Spirit-led Decision-Making, Session 1

Introduction

Wow. Thanks for coming this morning. Sometimes I leave the mic off just to [snorts] see if someone will have the courage to say your mic is not working. I would love it if you would interrupt me at any time during this with whatever that is, whatever the comment is. So, please do that. I will finish Kim’s introduction a little bit. Trying to lower your expectations maybe is the reason for that. So, I’m [clears throat] not a preacher. I’ve never been fully supported to preach. I have stood in a pull pit occasionally, but that’s not uh what I’ve done in my life.

I’ve mostly been not exactly an engineer, but worked among engineers. My degrees are in physics. Uh and I worked for 40ome years in industry. Uh and during that time really uh for maybe a dozen years or so served as an elder in the church until my wife died. Uh I love to talk about her so don’t feel like that’s a sensitive topic. Uh but she’s been gone for about 13 years and I resigned from being an elder at the time she died, but I’ I’m still at the same congregation.

Uh the congregation I’m at is probably 62 years old and I’m I think maybe one of the last surviving members of the first meeting we ever had in that church. So [clears throat] that’s a good and a bad thing. It means that my experience is limited to one church in some ways. I did go away and go to college for six years and taught in a college for six years. But um apart from that, I’ve mostly been a part of that one congregation which is in Atlanta.

That’s in Georgia. Yeah. And if you’ve ever been through, it’s uh on the northeast side, the Ember Hills Congregation. So, this is my official welcome uh invitation to come visit us there. Yeah. But I I you know, I don’t know if Tim felt it or not, but I tried to talk him out of this. He kept saying, “No, no, just come do what you’re doing with the boys and stuff.” And I thought, “Well, um, okay, maybe.” And then I speaking with the elders, they said, “Why are we limiting this to the young people?” So, all good. All good.

And I’ll just present some stuff I think is scriptural. I think it represents some wisdom of life as well, which I think God intends for us to share with each other. uh and um you’ll know the difference and uh I hope you find uh both what I have to say scriptural and wise from the standpoint of how to live our lives. This morning I’m going to talk about in fact I would guess the beginning lesson that’s this morning and the last lesson Sunday night will have to do with managing our lives as believers.

uh and then the lessons in between the common theme is uh belief, doubt and apostasy. So those are things where you you’re you’re trying to do your best to do the right thing and then protection in these middle lessons will be from losing our faith or making uh decisions that are not in the right direction that cause us to be less faithful to God as we go. So to this morning’s lesson is a decision making lesson and I call it spiritled because uh that’s a phrase that will show up in the text itself.

Okay, it’s working and I’ll have three parts. I’m not sure I think the you know I don’t know I’ll be watching for people to nod off. I’m not sure if the break should come at the end of the first section or the second or maybe even somewhere in the middle but we’ll we’ll take at least one. Uh, and [clears throat] I’m really thrilled to have as much time as I have. I never can constrain whatever I’m saying to an hour. I I don’t know why that is. I think when I was lecturing in college, it was always 55 minute periods, you know, right?

And not like 35 minute sermons. So, somehow I’ve never been able to adjust to that half an hour. But this will be great. I hope you find it useful. Here are some points to start with introductions, right? Have you thought about the fact that most of the choices you make are not obviously choices between good and evil? I mean, think of all the choices you made just this morning, right? Now, did anyone wrestle with the decision of whether to rob a 7-Eleven on the way to the building?

Right? Or whether to kill another person. Now, I’m not talking about siblings, but I’m just, you know, generally. Did anybody wrestle with the decision of to kill somebody? You know what I mean? Obvious right and wrong decisions, but did you make some decisions this morning? Yes, you did. Yeah. What to wear, what to eat. I mean, a lot of things. Maybe which route to take to come to the building, where to park, things like that. And so, it is the case.

I’m going to assert you can argue with me that if you just count quantity, right, that most of the decisions we make are really not sinning or not [cough] sinning. [clears throat] Everybody, I see some nods. Listen, I’m very insecure and the more you do this, the better I feel about things and it’ll calm me down and you know that kind of thing. Okay, I’m going to assert something even further than that and that is that can everybody read that? Uh oh, I I meant to say let me back up to this chart right here.

Um so that’s my email, right? If there’s any of these charts or all of them or whatever, if you just email me and say, “Send me the charts.” I’ll just hit reply and I’ll give you all these in their PowerPoint form. You can post these online if you like, whatever you want to do. Uh I’m really anxious to share these. I don’t want recognition or footnotes. You can send it request on a $100 bill if you want to, but I don’t want any money or recognition.

Seriously, I don’t. And don’t write and say, “Can I use your material for this or that?” If it’s right and it’s scriptural and beneficial, please fix it and then maybe send it back to me if you’ve made it better. But but other than that, use it for your pointy. Okay. I’m [clears throat] gonna assert this though that most major decisions major decisions. What’s a major decision? Give me example. Yes. Whether to or whom to is that right? Who or whom? Right. Who right to whom?

To whom. Thank you. Don’t prepositions the wrong thing to be sentenced with. Right. So yes. Okay. Others other major life decisions where to live where to live whether to rent whether to buy right. I mean these are these will have lifelong consequences. right about whether to go to college or what to study when you get there or what job to select when you get out or whether to take that promotion or whether to form this friendship or that friendship or leave the friendship or y’all hear me on when I’m saying this are do you think does those seem like matters of sin or not sin maybe get a hint of where we’re going with this but okay but I would say it’s not like you’re deciding to kill somebody or not or rob a store.

Like we talked about before, most major decisions are kind of not sin and not sin, not not sin and sin decisions. And so that leads us to kind of question this thing. Well, maybe [clears throat] that’s because we have this religious part of our life, right? And man, you better obey God in that. But there’s this other part of my life that’s my private business, right? And God’s that’s that’s the area of liberty. We like to use that term. We’re Americans, of course. So liberties are real important. And so that’s an area of my life that really it’s not God’s business.

It’s my business because it’s not sin or not sin, right? Are y’all nodding because you agree with me or you’re just following my logic? Is it all God’s business, but he gives us a liberty in the tunnel here? Okay. And here is actually a quote from Galatians that says, “Do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh.” And it makes me wonder, is that the picture you get from Romans 12 when it says that uh present your bodies a living sacrifice?

I’m thinking about that poor animal that got selected. You know this blemishless sheep that sac what’s left of that sheep at the end of the sacrifice right what’s left I mean some of it’s burned some of it’s eaten but really some of it’s boiled I guess depend on the [clears throat] sacrifice but it’s all gone that sheep exist after that is there some other piece of that and yet that’s the metaphor Paul is using to describe the fact this the way our lives are right.

He’s not talking about when you die. He means as you live, be transformed by the renewing of your mind and present your bodies a live. When is that? Now or later? It’s now. Yeah. So, it leads to questions like this. You’ve probably never heard a question like this, have you? It starts with, “Do you think it’s a sin, too?” You ever heard a question like that? All right. Well, this is my probably [clears throat] ambitious promise. [cough] I’m going to give you the answer to that question.

Any question that begins with that before we’re done today, at least maybe this is Marty’s answer, but it’s I you’ll be trained to give a a proper answer to that question. Okay? Does that give some measure of anticipation for what we’re going to cover today? Maybe. And y’all know the kind of question I’m at. You think it’s a sin to marry a non-Christian? You think of a sin to take one drink, miss Wednesday night? You ever heard those kind of questions?

Did they make you uncomfortable a little bit? Because really what they’re asking is show me the verse or something, right? And do you think the person who’s asking is always or usually hoping that you’ll find a verse or maybe hoping you won’t find one? Yeah. You think won’t because why are they asking the question? Because they won’t. They want to do it. Yeah. Right. So I’m I’m not judging motives. I’m just saying that’s been my experience in life even when I’ve asked the question.

1. Paul Purposed in the Spirit to Go to Rome

Right. Okay. Are y’all with me? This is this is just introduction. What I’d like to do is is look at a decision in the New Testament that uh I don’t think it’s a decision between sin and not sin. You can quibble with me on that, but we’ll come back to it uh maybe at the end. And you hope you have your worksheet in front of you. And I’ve got a whole bunch of passages written, a whole bunch of Bible verses. I think they’re New King James. I’m pretty sure. I’ve been trying to transition either to Legacy or New American Standard.

But anyway, I think they’re still from the old New King James Version. And um it’s an exercise I want you to do yourself. I mean, with your neighbor, you can This is a you know, everybody can share each other’s paper, but work together. See if you can fill in these uh answers, but but let me give you a little background for the decision and you can read these verses and that maybe the assignment will make more sense. There was a time in Paul’s life, I I I just want to give this background.

Y’all know the journeys of Paul pretty well. Maybe you can correct me if I’ve got all this wrong, but on the second journey, second journey, and that’s where Paul ended up going to Thessalonica and all that. Hope I can draw this picture backward. Okay, so Paul is moving across. Oh, wait. I think I have a map. Let me just go ahead and go to that. There. Um, now this is third journey here. Uh, stop. Don’t do that. Okay. Third journey here. They both start in Antioch of uh Syria.

Y’all remember that? And they both ended up going this way. On the second journey, I think Paul was really maybe planning to go to Ephesus, but that’s speculation. He’s headed that way. But what happened? Do you remember something? He wanted to go to Bethnia. And what happened? I don’t see Bethnia on here. Holy Spirit. Yeah. No. for having been forbidden. Remember that God’s directing his his route. Isn’t that interesting? Not only that, but he’s there I think again.

Okay, I’m going to Ephesus or maybe I don’t know. But something else happened. God gave him some more. The second journey now God gave him more guidance. What was that? Macedonia. Yes. A man appeared to him in a dream, had on a t-shirt and said, “Medonian mudcats.” and he said, “Come over and help us.” And somehow he knew this guy was from Macedonia. I don’t know how he knew, but but that told him, “Okay, we’re going to go to Well, where’s that?

