JOY "Bored to Distraction - Potiphar's Wife" March 28

March 28, 2012

Bored to Distraction

Potiphar's Wife

Genesis 39:1-20

I          Be On Your Toes

II         Be Surrounded By Support

III        Be Loving to Your Husband

IV        Be Ready to Confess 

A few years ago, there was a small community, in northeastern Pennsylvania, that built a little red brick building, that was supposed to be their police department, their fire department and their city hall. They were extraordinarily proud of it, because it, was the result, of a whole town's, careful planning and sacrificial giving. When the building was completed, they had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and more than 6 thousand people came-----it was the biggest event of the year---the whole town turned out, along with many invited guests.

For about 2 months everything was great---- but then, the town officials began to notice that there were some ominous cracks, on the side of the red brick building. And not long after that, they could tell, that the windows, weren't able to shut all the way----Then it was discovered that the doors wouldn't close properly. Eventually, the floor shifted and left ugly gaps in the floor coverings and the corners. Then the roof began to leak. Within a few months, the building had to be evacuated----to the embarrassment of the builder, and to the bewilderment and the frustration of the tax payers.

Trying to find answers----the town hired a group, to analyze, what in the world had happened----- and they discovered that the blasts form a nearby coal mine were slowly, but very effectively, destroying the building. 

Imperceptibly, down below the foundation, there were small shifts and changes, taking place that had caused the whole foundation to crack. It couldn't be seen or felt, from the surface-----but underneath it all, there was a definite weakening, that led to the building being condemned. And ultimately, it had to be demolished. 

The moral here, and why this is a perfect illustration, for this week's lesson, is, that erosion goes unnoticed, when you flirt with temptation----- until---- your character is so weakened, that it becomes permanently damaged, and in many cases, completely destroyed.

Back when Dale and I used to teach high school Sunday school----We used to do an exercise with the students, that encouraged them, to be able to recognize just what temptation is----- because it can come, in all sorts, of very lovely and exciting and enticing, shapes and sizes, and we don't always recognize it, for what it is. 

And we always used this episode, in Joseph's life, as the background text, for the lesson. 

The students, had to write on an index card, 6 things that they might be tempted to do---not just in the here and now, but in the future, too-----and then on the back, they had to write 6 practical ways, that they could resist the temptation. We let them share their responses, with the group, and then they were to either keep them in their wallets or their bibles, so that they could be reminded what to do, when the temptation reared its ugly head. Our reasoning for this, was, that we wanted them to know, what they were going to do with temptation (how they were going to get themselves out of it) before they were ever faced with it.  

We got some very hilarious responses but we also got some very insightful and wise ones, too. (I remember one was-- you are in the car and your kissing pretty hot and heavy---turn the radio up as loud as you can-----and that will break the moment!---another one was----go to the bathroom---look in the mirror and ask yourself---do I really want to do this (that came from Lizzie's pediatrician---she said it had saved her, many times, in many situations, not just sexual ones)

I think this is an exercise that we could all benefit from-----not just our teenagers----we might not all be tempted by sexual adultery, like Potiphar's wife was------but we are all tempted by something----spending too much money; eating unhealthfully(either too much or too little, are neither one, good for us); too much internet and face book and texting and tweet chatting; too much exercise; too much volunteering, too much control over our husbands and our children; too involved in our hobbies and entertainment; too wrapped up in the lives of our children or grandchildren; too much TV(in our mother and grandmother's day---women were obsessed with daytime soap operas----now, it's all-day-long, reality TV that we are fixated on). 

Some things, that we're tempted by, can be very good things, in themselves-----its when the desire or the need for them, make us discontent, or they supersede anything and everything else, that they become a bad thing for us. Anything, that pulls us away from our focus, on the Lord, or from our responsibilities as wives and mothers and grandmothers, needs to be evaluated, in light of eternity. 

I believe that Potiphar's wife was lonely, and I think that loneliness, encourages us, to entertain ideas about things; and encourages us to participate in things, that we wouldn't other-wise do. I think it can make us discontent and bitter and angry. I think it pushes us, toward looking for love, in all the wrong places-----not just physical love, from a person, who doesn't belong to us----but in anything, that will ease the suffering, of a broken heart, that's lonely. 

It can encourage us, to spend more time and energy on going out to lunch and shopping with girlfriends than we should; it can encourage us to spend too much time on committees and activities at church and at school or in the community, than we have time or energy for; it can encourage us to spend countless hours, on the computer and let everything else fall by the wayside; it can encourage us to be obsessed with food---either to the point of obesity or anorexia(anorexia and bulimia in middle-aged women is becoming an epidemic); it can encourage us to either sleep too much or not sleep enough; it can encourage us to be too focused on our physical appearance--- we can become obsessed with botox, and lifts, and nips and tucks, wherever we think our body needs them; it can encourage us to play too much tennis or golf; it can encourage us to read so many romance novels, that real life, can't even begin, to compete with them; it can encourage us to become dissatisfied, with what we have, so that we start thinking that somebody else's grass, is way greener than ours. 

( A few weeks ago, a friend told me, that she had a strange experience on an airplane, that she'd never had before----She began talking to a man, about her age, as they were coming back from California---so it was a day-long trip----She said, at first-----it was very general conversation and very pleasant---so much so, that she found herself enjoying talking to him, in the way that she didn't, with anybody else, except her husband----the longer they talked, the more intimate the conversation got---not sexual intimacy, but their "hopes and dreams" (which is really worse)----red flags didn't' go off, until he got up to go the bathroom---and she realized, in reflecting on their conversation, that something didn't feel right---so when he came back to sit down---she told him she was going to take a nap---and when they stopped for a lay-over---she changed seats.-------She loves her husband and they have a healthy marriage----but talking so intimately, with a strange man, had the potential, to the lay the groundwork, for comparison, between him and her husband-----and for the seeds of discontent and dissatisfaction, on her part, in her marriage, to begin to grow----She was wise, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to cut the conversation, as soon as she felt uncomfortable-----there's nothing wrong with having conversation, with other men----- but somewhere, along the way, it had crossed a line---and she made the right decision to end it, without making an issue out of it---- And then, when she got home, she told her husband about it---which was also right---because secret thoughts, can only hurt us, if they stay secret----if we bring them out into the open, they, most of the time, will lose their attraction.)  

Or, we can go in the opposite direction----instead of doing too much, and seeking satisfaction and peace and contentment and excitement and joy in our lives, in the wrong ways--- we just don't do anything----we begin to pull back from activities, and away, from people and we hide ourselves and our loneliness, behind empty words and closed doors and veiled eyes and sometimes, even medication-----and I don't know which is worse-------looking to find love and satisfaction, in all the wrong ways, or not looking for it, at all. 

Potiphar's wife, didn't have any way of knowing the Lord Jesus-----but, she could have listened to Joseph, and learned to know His God--------but she didn't, she chose a different route. But, she was spared the physical act of adultery, because Joseph, loved God and was obedient to Him, and was an honorable man, toward his employer-----it would have been hard for most men, even men who love their wives, or men, who are believers, to resist the temptation, she dangled in front of him, day after day------it would be the rare man who would leave his clothes and run! 

But, on this side of the cross, we know Jesus and we talk to God and we don't ever have to be lonely----and we never, ever, have to look for love, in all the wrong places. The Lord Jesus will give us direction and guidance and comfort and peace and encouragement and satisfaction and purpose and importance. He will give us the strength and the confidence and the discernment, to resist any temptation---- and He will, fill up, our hearts to the overflow, with the desire, to color our days and our homes and the places we go, and the hearts of the people that belong to us, and, the people we meet, with His love, and His blessing, and His joy.

Sigmond Freud wrote, that "a human being's spiritual longings are just frustrated sexual desires"------but the Bible, tells us that, all of our earthly desires, are a lot of times, frustrated, spiritual longings------To be able to recognize and resist temptation and to allay desires that are bad for us, we don't have to have greater and greater will-power----we have to have a better and deeper and more intimate, relationship with the Lord Jesus. Knowing that the creator of the universe is looking at you and me, and calling us by name and saying, "I love you and I have given myself for you and to you," is all we need------that's the only security we need, to resist temptation and that's the only cure we need, to free us from loneliness.

We don't even know the name, of Potiphar's wife--------she has no identity of her own. No wonder, she went looking for love, in an uncertain place-----none of us, like to feel that we don't have a place or a purpose----we all like to be called by our names----it helps us to feel like we matter---that somebody cares, that we're living in the world----and we like to know, that somebody's noticed us. ( I've always had to go with Dale, to different business functions, and many times, I meet the same people over and over again--------and most times, they never remember my name, especially the men don't, I'm just Dale's wife----In the early days, it bothered me, but not any more and not for a very long time----- because, over time, I became God's daughter and I became Mary Kathryn's momma and Griff''s mama and Lizzie's mommy, and I became Beverly's friend and Kara's neighbor and Emily and Harley's aunt and Shirley's sister and the 10th grade's SS teacher, and JOY's wrap up leader and the church's co-wedding director and Joe and Ashley's mother-in-law, and Tegan's godmother and Ollie and William's DebDeb and soon I'll be my grandbaby's Marmie-------and the truth is, I love being all of those things, especially God's daughter and  Dale's wife----//////////so now---- I would be happy for any of them, or all of them, to be etched on my tombstone-------because they define me and they identify me.) But poor Potiphar's wife, she has lived in history, as a household name,  synonymous, with bored housewives and adulterous temptresses. That would be awful!!!!!!!!!

So, we need to be happy, and satisfied and content, with the names, that we're known by---and if we don't like them or if they aren't pleasing to the Lord, then we need to do something about them---change our ways or our attitude or our focus-----and become known by a new name----one that we are proud, to be identified by----and one that pleases the Lord .  

We have an advantage over what Joseph had, when he had to deal with Potiphar's wife----because, we can look at Jesus, though the words of scripture---- and we can hear His voice, saying----" I love you"--- ( we can know how much He loves us?  not, because of how pleasant our circumstances are------ but because of the price, that He paid for our sins, when He died on the cross.) And, we can know how much God loves us, because He thought you and I were worth it, for Him to crucify Jesus, to save us. God's love and Jesus' sacrifice, has given us a new name, if we've accepted Him as our Savior--- because now, we will forever be known as the "beloved of Jesus, who has been saved by His grace"!

Liz Curtis Higgs, lists in her book, 4 lessons, that we can learn from Potiphar's wife:

1.) Be on our Toes: We never know when temptation is going to ring our doorbell---and it doesn't just knock respectfully---it lays on the doorbell relentlessly-----like my little neighbor does, when he really wants me to come to the door----he rings it over and over again. Mrs. Potiphar, didn't just tempt Joseph one time, it was day after day; and I have no doubt that she made herself more and more attractive, with each attempt. But it seemed like Joseph, just got stronger and stronger, each time she tried to engage him. 

He couldn't get away from her, without getting into trouble, because he was owned by her husband----so He dealt with her persistent pursuit, in 3 stages-----1st----he tried to reason with her, by pointing out, that it would be dishonoring to her husband, who had put him a position of leadership and trust, if he yielded to her; 2nd----he tried to help her understand that it would be dishonoring to His God, if he yielded to her, because God would have seen it as adultery and an immoral liaison between them; and 3rd------he ran---there was nothing else he could do-----she couldn't be reasoned with. So, he did the right thing, even though, it meant that he had to go to jail, for something he didn't do----he honored God and God continued to honor Joseph----God blessed him, even in prison----and we know, that he later elevated him, to the 2nd most important position, in the land of Egypt, and allowed Joseph, to be the means of saving his whole family. 

We need to know, what we're going to do, when we're faced with temptation, before it happens-----and if we try everything we know to try, and all else fails, we need to run, as fast as we can----- and let God to take care of the situation! Christian women find themselves trapped every day, in difficult situations, that tempt us to sin. We need to be spiritually aware, and alert to everything, that's going on around us. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, "Be very careful then, how you live---not as unwise but as wise, making the, most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." 

II. Be Surrounded by Support:

Mrs. Potiphar sent the servants away. She did it on purpose, but we need to make sure that we avoid all appearances of evil, and that we don't set ourselves up for failure. (One example, is, that we need to be careful, when we have handymen in our home---that we're dressed appropriately and that we keep the idle chatter to a minimum.) 

And for other things, that we find ourselves engaged in, that aren't sexual in nature, but that may be leading us, in a wrong direction---we need to have accountably with somebody, that we trust, who will point us, always to the scripture---we need to look to them, to encourage us, whether to say yes to an activity or not; or to continue with one we're already involved with, ot to stop it; or whether to run from it, as fast as we can. When a friend comes to us, to give us some godly counsel----we need to listen to them----line up what they say with the scripture, and then handle whatever the situation is, appropriately-----(I've had to be talked to before, about saying yes, to too many things. They were good things----but so many of them, that I was being spread, way too thin-------and a wise friend  told me to go to Deuteronomy 12:13, where it says, "Do not burn your sacrifices where I have not told you to." And that, changed my life and my focus,----- to do, not what I want to do or not what I can do and not what somebody else wants me to do----- but but to just do, what the Lord has called me to, when He's called me to do it. 

III. Be Loving to your Husband:

If we fill our minds with movie stars and romantic-life styles and romantic heroes in books--it can make us dissatisfied with real life----the best thing for us to do, is to wrap our arms around our husbands and tell them how much we love them, and how grateful we are for them, and how well they take care of us, and provide for us, and how much we need them---- and then we need to whisper in their ears, as Liz Curtis Higgs says, the same words, that Mrs. Potiphar said to Joseph-----Joseph refused------but there aren't' many husbands that will----they need to know that they are loved and cherished and desired--------

And if its a romantic lifestyle, that we're seeking----we need to go out and serve somebody else who's in need----physically, emotionally or spiritually-------it will take our minds off of ourselves and will put our minds, where they belong, which is on "loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and strength and our neighbors, as ourselves".

IV. Be Ready to Confess:

It is easy to blame someone else when we're tempted to sin. We always want it to be someone else's fault. Potiphar may or may not have seen through his wife's lies, but the Lord that we love and who loves us, does. He sees everything------there is no place we can go that He doesn't see us. Once we recognize that fact, it makes it easier, for us to go to him and talk to him about the temptation, and ask Him to help us conquer it----or if we yield to the temptation----it makes it easier for us to go to Him and confess it and repent of it and ask Him to forgive us. And He will--------Psalm 51:10-12 says, "Create in me, a clean heart, oh Lord, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (the great German, Lutheran pastor who defied Hitler) said this in his book Temptation-------"In our members , there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power, desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once, a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference, whether its sexual desire or ambition or vanity or desire for revenge or love of fame and power or greed for money or finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world, of nature. Joy in God is…extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature. At this moment, God is quite unreal to us, He loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God…the lust, thus aroused, envelops the mind and will of man, in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision, are taken from us."

The most important lesson that we can learn from this story about Potiphar's wife, is that we never have to yield to temptation----we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and we can put on the full armor of God, every day, which, enables us, to resist any dart, that satan hurls at us----Ephesians 6:10-13 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against satan's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil, in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

Then pass out index cards...

JOY "Personal Words" March 7

March 7, 2012

Personal Words

Romans 15:14-16:27

I.       Paul Explains His Intent                      Romans 15:14-32

II.      Paul Greets His Friends                      Romans 16:1-16

III.     Paul Gives a Final Warning and 

         Sends Final Greetings                        Romans 16:17-27

In 1921, Dr. Evan O'Neil Kane, had become preoccupied with a specific area of medicine. He was obsessed, with not using, general anesthesia in major surgery. He believed that most major operations could and should be performed under a local anesthetic. His opinion, was that the hazards of general anesthesia, were worse than, the risks of the surgery itself. Kane was determined to prove to his colleagues, and to the world, that local anesthesia was a viable option, when surgery was performed----but he knew that it would take a great deal of convincing.

In order to prove his point---Kane knew that he would have to find a patient who was brave enough to go through with, what he hoped, all patients would experience someday----major surgery without the dangers of general anesthesia. In his 37 years as a surgeon, Kane had performed nearly 4000 appendectomies. He wasn't worried about it at all------when he finally found a volunteer------he didn't waste any time----he proceeded with the surgery as quickly as possible. 

The patient was prepped in the normal way, but in the operating room was only given a local anesthetic. As he had, thousands of time before, Kane entered the abdomen, slicing tissues and clamping bold vessels as he went. Locating the appendix, the surgeon carefully clipped it away from the surrounding tissue, folded the stump back into place and sewed up the patient's wound-------he did it all, with the patient wide awake, and experiencing only minor discomfort. After a restful recovery of two days-----faster than most general anesthesia cases, the patient was released from the hospital to recuperate at home. 

Kane had achieved his goal----which was, to demonstrate, that successful general surgery, could be accomplished, without the risks of general anesthesia. Dr' Kane's experiment, changed the face of surgery-----but not just for scientific and medical reasons-------because Dr. Kane's name was added to a short list of pioneers in the medical field, who, so completely convinced  of the rightness and truth and authority, of their theories, that they chose to use them first, on themselves. Dr. Kane's first, voluntary, appendectomy patient, was himself----- to prove his theory, he had operated on himself and removed his own appendix.

The mark of a true leader is, that the leader won't ask followers, to go somewhere that they haven't been themselves. Dr. Kane chose to test his theory, by risking severe pain and even death, operating on himself, before asking anybody else to run the same risk. In the exact same way-----before asking his followers, to risk excruciating, emotional and, or, physical pain and even death-----Paul chose to demonstrate personally, what he wanted the church in Rome and all the other believers to do------which was to be 100% devoted to the Lord and His gospel, no matter what. Paul's life, is at the heart of this last section, of the letter to the Roman believers, and the gospel was at the heart of Paul's life. Paul doesn't tell us this, himself-----he would never, have boasted about himself------but its clear to the reader. We are able to see that Paul was a builder; servant; shepherd and apostle of the church. 

These 4 aspects of Paul's heart, for the church, are the same things that he wants for every believer to have, as a part of their hearts, too------we are to build the church, by spreading the Gospel to everybody, we come in contact with; we are to serve the church, by going to any lengths, to demonstrate the love of God, that the Gospel is based on; we are to shepherd the church, by developing genuine, and time-tested relationships, with its members; and we are to  have the vision of an apostle, who desires constantly, to see the gospel taken, wherever it hasn't been preached before. This was Paul's life, and it's what he considered to be, a normal life, for all believers.

In this last passage, we are able to catch a glimpse of the love Paul has for the Lord Jesus and for believers. He talks in an affectionate way, of his longing, to visit the the Christians in Rome, and he sends greetings, by name, to dozens of his close friends and relatives in the ministry.

I. Paul Explains His intent      Romans 15:14-32

The letter closes, pretty much, in the same way, that it began------ with a personal word, from Paul, about himself and his intent, and about his desire for the believers, in Rome.

Paul described 3 qualities that the Roman believers possessed that he also wants us to possess:

1.) They were full of goodness----their motives were pure. They were motivated by compassion to reach out to people in need. They were motivated by Christian love to share with each other and to carry each other's burdens.

2.) They were complete in knowledge. Paul didn't mean, that they knew all that there is to know about the faith. No matter how much a person knows about God, there is always more to learn. The riches of God's truth are inexhaustible. What Paul was saying was, that they were complete in their knowledge of how to be saved and how to trust God, because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross. They had become diligent students of God's word and they were totally committed to understanding God's will and Paul couldn't help but applaud them for it.

3.) They were competent, to instruct each other, which means, that they were competent to counsel each other. In today's churches, a great burden is placed on most pastors, for them to be counselors, the listening ears and the problem-solvers of the church. But Paul, is saying here, that that was never God's plan for the church. According to this passage, the entire congregation should be involved in counseling each other. We should help each other find sound, biblically-based solutions to our problems and spiritual comfort for our sorrows and hurts, even if that means recommending professional Christian counseling, to each other. The church should be a place of healing and we all have a responsibility to make sure that it is. 

Paul also cites 3 things, that the Roman Christian lacked, and they apply to us too:

1.)They needed a bolder reminder of the truth. We need to be reminded again and again, to embrace the truths of the Gospel-----we get so bogged down, drawn into the mindset of the world, by everyday life, sometimes---- and that's why we need to gather in our churches, every Sunday, for worship, instruction, fellowship and celebration in song. We need to continually brought back to the beauty and the strength of our faith----we need to be "continually transformed by the renewing of our minds".

2.) They needed a priestly ministry. We have a priestly duty, to spread the Gospel. Every believer, is part of the royal priesthood. It's our duty to get people prepared to meet God----we need to evangelize and to disciple. We have to make sure that we have prepared ourselves for worship and service first, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

3.) They needed to become sanctified. Every congregation needs to experience sanctification. Sanctification, is the process by which the righteousness of God, that He's given us, will gradually changes our attitudes, habits, speech and conduct. As we become sanctified in the Lord Jesus, people notice that we're becoming more like Him. A church that isn't sanctified by the Holy Spirit, is just a religious organization; but a sanctified church is the living body of Jesus Christ! When the divine wind of the Spirit blows on a church, and the church is vital and active and alive in the community-----that is sanctification.

Next, Paul talks about his own service to the Lord. He gives us a fascinating insight into his own life and work. The apostle Paul's influence on this world and upon each of our lives is immeasurable. He lived 2000 years ago , but your life and my life and virtually everyone we know have been profoundly affected by this man. The course of history has ben altered by the truths that he taught. His teachings had a huge impact, on the founding fathers, as they formulated the plan, to govern our country, deciding about liberty and justice and fairness. The United States of America, would not exist, if Paul had never come to a saving faith, in the Lord Jesus. The vitality of his spirit, the excellence of his mind and the sweetness of his heart, still echoes, down through the ages, and touches our lives. 

Paul outlined 3 features of his own ministry:

1.) The 5 principles he embraced…

1st Principle: Paul continually rejoiced wherever he went, despite the hardships and difficulties that he endured. Everywhere he went, he found villages and towns and cities in the iron grip of Roman authority. The people in those communities were deep in despair and emptiness and were longing for something they couldn't find; tumbling in superstitious fear. Why he rejoiced in this though, was because, it was in these towns, that he would find, people who were hungry for God, and that made them open to the Gospel. Paul rejoiced because his preaching gave these people a light in their darkness, and he had the privilege of seeing many lives changed as people heard about Jesus for the very first time.

2nd Principle: Paul allowed God to work through him. This is one of the great secrets that God wants to teach us------that we don't do great things for God, but that he does great things through us. Sometimes we get the idea that God couldn't get along without us. We feel self-important, as we think back over our work for the Lord, or when He gives us some task, for the kingdom, to do------but the truth is, we are little-bitty-tiny people--the Lord doesn't need us, He gives us the privilege, of being used by Him, so that we can be amazed, at His glory!  There is not one instance, in the scripture, in all of Paul's writings, where we see that attitude in Paul. He always gives God the credit; he never claims, what God has done through him, as his own work.

3rd Principle: Paul relied on the power of the Holy Spirit: He talked about the signs and miracles which only Jesus and the apostles were able to do------the fact that he was able to perform signs and miracles was roof of his apostleship. And even though we aren't apostles, and we don't really need the sign gifts anymore, (although, if God still wants to use them, in certain situations, I believe that He does) because we have the scripture------we do have the power that Paul's talking about-----the power of the Holy Spirit is available to us today, in just the same measure that it was available to Paul.

4th Principle: Paul, willingly, went anywhere that God led him: Paul described how far-flung his ministry had been. Jerusalem is in southern part of Judea---Illyricum was in the area of modern-day Albania and Croatia in the Balkan region of eastern Europe--so when you look at a map of his journeys-----you can see that he went up the Mediterranean Coast, through Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey-----across the Dardanelles into Greece, Macedonia and Croatia. Most of his traveling was done on foot and there was always some hardship to endure, wherever he went-----but he always obediently went, wherever the Lord sent him.

5th Principle: Paul was a pioneer: Pioneers have a spirit of adventure. They seek to advance the Gospel in new and unreached places. A pioneer spirit is characteristic of the spirit of God------we never know where He is going to show up and reveal Himself or some aspect of His truth in creative ways. 

2.) The means by which he carried our those principles…

Paul had a very practical approach to ministry, which involved 3 practical considerations:

1.) Planning: Many Christians don't believe that we should plan our service------they think that we should let God guide us from moment to moment, and that we don't need to look ahead to the future------but God is a God of order, and He certainly has a plan, and He executes each step, when the time is right. And Paul didn't live that way either. He spent years laying plans to go to Rome and Spain. Paul was practical and he was a planner.

2.)Completion: Jesus never went on to another task, before he had completed the one He was working on. Some believers continually jump into new ministry efforts, before the old ones are finished. But Paul didn't work that way----he worked steadily toward a goal, he achieved that goal, then he went on to the next goal. The specific task that he was taking care of in this passage involved taking up a collection for the needy Christians in Jerusalem. 

3.) Prayer: Prayer was the most important ingredient in Paul's ministry. It was empowered, energized and protected by the power of prayer.There is no more practical consideration in any ministry than the empower of prayer. Prayer is our most potent spiritual weapon---there is nothing more critical to ministry success than prayer. Prayer helps to protect us from satan's temptations and it helps to protect us from physical harm too. Prayer is the key to resolving disputes, disagreements and misunderstandings so that ministry can go forth without hindrance.   

3.) The power that he relied on to carry the principles out…Prayer and the power the Holy Spirit, gave him over and over and over again. 

The last verse in chapter 15 says, "By God's will I may come to you with joy, and together with you, be refreshed," This hope of Paul's was realized 3 years later, when he finally arrived in Rome. The last chapter of Acts describes how Paul----having been arrested by the Roman government, having survived shipwreck and other arduous perils, finally arrived in Rome. Acts 28:14-15 says "And so we came to Rome. The brothers there had heard that we were 

coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged." Imagine the great feeling of encouragement Paul must have felt when the Roman believers came out to meet him. The very sight of them, caused Paul to thank God. Even though he came as a prisoner, and even though he was chained to a Roman guard and was destined to stand trial for his life, Paul felt a surge of joy and refreshment of his spirit. 

II. Paul Greets His Friends     Romans 16:1-27

The last chapter in Romans gives us some insight, into some of the people, who were the first ones to hear this wonderful letter. Initially, it looks like it's pages were taken from the phone book---but it's really a very fascinating read. Paul lists 33 men and women, who had no idea, that they were going to be famously immortalized in scripture, for all time, as the Paul's friends. There were 17 men and 7 women in Rome; 8 men and 1 woman were with Paul in Corinth, where he was staying when he wrote the letter. There were 2 households mentioned and 2 unnamed women and there were some references to some other unnamed brothers, in the faith.

People traveled in that day and time, more than we think they did-----in our world of cars and planes and trains and big ocean liners--we tend to think that people stayed close to home, then----but they actually traveled quite a lot and extensively. The letter was carried to Rome by a traveling businesswoman named Phoebe. The whole church then and now, can be so grateful to Phoebe for her courage and faithfulness, in taking the letter from Corinth to Rome. Paul identified her as a servant of the church in Cenchrea, which was a port town, nine miles, east of Corinth. Phoebe was a servant (deacon was the Greek word used here) in the church in her hometown. The fact that she was a servant or a deacon, doesn't necessarily mean, that she held an office in the early church, it just means that she had a ministry of servanthood within that church and Paul also indicated that she had served him, in some way, too. Phoebe is just one of the many women mentioned in the New Testament. Romans 16 affirms the fact that Christianity has done more to elevate the status and dignity of women than any other movement or social force in history.

Greetings, in Paul's day, were always put at the end of their letters, so he starts the end of the letter, by presenting Phoebe to them, first and then, commending her for her help.

Pricilla and Aquila are next----the book of Acts tells us that they were Jewish tentmakers, who were from Rome but that they had been driven out by Emperor Claudius----and had gone to Corinth where another tentmaker, named Paul, moved in with them, and led them to the Lord. Their home was probably the first church in Corinth. Paul spend two years in Corinth and then he went to Ephesus-----and Priscilla and Aquilla went with them. But apparently, Priscilla and Aquilla had been able to go back to Rome----and Paul greeted them, reminding the church that they had risked the lives to save his.

Next was Epenetus. Scholars don't know why Paul was in Rome, but they do know that he was cherished by Paul, because he was his first convert, in Asia----- and you never forget the first person, that you lead to the Lord.

Then Paul greets Mary-----she was an anonymous servant who had the spiritual gift of helps. She might not have been able to teach preach or evangelize, but she was a hard worker.

