GOD MAKES YOU STRONG

Romans 16

Gone Fishing Series

Fishing isn’t an easy profession. There are no set workdays; the hours are endless, with often little results. The weather can often be a problem; you must wait for days and weeks for the conditions to change. Likewise, fishing for souls is not for the faint at heart. We must be on the job 24/7; there is no break from being a living witness. Some missionaries like Hudson Taylor didn’t see any conversions for years. We might think we have caught a fish, and just as they are about to be pulled into the boat, we lose them. Yet, we cannot change professions; if we are going to keep following Jesus, it means fishing for souls. When a fisherman finally gets a big one, they are so thrilled that they forget all the difficulty leading up to it. There is no more incredible feeling than leading someone into eternal life, seeing their chains come off, and being transformed before our eyes.

Here, in the final part of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he gives greetings to all his friends as the custom of the time. Interestingly, considering some denominations’ beliefs regarding women, 40% of those he mentioned were women who, for the most part, were ministry leaders. We can only go as far as our team; Paul had such incredible reach because of the vast team that he established on his mission trips. A team is only as strong as they are connected. Paul communicated through these letters to keep his team strong and His reach far.

Paul’s final instruction to the church in Rome is to watch out for people who cause division by teaching contrary to what Paul had taught them. He encourages them that the God of peace will crush Satan's attempts to hinder the work. We live in a culture where issues are neglected because of the fear of confrontation; we don’t want to offend. We are not of this world; we serve the King In His Kingdom and are, therefore, to do things His way. As Spiritual Leaders, we are to guard the sheep and be willing to do whatever is necessary to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3).

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good for in the right time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” This is written because it is easy to become weary, to want to give up. We have to keep our eye on the promise of the harvest. The key, as it says in Romans 16:25, “Now all Glory to God, who can make you strong.....” Isaiah 41:10 says to wait on the Lord, and He will renew our strength. Ephesians 6:10-12 says to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, to put on the whole armor of God…..

We learn here that the key to being good fishermen is strength. God makes us strong, but we must wait on Him and let Him clothe us in his strength. This is a good end to the Gone Fishing series and a good introduction to our next series, which will be “BE STRONG.”