ACTS
Pursuing The Call – Part 1
JUNE 9, 2019
Acts 16:1-15
How To Pursue The Call of Jesus
OUTLINE
YOU MUST. . .
Know the cost
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:1-3 (ESV)
Surrender your will
As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. Acts 16:4-5 (ESV)
Follow Jesus’ direction
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10 (ESV)
Keep your schedule flexible
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 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. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. Acts 16:11-15 (ESV)
MANUSCRIPT
I’m always interested in history. I love to know how people lived long ago and the events that shaped their lives and communities. I also know the old adage, “those who fail to learn history are destined to repeat it.” While I think that’s a good statement, I sometimes wonder if it useless. I mean, it seems people make the same mistakes over and over again.
I mean when I look at my life, I think I’ve learned from my mistakes, but I tend to make the same one’s over and over again. Countries do it, communities do it too.
I’ve come to the conclusion that we can and should learn from those mistakes, and we must let them inform us as we move forward, but they must never stop moving forward.
As we look into the New Testament, we see the birth of the church in the book of Acts. This book is truly a continuation of Luke’s writing. He wrote Luke and now Acts. By volume of words, he pens more of the New Testament than even his mentor, Paul.
In the book of Acts, we see the fledgling leaders make mistakes and learn from them, then we see them stand boldly for the Lord.
BTW – because you make a mistake, that’s no reason to quit your role in serving Jesus. You’ve just now become so much more valuable to the cause.
You may think I’m crazy, more valuable? That’s right, as long as you have learned from that mistake. It’s all a part of your education.
MISTAKES OFTEN TEACH MORE THAN INTENTIONAL LEARNING.
I can’t remember much of what I learned in seminary, but I can tell you countless times I failed, or forgot something, or hurt someone, and learned in the process.
If you’re like me, after a mistake, or a failing, you wanted to quit, but in the work, we are involved in, there’s so much at stake. And, one day we will give an answer to God on how we did what He asked us to do.
The early leaders of the church, much like Old Testament leaders such as Joshua, said “we will serve the Lord.”
This determination was born out of a call from Jesus to go tell the world about His love and then one day bring a report to Him on what we did.
CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST
Recently, Nepal, the government you must get a permit from to climb Mt. Everest has been giving a record number of permits of up to $80,000 each. (One can see why they hand out so many). With the ice melting in some sections, there’s a portion of the trip where dead bodies are seen of those who did not make it up or down or both. This area is called the death zone. 11 people have died there in the past month alone, and remember they paid up to $80K for the privilege to do it. It’s above 5.5 miles above sea level. In the Death Zone, oxygen is so limited that the body's cells start to die. Climbers' judgment becomes impaired, and they can experience heart attacks, strokes, or severe altitude sickness.
As climbers go up, they often pass by the dead bodies. I’m sure they wonder if that will be them on the way down. Still some make it and some don’t.
I just want to say, that regardless of your health, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into the climbing of Everest and it’s not free. But, the view and the thrill of conquering is felt by very few on this planet!
When it comes to pursuing the call that Jesus gave His followers, in some sense it’s a big climb and no one should enter this work without a determined decision to make it all the way.
As we resume the study of the book of Acts, The Apostle Paul is in the spotlight for most of the remainder of the book. In Acts 16 we meet some new and key figures for the church, Timothy, Lyddia and we learn about the need in Macedonia.
Now, the interesting thing to me here is that Paul has just left a council in Jerusalem, where he helps to set the record straight about mingling Jewish customs with heart-faith, or grace. Yet one of the first things he does is a very strategic move that might speak the opposite of that statement.
So . . .
How To Pursue The Call of Jesus
If you will pursue that call of Jesus on your life to be like Him, and to go tell others about Him,
YOU MUST. . .
Know the cost
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:1-3 (ESV)
Here is the introduction of Timothy to the readers of the book. He has a Jewish mother and a Greek father, an inter-ethnic marriage and the product of that marriage would become a powerhouse in the early church – Timothy.
Vs 3 *And it helps us to know that the original word for "report" “well spoken of” here is "martureo." That word means "witness," "testimony," or report." And "martureo" probably sounds familiar to you, because it's where we got our modern word "martyr."
