Dan
Neary
Acts 16:6-17:15
13th in the series of 19
Page
____ in the pew Bible
We’ll
pick-up Acts after the 1st of the Year
This is
Paul’s second missionary journey. The first was with Barnabas, the second is
with Silas, and Luke, and Timothy.
This second missionary journey is significant in
that it carries the Gospel to
·
Up from
the Council in
·
Over to
·
Up to
Derbe & Lystra through
·
Then
over to
where the Gospel touches European soil
As
But all
these, in the context of Christian history, are relatively recent occurrences
and are minor compared to the missionary history of
It
started in
Let’s examine these scenarios of how the Church was
built… one person/household/group at a time
·
Businesswoman
·
Seeker
·
Lord
opened her heart to respond
Slave
Girl
·
Possessed
by Evil Spirit
·
She
owned nothing… not even herself
·
Testifying
to the Truth – Evil knows the Truth… and may try to twist it to deceive
Jailer
·
Willing
partner in conspiracy
·
Who was
the captive?
The
Three in
·
Multi-Gender
·
Multi-Ethnic
·
Multi-Class
Thessalonians
·
To the
Jews first
·
Some
believed the Messianic message, but
·
Others
were jealous
Bereans
·
Students
of Scripture
·
Embracers
of Truth
There are any number of nuances we could pick-up on
this morning. We might be able to identify with any number of the characters we
described. And if you related to any of those, know this morning that just as
the Gospel was the answer in these ancient contexts… the Gospel is the answer
for you this morning.
I know
most of you… and I know that most of you are committed followers of Jesus.
Throughout these passages, we are presented with
examples of how Paul and his companions went about Going with God. There is a thread throughout these passages of how Paul and Company
discerned and followed the Spirit’s leading.
And so
it is with us… isn’t it? We are people who want to Go with God… so we ought to
be able to learn something from these passages. We can pull on this thread
of Going with God.
Reasonable
People Sometimes Disagree
·
For
this one we have to dip into the passage that precedes where we started.
·
Paul
and Barnabas disagreed over John Mark’s participation
·
So they
simply went about that which the were called to
o
No ongoing
battle
o
No vilifying
of defamation
o
No
barriers
·
Open
door for reconciliation / Paul, of course, was the one who came around
(apparently the Boss isn’t always right?
Caring
for What Was Started
·
The
journey started by going back to Churches that Paul planted on the first
missionary journey
·
Paul’s
care, of course, was not only in-person but in-letter that
resulted in significant portions of our Bible.
If we go back to the map, we see
·
·
Thessalonica
·
·
The
Pastoral Epistles, too, were written back to these churches.
Closed Doors
·
Spirit
wouldn’t allow – restraint
·
Can’t steer
a parked truck
·
Walk of faith… not a map of faith
Open
Doors & Visions
·
Clearly
Divine
·
Sometimes
we have to be a little frustrated, even miserable, before we’re ready to handle
Divine Directive
Shared
Decision Making – WE
·
Confirmation
of the Divine
·
Wisdom
in Numbers
Proverbs 11:14: “… in a multitude of counselors there is safety.”
Hardship
·
Opposition
is not a closed door… it is
just part of the territory
·
Clarifies
the nature of the closed doors earlier in the journey
·
Often
comes from “our own” – Like Paul (Roman Citizens & Jews)
·
When
Paul & Silas were squeezed – prayer & praise came out… and it was a
testimony to those around
When we’re squeezed… What comes out?
·
Eyes
are on us
·
A most
accurate gauge for ourselves (we fool ourselves so easily)
Compare
and Contrast disagreement
with persecution (among our
own)
·
Disagreement
is based on Truth; Persecution hides behind a lie.
·
Disagreement
leaves open the opportunity for reconciliation; Persecution seeks elimination.
·
Disagreement
makes room for the areas of agreement; Persecution throws out the baby with the
bathwater and paints the opponent as evil.
What
comes out of us when we’re squeezed… especially by our own?
·
Seek
agreement
·
Know
that it is OK to disagree
·
Don’t
resort to counter-persecution
o
Sometimes
it is hard to tell the difference between disagreement and persecution
o
Counter-persecution
doesn’t really work anyway – it is a no-win proposition
·
Trust
God and Seek His Contentment
Paul is
an amazing example of trust and contentment in the face of hardship.
2
Corinthians 1:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to
be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of
If we intend to be among those who Go with God,
we can expect hardship. We need to pray for grace, our goal must be that when
we are squeezed, good comes out… and God is honored. That when we are faced
with trouble, we will be able to see them as “light and momentary”
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. [2]