ACTS 16:1-11 TEXT v9 COME OVER AND HELP US!
And a vision appeared to Paul
in the night;
There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,
Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Context: Paul receives a vision depicting a man from Macedonia (Now in
old Yugoslavia) pleading with him to come over and help them i.e. to
bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul responded to that cry and
that is how the gospel came to Europe.
This is St. Patrick's Day when we remember how Patrick brought the gospel to Irish shores.
If I may be so bold, I want to say that St. Patrick was a Protestant long before the term was coined at the Reformation.
A true Protestant, when stripped of any political or cultural baggage, is simply a follower of Jesus Christ.
He believes in the 5 great "Sola's"/Reformation:
[i] The Authority of the Bible ALONE
[ii] Salvation by grace ALONE
[iii] Justification by faith ALONE
[iv] In Christ ALONE
[v] All things to God's glory ALONE
I contend: Patrick believed all these things. He was not a RC.
He makes no mention/Pope in any of his writings, which is strange if he was sent as the Pope's envoy.
Often told: the authority/Church is the key to everything.
How can we believe the word/God without the authority/Church?
But once we accept (according/Rome) that Peter was the first Pope and
that every Pope since has the same authority, then we can come to enjoy
forgiveness/sins etc., which is promised in the Bible.
But Patrick never mentions the Pope at all nor any of the trappings of Rome.
The reason for this most fundamental omission is simple.
Not only had the Pope never sent Patrick, but the early Celtic Church
was totally independent/Rome and remained so for 100's of years after
Patrick's existence.
Patrick came to Ireland in response to a cry. He had been brought to
Ireland as a slave, had escaped…then years later, he had a
dream:
"And there verily I saw in the night
visions a man whose name was Victori-cus coming as it were from Ireland
with countless letters. And he gave me one of them, & I read the
beginning of the letter, which was entitled, "The Voice of the Irish";
& while I was reading aloud the beginning of the letter, I thought
that at that very moment I heard the voice of them who lived beside the
wood of Foclut which is nigh unto the western sea. And thus they cried,
as with one mouth, "We beseech thee, holy youth, to come & walk
among us once more." And I was exceedingly broken in heart, & could
read no further. And so I awoke. Thanks be to God that after very many
years the Lord
granted to them according to their cry."
This is billed as a missionary meeting. With this backdrop/St. Patrick, we want to learn important lessons:
1) IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN - YOU BECAME ONE BECAUSE SOME ONE BROUGHT YOU THE GOSPEL:
A/ God is sovereign and can work without means.
"Father/Faithful" (Abraham) was called by grace when God preached to him the gospel
(Galatians 3:8) As it stands, it appears that there was no human agent.
Just as flesh/blood did not reveal some truths unto Peter, it appears that no human being brought the gospel: Abraham
But this is not the norm
The sinner is not to wait for such a visitation
B/ God ordinarily (vast majority/times) uses an human agent to bring the good news to the human soul
Every Christian here may think of the those at the end perhaps in a
long chain who explained the gospel to us and led us to Christ
It is true that God gets the glory; 1 Corinthians 3:5-6 Who
then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed,
even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase.
Yet the Bible speaks of faithful Christians in a high manner:
Paul claimed (obviously in a spiritual) sense to have fathered many of the Corinthians through the gospel (1 Corinthians 4:15)
They which turn many to righteousness shall shine/stars (Daniel 12:3)
Again: Let him know, that he which
converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:20)
C/ We stand indebted to those people.
We bless God for them.
They could've been dumb dogs who would not bark (Isaiah 56:10) - Secret disciples who kept their lights under a bushel.
But they weren't
They spoke boldly for the Lord
Boldness does not mean they were not scared - but they were not scared enough to say nothing.
They might not have been eloquent or 100% in all that they said - but they still brought us the gospel.
D/ We could develop this theme further.
What of those who brought them the gospel?
What of those who had the ground prepared for us so that they could sow seeds on it.
