使徒言行録16:6-10 Acts 16:6-10

Paul and Silas set out on their second missionary journey to preach the salvation of Jesus to the people. Unlike today, there were no trains or buses. They travelled on foot. Moreover, they did not go where they wanted to go, but were guided by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus.

This journey was a long one, spanning the entire length of modern-day Turkey, from the eastern to the western end. It was a mysterious thing that whenever Paul tried to go to a certain place, the Holy Spirit would say, “No, not there,” and would not allow him to go. In today’s Bible passage, verse 6 says, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” Asia was the western region of modern-day Turkey, where there was a large city called Ephesus. Verse 7 also says, “And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ” Bithynia was the northern region of modern-day Turkey, which was a very prosperous area at that time.

Why did the Holy Spirit prevent Paul from going to the places he wanted to go? It was because there was another place where God wanted to guide Paul to preach the salvation of Jesus. Paul was unable to go to the places he wanted to go and arrived at the port town of Troas, located at the northwestern tip of modern-day Turkey. While staying in that port town, he received a mysterious guidance. Verse 9 of today’s passage says, “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.’” The vision Paul saw was likely a dream guided by the Holy Spirit. Macedonia is located in the northern part of modern-day Greece. At that time, Macedonia was after the continuous wars, and many people were poor and suffering. They needed the strength to survive. God wanted to bring the salvation of Jesus to the people of Macedonia and give them the strength to live. For this reason, God caused Paul to see the dream of the Macedonian man who said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Paul and his companions realised that this dream was God’s guidance and immediately set out for Macedonia. They understood that the mission God had given them was to proclaim the salvation of Jesus to the people of Macedonia. How Paul proclaimed the salvation of Jesus to the people of Macedonia will be told next week. Just as the dream had foretold, there were people in Macedonia who were seeking the salvation of Jesus. And when they heard about Jesus from Paul, they believed firmly. The church that was established in Macedonia supported Paul by sending offerings when he went on to preach the salvation of Jesus to people in other places.

We sometimes experience situations where we cannot do what we want to do. And there are times when we cannot help but pray, “God, why?” If we experience such things repeatedly, we may think, “Perhaps God has abandoned me.” But please wait a moment. Just as God sent Paul to Macedonia, perhaps God is trying to lead us to do things we never imagined we could do. It might be something much better than what we originally planned. We may not receive guidance from God through dreams like in the Bible, but through various experiences and prayers, we may hear God say, “Do this.” If we receive such guidance from God, we should follow it obediently.