The Mission: What to Do When Things Don’t Make Sense (Acts 15:36-16:15)

Many things in life things just don’t make sense to us. It might not make sense when a bride is killed in a vehicular accident just hours before her wedding. It might not make sense when you get news that you need a major surgery. The loss of a job, or the disintegration of a close relationship might not make sense. We certainly try to make sense of difficult situations. People tend to make sense of things by asking, “How can God use something as awful as this?” (Pause)

This may have been a question many fellow countrymen voiced on December 7, 1941.

That was the day when Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo led a thirty-three ship strike force which steamed under cover of darkness to within two hundred miles of Oahu. His carriers launched 360 airplanes against the American Pacific Fleet. The first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor about 7:55 a.m. Eighteen U.S. ships were sunk or severely damaged, some 170 planes destroyed, and American forces suffered about 3,700 casualties. President Roosevelt described it as “a day which will live in infamy,” and the motto “Remember Pearl Harbor!” became a rallying cry for the rest of World War II.

In Great Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill received the news of Pearl Harbor differently. Though deeply sympathetic with American losses, he understood that this fatal mistake by the Japanese in underestimating American resolve would now force full-scale U.S. involvement in the war. Upon grasping this enormous consequence, Churchill reportedly said, “Now we will win.” The United States had been forced to enter World War II.

Our nation’s grief didn’t initially make sense, but that brought a few years later, our tragedy was cause for hope and rejoicing to the world.

When things don’t make sense, people shake fists at God, or they doubt, or wonder aloud, “How can God use something as awful as this?” What they are really asking is this,

“How can God redeem this impossible situation?”

Redeem” is a key word here because God loves taking something that is broken and transforming it into something new. GOD IS THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS!

What is more impossible than creating a world out of nothing?

What is more impossible than the virgin birth?

What is more impossible than conquering death?

What is more impossible than eternal life?

What is more impossible than forgiveness?

What is more impossible than sin’s deep burden being lifted?

God is the God of impossible situations! That is who He is. Redeeming the impossible is what He does. This is why He is God and we are not. (Pause)

If we experienced the events recorded throughout Acts so far, those situations may not have made sense to us. Christians tears brought hope and rejoicing to the world. Today we will consider the events recorded in Acts 15:36-16:15 and the troubles which brought about these event. I wonder if you and I experienced those same things, would those things have made sense to us? Would our heads have been spinning. Would we have asked, “how in the world can God redeem these impossible situations?”

This morning, we will see that our missionaries had three appropriate responses to troubles. First, we need to consider the troubles they encountered, then we will discover how God used those troubles to accomplish mighty things for His kingdom. Paul and Barnabas encountered relationship troubles.

What should we do......

When Relationships Don’t Make Sense (15:36-16:5)

Please follow along in Acts 15:36–16:5 (ESV)

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Here we find...

The Problem: Troubles ended a successful relationship. (15:36-41)

Paul and Barnabas had been a VERY successful missionary team! I wonder if Paul and Barnabas might have been Star Trek fans because... These were the voyages of missionary team to seek out new life and new civilizations untouched by the Gospel. They had boldly gone where no Christian had gone before! Many hundreds or thousands of people placed their trust in the God of impossible situations because Paul and Barnabas were faithful to Christ’s mission.

For several years, Paul and Barnabas had been closely connected… they ate together, they stayed in the same house when they travelled, they preached together and probably even finished each other’s sentences. They would have constantly prayed and encouraged each other with Scripture. They would have talked about personal joys, sadness, and trials. When enemies closed in around them, their backs were to each other, so to speak. They had each other’s sixes. Barnabas would have nursed Paul back to health after he was stoned to the point of death by their enemies.

Have you ever had a relationship that beautiful that became broken somehow? Maybe for you it was death, or distance, or sin’s entanglement, or maybe it was a disagreement. For Paul and Barnabas, it was a disagreement which separated these closest of friends. In fact, their paths were so separate, that Barnabas is not mentioned in the rest of Acts. (PAUSE)

When relationship troubles grieve us, we are tempted to lash out in anger or are tempted to ask “why?” We don’t see these responses from these Spirit-led people. We don’t find blameshifting, name-calling, or angry words. Instead, they settled on a compromise and chose to honor God.

Think of how you responded when you had relationship troubles. (Pause) When life doesn’t go the way we want it to, we are tempted to think, “This relationship ended. I didn’t want it to end, therefore this must be a bad thing because it didn’t go how “I” wanted it to go.” Paul and Barnabas’ had a different perspective. They believed in the God of impossible situations and responded in a manner that brought God glory.

God turned their “problem” into a blessing. Troubles caused new relationships to form!

The Blessing: Troubles caused new relationships. (16:1-5)

By God's providence, two missionary teams came into existence! Paul/Silas made up one team. Silas was mentioned back in Acts 15:32. He was one of the men who traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch to encourage the believers after the debate about faith/works, so, verse 40...

40 Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:40 )

Paul did not function as a lead missionary or lead pastor. Barnabas had not been under Paul’s authority and Silas was not under Paul’s authority this journey. They were equals, they were co-laborers together in Christ. In a moment, we will discover that Paul’s ministry team continued growing.

Besides having an equal co-laborer, Paul also looked for ministry partners he could actively disciple! It seems that John Mark during the first journey needed to be discipled. Maybe that was why John Mark was not commissioned by the Antioch church… he might have been too immature for the task at hand.

Troubles caused the Barnabas/John Mark missionary team to form. Missions had doubled! Even though relationship troubles separated the best of friends, Barnabas chose his cousin, John Mark, and plodded on.

The relational troubles surrounding John Mark resulted in a great blessing! Tears in the moment, eventually brought hope and rejoicing...

Troubles caused John Mark to become profitable! (1 Tim 4:11)

When Paul and Barnabas disagreed in verses 37-39...

It is not possible to know who was right in this matter. Barnabas was right in wanting and being willing to give Mark a second chance; Paul was right by hesitating to trust a deserter (but) the outcome (was for everyone’s) good. One commentator wrote that, "Mark was stirred up to greater diligence by Paul, and the kindness of Barnabas made John cling to him all the more devotedly." William Barclay declared, "it may well have been the friendship of Barnabas, the man of the kindly heart, which gave Mark back his self-respect and which made him determined to make good.”

In 2 Tim 4:11 Paul told Timothy to bring Mark with him to visit Paul in prison, "for he is profitable unto me." God used Barnabas to mold John into a Godly person. Tears in the moment eventually brought hope and rejoicing! That painful loss of relationship caused John Mark to be provoked into Godliness. Troubles are not the problem. The problem is our perspective.

Troubles caused another relationship to be formed...

Troubles caused Timothy to become a son! (16:1-5, 1 Cor 4:17)

In Acts 14, something happened to Paul which most people would consider very tragic. Paul was stoned at Lystra and left for dead. If you had been stoned and left for dead, would that trouble have made sense to you? It made sense to Paul. What difficult situation are you going through right now? Maybe you ask, “Why would God allow something so terrible to happen to someone who was so devotedly serving God?” It just doesn’t make sense!.... until we get to chapter 16.

Please follow along in Acts 15:41-16:5

Acts 15:41–16:5 (ESV)

41 And (Paul) went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

God used so called “troubles” in Lystra to cause Timothy, his mother, and grandmother to all become believers. We know this from… 2 Tim 1: 5 where Paul wrote: 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Timothy was a remarkably mature young man who dealt with trouble the same way Paul dealt with trouble. Maybe while growing up, Timothy even heard the story of how a missionary came to town who loved them so much he was willing to die so that He, Timothy could have the hope of eternal life found in Jesus, the Messiah and how God preserved that missionary’s life and how that missionary walked back into the city with much joy. It was Paul’s trials and stoning which eventually caused Timothy to become Paul’s son in the faith.

Consider the trouble Timothy could have suffered as a child.

He was raised in a bi-cultural home by parents who had two very different religions. That is recipe for trouble.

Timothy experienced the death of a loved one at some point in his life. Acts 16:1 informs us that “His father WAS a Greek.” Most scholars agree that Timothy was no older than 18 here and Timothy’s dad died before he reached 18 he dad died prior to Luke’s writing. Fatherless children struggle in life: Timothy could have been a statistic, but in spite of all his troubles, we read that “He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.”

What caused tears in the moment caused hope and rejoicing in the future. In 1 Corinthians 4:17 Paul called Timothy, “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord.” Troubles caused Timothy to join the missionary team, and troubles caused a fatherless person to have a father-like figure once again.

Timothy also had cultural troubles. Jews were only permitted to marry other Jews, yet his mother married a Greek. A Jewish child was expected to take the religion of the mother, but Timothy was not circumcised as he should have been. Timothy was an outcast among Jews. Glance at verse 3 again...

Acts 16:3 (ESV)

3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Timothy needed to undergo one more painful experience in order to be profitable for the Gospel. Timothy and Paul determined that the pain of circumcision was necessary to reach the Jewish community. What was painful in the moment was profitable for eternity! Jews now had cause to listen to him because he was Jewish! Gentiles had cause to listen to him because he was Greek. Christians had cause to listen to him because he was a Christian!

God continued redeeming impossible situations. (PAUSE) In spite of the Paul/Barnabas split this missionary team was now three strong. Timothy had joined up and...

Troubles caused Luke (4th person) to join the missionary team! (16:6-14)

The word “they” became “we” and “us” in our text. In Acts 16:1-9, Luke used the word “they” in reference to Paul and Silas, but the wording changed in verse 10. Luke wrote “we” and “us.” Other verses in the New Testament also record Luke’s missionary travels. Luke stopped writing about Barnabas and John’s team because Luke was personally involved with the other team.

Let’s move on to another impossible situation which God redeemed. Remember the debate about faith and works from chapter 15? When things like that trouble us it causes us to struggle with grief, worry, fear, and anxiety. We feel these things because our perspective is wrong. From God’s perspective and the missionaries’ perspectives, troubles strengthened churches.

