Let God Lead Acts 16

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Observe -- Paul makes a change in plans. His plan was to enter Bithynia but for some reason was blocked from entering. Paul sees an opportunity that God provided a plan then to go to Macedonia. I saw two themes and one grand point in Acts 16.

Paul & Silas travel to Macedonia to preach. Three important contacts are made -- Lydia, slave girl possessed by demons and the jailer. We can assume that Lydia was a prominent woman in her community as a businesswoman. Lydia was a worshipper of God so she either was a Jew or had come to know God from a previous mission trip. Now Paul & Silas are noticed by the community because of the relationship and Paul and Silas stay with Lydia, after baptizing her, possibly for several days.  Paul & Silas are thrown in prison because of the slave girl.

The humility of the jailer by humbling himself by bringing the prisoners to his home and dressing their wounds. And one of the most important verses in the New Testament 16:30, "What must I do to be saved?”

Point – Be ready when God calls. The humility & hospitality of Lydia and the jailer. Main point is the jailer asking what we must do to be saved.

Question -- What happened between Barnabas and Paul to cause a split in their ministry? Where did Timothy go?

Resist – Sometimes we are not sure if God is calling us to do something.

So What – Be prepared for the unexpected. Live each day with humility and grace.

The Big Idea – Asking what I must do to be saved. Always be ready when an opportunity arises that God may have a different plan than what you desire. Then be graceful and humble in all that you do.


Let God Lead

For many years, I have wondered why God did not make His plan more obvious to me. I was reminded of the text in Joshua 6 and God has given his instructions for taking Jericho. For seven days, God told the Israelites to March around the city. There were around 600,000 men and I am sure they questioned and grumbled about why they were marching around the city and then going back to camp. Like Paul wanting to go to Bithynia and the Holy Spirit telling him to go to Macedonia, God seems to be leading us around in circles and we do not know why or where we are going. God leads even when we are going around in circles.

There were many opportunities that came my way and I usually saw the open door and walked through trusting God had a reason for the opportunity. What a learning experience it has been. I found so many friends that I would not have had had I refused the new experience. As I moved forward through time, I picked up new skills that aided me in helping others. I have worn many different hats that have equipped me for my future journey.

When my family first moved to Minnesota, I became friends with LeRoy, an older fellow that lived across the road from the building that I worked out of. We were looking for a church that felt comfortable with rural farm families. After visiting local churches, LeRoy invited my wife and I to the Bunde CRC and through the years and another change in jobs; I have been led to seek the mission that I dreamt about when I was a teenager.

People I have known seem to have a plan and pretty much stick to it. If that plan is detoured, some become stuck and never move out of their rut, I had the experience of being in a rut. Paul was not that kind of person. When there was a disagreement with Barnabas, Paul moved forward. When Paul was blocked from going to Bithynia, he did not stop and give up. God called him to Macedonia where he met some individuals that were important in his ministry.

Another important part of the text is Lydia and the jailer. We observe grace and humility given to Paul & Silas. Lydia was most likely a Jew because she believed in God but became a baptized Christian. Lydia was a prominent member of the community as a businesswomen dealing in the purple-dye trade. She took a big risk by taking in these two missionaries. We need to follow the charity of Lydia.

Another example of grace and humility is after the earthquake and the jailer is saved from his pride, then he takes Paul and Silas to his home to wash their wounds and give them a meal after the household had been converted. We need to be reminded of how Paul and Silas were shown humility and grace and how to demonstrate that in our own lives.

God sometimes is very subtle in ways that He leads us and sometimes more direct. Noah questioned God but built an ark while being humiliated by others. Jonah had to be swallowed by a great fish to get him where he needed to be. Moses did not want to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:11). Joshua did not want to lead the Israelites. Paul & Silas were given obstacles but were lead by the Holy Spirit to where they needed to be.

Acts 16 gives us several messages. The key point of this text is when the jailer asks, “What must I do to be saved?” For all of Paul & Silas’ troubles of getting to where they were going, it boiled down to this fundamental question and the reply was, “Become a believer in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved”. John 10:9 Jesus says, “Anyone who enters through me will be safe; such a one will go in and out and will find pasture” In Joshua, the Canaanites knew of God but refused him. Therefore, God replaced the Canaanites with the Israelites.

