The Fullness of the Blessing of Christ

“The Fullness of the Blessing of Christ”
(Romans 15:22-29, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 20, 2005)

Introduction: Truth in Support Raising (Chapters 1-15:21)

At the time that Romans was written, the Apostle Paul was intending to continue his work of pioneer preaching and church planting in a new region where Christ was not yet known. This was one of the reasons that he had apparently written this letter, since he planned to have the churches in Rome help him on his way to a new frontier. We have now come to the point in this letter where the Apostle is being more explicit about his plans for the future. There is a sense in which all that has come before this point is Paul’s honest explanation of what he believes the gospel to be, and what some of the more important implications of that gospel are for living the Christian life. He has no interest in tricking people to get them to support him. He wants them to know what he will be preaching in new lands and then to seek their earnest and whole-hearted support.

Another way of looking at the text before us to day is to consider that all that precedes these words reveal a way of thinking that has led to a way of life for the Apostle. That way of life is one of whole-hearted commitment to the plan of God for world evangelization through preaching and church-planting. It is Paul’s complete dedication to this task that explains why he has not yet come to Rome, despite his desire to do so. He had a work to do for God from Jerusalem all the way to the borders of Illyricum. That work is now done. He now sets his sites on the next thing that he believes that the Lord has for him.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:22-29 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

(22-24) Spain

Paul wanted to go to Rome and visit the Christians there for many years. He was hindered in doing that because of his obligations in preaching and church planting elsewhere. Now he indicates that there is no more work for him in those regions. How could that be? As a pioneer preacher and church planter, he has left people in various strategic spots in order to see the churches through the point of having their own pastors and elders. We are able to see this through reading I and II Timothy and Titus in particular.

It is clear that his plan is to head west to Spain, which will take him through Rome. The purpose in going to Spain is not novel. It is the same purpose that he had in working in places like Corinth and Ephesus and Galatia. He will preach and he will plant churches.

(25-27) Jerusalem

But before going to Spain via Rome he needs to go to Jerusalem. We read much about how this actually played out in the final chapters of the book of Acts. What we find out there is that Paul was well aware that suffering awaited him in going to Jerusalem. We have that suffering recorded for us in that book, a very difficult ordeal that stretched out over very many months – even years. Despite the fact that Paul knew full well that he was walking into danger, he was completely committed to going to Jerusalem before heading to Spain. Why would he voluntarily subject himself to such trouble? He had a very important purpose that would be a display of the fruit of the work of the gospel through his ministry. He would bring a collection from the largely Gentile churches in modern day Greece and Turkey to the largely Jewish churches in Jerusalem

The Christians in Jerusalem were poor and they needed help. To be sure there were many poor Gentiles in the church as well. Yet we read that the Gentile churches were happy to give. We should pause to consider that something more than a normal human or tribal thing is taking place here. Why would Gentiles help Jews? Is it because of the need of the people? Yes, but there is more. Is it out of a sense of gratitude for the ministry that has come forth from the Jewish churches? I am sure that is part of it, but we should look beyond. Gentiles have opened their purses to bless Jewish Christians because they know that God has made us one in Christ. They know that they have a debt to a Jewish Messiah that can never be repaid. This unusual act of generosity has come about because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

(28-29) Rome

As we have said, Paul will go from Jerusalem to Spain via Rome. It will be good to be with them. He will enjoy their company for awhile. He knows that He will bring the fullness of the blessing of Christ with him in his ministry. This is something that Paul wrote of in the earliest chapter of this epistle.

Romans 1:8-15 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you- 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

It is this gospel of Christ crucified that is the key to Paul’s confidence. The time they spend with one another will be a powerful blessing to their souls, and then, they will have the privilege of sending him on to Spain.

Again, this fact is worthy of your serious reflection. What do you suppose the average 1st century Roman thought of the Spanish? Remember that subjugated people sent money to Rome. It was not a normal thing for Romans to send their money to Spaniards. Sacrificial care for outsiders can never be assumed.

Again, there is something here that goes beyond tribal communal self-interest. (I’ll help you build your barn, if you’ll help me build mine.) There is something happening here that cannot be repaid. This is what the gospel is all about. It is the way that Jesus lived in winning our salvation. It is also the life that we are called to live. The cross of Christ has not only won for us the bliss of heaven. It has created new and pleasant obligations for those who would call themselves followers of Jesus Christ.

POINT: The Gospel opens Gentile purses to put food on Jewish tables and to send out heralds of the good news to make Spanish disciples.

