City Life Church San Diego
Welcome to the City Life Church Podcast, where faith meets action in the heart of Mt. Hope. We are a diverse family of God, united by Jesus, led by Scripture, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are committed to caring for both the spiritual and tangible needs of the lost and hurting. Through inspiring messages and practical lessons, we seek to equip and encourage you to live out God’s calling in everyday life. Join us as we grow in faith, serve our community, and share the hope of the Gospel with the world.
City Life Church San Diego
Romans 15:14-33 Grace & Boldness
Ever feel like the underdog in a battle far too big for you? In this powerful exploration of Romans 15:14-33, Pastor Dale unpacks what it means to have "a lion in your corner" when facing life's impossible challenges.
The message begins with a striking visual: in ancient gladiator battles, champions were protected by fierce animals, while underdogs stood alone. Similarly, when Christians face overwhelming odds, we have the Lion of Judah—Jesus himself—fighting for us. This reality transforms everything about how we approach ministry, relationships, and our personal struggles.
Through three key responses to having this divine Lion in our corner, Pastor Dale guides us to understand that Christ-followers speak boldly from the grace given to us, boast only in our Rescuer, and humbly pray for great things before joining God in His work. The qualification for ministry isn't brilliance, training, or talent—it's simply receiving God's grace and extending it to others.
Perhaps most powerfully, Pastor Dale reminds us that our weaknesses and struggles don't disqualify us from serving others—they uniquely position us to help those experiencing similar battles. The person who has fought addiction is precisely who God wants to use to reach others in addiction. Those who've experienced depression or loss become vessels of hope for others walking those same dark paths. Your pain has purpose when surrendered to God.
The message culminates with a stirring challenge to become a praying church that believes in miracles, sharing the story of Spurgeon's "boiler room"—not a mechanical space, but a prayer room filled with people providing spiritual power for the ministry. Like Paul requesting prayer for his dangerous mission to Jerusalem, we're invited to bring our impossible prayers before God and watch Him work.
Remember: none of us are here because we're awesome; we're here because Jesus is awesome. What impossible thing is He calling you to do today? Whatever it is, you have a Lion in your corner.
Glad to be with you today. I'm Pastor Dale. Today we're going to be in Romans 15, verse 14 through 33. By the way, I swear I noticed a misspelling on our video that we've been showing for like four months. Has anyone noticed a misspelling on there just now? I swear I saw apostle misspelled, but like I actually looked it up, okay, forget it, move on. But that would be really funny if at the end there was a misspelling. I don't know. I'm going to look at it again. Romans 15, 14.
Speaker 1:If you don't have a nice Bible, we would love to give you one. We have these amazing Bibles on both sides. We have them in English, we have them in Spanish, we have them in Tagalog and it's a Tony Evans study Bible. And if you don't have a good Bible, we want to give you a good Bible. So please take it and if you want to keep it, put your name on it.
Speaker 1:Okay, just a quick reminder where we've been in the series. If this is your first time, I'm just going to catch you up a little bit. Two weeks ago, we read that Jesus sacrificed everything for us so we might offer love back to him and mercy to the people around us. Last week we talked about how God gives hope through his word so that we might overflow with his love, so all people would glorify his name. So today we're picking up on that. This tomorrow, uh, next week, is our last sermon in the book of Romans.
Speaker 1:Um, I can't believe we did the book of Romans. Uh, I was afraid to do it when we first started our church. Um, because it's very heavy and sometimes it says things that people don't like. Um, but here we are almost at the end and, uh, I thought our church would would like lose a bunch of people during that series, but I think the opposite has happened. So, um, romans 15, uh, 14 through 33, uh, does anyone have a physical Bible with them? Um, let me see it, cause I just oh, the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Those are so beautiful and they smell better than electronics. All right, romans 15, 14 through 33. This one's a little bit longer, but not as long as we've had sometimes. So are you ready for me to read it to you? Don't forget, if you get intimidated by it, we will catch you up. We will work through it together. Okay, here we go. Romans 15, 14. You up, we will work through it together. Okay, here we go. Romans 15, 14.
