Acts 16
The itinerary for Paul, Silas and Timothy’s journey is remarkably inefficient. How would we respond to such a report if we were to receive it from one of our global missionaries today?
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. (Acts 16:6-7 ESV)
When we stop to look at a map, we discover that these three missionaries travelled 400 miles on foot to the city of Troas without preaching a word on the way! Where is the practicality here? Paul, Silas and Timothy marched through the northern regions of Asia Minor with the strange command not to preach. I can’t help but wonder what they were thinking as they walked past so many people who desperately needed to hear the good news.
2000 years later, you and I have the advantage of hindsight, and we can see that the gospel did in fact reach these regions that Paul and his team passed through. In fact, the Apostle Peter writes his two letters to the healthy and established church in northern Asia Minor. God had plans for Asia, but those plans didn’t immediately include Paul.
Here’s a valuable lesson: God has not called you to do everything.
There is a freedom in that truth! There are needs in your city, in the city next door and in the city on the other side of the world. Where do you even begin? How are we going to change the world?
We find something of a model in today’s text.
First: Do SOMETHING!
The Apostle Paul and his team packed their bags and hit the road. The church that is driven by the Holy Spirit cannot be an inactive church. We serve a God who is actively seeking and saving the lost and in the great commission, He has commanded us to partner in that activity. Engage with His mission for your life.
Second: Listen.
Paul was ready to preach in Asia, but God told him to keep moving. Paul was ready to preach in Bithynia, but again he was told to hold his tongue. Finally, he found himself in Troas and it was there that God finally gave him a clear vision of his mission. As we walk in obedience, God has a way of directing our steps. He sometimes leads us in directions that look nothing like our original plan. But that’s okay, because His plan is the one that we want to follow.
I confess, it is all too easy to justify inaction. It is easy to say: “I don’t yet sense God’s direction, so I am going to sit here and wait like they did at Pentecost.” But, here’s the flaw with that argument: At Pentecost, they were waiting for the Holy Spirit! The promised Helper had not yet come, so they were waiting for Him because that’s what Jesus commanded them to do.
But now, we HAVE the Spirit, so the time for waiting is done! And we have our marching orders from Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20), so there’s little need for deliberation. You have one life to live. What would God have you do with it? With hearts that are ready to listen, for the glory of God, we need to start moving.
Assistant Pastor Levi denBok
Nehemiah 6
The work of God will go forward in the power of God. That is the encouraging news for God’s people as we persist in faithful obedience. Walls that had been mercilessly broken down and remained that way for nearly 100 years were restored in 52 days!
Nehemiah was used of God to see these great walls repaired. He grieved, prayed, planned, fought, encouraged, stood strong, and saw the job through to completion. This does not mean however that faithful obedience will be easy. As hard as the physical work was, the spiritual battle was even more difficult.
As we have been working our way through Nehemiah, there is opposition to the work of God at every turn (see 2:10, 2:19, 4:1-4, 4:7-8, and all of chapter 6). The devil and his agents of darkness continuously wage war against the people and purposes of God.
All previous attempts to discourage the workers and stop the building of the wall had failed. The wall was nearly completed and the final schemes to disrupt this work unfold in chapter 6.
Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it … (Nehemiah 6:1 ESV)
Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, having tried other tactics, were enraged that they’d been unsuccessful and now plotted to lure Nehemiah outside the city (6:1-9) or to the temple (6:10-14) to murder him. They were persistent in their invitations to meet. Nehemiah refused to take the bait.
Satan uses repeats temptation to chip away at our resolve and divert us from a steadfast heart. We see this tactic at work in the life of Joseph (Genesis 39:10) and the Lord Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11).
Next, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem spread slanderous rumours against Nehemiah saying he was attempting a political coup against the Persian King (6:5-7).
The attack against Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall was multifaceted. They attacked directly and indirectly, from the outside and from within (e.g. Shemaiah’s deception in vv. 10-13). They had sources on the “inside” that were in covenant with the enemy (6:17-19).
In all their attempts, Nehemiah was fighting psychological warfare. They wanted to “frighten” and intimidate him to stop him (see 6:13, 14, 19).
We are reminded that there is an enemy of our soul who prowls about seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). Satan seeks to attack leaders by discouragement, credibility breaches, or pride, in order to “strike the shepherd” and scatter the sheep.
What can we take away from this chapter in our own warfare against evil?
Keep working: Don’t quit. Remain resolute in what God has called you to do (6:3).
Keep praying: Face every opposition with prayer (6:9, 14).
Keeping trusting: Don’t give in to fear. Wait and see how God will work (6:16).
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:15-16 ESV)
The plots of the evildoers will come back on their own heads. As God works, they will be in awe of his power and we will rejoice in the victory that is ours in Christ.
Associate Pastor Jody Cross