This is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever heard, and so creative with his lyrics:
Category: Men of Steel
The Seven Checkpoints
The Seven Checkpoints: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know
(Stanley and Hall)
What I have found is that although this book is aimed at guiding teenagers, these principles allow people of all ages to progress toward faithfulness in the task of becoming authentic followers of Christ. Take a quick look…
1. Authentic Faith. This principle helps us to understand the difference between a second-hand and a first-hand faith. This is a primary reason many people abandon Christianity later in life. True faith has confidence in who God is; that He can be trusted and will do as He promised.
2. Spiritual Disciplines. How is your devotional life? How do you get to know God? How much time is spent desiring God? Spiritual transformation begins with a renewed mind. When you see God for who He is, you will do as He says.
3. Moral Boundaries. Clear moral limits are essential in any life stage. We must learn to protect our bodies and emotions by honoring God’s plan for morality (in relationships, movie choices, personal reading). The depth of intimacy with God and others is dependent on this principle. Purity paves the way.
4. Healthy Friendships. Our associations have a direct impact on our decisions and the standards we choose. Do friends build us up or drag us down?
5. Wise Choices. This principle will help apply godly wisdom to everyday choices between right and wrong. This principle will affect our goals and future dreams.
6. Ultimate Authority. There is often a disconnection between freedom and authority, but the Bible teaches that true freedom is found under authority. Freedom is not always doing what you please (saying “yes”) but having the strength and character to wisely choose “no.”
7. Others First. Selfishness comes naturally to all people, but selflessness has to be learned. This principle focuses on the nature of humility and service. So, how do you see yourself aligning with these principles in your own life? How will you impact eternity for those around you? At the gym? The people in our church and community? Or those with whom we have a business relationship?
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Cross-Cultural Values
Cross-cultural is not just experiencing another culture overseas or across town. We also desire to embrace the culture of the cross, which may be described in the following 12 values that all believers should embrace…
Cross-Cultural Values: 1 Peter 2:11
We are essentially aliens and strangers in this present world, so we desire to effectively model and communicate the values and cultural norms of the cross (the culture of the cross) rather than of the world (or American culture).
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” 1 Corinthians 2:2
[Values guiding my relationship with my God]
1. Savior-centric
Focusing on Jesus in my internal life and my external communication. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the initiator and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame… Hebrews 12:2-3 – Is Jesus the center of my thoughts and conversations? Do I revolve around Him?
2. Submission
Consistently asking the Master what He wants and then simply doing it. “During the days of Jesus life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Hebrews 5:7 – Is there anything I am unwilling to do for Him?
3. Sanctification
In his power and for His glory living a life that is “set apart” by His Spirit, according to His character, for His purpose. “it is God’s will that you should be sanctified…” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 – What percentage of my personal life and my ministry are a work of the Spirit?
4. Sacrifice
Continually offering my life to Him as an act of worship. “I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God” Romans 12:1 – Is my whole life a sacrifice or do I see it as specific, intermittent acts?
[Values guiding my relationship with the world]
5. Supplication
In humility sharing my needs with the Father and trusting Him to take care of me. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 – Are all my finances, family, future, health, and other concerns turned over to Him?
6. Satisfaction
Trusting God’s provision in all situations and learning to want what I have. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 – Am I satisfied with what He is providing for me and do I want what I have?
7. Self-denial
Choosing at my own initiative that which pleases Him rather than what pleases me. “If any man would come after me, first he must deny himself take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23 – What am I intentionally and willingly giving up for Him today?
8. Suffering
Joyfully joining in suffering because I know its redemptive value for others and myself. “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ…” I Peter 4:12-13 – Do I expect to suffer as a Christian? Do I follow Him up to the boundary of suffering and then hold back? Am I upset with Him when I suffer?
[Values guiding my relationship with others]
9. Selfless love
Laying down my life wholly for the benefit of others and expecting nothing in return. “No man has greater love than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 – Do I love when it will not be returned and when it is costly?
10. Sympathy
Allowing my heart and hands to be guided by God’s concern for those in need. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress… If one of you says to him, `Go, I wish you well’, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” James 1:27, 2:16 – Have I become hardened by the overload of needs around me?
11. Saltiness
Developing and sharing a savory (Saviory) flavor in order to influence the stew. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 – Is my life salty enough to evoke questions about Him and am I ready to answer?