Speaker 1:My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points, because the grace given to me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God, god's purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering. Remember, gentile means non-Jew, sanctified by the Holy spirit. Therefore, I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God, for I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, by word and deed, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God's spirit. As a result, I fully proclaim the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricium. My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else's foundation. But, as it is written, those who were not told about him will see and those who have not heard will understand. That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you, but now I am no longer. I no longer have any work to do in these regions, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain Spain for I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while. Right now, I am traveling to Jerusalem to serve the saints, because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased and indeed are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to them in material needs. Now, that was a lot so far. We got a tiny bit left, but I just want to stop you for a second, so I'm not going to teach that much on the section I just talked about. So I just want to. I want to cover it real fast.
Speaker 1:Um, paul is encouraging Jewish Christians. Um, and the Gentile Christians in Rome to show grace and love for each other. Right, like? We've been talking about that a lot, right? Hey, that person who's different from you, you need to show them mercy. That person who has a little bit different faith than you, you need to show them kindness. And so then here he just so happens to mention the fact that he is taking money to the Hebrew Christians in Israel. Why does that matter? Where's the money coming from?
Speaker 1:Macedonia and Achaia, paul is using a real life example of unity and mercy. See, those are Gentiles, those are non-Jews. So he's saying that he's taking money from non-Jews to Jews and he's illustrating that unity, right, that people are caring for each other. And you know in our country a lot of the unity, right, that people are caring for each other. And, and you know in our country a lot of the, the, the, the division, uh, has been oftentimes in our past black and white, and this is very much the Gentile Jew division. So he's saying this very similarly, like he would say to us Now, you know that our division is based on everything. Now, um, maybe it would be Republican Democrat, maybe it'd be something else, but this is real. He's saying, um, a Fox news, cnn guys, um, send money to each other.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the government here, um, is not doing its job for the poor, because it's. It's a different time. So the church of Jesus was caring for the poor people in Jerusalem. The church of Jesus should always care for the poor. Can I get an amen? The government does a terrible job of caring for the poor and yet I believe. I believe and I can't wait for your emails. I believe often they've done a better job than us as the church. They've done an awful job and they've done a better job than I think the church has done caring for the poor.
Speaker 1:Often, what does that say? That's a problem, um, but when we care for those who have less, we unite over something important, right, we unite over something good. It brings us together Even our food pantry. Out there, we have so many churches that help support our food pantry and I love it. Because someone will be like, oh man, you know that one church over there and I'll be like, oh yeah, that one that helps us. What were you going to say? Oh, they get quiet, don't they? Because we're unified. Now, I'm not saying every church is perfect or anything like that, but I do find that we're better when we're agreeing and we're better when we're choosing to love each other despite disagreement. So God provides for us, but he unites us with other churches in San Diego, other churches in the United States, and just for our neighbors.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm going to continue on to verse 28. So Paul's talking about his trip, right? So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds to them, I will visit you on the way to Spain. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord, jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf, pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints and that, by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you. May the God of peace be with all of you. Amen. This is God's word. Will you pray with me? No-transcript.
Speaker 1:We thank you for a church family who is family to us when biological family has been absent. We thank you for the children that make this place noisy. Today. We pray your blessing on those who suffer, god. We pray against war and we ask for peace in places like Ukraine and Russia, like India and Pakistan, like Israel and Palestine. And, lord, we ask your hand to be on the people of Haiti. God, would you bring us peace when wars rage? Would you help us to be peacemakers with each other? Let us find your grace overflowing and please teach us today from your word. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of our hearts be pleasing to you. We pray this all in Jesus name, and all God's people said amen.
Speaker 1:So, um, uh, I I like the gladiator movies and I know not everybody loves the gladiator movies and I'm OK with that. I'm OK that you don't all love the gladiator movies. I particularly don't love, like seeing a lot of blood. Somehow I still like the gladiator movies movie is there's times when they would fight people against each other and they'd always have like an underdog that's supposed to lose. And so what would they do? They would put the champion with like a bunch of tigers, you know, to protect them, or like lions and like polar bears and things that are so unrealistic and never happened, so that they would protect the person that was supposed to win the battle. And in the new gladiator movie it's even worse. Like it's like, oh cool, so somehow like Rome has managed to bring in a great white shark into the middle of a stadium, even though, you know, thousands of years later, we still don't know how to do that. Probably not, but, um, but they bring in a shark and it's protecting the people who are supposed to win the battle.
