Transcription
All right, good morning everybody. Good morning. So, the sermon this morning was all about community and the body of Christ. And we're like, "You know what? First service people just doesn't get to hang out with second service enough." And so, we wanted you all to run into each other in the parking lot. So, we ended the service really late on purpose. So, talk about a sermon application gone right.
Uh, hey, welcome to Kent. Everybody's like, "No, that was Sorry. Sorry. Welcome to Kent City Baptist Church. I'm so glad you're here this morning. My name is Chris. I'm one of the pastors here. And uh, I pray that this morning could serve as a focus, an alignment, and just the ability for all of you to put aside maybe what might be distracting, as Doug refers to it later in the sermon, the horizontal, and really focus this morning on the vertical. And that's what we're here for. And I pray that's what you get. And so, let's stand and let's sing together Jesus Firm Foundation.
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Though the dark [singing and music] is overwhelming and the brightest lights do dim, though the word [singing and music] of God is trampled on by foolish men, though the [singing] wicked never stumble [music] and abound in every [singing] place, we will all be >> [music] >> humbled when we [singing] see your >> And the demons [singing and music] we've been fighting, those without and those within, will be [singing and music] underneath our feet to never rise again. All our sins will be [singing and music] behind us, through the blood of Christ erased, and we'll taste [music] your kindness when we >> [music] >> see >> [singing] >> your face. We will [music] see. We will know >> [music] >> like we've never known >> [singing] >> before. We'll be >> [music] >> found. We'll [singing] be whole. We'll [music] be yours forevermore. >> [singing] [music] >> All the waiting [music and singing] will be over. Every sorrow will be healed. All the dreams [music and singing] that seemed could never be will all be real. And you'll [music] gather [singing] us together in your arms with endless grace as your bride [music] forever when we >> [music and singing] >> see your face. We will [singing and music] see. We will know >> [music and singing] >> like we've never known before. [music and singing] We'll be found. We'll be [singing] whole. >> [music] >> We'll be yours forevermore. >> [singing and music] >> We will see. We will know >> [music] >> like [singing] we've never known before. We'll [music and singing] be found. We'll be whole. We'll be [music and singing] yours forevermore. >> [music] >> And you'll [music] gather [singing] us together in your arms with endless grace as your bride >> [singing and music] >> forever when [music] we see your [singing] face.
We thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord, that you have [music] provided the home. You built the walls. You laid the foundation. [music] You set the table and invited us in. You treated us not as a stranger, but as your kids. And we thank you that it wasn't us [music] that came running, it was you. And we just took it all in. We thank you, God. We thank you, God. We thank you for renewal. We thank you for reminders. We thank you for the life that you give. And Jesus, this morning I, as a representative of Kent City Baptist Church, I want to thank you for your bride, especially in this area. We thank you this morning for [music] North Chester Baptist Church, for our brothers and sisters there. May they worship you in spirit and truth, be filled to overflow. Pray this in your name, Jesus. Pray this in your name, and all God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated.
Well, I have one quick announcement this morning. Uh, next week is Mother's Day. So, don't be caught unaware, but also what that means for us here at Kent City Baptist is that we will be having a child dedication service next week. So, if you're interested in dedicating uh your child, this is your last call. You need to register as soon as possible, and uh, we will get a hold of you and help make the preparations for you to be able to. Um, and so, if that's something you've been looking forward to doing, please register online, or if you need any help, you can call the church office during our office hours, and they can help you get set up for that. Um, but that will be a wonderful celebration next week of the gift of children that God gives to many parents. Um, and uh, and we can celebrate that on Mother's Day next week.
Also, not an announcement, but just something to be praying about. Next weekend, this coming weekend, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we have our Steco Men's Campout coming up, and we have over 120 guys signed up for it. So, that's our most we've ever had, but please be in prayer for that. There's a lot of coordinating and uh, preparation happening for different messages and small groups, and I just want to invite you as a church family to be praying for those men uh, that God will be at work in their lives for those who are there. So, please keep us all in your prayers for that.
>> [clears throat] >> At this time, we're going to transition to a time of communion. So, I'd like to invite the deacons to come forward. And as they do so, I want to just remind us, hopefully these are things that you know, but a few important things about communion. Because for some of us, it might seem strange, or it might seem like a a ritual that we go through, and we're not really sure why. So, first of all, what is communion? Communion is a celebration of our being united with Jesus by faith. If we've trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we are united with him. And Jesus gave us communion, we use the language of an ordinance as a commandment, that it's something that we would do. And at Kent City Baptist, we try to do it once a month. We don't want to do it so often that it doesn't seem significant when we do it. Uh, but we also don't want to do it so rarely that you can't remember the last time we did it. So, we try to do it once a month to regularly come back and reflect on it.
Secondly, what what does it mean? What does communion mean? Well, it means, as I just mentioned, that we're connected with Jesus. And the symbolism Jesus made so clear for us, that the bread represents his body that was broken for us on the cross, and his blood, the juice represents his blood that was shed for us. So, what does partaking in communion do for us? It does a few things. The scriptures tell us first of all that when we take communion together, we are proclaiming the Lord's death. And so, it's to be a reminder, it's to be a little picture. And I love seeing children in the service because our hope is that children will also say to their parents or grandparents, "What does this mean? Why are we doing it?" And that as they see these elements pass, that they can better understand the good news of who Jesus is and what he's done for us. So, what does it do? It's us proclaiming the gospel together, the Lord's death. It also is there to be a meaningful teaching reminder to us. God knew what he was doing. We remember things so much better when we have something hit our taste buds, when we have bread or juice that we're tasting, there's multiple dimensions to the reminder that we get of Jesus' sacrifice for us and the fact that we are connected with him, and you're also connected with all of the other believers in this room and around the world who are connected with Jesus as well. So, there is a a vertical and a horizontal union that communion celebrates. Which brings us to the Oh, I'm sorry. One other thing is that communion is also supposed to be an encouragement for us. It's to encourage us as a reminder that Jesus has brought us to himself, but Jesus also told us that communion is going to end. There's going to be a time where we don't do communion anymore. And when Jesus comes back, that's when communion ends because we don't need to be reminded that we'll be connected with him, that we are connected with him when we actually are, and when we are in God's presence forevermore. So, that should be an incredible encouragement to us, and hopefully a reminder as we live our lives and go through our weeks, that we represent Jesus, and he represents us in a really special way. So, who should take it? Sinners who are saved by grace. Sinners who have trusted in Jesus and repented of their sins are the people who should take it. It's not magical, but it is a meaningful reminder. We don't ask that you've been perfect this week or today, otherwise you can't take it, but it is for people who are aware of their sin, are repentant of it, and have trusted in Jesus. Which then also means that if that does not describe you, we would like to invite you to let the elements pass. If you are unrepentant, then this is not for you right now. So, we're going to pray. I'll ask Aaron to pray for us first over the bread.
Father, I just thank you so much for the reminder that we have and how you sacrificed your body for us. And also the hope that we have in you if we know you. And um, just thank you for this reminder that we can all um celebrate in Jesus' name. Amen.
Mine are [singing and music] days that God has numbered. I was made to [singing] [music] walk with him. Yet I look forward to worldly treasure [music and singing] and forfeit the King of [music] kings. But mine is hope >> [singing] >> in my Redeemer. [music] Though I fall, >> [singing] >> his love is sure. For Christ [music] has paid for every failing. I am [singing] his forevermore. [music] Mine [music] [singing] are tears in times of sorrow, darkness not [singing] [music] yet understood. Through the [singing] valley I must [music] travel where I see no >> [singing] >> earthly good. But mine is peace [music] >> [singing] >> that flows from heaven and the strength in times [music and singing] of need. I know my pain [singing] will not be wasted. >> [music] >> Christ completes his work in me. Mine are days [singing] here as a stranger, [music] pilgrim [singing] on a narrow way. One with [singing and music] Christ I will encounter harm and hatred >> [singing and music] >> for his name. But mine is [music and singing] armor for this battle, strong enough [music and singing] to last the war. And he has said he >> [music and singing] >> will deliver safely to the golden shore. And mine are keys to Zion's [music and singing] city where beside the King I walk. >> [music] >> For there my [singing] heart has found its treasure. Christ is [music and singing] mine forevermore. >> [music] [music] >> Come rejoice >> [music and singing] >> now, oh my soul, for his love is my reward. >> [music and singing] >> Fear is gone and hope is >> [music and singing] >> sure. Christ is mine forevermore. Come [music] rejoice >> [singing] >> now, oh my soul, for his love is my reward. Fear [music] is gone and hope is sure. >> [singing] >> Christ is mine forevermore. [music] >> [singing] >> And mine are keys to Zion's city >> [music] [singing] >> where beside the King I walk. For there [singing] my heart has found its treasure. Christ is [singing] mine [music] forevermore.
Paul records for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. He says, "For what I received from the Lord, I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' Let's take the bread together.
At this time I'd like to ask Brian to pray concerning the cup. Thank you, Father God, for the blood that you shed for us. And thank you for the fact that it can save a soul that is very, very far away from you. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you for showing us what love is. Help us to love each other in Jesus' name.
I was a wretch. I remember [singing and music] who I was. I was lost. I was blind. I was [singing] running out of time. Sin separated. [singing] The breach [music] was far too wide. But from the far [singing] side of the castle, you held [music] me in your sight. So you made a way [singing and music] across the great divide. Left behind [singing] heaven's throne [music] to build it here [singing] inside. And there at the cross, you paid [singing and music] the debt I owed. Broke my chains, freed my [music] soul. For the first time I >> [singing] >> had hope. Thank [music] you, Jesus, for the blood of [singing and music] life. Thank you, Jesus. [music] It has washed [singing] me white. Thank you, [singing] Jesus. [music] You have saved my life. >> [singing] >> Brought [music] me from the darkness into glorious >> [music] >> light. You took my place, [music and singing] lay inside my tomb of sin. You were [music and singing] buried for three days, but then you walked right out again. And [music] now death has [singing] no sting and life has no end. For [singing] I have been transformed >> [music] >> by the blood of the lamb. Thank [music] you, Jesus, for the blood of >> [singing] [music] >> Thank you, Jesus. You have washed [singing] >> [music] >> me white. Thank you, Jesus. [music and singing] You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness [singing] [music] into glorious light. >> [singing] >> Oh, there is nothing [music] stronger than the wonder-working [singing] power of the blood. >> [music] [singing] >> The blood. It cost sums and [singing] dollars. We are ransomed by our Father >> [music] >> through the >> [singing] >> blood. There is nothing stronger >> [music] >> than the wonder-working power of >> [music] [singing] >> the blood. The blood. >> [music] >> It cost >> [singing] >> sums and dollars. We are ransomed [music] by our Father through the >> [singing] >> blood. >> [music] >> Thank you, Jesus, for the >> [singing] >> blood of life. Thank you, >> [music] >> Jesus. [singing] You have washed me white. Thank [music] you, >> [singing] >> Jesus. You have saved my life. You brought me [music and singing] from the darkness into glorious light. [singing and music] Glory to [music] His name. [singing] Glory [singing] to >> [music] >> His name. Oh, that [singing] you my heart [music] was the blood >> [singing] >> of life. Glory to >> [music] [singing] >> His name.
In verse 25, Paul says, "In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.' Let's drink it together and proclaim the Lord's death." Let's pray.
