Discerning God's Will

Pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before you and before your Word again this evening.

You said that your sheep hear your voice, they recognize your voice.

And Lord, we have heard your call and we have gathered here as your people to worship you.

And we now incline our ears, our hearts to you.

Because we want to become ever more familiar with our shepherd's voice.

Because we want to learn to better discern your will and to follow it, to surrender ourselves to it.

So teach us how to do that this evening from this text.

We want to exalt the name of your Son.

Captivate our hearts with Christ and His gospel discipline.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Acts chapter 15 verse 36 to chapter 16 verse 10.

Acts 15:36

And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas,

Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the Word of the Lord and see how they are.

Now, Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

And there arose a sharp disagreement so that they separated from each other.

Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.

A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.

But his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.

But Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him.

And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places.

For they all knew that his father was a Greek.

As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith.

And they increased in numbers daily.

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia.

But the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

So passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.

A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying,

Come over to Macedonia and help us.

And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

When it was published in 2001, the World Christian Encyclopedia counted 33,830 denominations worldwide.

That number is undoubtedly higher today in 2021.

And I don't mention this to discredit denominations at all.

Our local church is part of a denomination called Sovereign Grace Churches.

And churches that declare themselves independent or non-denominational are themselves splitting away from the historic denominations over different convictions about denominations.

So it's really not all that different from denominations that are split off for other reasons.

On matters of first importance that pertain to the gospel of Jesus, there is considerable agreement and unity among all Christians, even among the myriad denominations.

But the reality is, Christians don't always see eye to eye on everything.

1 Corinthians 13, 9-12 tell us that we know in part and we prophesy in part.

But when perfect comes, when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

It says, for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

In the present, our knowledge of God and His will is imperfect and partial.

Our understanding is limited.

Our sins cloud our judgment.

Our perceptions are colored by various historical and cultural influences.

And for those reasons, disagreements between believers, even among godly believers, are inevitable.

In this passage, we learn from Paul and Barnabas' example that as we proclaim the gospel, we must discern God's will through conflicts, through controversies, and through closed doors.

And trust God to work through them.

So we're going to cover those in turn.

Conflict, controversy, and closed doors.

After spending some days teaching and ministering to the church in Antioch, Paul says to Barnabas in chapter 15, verse 36,

Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are.

Paul was, as many of you know, a frontier missionary who made it his ambition to preach the gospel where the gospel had not been preached.

But this doesn't mean that Paul only cared about making converts and didn't care about those who were already converted.

He wanted to make another long and arduous journey to revisit all the cities where he had preached the gospel and planted churches

because he was invested in building up and caring for the people who were already converted.

Make sure that those churches are firmly established.

We, too, as a church, must do both.

We can't be content merely with caring for the internal needs of our local church.

We must send out missionaries.

We must evangelize.

We must have an outward orientation toward unbelievers.

But we also can't neglect the upbuilding of the local church.

We must nurture and build up one another in Christ-likeness.

Otherwise, if we don't do that, there would be no mature believers left to evangelize and minister to others.

We should ask ourselves, ask yourself, which area do you tend to be stronger in, tend to be weaker in?

Because we need to be doing both.

So far, so good.

Barnabas and Paul were agreed on that front.

They were agreed that they should revisit these churches to encourage them, check on them.

But then they hid a snag on the road.

It says in verses 37 to 38,

Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark,

but Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia

and had not gone with them to the work.

You might recall from Acts chapter 12 that John called Mark is the son of a certain Mary in Jerusalem

Acts 12 · chapter mention

who hosted a house church there, so a prominent believer in Jerusalem.

Mary, it turns out, is Barnabas' aunt because John called Mark was Barnabas' cousin according to Colossians chapter 4 verse 10.

Colossians 4:10

So this John called Mark, whom I will call Mark from now on, was beloved in the Jerusalem church.

Apostle Peter had a particular affection for this man and called him his spiritual son in 1 Peter 5 verse 13.

1 Peter 5:13

So after Paul and Barnabas delivered the famine aid that the Antioch Christians had prepared for the Jerusalem church,

they encountered John Mark, they encountered Mark and started having him accompany them on their missionary journeys.

However, it appears that on their missionary journey, while Mark was following them and assisting them,

that at some point he withdrew from them.

He didn't go with them to do the missionary work.

Paul saw this as nothing less than desertion.

Like when a soldier deserts his comrades in the battlefield.

You could imagine Paul arguing with Barnabas over this issue this way.

Barnabas, Proverbs 25, 19 says this,

Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

Barnabas, Mark proved undependable.

He deserted us at the moment of our need.

He was like a decayed tooth that you can't chew with when you need to eat something.

Or a slipping food that you can't put weight on.

Our missionary work involves long journeys that's physically exhausting and emotionally draining.

And even more than that, we're entering a spiritual battlefield.

And we can't, and we can be, and we have been persecuted.

We might even be killed.

We don't have the luxury of taking a chance on someone who has already deserted us in the past.

We're a small team.

Every single person is integral.

We can't afford to lose one man.

You really can't blame Paul for making this argument.

Saying we can't take Mark along with him.

But on the other hand, it's also hard to blame Barnabas for wanting to give Mark a second chance.

Barnabas was a gracious man.

Remember from Acts 4.36, his actual name is Joseph.

But nobody calls him that.

Everyone calls him Barnabas by his nickname because it means son of encouragement.

Why?

Because Barnabas was a man who was always found encouraging and building up other people, other fellow Christians.

The word encouragement means to exhort and embolden another person for a certain task, for a course of action.

The same word is used in Acts 9.31 to refer to the comfort that the Holy Spirit brings.

So Barnabas is someone who comforts others, encourages others.

There's an older pastor in our denomination named Kyle Huber.

And I mention him because he's been like a Barnabas to me.

He's someone that's always sending encouraging texts and letting me know that he's praying for me.

Whenever I spend time with him, I walk away more aware of God's gracious presence in my life.

That kind of person.

I hope you have people like that in your life.

People who encourage you, build you up, comfort you.

Barnabas was that kind of man.

So when a fledgling church in Antioch needed some encouragement, who would they send but Barnabas?

In Acts chapter 11.22-26.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

In Acts 9.27, when Paul, right after Paul's conversion, because of his fierce reputation, his terrible reputation as a persecutor of the church,

the Jerusalem church was wary of him.

The apostles didn't want anything to do with him.

And of course, who else?

But it was Barnabas who took Paul along and introduced him to the apostles.

To the church in Jerusalem.

Barnabas was a man who understood the importance of second chances.

And Mark wasn't any man.

He was Barnabas' cousin.

So you can imagine Barnabas arguing back and forth with Paul.

Paul, please, let's give Mark another chance.

He's a young lad, and he's remorseful about what he did.

He's given us his word that he will accompany us and assist us and not desert us again.

Didn't nearly all of the twelve apostles forsake Jesus when he was arrested and crucified?

Did not the great apostle Peter deny our Lord three times?

And yet he did not give them all a second chance?

Did he not reinstate Peter as the leader of the twelve?

Come on, Paul.

You were once a persecutor of the church.

And yet our Lord showed you mercy, didn't he?

Can we give Mark just one more chance?

Even if it's just for my sake.

He's my cousin after all.

He'll be crushed if we refuse to take him along because of that one incident.

You really can't blame Barnabas for wanting to take Mark along with him either.

Verse 39 says that there arose a sharp disagreement.

The same word is used in Greek literature to describe a severe convulsion that comes as a result of a disease.

It's the word from which we get the English word paroxysm, which means a sudden uncontrollable outburst, a fit of emotion or action.

Paul and Barnabas were not engaging in soft-spoken debate.

They were engaged in a sharp disagreement.

There were emotionally charged statements said, bitter arguments made.

Two dear friends and Christian comrades simply could not see eye to eye on this issue.

So that, it says in verses 39 to 41, they separated from each other.

Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

But Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, sprinkling the churches.

It's a sad scene, really.

The separation must have been so painful, can you imagine, for Paul and Barnabas.

Remember, it was Barnabas, as I mentioned before, who first took a chance on Paul and introduced him to the church in Jerusalem.

It was Barnabas who went to Tarsus to recruit Paul for their ministry in Antioch in the first place.

Humanly speaking, there would have been no Apostle Paul that we know of apart from Apostle Barnabas.

The two had traveled thousands of miles together.

They had preached the gospel together.

They had slept in the same quarters, eaten the same foods.

They had been persecuted together, driven out of cities by persecutors together.

They had seen the Lord perform miracles through them.

And had seen Him save multitudes through their partnership.

They were brothers from another mother.

And yet, they decided to go on separate ways on account of this sharp disagreement.

The way verses 39 to 41 are written seems to suggest that the church in Antioch sided with Paul on this disagreement.

Verse 39 makes it sound like Barnabas and Mark absconded without any fanfare.

It's kind of quietly departed.

Barnabas just took Mark along and left.

It just says, Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

But, in contrast, it says, Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

That verb, commended, is singular in the Greek.

It applies to Paul only.

It doesn't apply to Paul and Barnabas.

And not only that, in chapter 16, starting in verse 10, we get the first we passage in Acts,

which are passages where Luke, the author of the book, starts to put himself in the narrative,

using first-person plural pronouns, indicating that he was an eyewitness of traveling with Paul.

So Luke himself decided to side with Paul and to go with him on his missionary journey.

But we do know that Barnabas was later vindicated from other texts.

In Philemon 24, Paul describes Mark as his fellow worker.

In Colossians 4, verse 10, he commands Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, to the Colossian church.

Colossians 4:10

And then, most movingly, in 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 11, I think I have this to show on the projector.

2 Timothy 4:11

Toward the end of his life, after Paul had been abandoned by almost everyone, he writes to Timothy this,

Luke alone is with me.

Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

So obviously, Paul was willing to give Mark another chance at a later point in ministry.

And it seems by then that Mark had matured and grown in faithfulness as well.

He even authored the Gospel of Mark, which is part of the Scriptures.

I think this account of Paul and Barnabas' separation is very instructive for us.

Note first that this was not a disagreement that was a matter of truth and error, of orthodoxy and heresy.

They were both trying to apply biblical principles.

It was an important disagreement because it affected their ministry.

But they were both trying to faithfully apply biblical principles.

Paul wanted to protect the missionary work.

Barnabas wanted to care pastorally for Mark.

Sometimes, even godly Christians like Barnabas and Paul simply disagree.

It's not necessarily the case that one of them is in sin.

It is sometimes the case that one of them is just wrong.

And this kind of disagreement will happen until Christ returns and our faith is turned to sight.

Only then will we know perfect.

We are finite.

We are not omniscient.

We are all susceptible to faulty thinking and erroneous judgments.

Of course, the Holy Spirit could have decisively ended this debate

by giving them a vision maybe of what to do with Mark.

He does that.

He just shows Paul's vision later in chapter 16.

But he doesn't do that here.

Sometimes God works in and through uncertainty

and leaves us to make the best decisions we can

with the partial knowledge we have.

And then he asks us to trust him with the rest.

So as we proclaim the gospel,

we have to discern God's will through conflicts that inevitably arise

and trust God to work through them.

And God did work through this disagreement.

The outcome of the disagreement is that now,

instead of just one missionary team,

there are now two missionary teams that are sent out for gospel ministry.

Not having Barnabas or Mark to share in his ministry,

Paul chooses Silas to accompany him.

And we know that Silas, also called Silvanus,

as elsewhere in the New Testament,

became a faithful brother that accompanied him

through much of his mission's work.

Not only that, when he gets to Lystra in chapter 16,

Paul identifies another promising young man named Timothy

to accompany him on his missionary journey.

So that with the loss of Barnabas and Mark,

new leaders are raised up and equipped,

and more churches, therefore, can be planted.

It's also not hard to imagine the kind of humbling effect

that this disagreement would have had on everyone involved.

Paul's tough love probably humbled Mark

and helped him realize just how serious it is

for him to abandon fellow missionaries.

After seeing how seriously Paul took what he did,

I'd venture to say that Mark probably never did that again.

Not only that, Barnabas' graciousness toward Mark

probably made him more grateful for the privilege and mercy

of being called to the ministry of the gospel,

knowing that it's a grace, not an entitlement.

Likewise, Paul's emphasis on steadfast commitment

likely made Barnabas more watchful

and perhaps less indulgent of Mark his cousin.

And Barnabas' emphasis on grace

could have probably made Paul more patient

and compassionate toward others,

perhaps later in his ministry.

I say all of that to demonstrate the truth

of Joseph's observation in Genesis 50, verse 20.

Genesis 50:20

You meant evil against me,

but God meant it for good.

Even what the devil means for evil against us,

God means it for our good.

Notice it doesn't say,

what you meant for evil,

God used for good,

or God turned into good.

It doesn't say that.

It says,

what you meant for evil,

God meant for good.

God is not a grand chess master

who can only control his side of the chessboard.

Imagine you're playing a game

against a world-class grand chess master

like Magnus Carlsen.

It doesn't even have to be Magnus Carlsen.

You could probably play against someone like Daniel Yuan.

You probably won't win a single game.

Because there are so many steps ahead of you,

it doesn't matter what you do.

You're just going to lose.

Every single time,

the outcome is going to be exactly the same.

But even someone like Magnus Carlsen

is only responding to

what other people are doing.

He can't,

doesn't have control,

any control,

doesn't have any idea

what the person sitting across from him will do.

He can only control,

he can only respond to it.

But God's not like that.

God doesn't merely play with us

on the chessboard.

He created the chessboard.

He made all the chess pieces.

He made you.

We're not equal players and actors

with God in this world.

God works out his sovereign will,

not in spite of what you do,

but in and through everything you do.

In other words,

even the sins we commit,

even the evils that we do,

the mistakes that we make,

even what the devil or our enemies

mean for evil against us,

God means that very thing

for his glory and for our good.

That's a kind of transcendence

and sovereignty

that goes far beyond

our logic and imagination.

So we proclaim the gospel,

and as we do that,

we discern God's will

through conflicts

that inevitably occur,

and we trust God to work through.

Not only disagreements

and conflicts,

but we will also inevitably

face controversy in ministry.

It says in 16,

verses 1 to 2,

Paul came also to Derbe

and to Lystra.

A disciple was there

named Timothy,

son of a Jewish woman

who was a believer.

His father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of

by the brothers

at Lystra and Iconium.

This is where we're first

introduced to Timothy

in the book of Acts.

Timothy was Paul's son

in the faith.

He accompanied Paul

on many of his missionary journeys

and became a trusted minister

of the gospel.

Paul heaps high praises

on him in Philippians 2,

19 to 20.

And we learn from

2 Timothy 3, 15

that Timothy's mother,

Eunice,

and his grandmother,

Lois,

were Jews

who passed on

their knowledge

of the Old Testament

to Timothy.

They had come to believe

in Jesus at some point,

probably,

maybe during Paul's

previous ministry

in Lystra,

two years or so ago.

And Timothy had been

absorbing everything

like a sponge.

He's been growing

and maturing

so that he was well spoken of

by the brothers

at Lystra and Iconium.

Now,

do you guys remember

what happened in Lystra

when Paul was there?

This is helpful to remember.

Last time Paul was there,

he was stoned.

He left in shame.

This is why

we can't judge

the success

of our ministry

by the external

appearance of things.

Paul's mission's work

in Lystra,

by all metrics,

was a spectacular failure.

Who would have known

that a gem of a man

like Timothy

would emerge

from that rubble?

Paul's missionary team

was already shorthanded

with the loss

of Barnabas and Mark,

so this was really

golden opportunity

and discovery

to find such

a promising young man.

But despite

Timothy's sterling reputation,

his ethnic background

was a matter

of controversy.

And Paul addresses

this in verse 3.

Paul wanted Timothy

to accompany him

and he took him

and circumcised him

because of the Jews

who were in those places

where they all knew

that his father

was a Greek.

Now this might seem

like a compromise.

After all,

wasn't Paul

just at Jerusalem

council in chapter 15

strongly contending

that Gentiles

need not be circumcised

and become Jewish

in order to be saved?

But this is not

a compromise.

Luke takes care

to note in verse 4

that as they went

on their way

through the cities,

they delivered to them

for observance

the decisions

that had been reached

by the apostles

and elders

who were in Jerusalem.

The Greek word

translated decisions

is where we get

the English word dogma.

It refers to

a formal decision

rendered by

the appropriate authorities.

It can be translated

decree.

So that Paul

is going around

with his team

promulgating

the decree

that the apostles

handed to them

from the Jerusalem council.

They're telling

everybody about it.

And they're doing this

not only in the cities

that were specifically

addressed in that

apostolic letter

but in other places

as well.

in Lystra and Iconium

which shows

that they believe

that the letter,

the content of the letter

had universal validity

for all the churches.

All that to say

Paul's not backtracking here.

He's continuing

to stand his ground

and insist that

Gentiles will be saved

by grace

through faith

in Jesus Christ

not by their good works

and not by becoming

circumcised

and becoming a Jew.

The difference here

is that Timothy

had a Jewish mother

rendering his ethnic status

ambiguous.

Some Jews

were deeply offended

that Timothy

who had at least

some Jewish heritage

was not circumcised.

It's not hard

to imagine

the controversy.

Timothy

whom everyone knew

had a Greek father

was still active

in the synagogue

along with his mother

and Jewish mother

Eunice

and grandmother Lois.

he studied like a Jew

talked like a Jew

ate foods

along with the Jews

in every way

he seemed

a cultural Jew

but he was not

circumcised

which was

enough not to Jews.

So Paul

takes decisive action

and circumcises

Timothy

before taking him along

on this missionary journey.

In 1 Corinthians

9 20 to 21

Paul writes this

to the Jews

I became as a Jew

in order to win Jews.

To those under the law

I became as one

under the law

though not being myself

under the law

that I might win

those under the law.

To those outside the law

I became as one

outside the law

not being outside

the law of God

but under the law of Christ

that I might win

those outside the law.

We're seeing that

missionary principle

at work here

in Acts 16.

To the Jews

Paul became like the Jew

in order to win Jews.

While Paul consistently

objected to Gentile believers

being circumcised

he never objected

to Jews

being circumcised.

Paul was not

conceding that

Timothy needed

to be circumcised

in order to be saved

but that Timothy

needed to be circumcised

in order to be accepted

by the Jews

as a Jew.

It was a cultural reason

not a soteriological one

a salvation reason.

It was so that

Timothy wouldn't cause

offense at every

single synagogue

that they visit.

It was so that

they might be able

to get a fair hearing

for the gospel

from among the Jews.

It was for the sake

of the gospel.

But to Gentiles

Paul became

as a Gentile

in order to win

Gentiles.

So in Galatians

Galatians 2:1–5

chapter 2

verse 1 to 5

Paul recounts

that when he traveled

to Jerusalem

with Titus

he did not

circumcise Titus

though he was

a Greek.

And when Judaizers

took issue

with this

and insisted

on Titus'

circumcision

Paul says this

we did not

yield in submission

even for a moment

so that the truth

of the gospel

might be preserved

for you.

Titus

unlike Timothy

did not have

an ambiguous

ethnic status.

He was a Gentile

through and through

and to circumcise him

would have been

a disastrous

concession

that undermines

the gospel itself

because it would

suggest that Gentiles

do need to be

circumcised

and become Jewish

in order to be saved.

So Paul is actually

being very consistent

here.

The concern

that drives Paul

in both of those

cases is the

preservation

and proclamation

of the gospel.

When we are

ministering

to others

especially

in cross-cultural

missionary contexts

we will face

many

controversial

issues.

contextualization

issues

that require

careful discernment

of God's will.

And in those

situations

we need to

distinguish

carefully

between

contextualization

and compromise.

Are we

compromising

the truth

of the gospel

itself?

Are we

marring the

picture of the

gospel?

Or are we

faithfully

applying the

gospel to a

different cultural

context?

In this case

Paul wisely

navigated this

controversy

regarding

Timothy's

ambiguous

status

and in

doing so

faithfully

preserved the

gospel.

And the

result was

this in

verse 5.

So the

churches were

strengthened in

the faith and

they increased

in numbers

daily.

As we

proclaim the

gospel we

must discern

God's will

through conflicts

and controversies

and trust God

to work through

them.

In ministry

we will also

inevitably face

closed doors.

Read

verses 6-8

chapter 16

with me.

And they

went through

the region

of Phrygia

and Galatia

having been

forbidden by

the Holy Spirit

to speak the

word in Asia.

And when they

had come up to

Mysia they

attempted to

go into

Bithynia but

the Spirit of

Jesus did

not allow them.

So passing

by Mysia they

went down to

Troas.

Paul wanted

to go to

Asia Minor

to proclaim

the gospel but

he was forbidden

by the Holy

Spirit from

doing so.

After that

door was

closed Paul

attempted to

go into

Bithynia but

once again

the Spirit of

Jesus did

not allow

them.

We are not

told why

the Holy Spirit

prevented Paul

and his

companions from

going into

those two

areas but

we are told

twice that

it was the

Holy Spirit

himself who

closed those

doors and

that's an

important point.

The rare

phrase Spirit

of Jesus

used there

teaches us

two things.

One that

Jesus also

sends the

Spirit.

He is.

It's

Jesus'

Spirit.

Not only

the Father

Spirit which

is an

unmistakable

statement of

Jesus'

deity.

Secondly it

shows us

that Jesus

is still

himself

personally

involved in

the missionary

work of

his apostles.

Remember at

the Great

Commission in

Matthew 28

Jesus promised

his disciples

surely I

will be with

you always

to the very

end of the

age.

This is how

he's fulfilling

that promise

through the

Spirit of

Jesus accompanying

and directing

their mission.

So we

as a

church are

in the

process of

training and

sending out

missionaries and

as we make

our plans we

have to

remember that

it's God

who ultimately

directs our

missionary

efforts.

I've said

this many

times but

successful

Christian

missions work

is never

a calculable

result of

man's

ingenious

methods and

man's

meticulous

plans.

Never.

It is

always the

sovereign work

of the

Spirit of

God.

To be on

mission is to

be submitted to

the orders of

our general.

To be guided

by the Spirit

of Jesus.

Paul is not

so rigidly

attached to

his own

plan that he

just barges

into Phrygia

and Galatia

anyway after

being forbidden

by the Holy

Spirit from

doing so.

Well God I

can't do that.

It's part of

my plan.

My 10 year

plan.

Have it all

figured out.

Paul remained

pliable to

the will of

his master

and that's

what Christian

laborers should

see themselves

as.

Completely

disposed to

the will of

God.

Totally

expendable

and therefore

ever attentive

to the voice

of the Spirit.

But this

doesn't mean

that we

humans should

take no

initiative.

Notice that

Paul doesn't

just throw

his hand up

in the air

and sit

around when

God closes

doors.

When God

closes the

door to

Phrygia and

Galatia,

look at what

Paul does.

He just

goes right to

Mysia and

then tries to

go into

Bithynia.

So God

has to

close that

door too.

And then

he goes to

Troas.

Troas was the

primary Asian

harbor for

ships destined

for Macedonia.

It's possible

that Paul was

planning that

and that the

Spirit of God

confirmed that

in his vision.

If we wait

around for the

hand of God

to appear

and then

write on the

wall exactly

what he wants

you to do,

we likely

won't get

much work

done.

Because God

often does not

speak with that

kind of clarity.

So we need to

learn to discern

God's will

through closed

doors and

trust God to

work through

them.

Paul doesn't

know exactly

which city he

should travel to

next, but he

does know that

God has

commanded him

to preach the

gospel to all

nations.

So when God

closes one door,

he just goes to

another place in

an attempt to

share the gospel

there.

Likewise for us,

we do not need

to wait around

for the writing

on the wall.

You do know

that God has

called you to

be fishers of

men.

You do know

that God has

commanded you to

share the gospel

with your neighbors.

You do know

that God has

called the church

to make disciples

of all nations.

So the question

to ask is,

how can I be

involved with

that?

Everyone can be

involved with that

in some way.

So we use our

best discernment

and start working,

trusting that God

will close some

doors and redirect

us as necessary.

And when God

closes a door,

it means either

that the work

we're currently

engaged in is

still not over,

or that he's

about to open

another one.

He says in

verses 9 to 10,

and a vision

appeared to Paul

in the night.

A man of Macedonia

was standing there

urging him,

saying,

come over to

Macedonia and

help us.

And when Paul

had seen the

vision,

immediately we

sought to go

on into Macedonia,

concluding that

God had called

us to preach

the gospel to

them.

So God shows

Paul a vision.

He recognized

this figure in

the vision as

a man of

Macedonia,

so he must

have been in

some kind of

traditional

Macedonian

attire to

be recognizable.

And then

Paul,

after recognizing

him,

the man urges

Paul to

come over

to help

them.

And then it

says in

verse 10,

that immediately

we sought

to go into

Macedonia.

Notice it

says we.

Paul doesn't

unilaterally

decide this.

Paul receives

the vision from

the Lord,

tells his team,

and then we

immediately sought

to go on

into Macedonia.

Once the team

concludes that

Paul's vision is

indeed directed

from God,

there's no debate.

The time for

discerning God's

will is over.

It's not time

for obedience.

And they obey

promptly,

immediately.

Notice their

laser focus on

their mission.

There's no doubt

in their mind

what that vision

means.

They don't ask

after the vision,

so what are

we supposed

to do when

we get to

Macedonia?

Wait, wait, wait,

don't go away

man of Macedonia.

Tell us what

exactly you need

help with.

You didn't tell us,

you just said

help us.

What do you

need help with?

No such

questions are

raised.

Why?

Because they

know exactly

what their

mission is.

To proclaim

the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

They know

that that's

what the man

of Macedonia

needs most

to be saved.

that's our

mission too.

To proclaim

the good news

of Jesus

being led

by the Holy

Spirit.

The Christian

life is all

about Jesus

because Jesus

is the way,

the truth,

and the life.

No one comes

to the Father

except through

him because

there is no

other name

under heaven

given to

mankind

by which we

must be

saved than

the name

of Jesus

because Jesus

alone died

for our sins

and was raised

from the dead.

Because Jesus

alone can offer

forgiveness of sins

because Jesus

alone promises

eternal life

and future

resurrection

from the dead.

Frederick Buechner,

an American

novelist and

theologian,

once famously

said this,

the place

God calls

you to

is a place

where your

deep gladness

and the world's

deep hunger

meet.

For us

as Christians,

brothers and

sisters,

our deepest

gladness

is Jesus

Christ,

our Savior.

And the world's

deepest hunger

is for

Jesus Christ.

proclaiming

Jesus

is precisely

where our

deep gladness

and the world's

deep hunger

meet.

So how can we

orient our lives

around this

mission?

Are you willing

to drop what

you're doing

to lose

what you value

in order to

pursue this

calling?

That's the

posture of the

servants of Christ

and Paul and his

missionary companion

responded with

that kind of

faith and

obedience,

and the result

quite literally

changed the

course of human

history.

This is what

New Testament

scholar Richard

Longnecker

says about

this verse.

Authentic

turning points

in history

are few,

but surely

among them

that of the

Macedonian

vision ranks

high.

Because of

Paul's obedience

at this point,

the gospel

went westward,

and ultimately

Europe and

the western

world were

evangelized.

Christian

response to

the call of

God is never

a trivial

thing.

Indeed,

as in this

instance,

great issues

and untold

blessings may

depend on

it.

No

obedience is

too small in

the cause of

Christ.

So let us

faithfully

proclaim the

gospel,

discerning God's

will through

conflicts,

controversies,

and closed

doors,

while trusting

God to

work through

them all.

Let's pray.

God,

increase,

increase our

gladness in

Jesus,

and increase

our awareness

of the world's

desperate hunger

for Jesus.

God,

amen.

Amen.

Make us

more attentive

to and

sensitive to

the voice

of your

spirit,

and give

us wisdom

as we make

decisions,

as we

trudge along,

carrying our

cross and

following our

Savior.

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.