And if you take your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter five. I decided to leave this stool up here in case I needed it. And for some reason, I seem to need it. So we'll use it this evening. Alright.

Romans chapter 15. Making the crew in the back adjust the camera a little bit. Thanks, David. Romans chapter 15, and we will finish what we started this morning. Actually, we didn't start this this morning.

We started this four months ago. We started on Sunday mornings in Romans chapter 12. Beginning in chapter 12, Paul moves from his lengthy explanation of doctrine, particularly concerning salvation into the what do we do now. Okay? We who are saved in Christ Jesus, what do we do now that we're saved?

What does this mean to me as far as living the Christian life? And so Paul begins to deal with those things, particularly as in regards to the church there in Rome and the things that Paul addresses for the Christians at the church in Rome, are also applicable to us today. If we are going to be the bright and shining testimony, for Jesus Christ as a church in Florida, we need to learn to apply these things to our life and to our church the same as the church in Rome needed to, to give ourselves a living sacrifice, to not be conformed to the world, to use the gifts God has given us in ministering to one another and to the world around us. And there were several things we looked at, living at peace with others, sharing the love of Christ with brethren and with the world around us. And then in chapter 14 in verse one, begins with him that is weak in the faith receive but not to doubtful disputations.

And he spends chapter 14 talking about the weak and what our attitude should be towards those in our midst that we perhaps perceive to be spiritually immature and weak in their faith, not understanding some things at this point in their life. In regards to, and I mentioned this this morning in Romans 14, in context, Paul is talking about in many the Jews that felt that they had to observe all of these different holy days, Sabbaths, and food restrictions and these sort of things, he likened them to those who are weak in the faith because they didn't quite fully understand that in the new covenant, in the age of grace, they didn't have to follow all dietary restrictions and things that were for the Jews under the old covenant. But the point of Paul's writing is not to explain why they didn't have to follow those things. The point was to explain how do we deal with those who just maybe aren't as mature as we are and don't understand things to the point that we do. It doesn't make them bad Christians.

It doesn't make them our adversaries. We shouldn't ignore them or avoid them or castigate them for their weak faith. We should try instead to prop them up. So I was watching a little bit of football with Joshua this afternoon And every now and then, we do that. And sometimes in the football game, somebody will get injured.

And they'll be laying out there on the field and they'll have a sprained ankle or something. And a couple people will come out and the person is weak because they have an injury. And whereas this mighty football player who normally runs through all these people and hurdles and all this kind of stuff, He can't walk from the middle of the field to the sideline because he's injured. He's weak. And so what do what do the players do?

Well, they come out there and they both get on each on one side of him and they prop him up and they help him to get off the field. And that is what we should be doing for our brethren in Christ who are weak in the faith or maybe ignorant in some respect or immature in the faith or struggling with certain issues in their life rather than kicking them when we're down, rather than just looking at them and saying, get up. Maybe we should go and what? We should help them up, support them. Because at one time or another, that person is going to be who?

It's going to be us. And so when we get to chapter 15, Paul concludes this section of Romans on applying these principles to our life in Christ and to our church. And in conclusion, he begins in verse one again with, We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good, for even Christ pleased not himself. But as it is written, the reproach of them that reproached thee, the suffering fell on me, which would have been therefore Christ in the prophecy that he's quoting here.

For whatsoever things were written before time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of Scriptures might have hope. It is our joy. It is our privilege. It is our responsibility as fellow believers in Christ and as fellow, tenders of Missouri Avenue Baptist Church, this body of Christ to help support each other and be an encouragement that we all together might have hope in who? That we all together might have hope in the Lord as we see the Lord at work intervening in our lives even through our fellow church members.

This passage is about unity. And unity is vital and important to the success of the church of Jesus Christ. It is vital and important to being the testimony that we ought to be in the world in which we live for Jesus Christ. We need to be unified. And these first verses we looked at, and we looked at them in length this morning, teach us that that unity should be based on love.

It is a unity based on a common love that we have for one another in Jesus Christ. As we love our parents and our children and our brothers and our sisters because they are our parents and our children and our brothers and our sisters, we have brothers and sisters in Christ. They are our family, and we should love them. And therefore, we should have a unity as a family in Christ based upon that love. Putting others before self, not allowing petty differences or opinions to rob us of the joy and fellowship and blessings of being united in Christ.

Rather than allowing our weaknesses to divide us, we can in Christ help one another and share those weaknesses so that we make everybody stronger as we are united together. In Galatians six:one-two, I think I have that here. Yeah. It says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. Considering thyself lust, they also be tempted.

Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If you have a building and maybe don't have walls, but maybe you have columns or pillars that hold up the ceiling. Some of those columns and pillars won't be quite as strong as other of those columns and pillars. One might be damaged, one might have got old, one might have a crack in it. But because there are many working together to support the ceiling, the ceiling doesn't what?

Ceiling doesn't cave in and the ceiling doesn't fall. One is weaker, one is stronger, is that bad? No. No, that's good because some have their strengths, some have their weaknesses. We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses.

But as we all work together, we succeed for Christ as we work in unity together for the Lord based on our love for the Lord and based on our love for each other. As Paul says here, not just pleasing ourselves but being patient and valuing others as we would value ourselves. If there be any consolation of love, of any comfort, of any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels and mercies fulfill ye my joy that you be like minded having the same love being of one accord, of one mind, Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in loneliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Let's see if I can make this work. Let's see here.

Yeah. There we go. Is it Okay. Why is it not working? It was working fine before.

Well, that's too bad. All right. Let's see if I can get this one back. There we go. All right.

I had an illustration. I'll have to show it to you later because it's not working on my phone. But not only is that unity that Paul is talking about here based on love, but as we see here in Philippians, as we read here in Romans chapter 15 beginning in verse five, it's also a unity based on like mindedness. Okay? So in verse five, Now the God of patience and consolation grants you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So it's a unity based in love, but it's a unity also based on like mindedness. That is having a common faith and purpose. Paul addresses the need for us to pursue with diligence a common mindset in service for the Lord. If we are to function successfully, we need to do it together. We need to have similar goals and a similar purpose or else we fall flat.

Years ago, I watched a movie. It was Mighty Ducks. It was a Disney movie from years ago. It's about a hockey team of kids. And I think it was the second one.

They were trying to get these young people to realize that they had to work together as a team. And so he took them all in the middle of the ice rink and he had them stand in a all crowded together in a bunch. And then he took a rope and he tied the rope, not around each individual, but he tied it around the whole group. And he said, now skate. And so they skated and they all went splat on the ice because they didn't were not moving as one.

They were not moving in the same direction. They all started to skate in opposite directions and so they all fell flat on the ice. Finally, they realized that they had to have this be like minded, have the same, goal and move together as one. And as a church in service to Christ, in order to be unified, we not only need to have the same love for each other, which we do, But we also need to have the same mindset, the same a common faith and purpose that guides us as a church in our service to Christ. Churches often fail because they don't have that.

It's all about the pastor's agenda, the staff's agenda, the deacon's agenda, this group's agenda, that group's agenda, there should be one agenda. Whose agenda should that be? It should be Christ. He is the head. It should come from where?

Here. The word of God, our common faith. As guided by one spirit that gave us this and lives where? Inside the heart of every child of God. With a common purpose to glorify the God who saved us and to introduce others to him, to be like minded.

Paul addresses this several times in his letters because these churches, if they didn't have a common faith and a common purpose, if they weren't unified in working together, they would fall apart. Their testimony would diminish and be hurt. They needed to have this common faith, common mindset. How do we get that? Well, we get that by speaking more loudly, being more persistent necessarily, or confident or eloquent in our speech in commanding respect.

No. We get that common mindset by agreeing to conform our lives, our beliefs, our opinions to a common standard, the word of God. We as Christians don't have to wonder what to believe or what God wants for us as his children because he spelled it out for us in here. The principles are all here. Many commands are here.

God's heart is shared here, his love and desire for us and for his church. We just need as one to agree that we're gonna what? Follow the instruction manual that God has given to us, to conform our lives to it and not try to conform it to our lives, to not have our own agenda, but to submit our agenda to to God's agenda and to his will. This is his final word. And if we follow it together, if we work with each other to help each other to understand what this is telling us and how to apply it to our lives, then we will move together as one in unity under the head, Jesus Christ.

Second Timothy chapter three verses 14 through 17, Paul writes to Timothy and he says, but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures. There is the basis for his faith and the faith of his church. And that from the child that is known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. What is Paul telling Timothy?

Just teach this. Just teach it, absorb it, apply it and teach your people to do the same. And if you do that, then you'll all be united in Christ and you'll all be united in a common faith and a common purpose. And your church will grow and your church will succeed and your church will be a light and a testimony. True unity only happens when people have a common faith and purpose, a like mindedness, a same mind as Paul reminds us here.

This may require a little bit of an attitude adjustment on the part of some. Sometimes I read God's Word and I read something and my first reaction is, I don't like that because it requires a change of heart in me or a change of conviction or opinion. We stubborn hardheaded people, we don't like the change. We don't like to be told that we're doing something wrong. We don't like to be corrected.

But if we're going to be salt and light, then we must humble ourselves and let God's Word teach us even when it hurts. This may require us to be more confident. This will require us to be more confident in the Word of God than our preconceived opinions and notions. Somebody asked me about something the other day. I stumbled around a bit to answer the question.

And so I've determined I'm gonna take some time to look in the scriptures because I want to know the answer, not for the person who asked me, but I want to know the answer for myself. We're all learning. This requires us to study and teach God's word with an open mind. You you need to to dive into this. You need to dig into God's word.

If we're to be united in Christ, then it's not gonna take just time on the pastor's part. It's gonna take time on everybody's part to study the word of God. Paul said that the believers in Berea were more noble. Why? Because they didn't just take what was spoon fed them.

They went to the word of God themselves and they checked to see if what Paul was telling them was what the scriptures were telling them because it is the scripture that is the authority. It is God's, what, word. And whether I like it or not, whether my opinion, is I have to change, I have to conform to meet this and not the other way around. And if as a church and as members of the body of Christ, we will be submitted to the word of God that is able to thoroughly, perfectly, completely furnish us to every good work in the Christian life, if we will do that, then together we will succeed. We will flourish.

We will see the hand of God at work. This requires us to pray together. To pray together. One of the ways that we we share a common faith and a common purpose and goals is by sharing the burdens that God has placed on our heart and praying together that God will meet those needs. We need to spend time in prayer, in our closet, by ourselves.

We also need to spend time in prayer together, sharing with one another and with our Lord as we commune with Him and as He shares with us His will for our church, united in Christ of the same mind. The church at Corinth, Paul wrote to, had a lot of good things going for them. What one thing did they not have going for them? Like mindedness. He scolded them.

He said, you've got to get got to get rid of this division. You may have all of these blessings and benefits. They're not going to do you any good if you can't be united in Christ. And then finally closes chapter 15 and verse seven down through verse 12. He says, Wherefore, receive ye one another.

Receive, except one another. As Christ also received us to the glory of God. So Paul says, know, bear the weak, don't scold them, don't ignore them, don't cast them to the wolves, help them. Live considerate, thoughtful lives, Not just pleasing self, but also pleasing others. Not because you're accountable to them, but because they matter.

It's not their opinion of you. It's their opinion of Christ. Be like minded. Don't be divided. Have a common faith, common goal.

And in your heart, accept and receive one another as a brother and sister in Christ, as Christ has received us? Who are we to reject the fellowship and the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ when Christ has received us? Receive one another, accept one another. We need to receive one another, Jew or Gentile, Democrat or Republican, rich or poor, black or white, let God use us to help, to change, and uplift each other till we all come into the the likeness of Jesus, Jesus Christ. But we must not devalue others.

We must not leave them behind. We must not allow petty differences and personality conflicts and, you know, I'm smarter than they are, or I can't believe that they can't do that or whatever the case may be to divide us. In Paul's day, the main issue was Jews and Gentiles in the church. The two oftentimes did not get along. They came from vastly different backgrounds, but yet they could be one in Christ.

When Christ died on that cross for the sins of the world, he broke down that barrier between Jew and Gentile to make one body in Christ. Paul uses that here primarily in in Romans 15, to demonstrate what he's talking about. Verse eight eight, now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. That is Jesus is Israel's Messiah. Promises made to Israel, Jesus fulfilled.

But it doesn't end there. Verse nine, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy as it is written. You'll notice in the following verses there's quite a bit of as it is written because Paul is quoting from the Old Testament. As it is written for this cause, I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. And again, he saith, rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.

And again, another quote from the Old Testament, praise the Lord all ye Gentiles and laud him all ye people. Not just the Jews, but also the the Gentiles. And again, Isaiah's or that's Isaiah says, there shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, and in him shall the Gentiles, what? Trust. Trust.

Not only will he rule them with a rod of iron, but Paul says in the Old Testament, Isaiah indicated that the Gentiles are not just included under the rule of Christ, but they're included in the blessings of Christ. And in the new covenant, in the blood of Christ, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is no Jew. There is no Gentile. There is no rich or poor.

There's no strong nor weak. There is no, higher IQ than than somebody else that there there we are we're level. We're one. And we need to get out of our mindset these differences that divide us so that we can function as one body in Christ and receive one another. We need to reject all thoughts that would cause us to to brush off our brother and sister in Christ because of their fill in the blank.

Maybe they're not good with money. Maybe they need a little help with figuring out how to be better with money. Maybe they talk too much. Maybe they talk too little. Maybe they're a bit needy or clingy.

Maybe they're a bit stubborn or thick headed. Maybe they're a bit of a know it all. Fill in the blank. We're different. That's okay.

Not one of us is perfect. Every one of us has something that can be an irritant to others. We have opinions that are not quite completely thought through. We still have a lot to learn. We come from different backgrounds.

We live in different socioeconomic classes, but we're one in Christ. And it is the grace of God and the spirit of God that does something in the hearts of those who come to Him in faith that unites them regardless of all those things that divide people. Jesus said, and they will know you are Christians by your, what, love for one another as you accept and receive those who are not like you, who are from different backgrounds, from different economic groups, who might not ordinarily get along in other settings, but our family in Christ Jesus. Christ has received us. We need to be willing to receive each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, work together learning and following this with each other.

And God will use us as he did Paul and others to turn the world as they were accused upside down for Jesus Christ. And it doesn't happen normally in a big crusade meeting. It happens as one Christian is a testimony to a friend, a neighbor, a relative, as one walks in the doors of the church and sees the love of Christ, sees the unity of the spirit, the bond of love, a family working together with a common faith and purpose and are drawn to the savior and the word and the spirit that make it all possible. Let's close in prayer. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for us.

Lord, thank you for the opportunity you have given us to minister to one another, to show the love of Christ, to be joined together as a family in one spirit, one faith, and one purpose. Lord, thank you for this family, for the joy that we have together in Christ, for the unity that we do enjoy here. Lord, I pray that it would grow and not diminish. I pray that our testimony would grow and not diminish in this coming year. I pray that by it, You would be glorified and magnified in our community, and that we would see more come to know Jesus as Savior.

Thank You for all that You've done. In Jesus' precious name we pray.