The Word Made Plain

Guest (Female): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching through the book of Romans. Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 1, verses 8 through 12.

Tony Clark: Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 1. We're going to be looking at verses 8 through 12. I tried my best, but I am set free now. I'm just set free to just do what I can do.

Father, thank you so much you've given us your word. We pray that your spirit would teach us now the truths of your word. And we pray, God, that you would soften our hearts. Oh Lord, soften our hearts so we can receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls. And dear God, I just pray that your Holy Spirit would unclog our ears so we can hear your voice speak to us through your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Romans chapter 1, looking at verses 8 through 12. The title of this message is "My God." Now, in today's world, this phrase is normally coupled with "oh" to make "oh my God" to express surprise, disgust, or amazement. Most people don't realize that "oh my God," which is abbreviated by OMG, is using the Lord's name in vain and thus breaking the third commandment, which says you shall not use the Lord's name in vain according to Exodus 20 and verse 7, which means to take the name that is above every name and bring it down to a level to express your anger, disgust, or disappointment.

This same with the phrase "Jesus Christ," using the Lord's name in a useless, worthless way. In these verses, we will see how this phrase "my God" is to be used properly. Now, by way of background, we just spent two weeks unpacking the prologue or the introduction to this book. Paul introduced himself as the author in verse 1 and gave his pedigree as a bondservant of Jesus, called to be an apostle. Then he goes right into the gospel was all about Jesus Christ in verse 3, whom God raised from the dead in verse 4. Then he greets them in the typical Pauline way with grace and peace in verse 7.

Now we pick it up in verse 8. Look what it says there: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." Now notice how Paul gives them the motive for why he is writing them because he thanked God for them on how their faith is spoken of throughout the world. Is our faith in Jesus Christ spoken of throughout the world? What about the world of our families? The world of our jobs? The faith of the Romans was spoken of around the world at this time.

Something I want to bring to your attention that is the heart of this message, and it can be easily missed by the casual reader. Notice how Paul said in the first part of verse 8, "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all." As it was mentioned earlier in John 20 and verse 28, Thomas, one of the disciples, said when he saw the risen Savior, "My Lord and my God." Martin Luther, the great reformer, in the 1500s, said that Christianity is uniquely the religion of the possessive pronoun.

Can you say with great confidence and joy, like Paul and Thomas, that Jesus Christ is my God? Can you say "my God" with admiration and love in your heart instead of using this phrase to express your anger, disgust, or disappointment? The only way that you can say this with confidence is when you have truly repented of your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is the only time you can say with great joy and confidence that he is your God.

Something else I want to draw to your attention is how Paul said, "I thank my God for you all." He didn't say, "I thank God for most of you," or "I thank God for you all, but there's a couple of exceptions to the rule." No, he thanked God for all of them. The rich ones, the poor ones, the ones who were a hot mess, and the self-righteous ones. Paul said, "I thank my God for you all." Are you thankful for all the saints, all the believers in Jesus Christ, or only for those ones who look like you or go to this church?

I used to be like this, and I'm ashamed to even admit it now because when I see it from people around the country, I mourn because I used to think just like them. I used to be like this. And if you went to other churches and didn't attend a Calvary Chapel, I looked down upon you in my heart, secretly. In my heart. See, when I lived in Southern California, it was rare to come across another Christian that didn't go to a Calvary Chapel.

Yes, there are other churches out there, but 30 years ago when I was out there, many of the Calvary Chapels were 2, 5, 10, 12, 15, 000 member churches. So wherever I went around the area to meet another Christian, they went to a Calvary Chapel to the point where I would begin to say, "What Calvary Chapel do you go to?" "Oh, I go to this one" or "I go to that one." And I used to thank God for the saints who went to Calvary Chapel. And then when you said that you went to so-and-so church, I felt a certain way.

God had to severely rebuke me for this self-righteous ugliness that was in my heart. It took me coming out here where you can have 10 Calvary Chapels in California in a five-mile radius. At the time when I came out here, there's a Calvary Chapel in Virginia Beach, and there is not another Calvary Chapel until you get to almost DC. That was unheard of for me. So being up here on the Peninsula and there's not another Calvary Chapel, I saw that there were some very fine believers walking with God at other churches, and God had to severely rebuke me for this ugliness in my heart.

I believe that there are some of you here that God needs to rebuke for that sort of ugliness in your heart because some of you only like believers who look like you. And then those who are believers who don't look like you or think like you, you kind of look down upon them in your heart. God needs to rebuke you just like he had to rebuke me. That's pride, that's arrogance, and it's an ugliness. Paul says, "I thank my God for you all."

Look at verses 9 and 10: "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you." Paul starts off verse 9 by saying that God was his witness to what he was saying to them was the truth, whom he served with his spirit in the gospel of his Son.

Let me draw your attention to the word "serve." The Greek word is latreuō, and it refers to a religious service. It is used in the Greek Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to describe the duties of the priest in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. It is often translated as worship because the work of the priest was an act of worship. So it refers to the worship and service of the true God. The greatest act of worship we can offer God is in serving him in some form of ministry.

We so often look at the worship of God in the form of only singing songs. No, true worship of God is seen as we offer ourselves to God on the altar in our service to him as well. This is what Romans 12:2 talks about. It says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (latreuō)." Or our reasonable act of worship is what other translations have translated it.

Do you only worship God in song? Now there's room for this because there's another Greek word for worship, proskyneō, and it means to turn and to kiss. It also means to adore. And yes, we can adore God through singing songs to him, but it shouldn't end there. It should also conclude with latreuō in service to God as well. Then Paul tells them that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.

Now what we see is that Paul was a man of prayer. In almost every letter that he wrote, he starts off by telling those believers how he had been praying for them. Every person God has ever used in the history of mankind was a man or woman of prayer. It was Paul who exhorted the believers in a city of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. And here we see how Paul first practiced this principle in his life, or as the old saying goes, he practiced what he preached.

The key to successful parenting and successful leadership is to practice what we preach. Luke testified in Acts 1 and verse 1 that Jesus did the same thing. It says, "All that Jesus began both to do and to teach." Jesus did it first, then he taught it to his disciples. He first prayed, then his disciples said in Luke 11:1, "Lord, teach us to pray." Then Jesus gave them what is commonly called the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11 and verses 2 through 4.

So if you want to be a good parent or leader, model first what you want them to do. This is what Paul did here. He said he prayed without ceasing for them. Now, what does it mean to pray without ceasing? Does that mean we go around mumbling? Is that what it means? No. Someone described it as a tickle in the throat. In other words, to pray without ceasing means to go through the day praying as often and as reflexively as you would cough to suppress a tickle in the throat.

You've seen people who have an allergy that results in coughing, and you always hear them trying to get that tickle out of their throat. That's what it means to pray without ceasing. As you're trying to clear your throat of the tickle, that's how often we should be praying. This means when you run into people at the store or church, just offer up a little prayer for them. Nehemiah was a master at this. Throughout the book of Nehemiah, you will find that he will offer up these little unspoken prayers to God.

Only a person who spends time in private prayer to God can be confident enough to offer up little prayers to God throughout the day. While at work, offer up prayers for your leaders and coworkers. I guarantee you if you did this, it would change your whole attitude about your workplace. Or if you're working from home, pray for your boss and coworkers on Zoom privately. I never thought I'd have to put that in a sermon. As you're having these Zoom meetings and you see these folks, begin to pray for them.

How would you evaluate your prayer life? Do you pray without ceasing? If so, what is it about? Your own personal success, the protection of your children, or for the blessings of God upon your life? These things have their place, but do you pray for the salvation of your loved ones who are lost? Do you pray for your enemies or for those who spitefully use you and curse you like Matthew 5:44 says? I see on social media all the time about how you're toxic and that doesn't mean I have to have anything to do with you because you're toxic for my own health and my own sanity.

Just take the time this week to evaluate your prayer life and the things you spend most of your time praying about. I guarantee you'll be shocked. Now I'm not saying that you can't pray for yourself. If you don't pray for you, who will? There's nothing wrong with praying for yourself. If you want joy in your life, JOY is an acronym: Jesus, Others, and Yourself. That's how we should pray. Have Jesus first, pray for others, and pray for yourself last. You will find a joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Then Paul gives the believers what he was praying about in verse 10. Notice he says, "Making request if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you." Paul had not been to Rome by this time, but he wanted to go there. What I love was how Paul said that he prayed or made request to God that he, by some means, come to you. Paul was leaving the door open for God to use any means he chose to get him to Rome.

What way did God choose to get Paul to Rome? As a prisoner! We saw this in Acts 28 and verse 16. And this was after being arrested, slapped in the face, falsely accused, crashed into an island of Malta, bit by a poisonous snake. Let us be careful of praying direction prayers. These are prayers by which you and I tell God what to do. Our prayer should be direct prayers, which say, "God, you know what needs I have, what's best for my life, so you do what's best for my life in this situation. Lord, here are my desires, my wants, and my needs, but let your will be done in this situation over mine."

This is the kind of prayer that Jesus prayed. Jesus let his request be made known, and he said, "Father, not my will but thy will be done." Look at verses 11 and 12. It says, "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." Notice how Paul's praying without ceasing for the believers in Rome in verse 9 produced a longing to see them in verse 11.

What or who we pray for, we will start to have a heart for or towards. Jesus said once again in Matthew 5:44 to pray for your enemies. Why? Because if we pray for those we consider our enemies or the people we consider toxic, they will soon no longer be our enemies, at least in our eyes. Pretty soon our hearts will start to break and melt towards them, and we will start to have a compassion towards them. Here Paul prayed without ceasing for the Roman believers, and he had a heart and a longing to see them to impart to them some spiritual gift so that they would be established. Paul wanted to go there and use his gifts in a personal way to establish them in the faith, which was through the gift of teaching. But also don't...