The Macedonian Call

Philippians 1:12-20, Acts 16:6-10 & Matthew 28:16-20

Have you ever had what you believe to be a vision from God?
I have and this morning I'm trying to share the joys and difficulties of this with you.

In the verses leading up to this morning's reading from the book of Acts…Paul and Barnabas had returned home victoriously from the Council of Jerusale…bringing with them the wonderful news that the Gentile believers didn't have to be circumcised or adopt a Jewish lifestyle to be saved. Think about that if the decision had gone the other way…evangelism of the Gentiles would have ended…but now the passport had been stamped and Paul…the great apostle could not wait to get going again.

His plan was to retrace the memorable steps of his first missionary journey from Antioch to the island of Cyprus…then…sailing onward to Asia Minor and travelling into Galatia.

It was a great plan…Paul and Barnabas were the very model of team ministry and as they went…they expected to follow up on new believers…sort out false doctrine…teach more about God's grace…share the results of the Jerusalem Council and build up the leadership in each church.

They weren't willing to make the mistake so often made in modern day evangelism…that of allowing converts to go their own way without follow-up…so here they were on the road again…but to Paul's lasting amazement He found 2 himself taking an unexpected leap across the Dardanelle Straits from Asia to Europe…and in obedience to God a special call to Macedonia.

Authentic turning points in history are few… but surely among them the Macedonian vision is right up there…some will remember learning at school but someone who sailed the ocean blue (Columbus, and the year 1592).

He discovered the Americas but that's of little comfort to those who perhaps wished they hadn’t been discovered.

Significant…but compared to this…where something happened that completely redirected Paul's ministry…keeping it in line with God's hidden agenda.

You may have experienced some redirecting from God in your life…how open were you to this when it happened?

Did you embrace it or were you fearful and let the call slip away…we can have neatly ordered plans…I think that's what Paul had… he was on a journey…his journey…but God had other ideas.

There is no neat formula when God is at work …in fact…when there is a neat formula I wonder if I'm hearing from God.
Is it the same for you?

Paul didn't fully understand what was going on until he and Luke sat down for a flat white and a chat after it was all over…but retrospectively Paul's experience was a marvellously revealing tapestry.

Even in dream team’s there can be disagreement…Paul and Barnabas parted company.

What it reveals is how God directs his servants…and while he didn't cause the disagreement or the fateful separation…he used it to guide both men into increased fruitfulness and service by creating two missionary teams…instead of one.

Now it was Silas who travelled with Paul… they sought to go into Bithynia…but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them so they travelled to Troas and during the night Paul had a vision.

"There was a man of Macedonia standing and begging him…'cross over to Macedonia and help us!'"

There are some who say Paul saw a sudden appearance by Dr Luke and heard his plea for Paul to cross the channel…while others that this was a vision of Alexander the Great…the archetype of Macedonia…speaking for his lost race.

Whatever the vision encompassed…its meaning was clear…Europe was calling for help…the people of Europe needed the gospel of Christ…and the result is recorded for us in verse 10.

"After Paul had seen the vision…we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia…concluding that God had called us to evangelise them."

This word translated "concluding" is an old Greek verb that means "to bring together" or can mean "to knit together".

You can imagine the conversations between Luke…Paul and their fellow travellers as they considered the vision in the context of all that had gone before.

They had been praying for something else… further fruit from seeds already planted… hearts open to being corrected…where heresies had crept in…old friends to be warmly greeted and encouraged.
But God had other ideas…and they knew that he was calling them to Europe. This was without doubt one of the great turning points of history…beyond human comprehension/understanding…beyond human planning.

We should thank our Lord God Almighty for this…because as a result the gospel has come to us in the West…and in our case to us in the uttermost part of the earth.

Nothing strengthens a person like hearing someone cry for help…you can be walking down the street so fatigued that you would like to lie down on the curb and go to sleep… but then you hear a cry…someone is in trouble.

Somehow your weariness is gone and so Paul and his associates moved forward in the power of Christ's strength…what are the abiding lessons for us in all of this?
In these first 10 verses of the 16th chapter of Acts it's recorded they all succeeded for Jesus.
Barnabas…Paul and their companions succeeded…Silas was an effective partner in Christian ministry…Timothy…a good soldier for Christ who would serve heroically in Ephesus during days of strife.

John Mark got back on track under Barnabas' loving care and later he was a great help to Peter (1 Peter 5:13)…at the sunset of his life Paul himself wrote, "only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me and my ministry (2 Timothy 4:11)…this same John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark; it is the gospel that presents Christ as the perfect Servant.

Something wonderful had happened in the life of this tender man who had so miserably failed in service and also to his relationship with the apostle Paul.

There was healing between Paul and Barnabas as well (1 Corinthians 9:6). Paul's words, "do Barnabas and I alone have no right to refrain from working?"

What we see is that God can use all situations both happy…unhappy…to bring fresh purpose and direction to our lives.
As the prophet Joel observed, "he can restore the years the locusts have eaten, with abundance" (Joel 2:25-27).

God will lead us according to his own perfect plan for our lives and ministries…but there is a solemn warning…we must be careful not to box God in by our prior experience.

The most important thing by far is our attitude…why God directs us elsewhere when we want or expect things to continue…we do not know.

This is a question I've been asking myself since January this year…why didn't God give Paul a vision at the beginning instead of the end…it's something that we can't explain.

But this we do know that God directs us through every situation…the apparently good and the apparently difficult…through all of this there is something we need to do…we need to yield to his caring hand.

G. Campbell Morgan observed, "it is better to go to Troas with God…than anywhere else without him…that dear friends is where I am at today…I constantly pray for future direction and guidance…wanting to be within God's will for my life.

In late January I was praying when quite unexpectedly I heard the following words… “This year it is time to hand on the work in this parish.”

Quite unexpected…you can perhaps understand the difficulty of hearing this…the sudden and unexpected call followed by months of praying about it.

It was a call that came out of left field…not in my thinking at all…it came out of praying for the best way forward for Hornby, Templeton, West Melton.

Your life…my life…are in constant states of flux…and every now and then the Holy Spirit breaks out in a new way in our midst.
Some of us are great prayers…others not… but I do want to encourage all of us commit to prayer that the God we serve will provide what is necessary for the future Ministry of this parish.

My last working day in the parish will be November 29.

Let us pray.

O God…forgive us those times when we refuse to walk or minister in harmony with our fellow servants.
We thank you that you so graciously use our failures to bring increased fruit in character and service.
And we thank you that your redirection is always best…your plan always superior to ours.
Help us to walk before you humbly…eagerly yielding to your will as you reveal it to us step-by-step.
We ask this in the precious name our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.