After that he greets Andronicus and Junias who were relatives of Paul's. They apparently had come to know the Lord before Paul----so they must have been among some of the earliest believers in Jerusalem. They had probably been sacred to death, of their zealous relative, who was persecuting the church. They must have been thrilled, just like we would be, if a relative comes to know the Lord, when they heard about Paul's Damascus Rd. Experience, aside from the fact that another believer had come not the fold. It isn't clear whether they are a husband and a wife or two brothers. There is confusion in the early manuscripts as to whether the second person's name is Junia or Juias. But whichever it was-----they were such dedicated Christians, that even the 12 apostles in Jerusalem, loved them. Paul also mentions with fondness, that they had been fellow prisoners, with him, at one time.

Ampliatus is an interesting name. In the catacombs of Domitilla under the streets of Rome, there is a highly decorated tomb that bears the single name Ampliatus. A single name usually means that the person was a slave----the ornate decorations on the tomb, though, indicate that Ampliatus was well-loved by the leading citizens of Rome. We don't know if the Ampliatus who is entombed in the catacombs is the same person that Paul mentions here, but scholars think that its likely.

Urbanus and Stachys are next---we don't know anything about them, except what Paul says here---that Urbanus had served on Paul's ministry team and Stachys was a dear friend.

The next person--Apelles---was described by Paul as having been "tested and approved in Christ"----He will forever be known as a person who had endured the testing of his faith and and emerged with the approval of the Lord. 

After that, was the household of Aristobulus, was greeted-----scholars have speculated that he may have been the grandson, of King Herod the Great. Aristobulus was a close friend of Emperor Claudius. When Aristobulus died, his household became the property of the emperor (by this time, we know that it was Nero). So even though though the servants legally belonged to the emperor, they were still known as the household of Aristobulus. This suggests that there were a number of Christians servants and slaves, who may have had opportunities to witness to the leaders of Rome.

Then he greets another relative----Herodian---who is somehow connected to these servants. The name Herodian indicated a connection with the family of Herod----so Paul may have been related to the ruling family of the Jews. Herodian had become a Christian and was living in Rome as part of the household of either Aristobulus or Narcissus.

Then, the household of Narcissus---which is probably a reference to the servants of the former slave, Narcissus, who became the personal secretary of Emperor Claudius. Scholars do not believe that Narcissus was a believer-----just that he had servants who were.

Then Paul, greets some hard-working women in the church---their names are Tryphena and Tryphosa----its funny, their names mean "dainty" and "delicate"----yet they were commended for their hard work-----so, they must not have been as delicate or dainty as they sound. There names indicate, that they were probably, from the ruling class.

Paul's dear friend Persis---we don't really know anything about-------but she must have worked with hims somewhere--because he greeted her specially.

Next is Rufus and his mother. It is believed that this is the same Rufus who is mentioned along with his brother Alexander with their father, Simon of Cyrene, who witnessed Jesus struggling up the Via Dolorosa, to be crucified, he was a Jew from North Africa, who was in Jerusalem, for Passover, and he was forced to carry Jesus cross. As an eyewitness to the crucifixion, Simon was probably one of the very first Christians and may have even been present on the day of Pentecost. It stands to reason that he would have taken his new faith, back to his family and they would have become believers too.

Asyncriticus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas----are all Greek names. They would have been Greek Christians, probably businessman, who lived and worshiped in Rome.

The name Philogus, means "a lover of the word"----scholars think it was probably a nickname, describing someone who must have learned the word of God. And gathered with him, were Julia, Neurus, the sister of Nereus and Olympas--------they were probably, members of the same house church------and Paul greeted them all.

Nereus was another interesting name. William Barclay says that he may have been a housekeeper of a prominent Roman citizen, Flavius Clemens. History says, that Flavius Clemens, became the Consul of Rome, the highest political office in the city. He was executed for his Christian faith in AD 95. His wife Domatilla, was banished for her Christian faith. It is believed that, Nereus, led his prominent employers to the Lord.

In this list of names-------we are able to see that Roman society was being steadily infiltrated, from top to bottom, by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is at its best, when we quietly but steadily, make our presence known and felt, and penetrate all levels of society, so that we can take the Gospel to everybody. 

Then he extends a general greeting to the Romans from all the church plants that he had been part of------to signify that they were all one church, unified in love and in the Holy Spirit.

III. Paul Gives a Final Warning and Sends a Final Greeting  Romans 16:17-27

Paul's gives one last warning to the Romans. He wanted them to be aware of people, who profess to be Christians and who preach a false and divisive doctrine. He warns us against people, in the church, who say they are believers, but then stir up discord, by elevating one particular point of doctrine, at the expense of the full counsel of God's word. Throughout church history, one of the greatest dangers has been the presence of false teachers, who emphasize one spiritual gift, or some other teaching, claiming that, that one thing, is what makes a person a true believer. False teachers sometimes introduce practices or rituals, that they insist, are the marks, of true Christianity. They seduce the unwary and the innocent, into a spiritual arrogance that says, "we are different----we have this special understanding or mark, that sets us apart, from everybody else---we are super Christians---or what I call them, the Christian Elite. 

In spite of their smooth words, false teachers aren't seeking to serve the Lord Jesus, they really just want to advance themselves. They create divisions and factions, using biblical-sounding language and flattering words to entice, unsuspecting followers. Paul doesn't say that they should be censured or denounced from the pulpit or tossed out of the church. His advice is to just simply avoid them. If we will avoid them, the the Lord will take care of everything, including the peace of the church. Eventually, the eyes of the people will be opened and the false teachers will be revealed for what they are---either immature Christians or non-believers-and then they will either grow up in the Lord or they will lose their following, and they will walk away. He wants us to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil----in other words, we need to be discerning about who we listen to and who we emulate and who we trust, even among fellow believers-------we have to line everything up against the Lord and His word.

Then, Paul added the greetings, of the believers, who were in Corinth, with him---

First, from Timothy-----one of Paul's closest friends. Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish Christian mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois. Paul spoke of Timothy, as his son, in the Lord. Timothy was associated with Paul in the writing of five of his letters---1and 2 Thess., 2 Corinthians, Colossians and Phillipians. Timothy traveled extensively with Paul, and was eventually imprisoned with him, in Rome and remained his faithful companion and friend until the end. 2nd Timothy was the last letter, that Paul ever wrote. 

Lucius----one of the teachers that Paul had known in Antioch.

Jason----Paul's host in the city of Thessalonica.

Sosipater-----we aren't sure, but he is probably Sopater of Berea, who is mentioned in 

Acts 20.

Tertius----is the helper who transcribed this letter, while Paul dictated it---and he sent his own greetings. The name Tertius means he was a slave----his name means "Third". In slave families, it was common to number children, instead of naming them--so the children would have been named first, second, third, fourth and so on-----

Quartus----is probably Tertius' younger brother----his name means Fourth.

Gaius---Paul was probably staying in his home. Gaius had opened his home to the entire Chrisitan community in Corinth. There might have been whole room full of people, in the house of Gaius, listening to Paul dictating his letter. 

Erastus-----He was the director of public works in the city of Corinth.

Clearly, this last chapter of Romans, is not just a list of names--------because as we read them----it enables us, to catch a glimpse, of flesh-and-blood people, who really lived, people that Paul loved and appreciated and commended, for their authentic love, and their proven commitment, and their faithfulness to the Gospel. 

The last paragraph of this letter was probably written in Paul's own hand----it was his custom to do that-----he would dictate the main body of the letter and then write the last paragraph himself. He would write it in a very big font, to protect his letters from forgery. 

Paul gave his readers, one last explanation of the Gospel, and then ended the whole thing, with a wonderful outpouring of praise to God the Father.

He had explained the gospel, at length, throughout the whole letter. He reminded his readers, one last time---that the gospel and the Lord, himself, would strengthen and stabilize them, in the faith. He reminded them, that parts of the Gospel, had been hidden for many ages, in the Old Testament-----that the prophets, who had written that part of the scripture, weren't fully aware, of the meaning of their own words, but they had still written, what God had told them to, about the fulfillment of the mystery-----which was the coming of the Messiah, the salvation of the Gentiles and the return of the Jews. The mystery had been completely revealed in the Lord Jesus; and His death and resurrection; and with the salvation of the Jews and the Gentiles, and their growth in the faith----- it was finally being understood, by the nations. 

and that this was God's ultimate goal all along----to draw all men to Him---- whether they were slaves or free, barbarian or Greek----they could all become, one people, in the Lord Jesus.

God's glory is displayed through Jesus Christ and Paul couldn't help but praise God, for his wisdom in the perfection of His plan, to save the world through Jesus.  

Our God is the only wise God. He has infinite wisdom. Wisdom, among other things, is the ability, to devise perfect ends, and to achieve those ends, by perfect means. This our God does, without limits. In His wisdom, He has made it possible, for those who were once bound to the earth, by their own sin, to be forgiven and freed from their sins, so that heaven will become our eternal home. Which leads us all to say, right along with Paul, "To the only wise God, be glory forever, through Jesus Christ! Amen"

JOY "Debts" February 22

February 22, 2012

Debts

Romans 13:1-14

1. We Owe To the Government     Romans 13:1-7
2. We Owe To Each Other               Romans 13:8-14

(Steve Brown, a Christian author, related the story of a soldier in WWI who was so distraught with war, that he deserted. He tried to find his way to the coast, so that he could catch a boat and make his way back incognito to his homeland in England.

In the darkness of the night, he stumbled on a road sign. It was so pitch black, and he was so lost, that he had no idea where he was or what the sign said. He decided to climb the pole to see if getting closer would enable him to read the sign. When he got to the crossbeam, he held on with one hand and lit a match with the other one-------------he was shocked------he was looking straight into the face of Jesus. He had climbed up, onto an outdoor crucifix!

Stunned by what he saw, he realized that he needed to be ashamed of his attitude and the way he’d been behaving. He was looking into the face of the One person, that he knew had endured it all, for the sake of people that He didn’t know, either. The next morning that young soldier was back in the trenches.)

This lesson is about our appreciating and honoring those authorities which God has set over us, for our good and for our protection. God’s hand and His plan have 

placed them, or allowed them, to be where they are, for a purpose. Not obeying, an honoring them, is disrespectful to the authorities, but it is even more disrespectful, to God. It shows a lack of love for Him and a total disregard for how we’re supposed to care for each other. The Lord could come back, at any moment, so in light of that; we need to live honorably, in our communities, and lovingly with our neighbors, so that the Gospel will be spread, so that everyone will have an opportunity to hear it.

I   Debts That We Owe the Government    Romans 13:1-7

I think Americans and much of the world believes, that the best form of government is a democracy. We think, that it is the one that God would choose, for every nation and country to have. And, before this lesson, I would have personally agreed with that thinking, because it seems to be the one, as imperfect as it is, to be the most conducive, to fairness and equality, for all of its citizens. Even Winston Churchill, who arguably, did more to defend democracy than any other political figure ever has, quoted this, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” 

But, the truth is, there is no support for this view, anywhere in scripture. In fact, if you search the scripture, for what the ideal form of government is-----a monarchy, a dictatorship, a republic, a democracy, communism or a theocracy----the answer would be, “the best government for you, is the government you live under,” because that is where you have been placed in history, to live out your life-------and that’s the authority that you have to yield yourself to------“you have to render unto Caesar, what is Caesar’s and you have to render unto God, what is God’s.

In every place in the world, in every time in history, God has raised up or allowed different forms of government, according to the nature of a given population, and according to the degree of truth and light that a population has received and according to the moral conditions that prevail in the given society. There has never been, in the history of mankind, one form of government, which has continued indefinitely. The only government, that we can know for certain, that God has ordained, to last forever, is the millennial one, where Jesus will be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He will reign, unchallenged for all eternity. 

It is true though; that wherever people grow toward an understanding of the truth of the gospel and wherever there are strong moral principles----democracy often takes root and wherever on the other hand, when truth disappears, the government often becomes autocratic and totalitarian------like Big Brother is watching every move.

Paul tells us, that it doesn’t matter, which form of government that we live under---God is still behind it, because He invented government, to prevent mankind from running wild, doing anything that comes into their heads. He is in control of all things; there is no government, which can overturn God’s plan, for human history. God’s purposes will be accomplished, even in the most godless and repressive regimes imaginable. In Daniel 2:20-21---Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar, a great autocratic king of the ancient world, “Praise be to the name of God, forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons. He sets up kings and He takes them down.” Daniel wanted the king to understand, that God, is not just some remote figure, who lives out in space somewhere------------He is actively involved in our lives and in the pattern of our government. And God never changes-----Hi s methods never change---what was the right thing for Daniel was the right thing for Paul -----and it is still the right thing all these 2000 years later.

When Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome, they were living in the capitol city of one of the most oppressive regimes, in human history. Nero was in the middle of his reign, as emperor of Rome but, the people already knew ‘just how crazy’, He was. Knowing about Nero and the oppression of Roman rule, makes Paul’s words, even more powerful, as He reminds those Christians, who were  living under persecution-----that their government had been ordained by God, and they were to be obedient, to it.  

When Paul refers to ‘governing authorities,” he is using a phrase that means, “the powers that be” He isn’t just talking about the king or military commander or heads of state----he’s talking about all levels of authority----from the grand emperor to the local dog-catcher.  So for the Romans and for us, when we obediently submit ourselves to the governing authorities, we are actually submitting ourselves to God, Himself. This doesn’t mean that everything a government does is good and righteous, like God is----it just means that the government, and its rules and edicts, have been put into place for a reason, and we shouldn’t be subversive, unless the government acts in a way that it is contrary to God’ law----and then, we have a right and a duty and a debt, to stand up and to speak up so as to try to influence our government, in the best way that we can, in a positive way.  

Earthly authorities are agents of law and order-----after God created the world, he filled it, organized it, and gave purpose to every created thing. When governments establish laws and carry out justice, they are honoring God’ created order, even when they don’t do it perfectly, or when they do it, for their own selfish motives. Disorder, chaos and lawlessness, is bad for everybody. That’s why governments, serve the purposes of God, whether they intentionally, mean to or not. They form and thrive with His permission, and they cease to exist, when they don’t serve His plan any longer. 

When Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and give to God, the things that belong to God…” (Matt. 22:21) He was implying that there are limits to the power of government. The image of Caesar was stamped on a coin that Jesus held in His hand; so He was saying, that the things that bore Caesar’s image belonged to Caesar------but at the same time, some things were off-limits, even to Caesar. Governments have authority over what we do with our property and how we behave toward one another, but governments have no right to touch what God has stamped His image on----- the spirit, of every single human being, ever created. 

Caesar has no right to control people’s worship or to control their obedience to God’s words. Rulers are under God, and their governments, should not oppress or enslave human beings, because humanity belongs to God. Romans 13, doesn’t deal with these issues, at length, but when you take scripture as a whole, which is what you have to do, you can’t take it out of context------it makes it clear that believers do have a right to resist oppression and religious persecution. But believers do not have the right to resist, the legitimate functions of the government. 

When we put ourselves at odds with our government, we are, generally speaking, opposing God’s justice system. So, we should try, to the best of our ability, to live at peace, with everybody, if it’s at all, in our power. Unless we are living under madmen, like Adolph Hitler or Sadaam Hussein or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-----most governments, even oppressive ones, want their citizens, to live peacefully, productively and without troublemakers. If we obey the laws, pay our taxes, stop at red lights, don’t murder anybody, don’t speed, don’t take advantage of our neighbor’s property, don’t invade their privacy and don’t rob any banks, then we don’t have to live in fear of our government. But on the other hand, people who do break the law should be afraid of the government. This is on one of the most important reasons why God ordained government: to make evil-doers afraid to do evil.

That’s why government authority figures like policemen and judges and elected officials and prosecutors are called, “God’s Servants”, by Paul------ The word, servant, in this verse, comes from the Greek word, deacon. These authorities perform the work of God, Paul says, in and among humanity .This passage tells us that there are 2 basic functions that government authorities perform, 1.)They restrain evil and protect the population and 2.) They are servants of God. Governmental authorities punish crimes; they commend good deeds; they judge disputes; they maintain a well-ordered society, and they do it on God’s behalf, even if they don’t realize that’s what they’re doing.

Sometimes they even dispense compassion-----(During the Great Depression, Hew York City’s mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, presided over a Manhattan police court. A man was brought before him, who was thin, trembling, and shabbily dressed. He was charged with stealing a loaf of bread. The man pled guilty to the crime, but explained that His family was starving and he was unable to find work. 

“I’m sorry” said the mayor, “but the law makes no exceptions.” I’m going to have to fine you 10 dollars.” 

“But I haven’t got 10 dollars!” the defendant said, “I don’t even have a dime!”

“I understand,” said Mayor LaGuardia, reaching into his own pocket. “That’s why I’m going to pay the fine myself. Here take this.” He handed the money to the man, “Furthermore, I’m going to remit the fine----that means you get to keep the money.” 

The defendant stared at the ten dollar bill in his hands; it had been a long time since he had handled that much money. 

“One more thing”, the mayor added, “Bailiff, take off your hat and pass it around the courtroom. I’m fining everybody in the courtroom 50 cents, for living in a city, where a man has to steal, in order to get bread for his family.” The money was collected and given to the defendant.)

The government provides for our defense and for our security and for the services that we need, for our society, to function in a healthy way:  Our military, our educators, our relief agencies, our firemen, our policeman, our postal service, our road and transportation depts., and our state and federal governments. To make these services possible----government has been given 2 powers----the premise of which is laid out in the scripture------1.) the power of force and 2.) the power to collect taxes. Paul says that the government servant “doesn’t bear the sword for nothing.” (Romans 13:4) The sword symbolized the right to use force, even the right to take life, in extreme cases-----like, in policing situations, in times of war, when our national self-defense is threatened and for capital punishment by the criminal justice system. (We have to respect the views of believers who conscientiously oppose capital punishment, but this passage makes it clear, that scripture, affirms the right of government, to impose the death penalty.) 

And as for taxes, we may not like the level of taxation, imposed on us, but the principle of taxation is necessary, so that we can pay the salaries of the people who provide protection and community services for us. Paul makes it clear that Christians should pay their taxes and should pay them with a good attitude, because they are a contribution for the common good, of the whole society. 

The motivation for Believers to obey the laws of the land, and to obey them well, should not just be, so that they can avoid being caught and punished. Our true motivation for obedience should be our Christian conscience, which is prompted by the Holy Spirit. Even during the Israelites exile, Jeremiah said in 29:7, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare, you will have welfare.”

We should obey the speed laws, whether there is an unmarked car nearby or not; we should pay the taxes we owe and shouldn’t fudge our tax return, even if we never get caught; (we have no right to withhold taxes just because we don’t agree with how they’re spent. We are accountable to pay what we owe----people in government are accountable for how the money is used. Governments are made up of fallible men and women, just like us, and there will be mistakes, waste, and fraud. But that doesn’t relieve us, of the responsibility to pay our taxes) ; we should pray for our elected officials, even if we don’t agree with their politics-----and we should keep our personal conversation about them positive, as best we can, even if we would like to scream our frustration with them from the rooftops for everybody to hear.  Many people around us gripe and complain, but we need to be different. We need to be people of integrity, who obey the government, because we want to obey God, out of love and respect, not out of fear or punishment.

We serve a God who is neither Democrat nor Republican, who is neither communist nr capitalist. He transcends all political labels and ideologies. Not only are governments ordained by God, but the people in office are placed there by God. They are God’s servants, whether they know it or not. And whether they are wicked men or whether know and love God, they are used by Him to unwittingly, serve, to further His eternal plan, in history. It’s strange to realize that government officials who hate God and blaspheme His name, and persecute His people are actually His servants, but that’s exactly who they are: God’s strange servants. 

Regardless of the government we live under, the hand of God is in it. So, we need to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to humbly submit ourselves to the governing authorities, because that is what Almighty God has told us to do.

1. Debts We Owe to Each Other: Romans 13:8-14

When I owe somebody money, it bothers me, because I’m afraid that if I don’t pay it right away, I will forget to pay it at all. That’s how Paul wants us to think about Christian love. He wants us to remember that we have an obligation to love every single person that we meet. 

Love is the greatest need in the world today. When Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Rome, love was surely the thing that was most lacking in their society. The Christians suffered cruel persecution under the emperor Nero and they desperately needed to know how to give and receive authentic love, as they struggled with the pressures and terrors of that regime.

The secret of authentic Christian love is to love the Lord our God, with all our hearts, our souls and our minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul says that it wouldn’t be hard to keep the 10 commandments if we would just follow this one simple command to love God first, and then to love each other----because all 10 can be summed up in this one commandment.

 If we genuinely love God and love others, we would never cause anybody any harm. Think how the world would be changed, if everybody obeyed this one simple command. If we loved each other with authentic Christian love, we would never harm our family or another family, because of adultery. There would be no abuse or hatred or murder. There would be no lies or theft or gossip. We wouldn’t covet the material possessions or envy the success that we see other people achieving, because we would be genuinely happy for their joy. 

If everybody followed this one simple commandment, there wouldn’t be any more divorces, because divorce is nothing more than two people forgetting how to love each other.(My goddaughter told me just last week that she had a friend in her kindergarten class whose mommy and daddy don’t like each other anymore so her friend is moving----------it made me so sad, I just couldn’t help thinking that 6 is way too young to know, that somebody doesn’t like someone else! If couples just chose to love each other more with a Christ like love, children would grow up happy and confident and secure, in homes, which are bound together by genuine love. 

If everybody would practice this one simple commandment, there would never be another war. The nations of the world could disarm without fear. The thousands of nuclear weapons that countries are amassing could be dismantled. If everybody loved like this, there would be no more crime----our streets and parks would be safe to walk in at night. Our tax burden would lighten considerably, because the government wouldn’t need to spend money, on prisons, police and courtrooms.  The ability to love is the radical force that Jesus Christ has turned loose on the world by His death and resurrection. 

By urging us to love each other----Paul tells us that the ability to love has to be given an opportunity to be shared, and it has to begin with us. If we are in Christ, we have the power to love. We don’t have to ask for the power to love----we have the power to love, living right in our hearts. In our sinful natures, we may be tempted to hate, but in our spirits, we have the same power to love that Jesus had. How right would the world be, if we loved everybody around us, with a love that said, “I owe this person a debt of love, Lord, help me to repay that debt. How can I show your love to this person right now?” 

Paul instills a sense of urgency in his words about love saying that if we truly understood the times that we’re living in, then we would be compelled, motivated and driven, to love each other. 

There are 3 important features about the times we’re living in, and they have applied to every generation, since Paul first wrote them:

First:  It’s time to spring into action. It’s time to wake up and see all the opportunities there are for us to truly love each other. People misunderstand what real love is all about----they can’t fathom how we can love somebody who is mistreating us. That’s because we are conditioned by our culture to think of love as a feeling, but Christ like love isn’t a feeling, it’s a decision. We choose to love people and the decision to love, is especially important at times, when we don’t feel like loving. 

The ancient Greeks had 2 different words that they used for the feeling-based word, love----phileo----the feeling of affection that we have for a friend; eros----the romantic feeling that people feel, when they are attracted to each other; but there was another word that they reserved for the highest form of love, a love that isn’t a feeling at all, but is a conscious decision ---the word agape-----------and it is the kind of love that we should have for each other. The reason why this love is so powerful is because it isn’t based on emotion, it is an act of our wills, which is based on obedience to the Lord. When a person is unlovely and unlovable, we can pray for the strength and ability to do something good for that person, even though we don’t feel good toward them----that is expressing our love for them----that is behaving our way into a feeling, not feeling our way into a behavior. 

(Martin Niemoller was a leading pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Germany, during WWII. He was a leading opponent of Hitler’s militarism an hatred of the Jews. He courageously opposed the Nazis until his arrest by the Gestapo in 1937. For 8 years he was imprisoned in concentration camps. As the war was ending, the Nazis slaughtered thousands of inmates in the camps, trying to leave no evidence of the atrocities they had perpetuated. Niemoller was one of the few who escaped execution. He died in 1984, at the age of 92. Shortly before his death, he told some friends of a disturbing, recurring dream that he had. In this dream, it was the day of god’s judgment of humanity and Niemoller saw Adolf Hitler standing before the Lord Jesus. Jesus came down from his throne, put His arm around and said, “Adolf, why? Why were you so cruel? Why did you do so much evil against your fellow man?” In the dream, Hitler hung his head and said, “Because no one ever told me how much you love me.”

Niemoller said, at that point in the dream, he would always awaken, in a cold sweat, shaking with guilt and grief. Why did he feel guilty? Because he remembered in the years before the war began, he had numerous meetings with Adolf Hitler. In his role as a leader of the Lutheran Church, Niemoller had sat across a table from Hitler numerous times, and had spoken with him face to face-----and in all of those times, he had never once said, “Jesus loves you Herr Hitler, He loves you so much that he came and died for you.” Martin Niemoller couldn’t help wondering how the world might have been changed, how history might have been rewritten, if he had dared to express openly, and obediently the agape love of Jesus to a man named Adolf Hitler.)

The second important feature that Paul impresses upon his readers about the times that we live in: is that time is short. The coming back of the Lord Jesus is drawing closer and closer. In John 9:4 Jesus told His disciples, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work.” Jesus was aware of the brevity of His own earthly life and the urgency of Hiss mission upon this earth. He was telling them, that while He was present on the earth, it was daytime. But His death and burial would bring nightfall. We live in that period of darkness today. Philippians 2:15 tells us “that Christians are like bright stars shining in the darkness of the night sky.” The night of this world is all around us, right now, but the day is fast approaching. We don’t know how much time is left before the Lord will be coming back. He may come back tomorrow or next week or next year or a thousand years from now. What seems like a long span of years to us is just a mere blink of an eye from God’s point of view. The important thing for us to remember is that life is brief, time is short, the Lord Jesus is coming, and we have a limited time, in which, we can love each other. If we are going to pay off, the debt, of love, that we owe to one another, because of the great love that Jesus has paid to us, then we have to begin right now----because the night is almost over and the day is about to dawn.

And the 3^rd feature about the times that we live in is: that it is time to give up sin and put on God’s armor of righteousness. It’s time to shed the deeds of darkness that we are so attracted to , that are incompatible with love-----orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, debauchery, dissention, and jealousy. That’s the only way that we can truly love people the way we’re supposed to.

Believers are not supposed to live for meaningless pleasure or self-indulgence or entertainment that just wastes our lives away. Every human being gets a finite number of heartbeats, and when they are used up, life is over. The time we have on earth is precious and irreplaceable, and we should spend our time here showing love to other people, not gratifying ourselves. 

Paul deals pretty candidly with how we are supposed to view sex. Our natural human sex drive is powerful force that is highly exploited in the world we live in.  God created us to be sexual creatures and intended that we should enjoy sex to the fullest, within the bounds of marriage, between a committed man and a woman. The world around us tries to cheapen sex and make it just another self-gratifying way to indulge ourselves. 

We can’t love with a Christ like love, if sex and pleasure are out of proportion in our lives. Even though the act of sex is called “making love”----- in any situation, but within marriage, it isn’t authentic love at all. It’s about using people, not loving them. Paul gives a list of the ways that sexual loving is exploited----fornication, adultery, homosexuality, pornography. These things can’t be indulged in, without losing the ability to love people the way we’re supposed to with the love like Jesus loved. Sex is a wonderful god-given gift and Paul warns us about allowing it to be cheapened, with perverted behavior. 

Strife, dissention and jealousy have no place in a believer’s life. Paul says that we need to measure ourselves against the behavior of Jesus----What is our effect on people? Do we get along and harmonize with people? Do we gather people together? Do we create peace and joy whomever we’re with? Or, do we generate strife, division or separation? Do we scatter people? Do we create upheaval and misery? We need to examine ourselves and our behavior and ask the Lord to help us make some major adjustments if we do any of these negative behaviors.

And last, but not least, Paul says that when we get up every morning, we need to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus, spiritually, just as surely, as we clothe ourselves physically. We have to make sure that He is can be seen in everything we do, that it is evident that he is demonstrating His love through us.  Ray Stedman says that, “Paul had a purpose for using Jesus’ full title, the Lord Jesus Christ,  when he says, for us to clothe ourselves with Him----because each name has a special meaning and attribute of Jesus----The Lord, stands for His authority---His power to rule over the event of history; Jesus, literally means, the Lord, our Savior---this name speaks of God’s amazing love, in sending Jesus, to die, to save us, when we were still sinners ----and Christ means that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who was anointed and commissioned by God the father, to deliver His people and set them free. So Paul is telling us that when we clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the authority of the Lord to carry on His ministry of loving others and continuing His messianic mission, of delivering people, and setting them free as we take the gospel to them.”

Jesus gives us His power to love everyone, even our enemies. If we would choose to exercise that power, in all the situations of our lives, with all the people that we meet, we would unleash such an unbelievable, radical, wonderful, beautiful force upon the world, that our lives and our homes and our communities and our nation and our world would be changed, beyond recognition. What’s stopping 

us? Lets’ choose today, to start living the way, that the Lord means for us to!