I’m sorry that our Senior Minister is ill. We continue to pray for him. Y’all will be praying for him during this sermon tonight, I have no doubt! “Lord, bring him back, please! Bring him back in the next five minutes, please! Let’s have a miraculous healing here!” I’m always happy, always happy to preach God’s Word here. Always glad to be serving on staff with David Strain and praying for him in his recovery.
Let me get you to turn your attention to Acts chapter 16. I’m going to preach a strange little passage that has captured my attention many times over the years since I discovered it and began to pay attention to it. And hopefully, there is some insight there that you can glean as well. It’s been good for my heart over the years and I hope it will be good for your heart as we think about it together tonight. Before we do so, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we thank You for Your Word, even passages that we seem to skim past and don’t take much time on because they don’t seem to say much. Yet, Father, Your glory is that You hide much truth in strange places. And so help me as I try to unpack some of these truths that are part of this odd little passage tonight. Thank You for speaking to us. Thank You for the ways in which you meet us. Meet us now. We make our prayer in Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen.
The passage is Acts chapter 16, beginning with verse 6. This is the beginning of the second missionary journey and we’ll backtrack a little bit to bring ourselves up to speed since we’re parachuting into a narrative here. After I read it, I want to take some time and take us back and help us get our bearings contextually. Beginning with verse 6:
“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia,” (this is south-central Turkey as we know it today) “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.”
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
First General Persecution
As I said, we’re parachuting into a narrative here. Let’s back up. Let’s back up and find ourselves; let’s start with a familiar place first of all. Let’s start with the stoning of Stephen; the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts chapter 7. In the beginning of Acts chapter 8, there is the first general persecution against the church beginning in Jerusalem. And that persecution is engineered in part and led, a great deal of it led, by Saul of Tarsus who was standing there holding the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen on the day of his martyrdom. Acts chapter 8 says something very interesting as the refugees left Jerusalem, fleeing for their lives, they went to the other regions of Judea and they went to Samaria. Acts chapter 11 tells us that they even eventually ended up all the way north in Syria. We remember what Jesus tells us in Acts chapter 1. He promises His disciples that they will “be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” Even in persecution, even when the world seems to be turning upside down and people are gathering up what they can in their arms and fleeing for their lives, here’s Jesus, the King and head of His Church, orchestrating and using even bad things to accomplish the good He intends.
And so Acts chapter 8 says that as those people fled and they settled in different towns, what did they do? They talked about Jesus. They talked about Jesus. They talked about why they were leaving. They talked about why they were fleeing. They talked about their faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Son of God. Derek Thomas describes it as "they gossiped the Gospel." They talked about Jesus in the marketplace. They talked about Jesus among their neighbors. They talked about Jesus of Nazareth. Wherever the question arose, "Who are You and where are You from and why are You here?" they talked about Jesus. So, Acts chapter 8.
Saul and Peter
Acts chapter 9, Saul, who has engineered this persecution and is going to Damascus to put a pinpoint on it there in Damascus of Syria and capture Christians who have fled there and infected the Jewish community of Damascus with their foul belief, he becomes converted! And he begins to preach in Damascus and eventually in Jerusalem, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 10, Peter is led by the Spirit of God. And you will remember this – how God interrupted Peter’s prayer. Imagine that. Peter’s praying and God interrupts his prayer. You know, sometimes God does interrupt our prayers. He doesn’t hear us out, does He? He interrupts. He interrupted Peter and says, “Look, I have a job for you. You go to the home of the centurion, Cornelius, and you preach the Gospel.” It was the first, on-purpose effort to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. And God poured down His Spirit on that gathering of Gentiles in the home of Cornelius the centurion, just as He had poured down His Spirit in Acts chapter 2 among that gathering of Jews who believed the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost. It was a marvelous event. It was a pivotal event because it began, the Jews who were disciples of Jesus, began to recognize the Gospel is for Gentiles too. It’s later that it all comes together, but that’s one of the events that makes it possible for them to recognize God has a heart, God has a plan, there’s room in the Church for the Gentile.
Gentile Believers
Acts chapter 11 – more about the Gentiles, because the apostles in Jerusalem begin to get word that Gentiles in Antioch of Syria, 200 miles north of Jerusalem, who are beginning to hear about Jesus because of the refugees that have made it up there from the persecution that is described at the beginning of Acts chapter 8, they’re evangelizing Gentiles. Gentiles are trusting Jesus and becoming part of the church in Antioch. They send Barnabas because it was Jews from Cyprus who were responsible for that outreach among the Gentiles in Antioch. Barnabas is from Cyprus. They send somebody who can talk sense to the Cypriotes in Antioch to find out what’s going on here. Barnabas sees a marvelous move and work of God’s Spirit among the church in Antioch. And what does he do? He goes to Tarsus where Saul has been for some years now after having left Jerusalem a few years following his conversion. He brings Saul, now known as Paul, to work with him in Antioch.
First Missionary Journey
And it’s from Antioch, in Acts chapter 13, that the Spirit separates Paul and Barnabas for the work of spreading the Gospel. And He sends them from the church in Antioch. And what do they do? The first missionary journey they go to Cyprus; they preach through the cities of Cyprus. If you have a map, go home tonight and look at your big, fat Study Bible that’s got the great map and you’ll see the cities of Cyprus. And they sail straight north to the region of southern Galatia, south-central Turkey, and they evangelize cities like Lystra and Derbe and Iconium, Pisidian Antioch. They preach the Gospel there. Men and women come to faith; Jew and Gentile. The church is formed; churches are formed there. It’s a marvelous ministry.
Gentile Controversy
They go back home in Acts chapter 15, reporting first to the church in Antioch of Syria and later to the church in Jerusalem about the marvelous work of God among the Gentiles as well as among the Jews. But there’s a controversy brewing and Acts chapter 15 is about that controversy. That controversy – “What do we do with Gentiles coming into the church? Gentiles who are not circumcised? Gentiles who eat foods that we don’t touch? We don’t touch pork. We don’t touch certain types of seafood. We don’t eat that way.” And so there were food issues. There was the issue of cleanliness or cleansing issues. Certainly, the issue of circumcision was huge for the Jews, as it was huge for the Gentiles. And so a controversy is brewing within the church that threatens the church, threatens the church’s existence. Acts chapter 15, the Jerusalem Council, in which the apostles and the elders gathered there determined circumcision is not required for a Gentile to convert to Christianity, to trust in Christ, and to be numbered among the saints, to be part of the church and to be considered a son of God through the work of Christ. Circumcision not required.
Second Missionary Journey
So a letter goes out, and as the second missionary journey begins with Paul and Barnabas determining, “Let’s go back to the churches that we first went to, the churches we’ve already been part of planting and bring them this good news and strengthen their disciples.” And so they begin to make preparation to go. There’s one small problem. Barnabas, bless his heart, Barnabas is another whole study of his own. Barnabas, bless his heart, is determined that they should take John Mark, his cousin. Now John Mark went with them on the first journey, made it about halfway through, and left. And Paul took great umbrage at that. Paul even used the words, “He deserted us.” And that’s as much as saying, “He’s not reliable, he’s not trustworthy; we will need him and he will crumble. He can’t go.” And Barnabas says, “He’s got to go! He’s got to go! I insist on having him!” Paul’s saying, “I insist on his not going!” And so they separate. They separate. Barnabas takes John Mark and he goes to Cyprus where they started their journey, their first missionary journey. Paul takes Silas, who is accompanying them from the council in Jerusalem, and goes to the regions of Phrygia and Galatia where we just started our reading a moment ago where the second missionary journey ended. I don’t know, maybe they planned to meet in the middle and see how they felt about everything, but they did not start together. One started at the beginning; one started at the end of their missionary journey.
It’s a great testimony that at the end of his life, Paul is calling for John Mark. And if you look at the endings of several of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, you find John Mark is with him; there’s been a reconciliation along the way. John Mark has proved himself; John Mark has grown up, I think under Barnabas’ leadership and mentorship and discipleship and so he becomes a man who Paul grows to depend upon. He’s useful to his ministry.
To Preach Christ Where He Isn’t Preached
And that brings us to Acts chapter 16. They’ve met with the churches, they’ve strengthened, they’ve shared the good news of the Jerusalem letter. Paul has discovered another companion to travel with them, Timothy – we don’t get into that portion right now. And so they begin a walk west. They leave the regions of Phrygia and Galatia and they begin to walk west. Every point, map point that’s listed in the passage we just read a moment ago, is west. Paul is moving west. And you might ask, “Why is Paul moving west? Why is Paul moving west?” Well, I think it’d be helpful to remember kind of a basic motivation of Paul as he talks about it several years later as he’s writing the church at Rome and he’s talking about his plan to visit them; listen to what he says right here. This is at the end of this period that we’re sort of at the beginning of right here in Acts chapter 16. He says this in Romans chapter 15, verse 19; he says, we’re picking up mid-sentence here, “by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that,” listen to what he’s saying, “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum” – I’ll define that in a minute – “I have fulfilled the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. And thus, I make it my ambition to preach the Gospel not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.”
Let’s take that sentiment, that motivation back to Acts chapter 16. Paul is walking west not because there’s been necessarily a vision, at least that we know about, from the record of Scripture, but we hear Paul saying here, “I want to preach Christ where He’s not been preached.” Paul is walking west. He’s walking west hoping to preach in Bithynia, in Mysia, in Asia. There’s miles and miles of open territory there in terms of the Gospel. The Gospel’s not bee preached there anywhere. Paul’s motivation is to preach Christ. It says something about the compelling nature of the Gospel, doesn’t it, that Paul, as a man called to preach and called, set apart for the ministry of spreading the Gospel and preaching to Gentiles and Jews alike and establishing churches, he’s got to go where it’s not been preached before. It’s a compelling message. It’s a message he feels is shut up in his bones and he can’t putter around the places that he’s been and be happy. He’s got to go where those folks haven’t heard the Gospel before.
The Nature of the Gospel
It says something about the nature of the Gospel, doesn’t it? The story that Jesus saves sinners. The personal story that “I was lost and Jesus found me and saved me and made me His own and connected me to His Father so I’m His brother, I’m His sister, and I’m a son or daughter of His Father. He’s given me a new place, a new calling, a new destiny, a greater family. And He even says He’s preparing a place for me so that where He is, I can be too.” That’s a compelling story. It compels Paul forward. Remember, the whole theme of Acts is – Jesus is expanding His Church – and He’s certainly doing that in the things that the contextual background that I provided for us. We see His hand all over establishing and strengthening and making His Church. And we see it here in Paul’s motivation to go west. That didn’t come from Paul. That comes from the Spirit of God at work in his heart and showing him the opportunities that are there and his desire to follow. That’s all the work of Christ in him. That’s not because Paul’s a good Boy Scout; it’s because Jesus is at work in him and he’s hearing, he’s hearing the leading that Jesus is leading him with.
A Compelling Calling for Us
It makes me want to ask the question, “What about us?” Is the Gospel a compelling calling for us? We don’t have Paul’s call, but is the Gospel a compelling calling for us? Is the Gospel coming we think about? The story of what Jesus has done for us – is the story of what Jesus has done for you, is the story of what Jesus has done for me, is that something that motivates us as we move through the day, day in, day out? It’s motivating Paul. It’s taking him forward and it’s taking him forward at a time that’s very difficult. Look at all the silence that’s imposed upon him. Did you catch that? That’s why this passage is of such interest to me. Did you catch the silence? He couldn’t preach in Asia. They couldn’t preach in Mysia. They attempted to go into Bithynia, which is north; the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
This is 300 miles of closed doors; doors that will be open later. You know the principal city of the province of Asia is Ephesus. Well, we know what a fantastic ministry Paul had in Ephesus, later. Bithynia becomes a great center of the church in northern Turkey, later. Peter writes to believers who are residing in Pontus and Bithynia, but that’s later. Paul and Silas and Timothy walk 300 miles with closed doors – north, west, and south. I don’t know how Jesus communicated to them, but He communicated with them very clearly, “Don’t go there. Don’t preach there.” And you know God didn’t open a door until literally they got to the point they couldn’t walk any further. You realize that? Troas, they go to Troas; it’s at Troas that Paul has the vision of the man in Macedonia. Troas is the coast; it’s the Aegean Sea. They can’t go any further! That’s a hard obedience. That’s a hard obedience.
You and I are sometimes called in terms of dealing with people, in terms of ministry to people, to a hard obedience. Wiley was talking about it a little bit this morning. He was talking about – he shouldn’t have asked this question because it got under my skin! It made me feel bad; maybe it made you feel bad! Who are the least likely for us to pursue? Who are the people who are least likely for us to pursue? Who are the people that we are the least motivated to pursue? That’s a hard question. That was mean of him to ask us that question this morning! It made me feel bad! But it’s a fantastic question because there are times we’re working with people – the people in our families, the people that we live around, the people with whom we work – those are difficult relationships. And sometimes they’re nettlesome and troublesome. Sometimes people hurt our feelings. Sometimes they pass us by. Sometimes they overlook us. Sometimes they flat don’t listen to us and they act like they don’t want us around. You know, that sometimes feels like 300 miles of closed doors as we live and work around people like that. Doesn’t it?
Let me ask a question. Do we pray for those folks? Do we pray for those people? Do we pray that God would give somebody, if not me, somebody an open door to talk with that person about Jesus and eternal things? Do we pray for those people? Do we pray for some opening to come, not so that I look good or so that you look good, but so that Jesus looks good? I can’t imagine how much praying these men were doing on their long walk. It was probably ten days, twelve days, maybe fifteen days of walking amongst closed doors and not real sure where the open door was going to come. And yet, it did, because remember, Jesus is expanding His Church. And the open door will come for you and me in those difficult relationships because Jesus is expanding His Church. The question this passage makes me want to ask is, “How far will I go?” And that’s the question that makes me feel bad also, so I want to ask you that question. How far will you go to share the Gospel of grace with folks that need it? How far are we willing to go?
You know, I often say in premarital counseling, "I love my wife so much, I would take a bullet for her." The problem is, there is no sniper in my backyard! There's a bunch of squirrels, but there is no sniper! She is way more interested in my taking out the trash than taking a bullet. How far will we go? Jesus isn't asking us to walk to Destin, which is roughly 300 miles. Maybe He's asking us to walk across the office. Maybe He's asking us to take a little time in my favorite restaurant with the person that brings me my food. Maybe He's asking me to take a little time to try to develop that relationship because that person either knows Jesus or needs Jesus, and I don't know which it is. But I will, I might soon discover, if I take a moment to ask a question. If I take a moment to make an observation. If I take a moment to extend myself beyond my breakfast or beyond my lunch and ask something about the person who’s brought it to me.
And so along with Wiley’s question this morning, I want to ask another question. Who are the people that we see every day? Who are the people that we see every day? How far are we willing to go to find out if they know Jesus or need Jesus? How far are we willing to go? We don’t have to go 300 miles. Are we willing to ask questions? Are we willing to listen to answers? Are we willing to endeavor to begin some kind of a relationship that really may open a door of opportunity where we can talk to Jesus about the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us? That takes our being less distracted. That takes our being willing to cross a pain threshold. That takes our being willing to spend some time that often we feel like we don’t have. My experience is, as hasty and as busy as I feel many times, that time spent there is repaid by Jesus in ways I hadn’t thought of or hadn’t looked for, because He’ll not be my debtor. He’ll not be my debtor. At the end of the day, I can’t say, “Jesus, I spent this time over here and I’m behind over there.” He won’t be my debtor. He won’t be yours either.
I have a hero whose example wraps around this passage to me. It wraps around this concept to me. His name was Buzz. That wasn't his real name, but that was a favorite nickname of his. He was a very busy man, very energetic man. I'm not sure when Buzz slept. He did sleep, I'm sure of it, but I'm not sure when he slept. He taught accounting at Delta State University. He was a very popular professor there. He had an accounting practice, a business, that he ran with a partner. He had all kinds of interests and hobbies and abilities. Loved growing roses. Roses, apparently, are quite fussy and quite prissy and quite fastidious and he spent a great deal of time on his roses. Along the way, he was able to help hundreds of students in very practical ways – find jobs. If they needed money, he could help them with a little loan. It didn’t matter if it got paid back or not. If somebody was sick, they’d find a rosebud or a rose, a blossom, on their front porch; maybe a note saying, “Picked this, this morning. I was thinking of you.” Hundreds of rose blossoms that man passed out in a year’s time.
It was all about meeting practical needs and demonstrating kindness. Why? Because Buzz knew something of the kindness of Christ in his life. Buzz knew something of the kindness of Christ in his life. Buzz knew something of the mercy of God. Buzz knew that he was a man who didn’t have it all together, and yet God gave grace to him and covered his sin in the work of Christ. Buzz would say those things to folks on occasion, but not often, until he had shown them the kindness similar, kindness of a nature that God had shown him in Christ. He wasn’t walking 300 miles. He was not an apostle with a worldwide calling. He was somebody just like you and just like me, with his own problems and issues, his own little part of the world, and yet he was faithful there. There are a lot of folks that know Jesus today because they saw something of Him in Buzz and he had the opportunity in some way, at some time, to point them to Him.
How far will we go? How far will we go because Jesus has been merciful to us? How far will we go because the Gospel compels us? Who do you see every day that we can begin to find out, “Do you know Jesus or do you need Jesus?” Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we thank You that the Gospel is a compelling calling. We thank You that as we were dead and brought to life, we could not stand idly by as Jesus called us to Himself. We ran to Him. We ran to Him. Help us see others running to Him as well. Open our eyes and help us lay aside the things that so easily distract us and help us, indeed, to see the people around us. Give us opportunities to say something. Help us as we fumble and try to make some kind of sense come out of our mouths. Give us courage to say something. And show us how much You work with our halting obedience to bring glory to Yourself. Hear us, our Father, as we make our prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.