Laboring with Those Who Are Laboring Also, and LOVING IT! Romans 16:1-16
Laboring With Those Who Are Laboring Also, AND LOVING IT! Romans 16:1-16
Description: Encouraging others to join us in the joy of serving Jesus!
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Hey, up here. Good morning! It’s good to be with you this morning, even if it’s only digitally on the Big Screens!
Most of you probably know that I tested positive for Covid a week or two ago and have been isolated at home for the past ten days or so. In fact, this is the first day that the Licking County Health Department says it’s ok for me to go out. But I did not want to risk playing it that close so I asked the elders and staff if I could speak remotely this morning. Which they all said was ok AS THEY ALL PULLED THEIR FACEMASKS UP A LITTLE MORE SECURELY AROUND THEIR FACES! Which is still a wise thing for us all to do this morning. For our own sakes, but also for the sake of our neighbors that we might not even know we might be infecting.
But this morning I want to talk about brighter things. I want to talk about the joy of serving Jesus! We used to sing a song about that when I was young. “The joy of serving Jesus everyday!” Joy because of...
➢ What we get to do! ➢ Who we get to do it for! ➢ And who we get to do it with!
I. What We Get to Do!
Remember being a kid and looking up at your mom, your dad, daydreaming of the day when you’d get to do all the stuff big people did? I remember going on service calls with my dad to fix tv’s in people’s homes. And I can’t tell you the number of times I was asked if I was going to be a tv repairman when I grew up like my dad. I was too timid to say so at the time, but I couldn’t wait to grow up and do “big people stuff” like my dad someday. I couldn’t wait until I could help people…
● at home ● at Church ● in the hospital ● at Church camp ● on the mission field ● up and down the creek ● into and out of the baptistry
I couldn’t wait until I learned the Bible well enough to…
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● teach lessons, ● and give devotions ● and preach sermons!
I kept blank paper in the back of my Bible so I could take notes during the sermon, always my favorite part of the Church service, after which I would run up to the pulpit and compare my notes to the preacher’s, and see how close my notes were to his! Why? Why did I do that? Because I couldn’t wait until I grew up, and I got to do some of that stuff all these others were doing. Especially considering...
II. Who We Get to Do It For!
You know, one of the Lord’s greatest workers who ever lived said…
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, AS FOR THE LORD and not for men,
Colossians 3:24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. YOU ARE SERVING THE LORD CHRIST.
It’s amazing, when you think about, Who it is that we get to serve! Not just WHAT we get to do, but WHO we get to do it for!
Because it’s not as if He needs us to do anything for Him. But it’s such a privilege and honor to serve Him!
Next week our LifeGroups are going to begin by looking at King David’s desire to build the Lord a temple, something the Lord never asked for. And yet, the Lord allowed King David to make preparations for such a thing, and the Lord allowed David’s son, King Solomon, to build such a thing, just the same. Why? Not because the Lord needed it, or that the Lord even wanted it, but because King David and King Solomon wanted to do something for the Lord. And the Lord let them!
Think what the Lord allows us to do, for Him, not because He needs it, but because of the pure privilege and honor it is to do such things for Him!
One commentator I read talked about all the ways God could have chosen to share this amazing gospel we get to share; how men and women can be forgiven through His Son’s death on the cross for their sins...
He could have written it in the clouds or had the wind ring out the good news or use another aspect of His creation - but He chose us, His children, to carry the message and minister for Him.
What a privilege! What a joy!
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➢ What we get to do! ➢ And Who we get to do it for!
But folks, as great as those joys are-- there’s another joy that our text this morning speaks of. And that’s the joy of realizing...
III. Who We get to Do It With!
Before closing his letter to the Church at Rome the Apostle Paul mentions 28, 29, 30 individuals by name. Greek and Roman names that might sound strange to us, but names of individuals that had become great friends of Paul. Co-laborers with him! Names like…
● Epenetus ● Andronicus ● and Junia ● Ampliatus ● Urbanus ● Stachys ● Apelles ● Aristobulus ● Herodian ● The family of Narcissus ● Persis ● Asyncritus ● Phlegon ● Hermes ● Patrobas ● Hermas ● Philologus ● Julia ● Nereus ● Olympas
...and all the saints who are with them. Strange sounding names to us. Would have been strange sounding names to Saul of Tarsus, had he never seen the light, and come to Christ, on the Road to Damascus, and accepted the Lord’s call to go into all the world, especially the Greco-Roman part of the world, and preach Christ. Had Saul simply stayed home, and remained “a Hebrew of Hebrews”1 he would have never met these individuals. And he might have stumbled over these Greco-Roman names as badly as I did this morning!
But not now. Because now these were well known individuals to the apostle. “Partners in crime” with Paul in preaching Christ around the Medeterranean world! Men, and women, Paul met, and worked with, all over the world, who are now working in the Church at Rome as well. Individuals like…
1 Philippians 3:5
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● Priscilla and Aquila. Close companions and co-workers with the Apostle Paul, ever since meeting their fellow tentmaker in Corinth. Where they opened their hearts, and their home, to the apostle of Christ.2 And followed him to Ephesus, where they continued to open up their Ephesian home for the cause of Christ. In his first letter back to the Corinthian Christians the Apostle Paul wrote…
1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
That’s what happens when you open your heart, and your home, to the service of Christ. You become close to a whole bunch of other servants of Christ. You become, friends. With men, and women, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE EVEN KNOWN had it not been for your passion to serve Christ crossing paths with theirs.
That’s just who Priscilla and Aquila were. Friends! Of Paul! Co-laborers with an apostle of Christ! Laboring with those who were laboring also; AND LOVING IT! And Paul was happy to count Priscilla and Aquila as servants with him!
● That’s how Paul felt about Phoebe as well! Paul begins this whole section of greetings by saying…
Romans 16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,
Another friend of Paul! How did that happen? Through some mutual service in the cause of Christ. Somewhere along that journey-- their paths crossed!
And think about this: Phoebe was the name of the Greek goddess who was grandmother to Apollo, the god of the sun, and grandmother to Artemis, goddess of the moon! That’s who Paul’s Phoebe was probably named after when she was born! Which means Paul’s Phoebe was probably born into a pagan family! It would have been surprising if she wasn’t. But somewhere along the way she was…
● introduced to Christ, ● gave her life to Christ, ● and gave her life to serving Christ...
...where her life crossed with Paul’s! As did virtually everyone on this list! That’s why they’re on this list. Because of their service to Christ, and because, somehow, their service to Christ, crossed with Paul’s!
2 Act 18:1 — Act 18:3
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❖ Paul calls Priscilla and Aquila, “my fellow workers,” in v. 3. ❖ He says, “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen,” in v. 7. And then he adds, “They are well known to the apostles (not just to me, because of their service, but the other apostles as well), and they were in Christ before me!” ❖ “Greet Urbanus,” Paul says in v. 9, “our fellow worker…”
● “Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.” And “greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.”
I love those names “Tryphaena and Tryphosa.” Those names sound almost poetic the way they roll off the tongue. But what I like more is what those names mean! The name Tryphena means “dainty” and the name Tryphosa means “delicate.”3 “Dainty” and “Delicate,” those were two of the “work horses” in the Church at Rome! I love that! And I’ve seen that! More times than I can count. Looks can be deceiving, can’t it.
● And then there was “Rufus,” v. 13, “chosen in the Lord.” Many commentators wonder if this “Rufus” is not the same young man referred to in…
Mark 15:21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Wouldn’t that be something! A young man who may have see his father shoulder the cross of Jesus and followed in his father’s footsteps in growing up to shoulder a cross of his own! And in the process join a long line of others shouldering the cross of Christ as well. Rubbing shoulders with them. Enduring blisters and splinters with them, AND BECOMING GREAT FRIENDS IN THE PROCESS!
That’s what Paul is expressing in this text. Paul’s not just saying thank you to all who helped him. Or patting fellow workers on the back and encouraging them to keep up the good work. Paul does that in other places. In fact, that’s what Paul does in my favorite verse in the Bible…
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
And there’s a time and place for that kind of encouragement. But that’s not what we read Paul doing this morning as he closes his letter to the Romans. He’s not saying, “Thank you,” or even trying to encourage them to keep on doing what they’ve been doing.
3 Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Romans. AM090620 - 5
● He’s genuinely... missing them. His friends. ● He’s wishing he could be with them. ● He’s remembering how he served with them & wishing he could serve with them again!
And he’s asking the Roman Christians to give them a great big “hug” for him. In fact, the Greek word translated, “greet” 17, 18 times in his “farewell greetings” literally means to facilitate a union by “enfolding in the arms!” It’s what we miss in the midst of these digital times.
● Yes, we can fist bump or bump elbows or wave at one another behind our masks. ● And yes, I can FaceTime my dad or Zoom in my extended family from time to time. ● I can even digitally project my sermon from our back patio to the Church screens this morning!
But there’s something lost without the human touch. Without a handshake and a hug from time to time. And that’s a loss that can’t be underestimated, especially between close friends. Friends who have served in the trenches together. Friends who have gone through tough times together, both thick and thin. And Paul had been through both of those times with his Christian friends.
● Some had been like “kinsmen” to him, v. 11 ● Some had been like a “mother” to him, v. 13 ● Some had been “fellow prisoners” with him, v. 7
And there are bonds that are formed through such times! There are lifelong friendships that are forged through such times! And Paul misses his friends. Paul wishes he could be with them. Paul wishes he could throw both arms around them. But he can’t. So Paul tells the Romans to give each one of them a great big hug, AND A KISS, for him!
Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss (Paul says). All the churches of Christ
There’s joy in serving Jesus, I tell you. And not just because of…
➢ What we get to do ➢ And Who we get to do it for ➢ BUT WHO WE GET TO DO IT WITH!
And the great friendships that are forged in that fire!
I’ve got to worship with so many of you down through the years. But I’ve also got to work with many of you through the week as well! Not just teaching lessons and preaching sermons and singing great songs of the faith. But…
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● Mowing grass ● Mopping floors ● serving suppers ● Setting up and tearing down tables, tents and chairs ● Washing dishes ● Taking out trash ● Changing diapers ● Unstopping toilets ● Drying out overflowing baptistries ● Cleaning out flooded basements ● Dragging ballfields ● Scrubbing out picnic shelters ● Raking leaves ● Cleaning out rain gutters ● Building wheelchair ramps ● Driving church buses ● Fixing buses when they broke down ● Trimming limbs ● Cutting trees ● And burning brush ● Putting on Church camps & revivals & vbs ● Walking neighborhoods ● Putting flyers on doors ● Visiting inmates ● Patients ● Praying with residents in nursing homes ● Cooking breakfast for students before school ● Meeting for prayer around flagpoles ● Tearing down buildings ● Putting up new ones ● Putting siding on houses ● And insulation in attics ● Tearing off and putting on new roofs ● Building Habitat houses ● And helping to build new Church houses as well ● Going on mission trips where we built Church camps and tore off and put on new front stoops ● Put up and take down Christmas stables and nativity scenes to the point your just wore them out ● I’ve worked with you while the sun was shining as well as long after dark ● I’ve seen some of you work in all kinds of weather just to get a job done ● I’ve watched you shiver through assignments when it was cold and sweat like there was no tomorrow when it was hot. ● I’ve seen you get up early and I’ve seen you stay up late just to get a job done. ● I’ve seen your patience and I’ve heard what you said when you hit your thumb ● I’ve seen you josh & joke with one another having the grandest time on some of the hardest jobs.
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● I’ve seen you paint and stain and sweep and dust and clean. ● Packing lunches & taking meals to houses & end up cleaning kitchen before you leave ● I’ve watched you stick with a project putting together swing sets consisting of thousands of parts and hundreds of steps out in the hot sun and yet never give up!
To this day I have no idea what Kum Oh or Rodger McDonald sound like when they sing, BUT I KNOW HOW THEY SWING A HAMMER! Because I’ve seen them. And they’ve seen how weak I swing one as well. And that’s how we became brothers.
I’ve seen Roger McClain shiver like a drowned rat in an unheated baptistry just to give every man on our leadership team the experience of how to baptize a person into Christ should the opportunity ever present itself!
And if I’ve heard him say it once, I’ve heard Dick Nethers say it hundred times, how he’ll “give it a shot” to whatever it was I asked him to do!
I’ve seen Jody German, Carol Ogg, Martha Poulton, Janet Wilkin, and others-- jump in and take over for Jinny Priest, Angie Miller, Emma Jean Saum, Ann Whisner and Jeanette Neighbarger in preparing funeral luncheons for grieving families in our community. And they’ve all become great friends in the process of doing it.
Ben & Amee & Avreelle are part of our Church family largely because because of the way this Church jumped in and helped them carve out their place on Rock Haven Road! And now Ben & Amee & Avreelle have jumped in and joined us in serving Jesus with us in all kinds of ways themselves!
There’s camaraderie that comes with serving Christ, I tell you; a real joy that comes in serving Jesus with those who are serving also, Laboring With Those Who Are Laboring Also, AND LOVING IT! And I wish I had a dozen more lifetimes to do it with you! Not just because of…
➢ What we get to do ➢ And Who we get to do it for ➢ BUT BECAUSE OF WHO WE GET TO DO IT WITH AS WELL!
END:
And I’m praying I’ve whetted someone’s appetite this morning. I wish I could invite you all over for a backyard barbecue with Lynn and I after Church this morning. But alas, the rules do not permit it. But could I have whetted someone’s appetite and made someone hungry for the joy of serving Jesus as well? Could there be someone here who has started licking your lips, wondering what all this serving Jesus with all these others serving Jesus might be like?
Why not jump in and join us? And see that there really is joy in serving Jesus! This Jesus...
Hebrews 12:2 ....WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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