COURSE CORRECTION!
Notes
Transcript
Week 47 (4th Sunday)
This Week’s Theme: When Doing God’s Work Is Interrupted
Word for the Week is Vision: A divine revelation or insight given by God, often concerning His will, purposes, or future events. It may come through dreams, prophecy, or the inner illumination of the Spirit.
Memory verse: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed
Sermon Focus: God may interrupt us to move our ministry in a new direction.
Sermon Passage: Acts 16:4-15
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
6 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.
7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.
8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 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.”
10 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.
11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
TITLE: COURSE CORRECTION
TITLE: COURSE CORRECTION
HAS IT STOPPED
IS IT NOT WORKING ANYMORE
WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM
MAYBE YOU ARE NOT EFFECTIVE
LOOK AT Acts 16:4–5
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
THE UNIFIED MESSAGE STRENGTHEN THE FAITH
AND MORE PEOPLE GOT SAVED AND
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
NOT OUR PLAN BUT GOD’S
LOOK AT ACTS 16:6-8
6 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.
7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.
8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
HAVE YOU BEEN BLOCKED?
I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT STOPPED BY YOURSELF OR SATAN
LIKE DOUBT
Genesis 3:1–5; James 1:6–8
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
• “Has God said…?”
• Doubt kills confidence, boldness, and obedience.
DISCOURAGEMENT - crushing motivation
1 Kings 19:1–4
Elijah was spiritually paralyzed by fear & discouragement.
DISTRACTIONS — turning attention from the mission
Luke 10:38–42
Martha was distracted from what mattered most.
DIVISION - causing strife between believers
Ephesians 4:26–27; James 3:14–16
Division stops ministry efficiency and kills unity.
I AM REFERRING TO WHEN GOD PREVENTS OR STOPS YOUR PROGRESS
THIS MAY BE DONE FOR SEVERAL REASONS
SOMETIMES HE
PREVENTS TO PROTECT
To keep them from danger, harm, or sin.
PREVENT TO PURIFY
To correct motives or attitudes (Jonah, Balaam, David).
PREVENTS TO PREPARE
To mature them before the next assignment.
PREVENT TO POSITION
To place them where His will is (Paul to Macedonia).
REVEAL HIS PLAN
To fulfill His bigger plan or prophecy.
REVEAL HIS PROVIDENCE
To align events with His perfect timing.
REVEAL HIS POWER
To show that the success is from Him alone.
WHEN OUR PLANS ARE DISRUPTED,
IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRUST THAT GOD HAS A BIGGER PURPOSE,
HELPING US TO SEE THAT OUR SETBACKS
CAN BE SETUPS FOR HIS GREATER WORK IN AND THROUGH US.
REMEMBER Proverbs 16:9
9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
— We make our plans, but God determines the path. Disruptions can be divine direction.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
Our plans are always subject to God’s will; interruptions call us to trust His sovereignty.
I. HAVE YOU BEEN SHIFTED?
I. HAVE YOU BEEN SHIFTED?
YOUR THINKING
9 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.”
10 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.
THEY HAD SUCCESS
THEY KNEW THEIR PURPOSE
MAKE DISCIPLES
THEY KNEW THEIR PROCLAMATION
SHARE JESUS AND HIM CRUCIFIED
THEY KNEW THEIR PLACE
IN JERUSALEM, IN JUDEA, IN SAMARIA, IN ALL THE WORLD
THEY WERE GOING TO THE WORLD
NOW, GOD REVEALED HIS PLAN
BE FLEXIBLE
TRUST GOD IS IN CONTROL
TRUST GOD’S GUIDANCE
SEEK GUIDANCE OR DIRECTION FROM GOD
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
“Trust in the LORD… lean not on your own understanding… and He will direct your paths.”
— Trust requires submitting our plans to His guidance.
10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
“Teach me to do Thy will… lead me in the land of uprightness.”
— A prayer of surrender to God’s direction.
BE SENSITIVE TO THE SPIRIT’S LEADING
2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
God led Israel in the wilderness “to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments.”
— God’s tests reveal whether we will follow His plan.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
— God orders our steps; our response is to walk in them.
133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
II. HAVE YOU SUBMITTED?
II. HAVE YOU SUBMITTED?
11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
“If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.”
10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Obedience Leads to Blessing
1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
GOD EXPECTS YOU TO BE OBEDIENT
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
III. HAVE YOU SWITCHED?
III. HAVE YOU SWITCHED?
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
NO SYNAGOGUE
To establish a synagogue in Paul’s day required:
— the most essential requirementTen Jewish men (minyan)
— home, building, courtyard, riverbankA place to assemble
— for reading and instructionA Torah scroll
— ruler of the synagogue, elders, attendantsRecognized leadership
— funding, participation, stabilityCommunity support
These components allowed a synagogue to function as:
A worship center
A teaching center
A community civic center
A place of judgment and discipline
A school for children
IF THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH MEN
If Jews did not have a synagogue in their city, they:
— e.g., riverbank (Acts 16:13)Met at a “place of prayer” (proseuchē)
for prayer, reading, and studyGathered in homes
privately and in family groupsKept the Sabbath
for ritual cleansingUsed natural water sources
for Scripture readingRelied on traveling teachers or literate Jews
for meals and teachingFormed small fellowships (chaburot)
Maintained all Jewish practices in the home
YOU CAN HAVE SUCCESS IN MINISTRY
GOD PROVIDES NEW METHODS
Judges 7:1–7 — Gideon’s 300 Men
God reduces the army so Israel fights with a new method—weakness over strength.
New mode: God’s unconventional strategy leads to victory.
Joshua 6:1–5 — Marching Around Jericho
God gives Joshua a new military strategy—marching and shouting instead of fighting.
New mode: Victory through obedience, not combat.
Exodus 14:13–16 — Parting the Red Sea
God opens a brand new route where no road existed.
New mode: Deliverance not by escape or battle, but by divine intervention.
GOD PROVIDES NEW ASSIGNMENTS
Acts 13:2–3 — Calling of Paul and Barnabas
The Holy Spirit sets them apart for a new ministry beyond Antioch.
New mode: A new missionary movement birthed by the Spirit.
Isaiah 43:18–19
“Behold, I will do a new thing… I will make a way in the wilderness.”
New mode: God creates new opportunities in impossible places.
EVEN IN SUCCESS YOU NEED TO BE SENSITIVE
Opens New Doors for Ministry
1 Corinthians 16:9
Paul says a “great door for effective work” has opened.
New mode: God opens opportunities no man can shut.
DID NOT KNOW IT
