INTRODUCTION
This morning’s message focuses on three things:
A , a , and both.
The missionary was .
The support Paul needed was , , and .
He needed to make the trip to Spain and live there while he traveled and attempted to plant churches, he needed and others who stayed in Rome who kept in touch with him and continued to send support, and he needed of the believers in the Roman church.
Perhaps because we don’t know many (or any) missionaries personally we may not realize the struggles they face all the time. About 30 years ago a Christian ministry surveyed hundred of missionaries from the largest mission organizations in the USA, in part wanting to know what the biggest challenges were that they faced. Here’s the rank order list of what these missionaries reported. I doubt this list will have changed much in the last 30 years.
Missionary Stress Points
1. with other missionaries
2. adjustments
3. Managing stress
4.
5. difficulties
6. pressures
7.
—Reported in World Prayer and Share Letter, Sept. 1990. “To Verify,” Leadership,
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Let’s look over the shoulders of the Roman church believers as they read this personal message to them from missionary Paul.
The planned mission, 15:22-24, 28-29
The destination: .
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Spain had been on Paul’s heart for many years. Soon, he hoped he’d finally be able to get there. He’d stop in Rome, visit the church there, and then be off on what would no doubt be a multi-year trip to bring Gospel light to that spiritually dark place.
The present ministry, 15:25-27
Before Paul could visit Rome and then travel on the Spain, he had a ministry to complete. The primarily Gentile churches of Macedonia and Achaia had given to help relieve their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and Paul was going to travel back to Jerusalem to present it to the leaders of the church there.
As Paul told the Romans, it was a fitting thing for the Gentile churches to do. They’d benefited from believing Jews, so they could help with the needs of those same Jewish believers.
The anticipated support, 15:24b
It’s a little hidden from us in English but the word Paul used in verse 24, translated ‘to be helped on my journey’ comes from a Greek word that means
① to conduct someone who has a destination in mind, accompany, escort 1
② to assist someone in making a journey, send on one’s way with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc. 1
Paul is anticipating that the Roman Christians will send him on his way with , (money, food, perhaps making arrangements for travel) and that one or more may volunteer to , as others had from other churches in some of his earlier journeys.
The needed prayer, 15:30-32
Paul adds an urgent request to the report of his plans. He wants for safety and for acceptance once he gets to Jerusalem.
Paul had already been persecuted by jealous unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem and many other places. He was well aware that many Jews would have been glad to see him dead. Only God could protect him, and only by striving in prayer would that protection come. Paul sought prayer partners, just as modern missionaries do.
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
The requested blessing, 15:33
Paul closes the body of his letter with a brief request to God: that God’s as the would be with them.
CONCLUSION
A mission: to take the gospel to
A missionary: , the apostle to the Gentiles whose goal was to only preach the gospel where it had not been preached before.
Supporting both: supporting Paul’s financially and supporting with companions and prayers.
You as members of North Park support mission work and missionaries here in CT, in New England, throughout the rest of the USA and Canada, and then in over 140 nations around the world.
It takes a lot of money to support all this work.
The bulk what we give is given every month as we send off the budgeted amounts we have designated for mission work. That is currently about % of our budget, so almost 30 cents of every dollar you give goes to support God’s saving mission outside our church walls and with people other than you.
Besides this on-going support, we have three special offerings that give us an opportunity to do more. In April we give to support missions in the USA and Canada through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. In October and November we give to help the hungry, homeless, and needy in Bridgeport and around the world through our annual World Hunger Offering. Then during December, we try to give our best offering of all, to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Last year you gave over $ to those special offerings. Your total gifts to mission work outside our church last year was over $. We are on track to exceed that amount this year.
Our missionaries are sacrificing and under stress, facing challenges and difficulty all the time, and many of them are far away from family and friends. The least we can do for them is make sure they have all they need to live and to carry out their part of God’s mission either here in the USA or somewhere around the world. They need our financial support, and they need our prayer support.
Can I enlist you to tangibly and spiritually support this Gospel centered mission and the missionaries who are doing the work?