Holy Spirit Road Blocks

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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The Holy Spirit mysteriously forbids preaching in Asia and then directs the mission to Macedonia. They "concluded that God had called us..." The Holy Spirit has always been creative, mysterious and sometimes perplexing in the way He leads us. Here we get a rare insight into what often gets obscured behind a "God said." How can we discern the Holy Spirit's lead in our life? It isn't a formula and it isn't anarchy, it's a cooperative adventure.

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Transcript

Driving Miss Daisy (aka Logan)

How-to Holy Spirit

How can we discern the Holy Spirit's lead in our life? It isn't a formula and it isn't anarchy, it's a cooperative adventure.

Worship focus: Holy Spirit - presence and leading.

Logan driving. Pray for me. Right now it is classroom learning, but soon he will be behind the wheel. That’s a bit terrifying.

Logan driving. Pray for me.

I remember back when I was learning to drive. My poor mom. The first driving I had was with an instructor and he had a break and a steering wheel on his side. That makes sense. I am looking into buying one of those for my car.

My Mom wishes she had that in every car she has ever ridden in. To this day, if there are brake lights ahead and she thinks maybe I haven’t seen or reacted in time, she screams “brake lights!!!” and she stomps that non-existent pedal.

I have been thinking this week about all the ways God leads us. How detailed does he show us the step by step, or sometimes even force us step by step… “Jesus, take the wheel!!!”... or does He sit back and let us drive?

Is God a divine puppet master, commanding, shaping our every step?

Or, on the other extreme, does He kind of let us choose our own path? And maybe He blesses what we choose… or He redeems what we choose… or He lets us “enjoy” the consequences of what we choose?

Is God a divine puppet master or a distant observer?

Especially how does that work if we are talking about the Holy Spirit in particular. God within us. That is perfect puppet-master type talk. The Spirit within me, guiding all of actions, speaking through me… sometimes we use language that at least implies that, sometimes holds that up as the ideal Christian experience.

Or is the Holy Spirit a more subtle, even nebulous connection to God? God observing our path from the inside, a comforting silent presence.

How does the Holy Spirit work exactly?

All of our questions shall be answered! Some of them today. I love this Scripture, it is a turning point in Acts in a whole different way.

Second Missionary Journey

Paul had this great idea to go revisit the churches from the first missionary journey. He split with Barnabus over the “John Mark issue” and chooses a new buddy, Silas, and together they encourage the churches and make a new addition to the group, a young disciple named Timothy.

Perhaps because they didn’t go to Barnabus’ home island of Cyprus, they go from this revisit of old friends to break some new ground. It’s time to Go West!

Acts 16:6 ESV

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

Here they are in Lystra. Where should they go next?

Great cities spread out in Asia. Look at these names and tell me if they sound familiar.

Colossae, Laodicea, Ephesus, Sardis, Smyrna. (Some more familiar than others). These are important cities, cities that are going to have influential churches… but right now are cities who haven’t yet heard the gospel. They are prime, ready for the preaching of the word.

But they are all in a Roman province called “Asia”. This is the origin of the word “Asia”, by the way, and the Greeks used it originally just to refer to this little bit of the east coast of the Aegean sea. It later started to be used for “oh, and also everything east of there.”

All those cities are in a province called “Asia”… and the Holy Spirit forbid them to speak the Word there.

How? Maybe a force field around the region and they physically couldn’t enter. Maybe a prophecy. We know from what Paul says to Timothy that there were prophecies associated with his call to ministry… and we just passed that moment, so maybe the prophecies specified that they couldn’t go to Asia.

Silas is called a prophet when he is first introduced back in , last chapter. Maybe he had the word from God.

We don’t know, it is mysterious.

Why? No idea. Are these regions going to hear the Word of God? Yes, we know they are. Peter writes to these churches as if he knows them, maybe God was saving the privilege for him. John writes to some of these churches in Revelation… maybe he needed to lay some foundational work. Timothy would be a pastor in Ephesus, maybe he needed some foundation before stepping into the city he would serve and lead for decades. We don’t know...

But they are going to obey. Smart.

So they detour around to the North. They go through Phrygia and Galatia (this may or may not be the same “Galatia” that Galatians is written to.”

Acts 16:7 ESV

And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Back to our map. We are coming up here to the North… let’s keep going North, sounds good. There is a huge city there, I think called Byzantium at the time (later Istanbul, then Constantinople, then it’s Istanbul, then Constantinople…) What a ministry opportunity. Little hop across the strait there and you are into Europe.

AGAIN the Holy Spirit, this time called the “Spirit of Jesus”, says “No!”

How? We don’t know.

Why? We don’t know.

Sometimes God says “No.”

Acts 16:8 ESV

So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

Acts

Now this is kind of weird language because Troas is on the West coast of Mysia… but presumably it means they didn’t preach the gospel all through Mysia and got to the coast. and there...

Acts 16:9 ESV

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.”

Acts 16:

How do you recognize a man from Macedonia? Oh that guy? He is definitely Macedonian. No idea. Macedonia is in Europe… oh that guy is so European. He is Greek (modern day Greece). Or in the way you just know in dreams...

And Paul wakes up and he shares it with his friends. And immediately they have an interpretation of the dream:

Acts 16:9–10 ESV

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.

Acts 16:

Now… I love this verse, verse 10, so much.

First, it pulls back the curtain on the “how” that we were missing in the earlier times the Holy Spirit spoke. The Holy Spirit said “no” to Asia and “no” to Mysia. How: we don’t know. But we get this glimpse into how they understood the Spirit to be leading them to go to Macedonia.

He had a vision. And it is because they “concluded”. They “understood”, they “surmised”, they “put all the pieces together.” You see how there is interpretation there. There is an interpretive process, it wasn’t quite written on the walls, but they understood and together they came to a confident interpretation of what the Holy Spirit was saying and acted on it.

There’s another reason I love verse 10 here. Anyone notice what changed here?

In the pronouns suddenly, without any notice, changed from “they” to “we.” What does that mean? Luke just joined the team. He doesn’t mention his conversion, that Doctor Luke just joined the mission trip. But “they” came to Troas and then “we” left for Macedonia. Love it!

Back to the map. Counter to all human logic which would take them down to these awesome cities in Asia, or up into Bithynia instead...

Let’s sail across the Aegean Sea and make a couple hops up into Philippi. For no discernible reason… other than absolute divine appointment. And like that, with the landing point destination commanded in a dream to Paul, interpreted together by Paul, Silas, Timothy and Dr. Luke… the gospel leaps the “continent” and the name of Jesus comes to Europe.

Amen. Hallelujah!!!

God closes the door to Asia.

God closes the door to Bithynia.

God opens the door to Macedonia.

Why? We don’t quite know. How does the Holy Spirit speak and lead? Creatively, as He always have. There are no two appearances that are exactly alike. He moves subtly, in ways that require interpretation and dialogue and discussion… and then moving forward on faith that we have heard him correctly.

And it has always been that way! That gives me so much peace. So much comfort. Paul didn’t have a bat-phone to Jesus and he got clear cut instructions. He was operating on faith… looking for the leading of the Holy Spirit in the counsel of his fellows, in Scripture, in prophecies, and in weird dreams at night.

And then they act, faith enough to book a ship to another continent!

How Does the Holy Spirit Work?

Is God a divine puppet master? No. It reads as if Paul’s “idea” to visit the churches they first planted was experienced as his own good human idea. God used that, blessed it. It is silent, but we get no word of amazing visions calling them West… I think that is Paul and Silas doing as best they know how to obey their commission as witnesses and missionaries. Trusting that God will lead them even as they use their best wisdom and knowledge.

And God does!

Does God just watch their path as a distant observer? NO! He shuts the door to Asia, to Bithynia, He calls them to Macedonia. He directs their path… sometimes explicitly, sometimes not.

It isn’t the same every time… it is a dialogue. It isn’t predictable… it’s an adventure.

It is not systematic… it’s a relationship.

They Holy Spirit is

It is a road trip with the Holy Spirit.

He lets us sit in the driver seat. We have mind, we have will, we have choice, we have ideas, we make decisions. But he invites us to always be in conversation with Him. Where we are going, how we should go. He can be annoyingly creative in the ways He talks back, in the subtle quiet whisperings, in dreams and visions… but we can learn to hear His voice in all its ways.

But above all, we go forward in faith KNOWING that He gets to stop the car at anytime. He gets to turn us at anytime. We give Him the override controls.

It is an open-handed posture before God that says “I am following as best I can today… choosing as wisely and righteously as I know how… and trusting that you can and will shape my path… close and open doors… and make a Way where and when necessary.

It is a dialogue. It is an adventure. It is a relationship.

This, right there, rules out this extreme. Does God just bless and/or redeem our human plans after we make them… or just leave it all to us to figure out and muddle through? No. Absolutely not. Here He is explicitly shutting down some paths.

Here they are in Phrygia and Galatia.

What does that actually look like?

Holy Spirit Calling

I have shared my testimony of calling to ministry with many of you before. Bear with me to hear it again.

I experienced the Holy Spirit saying “No” to a whole direction my life was headed in. I was applying to grad schools fresh out of my undergrad. Dreams of going for a PHD in Artificial Intelligence, studying what we know call “Machine learning” and is a huge (and VERY lucrative) field in computer science.

I had toured Stanford, I was contemplating moving out to Massachussets, I was refining application essays, when this question wormed it’s way into my brain: is God calling me into this? The answer to that had no place in my entry essay to these schools, I am supposed to just brag about how I’d be awesome there. But I couldn’t shake that question.

The Holy Spirit kept whispering it to me. A quiet and persistent question that wouldn’t leave me alone until I could confidently answer “yes”… and I couldn’t.

And in wrestling with that question, a crazy idea occurred to me: what about seminary? I always liked the idea of going someday, but what about today? And that idea grew larger and larger, and I started talking to wise mentors and they would say things like “I knew you were going to be a pastor since pre-school. Just waited for you to figure it out.” Confirmation. And I made initial queries about financing and scholarships… and there was providential opportunity.

And in the space of very few months, speaking in so many different ways, the Holy Spirit turned the whole course of my life. No, you can’t call me Dr. Mackintosh. But how privileged am I that you might call me Pastor.

It is an adventure.

Holy Spirit Lead

Are you on that adventure? Are you listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying?

Maybe you are in a season where the doors keep getting slammed in your face. That isn’t always God saying No. Paul certainly faces and pushes through ridiculous amounts of adversity, pain and persecution.

But in closed opportunities, or in quiet whispers, or in godly counsel, or in growing convictions, or in dreams and visions… the Holy Spirit can say “No, you aren’t going that way.” The time isn’t right. Or that’s not your job.

Is God saying to you “No.” Listen up.

Or maybe you are starting to hear a call. It is taking some interpretation, I had a weird dream about a Greek dude! Not sure if maybe God is calling me to a new ministry, a new season, a new work, a new place?

Like Paul, testing out that interpretation with trusted wise friends, coming to understanding together.

Here is the beautiful thing… you don’t have to get it all right. You can walk forward in faith KNOWING that Holy Spirit is right there with you. He speaks your language. He can slam on the brakes. He can turn the wheel. He is teaching you and shaping you and you can trust Him in that process. You can trust Him with that process.

You can go ahead and book that boat to Macedonia.

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, is moving here at Next Step church. May we hear his voice. May we follow His lead.

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