Plans, Prayers, and the Providence of God
Scripture Texts: Romans 15:22-33
Introduction.
Romans 15:22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.
And just what is that reason, Paul?
Romans 15:20 I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
Paul was a frontiersman, always moving further west. He was like our Dutch forefathers who came to Whatcom County at the turn of the last century. When they got here this was all old growth cedar forest like Berthusen Park. The farmers had to cut down the trees, pull up the stumps, clear the land, cultivate the soil. All by hand or with horses. The labor was intense, backbreaking.
Paul’s mission was to plant churches where there were no churches, to lay a foundation in Jesus Christ and then move on. To plant and then let others water. The labor was intense, and more than backbreaking. Here is how he described it in II Corinthians.