Father, that song said it perfectly. We cannot say thank you enough for the blood of your son, the undeserved mercy and grace that you give us and that we daily need. We are grateful for it. We are grateful for the unity you give us with yourself and with our brothers and sisters in this room. May we live in light of that. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen.
The deacons are going to pass baskets. If you could pass your cups to the aisle, and then after you have passed your cup in, if you can take a couple of moments and greet those around you. It's funny, in the first service, they said, "Doug, I think you ran a little over." And I'm like, "Well, that's what them numbers are for. That's awesome." Well, my name is Doug Scott. I have the privilege and responsibility and the honor of being an elder here at Kent City Baptist. If you know anything about me at all, you know that I was born, raised in the area. Our house used to be where the mobile station is. Um, 345 South Main. And I'll tell you, you'll never forget that for the rest of your life. It's the easiest one to remember.
Before we get started, I'd like to catch you up a little bit on my personal story of late, if you had not heard. Age 59, um, just normal routines, physicals, end up going to a urologist and he looks me across the table and said, "You ain't going to believe this, Mr. Scott, but you have cancer." Not the word I wanted to hear. Um, but God has been through this process, um, 11 weeks tomorrow since surgery. Um, going really well. God showed up in all areas. And if you were somebody that sent me just a card, email, um, phone calls, uh, food. There was a lot of food. Thank you by that. Whoever made that lasagna, that was like uh, had a man, I just uh, we can talk about that later. That was awesome. But um, I thank all of you. Um, this family here has been incredible. And if you had not heard, my first blood test back came back completely cancer-free. So, that's been a huge blessing. Huge blessing. Um, So, today we are going to get into uh, Romans 16:1-16. So, if you want to just start kind of opening up there, we are continuing in that. You might say, "Well, man, how did Doug get on stage?" Well, we have Pastor Chris who has been known for anytime a hard passage comes up, he seems to have >> [laughter] >> a reason he has to exit. So, last Sunday evening, and I mean, it was late. It was 8:30 at night. He calls me and wants to know if I will be in church next week. And I said, "I plan to." And he's like, I said, "Lord willing." And he said, "Well, would you mind preaching?" And I said, "Next week?" And he's like, "Yeah. Yeah." He said, "It's not a big passage, Doug. It's 16:1-16." So, in the moment, I said, "Yeah, no problem. I, you know, it's an honor." Then I got home, I read the passage, and I said, "Doug! Chris got me again." >> [laughter] >> So, as you go through, as we go through this, I have to apologize right away that um, I am going to completely butcher a few of these names. But, they're names, they're in the Bible, they're there on purpose. I'm going to do my best with them. And then we're going to kind of take a look because when I first read it, I'm like, I don't know if I can get 4 minutes out of this passage, let alone 30 or 40 minutes. So, but as the spirit moved me throughout the week, I found that there is definitely a lot more here than I thought. So, let's pray.
Our heavenly Father, Lord, I just bow before you. I pray, Lord, as we go through your word that you help me um, Lord, to really speak your words. I pray for those who are in here that need to hear this. As I first went through it, I know that the spirit moved me all week in it. Um, but that happens a lot. But Lord, maybe there's somebody in here that as they hear this uh, your spirit is nudging them. And maybe this will just be a confirmation of of something in their own life. And Lord, we just uh, thank you. Thank you for your written word. Thank you for this family. Um, and just thank you for who you are. We love you in Jesus' name. Amen.
So, if you got a Bible, um, I'm currently in the NIV. Um, This is the older NIV. Not a lot of these were made. These were the duct tape versions. But, you can't get a many of these anymore. But, um, so, I'm just going to be if the words are just a little bit different, it's going to be out of the NIV. Um, so, it says in verse one, this is Paul and he is speaking and he says, "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risk their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets in their house. Uh, greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. Greet um, Andronicus and uh, Junia, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, who I love in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, also a fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me um, too. Greet and send Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings."
When you see Chris Weeks next week, slug him in the right arm and don't tell him who said to do that. If you are somebody that is expecting a child in the next 3 months, I would look here for names. >> [laughter] >> I think it would be very good. Um, It's an incredible when you first start to look at it, it really does kind of get like, "Wow, that's a lot of names." But before we get going in that, I want to tell you a little story. As I said, I grew up in Kent City. And one of the things when you live in town or have been raised in a small town, there are some cool things about it. One is you get to travel all over town and mom has no idea where you're at. But the other thing is you can pick up baseball games, football games. You can have snowball fights. You can be playing in the creek. You can honestly be running back and forth on M-37 and nobody notices. So, there's all kinds of things as kids that we would do here um every summer. And one of the summers that came back to me was 1976, the bicentennial year. If you remember that, there's this huge celebration. I myself at that time was 11. My older brother Don, who happens to be here today, was 13, and we did a lot of pickup games. Normally, those games would start out with just a phone call, or maybe just show up at 10:30 on the field. And if you were small, big, tall, didn't matter, we could get you to play. We would play even as small as two on two in baseball. And you're like, well, how can that be? If you've ever watched the movie Sandlot, it's similar to that. That is we use things called ghost runners. And if you are the one that is batting, you must supply the catcher. If you um hit to a field or the side of the infield where there is nobody, you're out. You come to the plate, it's ball one, strike one, and already one out. So, the game is a little bit modified, but I'll be honest after watching a Major League Baseball game last night when the Pirates were 15 to 5 against the Reds, I think they should apply some of these rules cuz it went a lot faster than what they could do. So, it's not a bad thing.
So, one of the things that had happened when we were there was a new kid showed up. How do you know you're a new kid? When you're in a small town, you you when you're a new kid, everybody knows. The kid come riding his bicycle. It happened to be a Schwinn. It happened to be shiny. It happened to have a banana seat with a slick on the back, big chrome handlebars, and some little things out of the handlebars. Want to know if he could play. Sure, we can always use another one. So, he flies home, and he comes back with his mitt. But when he gets off his bike, we notice that he has cleats on, baseball pants, real baseball pants. He had even a jersey of some sort on and a hat that really kind of said he played a little baseball. He had two sweatbands mid-forearm. And I looked at that, and I thought, Mr. Fancy Pants wants to play some baseball. So, what do you do with that? You send him out in the outfield. So, the first thing he did as we started playing there, and the thing it came to our mind very quickly was that this guy was not a team player. Cuz the first thing I noticed as I was playing shortstop, and he's playing centerfield, and when the ball was hit to me, he not only played his position, he played mine. And I, if you've ever played any baseball, when somebody takes and runs in front of you and gets the ball and plays your position, two things. One, they're not in position to play their position. And two, it's very insulting. So, it didn't take long. We played all week with this kid, and and the rest of us finally got together and said, "We have got to meet with this kid. He can no longer play here. It's just not any fun." And the reason it was no fun was this, he was a braggart. You ever been around a braggart? Have you ever been around a We used to call him a Johnny One-Upper. I don't care what story you have, he goes one above that. And he always started the sentence with the word I. He never give any other player any credit or compliment. He was a one-man team, at least in his own mind.
So, as we have just read here, one of the things that you're going to notice right away with Paul, Paul is not like that. So, what's the difference between Paul, the Apostle Paul, and a Johnny One-Upper? As we just read right here, is that Paul understood that we are to lead as Christ led, and that is with humility. That that is the difference between somebody that is playing baseball or somebody that is part of a ministry that it's all their way, only their way, and they're the only ones that take the bow, is because they don't understand that it is more and it is bigger than them.
So, the first thing as we read, and I want to take a look at it even closer, is that most of you have probably never studied this part of Romans. Has anybody camped in Romans 16:1-16? Anybody? Cuz I had to come to the conclusion on Tuesday that I've been in church a long time, and I don't remember ever hearing it preached on. And then I looked, and I said, "I don't think I've ever read more than maybe verse one or two, and the rest of it I kind of skipped over." If I'm really to be honest, and right now I'm going to be honest, I kind of skipped over those. So, this week I'm thinking, "What is in it?" Because it's in the Bible, that means there's something to be gleaned. These names are here for a purpose. In Romans to me, if I was to say would I I could only choose one book of the Bible that I could keep forever in in in 30 or 40 years of my life, I would probably pick Romans. You know, part of me would say maybe John, but I'll be honest with you, Romans to me is the book of books that really tells us that it's living by faith and faith alone. And I need that reminder a lot. But when you look at it, you probably skipped over it because that's what most of us would do because we get a little bored with the names that we can't pronounce. But as I started to look into it, you start to find out that these are very intimate words from Paul. Now, Paul is one of the the most incredible theologian um theology writers of our time. If you read his stuff, and he can I don't know about you, but he can make a run-on sentence for like three or four pages, and it makes sense. He is one of them guys that the Holy Spirit just really dove into, and he was able to really write in a way that would help all of us understand what we have in Christ, and how can we advance the gospel. But due to the amount of theology in the previous chapters, I honestly believe that all of us just gloss over it. There's no other way to put it. But as we're going to see, Paul made a huge shift all the way from 1 all the way through 15. Paul is really talking about our relationship to the Lord in ministry. But in as he was like at the end of chapter 15, but the focus here, he changes it to relationships with people. Now, these people are people who were part of his life and his ministry. His goal is to show his love and his gratitude to people within the new church of fellow believers, and these people have so loved him. Now, a few things you need to remember before we dig in a little deeper cuz here's some things that I found as I as I dug. First thing was Paul wrote the book of Romans to the Christians in Rome, right? Romans 1:7. What does that mean? Well, if you just listen to what I just said, that means there's already Christians in Rome. And we're going to find there's already churches that had started. And that was something to me that honestly I really kind of overlooked. But while he was writing, he was wintering in Corinth. Paul had not yet come to Rome. He was planning to go there. Um, and if you read the end of 15 and 23 and 24, he talks about his plans to go there, but he was not yet there. So, he was writing the book of Romans to the Roman Christians, and he was going to say, "I need to take and get this in front of me before I get there." Like lay It kind of lays out what I'm going to come and encourage and speak to you in. The names he called Oh, the other thing that came to my mind was all these people that he talks about in here, they're already in Rome, except one. And we're going to talk about that one. We're going to talk about a couple other people, but you have to kind of look at it in context and say, "All these people he called out are already there." So, I'm one of these guys, I don't know about you, but I'm one of them guys that I can watch four or five things on TV at one time, right? I don't know if it's a man thing. I don't know if it's because you give me a remote, and I just got to know. I don't really care what I'm watching, I just need to know what I'm missing. It's more important to me. Don't ask me why, but okay, I got that one good. That's locked in here, but what's over here, and what's here, and what's here? It drives my wife crazy. But one of the things that I believe I do that for is I do a high flyover, and then I'll start to focus in on really what I want to watch. You can narrow it down to two or three. So, same thing was here. We're going to take a high flyover of this thing that we just read. So, these are just my observations. If you know anything about the way my brain works, it does not work as normal people. So, what's going to happen is is that these are in no particular order other than after I got to read it reading it, I just started to jot down thoughts. So, here are my thoughts. First one was, "Woo, that's a lot of names." Wow, that's a lot of names. And when you look at that, at first, I said, "Okay, well, let's count them up. How many names are in there?" Well, when I counted them, there's 24 people called out by name, specific name. Not um, and many that were that were not even called out specifically, but were part of groups. There's a larger um, there's larger and