Introduction:
A. Many years ago, a certain mountain man, by the name of Shorthorn Bill, had become a noted guide in the Montana Territories, but he decided to move to Colorado.
1. Having settled outside Denver, he again began working his trade as a trail guide, principally with wealthy easterners who were passing through the city.
2. On one such adventure, Shorthorn Bill was leading a party of railroad men out on the high range and, as he was still new to the place, he led them hopelessly astray.
3. After many days of travel, the party became belligerent, “You told us you were the best guide in Colorado,” they asserted.
4. Shorthorn Bill replied, “I am the best guide in Colorado, but I figure we’re in Wyoming now.”
5. I’m sure Paul felt that way on his missionary travels – he may have known something of Tarsus and Jerusalem, but they were in “Wyoming” now and he was in unfamiliar territory.
6. As we journey with God in our own lives, we will find God taking us in and out of unfamiliar territory, and we will need to learn to wait on God and to follow God’s leading.
B. Today, as we continue our sermon series: “Follow Me As I Follow Christ – A Journey with Paul,” I want us to do a brief survey of Paul’s second missionary journey.
1. Since this series isn’t intended to be a survey of the entire book of Acts, but is meant to be about the life of Paul and his walk with God, I want us to draw some principles from Paul’s missionary travels that apply to our own journey with God.
2. Then, Lord willing, in our next few sermons in the weeks to come, we will learn some overall principles from Paul’s preaching and his leadership.
C. I believe that God’s Word has been preserved for us, not merely as a collection of historical documents and geographical studies, but as a trustworthy guide – a place we can turn to for assistance in living our lives in ways that honor God.
1. In the pages of Scripture, God has given us models, like Paul – people, believe it or not, who are just like you and me.
2. None of the people of Scripture, except Jesus, were perfect, all of them were human, and sometimes sinful, and sometimes weak or faithless.
3. Nevertheless, people like Paul, despite the odds and challenges, tried to live their lives by faith, in obedience and with courage.
4. And as we will see in this brief survey, Paul was a Christian who journeyed well as he tried to follow God’s leading.
I. The Story
A. The second missionary journey begins from the same place as the first, from Antioch of Syria, but unlike the first journey, Paul has a new companion, a man named Silas.
1. Last week, we explored the rift between Paul and Barnabas over the issue of taking John Mark with them, and because they could not agree, Barnabas took Mark and went one direction and Paul took Silas and went in a different direction.
2. The Bible says: They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Acts 15:40-41)
3. Now you might be wondering where Silas came from and why Paul would choose him.
a. Silas first shows up in the text earlier in Acts 15:22 at the Jerusalem conference.
b. The Bible says: 22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.
c. So if the Jerusalem leaders thought Silas was a good choice to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, then it is not surprising that Paul would choose him as a new partner for another mission.
B. The story continues in Acts 16: 1 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. 4 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. (Acts 16:1-5)
1. And so we learn that Paul and Silas moved through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches and passing on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about Gentiles becoming Christians.
2. When they came to Lystra, they encountered a zealous disciple named Timothy.
a. His mother and grandmother were Jewish and had taught him the Scriptures since infancy, but his father was a Greek and likely and unbelieving pagan.
b. Timothy and his mother and grandmother had likely become Christians when Paul came through Lystra on the first missionary journey.
c. In the intervening years, Timothy had grown as a disciple, and Paul and Silas were impressed enough by him to invite him to join the team.
d. That choice, obviously led by God, would produce much fruit as Timothy would go on to be a great evangelist and the recipient of two letters that are in the New Testament.
C. The story continues: 6 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. (Acts 16:6-8)
1. So as Paul, Silas and Timothy are journeying with God on this second missionary journey, it becomes very clear that no matter how hard they try, not all doors open widely to the gospel.
2. Notice how it is the Holy Spirit who kept them from preaching in the province of Asia, and it was the Spirit who would not allow them to enter Bithynia.