Speaker 1:Right Today, we're going to be talking about what it means to be the underdog, but to actually have a lion fighting beside you and behind you, to have a lion in your corner, and I know many of us feel like underdogs in the room, like I don't know about you, but do you like Mike Tyson's punch out? Did anybody play that back in the day? I always felt like Little Mac. I always felt like little Mac. I always felt like that guy looking up to Mike Tyson trying to reach his face. That's how I feel sometimes about life, and I know some of you have felt that way too. Like everything just keeps hitting you. You keep falling down, um, but, but you're still here. You feel like the underdog.
Speaker 1:But when you're the underdog and you have God on your side, there's something else going on, isn't there? You have a lion in your corner. So life can be hard and I know when you choose to follow Jesus with your everything, it doesn't always look the way you want it to. It doesn't always look good, like you think it should. But, friends, jesus is behind you. Jesus is described as the lion of Judah. You have a lion in your corner.
Speaker 1:So today we're going to talk about that and we're going to say you have a lion in your corner. So how do you respond? And I'm going to give you three points, because that's what I do for some reason. I think I did two last week. My first point is this Christ followers speak boldly from the grace given to us. Christ followers speak boldly from the grace given to us.
Speaker 1:So he says in verse 14, my brothers and sisters. Now, whenever Paul says my brothers and sisters, he's talking about Christians, because that makes us family. So when I call you brother and sister, I don't call it and I mean okay, I'm going to be honest. Before I was a Christian, if I went into a church and some dude called me brother, I was like bro, get your hand off me. That's weird. And now I'm the guy that's like give us a hug, brother. And people are like can I go? So I understand how it's weird for some of you, but Christians, those of us who belong to Jesus, actually see ourselves as a multi-ethnic, multicultural family, and so it's weird, but it's amazing.
Speaker 1:So he's saying brothers and sisters, he says I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to instruct each other. But I've written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given to me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God's purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering sanctified by the spirit. Therefore, I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God. Paul is like guys. I know you're super smart and amazing, your hair looks great, you can be a good church without me. But I got a couple ideas, okay, and I'm just going to speak boldly to you. And I'm speaking boldly to you because I've been rescued from a lot of things and I've learned a lot of lessons.
Speaker 1:Congolese pastor David Casale. He's a bit like me when he thinks that Paul quote is being tactful and diplomatic when writing to people he's never visited or ministered to in person. So that makes sense. Like you've never hung with these people, you don't have the same rapport with them, right? You can't just talk to them and be like, hey, you're an idiot. No, you have to like work through it. And he's saying you guys are doing a lot of great stuff, really great stuff.
Speaker 1:Let me just tell this is kind of how it went every time I would sing and or play guitar or whatever, and then the engineer or the producer, he would click a button and go, wow, that was, that was really really great. You are. You're just so gifted. Can we, can we try it totally different? Um, I think you got a better take in you is what he would often say. Um, he's basically saying that was awful, I think you can do it better. But he put it in a different way. I feel like Paul's doing that. He's like you guys are doing awesome. Let me just say a couple of things, and this is why I'm so bold with you. You're doing awesome. It's not because you're not doing great, it's just.
Speaker 1:Let me say a couple of things. I Um, and also I can do this because God, in his grace, has put me in a great position to do this. You see, god wants to save all people, which is still probably scandalous for some people. He's just told Jewish Christians that have been creating extra rules stop it and show love to the people who don't need those rules. And he told the pagan Christians who've been following all kinds of rules sorry, who had no rules like, show grace to the people who like to follow rules, right? So I mean, the Roman religion basically involved all kinds of depravity. Their people even looked like the Roman king who had killed and exiled the Jews in the same church. If you were Jewish, you probably didn't love those kind of people. And so Paul had to say you need to show grace. And he's been pounding this home again and again and again in this text. But why? Paul said because the grace has been shown to us. We have to show this grace to other people.
Speaker 1:Now, paul had some background. Okay, like he probably deserves some credentials um given to him for a couple of reasons. Um, number one, uh, in the book of acts 22,. Paul addresses a mob in Jerusalem that's about to kill him, or wants to actually. And he says I'm a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Sicilia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamma male. That's like a boss rabbi, like a super famous dude. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. That's what he's saying to the mob. You see, I was trained by the best Jew, dude Paul. He started a grip of churches all over, especially Asia. He was a Roman citizen. He was a brilliant mind, but what credentials does Paul give in the text here? Not brilliance, not training, not that he was trained by the best, not his citizenship as a Roman, not the fact that he spoke a bunch of languages.
Speaker 1:This is what he listed as his credentials the grace of God given to me. Dude met the resurrected Jesus and he was sent as an apostle to the world, and all he mentions here is the grace of God is in my life, and that's why I'm speaking to you. Before that, he was killing Christians. What right did he have to lead? Anyone at this point, though? Right, like none except Jesus, called him. That was it.
Speaker 1:So if you're a believer, what is your qualification? To show grace and love to other people? It's because you've received grace and love you didn't deserve, and love to other people. It's because you've received grace and love you didn't deserve. You've received the grace you didn't deserve. Now some of you have gifts here today and God is using you with those gifts. But it is still by the grace of God that you get to tell others about your faith. Some of you in here feel like you have nothing to offer others, nothing to offer the church, and yet, by the grace of God, he can and will do great things through you, in and through you.
Speaker 1:You fought addiction your whole life. God can use you. Oh my gosh, you you're not good at speaking. God can use you. You were abused as a child. Who is God going to use you for, but those who have been abused? If you're out of work, who is better to minister to people who are out of work If you? There are people in here who've lost their mom. There are people in here who have had abortions. There are people in here who have been in jail. There are people in here who have had multiple miscarriages. There are going to be people like you that need you more than anyone else.
Speaker 1:And what qualifies you? The grace of God. The grace of God, the grace of God. If you've lost someone you love, if you've made mistakes in your past, you are absolutely qualified to speak about grace. If you're a lonely person, you can minister to lonely people. If you suffer from depression and anxiety, who is someone who's depressed and anxious going to listen to? But you is someone who's depressed and anxious going to listen to. But you, by the grace of God, he is sending you out to people like you. These things don't disqualify you from helping other people and making a difference. See when God's grace works in you. They qualify you to care for people who would never speak to me. There's a lot. See. God uses our weaknesses to display his strength. God uses our pain and our suffering to display his strength. We fight wars with a lion in our corner.
Speaker 1:Now, when I first became a Christian, I figured I would be the worst person to speak to others about faith. I didn't know any of the Bible verses by heart. I hadn't picked up a Bible until I was almost 16 years old. Everyone around me, like the people who were like getting drunk with me at parties they knew every single Bible song right. They knew every single Christian song and I didn't know what they were like. Only ones I ever heard was on the Simpsons, when the Flanders started singing. But these show offs that knew the Bible like they'd be like you don't even know where to find Genesis in the Bible. And I'm like, no, where's that? And they would laugh because it means the beginning, basically. Um, they knew all the hymns, they knew all the Christian radio stations which I had always just skipped. Um, I just thought it was eighties music. Um, and some of them, they could. They could turn straight to the book of Habakkuk. I don't, I can't turn straight to the book of Habakkuk.
Speaker 1:I've been a pastor for like I don't know 25 years. See, I hardly understood anything in the Bible, and yet God used me in my weakness. I had left the Baha'i faith, I had become agnostic. So who would have been better to speak to young dumb punks like me but me? What qualified me? Jesus and the grace that he gives to us. By the grace of God, he uses weakness to display his strength, and I had a lot. Now I love when somebody tells me they're a self-made man. Like friends, if you've been blessed with gifts, if you've been blessed with opportunity, it is because of, once again, his grace. I once spoke to a police captain in the area, so I'm not going to put his name out there, but he told me he was born in the hood and he fought his way out without any help, and the longer I asked him about his life, the longer we talked, the more I heard about teachers, pastors and especially a coach who took him along, put him at his dinner table. Guys, humility goes a long way. None of us are here because we're awesome, none of us. We are here because Jesus is awesome.
