WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:23.519 Good morning. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:28.399 Open your Bibles again to the Book of Acts in chapter 15. 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:45.759 I won't ask you to raise your hands out of fear or embarrassment, but how many of us have had intense disagreements with someone that impacted our relationship with that person? 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:57.439 I'm sure many of us could raise our hands where we have been saddened, disappointed by the result of a disagreement. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:11.439 Strong disputes can lead to distancing between people, even the severing of relationships rather than strengthening those relationships. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.480 That can be hurtful, and that can be sorrowful. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:21.840 And I think that feeds our perspective often. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:32.879 We view disagreements as negative, unhelpful, discouraging, distracting, maybe even sinful. 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:41.120 But the passage that was read for us by Webb in the Book of Acts challenges those perceptions. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:49.439 And it challenges our reaction to disappointments and discouragements and sad situations. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:02:02.480 While discouragements and disagreements can be hurtful on a human level, we must remember that God is continually working on a human level. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.920 He's continually working to fulfill his purpose and his plan. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:15.039 And disagreements may just be his means of doing so. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:24.479 We all believe, at least most Christians believe, who spend any time walking with Christ, we're not going to limit God. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.520 We're not going to say that God can't do something. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:43.919 But on a very practical level, sometimes we act as though something that happens in life that's disappointing, discouraging, sorrowful, like a disagreement, is just going to ruin everything. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:46.879 But God. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:48.639 But God. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:58.400 Our section from Acts 15, verse 36 to chapter 16, verse 10 takes place after the Jerusalem Council. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:07.120 You'll remember in chapter 15, apostles and elders met together to figure out what to do with this new work of God. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:13.759 Saving non-Jewish people, bringing them into his people. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:17.039 What do we do with all of these non-Jewish people? 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:35.439 They figured that out and they sent out a letter saying, here is how you need to act in order to have proper relationships with one another, to be able to interact with one another well as different kinds of people from different backgrounds, different cultures, different societies. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:45.439 And now in chapter 15, verse 36, we have two Jewish men, not a Jew and a Gentile, two Jewish men who can't figure it out. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:48.560 What happens with that? 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:58.960 What happens is that this is a transition to the next major movement of the gospel going to the nations. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:07.360 But before we get there, we have to remember that as with all of Acts, this is about Jesus. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:14.080 This is not the Acts of the Apostles, this is the Acts of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:26.399 The crucified, buried, risen and ascended Christ works from his position in heaven, and he does throw to does so to accomplish his purpose and plan on earth. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.160 That work is accomplished through his spirit. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:37.920 But sometimes, sometimes that work is accomplished in unexpected ways. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:43.600 Ways that look to us as though it's going to interrupt God's plan. 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.639 Ways as though it looks as though God's plan is going to be thwarted. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:57.519 But what we find here is that God even uses painful circumstances to fulfill his purpose and his plan. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:00.639 Nothing will stand in his way. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:12.720 So Luke employs then the Apostle Paul's ministry as the foundation of these three sections, these three units that were read for us. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:15.519 First one is at the end of chapter 15. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:22.160 Second one is chapter 16, 1 through 5, and then the third one is chapter 16, verses 6 through 10. 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.720 It's the Apostle Paul's ministry. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:35.759 But that's just kind of the groundwork, because each of these units highlights a different person in the Apostle Paul's life and ministry. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.120 First section highlights a man named John Mark. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.600 Second one highlights Timothy. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.040 And the third one highlights the Spirit of Jesus. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:53.199 And these three units are phases of transition to the next massive phase of God's mission. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:06.079 But that work hinges on the very first unit here at the end of chapter 15 with an intense apostolic disagreement. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:16.560 So these three units detail three ways Christ used disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:34.639 And I think he does that to challenge us, to challenge our perspective of how we view circumstances in life that we think are going to be disruptive or interruptive or discouraging. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:48.800 So look with me at the first unit where God used an intense apostolic disagreement to create two missionary teams and long-term fruitfulness. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:07:00.800 Sometime after the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council in chapter 15, Paul in verse 36 wanted to return to the cities that he and Barnabas had ministered to. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:07.040 Remember that on their first missionary journey, they left Antioch on the mainland and they went to Cyprus. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:08.959 They crossed the island of Cyprus. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:21.120 Then they went north to mainland Asia Minor and traveled into what is now modern Turkey to many locations, preaching the word. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:25.839 We see that return to the focus of the early church in verse 36. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:29.120 We proclaimed the word of the Lord over and over and over again. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:35.199 Luke reminds us this was the focus of the early church, the ministry of the word of God. 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:42.240 But do you remember how Paul and Barnabas were treated in those cities? 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:45.519 You remember? 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:51.040 At one point, Paul was stoned and left for dead. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.600 They were run out of town several times. 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:03.040 On multiple occasions, they had to leave out of danger. 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.560 Life and death circumstances. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:19.439 But if that's the treatment that Paul and Barnabas received, what kind of treatment might the believers who are still there be enduring? 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.800 So what we see here is a pastoral concern. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:29.120 The Apostle Paul wanted to see how those new believers in Christ were surviving. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:30.879 Are they enduring? 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:32.240 Are they growing? 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.679 How are they facing new life in Christ? 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.559 He wants to check on his spiritual children. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:46.000 Paul is now a spiritual father to multiple churches in an entire region of Asia Minor. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.559 And Barnabas is apparently in agreement with that. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:53.440 Apparently, he thinks this is a good idea. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.279 We should go and do this. 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.519 That's where things took a different turn, isn't it? 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:07.039 Barnabas, the son of encouragement, wanted to take John Mark with them. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:09.120 And Paul did not. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.039 John Mark, if you remember, traveled with Paul and Barnabas the first time. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.000 He got on the boat with them and went to Cyprus. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.080 He went all the way across the island of Cyprus. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.960 He got on another boat and went to mainland Asia Minor. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:29.039 And then as Paul and Barnabas went further inland, John Mark turned back and got on a boat and went back to Jerusalem. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.960 We weren't told why. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:40.240 All we were told in Acts chapter 13 is that John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:48.480 Now in chapter 15, we get a little bit more insight into what Paul thought about that action. 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:56.320 You'll see in verses 36 through the end of the chapter that this is detailed for us. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:08.320 In verse 38, we find Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:13.840 So we see here that there are two additional details added for us about John Mark. 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:20.639 Specifically, he withdrew from them and he didn't go on with the work. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:26.960 Now Luke doesn't record John Mark's motives. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:34.399 So we have to be careful not to formulate those motives since Luke didn't record them. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:45.039 But Paul, in his disagreement with Barnabas, is assessing Barnabas' desire through John Mark's actions. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:50.320 Wait a minute, Barnabas, don't you remember what John Mark did? 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:58.639 He's not, we don't see him looking at why he did it, simply what he did. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.759 And for Paul, the decision was simple. 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:08.960 John Mark had left them, and he didn't participate in proclaiming the gospel to the end of the road. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:16.879 Whatever his motives were, Mark's actions were enough for Paul to say no. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:25.759 And the result is a strong, sharp disagreement. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:41.919 Now Luke doesn't record any anger, he doesn't record any selfishness, he doesn't indicate that there's anything sinful about this disagreement. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:51.039 This isn't a biblical, doctrinal, or theological disagreement, it's a practical disagreement. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:57.840 Paul didn't want to take someone that they couldn't trust to go with them all the way. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:01.120 It's as simple as that. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.519 That's what Luke records for us. 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.960 It's very easy for us to read into that, isn't it? 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:08.639 But let's try not to do that. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.799 Let's stop there and look instead at what Barnabas does. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.679 Barnabas, the son of encouragement, thought it would be good to take John Mark. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:21.360 We're not told why. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:24.320 That's interesting. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:25.039 Why? 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:34.320 Why would Barnabas feel so strongly to have this sharp disagreement and go a different direction? 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:42.080 Well, maybe, maybe this son of encouragement wanted to give John Mark another chance. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.480 Maybe he had a soft heart and thought, hey, we can give him another chance. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:47.679 There's something to him. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.000 We can make good out of this. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:54.320 Maybe he thought that John Mark had grown up in the last few weeks. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:55.440 We don't know. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:03.679 We should also remember, though, that Colossians chapter 4, verse 10 tells us that John Mark is Barnabas' cousin. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.960 So there's a relationship here. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:22.799 At the end of the day, yet again, we are not told the exact reason for the argument or for why Barnabas wanted to take John Mark. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:26.240 We're left to make assumptions. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:32.480 All Luke tells us is that a disagreement led to them going their separate ways. 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:41.840 And so our focus ought not to be on what's not told to us, but on what is recorded. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:51.120 Barnabas and John Mark sailed west to Cyprus along the same path they had traveled before. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:14:02.960 Paul, taking Silas with him, travels by foot north through Syria and into the region of Cilicia, which is very near Paul's hometown of Tarsus. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.240 We'll see this in a map in a few moments. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:19.759 Now notice that in verse 40, Paul or Luke records for us that the church, or at least the church leadership, commended Paul and Silas to this work. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:36.000 It doesn't tell us they commended Barnabas and John Mark, interestingly, but at the very least, it suggests to us that this disagreement and this going different ways wasn't a big deal to the church. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:41.919 But look at how the Lord used this disagreement. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:46.639 First, one missionary team now becomes two. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:53.919 They cover more territory at the same time, moving more quickly. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:00.080 That's a positive development for the growth of the gospel, for the encouragement of the churches. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:12.240 Perhaps more importantly, though, Barnabas's work with John Mark changed the man, even in Paul's eyes. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:20.639 I mentioned to you Colossians chapter 4, verse 10, where it says that John Mark is Barnabas' cousin. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:33.200 In the next verse, the Apostle Paul writes to the church and Colosse that John Mark had been a comfort to Paul in his kingdom work and in his imprisonment. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.000 That's a change. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:44.399 Something by the time of the book of Colossians had shifted between Paul and John Mark. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:16:01.759 That becomes even clearer when we look at 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 11, where Paul writes, Luke alone is with me, get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.720 That's an astounding change. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:15.279 Going from no, absolutely not, Barnabas, I will separate from you over this issue, to please bring him, Tim. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:16.960 He's useful. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:24.879 Something has happened in John Mark in those ensuing years to make him a different person. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:32.720 And it's likely that wouldn't have happened had not Barnabas taken him along with him. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:35.759 And we can go one step further. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:40.799 Church tradition suggests a third way that God used this disagreement. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:47.200 Later church tradition contends that John Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark. 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.600 We can't prove that, of course. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:17:02.399 However, it is a very strong tradition that John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark while he was with Peter in Rome, just before or just after Peter's martyrdom. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:11.039 So that history puts Paul and Barnabas' disagreement in a different light. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:27.920 Barnabas' work with John Mark led to a kind of forgiveness and even reconciliation and trust between Paul and John Mark, such that Paul's view of him utterly turned around. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:38.000 And Mark became so valuable to him for ministry that he is memorialized forever with the book that bears his name. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:53.279 Don't you think that we ought to be slow in cutting people off regarding their value for ministry and our relationships with them? 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.039 That doesn't mean there isn't room for separation. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:05.599 That doesn't mean there isn't room for distinguishing between people or groups or separating and going your own way. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:16.079 But ultimately and forever cutting someone off, we should probably be a little careful about that because all things are possible with God, is it not? 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:25.599 Even intense disagreements and differences can be turned around for long-term fruitfulness for the Lord's work. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.680 But that's just the beginning of this transition section. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:41.680 Look at the next unit, beginning in chapter 16, where we see how God used an intense apostolic disagreement to prepare a future pastor. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:46.960 This begins now in chapter 16, where Paul comes to Derby and to Lystra. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:56.480 A disciple was there named Timothy, son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:10.160 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium, and Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:17.119 Paul and Silas then make their way north and west to the cities of southern Galatia. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:24.480 These were the cities in which they had previously been persecuted. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:30.880 The end of the road on the previous trip was Lystra and Iconium and Derby. 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:34.160 Now they're going the opposite direction. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:40.000 They're coming at their route from the end and going back towards the beginning. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:47.119 The gospel had prevailed, and there were believers in those places due to Paul and Barnabas's ministry. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.319 One of those is Timothy. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:55.359 We are given three characteristics of Timothy. 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:58.319 Number one, his mother was a believer. 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:06.160 Moms, grandmoms, never dismiss the influence you have on your grandchildren. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.480 We're told that Timothy's mother was a believer. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:19.920 Luke's mention here of his father indicates that Timothy's dad was either not a believer or maybe perhaps no longer living, somehow out of the picture. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:23.119 But number one, we're told that his mother was a believer. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.480 Number two, we're told that Timothy has a good reputation. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:28.480 He's well spoken of. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:38.480 This becomes significant when we look at Paul's letter to Timothy, where being well spoken of is one of the key qualifications of an elder in a local church. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:48.799 Number three, we're told that Timothy was not raised in the Jewish custom of identifying as Jewish through circumcision. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.400 We don't know why. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:59.039 Whether that's because his mother wasn't a practicing Jew since she was married to a Gentile Greek, maybe his father didn't allow the practice. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:07.119 But what that meant was that Timothy was not fully Jewish and not fully Gentile. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:13.039 But that made Timothy the perfect ministry companion for Paul. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:18.079 Because that gave him inroads into both groups. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:24.799 But the Jewish group wouldn't accept Timothy if he was not fully immersed in the Jewish identity. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.519 And so Paul takes Timothy as his protege and his apprentice. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:44.240 And since his pattern is to go first to Jewish synagogues before taking the gospel of the Gentiles, they remove the stumbling block before the Jews, and Timothy is circumcised, so he'll be accepted into synagogues by the Jewish people. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:52.960 The result in verses four and five is that the decision of the Jerusalem Council was passed down to every church. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:59.599 So we see then the chapter 15 and that decision by the apostles and elders becomes a key ingredient. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.759 To the growth of the local church as it spreads. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:10.960 It becomes one of the foundational documents, you might say, for new church plants as they grow. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:17.680 They were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:24.319 But there's another result of this disagreement. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:38.319 We don't know if Paul and Barnabas would have added someone to their team had it been Paul and Barnabas and John Mark. 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.119 But it's just Paul and Silas. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:47.680 So there's room for Timothy. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.759 So Barnabas has John Mark to train and develop. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:53.920 And Paul now has Timothy. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:02.160 So the leadership groups are multiplying and going in different directions for greater effectiveness and expansion. 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:12.240 And the leadership groups are then multiplying by pouring themselves into others who can then train others. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:17.920 So the Lord is using that painful disagreement to prepare for future kingdom work. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:30.480 It might have been painful in the moment, and there might have been disagreement and separation, but that was part of God shifting his people groups to further expand his kingdom work. 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:40.960 Timothy becomes the one that Paul chose to lead the church at Ephesus during some very tumultuous times. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:49.920 And because of Timothy, we have two-thirds of the pastoral epistles to guide us through church doctrine and church practice. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:59.359 Again, doesn't that challenge our view of disappointing and painful circumstances? 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:05.039 Look at what the Lord did. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:20.000 The Lord took what surely had to be a painful and hurtful experience, and he used it to expand the gospel's presence and ultimately to give us three New Testament books. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:34.160 Now, I'm not suggesting that God will always do something that extraordinary with the sad and painful disagreements that come in life. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:51.759 I am suggesting that we can entrust those agonizing circumstances to Jesus as part of his purpose and his plan for our good and the continued expansion of his kingdom. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:25:00.400 Because far too often what we do is we look at those situations in life merely through our eyes. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:20.400 But if we were to take a step back, even a large step back to the realm of heaven and see God's universal purpose and plan and how Jesus is working out his purpose, we would see those things differently. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.079 I think that's what Luke is doing here. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:32.319 He's showing us that perspective of the risen and ascended Christ working to fulfill his purpose. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:44.799 But for us to have that change of focus, we have to shift our focus from what we feel in the moment to what Jesus is doing. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:57.440 And once we have that focus shift, we can then work to trust his purposes and his plan instead of what I'm feeling in the moment. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:06.160 Now, our third unit reveals a third divine use of Paul and Barnabas's disagreement. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:14.960 And it's that God used an intense apostolic disagreement to further expand the gospel's reach. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:18.720 Verse 6. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:28.400 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:37.200 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:41.440 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:49.839 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night, and a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. 00:26:51.279 --> 00:27:00.079 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:07.440 This is Asia Minor, a picture of modern day Turkey. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:14.480 You can see on the right hand side of the image there's the letters G A, that is Galatia. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:21.519 And the line there is dividing the region of Asia at the time and Galatia. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:31.440 On the very left-hand side of the image, you'll see several dots that are showing six of the seven churches of Revelation. 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:40.160 So you'll see places like Ephesus and Smyrna and Sardis and Laodicea and Colossae and Pergamum. 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:51.920 They started down here in Lystra, in the bottom corner, and they end up on the top right hand side. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:28:02.960 At two points along this journey, Paul wanted, desired to go in a certain direction, but God said no. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:13.599 Interestingly, Luke says, God said, Don't proclaim the word of the Lord there. 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:18.240 That's an interesting question for our theology. 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:25.519 Are there people to whom the Lord does not want the gospel proclaimed to them? 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:31.279 At least there was here for a time, for a reason. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:37.039 This is a significant passage because it speaks to following the will of God. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:45.599 Twice in these five verses, we see God not allowing Paul and his company to go to locations they wanted to go. 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:54.799 They were forbidden by the Spirit to speak the word in Asia, and the Spirit did not allow them to go northeast into Bithynia. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:56.960 Excuse me. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:04.640 Humans like to think that they are entirely free creatures. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:12.720 As if we live in a world of our own making over which we are altogether sovereign. 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:16.079 But that's not the case. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:20.720 And this is one of the passages that debunks that claim. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:29.839 Because verse 6 suggests that Paul's group wanted to go through Phrygia and Galatia, but they couldn't. 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:38.319 They had a desire, they had a want, but the Holy Spirit forbade them from going. 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:45.279 Verse 7 says they wanted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not allow them to do so. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:48.720 So notice what's happening here. 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:51.519 The Holy Spirit is connected with Jesus. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:55.519 One reference says the Holy Spirit, the other says the Spirit of Jesus. 00:29:55.680 --> 00:30:03.279 That links the elements here that Jesus is working, and he's working from heaven by his spirit on earth. 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:12.319 This is the act of Jesus directing his people so that the progress of the gospel goes exactly where God wants it to go. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:16.880 What do we make of that? 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:19.920 Well, remember Proverbs 16, verse 9. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:24.319 The heart of a man plans his way. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.720 But it's the Lord who establishes the steps. 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:33.599 That redirects our thinking a little bit, doesn't it? 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:37.039 From what we want to what God's going to do. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.759 Our plans are good. 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:46.720 We have the freedom to think, to hope, but to plan as long as it works out what God's going to do. 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:53.759 And if our hopes and our plans do not fulfill the Lord's purpose, he will move us in a different direction. 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:59.279 Proverbs chapter 19, verse 21 expresses this as well. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:04.240 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it's the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:08.640 So walk in obedience to the Lord. 00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:11.680 Faithfully follow him. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.960 Live your life and seek to do great things for the Lord. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:22.480 But hold your plans loosely because he directs your steps. 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:28.960 Now that doesn't mean that our desires and our will are squashed. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:31.279 We still possess them. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:36.720 But it's a call for us to bring them into the service of Christ. 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:46.000 So in chapter 15, verse 36, Paul's desire was to visit and strengthen the churches. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:48.319 And that matched the Lord's will. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:50.079 They accomplished that. 00:31:50.480 --> 00:31:51.680 They went. 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:59.039 But as they went later, the Lord Jesus had different plans of which Paul knew nothing until the vision came. 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:09.839 And when the will of the Lord became clear, Paul submitted his desires to Christ, following his direction, to go to a completely new location. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:17.680 So remember that Acts recounts God's acts. 00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:25.119 This is the record of the ascended and risen Christ doing his work from heaven. 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:33.519 The Spirit is his agent directing events, redirecting people, and taking the gospel to new lands and people. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.599 And he hasn't stopped. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:42.880 He is working until he returns. 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:49.200 Which means these same patterns are things that we ought to expect in our lives. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:59.839 Where we want to do things, we make plans to do things, and we hold them loosely, expecting the Lord may desire something different. 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:15.119 Like Paul, we opposed Jesus and his will in our lives before we came to trust in him. 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:22.720 But now, by faith, we trust him with our lives. 00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:30.960 We trust him with our days, with our weeks, with our years, even as we should our hours and our minutes. 00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:35.039 We trust him with our jobs, with our families. 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:43.680 We trust him with where we live, with whether our lives are comfortable or painful, whether we're stoned or chased out of town, or whether we're welcomed in. 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:50.480 We trust him with every decision and every circumstance and even every disagreement. 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:56.160 And over time, we learn that Jesus' way is best. 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:03.039 Older saints, do we not learn that? 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:08.719 Over time, we learn that Jesus' way is best. 00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:14.320 We learn to submit our desires to his. 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:32.000 And if what we want and if what we have planned does not come to pass, we then command our souls to be content with his good and gracious provision, because we trust that he is working all things to his desired end. 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:48.320 And even if you cannot say in this very moment that it is good and gracious, one day you will stand before him and you will acknowledge, yes, Lord, everything that you did was good and gracious and right. 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:50.320 Because now I see it. 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:55.360 And so we labor at faithfulness. 00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:00.719 Knowing that Jesus directs our paths. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:03.920 Yes, we want to do certain things. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:05.519 We plan to do certain things. 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:10.960 It is good to follow Christ, it is good to do ministry for Christ, it is good to desire great things. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:16.639 Go and do that, but be ready for Jesus to step in and say, Yeah, no, you're not going there. 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:19.679 That's not time for that yet. 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:22.400 Something else is happening. 00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:26.960 Friends, we don't need to figure out the path first. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:33.119 We step out in faith and we do something. 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:42.880 He will make his will clear in the end, but always be ready to submit your desires to him. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:47.119 Otherwise, you'll find yourself fighting him. 00:35:50.320 --> 00:36:00.159 We know, and we would all assent to the truth that nothing will stand in the way of Christ building his church. 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:02.000 Right? 00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:06.159 I will build my church. 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:09.840 Not even the gates of hell will overcome it. 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:11.360 We would assent to that. 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:12.480 We would agree with that. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:16.639 Christ is expanding his kingdom and he is fulfilling his purpose. 00:36:17.199 --> 00:36:19.280 We would never disagree with that. 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:33.519 What we then may perceive as hindrances to his work may actually be his means of expanding his work. 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:48.400 Sometimes painful, sad circumstances may be God's intentional means of accomplishing far greater things than we can imagine. 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:55.920 Will you trust him with the painful circumstances of life? 00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:05.280 Will you submit your life, your days, your hours, your decisions, your plans to his universal sovereign work? 00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:14.000 Your response might be, I'm not the Apostle Paul. 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:16.800 No, you're not. 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:19.199 Praise God for that. 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:25.039 You don't want to be stoned, shipwrecked, beaten. 00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:36.719 But remember, there are no great men of God who are sinless or who are exceptional because they sin less. 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:41.440 Barnabas is not the hero. 00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:44.960 Paul is not the hero. 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:47.440 John Mark is not the hero. 00:37:48.159 --> 00:37:50.320 Timothy is not the hero. 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:57.039 Pastors, missionaries, teachers are not the heroes of our story. 00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:01.039 There is only one hero, and his name is Jesus. 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:08.800 Only one person works all things according to the counsel of his will, and his name is Jesus. 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:21.360 So the greatest follower of Jesus is the weakest, the lowliest, the most humble and meek, not the most famous, smartest, wisest, or wealthiest. 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:34.320 If you want to follow Jesus and experience his great grace overflowing in your weakness and your humanity, then submit your will, your desires, and your ego to his. 00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:50.719 For he is working a work that will either draw you into his magnificent purpose and grace, that will be to the praise of his eternal glory. 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:58.079 Or he will leave you by the wayside to go your own way. 00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:12.159 To say that we know that Jesus' way is best. 00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:16.079 And that's what we want. 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:17.920 Would you bow with me in prayer? 00:39:18.239 --> 00:39:19.280 Lord Jesus. 00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:25.360 May we be drawn to you by humility. 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:32.960 Knowing that you you you went before us and showed us the way. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:41.199 You did not consider holding on to the glories of heaven as something that you had you deserved. 00:39:42.400 --> 00:39:48.239 But you laid it aside so that we might be made sons and daughters of God. 00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:06.960 And want to be a part of that, a part of that eternal work, that glorious work instead of going our own way. 00:40:11.039 --> 00:40:20.400 As the King of Kings, as the Lord of Lords, the most glorious of all glories. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:51.519 Who thought it wise and best and glorious to take a people for your own name from all the nations, sinful people whom you would redeem and justify and make into your own image to stand before the Father as sons and daughters. 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.119 May we come and worship before you in the spirit of truth. 00:40:59.039 --> 00:40:59.679 Amen. 00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:05.440 That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:12.480 Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus. 00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:16.800 You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.