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Acts 16 "Through the Holy Spirit"
Let me start the sermon today with a question. What is
the book of Acts about? Is it just ancient history or is it useful for
my life today? It is the history of the early church, spreading from
Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, but it is also very much a book
about the Holy Spirit. It is a book about how God uses the Holy Spirit
to guide the Christian church. If you are serious about your faith,
you have probably asked yourself this question before. "What is
God's will for me?"
The book of Acts shows us first that God does indeed have a plan for
you. You are not on your own, but are being weaved into the beautiful
tapestry of the body of Christ. And God reveals His will through the
Holy Spirit. In Acts 16 there is a wonderful example in the life of
Paul of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 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. (Acts 16:6-10)
Let's look carefully at this seemingly confusing passage
filled with unfamiliar names and learn some important lessons about
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
First a little bit of geography. Paul was traveling through Asia Minor,
from east to west. And when he reached the sea he needed to make a choice,
should he go south, into the province of Asia or north into Bythinia.
So first he tried to go to Asia, but was forbidden by the Spirit. Then
he tried to go north, but again was prevented by the Spirit. I do not
know in what way the Spirit closed these doors, but when Paul writes
to the Galatians he mentions that the first time he came to them he
was quite sick, and had some trouble with his eye. Maybe this was the
way the Spirit closed the door. I imagine that Paul was frustrated and
confused. It looks like Paul was already on the road to Bithynia when
the Holy Spirit stopped this venture. But despite the discomfort and
inconvenience, Paul has a unique way of viewing these setbacks. He puts
them into a different perspective and calls them the guidance of the
Holy Spirit. One lesson that we need to learn today is that the Holy
Spirit often leads through negative means.
After I graduated from college, Rie and I moved to Japan to work with
Pastor Hirano as missionaries. The plan was to spend three years gaining
experience and then return to the states to go to seminary. However
in the meantime, we planted this church. Tokyo Horizon Chapel started
up in the Hongo location and there was lots of work to do. We also had
our son, Keita and were starting to settle down into the routine. I
loved the church and working with Pastor Hirano and the idea of going
back to the States was getting further and further from my mind. This
is when I started to learn about negative guidance. Because suddenly
things started to happen that made me uncomfortable. Things didn't go
as smoothly as before. Certain relationships became strained. I became
dissatisfied with what I was doing and where the ministry was going.
And so we decided to go back to the States to study at seminary. Which
is what I was supposed to be doing all along. When I look back at it
now I can see that the Lord took me through those difficult things on
purpose to prepare me to go back to the States. Otherwise I would have
continued on here comfortable, but not following the guidance of the
Lord.
I am sure that Paul was probably just as frustrated and discouraged
as I was at that time. He was probably thinking, "What is going
on Lord?" We came from the East, we are at the edge of the land,
we either have to go north or south, what do you want us to do? Swim?"
I think that one reason why the Spirit guides us through negative things
is that we are so limited in our thinking. When we pray, we often ask
God, which way should we go, "North or South?" "Which
is it going to be God, Yes or No?" We give God two choices to pick
from, But God wants to show us something that is totally different.
Remember Peter in Acts 1 drawing lots for the 12th disciple. "God
is it going to be Judas or Matthias?" And God is up there shaking
his head, you see God had chosen someone that the disciples never would
have dreamed; Paul!
We have a promise from God in the book of Romans, "All things work
together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according
to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) When you are frustrated, doors are
closing, things seem to be going against you, trust in this promise
and look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in that situation. Step
back and ask God, are you trying to show me something here that I am
missing?"
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 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. (Acts 16: 9-10)
This is what Paul did in Troas. He stepped back. He stopped
making plans, stopped following this road and that road, stopped trying
to force his plan, and started listening to God. And in the night God
gave Paul a clear vision of what they needed to do. He gave him a vision
for Macedonia. God did not want them to go North, or South, He wanted
them to go somewhere totally new, God was sending them to Europe. And
bless their hearts, they jumped to it. The text says, "Immediately
we sought to go to Macedonia."
There is a misunderstanding in the church about the word "vision"
that I want you to be very clear about. There are many books, teachings,
seminars and classes you can take about how to be a pastor with vision.
They all urge you to have a vision for the church. And what they mean
by "vision" is a goal. Of course they want you to have a goal
that is given by God, but the idea is that the pastor is supposed to
set some goal out in front of the people like the promised land and
lead the people to it. Now if I were to adopt this way of thinking,
of course, I would come before you and say that I have a vision of Tokyo
Horizon Chapel in its own facility, which seats 1,000 and has parking
for 500. But there are some big problems with this kind of vision. First,
our focus becomes that goal. We center on reaching it, we spend our
time talking about it, we pray with this foremost in mind. But this
is idolatry. I hope we never get that excited about a building. My hope
is that we center on Jesus Christ, we spend our time talking about Jesus,
we pray with Jesus foremost on our minds. I don't want us to be led
by a vision, I want us to be led by Jesus.
Another problem is what happens once we reach that goal. Our vision
is done. And I have seen pastors who go through a real crisis of ministry
because now the vision has been reached and they don't know what to
do next. What usually happens is that the vision is simply extended,
the 1,000 seat church becomes a 5,000 seat church. Or they get stuck
in one kind of ministry. And even though the results of that ministry
fade, they continue on because this is the vision that they received.
Imagine with me if Paul would have thought like this. He has received
a clear vision for Macedonia. He knows that God has called him there.
If Paul thought about vision in the way that is taught he never would
have left Macedonia. He would have spent the rest of his ministry right
there in Philippi.
Instead Paul takes the vision for what it is, the leading of God in
a specific instance that is meant to be obeyed immediately, not indefinately.
Paul obeyed the word that he got, and then got ready for the next one.
This is the attitude of our church. We want to obey the word that we
have now and be ready for the next time that the Spirit guides. We don't
want to get stuck in one thing. If I have a vision for us it is simply
this, we are to love as Jesus loves. How this works itself out, is up
to the Holy Spirit. We are eager to hear our love orders for the day.
The best way I know not to miss the guidance of the Spirit is to study
God's Word, so we teach the Word of God. But these are the only goals
we have as a church.
What is God's will for you? Don't expect Him to give you some big overall
vision for your life. Instead look for the daily guidance of the Holy
Spirit, in negative as well as positive ways, and trust in the promises
of God, His love, His grace, His wonderful ability to make all things
work for good.
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