20th Oct 2010

Acts 19:23-41 – The Riot in Ephesus

• “God has spies and they are real legends”
• I’m probably watching too many episodes of ‘Spooks’ or ‘MI5’ as it is called in the USA.
• It’s a TV show where secret service members of the British government go undercover in order to defeat plots against the Queen and her government.
• To do this they create “legends’ a kind of back story to the fictional character they pretend to be. These ‘legends’ are complex and well-thought out. Even fictional relatives of the ‘legends’ are placed n houses in case any of the people that the spies are undercover with, want to check them out.
• God has spies; these guys are real people planted by God for special times.
• We never know where they are or when God will suddenly produce them in order to support our work for Him.
• So in this particular case; Paul is preaching and a riot is stirred up by Demetrius.
• The silversmith is losing money because he uses religion to make his living. He designs shines for Artemis a hugely popular ‘goddess’ of the Ephesians.
• In fact she was so popular that it is said more people worshipped her in their private devotions than any other idol.
• Demetrius uses religion to stir up a huge, out of control riot.
• Paul’s companions are grabbed and forced into the theatre. The croewd is getting wilder and Alexander is forced to take the brunt of it.
• Then just when you though it could not get worse; they realize he is a Jew.
• Antisemitism then rears its ugly head.
• It is looking very very bad.
• But.
• Cast your mind back to chapter 18 and a promise God gave Paul in a dream:
• "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
• God has spies. In every city. Not just Corinth but in Ephesus as well.
• At the height of the riot some unknown clerk single-handedly defuses the terrible situation.
• Out of no-where this virtual no-body gets up and through a perfectly reason argument destroys the enemies plot.
• God has spies hidden for you as well. Believe it!
• And take God’s advise for yourself: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.
• Oh and do not do a Demetrius either; don’t put business before the Kingdom.
• Praying for the spies God has placed ahead of me that they and I will courageously do what we need to do.

28th Oct 2010

Acts 19:1-23 – Paul in Ephesus

• “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know – pt2”
• The Jews believed in demons and that they could be exorcised.
• You may be surprised to know that many of the Jews in the first and second century also believed in the power of Jesus’ name.
• “.. the serpent only bit him that a serpent might not bite him in the future” Shabbat 14d
• This quote from the Jerusalem Talmud gives a fascinating insight into the minds of non-messianic Jews. It is taken from a story [quoted in various Jewish documents] of a Rabbi warning another Jew not to allow someone to heal them in the name of ‘Yeshua ben-Pandira’ – Jesus from Nazareth. Before the person gets a chance to be healed by a Jewish follower of Jesus, a serpent bits him and he dies. The Rabbi says that this natural serpent bit him so that a metaphorical serpent could not. The symbolic serpent standing for heresy.
• In other words he is saying that God sent a serpent so he would not get mixed up with the Jews who followed Jesus.
• The point being this: the Rabbi obviously believed there was power in Jesus name!
• The seven sons were right – there is power in Jesus name but they did not know Jesus’ power in their own lives. They did not know Jesus.
• It seems that sometimes demons can also be exorcised by magical means not just by Godly ones.
• It has been suggested that there is a pecking order where some demons are more powerful than others and incantations invoking stronger demons can be used to overthrow weaker ones.
• In this passage the seven sons of Sceva use a very typical method of invoking supernatural power by piling on top of one another names of spiritual authorities.
• They of course fail.
• It is not what you know by who you know.
• In our spiritual battles there are all sorts of methods we can use to advance the kingdom of God. They may not always be ‘magical’, they might be;
• political
• manipulative
• good business sense
• etc
• But ultimately we and those around us will get hurt, just as in the story of the seven sons of Sceva who knew what to do but not who they needed to know.. Jesus.
• Yes we can get things done for God but if we fight a spiritual battle without being genuine and knowing Jesus we will ultimately fail… ourselves.
• Recently I heard of a great preacher who used and advised others to use positive thinking to build the kingdom. All I know is this; now his church is bankrupt, there is a power struggle in his family and one of his children is airing the family’s dirty laundry in the media.
• Was a large church built? yes.
• Were Christian books written? yes.
• Was the Gospel preached? yes.
• But at what cost? One that ultimately undermines what was built.
• To fight a spiritual battle with good business sense, positive thinking or politics is like taking a knife to a gun fight. You might cause some damage to your enemy but not as much as they will cause to you.
• Praying today for the common sense to rely on spiritual sense.

