[0:00] Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Acts chapter 16.! The book of Acts chapter 16.
[0:12] ! The record of Jesus' earthly ministry, now His second being the record of Jesus' ascended ministry, through the agency of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His church.
[0:43] See in chapter 1, verse 8, the command for them to be still, and when they receive power from the Holy Spirit, that they'll be Jesus' witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
[0:57] So, we find this happening. We find ourselves in the midst of this narrative. The Gospel witness of Stephen in chapter 7 finds him at the end of chapter 7 as the first Christian martyr.
[1:13] And a man named Saul, who we are now calling Paul in our text, his Roman name, stood and gave approval of such a thing. And this event scattered the church abroad.
[1:25] It was the hinge on which the gates swung open. And now, Paul himself, having been saved by grace some chapters later in our narrative, is a major agent in this to the ends of the earth effort of the ascended Christ by the agency of the Spirit in his life.
[1:48] So, we find ourselves here witnessing a portion of Paul's second missionary journey. He's completed the first with Barnabas. They found themselves back in Antioch.
[2:00] And we saw in the past couple of weeks, Paul part ways with Barnabas in Antioch and take Silas with him to Derbe and Lystra, where they pick up Timothy to join them.
[2:11] So, the missionary band of two becomes three. And we saw last week, Timothy exercised his freedom in Christ for the sake of the souls of those Jews in the region by being circumcised.
[2:25] And we concluded in verse 5, so the churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily. And so, that's the stage set for verses 6 through 10.
[2:41] And so, before we read it, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us. It was written for His glory and for our good. And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
[2:57] And I begin reading in verse 6 of Acts chapter 16. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia.
[3:10] And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.
[3:23] A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. 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.
[3:42] So, let's continue to set the stage a bit so as to wrap our minds around where Paul and his companions are traveling before we consider what we should and what we shouldn't learn from such a text.
[3:57] And so, in the hopes of serving you, I've got a map we're going to put up here, although the details of it are tiny. I have a laser pointer pen whose batteries are dead, so I was going to point for you.
[4:09] If you're using the ESV translation of the Bible, you likely have this exact same map in the back. So, if it helps you to be able to see it a little bit better, to give you some help.
[4:22] First, this is Paul's first and second missionary journey, both of which started in Antioch, which is up in the northwest corner of Syria. You can actually see it labeled starting point if you can read that from where you are.
[4:34] The little word bubble says starting point there. The first missionary journey, they set out him and Barnabas and went to Cyprus first, and they worked in this clockwise direction going through Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe, and then they cycled back around back to Antioch.
[4:52] Chapter 14, the Jerusalem Council. They're back in Antioch now. They've likely been there for about two years. Paul and Barnabas part ways, and this time, Paul leaves with Silas, and he goes counterclockwise through Tarsus to Derbe and Lystra.
[5:10] I can't, I can't, I can't mind. I'm just going to walk up a point. I'm not that tall. So you're seeing the region of Galatia comes down, reaches down in there, and you're seeing the two cities at the bottom of that, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, just north of that.
[5:22] So that's where they've picked up Timothy in this region, and they're now beginning to travel around Galatia, and Phrygia is what our text says for us.
[5:32] Now, Phrygia, you may or may not be able to see as running, they've got the word running parallel up like this. It was a sub-region of Galatia. So complicated ancient times, Roman rule, they're always dividing and pushing lines out and having governors of various regions.
[5:48] So it's a sub-region of Galatia, right? And they're traveling around in this area, and the text says, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
[6:04] Now, if you will track with me and note the way the solid arrow goes up from there, right? It goes up through where? The region of Asia.
[6:15] So isn't it interesting in our text that the text records they were traveling about in Phrygia and Galatia. Our previous text from last week, the beginning of Acts chapter 16, says they were going about and they were preaching the gospel in the form of delivering this letter that the Jerusalem Council had formed to inform the Gentile believers that they didn't need any further burden, meaning they didn't need to be circumcised to keep the Old Testament commanded of circumcision.
[6:42] So they're going around strengthening churches in these places. So when you read it, it's interesting because the way the ESV punctuates it, it seems like they're traveling in the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because they've been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
[6:58] But then quickly after that, they go into Asia. Isn't that interesting? I'm not sure that the punctuation follows. Maybe it does, and we don't need to get into it this morning.
