“Turning the World Upside Down: Listening to God”
 Sermon Series on the Book of Acts
(Acts 16:1-12)
September 25, 2005
Dr. Peter Barnes
First Presbyterian Church

Introduction
      Have you ever been in a situation where you wondered what God wanted you to do? You were looking for divine guidance, and so you asked God to show you what His will was for your life. Maybe it had to do with a job search or whether or not you should ask someone to marry you. Perhaps it was what college to attend or what major to choose. All of us want to make good choices in life, and when we are pressed hard and the stakes are high we don’t want to make a mistake.
      When we seek God’s will, sometimes His guidance is unmistakable. Other times when you ask God for direction, you wonder why He stays so silent. It’s not always as predictable as we would like it to be, and many times we find ourselves walking more by faith than by sight, and sometimes we even feel like we’re walking in the dark. 
      This morning we study a passage of Scripture which deals with divine guidance and learning how to listen for God’s voice and leading.  As we consider these things, I want you to notice two things: some new companions; and a new direction.

I. Some New Companions
      You will recall that last week we learned about the sharp dispute that arose between Paul and Barnabas over mission personnel and strategy. The disagreement was so great that they parted company and went their separate ways. Barnabas took his young cousin, John Mark, with him and sailed for Cyprus, while Paul took Silas, and headed north from Antioch. They traveled by land to Paul’s home town of Tarsus as they made their way to Derbe and Lystra, two cities where Paul and Barnabas had planted churches during their first missionary journey.  
      While in Lystra, we are told they met a young man named Timothy who was a follower of Christ. His mother was Jewish, but his father was a Greek. Fifteen years later, Paul still addressed Timothy as a young man in a letter to his colleague (1Tim. 4:12), so Timothy might well have been a teenager at this time when he joined Paul and Silas on their journey. All the people in the church there spoke very highly of Timothy because of his commitment to Christ and his leadership abilities. Paul invited the young man to join him and Silas on their missionary travels, and the young man jumped at the opportunity. 
      However, there was just one problem. Even though his mother was a Jew, Timothy had never been circumcised. Despite the fact that the question had been settled at the Jerusalem Council of whether or not circumcision was required for salvation, Paul thought it best to have Timothy circumcised so that his work among the Jews might be more effective. Talk about pay the price to do ministry! So, don’t complain to me about late committee meetings anymore. You don’t have to do what Timothy did!
      Here we see a case of Paul’s admonition put into practice: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1Cor. 9:22).  It is interesting to note that later on in Paul’s ministry Titus, who was in a similar situation as Timothy, was not circumcised. In that case circumcision was refused because some people were demanding it as a necessary requirement for salvation.
      In what ways might God be calling you to sacrifice your freedom in Christ so that you might be more effective in your witness for the Lord? In the area of dress?  In the matter of alcohol? In what you drive, or the places you go, or what you purchase? How does God want you to become all things to all people that by all possible means you might help Him save some?
      One footnote I’d like to add as it relates to the new companions of Paul in this passage is that there is a fourth person who joins the missionaries in Troas. It is the author of the book of Acts himself – Dr. Luke. You will note that in verse 10 the author changes from the pronoun “they” to “we,” indicating that he became a part of the team and traveled with Paul as far as Philippi. As we shall see next week, apparently he stayed on in Philippi to help build up the church there after it was begun. In 17:1, when Paul and his companions began their journey again, the pronoun reverts back to “they.” I have a theory about this which I will share with you next week.

II.  A New Direction
      After Paul and his companions left Lystra, they traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The text tells us they wanted to go south and west into Asia, which is modern day Turkey, but the Holy Spirit kept them from doing so. Then they came to the border of Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit would not allow them to go there as well. As a result, they passed by Mysia and went down to the city of Troas, which was just a few miles away from the ruins of the ancient city of Troy. What exactly was happening here, and how did the Holy Spirit “prevent” them from traveling to these various places? This raises the whole question of how does God guide us?
      Don’t you just love AAA maps? You go to the AAA office and they give you these maps on which the route you are supposed to take is highlighted in bright yellow or orange. The big, brightly colored maps help you get where you need to go. I wish following God’s will were like those maps. It would be so easy to follow.
      But God doesn’t give us AAA maps to show us the way. He has chosen to reveal His will for the route of our lives in more subtle ways which require spiritual sensitivity and the cultivation of ears that can hear the voice of God. Sometimes His direction is clear; other times it is downright confusing. On occasion you have to be Sherlock Holmes to put the clues together. Other times you have to simply strike out in faith.
