The Beginners guide to guidance
Acts 16v1-15
We were off the coast of Cornwall in a little boat, about 3 miles out to sea. None of us were particularly proficient sailors or fishermen. Infact, the group I went out with - a small group from my brother-in -aws church had been out maybe a dozen occasions over the last 2 years and never caught a fish. Well, apart from one, when they pulled the line out whilst cleaning their rods where the boat was anchored and caught a tiny fish on the way up, snagged on the hook!
On this occasion we had help, a guide. It told us where we were in relation to the coast. It told us how deep the water was beneath us – and it told us when there was fish! It was a sea GPS system!
We caught plenty of mackerel and I got a gar fish too!
Having some form of instruction and guidance made all the difference.
The Bible speaks lots about guidance, and one of the chief ways is speaks of guidance is indescribing God as Shepherd. From the earliest days of the Old Testament, through the New Testament times until today, shepherding is an important and significant image. Shepherds protect, provide for and guide their sheep. And God is painted as the chief shepherd who does just that for his people.
He guides his sheep.
God’s guiding us is spoken of in 3 ways (3 different meanings)
Psalm 23v2 – ‘He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams’. This is the gentle leading of a guide.
Psalm 78v52 - ‘But he head his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness.’ This is the image of driving or herding, typically against their will.
Psalm 77v20 – ‘You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.’ This is the image of a personal guide.
God guides because of who he is and what he is like. Guidance is not about our agendas, our dreams and desires. It is about God.
Guidance is something we all look for, and all need from God. But if we are at the centre of our quest for guidance, we have it wrong.
Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ puts it like this.
‘He guides me in paths of righteousness for his names sake.’(v3)
This is so important because is raises 2 important issues the rest of the Bible pick up on when it comes to guidance. There are 2 main aims and objectives of God’s guidance –
· that people would be righteous. In other words, they would be like him, and that
· ultimately he would be honoured and glorified.
God is interested in every area of life, but every area of life is not equally important.
Some issues in life are about truth, right and wrong, godly or ungodly. Other issues are about whether something is wise or unwise. Other issues are simply issues of choice.
Here is a question - why did the children of Israel wander around in the desert for forty years? It should have taken 8 days...
Answer. Because God was more concerned that they learn to trust him than that they get to their eventual destination. This is God's guidance.
When we consider 'Extreme church' in Acts, their is clearly a need for guidance. Acts 16 speaks particulary of the church being strengthened and growing in order that the gospel get into new areas - and this needs guidance from God.
So how did God guide?
How does God guide? (The composition of guidance)
As we have seen throughout Acts, this little book is about how God gets the message of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth through his church. It is about 'extreme church'. Acts 16v1-15 are significant for us in that they are the first time the message of the gospel gets into what we now call Europe. For the first part of our passage they are retracing their steps – revisiting Derbe and Lystra. Paul Silas, and then Timothy wander around from town to town passing on the message that we considered last week from Ch 15. Next they travelled through Phrygia and Galatia, but not what was then called Asia. (All these places are in modern day Turkey). They come to the border of Mysia in western Turkey, hoping to go in Bithynia, but instead end up on the western coast of Turkey in a city called Troas. From here they travel, via some Greek Islands to Macedonia (in modern day Greece) to Neapolis and Philippi. Jesus instruction that the gospel be taken to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth is happening - the gospel has made it to Europe.
But the interesting thing is how. In God’s master plan, as the Shepherd of History, how does he guide the footsteps of his people to fulfil his purposes? How does he do the same thing today?
How does God guide? Or in another way, what is the composition of God’s guidance?
This passage shows us 9 things that make up a helpful way to think about Guidance. (In no particular order of significance and importance).
1. Biblical Truth
16v1-5 are interesting verses. Just look at the issues in Ch 15? Paul and Barnabas were arguing forcefully and at length with a group of men who are teaching that Gentile Christians should be circumcised. The first thing we read after settling the issue is Paul circumcising Timothy. Isn’t he being a bit, actually alot hypocritical?
Well, no. Paul knows what the issues are, and what they are not. Jewishness is passed from Mother to child. Timothy is, ethnically, a Jew. So Paul treats him like a Jew in order to aid the ministry of the Kingdom amongst Jews. Paul knows whether this is a theological issue or not and so acts accordingly.
First and foremost, if we want to know God’s will we hear what he has said. We turn to Biblical truth. This goes without saying.
But this is the point. I don’t think Paul got his OT manuscripts out and shut his eyes, unrolled them and whichever words his eyes fell on first were Gods word for today. Paul was steeped in Scripture. He read it, soaked in it. He understood the story, the ways that God revealed himself and what he revealed about himself. So when it came to an issue like this – what should he do? Circumcise Timothy or not?
It was not a difficult question but their is no easy way to tthe answer. He had got to grips with scripture so he could hear clearly and sharply what God was saying through it. This is Crucial. It is the filter that everything else is filtered through and underpins our conviction and confidence in God.
So how about you?
Remember these OT verses –
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.’ Prov 3v5-6
‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’ Psalm 119v105
First and foremost, the primary way that God guides us is through his word, the Bible. Infact, it is the only place us promises to speak to us! So lets get listening!
2. Godly desires (v3)
Godly desires are good and to be taken into consideration. Paul is on the lookout, sees Timothy, sees he is a good guy and so he ‘wanted him to join them on their journey’ (v3). Now, I’m sure that Paul and his pals probably prayed and discussed the issue, but all Luke tells us is that Paul wanted him to come along, so he did. What we want is important, in as much as it is motivated by godliness.
Recently at a leaders meeting we read these words from Psalm 37.
‘Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.’ Psalm 37v3-6
Notice that the desires of your heart are important when they are shaped by a life that delights in God, commits its way to him and trusts in him. Why? Because a life that is doing those things will want righteousness and justice. Will want God’s name to be glorified.
It goes like this. Delight yourself in God, and he will give you the desires of your heart because you will want what he wants.
So Paul, motivated by God’s grace in his life to get the life changing gospel to the nations wants to be as effective as he can in Derbe and Lystra. He discovers a young guy with a good reputation, who is well thought of and whose family connections and background will open doors. It’s a no brainer! Godly desires.
3. Negatively
In v6-8 we see a different type of Guidance.
Twice we read that the Holy Spirit, or the ‘Spirit of Jesus’ (same person – incidentally, this highlights that guidance is a Trinitarian act!) closes doors and says 'no'. We could argue all day about how he does this but we don’t know because Luke doesn’t tell us. Did they have a word from God? Could they not get through customs? Was their some incident that made them go around?
Who knows... but what we do know is that they understand it as guidance, negative guidance.
God closes doors. It would have made logical sense for them to go to Asia and Bithynia, they even planned to, but God stopped them. This is much more common than we think but we just don’t realise it. David Livingstone tried to go to China before ending up in Africa. William Carey planned on going to Polynesia before ending up in India. Jedoniram Judson went to India before ending up in Burma. All were planning on going somewhere else, yet God stopped them.
This is so important. We can have a vision and a plan. We can be very clear in our hearts what it is we are about, but God can and does call the shots and change the tune. He closes doors.
So here is the question. Are you prepared for him to do that? Are you prepared for him to close the door you expect to be open?
4. Positively (v9)
But just as easily as God closes doors he can open them. Here, in v9 he does it rather spectacularly (as we shall see in a moment), but for now lets just notice that he guides positively. God is a God of opportunities.
So often in my life, I have wanted this kind of experience. Wanting God to give me a dream that will tell me the way ahead. So far, I haven’t had that kind of clarity (I’ve had other kinds!), but God has been positively leading and providing and opening doors. Are you expecting him too, and willing to push them?
5&6. Directly and personally(v9)
Paul’s vision stands out as spectacular guidance doesn’t it. Our minds, and hearts are drawn to this. This is something special, something to be sought after and highlighted. And these things happen today. Countless times in the Muslim world in particular, Christians or people God is drawing to himself have dreams and visions from God, guidance and direction. This shouldn’t surprise us when the issues are those things we were considering at the beginning – our righteousness and God’s glory as his name is honoured by people turning to him.
But let us get this right and in perspective.
Paul, uses this word vision only once in all his letters.
In 2 Corinthians 12v1-7 Paul acknowledges, even celebrates God’s direct communication through visions and revelation to him. He has every reason and right to talk about it, and to make it a focus of attention but he doesn’t because
‘I don’t want anyone to think more highly of me than what they can actually see in my life and my message...to keep me from getting puffed up...’ v6b-7
Paul could use this experience to manipulate and to make himself look good. The ‘God has told me’ attitude can be very unhelpful. It can be used to manipulate and to make us look great and we should examine our hearts when we really feel God has something to say through us. But we mustn't, and shouldn’t ignore it either. It requires maturity, balance and a consideration of the ‘composition’ of guidance as a whole.
7&8. Rational thought and conversation (v10)
Notice how Paul and his companions deal with this revelation. They ‘concluded’. ‘Conclude’ means literally to ‘bring together’, to ‘put together in one’s mind’ and so to infer something from a variety of data. They weighed it, thought about it, discussed it and processed it, and they did it together. The perspective of others in guidance is crucial. I remember hearing that Cliff Richard had loads of women contacting him telling him that God has said they would get married. His response was ‘when he says the same thing to me, then we’ll get married.’ I wonder if, had these women discussed their thoughts with real friends who would speak the truth to them, would they genuinely have done the same thing?
When you speak to people about guidance, is your mind already made up, or do you genuinely believe that God can guide you through others? It is foolishness not to!
Notice – I am not saying that everything must appear logical. God has used many people to do things that are far from logical for his purposes – but for the most part, he has given us grey and white matter to use for spiritual purposes – so lets do that!
9. Circumstances (v13-15)
Finally, in v13-15 we have God’s guidance that is circumstantial. When they arrive at Philippi, they go to the river to pray (there is no synagogue). So they met Lydia who became a very significant player in the growth of the early church in the area. God knew she was there and manufactured things, simply through circumstances, so that she would meet Paul and his companions, and ultimately Christ.
The dangers, the delights & the unanswered questions.
It is important that we remember that God guides in lots of different ways, and it is important that we think about the ‘composition’ of guidance.
If doors seem to be closing, we should seek wisdom corporately – asking others. If I have a personal sense that God has said something to me, does it match up to biblical truth and what do others think about it? Does it make sense? Do I want to do it, or dread it?
It is easy to become a lone-ranger with our own, God given cause. Dare I say it (forgive me) but there is a tendency to do that where we are. There are numerous stories of people who have made up their minds and are not willing to listen to council on it. Lets not be like that!
And let us remember where we started. God is most concerned about righteousness and his name.
Is that our first concern? He wants us to trust him. That means making decisions and believing that he will act and work for us, guiding us every step of the way.
God is much more concerned with who you are than what you do - and he is on your case to make you like him. Listening?