[7:10] But in brief, it almost seems like it should say, and they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, period, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, and when they had come up to Mysia.
[7:22] Are you tracking my logic there? Because they're in a region and they're about to move through a region. The way it's punctuated in the ESV, if we read it that way, would mean that they were staying in the region of Phrygia and Galatia until they decided to move through Asia.
[7:41] But nonetheless, this is what's happening. This is where they are and what's going on. Asia, also a region. And you find it here on the map.
[7:52] Modern day Turkey, not Far East Asia, as most of us would think of. So this would have been the region of Asia. And you see the sub-region above the word Asia there of Mysia. So that's where they are heading through to the sub-region of Mysia.
[8:06] And they attempt to go into Bithynia, which is another region north, just there south of the Black Sea. But they are, again, prevented, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
[8:20] So they pass by Mysia. They skirt it to the north. And they find themselves in the town, in the coastal town of Troas. Okay? So they went down to Troas.
[8:31] It means they went downhill to the sea. They went down to Troas. And it is in Troas that Paul sees a vision, likely in a dream, right?
[8:42] It says that at night, so likely in a dream, a Macedonian man saying, urging him and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.
[8:55] Now it's interesting at this point in our text, in Luke's narrative, Luke switches from third-person narrative to first-person plural narrative.
[9:06] It's likely at this point in his record that he joins up with the missionary troop. He's been writing now, looking back to these events, gathering accounts of it, but now he's first-person.
[9:21] He's there, first-person. You'll see the third-person narrative signified by the pronoun they in verses 6, verses 7, verses 8, and the pronoun him in verse 9.
[9:34] But in verse 10, you see the switch to first-person plural narrative signified by the pronoun we. When Paul had seen the vision, immediately we stopped to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us, another plural pronoun, to preach the gospel to them.
[9:55] So it's likely this is where Luke joins them and begins to accompany them on their missionary journey. Note also in our text that when they consider a request for help seen in the form of a vision, their proper assumption is that the help requested is a desire for the gospel to be preached.
[10:20] So this vision, the Macedonian man does not say come and preach the gospel to us. He says come and help us. And so they go to meet the Macedonian's real need and not any felt need, and the real need is for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[10:36] This event in the book of Acts is significant. It's very significant in that it takes Paul and his companions'! missionary efforts to Europe for the first time.
[10:47] Macedonia is modern day Greece. So it takes it across into another continent for the very first time. Caleb, you can take the map off there now.
[10:59] So as we witness these events, remember this is historical narrative, so we're just seeing the record of events. We should glean out of it what we can learn, but before we do that, I want to talk about what we shouldn't learn from such a text.
[11:16] So what might we be tempted to learn from this text that we shouldn't learn from this text? There's a phrase in our text accompanied by general activity of the Holy Spirit that our generation tends to make many mistakes with.
[11:36] And that phrase is this. God had called. And the general activity of the Holy Spirit is His forbidding in verse 6, His not allowing in verse 7, and His giving of a vision in verse 9.
[11:58] Now I will not deny that God has specific intention for them to travel to Macedonia. The Spirit of God gives a vision, a very specific calling for them to travel to Macedonia.
[12:11] They were correct in their conclusion from Paul's vision. And I will not deny that God works through the agency of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His intention.
[12:23] What I want to keep us from doing with this text this morning is taking Luke's ambiguity. Like he's not very specific about how it is that the Spirit forbids and does not allow.
[12:35] Specific about the vision, but not specific about the prevention of their moving and sharing the gospel. I don't want us to take that ambiguity about how exactly the Spirit forbid and did not allow and turn it into a license to feel our way through God's calling for our lives.
[12:56] An incredibly common Christian phrase in our day is, I feel called by God to fill in the blank.
[13:07] Go here, marry this person, take this job. I feel called to do such and such. Many of you have said something very much like this.
[13:20] I have myself. But what does it mean to feel called? Can you describe to me said feeling?
[13:31] How do I know when I am feeling called? This is dangerous, extra-biblical language. And I see two common, all too common, unfortunate results from such thinking and use of language.