12. Servant-leadership
Serving others… the motive, the style, and the content of leadership. “the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… Not so with you.” Matthew 20:25-26 – Am I willing to serve? To be treated as a servant?
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Leadership and Wisdom
After the Word of God was growing and prevailing Ephesus (Acts 19:20) Paul decided that he needed to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome (Acts 19:21). While in Ephesus, the Emperor Claudius was poisoned and the Empire fell into the hands of a 16-year-old boy named Nero (in AD 54). It’s almost like Paul needed to witness to the new Emperor; maybe he thought it would be a great opportunity to change the Empire.
Paul was used by God in a mighty way and the enemy would not give up without a fight, so Paul encountered more trouble before he left Ephesus (Acts 19:21, 23). We are also told that Paul was again alone, having sent Erastus and Timothy into Macedonia (Acts 19:22).
It was normally the Jews causing Paul grief, but we read of two Gentile groups rising up against him: in Philippi (Acts 16:16-19) and here in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). It seems the gospel was a threat to the local idol making industry (Acts 19:24-25). Paul was hurting their trade and needed to be stopped; reasoning that he was robbing Artemis of her majesty (Acts 19:27). She was believed to be the daughter of Zeus and her temple was in Ephesus (one of the seven ancient wonders of the world). The silversmiths had made little statues in her likeness so I believe that these businessmen cared little about her majesty and more about their profits. The gospel and Paul were bad for business.
There was a town hall gathering in the theater in Ephesus and a couple believers are dragged to the meeting (Acts 19:29). Paul wanted to go there and speak to the crowd but his friends persuaded him not to go (Acts 19:30). Sometimes Paul had more passion and courage than sense. What I like here is that the disciples were not afraid to disagree with the apostle; Paul did not surround himself with yes-men and they had the freedom to speak their minds. Paul let the wisdom of others take priority over his own desires. He was not only a preacher and teacher but Paul was a good discussion leader (Acts 19:9). It is my observation that leaders who are afraid of others disagreeing with them leave little room for discussion. I am encouraged by leaders who do not think they always have to be right.
Not only did the friends of Paul not want him to go tho the theater, the city officials begged him not to go (Acts 19:31). Then the Jews got a man named Alexander to stir up the crowd chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for about two hours (Acts 19:34), which is an odd thing for the Jews to do… to encourage the practice of idolatry (Exodus 20:3-4).
A little history: the people believed that Artemis had fallen to earth in the form of a meteor, like a multibreasted woman, who was proclaimed as the patron deity of childbirth. After a little research, I discovered she was the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; often depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. I am still amazed at what people will believe; sort of like believing that we all evolved from primordial muck by chance over time. It takes more faith to believe this universe just happened by accident than to believe in a divine creation. The universe is way to complex for there not to be an Intelligent Designer behind it all. Paul brought the message that the Messiah came down from the Father who offers everlasting life to those who believe; a much more believable story than a goddess falling as a rock from space.
Application: How many men today have another man beside them to guide them along life’s journey? Men who will speak truth to them, to help them avoid danger and temptation? How many of us are as passionate as Paul, compelled with a mission that must be accomplished? How many of us who are in leadership are humble enough to listen to others? Are we ever strong enough to admit, and even confess, that we were wrong? To our employees, our wives, our children? Do you surround yourself with yes-men or those who will challenge you and speak the truth to you in love?
Manifesting God’s Glory
Paul’s next stop in Ephesus (Acts 19:1) seemed to display an extra measure of God’s power. It appears that on this third missionary journey God used special demonstrations of power to authenticate His messages and ministers (Acts 19:11).
The first story is theologically interesting since it appears Paul encounters some disciples that believed yet had not receive the Holy Spirit when they first believed (Acts 19:2, 6). The brief interpretation is that this new faith movement needed authenticity and consistency; basically evidence that the movement of Christ was united in both Jerusalem and Ephesus. But these disciples were not already Christians (since all Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, 1 Corinthians 12:13).
These believers were followers (disciples) of John (Acts 19:3), which means they were Old Testament seekers but did not fully understand the Christian faith. Their answer to Paul’s question about receiving the Holy Spirit revealed they were not yet fully Christians. They had not yet received Christian baptism (having been baptized only “into John’s baptism”) which was further evidenced that they were not Christians.
Acts 19:8-10 summarizes the events in Ephesus, the results being that in over two years all the people who lived in the province of Asia heard the gospel (Acts 19:10, 17).
