“Detours from Jesus”

Acts 16:9-15

What was the most confusing detour around construction that you had to take? Or maybe what was the longest detour you had to take?

Today in our scripture, we will see how people who were sharing Jesus’s love encountered some detours. The detours though were caused by Jesus. 

We want to see today how God led Paul and his companions to where He was already working in peoples’ hearts. Then we will discuss how We need to be open to where Jesus is already working and join His work.

Paul was really trying to share the gospel to the province of Asia. This would be modern day Asia Minor, specifically the area of Turkey that is next to the Aegean Sea. But it seems they were prevented from sharing Jesus’s restoration in that area. 

Bast writes, “It’s easy to imagine how frustrated the missionaries had to have been as they traveled the whole length of Asia Minor. Here they were, with great plans and equally great opportunities, and nothing seemed to be working right. It was one obstacle, delay, roadblock, after another. ... They must have been praying the whole time for God to clear the way for them, but one door after another slammed in their faces.”

David Bast, “The Macedonian Call,” Words of Hope, June 13, 1999, https://www.woh.org/1999/06/13/the-macedonian-call/

As they neared the edge of the coast of Asia Minor, they finally got direction from Jesus through a vision that Paul had. In this vision, Paul sees someone from Macedonia asking for help.

God was leading Paul and his companions to where He was already working in peoples’ hearts.

The next day they took as direct a route they could to get to Macedonia. Macedonia was on the other side of the Aegean Sea.

They remained in Philippi for a while. They were probably looking around the city to see if there was a Jewish synagogue or other places of worship.

On the Sabbath day, they went to a place where they heard a place of prayer was. Was there no synagogue to preach in since they went to the riverside? Very possibly. Philippi didn’t have ten Jewish households living there. But they did establish a place of prayer. This is why Paul and his companions searched for the place of prayer. 

What’s the significance of Lydia in this story? The New Moody Bible Atlas mentions that Thyatira where Lydia was from is located in Asia. And she was in Philippi selling her purple goods.

Paul wanted to go into the province of Asia but was prevented and is led to go to the province of Macedonia. In Macedonia, Paul shares the story of Jesus to some women who gathered for prayer. Lydia who is from the province of Asia is the first person to believe.

Jesus was leading Paul and his companions to where He was already at work in people’s hearts. 

Heath Rogers writes, “The reason Paul was not allowed to preach the gospel in Asia or Bithynia was because he was needed in Macedonia. ... If we are going to respond to the Macedonian Call, we must be open to different kinds of opportunities.” 

Heath Rogers, “Responding to the Macedonian Call,” Knollwood Church, accessed on July 26, 2021, http://www.knollwoodchurch.org/yr2012/d02_macedonian.html

The plan from Jesus is different than what he thought it would be. After Paul follows the plan, Paul finally understands why there were all the detours. Jesus was trying to get them to where He was already working. 

What does Jesus want for us today? Listen to the calls of help we receive in our community. Listen to where Jesus is already working. 

Why am I supposed to listen to the calls of help and listen to where Jesus is already working? 1) We will be obeying Jesus and where He is working. 2) We will be sharing Jesus’s restoration like we have talked about the last few weeks.

How am I supposed to listen to the calls of help and listen to where Jesus is already working? Listen and do what God is asking of us. 

Well Paul and his companions ran into a lot of detours on their journey to share Jesus’s restoration. But then they got direction from Jesus. They had to be open to where Jesus was leading. From listening to Jesus, they were able to share Jesus’s restoration to Lydia and her family. Someone they probably would have never met if they didn’t listen to where Jesus was already working. 

We are to also listen to calls for help and to where Jesus is already working. This may not mean we have to encounter a bunch of detours like Paul and His companions. But it does mean the Jesus is still working in our sphere’s of influence. When we join Jesus’s work, we are being obedient to Jesus and we are sharing Jesus’s restoration to our world. We are to listen do what Jesus is asking of us. Where is Jesus leading you right now? What are the calls for help in your sphere of influence that need your help? In what ways do you need help? Let’s work Jesus’s restoration in our world together.