more people that are even that are called out. For never being in Rome, he knew a lot of people who were part of the church there. We don't know them, but and we don't know all of them, but they definitely meant something to Paul and to his ministry work. These names are named because God seen them as memorable. Why would God put your name in the Bible? It's not to fill up pages or space. It's because there's a reason. In God's sight, they needed to be named because they were memorable. Wonder if they knew that. Think of that. Do you think they had any idea one that their names were even going to be written? Number two, that 2,000 years later we're standing in a little town of Kent City trying to pronounce their names and to find out what was so significant about what they have done. So, that led me to this and this was just my thought and I wrote it down and I when I when I take notes like that, I just write and I don't follow lines because I'm a rebel, so I just write across pages. And I wrote this and this is what I wrote. I wrote this on Monday. A name worth remembering is produced by a life lived for Jesus. I wrote that. And then later on in that day, I read that again and I'm like, "Wow." A name worth remembering is produced by a life lived for Jesus. And then that got me thinking about Kent City Baptist. So, I said, "Let's talk about or let me think about some of these names that I would say could have been if I wrote the book of Romans, I could have possibly wrote their names." And here are a few that came to me from KCBC. Art Johnson. People remember Art Johnson? Very much a guy that really served Jesus here. Dave Harrison. Mark Lindsley. That came to my mind. Marie Poltz. Ray Dryer. And Charlene Winell. Those are the ones that just came to me instantly. And each one of them if you knew anything about them, all had different roles if you would at Kent City. All had different ministries at different times of their life. But the thing that was consistent was they all lived their life for Jesus. And what does that mean? To me, what it looked like was this. They all had horizontal jobs. They were mothers. Charlene was a mother. Charlene did a lot of things with Alpha. Art Johnson was a farmer. Dave Harrison was an accountant. Mark Lindsley flew airplanes. All these people Marie Poltz was a was a designer, a graphic designer. Ray Dryer cleaned carpets. They had horizontal lives. But their focus was always on the vertical. And and what I mean by that is that this part of their job, the 40-hour week stuff was just means in which they could then glorify God not only how they did their job Monday through Friday, but what they did with their time and their money and efforts after work and on the weekends. And it started me to think on on this overflow, what about me? What about me? Would somebody say that my name would be written if they wrote the book of Romans in there? That's something you really have to think.
The next thing was is that if you look, one word keeps coming up. What does Paul tell them to do? He doesn't ask them, in my opinion, it's more of a directive that says, "Greet them." How many times do we say greet? Greet. Greet. So, me I had to count them because that's my brain works that way. So, 13 out of 16 verses he is telling them to greet. So, then I started down this process and I'm like, is that just like what we would think of as a casual greet like, "Hey, Paul said hi." Right? And I'm thinking, "No, that can't be." So, as I started to dig into the root of the word greet, I find that it's also that's on one side of it, on the very superficial side, but on the deeper side, it means that when somebody tells you to greet somebody, that is you are sending somebody you're sending a letter to them and somebody might be in one of them congregations, one of them small home churches that the person that's leading the church don't know who's in his church. He doesn't know the guy. He don't know the guy, but Paul knew the guy and he says greet. So, what that was is that was almost that that accommodating thing that just said, "Listen." It was more of like an accolade if you would that would say, "Hey, not only do you need to say I said hi, but you also need to get familiar with these people because these are people you're going to want to spend time with." Why are you going to want to spend time with them? Because they have Christ in the proper place in their lives. They are living a life in the vertical as we just talked about, not wasting time in the horizontal and Paul knew that. So, he said when you see their name and it says greet, well, you're like, "Hey, Paul sends his greetings." But you also Huh, I got to get to know this guy. Like, where did he come from? How was he here? What's he do? Why is it that Paul knows him?
Third thing that I noticed was that there are several churches mentioned. I don't know if you noticed, but this was one thing that I totally missed in the book of Romans. I thought Paul was going to go to Rome to do what? Start the churches. Paul's a little late, they're already started. Why? Because God's word is like fire and it's and it's fanning out. Now, he was going to go there, I guarantee you, to support the churches and he's going to go there to encourage the churches and he's going to go there to help them understand what it is to be in Christ, but they're already there. Look at verse five. It talks of Priscilla and Aquila. And yes, that's the same couple that Luke talked about back in Acts Acts 18. They're tent makers. They're holding church in their home. Holding church in their home. There's already a church. It's already started. Verse 14 talks about these guys, right? This uh Synicrus says uh Phlegon, this Hermas, this Patrobas and Hermas and the brothers with them. What what does that mean? The brothers with them. Where more than one of us meet, I am there also. The church is already started. These guys are already meeting as a church. Probably looks like a home fellowship group if you would at KCBC, but there's a church that's already meeting. Then again in verse 15, it talks about there's Philologus, there's Julius, there's Nereus, Nereus and then there's Olympas and all of these saints who are with them. Again, what is they describing? It's a little church. So, I was mistaken. Paul wasn't going to Rome to start the church. It's already there. And it's already starting to grow. They're already meeting. They're already spreading the good news throughout Rome.
Then the fourth thing that just kind of on a high flyover came the words of endearment and of and affirmation. It's interesting as you read what Paul says and I'm just going to read these as we go through. Paul's telling them to receive her in the Lord. My fellow workers in Christ Jesus. My dear friend. Um, whom I love in the Lord. Who are in the Lord. Tested and approved in Christ. Who has worked harder in the Lord. Who has worked very hard in the Lord. Chosen in the Lord. Coming from the Apostle Paul, these are incredible words of endearment and affirmation of them being part of Christ's family. Not only family members, but dedicated in advancing the gospel. So, the question comes up. What would people say about you? Have you ever taken the time to think? People that you work with on a day-to-day basis, do they say, "Yeah, sure, he's a great plumber, but you got to see what he does with the word." Have you ever thought of that? Because I I most of my life didn't think like that. Most of the time in my life I was more worried about the vehicle that I drove and how shiny it was and how nice it sounded when you started it up than I was worrying about or thinking about what you might think I am as a follower in Christ. But I think there is something there.
The last thing that I wanted to talk about that was on overflow, if you would, was diversity. One of the things that drives me crazy is when people that know nothing about the church of Jesus Christ somehow want to kind of imply that we are very restricting and very hard on women. Like, we got them under our thumb. I hate that. Because that is not the truth. Think of Jesus as he walked his three years in his ministry here on earth, he used women throughout his ministry. Paul, notice how many women he has called out in these. And we're going to find as we're going to dig into a couple names of really how much women are respected and and they are a huge part of the family of Christ. But there was diversity. There was men, there was women, couples, poor, rich, slaves, siblings, Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, free people, prisoners, Romans and prominent people all listed in those first 16 verses and I couldn't pronounce half the names. But as I dug in, I'm like and I look out here. Are we not diverse? Holy cow, are we diverse. Think of all the difference that we have out here. Where did you come from? We don't know. All of you didn't come from Kent City. But you are here. God has crossed your paths with us and we are now immediate family in Kent City Baptist Church in the moment because God has brought you here. And he brought you here for a purpose. And sometimes we have to just dig a little deeper and find out what gifts has God given me and what can I do to help in the church. So going through the names you can research and it's really awesome cuz I'm a guy that likes that kind of stuff and you can find a lot of speculation, a lot of books that were written about who these people were, what family they were from and how Paul knew them. Some of the list we know nothing about except that they were important enough to be called out by Paul and have their names written in the inspired word of God. The one that stuck out to me was like, "Greet Mary who worked very hard for you." You know how many Mary's there were in that day and age? Now, I'm saying there's probably 50 of them that want to take the bow for that, but he meant one specific Mary and Jesus knew who that was. And I'm like, "Wow, that's kind of cool, isn't it?" I don't know what she did. It doesn't say what she did. But God knows what she did. So the question was is why were they listed? Paul was listing them because of his relationship with them, but God made sure that they were known to us today because God knows why they were listed.
I'd like to take a time just a little bit here. We're just going to look closer at three people on the list and I'll guarantee you they're three people I can pronounce their names. And that is just because it's it's it's how it's worked out. But we're going to start right away um and we're going to look in the first couple verses and we're going to talk about Phoebe. And Phoebe to me is an incredible woman because we're going to find out she's a commendable woman. What does that
mean? What does that mean? But before we look deep into her, I just wanted a couple of things that stuck out to me is she's the only one on the list of names that currently is not in Rome. Right? Everybody else is already there, but she's not there.
So as I started to dig into it, it is it is accepted and known basically through all the scholars and everybody else that at the time the letter was written, she was in Centria, the east port of Corinth. She would have been approximately 6 and 1/2 miles from Paul. So Paul planted the church in Corinth and then that this church was another outreach outreach of that and she is active in that church.
Well, what happens is is that she's the only one also that is commended. And if you notice what he says is that he she's not there yet, but he says, "I ask you to receive her." That means she's going in a worthy way of the saints in the Lord and in worthy way of the saints and to give her any help that she may need from you. She has been a great help to me including me. As you read that, you start to put together the pieces. It becomes very obvious that Paul is going to have her carry the letter the Romans to Rome.
Why is that incredible? Because there's no email. There's no Xerox machine. There's no there's no texting. There's no copy known at that time. It would take scribes to rewrite it. The most important book of the Bible in my opinion that hits my heart the most, he is giving the responsibility to Phoebe. It's a long ways to Rome from Corinth. And she's going to track that with the scroll. Think of all the dangers and things that she would have entailed. So let's really look a little bit deeper.
So in verse one, the first thing that Paul does is he calls her, he gets right into it and he says to her, "I commend to you our sister Phoebe." When I first wrote down my notes, I accidentally typed in my sister Phoebe. But then as I went back, I said, "No, he's saying our sister Phoebe." So I'm like, "What does that mean?" Sister is a family term that is telling them that she is part of a bigger family of Christ. She is one of us. Even though you don't know her, I do. That's Paul saying. And she is not just my sister, she is our sister.
When I look throughout this crowd, I see sisters. We're all sisters. You're my sister. I'm your brother. It's the family. We are a family. And what happens is is that what are we to do with sisters? And all of you had my sister at my biological sister, you'd know I'm just kidding. We would have probably wanted to tease her a lot and probably make her cry, but here as I gotten older and mature, I know this that God is asking us that we treat you as a sister and you are Christ's daughter. God is your father. So I need to treat you as such. And what does that mean? It implies that just like he is here that, "Hey, you got to look out for her. She's going to need a safe place to stay. She's going to need food to eat and even helping in making connections. Real family takes care of family. Treat her as your own. No matter what kind of family that you have been born into here on this earth, your biological, know that you are part of God's family. And why that is so important is we live in a broken world. Matthew 12:48 through 50, Jesus actually said, "He replied to them, 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?'" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sisters sister and mother." Do you understand that this family that you are currently here on earth is not forever? Now, it may seem like it's been forever. And sometimes you look and say, "How could I have been born into this family, right?" But the good news you've been reborn into the bigger family. And you have a perfect heavenly father. And you have brothers that should treat you like brothers. And you should have sisters that treat you like loving sisters. That's what we are to do. Just remember that everything here on earth is temporary. But our our true family is eternal.
The next thing you'll notice right away is right after him calling her sister, he says, "Our sister Phoebe." He says, "A servant of the church in Centria." A servant. Now, if you had read maybe a different version and some of that and there might be on a footnote down there, it'll even talking about like possibly a deacon. And it's usually with a small d. And the reason is is that Paul used that term, the original Greek term, quite a bit in in the New Testament. And it was more describing the a deacon role, the the deacon role of taking it on. It was not describing the specific thing of the church, um the actual church role if you would, the the church um official church um office of deacon. That's described in 1 Timothy. But the the word servant and deacon are interchangeable. The roles are are the same. And he basically what he is saying is is he said that the church has called them helping me many. He knew firsthand and tasted the fruit of her obedience and generosity. She served the church. We know that the church is more than just about a physical uh building or a place of meeting. We, the people, are the church. We all make up the church. We all have separate gifts. So she used her gifts to be a servant to the church. The question is is what are you doing with yours? Every one of us have different gifts. What are you using them for?
One of the things that the servant/deacon, a person like if you want to do deacon roles, is a person who has been charged with doing the ministry of mercy. Um basically described similar to those that Jesus described in Matthew 25:35 and 36. And you will remember them as I read them, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me." Have you ever been anywhere studying and get what you think is the Holy Spirit pressing you about a need or that you've heard about in the church? So-and-so has got a leaky faucet. So-and-so um has just had surgery and can't mow their lawn. So-and-so um cannot make the electric bill this month. Have you ever had that pressed on your heart? I really challenge you that if that happens, to pray about that and if you're married, talk that over with your wife or talk that over with your husband and really look and just understand that that is what God is asking is that we should be taking care of our immediate family. That's you. That's us. And you try to do it without uh letting the left hand even know what the right hand's doing because it's not about your glory, but it's about God's glory. And the And the secret to that whole thing is this, is if you do that, don't be surprised when another thing comes up, the spirit might wake you up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning and press it on your heart. Because the more and more obedient you become to the spirit, the more and more he will he will lead you to. Don't miss the blessing. Don't miss the opportunity for the blessing.
The other thing that we noticed in here is that as you go through and he goes into verse two, he goes through and he says, "I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help that she may need from you for she has been a great help to many people." I as I looked it up, the great help was also sometimes replaced with patron. And I'm like, "Okay, all right, let's see what that really honestly what they're talking about." But what it is is that many people in Paul, which means she did have some money. Now, the problem we don't I mean, it's not a problem. We just don't know. They don't really tell us how. But back in the time, there was patrons that would help many things. If you believed in the arts, if you believed there was a sculptor or there was a painter, um hey, he couldn't make a living because he's doing the sculpting and painting. There was times that people would basically um be a patron and basically support that person. So, this is not a new thing. It's just something that they say this is what she was doing. What it meant is that you really just had money to put into things that you believed were important. Now, we don't know like I said if she was a widow, maybe a business woman like Lydia was, seller of the purple cloth in Acts 16, or maybe it was part of a wealthy family. That we don't know. But what we do know is based on what Paul has said about her here that it's obvious she put her money where her mouth was. Where her heart was, her money went. She put it in what was important to her. What she believed in, and that was Christ's church. We all need to examine, what do we do with our money we just do? God speaks of it very very much a lot of it a lot in the Bible of the importance of where you put your because ultimately where does the money come from? It's all from him. What you have, whatever it may be, including the breath in your lungs, it's all from him. We need to recognize sometimes with that that this is not my money. God, what do you want to do with your money? Yeah, sure. He wants to make sure we have a roof over our head. We need to make sure that we have electric and clothes and and gas and and all of these other things. We need those. But what do we do with what's left? And if the Bible, if you really look at it, that's why it talks about first fruits, right? Because we should be giving out of the first portion of it, right? Knowing that God will make sure that our needs are met. And I'm not I'll be honest with you. I've spent a lot of my Christian life not very very good at that. Paul has been directly affected and blessed by her. She helped so many others. So, Paul appreciates how generous she is. How she uses the gifts to bless others and bring glory to God. It led me to Proverbs 19:17. And this is just one of those things that sometimes you just get led to these verses and it says, "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done." Let that sink in a little bit.
The next thing I want to look at is the next two people is Priscilla and Aquila. And don't ask me why, but my mind again, why is her name mentioned before his? Because normally back then it was usually reversed. I don't know why that is. I have no idea why that is. I think again it goes back to Paul respecting this couple and that she was a huge part of the ministry that they did. But these people as we start to go through, they were travelers. When I say they were travelers to get the bigger picture of who they were, I'm just going to flip back and you can if you want, but if you go back to Acts 18:1-3, it kind of gives you an idea of who we're dealing with here. And it says, "After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius, that'd be the emperor at the time, had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them. And because he was a tent maker as they were, he stayed and worked with them." Interesting. They have the Monday through Friday job. Um their skill set Monday through Friday is the same. Paul's a tent maker, they are tent makers. And it's interesting that during that time, it was not uncommon Jewish boys would be taught a trade so they could make a living. It just so happened that Aquila and Paul had been trained to be tent makers.
After being kicked out of Rome, Priscilla and Aquila met Paul in Corinth where they invited Paul to live with them. And since they were already Christians working as missionaries, it's obvious that those conversations he they would have been filling Paul in on what was going on in Rome, how the church was already growing. So, Paul would have been excited to hear that. And I think it would have been one of them that they would have incredible conversations. They also helped believers in Ephesus, which was in Acts 18 18-28, and then Rome when they returned and and again back to Ephesus. This couple had no problem moving where the spirit moved them. So, I wrote it down for my mind. I had to see. Originally they're from Pontus. That's northern Turkey. Then they lived in Rome until the emperor Claudius kicked all the Christians out. Then they went to Corinth. That's where they met Paul. Then they went to Ephesus and started a home church. Then they went back to Rome and started another home church. And again, they went back to Ephesus and then we heard no more after 2 Timothy 4:19, we heard no more of them in the Bible. But I can guarantee you when they met Jesus, he said what? Job well done. I have no idea if he said, "Hey, all my tent makers are over there on the hill. If you guys want to hang out with them for a while, that'd be great." I have no idea after that. But I guarantee you that's what they heard. Job well done.