Let’s look at some of the miraculous stuff that happened:
- God worked with such power that pieces of cloth, like a handkerchief that had touch Paul brought healing and deliverance from demons (Acts 19:12).
- There is the funny story of the seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva (Acts 19:13, 14) who was an exorcist. The demon says that he knows Jesus and knows Paul, but who are you (Acts 19:15). What a slap in the face. The last we see of these sons is flying through the door one by one naked and bleeding (Acts 19:16). Too funny.
- People were getting right with God, many believers publicly burning their tools of sorcery (Acts 19:18, 19).
It is almost as if God was showing off! God demonstrated His power in several ways:
God made the Holy Spirit obvious: knowledge of the Old Testament did not help because the Holy Spirit did not take up residence in believers until Pentecost (Acts 2:4). Before that the Spirit did not mark salvation but He did empower people for certain tasks.
God made obvious the blessings of true discipleship: Paul began to disciple people daily (Acts 19:9), and the fruit produced was that the whole region heard the gospel (Acts 19:10). A few well trained soldiers in God’s service is more effective than hundreds of people who have never been discipled.
God made His ambassador obvious: He used the ordinary to do extraordinary things. Attention was brought to Paul because he could be trusted to bring attention to Christ.
God made His power over the occult obvious: with all the magical incantations, witches, wizards and sorcery in Ephesus, God broke through and they began to understand the idea of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18).
God made true repentance obvious: God convicted the city of their error (John 16:8) and the people responded in a practical way (Acts 19:18, 19), producing fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).
Application: How do you see God moving through your life? Is there anything that needs to be exposed and eliminated, confessed and repented of? Are you being discipled, daily through your Bible reading and quiet time, or with another man on a regular basis? What prevents you from finding another man to ask if he would like to read and study the Bible each week? The greatest power that God has demonstrated today is the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives. People cannot change on their own, how often do men fall back into the same old rut? Christ walks with us, and put other men in our pathway to help strengthen us along the journey.
Paul and His Vow
I love that game Trivial Pursuit; you know the one that has players bursting forth with tidbits of random and otherwise useless information. The writer of Acts, Dr. Luke, throws in one item of what seems to be useless trivia, that when Paul left Corinth, he had his hair cut off because of a vow (Acts 18:18). I wonder why Luke thought that bit of information needed to be included in the narrative? Know for sure that the point is not that Paul needed a haircut, but the reason for the haircut.
Paul was deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and coming to Christ did not make him forget that heritage. Luke was referring to the Nazirite Vow (Numbers 6:1-8). Note the purpose as revealed best in the NIV: “If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the LORD as a Nazirite” (Numbers 6:2).
- Using the word wants: it was voluntary
- Using the word special: not only was it voluntary but it was for men and women.
- Using the word separation: it was a vow of consecration to the Lord, to be distinguished from all others.
If you know the writings to the Corinthians, this church was in the midst of terrible depravity in a sexually explicit society. The most extreme pagan practice involved the cult of Aphrodite, full of lust and sexual immorality as a part of their worship.
The haircut is not the beginning of the vow but the end of it (Number 6:5). Practically speaking, Paul entered this wicked city with the intention of setting himself apart, to remain pure in the midst of impurity, committing himself to the only One who could ensure victory (2 Corinthians 2:14).
The vow involved abstinence (Number 6:3) from wine and strong drink. I abstain from alcohol not for biblical reasons but for social reasons. I see what alcohol does to our society and choose not to support that industry (drunk driving, road deaths, broken families, ruined marriages, abused children). I know alcohol is not forbidden in the Bible, but for me it is a distraction. It is a voluntary decision I have made. I do not believe that I personally can consume alcohol and be a truly devoted follower of Christ. I’m sure that Satan would use it as a trap for me, so I have made a vow of separation.
A visible sign of someone taking this vow of separation was uncut hair (Acts 18:18). If someone forgot about the vow they made, they could easily look into a mirror and be reminded of their commitment. Once Paul no longer needed this sign of extreme devotion to God, he cut his hair leaving Corinth. I am impressed with Paul’s example.
Paul had insecurities, weaknesses and temptations like all of us, but he dealt with them with wisdom. Jesus told us to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Had Paul not taken precautions, he could have gotten into serious trouble.
He took another precaution, he purposely did not take any money from the Corinthians; he got a job. A Macedonian church sent him money so he could preach freely without being a burden to the Corinthians (Acts 18:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, 3-4). He also found a couple new friends, Aquila and Priscilla, who were also tent makers (Acts 18:3).
