And turn with me in the book of Romans to Romans chapter 15 verse 22 down to verse 29. It's an entire paragraph that we will be reading. And as you are turning there, allow me to again just remind you of where we are. We are in that section where the Apostle Paul is giving his concluding remarks, his personal concluding remarks to the church in Rome. He's expounded in the most glorious way the doctrine of salvation. And now he's begun to speak in terms of his own plans, and his ministry, and so on. You can't miss the I, I, I, I that takes place right through this particular section. I have said before, and allow me to say it again, that that should not cause us to then be half asleep as we make our way through this text. In fact, what these passages do at the end of the various epistles is to give us a backstage view of what was happening in the early church. And that then enables us to ask ourselves the question, is that what's going on among us in the back rooms of the engine of the church? And if that isn't happening, then we are being unbiblical because there must be something wrong. It is still the same Christ. It is still the same Holy Spirit who is indeed working in his church. Now, the last time that we looked at this, we were seeing how the Apostle Paul showed that gospel preachers should be driven by gospel priorities, that should be driven by gospel priorities. All the other things that we are involved in must be secondary to the great drive of the gospel being spread. And even today, we are going to see something of that. In fact, today we'll be concentrating on the secondary aspect of the work. But even in dealing with this extra, it must still have the aroma of the gospel around it. It must still have something of gospel work behind it. And that is what we saw in verse 22 to verse 24. So let's read that and then we'll go into today's passage. This is the reason why the apostle Paul says in Romans 15 and verse 22, I have so often been hindered from coming to you, but now Since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and notice the gospel emphasis again, and to be helped on my journey there once I have enjoyed your company for a while. The passage we are looking at now is 25 to verse 27. At present, however, I'm going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contributions for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed, they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. Let's finish the last two verses by way of context. When, therefore, I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Well, what are we then seeing from verse 25 to verse 27? Again, I will maintain the theme of speaking to those who make a claim to have been called to be preachers of the gospel. And what I'm saying is basically a further step. And it is the fact that those who preach the gospel should remember the poor. They should remember the poor. And here I'm saying the poor and needy in terms of physical needs, material needs. Again, we can apply this to all of us as believers. We can apply this to all of us who are ministry leaders. We can apply this to all of us who are church leaders. But again, I'm trying to get behind the curtains. I want us to look at what was actually happening in the New Testament church in terms of the engine room. And so we'll be applying it primarily to those who are preachers. And the theme continues, and it is that of my burden, that preachers must not hide their barrenness behind a false humility. In other words, one of the ways in which there is an obvious failure is to realize the fact that people we minister to are not disembodied spirits. They have bodies and they also have spirits. And whereas our primary emphasis is to minister to their spirits, to minister to them spiritually, we must never ever forget that they are on earth, And many have all kinds of physical and material needs we must think about as well and use what I'm calling here our spiritual capital in order to minister in that sphere as well. Well, let's look at these three or so verses and see what we are learning here. First of all, to avoid a false spirit-body dichotomy, gospel preachers must also be involved in charity work. Charity work, and by that I simply mean meeting the material needs that are there, especially within the context of the church. The apostle Paul says here in verse 25, at present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints there. He has told us that he has been very busy preaching the gospel, but now a church has been established where he's been ministering, and consequently, it is time to move on. There is a sort of break in the midst of the labors, and he is citing Spain as his next destination. But he's saying, before I get to Spain, there have been some matters that have been pending, and these matters I need to handle now. One of them was his visit to Rome, and we saw that last time. The second, which in fact to him is more urgent than his visit to Rome, is this visit to Jerusalem. He's calling it bringing aid, at least in the ESV. At present, however, I'm going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. Actually, the Greek word there is not bringing aid. The Greek word there is to do diakono work. That's the word that is actually there. It is to do diakono work. The word there is the actual Greek word, diakono, or in this particular case, diakoneo. In other words, to do diakonate work. What is interesting is that Paul did not consider it to be beneath him. He's not saying, look, I'm a preacher. I'm an apostle. I can't be sort of folding my sleeves and start doing diaconal work in terms of bringing aid, that is the translation in the ESV, to those who are needy. He doesn't do that. He recognizes the fact that believers that he's ministering to need this kind of ministry. And as we shall be seeing, there is something about the spiritual capital that his own ministry has managed to put together that then fits him for this work. Now, by the time Paul is saying this, he's already been doing quite a lot of work in the background. In other words, he's been sending one or two individuals, he's been sending epistles, and so on, in order to raise these funds. And at this point now, he is saying, OK, let me now be part of those who are then involved to take these funds across. If we read together 1 Corinthians and chapter 16, the very last chapter of 1 Corinthians, and verse 1 to verse 4, you begin to see that he was already fundraising in Corinth for the brethren in Jerusalem. Let me read this. 1 Corinthians 16. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches in Galatia, I want you to notice the plural there, churches in Galatia. Galatia was an entire region or province. So you also are to do on the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up. In other words, it is something that's going to be an ongoing exercise as he may prosper so that there will be no collecting when I come. In other words, Paul will actually travel to Corinth to go and now simply collect, put together and carry what has been raised over time. And he says in verse three, And when I arrive, I will send those whom you are credited by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And then in verse four, if it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. Well, by the time Paul was writing the church to the church in Rome, it looks like it had become advisable. And so he was definitely going to be party to this. We find the same in 2 Corinthians. Now, by the way, the church in Corinth was in Achaia and we'll be speaking about that in a few minutes. But 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9, now don't worry, I won't read those two chapters right now. In fact, I'll just be picking from them because two entire chapters where the Apostle Paul is speaking to the church in Corinth, again, about this whole matter of the funds being put together to be carried to Jerusalem. But let's quickly look at chapter nine. And I want us to see from, let's see where can, let's try and start from just the first verse. but won't read the whole chapter, just the first paragraph. Now, it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, okay? So that's another region, saying that Achaia, which is where Corinth is, has been ready since last year. And your zeal has teared up most of them. So in Macedonia, he's speaking to them about the churches in the province of Achaia. But I'm sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter so that you may be ready as I said you would be. In other words, I'm sending an advanced team ahead of me so that they can get you guys teared up in your giving so that by the time I'm arriving there, well, we won't have an embarrassing situation where they'll be saying, but you were telling us in Macedonia that these people have been zealous and they've been doing this and that. But look, what we are finding here. So he says, otherwise, verse four, which is where I almost began, if some Macedonians come with me, and notice that with me, so he's party to this, and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you. and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. Okay, we arrive, you're not ready, and now you're all embarrassed, and consequently you are at the last minute trying to get as much money together under compulsion and saying, no, I'd like you to be ready by that time. So it was fairly clear at this stage that the Apostle Paul, at the time he's writing to the church in Rome saying, I'm now traveling to Jerusalem, had been involved in the background. While he's busy preaching the gospel, he has been sending others to ensure that the collection of these funds is actually happening. And it's not the only time. Paul had earlier responded to a similar crisis in Judea. Let's go to the book of Acts. And this time, Acts chapter 11 and also Acts chapter 12. It's really the same event. We're just seeing the beginning and the end of this story. Acts 11, verse 27 to verse 30. Acts 11, 27 to verse 30, listen to this. Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. I often laugh about this because came down, actually Antioch on the map is on top of Jerusalem. So you'd think they would say came up to Antioch. But I suppose it must be in a different way. In those days, they didn't have the map as we have it today. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. And then we are told this actually took place in the days of Claudius. So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so. sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. And then chapter 12 and verse 25, this is, as I said, the end of the story. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. So the two were involved also in conveying these material blessings to the brethren who were needy in Judea and especially in Jerusalem as we notice here. So those of us who are preachers need to process this. That yes, our primary calling is that of preaching the gospel so that souls may be saved from sin and go to heaven. That souls might be sanctified and consequently grow in the Christian faith. But remember, they are not disembodied spirits. There'll be many needs in the context of the church that involves material needs. And we cannot say, no, I've got nothing to do with that. For me, it's just preaching and forget what else is happening. Yes, from what we have learned, gospel preachers should give priority, first priority to the work of the gospel. Paul, as we've already seen, is doing this now. There's a gap. There's a gap. While there was no gap, he was indeed organizing. We've seen all that. He was organizing. He did not overlook. But now the gap has come in the midst of ministry that he is saying, OK, I'm now about to take the collection over to the brethren in Judea. And in that sense, we should give some priority to meeting the physical needs of the saints. Notice how he makes it a higher priority than visiting Rome. It's not as high a priority as the planting of the church, indeed, the preaching of the gospel, the sanctification of the saints, and so on. But it's definitely higher than going and having fellowship with the saints in Rome. And according to our text, it says, when I've done that, then I'll come to you. When I've done that, then I will come to you. So issues of the material needs of the saints is part of our responsibility. Now, the point is gospel preachers are most suited to lead such work in the context of interchurch projects, in the context of interchurch projects. The aid Paul was taking to Jerusalem was not from the church where he was currently ministering. No. The church that was planting is saying, look, we've now reached Illyricum. We've reached there. That's not where the finances are coming from. It is from other churches across Macedonia and across Achaia. And as we saw in the letter to the Corinthians, it was also from the province of Galatia, the churches that were there. Let's go back to our passage and this time consider verse 26. He says there, after saying, I'm going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints. He says, for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. If I hadn't taken you to read first Corinthians and second Corinthians, you probably think that all that happened was that Paul was sitting and then got a letter from these churches saying, hey, Paul, we've managed to raise some money. Could you carry this money with you to Jerusalem? But in fact, that's not the case. He had been involved in these fundraising activities. Now, the phrase, they've made some contribution. for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor. In the Greek, that word actually, the phrase rather, is they have offered fellowship. They've offered fellowship. So the phrase really is for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to offer fellowship to the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. So this financial giving was an expression of their unity in Christ with the brethren there. That's why I always say the word koinonia, which is actually the word that is used in this text, is richer than our English equivalent, fellowship. Because fellowship, those of us who think about it in English, It's, as people often say, two fellows in a ship. You know, it's sort of just sitting together and say, we are having fellowship. Or at the most, it is what we call swallowship, where you are sort of just eating together. But we hardly think in terms of the richer meaning of that word that the Greek word actually has. And part of it is actually meeting the financial or material needs of the brethren. That is fellowship. Now, this is where gospel preachers play an all-important role, because they tend to cross the bridges between churches through their regular preaching. It is as the priest there, and the priest there, and the priest there, and the priest there, generally the churches tend to have a connectivity through them. And in that sense, they become the easier means of the church having fellowship between itself through such individuals. Now, an obvious example that I can give is back in, in second Corinthians and chapter two, but this time, uh, sorry, second Corinthians chapter eight, second Corinthians chapter eight. Remember last time we read chapter nine. And I want you to notice how the individuals that were involved in this collection of finances and carrying the finances and so on were individuals that all the churches were able to relate to because they knew them. And how did they know them? Because of their preaching ministry. Chapter 8 and verse 16. but thanks be to God who put it into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you now we know who Titus was because of the letter to Titus he was a preacher of God's Word working alongside Paul but listen to this before he will not He not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord. Now listen to verse 18. With him, we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. We're sending him to you. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. So the churches have a sense of confidence. that our giving is in good hands. Why? Because they know Him. He stood before them. He has preached the gospel to them. They've sensed something of the earnestness that is within his soul for kingdom work as he has declared God's word. And so they themselves are able to say, yeah, he's the best person. We can trust him with our giving. And I think this is something that we need to appreciate. that the Christians in these regions listened to the appeals of these men who were preaching among them. And consequently, they could entrust them with their money. Now, I'm almost certain that you read these passages, and it just never crosses your mind that it's revealing the dynamics that were taking place in the first century church. And it's all because those of us who are in the preaching ministry have a spiritual capital, a spiritual capital. There is a relationship we have not only with one church, but with the many other churches among whom we preach. over the years. And this growing capital should be used now for the purposes of meeting the material needs of the saints. Now, I normally don't use myself as an example in my sermons. I think that much you all know. But I think in this particular case, it's worth doing so. Uh, most of you don't know, but what about this church has been distributing over the COVID period? Uh, certainly over a million to individuals who are needy and the finances have come from partners. How did those partners know about about this church? What is it that caused them to see KBC as a vehicle across an entire ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, to handle their finances? Well, it's quite simple. I've preached there. And I've preached there a number of times. In fact, I've preached at their fundraising event where they've brought millionaires together to come and hear. And I have ministered there. And so the trust, the knowledge, the confidence is there. And consequently, they are able to see us as a church, as partners. Similarly, there's been the issue of raising money to buy land for African Christian University. I've forgotten a brother who's a member of our church, taking me for a meal and looking me in the face and saying, but pastor, why don't you allow the deacons to do that? And my answer was, no problem. Get one of your deacons to go to America and see if you bring the money. And by that time we had already raised two thirds of the 5 million Kwacha that we actually needed to, to raise, uh, to buy the land. Bottom line is as he looked at me when I, Obviously, it can't work. Yeah, because I mean, John Banda arrives in America and says, we need a quarter of a million dollars to buy land. Oh, OK, let's close in prayer. That's it. It ends. It has to be somebody who already has this spiritual capital in his wings. He's been ministering among the saints. They know him. They've been convicted of sin through his preaching. They've been built up spiritually through his preaching. Such a person can make that appeal in order for that connectivity of fellowship between the churches on one hand and the churches on the other, on two ends of an entire ocean. But a third point, and I've never forgotten this because, thankfully, our elders were on track. Soon after I became Director of Advancement for the African Christian University, A gentleman who heard about it thought that I had resigned my job as pastor. And he was, he's one who God has used not only to start Baptist and Baptistic universities in America, but also in Central America and also in Africa. So he wanted to meet me. And when we met, I've never forgotten his words. He said, Conrad, the biggest mistake you make is one that I made. And it is this, I resigned as pastor. And I've realized that that which causes people to sit and listen to you, when you're now talking about the need for material to help the needy, is that you are actually a preacher of the gospel. He said, I lost it. And I wouldn't want you to lose it. I assured him I hadn't resigned. And I also assured him that the elders at my church would hear of no such nonsense. So he was very relieved at that. There is something of that connectivity that gospel preachers give us in terms of enabling fellowship between saints in different churches, enabling fellowship between the churches. This is something they bring, and part of it is what I will end with in my next point. And it is this, that gospel preachers use gospel arguments to persuade believers to give to charity work. Gospel preachers use gospel arguments to persuade believers to give to charity work. Paul uses such an argument to sweetly persuade Gentiles to assist the Jewish church. Back to our text. Back to our text. And it's in verse 27. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. Now Paul, what do you mean they owe it to them? Well, listen to this. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they also ought to be of service to them in material blessings. You know, the best givers to the work of charity are those who want to give because of inner doctrinal persuasion. Inner doctrinal persuasion. Their understanding of who they are in Christ and who they are relative to the other brethren and so on is what compels them from the inside out in order to give. It's what compels them. The argument here is that the gospel came to you from Jerusalem, from the Jews. They have blessed you spiritually. Well, they are now in material need. Therefore, it only makes sense that you also then provide for them. In 2 Corinthians, when the Apostle Paul is arguing, well, convincing the Corinthians to give, You can't miss this gospel content in chapter 8 and verse 8. This is what it says. I say this, that is 2 Corinthians 8 verse 8, I say this not as a command but to prove by the earnestness of others, that your love also is genuine. Listen to verse nine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. That's a gospel argument. That's a gospel argument. And even as Paul is winding up in chapter nine, towards the end, Listen to this. I was really struggling to know where to start reading. I would have begun with verse 10, but it's such a detailed, intricate gospel argument that, you know, most of the words would be flying over your head. So let me go right towards the end. I'll begin with verse 13, but this really was the end. By their approval of this service, that is those who receive your help, they will glorify God because of your submission, listen to this, that comes from your confession of that gospel of Christ. and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all the others, while they long for you, that's now the fellowship, and pray for you, which is still the fellowship, and listen to this, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. And again, the grace of God in the gospel. And then he ends by saying, thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. So this whole area of financial giving is not simply someone saying, hey, there's need this side. So, you know, the offering bag is going to pass around and you give, it's much more than that. There is ongoing gospel ministry. And then out of that comes the giving. Now, most of you will agree that that's what happens during our missions conference. We bring a preacher and when he comes to preach, he's not preaching, give, give, give. You people must give, you must give. He preaches missions centered gospel messages. And you know what happens by the last day, you people are willing to give quite a lot and you do give, but about three months later you recover and you say, what? and the giving begins to go down and down. But it was the preaching that brought the warmth of the gospel to your soul and you are willing to go and does it with sell half your house in order to come and give. Well, that's the whole point that is here in this text. The apostle Paul uses gospel arguments. And because of these gospel arguments, he says in our text there that they were pleased to do it. They were pleased to do it. And he says, indeed, they owed it to them. They felt obligated to do it. The phrase, they owed it to them, The actual statement there is that they felt it was a service that they should be involved in. And that statement has to do with the way you speak in terms of Zambian national service. It's an actual obligation that they feel within their own souls. It's not being forced from the outside in, but it is something that they feel, all because the gospel has been preached. All right, so all I'm saying, let's assume that I was speaking here to a room full of gospel preachers. It is that true preachers, like the apostle Paul here, must remember the poor. We must remember the needy. We must remember that they are a lot of areas in the lives of God's people where there will be need for materials, for finances, for that which keeps body and soul together, for that which enables people to go forward in a world that is physical and in that sense needing material. And what we're saying is, yes, all of us can do this. Any brother in the Lord can say, let's raise a bit of money for this and that. And a ministry leader can also do the same. And any church leader will also do the same. But one thing we recognize is that gospel preachers have this unique advantage because of the spiritual capital that over the years they garner in their wings. Again, brethren, I'm concerned that we, uh, we have a very false attitude towards issues to do with money. Now, granted like the apostle Paul here in second Corinthians chapter eight, he says, I don't touch the money. I don't. We've brought in the individuals you yourselves have appointed. Remember the preacher that is known by all of you and so on. We've brought him in. We've also brought in Titus and all the rest of it so that they are the ones primarily to convey the money. I'm raising it, but I'm not touching it. Unless you want me to go along, then I'll go along. But otherwise, I would finish my role to ensure that it is raised and that it gets over on the other side. I know it's an overreaction with respect to prosperity preachers. But you see, prosperity preachers, they don't only raise the money, they chew it. That's the difference. They chew it. They spend it on themselves. They're the ones who raise it, they're the ones who keep it, and they're the ones who chew it. That's not what we're talking about here. We should not go to the opposite extreme where now we've got nothing to do with whether people in God's house are starving, COVID-19 has come, and we are sort of just looking the other way. People are losing jobs, but we're just looking the other way and hoping we still preach to them. No! We should say, let's play our role. And trust me, brethren, read church history. Most of the orphanages that were started in the 18th century and 19th century were actually started by individuals like George Whitefield, C.H. Spurgeon, George Mueller, And most of us think of Mueller purely in terms of orphanages. He was actually an evangelist. That's what he was. He was a preacher of the gospel. And their own generation survived largely on that. They raised children whose parents had died long ago. Because these preachers also brought in the need to raise finances. And they did it in a way that they were not themselves handling those finances. Other people were doing it, but they raised those funds. The great universities that are currently there in the Western world were once upon a time linked with churches. And the people that raised those finances were the great preachers in their day. They didn't raise the money from their own pockets, no. They went around, they preached, and they raised the finances. And individuals gave. I need to wrap up, but if you ever have time, read the story of a rich Christian who was very stingy. who went to listen to George Whitefield. And how from the beginning of the sermon, when he realized it was something to do with giving, he began saying, no, I'm not giving anything. I'm not giving. I'm not giving. And halfway through the sermon, he said, OK, no, I think I'll give. I'll give. And by the end of that sermon, the man gave the biggest amount of money on that occasion, but swore never to listen to Whitefield again. Okay, so you can Google all that, you'll find it on the internet. So the point I want to raise here is that we should not go the opposite way. We shouldn't. What we should do is ensure accountability. Because after all, this is a work that the master has given to us. It's not the primary work. We must keep gospel preaching central. But even as we do that, somewhere in the background, we'll be mindful that they are the poor, they are the needy, and we are the bridges that provide fellowship, practical fellowship, between the haves and the have-nots. And we should ensure that we are doing that to bless the churches. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, thank you for the example of Paul. Thank you that he did not shun away from doing diaconal work. And thank you for the way in which he did it with such distinction, with such accountability, that the Testimony of the Lord was not dragged in the mud, and yet the poor benefited. Oh Lord, help this generation of gospel preachers to emulate Him. And in a general way, oh Lord, help all of us to see that the world in which we are does not comprise disembodied spirits. We are always moving among people in desperate need. And according to that which we have gifted us with, help us to help them. For Christ's sake we pray, amen.