Good morning, everyone. Open up your Bibles to Romans.
For those who may be joining us today, we've been going through the book of Romans for quite some time now.
We're getting towards those latter chapters, but as has been mentioned already today, we just believe that what you need to hear and what God's people need to hear is the Scripture.
We need to hear God's Word, not man's. We don't need to have a good Word. We need the Word.
And so that desire, we usually preach verse by verse through different books of Scripture and letting the Holy Spirit use the Word of God to apply it to our hearts.
And so we've been moving through Romans. If you would like to catch up, all the sermons are online on our website.
But we're getting to these latter chapters of Romans. Chapter 15 is where we will be today.
And we're talking about, in chapter 15, Paul's explaining his mission to the Gentile people, the non-Jews in the Roman world,
and spreading the Gospel and planting churches in the Gentile world for the glory of God.
So today, we will be starting in verse 22 and going all the way down to the end of chapter in 33.
But Paul mentions here that his plan is to eventually come to the Romans, because he actually had never been to Rome before.
And from there, go on to Spain.
But before any of that happens, he mentions that he first must go to Jerusalem.
And so, all these things will kind of be.
But we're going to unpack the text today mainly with two questions.
And to save us time, we'll just eat it bit by bit.
But the first question, we'll see in verses 22 through 29.
But what are Paul's plans?
What are Paul's plans?
So let's read together in verse 22.
He says,
Bringing aid to the saints.
For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution 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 the spiritual blessings,
they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
When, therefore, I have completed and have delivered to them what has been collected,
I will leave for Spain by way of you.
I know that when I come to you, I will come in fullness of the blessing of Christ.
So, I thought the best way to kind of walk through this would be chronological.
Because he kind of says like,
I'm here now, but I'm going to come to you.
But first I'm going to go to this.
And sort of goes back and forth.
So, in my brain I'm trying to like establish like where did he actually go first and move out from there.
So, we see clearly that one of his plans is,
because he's currently in Corinth writing to the Romans,
his plan is to go to Jerusalem first.
You see that in verse 26.
But, so before he comes to Rome,
he plans to bring a collection that he's been gathering from all the Gentile churches.
All the churches that he has planted and been a part of and ministered to.
He's been collecting money, gifts, supplies, and order
to bring it to the believers who were in Jerusalem
because they were not doing well.
They were struggling financially.
They were poor.
They needed assistance.
And so, Paul basically says,
he picks up this major theme of the letter.
This isn't just an example of what Christians should do to show generosity.
If you picked up on this,
it's a main theme in his letter.
That is the debt that Gentile believers owe to their Jewish roots.
You see that in chapter 11, verse 8.
In chapter 15, 8 and 9.
So, he says that these churches like Macedonia and Achaia
were pleased to make a contribution to the poor saints in Jerusalem.
And he says,
indeed, they owe it to them.
For the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings.
So, meaning like the truths of the gospel
that were preached to the Gentiles
by Jewish apostles,
by Jewish prophets, teachers, and so on.
They ought also to serve in the material blessings.
So, this gift that he's going to take to Jerusalem
comes from many different churches.
Thessalonica, Philippi, Corinth, etc.
And also, he wants to gather some from the Romans
in order to go and give to them.
And you see that they're thankful to be a part of this work.
They're not doing this begrudgingly.
They are blessed to take part in providing the needs
and alleviating some of the suffering of their fellow Jewish believers there.
So, these Gentiles and us, right,
stand in debt to the Jews
for the spiritual blessings of the Jewish people.
And so, they are joyful to share, like in that,
assistance financially.
I just thought it was interesting
while I was studying this
that Paul assumes that financial aid for needy Christians
is just a normal part of the Christian life.
He didn't have to make a huge argument for why they ought to.
He basically is just saying,
that's what we do.
That's a part of how we live this Christian life
by providing for the needs of fellow believers.
And he goes on by telling the Romans
that that visit of,
he asked them to support him in prayer.
And he also is just trying to discourage
any kind of division or infighting
between Jews and Gentiles in the church.
He wants them to be unified.
One, to put aside just that part of who they think they are
and say, hey, you're part of something greater.
You are the church.
You are the believers.
And so, after he has collected that
from these Gentile churches,
he will go to Jerusalem,
then to Rome, then to Spain.
So then, to Rome.
This is his next part, if you notice that.
He says, Paul planned for a while to go to Rome,
but he had been hindered.
He had been prevented.
And he knew that at some point,
God would eventually bring him
to the imperial city, Rome.
The seat, the most powerful place
in the ancient world at this time,
especially to the Gentile world.
And so, he had been hindered
from coming to see them,
prevented primarily because of what he says
prior to this,
that his main goal was to plant churches
in the unreached areas
in the eastern part of the empire.
And so, that was his main objective.
So, to plant churches
and to preach the gospel in pivotal cities
to where the gospel would go outward.
Corinth, Thessalonica, Athens, etc.
And so, from there,
he plans to go on to Rome itself.
And remember, he wrote from Corinth.
This was three years
before he actually would go to Rome.
And it would be sort of a dream
come true to him, really.
But if you want to just...
I mean, I don't have a lot of places
for you to turn outside of our main text,
but just flip over to the beginning
of the book of Romans.
Romans chapter 1.
Just to kind of pick up on this.
But you can feel his desire
and his love for the Roman believers.
In chapter 1,
we'll start in just verse 7.
He goes,
First,
First, I thank my God,
through Jesus Christ,
for all of you,
because of your faith
is proclaimed in all the world.
For God is my witness,
whom I serve with my spirit
in the gospel of His Son,
that without ceasing,
I mention you always in my prayers,
asking that somehow,
by God's will,
I may now at last succeed
in coming to you.
For I long,
I yearn,
I desire to see you,
that I may impart to you
some spiritual gift
to strengthen you.
That is,
that we may be mutually encouraged
by each other's faith,
both yours and mine.
So, again,
that desire he has here,
he's hoping to soon realize
and to be able to come
to Rome itself.
So you can go back
to Romans 15.
Now we see, next,
that in verse 24 and 28,
that Paul mentions
that after leaving Rome,
his plan is to journey to Spain.
to begin a fourth missionary trip.
If you look in a lot of your Bibles,
well, at least a lot of the ones
that I've seen,
they have little maps in the back,
they have Paul's missionary journeys
in the back.
Usually, you might just see three,
but I'm pretty certain
there was a fourth
going on the way to Spain.
Remember,
if you look in chapter 15 again,
that it was always Paul's desire
to go to unreached peoples.
You see this in verse 20 and 21.
He says,
Lest I make it my ambition
to preach the Gospel,
not where Christ has already been named,
lest I build upon
someone else's foundation,
but as it is written,
those who have never been told
of Him will see,
and those who have never heard
will understand.
So, Paul was particularly gifted
and directed by God
to be a pioneer
to go where the Gospel
had not yet been taken yet.
Well, there was no Gospel,
no church.
The name of Jesus
had not yet been heard.
So, not necessarily to go
to where there was already
established churches.
It was to go where there were no churches.
And so, this makes his desire
to go to new territory,
particularly Spain,
because, this is astounding,
he had nowhere else to go
in the eastern part of the empire.
Isn't that crazy?
Like, he pretty much,
you see his map and his head,
he just checked it off.
Like, been there,
been there,
the church is growing
and flourishing here,
and now he basically says,
I've finished that.
So, now I look west
to Rome and Spain.
He plans to go on.
The eastern Mediterranean
had been somewhat reached.
But I think it's astonishing
that in verse 23,
he's basically saying,
I'm finished.
My work is done.
There's no more places
in these regions for me to go.
My missionary task is complete.
So, praise the Lord.
So, he's eager to go on
to Rome and then to Spain.
So, it's remarkable though
that in 25 years
of frontier mission work
in the eastern Mediterranean,
it was finished.
Of course, there were still
thousands and millions
that hadn't been reached yet
in those places,
but it's not God's design
for men like Paul
to win everybody to Christ.
That's the job of local churches,
local believers,
local pastors,
the job of an indigenous group
where they are.
So, I mean, just,
to pause on this.
Are you aware of our
collective responsibility
to reach the lost around us?
And are you aware
of your personal responsibility
to know, to live,
to teach the gospel
to unbelievers
in the spirit that God has you
in your school,
in your place of work,
your social circles?
And very often,
you know,
I say this a lot up here,
but it bears repeating
because I know that
if you were to go back
to last week's sermon
and then maybe even go back
a month,
how much of that
have all of us
put into practice
in our lives
with God's help?
But are unbelievers
even on your radar
at all?
Or do you,
quote,
leave it to the professionals?
Like,
we're so professional.
Not really.
And do you, like,
really desire
to see the lost
come to Christ?
It isn't the job
of men like Paul
to reach everybody.
So, therefore,
Paul hopes to go to Rome
to meet with the saints
in the church there,
and then he desires
to use them as a base,
ascending base,
to go to Spain.
He says,
I hope to see you
in passing as I go
to Spain
and to be helped
on my journey there
by you.
So,
Spain,
in the first century A.D.
was a firm
and established
part of the Roman Empire.
I promise not to bore you
the history,
the ancient history part of me
just wants to
understand
people don't get
stoked about it
as I do.
So,
but,
it's located
on the far eastern side
of the empire.
It was called Tarshish
in the Old Testament.
Spain was a major center
of commerce and culture
and provided much
in the way of prosperity
and security
for the Roman Empire.
For the military,
it gave massive amounts
of manpower,
horses,
and very important,
this,
like the,
you ever heard
of Spanish steel,
the gladius expaniensis,
the Roman sword
that they used
in the legions
was made
from Spanish steel.
They had substantial
crops for the empire
to feed the empire.
And a lot of well-known
Romans in history
came from Spain.
Seneca,
the great philosopher
and statesman
who infamously
tutored Nero,
failed at that.
he actually said
it's something pretty cool.
Like, you know,
there's a lot of cool
things that he said,
but this shows
that common grace
is a real thing.
A wise man
never asks
what another man serves,
for only his actions
will speak the truth.
And so,
he was one,
Seneca,
also some emperors,
including Trajan,
who expanded the empire
to its greatest length.
And so,
it was very critical
to Paul
that he goes there
because that was
a very epicenter
in a lot of ways
of the Roman empire.
So,
strategic location
for Paul to go
and evangelize
and plant the church.
So,
you see,
his plans are going
to go to Jerusalem,
then I'm going to go to Rome,
and then I'm going to go
to Spain.
Alright?
But,
this is question number two.
Did God
allow Paul
to accomplish
his plans?
Now,
some of us have
this idea
that
Paul would just,
you know,
just get him
to work himself
into some kind
of spiritual frenzy
and God would just
speak to him
in a vision
about where to go.
That did happen,
but usually,
Paul,
just like us,
he used his wisdom,
he used
what he knew
about life,
and he made decisions.
God did,
on occasion,
direct him,
but Paul is aware,
very aware,
of a huge truth
that we need to grasp.
It says in
Proverbs 16,
9,
the heart of a man
plans his way,
but the Lord
establishes his steps.
We make our plans,
but at the end of the day,
we're not sovereign,
we're not omnipotent,
and God directs
our steps.
Right?
It goes on,
there's other Proverbs.
Proverbs 19,
21,
many are the plans
in the mind
of a man.
That surprises
some women.
There's many plans
in our heads,
right?
But,
it is the purpose
of the Lord
that will stand.
So,
we make these thoughts,
we have these plans,
but God's purpose
stands.
True?
Yes.
Mysterious?
Yes.
But the Bible writers
fully knew
that as they planned
and went about
their daily lives,
they believed that
their entire lives
fell under God's
sovereign rule
and His providence.
and they even
confess,
Proverbs 20,
24,
a man's steps
are from the Lord.
How then
can man understand
his way?
So,
we are told about this
in the Scripture
and we can't fully
grasp it or understand it,
but we make plans
and we offer them up
to God
and ask that He
would use them
as He sees fit,
but ultimately
they are in His hands.