Application: Men, it is time to consider taking the vow… it’s not about letting your hair grow, but separating yourself from the world and consecrating yourself to the Lord. How do you keep yourself pure in a society that elevates sensuality, drunkenness, impurity and promiscuity? Do you go out into the world unprotected or worse, with a belief that you would never fall to any of these more grievous vices? Hear the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12, “let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” In short, that is what we call accountability. We can stand better together.
With Fear and Trembling
Paul leaves Athens and makes his way to Corinth, about 50 miles away (Acts 18:1). He describes his arrival in 1 Corinthians 2, without eloquence or superior wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:1), resolved to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and that he came to them in fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3). Interestingly enough, Acts 18:9-10, reveal a vision given to Paul for him not to fear. While Paul had been in danger in many places, there is no biblical evidence that he ever before was warned in a vision not to be afraid.
It is likely that what happened in Athens affected him more than we expect:
- Few converts.
- Overwhelmed by pagan and polytheistic beliefs.
- They wanted to argue philosophy when Paul wanted to discuss the truth.
- These few converts failed to produce any fruit, no church was established.
- He spent his time in Athens alone.
While Timothy and Silas may have come as he asked, perhaps they were quickly sent elsewhere (1 Thessalonians 3:1-2). Perhaps Paul just moved on in frustration. It is likely that Paul was focusing on the negative and lost sight of the positive. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever noticed how solitude can affect your state of mind? Perspective changes, we see that everything is bad and cannot see the silver lining. Insecurity can lead to immobilization; sadness turns into depression; intimidation turns into terror.
First Corinthians 2:1 indicates that Paul left Athens feeling intimidated. The child prodigy and former Pharisee must have felt humiliated by their harsh words, calling him a babbler (Acts 17:18). He resolved to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2), not relying on his persuasive abilities or theological speeches.
God taught Paul a lesson that day, that without the Spirit, no one can accept or understand the things of God, because to him they are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 1:23, 2:14). As we speak up for Christ, we cannot believe that we are foolish just because we were not persuasive enough. Paul was weak (1 Corinthians 2:3) which might be interpreted that he was so scared that he became ill. The man had lost his confidence. Perhaps he wondered if the fruit in other cities was the result of God blessing Silas or Barnabas rather than him.
The enemy would love to see God’s servants in self doubt, but Paul writes about a great demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4), which means proof. The abundant fruit produced through his preaching was proof of the Spirit’s power. God often proves Himself when we have the least to offer (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27).
Application: Perhaps God has opened a door for you and you lack confidence. Insecurity can hold people back from the ministry that God has planned for them. There are many wonderful promises in the Bible when we are weak: the Lord is our confidence (Proverbs 3:26), your strength will equal your days (Deuteronomy 33:25), My grace is sufficient for you, My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Stand strong in the fact that God is the One at work in you, and the ministry He has for us will be accomplish through Him and not our own abilities, creativity, goals, action plans or strength. God has called us to be faithful and not necessarily successful, according to the world’s standards.
To an Unknown God
Paul had a fruitful ministry in Berea until the troublemakers from Thessalonica came, and the people urged Paul to move on (Acts 17:14, 15). The next city after the noble Bereans, was Athens (Acts 17:16) where we have to ask how some people who knew so much could really know so little. Some of Paul’s companions left him for a time while he waited in Athens (Acts 17:15, 16). It is here that Paul notices all of the idols around town.
I did not fully understand this passage until I traveled to Kathmandu Nepal. While there I discovered a cross section of Hinduism and Buddhism that manifested the city with countless shrines, statues and idols. I would walk down the streets and find shrine after shrine along the sidewalks, with candles and items of devotion in front of these little altars erected to one of the 330 million gods of Hinduism. I even discovered what they called the Kumari, who lives in a palace in the center of the city. This young girl is considered to be a living goddess, the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body (she was also called the vestal virgin). The whole experience caused me to wonder why so many people around the world consider the resurrection to be just a silly story.
So Paul sees these altars all over town and concludes the Athenians to be religious people (Acts 17:22). I can hear him saying to them, “Let me tell you about this God you don’t know, and I’ll tell you His name.” Of all of Paul’s visits, this city is different from others he has visited so far.
The city itself was different: much smaller and less sophisticated, perhaps 100 years past her glory days. They had a reputation of being the center of higher learning with universities, philosophers and freethinkers.