It's interesting. They go on and and he calls them as fellow workers. If you look in verse three, he says, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus." This couple took tent making to a level of being their ministry. When Paul refers to them as fellow workers in Christ Jesus, he is saying that tent making become a way of living, but showing the face of Christ was their ultimate goal. They did what they did on a day-to-day basis to put food on the table, but ultimately it was to save lost souls. They were not defined by their work as tent makers. They were divine defined by their love for Christ. This is something that my wife and I had to have a real a real conversation on this week. Is your work, that is my wife and I actually work together Monday through Friday, is our work ultimately for your glory, God, or is it for our glory? And I'm telling you if you own a business, if you have means in which you work, and you have where you can make a lot of decisions, I think you have to ask that question. Is this about my glory, or is this about yours? How am I using what you have given me and entrusted me with?
The next thing that you're going to notice that stuck out to me, and I really tried to research this and could find nothing more on it. In verse four, he opens right up with this. They risk their lives for me. Wow, I wish I knew what that was, when that happened, how it happened. What was the details? You know, my mind goes to uh to you know, like something I've seen out of a movie or whatever. And all I can see is you know, Paul ducking as somebody's trying to get him with a sword and old Priscilla there saying, "Not on my watch." But I'm sure that's not what it is, but that's where my crazy mind went. But somehow they say that he said they put their life on the line. And there was another couple where he said they put their neck on the chopping block. Okay, was that literal? I don't know. I don't think so. But I do know this that they were fearless. He says we do know we don't know exactly what it was, but he called it out. So, we know it had to have happened. This is an incredible couple that kept their focus on what was important. They gave up normal life to go new places, to meet all kinds of people, to open their homes up to strangers, trusting God would use them and protect them on their journeys. They were not afraid. What could man do to them?
Do you allow God to move you to action or a path that most would say you're nuts or crazy? Or do you keep to yourself in fear of rejection, ridicule, or being singled out as a Jesus freak? For me personally, I like comfort. I like Ken City because it's home. I like the area. But I know I have to lift that up. God, if you are trying to move me, may I be open to that. I'm not saying everybody in here is going to be called out like that to move. But are you willing? Have you ever really when prayer time said, "God, I am yours. Do with me what you will. Let your will be done, not mine." And even if that means moving from family? Even if that means in a strange country? Maybe that means something that you don't even know why you're being pulled there. I think we all have to look at that. Because again, I believe that myself included, we're too much in the horizontal. Horizontal is really comfort. It's the vertical and when you start getting your eyes on Jesus that you are going to do some things that some people are going to shake their heads and say, "I have no idea what he did that for." Well, it's obvious that Jesus was calling you and moving you. And you know what? It doesn't matter what your neighbor thinks or even what your dad or mom think. What does God think? That's what it's about.
So, I want to end with these. These are just again just these things in which I think that we all can take away. First thing was that came to my mind in this passage is ministry is not a lone ranger thing. It takes many people to show the face of Christ. If you are privileged enough to be living leading a ministry, please keep your focus on Christ and not on you. This is not your show. Continually give appreciation to those who are pulling on the rope behind the scenes with you. To me, I had to really check the box. If I am calling the ministry mine, maybe I'm already on the wrong path. Lift that up.
If church uh the second thing was if church in the church, there are so many ways in which we can serve. No matter who you are, no matter what your physical ability are abilities are, whatever gifts you've been given, they can all be used for God's glory. Seek to serve. You got to seek. Seek to advance his name. Seek to be humble. And here's the thing, may no job be below you. That's a hard one, isn't it? Sometimes I don't know why, but because of our Monday-through-Friday job, sometimes I think we get a little pompous, maybe a little arrogant. So, then when it comes time here and we're serving, and somebody's like, "Hey man, can you wash those pots and pans?" You talking to me? Do you know who I am? Yeah, you're brother in Christ. Let's Let's Let's Let's wash the pots. Let's wash the pans. We all We all We all struggle in that sometimes.
The last one was is this, there's a ton of names here. So, my question is is what's associated with your name? When people hear your name, what do they think? Are you commendable? Proverbs 22:1 says, "A good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold." Mhm. Wow, that could change the face of the world.
So, anyways, if you were still wondering, let's go back to the original ball the ball game story. So, I wrote that story on Monday, and I'm just one of the guys that just I just type away. My mind is just going a mile a minute. I I typed this up and and then on Tuesday I'm thinking, "Dang, what is that kid's name?" And I couldn't figure it out. So, then on Wednesday, I was out in my yard picking up some sticks and I'm like, "What is that kid's name?" Yesterday, I mean, I am trying for all I have. What was that kid's name? What I figured out was this, I don't remember. Because he wasn't memorable.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I just thank you, Lord, for this family. I thank you for us as the as the whole family of Christ, but I thank you for Kansas City Baptist Church. The people that you have put in this path currently, the the people that are here now are here for a reason. Lord, I pray that you would move each one of us to really examine ourselves through this chapter to say, "What is it, Lord, that you say of me? Am I memorable in what I've accomplished in your name, not mine?" Lord, I pray that we would be open that we would open our hearts and say, "What are the needs around me? Lord, how can you use me to fulfill those?" Because we know that brings you glory. That brings you honor. Lord, we thank you for all that you provide for us that we can live Monday through Fridays and the horizontal, and we know that's all very important stuff. But Lord, I pray that we take what time is left after that time and we look at it and say, "How am I spending it? How am I spending the extra money? What am I doing with what you give me? And am I glorifying you?" Lord, we just love you and thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen.
Well, we're we're a few minutes over, um which means you're just going to be a little late for lunch, but you just got a a proper helping of meat. Holy smokes. Doug, thank you. That was convicting. That was helpful. Seriously. It's wonderful. If you got to go, you got to go, but I want to sing. So, let's stand and let's sing Psalm 34 together. One, two.