Acts 16: 6-15
Paul, Lydia, and Discerning God’s Will

In this second half of the book, the text is almost wholly taken up with recounting the ministry of Paul (the converted persecutor and former Pharisee) as he seeks to plant and nurture new Christian churches throughout the Roman Empire.

The decree sent forth by the Jerusalem Council (in chapter 15) confirms to all new Gentile converts that they – the nations – are fully welcomed into the family of Israel merely by faith in Jesus as Messiah : the New Covenant family marked out - not by obedience to the law of Moses, but simply by turning from idols to trust in Jesus.  In fact, the council confirmed that all followers of Jesus, Jew and Gentile together, are all delivered in salvation only as a gracious gift of God in the purification of his Spirit given by Jesus – not by their own purity or religious heritage or obedience – but by the purity and heritage and obedience of Jesus himself. 

As Peter insisted to the whole council…

Acts 15:8-9, 11   8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,  9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 

11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."  12 And all the assembly fell silent, 

So it is as a result of this consensus at the council that all of Paul’s missionary efforts to the nations – to the pagan peoples of the Roman empire – now go forward with the full endorsement and backing of the Jerusalem church : Jewish Christians welcoming the full inflow of Gentiles to follow Messiah without hindrance. (As he travels, Paul carries with him the council’s decree : asking only that new converts abstain from idolatry and things associated with idolatry and from immorality.) 

Up to now it has seemed that Paul is on a road of unqualified triumph, winning converts and planting churches at practically every turn in his journeys. Yes, opposition has been hostile at times; yes, his life has been threatened, but, one wonders, do things ever not go Paul’s way in the end? 

Scripture Reading

Intro: 

Have you ever been confused about God’s will and direction for your life, for the church, for your family…? 

I read an amusing story this week about Grady Crosland, who as a young Christian had been slated to attend the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point.  But it was 1967 as the U.S. was escalating its war effort in Vietnam on a massive scale.  Crosland decided against a military career, and as Melissa Kelley puts it in her article:

…Now he [as a young Christian] found himself trying to decide how he would spend the rest of his life.

…Grady Crosland tossed and turned in bed as he wrestled with God’s calling.

He prayed and considered the question before him: “Should I go to medical school or to seminary? Should I be a physician to heal the body, or a pastor to heal the spirit?”

Crosland finally laid down a fleece before God. “If I wake up facing the wall to the left, I go to medical school. If I wake up facing the wall to the right, I go to seminary.”

[In the morning when] Crosland opened his eyes and [he had to laugh]. “My head was at the foot of the bed and my arms and legs were splayed out like a crucifix.” Crosland finally sensed an answer from the Lord: “Do whatever you want; you can serve Me either way.”

(Melissa Morgan Kelley, “Thinking Christianly About Health Care,” by Faith, Issue Number 27, March 2010, http://byfaithonline.com/page/ordinary-life/thinking-christianly-about-health-care)
 

***To those who follow Jesus Christ God has given a great measure of freedom in how we may choose to serve him.  And this coupled together with living in late modern America where choices may seem infinite and where freedom of individual choice is emphasized to a fault, where we are told ad nauseam that we can become whomever or whatever we personally may wish to be, -in this environment – it is easy to get confused and entangled about what we should or should not do next, tomorrow, after we graduate, or after our current job runs its course.  At the point of decision we are far too easily tempted to retreat into an infinite regress of “what if” propositions and “how can I know this is right” clauses.  Most decisions don’t come with a guarantee.  And being unable to take every path, we sometimes choose blindly, or rashly, or we take no path at all… 

How can we know God’s will for our lives? 

The passage we’ve read today gives us a glimpse into the decision-making process of the apostle Paul and his companions as they seek to bring the message about Jesus into new territory. 

The way Luke tells it does not imply that things were always comfortable or smooth or clear for God’s chosen missionary to the Gentiles.  Even when we’re convinced that we are following God’s call, as Paul surely was, yet there remains a tension between God’s will and our own will. 
The good news for us is that, despite our confusion and our error, the God reveal in scripture does have a plan; He does have a will.  Our God does speak.  He does intervene. 

God’s will is not always clear for us, but his will is always operative – and his will is good, esp. for all those in Christ.

The Biblical narrative assumes that though divine direction may not be clear (or overt), yet there is always divine direction - sometimes in cooperation with and sometimes in spite of our choices. 

So if God’s will is there, we should seek to discover it. 

What does this passage reveal about discovering God’s direction? 

      God’s direction is complex.

      God directs through preaching (His Word).

      God directs through his people (His Church). 

God’s direction is complex.

How does God influence Paul’s decision to go to Macedonia?

      It seems from the narrative that God directs Paul and his companions..

                 …through circumstances (of hindrance).

                  …through a dream.

                  …through collaboration.

We see God directing through circumstance…

After all that Paul has gone through up to now in his labors for the name of Jesus, and after all of Luke’s efforts to emphasize that Paul has been called by Jesus himself on a special mission to the nations – after all this – it is rather amazing when we read in v. 6 that Paul and his companions have been…

Acts 16:6-7 6 …forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.  7 And…they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 

This is one of those cases where we want to shake the book and try to get some more information out of the author.  Luke does not tell us how the Spirit prohibited their preaching and their travels, but simply that it was the Spirit of God himself who hindered them.  We are left to wonder what on earth happened…?  Did they loose their voices?  Did Jesus show up?  Did they run into a force field?  Or did they simply get kicked out of these areas before the preaching could begin?  Did synagogue leaders reject them outright so they gained no toehold?  Or were there simply too many bandits on the road? 

Here’s what I suggest…it seems to me, since the text says nothing of a vision or revelation at this point (which Luke is keen on telling us about if they do happen), then we’re probably talking about some type of a circumstantial hindrance – not a direct supernatural intervention, but a matter of clear paths closed to passage, doors which are closed. 

Whatever actually did happen to prohibit the movement of the missionaries, however frustrating it may have been, this is Luke’s way of saying that the direction behind it all still belonged to God. 

You see, whatever the actual hindrance itself was (on what was a major detour, ~300 miles without fruitful ministry) – whatever the hindrance was is far less important for Luke than understanding that these circumstances did not escape the purview of the Living God, but were actually a part of his purposes and his own divine direction. 

Tannehill notes…

“Once again the narrator shows keen interest in the dialogue between human purpose and divine purpose, indicating that Jesus’ witnesses, too, must patiently endure the frustration of their own plans in order to discover the opportunity that God holds open.  This opportunity may not be the next logical step by human calculation.” 

(Tannehill, Acts, 195) 

It may be that Paul has become a bit self-assured in his mission (after carrying the day at the Jerusalem Council) and this long fruitless detour and hindrance from preaching was God’s way of humbling his servant again – to prepare him for the continued work ahead.  The text does not say explicitly, but we can be sure the experience was frustrating and humbling.

What an insight it is to consider that God may be the one hindering our plans…to comprehend that even God’s servants must be willing to be re-directed. 

If you are presently running into one roadblock after another, maybe it’s God who is blocking your path.  He probably has good reason. 

God directs us through our ordinary circumstances,

      but also through extraordinary visions and dreams… 

Acts 16:9  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." 

A vision in the night is probably best understood here as a vivid dream.  It is a classically biblical way of God providing direction.

Abraham, Abimelech, Jacob, Laban, Joseph, Pharaoh  (and this just in Genesis) 
King Saul knew he was in trouble when he stopped having dreams…

[1 Samuel 28:5-6  When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.  6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Solomon] 

God protected the baby Jesus by directing Joseph by dreams (Matthew 2). 

Just at the point when Paul and his companions must have been feeling somewhat frustrated and confused, there God provides direction through a vivid dream. 

It seems to me that surely God still gives us dreams for a reason, and though we should be very cautious, yet we should not fall into the modern error of despising all dreams as worthless distractions.  It may just be a dream that helps to clarify our course for tomorrow or for next year. 

I asked Dan Orme what he thinks about this and he agreed that we should be mindful of our dreams as a help in discernment, but not understood necessarily as direct revelation so much as a result of God’s will and direction in our lives as a whole – and that working itself out in our unconscious minds. 

If you have an active dream life (as I do) then you may notice that you tend to have more vivid dreams when there is a lot weighing on you mind or when you have just had a dramatic, vivid, or traumatic experience. 

ESV Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. 

Ecclesiastes 5:7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. 

I don’t think all dreams come as special messages from God.

And I agree with John Wesley when he warns:

“Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions or revelations to be from God. They may be from Him. They may be from nature. They may be from the Devil.” 

(John Wesley, The works of the Reverend John Wesley, A. M., 521; cf. Google books)

Jeremiah warns…

Jeremiah 23:32   Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD. 
Deuteronomy requires that any prophet or dreamer of dreams in Israel who says:

'Let us go after other gods,'  must be put to death. {Deuteronomy 13:1-5} 
Some dreams are from the Devil. 

I don’t think all dreams are messages from God.  Some dreams should simply be shaken off and despised as fantasies – even as one psalmist compares this to how the Lord shakes off the wicked. 

Psalm 73:20  Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. 

But I do think the question is often worth asking:  “Why did I have that dream?”  And “What might God be communicating if it is from Him?” 

Job 33:13-20  Why do you contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of man's words'?  14 For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.  15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds,  16 then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,  17 that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man;  18 he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. 

That passage strikes home for me b/c in my own experience dreams have often reminded and forewarned me of what lies within my own heart – whether lust or anger, violence or hatred, prejudice or pride or fear.   These are the dreams from my human nature, exposing and warning of the preoccupations of a sinful heart. 

But I also have had specific dreams about specific people, which alarmed me to reach out to that person…or at least to pray for them – (it’s one of the reasons I knew I needed to come back to Athens and take this call.) 

Illus) St. Patrick famously initiated his mission to Ireland in response to a dream… 

23. And after a few years I was again in Britain with my parents [kinsfolk], and they welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go anywhere else away from them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.

(From The Confession of St. Patrick, translated from Latin, find full text here:  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.toc.html) 

If you have any Irish heritage, as I do, you’ll be quite thankful that Patrick responded to his dream – way back in the fifth century. 

So we see the complexity of God’s direction here: frustrating Paul’s plan through circumstances…giving him a dream…but also collaborating with his friends. 

Acts 16:10  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. 

Paul submits his dream to the group (yes, “we” – Luke shifts into the first person here, most likely indicating that he himself has joined the group) and they all conclude that it’s direction from God.  It’s one of the best ways to confirm God’s direction by simply talking to others, esp. to other Christians, who know God’s Word, and who will help ensure your plans and dreams are not in direct contrast to the ways and Words of God. 

Jude warns…

Jude 1:8  Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 

Now I’ve spent a lot of time talking about dreams b/c it’s a confusing subject, but it’s not the most amazing thing that we’ve read this morning.

Yes, we should see that God’s direction is complex.

But God’s direction is also straightforward, esp. in the preaching of His Word. 

2. God directs us through preaching.

The most amazing thing we find in today’s text is the conversion of Lydia. 

Acts 16:13-14  And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.  14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 

The place of prayer is a common way of referring to a gathering of Jews who lacked a synagogue.  It was common for these to be set by a river or other body of water as it would allow for ritual washings and as it was outside the city walls and thus didn’t bother the neighbors. 

Surely Lydia got more than she had bargained for that Sabbath morning when she got up and went to the regular prayer meeting by the river.  To whatever degree she may have been looking for divine direction, she found abundant direction that day in the preaching of Paul. 

The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ was declared and God met her in the message.

“The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” (v. 14b) 

What might Paul have said?  Surely he spoke in a accord with what he has been preaching all along in the synagogues: – that Messiah has come, that the King greater than David has been rejected by His own people in Jerusalem (by the same crowds who had welcomed him with Palm branches). The despised Him and hung Him naked on a Roman cross of wood. The Righteous One has borne the curse which we all had deserved for our sins.  He died and was buried.  But his body did not see corruption. He rose again from death. And this same Jesus now welcomes all nations, all men and women, both Jews and Gentiles (Gentiles like Lydia), to purification and salvation by faith in his Name. 
Lydia got the message.  Paul preached it.  But it was Christ himself who opened her heart.

The preaching of the word is a very powerful and straightforward form of divine direction; Lydia’s whole life will be re-directed from this moment forward.  But this power is only operative as a function of the presence of Christ himself in the declaration of his Name: –His deeds –His love –and His salvation.  Preaching the gospel is a derived power, as Paul admits in

2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 
It is derived and it is only potent when linked together with love.

1 Corinthians 13:1 ESV  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 
Paul has come not to build up his own name, but the name of Jesus.  He speaks to the Gentiles, not because it’s fun, but because he loves them – even as Jesus has first loved him. 

The Lord opens hearts in the preaching of his Word; it is a powerful form of divine direction.  If you feel that opening this morning, do not resist it.  God wants to claim you. God wants to change you.  Jesus is alive.  We love you because he has loved us. 

And its important for Christians to understand - this power is not reserved for pulpit ministry, but the same Spirit is at work every time and any time we share the message in love – bearing this treasure in jars of clay. 
(third and final point)

3. God directs through his people.

Acts 16:15  And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. 

In case Paul and his group weren’t sure where to go or what to do next, whether to stay in Philippi or move on to the next town – now they know: stick with Lydia for a while, she leaves them little choice after all. 

"If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." 

It’s a loaded proposition – “if you deny me then you must think I’m not a worthy Christian.” 

Luke says “she prevailed upon us”.  The word is parabia,zomai ; it means to urge strongly, developed from the former meaning, to “use force” to accomplish something.  (BDAG, 759) 

Here is Christian hospitality at work.  It is not a mild welcome or tentative invitation, but a serious insistence that her means should be used for the support of the kingdom of her Savior and those who represent him.  Here is also the trusting generosity which should be found among Christians. 
Johnson notes that “Luke connects spiritual dispositions to the disposition of possessions.”  (Johnson, Acts, 297) 

Here is God’s provision and his direction in the person of Lydia.  It is clear Lydia was a woman of some means.  She was a merchant, selling expensive purple clothe, likely supplying the imperial purple for that Roman colony and probably trading with Rome itself.  She has her own house – with apparently plenty of room to house and board Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke, and to provide meeting space for the church. 
Ben Witherington is worth quoting at length…

“It is hard to express the importance of the welcoming into a home for Christians in such a city.  Roman anti-Semitism was widespread; indeed, Roman antipathy to any Oriental religion that seemed to threaten the traditional gods and customs was considerable.  If Jews were forced to meet outside the city gate in Philippi, Christians would not have fared much better, without a sponsor of some social status and means, in particular means of providing a meeting place.  Clubs and societies of various sorts met in large homes, and if Christianity had such a venue it would likely be viewed in this light, and not be seen as a dangerous foreign cult.  It must be remembered that early Christianity had no temples, priests, or sacrifices, the very heart of almost all ancient religions, and so it would be more likely to be seen as a philosophy or society, the sort of thing that met in homes.”

            (Ben Witherington III, Acts, 487 n.68) 

So it’s critical we recognize that God provides direction through the resources of others in the Christian community.  There should be a remarkable bond of trust between true believers.  And we should look for God’s direction in the words and deeds of brothers and sisters within the church.  If someone is prevailing upon us, then we should find good reason before denying them.  It may be God’s direction for us.  And we should also have the courage to do the prevailing whenever God enables us and convicts us to do so – to welcome and encourage, to bless and provide.  God wants to use us to channel his blessing to one another and to the world. 

Conclusion:

So we see that God’s direction is complex : we should look for his leading in all aspects of life – in circumstance, in dreams, and in collaboration and consultation with others. 

God’s direction should be esp. clear and potent in the preaching of the Word – we should anticipate this as we hear it and as we speak it. 

And God’s direction comes through his people – as our lives are changed and as we prevail upon one another. 

This is the great adventure of Christian faith.  It is not a passive faith which hides away from decision, but a faith which leans into the world, boldly living for the sake of our Master, yet humbly prepared to accept his redirection.  It is not a self assured faith, but a Christ assured faith.  And we discover and confirm Christ’s will primarily in community with fellow Christians. 

It should be seen that Lydia’s conversion is the best confirmation that Paul and his crew have taken the right path; they have interpreted the dream well and understood their circumstances correctly. 

If we are willing to follow Jesus, His love and His direction will lead us out of selfish introspection and into the lives of our neighbors. 

Our God is a missionary God; His will is so bound up in love for the other that this love becomes the mark of the Christian. 

All other tests aside, it is this missionary love which becomes the final litmus test for the Will of Our God.  So that the best question is not; “What is God’s will for my life?”  But rather “What does Christian love require?”

As for Grady Crosland, who I mentioned at the beginning of this message, he graduated from Med-school in 1974 and then from seminary in 2005.  His goal is to model the life of a Christian doctor; he’s an elder in his church (Park Cities Presbyterian), and he teaches medical ethics at a Reformed Seminary. 

The primary question is not, at bottom, “Which way should I turn?”, but rather,  “Whom do I serve?” 

If we will but surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, His Spirit will lead us into all righteousness – that’s the promise we cling to as Christians, even when God’s direction may feel like a hindrance to our own plans at the present moment.