Acts 16:6-15

Introduction:

If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Acts chapter 16.

Islam

In the 7th century a man went into a cave all by himself where he claims to have received a vision from an angel who gave him divine revelation.

His name was Muhammad, and with the testimony of his own vision he began to convince others that he was God’s prophet and that Allah is the true God.

Mormonism

In the year 1820 a man named Joseph Smith, all by himself, claimed to have experienced what he called a vision where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and instructed him not to join any existing Christian churches because they had strayed from true doctrine.

In 1823, he claimed that an angel led him to a new divine book called the Book of Mormon. The heresy of Mormonism has now been leading thousands of people into a false religion for two centuries.

Prosperity

Today very near to us, there is a preacher you may have heard of who claims that God appeared to him

and told him that he should raise money to purchase a new 50 million dollar private jet.

NOT All Dreams, Visions, and Spiritual Experiences are from God.

The Bible often warns us of false prophets.

The Bible commands us to test the Spirits,

That does not mean, however, that all things spiritual are from evil spiritss

There is an eternal HOLY SPIRIT whom Jesus has given us to guide us and empower us for his mission

The book of Acts could rightly be entitled the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it is the Spirit of God who directs, empowers, and accomplishes the mission of God from beginning to end.

His workings are very different then those examples I just gave.

As early as verse 2, we are introduced to the power of Jesus’ work being carried out through the Holy Spirit of God.

Acts 1:2 ESV

2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

After three years of public miracles, signs, wonders, and teachings, before thousands of people, Jesus died and rose again on the third day. (very different story than that of a man who went into a cave and claimed to receive a personal revelation)

That Jesus gave commands to his apostles who would continue to spread his word.

but even in the giving of those commands

and the receiving of those commands

the activity itself was empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.

It was the Holy Spirit who would empower the ministry of these scared, weak, impoverished apostles.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

As the story continues,

characters come and go,

but the work of the Spirit continues.

The Spirit fills Paul with visual manifestation of fire hovering over his head for the first sermon preached and 3,000 people are saved from sin.

The Spirit was gifted to the whole church.

Acts 2:38 ESV

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit empowered the church to preach boldly even when persecution came.

Acts 4:31 ESV

31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

In Acts 7, The Spirit emboldened Stephen’s witness so that he preached clearly even in the face of martyrdom.

The Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas for the first missionary Journey.

Acts 13:2 ESV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 13:4 ESV

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

And now in chapter 16…, once again… we see the Holy Spirit of God at work.

Lets read and pray for understanding

Acts 16:6–15 ESV

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 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.” 10 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. 11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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.

Lets Pray

In verse 6, The apostle Paul is seeking to fulfill the mission of God.

He has had a special call of God on his life from the moment he saw the resurrected Jesus face to face.

God says this about Paul in Acts 9:15.

Acts 9:15 ESV

….he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Paul has been commissioned by the Antioch church to take the gospel to the nations.

And here in verse 6, Paul is attempting to do that.

He is attempting to speak the word in Asia.

This likely means that Paul wanted to leave Lystra and head west toward the metropolitan cities of Colossae and Ephesus.

They are the closest metropolitan cities to Paul and If these cities could have churches where the gospel was preached, they could reach a lot of people traveling through them.

Its a smart move for Paul to go to Ephesus.

But as he attempts to go…. The Holy Spirit stops him.

Acts 16:6 ESV

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

We are told that the Spirit forbid Paul from pursuing that plan.

We are not told what this forbidding looked like.

It may have been circumstantial.

Perhaps travel west became difficult for a logistical reason unknown to us.

Or it may have been a kind of spiritual intuition or unrest.

Perhaps the Spirit impressed upon his heart and mind or perhaps the hearts and minds of his co-laborers that this was the wrong direction.

We don’t know…

All we know is that the Spirit closed the door on Paul’s plans.

so Paul pivoted.

He looked at the opportunities before him and he decided it would be a good idea to go into Bithynia.

Asia would have been a westward direction.

Bithynia was in the Northeastwardly direction.

Here, Paul could have started missionary outposts in several coastal cities of influence like Nicea and Chalcedon.

This would have been a fine plan.

Those people needed Jesus, God would have been glorified, and churches could have been planted.

but again…. God’s Spirit closes the door.

Acts 16:7 ESV

7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Note Luke’s reference to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus.

This is Jesus’ doing.

God is Trinity.

