Okay, I would like you please to turn to the book of Romans today. We are going to deal today with almost the final portion of Romans. We have gone through many passages, many messages on the book of Romans, and today we are getting close to the conclusion of the book of Romans, and we are still in a section, brothers and sisters, it is a very important section, in a section of the book of Romans that is called service. We have been saved. Our sins have been dealt with. God has been sovereign towards us. He has brought us to this relationship to be with him, and in the last portion of the book of Romans, we are dealing with the service, with the practical aspect of the life of the believer.

And if you remember, when we have been speaking about before in our last meeting together in Romans chapter 14, we have covered the importance of those three things in these verses. Number one is to receive one another, and we have learned this in Romans 14 verses 1 to 12. We have also learned about the importance of edifying one another, and that we learned from Romans 14 verses 13 to 23. And finally, we have been speaking about the importance of pleasing one another, and that we have learned in Romans chapter 15 and verses 1 to 7. Those three important things, to receive one another, to edify one another, and to please one another. And to please one another.

Biblically pleasing one another. This is the first seven verses of Romans chapter 15. Well, in this portion that we are going to be dealing with now, verses 8 of chapter 15 of Romans, all the way to the end of chapter 16, in these concluding verses, we have the beautiful word that is found many times in the Bible, the word service. One of the word service. One of the words in the Bible in the New Testament for the word service is deacons or diakonos in the Greek language. When a person is a deacon, he or she are simply serving the Lord. Being a deacon is not a title that you put on the door.

Being a servant is something that you do because God has called you to serve him, to serve God's people. And you will notice how many times the word servant or service is found here in this chapter 15 from verse 8 to the end of chapter 16 of Romans. Let me just quickly mention to you in Romans 15 and verse 8, it says, I say that Yeshua the Messiah was a servant, a minister of the circumcision. If you go a little bit further down in verse 25 of Romans chapter 15, you'll notice, but I go to Jerusalem to minister unto the saints, to serve the saints. Further down in verse 31 of Romans chapter 15, you will notice that Paul is saying, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints.

Again, service, ministry. Then in chapter 16 in verse 1, he says, I commend unto you Phoebe the sister which is a servant of the assembly, which is at Shanchera. You notice that Phoebe was a servant, she was ministering to the people of God. Now you have more times here that the word service or servant is mentioned. In fact, there are three Greek words that are mentioned here in these two chapters to servant. The first one is diakonos, which is found in the verses that I just told you. There's another word for service here in chapter 15 and verse 16. If you notice in verse 16a, it says that I should be the minister.

This is the servant, the minister, as it says here, of Jesus the Messiah. Here's another time the word minister is mentioned, but this time it's not diakonos. This one, and I probably will not pronounce this right, it is litorgos in the Greek, which means it has to do with the public service. The apostle Paul is saying, I want that my ministry, my public service for Yeshua the Messiah will be unto the Gentiles. There's a second word that is found here in this chapter. And there's another word that is mentioned here in again chapter 15 and verse 16, but the second half of the verse. And here we have a priestly service.

It's a third Greek word for service. And the word it says, notice I'm reading verse 16b, ministering the gospel of God that the offering up of the Gentiles might be accepted. Here's another time he used the word ministering this time or service. This time is the Greek word hirougoe or goeo. And I cannot probably pronounce it right. But there are three specific words that are found here in this chapter when it's come to service. One of them is the ordinary word for service, which we all supposed to serve diakonos. The other one is priestly ministry or public ministry. All has to do with service. So we are going to talk now about service and ministry.

We have four different ministries that we have here in these last two chapters of the book of Romans. And I will emphasize one more time. At the last portion of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul is emphasizing ministry, service. Not some title somewhere, one person call himself, I'm the minister. No. But actual, where the rubber meets the road. Something that is very practical for the believers to do to serve the Lord. To serve one another. To serve in the gospel. To minister the things of God unto the saints. So, four aspects or four different ministries are found here from Romans 15 verse 8 to the end of Romans chapter 16.

Let me give you those four ministries and then we are going to go and look at them one by one. The first ministry is the ministry of Yeshua the Messiah to his people Israel and through Israel to the Gentile world. That's the first ministry. Verses 8 to 13 of Romans chapter 15. The second ministry is the ministry of the Apostle Paul unto the Gentile world found in verse 14 of Romans 15 all the way to verse 24. Paul was a minister of the gospel to the Gentile world. The third ministry that we have here in these two chapters is the ministry of the Gentile to the Jewish people. There is a service that the Gentile Christian world has to minister to the people of Israel.

This is Romans 15 verses 25 to 33. And finally, we have the ministry of the believers to the apostle Paul. They ministered to him. They served him. Because God have called them to minister to that apostle who worked so hard in the gospel. And they ministered to him, encouraged him, met his needs in many ways. And he mentioned them name after name in the end of the book of Romans. We're going to get to there. But right now, let's read verse 8 to 13 of Romans chapter 15. And let's look at the ministry of Yeshua the Messiah to Israel and through Israel to the Gentile world. I begin to read in verse 8.

Now I say that Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was a minister, a diaconess, a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. 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, Praise the Lord all ye Gentiles, and loud him all ye people. And again Isaiah saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles. In him shall the Gentiles trust.

Now the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now I will stop here with these verses. We are going to move on and read the next portion. But right now, I just want you to see the fourfold ministries that we have here. Four different ministries. The first ministry is the ministry of Yeshua, our Messiah, to the people of Israel, and through the people of Israel to the Gentile world. So the Apostle Paul begins here in verse 8, and look what he says. That first of all, Yeshua first ministered to the Jewish people when he was here on earth.

You see what he says in verse 8? Now I say that Jesus Christ, or in Hebrew, Yeshua HaMashiach, was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. That's what the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, did when he was here on earth. He was here on earth. The first thing that he did, he ministered to the people of Israel, to the circumcision. See, the circumcision in the Bible always has to do with Israel, with the Hebrews. It was Abraham, to whom God had given the command to circumcise all his descendants, beginning with Isaac, and so on. And the circumcision has to do with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So when the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, came upon this earth, when he was born through the virgin Miriam, and he grew up among his family in the city of Nazareth. And he ministered here in this world. He ministered, first of all, to the Jewish people, to the Hebrews, to the Israelis. That's what he came to do, you remember? In John chapter 4, when he spoke to the Samaritan woman, he said to her, "Salvation is of the Jews." And you remember what we read in Hebrews chapter 2, that he took not upon himself a form of an angel, but he took upon himself the seed of Abraham. He became a Hebrew, he became a Jew, to minister unto the circumcision to the people of Israel.

Of course, we know that the vast majority of our people did not accept him as the Messiah. But in his life here, and ultimately in his death, he came to minister to the circumcision, and through the circumcision, to the nations of the world. And so in verse 8, I say that Jesus the Messiah was a diaconess, was a minister, was a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God. You know, he came to present the truth of God to the nation of Israel. It is amazing how the nation of Israel don't see the truth of God through the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And instead of acknowledging the truth of God through the Messiah, they have ended up adapting rabbinical teaching, all kinds of views of humans, instead of adapting themselves to the truth of God.

And so he came, as it says here, he came as a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. And notice that it says in the second half of this verse, "He confirmed the promises made unto the fathers." You know, God made promises to the fathers. Every time you read the word fathers in the Bible, 99% of it, it takes us to Father Abraham, not before. Even though we know that there were others who were godly men in the past, like Noah, and even before the flood, like Adam, and then Abel, and Shem, and so on. And we had a lot of men of God.

But when he talks about the fathers and the promises unto the fathers, he takes us back to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the fathers. And so God made promises. What were the promises that he made? If you remember, God made promises to Abraham. For example, in Genesis chapter 12, he said to Abraham, "The Lord spoke unto Abraham, and he said, "Get thee out of thy country, from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land which I will show you, and I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee, and in you, in thee, Abraham, shall all the families of the earth will be blessed." He made a promise.

And you look around, and you see the nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham. You know, Abraham got Isaac. Isaac got Jacob. His name was changed to Israel. Israel got 12 sons. One of them was called Judah. Judah had a family called Jesse. Jesse had one of the sons called David. And David was the king of Israel. And through David, the Messiah came. And the Messiah was supposed to bring blessings to the nation of Israel, and blessings to the nation of the world. And so promises were made. Well, how God will accomplish these promises? Well, he sent finally Yeshua the Messiah, as it says here, he was a servant of the circumcision, in verse 8, for the truth of God.

He presented the word of God to the nation of Israel. And ultimately, to confirm his promises. Oh boy, if you just read so many times in the scripture, the promises that God have made to the people of Israel. You can read promise after promise. But first of all, beloved brothers and sisters, Yeshua the Messiah came to present himself to the people of Israel, to the circumcision. There's a verse that I'm just going to read it in Matthew chapter 10 and verses 5 and 6, where Yeshua said, if you remember this verse, very important verse, Yeshua said like this. He says, "Jesus sent forth those twelve, and he commanded them, and he said to them, "Do not go into the ways of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans.

Don't enter," he said to them in the beginning, "But go rather into the lost sheep of the house of Israel." That's what he came. He was sending his disciples, first of all, to go to present the Messiahship of Yeshua to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And once Israel will accept the Messiah, ultimately blessing on the floor to all the nations of the world. In the future it's still waiting as a nation, but presently through the nation of Israel salvation went to the nations of the world. And so if you remember, when the Gospel, when Israel as a nation rejected him, the first believers were all circumcised, Jewish people, who through them the Gospel went to Samaria, and then to the uttermost part of the world, ultimately including the Apostle Paul.

So the ministry of Yeshua was first of all to the circumcision, and then through the Jewish people, through the Hebrews, through the Israelis, ultimately to the Gentile world. And so we read in this verse that first of all he became a minister of the circumcision, but now notice that in the next verses, verses 9, 10, 11, and 12, we see the progression that is happening here. From the Jewish people, ultimately blessings come to the Gentile world. And you can see how clearly it is found here in these verses. By the way, he's quoting in these verses, four Old Testament passages. Not New Testament, because the New Testament was not in existence.

When the Apostle Paul was writing these passages in the Book of Romans, he was taking them back to the Old Testament, to what we know as the Tanakh, the Torah, the Nevi'im, the Ketuvim, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. And so look what we read. We read in verse 9, "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written, for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name." The first quotation that we have here, the quotation from Psalm 18, that takes us to the Book of Psalms, to the writings. He's quoting the Book of Psalms, Psalm 18, and he's telling what the psalmist David was writing, that he will confess the name of God among the nations of the world.

And so here we can see that ultimately the nations, the Gentile world, will hear about God through the confession of the Hebrews of the nation of Israel. Look at the next verse, verse 10. You see, Israel glorified God among the Gentiles, verse 9. Look at verse 10. The Gentiles rejoice together with Israel. Verse 10. And again he says, "Rejoice ye Gentiles with his people." Now he's quoting a verse from the Torah, from the first five books of Moses. Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 43 is a quotation that the Gentiles will rejoice together with the Jewish people for what God have done for them. Again he said, I'm reading verse 10 again, "Rejoice ye Gentiles," the Hebrew word goyim, "with his people." This is the nation of Israel.

By the way, that is still future, as an ultimate is still in the future, but today we can enjoy it, we can see it today, even in our own midst. Some of us are Jewish, some of us are non-Jewish, and we can rejoice together because of what God have done for us. Together we can enjoy it today. But it still takes us to the future day when the Messiah will come in his second coming, and Israel restored, and the Gentile world brought into faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And then together there will be this rejoicing. Thirdly, in verse 11, "Israel and the Gentile will praise God together." Notice that, verse 11, "And again, praise the Lord all ye Gentiles, and loud him all ye people." Again, he goes to the book of Psalms, Psalm 117, and there he is quoting again, "The fault is that the Gentiles and the Jewish people will praise and loud God together with the nation of Israel." It's amazing!

It's not happening today for the nations of the world. It's only happening to you and to me as believers in the church of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, in the body of Messiah. But you go outside the door to the nation of the world and you will see that the vast majority of the world do not loud and praise God. Yet, it takes us forward to the future day when Israel and the nations of the world will recognize who God is. And finally, quoting another verse, but this time from the prophets. He tells us in verse 12, "The Messiah will reign over Israel and over the Gentile world." Look!

And again, Isaiah said, "There shall be a root of Jesse." We read it today in Isaiah chapter 11. "There shall be a root of Jesse, and he shall rise to reign over the Gentile. In him shall the Gentile trust." If you know the prophet Isaiah, which we often read, actually always read on Shabbat, on our meeting together. Who is the one who is the root of Jesse? The root of Ishai. That is a messianic title that we give, that the Bible give to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. He is the root of Jesse. You remember Jesse was one of the families of the tribe of Judah.

Judah was one of the sons of Jacob. Jacob's name was changed from Jacob to Israel. Israel was the sons of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham. The root of Jesse. The Messiah. And through the Messiah, he will reign one day. In verse 12, he will reign over the Gentile world. And all the Gentile world will trust in him. Do you see what happened? What the Apostle Paul is telling us is, the service of the Lord Jesus in his life, the service that he did for us here, for the circumcision in his life, led to ultimate trust in him and praising God by all the nations of the world.

The order is clear. First, he ministered to the Hebrews, through the Hebrews to the Gentile world, and ultimately the praises of the whole world going to be to God because of the work and the ministry of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so those verses, you can see the progression. By the way, if you will take verse 8, verse 8 will connect us with the life of the Lord Jesus here on earth. Verse 9 will lead us to the ministry of the Apostle Paul who confessed from chapter 8 and on to the Gentile world of the book of Acts. From chapter 8 and on, the confession to the Gentile world.

Verse 10 is taking us right now into the present dispensation when believers are together can praise God. And verse 12 takes us all the way to the future when we are going to have the whole world going to acknowledge Yeshua, the Messiah. Look at the progress. How beautiful it is. The life of the Lord led to the ministry of the Apostle Paul, led to the present day dispensation of the body of Messiah, leading us to the future day when the whole world will end up trusting the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so, he is concluding this section of the ministry of Yeshua to Israel and through Israel to the Gentile in verse 13 where he prays for blessing.

Notice verse 13 and I am reading this verse. Now the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. You see this, how beautiful it is? The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul was speaking and praying about the blessed hope. He calls God here the God of hope. If we don't know this God, we have no hope. We have seen it many times. I want to emphasize this today.

If you would go to a funeral service of someone who do not believe in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, there is no hope. It's hopeless. But here we have the God of hope. The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in simply believing. These Romans believers have gone through so many trials and he said to them, "Listen, there is a hope. There is not something that you hope it may happen, but it is a sure hope. It is a sure hope and the God of hope will fill you with joy." By the way, you notice in verse 13 the three words, peace, joy and hope.

The three words. Peace, give you joy and peace. It come through the God of hope. He going to give us the hope to recognize that one day all his promises will be fulfilled through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit of God is still in the business of convicting people. The Holy Spirit of God is still doing the ministry. You and I may share. You and I may preach. You and I may pray. But it is the Holy Spirit of God that does the work in hearts and consciences of people. And so, everything that we are going to enjoy one day in the future is done through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

And so, brothers and sisters, the first ministry that we have here, the first service that we have here is the service of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. What a servant he was. Earlier we read in the Gospel of Luke, the verses that had been read here in Luke chapter 22. Look what we read about Jesus himself in Luke chapter 22 and verse 27. He says here, Yeshua the Messiah said that, "For whether it is greater, he that sit to eat or he that serve." Yeshua said, "Is not the one that is sitting to eat?" And then the Lord said, "But I am among you as he that serve." That's what the Lord did here in his life.

He served. He ministered to the people around him. He served them. He ministered to them. He shared with them his love and his grace. He was even washing the feet of the disciples when he was here upon the face of this world. What a servant Yeshua have been. So his ministry, his service to the people of Israel and through Israel to the Gentile world was in his life and also in his death. And that is the first ministry that we learn here in Romans chapter 15. Well, let's move on. From the ministry of Yeshua the Messiah to Israel to the ministry of the apostle Paul to the Gentile world.

Look, and I'm reading now from verse 14 of Romans chapter 15. It says here, "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort as putting you in mine because of the grace that is given unto me of God, that I should be a minister," you understand, "I should be a servant, a minister of Jesus the Messiah to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

I have therefore whereof I may glory through Yeshua the Messiah in those things which pertain to God. for I will not dare to speak of any of those things which the Messiah has not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem, as round about unto Elikium, I have fully preached the gospel of Messiah. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel not where the Messiah was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation, but as it is written, "To whom he was not spoken of they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand, for which cause also I have been much hindered from the coming unto you, but now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you, whensoever I will take my journey unto Spain, I will come unto you, for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company." This is the second ministry, now that we have in Romans chapter 15, and this ministry is the ministry of the Apostle Paul, or Shaul to the Gentile world.

Once Jesus the Messiah died, was buried and rose, shed his precious blood, paid the price for our sins, he have called this man by the name of Shaul to become a minister of the gospel to the Gentile world. You know the Apostle Paul was called the apostle to the uncircumcision, while Peter is called an apostle to the circumcision. And here we see the Apostle Paul, his Hebrew name Shaul, he was called by God to minister to the Gentile world. And so look what we read in these verses about Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. Look what we read. First of all, I want you to notice that in verses 14 and 15, Paul's ministry to the Gentile was received by the grace of God.

God by His grace has given him a ministry to do. Look at these verses. Verse 14 and verse 15, Paul says about himself, I myself also am persuaded by you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness. You are filled with all knowledge. You are able to admonish one another. And he's saying to them, Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, putting you in mind because of the grace that is given unto me of God. You know, Paul received his ministry by grace. He did not earn it. He did not pay for that. In fact, he was called by God.

If you remember the story in Acts chapter 9, where Shaul was ready to destroy the Hebrew believers in Yeshua the Messiah. And on the way to Damascus, he got a call from the Lord. As he was heading to Damascus to kill those Jewish believers, Hebrew Christians. On the way to Damascus, he heard the voice of our blessed Lord Yeshua from heaven. The Bible tells us that he heard it in the Hebrew tongue, in the book of Acts. And you remember what he said to him? Shaul, Shaul, lama tir defeni? Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And Paul was persecuting the Lord when he was persecuting the believers who trusted in the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

And so on the way, he called him and he said to him in chapter 9 of the book of Acts, I am going to make you a minister unto the Gentiles. I'll read to you verse 15 and 16 of Acts chapter 9. He said to him, Go your way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles, before kings and before the children of Israel. That's what the apostle Paul was called to do. Can you imagine what a ministry the Lord Jesus called Paul to do? To serve him among the Gentile world? To serve him among the nations of the world? Well, Paul was called to do that.

Shaul was called to do that. And so it was the grace of God. It was really a grace. He did not pride himself as if he had earned it, as if he got something because of something that he had done, but he was humbly confessing before the believers at Rome that it was the grace that God, through grace God, had given him this ministry. And he wanted to do it faithfully, to share with the Gentile world concerning the gospel of our Lord Yeshua, our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so he was confessing before them that Paul's ministry to the Gentile was received by grace and by grace alone.

Then notice what he says in verse 16. He says that his ministry to the Gentile world was centered in the gospel. That's what he wanted to do, to tell the Gentile world about the gospel, about the love of God through Yeshua, the Messiah, that God sent his son to die for them as well, not only for the nation of Israel, but also to die for the nations of the world. It is centered in the gospel. Verse 16. That I should be a servant of Jesus, the Messiah, to the Gentile, ministering, notice that, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentile might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

That's what it's centered. You know, there is no message to preach today if it's not centered in the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. There is no message. What can we give to the world around us? What we can tell them? What can we share with the lost world today? What can we tell them? Except the fact that God loved them. And that the Messiah Jesus died for them and shed his precious blood for them. That's the only message that we can give today. That give hope. And that's what he wanted to do faithfully. That's what you and I need to do faithfully. To simply give the truth of God concerning the finished work of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

By the way, notice verse 16 is a very interesting verse because all the three persons of the Godhead are mentioned in verse 16. It is God the Father who, the originator of this truth of the Gospel. It is Yeshua the Messiah who paid the price with his precious blood. And it is all in the power of the Holy Spirit of God. That's the Gospel. Look, I'll repeat this verse again. That I should be a minister of number one, Jesus the Messiah. Number two, to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God. This is God the Father. And that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being set apart by the Holy Spirit of God.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is involved in the Gospel. All the three persons of the Godhead involved in the Gospel. The ministry, the service of the Apostle Paul was centered in the Gospel, in the person and the work of our blessed Lord Yeshua HaMashiach. That's what he wanted to do. We cannot give to this world anything that will be a benefit to them, unless we give them the truth of the Gospel of our blessed Lord Jesus the Messiah. There is no hope beyond him. There is no promises that we can give anybody except centered in the finished work of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

So he is moving on. After he is saying that he received that ministry by grace, then his ministry was centered upon the Gospel, the person and finished work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Then in verse 17 he tells them that his ministry to the Gentiles was done for the glory of God. You know, sometimes we think when we serve the Lord that we are supposed to get some glory for ourselves. But Paul did not want any glory for himself. He wanted to do it for the glory of God. Because God deserved the glory. He is the originator of this Gospel. He is the one who sent the Messiah to this world.

He is the one who sent the Holy Spirit of God to convict Saul. It is his. It is all centered in him. And so he is saying in verse 17, I have therefore whereof I make glory through Jesus the Messiah in those things which pertain to God. He is glowing through Jesus the Messiah, through Yeshua HaMashiach. In those things that belong or pertain to God. Everything in the Gospel and what is involved in this service is really to the glory of God. God deserved the glory. We benefit from the blessings. But to God be the glory and the honor and the praise throughout eternity, beloved brothers and sisters.

And you know, when God gets the glory, you can be assured that you get the blessings. But the moment we take the glory for ourselves, the moment Paul would have taken the glory to himself, he would never be satisfied. He would never have the joy that God had intended to give him. So his ministry to the nations of the world was done for God's glory and God's glory alone. That's what he's saying to us in these verses. It's so precious to see the attitude of the apostle Paul. He wants to give everything to the glory of God. Now, the next thing about Paul's ministry and service that he had to do is found in verse 18 and 19 of Roman chapter 15.

Paul's ministry to the Gentile was done not by human power, but by God's power. You know, sometimes we want to do the service to God or the service to men in human energy and human power. Look, unless God's power is being working out, no human power will do anything to save souls, to edify souls. It's not by human energy, but it is by God's power alone. Look, I'm reading these verses 18 and 19 again. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Messiah has not wrought in me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders by, listen to them, by the power of the Spirit of God.

So that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricium, I have fully preached the gospel of Mashiach. You know, God used Paul in the preaching of the gospel. Do you remember when Peter was preaching the message of the gospel in the earlier time around the temple in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2? He was giving one message and 3,000 souls came to faith in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Today, we may preach 3,000 messages and you wonder if one soul come to know the Lord. You see, the power of God is the whole difference in the whole thing here. The work of the Lord is not human energy, human ingenuity, it's not a business, it's not human power, it's not what lingo, what kind of language I can use.

Ministering the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Messiah must be done by the power of God. If it is not the power of God, it's not of God. See, we can probably get thousands of people coming into one meeting room and we can have all the gadgets and all the biggest music team and the best preachers in the world and it's going to be human power. But it's better to have a real ministry with the power of God that done for the glory of God than human energy that have no lasting results. That's why the Bible says, where two or three are gathered together unto my name, they are mine amidst of them.

It doesn't say two or three thousands. It doesn't say two or three hundred. It doesn't even say twenty or thirty. It says two or three are gathered together unto my name. He promised to be in the midst of them. You know why? Because they gather around him. It is his name. It is his glory. It is his honor. It is subject to his will, not our will. And they have power. Years ago, I was told about assemblies of brothers and sisters who were gathering together. And when they were gathering together, they were weeping. The floor, I hear, were filled with tears because the believers, they wanted so much the power of God in their midst.

They wanted to please the Lord. And he was the object of their hearts. And he blessed them. They were not many. By the way, when the Lord Jesus was here, how many people followed him? How many people were in the upper room at the Passover time? There were 80, 90 people. There were only a few. But Jesus, the Messiah, was in the midst of them. He was the center. It was the power of God. And that's what he's saying here. Listen. It is not by human power, but it was by the power of God. That's why a person must recognize his or her sins before the Lord.

To have their sins forgiven, first of all. And then there will be service and ministry to others. If they are submitting, if we are submitting ourselves to the Lord, he can use us for the glory of the Lord. But it must be in the power of God. Again, verse 19, the Apostle Paul say, "Through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem round about, I have fully preached the gospel of the Messiah." That's what he did. It was his ministry was received by grace. His ministry was centered in the gospel. His ministry was done for the glory of God, not for his own glory.

And his ministry was done by God's power, not by human power. And finally, look at this. In the next verse, verse 20 to 24, "The ministry that Paul received by grace to the Gentile world was in accordance with the plan of God." You know, sometimes we think that our plans are better than God's. And sometimes it looks like we are even defeated because it doesn't look like many people come to know the Lord. There are so many problems around us. And it sounds like or it looks like maybe God is not working. And maybe there is not the plan of God here. But look in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Look what he's saying to us. And I'm reading this text here from verse 20 to 24, those five verses. It said, "Yes, so I have strived to preach the gospel, not where the Messiah was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation. But as it is written, to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see. And they that have not heard, they shall understand. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming unto you," he's saying to the Romans. "But now, having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey to Spain, I will come unto you.

For I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way to you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company." You know, Paul wanted so much to see the believers at Rome. See, he didn't see them, it's a local church. Actually, he, by indirect way, he founded the church, by the grace of God, the church at Rome, but he was not there. People heard the message through him, they moved to the city of Rome, they have come to Rome, they have shared with others the message of the gospel, and a local assembly was formed in the city of Rome.

So, he wanted to see them so much. And so, you know, it looks like, "Well, why am I being hindered?" He wanted to go to Rome, but he had so many hindrances. Things stopped him from arriving to the city of Rome. So, he's saying to them in verses 20 to 24 that it was in accordance with the plan of God. You know, sometimes, brothers and sisters, we don't get to do the things that we wish immediately. The Lord somehow has his own plan for us. That's why we read again and again Romans 8 and verse 28: "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." Everything worked for his glory, for his purpose.

Why does he allow things? Why doesn't he give us life free from problems? Well, wouldn't that be easier? No problems at home. No problems at work. No financial problem. No friendship problem. No husband and wife problem. No children problem. Everything can be so great and great and easy. Why doesn't he allow this perfection to happen in the life of his own people? Where we live in a world that is filled with sorrows. And because we are part of this world, like the Bible tells us in Romans 8, all creation groans and also we groan. We wait for the adoption of the sons of God. We wait for the day that he's going to take us to be with him.

In the meanwhile, he keeps us here and he works through us, through the problems that we have in life. The question is, are we going to be submitting ourselves to the situation that he allowed us to experience in our life? So Paul is saying to us here, "For which cause I have been much hindered from coming unto you." He wanted to come, but he was hindered. Some things have happened that stopped him from coming unto Rome. He said that was hindered. Don't you feel sometimes that you want to do something so badly? So you want to do something, you want to accomplish something, and it doesn't work.

You labor, you pray for that, you agonize for that, you share, you want to accomplish something, and it doesn't work. But you did it honestly, you did it prayerfully, you did it with a sincere heart. God knows that. God has a plan. In everything that he does, he has a plan. And all of a sudden, some problems coming on your way, and you say, "Oh Lord, if you take this problem away from me, it will be so much easier for me to accomplish what I have in mind to accomplish." But the Lord said, like he said to the Apostle Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you.

I will take care of you. You just lean on me, walk with me, follow after me, and I'm going to lead you ultimately, and you will see how much blessing I have for you," God is saying to his own people. Turn with me for a moment to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, just for a couple of verses there. Verse 26 and 27. Look, we are talking about hindrances. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 26. Paul is saying, "In journey often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger, in thirst, in fasting often, in cold and in nakedness." And beside all these things that are without, that which comes upon me daily is the cares of all the assemblies, the churches." See what Paul is saying?

Look, I wanted so much to serve the Lord, and I wanted so badly to do the things that he had given me to do, but there are many hindrances, many challenges that I faced. But everything was in accordance with the plan of God. Hindrances and longings, intentions that he had. All this, he's saying to them in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, that he experienced all kinds of problems as he walked here and sought to serve the Gentile world. He'll share with them the gospel to edify believers. You notice in that list how sad. On the one hand he says robbers. He had his own countrymen that hindered him.

And then he says among false brethren. Those who claim to be brethren, but they are false brethren. They are not edifying, not helping. They hindered him in his service, in his ministry for the things of the Lord. But he accepted it from the hand of God. In verse 27, in weariness, painfulness, watchings often, hunger, thirst, fasting, and then cold and nakedness. He had so much experience in his life as he was ministering to the Gentile. He had experienced many, many trials in his life. And so how interesting. You can see number one, the ministry of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Number two, the ministry of Paul to the Gentile world.

And this is still in chapter 15. And please, if you will allow me just to conclude here today with the third ministry. Let's just finish here in verses 25 to the end of the chapter. And let's look quickly at the ministry of the Gentiles to the Jewish people, to the nation of Israel. And look at this. I'm reading these verses, verse 25. But now I go to Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it has pleased them of the Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It has pleased them verily, and their dettos they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them with carnal things.

When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you unto Spain. And I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of Mashiach. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus the Messiah's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints, that I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

Now the God of peace, the God of shalom, be with you all. Amen. In these last verses of chapter 15 of this book of Romans, the Apostle Paul now moved from the first and second Yeshua's ministry to the people of Israel, the Paul ministry to the Gentiles, to the Gentiles' ministry to the Jewish people. And notice how he is shifting now, and he is now showing those Christians that are wrong. And every believer upon the face of this world, the responsibility that they have to minister to the people of Israel, to the Jewish people. This is very important. Again, he is using the word ministry and service a few times here.

Verse 25, minister unto the saints. Verse 27, minister unto them. Verse 31, my ministry which is for Jerusalem. Notice again, he is using the word service, ministry. And now he is using this ministry that the Gentile Christians have towards the people of Israel. Remember Romans 1 where we began the book of Romans. I am not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe. And then he adds to the Jew first, and then also to the Gentiles. And so he is telling them right now the importance of the ministry of the Gentiles to the saints that at that time were in Jerusalem.

And so he is saying in verse 27, he is going to take an offering from the Gentile Christians in Macedonia and bring it to the believers at Jerusalem. You notice that in these verses? But I go to Jerusalem, verse 25, to minister to the saints. It is the Jewish saints, the Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem. For it has pleased them in Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are in Jerusalem. But apparently, if you read in the book of Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and 9, you will see that the brethren at Corinth, as it says here in Achaia, wanted to give a gift.

It was a monetary gift to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. You see, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem have gone through tremendous persecution. Because their faith in Yeshua, in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, they have been rejected by their families. They have lost some of their properties, if not all the properties. They could not enjoy going any longer to the temple in the city of Jerusalem. They were rejected. They were despised. And many of them became poor. Monetarily, in a physical way, they became poor. Though they were rich spiritually in a Messiah, but monetarily they became poor. And so the brethren, as it says to them, they gave a contribution to the saints in Jerusalem.

And you see, Paul wanted to take it with his own hands. He wanted to carry this with him, to bring this monetary, whatever it, whether it is money, whether it is food, whatever they have given to him. He wanted himself to take it to his own brethren in Jerusalem. And why do you think he wanted to do that? You know, think about it. He always felt guilty because he persecuted the church in Jerusalem. He felt in his own heart that he persecuted before he became a believer. He persecuted the believers, the Jewish believers. And he always felt that in his own heart and conscience. He felt so badly for what he had done.

He wanted himself to go to the city of Jerusalem to bring whatever the gift that the brethren have given to him. He wanted to give it to the saints, to the believers, to the Hebrew, Israeli, Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem. And then he said in these verses that when he would bring them, he says, the brethren in Achaia, they had a burden on their hearts to bring these gifts unto the believers in the city of Jerusalem. He says, I go to Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. He looked at it as service to the Lord, service to the people of God, simply by delivering something to them.

He looked at it as a service. So he says, it pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia. You know, it's so nice when believers sense the need that exists in certain areas. I've read and I'm sure you have heard this. I've said this before. I've heard of one missionary who was every time on the first day of every year was writing a check to a Jewish ministry. And alongside of this check, he quoted a verse to the Jew first. And he sent the check to this ministry, servant of the Lord. That servant, Jewish believer, wrote a check back and to the Gentile also. And he sent to the ministry to that servant.

You know, it was so interesting, so beautiful to see that. Ministering to the needs of the gospel. Ministering, taking part in the Lord's work. It's so beautiful. So here we see that Paul was caring. He said, I'm going to go and I'm going to bring a gift to the people of Jerusalem. And then notice now in verse 27. He's saying that this offering looked by Paul as a debt that the Gentile owed to the Jewish people. Look, it says in verse 27. It has pleased them verily and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty also is to minister to them in carnal things.

See, Paul said this to the Gentile Christians at Rome. And, of course, he was speaking about the ones in Achaia and Macedonia. He says, listen, they're really, they're debtors. You see, the gospel was brought and shared to the Gentile world through the nation of Israel. Salvation, the Lord said in John 4, is of the Jews. It's not that the Jews are the owners of the salvation, but God has prepared it. That through the Jewish people, salvation will go into the whole world. And that's why the Apostle Paul says that the Gentiles are debtors to the Jewish people, because the gospel, the spiritual things have gone to them through the Jewish people.

And therefore, they are to assist them and to help them in a monetary way. Now, you might say, well, it's not important, but look, I did not write it. The Spirit of God put it down here. He says, they are their debtors. By the way, the word debtor, Paul in chapter one says also himself, he says, I am a debtor. He called himself a debtor to the Gentile world to share with them the gospel. So he's saying to them that they are debtors. But now notice, he says, for if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things. Now, I want to pause here for a moment.

Notice the word partakers of their spiritual things. It does not say here that the Gentiles became here takers-overs. It only said that they became partakers. They didn't take over, but they became partakers with the Jewish people of their spiritual things. There is a difference between partakers and takers-overs. You know, over the 2000 years of church history, it seemed to be that many in the professing church think that the Gentiles or the church become takers-overs. There is a difference between partakers and takers-overs. Partakers mean that they now partake of the spiritual things that were given to the nation of Israel, and they become partakers of that. But they don't take it over.

Now, what does that tell us? That Israel today is still blinded to what God has for them. The Gentile believers became partakers with the Jewish believers to enjoy today what the nation of Israel has not yet enjoyed because of their unbelief. And they are waiting the day when they will come to trust Yeshua the Messiah. And so, that offering looked like a debt they became partakers. Now, notice quickly, verse 28. This offering also looked by Paul as a fruit for God. When therefore I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you unto Spain. You see, Paul looked at the gift, the monetary gift that the brethren had given to the believers in Jerusalem as a fruit for God.

He looked at this as a sacrifice, as a fruit, as an offering to God in verse 28. In verse 29, he promised to come to Rome with the full blessings of the gospel. "I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessings of the gospel of Messiah." He wanted to arrive to Rome with the full blessings of the gospel in verse 29. That's what he's saying, and then he's moving on. And he requests that the Romans will strive together in prayer for him. He wanted them so much to pray for him. In verse 30, "I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus the Messiah, say, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." Paul wanted the prayers of the saints.

A brother told me years ago, I mentioned that to you, he says, "Brother Gideon, don't stop for a moment to ask the brethren to pray for you." You seek the prayers of the saints. It is so important when people are praying for you. Because we need the prayer of the saints. Paul needed. He could have said, "Well, I'm the apostle Paul, I don't need you to pray for me." I've been called by God. The grace of God brought me into this ministry, into this position. I don't need anybody to pray for me. But Paul was not like that because he knew the importance of prayer.

And he wanted the prayers of the brethren. And when we say it right here, "Brethren, pray for me. Pray for our family. Pray for the servants who serve the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Pray for each other. Let's pray for each other. There are many needs and let's pray for each other." So Paul says, "Listen, I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus' sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together." This is the time that the striving is not a bad thing. Here is striving together, not striving against each other, but striving together, doing it together in your prayers to God for me.

Again, I want to mention that in verse 30, again, you see the Godhead again, the Father, the Son, the Spirit. You see that? For the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah. That's the Son. For the love of the Spirit. That's the Holy Spirit. That you, with your prayers to God. That's God the Father. We have the triune God mentioned again and again in this book of Romans. And then finally, brothers and sisters, in verse 31 and 32 and 33. First of all, verse 31. He wanted to be protected in order to finish his service. That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea. Apparently, when he was going to go to Jerusalem and Judea, there are many who did not believe.

And he was anticipating problems. So he wanted that their prayer will be for him, that his service for the Lord is going to be able to finish that service for the Lord in the city of Jerusalem. That the service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints, because there are some who will hinder him. You know how much opposition he had when he got to Jerusalem and how much hard time actually he was in Jerusalem that he was captured. And it was in Jerusalem that ultimately end up being taken and ultimately being taken to Rome. That's how he actually got taken and end up to be in Rome.

Because it was when he went to Jerusalem and the many who did not believe took him and they brought him before the Roman Emperor. And then ultimately the apostle Paul ended up to be captured and ultimately taken to Rome and ultimately he died. And finally, verse 32 and 33 of Romans chapter 15, Paul wanted to come to the Romans with joy. That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. He wanted to arrive to Rome with joy. He wanted to come to see the brethren with joy. And notice the third time in this chapter that the word God of is mentioned.

And this time verse 33 is the God of Shalom. In verse 13 is the God of hope. In verse 5 is the God of patience. Three times he mentioned the hope that we have in God. The peace that we have through God. And the patience that we can have through God. He is the God of patience. He is the God of hope. And He is the God of peace. The threefold ministries that we have so far. Yeshua ministry to Israel. Paul ministry to the Gentile. And the Gentile ministries to the Jewish people. May the Lord bless us and encourage us as we serve the Lord. As we have the ministry of the Lord to His people.

Wherever the Lord placed us. May the Lord help us to serve Him in a way that is pleasing to Him.