Alba 7-24-2022
PLANS AND PRAYERS
Romans 15:22-33
In determining the purpose in the will of God for us, sometimes we just don't get it right. There once was a middle-aged farmer who had been desiring for years to be an evangelist.
He was out working in the field one day when he decided to rest under a tree. As he looked into the sky he saw that the clouds seemed to form into the letters P and C. And he saw that as a sign that he should Preach Christ.
Immediately he hopped up, sold his farm, and went out to P-reach C-hrist, which he felt was God’s leading. Unfortunately, he was a horrible preacher.
After one of his sermons a friend came forward and whispered in his ear, “Are you sure that the P C you saw in the sky meant you were called to Preach Christ? Maybe God was just trying to tell you to P-lant C-orn.”
The poet Robert Frost speaks of two roads diverging in a yellow wood, and, because he chose the one less traveled by, that has made all the difference.
A month ago I saw a plaque that had a different take on Robert Frost's poem. It said something like this: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by. Now where in the world am I?
There are times when it is difficult to be sure of what God's plan is for you. But that does not mean that one should not seek out what God would have one to do and then make plans accordingly.
The apostle Paul was making plans to visit the Christians in Rome. So as he closes the letter, he writes to them of his desire to see them, and to continue to take the gospel to places beyond.
Apparently he had planned to go to Rome earlier, but it didn't happen. So he tells them that it is still his plan to make that journey. We read of his plans in Romans 15:22-33.
22 For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, 24 whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.
26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. 29 But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
30 Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul made plans to stop by Rome on his way to Spain which was the very western end of the civilized world. Before this, however, he had to go to Jerusalem to drop off a love offering taken by the believers in Greece for the impoverished saints in Jerusalem.
Paul did make it to Rome but not as a free man. He was a prisoner. Tradition says he was released for a time and went to Spain. The book of Acts, however, does not mention this journey.
What hindered Paul from his plan to get to Rome was that he was performing other ministries that he needed to do. However, for us there are often pathways that serve as detours from God's plan. Little side roads that look attractive at the time, but which do not really lead to the destination.
The bad news is that these take time and energy away from the highway we should travel and the things that we should do. But the good news is that even the detours can be forgiven and overcome. And ultimately we can fulfill God's plan for our life.
When we encounter obstacles in our path, we should first consider who put them there. Often our own doubt, recklessness or laziness has put a barrier to what God has called us to do.
And the devil has his ways to attack us and use various means to stop us. But sometimes God wants us to move in a particular direction and will use various means to do this.
Why the obstacle is there will determine a very different response. If we act before determining this, we will move in the wrong direction.
How the hymn, God Moves in a Mysterious Way, was written by William Cowper (pronounced Cooper), a friend of John Newton is told in the book “Living Stories of Famous Hymns” by Ernest K. Emurian, printed by Baker Book House in 1955.
Cowper was an English poet who struggled all his life with sadness. Cowper wrote this hymn following a period of almost suicidal depression.
Calling for a carriage, he ordered the driver to take him to the Ouse River, three miles away, where he planned to kill himself. The driver, knowing the state of mind of his passenger, breathed a prayer of thanks when a thick fog enveloped the area.
He purposely lost his way in the dense fog, jogging up one road and down another as Cowper fell into a deep sleep. Several hours passed, the driver going in circles, letting his passenger rest.
Finally he returned him to his home. “We’re back home,” said Cowper. “How is that?” “Got lost in the fog, sir. Sorry.” Cowper paid his fare, went inside, and wondered at how he had been spared from harming himself by the merciful providence of God.
That same evening in 1774, his forty-third year, reflecting on his narrow escape, he wrote this autobiographical hymn:
1 God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
2 You fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread, Are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.
3 His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding ev'ry hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flow'r.
4 Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain.
Often out of despair comes those things that help us to see that God is God, and that He is still faithful. And when the plans we make don't seem to be working, it is likely that God has something else that eventually will bring blessings.
We can know that God will remain faithful to us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)
And from Proverbs 16:9 we learn that “In their hearts humans plan their course, but Lord establishes their steps” That simply tells us that sometimes our plans don't work out, but even then God still has a plan.
Life is filled with obstacles and interruptions. So we need to make plans, but then let’s expect them to get messed up. If we expect the unexpected we’ll handle life much better, especially if we pray.
This past week in our Vacation Bible School we were teaching the children about The Armor of God. The description is found in Ephesians chapter six.
The final thing in that list that one needs in order to be prepared for battle as a soldier of Jesus Christ is to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.”
So after telling the Christians in Rome of the plans he had to visit them and the other things he would do first, in verse 30 Paul asks that his plans be covered in prayer.
In fact, he did more that just ask. In verse 30 he says, “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.”
And he gave them specific things to pray about. Our missionary for the week of VBS was Ron Hoyer and his work in India. Ron's last newsletter is on the bulletin board in the entry. In it is a list of prayer requests and praises.
Paul's list concerns the things he plans to do on his way to Rome. First he requests prayer for safety. He was going to Jerusalem and knew that many there were no longer his friends. After he became a Christian, some who knew him before considered him to be an enemy and would like to kill him.
Second, he said he would deliver the money that the gentile Christians in Greece had collected for the needy Christians in Jerusalem. His request was that they pray that the gifts would be a blessing and received well.
And third, he wanted them to pray that his plan to visit them in Rome would work out for their good as well as his own. Paul was dependent on prayer. He believed in the power to prevent problems through prayer. Amen? Amen!
We are called to a higher standard than we have personal power to reach. But with God’s power we can do much more than we could ask or imagine!
God works for the good of His people. We discover in scripture that God wants us to ask. He commands that we pray. Our walk with God may be shown by what we pray for in faith.
So, were these prayers answered? Was Paul kept safe? Did he deliver the funds to the Jerusalem church? Did he make it to Rome?
It might seem that they weren't, at least not in the way Paul expected them to be answered. Yes, the Jewish Christians accepted him and the gift, but his actions were misrepresented by the unbelievers in Jerusalem, and they instigated a riot in which he was dragged from the temple area and beaten.
In one sense, you could hardly say he was “delivered” from the unbelievers, and yet, in another sense he was, because the Roman guard in Jerusalem saw his plight and rescued him from his would be assassins. They were going to kill him, but he was delivered.
Did he make it to Rome? While he didn't travel in the way he intended, at least his trip was all-expenses paid! He went as a prisoner of Rome.
And look what God enabled him to accomplish along the way. He had the opportunity to give testimony concerning Jesus Christ before two Roman governors and a regional king in Caesarea, and eventually before the court of the Roman emperor himself.
His shipwreck allowed him to proclaim the gospel on the unreached island of Malta. Then during his two years of imprisonment in Rome he was able to witness to one Roman soldier after another, so that the gospel penetrated the entire Praetorian Guard, which was Caesar’s personal security brigade.
So many good things had happened along the way, that Paul was able to write to the Philippians from prison in Rome and say, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”
Steinbeck was right: “The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry.” But I can tell you that God’s purposes always prevail. No matter how messed up our plans get, or whether or not our personal preferences are fulfilled.
To help us keep going, we must anchor our lives to this final certainty: God’s purposes always prevail.
When we trust in God and the Christ of the cross, who died in our place so that we could have our sins forgiven, the God of peace will put His guard over us.
We need to remember that when our plans fail, God's plans will never fail and that prayer is powerful, because God is so powerful.
CONCLUSION:
So how does God accomplish His purposes? In the backwoods of Kentucky there was a family of wayward “church members.”
One day while brothers Jim, John, and Sam were out in the woods, a large rattlesnake bit Sam and he became violently ill. The doctor was summoned and did what he could, but he told the family that he believed they would need divine help too, if Sam were to recover.
So the preacher and the elders of the church were sent for, and they came rushing to Sam’s bedside. The preacher was asked to pray and did so as follows:
“Oh, wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thy wisdom Thou has sent this rattlesnake to bite Sam in order to bring him to his senses.
He has not been in the church house now for years, and it is doubtful that he has (in all these years, until now) felt the need for prayer. It seems, therefore, that what our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done.
We trust, O Father, that Thou wilt send another to bite John and Jim, and a big one to bite their father, for we conclude the only thing that will help this family is rattlesnakes. So send us, we pray Thee, three bigger and better rattlesnakes.”
There was a man who had a plan and believed in prayer. Prayer has power to change the hearts of people. We need plans, but we also need prayer. Together they literally can change outcomes.