He is truly God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, three persons in one God, distinct in function but united in essence and mission.

The fullness of God is united in his activity to carry out his mission.

Jesus is stopping Paul in his tracks even though his plans seemed good and right…,

So again…, Paul has to pivot

Notice that the Spirit is not giving Paul the full picture here.

He is not making clear where Paul should go, only where he should not go.

The Spirit is only revealing enough along the way to guide Paul’s very next steps.

The Spirit is not mapping out the whole route for Paul, only guiding the next turn.

With the westward path closed and the Northeastern path closed…,

he shoots the gap between the two paths and heads North westward around the coast to a city called Troas.

And this time, the Spirit does not close a door.

He actually blows a door wide open.

Acts 16:8–10 ESV

8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 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.” 10 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.

While there seems to be nothing remarkable or at least notable about the first two ways in which the Spirit stopped Paul…

This time, Luke records what the Spirit does.

To confirm to Paul that this is in fact the right direction, the Spirit guides him through a dream in the night.

Paul sees a vision of a man pleading for help from an area just across the sea from the port city of Troas.

Paul reports the vision to his co-laborers, and they confirm that this must be the Lord’s will.

Acts 16:10 ESV

10 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.

That word “concluding” could be translated advise, bring together, guide, or instruct.

The point is that Paul’s co-laborers examined Paul’s dream together and concluded together that this vision was in fact from God.

so they packed up, found a ship to hitch a ride with, and headed to Macedonia.

Now what in the world are we supposed to learn from all this?

Well here is the big idea.

Truth #1 God’s Spirit Guides as We Pursue the Mission

Paul is actively trying to obey the Lord at every turn.

His goal is to fulfill the great commission as articulated in Acts 1:8… and as he pursues that goal he is guided by the Spirit.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

One of the issues with how modern American Christians often pursue the Spirit is that we pursue the Spirit’s guidance and empowerment…,

when we ourselves are not pursuing what is the ultimate goal of the Spirit.

The Spirit empowers for the sake of the mission, not for the sake of our own experience or lifestyle.

If your not pursuing the mission, but rather you are pursuing some experience with the Spirit, or asking the Spirit to do something in your life contrary to the Spirit’s purpose…, you will be sorely disappointed.

Paul was pursuing the mission in a way that put him in a totally dependent position.

He pursued the clearly revealed mission of God, and he trusted that the Spirit would be the bumper guards on the path making sure he didn’t fall into the gutter.

And thats exactly what the Spirit was doing.

The Spirit Guides Through Closed Doors and Open Doors

Be encouraged Christian… Closed doors are often God’s gift of grace to his people who want to fulfill his mission.

You may not understand why the door is closed…,

but I would much rather have God slam a door in my face,

then allow me to walk into a door I never should have opened.

When we are pursuing him and his glory most ultimately,

we can be confident that the right doors will open

and the wrong doors will close.

But the Spirit was guiding Paul by more than just closed and open doors.

The Spirit Guides Through Personal Spiritual Experience

This didn’t happen every day in Paul’s life.

This wasn’t a common experience recorded at every turn for Paul.

But God did speak in a dream much like he spoke through dreams at only a few pivotal moments in the New Testament:

In a dream, God spoke to Joseph about the miracle baby in Mary’s womb.

In a dream, God warned the wise men not to return to Herod after discovering baby Jesus.

In a dream, God warned Joseph to flee to Egypt when Herod began killing babies in the region.

In a day dream, or a vision, God showed Peter that he was including Gentiles in the mission and he directed Peter to share the gospel with the Roman Centurion Cornelius.

and here in Acts 16, God spoke to Paul in a dream or vision to direct his path across the sea on to European soil for the first time.

It is a rare thing in the New Testament for God to direct in this way, but there is no Biblical indication that God can’t do this again today if he chooses.

We should always be a people who are open to the supernatural prompting and leading of God’s Spirit as we pursue his mission…,

but we should always be a people who test what we see with the affirmation of the Bible and with the affirmation of those around us.

Paul’s dream led him in a way that was consistent with what God had already commissioned him to do.

The dream was simply guiding Paul to do what the Scriptures and the Resurrected Jesus had already commissioned him to do.

Secondly, Paul’s vision was immediately affirmed by his co-laborers.

The Spirit Guides Through Communal Affirmation

They concluded with him that this was from God.

That is always important when discerning dreams or spiritual experiences.

