Walking Through Acts

Today, we will be going right into Paul’s second missionary journey. During the first

missionary journey, we followed the accounts of Paul and Barnabas mainly. Here,

we have Paul and Silas, at least to begin with.

Acts 16:1

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the

son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

Now there are a couple of interesting things I’d like to mention here, the first one

being that it had been a couple of years since Paul had first visited the Church in

this region. And here we have the very first mention of a young man who would

later go on to be Paul’s protégé. In the New Testament, we have two books of the

Bible dedicated to these letters written to Timothy. And so we cannot overlook the

significance of his entrance into the narrative of Acts here in Chapter 16.

Scripture tells us that he was a disciple, but not just any disciple. He was the son

of a Jewish woman and a Greek father and this would not be the norm. Such a

union between a Jew and a Greek would be looked down upon by the Jews.

Remember that the Jews were having a very difficult time moving from what they

were taught as children to now, the new freedom found in Christ under the New

Covenant. There is no longer any purpose in trying to keep the bloodline pure for

the Messiah had already come! It is very likely that Timothy and his mother were

converted to Christianity sometime during Paul’s first missionary journey.

Acts 16:2

2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.

Through my study, I’ve learned that Timothy was about 20 years old at this point.

And so, while Timothy was a teenager, he came to Christ. This was a young manwho had a fire burning inside him for the sake of the gospel. I’m sure it still

needed a bit of refining, but there was no doubt as to his fervor and commitment

to his faith. And so, he was well spoken of by other Christians at Lystra and

Iconium. Now Lystra was Timothy’s hometown, but Iconium was about 20 miles

away. And for his reputation to have been carried that far out is a testament to the

kind of man Timothy was. He had to have been bold, committed, reliable and

trustworthy. Now contrast these qualities to that of another young man, John

Mark who deserted Paul on his first missionary journey. And so, Paul was drawn to

Timothy.

Now here’s a principle that I think we all can learn from. When it comes to passing

on the baton of faith, we must prioritize the next generation. Why? We need to

have those who will continue the work of ministry after we are gone. It’s as simple

as that. Who did Jesus spend most of his time and energy with? Yes, he died for

everyone of all ages, but he focused on a particular age group. That is the youth.

I’ve heard it described this way, “Christianity started as a youth movement.” We

cannot overemphasize the importance of leading the next generation in faith. And

to all of us older folks in here. I’m not saying you’re not important. We just have a

different role now. We’ve been poured into by others, now it’s our turn to pour

into the next generation.

Last March, we launched our 3 year plan called “One”. Reach One, Teach One,

Lead One. We as a Church have been taking active steps in accomplishing some of

the goals the leadership have set. Because we’re talking about the next

generation, Lead One is one the most exciting things that is going on here at the

Church.

Since March of last year, we’ve started a youth class that meets every Sunday

morning in the youth room upstairs at 9:30 headed up by Zach Cochran, one of

our elders. He also has great volunteers in Paul and Kathy Neumann who are up

there with the youth every Sunday morning as well. I’ve been talking about it for

five years now (even though I’ve only been here for one) that we would like to

eventually hire a youth minister. And so whenever that happens, we have already

established a youth group as well as a good core group of volunteers to support

them. We’ve eliminated our office debt which frees up money in the budget. I’m

excited for what 2025 will hold for UCC as we aim to honor God in all that we do.

I’m excited for our youth. The thing that I’ve learned is that those who we call“youth” today are not “youth” for very long. Understanding that helps us to grasp

the importance of investing in them. One day, they’ll be walking, talking,

breathing adults. Jesus invested the bulk of his time and energy during his ministry

into the youth. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “how are we doing at

that?”

(Kids Hope Mentor Photos)

Acts 16:3

3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him

because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father

was a Greek.

So we just covered in the past couple weeks at the Jerusalem conference that

circumcision or any works of the law were not required for one to become a

Christian. How do we go from Paul refusing to circumcise Titus, a Gentile convert

to now Paul having Timothy circumcised? How can we reconcile these two

seemingly contradictory accounts?

The answer is simply this.

Reece states,

“To have circumcised Titus would have led men to think that Paul himself believed

circumcision was indeed necessary for salvation. Paul refused so men would not

be misled. To have failed to circumcise Timothy would have led many Jewish

people to recoil from either Paul or Timothy, thus greatly limiting Paul’s

opportunities to tell them about Jesus. Since no one would look upon what was

done to Timothy as evidence circumcision was necessary to salvation, Paul could

do it and not be the least bit inconsistent. The Gentile did not have to begin

practicing it, nor did the Jew have to cease practicing it, in order to be saved. In

the case of Timothy, Paul was acting in harmony with a principle of conduct that

he observed all his Christian life, namely, falling in with the customs of the people

among whom he was living, doing all he could to win them, short of

compromising the Gospel.”As we go about sharing the gospel with people, we must always be mindful of our

environment. When JJ and I vacationed to Hawaii, we went to a Church where the

preacher would be wearing shorts and sandals while he preached. I know at some

Churches, this would be an issue and may raise a few eyebrows. What may be

acceptable in one place may or may not be seen as acceptable in another. This is

all within the realm of Christian liberty and has nothing to do with salvation.

However, drawing from our example in Scripture, it would be wise to eliminate

anything that would detract or distract from the gospel message being shared.

And so, in this same spirit Paul decides to circumcise Timothy so that there

wouldn’t be any reason for anyone to get upset over something insignificant (in

light of the gospel).

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us a clear strategy when it comes to

winning souls to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:20-22

20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I

became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I

might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one

outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that

I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win

the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save

some.

We would be wise to follow this example if our aim is to win more people to the

kingdom of God. In our own efforts to share the gospel, what does this look like

for you?

Acts 16:4-5

4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for

observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who

were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they

increased in numbers daily.What was the purpose for delivering these decisions that were made at the

Jerusalem conference regarding salvation? Well, if you knew you had opponents

to the gospel that you were sharing, you would want to make sure people had in

their hands the real thing.

When I was in elementary school, I collected Pokémon cards. Now, to adults,

Pokémon cards were nothing more than a game (no one really knew how to play).

But for us elementary kids, these cards were currency. “Hey, I see you’ve got a

fruit rollup. I’ve got a mint condition 1st edition Charizard card that I can trade you

for it.” (these particular cards sell for over $400,000 today) Now what ended up

happening, is kids would acquire fake cards. I have no idea how, but they had

cards that looked slightly off. But the thing is, is that you wouldn’t know unless

you had seen the real thing first.

So, what Paul was trying to do was to show these Churches the real thing, that

people are saved by grace and not by works of law. That way if any opponent of

this gospel would try to come around and say anything different, it simply

wouldn’t fly. As a result, these Churches began growing rapidly. Earlier in Acts, we

knew that the Church grew rapidly because of the boldness of the Apostles in the

face of persecution. The more intense the persecution, the faster the Church

grew. Now the Church is continuing to grow rapidly but for different reasons.

Last week I mentioned that some people have reservations about becoming

Christians because, here’s the perception. If I become a Christian, I won’t be able

to do the things I enjoy doing now. If I become a Christian, I won’t be able to get

drunk on the weekends (or any day of the week for that matter). I won’t be able to

engage in sexual promiscuity. I’m going to lose friendships. I’m going to have to

give up whatever addiction it may be. In some places around the world, if you

become a professing Christian, it’s likely you may lose much more than that.

Here's the thing. One does not become a Christian thinking about the things

they’ll lose or have to give up. They became a Christian because of what they had

to gain. And there is no thing and no one worth trading for the freedom that is

only found in Jesus. In the things of this world, there is brokenness, decay,

disappointment and death. In Christ, there is restoration, redemption, and life

eternal. One day, when we stand upon the shores of eternity in heaven, anything

that we had to give up to follow Jesus would not even be a thought in our minds,

for what we will have gained will far surpass those things we had to let go of.Matthew 16:24-25

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny

himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life

will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

And so, as the gospel is preached to these Gentile Churches, the door of faith is

opened to them and removing whatever barrier stood in their way allowed for

significant growth and numbers of those coming to Christ.

Acts 16:6-10

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden

by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to

Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow

them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 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.” 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.

This is a fascinating account that we just read. Why prevent the sharing of the

gospel to a particular region? Don’t they need the gospel too? We often hear this

question raised of why didn’t God send Jesus into the world right after Adam and

Eve sinned? What we so often need to be reminded of is that God’s timing is

perfect. This goes for every area of our lives. God may not show up when we want

him to, but he’s always on time. At this point of Paul’s missionary journey, God had

different plans for Paul. Paul wanted to go to Asia and into the region of Bithynia

but that’s not where God wanted him to go.Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

To get a picture of the direction Paul was headed, here’s an image I got off of

Google to hopefully gives us a better sense of the journey. (Show image)

This missionary journey began in the cities of Derbe and Lystra and Paul’s journey

is taking him from the east to the west. Bithynia is to the north, that’s where Paul

wanted to take the gospel. And he also wanted to take it to the south which is

where we find the cities of Ephesus, Colossae, Sardis and Thyatira which is the

country we now refer to as Turkey, referenced as Asia here in the text. Of course

boundaries of countries have changed over the years due to a variety of reasons,

but we won’t get into all of that. Paul is headed East to West and Paul wants to

head south but that wasn’t God’s plan. When they got to the region of Mysia, he

wanted to head up north, but that wasn’t God’s plan. And so Paul and his

missionary party find themselves in Troas and it is there he receives a vision from

God. In this vision, Paul must have recognized some distinct characteristics of this

man as he is designated the man from Macedonia. This was a Roman province

that is a part of what we would call Greece today. And the plea from this man

from Macedonia in this vision is, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Reece,

“The Christian faith was to pass from Asia to Europe; the cry ‘Come over and help

us!’ as subsequent history has shown, was a cry from the whole Western world.”

Acts 16:11

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the

following day to Neapolis,

Let’s not just skip over this part. The text says “so setting sail from Troas, WE made

a direct voyage. Who’s we? This is the first ever time that we see the author of

this book of Acts, Luke the physician mentioned as joining Paul on his missionary

journey.Acts 16:12

12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia

and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

Now it is at this point that Paul and his missionary party remain in a specific

location for a duration of time. They’ve arrived in Macedonia to the city of Philippi

to preach the gospel. We have a book in the Bible named after the Church found

in this city called Philippians. This letter would be written fifteen years after where

we find ourselves today during Paul’s first visit.

Acts 16:13-14

13 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.

It was common in these days to have a place of prayer located beside a body of

water. That way, the water could be used for washing in regard to ceremonial

cleanliness. And while Paul and possibly others were preaching to the people

beside this river, they met a woman named Lydia from Thyatira. She was far from

home. Thyatira was about 300 miles away from Philippi. So this makes this

encounter seem all the more providential. The city of Thyatira was known for

producing purple dye to be used in clothing and whatever else. It was a luxury and

was very expensive for it took a whole shellfish to produce just one drop of dye.

So what we can picture here, is an extremely wealthy woman who likely was

running a business based out of Thyatira coming to hear what Paul had to say. The

text says she was a worshipper of God, much like Cornelius that we learned about

earlier in Acts, a God-fearer that only needed to hear the gospel message

preached. And God opened her heart to pay attention to this message. Does this

mean that God closes people’s hearts or keeps people’s hearts closed to the

gospel message? No, for it is us who shut our hearts to the gospel, not God. This

opening of Lydia’s heart can be explained by the fact that faith comes by hearing.

By hearing a presentation of the gospel inspired and brought to her by the

prompting of the Holy Spirit. And by Paul’s preaching, Lydia comes to faith.Acts 16:15

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.

Piano to play here.

As is the pattern we see all throughout Acts we see also here. We see the gospel

message being preached, and then when someone comes to faith, they are

baptized. Now, the text says her household was baptized as well. This could have

included her family but was not limited to her family. For a household in this time

could refer to employees and/or servants. And so, we see Paul’s first convert in

Europe. And so out of her generosity and appreciation, Lydia opened her house to

Paul and his missionary party to stay for a time. This would have been a display of

hospitality which is something later New Testament writers would encourage

Christians to do as a mark of Christian character.

And so, our first look at Paul’s second missionary journey, we see a series of yes’s

and no’s, open doors and closed doors with Paul all the while leaning and trusting

in God’s leading through it all. A young man named Timothy who probably was

learning a lot from what he witnessed to this point in the journey, in this case

learning to trust in God’s leading even if it wasn’t what we had planned initially.

And we see the author of this book, Luke, a doctor who now has joined the

company of Paul and no doubt grew close to him which may have prompted him

to write these divinely inspired pages that we’ve been going through the last

several months. So far, this second missionary journey has been smooth sailing for

Paul and his missionary party, but as is the ebb and flow of this book, we will see a

bump in the road. We will see an example of what it may mean for some of us

who choose to follow Christ and live for him, what it may cost us. Nonetheless,

God’s plan will always prevail.