Application: How we spend the Lord’s money here…

This text has much to do with how Christians spend the Lord’s money. There are at least three options for living in our day. They are, 1) Self-centered individualism, 2) Barn-raising communalism, and 3) An uncommonly pleasant obligation that can never be paid.

Let me show you what I mean by these three options by applying it to the life of a pastor. There are some pastors who seem to have taken on this job as a matter of self-centered individualism. They like doing what they think pastors do. As they considered all the alternatives before them, this seemed like the best one. The pay is pretty good, and they feel good about what they are doing Whatever their particular thoughts may be about the job, it is a job, and a job that they have chosen.

Others view it from a more communal aspect. They love the church and they want to do their part. After all, other people work in various ways to do what they do well. They expect that they will receive support from those working in other callings, and in return they will do their part in fulfilling the duties that they have to the church. This is a step up from self-centered individualism, but it still fairly explainable in the world’s terms. It does not send you into danger in Jerusalem or out to Spain where people may not want to hear what you have to say.

Only under our third method, the gospel-minded way, would the cross of Christ take hold of a man’s life and give him a new pathway that he would see as his cross. The man whom God is really calling to be a pastor will be willing to consider dangerous or difficult duties as obligations that are part of the Lord’s good calling upon his life, knowing that he owes a debt that can never be paid.

Of course this teaching is not just about pastors, but about our church and about every Christian. How do you view the privilege of giving to the Lord’s work? Is it 1) Self-centered individualism, 2) Barn-raising communalism, or 3) An uncommonly pleasant obligation that can never be paid?

What we do here in this church is gospel-driven and cross-motivated joyful sacrifice, or we are not operating in the fullness of the blessing of Christ that Paul writes about in this text.

Let’s look at some of the specifics.

What do you think about a South Korean missionary bringing reformed biblical teaching to Transylvania? Will the people of Cluj ever be able to pay Hong Key back?

How do you feel about a lawyer and his family from Maryland patiently serving as part of a church-planting team in France? Will the people of Marsailles ever be able to pay the Gildards back?

What about all those church planters who go to other places where they may not be wanted? There is no particular indication that the Spanish were begging Paul to come and open up the Word of God to them. Will the people of Northern New England ever be able to pay back the Robinsons, the Domins, the Warrens, and the Accardys?

What do you think of a professor from Mississippi teaching students in Uganda during his golden years? Will anyone be able to pay Palmer Robertson back?

What about people like you who give sacrificially to support this church and the missionaries that we pray for and give to? You obligated to do this because of the gospel. Is it an uncommonly pleasant obligation? Anything less than that is not really Christian.

The gospel debt that we have is so large that mutual self-interest as a model for our lives together is an insult to the work of Christ. In the words of the Wesley hymn, “He left his Father's throne above (so free, so infinite his grace!), humbled himself (so great his love!), and bled for all his chosen race. 'Tis mercy all, immense and free; for, O my God, it found out me. Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

Will we ever be able to pay Jesus back? By God’s Spirit we give with no thought of being paid back. It is all we can do. It is the fullness of the blessing of Christ, and it is delightful to see and to experience.

They Will See - They Will Understand

“They Will See – They Will Understand”
(Romans 15:13-21, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 13, 2005)

Introduction: A man named Paul

What could be more unlikely than a man like Saul of Tarsus receiving the gift of faith in Jesus Christ and then being sent to bring the message of Christ to the Gentiles? Saul hated the Christian faith, and expressed this hatred by actively persecuting the church wherever he could. In a most unlikely turn of events, Saul became Paul, and spent the rest of his life determined to preach Christ where the Jewish Messiah was not yet known.

And yet, as unlikely as this change from Saul to Paul may seem, Saul was part of the group that God had prepared for centuries through the Old Testament law to receive the coming King. Even more unlikely than any Jewish man receiving with gladness a message of a Jewish Savior is the idea that the Gentiles, steeped in paganism, would believe that this crucified King of the Jews was their Messiah and God. Yet Paul reveals in the passage before us this morning his confident expectation that this most unlikely thing will continue to take place as his ministry moves forward to lands as yet untouched by the gospel. His confidence is based on the certainty of the promise of God recorded in the Scriptures.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:13-21 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience- by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God- so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."

(13) Paul’s Benediction

Our text begins with a benediction, which is the pronouncement of a blessing. A benediction is the speaking forth of a goal that only God can bring about. Only God could fill the church with all joy and peace in believing.