It’s up here in Philippi, right? And remember the Philippian jailer and the Thessalonans, he got run out of town and the Bereans who were more noble and all this that all happened in the second journey. All right. So, but on his way home, on his way home, it’s like he’s he he was on his way back to, you know, land and then go up to Antioch. He stopped off in Ephesus for like maybe two weeks. It’s not clear, but no more than that. Just a few days almost like I’m I’m kind I’ll I’ll be back, you know.

So, and so on the third journey, I go back to this. On the third journey, he passes through Galatia. And again, I’m going to try to do this backwards. Through Galatia, dead head, dead set to go to Ephesus. And he got to Ephesus. You remember how long he stayed there? Third journey now. Two years. Yeah. Three years. He was there for three years. And during that time, things went very well. In fact, you remember the story about the handkerchiefs that got sent out.

And I think that whole Lus Valley, those churches that later, some of them were the seven churches of Asia. There was Colasse, Leodysa. All those churches, it seems like, y’all correct me if I’m not getting this right, were started during that time. Not even necessarily, but by Paul, but by people he taught like Colossians, for example. Remember that? So great, he’s doing great in in Ephesus. And it seems like after three years, there’s some will see in this text some sense of I’m kind of done here.

Look for that. uh I think he decides yeah I need to move on in my life and do something and so while he was there at Ephesus at Ephesus third journey he decided on a plan there’s another detail you need to know too and that is something else is happening in Judea that’s very important in terms of the entire uh work of the church spread of the gospel do you remember what’s happening in Judea while he’s on this journey persecution maybe no it’s no may maybe that too but no in this case remember there was a famine and the churches in Judea needed help.

And who decided to send them the help? Well, Paul said, “I’m going to get some help.” And again, I’m going to jump to the map again. And these people made some commitments. In fact, the the letters to to Corin first and second both mention the collection. Remember that? I’m coming to get it by in store every week. So we don’t have a glut when and when I get there you select men that carry the gift. I’m not going to carry it. I want your representatives to do it. Now Luke doesn’t emphasize that um the charitable nature of that.

But he does say that when Paul left he had various men from each city with him. And I think the implication is they must have been the gift carriers. I I don’t know. But so that’s the other thing you got to remember is that Paul needs to go to Jerusalem carrying the gifts. Y’all get all this story there. I’m sorry for all this context. Hey, we got two and a half hours, right? We just talked about it for a while, but okay, you get the idea. And so what he said when he got to Ephesus was, I mean, not got there, as he was about to leave, when these things were accomplished, right?

All the good work he was doing there, when they were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit. Now, the American Standard doesn’t capitalize this. Other translations do. I’m interested in your theories. And by the way, I don’t know for sure. Is that Holy Spirit telling him again or his own spirit inside where he made that decision purposed in his heart kind of thing. [clears throat] Let me just finish reading and then I’ll ask your opinion. When he had passed through Macedonia, remember that? Why is he going through Macedonia again?

Here’s where he is. He’s going to pass through Macedonia. The guy with the t-shirt. Yeah. Well, no, no, that was second. Second. He knows these people now. all these people he remember at Corinth he waited for Timothy that second journey but now they’ve made a a a vow I mean a what do you say commitment to to collect some money and he has to collect all that money and then carry it back and carry it to the church in Jerusalem and y’all know what happened when he got there is he got arrested and he was put in jail and he almost got killed and he escaped to Cesaria remember that and he was there.

Do you know how long he was in Cesaria? Two years. Keep that in mind. Just keep all these facts in mind just about Paul’s life. And I think I’ve jumbled them up. I apologize for covering them out of order, but let’s go back. Third journey at Ephesus has not gotten the gifts yet, but he’s going to. But he purposed in the spirit that when he had passed through Macedonia and Aaya, that’s over in Greece. Then he’s got to go to Jerusalem saying after I’ve been there, what I’m going to go to.

Has he been to Rome yet? He has not. Okay. So he does go to Greece and uh um probably about for three months in that area. And then when he got to Corinth and let me show you the map again. He got to Corinth. Let me try to animate it here. Uh this is collecting the money and all that. A very it’s a quicker trip. Of course, I think he was 18 months in Corinth on the first jour uh second journey. On the third, he was there for a very short time, but he’s in Corinth and he writes a letter to Rome.

And I just want to point this out because it’s going to be important later. Where is he actually hoping to [music] go? Do you ever do you know the story well enough to know that? After Rome. Yes. Yes. Exactly. He’s headed to Spain. And that’s not on the map. That’s I think about right here, right? He’s trying to get to Spain. Now, that’s not really mentioned in this particular uh verse in the blue here, but he’s going to Rome, but we’re going to learn a lot more about why does he want to go to Rome?

Is there a church in Rome already there? Paul hadn’t been there, but is there a church there? Yes. That’s who he writes to. In fact, I don’t even think there’s one church. I think there’s a lot of churches in various houses and homes. He doesn’t really say to the church in Rome. If you read it carefully, it’s like to the saints that are in Rome. And he talks about the church in Aquilla and Priscilla’s house. Y’all remember that. So it seemed like there were collection of churches in Rome, but he writes a letter to them when he’s in Corenth on the third journey right before he goes back to Rome.

And in that letter, which we’re going to read, is where he explains this decision right here. [clears throat] Why is he deciding when he’s at Ephesus to go to Rome? So he did return to Macedonia collecting the gifts for the saints and so on. All right, now I think we’re ready. So there’s the picture. You all got the geography in mind there. All right, we’re ready now to read these texts. And here’s the here’s the way it’s going to work. There’s the decision. And on your sheet, I’ve got several passages selected from the early part and the [clears throat] last part of Romans.

2. We Make It Our Aim to Please God

So Romans 1 and Romans 15. And I’ve just selected the text just to make it easy. The texts that have to do with Paul’s motive for making that decision. Y’all see that? That’s that’s what we’re going to try to do is look at that. I’ll I’ll give you a gimme or two just to kind of get things going that are not from Romans because they’re just so universal in Paul’s life that I think we just need that as a foundation. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, and by the way, the context of that is somewhat similar.

And that is by the way a third journey letter too. Uh he wrote that on the way excuse me to car. But in that chapter he’s kind of saying you know I know some people don’t think we’re in our right minds but knowing the fear of God we persuade men. He says for we all stand before the judgment seat of God. But he says in chapter 5 verse9 we make it our aim. I don’t know what your translation says. Our goal, I think, is probably a way to think of that.

We make it our goal to do what? One thing to be well pleasing to him. That’s a capital H. Who would that be? Not a hard question. Everything he did had something to do with pleasing God. So, I’m just going to give you that. That’s a gimme. So, out to the right of that verse, you can write, “Please God.” Is that you see how this is working? All right. I’m just showing you how the game is playing. [clears throat and snorts] Now, before we dive in, I I need to let you turn you loose on this.

Is Paul making a decision to go to Rome? That’s a matter of like sinning or not sinning? What do you think? If he didn’t go to Rome, what do you think he would probably go do? Preach somewhere else. That’s so obvious, right? And you’ll see that in these verses. That’s what he’s saying. Well, now wait a minute. Did Paul told him, I mean, uh, God told him to go to Macedonia. Remember that the vision, the t-shirt? If he had not gone to Macedonia, would that have been a sin?

Boy, I’m getting disobeyed. Of course, God told him something very direct, right? And he’d been forbidden. I don’t know how that worked, but to go to Bethnia. So, it’s interesting to me. I don’t really think God’s directing him to to make to make this plan we’re talking about here, but he is making the plan. And so I think it maybe is a good example for us to think about major life decisions. Is that a major life decision? These journeys took years, right?

They put him in danger. He took money from churches to go do these trips. You you see what I mean? I mean, this these are major life decisions, right? You think about it. You take a job and transfer someone, that’s major. and have impact on you and a lot of other people close to you and others. So [clears throat] I don’t know whether to stop now and prove it. Why do you think God didn’t tell him directly in this case? We didn’t have a Roman t-shirt guy.

I don’t know. Maybe I don’t that’s not a very well-formed question. We’ll be better equipped to answer that after you guys do this. So y’all understand the assignment. I think it’s all on this one page. And just fill in. Don’t pay any attention to the numbers. That’s no, those are not verse numbers. Just we’ll talk about what the numbers mean in a minute. You read the verse. Read them together. Read them to each other if you want. And then write what you think Paul’s motivation would be.

For example, everything Paul did was to please God. So, I can put that on there. That’s an example. All right. Is that that make sense? Do we need to do one more or do you guys got it? All right. Go. All right. Got to stop talking. [clears throat] Excuse me. Are you wanting the lines number six, seven, five, and four all out of Romans 1. Well, I I’ve tried to put the blanks right across from the the text that’s relevant. I’m going to do one more. These are these don’t all fit on one slide, but here’s one more. Here’s the next one as an example.

Um, this this is not from Romans. This is from Acts nine. That’s Paul’s conversion. It’s a little bit weird, but I thought it fit in here. It was important to know this. And what what’s the reason here? The Lord said to me, “Go, he’s a vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles.” Was that kind of a special assignment Paul had? Yeah. And that might play into this decision if you think about it, right? To go to Rome. That’s an example. So, there’s two two gimmies.

You already got it. Yeah. [clears throat] Thank you for the question. I promise not to ask all the questions I have so far. Okay. So, if you want, I’ll put a limit on you. How about [laughter] that? It’s like, all right, you got two more. That’s all. Thank you. Okay. Two more. Do you need a sheet? Oh, come on, man. You can do this. You may need a pen. We have pins, too. Yes, sir. Where Where did they go? Yeah. No, here. He’s got it. Tim’s got them.

