Home / Read / Blog / Romans - Wayne Barber/Part 74B

Romans - Wayne Barber/Part 74B

| | 21 minutes read
<span id=hs_cos_wrapper_name class=hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text style= data-hs-cos-general-type=meta_field data-hs-cos-type=text >Romans - Wayne Barber/Part 74B</span>
By: Dr. Wayne Barber; ©2007
In our last study we looked at verse 32. Now, we're not quite that far. We're back in verse 23. We jumped ahead to see a statement that Paul makes. We're going to go back and see how that has worked out in his life.
Audio Version Previous Article Romans 15:23 In our last study we looked at verse 32. Now, we're not quite that far. We're back in verse 23. We jumped ahead to see a statement that Paul makes. We're going to go back and see how that has worked out in his life. Look in verse 32 of chapter 15. The Apostle Paul says, "...so that I may come to you in joy...," now watch, "...by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company." We're talking about walking in the will of God. This is part two of a message we began last time. To be honest, we chased a rabbit the last time. I hope it was one worth chasing. Now we're coming back to the text here in Romans 15. Well, we're going to look in verses 22 down through the end of the chapter at some principles we can glean from the Apostle Paul's life about walking in the will of God. What does walking in the will of God involve? First of all, I want you to see that walking in the will of God involves priorities and persistence. Now, these will be two very familiar words in your vocabulary when you begin to walk in the will of God, when you choose God's will and not your own will in your life. Look at verse 22 of chapter 15. Paul says to the Roman believers, "For this reason I have often been hindered from coming to you; but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you whenever I go to Spain - for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while - but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints." Paul had been delayed in going to Rome. He wanted to go. For years he had longed to go. But the reason he was hindered was because he was about his Father's business. How many times in life have you wanted to do something, you've longed to do something, but if you've made the commitment to do the will of God, to walking in the agenda God has for you, these things have to be put on hold as you're about the Father's business? He had taken the gospel literally fourteen hundred miles to Illyricum. Illyricum is modern day Bosnia. From Jerusalem to Illyricum God had given him the burden to take the gospel to the unreached people groups of the world, to take the gospel to where Christ had not been named for, not to build on another man's foundation. This had consumed his time. His priority was to walk in the will of God and he had a persistence to see it done as God had assigned him in his life. He had been very, very busy. He had been hindered from going to Rome. His priority and his persistence are well known. Now, he explains here that he still cannot come to Rome. This is what I love about it. Many times it's hard to get out of me what gets into me when I'm studying it. But the thing just amused me. Paul said, "I've been longing to come to you and the thing that's kept me from coming to you is now over, but I've got something else to do before I can get there. God's still working in my life." This was the priority of the Apostle Paul. Hey, if they didn't like it, they just had to lump it because Paul was about the Father's business. Why can't we live this way, just pursuing those things that God had assigned into his life? Well, verse 26 explains what he's about to do. He's about to take an offering that he's been taking up in the Gentile churches back to Jerusalem. There was a very special reason he was doing that. Verse 26 reads, "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem." Now there are two key words there. The word "pleased to make" is the word ε_δoκέω (eudokeo). It means they thought well of doing this. In other words, they saw the need. Somebody told them about the need that was over in Judea, and they thought well of it. They saw it to be a good thing to take up an offering to seek what they could monetarily do to help these suffering Christians over in Judea. The word for poor is a very special word. It's the word πτωχός (ptochos). It's the word that is used in Matthew, "Blessed are the poor in spirit". It means those over in Judea who were absolutely unable to help themselves. These people were destitute. Now, what in the world was going on over in Judea that would cause the Gentile churches of Macedonia to take up an offering to send to them? What was it that had rendered the believers, literally, to a place they couldn't even help themselves? They were in a destitute situation. Well, turn with me if you will to the book of Acts and we'll see exactly what was going on. So often you have to reach over to other places to put in the pieces of the picture of what Paul is saying here. In Acts 11:28 you find exactly what was going on and how this all got started and why was it that Paul had to take the offering over to the church in Judea. It says, "And one of them named Agabus...," he was a prophet in that day, "...stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius." This kind of gives you a time frame. "And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul...," or the Apostle Paul, "...to the elders" there at the church in Jerusalem. I want you to see what's happening here. God led Agabus by the Holy Spirit to prophesy that a famine would take place and even the time period when it would take place and it did. Then God led the church, when they became aware of the needs of the saints in Judea, to take up an offering. Then God led the church to assign Paul and Barnabas the responsibility of taking up this offering and taking it to the people there, the elders there, in Jerusalem. All of that was God. You say, "Well, how did Paul know that was God's will in his life?" Well, God spoke to him very clearly through the action and the activity of that church and they chose to send it through Paul. He would take it to the elders over in Jerusalem. Again the will of God was being carried out. Paul was about the things of God. I hope you're hearing what we're saying. He was about reaching the unreached, and when he got to the point that there were no other areas to go to, then God had another assignment for him. And through the church, he understood, very clearly, he was to take that offering over to Judea and give it to the elders. The will of God - that's what Paul was all about. "God, what do You want me to do? I want to be about what it is You have for me to do." Verse 27 of chapter 15 says, "Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things." I think it's pretty obvious what Paul is saying. The covenants, all the things, the whole message of Christ and Jesus being our Messiah comes right through the Jewish race and the Jewish nation. As a matter of fact, Jesus' humanity came out of the nation of Israel. He was a Jew. He was born onto this earth the God Man of Jewish parents. So they felt indebted. The Gentiles were called dogs in the gospels, but they felt indebted to the Jews because they had all these promises and they'd had the covenants and it was through that race of people that the Lord Jesus came. They said, "Hey, we have benefited from you, spiritually. Now, we want to benefit you materially and monetarily. Somehow we can help you now." Imagine, Gentiles taking up an offering for the Jewish saints over in Judea. Well, it says in verse 28, "Therefore, when I have finished this,...," and Paul's talking about that assignment again, "...and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain." Again, here's the agenda that God had for the Apostle Paul. He was moving as God moves, being sensitive. "God, what is it You want?" If we could just come to that place in our life. Obviously there are going to be times when it's not as clear as we want it to be. We'll address that in a moment. But just coming to that mental resolve, "God, I just want to be about what it is You have for me in my life. And there are a lot of things I'd like to do. But, God, I'm willing to put all of this aside. I'm willing to take the insults of people if that's what is necessary just to be about Your business until the day that I die." I'll tell you what, folks. When that resolve gets in your life as we saw the last time, we begin to realize then we do have a sense of purpose. We begin to sense that God is using us in accomplishing things through us. And this is what Christians are looking for. It's that sense of fulfillment, that sense of understanding that God really has a place for me and that God has a purpose in my life. But it's going to require priorities. You're going to have to make your priority. And your priority has got to be the number one priority, "God, whatever You say, I'm willing to do. No matter what it costs me I'm willing to do it." We had a phone patch recently with one of our missionaries, Andy DeFelice down in Chile. I loved what he said. He said, "To me, the whole key about God's will is not so much about what it is but am I willing to do it regardless of what it is." That's the priority. Then with that priority comes the persistence, with the Holy Spirit of God orchestrating all of this, to stick with it and go on and follow through with what God puts in front of you, what God does to lead you in that way. The first thing we see in the Apostle Paul is that he had a priority and the persistence to back it up. He was going to stay with it. He wanted to go to Rome but he just couldn't get there. God kept moving him another way. His priority was to do what God said. Secondly, walking in the will of God involves planning and providence. To me as I was studying this, this really screamed out at me. I came out of the era that when you get in touch with God, you don't have to plan anything. You just let God do it. Let God be God. Over the years God's had to grow me up in this that planning is not bad. Did you know planning is not bad? Now I understand a giraffe is a horse that a committee got hold of. Sometimes planning can be exactly not what I'm talking about. But planning, to have a direction, to put together in your mind what you believe it is that God wants you to do, that is not wrong. But with that planning you have to have in tandem the idea of the providence of God. Here's the balance. It's in Proverbs 16:9 if you want to turn there. It says, "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps". Now this is divine balance. We sit down. We're about the will of God, and there are times when we just don't know it. As we saw the last time, the Apostle Paul thought he was going to go to Asia. It sounded good to him. That was an unreached area. Then he thought he was going to go to Bithynia, then over to Mysia, but God said, "No. That's not what I have for you." The providence of God stepped in and squeezed him down to Troas. It was in Troas that he had the Macedonian vision. From Troas he went over to Macedonia, which is Europe, and the gospel then began to be implanted in Europe. If you think about it, America comes as a result of that because we came from England for religious freedom. So he had something to do even with us today in the twentieth century. Paul had a plan but he held on loosely to it understanding the providence of God. God could change it any time. Flexibility, that's the whole thing. It's kind of like when things happen to me now. I'm learning this. When you walk up and the plane flight has been cancelled (and it happens quite often) they say, "I'm sorry. You're flight has been cancelled. There are no other flights." Rather than get upset, just simply say, "O.K. God, what are you up to? You're changing this whole thing. Now, what is it You have in store for us?" Let's just move this way. Pliable, being flexible, being willing to move with the current and let it carry you where you want to go. Yes, you planned it out. You spent hours planning it out. And you had a direction, but you give the providential right to God and He is able to intervene because you don't always know exactly what God's doing. God will move you the way He wants you to be moved. That's what we're talking about. It involves planning but it also involves the providential hand of God. Verse 28 says, "Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs,..." It seems to have the idea that Paul says, "I'm going to see it through all the way to Judea and being an Apostle and being assigned this task, I'm going to make sure it's completed. When I put my seal on it, that's over with." Then he says, "...I will go on by way of you to Spain. And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ." Paul mentioned Spain back in verse 23. Evidently, Rome was not really his focus. Spain was his focus. From the best I can find out, it didn't seem to be evangelized until about the third century. So that put a real strong burden on Paul to get into the area of Spain of that day. That seemed to be his focus. Remember his primary burden was to reach the unreached, to go and build on no man's foundation, but to take the gospel to where Christ has not been named. So he says, "Hey, I've got a plan here. I have got a plan. I'm going to go to Jerusalem first. When I leave Jerusalem, I'm going to head out towards Spain. By doing that I'm going to stop by and have some rest and relaxation with you. I'm not going to stay long. I just want to be with you. I want you to accompany me and I want you to go with me on my way to Spain. Look at verse 24, "...whenever I go to Spain-for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while-..." Now the word "helped on my way" is the word πρoπέμπω (propempo). It's the word that has an official sense. It seemed that back in those days when somebody was sent out on a missionary journey and people sensed that God was leading them to go about a work somewhere, then the church would gather around them. They would send a group with them to be their encouragers and to accompany them but they would also fully supply them on their journey. You know, that carries right into the twentieth century, doesn't it? We picked right up on that. Somebody from our church is sent some place. We try to, first of all, financially back them, and if we can, go with them and pray with them because it's something very important. That's what they would do in that time. Paul is saying, "Man, I've got a plan! I'm going to go to Jerusalem. On my way to Spain, I'm going to come by and visit with you, have rest and relaxation with you, have a wonderful time with you. Then you are going to put a group around me to go with me to Spain and not only that, fully supply me on my journey. I have a plan." Paul had made sensible and careful plans to do what he's doing and there's not a thing in the world wrong with that. But, remember, he also understand the providential hand of God to change those plans at any moment because Paul's plans may not have fit exactly with the will that God had for his life. If you study Paul's journeys you realize why he had that providential understanding of God's working in his life. When he gets to Jerusalem, he knows that there are going to be some problems. We're going to look at that in a moment. As a matter of fact, he's falsely accused. Some Jews from Asia Minor said that he took Trophimus, a Gentile, behind the wall of partition, which has a big sign on it that says, "You're worthy of the penalty of death if a Gentile enters behind that wall of partition." They falsely accused Paul. As a result, did Paul get to go to them with full joy? No, not exactly. He went in chains. He spent five and one half years in prison, two years in Caesarea, and went to Rome in chains. Did God have another idea? Oh yeah. Paul had a plan, but God had the providential sovereign right to intervene in that plan and to change it and mold it and bend it the way He thought that it ought to be. When you walk in the will of God, you've got to remember that. There are times when you make plans. God has not spoken any clearer to you and your burden is still there. You make your plans but then when you finish, you present your plans to God and say, "God, here are my plans. You take it and direct my steps. Do with my plans whatever You want. Throw them away if You want to. But do whatever it is You want to do in my life." That's when you're living in the will of God with your plans with the understanding of God's intervention in those plans. They always must be subject to God's intervening will and His right to do that. I think of the trips that we've been on. Rick Shepard has a wonderful little saying that he says all of the time. "Flex and obey." Just flex and obey. Boy, that's a wonderful thing. Have you been on a mission trip before? Isn't that wonderful? Do you already understand exactly what we're talking about? You sat on a committee. You made your plans. Boy! Did God ever change them! That's exactly right. Then when you look back at it, can you see the hand of God all over it? Sometimes when He's changing them you can't see that. But then you stand and look back and you see it. I remember years ago we were over in Europe, and I met a man from South Africa. That's when the burden began to develop inside of my heart for the people for South Africa. He was talking about how we could minister to the blacks and the coloreds and the Indians and then the whites who were there. This was years ago. As a matter of fact, we've been going for seven years. So it's been about nine years ago. I remember going home and feeling that burden to go. I wanted to go with this particular man because he really impressed me sitting at a table talking with him one evening. He even invited me to go. I waited on him to call. He did not call. That was back during those difficult times. Diana was going through probably the worst time I guess she's ever gone through, physically. She had had that complete hysterectomy and her hormones were just shot. Ha! It was during those times that I began to appreciate hormones. I told her one day, I said, "Diana, it's not fair. When you get this way, you can take a hormone. I have to confess it as sin." It was a very difficult time, very difficult time. There were some times when I was so confused as to what was going on. I got to thinking, "You know, I could take six months in jail for breaking and entering. I'll break into a drugstore to get hormones if I have to." It became very, very important. Sometimes I didn't know whether to wear a helmet or flight jacket when I came to the house. I didn't know if I was going to stay out in the yard or what. You take flowers and they cry. You just never know what's next. I know it's difficult for the ladies. I understand that. But ladies please understand, it's difficult for us. We haven't got a clue what's going on. Finally the man called. I was in my studies at home. Oh, I was so excited. He was setting up the trip, planning out the trip. He said, "Wayne, we've got it all set up for August of this particular year. This is what we're going to do. Etc." I was writing all of this down and repeating it back on the phone and it suddenly dawned on me that there was somebody else in the room. Diana had walked in the room while I was on the phone making my plans. I couldn't wait to do what I was going to do. I turned around and I saw the tears in her eyes streaming down her face. I knew - that was my first clue. I have the gift of discernment. I knew something was wrong. I put my hand over the phone and I said, "Diana, what's wrong." And she said, "Wayne, I've been trying to tell you something, but you're not listening to me." Boy, you have to really grow up don't you and mature and let the Lord teach you these things. I said, "What?" She said, "Wayne, you don't seem to understand. I don't know what's going on inside me and I'm telling you, I can't stand to be away from you for that long a period of time. I can't. Wayne, I've never told you that before, but I cannot stand for you to be gone that long." You know, I'll tell you what. There was a crisis as big as Dallas that came up in my mind. The ministry, however, was in South Africa. Ha! Right! It was like God was saying, "Son, you're making your plans, but I've stepped in. I don't want you going. I want you to stay with your wife." I never will forget telling him that. It broke my heart to do it. Two years later Bill Stafford came and said, "Wayne, would you like to go to South Africa?" I've been going now for seven years, and I found out that the way I would have gone is not doctrinally where I'm lined up. As a matter of fact, it could have been a devastating experience. God had the timing. The plans were already being laid, but you've got to give the opportunity for God to step in and stop them and redirect your steps. There's nothing wrong with plans as long as they have the balance of the providential hand of God within them. You lay them in His hand and God stops them, so be it. Go right on. God's redirected the current of the river. Just follow the current of what He's doing. When His timing comes, He'll bring it back in your life. Paul said, "Hey, I have a plan. I'm going to go to Jerusalem. Going to go on down to Spain. I'll stop by and see you. I'll come to you in fullness of joy. We'll have a ball together. Then you can go with me down to Spain." A good plan but not exactly the way Paul would work it out. So, we have priorities and we have persistence. We have planning but we have to also interject the providential hand of God. The two work in tandem. Then thirdly, walking with God from what we learned from God, involves persecution and will involve a ton of prayer. When we're walking with God, the Holy Spirit many times will bear witness in our heart that danger lies ahead of us. I don't know if you've ever had it happen to you. I've never had it happen like Paul. I have on certain situations. When God just simply let's you know you're in for something. "Trouble's ahead of you. I'm not going to reroute you around it. I'm just getting you ready for what's coming." Just because we're living in God's will does not mean that we'll not face pressure, at times even extreme pressure. When Paul was going to Jerusalem he sensed in his spirit something very troublesome was ahead of him when he got to Jerusalem. Look over in Acts 20:22 at what Paul says. This is going on at the same time. You just have to reach over and grab this piece and help complete the puzzle. Paul says, "'And now, behold, bound in spirit,...'" I love that phrase, "...'I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.'" Now, on his way to Jerusalem he stopped in Caesarea. Look in Acts 21:10 at what happened to him there. Everywhere Paul goes the Holy Spirit of God bears witness through somebody that there's trouble waiting on him in Jerusalem. He knows that obeying the will of God is going to involve some pain and some pressure. Acts 21:10-11 reads, "And as we were staying there for some days, a certain prophet named Agabus...," we've seen him before, "...came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, 'This is what the Holy spirit says: "In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."'" Even with the alarm of impending danger, Paul was still sold out to the will of God knowing that God was taking him to Jerusalem. He had that confirmation by the church itself that had given him that assignment. He knew that somehow the trouble was awaiting him. But, again, that persistence came in knowing that persecution was in front of him. That's why verse 30 of Romans 15 is written. He asked the people at Rome to pray, pray, pray for him. He knows what's ahead of him. He says in verses 30-32, "Now I urge you brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company." Now that little term "strive together with me in prayer" is συvαγωvίζoμαι (sunagonizomai). συv (sun) is that intimate word we talked about back in chapter 6. Join in intimately with me, not just in association with me, but intimately join in. The last part of the word comes from the word "agonize." It's like the Apostle Paul says, "Man, will you come to prayer with me? Will you join with me? I know that trouble is ahead. Will you agonize with me in prayer?" Why? "Not so that I can be delivered from danger or harm, but so that my ministry might be effective among the people there in Judea." He said, "...that I may be delivered..." Being delivered was not the purpose of his being spared from death or persecution, but so that he could complete the ministry God has for him. The word "deliver" is a beautiful word. It's the word _ύoμαι (rhuomai). It's the idea of being drawn close to somebody in the midst of danger. Somebody's caught in a raging current upstream and someone reaches down and grabs their hand and pulls them to them and puts their arms around them and holds on to them. That's the actual word of deliver. It's not so much delivered completely away from. He's not saying that. Paul's been persecuted so many times he has a whole chapter devoted to that in Corinthians. He wants to be so close to God in the midst of that persecution that all that he does can be effective in the people that are around him. Well, part of his prayer was answered. "Those who are disobedient" are the Jewish people who refused to understand that Jesus was the Messiah. They were not allowed to kill Paul. They wanted to kill him, but God would not allow it. As a matter of fact, God had a company of about two hundred Roman soldiers to accompany Paul out of town and take him down to Caesarea. That's not bad. You know, there's danger ahead and when it gets so hot to handle, too heavy to handle, God has two hundred soldiers around you and takes you out of town. He took him down to Caesarea. He was protected the whole way. God protected him in that sense of the word. His prayer was partially answered, but not really the way he intended. He says in verse 32, "...so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company." Well, I'm not sure you could say he found refreshing rest in their company. He went in chains, was put into prison and stayed there at least two years, possibly a lot longer. He was able to entertain guests and write his letters. It was a little different than the imprisonment when he wrote I and II Timothy when he finally was martyred. What I'm trying to show you is that when you're walking in the will of God, you have to have that priority of doing what God puts in front of you and the persistence to stay with it. But not only that, there's planning involved. It's not just a haphazard thing, flying by the seat of your pants. There is planning involved. That planning has got to be somehow joined with the providential hand of God. God may move you when you don't expect to be moved because you may have missed exactly what He's saying. That's alright. Give Him that right to do that. But it's going to involve pressure and persecution and pain. I wish I could say it differently. It's just not going to happen that way. I don't find anywhere in scripture that it's going to be that way. People are not going to like what we do because of our priority to serve Christ. But in the midst of that, believers are going to become more important to you than ever before. Then that plea goes out, "Will you agonize with me in prayer that I might be delivered, not from pain and death, but delivered and so drawn to Christ that whatever I do will have its eternal effect on the people who are around me?" Oh yeah! God changed a lot in Paul's plans. But that's what it all is about. That's the adventure of walking with God. I said before that there's a new thing going around that says there's no specific will of God. Huh! I'm sorry. I'll just be hard- headed. I beg to disagree. I'll tell you how you can know what the specific will of God is. It's sometimes not in the front of it and sometimes not in the middle of it. But it's on the end of it. As a matter of fact, let me read this to you first. "On the other side, after you've been through it, you look back and see how specific it really was. You didn't see it when you were going through it. How happy are tried Christians afterwards. No calm more deep than that which succeeds a storm. Who had not rejoiced in clear shining after rain? Victoria's banquets are for well exercised soldiers. After killing the lion, we eat the honey. After the hill of difficulty, we sit down in the arbor to rest. After traversing the valley of humiliation, after fighting with Napoleon, the shining one appears with the healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels upon the sea leave a silver line of holy light behind them afterwards. It is peace, sweet deep peace, which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in our tormented guilty souls. See, then, the happy estate of the Christian. He has his best things last and he, therefore, in this world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things are afterward good things. Harsh plowings yielding joyful harvests. Even now he grows rich by his losses. He rises by his fall. He lives by dying and becomes full by being emptied. If then his grievous afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life, what shall be the full vintage of joy afterwards in Heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world's days, what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid than the son, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in Heaven? If he can praise the Lord in the fires, how will he extol him before the eternal throne? If evil be good to him now, what will the overflowing goodness of God be to him then? Oh, blessed afterward! Who would not be a Christian? Who would not bear the present cross for the crown which cometh afterwards? But, herein, is work for patience for the rest is not for today. Nor the triumph for the present but afterward. Wait, oh soul, and let patience have her perfect work." Shoo! Lord, help us. When I read that, it put me on my face before the Lord. How many times I'm so sure I'm in the will of God, and God has to somehow say, "Well, bless him. He wants to do it." But after it's all over and looking back, then you see how much more it really was than what you understood. I love what Andy DeFelice said about the little things that

Leave a comment

Get The Latest

On The John Ankerberg Show