Paul calls God the “God of hope” here. “Hope” in the Bible is not mere wishful thinking. It is a confident expectation based on something certain. You cannot hope (in the sense of a certain expectation) for what you do not certainly believe in. Hope stands on the shoulders of faith. But faith itself needs to stand on something that is certain. There must be a sure object of faith if it is to sustain a certain hope. This object of faith is truth coming from a source that is sure in the form of a very certain promise.

When we investigate things, we search in the world of the probable. We don’t know for sure. We gather evidence and make theories, and come up with possibilities. But when God speaks, He does not speak in probabilities. His promises are true and certain. It is God’s truth that we have faith in, and it is that solid faith that leads to the certain expectation that the Paul calls “hope.” Finally, when people have the certainty of real hope, they express their gratitude in the free exercise of godly love – the sacrificial and visible expression of our thanks for the gracious truth of God that Christ Jesus died on the cross to save sinners.

Paul would know that the God of hope had fulfilled this benediction when he saw the evidence that the church had all joy and peace in believing, when he saw them abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because he believed that God would certainly give these good gifts to his children, he spoke with confidence in God, and he also worked with confidence knowing that Christ had given him a job to do.

(14-20) Paul’s Method

Despite the fact that joy and peace in believing can only come as a gift of God, God has chosen to use people as part of his process of giving his divine gifts. The largest section of our text this morning explains how God is using Paul through the planting of gospel-preaching churches throughout the Mediterranean world in order to fill the church with hope. Paul is planting churches where the certain truth of God will be proclaimed, so that people can believe, and abound in hope.

He has been writing boldly in this letter on certain points, not to suggest that they were doing poorly or that they were not capable of instruction in the Roman church, but to remind them of the truth of God again. For God gave Him grace for this task.

Paul explains his method in verse sixteen using the metaphor of the Old Testament priest. We first hear of a “priest” in the Old Testament in Genesis 14. The priest’s name was Melchizedek, which means “King of Righteousness.” We are told that He was the King of Salem, which means “peace.” So here we have one who is both King of Righteousness and King of Peace who is declared to be the priest of God Most High. This mysterious Melchizedek seems to come out of nowhere in the Bible, and He presents to us the essence of what a priest is as He speaks to our father in the faith, Abraham.

Genesis 14:18-20 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The essence of a priest is to bring blessings from God to the people, and to return blessings from the people back up to God. The Jewish levitical priests who would come later in the story of the Bible would pronounce blessings upon the people and they would offer blessings to God from the people in the form of sacrificial offerings.

Paul uses the vocabulary of the Old Testament priesthood in order to describe his gospel method as a New Testament Apostle, Missionary, and Church Planter. Again there are two directions of blessing spoken of. God blesses His people with the gift of the gospel message, which Paul delivers to them in His preaching attested with signs and wonders, and then Paul prepares an offering to God as the church grows in obedience to God, again through the preaching of the gospel. They are to be a living sacrifice to God as they gratefully live their lives for the One who has given Himself for them.

There is a sense in which the analogy must break down here. While Paul in a sense functions as a priest in his distribution of the gift of the gospel through preaching, it is the High Priest alone, Jesus Christ, who will offer up the gift of the church to the Father and to Himself. The obedience and praise of the church is not offered through Paul, but through Christ who is our High Priest (Ephesians 5:27, I Corinthians 15:24).

In any case, it is an apt illustration of Paul’s method. As an under-shepherd in the service of the Chief Shepherd, Paul has preached and planted churches all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum (modern-day Albania). This is not only Paul’s method of New Testament ministry. It is the model that we all must follow. Like an Old Testament priest pronouncing the Word of blessing and offering up sacrifices to God, the Lord has His ministers blessing His people with the Word of truth from heaven, and using the gospel to prepare them to be a living sacrifice to be offered up to God through Christ our Lord.

Paul preaches the Word and performs signs of divine mercy. The Spirit of God supplies all the power. This power is soul-changing power, and there is nothing like it. A hurricane or a tornado can destroy a city, but they cannot build up one soul for life. The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).

Paul is not content to stop his sacrificial work in bringing the gospel to new lands. He intends to go forward to Rome and beyond. His godly ambition is further pioneer church planting work throughout the world.

But will it work? Could it possibly be that preaching the gospel will work? Will it work even when it is preached to pagans who may know nothing of Judaism? Will it work with sophisticated pagans schooled in Greek philosophy? Will it work with pagans who are armed with weapons to use against strange enemies? What if they do not wish to hear or understand this message?

