The Leading of the Holy Spirit
Acts 16:1-15
16 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. 5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them. 11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us. The Lord opened her heart to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
We are back in the book of Acts this Sunday, and Lord willing we will be here for a number of weeks. If you haven’t been with us up to now, we’ve really been considering the New Testament chronologically from the time I began as pastor of Parkview, over 17 years ago. I preached through the first gospel, Matthew, and then I preached through the unique passages of Scripture in the remaining 3 gospels. The we started the book of Acts, and we’ve been studying it chronologically. When we get to a part in Acts where we know that one of the New Testament books was written, we jump to the study of that book. So we’ve already studied the epistles of James and Galatians. Now we are back to the book of Acts, to pick up the story of the early church.
This passage I entitled “The Leading of the Spirit,” really because of verses
6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.
This passage gives us a unique look into the decision making processes for Paul’s missionary band. And it shows you that God’s Spirit was very active in directing these men in their enterprise.
The book of Acts is often titled “the Acts of the Apostles.” It is about what the 12 apostles did carrying the gospel to the world. But it really ought to be entitled “the Acts of the Holy Spirit,” because it is a record of what the Holy Spirit did through the Apostles in the early years of the church.
And that really says something about our Christian lives as well. We can and should lead lives directed by the Holy Spirit. We are quick to acknowledge that we need God’s work, His Spirit to save us. We often say, as Christians, “We’re not perfect, just forgiven.” What we are saying when we say that is, that being a Christian is not defined by what we have done, but what Jesus did for us, by dying on the cross to cover our sin. That’s how we became a Christian, by believing in Christ’s work for us. By the same token, “how do we live as Christians?” We live, not by our own work, but by surrendering to the work of God’s Spirit in us.
But what is the leading of the Spirit? We talk about it, but what is it? For example, let’s take Sunday morning worship service. Sometimes I’ve pointed out, and Ron has pointed out how the songs he chose, and my sermon, went right along with each other. And we’ll say, that was God’s Spirit at work. But here’s a little secret, I preach sermon series, and sometimes Ron might read ahead, see what I will be preaching, and choose hymns accordingly. But is that any less the leading of the Spirit? No. I’ve preached through books of the Bible, and had people come up to me after church and say, that’s exactly what I needed today. Was it less the leading of the Spirit because it was planned? No
Today we will look at verses 1 through 15. What is the leading of the Spirit? 3 points; 1. The Spirit leads by Scripture. 2. The Spirit leads by our following the law of love. 3. The Spirit leads by both planning and circumstance. 4. The Spirit leads those who humbly listen for His voice.
Prayer
I. The Spirit leads by Scripture.
He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
This is an interesting episode in the missionary work of Paul. Let me set it up.
What was it that initially Paul and Silas were doing? Not only their normal missionary journey.
4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. 5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Well you might remember what happened in chapter 15.
All the apostles and elders of the church had gathered in Jerusalem to settle once and for all the question of Gentile salvation. Do the Gentiles have to become Jews, (be circumcised and follow Jewish religious laws) in order to be saved? And the answer was “no.” They sent letters out to the Gentile churches saying this;
“The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings. 24 Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law,’ to whom we gave no commandment; 25 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell.”
Now we’re not going to rehash chapter 15, the Jerusalem council. But if you go back and review it, you’ll find that the final argument that won the day for Gentile conversion without becoming Jews was found in the Scripture.
15 This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,
16 ‘After these things I will return.
I will again build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen.
I will again build its ruins.
I will set it up 17 that the rest of men may seek
after the Lord;
all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who does all these things.’Amos 9:11-12
You will notice that in the Jerusalem Council, they didn’t stop the meeting to ask for God to tell them whether Gentiles should be allowed in the church without becoming Jews. “Dear Lord, we are going to cast lots. If we get the white marble they’re in, if the black marble they’re out.”
Why didn’t they do that? Because God had already told them His mind on the matter, repeatedly. So, the first short point I want o make is that being led by the Spirit is to be led by the Word of God.
Too many people who purport to be Christians are waiting for the answer to questions that God has already answered. Just like last week, the role of government. What should we ask of our government. I don’t need a prayer meeting to decide that, it’s already described in the Word. I don’t need a fresh word from God about the definition of marriage.
II. The Spirit leads by the law of love.
He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
So now, Paul has left Jerusalem and is traveling with Silas, came to the cities of Derbe and Lystra. But look what happens…
and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek. (He was the product of a Jewish and Gentile marriage.) 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. (He had apparently become a Christian. And he established the reputation as one who was devoted, and an up and coming leader in the church. So much so that…) 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, (On his missionary journeys to new cities) and he took and circumcised him
(Hold on a minute, he took and circumcised him! Why? Well despite the fact that his mother was Jewish, apparently his Greek father did not allow him to be circumcised when he was born. So he became a Christian, pretty much outside of the Jewish community. He would not have been accepted as a Jew. So why would Paul circumcise him now? If it’s not necessary to save you, and Paul has been the chief one preaching that you should not be circumcised
I read this, and my first thought is, what are you doing Paul? Why are you circumcising this young man? Well, we’re going to get to the specifics in a moment, but notice that we have no indication that Paul inquired of God on the matter, he just did it.
But we know from later verses that Paul is a Spirit led man, so why is he doing what appears to be a compromise with legalism? I think he did it without inquiry of the Spirit because first, he knew the Word of God. He was steeped in Scripture. And though he knew that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised to be saved, they were not under the Mosaic law, but now they live by the law of love.
“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor Leviticus 19:18 and hate your enemy.’
Paul understood that he was taking the gospel out first to the Jews. He loved them.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh
Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble
So why did Paul do this? Because, though he knew Timothy didn’t need circumcision in order to be saved, he knew that Timothy would be ineffective as a missionary to Jewish people without being circumcised.
Because everywhere that Paul went to preach the gospel, the first place he went was to the Jews, in the synagogue. And everybody is segregated in the synagogue. Gentiles are separated from Jews. Woman were separated from men. When Paul visited Jerusalem, he would go to the temple. In the temple complex, Jews were separated from Gentiles. So, if Timothy was going to accompany Paul, and try to first reach the Jews with a message about Jesus, he had to be completely Jewish, or the Jews would have rejected the message on it’s face.
It tells us that reason in the verses that follow.
because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
By circumcising Timothy, Paul was removing all unnecessary barriers to Jews hearing him preach the gospel.
It sometimes amazes me what people will do, disguised as spirituality. They ignore Scripture, follow whatever preacher who gave them goosepimples. They are quick to follow goosepimples. But they are slow to follow actions of love. We are going to take a collection, or we need volunteers to do this act of service. “Let me pray about it.”
If you are presented with an opportunity to show love, you don’t need to pray about it. Paul didn’t need to pray about circumcising Timothy, it was out of love.
III. The Spirit leads by planning and circumstance.
6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them. 11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
This is a fascinating chronology of events in the ministry of Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
They head out on a missionary journey. So how did they know which way to go? We know that Paul had a plan. He planned to go to the Jews first, to the synagogues, and he wanted to take the gospel where Christ had not been named. And there’s nothing wrong with planning. Look at what they did. They headed west from Galatia. They’d already taken the gospel to that region, They’d already been east, South was the sea. So let’s head west.
6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
If you follow this on the map, you’ll see these major territories of Phrygia and Asia, that are to the west. But they were forbidden to go there. Asia is a great territory for Christianity. John’s vision in the book of Revelation was sent to 7 churches; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicia. So the gospel did end up there, but it wasn’t in God’s timetable right then.
So here we have two forces working on Paul’s missionary group. The first is Paul’s drive to take the gospel to new places, the second is the Holy Spirit, preventing them from going to certain places.
7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them.
If you follow this on a map, you’ll find them skirting the edge of these forbidden countries until the get to the westernmost coast of the region.
They keep heading west, but the Spirit didn’t allow them to go to these regions.
Again, “How did they know that the Spirit didn’t allow them?”
Now, we don’t know for sure, but I think that circumstances may have played a role. Maybe they met some hostility, maybe the governing authorities prevented them.
Of course it’s also possible that God spoke by His Spirit.
Did they get a vision saying, “Don’t go!” If I were to guess, I would say that maybe God spoke to them, all of them, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, separately, and gave them a feeling, or even a precise word that they weren’t to go to these places. Or maybe they got a feeling not to go, but tried anyway, and then something happened to prevent them from going. The car kept breaking down on the road to Bithynia. So, they got a very strong impression that God didn’t want them in those places.
Now this is just a few short phrases in the middle of this narrative, but I think they are very important, because they tell us about the circle of influence that these men lived in. They literally walked by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
But they were listening. They watched their Circumstances, they studied the Word, they made plans.
They were going out on these long journeys with the intent to share the story of Jesus with Jews and Gentiles across the Roman world, but they knew something that all of us should know; my thoughts are not God’s thoughts, my ways are not God’s ways. Just because I think it, or I plan it, just because some plan I conceived of gives me goosebumps, doesn’t mean that it is from God. So, I am always seeking God’s directions.
I’ve met some Christians who’ve said to me, “God told me…” Can I be real with you? I’ve never gotten any direct message from God like that. There have been times that I became convinced that God was leading in a specific direction because of circumstances, impressions, coincidences. But I am usually not totally sure of God’s direction until after a decision is made. And I think that is God’s plan. We are to live life, totally dependent on Him. So He hands out directions a little bit at a time. We are to constantly seek Him, and to do so with humility, knowing that our plans may crash and burn. And this kind of guidance by the Spirit continued with these three men.
8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
They head north and west until the hit the city of Troas. Where do they go now, there’s water to the west.
IV. The Spirit leads those who humbly listen.
9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.
Now, is this a validation of the idea that God speaks through our dreams? Yes and no. Yes, God can speak to us any way He chooses. But no, you shouldn’t try to find meaning in every dream that you have. My dreams often say more about what I ate last night than they do about the will of God. Sometimes Denise will tell me one of her scary dreams, and then say, “What does that mean?” I say, “It means that you are afraid.”
The Spirit can lead by a dream, but be cautious about the content of your dreams. Consider Scripture, the law of love,
The story continues…
11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
Now this is exciting. Paul and his party make plans, follow circumstance, read the Word, follow the law of love, and where does it take them? We will find out next week, Over 1000 miles, through places where they couldn’t minister, to Philippi, to meet one Gentile woman named Lydia who would believe the gospel. Kind of reminds me of Jesus going to Samaria to share the gospel with the woman at the well.
This is the gospel’s first entrance to the western world. Macedonia, Greece.