3. Interestingly, Luke offers no insight into how the three men responded to the series of dead ends.
a. Certainly it must have seemed strange – don’t you think God would want the Gospel preached everywhere?
b. Perhaps the doors to those places were closed because God knew that the people’s hearts in those regions were unreceptive.
c. We don’t know, but what we do know is that the missionary team continued on despite the closed doors.
d. Instead of turning and making tracks back to Antioch, Paul, Silas and Timothy continued on allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them.
4. Now would be a good time to pause and look more closely at the map shown on the screen.
a. It is a helpful habit to discipline ourselves as we study our Bibles to locate on a map the significant places mentioned in Scripture.
b. Notice the Phrygian and Galatian regions that the Spirit would not let them enter.
c. Notice where they came to Mysia, and how they tried to enter Bithynia from there, but were not permitted to do so.
d. Notice where Troas is and how they stopped there to await the Spirit’s direction.
e. Notice how just across the blue waters of the Aegean Sea, we find Macedonia. Little did they know that this was where they were headed.
D. The Bible says: 9 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. (Acts 16:9-12)
1. I can picture a light going on in Paul’s mind – Ah ha, so that’s why we couldn’t enter those other places, God wants us to go to Macedonia.
a. Paul’s initial plan for the journey had been to visit the places he had already been, but God’s plan for him was to take the Gospel to a continent where the Gospel had not yet been preached.
b. Many times the things we find confusing along the way make sense in the long run as we look back and see how God was guiding us along.
2. Paul and his team wasted no time in obeying God’s directive – the text says they got ready “at once” to leave for Macedonia.
a. When God’s direction in our lives takes shape, we should likewise waste no time in obeying the Lord.
3. Note also that this section of Acts begins the “we” section.
a. Dr. Luke, the writer of Acts, has now joined company with Paul, Silas and Timothy.
b. So rather telling the story as “Paul went here or there,” or “they went here or there,” now we will read “we put out to sea…and we stayed there several days” – Luke was not just the narrator, he now was with them as a participant.
4. Let’s look at the map and see how they sailed from Troas to Samothrace, and then Neapolis.
a. Then from Neapolis, they traveled inland to Philippi one of the region’s premier cities.
b. Philippi was named after Philip of Macedon, whose son was Alexander the Great.
c. It was a Roman military outpost, and therefore was crawling with Roman troops.
d. Philippi enjoyed the reputation of being a miniature Rome.
E. The story continues: 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. 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. 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. (Act 16:13-15)
1. When Paul arrived at Philippi, I wonder if he was surprised to find there was no synagogue?
a. As we discover, this ancient metropolis was not a hub of Judaism.
b. A synagogue required 10 Jewish men living within the city limits.
c. The fact that no synagogue existed means the Jewish population of men was less than 10!
2. Paul knew that if there were any Jews or proselytes (Gentiles who converted to Judaism) in the city, they would meet by the river, using the abundance of water for ritual cleansing.
a. So, on the Sabbath, Paul and his associates, made their way to the river and found some worshipers.
3. Paul shared the Gospel and a woman named Lydia and her household all believed and were baptized.
a. Who would have thought that the first Macedonian convert would be a prominent Gentile business woman, since it had been a man in the vision who invited Paul to come to Macedonia! Journeying with God is full of surprises!
4. This must have been a thrilling experience as God opened a way for the church to be born in Lydia’s house in Philippi!
5. This was all part of God’s leading and Paul’s obedience to follow.
F. But lest we get to comfortable with the idea of the church being born so easily there in Philippi, God had a few more surprises in store for Paul and his associates.
1. We don’t have time to go into the story in detail, but let me summarize the story by saying that as Paul continued to try to spread the Gospel in Philippi, a demonized slave girl began to follow them around announcing to all that “these men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
a. There was nothing wrong with what she was saying…what she said was spot on.
b. The problem was who was saying it. The problem was not the message, but the messenger.
c. Imagine if we were doing street ministry in Syracuse and the notorious, local drunk was following us around saying with slurred speech, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved, listen to them!”
d. We wouldn’t want or need his endorsement, and Paul didn’t need the endorsement of the demon-possessed young lady.
2. So Paul did the right thing, he cast the demon out of the girl.
a. That was what was best for the girl and for his ministry, but that was not what was best for those who made money off her demonic ability to fortune-tell.
3. The slave girl’s greedy masters roused the crowd to riot against Paul and Silas.
a. Paul and Silas were seized, viciously beaten, and thrown deep into a Roman prison with their feet fastened in stocks.
4. If you were Paul and Silas, might you have been thinking, “And we were sent to Macedonia for this? Did God really send us to Macedonia to be beaten and locked up in jail?”
a. We always have to keep in mind that turmoil, difficulty, persecution and hardship are not an indication that we are out of God’s will.
b. On the contrary, there are times when those things mean that you and I are in the very center of His plan.
5. So focus clearly on this scene – on the surface, it’s really bleak, right?
a. Paul and Silas are trapped in a damp, dark cell, with open wounds, and feet shackled to a wooden bar, forcing them to remain in an uncomfortable position.
b. But these two men refused to let their circumstances to determine their attitudes.
c. The Bible says: 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25)
d. Can you picture all the other prisoners being baffled by their cellmate’s strange response to their circumstances – they had never seen anyone react this way!
6. You are probably familiar with the rest of the story – God immediately produces an earthquake that causes the prison doors to open and everyone’s chains to fall off.
a. When the jailer sees this happening, he knows he is in trouble and is about to commit suicide, but Paul stops him.
b. When the man asks what he must do to save himself, Paul uses it as an opportunity to teach him the gospel.
7. The Bible says: 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family. (Acts 16:32-34)
a. I’m sure Paul couldn’t have imagined any of this when the man of Macedonia called to him in the dream.
b. But God had in mind the salvation of lady who sold purple cloth, an exploited slave girl, and a hardened Roman jailer.
c. When we journey with God, we have to be sensitive to the doors that open and be at peace about the doors that close.
d. The next day, when the Philippian magistrates realized they had wrongly beaten and imprisoned Roman citizens they shook with fear, and they tried to appease Paul and asked them to leave their city.
e. The missionary team shrugged it off and pressed on, anticipating the next surprising and challenging episode in journeying with God.
G. Let me summarize the rest of the 2nd Missionary journey.
1. Paul’s next stop was in Thessalonica.
a. Paul started as usual in the synagogue, and many believed including a large number of Greek men and influential woman.
b. The Jewish leaders mounted an opposition and Paul and his team were forced to escape under the cloak of darkness (Acts 17:1-10).
2. From Thessalonica, Paul went to Berea and again preached in the synagogue.
a. The Bereans go down in history as truly noble people because they carefully examined the Scriptures.
b. They didn’t take anyone’s word as Gospel until they checked it out in God’s Word for themselves.
c. No matter how well-trained, gifted or charismatic a Bible teacher or preacher may be, we must always check what is being said against the Scriptures.
d. Any one of us can be sincerely wrong!
e. The Scriptures must be our measuring tool for making sure what we believe and practice is faithful and true.
f. When the trouble makers at Thessalonica realized that Paul was ministering in Berea, they came over there and opposed Paul, after all, it was only 45 miles away.
3. From Berea, Paul went to Athens, which was the intellectual center of the world at that time.
a. Paul preaches an important sermon there in Athens, and Lord willing, we will explore Paul’s teaching in Athens next week.
4. From Athens, Paul went to Corinth, where he ministered for a year and a half.
a. There he joins forces with the tent-making couple, Priscilla and Aquila.
b. Crispus, the brilliant young synagogue ruler becomes a Christian and his whole household as well, along with many other Corinthians who believe and are baptized.
c. The church at Corinth has a special place in Paul’s heart, but his relationship with them is not without its challenges, as we can see in the two letters of the NT he wrote to them.
5. The second missionary journey ends with these words: 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God's will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. (Acts 18:18-22)
II. The Application - Let’s spend a minute or two thinking about some lessons about journeying with God that we learn from Paul.
B. First of all: From Paul’s traveling experiences, we learn to never journey alone.
1. Paul always had traveling companions: first Barnabas, then Silas, and Timothy and Luke.
2. Obviously, we are never alone when we have God with us, because God promises to never leave us or forsake us.
3. Nevertheless, God has designed human beings to need both Him, and other human beings.
4. Remember in the Garden of Eden when God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Gen. 2:18)
a. Adam and God had an intimate relationship in the Garden, yet Adam still needed people.
5. For many of us, our mate is our best friend and the most important partner on our journey with God.
6. But in addition to our mate, or for those without a mate, important partners on our journey may be other family members, or brothers and sisters in Christ, or close friends.
7. The point is, we need each other, and as Solomon said in Eccl. 4, “two are better than one…and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
8. All of us need to surround ourselves with helpful, spiritual traveling companions.
C. Second: From Paul’s experience, we learn that the journey is rarely a straight line.
1. Life and ministry are filled with twists and turns, open doors and closed doors, ups and downs.
2. Yes, the fastest way between two points is a straight line, but that’s just not the way life goes.
3. With God’s help, Paul tried to make a life and ministry plan and follow it, but as we saw today, God introduced many surprising turns.
4. We had better just fasten our seatbelts and sit back and enjoy the ride.
5. We might as well prepare ourselves in advance: there will be many red lights and detours and course-changes along the way.
D. Third: From Paul’s experience, we are inspired to never give up the journey.
1. Although, we may often be tempted to quit, we must never let that happen!
2. I’m sure there were many times when Paul wanted to quit – Maybe it was when he and Barnabas had their disagreement…maybe it was when the Holy Spirit was stopping them from going where they wanted to go…maybe it was when he faced persecution – the beatings or imprisonments or threats to his life.
3. We may be tempted to quit the spiritual journey when God seems distant, or when our church family lets us down or mistreats us, or when ministry failures and criticism weigh us down, or when we face hard times emotionally or financially or physically with our health.
4. No matter what Paul went through, he never gave up the journey, and we must do the same.
E. Finally: From Paul’s experience we learn every journey starts with a step and continues with another step.
1. Our journey in life and ministry is just one step at a time, and some of those steps may be baby steps.
2. But none of us can move anywhere without doing something…we must take a step.
3. I’m reminded of the well-known saying that is so true: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
4. We must not focus on all the steps ahead, we must focus on the first step that is needed.
5. I don’t know what step God is calling you to make today, but I pray that each of us will take the initial step.
6. And then once we take the first step, I hope we will then follow through with the next step.
7. In truth, that’s all God asks from us – one step at a time – and in reality, that’s how God leads.
8. Allow me to end with this insightful poem by Barbara Ryberg.
He does not lead me year by year, nor even day by day
But step by step my path unfolds: My Lord directs my way.
Tomorrow’s plans I do not know, I only know this minute;
But He will say, “This is the way, by faith now walk ye in it.”
And I am glad it is so. Today’s enough to bear;
And when tomorrow comes, His grace shall far exceed its care.
What need to worry then, or fret? The God who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hand and gives them, one by one.
9. In the last two weeks, we have seen the journey of two Christian brothers end abruptly and unexpectedly by heart attacks.
a. One was 20 years old, and the other just 60. Both were in seemingly good health.
b. The length of our journey has no promises, only that God will be with us.
10. May God bless us all as we journey with Him…One step at a time…One moment at a time…ready to meet our God anytime.
Resources:
Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit, by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishing, 2002, Chapters 13.
