This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you back to our look at Romans chapter 15 together. This is
day five, our last day in our look through this chapter. We're going to be
looking at verses 22 to 33.

The last couple days we've been looking at the heart of Paul's ministry. As we
jump into verse 22 and then go to the end of this chapter, you get an insight
not only into the heart of Paul's ministry, but also into the actions of Paul's
ministry. This is one of the most used of all of God's servants, and here in
these verses is an outline of how he did things, how he organized his tasks, how
he organized his days, and I want to learn from him.

I'm sure you want to learn from this man that was so used of God to make a
difference in this world. The actions of Paul's ministry, as you read this, you
get some wisdom as to the realities of ministry. What I'd like to do is just
walk through these verses, read a little bit and then comment on what it says
about the actions of ministry, and read a little more and comment about what it
says about the actions of ministry.

A little bit different look at this today. In verse 22 he says, "This is why I
have often been hindered from coming to you. " When I read the word hindered,
it's a reminder to me that ministry does not always work out like I wanted to.

It doesn't always work out like you want it to. Paul, even Paul, was often
hindered from doing what he wanted, but he didn't quit. He knew that God had
something else.

You may at some point have been hindered from doing some type of ministry that
you wanted to do, and you may have given up because of that, thinking that it
was some sign that God didn't want to use you, or maybe more frankly it was
because you got angry and you didn't want to be heard again. Paul, in his daily
actions of ministry, was often hindered from doing what he wanted to do. So what
did he do?

He didn't get caught up in where he was hindered. He looked for where he was
unhindered. He looked for where he could serve.

Verse 23, continuing through this passage, he says, "But now there is no more
place for me to work in these regions, and since I've been longing for many
years to see you. " Before we go on to the next verse, he talks here about the
fact that there's no more place for me to work here, so I think I'm going to
move on. That's a pretty good indication of how Paul did ministry.

There's nothing else to do here. The works are done here, so I'm going to move
on to what's next. Two incredible things there.

First he says, "I stayed until I was finished. I got everything done that I
could do here. " But then he also says, "I realized I wasn't the one to do
everything here.

It's time to move on. Somebody else needs to come in and finish up this work.
It's time to move on.

" That is one of the most difficult things in ministry. When God has given you
especially a success in a ministry, it is incredibly difficult to say, "All
right, it's time to leave that behind and go to something different. " But Paul,
in his daily way of how he did ministry, realized, "I'm going to have a success
in ministry.

God's going to work through it, and then there comes a point when I move on, and
someone else comes in and has a different success in that place. " The idea that
you're going to have one success in ministry and you're going to build on that
for the rest of your life, that's just a pipe dream. That's never going to
happen.

That's not how God works. If you want to really see how God works, it's to work
until you're finished with what you're doing and then look for what's next. That
means letting go.

Letting go is painful because there is some grief to that. There is some hurt to
that. There is loss in grief.

There's no grief without loss, and there's no loss without pain. That pain, that
hurt, causes us to want to hold on sometimes too long. He's reminding us here,
"Finish up what you've got to do and then move on to what's next.

" Now, in verse 24, he says, "I've been longing for many years to see you. " In
verse 24, "And so I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while
passing through and to have you assist me in my journey there after I've enjoyed
your company for a while.

" He says, "I plan to do so. " Plan. Paul uses the word plan.

It is okay to make plans in ministry. The idea that truly serving Christ is
somehow just sort of doing whatever comes to your mind that day and not making
plans, it's not found in the New Testament. It is not found in the life of the
apostle Paul.

Paul, in just this passage, verses 22 to 33, you see that he's planning three
different trips in order to do ministry. He's planning to go from Corinth, where
he is right now, down to Jerusalem. And then he's planning to go from Jerusalem
to Rome to see the people that he's riding to and then he tells them, "I'm
planning to go from Rome on to Spain.

" Corinth to Jerusalem was about 800 miles. Jerusalem to Rome, that's about
1,500 miles. Rome to Spain, about 700 miles.

3,000 miles. In that day, walking was no small task. And Paul had to plan in
advance in order to accomplish his task of ministry.

It's okay to make plans in ministry. In verse 25, he says, "Now, however, I am
on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and
Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in
Jerusalem.

They were pleased to do it, and indeed, they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles
have a share in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share
with them in their material blessings. " Paul is talking here about an offering
that he took up in all the churches because the churches in Jerusalem are
suffering financially.

They were going through even times of famine. And so he's taking this offering
from all the churches back to Jerusalem. A couple of interesting things in these
verses.

First, the importance of giving and of leading in giving as a servant. Paul
spent a significant amount of time taking up this offering and delivering it.
That's part of ministry, is us giving and then us making sure that the gifts get
to people who have the needs.

Don't miss out on that because Paul spent a lot of time doing that and
effectively serving God. It's also interesting to note here that Paul says, when
he talks about the people in Macedonia and Achaia, that they were pleased to
make this offering. If you've read 2 Corinthians, you know that everybody wasn't
pleased to give this offering.

Paul had to encourage them to be pleased. But in the end, they ended up being
pleased. And here, he doesn't tell the whole story, he just tells the end of the
story.

And that's a reminder to me that it's not a lie to not tell all of the story
sometimes. If someone struggled in their faith and they've come to a point of
great faith, you don't have to always say, "Well, they struggled in their faith
first and then they made this decision. " It's okay to say they were pleased.

It's okay to say they had faith. Now, it's not wrong to say they struggled. But
also, Paul reminds us that sometimes you just need to hear the end of the story.

That builds our faith. In verse 28, as we go on, he says, "So after I completed
this task and made sure that they received this fruit, I'll go on to Spain and
I'll visit you on the way. " What he's reminding us here is that ministry is
first one thing and then it's the next.

First I'm going to do this task and then I'm going to come see you and then I'm
going to go on to Spain. So you complete what you're doing and then you move on
to the next thing. You complete what you're doing and then you move on to the
next thing.

Now, that may seem very simple, but as I indicated earlier, it is often
violated. Often what happens is we're in the middle of doing something and we
sense God's call for the next thing. Paul knew he was going to go to Spain
someday.

Church history tells us he probably did. We're not certain that he did, but
church history tells us he probably did. Paul knew that he was planning to do
that someday, even in the midst of his taking this offering to Jerusalem.

Now, oftentimes when you and I get caught up in something like that, we say,
"Well, I'm going to drop this offering because I feel God's call to go to Spain
now. " Now, sometimes God lines up his callings in advance and first you
complete what you're doing now and then you know what the next thing is to do.
Finish what you have before you and then go on to the next call.

Paul says in verse 29, "I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full
measure of the blessing of Christ. " That phrase, "the full measure of the
blessing of Christ," says a lot about Paul's actions of ministry. There is an
attitude behind those actions that makes all the difference.

I can go and I can minister in my own confidence, my own capabilities, and
that'll take me just about as far as my own confidence goes. Or I can go in the
full measure of the blessing of Christ. And the New Testament tells us that this
is not just something Paul had.

Every believer has the full measure of the blessing of Christ. Jesus has put his
Spirit into us, he's put his blessing on us in full measure. And so you can go
in that confidence and not your own confidence.

And then in verse 30, he talks about the importance of prayer in the daily
actions of ministry. He says, "I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ
and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for
me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my
service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God's
will I may come to you with joy and together be with you and be refreshed.

The God of peace be with you all, amen. " Notice he says, "by God's will. " How
specific should our prayers be?

Is it a lack of faith to pray if it is God's will? Paul prayed that way twice in
Romans, and James says, "If I say I'm going to go to this city or I'm going to
do this thing without saying if it's God's will, I'm somehow missing out on
truly praying in God's will. " What he's reminding us here of is that we have to
distinguish between the general and the particular will of God.

The general will of God is what you see revealed in the New Testament, and you
know that's God's will. It's God's will for you to get close to Christ and talk
to him on a daily basis and to read his word and to love your neighbor. Those
are God's will.

But the particular will of God has more to do with your life. What city should
you live in? What ministry should you be serving in today?

Who should you marry? And that always you have to pray if it's God's will,
because there's no verse in the Bible that tells you. So as you pray, you pray
with the confidence that comes out of verses where you know exactly what the
Bible says, and you also pray with humility to say, "I'm not sure I know God's
will in other areas, but I'm open.

I'm listening. " In fact, as we end this look at the way that Paul organized his
ministry, isn't it great that he organized his ministry, those of you that are
organizers? As we look at this end of this passage, let's end by doing what Paul
encouraged us to do here, by praying.

Lord, we pray together. And as Paul reminds us, when we pray, we pray motivated
by the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Holy Spirit. And as we
pray, we join in other struggles.

So today, as we pray, instead of praying about our ministry, and what we want to
see happen in my life, Lord, I pray about somebody else's ministry, and you
might just bring somebody to mind right now. One of the things that Paul reminds
us to pray out here is to pray that people might be rescued. So pray that they'd
be rescued from difficult circumstances.

And if you happen to be thinking of a missionary in some dangerous country right
now, that rescue is a very real thing. Or maybe it's just someone who needs to
be rescued from some of the remarks that they've been hearing lately, some of
the discouragements that have been thrown their way lately. Ask God to rescue
them.

Paul reminds us here to pray that our ministry would be acceptable to the
saints. So pray that for the person you're thinking of right now. God help them
to serve in such a way that this ministry is an acceptable offering.

And I pray also for the people that they're serving, that they'd listen in such
a way, that they would accept this service that's being given to them as a gift.
They wouldn't reject it. And then pray for the person you're thinking of right
now.

Pray for God's will in their life, in those areas where they need to make
decisions. They're not certain of what's next, that God's will would be shown
clearly step by step and moment by moment. And then humility, they would
discover God's will with joy.

And as Paul says here, the result of discovering God's will is that with joy we
come together and we are refreshed. Pray that they would have joy and
refreshment in their life. The God of peace be with you all.

Paul ends his prayer, amen. Next week we're going to look together, we're going
to finish together our look at the book of Romans, Romans chapter 16. This
chapter has wonderful insight into how God has a plan to use each of us in
unique ways.