Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends, on this special weekend,
This is a very historic weekend for America and our world, isn’t it? July 4th has long been celebrated as America’s Independence Day and this weekend marks 250 years. Regardless of what actually took place on the 4th of July in 1776, anywhere in those Colonies or England, one overarching question demands a response: WHAT IF the fight for Independence, for those Colonies later called the United States of America…had failed? Our world would certainly be very different from what it has been and is today, I’m sure you agree.
You and I, and people of all generations, have lived with the struggle of “what if”, haven’t we? We face that question every time we stand at the crossroads of decision. By this time in your life journey, you have developed your own method of making important decisions. God offers His people a remarkable advantage when facing choices, especially if they include ‘what if’ wrestling.
What is that advantage? The Holy Spirit of God, who should be alive and well (Romans 8:5-9) in EVERY person who has been authentically redeemed by the death and resurrection work of Jesus Christ applied to our lives; (1 Peter 1:18) and born again (John 3:3-7) by the glorious work of the Holy Spirit.
Today we rejoin the apostle Paul and Silas, on Paul’s second missionary journey, which began in Syrian Antioch, as his first journey had. But this time Paul headed north and then west going back to Derbe and finally Lystra, (Acts 16:1) which had been a very traumatic and painful town on Paul’s first journey. Pause.
Do you remember Paul had been stoned and left for dead in Lystra? (Acts 14:20) Can we imagine the emotions they felt as Paul and Silas approached Lystra. I assume Paul was graphically telling Silas the story of what had happened to him there perhaps 5 years before?
This time in Lystra, Acts 16:1-3 tells us Paul and Silas were introduced to a young man named Timothy, the son of Eunice, (2 Tim. 1:5) his Messianic Jewish mother. His father is unnamed but identified as a Greek, and it appears he may not yet have been a believer in Jesus. If true, Timothy grew up in both an ethnically and religiously mixed family, similar to many people today.
We don’t know how long Paul and Silas spent in Lystra, but it appears a close friendship developed quickly between Timothy and Paul, so much so that Paul invited Timothy to join their traveling team. I can’t fully explain WHY it was decided that Timothy should be circumcised but obviously, in the circumstances which faced them, it seemed right to them and Timothy submitted to it.
Now the next two verses of the log of this trip are very, very interesting: “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the provinces of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia! When they came to the border of the province of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16:6,7) Wow! What’s happening here my friends?
It appears to me that on all of Paul’s journeys he did NOT begin with a detailed, pre-arranged travel route. Rather, Paul trusted the Holy Spirit to lead him to those towns and people whom the Holy Spirit had prepared and would be responsive to Paul’s preaching of a Gospel of Jesus Christ that they had never heard before. Pause, have you ever taken a trip like that where you depended on GOD to lead you each step of the way rather than yourself planning the route? Now that’s radical, would you agree?
Thus far in Paul’s two journey’s it appears his approach had been working well because in each town he found people welcoming both him and his message of Jesus. Oh yes, it’s true, most every town also had resistant people, some even violently rejecting both Paul and his message. But that’s what Jesus had promised Paul’s mission would be like!
Do you remember, when Ananias came to blinded Saul with instructions from God in Damascus, God had told Ananias: “This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” (Acts 9:15,16)
So the opposition Paul experienced was NOT in any way an indication to Paul that he was on the wrong road, or he had misunderstood the leading of the Holy Spirit, as he went from town to town.
But here in Acts 16:6,7 it appears to me Paul is experiencing something he had never faced before. The Holy Spirit of God was actually BLOCKING Paul’s road, refusing to allow Paul to enter a place Paul intended to go.
Paul evidently had a driving passion to head further west, into the region of Central Asia, and later even into Europe, all the way to Rome and beyond! And do you see the Spirit of God blocked Paul’s road repeatedly? Pause. Have you ever experienced this my friends?
You had a strong desire to go to a certain place, maybe for what you thought was a very good purpose, but all kinds of things happened which prevented you from going? How did you respond to that frustrating situation? Have you learned that if you’ve yielded your life fully to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God will BOTH lead you to those relationships, events and places which are part of God’s plan for you; but also, the Spirit will block your path from those things which are NOT God’s best for you at that time. The key in this is how we react and respond, do you agree?
You’ve probably learned God will not fight with you indefinitely. If we continually insist on our own way, regardless of the leading of the Holy Spirit, there may be times God will allow us to painfully experience what He was trying to block our path and protect us from.
It appears Paul did not fight God, but with each closed-door Paul did not sit idle either, but he pursued another path and the Spirit of God led Paul eventually to Troas on the coast. Why Troas? Oh, my friends, that’s very exciting and we’ll discover it on Monday in our continued study of Paul’s journey.
For this historic weekend, I urge you to spend some time thinking about the strategicness of what Paul, Silas and young Timothy were learning as the Spirit of God repeatedly blocked their path and diverted them to another route. Reflect on your life journey and what both you and the Holy Spirit see ahead for you, for the rest of your life.
Do you trust God with the rest of your life? Will you fight with God when He seems to be blocking your path? Or will you honor Jesus by seeking to understand what the Spirit is showing you and submit to God’s best plan for you?
The study notes below will be very helpful to you and I hope the worship song stirs your heart, while I will be preparing to meet you here on Monday.
Today’s Scripture: Acts 16:1-8.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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