Church - Proclaiming, Planting, Partnering

It's on page 1141 if you're using a church Bible.

So as our focus today is on the Court Kerry project,

we're just taking a break from 1 Peter.

And today we're going to think about proclaiming, planting, partnering.

There's notes being handed round if you'd like to take notes.

Which helps you to focus.

Just put your hand up if you want a pen as well.

They're being passed around too.

So Romans chapter 15 on page 1141.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

We're going to start at verse 14.

To verse 33, we're going to look at that passage together.

So let's pray.

Our Father God, we ask that through your word and by the power of your Holy Spirit,

you would captivate our minds and give us understanding.

That you would captivate our hearts so that we are aligned to you

and fit in with all that you are doing.

And we ask that you would capture our will, our very being and all that we have.

So that we might respond in service to you.

Lord, we ask for your help.

For your work to be done amongst us today

and amongst all the churches that we've been thinking about this morning

and indeed in all the churches that are seeking to serve you across this island.

We ask for your help now, we pray.

Amen.

So when you think about church,

what do you think the purpose of the church is?

Like, here we are, gathered together today,

as we do every Sunday.

What is the purpose of our existence here in Carrigline?

What are we doing here together?

Are we simply here to meet as friends and hang out and have a chat over tea and coffee?

Are we here to organise programmes for our kids to attend?

Or maybe we're here to provide some kind of practical care for people in need.

Or perhaps our vision is to be bigger

and we're to send people overseas to dig wells and build houses

for those who don't have it.

Now all of those things are good things to do

and we should do them

but they are not the primary purpose of the church.

The Apostle Paul tells us in this text

what his purpose is, what his ambition is.

Have a look at verse 20, chapter 15, verse 20.

Here's the Apostle Paul speaking.

He says,

It has always been my ambition.

This is my purpose in life.

This is my drive in life

to preach the gospel

where Christ was not known.

Paul's ambition in life,

his purpose is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ

to all people in all places

and now he's calling on the church

to support him

and to partner him in that task.

So look at verse 23.

But now he says,

there's no more places for me to work in these regions

because there's already churches here.

And since I've been longing for many years to see you,

I plan to do so when I go to Spain.

I hope to visit you while passing through

and have you assist me on my journey there

after I've enjoyed your company for a while.

So we can see the purpose of the church,

and it's there on the screen,

is that we together would proclaim the gospel of Christ

to all peoples in all places

and to partner together with churches

who are preaching the same gospel.

That's what we're about.

That's in summary what we're about.

Proclaiming the gospel of Christ to all people

in all places

and to partner with churches

who will preach this same gospel.

So we're going to look at this

under three headings this morning.

Three Ps, all very easy to help us grasp

and understand what it's all about.

First, proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

So here he is writing this letter,

this big long letter,

to a church in Rome

that has heard the good news about Jesus.

These people have come to trust in Jesus as their saviour.

They've come to experience

the death of Jesus on the cross for their sins,

his resurrection from the grave,

giving them new life,

and the impact of this gospel on their lives is obvious.

Look at verse 14.

Verse 14.

I myself am convinced my brothers and sisters

that you yourselves,

that is because of the gospel,

are full of goodness.

Their love, their kindness,

their goodness is evident to see.

They are complete in knowledge.

Their understanding of who Jesus is

and what God has done is complete.

And they are competent to instruct one another.

They're meeting with each other

to encourage and support one another.

They've experienced the gospel in such a way

that it has got deep down in their lives.

It has radically changed them.

But here's the point.

He wants them to go further.

He wants them to look out beyond themselves

and beyond their little church

and join him in this ministry

to reach all places and all peoples.

Look at verse 16.

This is his plan, his desire.

He says,

I want to be a minister of Christ Jesus

to the Gentiles

with the priestly duty

of proclaiming the gospel of God

so that the Gentiles

might become an offering acceptable to God.

This is a summary, if you like, of his ministry.

And that is what he is calling the church

to be involved in, to partner in.

Look what he says, verse 16.

He says we have this priestly duty

of proclaiming the gospel of God.

The imagery here is of the Old Testament priest.

You know, the Old Testament temple

and the priest who was at work there

and his primary job was to bring offerings,

to bring thanksgiving offerings to God

on behalf of the people.

Now, says Paul,

that's what our role is,

except for we're not going to be offering things to God.

We're not making sacrifices anymore.

We are, in thanksgiving to God,

going to offer people to God.

That's going to be our offering of thanksgiving.

We will offer the priestly duty

of proclaiming the gospel of God

so that the Gentiles might become an offering

acceptable to God.

He wants to give.

He wants to offer people to God

who have come to believe and trust

the good news of Jesus Christ.

Now, that's the greatest thing

that we can ever give to God.

If we're wanting to respond

to what God has done for us,

if we are wanting to give

a thanksgiving offering to God,

the very best gift that we could give to God

to say thank you to Him

is to proclaim the gospel to people

so that they trust in the Lord Jesus

and follow Him.

But he doesn't just want to offer believers to God.

Look at the end of verse 16.

to offer them so that they will be acceptable to God

and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

To be sanctified by the Spirit

is to be set apart for God.

It's somebody who is going to be in the service of God.

So we can see that not only are they believing in the gospel,

but they are now beginning to proclaim the gospel to others.

Verse 17.

Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus

in my service to God.

This is my ambition.

This is my desire.

I long to proclaim the gospel

so that others will join me

in proclaiming the gospel to.

Now that's simply

what's happening through the Court Kerry Project.

It's people like you and I

where we are every day

in our places of work,

in our school,

in our neighbourhoods.

It's our churches together in partnership

seeking to reach out

and to bring an offering

that is acceptable to God.

Shane explained how they're seeking to do that in passage.

You remember on the video,

he talked about the Bible studies that they're having,

the events that they organise,

the relationships that they have with people,

whether with tidy towns or something else.

Their purpose is to build up those contacts

and to introduce people to Jesus,

to share the good news with them.

And that's simply what we are seeking to do.

Each one of us,

where we are,

where God has placed us

in the relationships that we have,

is to be those who are seeking

to bring an offering,

to say thank you to God

for what he has done

by just proclaiming

and bringing that to those people.

But as we think about that,

let's remember

that anyone who does become a believer in Christ

is God's work,

not ours.

If anybody's going to become a Christian,

it's God who will do it.

Look at verse 18.

He says,

I will not venture to speak of anything

except what Christ has accomplished through me.

What Christ has accomplished through me

in leading the Gentiles to obey God

by what I have said and done.

You see,

we can't make anyone a Christian.

I can't convince anybody

to turn and see that Christ is the way.

Everything that Paul did in his life,

in his ministry,

everything he did and he said

was done,

verse 19,

by the power of signs and miracles

through the power of the Spirit.

As Paul went about his ministry,

as an apostle,

he did many signs and miracles.

And those signs and miracles

were to confirm

that the gospel he preached was true,

that Jesus did die on the cross,

that Jesus did rise again from the dead,

and that he did ascend into heaven.

These were the testimony

that the gospel can be trusted

and believed,

that it is real.

But his point is

that everything through his ministry,

all that he said,

all that he did,

was all done

through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It was a work that God accomplished in people.

So let's be real about this

as we go about our ministry,

whether it's in Passage,

or Carigline,

or Kinsale,

or Yaw,

we can't save anybody ourselves.

We can't convince anyone.

It is Christ working through ordinary people like us

in the power of the Holy Spirit

that will convince somebody

that Christ is real.

So our purpose together as churches

is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So that's the first big thing.

The second big thing

is this,

that we would be planting gospel churches together.

You see,

as Paul went about his work,

he not only proclaimed the gospel,

as people came to believe in Jesus,

they began to meet together

and form together as local churches.

Look at the middle of verse 19.

So he says,

from Jerusalem

all the way round to Illyricum.

Now,

those countries today,

it's like working all the way.

We've seen Syria on the news,

but that's part of the work where he was,

through Syria,

into Turkey,

then across to Greece,

up to Macedonia,

to Kosovo,

and Albania.

all these areas,

the Apostle Paul had travelled.

And as he went,

people came to believe in Christ

and local churches were established in these places.

We can read the book of Acts

and we can see these churches being established.

But he's not content with what he has done.

He's looking to new areas and new places.

Look at verse 20.

He says,

it has always been my ambition

to preach the gospel

where Christ was not known

so that I would not be building

on someone else's foundation.

In other words,

he's looking to areas

to plant churches

where there are no other churches.

He longs to go to places

and situations

where there is no witness.

His ambition

is that people

in all places

will hear

the good news of Jesus.

Now,

this isn't just Paul's little idea

that he has for himself.

This is to be the vision of the church.

This is to be the vision

of Carigaline.

This is the vision

of the Cork-Cerry project.

So,

what would that actually look like

for us

here today?

Well,

have a look at this

on the screen.

Here's a few stats for you.

Our resident statistician

has already told me

that it should be 4.8 million.

So,

you can add on another,

what,

half a million there

to the population in Ireland.

But,

think of that.

All those people

roughly,

and these are just

rough figures,

240 evangelical churches.

That is,

people who hold

that the word of God

is true,

that it's God's authority

for our life

and what we believe.

They are people

who trust in Jesus Christ

for salvation.

So,

there's many flavours

of that,

but,

that's about

how many churches

there are

and about 80

in attendance.

You can do the maths

how many people

that add up to.

Roughly speaking,

around 0.5%

of the population

of Ireland

follow,

trust,

and love

the Lord Jesus.

That's one of the lowest

in the whole of Europe.

The lowest

in the whole of Europe.

Look at the bottom

two figures there.

31 towns,

well,

look at the top one,

5,000.

Passage is a town

of 5,000.

There's 71 other towns

across Ireland

like Passage.

71.

31 towns

of a population

of 10,000

or above.

Maybe

Cowering a Line

kind of fits

into that category

with no

evangelical witness.

It's not that

they can just

travel down the road

two miles

to a church.

Some of these

can be

30 miles away

from their

nearest church.

You see,

it's great

to watch the video

and see new churches

planted in Yaw

and in Kinsale.

It's great to hear

of this new work

in Passage West.

We thank God

for what he's done

in amazing ways.

Not just amongst

Baptist churches,

but amongst

many other churches

that are seeking

to do the same

thing.

What about

the rest of Cork?

I know of

just one church

that is seeking

to reach out

with the gospel

of Christ

in the north

part of the city.

What would it

mean

for people

to work

into that?

What would it

mean to pray

for that to happen?

And when we

look at this,

we can go,

how on earth

is that going

to be achieved?

It seems impossible.

How on earth

will this happen?

Well,

look what motivates

him to do this.

Verse 21.

As it is written,

those who were

not told

about him

will see.

Those who

have not heard

about Christ

will

understand.

Now,

this is a quote

that comes right

out of Isaiah 52,

which is a big

section telling us

of God's

great promise

of salvation

that's going

to go

not just

to God's

people,

Israel,

but to

all the nations.

Let me read

you just

one verse.

Isaiah 52,

Isaiah 52:10

verse 10.

The Lord

will lay

bare his

holy arm

in the sight

of all

the nations

and all

the ends

of the earth

will see

the salvation

of our God.

This is God's

global plan

that his

salvation

would go

to all nations.

So,

in the quote

here,

verse 21,

those who

are not

told about

him,

they will

see,

they will

get it.

Those who

have not

heard,

they will

hear and

they will

understand.

That's

the promise.

This is the

motivation,

the drive

for Paul

and for the

church at Rome

to keep on

going because

God has given

this promise,

not just to

them,

but to us

also.

that as we

go and

proclaim the

good news,

as the

good news

is proclaimed

in passage,

hearts will

be captivated

by the

beauty and

the greatness

of Jesus

Christ,

that people

will come

to faith

and churches

will be

planted.

It's not

us,

it's God's

promise

power

working

through us

people,

ordinary

people like

you and

I.

Now we

might think,

well,

that's alright

for some of

the other

churches,

they're bigger,

they're better,

look at the

stuff that

they can do,

what can we

do?

Look at us,

look at us,

rattling

about in this

huge big

hall,

what can we

do?

Together,

as people

who love

the Lord

Jesus,

our resources,

our gifts,

God's

promise,

God's

power,

working through

people like

you and

I,

with this

great promise

that those

who have not

heard will

understand.

Our purpose

is that new

churches will

be planted.

So,

that's the

second big

thing.

Proclaiming

Christ,

planting

churches,

and the

last,

our

partnership

in the

gospel.

We can

only do

this in

partnership

together.

As Paul

travels from

place to

place,

he's not

expecting that

everybody is

gifted in the

same ways that

he is or

that he has

the same

calling.

He's not

saying that

everybody will

go where

he's going

or will do

what he's

doing,

but he does

expect

partnership,

that this

is something

that we can

all do

together,

we all play

our part

in it.

We

prioritize

our support

for church

planting.

So,

look at

verse 23.

He's writing

this letter

to a church

and this

is what

he's asking

of them.

He says,

now there

is no more

places for

me to work

in these

regions,

so these

areas have

already got

churches.

We don't

want to

plant a

church where

there's

already a

church there.

And since

I've been

longing for

many years

to see you,

I plan

to do

so when

I go

to Spain.

I want

to go

to Spain

because

there's

no

churches

in Spain.

And I

hope to

visit you

while passing

through and

to have

you assist

me on my

journey there

after I've

enjoyed your

company for

a while.

So Paul's

ambition,

his desire,

is he wants

to get to

Spain to

bring the

good news

because there's

no church,

but if he's

going to do

that,

he needs

the partnership

and the

support of

the church

around him.

So he

says in

verse 24,

I hope

to visit

you while

passing

through and

have you,

the church,

assist me on

my journey and

in my work.

Now that

word assist is

a really helpful

term because

it's about

mission support.

That's what it

is.

It's about

mission support.

It's about

providing the

practical needs

that Paul will

need.

It's about

sending people

who can go

with him

to support

him in

his work.

It's about

giving finances

to make it

happen,

to pay for

his rent,

to pay for

his food.

It's about

equipment and

resources and

everything else

that will be

needed for

Paul as he

seeks to

make that

journey and

to plant

churches in

that area.

He knows he

can't do it

on his own,

so he looks

to the church

and says,

support me in

what I'm

seeking to

do.

Now a

big part of

that support

for him

and indeed

for the work

that we're

seeking to

do through

the Court

Kerry project

is financial.

It will

need money

to make it

happen.

People need

places to

live.

People need

to put petrol

in the car.

They need to

eat food.

They need to

be able to

live life

to enable

them to

do the

work that

God has

called them

to do.

So look at

verse 25.

Now,

however,

he says,

I'm on my

way to

Jerusalem in

service of

the saints

there.

So we're

getting a bit

confused here

because rather

than heading

towards Rome

to the church

where he's

looking for

help so he

can get to

Spain,

he's going

in the other

direction back

to Jerusalem.

So why

is he going

all the way

back to

Jerusalem first?

Well,

read on.

Verse 26.

For Macedonia

and Achaia,

so the churches

in Macedonia

and Achaia,

were pleased

to make a

contribution

for the poor

among the

saints in

Jerusalem.

They were

pleased to

do it,

and indeed

they owe

it to them.

For if the

Gentiles have

shared in the

Jews spiritual

blessings,

they owe it

to the Jews

to share

with them

their

material

blessings.

Now,

this is just

a big

subtle hint

with a big

mallet on

top of their

heads,

basically.

Listen,

guys,

you should

be doing

the same.

You see

the churches

in Macedonia

and Achaia,

they're giving

of their

resources and

their finances

to help

the church

in Jerusalem.

Now,

you should

be doing

the same

to help

other areas

where there

are no

churches.

He's reminding

them,

you've received

the blessings

of the

gospel from

the Jews.

The gospel

first came

to the

Jews.

It went

from them

to the

Gentiles

to other

people.

You have

salvation

because of

them.

You've been

blessed

spiritually

because of

them.

And because

you've been

blessed

spiritually,

give

financially.

Now,

I make

no excuse

for what

I'm saying

here.

That should

be exactly

the same

for us.

The gospel

has overflowed

into our

lives.

We are

spiritually

blessed.

We have

been given

so much.

We have

the right

to be called

children of

God.

We have

a future

inheritance

that is to

come that

we've been

looking at

1 Peter

that will

not perish,

spoil or

fade.

We've got

an inheritance

that is

ours that

will be

kept for

us.

And guess

what?

Nothing that

we have in

the here and

now we're

going to

bring with

us to

that

inheritance.

And because

we have been

blessed

spiritually,

we are to

give

financially so

that other

people,

get to

receive the

spiritual

blessings of

the gospel.

Every penny

or every cent

that you

have,

every euro

that you

earn is a

gift from

God given

to you

and to

me to

be administered

for the

building up

of his

kingdom.

It is not

our money.

It is a

gift given

to God

to us

so that

we might

release it

so that

the work

is done

so that

churches are

planted and

people are

reached.

And let me

be very

clear,

this isn't a

plea, a

personal plea

to fill the

pastor's

pockets.