And Paul was very
aware of this.
And so,
he often uses
tentative phrases.
He goes,
he said in Acts 15,
verse 28,
it seemed good
to the Holy Spirit
and to us
to do this.
And to the Corinthians
he wrote,
for I do not want
to see you now
just in passing.
I hope to spend
time with you
if the Lord permits.
So,
meaning that he
had these plans
but he submitted them
to God's sovereignty.
So,
are you humbled
by that spiritual reality?
Because Paul
definitely was.
Do we acknowledge
God
and seek Him
in the making
of our plans?
Or do we ignore Him
if He's not really
a part of the equation?
Very careful.
We need to be
very careful there.
And so,
what happened?
What happened
to all these
different trips
that he had planned?
Let's just unpack them.
Alright?
So,
did Paul make it
to Jerusalem?
Yes,
he did.
Read about it
in Acts.
And so,
Paul made it
to Jerusalem.
He was warned
ahead of time
before he went
to Jerusalem
in Acts 21.
Agabus prophesied
that if you go there,
I say by the Holy Spirit
that you will suffer.
Like,
you're going to be,
you know,
in great persecution there.
And so,
Paul said,
basically,
like,
I'm ready to go
and I'm ready
to die
for Jesus.
I don't really care.
So,
even if he was warned,
I mean,
I want you all
to just stop
and think about that.
Like,
let's say that God,
by some crazy chance,
revealed to you
what would happen
to you
if you went
to a certain place.
Your thinking
would be,
well,
if it would go well,
then I would go there.
Right?
But Paul,
this was sort of mind-blowing.
That suffering
awaited him there.
And he still went.
This was sort of mind-blowing.
Even when God did give him
a glimpse of the future,
he didn't run from it.
He went towards it.
So,
he suffered greatly
in Jerusalem.
He was eventually attacked
by a large mob
and they accused him
of breaking their law.
And he addressed the mob
and basically shared
his testimony
and the gospel with them.
And they rejected him.
And then they went on
to try to scourge him,
which wouldn't be new to him.
But,
this is very rare
that Paul usually does this.
I think he only does it
if it will serve God's purpose.
Not out of a selfish reason
to escape pain.
But,
he's about ready to be scourged
in that there's a Roman centurion
next to him.
And he goes,
hey,
is it lawful
for you to flog a man
who is a Roman citizen
before he is condemned?
So,
the centurion's like,
oh,
shoot.
And he went to the tribune
and said,
what do you want to do?
This man is a Roman citizen.
So,
meaning it's against the law
for us to just
scourge him
without a trial.
Like,
he has to be under Roman law.
So,
they were in kind of a panic.
So,
Paul was eventually in prison
when he was in Jerusalem.
But,
as a Roman citizen,
he could appeal
to Caesar
for a final trial.
So,
that's what
led him on to Rome.
So,
next to Paul,
did God allow Paul
to make it to Rome?
Again,
the answer is yes.
Three years
after writing them,
Paul's plan to come to Rome
was finally realized.
And,
however,
not in the way he intended.
he went,
not as a,
quote,
free man,
but as a prisoner.
He walked up the Via Appia
for five days to Rome.
And,
it had been a long,
crazy journey to get there,
which you can read about
in Acts.
Very difficult.
But,
as he even,
before he was even in
the city itself,
there were believers
coming out to greet him.
And,
I think that that's like
so encouraging.
A place that he had never been.
There were believers.
And,
they were coming out
to meet Paul
as he came toward
the city gate.
of Rome itself.
God had remained
faithful to him.
He said,
you must,
you will testify
in Rome.
That's what God told him.
So,
God was keeping his word
and following through.
So,
as was his style
when he got to Rome,
he sought out
the Jewish population
and began sharing with them.
They had the scriptures.
They had the knowledge.
And,
it says that some believed
and most,
but most rejected.
And so,
but he didn't give in
too easily.
It actually says
in Acts that
he went on
from morning
to evening
expounding the scriptures
to them.
So,
when's the last time
any of us ever did that?