2 Corinthians seems to suggest that some people in the church will be uniquely gifted to discern the guiding of the Spirit in ways that serve the whole church.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 ESV

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

The Spirit was given to empower the mission but the Spirit always operates in the context of Christian community.

The Spirit builds up Christian community,

brings unity to christian community,

and the Spirit’s guidance is discerned with the help of other Spirit-filled people in Christian community.

So the Spirit guides the church.

He guides through open and closed doors.

He guides through personal spiritual experiences

And he guides through communal affirmation

And all of that of course fits within the guard rails of God’s word.

The spirit never guides in a way that is contrary to the Spirit inspired Scriptures.

So whats the big idea?

Truth #1 God’s Spirit Guides as We Pursue God’s Mission

Its not always in a dream, but this time it was, and the fruit from Paul’s faithfulness to follow God in this becomes huge for the global mission of God.

Lets look at what the Spirit was guiding Paul to.

Acts 16:11–13 ESV

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 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. 13 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.

Let me pause here.

Notice, once again, that the Spirit did not give Paul any more particulars other than that he should sail to Macedonia.

Paul is having to walk by faith here.

And he has to do what he already knows he is supposed to be doing.

He uses his intellect,

and his ambition,

and his own strategy to get to work once he lands in Macedonia.

He makes his way to the metropolitan city of Philippi, the leading city of the district.

Why? likely because it was just sensible.

It was a populace and a powerful city in the region.

If your going to reach Macedonia, lets go to the city through which all the people are funneled in Macedonia.

Then after some days in the city with apparently little progress.., he goes outside the gate to the riverside on the Sabbath where he had discovered a place of prayer - a place where God-fearing people gathered to pray.

It was a very reasonable starting place to share the gospel of Jesus Christ -

a place where people were coming to pray to God,

but who had never heard of Jesus’ life, and death, and resurrection.

We are not told that Paul received a vision for any of these decisions.

He’s using the intellect God gave him

and watched for the opportunities made available to him

He pursues those opportunities and shares the gospel.

And as he does… something beautiful happens.

Acts 16:14 ESV

14 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.

Who planned the visit by the river? Paul did.

Who proclaimed the words of the gospel? Paul did.

Who opened someone’s heart to pay attention to what Paul said?

God did.

Our second and final truth is this:

Truth #2 God’s Spirit Accomplishes Salvation as We Share the Gospel

This truth should do several things for you: it should humble you, embolden you, and relieve you.

It should humble you because this is in fact how salvation works.

God graciously opens hearts to pay attention to his word.

If you are a Christian today, it is because God graciously opened your blind eyes and breathed spiritual life into your dead heart.

If you have faith, it is because God graciously gave you faith.

If you are a Christian, it is not because you are smarter, wiser, or morally superior to non-believers.

It is because God graciously saved you.

What a humbling wonder, that I would have gone on rejecting God forever if he had not shown me his grace through Jesus.

secondly, this should embolden you when you share the good news of Jesus.

its God who empowers your words to accomplish his purposes.

We don’t make the word’s powerful.

We only say them.

We only explain what Jesus has done for sinners.

And God works the miracle of salvation in who he pleases.

He opens the eyes of the blind,

He brings the spiritually dead to life.

He gives faith to the faithless according to his will.

Jesus himself describes the miracle of salvation in terms of spiritual regeneration.

John 3:5–8 ESV

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Salvation is more than forgiveness.

Its more than a person just deciding to try to be a better person.

When you see your sin for what it is, and you realize what God did you free you from sin’s penalty and power….

When you trust Jesus, everything changes.

Salvation is like being born a second time.

Its a spiritual re-birth.

The person who puts their faith in Jesus becomes a new person.

The Spirit opens their heart to the word and he makes them new.

Jesus says the Spirit’s work is like the work of the Wind.

You can’t see the wind and you cannot control the wind…,

but you can see the effects of the wind when it blows through the trees.

Christian, you cannot see the Spirit, nor can you control the Spirit…,

but you can see the effects of the Spirit when he blows through someone’s life and opens their eyes to the truth of Jesus.

Lydia heard the message that she was a sinner,

that she deserved hell, but that God loved her so much, he sent

Jesus to die the sinner’s death

and to rise again and accomplish forgiveness,

and that all she had to do was trust God’s way of salvation through Jesus.

and upon hearing this, Lydia’s heart was opened to the message.

She became the first Christian convert on European soil.

She was baptized.

Her whole household came to faith after her and was baptized.

And a church was born in your home.

The wind of the Spirit of God began to blow through the city of Philippi…,

and the church of Philippi would go on to be one of the strongest supporting churches for Paul’s mission to Rome and beyond.

If it wasn’t for this moment of divine grace,

made possible by canceled plans, and a dream,

we would not have the book of Philippians with all its precious instruction for the church today.

God had been closing doors,

opening doors,

sending visions,

and now accomplishing salvation all so that he might accomplish so much more than Paul could imagine.

Two Truths for this morning:

God’s Spirit Guides as We Pursue the Mission

God’s Spirit Accomplishes Salvation as We Share the Gospel

So what do we do with these theological truths?

Let me leave you with three takeaways:

Takeaways:

#1 Run After the Mission

The Spirit’s Power is inseparable from our dependence on God in pursuit of God’s mission to share the word to those who don’t know it.

#2 Be Sensitive to the Spirit

By sensitive I mean watching for his guidance,

and open to his leadership to change your mind and change your direction.

I have heard it said, if you want to tell God a joke, tell him your plans.

Part of being sensitive to the Spirit is being truly open to Jesus being the Lord of your life wherever that leads.

#3 Trust God with the Results

There is a rest that comes with not being in charge.

a peace that comes with not needing to be in control.

We know the basics of our assignment.

Speak the word and trust God to open hearts.

Take one step at a time as the Spirit guides us.

Conclusion:

At the beginning of this sermon, I gave several bad examples of false teachers and prophets claiming to respond to a spiritual experience.

Each of them got alone,

claimed to have a spiritual experience,

and contradicted God’s written word.

but I want to end with a real modern example of someone who believes God directed them through a dream.

Listen to the story of Steve Fuller who writes about how the Lord led him and his wife to pastor an English Speaking International Church in the United Arab Emirates:

He writes:

This started with a dream — literally, while I was sleeping. I saw myself being sent out from our existing church to some other undisclosed ministry. So, I started praying about this dream, and shared it with my wife and the other leaders of our church, so that they could pray as well.

A few weeks later, I was walking by a creek, crying out to God for wisdom. I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s nearness. I believe he impressed on my heart that day that this dream was from him. That he was, in fact, calling us to be sent out from our church. I felt both joy in God’s guidance, and sadness at the thought of leaving our church. But I still did not know where God might be calling us to go.

Then one Sunday afternoon, during a membership class at our church, someone asked, “If it’s true that lost people will not be saved without hearing the gospel, shouldn’t that change our priorities?” I knew the answer was yes. But this time, as I answered the familiar question, my heart was gripped with a stronger-than-usual burden for the unreached.

I could not shake that thought. So, I emailed missions leaders, to ask about international churches, and to get feedback as to whether my wife and I would be a good fit. The feedback was positive, so I sent out resumes and started interviewing with international churches in the Middle East who needed pastors.

Then the Abu Dhabi leaders emailed. They said that after much prayer they believed God wanted them to call me to lead their church. They wanted us to pray about this, and if we agreed, to come and visit.

So my wife and I started praying. To think through the options, I made a chart listing each potential location down the left side of the page, and the various factors across the top. When I came to “kingdom impact” in Abu Dhabi, and typed “planting a church in the Middle East,” my heart changed. I was overwhelmed with the glory that could come to Christ through such a church plant. My hesitation about church planting left. I knew this was God’s call.

At the same time, in other ways, God did the same for my wife. And as we talked with our church leaders, and other trusted counselors, everyone agreed.

The Sunday before we visited Abu Dhabi, I shared with our church how God was leading us. At the end of the service, everyone gathered to pray for us. But before anyone prayed, a woman said that God had given her a dream the night before. Through tears, she said she did not want to share this dream, because she knew what it meant. But she said that in the dream, my wife and I were planting a seedling in the desert, which was growing and flourishing.

This encouraged us, but also the whole church, that God was, in fact, calling us to Abu Dhabi.

We are not all called to the Middle East. But we are all called to ask God for guidance, and to be open to whatever guidance he chooses to give 

That my friends is what it loos like for the Spirit to guide, direct, and empower his people for the sake of God’s mission.

The guidance from the Spirit was confirmed by his wife, by his church here in the states, and by the church in Abu Dabi. It coincided with God’s mission and didn’t contradict God’s Word.

We want to be the kind of people:

Who pursue the mission being sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and trusting of God with the results.

Lets pray to that end.