The first step in a successful journey is to ask what you must do to be saved. Then we take off and follow the teachings of our Lord and Savior. If we deny what God intends for us, the consequences are serious; however, should we follow God, He rewards us. Do what God tells you even when it means nothing to us.

As we go around in circles trying to figure out what God wants us to do, have faith that there is a destination or finish line. We may not be able to see it because there is a mountain in front of us. There may be a fog so that our vision is not clear. When we are in the dark and do not know where we  are or where we are going -- remember God is standing beside you and me and He loves us.

God knows where He wants you and me. If we pray, act with grace and humility, then let Him know that we are thankful for what He has provided and give Him all the praise, we will see that victory that is store for us. Go out into the world with a joyful heart and let those that do not know Christ the blessings that He has given to you and me.

  

 

Sowing Seeds

Thinking about Mark 4:3-9 this morning. Jesus is telling the parable of the sower. Some seeds fall into rocky ground, sprout, wither and die. Some seeds fall into ground infested with weeds and are suffocated. Some seeds fall on the road and the birds eat them. However, if the seeds fell onto good ground, there was a large bounty of fruit and the harvest is good.

There is another point that some seeds have a hard shell, sometimes known as pericarp, (walnuts have a hard shell vs. peas with a soft shell ) and need more time to soak in moisture in order that the seed can germinate and grow. Some seeds need fire to open the pericarp. Other seeds just need a good seed bed. 

Our shell determines where we are in our spiritual life. If you have a hard shell, stay close to those who can add water and soften your shell. If you are in the fire and hope seems distant, get close to Jesus, He will soften the shell around your heart and bring you to life.

If we remain as seeds, we are useless. If we grow and bear spiritual fruit, then we glorify God and He will give us the nutrients we need to keep producing.

Value of Our Talents

I was reading in the Daily Guidepost for today about Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. The author told a story about Mendelssohn’s teacher finding the music being used to wrap cheese in a shop. When Bach first wrote the music it was only performed one time during Bach’s life and dismissed.

One hundred years later around 1827, Mendelssohn brought it back to become one Bach’s most known creations. I was intrigued by the story and thought how this great contribution was almost lost and being used as wrapping paper. I thought that is how most of us see our lives as just worthless wrapping paper. However, within us there is music that God hears and understands.

After doing some reading with the aid of Google, I found that the discovery of the music was much different from what was written in the Daily Guidepost. There was a family connection between Bach’s family and the Mendelssohn family and the music was handed down by a family member. Mendelssohn was a teenager when he discovered the music and changed the instrumentation to give it a more modern sound with musical instruments of the day, a hit that has lasted until this day.

The story is still intriguing because we sometimes do not see the beauty or understand the value of something until after it is gone.

If you want to view a portion of the St. Matthew Passion, either copy and past the following link or just click on it. The music is with subtitles and is tied to the Easter season.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4UNJqv_-A

Psalm 107

Observe -- Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. There are five of these refrains. In spite of all the suffering the Jews endured, David still gave thanks to a merciful God for the present blessings.

Point – No matter where God leads us, He will bless us if we will obey His words.

Question – Why would God keep punishing and then bless them repeatedly?

Resist – I resist what I know God wants me to do so that I satisfy my own selfish desires.

So What – God does not want us to forget who is the provider.

The Big Idea – Often we deserve what we get in life. If we do not put God first in everything we do, then we reap what we sow.

ME – (Psalm 107 is a mini history of the Jews before the time of David.)

I am reminded of an old joke about the farmer who fed cattle. Every fall he went to the bank and take out a loan to lay in some feeders. After the cattle were fattened and sold, he would go to the bank and pay off the loan. After the loan was paid he would notice there was very little left for his efforts. The banker would tell him that at least he still had the manure. 

One day the banker was walking down the sidewalk and seen the farmer’s wife with a fur coat and was getting into a brand new car. He got to thinking that this was about the time the farmer should be coming in to pay off the loan. Being very concerned, he rushed to the bank and called the farmer, "Have you sold the cattle", he asked the farmer. "Why yes”, said the farmer, "how did you know"? The banker told him that he had seen the wife with a fur coat and getting into a new car.

Well", said the farmer, "I decided that this year you could have the manure". Thus, the farmer after being in bondage to the banker celebrated his labor for all those years with just manure to show for it.

The first 18 years after the army, I was farmer so I have been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. As a farmer and looking back, I see myself in the struggles of the Jews as they lamented over their past. There were times that were dark and the darkest was at the end. During those darkest of days, I left God out of my decision-making and did not really seek His guidance. It was only later in life that I could rejoice or celebrate what God had done for me.

I have developed a life philosophy that helps me understand the “WHY”: if I had not been there, I would not be here. Many of my mistakes led me to another path or journey that made me appreciate the journey. I do regret many things I have done, but without those errors, I would not be where I am today.

We tend to look at our own lives as a singular experience. When we experience set back or tragedy, we sometimes think that God is punishing us for our past transgressions, and maybe He is. Most likely God is trying to bring us closer to Him.

Reading Psalm 107 I was reminded of two stories -- King Lear and Samson. In Psalm 107 we revisit the harsh experiences that the Jews went through and how God delivered them repeatedly from their dire circumstances. While reading this, I was reminded of when I was studying Shakespeare’s tragedies, King Lear especially. In all of the tragedies, the underlying theme is how the individuals portrayed, suffer and their downfalls are the result of their own doing. However, unlike Shakespeare’s tragedies, the Jews were able to celebrate redemption because God was in their lives.

Like Samson, we all ignore God and yet God loves us. Samson was living the high life and ignoring God by choosing women who were out to destroy him. When Samson was at his lowest, blinded, and humiliated by the Philistines and Delilah, Samson called on God to strengthen him one more time, (Judges 16:28) “Lord remember me. Please God strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”  

When I first read King Lear, I wept in a come to Jesus moment. I identified myself with Lear and I knew I did not want my life end as Lear. King Lear had three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Two of the daughters plotted to divide the kingdom between them while Cordelia who honored and loved her father most, is left with nothing. Because of unwise decisions by Lear, the daughters died and Lear is left nearly blind, his strength is gone and there is no one to redeem him of his transgressions. Before King Lear dies, he is howling like an animal, his life has been a waste, “Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones. Had I your tongues and eyes I’d use them so that heaven’s vault would crack”.

How different from Samson. King Lear is a tortured soul. In his world, there is no afterlife and no resolution of his sins. Samson prayed to God for one last gift of strength and cracked Heaven’s vault to destroy those Philistines who held the Jews as slaves.

G.K. Chesterton said, “One sees great things from a valley, only small things from the peak”. God leads through the valley of despair and death (Psalm 23) so that we may see the great things He has provided for us. When we take our sins before God and ask forgiveness, He is the one who takes the past and tears it up into little pieces. When our lives are going well and we are at the peak, we must remember that God had a hand in this and need to give thanks and celebrate His blessings.

When you look at the two stories, which character would you want to be, King Lear or Samson? Samson who sought God and became a hero to his people or Lear who died without any celebration for generations to follow?

I do not know where you at in your spiritual journey or what trials you have had in your past. From my own experience, one does not really get close to God until there comes a time when one becomes totally broken in spirit. It should not be that way but for many Christians they have not experienced that broken spirit, they become traditional Christians because that was the way they were raised by their parents and what their peer group expects from them.

As we go about life’s mundane chores, we need to celebrate whether we at the peak or in the valley. We need a farmer’s optimistic view that there is hope for one more good crop and what we sow, we will reap. We need to be joyful for what the Lord has provided, give thanks for loving us and give thanks that Jesus washed away our sins. However, God did not appear to us in human form just to forgive our sins. He came to teach us how to renew our hearts and how to love.

I would like to add that this message addresses us as individuals; it also applies to the church. As Christians, we need to show the world that because we know that God loves us, we celebrate each day as joyful Christians. Because of what God has done, we are walking talking miracles. (Psalm 118:24) Rejoice and be glad and be willing to share your joy with others.