Building Jesus' Church

chapter 16 and verse 1.

So he came to Derby and then to Lystra

where a disciple named Timothy lived.

His mother was a Jewess and a believer,

but his father was a Greek.

The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

Paul wanted to take him along on the journey,

so he circumcised him because of the Jews

who lived in that area,

but they all knew that his father was a Greek.

As they traveled from time to time,

they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles

and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith

and grew daily in numbers.

Paul and his companions traveled

throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia,

having been kept by the Holy Spirit

from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

When they came to the border of Mysia,

they tried to enter Bithynia,

but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia

standing and begging him,

come over to Macedonia and help us.

After Paul had seen the vision,

we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia,

concluding that God had called us

to preach the gospel to them.

Okay, may the Lord bless the reading of his word.

Hey, well, we'll see,

as we've been seeing,

Paul's missionary journeys are going to continue,

and we'll see that it's Jesus

who keeps building his church.

You know, the big picture of Acts

is that Jesus, before he returns to heaven,

gives the spirit to the apostles,

so they will continue the work of Jesus

in building God's kingdom.

And in this little section,

we see the guiding of Jesus

through his spirit in both of these stories.

In the first five verses,

Paul is guided to do something

that maybe as we start to think about it,

is kind of surprising,

so that Jesus, the Messiah,

can be preached to the Jews.

And then in the second,

and again, it's perhaps surprising to us,

Paul is forbidden from preaching

in certain parts of the world

by the spirit of Jesus

so that ultimately the good news

could reach Europe for the first time.

So we're seeing that Jesus builds his church,

and he does it in his way,

with his timing,

and it's all for his glory.

So let's think about those first five verses

and think about this idea

that Jesus' mission makes the gospel central.

A long time ago,

a Christian pastor by the name of John Newton

described the apostle Paul in this way.

He described him as an iron pillar in essentials,

but a reed in non-essentials.

And this is one of those places

where we see that.

In chapter 15,

he had the wisdom and the conviction

to say that we cannot bend the truth.

People are saved by grace alone,

so we cannot for a second

give people the impression

that circumcision saves,

but he also has the love and compassion

to say,

do you know what?

We can bend in our mission

so that the glory of God's love

can be shared.

Paul's heart is that he wants

to make followers of Jesus

wherever he goes.

He wants God to be glorified

through his son getting glory.

He's not trying to convert people

to his tribe

or to exercise his freedoms instantly.

And we see that very clearly

in these first five verses.

And we see it in how and why

Paul has Timothy undergo

this Jewish right of circumcision.

Having just argued

at the Jerusalem council

that a person doesn't need

to be circumcised to be saved,

he then has Timothy circumcised

for mission.

So that's something we need

to think about.

We'll do that in a couple of minutes.

But first of all,

let's introduce ourselves

to Timothy.

What do we know of him

from the first couple of verses?

A disciple named Timothy

lived in Lystra,

whose mother was a Jewess

and a believer,

but whose father was a Greek.

The brothers at Lystra

and Iconium spoke well of him.

So Timothy comes from

a mixed race family,

a Gentile father,

a Jewish mother.

According to Jewish law,

he is a Jew,

but he's not been circumcised.

So this either says

his father didn't want him

to be raised Jewish,

perhaps sort of similar

to what Andy was sharing with us,

or his mom was not very faithful

as a Jew and didn't bother

to have Timothy circumcised.

But at some point,

most likely on Paul's

first missionary journey,

Timothy and his mom

are converted.

They come to faith

in the Lord Jesus.

Chapter 14 tells us

of Paul's visit

to Derby and Lystra.

And what we discover

of Timothy

is he's well thought of

as a follower of Jesus.

Paul makes a decision

in verse 3.

Paul wanted to take him

along on the journey,

so he circumcised him

because of the Jews

who lived in that area.

But they all knew

his father was a Greek.

So as Andrew was reminding us,

he's now separated

from his partner

in ministry, Barnabas.

He's taken Silas

along with him,

but it seems he wants

to take another mission partner,

Timothy, perhaps to train up

this young Christian man

in mission,

and he has him circumcised.

And again, we'll come back

to that in a moment.

But the result of their travels

is so encouraging.

Verse 4 and 5,

as they carry about

the verdict

of the Jerusalem council

that faith in Jesus alone

is enough for salvation.

You're saved by trusting

in God's grace,

not in circumcision.

What are we told?

We're told the churches

were strengthened in the faith

and grew daily in number.

There's strength,

there's stability,

there's numerical growth

as the gospel is confirmed.

So, given that's the case,

I wonder if anybody

is a little bit surprised

by what's happening

in chapter 15

and what's happening

in chapter 16.

Chapter 15,

there's that battle against,

you know,

keep the law,

be circumcised to be saved,

and then here,

Timothy is told

to be circumcised.

So we need to think,

why is that?

So some people have suggested,

here is Paul being inconsistent,

or here is Paul

operating out of fear.

He has certain convictions,

but because he's fearful

of the Jewish community,

he goes against those convictions

and has Timothy circumcised.

But that's not it.

When you read Paul's letters,

when you read of his experience,

you discover just how bold he is

as a servant of Jesus.

What we have here

is that Paul cares,

first and foremost,

for people's salvation.

His big dream

is that people will come to faith

in the Lord Jesus.

His concern is for the glory of Jesus

and the extension of his kingdom.

So what he's doing here

is he is taking a barrier away

to gospel proclamation.

If I circumcise Timothy,

then it will allow him

to speak to a Jewish audience.

Sometimes we have that

about certain people.

We look at them

or we hear them

and we have a certain amount

of distress.

His teeth are too white

or his hair is too slick.

He's too loud.

He's too polished.

And we make judgments.

For a Jew,

they wouldn't listen to Timothy

because they would simply say,

he's unclean.

He's not one of us.

Therefore,

we won't listen

to his message.

And so Paul,

for the sake of the gospel,

had Timothy

circumcised.

John Stott,

I think,

puts it well.

He says,

what was unnecessary

for acceptance with God,

you know,

Paul has argued

it's not necessary

to be circumcised,

to be right with God.

So what was unnecessary

for acceptance with God

was advisable

for acceptance

by some human beings.

Timothy being circumcised

is not a salvation issue.

It's a stigma issue.

If Timothy is circumcised,

then he's much more likely

to be effective

in mission to the Jews

and he'll also be used

in mission to the Gentiles.

Now,

Paul could have said,

listen,

Timothy is free

not to be circumcised.

But he doesn't use

that freedom

and he encourages Timothy

to not exercise

that freedom

for the sake of the Jews

who had weak consciences.

Because his goal

is not that we exercise freedom,

his goal is that the gospel

is known and heard

and that the Messiah

is announced.

We see some examples

of that

in mission history.

If you've ever read

the story of Hudson Taylor,

you'll know

that he shocked

the churches

in the UK

by going to China

and adopting

Chinese dress

and getting

the Chinese

top knot

in his hair.

But,

although he shocked

people at home,

he opened a door

for the gospel

in China.

It's one of the things

I think we would do

well to pray

for missionaries

to have that wisdom

to be able

to understand

the culture

so as to speak

the gospel into it.

Paul knew

the Jewish culture

and he knew

a circumcised male

would be

a better preacher

than an uncircumcised

Jewish male.

Again,

missionary story.

There's a wonderful book

written by

Don Richardson,

a missionary

who died last year,

called Peace Child.

Don and his wife

were working

in tribal

island communities

in Indonesia.

And he was finding

the going really tough

in terms of

sharing the gospel.

No sign of anyone

giving Jesus

a hearing.

In fact,

they thought Jesus

was weak.

They thought Judas

was the hero

of the gospel story

actually.

And so he was

faithfully trying

to communicate

the gospel,

trying to find

a way in

until he discovered

this.

There were three tribes

at war,

constant fighting,

and eventually

they decided,

somebody made

this remarkable move,

one of the chiefs

gave a newborn,

his newborn child,

to one of the rival

chiefs

in order to

raise the child.

The child was given

adopted

in order to

end the fighting,

became known as

the peace child.

The idea being

if a man is

willing to give

his child

to his enemies,

then that's a man

who can be trusted,

therefore I should

stop fighting

with him.

And Don Richardson,

sort of looking

into the culture,

realized here's a

connection with

the gospel.

And so spoke

about God the Father

giving Jesus

as the peace

child,

to make

us as enemies

into

friends,

securing

our forgiveness,

that the God

that he spoke of

could be trusted

because he was

willing to give

his son

to his enemy.

But he was

looking to

understand the

culture and to

speak into it

sensitively.

And I think

that's one of the

things that we

learn from the

book of Acts,

the importance

of thinking

to ourselves,

am I trying to

win someone for

Christ first and

foremost,

or am I also,

maybe even without

meaning to,

saying,

but to do that

you must also be

a lot or a

little like me.

It's not what we

see from Paul.

He makes the

gospel central.

There's that

wonderful section

in 1 Corinthians

9 where we

discover Paul's

ministry model.

He says,

I have become

all things

to all people

so that by all

possible means I

might save some.

I do this

for the sake

of the gospel.

So Jesus'

mission makes

the gospel

central and we

see that in

Paul's experience.

And then we

come to that

surprising little

section,

verses 6 to

10 where we

see Jesus by

his spirit

closes some

doors and

opens other

doors for

mission.

So let's

remind ourselves

of what's

happening.

Verse 6,

Paul and his

companions traveled

through the region

of Phrygia and

Galatia having

been kept by the

Holy Spirit from

preaching the word

in the province

of Asia.

When they came

to the border

of Mysia,

they tried to

enter Bithynia,

but the spirit of

Jesus would not

allow them to.

So they passed

by Mysia and

went down to

Troa.

So Paul's

mission here

hits a roadblock

not once but

twice.

So he's got this

plan A,

natural plan A,

let's carry along

the Roman road

called the Via

Sebast,

150 miles

southwest towards

Asia,

towards Colossae,

towards Ephesus,

but the spirit

says,

no.

So then they

have another plan.

Well,

let's head north

to the non-Roman

territory of Mysia.

And again,

the spirit of

Jesus says,

no.

So they've only

got one other

road left to

take.

So they head

northwest on the

road that

eventually leads

them towards

Troas.

And what we

discover is that

while they're on

that journey,

verse 9,

during the night

Paul had a

vision of a

man of Macedonia

standing and

begging him,

come over to

Macedonia and

help us.

God gives him

this vision.

And after

Paul had seen

the vision,

we got ready

at once to

leave for

Macedonia,

concluding that

God had called

us to preach

the gospel to

them.

So Paul talks

to his

colleagues and

they all decide

that this is

confirmation that

we should go

over to

Macedonia to

share the

gospel.

And we'll see

next week the

gospel entering

into Europe.

But what are we

seeing here?

We're seeing

that Jesus gave

his spirit to

the church,

church, we're

seeing that the

spirit directs

the mission of

the church, and

the spirit is

directing Paul in

different ways so

that in God's

purposes the

gospel would come

to Europe.

So the spirit

works by closing

some doors, by

saying to Paul,

no, you're not

going there, and

by opening other

doors.

He prohibits and

he permits.

And it's

interesting that

we're not told

how the spirit

does that.

But as we look

through the book

of Acts, we can

learn certain

things about God's

guidance and

mission that we

see in Paul's

own experience.

We discover the

spirit uses

various methods

in order to

guide his

church in

mission.

Sometimes

that's through

circumstances.

So we don't

know this, but

it may have

been that Paul

tried to go

there, but the

authorities were

hostile.

There was a

Jewish community

that chased

them off.

It could have

been that he

had an

illness.

So those

things happened

in other

situations.

So circumstances

are part of

the way that

the spirit works

to guide the

mission.

Perhaps it

was simply a

sense of

conviction.

Perhaps they

went to go and

then they really

had a feeling

that this

wasn't at

the right

place at

the right

time.

We find in

other times in

the book of

Acts there's a

message of a

prophet that

comes and

the apostles

will respond

to that and

will change

their plans,

will change

direction because

they feel a

sense of

conviction from

one of the

prophets.

In verse

9 we can

certainly say

that God's

voice, God's

words, is

guiding them

in the sense

that he's

given them

this vision.

And then in

verse 10 we

can also say

that Paul's

mission is

guided in

part by

discussing

with other

people.

So there are

circumstances,

there are

convictions,

there is the

word of God,

there's other

people all

playing their

part in how

God by his

spirit directs

the church

and mission.

And when we

think about

guidance,

sometimes we

can make

guidance seem

like a

really sort

of supernatural

out there

kind of thing

that we have

to wait for

sort of voices

from the sky

or great

visions,

but we're

discovering,

and we find

this to be

true in the

Bible,

that God

most often

works through

those normal

means.

In our own

lives, he

gives us

common sense,

he gives us

other people

to discuss

things with,

he gives us

our own sense

convictions about

what is the

right thing

to do.

He gives us

the word of

God to give

us direction

and the gift

of prayer.

He gives us

a fellowship

of God's

people to

together seek

to understand

how God

is leading

and guiding.

But what we

see in Paul's

experience is

the spirit

uses various

methods as

he directs

his mission.

And in

that, and

we see this

from Paul's

experience,

that that

experience will

not always

be comfortable.

Trying to

understand God's

guidance,

especially when

we feel God

is saying no

or not

now, can

be hard,

can be

frustrating at

times.

We can be

confused, we

can feel really

compelled to

do a certain

thing, but

it becomes

clear that

it's just not

meant to be

right now,

and that can

be a hard

place to

be.

It made

me think of

the Dr.

Zeus story,

Oh, the

places you'll

go, if you

know that

book, you'll

know that

there is a

place called

the waiting

place, a

useless place

where everyone

is just

waiting.

And sometimes

we can feel

like that,

there can be

a real sense

of burden,

that we want

to do

something for

God, but

the opportunity

just isn't

there, and

that's a

really hard

thing to

deal with.

I remember

that in

my own

experience.

I finished

studying up

at the

Highland

Theological

College, and

I spent

months pushing

at doors trying

to find the

right ministry

opportunity in

the UK, in

Europe, in

various places.

And it was a

really difficult

time, lots of

sleepless nights,

lots of confusion

as to where is

the best place

to go, and

ultimately, as

God was saying

stay and learn

some more.

But it was a

hard time of

wrestling, and

that can be

hard when we

find that our

timing and

God's timing

don't naturally

align.

Trusting the

sovereign plan

and the

sovereign timing

of God is

the right thing

to do, but

it's not easy.

Sometimes we

can feel

confused.

We might feel

confused.

Why didn't

God allow

Paul to

preach the

gospel in

Asia?

And it's

important for

us in those

moments to be

able to pull

back and to

remember God's

never confused.

The sovereign

God has a

perfect plan for

his people, for

his church, for

his mission.

Sometimes it

helps to learn

from history.

Church history

shows that God

knows what he's

doing.

I discovered

this week that

David Livingston,

a famous

missionary to

Africa, he

actually really

wanted to go to

China.

And God

didn't allow

him to go to

China, but

instead sent

him to

Africa.

Maybe you've

heard the

story of

Gladys

Aylward and

her incredible

ministry to

abandoned

children and

to women in

China.

Well, Gladys

Aylward had

been rejected

by all the

missions, sending

missionaries to

China.

She wasn't

smart enough, she

wasn't well

educated enough,

she'd never be

able to learn the

language and

culture.

But God had

his plan.

Paul was

forbidden by

Jesus from

sharing the

gospel for

weeks.

And we're

not told how

Paul fell

about that, but

we do know

that in God's

providence, that

was the way for

the gospel to

come to

Europe.

God knows

what he is

doing.

And we also

see from

Paul that

when a door

of opportunity

opens, we

should go for

it.

when they

have that

sense that

they should

go to

Macedonia, and

we'll get here

next week, we'll

see what happens

when they arrive

in Philippi.

It's a remarkable

story.

He's going to

meet a girl

who's held

prisoner by

men and by

evil spirits.

We're going to

find him chained

up in prison, but

he's still going to

be singing hymns

of praise.

Why?

Because he knows

that he's following

the call of

Jesus.

He knows he's

walking in

obedience.

So he's

learning to be

content because

God had called

him there.

So if we're

here today and

we feel like

we're in the

waiting place,

where doors are

closing rather

than opening,

we encourage you

to take heart

in the good

purposes and

the perfect

timing of God

that we'd be

able to submit

to him and to

serve now with

patience while we

wait for what

doors might

open.

But then on

the flip side,

if God is

opening a

door of

opportunity for

useful service

in a friendship

or in a

ministry capacity,

take confidence

in the gospel.

Take confidence

in the power of

the Spirit.

Take heart in

the fact that

God is concerned

for his glory

and God's able

to use and

chooses to work

through the

church, chooses

to work through

his people for

his glory.

Remember from

this story that

God uses

something surprising

people and

he uses

surprising

providences in

order to extend

his mission.

So, perhaps for

us we can think

for ourselves,

what will it

mean for us

this week or

in these

relationships that

we have to be

flexible in

order for the

gospel to be

shared?

To think,

how do I need

to respond to

the way that

the Spirit is

guiding me today

or how he's

been guiding us

in the last

number of

weeks?

And let's

remember that

Jesus is the

one who is the

head of the

church and who

is continuing to

build his church

and to do that

through us.