Romans 12:12 // Steadfast

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer (Romans 12:12)

And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” (Acts 12:22)

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. (Proverbs 4:17)

We can really get led deep into sin. Violence can be an addiction, while we may show how bad it really is, we must not glorify it in any way. The people got carried away in the flattery of Herod, leading to his demise; and we can get carried away in our imitation of the rest of the world, becoming distracted from Christ.

As a boy I loved being part of Boys Brigade at church, our logo an anchor, our motto, Sure and Steadfast. Steadfast is a noble word, there is no such thing as being steadfast in violence and evil, but steadfast in courage, self-discipline and service. We are to be steadfast in prayer, and this will prepare us for getting through hard times because it will keep the hope of Jesus' return in the front of our minds.
Maranatha!

Romans 12:11 // Prayer Worriers

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; (Romans 12:12)

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (Acts 12:5)

Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. (Proverbs 3:34)

I don't know about you, but praying doesn't come naturally to me. Something that comes easier is worrying. The scorners can be worrying, and I'm sure the believers were justly worried when their favourite preacher Peter was in prison, likely to be killed. We even worry about our prayer life, that we aren't praying enough.

So let's stop the worrying and do what the believers did. Let's use that worry as a motivator to pray without ceasing. When something worries us, let's pray about it. No need to muse on it or rant about it, keep praying about it until God brings us peace.

Make it so Lord.

Romans 12:11 // Activism

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; (Romans 12:11)

And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) (Acts 12:3)

For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous. (Proverbs 3:32)

We need to be active in forwarding God's interests on this earth. The king saw the positive reaction of the people around him when he killed James, and he looked for another Christian leader to kill because it made him popular. It was not all the Jewish people that rejoiced at the judicial murder of a pastor, it was a much smaller group; those Jews who were visible to Herod, the ones who worked in his palace, in the public buildings, the marketplace or in the temple. It may even have included beggars, who frequent these very public places. Did Herod know what the farmers or tanners thought? I think not, and it didn't really matter to him. I think we have forgotten the power of being visibly active to sway the tide of public opinion.

In addition, God gives secrets to the righteous that allow them to succeed beyond what they should be capable of, in order to achieve His goals. I want to stress that God's interests are not unlimited to encompass anything His followers may want, especially where they are manipulated by secular activists; God's will is for His children to believe in Jesus and be saved. 

Get involved in what you want to influence. God has special advice to make His followers effective in pursuing His interests.

Romans 12:10 // Kindly Focus

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; (Romans 12:10)

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. (Acts 12:2)

Do you suppose John cared about his brother? Think of all the things they went through together, they found Jesus together, followed Him together, hated Jesus' rivals together, intrigued for the highest place together, experienced the loss of Jesus together, and shared together in the joy of His resurrection and the birth of His church.
The original John would have gone on the warpath, the new John did not, he was able to continue doing ministry, and no doubt even minister to those who had bereaved him so cruelly, given half a chance.

Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. (Proverbs 3:31)

It's easy to get angry at everything and end up like the people we hate, it's better to think about Jesus and thus become like Him.

Romans 12:9 // Community

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (Romans 12:9)

Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. (Proverbs 3:29)

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 11:29-30; see below for context)

Don't pretend to love. That doesn't mean don't make an effort to show love; we must allow Jesus to teach us to broaden and deepen our love. But it does mean not to affect love beyond our real limits. This is good advice in an age when people try to increase their power by putting on a big show of caring for people that they don't really know and have little relevance to.

But putting that aside, I want to take a practical look at genuine love on a community level.

Proverbs teaches that we have a very practical reason for loving our neighbours; historically they live close by for the sake of security; a city wall, a town watch, these are only available to those who will live peaceably by their neighbours. This tells me that before we pick fights with those who should be our friends, we should try to remember why we are on the same side, and how turning on each other will expose us to great danger.

Men and women absolutely need each other, it is devilish to be disunited and compete or to envy each other.

Different skin colours or ethnic identities are all part of the same human race, to indulge in hatred over historic grievances is to destroy our chances of living in peace and prosperity.

Members of a faith community must find ways to disagree in harmony, and to remember that they agree on the things that really matter, thus to be perfectly united in Christ the Word, the Truth.

As members of a family, faith community or any small tight-knit community, we must look after each other, this is ultimately a matter of life and death. This is not an affirmation of Communism, despite the oft (ab)used "each according to his ability", Communism tries to force fake love of strangers where Christianity teaches genuine love for neighbours, even enemies, in your tiny immediate community. Local churches should be looking out for the welfare of their members, and many do, and we as members should not be too proud to be helped.


Appendix, Context from Acts:

Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 11:19-30)

Romans 12:4-8 // Complementary

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:4-8)

Being different is a wonderful thing, we need to have different personal traits and abilities to be more effective as a team than we would be alone, but we must be united in Jesus, the Way and the Truth. Being united in Jesus is more than just sentimental, it must be based on doctrine and discipline, a willingness to not always have things my way.

Romans 12:3 // Inject Confidence

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. (Proverbs 3:26)

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: (Acts 11:25)

The texts I am up to in my Bible reading build perfectly on this next verse in Romans: We are not to have confidence in ourselves but in what God wants to do through us and equally through those around us, therefore we are willing to temporarily abandon the successful and fulfilling work that we are doing to activate others for ministry.

I want to be very effective in ministry, and the trap for those who manage to be effective is they end up doing everything, since they are the best at everything.

So while it is good to be excellent at what we do, it is better for ministers to generate others who are even better. How is this done?

Inject Confidence: Make sure people know from your attitude towards your own work and from your feedback to them that we do not need to be confident in our own gifts or abilities, but in God's ability to give us the words and deeds to achieve his objectives if we make ourselves available.

Prioritize Multiplication: Be willing to suffer criticism or even loss, because that will happen when you are focusing on activating and training fellow servants. There will be people who complain or maybe even leave church and blame you for not giving them more attention, endure this patiently and keep making disciples. But...

Sow every field: Don't assume that certain people don't have potential to be trained because they are not well known in the church. These are exactly the kind of untapped potential that you need to be activating and empowering, and yet they are the people who are most commonly neglected, they may rarely complain, but left untended they are far less fruitful than they could be. This means visiting people who have been been visited, even if they have no obvious "needs" and are hard to pin down to a date.

Strategize: Spend time working out what a member's untapped potential may be and invite them to get involved in various ministries that may suit them.

Personalize: Discipleship is just blowing hot air without actually coming alongside people, or inviting them to join you in your work.