So,
all night,
all day,
he's like sharing
the scriptures,
sharing the gospel
with these Jews.
But then,
again,
as was his way,
he kind of turned
that from the Jews
to his undivided attention
to reaching the Gentiles.
So,
a lot of this
you have to kind of go
outside
and kind of understand
what happened,
but Paul's trial
probably did not come
for at least two years
while he was in Rome.
It could do the fact
that many cases
were stacked up
before his,
or his was just not seen
as that important enough
to jump to the front
of the queue
of the emperor.
But,
can you just imagine,
that's why Paul's there
in Rome.
He's under house arrest.
He hasn't tied to Paul
for two years
and what that was kind of like.
But,
that was not wasted time
at all
in God's sovereign plan.
During that time,
God inspired many
of the letters
that we hold dear today.
While he was in Rome,
he penned Ephesians,
Philippians,
Colossians,
and Philemon
while he was here.
So,
this wasn't wasted time
while he was under
house arrest.
He's been passed down
to us,
survived,
and in our hands today.
In Paul's time
under house arrest,
he preached the gospel.
In Acts 28,
verse 30 and 31,
it says,
Paul lived there
two whole years
at his own expense
and welcomed all
who came to him
proclaiming the kingdom
of God
and teaching about
the Lord Jesus Christ
with all boldness
and without hindrance.
So,
on this first trip
to Rome,
we had this impression
that he was just
always in a dungeon.
He actually lived
as a Roman citizen
under house arrest
pretty comfortably
and he could share
the gospel
with anybody
who came
to talk to him.
So,
Roman law
allowed him
all these things.
So,
it's safe to assume
that he just walked
all over the city of Rome
and shared Christ
with all that he could
even while he was
under guard.
And so,
he used that freedom
well probably
from 60 A.D.
to 62 A.D.
But,
we don't really know
what happened
fully,
but Paul's trial
probably didn't come
for two years
and when it was heard,
it was heard
at the southeastern part
of the Roman Forum
and the emperor
who at that time
was Nero,
he would hear
very important cases,
very important situations,
but,
as we know,
for Nero,
he wasn't really
a great statesman,
he kind of liked
theater and music
a lot better
and not really
dealing with serious matters
and so,
often,
the less important things
were delegated
to the captain
or the commander
of the Praetorian Guard
which was,
you know,
his personal bodyguard.
And so,
it is very possible
that Paul never
appeared
before Nero
but that would have
been a sight to see
like the world's,
one of the ancient
history's
greatest tyrants
actually face-to-face
with one of the
greatest Christians.
We don't know
that that happened
but,
at any rate,
Christianity as a whole
was not really
considered a threat
by the empire
at this time.
At that time,
it was not.
So,
all evidence
seems to point
to him eventually
being released
and went on
from there.
The charges
brought against Paul
were infractions
of the Jewish law
as we see
in Acts
and not seen
as a serious threat
in the eyes
of Rome
at that time.
This is just
sort of a sect
of Judaism
is what they thought.
They didn't really
consider it
a big deal.
Even in Acts 26,
King Agrippa
even said,
this man
might have been
set free
had he not
even appealed
to Caesar.
So,
there's one reason
to think that.
There's no,
when we read
in Acts
when Paul
actually arrives
in Rome,
they didn't really
even hear anything
about him.
They were like,
oh,
well,
we didn't know
you were under arrest.
So,
word of that
had not even
reached them
yet.
Then secondly,
under house arrest,
Paul writes
of his confident
release.
He's pretty sure
that he'll be
found innocent.
He wrote
to the Philippians,
I hope therefore
to send Timothy
just as soon
as I can.
and I trust
that the Lord
will shortly
send me
to you also.
So,
I mean,
he's planning
on eventually
coming back
to see the
Philippians
after his
imprisonment.
So,
he seems
very confident
in that release
and for those
reasons,
it's pretty safe
to assume
that he wasn't
found guilty
and he was
released from
this sentence
that he had.
So,
that leads
to the last
question here.
But,
lastly,
did Paul even
make it to
the western
stretch of the
Roman Empire,
to Spain?
Did he go
there?
Well,
no visit of
Paul is
recorded in
the New
Testament,
but it's
highly possible
he went
there after
his release.
There's some
extra-biblical
sources,
historical evidence
that say that
Paul did
go there.
Twenty years
after Paul
went to
Rome,
Clement of
Rome wrote,
an early
church father,
Paul preached
in the east
and in the west.
He won
genuine glory
for his
faith,
having taught
righteousness
to the whole
world and
having reached
the farthest
limits of
the west,
which at
that time
would be
Hispania,
Spain.
So,
early church
fathers wrote
about Paul
going there,
and again,
if he was
released,
why wouldn't
he go there?
Right?
So,
that's probably
what happened.
He went on
to Spain.
This gets
into the
third and
last question.
I'll ask
the Romans.
This is
verse 30
and 33.
But how
did Paul
ask the
Romans to
pray for
him?
Alright?
You see
this in
verse 30?
He says,
I appeal
to you,
brothers,
by our
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and by the
love of the
Spirit,
to strive
together with
me in
your prayers
to God
on my
behalf,
that I
may be
delivered
from the
unbelievers
in Judea,
and that
my service
for Jerusalem
may be
acceptable
to the
saints,
so that
by God's
will,
I may
come to
you with
joy and
be refreshed
in your
company.
May the
God of
peace be
with you
all.
Amen.
So,
he appeals
to them,
he calls
them,
he entreats
them,
by their
mutual love
for the
Lord Jesus
Christ and
the love
of the
Holy Spirit,
to pray
with them.
And first
he asks,
like,
I know
that I'm
going to
go to
Jerusalem,
and like,
I'm asking
for deliverance
from all
the persecution
that will
be there.
And so,
did God
answer that
prayer?
It seems
like he
didn't,
but he
did,
because they
didn't kill
him,
they didn't
put him
to death.
Their desire
to do that
was frustrated
by God's
sovereignty,
but he
did go on
to Rome,
just not the
way he had
intended,
right?
We make
our plans,
but God
directs our
steps.
So he
did go to
Rome,
but not as
a free man,
but as
a prisoner.
God had
his own
way of
sending him.
And so,
in Acts
24,
verse 17,
it does
suggest that
the Jerusalem
believers were
thankful for
that contribution.
They were
very grateful
that Paul
brought.
And then he
asked for
basically spiritual
refreshment.
Like,
I want to
come to
you by
God's
will and
meet these
Roman Christians
face to
face and
share fellowship
with them,
worship with
them,
eat together
and laugh
together and
have great
fellowship
together.
That was
what he had
prayed for.
That sweet
time in
Rome,
he would be
refreshed by
their company.
me.
And so,
speaking as
like from
the point
of the
view of
the Roman
church that
he's writing
to,
who are
the saints
that God
uses to
bring refreshment
to your soul?
Encouragement
and refreshment
to the souls
of your
fellow believers?
Or are you
mostly taxing
for people
to be around?
I feel
that I can
be that way
sometime.
I want to
ask God
to help me
be a source
of refreshment
for others.
And then he
ends with a
benediction here.
He says,
finally closes
by praying,
may the God
of peace
be with you
all.
Amen.
So,
just as we
see in
verse 13,
God is the
God of hope.
He's also
the God
of peace
to those
who belong
to His
Son and
put their
trust in
Him.
And so,
in conclusion,
it's very
easy to be
like,
wow,
this is just
a lot of
details.
But,
I've really
tried to
think through
and pray
what would
be some
good appropriate
application
for some
of this.
But,
I think
what came
to my
mind
was
Paul had
finished
his task.
And,
we read
in John,
if you
want to
join me
there,
we'll
close there
in just a
second,
but John
17,
verses 4
and 5,
this is
when Jesus
is praying
to the
Father.
And,
this is a
phrase that
haunts me
daily,
and often
can keep me
awake at
nights.
And,
I need to
work on
that in my
own life.
But,
Jesus prayed
in John
17,
verse 4,
basically saying,
Father,
I glorified
You on
the earth,
having
accomplished
the work
that You
gave me
to do.
So,
Jesus was
fully
and completely
satisfied
with accomplishing
all the work
that the
Father had
given Him
to do
on the
earth.
And,
with that
approving
conscience,
that peace
of mind,
he then
prayed,
and now,
Father,
glorify me
in Your
presence
with the
glory that
I had with
You before
the world
existed.
So,
Paul was
able to
say that
with God's
help,
he had
finished the
task of
planting
churches in
the eastern
part of the
Roman Empire.
By God's
grace,
he had done
it.
And so,
from there,
the gospel
is going
to go
out to
all these
nations,
to all
these
peoples.
And at
the end
of his
life,
so,
what happened
eventually,
we know,
is that
after this,
after he was
released from
Rome the
first time,
he probably
went on to
Spain and
did some
other things.
But,
when he
came back
again
through Rome,
persecution
had started.
And believers
were being
imprisoned and
tortured and
killed in
the arenas.
And so,
he is basically
on death
row in
Rome.
He was
imprisoned
officially.
And he
wrote in
his letter
to Timothy,
2 Timothy
4, 6,
and 8,
For I am
already being
poured out as
a drink
offering,
and the
time for
my departure
has come.
Sounds like
what Jesus
said.
I have
fought the
good fight,
I have
finished the
race,
I have
kept the
faith.
Henceforth,
there is
laid up for
me the
crown of
righteousness,
which the
Lord,
the righteous
judge,
will award
to me on
that day.
And not
only to
me,
but also
to all
who have
loved his
appearing.
So,
Christ,
said that
he was
going with
a clear
conscience
and joy
to the
Father
because he
had
accomplished
the work
that God
had gave
him to do
on the
earth.
Paul,
likewise,
I've
accomplished
the task
of what
God put
me here
to do.
And so,
what is it
that God
has
specifically
burdened
you with,
given you
holy
desire for,
that when
your hour
comes,
whether it's
by a
natural
death
or
unnatural,
you'll be
able to
say that
I have
accomplished
all that
you gave
me to do
on the
earth,
and now
I'm
coming
to you.
What would
that be?
What would
it be?
The confidence
saying I'm
coming to
you,
having
accomplished
that work
for the
sake of
your name,
I've
finished
the race,
I've
kept
the faith.
What
holy
ambition
do you
have?
And one
story I
read about
in 1906,
there was a
Scotsman named
James Fraser.
He was
studying
engineering
originally.
He kind
of planned
just to
make a
career for
himself and
be prosperous
in London.
He was
studying for
engineer.
And later,
he became
desirous and
burdened to
go to the
unreached
people at
that time
in the
Yuan province
of China.
And he
desired to
go and do
frontier
missions and
evangelism.
And the
turning point
in his life
when he was
in college,
and he
read a
two-penny
pamphlet
that had
these two
sentences in
it.
If our
master
returned
today to
find millions
of people
un-evangelized
and looked,
as of course
he would
look,
to us for
an explanation,
I cannot
imagine what
explanation we
should give.
One,
of the most
certain thing
that I am
certain of,
what excuses
would we
make before
the Lord?
What are
we accustomed
to making
in such
good conscience
now that
we should be
wholly ashamed
of then?
And so,
sorry, that
kind of moved
me and I
barely had a
hard time
reading it.
What excuses
are we
comfortable with
now that
we will be
ashamed of
on that
day when
the Lord
comes?
And my
prayer for
my life,
and you
can just
pray for
my peace
of mind,
I feel
like I
put too
much burden,
too much
weight on
myself to
finish.
I just
have a very
keen awareness
that God
has extended
my life.
He's doing
that to all
of us,
but I'm
just maybe
more aware
of that
than some
of you
are.
And so,
I feel a
burden to
make good
on what
He has
given me.
Not so I
can earn
salvation,
but just
because I
want to
honor Him.
So,
that's what
Christ said,
that's what
Paul said.
So,
what is it
in your
life that
you can
say,
I've
accomplished
the work,
I've
finished
the task
that He's
put me
on the
earth to
do?
And with
that,
let's pray
together.