(21) Paul’s Confidence

Paul ends this text with his statement of confidence. It does not come from the world of the probable. It comes from heaven, the realm of the certain. Paul reflects on the promises recorded in Isaiah 52 so many years before, and lives on those promises as He moves out with the gospel to the Gentile world. Look how he lives based on the promises of God recorded in God’s Word: “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

Those who were not waiting for a Messiah because they had never been told about Him, will see Him through the preaching of the Word. Those who had never heard of the Lord God because they had no background in the Old Testament Scriptures, nonetheless will understand. This is a promise of God. It does not mean that each individual will respond the same way, or that each door that we might like to travel through will be immediately open. But as God directs, doors will be opened, and people will hear and believe. Churches will be planted and the blessing of the gospel will be given to many, and many will be prepared to bring an offering of praise to the one eternal God through a Jewish Messiah.

This is Paul’s ministry in his own words. It was powerful by God’s grace in Paul’s day and it is powerful by that same grace today. It is amazing that God would make the message so powerful that even people like us would see the Messiah and understand. Then as we understand, we too are filled with all joy and peace in believing.

POINT: The apostolic ministry of the church is powerful for the changing of our lives

Application: The power that brings about the change and the power that proceeds forth from the change

It is only by God’s power that such a method would work. Our trust is not in any method, even in one that God reveals through His Word. Our trust is in the God of Hope who speaks truth.

The amazing thing is that God, with all His power, uses us in our weakness as a part of this plan. As we hear and understand, we find joy and peace in believing. The power of your life changed by God, is then used a force of God’s power in other lives.

I want to leave you this morning with some questions for your consideration: Do you have joy and peace in believing? Do you seek this? (There is no good reason to stop seeking.) How do you expect to attain it? (The sure promise of Christ is the only way.) Do you have confidence in the promises of God?

Unity in Mission

“Unity in Mission”
(Romans 15:7-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 6, 2005)

Introduction: The Promise
Anyone who has experienced life in another part of the world knows something of the power of cultural divisions. Our assumptions about how life should be conducted, and our understanding of the details of daily practices can be very different than those who live in other lands. Who could possibly unite people across vast cultural divides? Who could heal the breach that exists between nations that have been enemies for centuries? Even within our own nation we readily see how regional differences bring about challenging divisions among the people of one land. In a world of great diversity we also are aware of the hostility that can form between people of various racial groups, or between people who have different political ideas concerning the issues of our day. But larger than all of these divisions is the Old Testament distinction between Jew and Gentile. Who could break down that wall?

If we are to answer that question, it will help us to go back to the beginning of the Jew/Gentile distinction. The Jews were the people of a promise made by God many centuries ago. In Genesis 12 God made a promise to an elderly man, a man whose wife was unable to conceive and who was now well beyond the age of having children. This promise and the progress of its fulfillment brought about the beginning of the Jewish nation – the people of the promise of God. Here is what God said:

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

This one weak old man blessed by God would be the beginning of something that would lead to great blessing upon all the people groups (families) of the earth. How would this blessing come about? From one man (Abram or Abraham) and his son (Isaac) and grandson (Jacob or Israel) would come one nation (Israel). And from that one nation would come would eventually come one man (Jesus, the promised Messiah). And from that one man would come a salvation so great that it could not be contained within the boundaries of any nation. This is the story of the Bible. It is a great story. It is a story that will change your life if you will hear it and believe it.

Let me summarize the enormity of God’s plan with one verse from John’s gospel spoken by Jesus Christ:

John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

News this good cannot ultimately be kept secret. It bursts beyond the boundaries of any city or nation. It tears down barriers of division and brings a powerful eternal hope to those in distress. We who have heard and believed this news are called to welcome others as Jesus Christ has welcomed us.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:7-12 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." 10 And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." 11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." 12 And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."

(7) The Command: Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

There is an important command given here for the church. The church is to be a welcoming body. Of course the Bible tells us that the church is not to welcome a false teacher (2 John 10-11). We are also told that we are not to welcome someone in order to be involved in worthless disputes with him (Romans 14:1). These exceptions aside, we are to warmly welcome all kinds of people into the body of Christ.

What does it mean to welcome someone into this extended family? Think about the way that our children are enthusiastically welcomed into their new families at birth. Let me use the illustration of my two youngest children.

I will always remember the searching brown eyes of the young fellow who looked up into my eyes moments after he was born. He was so alert and serious, this precious gift of God. We welcomed Jeff with much love and care. Several years later our youngest child was born after a very long labor. The doctor placed her into my arms and I danced with my little girl Kristin. Her birth gave us great joy.