What’s the cost? Well Timothy is here minding his own business, developing a good name for himself and Paul comes along and sees the value of Timothy in the ministry. Since they were headed to the Roman empire but first stopping at synagogues to find people with an open ear, Paul had Timothy ritually circumcised.
Why would Paul circumcise Timothy? Was it required by the Jewish law? No. He did it to remove any possible distraction from the work they were would do among those who did not believe.
ANISE – from Pakistan, could eat no pork in states. If he did, no one would talk to him for 7 years.
LET ME ASK YOU THIS. What is it costing you to be on this pursuit of following Jesus?
Paul would go on to say about Timothy
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” Philippians 2:19-22
The ability to ADJUST is a crucial life skill, but not everyone excels in it.
So, we see there’s cost, for each person that will be different. Next, in your pursuit you must. . .
Surrender your will
The Jerusalem council in Acts 15 brought about some clarity to the way people were to think about the gospel. No longer could they mix in their own traditions and impose that on others.
Let me ask you a few questions:
• Would you accept someone who walked into this church drunk?
• Would you accept someone who had ratty clothes and smelled bad
• Would you accept who didn’t like our music?
The point is, there are many things we impose on people and even ourselves that take the place of
God's grace and become a work that is nothing more than tradtion.
Here’s what Luke wrote,
As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. Acts 16:4-5 (ESV)
They delivered; they brought the decisions of the leaders as how to live out the gospel. AND what was the result? They were strengthened and the churches plural, those in the region grew.
There’s something about unity that brings strength. When you can trust your leaders, and follow God’s word, great tings will happen in this ministry. Every time the enemy sets out to destroy a ministry, he goes after the unity of the believers and questioning of the leadership.
So, know the cost, surrender your will to God’s and work for unity, next. . .
Follow Jesus’ direction
It’s funny listening to people who don’t read or know the Bible attribute things to the Bible or God that He never said.
In our family we have this running joke. My twin brother Tim, who is not what you might call a bible scholar, once said this, He said, “I don’t know if it’s uncle Howie or the Bible, but one of them said God helps those who help themselves.”
Now what funny about that statement is that in our family, the last person we might equate with God is Howie, but still God never said it.
On the other hand, God is speaking and gives daily direction. I want to point out two important facts here so look for these as I read. 1. The language changes from “they” to “we” once they knew what God wanted them to do. It became clear to all. 2. God’s direction was by open and closed doors.
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10 (ESV)
• How does God guide His people? -- Sometimes He closes doors.
• The Spirit of God directs us to the needs of people primarily.
CS LEWIS QUOTE - Sometimes we are like a dog C. S. Lewis described. That dog had his leash wrapped around a sign post. And he was pulling, pulling, pulling at his leash, struggling to go forward. But his master knew that the only way to go forward was to back-up and get untangled. Sometimes we don't understand why the Lord leads us in a certain direction, but we need to keep trusting our Master.
Five times in those verses Luke wrote "they, they, they, they, they." But in vs. 10, all of a sudden, it was "we": "Now after he had seen the vision, immediately WE sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them." God sent Paul to Troas for a divine appointment with Dr. Luke, the man God used to write this book of the Bible.
Listen for God’s voice in His word and through the circumstances. Then . . .
Keep your schedule flexible
Do you remember the country song, “I’m in a hurry”? It says I rush and rush until life’s now fun. . .”
If we rush so much, we may miss a divine appointment tat God has for us. Paul and the crew were about to meet one of the most strategic people for their ministry, but they could have missed it.
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 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. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. Acts 16:11-15 (ESV)
Lydia, was a seller of purple, a rare and expensive fabric that only the very rich could afford. In other words, this devout Jew who stopped and listened and accepted the words of Paul that Jesus truly was the Messiah the Jews were looking for, was a very wealthy person.
This was a divine appointment that could have been missed but Lydia insisted they stay with her a while. Later she would be an instrumental part of supporting the ministry of these men as they went forth with the call.
Paul’s second missionary journey that we’re reading about was not cheap or quick. This wasn’t a 1-week experience. This was a multiple year journey that included over 3,000 miles, 100 days of travel, not counting the time in cities and cost about $1,200 per person.
Here’s the point
• Divine appointments and provision are waiting ahead
• God provides in many ways, don’t overlook anything
TIME OF COMMITMENT
OFFERING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAPTISM
