Our series on Acts and the early church continues with the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey.

So far, we’ve seen how the gospel has spread throughout Judea and Samaria, all the way up to modern-day Lebanon and Syria.  What’s more, Paul and Barnabus have traveled across the Mediterranean to the southern part of Asia Minor – southern Turkey today – and planted a number of churches there.  The question of whether or not the newly-converted Gentile Christians must first be circumcised has been resolved.  Now, the covenant of Abraham extends to all who confess Jesus as the Christ, no exceptions.

Paul is itching to go back to Asia Minor to see how the new Christians are doing and plant more churches, perhaps even claim the great Roman city of Ephesus for Jesus Christ.  So, taking Silas with him, he begins his second missionary journey.  Luke says,

“He went through Syria and Cilicia,
strengthening the assemblies. (Acts 15:41)

So far, so good.  The Christians rolled out the red carpet.  Their churches were healthy and growing.  It was everything he’d hoped for.  He was ready to move on.  From there, it was a straight shot to Ephesus.  He could hardly wait to get on the road.

But Paul had a problem: Luke says he was forbidden by the Spirit to speak in Asia.  Understand, Asia here does not refer to the continent of Asia, but to the region of Asia Minor containing Ephesus.  For whatever reason, the Spirit would not allow him to go there.

So, he went to Plan B.  Luke says that, having been forbidden by the Spirit to go to Asia, Paul went north through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia and, when he came opposite of Mysia, he wanted to go on to Bithynia, but, again, the Spirit stood in his way.  Having no other choice, he headed south to the port city of Troas.

We’ll pick back up with his journey in just a moment, but first, let’s ask: What does it mean that the Spirit forbade him to go to Asia, that the Spirit forbade him to go to Bithynia?

Have there been times in your life when you didn’t do what you wanted to do because the Spirit wouldn’t let you?  Have there been times in your life when you did something you wouldn’t have done otherwise because the Spirit told you to? What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?

For us rational-minded Presbyterians, this can be a stretch.  To be led by the Spirit sounds like mysticism – looking for signs, acting on instinct and intuition.  A lot of folks aren’t comfortable with that, and you may be one of them.  After all, we’re not into tarot cards and divining rods.

Personally, I’m a little uncomfortable when someone says, “This is what the Lord told me to do.” I’m like Dr. Fred Edgar.  Fred Edgar was pastor of the Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas years ago.  The story is that his wife died.  A few months later, one of the women of the church said the Lord had told her to drop what she was doing and devote her life to taking care of him.  Now, Fred was a diplomat of the old school, and in his most tactful manner, he replied, “I appreciate your offer, and when the Lord confirms this with me, I’ll let you know.”

To be led by the Spirit pushes our sensibilities.  Yet, there’s no denying it.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.” (Rom. 8:14)  So, what does that mean in everyday language?

To begin with, I think it means to approach all things first by prayer.  It’s to live each moment of each day in the spirit of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Lk. 22:42)  It’s to trust that, if God leads the way, we can expect great things to happen and, if not, whatever we may accomplish will be insignificant and short-lived.  The Psalmist said it best,

“Unless Yahweh builds the house,
those labor in vain who build it.” (Ps. 127:1)

To approach all things first by prayer is not to say God will always give us clear, concrete answers.  We still have to think and reason and, ultimately, decide what to do.  But God will lead and guide us, if we ask.  That’s the first step: “Lord, what would you have me to do?”  “Lord, show me the way.”

Through the voice of conscience, through the wise counsel of others, through the dissemination of cold, hard facts, God’s Spirit nudges us in one direction over another and leads us according to God’s will.

And you can never say for sure at any point along the way whether that it’s the Spirit leading you or your own desires.  To be led by the Spirit is to walk by faith, not by sight.  Only in retrospect is it clear, one way or the other.

Yet, the place to begin is with prayer.  If you sincerely pray for the leading of God’s Spirit and listen for God’s still, small voice speaking to you, you won’t go far astray.  That’s the first step.

The second step is to see God at work in all of life, not just the parts that happen to go your way. For example, some Bible scholars believe the reason Paul couldn’t go on to Ephesus or Bithynia was that he fell ill, that he went to Troas to wait for Luke, his personal physician, to arrive.

It makes sense.  We know that, throughout his life, Paul was plagued with some sort of physical impediment – a “thorn in the flesh,” as he called it. (2 Cor. 12:7)  Plus, if you were listening closely, just after Paul had his vision at Troas the pronoun changes to the first person plural:

“When he had seen the vision,
immediately WE sought to go out to Macedonia…”  (Acts 16:10)

Note the “we” in that verse. Since we know that Luke wrote the book of Acts, it only stands to reason that he joined Paul and Silas at this point in the story.

But this is only a theory.  Paul could’ve been prohibited from going to Ephesus because the Roman soldiers wouldn’t let him, or the road was impassable, or the weather had turned bad.  Any number of things could explain his change of plans.

The point is Paul understood that, whatever it was that stood in his way, it was God who was at work leading and directing his life.  As Luke says, “the Spirit forbade him.”  This is to say that, in one way or another, God uses common, everyday events to lead and guide us in the way God would have us to go.

It’s still a matter of faith, and it doesn’t change reality – Paul didn’t get to go to Ephesus – but it can change your attitude.  Believing that God is at work, both when you get what you want – and when you don’t – can give you a more positive perspective.

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As for Paul, he didn’t get to go to Ephesus.  Instead, he went to Troas, and that’s where he had the vision to go to Macedonia.  You could say God had much bigger fish for him to fry.  Just look what happened: The next day he set sail for Greece.  They landed at Neapolis and took the Roman highway north to Philippi.

The rest is history.  Little by little, he won the people’s hearts for the Lord and, from this meager beginning, the gospel spread across the face of Europe until it became the dominant religion of the civilized world.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes,

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God,
to those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

If you believe this, then you’re able to trust that, whatever happens – however pleasurable or painful – God is with you, leading and guiding and using the events of everyday life to draw you closer to himself and help you fulfill his plan for your life.  You’re able to say with a straight face, “No, I didn’t get what I wanted; God had something better in mind.”

I don’t know of a better illustration than this – I’m told it’s found on a plaque in the lobby of the Center for Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City – it reads:

“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for;
Almost in spite of myself, my unspoken prayers were answered,
And I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”

To be led by the Spirit is to begin with prayer; it’s to see God at work in all of life – the good and the bad – and finally, it’s to surrender your will to God’s good and perfect will for your life.  In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said,

“I have been crucified with Christ,
and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me.
That life which I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Understand, this is not his obituary, it’s his birth announcement.  Paul’s life began when he gave up trying to do things his way and order life to his specifications and, instead, committed his life, wholly and completely, to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As long as you’re determined to do things your way, to have what you want when you want it, you’ll always be frustrated and come up short.  Life will never be quite as abundant and glorious as you’d hoped it would be.  Only when you let go and let God lead and guide you and use you to his glory will you experience life in all of its abundance.  John Wesley said it best:

“I am no longer my own, but Thine.
Put me to what thou wilt.
Rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing.  Put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal …” Amen.

I’d like to end the sermon this morning with two questions that only you can answer:

• Where is the Spirit of God leading you at this moment?  What is it God would have you to do and be?  Are you willing to ask God to show you the way?  Are you willing to see God at work in both your successes and your failures?  Are you willing to humble yourself and choose God’s will over your own?

• And two, where is the Spirit of God leading us as a congregation?  What is it God would have us to do and be?  Are you willing to pray for the church and ask God to show us the way?

Know this: If the Spirit of God is leading us, we will grow.  As individuals, we’ll grow in faith, hope and love.  And, as a congregation, we’ll grow in outreach, mission and care for one another.

With that in mind, let us pray:

“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me;
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.

Copyright 2007, Philip W. McLarty.  Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible.