Rev. David Holwick ZJ Romans series #20
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 27, 2005
Romans 15:23-33
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I. Making plans.
A. How much planning do you do in life?
1) By now, seniors in high school should know what college
they are going to, or what job they will have.
2) If you are 65, you should have an idea about how you will
spend your retirement.
3) What about us in-between folk?
a) Do you hold any concrete goals before you?
b) Can you say your life has a focus, a vision?
B. Today's obscure passage gives insight for this important topic.
1) Paul was a man of dedicated vision.
2) Even the detours can inform us.
II. Paul had a long-range vision.
A. Extend mission to Spain. 15:24
1) Considered the outer boundary of the Roman Empire.
2) Part of Paul's long range ministry.
a) No more work here [in Greece]?
Millions had not heard the gospel.
b) But Paul established footholds and let others develop
the work, then he moved on.
c) His vision derives from Jesus: "Go into all the world
and preach the good news..." Mark 16:15
1> He used ships, horses and his feet to evangelize
Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece,
Malta and Italy.
2> And he wanted to do more.
3> In these verses, his plans anticipate 3,000 miles.
B. The Church still needs a vision.
1) The world has not been completely reached yet.
a) "10/40 window" [Northern Africa, Middle East, Asia]
1> Arab TV broadcasts, local pastors I email...
b) Unreached peoples in small groups.
2) What about America?
a) In many ways, we are becoming more non-Christian.
b) Actual pagan religions like Wicca are exploding in
membership.
c) 14% now claim no religion at all, a big jump.
3) Even Ledgewood has not been completely reached.
a) All of our churches together cannot seat a quarter
of the population.
b) What is our plan to reach them?
C. What is your personal vision?
1) It is important to have goals in life.
2) Areas:
a) Career.
b) Family.
c) Church.
3) Aim for something higher. Stretch yourself.
a) Philippians 3:13-14 --
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
III. Paul had short term goals.
A. He is taking an offering to Jerusalem, then on to Rome. 15:24
1) Paul is writing from Greece, so Jerusalem would be in
opposite direction from Rome.
a) Helping fellow Christians was a priority for him.
b) Many of his letters focus on fund raising for the
persecuted church in Israel.
2) He also had a long-standing goal of visiting Italy.
B. What are your plans for this week? Month? Year?
FIVE PLANNING PRINCIPLES, by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore.
These 5 principles can maximize your daily planning:
1) Do your planning the night before.
Try to set aside time each night for Daily Planning.
By having a plan of action completed the night before, you
go to bed with a sense of control about your next day.
It also gives you a sense of anticipation.
Once you make it a habit, you will sleep better because
you won't be fretting about all the loose ends.
2) Put the plan into writing.
Putting your plan in writing helps you to increase your
feelings of control and, indeed, the reality of control.
When you try to keep track of everything in your head,
things tend to slip through the cracks.
3) "Have to's" and "Want to's".
Good planning involves more than "Have To's".
You also need to do a good job taking care of your
"Want To's".
4) Over-plan your day.
You've probably heard the saying, "If you want to get
something done, give it to a busy person."
The more you plan to do, the more you can get done because
you take advantage of Parkinson's Law.
That's the law that says a project tends to expand with
the time allocated for it.
If you have one thing to do for the day, it will take
all day.
5) Prioritize your list.
Your list will almost always include "crucial" as well as
"not crucial" items.
Some items are more important, others less so.
Without some direction, you tend to gravitate towards the
"not crucial" items because they are typically easier
to do, take less time, and may even be more fun.
Wetmore suggests making a simple numerical listing.
Put a "1" next the most important item on your list, the
one item you would want done if you could only accomplish
one item.
Then place a "2" next to the second most important item,
on down the line.
#9569
C. Deciding - then doing.
"Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off.
How many are left?
Answer: five. Why?
Because there's a difference between deciding and doing."
#9569
IV. Paul had an immediate need.
A. He needed their prayers. 15:30
1) He was concerned about what pagans might do to him. v31
2) He was concerned about what Christians might think of him.
3) He wanted his plans to produce spiritual fruit and joy. v32
B. All of us have needs right now.
1) Visit to emergency room last night - Jaime's mother tells
me, "I am praying for Celeste every day."
2) If we are discouraged, doubting, fearful, we need other
Christians to lift us up.
V. Our plans are always in God's hands.
A. Paul probably never made it to Spain.
1) After visiting Jerusalem, he was arrested and sent to Rome.
a) So he made it to Italy, but not as he expected.
2) There is uncertainty about what happened next.
a) It appears he was released after first trial before
Caesar, and evangelized in Yugoslavia.
b) Some legends (popular in Spain) say he even made it to
that country.
c) But I doubt it. I think he was called back to Rome,
and executed.
B. "Man proposes, God disposes." (Thomas … Kempis)
1) The book of James condemns human plans that leave out God.
James 4:13-15 --
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to
this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business
and make money."
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while and then
vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we
will live and do this or that."
2) This does not mean goals and planning is sinful - just
remember that God has the last word.
a) Our plans must be made with humility.
b) Be prepared for detours and take them in stride.
C. God has plans for us that we cannot grasp.
1) Paul, quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, says in
1 Corinthians 2:9 --
As it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those
who love him."
2) Jeremiah's famous promise:
Jeremiah 29:11 --
"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."
3) This only makes sense if God's plans are fulfilled in
eternity.
a) Now, we struggle.
b) Only then will we be truly fulfilled.
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#9569 "Five Planning Principles," by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, in the
Kudra Illustration Collection.
This and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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