Good evening everyone, really good to have you with us this evening.
As Neil says, we've got a bit of a plethora of peas over the next few minutes.
I hope it doesn't become too wearisome or appear too strained,
but it came to me as I was studying the passage for this evening.
Three of them to look out for as we read the passage,
I think they divided it up quite nicely.
There will be Paul's priorities, there will be Paul's plans,
and then there will be Paul's prayer.
So look out for these Paul's priorities, Paul's plans, and Paul's prayers.
So let's read from Romans chapter 15, and we'll be reading from verse 14.
Romans chapter 15 and verse 14.
Paul writes,
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,
complete in knowledge, and competent to instruct one another.
I've written you quite boldly on some points,
as if to remind you of them because of the grace God gave me,
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles,
with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God,
so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me
in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done,
by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.
So from Jerusalem all the way round to Illyricum,
I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,
so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.
Rather, as it is written,
those who are not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.
That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions,
and since I have been longing for many years to see you,
I plan to do so when I go to Spain.
I hope to visit you while passing through,
and to have you assist me on my journey there,
after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem,
in the service of the saints there.
For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution
for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
They were pleased to do it,
and indeed they owe it to them.
For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews spiritual blessings,
they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
So after I have completed this task,
and have made sure that they have received this fruit,
I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
I know that when I come to you,
I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
I urge you, brothers,
by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit,
to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea,
and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,
so that by God's will,
I will come to you with joy,
and together with you be refreshed.
May God of peace be with you all.
Amen.
Thank God I'm sure we'll bless his word as we consider it together.
One of my favourite books on Romans is this one,
written by the hymn writer Michael Saywer.
It's got a nice pink 70s cover.
I've had it for many years.
And when I was a teenager, I found it particularly useful.
It's very short, full of pictures and big print,
and it gives a very brief introduction to the book of Romans.
What appealed to me particularly about it,
was the metaphor that Michael Saywer drew for Romans.
Romans, he said it's like a good meal.
Your good meal starts with oysters.
Now the first time you taste oysters,
you think you've just been given some salty water to swallow.
They taste horrible.
But I'm told if you persevere at it and you keep going,
oysters become a real delicacy
and something that really sets you up for the meal that's to follow.
And that's broadly what the position is
in the first two and a half chapters of Romans.
Something you look at and say, this is horrible.
It's talking about man's sinfulness compared with God's holiness
and the judgment that we rightly deserve.
And you think this really isn't very good.
But when you have read through the whole Romans,
come back to it, you recognize it is an essential part of the book.
It is the thing that whets your appetite for what's to come.
The next few chapters, from the middle of chapter 3 to chapter 8,
Michael Saywer says are like roast beef.
It's a good, hearty meal.
Roast beef and all the trimmings.
Solid meat you can get your teeth into.
And that is really satisfying.
It is the heart of the gospel,
as Paul writes to us about the grace that is ours through the Lord Jesus
and all the wonderful blessings that come to us from that.
We then have a kosher course for three chapters,
chapters 9 to 11, written specifically for the Jews.
And then the dessert, which is described as fruit perfect,
perfect fruit, what is the result of the work of Christ in our lives.
And it is the fruit that we should display to others.
So a great meal.
Michael Saywer doesn't go quite this far,
but I think if we're looking at the last chapter and a half of Romans,
we would say that it is the coffee and after dinner mints.
It is the time when we put our feet up a bit, relax a little bit more,
and are able to chat about more personal things,
talk about people that we know.
John will be talking a lot about that next week in chapter 16.
It is Paul writing much more personally to the church in Rome
rather than the great theological treatise
which has made up the bulk of the book.
And as he does it, I think Paul is very aware
that this is a church that he hasn't been to visit.
You got that, I'm sure, as we went through our reading.
Paul was really eager to visit them.
It's a church he didn't visit.
And usually for those he wrote to,
it's a church he also obviously didn't find.
And perhaps as he was writing
and as he was explaining the gospel to them,
he was thinking, well, I wonder if they're going to think
this is a bit basic.
Am I being condescending in the way I write to them?
And to some extent, I think that colours what comes
particularly in the early verses
of what we're looking at this evening.
So as I said, it's priorities, plans and prayers.
And we're starting with Paul's priorities
which go through from verse 14 down to verse 22.
What is Paul's priority as he writes to the Romans,
as he thinks about his work in the gospel?
Well, the first priority I would suggest is people.
It always was with Paul.
Paul, as I said, is very aware of those he is writing to.
And he is very aware as a minister of the gospel,
as a servant of the Lord Jesus,
that he wants to treat these people with real respect
and to show them how much he cares for them.
And so in verse 14, as he writes,
as he thinks how many they might receive his message,
he wants to make clear to them,
he doesn't see them as being infants in the faith.
He isn't talking down to them in any way.
Rather, as he always is,
he's very thankful to God for all that he's done in their lives.
And he says three things about the Romans.
He says you're full of goodness,
you're filled with knowledge,
and you're competent to instruct,
or some versions say to admonish one another.
You're full of goodness.
What the effect of the gospel has been in your lives
is to make you good.
It is to make you want to do what is right,
and particularly to show the love of Christ to others
and to show how much you care for them.
And very much what Paul has been writing about
in chapters 12 through to 14
is what you could have gone on to the church in Rome
and probably found there.
People who are exercising their spiritual gifts
for the benefit of the church,
people who showed hospitality,
who showed love to others,
people who had real goodness.
They're also filled with knowledge.
They're people who had taken the time
to study the scriptures,
to think through the gospel,
and to understand the greatness of their salvation.
They had come to a knowledge of the Lord as Savior,
and they wanted to be filled with knowledge of him
as Lord as well.
And finally, they're competent to instruct one another.
Some versions say to admonish.
I think this speaks both of the preaching side
and of the one-to-one side,
of being able to talk honesty with one another
and to help one another to grow in their faith.
Three things which should be evident in our church as well.
They were characterized by goodness,
that we are people who have a love for the Lord Jesus,
and that is shown in the lives that we live
in pleasing him.
People who have a knowledge of the Lord
and of the scriptures
and want to deepen that knowledge
and come to know him better.
And people also who are able to be open
and honest with one another
and to build one another up in our faith
and instruct each other in what is right.
And Paul says to the Romans,
my priority, one of my priorities,
is the people and I've looked at you
and I'm thanking God for you.
You're displaying these things
and yet I think it's good to remind you of them.
Even if we feel we know the gospel very well,
even if we've been many, many years in the faith,
it's good to be reminded of God's greatness
and of God's grace for us.
And Paul says,
that's what I've been doing
in the letter that I've written.
So Paul's first priority is people,
the people he's writing to.
Priority number two
is that Paul sees himself as a priest.
Now that is in some ways
slightly surprising with Paul.
It's not something we'd need to associate.
Priesthood you think of perhaps the book of Hebrews
rather than the writings
that are normally attributed to Paul.
But Paul in these verses
clearly sees his work among the Gentiles
as being a priestly work.
He says, verse 16,
he gave me the priestly duty
of proclaiming the gospel of God
so that the Gentiles might become an offering
acceptable to God,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
And a lot of the other words
around the word he uses for minister or serve
is also a word that has priestly connotations
in this passage.
What is Paul saying here?
He's saying that his work
is to reach out to others
with the gospel,
particularly reach out to the Gentiles,
and then to bring them to God
as an offering to him.
That God would be pleased
that the Gentiles had turned to him
and that they were living godly lives.
Remember the chart of chapter 12,
Paul exhorts his listeners
to present their bodies
as living sacrifices,
holy and acceptable to God.
I think a similar idea here,
but in this case,
it's not the individuals
presenting themselves to God.
It is Paul being able
to present the Gentiles to God
and say the work of the Lord Jesus
has been effective,
not just among the Jews,
but among the Gentiles.
And here are those
who are worthy of being seen
as a sacrifice.
Not in any sense,
it repeats the work of the Lord Jesus,
the ultimate sacrifice
that he made for us on the cross.