Got the bucket. I’m just [clears throat] [snorts and clears throat] [clears throat] [clears throat] Yes. [snorts] [cough] [snorts] All right. How we doing? A little more time. Another minute maybe. I’m just going to peek at these lessons. Okay, so you’re getting there. Yeah, good. Yeah, underlining is a quick and easy way to do that. You don’t have to actually write it out if you don’t want to. I’m going to wait a little longer. [clears throat] [cough] Ah.

Oh, thank you. I know it’s offensive to keep hacking in front of everybody. We all got it. It’s a It’s not even an illness. It’s a It’s an old age thing. Whenever I mention this in front of nurses, they say, you know, you need to go get a treatment. It’s an aspiration. I I you know, I uh that sounds like I’m hopeful about it. But uh you know, where you sorry, you’re not good at swallowing and breathing and you get them mixed up, especially when you’re yelling.

3. His Reasons in Romans 1

[clears throat] All right. How are we doing? Did you see in this text, these texts, a couple uh Paul’s, you could kind of detect his intentions really. Do do you see that? You can almost see behind the decision itself. What was he thinking? Why did he decide to go to Rome, you know, next? And you could kind of maybe imagine other reasons, but let’s try to list them explicitly and think about them a little bit. Uh let’s let’s do the next one here. Uh what did you see in Romans chapter 1?

And by the way, I’ve tried to make it easy by putting in yellow, if you can read that. Uh the the the hint there. What did you find there in chapter one of Romans? [cough] Are that is that the order they’re on the sheet? Good. Thank you. Yeah. What’d you find? Give gifts. Spiritual gifts. Okay. Impart spiritual gifts. That’s the second one there. There’s one I think before this. I think will will of God to come to you. Yeah, maybe that’s right. Uh what’s interesting to me is and we’re going to see this theme developed in that is now at last.

Did y’all read some more about what does he mean by that? Now at last did you see some other hints in the text? But why he would say that? He might want to see the saints. He is going to see the saints. Right. But why does he say now at last? He had been busy preaching. Yes. In that area. That’s right. Not quite into that area, but in other areas. Kind of felt like he had covered everything he needed there and that he was ready to go someplace. I think that’s that’s exactly a direct implication.

He says, in fact, we’ll read it. But he says, having no longer a place in these parts, sound like he got fired as a preacher, but I don’t think that’s it. Right. He just said, I’ve done the work I need to do here in the in the Ephesus area. And then in these parts meaning I think Macedonia and Aaya as well as in Asia Minor. Okay. So there’s one impart spiritual gifts who would benefit from that church. Who would who would be the beneficiary? The church would the members there.

Um so that’s interesting to me as had there not been an apostle go there yet. Maybe that would explain that. And they didn’t have the you know the spiritual gifts that Paul could give in Corinth for example which caused trouble in Corinth it turned out. But still, maybe Rome didn’t have that yet. Uh, then I may be encouraged together with you. What? Actually, that’s kind of the answer. What’s the second reason for him to go to Rome? To build their faith.

Build their faith. But who else’s faith? His own. That sounds a little selfish, but he’s going to be encouraged. And I, you know, I can’t I can’t not pass by that by saying, “Y’all know what it’s like to come to a place where there Christians you’ve never met before and you realize, wow, there’s this many Christians that I don’t know, and if you go somewhere else, there are lots more Christians that I don’t know.” Have you ever had that experience? I mean, now I know we probably all know some of the same people, but but still, that’s an encouragement.

There are a lot of other disciples all around the world that I don’t know about and I don’t know them but that’s encouragement to me. Okay, keep going. What else do you see? These are redundant. Some of them I did want to mention. I often have planned to come to you but was hindered till now. H you got to keep that in your memory please. Was Paul hindered from going to Macedonia when the Macedonian t-shirt guy said go to Macedonia or did he get there?

He did get there, right? And I have an idea that if if he had if that in the spirit he decided in the spirit meant the Holy Spirit whacked him inside the head and said go to Rome, you know, or uh that he wouldn’t had any trouble. How did that work out by the way in the f? I’m looking back in time. It looks like he’s tried before, but what happened? got to what’s that? [clears throat] If you’re asking about Rome, he he actually got sent to Rome when he Yeah.

Yeah. Good point. So, you’re looking future, but even in the past, he Yes. I for I already asked that question. You’re right. It looks as if he’s tried before. He [clears throat] maybe has decided to or thought to himself, I need to go to Rome, but he was hindered. In [clears throat] fact, I He tells the Thessalonians, “I was wanting to come to you, but Satan hindered us.” [clears throat] Remember that? What? You mean there’s some plans we make that are probably pretty good and somehow they don’t happen?

God doesn’t help them happen. He lets Satan hinder us. Life is what happens while we’re planning to do other things. Nice. Exactly. There’s some country music song. All the plans and I never did and all the things did I never planned, you know, or something like that. You know how country music makes everything kind of um well musical, but anyway, there are things like that. So, okay, I’m going to keep going. I’m going to have some fruit among you. That’s a little redundant, but I think it’s more than spiritual gifts, right? I’m going to teach you and strengthen you and all of that.

And who better than the Apostle Paul? So, there’s that. And by the way, he says, “So much as in me is, I’m ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” Now, is he writing this to Christians? Yes. Paul wanted to preach to Christians. Well, yes. I mean, I’m not trying to ask strict questions here. And yet, you see already there’s a little bit of a conflict with something that we kind of saw and you’re nodding. Would you tell me what do you how does that conflict with what we’ve kind of seen already?

Well, he wants to go to new places where the gospel is not in particular. Yes, exactly. That’s a quote almost in particular Gentiles because he has a special apostolic commission that we learned about in Acts 9 and we’ll he mentions it in Romans actually as well. Okay. Yes. I almost got a voluntary comment. This is this is not a question. Okay. That’s good. But said this, but he was going there kind of for the same reason you explained coming here was a positive for you.

Yes. And it would have made his life more meaningful to him. Yeah. Y’all y’all I hope you understand that. Uh and I’m going to jump ahead a little bit and just ask a question you can put for later. Do you think Paul would have traveled all the way to Rome just to kind of be encouraged by the brethren? Or did he need to have some other purpose? And I’ll ask you this. You think I’d have driven, flown all the way to Port Arthur just to see this crowd this morning?

I don’t want to disappoint you. I mean, y’all are beautiful looking people and all that, but [clears throat] no, I have a mission. I have a I have a reason for coming. Y’all understand that, but while I’m here, you see that? while I’m here, I take advantage of that. Do you see? So, we’re already seeing some of these reasons are maybe bigger than others, but they’re opportunistic sometimes. Right. All right, let’s keep going. What what is more encouraging than going with the purpose of establishing only to see them receive it?

4. No Longer Having a Place in These Parts

That’s right. Get rooted because something to them that you can leave and trust that it’s going to continue to be fruitful. And what if they were able to actually help him on this larger mission? Would that be edifying and useful? I think it’s helpful when you see the fruit of your labor become something. That’s right. It’s a motivation. All right. I’m down into chapter 15. I’ve made it my aim to do what? Oh, we already we already covered that. You should notice that from the other thing he’s trying to preach where go the where Christ was not named.

Would that include Rome or were there Christians in Rome? We’ve already covered this, but would it has has Christ been named in Rome? Have there’s converts and they have evangelistic responsibilities, you would think. So, I’m thinking that this doesn’t include Rome. That’s interesting. [clears throat] Part of his decision is is driven by the fact that he wants to go where Christ has not been named. H, that’s puzzling for now. [snorts] For this reason, verse 22, I’ve also been much hindered from coming to you. There he is. Again, Paul keeps making these plans or at least more than once, and they they don’t they don’t they fall through or or something changes.

I promise I’ll try to tie all these crazy points I’m making together at some point, but I hope you’re seeing your own life in this, [snorts] right? Some of your best intention things don’t work out. Have you noticed that? And I think we’re seeing that in the Apostle Paul. Yes. I sometimes think that God knows the opportunities and everything that we’re going to have in the future. And he kind of laughs at our plan. We’re going to see some verses children.

But he kind of laughs. We’re going to see some uh Proverbs and others that very same thing. Yeah. I hope y’all heard that. Yeah. You know, he looks at our plans. I hope he doesn’t laugh at mine. Uh, you know, I’ve watched my sons when they’re little and they’re going to build a, you know, they’re going to dig a hole all the way to China through the Georgia red clay in the backyard, right? And I look at them and that’s interesting. Go for it, man. Go for it.

But I know what’s going to happen. Y’all y’all see what I mean. And I But you get the idea. Okay. Um, so let’s keep on going. I’ve been hindered from coming to you. Now, this is interesting. But no longer having a place in these parts. Again, I don’t think he got fired. I think he thought the work here in Asia Minor and Macedona has I’ve done what I can. There are churches in the big cities there and people are spreading the gospel. But having no longer a place, I think he has a sense of finality to his work and having a great desire these many years to come to you.

And of course, I asked I said, “Well, Paul, why didn’t you just go if you really wanted to go?” Well, I was hindered. Okay. What’s hindering you? Well, 24. Whenever I what? Journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey and be helped on my way there by you. Now, suddenly everything kind of is in a different context. I mean, if you [clears throat] think about it, what’s really going on here? kind of a stepping stone, so to speak.

What? Rome’s kind of a stepping stone. You mean they’re not the most important city? He said, “I’ve just had these the longing to see you.” I mean, right. But y’all, y’all hear what he’s saying? What’s the bigger plan that Paul is working here? Christ has not been That’s exactly which in particular includes Spain. Was that an ambitious plan in his life? Go to Spain. Yeah. Yeah. And kind of to a point earlier and I keep looking ahead probably getting ahead of myself as far as the Bible re revelation.

Do we did Paul ever get to Spain? We don’t know. That’s right. Some of the early fathers claim he did. I think they might just be reading this text and thinking that he must have done it because he said he would or something. the contemporary writers and certainly uh closer to the events don’t mention Paul going to Spain, right? So, who knows? We don’t know that answer. But I’ll ask an easier question. Did he get to Rome? Did he get there the way he’s talking about here?

No. Yeah, you’re laughing at that, right? No. Languished for two years in a prison in Cesaria. He didn’t get to go as a missionary. How did he go? prison as a prisoner and was that such an easy trip that he made to Rome there? No. Remember all that shipwrecks and all kinds of things along the way. Did the prayer I mean say again his prayer making request by some by some means. Well, he got it. Absolutely. He got to some means. But here’s my point. I don’t think that’s what Paul envisioned as the way he was going to get to Rome. In fact, in his mind, Rome was just like a a way point, a stopping point for a bigger purpose.

In fact, what were all the things that were going to happen? Well, yeah, I’d love to see you. Why? Well, because I’m going somewhere else, and I want you to help me get there. [snorts] I love to see you, brethren, here, but really, I didn’t come to see you. I’m on my way to somewhere else. You see, is the idea. His plan never was as ambitious as what he he ended up converting people in Caesar’s households, you know. Well, and his plans were very not never so ambitious as what he actually accomplished.

Okay. Almost would flip it the other way. It seemed like from a worldly view, his plans were quite ambitious. What God allowed him to do was not put into Spain, but he still preached the gospel everywhere he was. Probably to people who hadn’t heard the gospel. You know what I mean? So, it’s a little bit like, yeah, I’m making these plans. I’m going [clears throat] to go to this college. I’m going to marry this woman. I’m going to buy this house. Right? Is that always going to work out the way you think?

Well, no. But whatever happens, what are you going to do with that? Right? You’re going to have to do the best, make the best in your desire to please God. I almost finished the whole session in that sentence, but y’all see where I’m headed with this, right? Okay. I there’s lots more to say, but and again, he keeps saying this. I don’t know that I would be insulted or not. I’m so longing to see you and I’ve wanted to come but I just never could get there.

But now I’m really excited. I’m going to come see you. Why? Cuz I’m going somewhere else and you’re going to help me get there. So go by way of you to Spain. And then of course while he’s there [cough] you would definitely be refreshed together with them. This an interesting picture into Paul’s heart I think how he decides. And do you understand that God told him to do some things pretty directly, but there are other things he just had to figure out on his own what would be best to do in this case.

5. In and of Itself

And I’m back to my beginning points. And I don’t Do you think it would have been a sin for Paul to decide? See, did you hear that? By the way, did you hear that question? You should for for Paul say, “I’m just going to go to Rome and preach there for a few years.” In fact, we need to learn a hand motion. You ready? goes like this. And there’s this musical phrase. I hear it all the time and it it kind of sets me off because I’ve done this lesson a few times.

It’s it’s this in and of itself. Y’all ever heard that phrase before? Y’all want to practice with me? You don’t have to do the hand motion. I know kids do that with me. Ready? In and of itself. Do you think it would have been a sin for Paul? Do you think it would have been a sin? Do you think it would have been a sin for Paul to go to Rome? Ready in and of itself. Doesn’t seem like it. As long as he’s not going there. Now, I don’t know if somebody said, you know, the weather in Rome, great.

You need a vacation then. There’s a lot of ruins that are just tourist things, man. The food. Woo. That lasagna and stuff. You can see the gladiator. Oh, glad. Yeah, that’s right. You might even see a Christian get devoured by a lion. You never know. Do you see how that might border on something that that God might not have approved of? I’m taking a break here. I need a Mediterranean vacation. Right. So, you can kind of see it’s not really going to Rome in and itself.

It’s something deeper is maybe what we’re doing with those decisions. I hope you’re kind of catching on to where we’re going. all his hindrances. He desired to go there. He wanted to be refreshed. He wanted encouragement. He wanted to be an encouragement to them. Yeah. Although it was on the way, every time you can spend with Christians is not a bad thing. Yeah. Y’all hear that? And so, and we’re going to kind of think about these reasons and how they relate to each other, right?

6. How These Reasons Relate to Each Other

Uh because I think that’s important too for us to kind of think about this picture. So, here are the reasons. And these are the ones off the first page. So, I’ve got them all up there. Go by way of Spain. Be helped to go to Spain. Preach where Christ is not named. Enjoy the company of the Christians in Rome. Preach the gospel in Rome. Have fruit among the Romans. Be refreshed. Impart gifts. Be encouraged by them. Preach the Christ to the Gentiles. And please God. Remember, please God was kind of the first one we looked at.

Think about how these relate to each other, right? I mean, I don’t know, maybe you found some other reasons, but I’m just listing all those. And I just want you to think about that. Note, are some of these uh enabling of others? In other words, I do this, but really the reason is because I it will help me do this. Yeah, you see that there’s some support. For example, he’s going to be helped to go to Spain. And why does he want to go to Spain to preach the gospel where it’s not been named before?

Y’all see that? That’s dependent on that. And I have an idea just to put this thought in your head that you know if if Spain if somebody if Peter or Bartholomew or whoever had covered Spain do you think this would have changed? He might not have done the decision would have been based on something different. Right. I don’t need to do that. Yeah. Oh I almost asked my third question. Oh sorry. Is that what he meant by lest I build on someone else’s second part of that line.

I think it might be um so I don’t we’ll talk about this. I think we all have some special assignments that other people don’t have. I think Paul had that. In fact, he was told you’re going to preach before kings. I don’t think that’s my mission necessarily. And Paul in particular was a gospel apostle to the Gentiles, right? I don’t think I should be that discriminating. But still, right? I mean, so there were some special things and I think in Paul’s case, the urgency of that special mission might have, you know, made him kind of rule out, I don’t need to go preach in Athens, Alabama.

You know what I mean? I mean, but sorry, I hope nobody’s from Athens, Alabama. Y’all know what Athens, Alabama means? No. Okay. There’s lots of churches in Athens, Alabama. Okay, this is not going over. Never mind that joke. Forget I said anything about that. But that would be an example of preaching. All right. So you see this enables this. I mean this enables that. So yeah. Did I answer your question? Yeah. Okay. Very very uh that’s because I agreed with you.

Yeah. Are there any in Coleman? There’s some. Yeah. Two, I think. Yeah. There probably used to be one, but then they split, you know. I don’t know. Sorry. I shouldn’t be saying that. Uh, do you notice that some of these are incidental or tentative? And I mean by that they’re less important than others. That’s what I’m trying to say. For example, I think it’ll be nice to enjoy the company Christians, right? I mean, I’m having a great time at the Hopkins house, but as good as it is, as good the food has been, nice as those boys are and all that, I probably wouldn’t come all the way to Port Arthur just to go stay with them.

Actually, now that I have, I might, but still, y’all get the idea. We and we’ve enjoyed that company and it’s a great blessing, but it’s incidental to a bigger purpose. Y’all get me on that? And second, there is some of these that benefit Paul. Did you notice that? Now, they were spiritual benefits. I don’t put them in the category of selfishness or anything, but they are things that benefit. Do we need to make decisions that benefit us, our spiritual welfare?

Of course, we do. Yes. So, for example, he wanted to be refreshed with them. Be encouraged is over there. And then there’s some that benefited the others, right? I mean, among other things, he’s imparting spiritual gifts that would benefit the church and the Christians there. So, you see that in this decision-making, there’s kind of like a world of making myself better. Then there’s the world of making other Christians better or lost people generally, anybody else.

So, there’s that. Some reflect Paul’s unique mission, right? And I think that would be in that case. Do any of y’all have unique missions that everybody in the world does? Not everybody in the world has Yeah. I mean, are any fathers in here and mothers and Bible class teachers and deacons? Y’all understand what I mean? in our life, we end up taking on special missions which in some ways ought to have a somewhat of a priority over other things in our life because that’s something God has given us as a a special assignment.

I’m just noting that that Paul may have made some decisions about going to Spain, for example, that I might not have made, not being the apostle to the Gentiles. I don’t know. That’s something to think about. And then there’s one of these that’s foundational. One of them actually is the beginning of every other thing in there. What do you think? Which is it? Pleasing God. We make it our aim to be well pleasing to God. And I think if you think about it, I can relate every one of these yellow words up there to pleasing God somehow.

Could you do that? Link it back. I mean, all right. So, that’s what I want to try to do and we’ll head toward a break here. So, I’m listing the reasons out in order kind of in a way. Be helped to go to Spain. [crying] Enjoy and be. And by the way, I’m trying to list them in reverse priority order, but this is my own opinion. You can argue with me if you want, right? Be helped to go to Spain. And the reason I say that is [crying] if there was another more efficient way to get to Spain.

This is pure speculation. You think Paul might have considered that? What if what if Rome was closed? The airport was socked in. Would he still go to Spain? Would he get another flight to Spain? Of course he would. That’s his goal. That was really the bigger goal. Don’t understand that. But still being helped to Spain is not a bad thing. He’s hoping that would happen. And he would be enjoyed and refreshed by the Christians. He’d be encouraged himself. Oh, and while he’s there, he’ll give spiritual gifts.

He’ll bear fruit. Maybe even teach some non-Christians in Rome. You never know if he’s there long enough and there’s opportunity. Certainly would do that. He’s going to preach in Rome. There’s that one. I kind of just covered that. But really more important perhaps than all of these is what you said. I’m preaching in new places. That’s what Paul needed to do. And you can almost look at the maps of his journeys and see how they got bigger and you know larger and going to places that he hadn’t been before.

So like Spain, a large goal there. And preaching to Gentiles was the basis for that. That was his unique apostolic mission. And finally, what’s the number one priority? forms everything else. Are y’all getting with me on this? I mean, you see what we’re trying to do? We’re structuring what Paul’s thinking might have been. I’d like to present another structure. No, let’s take a break. Let’s take a break.