Roman 15:22-33

I'm thankful to see so many visitors, and I know that some of you may be scratching your heads right now why I'm already up here to preach.

We've only sung two songs. We do things a little differently here, and

!

Not that we think that we're any more right than other people. We're just trying to find the best possible way we can magnify Christ in the way we do things and the

flow of things. So,

we move quickly into preaching and the proclamation of the Word, and we'll sing some more in response

to the truth contained therein. We're still in Romans chapter 15. We've been working our way through. We've got

Romans 15 · chapter mention

three more weeks,

I believe, Lord willing, following this Sunday to finish up the book of Romans, and

I've got to tell you, honestly, I don't have a clue where we're going after that. So,

be in prayer for me and the other leadership of the church, and we will know what will be best for the church as we begin to work through

another book of the Bible together. But we have found ourselves in Romans chapter 15, and we're going to look today at verses 22

Romans 15 · chapter mention

through 33. But before I read that to you, let me just remind you where he's been so far in this letter. And I keep saying this to you

constantly, but context is so incredibly important as we study the Bible.

So many people want to hone in on a verse,

which is good and valuable. We can wring so much

truth out of a verse, a phrase,

a word even, but we can't forget

the context, where he's been,

what he's been talking about,

that's led us to this point.

Paul's letter to the Romans would have

taken about an hour to read publicly,

and that's how it would have been originally received.

Written to the church, and somebody would have stood up and read it.

We received a letter from the Apostle Paul.

I'm going to read it to you. And it in and of itself would have been

a sermon in that way, and we've now broken it up

over, oh gosh, I think almost

two years. So I don't want you to forget

where he's been, and this is

an oversimplification, to be sure.

But he's essentially said up to this point

that salvation comes

by grace alone, through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

forever.

It's the simplicity of where we can say

where he's been so far.

He has proposed to us

that we're all sinners,

Jew and Gentile alike.

All of us have sinned.

All of us are enemies of God.

Left to our own devices,

we have willfully

rejected him.

We have placed ourselves

on the throne,

and we have worshipped ourselves.

We have become humanistic in that way.

And the only way

to find redemption,

the only way

to be in a right standing with God,

to live within his will,

to have life now

and forever,

is through faith

in his Son,

Jesus Christ.

And we see that this is

wholly a work of God.

Left to our own devices,

there is no way

we would ever freely

choose him.

But God works

a work in our hearts.

He causes us

to believe.

And because of that,

we have surety.

We can see beyond

the troubles of this world

to eternal glory.

I'm in chapter 8

in my mind right now.

We can know

that nothing can separate us

from the love of God

because salvation

is his work

in our lives,

in us and through us.

And so Paul kind of finishes

the formal treatise

at the end of chapter 11

with the great exaltation

to God,

a praise of him.

And then he moves

in chapter 12

to work out

some of the practical things.

Now, in light of these

great truths,

how then should we live?

And he sums it up for us

that we ought to

then let love be genuine.

Right?

Abhorring what is evil,

holding fast

to what is good.

And he shows us

how this works out

in various contexts

with various peoples.

Even when it's difficult.

Even when it means

that we have to sacrifice

of our own rights

and privileges

in the gospel.

This is how we ought

to live.

And he finishes

then for us

in chapter 15

verse 13

his doctrinal portion

of the letter.

And he turns then

in verse 14

of chapter 15

to the epilogue.

He's starting to

wind it back down

for us.

But there's still

so much goodness

to be wrung out of it.

And we looked

over two weeks

from verse 15

through 21

we looked at

Paul's satisfaction

in the sovereign goodness

of God

to sanctify his people.

Therefore,

his boldness

and his part

in that ministry

his humility

in response

to what God

was doing

in and through him.

His activity

the part

that he played

in bringing about

the perfection

of the church

and then his ambition

we saw his desire

to be a pioneer

to take the gospel

to people

who had never

heard it.

And so today

I want to show you

pretty much

the same things

summed up

in a bit

of a different way.

And these texts

are challenging

because there's not

an explicit teaching

in them.

Paul's intention

here is not

as he's writing

this inspired

is not to say

and I want you

to believe

this thing

let me pin it

for you right now.

But there are

things that are implied

things that we can

pull out of it

which can be

difficult sometimes

to prepare for

and to study

but also can be

very rich

as we look at

the example

laid for us

as he continues

to write

this epilogue.

And so

I want to look

at three words

and I just want

to put these

in your mind

before we read

the text together

and pray.

Those three words

are providence

planning

and participation.

I came up

with those

on my own

and I feel

like I should

get some kind

of a merit

badge of some

sort for having.

I don't usually

have three points

that all start

with the same

letter

but I want you

to engage

your minds

and plant these

in there

and remember

providence

planning

and participation.

And so let's

read beginning

in verse 22

through 33.

This is the reason

why I have so

often been hindered

from coming to you

but now since I

no longer have

any room for work

in these regions

and since I have

longed for many

years to come to you

I hope to see you

in passing

as I go to Spain

and to be helped

on my journey

there by you

once I have

enjoyed your company

for a while.

At present however

I am going to Jerusalem

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 the Gentiles

have come to share

in their spiritual blessings

they ought also

to be of service

to them

in material blessings.

When therefore

I have completed this

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 the fullness

of the blessing of Christ.

I appeal to you brothers

by the Lord Jesus Christ

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.

Let's pray together.

Father God

I ask your blessing

on this time

as there may be

some in this room

that have never

first believed

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ

I pray that will

cease to be the case

this day

that they will

repent

and believe

that is the call

confess

with their mouths

believe in their heart

and they will be saved.

And for those of us

who have believed in Christ

I just pray that we'll

continue to do the same

repent

turn from our sin

get ourselves

keep ourselves

off the throne

of our lives

and turn to you

ask you to reign

and rule

in our hearts

again this morning.

I pray Father

as we talk about

these practical ways

that ministry

has carried out

in our life

Christ will be magnified

in it all

that we might serve

him in word and deed.

And we pray this

in Christ's name.

Amen.

So the first word

I mentioned to you

was providence

and before we dive

into that

I want to say to you

there are some things

I will not address

in this text

some things

that are worth

your study

some things

that maybe spill over

into a sermon again

for next week

but I just want you

to know that I

recognize that I may

be skipping over

some parts

of the text

but I want you to

notice

firstly

in this text

providence.

In verse 32

there's a little phrase

Paul says

so that by

God's will

it was his

earnest desire

to go and visit

the church

that was in Rome.

He wanted to go there

he wanted to be there

but more than that

subservient to that

was his desire

to serve God

so that he would be

taken there

by God's will.

And in verse 22

he says

this is the reason

why I have often

been hindered

from coming to you

this reason

being Paul's

God-given ambition

to preach the gospel

where Christ

had not yet been named.

So there again

God's will

was the reason

that he had been

hindered so far

from fulfilling

this desire

from visiting

the church

that was in Rome.

And we can say

of Paul

as we should be able

to say of all of us

that his life

was characterized

by a devotion

to the will of God.

He took as his

supreme example

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

John 5

John 5:30

verse 30

Jesus says

I seek not

my own will

but the will

of him

who sent me.

Let's look at

another example

from Paul's ministry.

Turn with me

to Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

We're going to

begin reading

in verse 6.

This is after

Paul has taken

on Timothy.

Timothy joins

Paul and Silas

on their journey.

They're traveling

from Lystra.

Verse 6 says

And they went

through the region

of Phrygia

and Galatia

having been forbidden

by the Holy Spirit

to speak the word

in Asia.

When they come up

to Mysia

they attempted

to go into Bithynia

but the spirit

of Jesus

did not allow them.

So passing by Mysia

they went down

to Troas

and a vision

appeared to Paul

in the night.

A man of Macedonia

was standing there

urging him

and saying

come over to Macedonia

and help us.

And when Paul

had seen the vision

immediately we sought

to go into Macedonia

concluding

that God had called us

to preach the gospel

to them.

So notice here

the providence

of God working

as Paul

and his companions

have a desire

to go into

these various regions

they're prevented.

And we don't know how

he says

they're forbidden

by the Holy Spirit

in verse 6

and I'm losing my spot

and in verse 7

but the spirit

of Jesus

did not

allow them.

So we don't really know

how exactly

that took place

but God intervened.

They intended

to go someplace

and yet

the providence

of God

the controlling

will of God

in this world

moved them

prevented them

to go there

and took them

instead

someplace else

to Macedonia

a new place

for the gospel

to be advanced.

So God

providentially

rules the world.

Hebrews chapter 1

Hebrews 1:3

verse 3

says of Jesus Christ

that he upholds

the universe

by the word

of his power.

This is where we get

this idea

of providence

that all things

are held in sway

by the power

and word

of God.

That nothing

happens

apart from him.

The universe

finds this very tilt.

The planets

find their axis

and their spin

by the power

of his word.

This is a reality

that's true

in all of our lives.

There's a big picture

there.

The universe

Jeremiah 10 23

says

I know

O Lord

that the way

of man

is not

in himself

that it is

not in man

who walks

to direct

his steps.

We see here

the spirit

of God

changing

the scene

making sure

that they don't

go one place

and that they

do go

another

and God

providentially

rules all things

and he does it

one of two ways.

He does it

through acting

supernaturally

superseding

the very laws

of nature.

We can see

that to be the case

in a number

of Old Testament

stories.

Take for example

the story

of Jonah.

God caused

a storm

to arise

and they threw

Jonah overboard

and he caused

a big fish

to swallow

Jonah.

And I would

presume that

normally

you would die

in the belly

of a big fish.

But Jonah

was preserved

for three days.

He acted

supernaturally.

During the Exodus

as he leads

the Israelites

out of

Egypt

they're led

to a tight

place where

they can't go

any further

and there's

a sea

in front

of them

and there's

an army

bearing down

behind them.

What does God

do?

He acts

supernaturally.

He parts

the Red Sea

and he leads

them through

the path

he intended

them to go.

God acts

providentially

supernaturally.

He also acts

providentially

by orchestrating

everyday circumstances

and I think this is

the more common

realization

of this.

That things in

our lives are

working whether

we recognize

it or not.

I warned you

a couple of

weeks ago

to not define

God by

your experience.

Just because

you experience

something to be

true doesn't

necessarily

make it true.

Here the word

of God

speaks to us.

God orchestrates

our everyday

circumstances.

I use

meeting my

lovely wife

Sam as an

example of that.

I did not go

searching the

world for a

five foot three

cute brunette

named Sam.

That was not

my aim in life.

I didn't have

a plotted course

and I was

searching and

scouring for

Sam.

But God

orchestrated the

details.

My sister and

brother-in-law

happened to begin

attending the

church that Sam

was at.

Her father was

the associate

pastor there.

They were

asked to teach

the Sunday

school class

for college

and career

for young

people and

Sam just

happened to

be in that

class.

Jamie and

Chris thought

she would be

very good for

me and they

providentially

encouraged me to

come to that

class and spend

time with them

and meet Sam.

And I can look

back on that and

I can say without

a doubt that God

providentially brought

us together as

he does all

things.

By my experience

I could say it

was a coincidence.

I just happened

to visit with

them.

They asked me

to come.

I visited and

we bumped into

each other and

that was all

good.

And fine.

I do not

believe in

luck or

coincidence.

But as a

believer in

Christ I do

believe in

providence.

Now to

just demystify

the will of

God for you

a little bit.

We hear a lot

these days about

the will of

God and that's

a great desire

for all of us.

We really want

to know what

is God's will

for my life.

And what we

fail to realize

is that he

has revealed

in large part

his will

for your life.

That in the

scriptures we

find the

rule for

godly living.

And if we're

not doing

this first

and foremost

how can we

ever expect

to discover

the hidden

will?

Those little

things.

Where should

I live?

What job

should I

take?

Who should

I marry?

We don't

look at the

revealed will

of God.

And remember

context.

Context.

Where have

we been?

Romans chapter

Romans 12:1

12 verse 1.

Look there

with me.

Romans chapter

Romans 12:1

12 verse 1

and 2.

Remember Paul

just finished

his doctrinal

treatise.

He says

verse 1

I appeal to

you therefore

in light of

all these

truths,

all these

things we've

said,

therefore

brothers,

by the

mercies of

God,

he sums

it all up

that way,

right?

Salvation by

grace alone,

through faith

alone,

in Christ

alone,

forever,

by the

mercies of

God,

to present

your bodies

as a living

sacrifice,

holy and

acceptable

to God,

which is

your spiritual

worship.

Some

translations

render that,

which is

your reasonable

worship,

the obvious

reasonable

response to

what God

has now done

your whole

being to

God.

Verse 2

Do not be

conformed to

this world,

but be

transformed by

the renewal

of your mind,

that by testing

you may discern

what is the

will of God,

what is good

and acceptable

and perfect.

Now most of us

are fairly familiar

with this,

right?

And certainly

this has a

broader meaning.

If we're not

being conformed

to the world,

being transformed

by the renewal

of our mind,

if we're offering

ourselves wholly

to God,

we'll be able

to sort out

those little

details.

Who should I

marry?

Where should I

live?

Types of

things.

But most

people sit

around waiting

for this

grand revelation

for that.

You say,

God, I'm

transforming a

mind.

I'm offering

myself as a

sacrifice to

you.

Why won't

you speak to

me and tell

me exactly

what it is

you would

have me do?

But I

think we

missed the

point.

And what

Paul's really

doing is

he's setting

us up to

hear everything

else he's

about to

say.

Right?

Do not

be conformed.

Be

transformed.

Let me show

you what the

transformed

Christian life

looks like.

He's about

to tell us

all about

that through

chapter 15

verse 13.

He goes to

that.

He talks about

there being a

genuine love

for the

saints,

chapter 12

verse 10

through 13,

for all

people,

chapter 12

verse 14

through 16,

for your

enemies,

chapter 12

verse 17

through 21,

and then on

through 15,

even when it's

difficult or

causes sacrifice

on your part.

This is the

good,

acceptable

will of

God.

We can

all live

every day

confident

that we're

living in the

will of

God.

We do

this.

We wake

up in the

morning and

we say to

God,

God,

I'm unworthy

of your

salvation.

Left to

my own

devices,

I'm a

wretched,

wretched

sinner,

but because

you have

come and

you have

dwelt in

me,

you have

changed my

heart,

I want to

die to

myself this

day.

It is my

reasonable

service to

offer myself

as a

sacrifice to

you.

Work in

me,

genuine love

for people.

Help me to

know how

it is I

ought to

respond

appropriately

to the

gospel in

this day,

and then

walk it

out.

Get obedient

to what God

puts before

you in

that day.

So God

is providential

in everything

that's happening

in our lives.

As I said

to you,

we still play

a part,

we still have

a means

to his

ends.

How does

that exactly

work out?

I don't

know.

But yet

the scriptures

speak.

Second

word,

planning.

So we

see that

God is

providential

at work,

working out

his perfect

will in

this world,

and yet

we see

Paul here

making plans,

and we're

to do the

same.

Verse 24,

he says,

I hope

to see

you in

passing

as I

go to

Spain,

and be

helped

on my

journey

there by

you,

once I

have

enjoyed

your

company

for a

while.

He had

a plan

to go

to Spain,

to take

the gospel

there,

go beyond

the borders

of Rome

itself,

go on

to Spain,

to the

eastern

part of

the empire.

He had

planned that

they would

help him

along the

way,

and that

he was

going to

stick around

for a little

while,

enjoy their

company.

Verse 28,

when therefore

I've

completed this,

talking about

bringing,

and have

delivered to

them what

has been

collected,

I will

leave for

Spain,

by way

of you.

Remember at

the very

beginning of

the letter,

Romans 1,

Romans 1:11–13

verse 11-13,

we see,

for I long

to see you,

that I may

impart to you

some spiritual

gift to

strengthen you,

that is what

may be mutually

encouraged by

each other's

faith,

both yours

and mine.

I do not

want you to

be unaware,

brothers,

that I have

often intended

to come to

you,

but thus far

have been

prevented,

in order that

I may reap

some harvest

among you,

as well as

among the

rest of

the Gentiles.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:17–18

chapter 2,

verse 17-18,

he says,

but since we

were torn

away from

you,

brothers,

for a short

time in

person,

not in

heart,

we endeavored

the more

eagerly and

with great

desire to

see you

face to

face,

because we

wanted to

come to

you,

I,

Paul,

again and

again,

but Satan

hindered us.

You see that

he made

plans,

he wanted

to go

places,

right?

He desired

to do

things,

and for

Paul,

all these

things were

bound up

in the

overarching

will of

God for

his life

that he

present the

gospel to

the Gentiles,

right?

But yet,

God,

in his

providence,

shaped his

plans.

We can

continue my

analogy of

Sam,

right?

Once I

met Sam,

I made

plans to

be around

her.

I

intentionally

tried to

be involved

in things

that she

was being

involved in.

In fact,

I actually

took a

job,

moved in

with my

sister and

brother-in-law

for six

months so

that I

could be

close to

where Sam

lived,

so that I

could get

to know

her.

Our

plans are

important.

They

matter in

these

things.

And as

such,

we should

be making

strategies to

reach our

classmates,

our

coworkers,

our

neighbors,

etc.

We ought

to be coming

up with

ways,

intentional

ways,

to reach

them with

the gospel

of Christ.

If we

are

disciple-making

disciples,

that is the

overarching

definition of

who we

are,

and it

should be,

it's the

reasonable

thing,

in light of

what Christ

has done

for us,

then we

should be

planning how

it is we

should advance

the gospel

in the world.

Keeping in

mind,

all along,

God is

providential.

He's going

to shape

those plans.

He's going

to shake

them up on

you at

times.

And at

times,

he's going

to carry

them out

exactly the

way you

plan for

them to

be.

Third word,

participation.

It's not

just enough

to plan

it,

we actually

have to

start doing

it,

right?

You can't

just make

a plan,

say,

God's in

control,

God's

providential.

There's an

old little

saying which

has some

bearing of

truth,

but is

often taken

too far

for somebody

to say,

just let

go and

let God.

There's some

truth in

that.

Yeah,

sometimes we

get too

overbearing,

we want

to control

everything,

we want

to do

everything

under our

own

might and

power.

And the

point I

think of

that is

to say,

you really

can't

accomplish

it all

on your

own,

so let

go of

it,

let God

work in

and through

you to

accomplish

things,

but it

doesn't

mean sit

on your

hands and

just hope

things work

out.

Counsel people

who have a

desire,

they want to

be in the

word of

God more,

they want

to see a

hunger in

their life

for that,

say to

them,

you already

have it,

right?

You have a

desire to be

in the

word of

God.

Pray in

the morning

that God

gives it

to you

once again,

that he

renews it

in you

afresh,

and recognize

that your

very prayers

are evidence

of your

desire to

do so.

So don't

sit around

after your

prayer and

hope that

suddenly your

hand is

moved to

pick up the

Bible,

and you

open it

up and

you begin

to read,

just respond.

God,

I pray

that you

would give

me a

desire for

your word.

I have a

desire for

your word.

Open it

up and

in the

process.

Again,

we are the

means to

God's end.

And I want

to show you

in this text

three ways

in which

we participate.

Now,

recognize Paul

here is talking

about his

particular

mission,

right?

The very

thing that

he was

aiming to

do.

He was

aiming to

go from

the eastern

part of

the Roman

Empire,

where he

has said

previously,

he's

accomplished

the work

that God

had put

before him.

He had

fully

preached

the gospel.

Now he's

wanting to

go to the

western part

of the

empire,

passing

through

Rome

to

Spain.

We don't

know for

sure if

he ever

made it.

I found

some

evidences

last week

I told you

that it

seemed like

maybe he

did,

and then

he went

on from

there to

Britain.

I,

this week,

found some

evidences

that he

didn't.

It would

seem that

the Christian

faith didn't

reach Spain

until 200

years after

Paul.

So,

I don't

really know

if he

ever made

it or

not.

That's

the point

of what

I'm

saying to

you.

But,

this is

centering

out.

Something

we ought

to be

doing,

and this

is how

we should

be doing

it together.

So,

we should

be participating

together in

God's mission

in the world

and the

particular ways

he's given

it to us.

The first

way is

financial.

Our

participation

should be

financial.

In verse

24,

he says

that he

hopes to

be helped

on my

journey

there by

you.

Which

includes

financial

help.

It actually

goes a

little bit

beyond that,

in fact.

The idea

here of

being helped

is the

idea of

being

escorted,

being shown

the way.

Paul fully

expected that

when he

got to

Rome,

that some

of the

believers

from Rome

would give

him supply

to travel

to Spain,

as well

as take

him there.

Somebody

who knew

the road

from Rome

to Spain,

wherever he

was going

in Spain,

would actually

take him

along the

way,

would give

of themselves

to help

him fulfill

his task

in the will

of God.

We also

see Paul

delivering a

financial gift

to Jerusalem

on behalf

of the Gentiles

in verses

25 to

27.

We're not

going to

look at

that much.

But you

see that

there's this

giving of

oneself

movement

happening.

Turn with

me to

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

Another great

example of

this type of

sacrificial giving

to support

the ministry

of God.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8:1–8

chapter 8

verses 1

through 8.

We want

you to know

brothers about

the grace

of God

that has

been given

among the

churches

of Macedonia.

For in a

severe test

of affliction

their abundance

of joy

and their

extreme

poverty

have overflowed

in a wealth

of generosity

on their

part.

For they

gave according

to their

means,

as I can

testify,

and beyond

their means

of their

own accord

begging us

earnestly

for the

favor of

taking part

in the

relief of

the saints.

And this

not as we

expected,

but they

gave themselves

first to

the Lord

and then

by the

will of

God

to us.

This

great

outpouring

of the

generosity

of the

churches

of Macedonia

because they

wanted to

be involved

in the

work of

God

and

relieving

the

suffering

amongst

the

saints.

So our

participation

needs to

be

financial.

There's

lots of

opportunities

to do

that

where we

live.

This

church

needs

that

kind

of

participation.

All of

these

people

going

all

over

the

world.

I

can't

even

begin

to

tell

you

all

the

places

that

people

are

headed

out

this

summer.

We

have

an

immense

number

of

people

for as

small

as

we

are

going

all

over

the

place

and

every

single

one

of

them

need

financial

assistance.

God

uses

money

to

get

things

accomplished.

Again,

means

to an

end.

We

see the

parable

in

Luke

Luke 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12.

We

studied

this

in

our

community

group

this

past

week,

week

before

last.

The

parable

of

the

rich

young

fool.

This