Come over to Macedonia

Come over to Macedonia

, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak a 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. So, passing Mysia, they went down to Troas. 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” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak a 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. So, passing Mysia, they went down to Troas. 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” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

There is a sound which each of us have heard before a haunting and helpless sound that is is able to sweep away hope and bring in hurtful tones of destiny denied. It is the sound of when God closes a door. When God closes a door, there is no explanation, which is forthcoming, there’s no reason offered, or rational given. When God closes a door there is only silence and salient understanding of what must always be understood, which is God knows what He is doing even when I do not.

This is a sound that is impossible for us to get used to it often comes abruptly and always happens surprisingly; it’s not audible but it is one of the most egregious sounds any of us have ever heard. We all can name specific places and times in our lives when we heard that slam; the slam I’m referring too is the sound that occurs when God closes a door. Many times when a door is closed in our lives or ministries; the thing that makes it so difficult is that we usually misinterpret that sound because it often comes on the heels of strong commitment to obedience in following God’s will. It comes when we have been filled with the spirit; it comes when everything seems to be moving along as plan. I comes at a time when are enjoying a season of prayer; it comes at a time often followed by hard work diligent efforts, and then it just happens the door is closed. What makes this action even more difficult is following the closing of the door there is silence, a deafening silence from God, when we believe we need to here from Him the most. But in times like these we are humbly reminded that God is the Potter and we are the clay that God is the Master and we are His servants. When doors close in your life or your ministry this is when you need good theology to help you deal with the despair. This is where we need to know that God is Sovereign, I said God is sovereign, we must all come to the place where Nebuchadnezzar realizes that God is sovereign. , “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

This morning in we find a classic example or doors closing in the ministry of Paul, Silas, and Timothy; yet these closing doors are leading to an even greater and better open-door.

God very rarely gives reasons for what He does yet there are always results because of what He has done.

When God closes a door or many doors, you must know God is going to open up other doors. God only closed them because He deems it necessary for the purpose of your calling. There are some doors we should thank the Lord He closed! There are some doors that He closed, and we don’t know why until much later, and there are some we will never know why He closed them, but we are to be thankful because He kept us from something that was not for us.

Let us pray…

Come over to Macedonia, not Asia.

The text tells us in verse 6, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” When we were last together, Paul and Silas had added Timothy to their missionary trip, Paul had him circumcised because the Jews knew that his father as a Greek. Paul also delivered to the churches the message from the council ruling at Jerusalem that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised to become Christians. Also that if the Jews wanted to practice that in the own culture that was fine as long as they understood, circumcision had nothing to do with salvation. So, Paul, Silas, and Timothy continued on their missionary journey and the churches were being strengthened and their membership multiplied. And here it comes, wait for it the sound of the closing of a door as they move into a different region to bring the gospel.

This must have been a great disappointment for them all, just when The Holy Spirit was changing the cradle of society a door closes. Up to this time Asia has been the cradle of civilization, but not anymore it was about to give way to Europe. Europe was soon to become the center of Christianity. Therefore, the great call of God was to evangelize to this new region. In this section, we see three doors closing and greater door opening.

After visiting the churches he had founded, Paul tried to enter new territory for the Lord by traveling east into Asia Minor but God the Holy Spirit closed the door.

Closing doors can be disappointing.

After visiting the churches he had founded, Paul tried to enter new territory for the Lord by traveling east into Asia Minor, this seemed as the only next logical move, but God closed the door. We know that God thoughts are not out thoughts and His ways not our way. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher that our thoughts; God’s next move in our life might not seemed logical but it is never illogical.

We don’t know how God revealed His will to Paul in this matter, but we can imagine that Paul was disappointed and perhaps a bit discouraged. Why? Because everything had been going so smoothly on this second journey, even with the disagreement with him and Barnabas had passed, the partnership with Silas was going well, and God just given him a spiritual son in Timothy. So to have this door of evangelism closed right in front of his face must have come as a great surprise.

But always remember hope deferred is not hope denied.

, “ Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

It must have been disappointing for the Holy Spirit to close this door, but Paul, Silas, and Timothy had to trust God, even in the midst of disappointment, disillusion, despair, and sometime even delay.

Have you had doors closed in your life and in your ministry by a Holy God?

Can we not all say with great assurance that if God closes one door, He will open another one?

Can we not all agree that, ‘All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.’

Because we know and trust this to be sure, what should our response be in the midst of doors closing?

Again, Proverbs holds the answer, , “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

We know that Phrygia and Galatia as these other regions were dark spiritually and they needed the gospel desperately, and at the same time we read that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were forbidden by the Holy Spirit just speak the word in Asia, in spite of the need God closed the door. Something I have learned in over 25 years of ministry is that a need does not necessitate or does not demand a call. Just because there is a need does not mean you are called to meet that need. Every where you go there will be needs, there were needs in Phrygia and Galatia but the Holy Spirit chose to meet those needs through someone else. So God closed the door, without a word of explanation. So what did they do pastor, they just press right on in to another mission field. And if we are not careful it is easy for to press right on into the next verse and it forget what it must’ve felt like to have that door closed. Their desire was to share the gospel, to teach and preach the good news, to lift up every bowed down head, under the burden of their sins. But they had to remember that they we are the potter and God is the clay, no, it is God who is the potter and they are the clay and if God had yet another purpose for them they should gladly follow Him. It is God who initiates and we are only responders who carried out His will.

Come over to Macedonia, not Bithynia or Mysia.

Next the text tells us that Paul followed the command of the Holy Spirit and went another way. , “And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”

Sometimes delay is not denial.

However, challenging this time must have for Paul, Silas, and Timothy it is good to know that they followed God’s will for their ministries even when that did not clearly understand what God was doing.

As Christians we are commanded to follow God’s will at all times and in all circumstances. It is not that you understand and agree with God’s commands; it is that you hear and obey God’s commands.

Here the text tells us that the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to teach there, but told them to follow Him. When the Spirit of Jesus tells us not to do something; He is also telling us to do something. Here I think there is an allusion to not follow our own plans but instead to follow Him.

In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus' command to "follow me" appears repeatedly (e.g., ; , ; ; ). In many cases, Jesus was calling the twelve men who would become His disciples ().

But other times, He was speaking to anyone who wanted what He had to offer (; ). In , “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. " Jesus’ bringing a “sword” and turning family members against each other can seem a little harsh after words like "whosoever believes on Him shall not perish" (). But Jesus never softened the truth, and the truth is that following Him leads to difficult choices. Sometimes turning back may seem very appealing. When Jesus’ teaching went from the Beatitudes () to the coming cross, many which had followed him turned away (). Even the disciples decided that following Jesus was too difficult the night He was arrested. Every one of them deserted Him ( ).

On that night, following Christ meant possible arrest and execution. Rather than risk his own life, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus three times ().

Well pastor, what does it means to truly follow Christ? To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (; ; ). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in,

, “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

There is no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his own willpower.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy understood that it Christ commanded them to do something or not to do something they were to follow Him, regardless of the cost or their confusion.

They understood that they could do all things in Christ who strengthens them.

The Pharisees were good examples of those who were trying to obey God in their own strength; this plan never works. Their self-efforts led only to arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of God's Law (; ). Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him, but they did not recognize it at the time. He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (). And " And he said, “ This is why I told you the not one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” ().

The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, learning, observing, and participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper. Jesus promised many times that, once He had ascended to the Father, He would send a "Helper" to them—the Holy Spirit (; ).

In fact, He told them that it was for their good that He was going away so that the Holy Spirit could come (). The Holy Spirit indwells the heart of every believer (; ; ; ). Jesus warned His followers that they were not to begin testifying of Him "until you have been clothed with power from on high" (; ). When the Holy Spirit came upon those first believers at Pentecost, they suddenly had all the power they needed to follow Christ, even to the death, if needed (; ; ). Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so that's what we strive to do (; ). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the Boss. That's what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (; ; ). Every decision and dream is filtered through His Word with the goal of glorifying Him in everything ().

We are not saved by the things we do for Christ () but by what He has done for us. Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All this is accomplished as we allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (). The Holy Spirit explains the Scriptures (),

The Holy Spirit empowers us with spiritual gifts (), The Holy Spirit comforts us (), and The Holy Spirit guides us ().

To follow Christ means we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus walked beside us in person.

So even though the Spirit of Jesus did delayed the message from going into Mysia and Bithynia it would not be denied in those place; God planned for the message to get there at another time.

Look at , “ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Come to Macedonia and help us

, “So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 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.” 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.”

They now working their way across what is now known as Turkey, then they came to a hard stop in Troas, you cannot go any further in Troas unless you can swim, because you are directly in front of the Aegean Sea.

In God’s sovereign grace, God led Paul to Troas so that he might on go west into Europe, not east into Asia. When God closes a door, opens another door that cannot be denied. Here at Troas the confusion stops and clarity is added through the Spirit of God. At Troas, a man whom he saw in a night vision called Paul to come to Macedonia; nothing makes a man strong like a call for help. God showed Paul as man in distress that needed to gospel preached to his city!

Where are those men in our times! Our communities are falling apart, where are the men calling for the gospel to be preached in our communities.

Our families are being destroyed where are the men calling for the gospel, and preparing themselves to be the priest of their homes.

Our children are dying and are being kidnapped by this unrighteous and ungodly society, where are the men calling out for the gospel to be preached to them.

Come over here and help us, for we have lost our way and only the gospel can save us. Our cry, our call should be as desperate as this man in Macedonia because our need is as desperate as his, we need gospel of Jesus.

We should be crying out to God, God, please, opened a door, a door that no man can close,

We need to cry out to God has Daniel did in

, “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Now, don’t be mistaken, I understand the context here, I understand that Daniel is praying for Jerusalem. But I also understand that the conditions here are somewhat analogous to ours. We also need God’s face to shine in our sanctuaries, which are desolate because we have failed to preach the gospel. We also need God to open His eyes and incline His ears to the cries of those in our city who need Him like never before, a city that has not only neglected the potholes in our streets but also the potholes of the very souls of its youth.

So we come to you O’ God not because of our righteous which we have none of, but because of your great mercy which you have an abundance of, O’ God come over here and helps us!

God showed Paul a vision! The vision is a man in distress, but obviously Paul had the cure to his great ailment, which was gospel to make the people better; the gospel is that balm in Gilead! God will often give up an open door to make something or someone better, in every distressed condition.

, “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”

Like Paul, Silas, Timothy, Nehemiah, and others many of our open doors are times when God uses us to make others or something greater other than ourselves! We are given open doors that will sometimes lead to being blessed by what we do for others by serving God. Which will lead to more open doors.

When Doors are slam shut remember God is sovereign. Remember that God’s plan is profound and often so strange to us. Remember that God showed Paul a vision in the night. God revealed His will in a dream and vision to Paul. A vision is an experience in which God appears and communicate some revelation to his servant. God gave Paul tangible instructions from the object lesson of a man crying out in distress for the preaching the gospel to be shared with his city. Before the Bible was complete God used visions as were necessary sometimes to convey a clear message. Paul had his heart set on Turkey, but God led him to Troas before a vast body of water known as the Aegean. And I love what Paul does net, immediately after seeing the vision Paul immediately we sought to go to Macedonia. They sought God’s will immediately, I told you last week that never gives a command in Scripture that He does required an immediate response of obedience. God did not tell him to pray about going, God did not tell him to hold a meeting with Silas and Timothy about going. God told to go and they went. Paul went because God had opened a door.

We should be praying for God to open a door, which no man can shut!

, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shut and no one opens. I know your works. Behold I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

As a witness to how true that is, let me tell you what became of that little church in Philadelphia. They were a small church. They actually were the smallest of all the seven churches named in Revelation. After they received this letter, they decided to go through that open door God had given them, and they went on to become the largest of all the seven churches. In fact, in the generations to come, they became a church so vibrant and strong that the people in Philadelphia began to turn to that church to lead them. Over the next 1,200 years, led by that church, that city of Philadelphia survived marauders, invaders and barbarian tribes. While all of the other fortified cities fell, Philadelphia survived as that local church led it. Finally, in the year 1,300 AD, Philadelphia fell. When it did, though, the church still survived.

If you go to Aleshir, Turkey, today you will find the church there still fully functioning, still on fire for Christ, still making disciples for the Kingdom, still supporting ministries all over that part of God’s earth.

It is the oldest surviving Christian congregation on earth – because that little-bitty group of scared believers walked through the door God had opened.

God wants to do the same for you and me. No matter where you are this morning, no matter how scared or alone or defenseless you feel, let God put His heart within you. Listen to Him, follow him, let Him make you a part of Himself – and give you a future.