Stop, Wait, Go!

Acts 16: 6 – 15

Paul, Silas and Timothy leave Lystra visiting Cities and Towns, witnessing to people about Jesus Christ Acts 16: 6a

As with Paul, wherever you go witnessing, God will give you 3 signals to guide you! (Just like a set of traffic lights) Red = Stop! (In NZ) Orange = Wait! Green = Go!

If you don’t obey the traffic lights – you will have a disaster!

1/ Red light = Stop! V6-7

Paul wanted to go south, it had a large City there, Ephesus – God said “Stop”

Paul wanted to go north into Bithynia which was a very wealthy area – God said “Stop”

Sometimes, God says “Stop” when we want to witness to someone

That person may not be ready yet to hear your witness – they will reject you!

God doesn’t want you to waste your time

That person may be ready for your witness at a later date – just not now

God may take you back to that person later – as He did with Paul – later taking him back to Ephesus, Acts 19

2/ Orange = Wait! V8-10

Paul went to Troas, not knowing where to go next – God was making him “Wait”

God did 2 things for Paul while he waited there:

A/ God gave Paul direction – “Come over toMacedonia to help us” The Gospel was about to be taken
into Europe for the first time!

B/ God added a valuable new member to his Team – Luke

V8 ‘…they…’ Paul, Silas and Timothy

V10 ‘…we…’ Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke

Luke was a medical Dr. and attended to the medical needs of Paul’s Team

Luke became the Author of the Gospel of Luke and its sequel, Acts, recording Paul’s journeys

When God says, “Wait”, He does it to give us confidence in His direction and also to strengthen our efforts

3/ Green = Go! V11-16

Paul went to Philippi, a large City – God said “Go”

Paul finds a Group of people who God has prepared for salvation – they were not Christians yet, but they were seeking after God v13

Paul witnesses to them and God opens Lydia’s heart to receive the message of salvation v14

Lydia and all her Family get saved! v15

When God gives you a green light = “Go” – Don’t stop, don’t wait, it’s time to go, there is someone ready to be saved – they need you!

Romans 10:14 ‘But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them’?

When you go witnessing – you can trust God to guide you

Sometimes with a Stop sign – Sometimes with a Wait sign – Sometimes with a Go sign

Preparing for ministry – a life-time of service to God

Acts 15: 40 – Acts 16: 5

Paul begins his 2^nd Mission trip to visit the Churches he had started during his first trip – he takes Silas with him Acts 15: 40-41

In Lystra Paul meets a young man called Timothy Acts 16: 1a

Paul takes Timothy with him and, over the next 20 years, Paul works closely with him, preparing him for ministry

Timothy is prepared so well for ministry that Paul says of him…Philippians 2:20 ‘I don’t have anyone
else like Timothy’.

What is ministry? – A life-time of service to God

Timothy is our example of how to prepare for ministry – a life-time of service to God

When we talk about ministry many people think – “That’s not for me”

Ephesians 4:12a ‘…prepare all God’s people for the work of the ministry…’

What does ‘all’ mean? A/ Some of God’s people? B/ Many of God’s people? C/ Most of God’s people D/ All of God’s people?

When we give ourselves to Ministry – the Church grows! Ephesians 4:12b ‘…in order to build up the body of Christ’.

So, How did Timothy prepare for ministry?

1/ Timothy valued his own reputation

Acts 16: 2 READ ‘The brothers (fellow Christians)…spoke well of him.’

Timothy desired a good reputation – a good ‘name’, with other Christians

To prepare for ministry you need a good reputation – When you have a good ‘name’ – people will trust you, they will listen to you and follow your leadership

Proverbs 22:1 ‘Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better
than silver or gold’.

2/ Timothy fully surrendered to Paul’s leadership

Acts 16: 3  ‘Paul…circumcised him…’

Paul became like a ‘Father’ to Timothy, and like any parent/child relationship, the ‘child’ needs to surrender to the instruction of its parent

Paul had Timothy circumcised, not to ‘perfect’ his salvation (Galatians 5: 3-4), but to help Timothy find acceptance among the Jews (1 Corinthians 9: 22-23) who also needed to hear the message of
salvation – they would not listen to an uncircumcised Gentile!

To prepare for ministry you need to fully surrender to your Mentor/Teacher,
even if it is going to cause you pain, and you don’t fully understand the reason behind the instruction!

In time, you will understand

3/ Timothy was reliable in ‘small things’

Acts 16: 4  ‘…they delivered the decrees…’ (Acts 15)

Timothy’s first act of service was as a delivery boy!

Before God gives you a ministry to people, like public speaking and people leadership – God will test you in ‘small things’

If you are not faithful in the ‘small things’, you can never be trusted with ‘big things’

To prepare for ministry you need to prove yourself faithful in ‘small things’ – if you can’t, then how can you be trusted to care for God’s people?!

Acts 16: 5  Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s ministry is blessing the Churches!

Isn’t that exciting!

That’s what ministry is all about!

Do you have a desire to serve the Lord in ministry?

Then build up your reputation so that others speak well of you

Offer yourself to a mature Christian leader in this Church to be trained for ministry

Prove yourself faithful in the ‘small things’

Overcoming failure and becoming successful again

Acts 15: 30-39 Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from Jerusalem and got ready to leave for their 2nd Missions trip Acts 15: V30-36

Paul wanted to visit the Churches they had started during their 1st Mission (Acts 13 & 14)

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul didn’t

This disagreement caused them to separate Acts 15: 37-38

When people become Christians and begin to serve the Lord…some succeed and some fail, but, like John Mark, who failed (Acts 13: 13), we will find… that God will help us to overcome that failure and become a success!

How does God do that?

1/ God will put the right person in your life V39 ‘…Barnabas took Mark…’ Barnabas was the right person for John Mark. Barnabas encouraged him and helped him succeed again. When you fail, you need a ‘Barnabas’ in your life who will believe in you and says…“you may have failed, but God will not fail you. I am going to stick with you, like glue, I will encourage you, pray for you, and I will help you to succeed”!

2/ God will put you in the right place V39 ‘…sailed for Cyprus…’ Cyprus was the right place for John Mark. Cyprus was a familiar place to John Mark, both he and Barnabas had close family there. In Cyprus, John Mark found love, forgiveness and acceptance, a place where he could become successful again. When you fail, you need a place, a Church Family, where you are loved, forgiven and accepted, a place where you can become successful again

3/ God will give you the right work to do. When John Mark went to Cyprus, he didn’t go there for a holiday. He went there to begin the right work, for him. Travelling, like Paul, preaching the Gospel and starting new Churches was not the right work for John Mark. From Acts15 onwards it does not say what work John Mark did, but, in other places, it does. ☺ John Mark was the Author of the Gospel of Mark ☺ Colossians 4: 10 John Mark is back in people ministry again ☺ 2 Timothy 4: 1 John Mark is back helping Paul again. When you fail, you need to find the right work, for you – copying the ministry of someone else may in fact cause you to fail. Finding the right work, will give you a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, and bring you success!

In times of failure, God will help us to overcome it and become successful again by putting the right person in your life, putting you in the right place and giving you the right work.