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Focused on Faith Romans 1:8-15 |
February 8, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
Founded in 1971, Starbucks' enjoyed modest success it's first few years. But things began to change in 1982 when Howard Schultz, was named Director of Retail Operations. Schultz, now Chairman and Chief Strategist for Starbucks, led them to experiment with the coffee bar concept. And the rest, as they say, is history.
In 1987, Starbucks had a grand total of 17 locations. Today, just 17 years later, there are over 5,000 Starbucks outlets serving more than 20 million customers every week. It's an amazing story. And Bennis said that the single most important factor contributing to Starbucks' success was Howard Schultz's unwavering commitment to a very clear mission, namely, that…contrary to popular opinion…Starbucks is not in the coffee business, serving people…rather, Starbucks is in the people business, serving coffee.
Starbucks works really hard to serve a great cup of coffee but their success, Bennis said, has been driven by the fact that they never lose sight of their mission, which is to serve people.
These past 4 weeks, we have been making our way through the opening verses of the book of Romans. And in these verses, Paul, that author of the book has introduced himself to us. And one of the things that he has told us about himself is that he is very, very clear about his mission in life. In verse 5, he tells us that his mission is, "to call people…to the obedience that comes from faith…" so that the "name" of the Lord will be glorified. That's Paul's mission statement. And it guided him in everything that he did.
Paul never lost sight of his mission. He was constantly working to bring honor to God by helping people grow in faith and obedience. And Paul's success, just like Starbucks' success, was largely due to his single-minded focus on his mission.
As we come, this morning, to examine verses 8-15 Paul is going to talk about some of the things that he did to accomplish his mission. We're going to look at three specific actions that Paul engaged in to reach his goal of helping people develop the kind of faith that shows itself in obedience to God.
Strengthening Faith through Gratitude
The FIRST of those actions is seen in verse 8 where Paul says, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world."
The first thing that Paul does to strengthen and encourage the faith of these first century Christians scattered all around Rome is to let them know that, even though he's yet to meet them, he's already grateful to God for them because their faith has filled him with joy.
And what is it about the faith of these Roman Christians that has touched Paul in such a profound way? They have been demonstrating their faith in the way they live their daily lives. Rather than simply talking about their faith in God, these Christians have actually allowed their faith in God to change the way they live. In other words, they've become obedient to God. And the changes brought about by their faithful obedience are so evident that it's got people talking about them. And not just talking about them in general, but talking specifically about their faith and the way their faith shows itself through their obedience.
So Paul says to them, "Folks, I just want you to know that everywhere I go people are talking about the way they see your faith demonstrated in your daily lives. And it gives me such joy to hear about a group of believers whose faith is actually showing itself in obedience."
And then Paul does the greatest thing. Just when you think that he's about to thank these Roman Christians for the joy they've given him, he doesn't. Instead, he thanks God. He says, "I thank God…(that) your faith is being reported all over the world." And why does he thank God rather than the Roman Christians? Because, as we learned previously:
--it is God who calls us to faith;
--and God who empowers our obedience.
So Paul thanks God for their faith. All the honor…all the glory is given to God. And isn't that interesting, because that's what Paul's mission is all about. Calling people to faith and obedience to the glory of God.
So, what do you think? Do you suppose the Roman Christians were encouraged in their faith after hearing Paul's testimony? Let me see if I can make this personal for you.
A couple of weeks ago I ran into one of "those places" for a cup of coffee and I bumped into a pastor friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. After a brief conversation I told him I needed to run and he said, "Hey, before you go there's something I've been meaning to tell you." He said, "You've been at Petaluma Valley for about 5 years, right?"
I said, "Yeah, it'll be 5 years in July."
He said, "I just want you to know that your church is making a huge impact on our community." He said, "Everywhere I go hear people talking about your church, but here's what's interesting about that: I never hear anything bad about Petaluma Valley. And as a fellow pastor here in town, it's really encouraging to me to hear the reports of everything that God is doing in your church."
Then he smiled and said, "Tom, the truth is anytime someone from your church comes to visit my church I immediately try to put them in a position of leadership because they're so well grounded in their faith." He said, "I just want to encourage you to keep on doing whatever it is you're doing. And I want you to know that I thank God for Petaluma Valley all the time."
So, let me ask you: Does that testimony encourage you in your faith? It sure encouraged me in mine. And it shouldn't surprise us because Paul has already shown us that expressing gratitude for the faith that we see in one another is a powerful way to strengthen each other in our faith.
Strengthening Faith through Prayer
Now, as we move on to verses 9-15 Paul is going to show us that we can also strengthen the faith of others through PRAYER.
"God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome."
Romans 1:9-15
Paul tells the Christians in Rome that the reports that he's heard about their faith have not only filled him with joy and gratitude but they've also prompted him to pray for them. And then he shares with them specific details about the substance and nature of those prayers.
In verses 9-10 he tells them that he doesn't just pray for them occasionally, rather he prays for them constantly. He wants these believers to understand that they are in his prayers on a regular basis.
Folks, do you suppose it would strengthen your faith to know that someone was praying for you constantly? Absolutely, it would.
I can speak from personal experience about this. I am blessed to have a whole team of people who pray for me on a daily basis. I know they do because they tell me they do. And that knowledge is one of the greatest encouragements to my faith that I've ever experienced. And Paul is offering that same encouragement to these Roman Christians.
Then, he encourages them even further by sharing with them the specific content of his prayers.
First, he says, "I'm praying that I'll finally be able to come and visit you. Something I've wanted to do for a long time, but until now other obligations and things have kept me from doing so."
Then, he says, "And once we finally meet I'm praying that I'll be able to share some 'spiritual gift' with you that will build you up so that you can be even stronger in your faith."
Finally, I want to call your attention to what Paul says in verse 10. He writes, "I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to see you." Do you see what he's doing there? He's offering them one final word of encouragement by saying, "But as much as I want to come and see you, I want to assure you that I'm trusting the timing of my visit to God. I don't want to force this visit to happen through my own strategies and efforts, if it's not yet in God's time. So, I'm praying that when I finally do come and see you we will all know that it was God who made the whole thing happen exactly when He wanted it to happen."
Folks, if someone told you that they were praying constantly that God would make it possible for them to come and be a blessing to you…do you suppose that would be an encouragement to your faith? You bet it would. And it shouldn't surprise us because Paul has shown us that praying for one another is a powerful way for us to strengthen each other in our faith.
Strengthening Faith through Mutual Respect
Finally, notice that Paul also shows us that we can strengthen the faith of others through MUTUAL RESPECT. That's Paul's point in verse 12, but to see it we have to go back to verse 11. In verse 11 Paul writes, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong…" In other words, Paul says, "I'm really excited about coming to visit you because I'm confident that God will work through me to strengthen your faith."
Then, in verse 12 he says, "…that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." In other words, Paul says, "But there's also another reason that I'm excited to come and visit you. I'm grateful that God called me to be an apostle…and I'm grateful that God uses the gifts He's given me to strengthen the faith of other believers…but I'm also grateful that God uses the gifts of others to strengthen me in my faith…and I'm absolutely confident that when we finally do meet God is going to use you to grow me in my faith, as well."
At the outset of this message I said that Paul's success in ministry was directly related to the fact that he never lost sight of his mission to encourage people in their faith. So, let's see if he's been successful.
This amazing Christian man named Paul…arguably the most prominent figure in the early church…this man that God is using in such amazing ways has just told the Christians in Rome that one of the main reasons that he is looking forward to visiting them is to see how God is going to use them to strengthen him in his faith.
So what do you think? Do you suppose that testimony encouraged and strengthened their faith?
Most of you are probably familiar with Rick Warren. Rick is the founding pastor of Saddleback Valley Church. With more than 20,000 members it is the largest church in America. He's also the author of several books including the recent bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, which I know that many of you have read.
The first time I met Rick was years ago when he was a speaker at a pastor's conference. Like all of the other pastors there, I was genuinely excited to hear what this man whom God was using in such a remarkable way would have to say to us. When he was finally introduced we welcomed him with a thunderous round of applause.
I'll never forget what happened next. The applause died down and Rick said, "Guys, I'm really glad to see you all here. I'm praying that God will bless our time together. But, before we go any further, I have to tell you something. I know you've come looking for some great idea from the pastor of this huge church called Saddleback…and I hope I can tell you something useful. But, guys, the truth is, being the pastor of a 10,000-member church is actually a whole bunch easier than being the pastor of a 100-member church…churches like those that most of you have come from. I want you to know that I'm inspired by your faithfulness. I'm here, today, to honor you."
Stunned silence. But, do you suppose we were encouraged by that testimony?
Showing mutual respect for the faith that God is growing in one another is a powerful way for us to strengthen each other in our faith.
To the glory of God may we never grow weary in our mission to encourage, in one another, the obedience that comes from faith.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum