Pursuing the Call to Share the Cure
Acts: The Cure Goes Viral • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsOn an extended mission trip, Paul and his companions found their plans redirected to a new region. This "Macedonian Call" has fascinated believers for centuries. The circumstances that led to this call and the results of it carry a powerful message for those of us who are pursuing God's call to "Share the Cure."
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Introduction
Right now my daughter is with her grandmother on a trip to Arizona. She’ll wake up today to see the sun hit the beautiful, red rocks of Sedona before traveling to the Grand Canyon. How many of you have seen the sun touch those beautiful rocks out there.
I learned there’s a place where the sun’s rays rarely shine. It’s in Rjukan, Norway. This town is situated in a deep valley, which means it goes about seven months without any sunshine at all. That would drive anyone crazy - crazy enough to do something about it. They decided to put arrays of mirrors on the mountainside to reflect the rays of the sun down on the town. Computers drive motors to allow the mirrors to follow the path of the sun for maximum reflection. When the sun shone on the town square for the first time in the fall, the people celebrated by setting up lawn chairs, tanning, sipping cocktails, and playing volleyball. Having the sun shine in such a dark place brought both light and life to the town.
I got to thinking that our calling is not much different from those mirrors. We are called to reflect and shine the light of God’s Son on the dark places of this world. This is God’s call on our lives. If you’re still breathing, you still have a calling from God to pursue. People sometimes wonder how to pursue God’s call.
Although we know this calling, sometimes we hesitate, as if unsure exactly where to shine our light. If you understand that call but aren’t exactly sure what to do next, you’ll find some help today.
Turn in your Bibles to Acts 16. Pastor Mark shared a couple weeks ago that the Apostle Paul got the itch to start a new mission trip. So he and Barnabas agreed to a new mission trip to encourage the other churches, and we know they disagreed over whom to bring with them. Even in the pain of this dispute, we see God’s hand at work. Now there are two mission teams. What happens next on Paul’s mission trip helps us discover how to pursue God’s call on our lives. Please stand and follow along as I read Acts 16:1-15.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
God’s calling for your life changes you and those around you.
How does this passage help us understand how to pursue God’s call? There are three principles that we will discover.
Pursue the general call.
Pursue the general call.
First, pursue the general call. Why are Paul & Co. on this trip? They are pursuing the general call to make disciples. You can see it start in chapter 15. Acts 15:36,
36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”
There is no mention of a specific calling from God to go on this trip. I just imagine Paul sitting at the now well-established church in Antioch for months, just twitching. It was hard for him to sit still, and he couldn’t stop thinking about those other churches. They needed encouragement. They could use more help getting established and growing in their faith. Paul brought it up to Barnabas, and, though I am sure they prayed about it, they did not require weeks of prayer and fasting and searching the Scriptures to see if this fit in with God’s will. Encouraging these churches fit God’s general call, and Paul, with his existing relationship with the believers, was a good person to go see them.
Compare this with their original, very specific calling in Acts 13:2-3,
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
This time it was different. They already understood the call and were ready to go.
At Redland, we take mission trips all the time. We’ve had a slight travel slowdown due to Covid restrictions, but as a mission-minded church, this will pick up again soon. I encourage every growing believer to go on a mission trip. In fact we’ve identified going on a mission trip as one of the marks of a growing believer. Not only do you help change the world for God, you yourself are changed. Trips like these deepen your relationship with Jesus, you meet new people, and you travel to a new place. If you read a book in preparation for the trip, you’ll hit all four life-shaping influences we discussed earlier!
Some people hesitate about these trips, waiting for a specific calling from God to go. Is God telling me to go on this trip or not? I think it’s always wise to pray and seek wisdom before any decision. I’ve heard of believers who have a daily habit of asking God to help them pick out the right clothes for the day. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you never know what the day will hold. To my knowledge, though, these Christians still pick out clothes for the day, even if there’s no specific call toward a particular outfit. Wearing clothes is general call enough to put on something.
We don’t have to know God’s specific mission for our lives to be about his general, Great Commission calling to make disciples.
You might do that through a mission trip or neighborhood outreach or community project or a hundred other things. You don’t have to know your seat number in order to enter the stadium. You may not know what meal you’re going to order, but that doesn’t stop you from going to the restaurant. In the same way, you may not know exactly how God is specifically calling you to impact his kingdom, but that shouldn’t stop you from finding a way to serve - to share the cure.
That’s what impresses me about the companions who went with Paul. They said yes without having all the details. We’ll get to that more later. Silas was in, and we know there were others who signed up. Luke, the author of Acts, possibly joined this mission team in Troas. A careful reading of Acts 16:8-10 shows a switch from the third person “they” to the first person “we.”
Acts 16:8–10 (ESV)
8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 10 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.
Timothy signed up for the trip, even consenting to an uncomfortable medical procedure. People try to square Paul’s decision to circumcise Timothy with Paul’s words against coming again under the law, as he writes in Galatians. This was not about coming under the law but about making sure the gospel was not unnecessarily hindered. It was about what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9, that his goal is to be “all things to all people.” He even uses an example in that passage about those under the law. 1 Corinthians 9:20,
1 Corinthians 9:20 (ESV)
20 ...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.
All of these people said yes to serve God in this way.
How about you? Have you found a place to serve, or are you waiting for the perfect ministry to present itself?
Before you find THE ministry, find A ministry. Carry out God’s general call even while you await a specific calling.
This reminds me of a joke I heard about a not-so-bright young lady who asked God to help her win the lottery. I guess anyone who trusts in the lottery is not so bright anyway, but this young lady kept praying to God to help her win. After this went on day after day, finally the heavens opened and a voice rang out. “Buy a ticket already!”
Just like it’s easier to merge onto a freeway when your car is moving, it’s easier to merge into God’s calling when you are already about his business.
Be sensitive to God’s specific call.
Be sensitive to God’s specific call.
That’s what this team was doing, which put them in the position for the next principle. Be sensitive to God’s specific call. There they were, traveling from city to city where these churches were. They shared the message from the council covered in chapter 15, and the result is seen in Acts 16:5,
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
But then we see a change. While fulfilling this general call, the team was redirected. Their travel options dwindled. The Holy Spirit had other plans for them.
How did the Holy Spirit prevent this mission team from speaking the word in Asia? We don’t know, but archaeological evidence of ancient roads suggests they were planning to travel a westward road that led to several cities on the western coastal plain of Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. At the Holy Spirit’s leading they bypassed those cities and stayed east of the mountains, traveling north through Phrygia and Galatia. Then verse 7 says “the Spirit of Jesus” did not allow them to travel further north into Bithynia. Again, we don’t know how they were prevented. Maybe it was a direct word, a set of circumstances, or a collective understanding.
It’s probably a good thing that we don’t know anyway. If we knew how it happened, we’d try to duplicate it as some kind of formula for determining the will of God. Suppose Paul had just eaten the last of the hummus they’d brought with them from Iconium and his vision went blurry for awhile and led the team to consult God about their destination. Before every big decision, we’d be setting out hummus for a few days. What if Silas looked down and discovered God had led him to put on two mismatched socks that morning, and the Holy Spirit used that and prompted him to consider whether the team’s plans were mismatched – out of step – with God’s? If we discovered that was how it happened, we’d start reading piles of sock laundry like tea leaves. And I’m just telling you that if mismatched socks were signs from God, my kids would be down here in front prophesying every Sunday!
We don’t know how the Holy Spirit redirected this team. We aren’t meant to know, because there is no substitute for maintaining your own sensitivity to the Lord’s calling.
It was the no answers that led them to an eventual yes calling. They were told not to travel to Asia - that would be the ancient province and not the continent - and then not to travel to Bithynia, before they were finally told to go to Macedonia. That’s the vision God gave Paul, which we’ve termed the Macedonian Call.
God often gives us specific nos before giving us specific yeses. The nos move us to a state of dependence on him so that we can hear the yeses. Eliminating the nos makes hearing that yes easier.
After receiving my call to ministry, I remember the confidence I had about my next step, which was to attend Baptist Bible College in Clark Summit, PA. This is very close to Scranton for you fans of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. I was sure I was going to BBC, because so many of my classmates were attending there, and I had heard great things about the school. On my campus visit, however, I had a different sense. The school seemed great, and I had some good existing connections. Nevertheless, something didn’t seem right, and I sensed God was telling me not to attend. I returned home a bit disillusioned.
That weekend I received a message from a friend, inviting me to go to Lancaster Bible College - a school I had never heard of from a friend I had lost track of - only after the door was closed on the other college. It was my Lancastrian call.
Hearing God’s specific call may seem reserved only for teens and young adults making career decisions, but we can all benefit from developing ears to hear when God is calling us to something. People move into secondary careers all the time. As one life stage ends, new opportunities open up in ministry areas that were previously nonexistent. Covid has changed circumstances that may lead you to a fresh calling. Even upon retirement, I am told life suddenly becomes very busy. That is because new opportunities are available.
A person who is sensitive to pray, seek wisdom from God’s Word and fellow believers, and explore some possibilities will find specific, fruitful ministry to follow.
The last principle is found after the Macedonian Call came.
Buckle up. God’s call is a bumpy ride.
Buckle up. God’s call is a bumpy ride.
Buckle up. God’s call is a bumpy ride. After being guided to the next continent, the team makes a couple of stops and lands at Philippi. Days later on the Sabbath they go to the Gangites River. You might be thinking, “I thought Paul went into the synagogue to share the gospel.” This was the synagogue, or at least the closest thing to it. Ten male heads of family were required to start a synagogue. Without a synagogue, an area along the nearest river would be designated. Only women were at this location, so Philippi may have had no male leadership for Jewish worship. These women were faithful and were the first recorded in the region to hear the good news. Among them was Lydia. This businesswoman was involved in the indigo trade, which was popular in her home city of Thyatira. Archaeologists have even uncovered inscriptions about a dyer’s guild in that city. Lydia had moved from Thyatira to Philippi as a place to conduct the business of her trade, but she likely still had a home back in her home town. The Bible says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention” to Paul’s message. Acts 16:14,
14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Lydia and her household became the first recorded converts on the European continent.
Do you remember that road Paul & Co. wanted to travel back in Asia Minor - the route the Holy Spirit said no to taking? Thyatira is one of the cities on that road. God’s will is always best. By the time we get to Revelation, we find the church at Thyatira listed among the seven churches - all of which are in that same region.
Although Paul never made it to Thyatira, it’s quite possible that Lydia did, and she may have been instrumental in starting the church there, perhaps even in the other cities Paul didn’t visit.
If that gives you goosebumps, I suppose that’s one way God’s call gets bumpy, but for Paul, things got downright rocky after this moment. Here’s a sneak preview of what the Macedonian call held for Paul. He and Silas are jailed after Paul heals a demon-possessed girl. Then they travel to Thessalonica, where their message leads to an angry mob and a riot. After that they go to Berea, where crowds are stirred up against them again, forcing them to leave and travel to Athens. Time there has mixed results and seems largely unfruitful. It wasn’t until traveling to Corinth that God sends his message of protection, and Paul is able to teach unhindered for eighteen months.
From Troas - where Paul received the Macedonian vision - to Corinth - where God sends him the message to stay - we have no indication of encouragement from God. Paul and his friends simply endure the mayhem that comes in every city they visit, and they keep on sharing.
This sort of evangelistic tenacity reminds me of Jatya, a pastor in Southern India who has endured tremendous persecution. I learned about Jatya’s story through the Voice of the Martyrs. In 1992, Jatya was ordered by police to stop sharing the message of Jesus with villagers. He refused to sign a police document, and they broke all of his fingers. This was one of eight major instances of persecution, and each time Jatya responded by continuing to share the Good News of Jesus from God’s Word. More recently, Jatya was beaten unconscious by several villagers when witnessing to a young man. The beating was not important to Jatya; the fact that the young man placed his faith in Christ is what is important! Jatya said he hopes to share Jesus with each member of the mob who beat him. How’s that for dedication?
One day I’m going to get to heaven, and I expect to meet Jatya. He will surely regale me his other persecution stories and what happened next as he continued to share the love of Christ with those who tormented him the most, giving glory to God for the fruit that came. Then, because Jatya is a nice guy, he will say that he doesn’t want to dominate the conversation. “What about you?” he will ask. “How did you faithfully share the love of Jesus?” What will I say to him? What will you say to him when it’s your turn? Something tells me that if I say, “I told the cashier at the grocery store, ‘God bless you,’” He’s going to want to know what happened next. “Did you give your groceries to the cashier and then tell her about the love of Jesus?” he might ask, “Or did you turn to the customer behind you and offer to buy their groceries as an expression of Jesus’s love for them?” I might respond, “Well, no, but I told my next door neighbor I am a Christian.” “That’s great!” He might say. “Did you fervently pray for your neighbors and invite them to church regularly?” “I think I mentioned our Christmas Eve service once.” Folks, I no there are no tears in heaven, but it’s hard for me to imagine that conversation without a little embarrassment. I would rather endure a little social awkwardness now while on mission for God than endure social awkwardness in heaven for having missed opportunities.
As we close, I ask you to consider how your own pursuit of God’s call. Maybe Covid or other life circumstances have had you in a holding pattern. Are you ready to get back on mission? Renew your commitment to God’s general call. We have ministry opportunities opening up for fall. Join a ministry. Serve on Upward Basketball. Find a ministry to be involved in.
You may need to answer a more foundational call, like Lydia did. Just as God opened her heart that day, he has opened yours to pay attention in a brand new way. Jesus died for your sins to redeem you as his own. Your response is to accept his gift and surrender your life to him. I will be here in the front if you’d like to follow through on that decision with me.
You also might be ready to join this church or decide to be baptized. Whatever your decision, I invite you to come make it public as we stand and sing.