Romans 15:22-33

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.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

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.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

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?

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,

Acts 15:28

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,

Acts 28:30

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

Acts 24:17

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

John 17:4

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

John 17:4

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.