But it is something
that is going to be pleasing to God
as sacrifices were
when they were done in the right way
with the right attitude.
It is something that God
can take great pleasure in
that his people have come to him
and Paul is able to present them
as a sacrifice before God.
His work among the Gentiles
was a work of the priest
in presenting acceptable offerings to God.
Third priority that Paul has
is a word called power.
The word power is mentioned
a couple of times in the past.
And the power of Paul
is particularly talking about here
is the power of miracles,
of signs and wonders.
Miracles in the New Testament
were never done just for effect,
not done even just for the benefits
of those who experienced the miracles,
although obviously they were.
The miracles of the Lord Jesus,
indeed of Paul,
helped many people
in a physical sense.
But miracles ultimately
were to show the power of God
and to demonstrate
that those who were able
to perform the miracles
had been sent by God,
were truly God's servants.
And for Paul,
as he went around the Gentiles,
as he went around cities
that were very pagan,
among people who had little concept
of the one God,
the great God of heaven,
and to a multitude of gods
around their cities.
The fact that Paul was able
to display something
of the power of God
in the way that he worked among them,
that was a really effective way
of validating his ministry,
of showing to these people
this is something
that really is from God.
So he places some stress
on these verses
of the fact
that he had come
with the power of God
and what he had accomplished
among the Gentiles
was a result of that power
and the power
that would spread miraculous signs
in particular
was a demonstration
as the people were amazed
at what happened.
They were a demonstration
of the power of God
in Paul's life.
Number four,
there are five in total
in this section.
All peas,
as I said,
proclamation.
Again,
a couple of times
Paul talks about
proclaiming the gospel.
And as I said,
if he showed works of power
among the Gentiles,
the purpose of that
was so that he had a platform
on which he could proclaim
the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
That is Paul's job.
That is Paul's calling.
That is what he sees
as God's purpose
in his life.
He gave me,
he says in verse 16,
the priestly duty
of proclaiming
the gospel of God.
And in verse 19,
from Jerusalem
all the way around
to Illyricum,
we'll have a geography lesson
in a few minutes.
From Jerusalem
all the way around
to Illyricum,
I have fully proclaimed
the gospel of Christ.
It has always been
my ambition
to preach the gospel
where Christ
was not known.
Paul was the missionary
to the Gentiles
and very important to him
as he went around
that he was able
to proclaim
the gospel.
Now,
Paul's normal pattern,
as you know,
certainly early
in his ministry
when he went
to a new city
was he went first
to the synagogue
and he proclaimed
Jesus to the Jews
who had the Old Testament
background and should
have understood
what it was about.
Generally rejected
by the Jews
and then he went out
and proclaimed
wherever he could
get a hearing
among the Gentiles.
But his particular ministry,
he says,
is to proclaim
the word of God
among the Gentiles.
Now,
some of the most public
places in the ancient world
and the marketplace
in Athens
and Mars Hill
and all over the place,
Paul was able
to proclaim
that Jesus
is the Lord,
he is the Christ,
he is the Son of God,
he is the only way
of salvation.
And of course,
that is our
principal duty
as we are in the world
today,
to proclaim Jesus,
to let others
know about him,
whether it's in a public way
or in a private way
as we talk to our friends,
that we may proclaim
that Jesus
is the Savior
of the world,
the Son of God
who is able
to forgive our sins.
So Paul's priority
of proclamation.
And then the last one
on this bit,
Paul was a pioneer.
Paul is very clear
in this passage,
he didn't want
to be going to places
which had already
heard the gospel.
Now,
there is a role
in missionary work
for missionaries
who go to places
where the gospel
has been preached,
perhaps where the church
is fairly new
and immature
and to teach the word
and to help
and to support
the church
in these areas.
But that wasn't
Paul's work.
Paul's work
was to go to new places,
to go throughout
the Roman Empire
and where they hadn't yet
heard the name
of the Lord Jesus,
to proclaim Jesus
and to see men
and women
coming to faith
in him.
That wasn't just
that he went to a place
and he had a two-week
gospel campaign
and then he went down
somewhere else.