Speaker 1:Does everyone know who Arnold Schwarzenegger is? I'm like most of the kids 7 to 12 are gone. So does everybody else know Arnold Schwarzenegger? He was Terminator 2, mr Freeze in Batman Freeze. He was in the movie Twins. He was Kindergarten Cop it's not a tumor. He was in Jingle All the Way, the Expendables, last Action Hero, conan the Barbarian, and he was eventually the governor of California, and he called himself the Governator. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:So every time, though, someone interviewed Arnold, they would call him a self-made man, and he didn't like it. And here's how he responded he's like I'm not a self-made man. I'm not going to do the accent, no, I promise I got a lot of help. It's true, he said that I grew up in Austria without plumbing. It is true that I moved to America alone with just a gym bag, and it's true that I worked as a bricklayer, invested in real estate to become a millionaire before I ever swung a sword in Conan the Barbarian. But it is not true that I am self-made. Like everyone, to get where I am, I stood on the shoulders of giants. My life was built on a foundation of parents, coaches and teachers, of kind souls who lent couches or gym room back rooms where I could sleep, of mentors who shared wisdom, advice. Even the Terminator realized there was nothing he did to get where he was. He had to work hard, but it still required grace and other people, church.
Speaker 1:Some of us are where we are today because of privileges we've been given. Some of us are here because of our parents' sacrifice for us. Some of us are here because of our teachers, coaches and friends who cared for us. But no one would be here today without the sovereign grace and compassion of our God. So what kind of attitude should we have towards people who have sin, people who screw up, people who do awful things?
Speaker 1:First, timothy 1, 15 says this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I'm the worst of them. Guys, we have to have that kind of attitude, right? I'm the worst of them. Before we can speak to anyone about their struggles, we have to remember our sin. Right To remember our sin. First, we have to recognize we are only here, why? By the grace of God. And that brings us to our second response, to having a lion in our corner. Let us boast, but only of our rescuer. Let us boast, but only of our rescuer. I've been preaching now 10 years and my wife says that I'm starting to yell more. I don't mean to sorry, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Verse 18, for I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, by word and deed, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and the power of God's spirit. Paul said that the only good he did was by the power of God and the attentiveness of the Gentiles he was sent to. So most people who are rescued they're naturally humble. Right Like you're rescued. You're almost embarrassed, right Like um, uh.
Speaker 1:If you survey the, the survivors of the Titanic or the Lusitania those are boats that went down You're going to hear gratefulness and a ton of survivor's guilt Like I can never understand. Oh, excuse me, this is a quote. This is Anna Terja Lundi. She's a Titanic survivor. This is what she says. I can never understand. Oh, excuse me, this is a quote. This is Anna Terja Lundi. She's a Titanic survivor. This is what she says. I can never understand why God would have spared a poor Finnish girl when all those rich people drowned. She said she feels humble about it. She feels humble about it. If you survey the survivors, they have a ton of survivor's guilt the people of the Titanic, the people of the Lusitania, the people that survived 9-11. That's how Paul felt.
Speaker 1:Paul wasn't arrogant, guys. But if we're not careful, this can easily turn into something different arrogance and boasting. And that's not what Christians are supposed to do, right? None of us are here because we're awesome, right? We're here because Jesus is awesome, guys, christians can become entitled over time, right? Like we can become boastful and arrogant. Like we look at people who mess up in ways that we don't mess up anymore, even though we know back here all the ways we still mess up, and we're like see, I'm better than you and guys. Let me just say this there's no room for that. I guess he actually does have patience because he forgives us, but let me just say it's not, it's not a part of God's heart, and we have to ask him to change that. And when you see somebody next to you that's sinning in a different way, when you're watching people that just screw up again and again and again and again, think that you're better than that person. And there are some people that you want to think that, real fast, right, like God, that guy has screwed up 10 times, 10 times 10. I'm so much better than them. No, no, no, no, no. You just got rescued. You just got rescued.
Speaker 1:What spared us from death and hell? Jesus, his grace. It was something we could have never accomplished. Our own Christians should be the most humble people you've ever met. We should look a lot like survivors of Lusitania. We understand just how forgiven we are. How can we judge anyone when we're aware of what it took to save us? And this is what it took, guys. It took everything to save us.
