Paul’s Personal Plans - Romans 15:14-33
Paul’s Personal Plans - Romans 15:14-33
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 6, 2007 AM
Have you ever met someone who was completely sold-out to what they were doing and had no question that it was their life’s calling? It can be hard for some of us in this day and age, where we often plan “escape routes” for jobs we do not like, relationships we are in, marriage, education, and other areas of our lives we may want out of. This is why many people today are not only surprised but embarrassed to find anyone who knows exactly what they believe and why. We have been sold a bill of goods wrapped up in the blanket of mediocrity where no one is to keep score, do better than the next person, or to be completely sure of what they believe in. However, Paul knew exactly what he believed and why. He reflected his core beliefs in how he personally planned his life. Life did not dictate for Paul how he would respond, rather what he knew about his relationship with Jesus did.
We all would like to think we can plan for our future without any thought to what we really believe about God. This is simply not true. In fact Jesus related that for some of us it will come as quite a shock to learn just how wrong we were about how we lived our lives and what we believed about the Lord. On that day Jesus related “I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23) Therefore, Paul understood implicitly that it was vital for his readers to be well aware of what they truly understood about God, their own lives, and his as well. We see this reflected in Paul’s personal plans. Let’s discover what this means for our lives this morning…
READ: Romans 15:14-33
Paul had demonstrated in his letter to the Romans and elsewhere his ability to be straightforward, blunt, and forceful. Yet he also had a deep concern for the feelings of others and an ability to use effective principles in interpersonal relations. As he closes his letter he cannot keep from trying to teach his readers just one more lesson concerning life and the gospel message. He did it in his personal plans and displays for us four facets of his faith that reveals for us his inner heartbeat as a minister of Jesus Christ. We find that…
I. Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian! (vv. 14-16)
1. The mark of spiritual maturity is being convinced of what you fully believe in! Paul was “convinced” that the Romans were mature because he saw them “full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Not everyone who claims Christ can say the same thing. Someone once described the Christian church as “prolonged adolescence merging into premature senility.” Meaning, it never matures in faith! Sadly, many churches are not “competent to instruct one another” in the Christian basics. Much of the New Testament is filled with the admonishment for Christians to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) Paul saw in these Roman believers that some of them had done just that. Paul related, “I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again!” Paul understood that he was a “minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God.” Paul’s “duty” was that “the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” In other words that by his teaching, they would become mature believers in Jesus Christ. Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Are you?
EXAMPLE: To be unsure of what you spiritually believe is eternally dangerous. This is why I personally cringe when people tell me, “It’s okay to believe whatever is right for you.” Sometimes I want to respond by saying something like: “Okay, I believe we have to dye our hair orange, wear large shoes and a red rubber nose, call on the great name of Ronald, and smack one another in the head with a whoopee cushion!” Of course it is not okay and it does matter what a person believes spiritually as well. If not, then why believe in anything spiritually? This is why Paul would say, “I am convinced… I know… I understand.” (Romans 8:38; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 Corinthians 2:12) Paul would boldly write, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14) In his personal plans, Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Are you?
It is not surprising then to also learn that in his personal plans…
II. Paul fully gloried God in his service to Him! (vv. 17-22)
1. Being “convinced” means you are willing to give God the glory with your entire life! Service for Paul was his whole life. He relates that “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!” Here is a man who watched his very words and actions so that there would be no mistake in what he was teaching them about Jesus! Paul wanted his listeners to understand “the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.” Not through some hocus pocus or mumbo jumbo, but that it was through God alone! “So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, [he had] fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” Often, as he taught, witnesses, and worked for the kingdom of God, he was “hindered” in doing so, sometimes by God or by others. Paul did not embellish the gospel in anyway. He said “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.” For Paul, only God should get the glory, not himself or anyone else. In his personal life, Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him.
EXAMPLE: We live in a day when everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. Sadly, the media gave more air time to the mass murderer at Virginia Tech than to his victims. High School students rush to YouTube on the Internet to publish their brutal fight videos with one another. We find entertainers doing or saying outlandish things in order to remain in the public’s eye. Such ideas have infected the Christian church as well. There are churches that gain attention through pithy promotions and trying to be like the world by offering the latest in entertainment. Christina authors rush to publish books on the latest trends in America in order to appear relevant and to gain attention. Can you imagine Paul doing any of this in order to get his 15 minutes of fame? Quite the opposite in fact. For Paul, only God should get the glory, not Paul or anyone else. In his personal plans, Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him.
As we continue we find that that in his personal plans …
III. Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him! (vv. 23-29)
1. Being “convinced” means you are ready, willing, and able to handle what God brings your way! Paul realized that his ministry was winding down: “there is no more place for me to work in these regions,” he related. This did not matter because he saw even this as an opportunity: “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.” Whether according to what God planned or circumstances brought his way, Paul was willing to share the good news. A great famine in Judea occurred and many Jewish Christians were in danger of starving to death. When word of this came to the Gentile churches outside Judea, they “were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” After Paul had taken their offering to Jerusalem, he would try to visit his readers in Rome. Little did Paul know he would go, but it would be in chains as a prisoner of Rome. His story in the New Testament ends there. He never made it to Spain. However, even in prison we find Paul writing, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:12, 14) What mattered to Paul was that “Christ is preached.” (Philippians 1:18) In his personal plans, Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him.
EXAMPLE: We may find it hard to mention to a friend, coworker, or classmate, “I’ll pray for you.” Or we find it embarrassing to mention we go to church or invite someone to join us in Sunday School. Yet here in the pages of Romans we discover a man just like you and me, who sought to involve his witness of Jesus in every area of his life, including in his giving. He encouraged his readers to give regularly because he knew “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) We find him writing to those who were so concerned for his personal safety in prison, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) This begs the question: Are you ashamed of the gospel? Do you witness? Do you tithe? In his personal plans, Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him. Do you?
And finally, in Paul’s letter, we discover that in his personal plans…
IV. Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him! (vv. 30-33)
1. Being “convinced” means you understand where the power of God comes from! Paul recognized his need for intercessory prayer support from his readers and asked for it again and again (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 22). “I urge you,” he would admonish them, “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” The greatest thing you can do for someone who serves Christ is to pray for them! Specifically, regularly, and urgently. This is why he writes, “Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there.” He knew he might face some opposition for his witnessing and that the Jewish Christians might misunderstand his ministry as well. A Christian’s intercession is a means of sharing in the ministry of others. He also truly wanted and desired to see them again: “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.” Paul loved this church and wanted “The God of peace” to be with all of them. In his personal plans, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him.
EXAMPLE: “I’ll pray for you.” has almost become an addendum like our noncommittal “How are you?” often is. Yet prayer is the most powerful aspect of the Christian’s life. A Christian that does not pray regularly does not and cannot know God’s will for their lives. How can you know someone you do not spend time talking to? The greatest fault of the modern church is not its unwillingness to worship, because many flock to be entertained. It is not our unwillingness to empathize with the spiritually ignorant, because we will give something for missions. It is not even the thought of not reading some sort of Christian literature, because we will buy the latest fad book about ten easy steps to holiness, or how to know the antichrist when he arrives, but we fail in our private personal prayers. Paul knew that things begun in prayer ended in power and that it did not need to be proved but rather practiced. It was said that Paul had “camel knees,” because of the calluses caused by his constant and consistent prayer. In his personal plans, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him. Do you?
Conclusion:
In His personal plans, Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him. Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him. And, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him. Do you?
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 6, 2007 AM
Have you ever met someone who was completely sold-out to what they were doing and had no question that it was their life’s calling? It can be hard for some of us in this day and age, where we often plan “escape routes” for jobs we do not like, relationships we are in, marriage, education, and other areas of our lives we may want out of. This is why many people today are not only surprised but embarrassed to find anyone who knows exactly what they believe and why. We have been sold a bill of goods wrapped up in the blanket of mediocrity where no one is to keep score, do better than the next person, or to be completely sure of what they believe in. However, Paul knew exactly what he believed and why. He reflected his core beliefs in how he personally planned his life. Life did not dictate for Paul how he would respond, rather what he knew about his relationship with Jesus did.
We all would like to think we can plan for our future without any thought to what we really believe about God. This is simply not true. In fact Jesus related that for some of us it will come as quite a shock to learn just how wrong we were about how we lived our lives and what we believed about the Lord. On that day Jesus related “I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23) Therefore, Paul understood implicitly that it was vital for his readers to be well aware of what they truly understood about God, their own lives, and his as well. We see this reflected in Paul’s personal plans. Let’s discover what this means for our lives this morning…
READ: Romans 15:14-33
Paul had demonstrated in his letter to the Romans and elsewhere his ability to be straightforward, blunt, and forceful. Yet he also had a deep concern for the feelings of others and an ability to use effective principles in interpersonal relations. As he closes his letter he cannot keep from trying to teach his readers just one more lesson concerning life and the gospel message. He did it in his personal plans and displays for us four facets of his faith that reveals for us his inner heartbeat as a minister of Jesus Christ. We find that…
I. Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian! (vv. 14-16)
1. The mark of spiritual maturity is being convinced of what you fully believe in! Paul was “convinced” that the Romans were mature because he saw them “full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Not everyone who claims Christ can say the same thing. Someone once described the Christian church as “prolonged adolescence merging into premature senility.” Meaning, it never matures in faith! Sadly, many churches are not “competent to instruct one another” in the Christian basics. Much of the New Testament is filled with the admonishment for Christians to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) Paul saw in these Roman believers that some of them had done just that. Paul related, “I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again!” Paul understood that he was a “minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God.” Paul’s “duty” was that “the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” In other words that by his teaching, they would become mature believers in Jesus Christ. Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Are you?
EXAMPLE: To be unsure of what you spiritually believe is eternally dangerous. This is why I personally cringe when people tell me, “It’s okay to believe whatever is right for you.” Sometimes I want to respond by saying something like: “Okay, I believe we have to dye our hair orange, wear large shoes and a red rubber nose, call on the great name of Ronald, and smack one another in the head with a whoopee cushion!” Of course it is not okay and it does matter what a person believes spiritually as well. If not, then why believe in anything spiritually? This is why Paul would say, “I am convinced… I know… I understand.” (Romans 8:38; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 Corinthians 2:12) Paul would boldly write, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14) In his personal plans, Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Are you?
It is not surprising then to also learn that in his personal plans…
II. Paul fully gloried God in his service to Him! (vv. 17-22)
1. Being “convinced” means you are willing to give God the glory with your entire life! Service for Paul was his whole life. He relates that “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!” Here is a man who watched his very words and actions so that there would be no mistake in what he was teaching them about Jesus! Paul wanted his listeners to understand “the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.” Not through some hocus pocus or mumbo jumbo, but that it was through God alone! “So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, [he had] fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” Often, as he taught, witnesses, and worked for the kingdom of God, he was “hindered” in doing so, sometimes by God or by others. Paul did not embellish the gospel in anyway. He said “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.” For Paul, only God should get the glory, not himself or anyone else. In his personal life, Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him.
EXAMPLE: We live in a day when everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. Sadly, the media gave more air time to the mass murderer at Virginia Tech than to his victims. High School students rush to YouTube on the Internet to publish their brutal fight videos with one another. We find entertainers doing or saying outlandish things in order to remain in the public’s eye. Such ideas have infected the Christian church as well. There are churches that gain attention through pithy promotions and trying to be like the world by offering the latest in entertainment. Christina authors rush to publish books on the latest trends in America in order to appear relevant and to gain attention. Can you imagine Paul doing any of this in order to get his 15 minutes of fame? Quite the opposite in fact. For Paul, only God should get the glory, not Paul or anyone else. In his personal plans, Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him.
As we continue we find that that in his personal plans …
III. Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him! (vv. 23-29)
1. Being “convinced” means you are ready, willing, and able to handle what God brings your way! Paul realized that his ministry was winding down: “there is no more place for me to work in these regions,” he related. This did not matter because he saw even this as an opportunity: “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.” Whether according to what God planned or circumstances brought his way, Paul was willing to share the good news. A great famine in Judea occurred and many Jewish Christians were in danger of starving to death. When word of this came to the Gentile churches outside Judea, they “were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” After Paul had taken their offering to Jerusalem, he would try to visit his readers in Rome. Little did Paul know he would go, but it would be in chains as a prisoner of Rome. His story in the New Testament ends there. He never made it to Spain. However, even in prison we find Paul writing, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:12, 14) What mattered to Paul was that “Christ is preached.” (Philippians 1:18) In his personal plans, Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him.
EXAMPLE: We may find it hard to mention to a friend, coworker, or classmate, “I’ll pray for you.” Or we find it embarrassing to mention we go to church or invite someone to join us in Sunday School. Yet here in the pages of Romans we discover a man just like you and me, who sought to involve his witness of Jesus in every area of his life, including in his giving. He encouraged his readers to give regularly because he knew “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) We find him writing to those who were so concerned for his personal safety in prison, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) This begs the question: Are you ashamed of the gospel? Do you witness? Do you tithe? In his personal plans, Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him. Do you?
And finally, in Paul’s letter, we discover that in his personal plans…
IV. Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him! (vv. 30-33)
1. Being “convinced” means you understand where the power of God comes from! Paul recognized his need for intercessory prayer support from his readers and asked for it again and again (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 22). “I urge you,” he would admonish them, “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” The greatest thing you can do for someone who serves Christ is to pray for them! Specifically, regularly, and urgently. This is why he writes, “Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there.” He knew he might face some opposition for his witnessing and that the Jewish Christians might misunderstand his ministry as well. A Christian’s intercession is a means of sharing in the ministry of others. He also truly wanted and desired to see them again: “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.” Paul loved this church and wanted “The God of peace” to be with all of them. In his personal plans, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him.
EXAMPLE: “I’ll pray for you.” has almost become an addendum like our noncommittal “How are you?” often is. Yet prayer is the most powerful aspect of the Christian’s life. A Christian that does not pray regularly does not and cannot know God’s will for their lives. How can you know someone you do not spend time talking to? The greatest fault of the modern church is not its unwillingness to worship, because many flock to be entertained. It is not our unwillingness to empathize with the spiritually ignorant, because we will give something for missions. It is not even the thought of not reading some sort of Christian literature, because we will buy the latest fad book about ten easy steps to holiness, or how to know the antichrist when he arrives, but we fail in our private personal prayers. Paul knew that things begun in prayer ended in power and that it did not need to be proved but rather practiced. It was said that Paul had “camel knees,” because of the calluses caused by his constant and consistent prayer. In his personal plans, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him. Do you?
Conclusion:
In His personal plans, Paul was convinced of his work as a Christian. Paul fully glorified God in his service to Him. Paul sought to share the good news wherever God lead him. And, Paul knew he needed the prayers of those around him. Do you?
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