He stayed for a considerable
time in places
like Corinth
and Ephesus
to see the church
established
and beginning
to be built up.
But he very much
saw that his ministry
was to the unreached
in the world
of his day,
not to those
who already
had the gospel.
Particularly relevance
of that in Romans,
the gospel clearly
had reached Rome
through other people,
there were others
who had gone perhaps
naturally to the centre
of the empire
with the gospel
and Paul didn't see
Rome as being
his particular mission
field.
Now,
when he was in Rome,
he did proclaim
the gospel,
we know he did,
and he was there
as a witness
for the Lord Jesus,
but that wasn't
his particular calling,
his particular work.
His work was to be
a pioneer missionary.
Pioneer missionaries
are really,
really valuable
even nowadays,
going to parts
of the world
where people
don't know the gospel,
parts of the world
often where it is
dangerous to be
a missionary
in places like
the Middle East
or China
where being a missionary
is a difficult
and often dangerous
thing and where
being a Christian
can be very difficult.
Still a place
for pioneer missionaries
in our day
and we should really
be praying for them
as they seek
to serve the Lord Jesus
in this way,
as well as those
who go to support
the church
and to reach out
in other parts
of our world
which are equally
ungodly in many ways
even though the gospel
has reached them.
So five Ps there,
people,
priest,
power,
proclamation,
pioneer.
Allow me two more
as I sum up this section
and try and apply it
for us today.
It's two that Neil
mentioned to us.
And what comes across
very clearly
in this passage
is that God saw
a purpose of God
in his life.
His sole purpose
in life,
he says,
is to glorify God
through proclaiming
the word to the Gentiles
and being able
to present them
as an acceptable sacrifice
before God.
Paul had a clear sense
of his calling,
of what it was
that God had called him
to do
and he was determined
that he was going
to fulfill that
even though it might not
have been what others
thought would have been
the right thing.
This was God's purpose
for him
and Paul was determined
that he was going
to pursue it
to the end.
Application for us.
Important that we
understand God's purpose
for us
as much as we can.
That we are very much
looking for
what is it that God
wants me to do?
What are the areas
of service
with which God
has called me?
This is something
I've struggled with
a bit
in recent years.
When you're in
church leadership
and I don't think
it's just in this church
or almost any church
you tend to be
dragged along a bit
by what needs
to be done.
You see a need
that needs to be met
and you feel
I'm able to meet that.
And perhaps at times
not a lot of it
apart from being called
to be a church leader
which is a very high calling
but in the day to day
the detail stuff of it
a lot of it
you perhaps
don't immediately see
the purpose behind it
how God is leading you
in it.
And I've certainly felt
over the last few years
that from my point of view
there are some things
I feel God has
particularly called me to
which are not particularly
part of being church leadership
in the church.
Here's things like
Basic Bank and Ferrywell
one and two others as well
which I felt
this is God's purpose
for me
at this point
in my life.
And I think it's good
if all of us
can take that step back
and think
what is it
that God
is calling me
to do?
Is my life
just dictated
by events
by things
that happen
in the church
and it's go along
with them
and I don't really
have any purpose
any plan
for my life?
Or am I looking
very deliberately
and saying
what is it
that God
has laid on my heart
for me to do?
How can I
particularly serve?
And whether it's
in the church
or whether it's
outside the church.
Paul's purpose
I said
was very clear
to him
and he was
single-minded
in pursuing it.
I think too many
of us as Christians
just drift along
and we're not
deliberate enough
in looking to God
for his guidance
and to know
what it is
that he has
planned for us
for acts of service
acts of worship
to him
as we would seek
to live lives
that are pleasing
to the Lord Jesus.
Now you may feel
that it's very clear
for you
and if you do
and forgive me
for labouring it
for me it wasn't
for me it was
something I felt
I need to think about
I need to
before God
think about
what it is
that God
wants me
to do.
And unlike
the purpose
there is
passion.
If you see
a purpose
in something
you're much more
likely to be
passionate about it.
If you feel
this is something
that God
has really called me to
then you're going
to put your whole
heart into it.
