GUIDANCE ACTS 16:6-10 Apology

Paul and Barnabas complete Trip 1 & return to Antioch BACKGROUND Paul and Barnabas complete Trip 1 & return to Antioch Teachers turn up in Antioch saying Gentile believers need to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem for big conference and win the argument Paul, Barnabas, Silas & Judas return to Antioch to deliver the decision Then Paul and Silas head of on Journey 2. Meet Timothy in Lystra Background Paul and Barnabas complete Trip 1 & return to Antioch Teachers turn up in Antioch saying Gentile believers need to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem for big Conference and win the argument Paul, Barnabas, Silas & Judas return to Antioch to deliver the decision Then Paul and Silas head of on Journey 2.

Characters Aim of Trip (from Acts 15) Paul Silas (Acts 15:40) Timothy (Lystra - Circumcised) Luke (changes to we at Troas) Acts 16:10 Aim of Trip (from Acts 15) v36 Let’s visit and see how they are going v40 Commended by the church v41 Left to strengthen the churches Remember Original Calling from Acts 13:1-4 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting Appoint them for the special work to which I have called them We pick up the story at Lystra Paul, Silas and Timothy head off to strengthen the churches. Remember the Aim of the trip The red line shows the places Paul intended to revisit

v6 Next Paul and Silas travelled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. But God prevents Paul and his crew from entering Asia and then Bithynia. We are not told how or why but that they knew.

v9-10 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. Visions Philip Ethiopian (Acts 8) Peter Cornelius (Acts 10) Paul Macedonia (Acts 16) Paul has a Vision – Go to Macedonia Wouldn’t that be nice to get concrete evidence whenever God wants us to do something.

SUMMARY Paul had a prior vision to share the Good News (Desire) COMMENDATION ACTION ALIGNMENT SUMMARY Paul had a prior vision to share the Good News (Desire) Others around him confirmed his purpose (Commendation) Paul headed in the direction he thought God wanted him to go (Concept to Action) Where he intended to go wasn’t where he landed but he was still spreading the Good News. (Alignment with God’s plan)

Does this work for us? Testimonies Church Building Rob McDonell Bruce Young Trish Brown Mitchell Albert God works in different ways with different people DESIRE COMMENDATION ACTION ALIGNMENT Church Testimony Testimonies Job Offers / Skills 3 jobs - make a choice

Some Tips to help us think DESIRE COMMENDATION ACTION ALIGNMENT Everything begins with a thought. “Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day” - Ralph Waldo Emerson What do we feed our minds with? Our thoughts determine who we are. “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” – C S Lewis Who we are determines what we do. “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts” John Locke What we do determines our destiny. “You are today, where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow, where your thoughts take you” – James Allen Our destiny determines our legacy. People who serve God think differently to others. We can change the way we think. John Maxwell suggests Everything begins with a thought What goes in comes out Toothpaste What do you listen to on the radio? TV Do you read your bible? What we think determines who we are. If we think God created us for a purpose then we work on discovering this Bounce this of others to get a true perspective Who we are determines what we do Start trying things now / training for what could be Get involved and try things What we do determines our destiny We head in a direction based on what we believe. Sometimes God will realign this for us. What we do becomes our legacy It is never to late to change your legacy?

Philippians 4:8-9 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing Philippians 4:8-9 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me— everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.