[13:50] Number one, these are the two errors I see most often, which are at least in part a result of this kind of speaking. Many Christians do nothing at all waiting for some unknown feeling.
[14:06] We live in a culture of people saying that they feel called to things and I haven't felt that, so I do nothing until I wait for this feeling that everyone's talking about.
[14:17] And that's happening both passively, people who just do nothing at all, waiting for that, or actively in that people are always trying to figure out exactly what their feelings are.
[14:29] Have you ever used language like, I just don't feel a piece about this? Not biblical language, beloved. The Bible doesn't speak in those terms to us, that we feel like something's the right decision to make and therefore we make that decision.
[14:48] Let me give you a bit of an example. We also use the language of doors being opened, which is biblical language, praise God, but I think we use it too often in unbiblical ways. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses 8 and 9, this.
[15:02] He's talking about his longing to come see the church in Corinth. He says, but I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, the future, the celebration of Pentecost. Verse 9, for a wide door of effective work has opened to me.
[15:18] So there's that biblical use of the language of why door has been opened. Like Paul is saying, look, I have so much ministry I can do in Ephesus. And most of us kind of stop there and we think that doors being opened means easy.
[15:32] Right? There it is. It's a thing. And you've heard that sometimes God closes the door and he opens up a window. Right? That you don't, the easiest route, right? We follow the easy path like water does.
[15:45] But the rest of verse 9, Paul says this, and there are many adversaries. And there are many adversaries.
[15:57] So we may not feel like something is going the way it ought to do, but it could very well be the very right thing to do. And we'll talk about how we establish that. And it may be sometimes that we have to kick the door down because it is what God has called us to.
[16:14] So I see many Christians who just do nothing at all whether passively or actively because of feelings. And secondly, some Christians are left confused because the thing they felt called to doesn't work out the way they thought that it would.
[16:35] Some of you may know somebody who has felt called at some point in their life to world missions. And the circumstances of life prevent them from ever taking their feet off American soil.
[16:45] And they're confused. What was this thing that I felt that didn't get accomplished? Young people, some of you probably have a friend or may be guilty of feeling called to date somebody and that person disagrees with you.
[16:59] And suddenly we don't know who hears God. You're just feeling your feelings. We are not instructed anywhere in the Bible to feel our way through life's decisions.
[17:17] Praise God for that. My feelings are way too fickle to be any source of direction. And if you know me for very long, you know I'm not much of a feeler.
[17:30] I'm much more cerebral in the way I function, but my feelings are not to be trusted. Most of this week, up until some moments ago, I did not feel like preaching.
[17:45] I didn't feel like it. I would have gladly canceled this morning for inclement weather, or asked someone to take the task from me, but I am convinced in my mind by the instruction of the scripture of the centrality of preaching for the good of God's people.
[18:05] And I am moved by that truth to prepare, anyway, and to pray that God would have me feel what I ought to feel when I come to preaching.
[18:16] But it does not change what I do. I pray that my feelings would be consistent with the truth of my calling.
[18:28] I don't always feel like serving my wife and my children. Have you ever felt like doing dishes? dishes? But we do it anyway.
[18:42] There's many times I don't feel like getting on the floor and playing with my kids. I am tired and I am getting older and it hurts to be on the floor. But I am a dad.
[18:52] And of this I can be sure that God is giving me the responsibility to love my children. many of you did not feel like getting up this morning.
[19:07] An alarm went off way too early and it was storming outside and it was cloudy. It was so much darker than it should have been this morning for us to wake up.
[19:18] You didn't feel like doing it but you did it all the same because you didn't want to neglect the command for us to gather together. There are some people who are not here with us this morning because they didn't feel like being here.
[19:32] Many are traveling but some just didn't feel like being here this morning. In our text this morning I'm convinced that Luke does not tell us exactly how the Spirit forbid and did not allow because that is not the point of the text.
[19:53] It's not the point of the text and so we should not learn that. From the text that the Spirit is working in some strange mysterious way and we look at that and we look at our experience and our culture and go well it must be that they didn't feel like they should preach the gospel in Asia or they didn't feel like they should go to Bithynia.
[20:14] We don't know what intervened in those cases but I can tell you this because of the larger context of the Bible it was not because of their feelings.
[20:26] So it leaves the question I hope that the phrase that they were concluding that God had called them to preach the gospel gives you some hope.
[20:38] God's given us general call but he's also working the specifics out. Very specifically God is having them move through a region in order to get to a place and we get to see so much of what unfolds in that place God's good sovereign purpose but to hang on that to go ooh God's calling in very specific ways we should consider that.
[21:05] So what can we learn from this text about God's calling for our lives? Can we know with specificity what God would have us do with our lives?
[21:19] And there is much to be said about this so this will be in brief this morning. I want to encourage you to continue to consider the biblical teaching on these things beyond this morning but in brief let's talk a little bit about that.
[21:30] Can we know with specificity what God would have us do with our lives? And in considering that question my attention was drawn to the title that Luke uses for the Holy Spirit the second time that he mentions him.
[21:44] He mentions him first in verse six but secondly he uses this title for the Holy Spirit in verse seven the Spirit of Jesus.
[21:56] The Spirit of Jesus. Luke seems to be giving possession of the Spirit to Jesus. You could say Jesus' Spirit did this thing.
[22:08] Now that is not a name often used for the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. In fact it is only used here in this exact form the Spirit of Jesus but also we won't be too picky the Spirit of Jesus Christ in Philippians chapter 1 verse 19 and the Spirit of Christ in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 11 and in Romans chapter 8 verse 9 which we're going to look at momentarily Romans 8 verse 9.
[22:38] Let me say this to you a valuable hermeneutic principle right? Hermeneutics is the study of how to study the Bible. A valuable hermeneutic principle is that where Scripture is less clear we use more clear text to Scripture to interpret it.
[22:59] So when something's a head scratcher and I would suggest to you that these verses are these five verses we need to look in a broader context and what the Bible says in more clear ways to help us understand what's happening here in this narrative.
[23:13] So let's explore this title the Spirit of Jesus a bit further by looking in the book of John at another title given to the Spirit.
[23:24] So I'm coming away from the Spirit of Jesus title but to help us understand it I want to look at another title given to the Spirit this time by Jesus turn to John chapter 16.
[23:36] You can mark Acts 16 We're going to be away from it for a little while though. Now the book of John in a sense places Jesus on trial.
[23:59] John is a follower of Jesus Christ but the way in which he presents the book of John is meant to drive us to understand that Jesus is the Christ and so he in very specific ways brings out witnesses the first 12 chapters of John this is what he's doing and he states for us much later in the book in John chapter 20 verse 31 these words are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name so the book of John is filled with the language of witness and testimony it is in this context that John records Jesus farewell discourse you really should study Jesus farewell discourse chapter 14 15 and 16 in John chapter 16 verse 7 Jesus says the following to his disciples I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that
[25:01] I go away for if I do not go away the helper will not come to you but if I go I will send him to you so now the English word helper some of your translations might say comforter is the word paraclete paraclete and there's been a lot of debate about what this word means I'm going to read to you a brief quote from Sinclair Ferguson's book the Holy Spirit this is one of the best treatments of the topic of the spirit so if you really want to know more and I hope you do about the third part of the trinity this would be a!
[25:46] book to pick up so he writes this much attention has been devoted in Johannine studies of John Johannine studies to the meaning and identity of the paracletos a compound of kaleo to call and para alongside the term denotes someone who is called to one's aid or defense a paraclete is in the older sense of the word a comforter someone who comes to strengthen so we're all familiar with that kind of idea of the spirit of God comes along as a comforter as a helper brings strength acts one eight however it is now more generally recognized that in John the term has a forensic connotation not important phrase the spirit is the witness advocate who testifies to
[26:52] Christ it's we've come to understand right through much study not our study other people study that the word paraclete means to come alongside and to serve as a witness so in the context of John's letter being about being a witness to Jesus as the Christ can be understood that the spirit is Jesus' witness Jesus' advocate that does not nullify the strengthening and the comforting and the helping that the spirit is to us but here what St.
[27:29] Claire Ferguson is suggesting is that the helper is Jesus' helper more than it's our helper so how does the spirit serve as the witness advocate of Christ back up a little bit in John chapter 16 I'm not sorry sorry don't back up go forward verses 8 through 15 and when he comes this is the helper the paraclete spirit of Christ he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me so he will come those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ the helper the witness advocate of Jesus will bring about conviction for people who have transgressed the law which is everybody right verse 10 concerning righteousness the perfect requirement of the law our need of righteousness to be accepted by
[28:40] God because Jesus says I go to the father and you will see me no longer right him living out the perfect righteousness of God before them he's leaving so the helper is going to come and bear witness about his perfect righteousness and our need of it he'll be a witness to the world in that way verse 11 concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged because when Jesus died right the death knell had been told for Satan he has yet to die completely but he has been judged and judgment will one day come to the world so the paraclete the spirit of Christ serves to defend Christ as a witness to the world but not just that look on in verse 12 through 15 Jesus says
[29:41] I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now when the spirit of truth comes another title now given to the paraclete when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth for he will not speak on his own authority but he will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you all that the father has is mine therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you so the paraclete also is a witness to us of what Christ Jesus that he is the Christ that the gospel is true and the primary way that he does this is!
[30:28] he! in men a book that tells us all that we need to know about Jesus and all that we need to know to follow him so the paraclete witnesses!
[30:41] to the supremacy of Christ to us and to the world through us before Jesus' declaration in John 16 7 John draws a parallel for us between the spirit and the apostles Jesus' words Jesus says John chapter 15 verse 26 and 27 I hope I'm not losing you in the midst of all this when the helper comes there again paraclete when the helper comes whom I will send to you from the father the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father he will bear witness about me and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning so you see through the recorded words of Jesus John draws this parallel for us between the spirit and the apostles and now us as the church of Christ on earth so this is the function this is the primary work and we've said this in other terms in past weeks right the primary work of the spirit of God is what the exaltation of Jesus
[31:48] Christ and as we've worked through signs and wonders I've been trying to set up for you the filter that is things we're witnessing now are they Christ exalting or are they supposedly spirit exalting because the spirit would never do such a thing right the spirit is always about the exaltation of Jesus Christ and here we see this in John right him being called the helper the paraclete the witness to who Jesus is and what he did okay now to Romans chapter 8 and you'll want to turn there as well I'm trying to tie this together for you I'm also missing an hour of sleep Romans chapter 8 beginning in verse 8 those who are in the flesh cannot please
[32:50] God and he's speaking metaphorically he's not talking about us physically being but in the flesh existing in the flesh verse 9 you however are not in the flesh but in the spirit if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you so we're in the spirit if the spirit in us anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ there's that phrase verse 9 Romans chapter 8 anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him but if Christ is in you although the body is dead because of sin the spirit is life because of righteousness so track the logic for you through that we are in the!
[33:42] spirit if the spirit of God is in us we belong to Christ if the spirit of Christ is ours if the spirit of Christ is ours then Christ is in us and so you see how to call the Holy Spirit the spirit of Christ or the spirit of Jesus as Luke does is really right and proper so we're followers of Jesus Christ if we are pleasers of God then we are so because of the spirit of Christ so how does this answer the question that I asked at the very beginning you may be wondering can we know with specificity what God would have us do with our lives yes to know Christ and to make him known is the large and general and specific call on the life of all people we would know him and that we would make him known the spirit of
[34:48] Jesus will always lead us in this way I suggest to you this morning that this is why Luke gives us such ambiguous details and uses this title for the Holy Spirit because what he wants us to see in the very early stage of the second missionary journey he wants us to see them going he wants us to note that they're going verse six they went verse seven I'm back in Acts 16 by the way verse seven they had come they attempted to go verse eight passing by they went down and then in verse 10 we sought to go they never stop they just continue the mission that Christ had given them why because the spirit of
[35:48] Jesus is the one that's guiding them all along the way so in our going we should want to know Christ and to make him known and then beloved the details don't really matter that much don't believe in what John MacArthur called a dot theology that it's your task as a follower of Jesus Christ to perfectly discern the will of God so that you can get from point A to B to C to D this is not the way the Lord works in our lives pursue him with all that you have and then in the details do what you want to take the job you would want to and marry who you would want to and go to the school and major in what you would want to provided that you're putting the kingdom of God first those things work themselves out they work themselves out Luke wants us to see them going so that we will go so that we will go now!
[36:53] because I don't want to be logically inconsistent we do see the spirit directing some things specifically here do we not you're going wait a second Nathan hang on you started setting this whole thing up and you didn't answer the question well let me answer the question for you in part right but largely right largely know Christ and make him known what about the particulars right what about the particulars here are just a few guiding principles!
[37:20] that should navigate some of the particulars of our life as we put the kingdom of God first and foremost so first practice the revealed will of God for your life practice this large overarching revealed will for your life if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ repent and believe repent and believe know him be restored to God because of his person and his work on your behalf then and if you already know Christ then exercise the habits of grace do those things in the scripture that we're commanded to do for our good college students I hear so many of you whining about what you're supposed to do next and you don't do the good things that God has already told you to do start there habits of grace like
[38:23] Bible reading memorization meditation prayer privately and corporately you may remember some months ago we framed that up as your gospel conviction fellowship meeting with the church it's good that you guys are here with us today it's your gospel community obedience in all things that God has commanded begin to pursue holiness by the grace that God provides your gospel character and gospel proclamation this is the commission that has been given to us by God begin to do those things the revealed things and you'll find that your heart will be joined to God's and you'll figure out the little bits and the details of your life secondly do what you are doing until God tells you to do otherwise do what you are doing until God tells you to do otherwise right we see the missionary troop traveling about and then a vision comes along and they decide to get out of the region they're in and to sail across an inlet and arrive in
[39:38] Europe in Macedonia right Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 excuse me just verse 2 Paul says do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect do what you're doing until God tells you to do otherwise and enrich your thinking not your feeling so that you'll know when it's time it's time to do a different thing you'll hear the voice of God speaking to you don't expect a vision don't look for a sign we'll say to you that this is not beyond God but certainly not the most common way that God is going to communicate to you a narrative example of this transforming of the mind can be found in
[40:41] Acts chapter 15 verses 24 through 28 Clay preached on this a number of weeks ago this is the results of the Jerusalem council this is the letter that they sent back to the Gentile churches!
[41:03] words unsettling your minds although we gave them no instructions here's this phrase verse 25 it has seemed good to us it seemed good to us right we have studied and we have heard the report and it makes sense that we would send to you a letter verse 25 goes on to say having come to one accord collectively deciding together to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul men who have risked their lives in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we have therefore sent Judas and Silas who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth in verse 28 for it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements and he goes on to give some description of what those requirements are so be about the work of renewing your mind being reasonable and make decisions accordingly and number three and finally seek wise counsel one of the things
[42:18] I despise about the language of feeling called is that no one can refute such a thing if they also are wrapped up in that belief system you can go and say I feel called to jump off the roof of the church building and someone else who goes oh I have also felt called to do things would not tell you to stop if they're being consistent I would no that's dumb don't do that whatever you're feeling is probably sad but you should not jump off the roof of the church building and so people feel called to do things all the time I know quite a few men who have felt called to be pastors and they have no business teaching other people the word of God none!
[43:10] whatsoever! our southern baptist seminaries graduate lots of men who have no business teaching the word of God and it's not the seminary's fault it's the individual's and the church's fault for ever allowing them to go we need to say to each other brother this is not your thing what you're feeling should not be the basis for your decision let's find a way to channel the energy that you have for the sake of the king in a way that's going be most effective for the kingdom so seek wise counsel and we see that here right Paul has a vision we don't get the details of this but he goes to them and they together conclude that God called them called us to preach the gospel to the Macedonians and so they go as a faith unit together to this work that's ahead of them so as we witness texts like this right driving purpose historical narrative
[44:17] God is continuing to press the gospel proclamation out further and further and further right it's on its way to the ends of the earth we are gracious recipients of the work that's happening here as the gospel continues to go forth this is our history we should praise the lord for his good work driving them through Asia and into Macedonia to spread the gospel further and further and we should be careful what we do with such a text as it applies to our lives beloved let us be those who are going who are practicing the revealed will of God and all of those habits of grace who are being transformed by the renewing of our mind and who are seeking wise counsel for how we can obey in the particulars of our pursuit of Jesus let's pray together