The Unchanging Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Unchanging Truth, the verse-by-verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jerod Gilcher, lead pastor of Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. Through the living and active word of God, the Unchanging Truth exists to encourage your soul, transform your life, and help you trust and treasure Christ as Redeemer, Savior, and King. Now, opening the scriptures and proclaiming the truth that never changes, here is Dr. Jerod Gilcher.

Dr. Jerod Gilcher: You have to understand the sovereignty of God does not make our prayers meaningless. It doesn't. It gives the most meaning to our prayers. Don't you see? The sovereign will of God is the guarantee that our prayers for the impossible cannot fail. If it has been ordained, it will take place, but only through the prayers of God's people.

So let me just ask you, let me put you on the spot. You pay me to put you on the spot, so I'm going to do so right now. How is prayer going for you? What is your prayer life like right now? Because I'll just say, few of us can say with Paul: always, unceasing, incessant, and constant, right? That's wild.

And you see the reason why we can't is because we, I included, forget. We forget. We don't pray the way we ought because we forget that prayer has more to do with God than it does with us, doesn't it? That prayer is wrapped in holy concern for the glory and kingdom of God.

We don't pray the way we ought because we forget that life is war. That God asks us to pray, not to increase our comforts, but that prayer is a weapon of war to unleash on a world of darkness and unbelief. Prayer, you have to understand, is not some mystical act of piety where we think we hear God's voice. Prayer is God's instrument to break open the world.

We don't pray the way we should, beloved, because we are not convinced that all we are on our own are spiritual cripples and beggars of grace. And we don't pray the way we should because we forget that prayer is a profoundly Trinitarian moment, isn't it? The Father decrees our prayers, the Son mediates our prayers, and the Spirit empowers our prayers and makes them effectual. All of it is designed to put Him on display, and so I am going to pray for you to pray.

It's not that I don't pray for you; I do, every single week. But before I read this, I had not prayed that you would grow in prayer. Whether you need that or not, maybe your prayer life is fine, I don't know, but I'm going to pray that nevertheless, that you, me, we would grow in prayer because this too must be our passion. This too must be our conviction.

A really simple way to start: corporate prayer, together, 8:30 every Sunday morning. We meet down the hall to pray. It's not required, it's not an obligation, but join us if you can. Because prayer is the key that unlocks the power of heaven itself. Passion number four.

Passion number four Paul had: what I'm calling passionate longing. Paul longed with a passion to get to Rome. If you've been to Rome, that makes sense. The sights, the tours are absolutely incredible. If you go to Italy, there's no such thing as a bad meal; everything is good. How can that be? It's really a pretty magical place. But that's not why Paul wanted to go.

The reason why Paul wanted to go is found in verse 11. Look at what he says. "I'm praying, I'm praying that I would by the will of God, I can come to you." Verse 11: "Why? For I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established. That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you through the faith of one another, both yours and mine." There it is. I'm coming to you because I really long to see you.

That's a strong word. Strong internal passion and desire. Paul told the Philippians in chapter 1, verse 8: "God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affections of Christ Jesus." Same word. He told Timothy: "I long for you, remembering you with tears, that I may be filled with joy." Same word.

You can totally tell Paul loved being with churches, didn't he? He loved being with his people. Paul longed and ached to be with believers, unlike many people in the church today who look for any reason to not show up and be with the body. Paul fought for every single opportunity to be with God's people.

One writer said, this is so good: "Paul very obviously is a warm man, glowing with fervor." From start to finish, the letter to the Romans is not cold or didactic, restrained or guarded. But rather, Paul writes in such a way that the church in Rome may feel as though they had contact with his very soul. He's right.

And he longed to see them, he longed to meet them. And notice the reason why in verse 11: "I long to see you. Why? That I may impart some spiritual gift to you." I have a gift for you. I want to give something to you. And notice he calls it a spiritual gift, meaning what? A gift by the Spirit's power.

A gift that would give spiritual power to their lives, that they would be strengthened and steadfast and grounded and mature, which is exactly what pastors are called to do. My job is to give you a spiritual gift. A gift of spiritual power that would strengthen you and encourage you and help you and deepen you and sharpen you and grow your joy in trust in Christ above all things. This is the kind of pastor Paul was, and I think there's a lesson for us here.

The question is, how can we long to be with one another? How can we long for that? Hard things happen in a church. Painful, difficult things happen in a church. How can we, despite those and in and through those, long to be together? Not just to catch up and visit, but to make every single conversation count for eternity.

How do you know that when you walk in here and you come aimed to serve, you come aimed to be an encouragement to someone else's soul, that you won't say something that the Lord will use that will keep them from venturing into sin or apostasy? How do you know? That's incredible, the power that's at stake in true authentic fellowship.

The question is, how can we so own one another's spiritual health and growth that we feel responsible for one another's holiness and joy and perseverance in our faith, firm until the end? Do you feel that responsibility? Do you feel that? Do you own the spiritual health and growth of one another? Because that's what church is. That's what biblical relationships are. And that's exactly what Paul longed for with the Romans.

And I love what Paul does in verse 12. Notice what he does. He clarifies what he means by verse 11. I want to show up, I long to see you. Why? So that I, the apostle, the entrusted, sent-out apostle, I may give a spiritual gift to you. However, I don't want you to misunderstand. Notice verse 12: "What I mean is, I am coming so that I may be encouraged together with you, by you, among you through the faith of one another, both yours and mine." Do you see that?

That's what kind of church this was. That the greatest pastor and missionary and theologian on the face of the planet could come to this church in Rome and have his own soul encouraged. Do you see that? No wonder people were talking about the famous faith of the Romans. No wonder people were talking about the church in Rome.

I mean, the Corinthians could drive you crazy. The Galatians would give you ulcers. But the church in Rome could give you encouragement. Do you know what encouragement is? Do you know what it is to be encouraged? To be encouraged means this, listen carefully: it means that your own hope in the promises of God are strengthened and your joy in the finished work of Christ is deepened.

That's encouragement. That your hope in the promises of God in His word are strengthened and your joy in the finished work of Christ is deepened. That's encouragement. And your job is to encourage other people. To deepen the hope of one another in the promises of God, to strengthen the joy that we have in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is our job.

I mean, think about the incredible opportunity that you have here to be an instrument of encouragement to one another. You see that, don't you? Every Sunday, every small group, you show up and you are interfacing with people who have all sorts of needs and struggles and challenges and difficulties and temptations and sins and inadequacies and insufficiencies. And all of those things can only ultimately be fulfilled by Christ, right?

We show up on a Sunday morning or small group, we are discouraged. We are distracted. We are anxious. We are burdened. We are fearful. We are loaded with a thousand cares that pull our gaze away from Jesus Christ. I'm not the only one, am I? You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

We walk into the building on a Sunday morning, we are literally entering into a house of pain. But also a house of healing. Because we are literally called to be agents of one another's encouragement and growth and holiness and joy and perseverance in our faith, firm until the end. Do you see that? Do you own that? Do you love that, that that is your greatest ministry? The most significant ministry.

And I wonder if we could be this kind of church. That if an apostle—I guess he would have had to have raised from the dead and come and paid a visit to us—but if an apostle visited us and he preached for us, and then he visited homes and went to small groups, would he walk away with his soul encouraged just as the Romans encouraged Paul?

Could we deepen his, strengthen his hope in the promises of God? Could we deepen his joy in the finished work of Christ? Because that is encouragement. Let me just ask you a few X-ray questions. Do you see yourself as an instrument of encouragement in the lives of other people? That that's what church is. That that's what biblical relationships are.

Do you see that you are a human channel to mediate Christ in and through His word? Here's another one: do you long to be with your people? The church, the church is your people. Do you long to be with them? Do you jump at the chance? Is it a conviction of yours to be with your people when they gather together?

Again, there are legitimate reasons to not be here. There are, and I'm not going to micromanage your life and I'm not going to take church attendance. But I will say this, listen very carefully: when this begins to feel optional, when missing church becomes a habit and a custom and we don't long like Paul to be with our people, it is very often times because we are thinking only about ourselves and what I can get for me. Do you see?

Selfishness breeds distance. Love for comfort breeds isolation. When we don't see ourselves as an instrument of encouragement for other people, that is when showing up to church, being with the body, begins to feel merely optional. Paul wanted to be with them and he wanted to give to them a spiritual gift, which raises the question: what is the gift?

What is the gift that he wanted to give? Which brings us to passion number five, and then we're done. Number five: powerful preaching. In other words, Paul wanted to give this church powerful preaching. Now we see what the spiritual gift is, why he wanted to come to Rome. I've tipped my hand: it is the preaching and proclamation of the word. And we'll see why that was a thoughtful, generous gift.

But you know that Paul prayed to get to Rome. Notice what he says. Notice what he does, verse 13. He says, "You know that I've prayed, I've prayed to come to you." Notice what he says: "And I don't want you to be unaware, brothers, that often I intended to come to you." I didn't just pray to come to Rome; I tried to come to Rome. I booked the tickets, I packed my bags, I really tried.

But he says, "I was hindered." I was hindered, and you hear the passive voice in there, don't you? He was hindered by factors beyond his control. It seems that being a persecuted, imprisoned church-planting apostle on multiple continents got in the way of a visit to Rome. And my question—and I don't know if you're seeing this or feeling this too—my question is: why is he telling them this?

Why does he need to clarify this to them? A church that he didn't plant and a church that he had never met. Why does he have to explain himself to them? He doesn't owe anything to them. And it could be that the church in Rome felt neglected. Ignored by the apostles, right?

Every church that the apostles planted, they got visits and they got letters and they got follow-up and they got checkups and they were sent reinforcements like Titus and Timothy. And sometimes they received money in a time of crisis. But the church in Rome, they got nothing. Silence, even. And there could be this looming, growing thought that because the apostles didn't plant this church, that they didn't care about this church.

And yet nothing could be further from the truth. Because you know as Paul had great affection to be with these people, he desired to see these people and strengthen these people and to visit them and encourage them. And that's why he calls them brothers. I don't want you to be unaware, brothers, family, that I intended to come to you, but every time I was hindered. But now, now I am hindered no more.

And notice verse 13, the purpose of his visit, what he wants to do when he arrives: "Often I intended to come to you. Why? That I may obtain some fruit among you, even as among the rest of the Gentiles." Do you see it? The goal in coming to Rome was to get some fruit from among them. Meaning what?

Fresh Italian produce? Sounds pretty good. Visit the local farmers market, get some of those blood oranges that the Roman marketplace is famous for. Is that what he means? You know that is not what he means. You know that is an analogy. That is a harvest analogy. You know that it means supernatural effect. It means life change and transformation.

Something that would happen in their lives. And so whatever this gift of spiritual power was, it was designed to produce fruit in their lives, which would change their lives. And we don't know what the gift actually is until we get to verses 14 and 15. Look at the text. He says, "I am under obligation, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome." That was the gift.

That was the gift of spiritual power that would bear much fruit in their lives, namely, preaching. The proclamation of the word of God, that's the gift. And verse 14, notice Paul shares his heart here even more than that, the power that compelled him to risk his life. He says, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." To do what, Paul? Under obligation to do what?

To preach. To proclaim. To declare the word of God. Literally, the word there is debtor. I am a debtor. I am in debt, not to God. I am in debt to people. To people spiritually dead, slaves to sin, blinded by the devil. I am under obligation to get the gospel to them. Which doesn't mean—listen carefully—we tend to not like obligation language in the church for whatever reason.

But it's okay because, listen carefully, what Paul meant is that bringing the gospel—what he didn't mean is that bringing the gospel is what he didn't want to do, right? He doesn't mean that. He doesn't mean, notice, this is against my will and I hate it, but I'll do what I'm told and just finish my course and that's it. I'll just be a good soldier, I'll do what I hate because that's what I'm told. No, it's not that kind of obligation.

Rather, what this is is the kind of compelling force that keeps you awake at night. It's this burning compulsion, this relentless compassion. I mean, think about it, beloved. Put yourself in this place because you are in this place: to be a sinner saved by grace. Delivered from wrath, rescued by mercy, freed from sin, lavished with love, reconciled to God. That does not produce begrudging obligation, does it?

That liberates the soul to labor with love for those who do not yet know the gospel of the glory of Christ. No wonder Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:16, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." That's what this is. We're almost done. Let me ask you, beloved, do you feel the debt to the lost? Do you feel that debt?

As former spiritually dead slaves to sin, we owe it to current spiritually dead slaves to sin to proclaim the only message on the planet that has the power to save them from destruction, do we not? Can you hear in your mind the screams of the damned? Folks who will be damned unless they hear? Can you hear the kingdom songs of those who will be saved, and only saved if they hear?

The gospel is good news. It is the greatest news, but only if it gets there on time. Greeks, barbarians, wise, foolish, it doesn't matter to us. If they have got a pulse, we are under obligation to get the gospel to them. Which is why Paul says this in verse 15: "Thus, for my part, I am eager." Do you see that? I am under obligation, I am eager. This is not only a calling on my life; I really want to do this.

I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome, which is crazy, right? This doesn't make any sense. Why preach the gospel to a bunch of saved people who already believe it? And that goes back to our definition, doesn't it? The gospel isn't just a few distilled, minimal truths on a gospel tract or something that you get three-year-olds to accept something. No, the gospel is the endless redemptive achievements of Jesus Christ.

And I really believe that the gospel Paul wanted to preach in Rome is the very letter he sent. This letter is what he means by the gospel. And so if you want to know the riches of the gospel and you want to know the treasures of redemption and you want to savor the beauty of Christ and the glory of the cross and all that He did to save us from destruction, then all you need to do is read and read and read again Paul's letter to the Romans.

And there they are, in verses 8 through 15: the exemplary passions of Paul. The greatest pastor, theologian, missionary in history. Paul was filled with thanks for the people of God. Are you? Paul served like a priest in his spirit in the gospel of his son. Do you? Paul prayed unceasing and always for the people in his life. Do you?

He longed with passion to be an instrument of encouragement in the lives of other people. Do you? And he preached the word of God to the people of God. And all of these things are worthy of our emulation because this is how a thriving church is made, beloved. A church of life is created by death. Death to self. Death to agendas. Death to preferences. Death to grievances.

The grueling grace and rewarding pain of serving other people. And our pastor, our mentor, and our exemplar, the apostle Paul, has shown us how it's done.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for the Unchanging Truth, the verse-by-verse Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Jerod Gilcher and Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas. At Christ Community Bible Church, we exist to prize, portray, and proclaim the supremacy of Christ as we trust in His word and wait for His return. We hope today's teaching has encouraged your soul and helped you trust and treasure Christ as your Redeemer, Savior, and King.

If you're in the DFW area and looking for a church home, join us for worship Sunday mornings at 10:30. To learn more about the mission of the church, meet the pastoral staff, or plan a visit, go to ccbiblechurch.com. You'll find ministry services and additional teachings there as well. Just click on the resources tab to get started. That's ccbiblechurch.com. Join us again next time as we open the scriptures together and proclaim the truth that never changes. This has been the Unchanging Truth.