Have you ever had God say "NO" to you when you were wanting to do something that seemed like a good idea? That is precisely the experience Paul and his companions had when wanting to take the gospel into Asia.Acts 16
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus; would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
It is obvious that Paul was passionate about getting the Gospel to Asia. He had rounded up the missions team to help him accomplish the task and at the boarder of their destination God said NO. What would have happened if they would have went when God said NO? They might have seen no fruit, they might have been martyered, or they might have seen such a great revival that they decided to hang out a while and keep them from establishing churches and preaching the gospel in other countries.
We will never know the answer to that question but what we do know is that Paul saw an incredible work done in Macedonia and he could sleep at night knowing that he obeyed the voice of God and the cry of the Macedonians to "come help us"!
What kind of outreach do you feel most passionate about?
Have you ever had God say “NO” to you about something you wanted to do, that you might focus your attention on something that He wanted you to do?
How did it initially make you feel? If you obeyed what perspective did you find on the other side of obedience?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Jason Whitehurst
Lead Pastor
Lead Pastor
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3 comments:
Great word! Very encouraging!
I know of times God has said "No." In regards to the jobs I've held, in hindsight, I know there was good reason for my placement in the positions I've held as opposed to positions I wanted and applied for.
My question is: would we know much about this period of time and the history of the early church if it were not for Paul being prevented from entering Asia and diverted to Troas? I noticed in Acts 16:10, Luke begins to refer to himself in the first person. He takes on an eye-witness approach to the narrative. I browsed to a short commentary and found that most believe Luke joined the missionary team in Troas. Perhaps God simply diverted them to Troas where Luke could join them (8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas) so that Luke could write Acts. So of course, Luke then puts the spotlight on another, the man from Macedonia:
-Wesley's Notes-
16:10 We sought to go into Macedonia - This is the first place in which St. Luke intimates his attendance on the apostle. And here he does it only in an oblique manner. Nor does he throughout the history once mention his own name, or any one thing which he did or said for the service of Christianity; though Paul speaks of him in the most honorable terms, Col 4:14; 2Tim 4:11; and probably as the brother whose praise in the Gospel went through all the Churches, 2Cor 8:18. The same remark may be made on the rest of the sacred historians, who every one of them show the like amiable modesty.
God's ways are not our own and His plan is always the best! No matter how much we suffer or grumble He knows it's for the best...but I believe He understands how are emotions work and has compassion for us during our struggle to obey (which, or course, still doesn't mean He'll compromise his plans).
Great thoughts and insight Kirk. It would be interesting to know what would have happened if Paul would have went on to Asia.
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