Paul’s team was different: he entered the city by himself, without Timothy and Silas. They did not catch up to him in Athens (Acts 17:15, 16), which left him without the emotional, physical and spiritual support he had in other cities. No one would have known if he was too intimidated to preach, or blamed him for not engaging people with the gospel (Acts 17:17).
Paul’s speech was different: this may be one of the best sermons Paul preached, building a relevant bridge to the people and using a creative object lesson.
The response to the gospel was different: only a few people became believers (Acts 17:34). Paul does not mention a church being planted, and he never mentions any other contact with them. I suppose the lesson for us is that sometimes the best sermon will not penetrate an unwilling heart.
Paul’s leaving was different: he was not persecuted or even run out of town, he simply left (Acts 17:33, 18:1). Why no persecution? Perhaps they were too cold to care. They were so open minded that anything goes could have been the town’s motto. Live and let live, if it works for you, do it. Come to think of it, would you rather have someone hate you or be apathetic towards you? I submit that apathy is worse because if someone hates you, at least they have some sort of emotion towards you. Beth Moore says that persecution is not nearly the enemy that indifference is. The Athenians did not care if Paul left of not. Everyone was entitled to his own god.
Application: We live in a tolerant society. We also have a message that no one comes to the Father except through Christ. He is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6). He who has the Son has life while he who does not have the Son does not have life (John 3:36, 1 John 5:11-12). Don’t allow your tolerance for other faiths compromise the unique claims of the gospel story. We must discover how to build a bridge to lost people around us; but remember that the results are not up to us, they are up to God. We are called to be faithful, not necessarily successful. If one method does not work, keep trying until you can find something that makes the gospel click with them. Sometimes it is only a matter of readiness to receive the message. Most of all, never allow yourself to become indifferent to Christ. Maintain your passion for the One who saved your soul and brought peace to your life, work, marriage and family. Keep Him at the center.
The Berean Example
Luke and Paul’s missionary team seem to part ways for a while since he again uses the third person when writing about the events in Philippi (Acts 16:22), Thessalonica (Acts 17:1) and Beara (Acts 17:10). Remember that Luke occasionally changes his style from that of a third person observer to a first person participant. In Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-16; 21:1-18; and Acts 27:1–28:16, the author speaks of “we” and “us” in relationship to Paul’s travels. The language implies the author himself traveled with Paul. These “we” sections include the time when Paul was imprisoned at Rome.
Before we get to Acts 17, Paul and Silas travel 100 miles from Philippi to Thessalonica. I sort of wonder what made one city more of a priority than some other city. The first criteria I’d say is it was the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Another criteria was Paul wanted to preach the gospel where it was not already known (Romans 15:20). While in Thessalonica, there was a mob seeking Paul and Silas to do them harm (Acts 17:5, 6) because they had upset the entire world. The believers got Paul out of there and sent him by night to Berea (Acts 17:10).
I read that Mount Olympus could be seen from the foothills of Berea, just 20 miles from the sea. Like Virginia, they had a landscape that went form the mountains to the beach; but the people we more noble than others in the region, which is an excellent standard set for us today (Acts 17:11).
They were willing to receive the message (Acts 17:11): meaning they accepted the offer deliberately and readily, to come and hear what Paul had to say. Many people today do not ever get to the place where they will come and hear or receive the message of Christ. It is truly sad because we have so many opportunities to hear but people choose to ignore Christ’s invitation.
They were ready to receive what Paul had to say (Acts 17:11): with eagerness, meaning a predisposition for learning (according to Strong’s). Let’s make sure we are ready and eager to learn about Christ.
They examined Paul’s message with the light of the Scriptures (Acts 17:11): they did not take his word for it, they did their own research. The word used here means to “ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search” (Strong’s). It is very important that we learn to study the Bible for ourselves. We are a people so used to being spoon-fed the Word of God that we just might starve if it were not for the preacher.
As you research or study the Bible, make sure about the nutritional value of the stuff you read. With the internet full of so much great information, there are plenty of sites that will lead people into inaccurate interpretations of the Bible. Do not accept anyone’s teachings without backing it up with Scripture. Then allow the Bible to make commentary on itself.
These Bereans had the right practices but also the right heart. They did not search the Scripture to find error in Paul’s theology, but to see if what he said measured up to the Bible. They did not want to argue or fact-check the truth of the teacher, but to check what he says to the standard of truth.
The Jews in Thessalonica soon discovered Paul was in Berea and were mean enough to travel fifty miles to stir up the people (Acts 17:13). It seems to me that not much has changed in all these years; some people just love causing God’s leaders grief and stirring up people to set their hearts and minds against them. The word used here is “to rock, topple, shake, stir up” (Strong’s).
Application: How often to do search the Scriptures to make sure that what is being taught is true? Are you in a position to receive God’s Word? Are you familiar enough with the Bible to allow it to bring comfort and healing when the world begins to rock, topple or shake your world? I pray that we all will become as noble as the Bereans, who set such a great example for future generations.
Following God’s Leadership
All of us at one time or another have probably asked the question of God, “What do you want from me?” It’s interesting that a few times in the Bible He gives a point blank answer:
- The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
- For this is the will of God, your sanctification… (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
- Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
Acts 16 brings us to a passage where the Spirit of Jesus prevented our missionaries from going a certain direction. The immediate question would be, “Does God still operate this way?” Can we know for sure the direction we ought to go? No matter how close we are to God, life can bring on twists and turns; which are from the Lord and which are obstacles set up by the enemy?
The Christian life is not just about meeting the Lord and seeing Him one day; it ids about walking with Him every day on a winding road. One day Paul and his group intended to preach the gospel throughout the region of Galatia and beyond, but the Spirit kept them from going into Asia (Acts 16:6). Also in this chapter, we have an addition to the missionary team (Acts 16:10). Notice the writing moves from third person to first person (“they” to “we”). Since Luke is the writer of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, it is likely here that he joins Paul, Timothy and Silas.
Paul describes Luke as a dear friend and a doctor (Colossians 4:14). There are verses in the Bible that indicate that Paul may have had a physical illness of some sort; perhaps poor eyesight (Galatians 6:11) or maybe a physical or spiritual “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7, 8, 9).
Sometimes the most noble plans of anointed servants differ from the plans of God. They wanted to spread the gospel in another area but the Spirit of Jesus prevented them from going in that direction (Acts 16:7). One reason may have been timing because God eventually opened a door of great opportunity in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:9). Another reason may have been that God wanted Peter to go to Bithynia, who had some level of access to that area (1 Peter 1:1).
How could they have misread the direction God had for them? As with Paul, it takes a lot of courage to admit that we have made a mistake in discerning God’s direction in our lives. Once the direction is more clear, we must make sure to pursue it just as passionately as before. How did Paul know? Perhaps it was an inner tugging of the Spirit, rather than just personal feelings or instincts (Jude 1:10). Since the Spirit resides in each believer (Romans 8:9) what can we do practically to better understand God’s will or direction?
- Study God’s Word: He will never lead us contrary to His revealed Word.
- Yield to the Spirit’s control: This will keep us flexible, pliable and available when there is a change of plans.
- Pray for clear leadership: David’s approach is a good example (Psalm 27:11). He asked God to teach him His ways and to lead him in a straight path.
- Pray for wisdom and discernment: God desires to give these to us (Ephesians 1:17).
- Make plans, but hold them loosely: They were not supposed to just wander around the countryside, but they made plans. Paul was a smart guy, he probably had an itinerary all charted out but God had a different idea.
- Learn to recognize God’s peace: This is a tricky one. We like to believe that peace is a good indicator of following God’s direction and being in His will, but not always. It is not always safe to be in God’s will (I interviewed and approved many missionaries going into places around the world that we not safe). Consider this: Jonah was totally at peace in the bottom of the boat, running from God, totally out of God’s will (Jonah 1:4, 5, 6); while Jesus was totally in God’s will yet in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41, 42, 43-44).
Application: Let’s be willing to change our plans if we sense the Spirit leading in another direction. The key to missionary work overseas was always flexibility. Paul and the team did not have to wait long for redirection, but sometimes we feel like we are in a deep, dark hole waiting for God to show us His way. Paul received a vision, a dream, about where to go next, Macedonia (Acts 16:9, 10) and the first person he finds is Lydia whom the Lord had prepared to hear the message (Acts 16:14). She was the first convert in Europe.
So, how familiar are you with the Bible? How is your prayer life? In what ways do you seek guidance from God? How do you evaluate your walk with Christ? Do you have a set time each day to seek His direction, read His Word, or ask Him for opportunities where you can be a servant of Christ each day? How does your knowledge of Christ affect your marriage and relationships? One great thing about the church, the “church” is all of us; we are in this together. That is a strength that we can use in our favor.