“Bible places: Macedonia”
Acts 16:6-10
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
In an article entitled, A Change in Plans, author Susan Sparks writes: “I was sitting on a runway, waiting for a flight to Minneapolis--or so I thought. Just after pulling away from the gate, a huge cell of electrical storms blew in. The next thing you know, JFK closes and we are engines off for two hours. Finally, the storms pass, and I hear the jets begin to warm up. We move approximately 2.5 inches, then we stop again with engines off.
“Then the pilot comes on: ‘I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans. The good news is that we will get to Minneapolis at some point. The bad news is that, due to the backup from the storms, we are number seventy-eight in line for takeoff.’”
Isn’t that just how life is? We’re going a hundred miles an hour in one direction, when suddenly, there’s a change in plans. It seems that the only thing we can count on in life is change. As one author put it: “Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.”
One day you’re filing papers at your job; the next day, you’re filing for unemployment.
One day your son or daughter is curled up on your lap, begging for a story; the next, they’re standing in the doorway, begging for your car keys.
One day you’re full of vim and vigor; the next, you’re taking five Advil, just to get out of bed.
There’s been a change in plans.
So it was in the words of our text. If you wish, please turn in your Bible to page 1176, to Acts chapter 16. I’ll start where it says, “The Macedonian Call,” at verse 6: “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 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: 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 into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
Let’s step back for a moment to see what’s going on.
The apostle Paul had just finished a first missionary journey, where he preached the gospel in cities like Cyprus, Pisidia, Iconium, and Lystra. And while many came to faith in Christ through his preaching and teaching, in Lystra, men stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead.
But after a brief visit to Jerusalem as recorded in Acts chapter 15, it was time for a second journey, this time with a man named Silas, and another named Timothy. As it says in chapter 16, verse 5: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
But now, what would they do, and where would the Lord want them to go?
Maybe they should return to Asia, to visit and strengthen the churches there. Surely, that was a place the Lord would want them to go!
But as it says in verse 6, the Holy Spirit forbade them to go.
How about Mysia and Bithynia? No one had ever preached the gospel there! Imagine the thousands who had not yet heard of the Lord Jesus!
But as it says in verse 7, “The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”
So not knowing what else to do or where else to go, maybe just a bit frustrated and confused, they headed west to a town called Troas.
And there we find a first lesson to learn from this text.
Waiting on the Lord’s will is something we often find hard to do. We want to know where He wants us to go, we want to know what He wants us to do, and we want to know now. But think of how often the Bible tells us to wait.
The prophet Micah wrote: “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation.” And the psalmist wrote: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”
You know what Paul could have done? He could have stubbornly and belligerently headed off in any direction he wanted to. Why not Asia? Why not Bithynia? They were perfect places to go!
But it wasn’t the time, and it wasn’t the place. So the Lord told him, “Not now. Don’t go.”
And there’s a second lesson we should learn from this text. When the Lord says, “Don’t go,” then don’t go. Instead, as the psalmist wrote, quietly, humbly, and patiently, wait on the Lord.
But when they went to Troas, what happened? Verse 9: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”
Now if you think about it, it is a little strange. After all, Macedonia was the foundation of the Greek empire, the home of Alexander the Great. It’s been said that there has never been a civilization and never a culture that was as brilliant and as glorious and reached such heights as Greek culture and Greek civilization. Never has been, and never will be.
Think about it. When it came to history, the Greeks had Herodotus and Thucydides and Xenophon. For government, they had Solon, Pericles, and Aristides. For oratory, they had Antiphon and Demosthenes. For drama, they had Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. For poetry, they had Homer and Sappho. For painting, they had the incomparable Apelles. Even though none of his works have survived, ancient writers on art called him the greatest painter of antiquity! Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci got their inspiration from him!
And there’s more! For sculpture, they had Phidias and Praxiteles. For science and mathematics, they had Euclid and Pythagoras. For philosophy, they had Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Xeno the Stoic. A catalog of Oxford University in England once listed four hundred different courses on Aristotle alone!
And if that’s not enough, think of their gods--there’s Zeus, Poseidon and Demeter, Ares, Apollo, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Ephesus boasted a temple for Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, one of the Seven Wonders of the World!
Remember when Paul preached at Athens? He said, “I see that in every way, you are very religious.”
You can say that again! Historians believe the Greeks had as many as thirty thousand different gods.
And remember what else Paul said? He said, “For as I walked around and observed your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an unknown God.”
There has never been a people, a culture, or a civilization like it. Yet a man of Macedonia, speaking on behalf of all the Greek world, appeared to Paul in a vision, praying, begging, pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
And notice, the man didn’t say, “Come over and lecture us,” and neither did he say, “Come and let’s debate theology.” Instead, he said, “Come, please come, and help us!”
Why? Because he knew that in spite of all the knowledge and wisdom, arts and philosophies the Greek world had to offer, in spite of the thousands of Greek gods and goddesses, all of it, absolutely all of it, came to nothing. And the only One who could satisfy their soul’s deepest longing and their heart’s deepest desire was the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that’s a reminder for every one of us as well.
Why do you come to church Sunday after Sunday? It’s not because of our stained-glass windows, no matter how beautiful they are. It’s not because of our music, our architecture, our carpeted floors, or the cushions on our pews.
The real reason you’re here is to feel the Spirit at work among us, to hear His Word, and to stand in the presence of God.
And what did Paul do as soon as he saw that vision? Verse 10: “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.”
You’ve heard of the ship, the Titanic. And you know, all too well, how it went down that night in April of 1912, with 1,503 souls on board. But what you might not have heard of is another ship called, the Californian.
You see, the night the Titanic sunk, the Californian, barely 6 miles away, had come to a full stop in that same field of ice. They even sent out a warning, via morse code, that there were three large icebergs five miles to the south. Then at 11:30, the ship’s only wireless operator turned off his radio, and went to bed.
Ten minutes later, the Titanic hit an iceberg, and started to sink.
So what about the Californian? Apparently, the ship’s captain, as well as a number of others, saw emergency flares shooting up into the sky. Officer James Gibson even said, “She looks very queer out of the water,” and “everything was not all right with her.”
So when they woke up their captain, Stanley Lord, at 2:00 in the morning and at 4:30, what did he do? Absolutely nothing. He said he couldn’t be sure a ship was in distress, or even if it was the Titanic. So when they finally did turn around to take a closer look, it was six hours too late. If only they had answered the call, many, if not all, of their lives could have been saved.
Someone, somewhere, is calling out to you too. And while you may not be able to do much, you can do something. Pray that the Lord will open the door, and lead you to them.
One more thing--you know what happened when Paul went to Macedonia? First, he came to a town called Philippi, and there he met a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple gods, a worshipper of God. And just as soon as he shared the Word with her, he baptized her, as well as everyone else in her home. Then he went to other towns like Thessalonica and Berea and Athens and Corinth, and shared the gospel with them.
And when he went, what did he preach? Later, he wrote to the Corinthians: “And my brethren, when I came, I came not with excellency of speech or of human wisdom, declaring to you the oracles of God. For I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
Dear Father, You once led Paul, Silas, and Timothy to Macedonia, to tell of our Savior Jesus. Help us, in our time and place, to know and to do Your will. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen