RUNNING FOR JESUS
Acts 16:1-15
DEVOTED TO THE MISSION
V:1-3 " He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a
disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but
whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of
him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him
because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father
was a Greek."
A. On Paul's first missionary journey with Barnabas to what
is now Turkey ,
he preached the Gospel in Iconium. Unbelieving Jews stirred up the city against
Paul and Barnabas
and planned to stone them. They fled to Lystra where they
preach the Gospel.
Again unbelieving Jews stirred up the people and stoned Paul, threw him out of the city
assuming he was dead. By God design, Paul got up with
disciple around him and
departed to Derbe (Act 14:1-20).
In both cities, Churches were establish because of the work of
God done through the
the Apostles. As was his custom, Paul revisited the Churches
to encourage them to
continue in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
B. On Paul's second missionary journey, he revisited Lystra
and heard a good report
about a disciple
name Timothy.
1. The spread of
the Gospel cannot be stopped by evil men who are determined to
destroy the
influence of Jesus on the hearts of believers.
2. I believe it is
by God's divine plan that the faith of believers are strengthen through
trials and
tribulation. (James 1:1-12).
C. Timothy may have
been one of the disciples who witnessed Paul's healing of a man
lame from birth
and Paul's stoning by the hands of a stirred up city during
the first missionary journey.
1. Your reputation
always precedes you.
2. We are first
introduced to Timothy on Paul's second missionary journey.
3. His
faithfulness and dedication to the Lord was noted by other believers.
4. Timothy stood
out among the brothers because he was praised by his peers and
as a result,
Paul chose him to be his companion in the ministry.
D. Paul made a
special note to us that Timothy was from a mixed family.
1. Timothy's
father was a Greek and His mother was a Jew.
a. It was the
Jewish tradition that Jewish women did not marry outside their race.
b. Timothy's mother was a believer.
2. God does not
tell us whether Timothy's father was a believer.
a. What God
makes clean is clean.
b. The
marriage is sanctified by the believing spouse.
c. Timothy was
influenced by his mother's and grandmother's faith.
E. The next issue in
this verse is circumcision
1. In the
previous chapter, the Church council at Jerusalem
had determined that
the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to be
saved.
2. But Paul had Timothy circumcised so that his
presence in the ministry would not
be a
hindrance to the unbelieving Jews.
3. To win souls to Christ, sometimes we have do
things unnecessary to us to
promote the
Gospel to others. Rom 2: 25-29
RUNNING FOR JESUS
V:4-5." As they traveled from town to town, they
delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the
people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily
in numbers."
A. Our first mission is to preach the good news about Jesus
Christ.
1. New believers
need milk to feed on first.
2. For the Church
to grow spiritually, basic Biblical doctrine about daily living
must also be
taught. (Acts 15:29 )
3. It is the job
of the Pastor to teach the Word of God to the believers.
a. It is the
duty of the believers to obey the Word.
b. Our love for
Christ is evidence by our obedience to the Word.
B. Faith is an active
word.
1. Faith cause us
to respond to the commands of God.
2. Faith causes
us to treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
3. Our faith is
strengthen by the work we do for Christ.
4. The Church
should be on a continual growth path spiritual and physically.
WHEN GOD SAYS NO
V:6-8. " 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 ."
A. There are times when God says NO to our agenda.
1. God is the
divine planner of the movement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. Paul was
commissioned by the Holy Spirit to take the Gospel to the Gentiles.
B. It is evident by this verse that through out his mission,
he relied on the Holy Spirit
for guidance and
directions.
1. We have to be
careful that we don't get to busy doing God's work that we forget
listen to the Holy Spirit guidance.
2. God has a reasons
why he closes doors and opens others.
3. God prepares the
hearts of men to receive a word from Him through us.
4. It may be that
God closes doors because He redirects us to other places
where people
are ready to receive the Word.
5. It may be that
God closes door because we are not yet ready to face what's
behind the
door.
LISTENING AND OBEYING THE WORD
V:9-12. " 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. 11 From Troas
we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace ,
and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi ,
a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we
stayed there several days."
A. God has a way of getting our attention.
1. God stopped
Paul from going in one direction, and gave him a new direction
in a vision.
2. Macedonia
was the place where hearts had been prepared to receive the Gospel.
3. It was normal
for Paul to go from city to city stopping in each to preach the Gospel.
4. Under the
direction of the Holy Spirit, Paul passed through some cities without
stopping.
B. It is urgent when
God informs us through the Spirit, to move immediately.
1. How do we know
we are moving by the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
2. How do we know
that our progress has been blocked by the Holy Spirit?
3. When you are
meditating, the Word of God will speak to your spirit.
4. We don't always
know what the best thing to do. But God knows.
5. First God said
no to Paul. Second God gave Paul a new direction in a vision.
a. Paul had a
personal relationship with the Jesus.
b. Paul had a
history of listening to Jesus.
c. Paul a
history of responding to the voice of Jesus.
d. Paul
believed the Word he heard from Jesus.
e. Paul knew
the Word of God.
6. In his vision,
Paul saw a man praying for help for his country.
7. Paul's
conscience was clear to go in the new direction.
C. In the ministry, we will come to cross roads when we will
be face with more than
one opportunity.
1. Our choice
should not be based on what is best for us, but what is best for the
movement of the Gospel.
a. We need to
develop for ourselves the ability to hear God speaking to us.
b. We need to
know the Word for ourselves.
c. We need to
be able to distinguish the difference between the flesh talking and the
Spirit of
God talking to us.
2. God will clear
our conscience to move in the right direction.
3. We have to trust
God when we can't see the outcome.
4. God will lead us
to the place where He gets the most glory.
PREPARED HEARTS FOR THE MISSION
V.13. " On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to
the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began
to speak to the women who had gathered there."
A. We should have a day we devote to God.
1. Sometimes you
have to get away from you normal surrounding to be alone with
God.
2. When we are
alone with God, we will learn to hear His voice.
3. Satan knows
the Word and he can present himself as an angel of light.
4. You have to
come to the conclusion that Satan will speak against God and His
righteousness.
B. Notice Paul and
his company found women praying, not men.
1. It is
important for us to know that God bring women together to pray.
2. There is
praying power in a group of women assembled in the name of the Lord.
3. Notice these
women were receptive to hear a Word from God's apostles.
4. God set this
situation up for Paul to teach those women.
OPENED TO THE WORD OF GOD
V:14. " One of
those listening was a woman named Lydia ,
a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira ,
who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's
message."
A. Notice God introduces to us a godly, business women of
wealth.
1. She was godly
because she was assembled to pray with other women.
2. She was a
merchant of purple.
a. Doing that
time purple was a very expensive dye. It was harvested from shell fish.
b. Purple was a royal color that the rich
could afford.
B. One of the reason Lydia
was successful was her love for God.
1. She was not the
typical woman of her time.
2. She dared to be
different.
3. She did not let
her gender hinder her success.
4. She did not let
her gender hinder her relationship with God.
C. She took advantage
of the opportunity to hear a Word from God through His Apostles.
1. Lydia
did not question the authority of men, but used them to her advantage.
2. Because of her
stewardship, God opened Lydia 's
heart to His Word.
3. God blesses
those who love Him and are obedient to Him.
SHOWING GREATFULNESS AND LOVE
V:15. " When she and the members of her household were
baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in
the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she
persuaded us."
A. Love starts at home.
1. Lydia
taught her family and her whole household to love God.
2. They were all
present for the prayer service on the Sabbath.
B. If our families are present when God shows up, they all
get blessed.
1. The blessings
of God can come when you least expect them.
2. God rewards us
when we show Him honor and respect.
C. Not only was Lydia
a godly women but she was a kind and generous women.
1. She opened her
home to the traveling Apostles.
2. She considered
it an honor to support the mission of God.
3. She used what
God had blessed her with to bless God's servants.
GET BUSY DOING GOD'S WORK
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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