Verses 25-29  ;25 "But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ."         

The disciples of the churches of Macedonia and Achaia had determined to contribute money for the poor saints at Jerusalem.  The details of this are recorded for us in the book of Acts: Acts 11:27 "And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. 28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul."           

There are many lessons that we can learn from this.  First, it is probably likely that most of the members of the churches of Macedonia and Achaia did not know the members of the church at Jerusalem.  Even though they did not personally know the ones in need, they still by the love in their hearts gave to the needs of the saints at Jerusalem.  Second, the church at Jerusalem consisted mostly of Jews and the churches at Macedonia and Achaia consisted mostly of Gentiles.  Ethnicity was not a factor in the saints of Macedonia and Achaia giving to the saints at Jerusalem.  Third, the saints at Macedonia and Achaia could not boast of what they had done, because they had been blessed by the giving of the saints of Jerusalem to them at an earlier date.         

The saints at Jerusalem had freely shared the gospel and its message with the saints at Macedonia and Achaia.  Their ministers had gone and preached to the Gentiles at Macedonia and Achaia.  What a great spiritual blessing this was to the saints at Macedonia and Achaia.  The saints at Macedonia and Achaia owed a debt of gratitude to the saints at Jerusalem.  They had a love for the saints at Jerusalem and a duty to help them in time of their carnal need.  By the love of God, they determined to do this very thing.  They gave according to each man's ability.  They collected the contributions for the poor saints at Jerusalem and entrusted them in the hands of Paul and Barnabas.           

With these contributions in hand, Paul was going first to Jerusalem and then determined to go to Rome on his way to Spain.  While Paul had some very important tasks to accomplish both at Jerusalem and later in Spain, yet, going to Rome and preaching to the saints at Rome was also important.  It was not just a convenient stopover in Rome, but a meeting by the direction of the Holy Spirit and Paul was determined that the saints at Rome would not be shortchanged.           

"And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ."  We are to declare the whole counsel of God.  Certainly, we declare the good news of the sovereignty of God in the new birth and in salvation from sin and that heaven will be our home because of the covenant of redemption.  We also declare the government and orderly arrangement of the church and how we are to conduct ourselves as disciples of the Lord and how we are to live lives to the honor and glory of God.  We also are to preach how that we are to conduct ourselves as family members and how we are to conduct ourselves in the workplace.  We are also to warn about false doctrines, false teachers, false worship, and false practices in the church.  Paul said he was coming in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.  We also should preach the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 

Paul asks for prayers...

Verses 30-33  :30 "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen."         

The word, "beseech," means "to strongly encourage."  Paul was strongly encouraging the saints at Rome to strive in prayer with him.  The phrase, "strive together with," means "to struggle together with."  Paul wanted the brethren at Rome to be prayer partners striving together with him for something that he deemed to be very important.  To show us the importance, Paul said that this, which he was praying for, was "for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit."  This is a very strong admonition or encouragement for prayer.  To ask someone to pray for Christ's sake and for the love of the Spirit is about as strong a request for prayer that can be made.  What was it that Paul wanted the saints at Rome to pray for?         

First, he wanted them to pray that he (Paul) might "be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea."  To the religious world, this must seem like a very strange request.  Most of the religious world would want you to pray that they might be delivered to unbelievers.  Most of the religious world thinks that if they can get the gospel to unbelievers they may be able to convert them to believers and thus cause them to obtain eternal life.  The bible does not teach this.  The bible teaches that "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness."           

If the preaching of the gospel was God's means to get unbelievers to become believers and thus get eternal life, then why did Paul pray and ask the saints at Rome to pray that he might be delivered from unbelievers?  Because Paul knew and taught that God must first cause a person to be born of the Spirit before that person would be able to believe the gospel.  Paul knew that preaching the gospel to an unregenerate (not born again) would not be received by the unregenerate.  Rather, often times, the unregenerate will persecute the preachers of righteousness and those who hold to the truth.  Paul knew that the unbelievers could be a great obstacle or hindrance in his service to the saints.  For this reason he asked the saints at Rome to pray with him that he might be delivered from unbelievers.         

Second, Paul asked the saints at Rome to pray that his service which he had for Jerusalem might be accepted of the saints.  Certainly Paul had a service in delivering the contributions for the poor saints at Jerusalem because of the dearth over the land.  Yet, Paul is praying for more than the receipt of the natural contributions by the poor saints at Jerusalem.  A very hungry person will almost always accept food when it is offered to him.  The service that Paul was referring to was the preaching of the gospel to the saints at Jerusalem.  God must first prepare the hearts of his people to receive the truth before they can receive the truth.  An example of this is found in Acts 16:14: "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."           

Thus, Paul requested the saints at Rome to pray with him that he might be delivered from unbelievers and that God would prepare the hearts of the saints to receive the gospel truth of salvation from sin by the grace of God alone.         

The third thing that Paul requested the saints at Rome to pray for was "That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed."  The saints at Rome had already heard and believed the truth of salvation from sin by the grace of God alone.  Yet Paul desired by the leadership of the Spirit to preach the whole counsel of God to the saints at Rome.  He knew that in his coming to Rome he was dependent upon the providence of God so that he might arrive there and arrive there with joy.  He asked the saints to pray for that intended end that his trip to meet with them might be prospered by the Lord and that both he and them be blessed and refreshed by the upcoming meetings.           

All three things that Paul requested the saints at Rome to pray for are important to us today as well.  We need to be delivered from unbelievers who would hinder the preaching of the gospel to God's elect children.  Likewise, we need for God to open the door of utterance to his elect children and to prepare their hearts that they might receive and believe the truth of salvation from sin by the grace of God alone.  Likewise, we need to pray that God would prosper our journey's for his name's sake and that our meetings with the saints might be a blessing to them and to us.