Can your imagination and memory capture that idea and apply it to the extended family for which Jesus Christ died? Treat every new member as a brother or sister in a common unity of love and purpose. It will help you if you can see the family resemblance in the new child of God. It will not be seen in the color of the eyes or the shade of the skin. It can be found in the God-given desire to glorify and enjoy the Lord forever. When we see that in another person, we see God’s family, and lesser divisions crumble like walls that return to dust under the weight of the towering unity that we share in the love of God. This helps us to live a life of mutual sacrifice, and to think of another person’s needs before our own.

You are to welcome one another as Christ welcomed you – an overwhelming thought to be sure. He saw your eyes coming alive at your spiritual birth into the family of the Lord, and he immediately recognized the family resemblance. You were brought into His loving arms and He danced for joy with you. If we have been united with Him for the glory of God, then we have also been united with one another in Him. He is our great common bond, and we are to welcome one another warmly in His name.

(8-9a) The Gospel Reason: Christ became a servant to the Jews in order that the Gentiles might glorify God.

This pathway of sacrificial welcoming is one that our savior traveled. In His life of love He kept all the Law for us and fulfilled the very thing that was the “dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentile.

Ephesians 2:11-21 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Jesus lived out His earthly ministry almost entirely among the Jews. Yet in that ministry to the circumcised came the fulfillment of the true promises of God given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed, so that all the nations of the earth would glorify God.

John 1:11-14 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(9b-12) A small sample of Old Testament evidence

Paul ends this morning’s passage by citing four texts from the Old Testament. If we examine each of these in its original context, a progressive message of blessing to the Gentiles emerges in the specific verses that the Apostle Paul quotes to the Roman church.

Psalm 18:43-50 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me. 44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me. 45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. 46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, 48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. 49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Those who were enemies of God would receive the testimony of God’s power and faithfulness for his chosen people.

Deuteronomy 32:36-43 36 The LORD will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. 37 He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, 38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! 39 See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. 40 I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” 43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.

The gods of the Gentiles are nothing. The nations are invited to rejoice instead in the one true God along with all his children, and to turn away from oppressing His people.

Psalm 117:1-2 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

Again the nations are called to praise the Lord, now because of His eternal faithfulness, rather than because of his vengeance against His enemies.

Isaiah 11:1-10 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

This great mission of making the enemies of God into His worshippers is centered around one man, who is called here “the root of Jesse.” Jesse was King David’s father, yet this Son of David would be before David’s father Jesse. He is the Son of God. He is the hope of the elect of all the earth both Jew and Gentile.

The promise of God will come to the nations, but not without discomfort and strife. Yet enemies who are far off will be made friends as they embrace the Messiah, surrender to Him, and praise Him in the covenant assembly.

POINT: Christ gave himself so that even people like us would be welcomed into His family

From the Jews would come would come the Root of Jesse. And from that one man would come a salvation so great that it could not be contained within the boundaries of any nation. This is the story of the Bible.

Application: Seeing your part in the bigger picture

Abraham had a part in that story. The promise was spoken to him and he believed. He had a son, and it all began. Of course, Jesus had the central role in the story. He ministered to Jews and atoned for the sins of the whole Israel of God, made up of elect Jews and Gentiles for whom He died. The early church had its part to play. The message of Jesus went forth beyond Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But now you have your part to play in this Bible story. For you will welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Church, do you see your part in this grand proclamation of hope? You are to be a “greeter” in the fullest sense of the word. You cannot be everywhere at once. God has brought you here to this corner of the world. Consider this your primary station in the world-wide mission of the church.

From the vantage-point of your daily life, how will you welcome others as Christ has welcomed you? Make it your regular practice to consider the people that you are likely to have contact with every day. Ask yourself this important question: “Am I prepared for the encounters before me this day?”

It is hard to believe that we will do a good job of spiritual welcoming if we are not dedicated to the worship of God. It is also hard to believe that people will find here a welcoming environment for a new believer if they cannot see and know that we welcome one another with great joy, seeing the family resemblance in the eyes of our brothers and sisters. Do you feel estranged somehow within this body of believers? When did that distance come? What can you do to remove it?

Do not be content to view those around you as anything less than precious and beloved children of God, who, like you, have been welcomed by the Lord Jesus into the family of God. Welcome one another with great joy, and receive new babes in Christ with happiness that comes from above.