Speaker 1:This is what the gospel is. It's good news, but it wasn't good news to Jesus. In the moment where he came to this earth and sacrificed himself for us. That didn't feel like good news. In the moment when he sacrificed himself on the cross, died, but then rose again to show that he was bigger than our sin, bigger than our death, but he didn't do it so that we could lord that over other people. He did it so we could be humble. He did it so that, when someone says hate the sin, love the sinner, we say hate my sin more than anything else, first Right, hate the sin, love the sinner. We say hate my sin more than anything else, first right. And this is the beauty of the gospel, though, that God loved us so much that he was willing to send his son to this earth, die on the cross, rise again, showing that he had defeated sin and death. I love that baby so much, knowing that he had defeated sin and death. And then the receipt was that he rose again on the third day to show the world that he was bigger. Now let me just tell you this you were dead. You were dead in your trespasses. You were dead in your sins. Tell me what you can do to save yourself when you're dead. Nothing, nothing.
Speaker 1:If someone had jumped off the Titanic and they had swam 400 miles to New York in frigid, cold water full of sharks, they would have something to boast about, wouldn't they? But nobody did that. Every single survivor needed someone else to survive, and so when we encounter people with less than us, we show them grace. When we meet someone in addiction, we show them understanding and love. When someone is born in another country and they flee here, we recognize their desperation and we understand they could have easily been us.
Speaker 1:Actually, for many people in this room, this was either you or your ancestors. There are plenty of people in the world who work hard and don't get the things you have. They still won't have food or shelter tonight. What kind of thing can we hold over them that we're better than them? There are kind and brilliant people who suffer from addiction or are in prison right now. There are people who sin differently than you, but they're no worse than us. We're no better than them. What do you have that they don't? As far as dignity, nothing. You have inherent dignity. You are made in the image of God, and so are they. In verse 18, I would dare not say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God's spirit. He didn't do it.
Speaker 1:Have you guys ever seen this movie? Trope, it's done in a million movies. It's like you have all these bad guys coming and then we'll say like in the Shrek movie. You got like donkey right there and he's like ready to fight them and he'd like yells, and then all the bad guys run away. Why did they all run away? Cause Shrek was behind them. There's like so many movies like that, right, like that, that's in like every movie, but like they run away cause Shrek was behind them, not because donkey was like going to stop anybody, right? See? Um, we have someone much better than Shrek behind us, right, like it's no ogre behind us.
Speaker 1:God uses our weakness to display his strength, and we fight wars with a lion in our corner, and we are not the lion, though that's what we have to remember. We are not the lion, we just serve the lion, and when the grace of God falls on us, we respond. And that's our third response to the lion we humbly pray to God for great things to happen and then join him in his work. That's quite a sentence we humbly pray to God for great things to happen and then we join him in his work, verse 30. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf, to strive together with me in prayers to God. On my behalf, pray that I might be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints. Some of y'all are like I'm going to Portland. Pray that I might be rescued. This is not like that, no, no, no, this is. I am going into a place where I may not return and that, by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you. May the God of peace be with you always, amen.
Speaker 1:So Paul was out there doing crazy things for God. With the help of God, by the grace of God, with the power of the spirit of God, he was going to tell people who hated his faith, but he went humbly and he went with kindness. Now, if you recall, paul was taking an offering of money to believers in Jerusalem. Remember that what else happened in Jerusalem? Taking an offering of money to believers in Jerusalem. Remember that? What else happened in Jerusalem? Well, they murdered Jesus there. That's where he's going. I'm going to go and tell people about the religion of the guy you just killed. They also murdered the first deacon, stephen, there, which is kind of weird, because I don't know if you remember who killed him, but it was like Paul was involved in that before he met Jesus.