I thank God for the S.S. etc., where, through chorus's etc., I learned to revere the Bible.
We can trace the many links/chain back through the Reformers etc., right back to Patrick. We really do stand in his debt
2) IF YOU A CHRISTIAN - YOU HAVE A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY TO BRING THE GOSPEL TO OTHERS:
A/ Patrick was converted to Christ as a slave in Ireland.
Had been brought up/Christian home and rebelled.
But like the Prodigal Son, he sought pardon in the faraway land.
Managed to escape captivity and he returned to Scotland
But after a few years/he heard the cry/Irish (Alluded to)
B/ Patrick realised that he could not ignore this cry
Why had he been saved in the first place?
[i] To the glory/God: That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, (Romans 9:23)
That is why we will spend eternity praising God for our salvation
[ii] Another (subservient) reason: that we might bear witness to God
We will do this by godly living (Matthew 5:16)
We also do it by bringing the gospel to others - "Outreach"
Just as someone brought us the gospel
C/ Paul said that he was a debtor to the Jews/Gentiles (Romans 1:14)
His Christian life and witness has a humane element to it
How could he sit back unconcerned if people were lost?
Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry?
Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die?
Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand?
Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you DAMNED? (Tozer)
And so great was Paul's burden on this matter, that he wrote:
For though I preach the gospel, I
have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is
unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
(1 Corinthians 9:16)
D/ In Acts 17 Paul went to Athens. He waited there for others to join him (v6)
That suggests to us that he had not intended to a full gospel assault upon the city. Just a stopping post along the way.
But his heart was stirred as he saw the gross idolatry (17:16) and
therefore he disputed in the synagogue/market place (17:17) with the
people Did not wash his hands. Did not excuse himself. Felt his burning
responsibility to tell them of the one true and living God and
he preached to them Jesus/resurrection.
E/ Even if uninvited and unwanted, you still have a responsibility to
spread the gospel abroad. You are not selling services/products.
You are proclaiming, as an ambassador, the announcements of your King, who happens to be the Supreme Ruler/Universe!
We are not negotiators, looking for an honourable (face saving) compromise…we are Heralds of the God of Heaven
You need to be spreading the gospel in your home, neighbourhood,
school, college, workplace or wherever. If we wait until invited gospel
would never have left Heaven, never mind Jerusalem
3) IF YOU A CHRISTIAN - YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO AT LEAST OFFER YOURSELF FOR FULL TIME MISSIONARY SERVICE:
A/ We have spoken of our debt to the people among whom we live and move and have our being.
Real debt we cannot walk away from
But we have a greater debt again - more powerful than even the cries of lost souls
B/ We stand indebted to Christ to bring others the gospel
We are not our own - bought/price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
We can never repay that debt/love we owe
You might do me a great favour and I could repay that debt
I might repay it with money or others way so that I can arrive at this position and say: "I owe you nothing"
Never with Jesus Christ
The debt was infinite and we can never repay it
Paul went evangelising because the love of Christ (i.e. Christ's love towards him) constrained him (2 Corinthians 5:14)
C/ We need to at least offer ourselves for full time Christian service
What would God have us do? Patrick heard the cry of the Irish
Had he looked for excuses, they were not hard to find
Unhappy memories as a slave/Ireland. Druids and the pagans etc.,
He had a rough reception when he did come. High King/Tara etc.,
But he never turned back and he brought the gospel light to 5th century Ireland and ultimately to us
D/ Let me plant a seed in your hearts for Ireland.
Whatever your political views may be about the South/Ireland - I want you to think about evangelising it
The railway/road structure is there. The need is there. Many are
leaving Romanism, but embracing any other "ism" other than Biblical
truth
In light/Cross Can we walk away on political or cultural grounds?
Even if full time service is not the will/God for your life…you
can still help the cause/God and truth in Ireland (North/South)
E/ Do not fear to trust God with your future. You have trusted him with your soul. Go the whole way/God
No regrets
Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland