He is Able
Romans 16:22-27

Message by Kurt Jones
September 4, 2005

CEF testimony

Usually, in closing a book, Paul gives a benediction - 1 Cor. 16:23-24; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 6:18; Eph. 623-24; Phil 4:23; Col. 4:18; 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3:18; 1 Tim. 6:21; 2 Tim 4:22; Tit. 3:15; Phil. 25.

BENEDICTIONS

Late Latin benediction-, benedictio, from benedicere to bless, from Latin, to speak well of, from bene well (akin to Latin bonus good) + dicere to say.
1 : the invocation of a blessing; especially : the short blessing with which public worship is concluded
2 : something that promotes goodness or well-being

2 Cor 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Num 6:22-27
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
24 The LORD bless you, and keep you;
25 The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.'
27 "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them."
EX: Yesterday at the wedding of Marty Moseley and Becky Palm, Rick gave a blessing – a benediction.

In the book of Romans, the only exception, he gives a doxology.
DOXOLOGIES : a usually liturgical expression of praise to God

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
This is usually sung to the tune Old 100th,

Glory [be] to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, " Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

End of the Lord’s Prayer -

Matt 6:13 - For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

A doxology is a response to a great truth.
Eph. 3:20,21; Heb 13:20-21Rev 5:11-14; Rev. 19:1,2

Paul has to stop and praise to God at the end of his great theological discourse in Romans 11.

Rom 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen

It shouldn’t surprise us that he ends the book of Romans with praise.

REVIEW

Don’t skip the last couple of names Paul gives us. Last week Glen taught us about partnership… being on a team. About the “hybrid” church….

21 Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. 24 [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

Timothy – “fellow worker” Paul’s protégé. Phil 2:20
Lucius (Acts 20:4) Jason (Acts 17:1-7) Sosipater (Sopater – Acts 20:4), “kinsmen” = Jewish believers joining Paul for the journey to Jerusalem

Tertius, who write this letter.
A slave. How do we know?
Primus = one. #1 slave in the house. Head butler. In charge of other slaves.
Secundus = two (Acts 20:4)
Tertius = three
This was a slave owned by Gaius who had been assigned by him as a secretary. According to tradition, Paul’s eyes were bad and we know from Gal. 6:11 his writing wasn’t too good (“See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.”)

Gaius, host to me and to the whole church – one of the two men baptized by Paul. Acts 18:7, 1 Cor. 1:14. A Roman noble man of some wealth if he could host Paul and the church, with at least 4 slaves.
Erastus, the city treasurer – director of public works.
Quartus, the brother. Slave #4 – Paul looks around the room to see if there is anyone else to include in the greeting. Roman slaves were without rights, standing… they were property.

The reality of Christian fellowship. Jew and Gentile. Men and Women (Phoebe mentioned FIRST!) Public officials, slaves without rights, noblemen, full time Christian workers, business man…

MEXICO TESTIMONY (EE, student, Fireman, PR, accountant, software engineer, a teacher, homemakers, Parmedic, a missionary, a full time Christian worker…)

Paul is done with his letter, said his goodbyes… he’s ready to hit the road to Jerusalem, Rome, and Spain….

READ 25-27

Now to Him… be the glory forever. Amen

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

Rom 1:11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;

ESTABLISH = to make firm or stable. Mentally settled, firmly rooted. Certain about God, truth, righteousness, and the coming judgment, life and death.
EX: Cutting down the tree in front. Diseased tree then I started cutting out the roots... tough at first, but then I saw they had no depth.

2 Tim 1:12 - for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

God is not only ABLE – but He is willing – How does he do it?

received in a note this week (one of several – because of Glen’s sermon last week?)
Jer 32:26-27 - Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"

Here is the question of the hour – How big is your God?

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

The GOSPEL – the good news
“ My” gospel – personally experienced by Paul. Gal 1:11,12

Rom 1:1-5 (optional – if time)

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,

Rom 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

EX Hurricane Katrina Illustration.

1. He is able to JUDGE.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy… James 4:12

Mankind is condemned through the witness of creation and the violation of conscience.
Condemned by so-called “self –righteousness” and by those who think they can meet the requirements of the LAW.

Rom 3:9-11
… we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,
" THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

Rom 3:23-24 Ffor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

1:18 to 3:20 = CONDEMNATION
There must be bad news before there can be good news.

2. He is able to SAVE.

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25

Rom 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The preaching of Jesus – why so focused on Him? He’s the only way! He’s not A way, one of MANY truths, any number of paths to LIFE… He’s THE way, THE truth, and THE life.

1 Cor. 1:23 – Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.

3:21 to 6:7 = JUSTIFICATION

3. He is able to CLEANSE. 6:8 to 8:39 = SANCTIFICATION

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy… Jude 24

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Rom 8:35 - Who will separate us from the love of Christ? ff

This IS the Gospel, the preaching of Jesus.

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God,

4. He is able to MAGNIFY.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

What is the mystery> It’s not like a mystery novel – But it is something hidden that is now revealed. The mystery of salvation through Christ. The mystery of salvation for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

Eph 3:4-7 … when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ… to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…

Paul uses the nation of Israel as a living example of the faithfulness of God.

Romans 11:33, 36
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen

God IS at work, you can count on it. You can throw any objection, any tough question at Him.
9:1 to 11:36 = MAGNIFICATION

5. He is able to ESTABLISH.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed… 2 Cor 9:8

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS

God isn’t interested in just getting you “saved”. He wants you to be strong, settled, established

26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

12:1 to 15:33 = APPLICATION

TRUST and OBEY
OBEY and TRUST

Able to keep – 2 tim. 1:12
Able to make grace abound – 2 Cor. 9:8
Able to help in temptation – Heb. 2:18
His not only able, he’s willing!!!

APPLICATION

AMEN doesn’t mean “the prayer is over and now you can eat, or sleep… “
It means SO BE IT, sometimes translated “TRUTH”

He is able to JUDGE. Don’t RUN or HIDE from Him.

He is able to SAVE. Don’t IGNORE Him.

He is able to CLEANSE. Don’t HIDE from Him.

He is able to MAGNIFY. Don’t DOUBT Him.

He is able to ESTABLISH. Don’t

Look 70, Sep 3, '05, Lessons from New Orleans

New Orleans is tragic witness to thousands of people who were quite confident they could "ride this one out". "We're used to this sort of thing," they said. They had faith that the levies and dikes would hold up. They fully expected the pumps to keep going even though the electric power could be interrupted. They believed the authorities could provide safe shelter for those who wanted to leave, but couldn't. But, their confidence was misplaced.

I, however, live 700 metres above sea level, far from hurricanes and volcanoes. So none of this "getting used to danger" applies to me, does it? Well, let's see. Every day, I drive south at 110 kilometres per hour. Every few minutes, another car or truck heading north passes within a few feet of me at 110 kph. If, for some reason, either one of us would swerve we would crash head on at a combined speed of 220 kilometres per hour. (130 mph) At that speed seatbelts and airbags are irrelevant. No one in either car would survive.

Yet, I drive with complete faith in myself and the ability of the other driver to keep driving straight and not cause a head on crash. I just don't think about the steering components in either car failing, or a tire blowing out just as we are nearing each other. The thought that the other driver may be on drugs, or is drunk, or is distracted by a ringing cell phone rarely crosses my mind. He may have just lost his job, or received notice that his wife is divorcing him. A busy mother may be stopping a fight in the back seat, or may be worried about a sick child or the pessimistic report from her doctor. I know none of these things. Yet I am confident that none of them are true or, if they are, that the driver will not be distracted for the split second it takes to swerve into my car.

When I force myself to think about it, I realize there is some danger, but it doesn't affect my driving. I've gotten used to it.

Unfortunately, there is a world-wide danger, much greater than any potential hurricane, volcano or car crash. That is the danger of entering eternity without a relationship with God. Billions of people live in this danger every day, and don't even think about it. They are used to it. Many millions are deluded into a false security, trusting in some form of religion to take care of them in the end. Many other millions live a life that deliberately shuts God out. Their worldview does not contain any concept of God, or of an afterlife. They are comfortable not thinking about the possibility that they may be wrong. They are used to it.

We Christians know all this. We realize the danger to these people groups. But for so many of us it is "business as usual", "church as usual", "missions as usual." Nothing to get excited about. We are used to it.

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