And don't we see
that with Paul?
That with the Gentiles
here is something
that he has
completely poured
himself into.
He has travelled
thousands of miles
with the gospel.
Plans to travel
thousands more
which we'll come
on to in a minute.
He has a real desire
that throughout
the world
the name of Christ
should be known
and should be worshipped
and the Lord
should be followed.
He has as we read
any of his letters
such a deep love
and commitment
to those
who have come
to know the Lord
Jesus through his work
and even those
he hasn't yet met.
He has a passion
for the work
that God has
called him
to do.
And we too
need to have
that kind of passion
in our Christian lives.
Not that we become
what people might call
passionate
in the sense
that we would think
of in the world
there's no harm
in that
but some of us
are more understated
and quiet
perhaps particularly
in Scotland
but that we have
a real desire
to do things
well for the Lord
Jesus
and that it is
something that
really motivates us
and that drives us on.
That we're not
half-hearted
in the work
that God has
called us to do.
We're not happy
with second best
with doing a bit
but not going
the whole way.
Paul was
absolutely
passionate
in his work
among the Gentiles
and whatever work
God has called
us to do
we similarly
should be
passionate about
as we fulfil
God's purpose
in our lives.
So Paul's priority
is summarised
by his purpose
and by his passion.
You'll be pleased
to know that's
the end of the Ps
apart from the main headings
and we won't have
any more
this evening.
I want to move on now
and look at Paul's plans
and we have a bit
of geography.
Hope you can see
that map
reasonably well.
It's a kind of
modern map
in terms of the places
that are named on it
but it's a map
of Paul's work
and Paul's ministry.
So a number of places
number one
is Corinth.
Corinth almost certainly
was the place
from which Paul
wrote the letter
to the Romans.
So this is where
Paul is now
in Corinth
in Greece.
Number two
I'm sure he recognises
Rome
Rome for which
Paul was writing
and the place
where he had
that deep
longing
to go to.
Number three
again you might
have a good
stab at
is Jerusalem
and so Paul
has a desire
to go to Jerusalem
the mother church
is in Jerusalem
and he wants
to go there
for a particular
purpose
we'll come to
in a minute.
Number four
is the one
you might have
a little more
difficulty placing
and it's the
perhaps slightly
unfamiliar
name in the passage
Illyricum.
So broadly
speaking
in modern
terms
that's Albania
it's a bit
of Bosnia
and perhaps
a little bit
of Croatia
in there as well
as that kind
of Baltic
region
around
what used
to be
Yugoslavia
by and large
and that was
the kind
of far
extreme
of where
Paul had
been
in his
missionary
journeys
and number
five of course
on the left
is Spain.
So Paul
is writing
from one
to two
from Corinth
to Rome
and he says
I have preached
the gospel
from Jerusalem
to Illyricum
and that's
a distance
of about
1400 miles
and remember
Paul wasn't
going around
in planes
or terrains
he was going
very often
on foot
or by ship
and he was
going backwards
and forwards
a lot of the time
he had travelled
an enormous
distance
with the gospel
and that is
what he really
brings out
in the early
verses
of the passage.
But Paul's
ultimate desire
is to go
to Spain
Now if
Jerusalem
to Illyricum
is about
1400 miles
I would guess
Jerusalem
to Spain
is maybe
something like
2000,
2500 miles
it's a very
long way
and yet
Paul sees
Spain
as being
strategic
in the gospel
Now Spain
in that day
was an important
place
Seneca
who was
Nero's tutor
came from
Spain
many of the
more intellectual
people in the
ancient world
came from
indeed a couple
of emperors
eventually would
come from
Spain
so it was
an important
place
that obviously
hadn't yet
been reached
by the gospel
and Paul
thought
here is
somewhere
that I
could
go to
So Paul's
plan
was to go
from Corinth
to Spain
but he wanted
to go via
Jerusalem
So he started
in Corinth
in the middle
of the map
he heads down
to bottom
right
to Jerusalem
and then he's
going to head
all the way
back up
to top
left
to Spain
and by
taking him
on the way
as well
why would
Paul want
to do
such a long
journey
why bother
going back
to Jerusalem
when his
ultimate purpose
was to get
to Spain
via Rome
and the answer
to that
in the passage
is that Paul
has been taking
a collection
among the churches
in Macedonia
and Achaia
broadly
in Greece
the church
in Jerusalem
was going
through
difficult times
there were
a number
of Christians
in great
poverty
and Paul
said to the
Gentile believers
here's the
opportunity
for you
to enjoy
fellowship
with the
church
in Judea
here's an
opportunity
for you
to repay
some of
the debt
that you
owe
to them
and Paul
very much
saw the
Gentiles
as owing
a debt
to the Jews
those who
had first
heard the
gospel
and first
proclaimed
the gospel
who for
many years
had been
God's
people
and from
whom the
Messiah
had come
Paul saw
that the
Gentiles
had some
kind of
debt
that should
be paid
to the
Jews
and so
when he
heard of
the poverty
in Judea
Paul had
this collection
some churches
like Philippi
gave very
willingly
and very
generously
others like
Corinth
gave slightly
more grudgingly
but when Paul
exhorted them
it appears
that they did
give
and he was
able to say
that they
gave happily
in the end
and Paul
had this
probably
quite substantial
sum of money
that he
wanted to
get to the
church
in Judea
in Jerusalem
and he
felt it
was really
important
that he
went there
personally
with it
now we
might think
for Paul
the obvious
thing to do
was to get
Timothy or
Titus or
one of the
others he
could trust
and get
them to
take the
gift to
Jerusalem
while Paul
headed off
to Spain
it has to
be said
that many
of Paul's
accompanied
people
felt the
same thing
because there
was a prophecy
from a guy
called Agabus
who said
that if Paul
went to
Jerusalem
he would
be bound
and would
be handed
over to
the Gentiles
and look
and Paul's
companion said
to Paul
you really
don't want
to go there
then do
you
and Paul
said
no I'm
going
whatever
happens
to me
I'm
going
to
Jerusalem
I am
taking
this gift
to them
personally
this gift
was really
important
to Paul
it was
important
partly
because he
cared about
his people
the Jews
and he
wanted them
to be
have some
relief
in their
poverty
and a
great
Christian
duty
to give
all help
we can
to those
who are
going
through
times
of
poverty
it was
important
to him
too
as coming
from the
Gentile
church
as being
from them
an indication
of the
respect
that they
had
for the
Jewish
church
and I
said
for the
debt
that was
paid
that was
due
to
the
Jewish
Christians
but it
was particularly
important
to Paul
in terms
of how
the Jews
received
it
and we
come to
the prayers
that is a
lot of
what Paul
is praying
about
Paul was
really quite
concerned
that the
gift might
go to
Jerusalem
and be
given to
the Jewish
Christians
and they
would say
no we're
not taking
this
we're Jews
we don't
take anything
from the
Gentiles
it wouldn't
be right
for us
to do
it
take it
away
we're
having
nothing
to do
with it
and if
that were
to happen
that would
destroy
much of
what Paul
had spent
his ministry
trying to
build up
he had
presented
that there
is one
church
we are
all one
in Christ
Jesus
and whether
we're a
Jew or a
Gentile
it really
doesn't
matter
because we're
all accepted
by God
on the
same
basis
and so
it's really
important to
him that
when the
gift went
to Jerusalem
it was
well received
by the
Christians
in Jerusalem
they recognised
the concern
the Gentiles
had for
them
and that
they recognised
this was
another
evidence
that there
was one
church
one Lord
and there
weren't two
separate groups
Jews and
Gentiles
within the
church
who really
still didn't
get on
with one
another
and I
think that's
why Paul
planned
to go
to Rome
and then
to Spain
but with a
detour
through
Jerusalem
to go
personally
to take
the gift
and to
show the
Jews
just how
seriously
he took
it
and the
unity
that there
was
in the
church
and so
Paul made
his plans
well we don't
know if he
got to
Spain
and he
may well
have
there's a
lot of
church tradition
that says
he eventually
did get
to Spain
we don't
know
we do
know he
got to
Rome
but he
got to
Rome
as a
prisoner
because when
he was in
Jerusalem
there was a
great deal
of trouble
stirred up
against him
he appealed
to Caesar
and he was
eventually
taken to
Rome
and his
initial
imprisonment
there under
house arrest
later of
course
martyred for
his faith
in Rome
but he
made his
plans
and God
in one
sense
honoured
these plans
but honoured
them in a
different way
from how
Paul might
have
envisaged
very simple
lesson for
us
there
it's good
for us
to plan
and if
we just
drift along
as Christian
is talking
about we
really won't
get very
far in
service for
the Lord
Jesus
but we
must recognise
we make
our plans
and with
the understanding
that God
knows better
than we
do how
they may
best be
brought to
fulfilment
and it
may not
happen in
the way
that we
expect
Paul's
plans
Jerusalem
then Rome
and then
Spain
and perhaps
eventually
he accomplished
all that
finally
last few
minutes
Paul's
prayers
in almost
all his
letters
Paul encourages
the Christians
to pray for
him
and he
makes it
clear that
he prays
for them
as well
even the
churches
like in
Colossae
where Paul
hadn't been
didn't know
most of
the people
he was
very faithful
in his
prayer for
them
and he
was very
aware
of how
dependent
he was
on their
prayers
for him
and so
in the
final verses
of this
chapter
from verse
30 onward
Paul talks
about his
prayers
and the
prayers
of God's
people
and the
first thing
is he
talks about
prayer
as a
struggle
now the
captioner
says
struggling
with God
I'm not
sure that
is what
Paul is
talking
about
here
I'm not
sure this
is a
kind of
Jacob
moment
where
Jacob's
wrestling
with God
and Paul's
imagining
we need
to wrestle
with God
as well
I think
rather he's
saying that
when we
come to
pray
we don't
do it
lightly
we don't
do it
half-heartedly
we come
to pray
and to see
it as a
real struggle
as we
bring to
God
perhaps with
tears
with longings
in our
heart
and the
things which
are most
precious
to us
and so
Paul says
you in
Rome
you're not
going to
go to
Jerusalem
you're probably
not going
to go to
Spain
but be
with me
as I go
and as I
probably will
have difficulties
and struggles
be with me
in that struggle
and the way
that you can be
part of it
is by struggling
in prayer
by wrestling
in prayer
by bringing
to God
with
fervency
and with
real desire
the ministry
that Paul
has
and praying
for God's
blessing
as he
goes
about it
and two
things he
particularly
wants them
to pray
for as
he goes
to Jerusalem
he wants
them to
pray for
his
protection
and
pray
verse 31
pray that I
may be
kept safe
from the
unbelievers
in Judea
Paul
recognised
that wherever
he'd gone
in the
ancient world
there were
Jews who
were out
to get
him
and he
had
suffered
stoning
and beatings
and many
other things
as he
travelled round
with the
gospel
so he
prayed
asked him
to pray
for his
protection
while he
was protected
eventually
there was
the riot
and the
people tried
to get
him
but he
was protected
by the
Romans
ultimately
and he
emerged
safely
from Jerusalem
as he
later went
to Rome
and he
says also
as we
just talked
about
that he
wanted them
to pray
for unity
to pray
that the
gift that
he was
taking
with him
to Jerusalem
would be
favourably
received by
the church
that the
church in
Jerusalem
would recognise
the unity
that there
was among
all Christians
in the
Lord Jesus
two things
we can pray
for as well
as we come
before God
pray for those
who go into
difficult situations
now difficult
situations might
be those
where there is
physical danger
the pioneer
missionaries I
talked about
earlier on
a lot of
people in our
own country
who go into
situations where
it's difficult
to talk
about Jesus
and perhaps
it can subject
them to some
ridicule
or some
difficulties
I'm thinking
particularly
of people
like teenagers
in schools
often standing
up for Christ
and that can be
a very very
difficult place
to be a witness
many in workplaces
as well
we should be
praying for
and supporting
one another
in these things
that we may be
protected by God
that we may be
given a good
reception among
those whom we
would seek to
reach
but praying
also for
unity
that as a
church
and with
other Christians
who love
the Lord
Jesus
and to
proclaim the
gospel
that we may
be united
and that there
may not be
divisions among
us which really
shouldn't be
there not
nowadays
divisions of
Jews and
Gentiles
but perhaps
denominational
divisions
divisions over
particular doctrines
which are
secondary and
not fundamental
to the gospel
these kind of
things we
should seek
to be
together as
Christians
following and
serving the
Lord Jesus
and anything
we can do
to promote
that unity
among Bible
believing
gospel
proclaiming
Christians
is something
that should be
a priority
for us
as it is
for Paul
and we
should be
praying for
it
praying perhaps
particularly for
organisations
which seek to
bring churches
together
and organisations
where lots of
different Christians
work together
scripture union
that kind of
thing
praying for
para church
organisations
Bible
sites
evangelical
alliance
and so on
but praying
just generally
that in our
area too
that there may
be a unity
among Christians
even though we
disagree on
secondary things
that we may be
united in our
love for the
Lord Jesus
and then finally
in Paul's prayers
there is joy
and peace
pray that I may
come to you
with joy
or pray
that I may
receive
so that I
may come
to you
with joy
by God's
will
and in
your
company
be refreshed
and the
God of
peace
be with
you
all
these two
go together
don't they
joy
and peace
if we have
one
there's a good
chance that we
have the
other
the joy
of our
salvation
in the
Lord Jesus
and all
that that
brings to
us
is very
strongly linked
to the
peace that
we have
with God
and the
peace that
God can
bring through
his spirit
in our
hearts
and lives
and we
should be
praying for
one another
and for
Christians
around the
world
that we
will experience
the joy
and peace
that Jesus
gives to us
both great
themes in the
Lord's upper
room ministry
to his
disciples
that he
left them
peace
and that
they would
have real
joy
and these
are things
that we
should pray
for and
that Paul
prays for
regularly
as he
goes to
the churches
so Paul's
priorities
Paul's
plans
Paul's
prayers
what are
our
priorities
what purpose
do we see
of God
in our
lives
have we
thought of
that
are we
before God
seeking his
will for
our lives
and are we
then passionate
about what
God has
called us
to do
as we
make plans
are we
aware that
our plans
can only
come to
fruition
if they're
in the will
of God
and he
may well
lead us
our
circumstances
in a
different way
from what
we expect
and above
all that
we can
have purpose
we can
have plans
but unless
everything is
infused with
prayer
and we are
really struggling
before God
and fervent
in our
prayers
to him
then we
can't be
expecting
the blessing
that he
is so eager
to give
to us
let's be a
people of
prayer
as we
are a
people of
purpose
and a
people with
plans
for the
future
let's pray
together
father we
thank you
for your
word
we thank
you for
Paul
and for
this great
work that
he had
among the
Gentiles
that he
saw that
as very
much his
work
and his
calling
to go
where the
name of
Christ
wasn't yet
known
and we
thank you
for the
tremendous
blessing
that was
to the
early church
and for
how that
has really
shaped so
much of
church
history
that Paul
reached out
beyond the
confines of
Judaism
that he
brought the
gospel to
the Gentiles
and that it
has since
spread throughout
the world
help us to
have that
sense of
being called
by you
help us to
understand what
your purpose
is in our
lives
help us to
be passionate
in seeking
to fulfil it
and help us
to particularly
to be a
people of
prayer
that we may
join others
in their
struggles
through our
prayers
that we may
support one
another through
our prayers
that through our
prayers there
may be real
unity of
among us
and that there
may be among
us too a
real peace
and joy in
the Lord
Jesus
thank you for
our time
together
we commit
ourselves to
you we pray
that what has
been from
yourself this
evening may be
remembered and
may make a real
difference in our
lives in the
coming days and
weeks we give
you our thanks in
Jesus name
Amen
You
you