      Over the years, I have come to identify several ways in which I believe God has guided me, and I’d like to share them with you. Perhaps they will help you in your efforts to discern the will of God for your own life. First, I believe God guides us by His Word, the Bible. There have been times in my life when I have found great comfort and direction simply in reading the Word of God. Recently I was fearful about making a decision and uncertain about what I should do. I was uncertain about what I should do. And then in my devotions I came across a passage which encouraged the reader never to measure God’s unlimited power by our limited expectations. God spoke to me through that passage and the devotion I read, and I went forward with the plan Lorie and I had made.
      Second, I believe God guides us by circumstances. There are two ways in which I believe He does this. One is negative guidance, and the other is positive guidance. Sometimes God closes a door, and other times He opens a window. We have all experienced this kind of direction from the Lord. We interview for a job, and we are not offered the position. The will of God becomes pretty clear. But then, out of the blue another option comes along we weren’t even seeking, and it becomes obvious what the Lord wants us to do.
      This past summer, one of the guys in my small group was offered a new regional sales job with a high tech company. He wasn’t sure if he should take the offer or not, and he was praying about what to do. However, his then current boss walked into his office one day and told him that the company was doing so poorly, they would have to let him go by the end of the month. Talk about confirmation! The decision was an easy one because of the clear and unmistakable circumstances. 
      There are other occasions in our lives when we realize only in hindsight what God was doing. We look back and come to see that we had to get to point A before we could even see point B. All along, God wanted us to get to point B, but we couldn’t see it from where we were at first. God guides us by negative circumstances and positive ones as well. 
      The rejection we feel and the frustration that grows when we experience negative guidance is so hard at times. We wonder what God is up to and why He has allowed the circumstances to hurt us so much. It is in those times when we must trust that God has a good plan and that He wants the best for us. If God sent His only Son to die on the cross for your sins and mine, then He can be trusted to have our best interest at heart. Are you struggling with negative guidance this morning? Have you felt the sting of a closed door lately? Put your trust in the heart of God and rest in the confidence that He will show you the way in due time. 
      Corrie ten Boom, the German concentration camp survivor in World War II and author of the book The Hiding Place, used to tell of the times when she, as a little girl, would travel to the train station with her father. As they were on their way, she always asked her father if she could hold the train ticket. Her father always said "no." She was too little, and he was afraid that she would lose it. No matter how much she pestered her father, he resisted and would not give her the ticket. But every time, just as they were about to board the train, Corrie's father would hand her the ticket, and she would give it to the conductor as they got on. 
      Corrie reflected on that repeated experience and marveled at the timing of her earthly father, and in turn she saw a lesson on our waiting upon God. All too often we insist on having something from God that we think we need right away. But our heavenly Father in His infinite wisdom knows that we can't handle the thing just now. However, at just the right time, when we really need it the most, He will give us what we need. His timing is always perfect.
      A third way I believe God speaks to us is through His Holy Spirit. As we learn to walk with the Lord in greater intimacy, we develop our capacity to listen for the voice of God. In Isaiah 30:21, the prophet tells of a time to come: “And your ears will hear a word behind you saying this is the way, walk in it, turn not to the right or to the left.” Sometimes God speaks in a still, small voice, and other times He booms His will. We’ve got to be attentive to hear the voice of God whenever He calls. All too often, we are in such a hurry, moving so quickly, filling our lives with noise. No wonder most of us have a hard time hearing the voice of God. We don’t stop very often to listen in silence.
      A couple of weeks ago, Don King, one of our elders on Session, shared with us how God spoke to him at a critical time in his professional life. He was driving down the freeway in LA, and, as he wondered about what he should do, he started doubting what he thought God wanted him to do. A voice distinctly said to him, “Do you not trust what I have already told you?” The voice was so loud that he actually looked in the rear view mirror and then turned around to check the back seat to see if someone was in the car with him! Then he quietly said, “I trust You Lord, and I’ll leave the matter in Your hands.” Sometimes God speaks loudly like that, or like Paul’s vision of the man from Macedonia. Other times it is a still, small voice. The key is we’ve got to listen. 
      I will add here that I believe God speaks to our spirits and not just to our minds. There are times when I have struggled with a matter, and I simply did not have a peace about the situation. There are other times when I’ve been anxious about a decision, and then a peace comes over me to give me assurance that God is in the decision. We need to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord in our spirits as well as our minds and hearts, but we also should be careful not to read too much into these things. Sometimes when we lack peace and feel uneasy about things, it may simply be the lasagna we had for lunch!
      Finally, I believe God speaks to us through other people. We listen for the voice of God in the voice of others. This is one of the primary ways God speaks to me. On many occasions I will go to members of the staff or dear friends in the congregation and say to them, “Tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.” I look to them to speak the truth to me in love, and I find that God guides me very often by this means.
      In the spring of 1992, Lorie and I had two wonderful offers from the Pastor Nominating Committees of two great churches to come and candidate to become their next senior pastor. One church was back east, and the other was here at First Pres. We wanted to do God’s will and not go to either church for the wrong reasons. What did God want us to do?
      I sought out one of my mentors, Harry Hassall, a man who knew both churches and who knew Lorie and me. I asked him what he thought we should do. He said, “Peter, if you go to the church back east, after seven years, you’ll have no more kingdoms to conquer. Your work there will be done, and you will go on trusting in your own abilities. But if you go to First Presbyterian Church in Boulder, after seven years, you will have just begun your ministry in earnest, and you’ll go on your knees, because you’ll be in over your head!” He understood the complexities of each church setting and where my gifts would best be used. That was such good advice.
      After meeting with Harry, I went to my office at the church and began to write in my journal for about 45 minutes. The more I wrote, the more the veil of confusion lifted, and it became clear that God wanted us to come here to Boulder. I called Lorie and shared with her what had happened. She said, “Let’s go!” And here we are today. God is faithful to lead us, if we look to Him to speak to us through His people. 
     In the case of Paul and his companions, the Spirit of God led them by negative guidance and then positive guidance. At first, the Spirit prevented them from going to Asia, and then the Spirit prevented them from going to Mysia and Bithynia. Then the Lord gave Paul his vision of the man from Macedonia, and it was clear what they should do. As a result of their obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, they crossed over into Europe, and the gospel was proclaimed there for the first time in history. We’ll consider these developments next week when we study the rest of chapter 16.

Conclusion
      As we close this morning, I want to share with you one more story of God’s guidance in my life that involved a number of these ways in which the Lord reveals His will to us. For many years, God had put on Lorie’s heart and mine the desire to serve the Lord on the mission field. We were compelled by the words of Scripture in Matthew 28 that urged all of us to be a part of taking the good news of God’s love to the ends of the earth. Dr. Christy Wilson, our professor of missions in seminary, had a profound impact on both of us, and Lorie had gone to seminary with the intention of teaching missionary kids overseas. We also wanted to be on the cutting edge of what the Spirit of God was doing in the world and join in the adventure of it all. So we talked it over with Clayton Bell, the senior pastor of our church in Dallas, and applied for missionary service with the office of our denomination in Louisville.
      About a year later, someone contacted us on a Friday in March. They told us they had received our application and would like to offer us an opportunity to go to Thailand to work in the area of training nationals in evangelism. We would be stationed in Bangkok, but we would also travel to the remote areas of the country to carry on the work. The mission board wanted to interview us as soon as possible with the view that we would be commissioned in June and sent to the field by the middle of the summer. They wanted an answer by Monday, if possible.
      Lorie and I began to pray about this. It was all so new, and our heads were spinning as we tried to sort through the options. But then on Saturday, the next day, our son Jason, who was about four at the time, had an asthma attack that landed him in the hospital, and he almost died. It was a very frightening experience for us as a family. Had we been in Bangkok, Jason probably would not have survived.
      On Sunday afternoon, the next day, Clayton Bell, who had himself been born on the mission field in China, came to our home and said to us, “Lorie and Peter, the Lord has given you the heart for missions, but He hasn’t given your sons the body for it. I think you are supposed to stay here in the States and be ‘senders’ of missionaries rather than ‘goers.’” He was right, and this was to us a word from the Lord.  We called the folks in Louisville on Monday and let them know that we would not be interviewing to go to Thailand.
      God spoke to us through His Word in igniting our passion for missions. But He also spoke to us through the negative guidance of Jason’s health crisis. And He spoke to us through Clayton’s profound words. When we made the decision to turn down the offer, we were sad, but we also had a great peace about the matter.
      Are you facing a major decision this morning, my friend? Are you struggling to know what God wants you to do? Take the matter to the Lord. Look to His word, to your life, and to His people as you seek His will. There is no better place to be than in the center of the will of God. Lloyd Ogilvie said it well when he wrote, “God uses what He allows to accomplish what He intends.”[1]  Amen.