This is

about letting

that money

be released

so that

people can

go and

proclaim

Christ.

Those who

are gifted

to go and

plant churches,

people like

Shane,

people like

Craig,

others like

them,

so that they

can go and

do this

work.

Partners

together in

this work.

And that is

what we are

seeking to do.

You can check

out our

finances,

ask Nick,

he's not here

today,

ask one of the

elders.

we seek to

give to

this work.

We give to

help people

like Craig

Maiden in

Kinsale to

enable him

to do that

work.

So, we

give support

financially

and we do

it while

praying for

gospel work.

And we just

finish briefly

with this,

verse 30.

I urge you

brothers and

sisters, by

the Lord

Jesus Christ

and by the

love of the

Spirit, join

me in my

struggle by

praying to

God for

me.

This work

is a

struggle.

There will

be opposition,

there will

be persecution.

It's not

easy to

be at

work in

a town

like

passage.

It's not

easy to

be a

Christian,

as we've

been looking

at in

1 Peter,

where you

go to

work and

in your

college and

in your

school.

It's

hard,

it's

tough.

And so

we need

the prayer

support of

one another.

We cannot

do it

alone.

And we

must never

underestimate the

power of

prayer.

Look at his

prayer.

Pray, verse

31, that I

may be rescued

from the

unbelievers in

Judea, that my

service in

Jerusalem may be

acceptable to the

saints there, so

that by God's

will I may come

to you with

joy together

with you and

be refreshed.

You know,

Paul on his

journeys went

to Jerusalem.

When he

arrived in

Jerusalem, he

was lynched.

They were

vying for his

blood.

They were

wanting to

kill him.

The only

way that he

actually got

security and

protection was

when the

Roman soldiers

came in and

arrested him and

put him in

prison.

That was the

only way he

could be kept

safe.

They put him

on a ship

that got

shipwrecked and

eventually he

ended up in

Rome under

house arrest.

His prayer to

them at this

point is saying

pray that I

will get to

Rome and

that I will

be able to

continue on

my ministry.

God answered

that prayer but

he ended up in

prison and he

got shipwrecked

but God

answered the

prayer.

He kept him

and preserved

him to enable

him to do

what he had

to do.

Don't

underestimate

the power of

your prayers

for your

brothers and

sisters at

work in

this way.

That is why

we are asking

us to pray

when we are

in our home

groups for

this work.

Pray that

people's eyes

would be opened

up to the

truth of the

gospel.

That their

ears would be

unlocked to

understand who

Jesus is.

Pray that in

the midst of

the toughness

and the

difficulty of

the work

churches will

be planted.

Never ever

underestimate the

power of

prayer as we

talk to God.

This is the

way in which

we partner

for each

other.

And I

want to

encourage us

as a

church as

we have

been praying

keep on

praying.

As you

have been

giving keep

on giving.

As you

seek to

reach out

and partner

with the

churches keep

doing it

more and

more with

the promise

of God

that with

his power

he will

change lives.

so the

purpose of

the church

proclaiming

the gospel

of Christ

to all

peoples in

all places

to partner

with churches

who will

preach this

same gospel

to see new

churches planted.

Give thanks

for what God

has done

and let us

together continue

to work on

in all that

he will do.

Let's pray

together.

Father thank

you for

giving us

an insight

into the

work that

you have

been doing

through the

centuries

through people

like Paul

through the

church in

Rome.

Thank you

that as we

follow that

story

right up to

now we see

churches across

the world

following that

same vision.

Thank you

that people

have come to

see and

understand.

Thank you

that this

island in

which we

live has

many churches

and many

people who

love you

and follow

you.

Thank you

for the

believers that

are gathered

here today.

Thank you

for saving

each one.

Thank you

for bringing

them to

Christ.

Thank you

for giving

them the

hope that

they have.

And we

pray Father

that we

would take

on board

this wonderful

promise that

you would yet

see your

salvation go

to the ends

of this

earth.

Not just

here in

Cork but

beyond the

boundaries to

the rest of

Ireland and

beyond Ireland

to the rest

of the world.

that you

would accomplish

your work in

the power of

your spirit

through your

people.

So please

encourage us

today.

Please Father

do your work

in this area.

Raise people

up.

Call people

who will do

this work

for your

honour and

for your

glory.

We pray

this in

Jesus name.

Amen.