Speaker 1:But this is why Paul wanted prayer while he traveled. He was going into a rough place and he knew there were murderers in Jerusalem, because he knew them, murderers who wouldn't hesitate to kill him, just like he murdered Stephen. But something had changed in Paul, and now Paul had the power to love them. And that same power is in you, by the grace of God. Not because you're awesome. Paul was asking for prayer because he believed that, because he knew he was going to need to be rescued if he was going to see the Romans, because he was going places to share good news with people who wanted to kill him. Now Paul said, after Jerusalem, he was going to go to Spain. Guess what? He never made it to Spain. He never made it.
Speaker 1:Nepalese pastor, dr Ramesh Katri, once said if even the apostle Paul's plans were frustrated, we can accept that our plans will also sometimes fail, even if preceded by much prayer. See, eventually, though, paul did make it to Rome, um, probably not the way he had planned, but he was cool with it. He was able to minister to the guards who he was chained up with, as well as many Roman leaders. He stood chained before nobles and kings and he shared the good news. He was on house arrest and he constantly encouraged the Roman church, and then he was executed, pastor Mesh Katri, again, if even this greatest servant of Christ requested prayer, we should not hesitate to ask for it too.
Speaker 1:See, god is calling many of you to display a love that is impossible. Friends, god has asked you to do great things that are impossible. Many of you are being sent to people who struggle, and you cannot do this. You cannot, but God can. We fight wars with a lion in our corner, so our prayers would be bold and frequent. Friends, have you ever considered God wants to do more through you than he's doing now? But maybe he's waiting for you to believe in his power, for you to ask him for it, for you to pray for it. None of these things that happen in the Bible happen without prayer.
Speaker 1:Now, monday, on the May 26th, that will be our next prayer night. What's impossible? You should bring that impossible prayer to this room and pray with us. How much have you actually prayed about it? Have you welcomed your church into praying about it? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I'm always amazed when y'all make a big decision and you don't have a bunch of people praying for you, like why not have other saints join in with you as you're struggling through this decision? I know for me I'm like on the bus. I'm like, hey, come here, I need prayer. Like that's more like me. But I understand we're different. But, guys, nothing big will happen that doesn't first begin with our knees. Bow to the all powerful God of the universe. You want to see the impossible made possible. You got to pray. Are you terrible at pray, at praying? You should pray with other people. I know for me, I have the ADDs and if I'm by myself, prayer is hard, but when I'm with people, praying is so much easier. And then, um, when you see somebody healed from cancer, give God glory and don't forget, write it down, celebrate and tell people. When you see someone delivered from gangs or the mafia, give God glory, write it down, don't forget what God did when God saves your marriage or one of your best friends. Give God glory, don't forget. By the grace of God, he uses our weakness to display his strength. But we can't forget that none of us are here because we are awesome. Why are we here Because Jesus is awesome, friends.
Speaker 1:I want us to grow as a praying church, one that believes in miracles and then we pray for those miracles, a church that believes things can change when we pray to God. Do you believe that? Do you believe that he could change things? Well, guys, I want to be a church that will pray here often and in three languages. Actually, I want to have a day when we will have people in the back to pray with people in three languages. I find that beautiful when we're united in that way, but it sounds impossible. We should pray for that One day. I would love to have a team that always prays during our services in a different room, a team that prays. God would do something unbelievable in that moment. A matter of fact, even before this service, guys, I just want to tell you I prayed with someone who who gave their life to Jesus this morning. Yeah, sometimes you know, I'm like, oh, I hope my sermon is right, lord, that it would bless somebody so they might come to know you. And then he's like cool, we'll just take care of it before you, don't worry about it anymore. Guys, I want to be a church that even prays during our services, and I don't mean like up here, I mean in another room, constantly full of people.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the greatest evangelists and preachers of the last couple hundred years was a guy named Charles Spurgeon. I don't know if any of you have heard of him. I probably quoted him a few times. He was once called the Prince of Preachers. Now, whenever Spurgeon had guest visitors come to his church building, he would take them to all the usual haunts, right Like oh, check out our sanctuary. Oh, pretty stained glass, you know. And then he would take them to the. I don't know what they had back then. Would they have classrooms? I don't even know. Look at this room, check this out, look at this, look at all these great things we have.
Speaker 1:But then he would end his visit with people and he would say hey, do you want to check out our best room, our boiler room? And everybody there is like what I don't really want to see the boiler room. You guys probably don't know what a boiler room is, but it was dirty and gross. It was full of pipes, it was full of like I don't know what those things are Valves. I always got to have somebody help me with a word it's full of valves, it's full of dust, it's full of spiders, it was full of like nasty things, probably had some mold in it, and it was steamy and hot. Why would you end a tour in that room? Well, they called it the boiler room, but it was not what the visitors expected. It was a room, though, that powered the entire church, but it was not physical heat in that building.
Speaker 1:It was filled with hundreds of people praying during their services. It was a prayer that provided spiritual heat to Spurgeon's preaching and to the reading of the word. It was prayer and the power of God that led to the miracles that they witnessed, and they witnessed many, many miracles. Guys, if we want to see God work as a church, we need to humbly seek God's face in prayer, just as Paul was pleading for it thousands of years ago. If we want to see the lost and hurting saved, even the people that are impossible, we need to pray together and we need to say yes when he sends us to them, and we need to be obedient when he tells us to preach to them with kindness and love and compassion, and we need to be obedient when he tells us to preach to them with kindness and love and compassion.
Speaker 1:First Chronicles 16 says give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, proclaim his deeds among the peoples that you like. Nope, doesn't say that Among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell about all his wondrous works to just the people that are easy. Nope, just tell about all his wondrous works, Boast in his holy name to people who don't look at you sideways. Nope, it just says boast in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord in his strength, seek his face. Always Remember the wondrous works he has done, his wonders and judgments he has pronounced. Guys, it's all him. He's doing it, but he wants to use you by his power. He wants to use his grace in you to speak to people that you shouldn't be able to forgive. And I'm not telling you to go to abusive situations, but I am telling you sometimes God's going to call you to the people who have been the worst to you, so that you can say I'm sorry, so you can say I love you, so you can say there is a God who loves you.
Speaker 1:Yes, we've been saved, but how can we not gather those who are drowning within reach? Another woman who survived the Titanic sinking, named Eva Hart. She said the sounds of people drowning are something I cannot describe to you, and neither can anyone else. It's the most dreadful sound and there is a terrible silence that follows it. Many of you in the room are drowning and it is out of love that we ask you to commit your lives to Jesus. We're not. We're not. We don't need you to be a part of this club. We love you and want you to have a life with Jesus.
Speaker 1:Let us pray for you today. Let us pray with you. Today. Maybe one person got saved today, maybe more for the rest of us who call ourselves Christians now, who were once frantically waving your arms in the water, hoping you would be rescued in those cold waters, remember what it was like and then look at the desperate and scared people around you and remember again. We can bring them light. It's not us. I'm not the light. I carry the light. We can bring them to Jesus' feet, city Life Church and guests. God uses our weakness to display his strength. We fight wars with a lion in our corner, so may our prayers be bold and frequent. None were pulled out of the icy waters of eternal death because we were awesome. We are here because Jesus is awesome. Let's tell the world, let's pray.
Speaker 1:Father, you are so good and we are so undeserving. And still we're here, this undeserving ragtag group. We're here because you love us. And I know some people in the room like you but don't love you yet. God, I ask that you would continue to bless them and encourage them and, father, in this moment we would like to.
Speaker 1:We've not been humble, we're sorry, when we've pronounced judgment that was undeserved. God, I know sometimes we've judged people who are far from you and said they're not good enough. And I know sometimes we've judged ourselves and we've said we're not good enough. That's not the way you roll. We thank you that you love us because you are beautiful. We thank you that you loved us because of your grace, not because of our awesomeness.
Speaker 1:And still we can stand before you, forgiven of our sin. We know that, as far as the East is from the West, our sin is from your sight. And when we fully repent of our sin and choose to follow you, it says that you look upon us, father, and you see the righteousness of your son, jesus, and we proclaim that good, we say that it's good, we say you are good and we love you. That is good. We say you are good and we love you. Be with us, please, as we move about our lives, seeking to share love, seeking to share compassion with others. But we don't have the strength for that impossible task. So we ask that you would help us, we ask that you would encourage us, we ask that you would send us and that you would help us to come back and be prayed up and be powerful in you. We love you, lord. We pray this all in Jesus name, amen.