say to the person that's in it. That's not true. That's not true. I don't have to do drugs to be able to declare to a drug addict the freedom and the power of Christ. I'm sorry, I don't have to do that. You say, "Well, don't you think the person there, maybe there may be some sense where a person who's gone through it can say some things I can't?" I, I certainly. But but listen, I didn't have with Dawn or with Jeff, that first two converts, I didn't have to say, "Well, you know, I get this." And I didn't have to say, "I identify with where you're at, and that gives me a credibility to tell you." No, I could say, "You know, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." It doesn't matter what your problem is. It doesn't matter who you are. Everyone in any situation, there is a power that sets people free. And I don't have to be apologetic. And it's not naive to say there's a God who delivers when people look to Him. I'm just simply saying, sometimes I see Christians, and especially, let me say this to to the younger generation, it doesn't have to be the younger generation. There's some people my age that may function this way, where in order to be culturally hip and chic and suave, you you want to know, you want to be up on all the evil that's going on, what the different terms and practices and this and that. That's deadly. And you have a tendency to make fun of people who aren't. "Oh, you're just so naive. You're just so, you're just so innocent." You know what? Rather than making fun of them, you should be celebrating them and pray God and make you like them. There's a place. There's a place for the innocence that comes with being righteous. It's a place for saying, "I don't, I don't need more struggles. I need less struggles. I don't need to know more bad information. I just need to know more good information." And Paul says it's shameless. Ephesians chapter 5, to speak of the things evil people do, the deeds of darkness, is shameful even to talk about it. So why would I want to know about it? Paul says, "You know what? Be wise as to what is good, innocent as to what is evil. Leave evil alone. Just focus on what's good." Interesting advice from the Apostle Paul.
And finally, focus on your coming victory and walk in His grace. I think it's so interesting. Look at verse 20. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Here's Paul. And for 16 chapters, think about this. He's been talking about the glorious gospel of our God and Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of the gospel, and how it works. And I find it so interesting that after 16 chapters, Paul has just one thing to say about the devil. He's gonna be crushed. And he's like, "But as for you, walk by grace." You know, it's so cool. He doesn't spend much time talking about the devil. I think it's really great advice. That's saying we shouldn't ever mention him. I'm just saying, too many Christians are too worried about what he's doing. Forget about what he's doing. Worry about what God's doing. No, I think it's so caught up. Hey, there's a place for spiritual warfare. But if your life is, if your life is consumed with that, I can say clearly, based on the content of the New Testament, you're out of balance. Because here's Paul. Paul says, "Hey, recognize he's crushed. He was crushed through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He's crushed every time you live by faith and speak the Word of God. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. And he will be crushed when Jesus returns. He'll be crushed. He'll be cast into the lake of fire where the Antichrist and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented forever and ever." To be crushed. But as for you, what should you and I do? "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Walk in grace." And accept that God is with you. Isn't that good? Walk in grace. The grace of the Lord. What are we talking about? We're not just talking about some some nebulous, "I didn't know." Remember in Romans chapter 5, we're under the reign of grace. That we saw that grace, just like sin, is an active, powerful force that can corrode and corrupt and diminish and destroy and warp and ruin. Grace is a power that's at work in every single believer. Grace is at work in you to purify. Grace is at work in you to sanctify. Grace is at work in you to overcome sin. Grace is at work in you to help you love God. Grace is at work in you to make you more like Jesus. Grace is at work in you to elevate your thoughts, to bring the Word of God back to your heart and to your mind. Grace is at work in you. Let the grace of God. This is with you. You're not alone. His grace is at work in you, and He is walking beside you. That's good news. Amen.