The Blessing: Troubles strengthened churches! (16:5,11-15)

Acts 16:5 ESV

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Wolves were on the prowl and trying to devour the sheep, but the faith continued spreading and Christians continued being discipled. Verses 11-15, also prove this point. because a woman named Lydia and her household were saved and baptized! Human troubles can bring eternal rewards.

This brings us to our second category of troubles. What should we do......

When God’s Will Doesn’t Make Sense (16:6-15)

Have you ever made plans truly believing God was at the center of them? Then when you act on those plans, one door after another closed on you? That is what Paul, Silas, and Timothy experienced in...

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.”

Look at the word change now… “they” becomes “we.”

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.

The door to Asia and Bithynia was closed… the Holy Spirit did not allow it. Here’s something to wrestle with. Doesn’t God desire all people to come to repentance? Why would the Spirit forbid the Gospel from saving Asian lives? Why would God allow Asians to die of natural and unnatural causes every day without Christ? Sometime’s God’s will doesn’t make sense. Who knows the mind of God? Who knows why the Spirit God said “no” to Asians, but, prepared Macedonians for salvation, specifically why does verse 6 say the Spirit “forbade” them, then when we come to Lydia in verse 14, Scripture says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul”? God desires all, but He doesn’t save all. It doesn’t make sense sometimes. God chose Lydia and her household over the Asians.

God chose to add Luke in Troas. Maybe, had Paul’s team gone into Asia, Luke would not have joined and the rest of Acts would not have been written or it would have read very differently.

Sometimes God’s will doesn’t make sense and sometimes relationships don’t make sense. How then were troubled people in this chapter able to go on?...

What Do We Do When We Things Don’t Make Sense?

How do I act like today’s tears will bring hope and rejoicing someday?

We must do what is good (15:40-41, 1 Cor 9:27)

Our feelings must never dictate what we do. “Whoever knows to do good and does not do it, that is sin.” Feelings tempt us to avoid doing good. The only time we should follow our feelings is when those feelings are wholly in line with God’s will. We know Paul diligently sought to master his own sinful thoughts. In… he said..,

1 Corinthians 9:27 (ESV)

27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control

When Barnabas chose a different ministry direction, Paul seems to have shrugged it off with a simple, graceful, “ok.” Look at Acts 15:40-41 again.

Acts 15:40–41 ESV

40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy experienced God’s clear “no” to Asian ministry. The missionaries planned and the H.S. directed, but when the answer was a no, they simply responded, “ok” and moved along. Their lives were not their own. Paul stated elsewhere that, “the life I now I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.” God was in control. They did not wrestle with God or ask, “why.” They simply said, “ok” and continued taking God’s message to the people God wanted them to share with.

In the situation with Lydia, the missionary team didn’t have a clear direction. We don’t see the Spirit move miraculously. In fact, nothing seems to have happened for “some days.” Please look on in Acts 16:12-14 again.

Acts 16:12–14 (ESV)

12 ... 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.

What do we do when we have no clear direction?

We should go to the place of prayer and worship. God always wills that.

We should have Gospel conversations with whomever God causes to be around us. We can ask them, “What do you believe about God?” Lydia was a worshipper of God, but she didn’t know or believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Paul filled in the gaps that Lydia was missing.

God blesses His people when they do what they know is right. Emotions are reactions: emotions are produced by our thoughts and actions. This means when we enslave our body to do what is good, what is Godly, then good emotions will follow.

When we don’t understand, we still need to do what is good.

We must be together. (Mt 18:20, Acts 15:35,40, 16:3,11,13)

When things don’t make sense, we need to gather with 2 or three, or more “witnesses,” other believers.

Matthew 18:20 ESV

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Proverbs 27:17 ESV

17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Sharpening occurs when Spirit-led believers do life together. Paul navigated life with 2 or three people who were continually sharpening one another and he was not the only person who followed this model.

Christ demonstrated that model by choosing twelve.

The early church followed that model by meeting together as often as possible whether in homes or in the synagogue.

Barnabas, when he separated from Paul followed that model by choosing John Mark’s companionship in 15:39.

Throughout this morning’s passage, Silas, Timothy, and Luke also followed that pattern. In fact, did you notice that the missionaries were not content to stop at two or three close relationships? They invited others into their group as often as possible, such as Luke, such as joining with Lydia and her household for a time.

When things don’t make sense, we still need to be together. Finally, When things don’t make sense...

We must revel in God’s Glory (Jn 1:14, 1 Jn 4:16)

I believe every Christian mentioned in this morning’s passage did this. This is why Lydia was saved. She reveled in God’s glory. This is why both missionary teams went into unknown situation after unknown situation. God’s glory was amazing. It fueled them, it energized them, and it sustained them. God’s glory was far more beautiful than the glory of earthly pleasures. John spoke of this in..

John 1:14 (ESV)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 John 4:16 (ESV)

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

CONCLUSION

God is all powerful. Anything we are going through can be redeemed by God to create something new and beautiful. We only need to continue doing what He said is good, we need to be together with other believers, and continually revel in God’s glory.

Revelation 21:5 ESV

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

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