Patiently Persevere
After explaining that he prayerfully longed to see the believers in Rome, Paul wrote: “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13). Although Paul on various occasions intended to travel to Rome to encourage the saints, he adds parenthetically that he was somehow prevented. What prevented Paul?
He doesn’t make it clear in our text, but from Romans chapter 15, the book of Acts, and Paul’s other epistles, we can surmise several ways Paul may have been hindered. In addition to the other missionary endeavors he was attending to, there were also great logistical challenges (i.e. he had to find a first century way of getting there). Furthermore, Paul also faced much opposition from religious leaders and governmental authorities.
But in addition to the physical obstacles and opposition that he had to overcome, there was also the spiritual warfare he was contending with. To the Thessalonian believers, who Paul was also eager to visit, but was prevented from doing so, Paul gave the following reason: “Satan hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18). Now the question is, how did Satan hinder Paul? Remember that Paul was writing this letter from the divided and disorderly church of Corinth. With this in mind, Spurgeon’s insights are helpful: “It may be that Satan had stirred up dissensions and discords in the churches which Paul was visiting, and therefore he was obliged to stop first in one and then in another to settle their differences; to bring to bear the weight of his own spiritual influence upon the various divided sections of the Church to restore them to unity. Besides, Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. He delights in anything which can divide saints from one another. He attaches far more importance to godly communion than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation: and so he would keep Paul away from these brethren who might have gladdened his heart, and whose hearts he might have cheered; he would hinder their fraternal communion so that they might miss the strength which always flows from Christian fellowship and Christian sympathy.”
Now in whatever ways Paul was being prevented, he persevered in prayer and did not give up on his God given longings and intentions to visit the saints in Rome. When the intentions of your heart to serve in a particular ministry or to reach out to someone in need is from the Lord, you can expect opposition. But we must not allow these hindrances to cause us to quit or to give up on the desires that God places on our hearts. Notice that after explaining how he had often intended to visit the saints in Rome but was prevented, Paul reveals the reason for wanting to visit: "in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13b). A vital biblical principle concerning the harvest is that reaping will not happen unless we persevere. Paul said in Galatians 6:9: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
When we set out to be channels of God’s saving grace and love to others, we will encounter obstacles and opposition. But if we lean hard on Jesus and persevere by the grace that God supplies, the hindrances can build our faith and prepare us to reap a harvest of righteousness. To illustrate the principle of persevering obedience, Bryan Chapel tells the story of how the Navigator’s international ministry began:
“More than seven decades ago, two sailors began meeting with a lumberyard worker for Bible study in the garage of a Texaco service station in Lomita, California. In a few weeks, those two were joined by two other sailors who were new believers. With these four, the lumberyard worker, named Dawson Trotman, began to share a vision for how they could be part of God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was really a silly dream: reaching the world for Christ with four sailors, two of whom were new believers and all of whom were coming for the baked-bean dinner as much as for the Bible study. But by year’s end those four asked the lumberyard worker to quit his job. They said, “We will split our salaries to support you if you will become a missionary to the fleet.” He did quit and ministered to those four and their friends for a brief time before they were deployed to Pearl Harbor. In the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack, their ship was destroyed, but the four survived—so that they and their friends were dispersed across the Pacific fleet with the message of the gospel. When they returned to the United States after the war and entered college under the GI Bill, the gospel was dispersed again. And so began the ministry of the Navigators, which has spread the gospel across the world through the witness of college students and those in military service. How did such amazing things happen? In a famous speech given years later, Dawson Trotman explained: “The need of the hour, as far as I’m concerned, is to believe that God is God and that He is a lot more interested in getting this job done than you and I are. Therefore, if He is more interested in getting the job done, has all power to do it, and has commissioned us to do it, our business is to obey Him—reaching the world for Him and trusting Him to help us do it.”
Do you know how Paul finally made it to Rome and reaped the harvest of righteousness he was praying for? The book of Acts records that after being persecuted in Jerusalem by the religious leaders, he was taken into custody by the Roman authorities when they witnessed the violence that was being inflicted upon him. After being brought into the barracks, we read in Acts 23:11, “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Sometime after that night, while being examined by Roman rulers, Paul appealed to Cesar. And after remaining in custody for two years, he was finally put on a ship under Roman guard and was sent off to Rome. During this journey, Paul encountered a terrible storm, and was shipwrecked on an island. But three months later, Paul was placed on another ship and finally made it to his desired destination. Three years before, while spending the night in the Roman barracks, Paul no doubt wondered how he would ever make it to Rome. And although he was given reassurance from the Lord that night, Paul would have never guessed that he would be sent there at the expense of the Roman government and with a military escort.
As Spurgeon noted: “When our hearts are set on a thing, and we pray for it, God may grant us the blessing; but, it may be, in a way that we never looked for.”
Writing to the Philippians from Rome while chained to a Roman soldier, Paul explained, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” (Philippians 1:12-13). God’s providential work in Paul’s life was so apparent that even the elite soldiers in Caesar’s Palace became aware of Paul’s testimony and knew that the opposition he experienced was used by God to spread the gospel.
When we set out to minister the hope of Christ to others, we can trust in a God who can turn obstacles into opportunities to accomplish His redemptive plans. All of God’s authority is available to those who set out on a mission for God declaring as Paul did, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16).
Trusting in the providence of God and the power of the gospel to save, may each one of us devote ourselves to persistently pray for open doors to personally participate in building up the faith of others. We will reap a harvest if we patiently persevere for the glory of Christ our strength and our redeemer.
In your service,
Pastor Marco
He doesn’t make it clear in our text, but from Romans chapter 15, the book of Acts, and Paul’s other epistles, we can surmise several ways Paul may have been hindered. In addition to the other missionary endeavors he was attending to, there were also great logistical challenges (i.e. he had to find a first century way of getting there). Furthermore, Paul also faced much opposition from religious leaders and governmental authorities.
But in addition to the physical obstacles and opposition that he had to overcome, there was also the spiritual warfare he was contending with. To the Thessalonian believers, who Paul was also eager to visit, but was prevented from doing so, Paul gave the following reason: “Satan hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18). Now the question is, how did Satan hinder Paul? Remember that Paul was writing this letter from the divided and disorderly church of Corinth. With this in mind, Spurgeon’s insights are helpful: “It may be that Satan had stirred up dissensions and discords in the churches which Paul was visiting, and therefore he was obliged to stop first in one and then in another to settle their differences; to bring to bear the weight of his own spiritual influence upon the various divided sections of the Church to restore them to unity. Besides, Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. He delights in anything which can divide saints from one another. He attaches far more importance to godly communion than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation: and so he would keep Paul away from these brethren who might have gladdened his heart, and whose hearts he might have cheered; he would hinder their fraternal communion so that they might miss the strength which always flows from Christian fellowship and Christian sympathy.”
Now in whatever ways Paul was being prevented, he persevered in prayer and did not give up on his God given longings and intentions to visit the saints in Rome. When the intentions of your heart to serve in a particular ministry or to reach out to someone in need is from the Lord, you can expect opposition. But we must not allow these hindrances to cause us to quit or to give up on the desires that God places on our hearts. Notice that after explaining how he had often intended to visit the saints in Rome but was prevented, Paul reveals the reason for wanting to visit: "in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13b). A vital biblical principle concerning the harvest is that reaping will not happen unless we persevere. Paul said in Galatians 6:9: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
When we set out to be channels of God’s saving grace and love to others, we will encounter obstacles and opposition. But if we lean hard on Jesus and persevere by the grace that God supplies, the hindrances can build our faith and prepare us to reap a harvest of righteousness. To illustrate the principle of persevering obedience, Bryan Chapel tells the story of how the Navigator’s international ministry began:
“More than seven decades ago, two sailors began meeting with a lumberyard worker for Bible study in the garage of a Texaco service station in Lomita, California. In a few weeks, those two were joined by two other sailors who were new believers. With these four, the lumberyard worker, named Dawson Trotman, began to share a vision for how they could be part of God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was really a silly dream: reaching the world for Christ with four sailors, two of whom were new believers and all of whom were coming for the baked-bean dinner as much as for the Bible study. But by year’s end those four asked the lumberyard worker to quit his job. They said, “We will split our salaries to support you if you will become a missionary to the fleet.” He did quit and ministered to those four and their friends for a brief time before they were deployed to Pearl Harbor. In the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack, their ship was destroyed, but the four survived—so that they and their friends were dispersed across the Pacific fleet with the message of the gospel. When they returned to the United States after the war and entered college under the GI Bill, the gospel was dispersed again. And so began the ministry of the Navigators, which has spread the gospel across the world through the witness of college students and those in military service. How did such amazing things happen? In a famous speech given years later, Dawson Trotman explained: “The need of the hour, as far as I’m concerned, is to believe that God is God and that He is a lot more interested in getting this job done than you and I are. Therefore, if He is more interested in getting the job done, has all power to do it, and has commissioned us to do it, our business is to obey Him—reaching the world for Him and trusting Him to help us do it.”
Do you know how Paul finally made it to Rome and reaped the harvest of righteousness he was praying for? The book of Acts records that after being persecuted in Jerusalem by the religious leaders, he was taken into custody by the Roman authorities when they witnessed the violence that was being inflicted upon him. After being brought into the barracks, we read in Acts 23:11, “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Sometime after that night, while being examined by Roman rulers, Paul appealed to Cesar. And after remaining in custody for two years, he was finally put on a ship under Roman guard and was sent off to Rome. During this journey, Paul encountered a terrible storm, and was shipwrecked on an island. But three months later, Paul was placed on another ship and finally made it to his desired destination. Three years before, while spending the night in the Roman barracks, Paul no doubt wondered how he would ever make it to Rome. And although he was given reassurance from the Lord that night, Paul would have never guessed that he would be sent there at the expense of the Roman government and with a military escort.
As Spurgeon noted: “When our hearts are set on a thing, and we pray for it, God may grant us the blessing; but, it may be, in a way that we never looked for.”
Writing to the Philippians from Rome while chained to a Roman soldier, Paul explained, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” (Philippians 1:12-13). God’s providential work in Paul’s life was so apparent that even the elite soldiers in Caesar’s Palace became aware of Paul’s testimony and knew that the opposition he experienced was used by God to spread the gospel.
When we set out to minister the hope of Christ to others, we can trust in a God who can turn obstacles into opportunities to accomplish His redemptive plans. All of God’s authority is available to those who set out on a mission for God declaring as Paul did, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16).
Trusting in the providence of God and the power of the gospel to save, may each one of us devote ourselves to persistently pray for open doors to personally participate in building up the faith of others. We will reap a harvest if we patiently persevere for the glory of Christ our strength and our redeemer.
In your service,
Pastor Marco