27th Oct 2010

Acts 19:1-23 – Paul in Ephesus

• “It’s not what you know; its who you know – pt1”
• So much happens in this passage that t will take me a couple of days to think it through and see any connections in the stories.
• It seems to me that all the stories are about a common understanding that most of the world has; it’s not what you know but who you know. You can sometimes be much better at something than someone else but get far less opportunities because you don't know, or are not in with the right people.
• The first section deals with the slow growing opposition to Paul. When it finally breaks out Paul is able to go round the corner and carry on because of who he knows…Tyrannus.
• The work continues because he understands not just the Jews but knows how the Greeks think as well. He moves to a lecture hall. We don’t know if this was a Jewish Yeshiva [school – see a great clip of a yeshiva in the film ‘Yentil’] or a Greek hall. From other documents we learn that Paul used the lecture hall between 11am and 4pm each day – when it was very hot and not being used.
• But what happens next really intrigues me.
• God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
• I can think of a truck full of doctrinal reasons why that could not have happened!
• But I am wrong.
• Kind of.
• My doctrine may be correct but it’s limited.
• What I know may be correct but it is trumped by who I know.
• Perhaps one of the most important breakthroughs to God being able to use us comes when we suddenly realize we cannot use God.
• We use what we know of God to use God.
• We control what God can do, by limiting Him to how we ‘know’ He does things.
• But the fascinating thing about the Lord is how He meets people where they are. He meets them in their level of understanding. Just as he does here through Paul’s sweaty chintz.
• Can God speak to Catholics via weeping statues or bagels with Jesus’ picture embedded in it?
• Of course not!
• But yes He can.
• The whole handkerchief thing seems like ridiculous superstition to me and of course this kind of thing was later abused terribly in the Middle ages… but God works however He wants to work.
• The most important thing to Him it seems, is connecting with people where they are and then drawing them into a better understanding.
• He puts people above procedures.
• There may be much better ways for us to know God’s direction and yet He will allow His will to be revealed through ‘fleeces’. Gideon acted in fear not faith with the whole fleece thing and yet God deemed it ok to meet Gideon where He was, hoping one day He would mature.
• It’s an important lesson for all leaders… who we know is more important that what we know.
• Praying today for a better understanding of Him and His pride less compassion.

26th Oct 2010

Acts 18:18-28 – Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos

• “Haircuts and the Holy Spirit”
• Paul has a haircut – not just any haircut but one that signifies a vow.
• Which is odd because Jesus dismissed oaths. This must have been different.
• The Christian commentators say this was probably a Jewish Nazirite vow but interestingly the Messianic Christians [Jews who follow Jesus] say it probably was not. A Nazirite vow could not be taken in a gentile region. The Mishna later recalls some of the key ingredients to a Nazirite vow and Paul could not have fulfilled them where he was and possibly in the time he was there.
• Anyway – the key here seems to be that even in a Gentile area, Paul held onto some deep convictions.
• I think sometimes that is what it takes.
• I don’t believe we can change the world by being culturally relevant.
• Sometimes we have to be irrelevant and different.
• But how can we do that? How can our convictions be taken into a new culture and be so deep within us that they help us influence that culture instead of it influencing us?
• What’s the key?
• Well, later we hear about Apollos.
• A man that knew all the right stuff but had not yet experienced the power of God.
• There are many Apollos’ out there. Some of you may be even reading this blog.
• He knew the facts.
• He did not know the power.
• He had intellect.
• He did not have experience.
• Without that experience he could speak with fervor and accuracy but the disciples knew that something was seriously missing… an experience.
• To his credit, Apollos did not allow his great learning to become a barrier. He was humble and not proud. As we see tomorrow, what happened next would have been what happened wherever the fullness of the gospel was explained and accepted.
• Apollos it is inferred accepted the whole baptism of Jesus and his power.
• He was now ready to be sent into another culture and not just explain with fervor and accuracy but be filled with the Holy Spirit. And it would be that experience that would enable him to be influential enough to get a shout out from the writer of acts and a mention in history.
• What about you?
• Are you like either Paul or Apollos?
• I believe it is this experience of God’s Holy Spirit and power that allows us to change the world rater than it change us.
• Experiencing God can take humility – even to the point of a ridiculous haircut.
• For some of God’s people, there has not been the openness to get baptized, either in water or Spirit... is this why we try so hard and yet do not make the difference we hope for?
• Praying for humility that leads to an ongoing experience that changes the world.

25th Oct 2010

Acts 18:1-17 – In Corinth.

• “Stop Trying; Start Training”
• Abraham Lincoln: Today I will prepare for tomorrow my opportunity may come!
• Too many of us are trying too hard and training too weakly.
• Our opportunities come and try as hard as we might we fail due to our lack of training.
• Paul has been training for such moments as this. He needs three things it seems from this passage to be successful in setting up a strategic stronghold for the advance of the Kingdom in the region:
• The ability to help himself.
• The help of God
• The help of Godly people.
• Paul had been trained to help himself; he was a tent-maker by trade. The Jews believed in providing their children with one manual skill no matter how rich [or poor] they were. Paul is able to draw upon his training to help himself make a living.
• He had be trained by the Spirit to hear God and take direction and so a dream was all it took to keep him on track. For some Christians; they can hear the Holy Spirit clearly and it still not be enough because they have not been through the process; they have not habitually submitted to the spirit’s leading and so in crucial times, when God speaks clearly; they try but fail to obey.
• Paul had been trained to convince and through this as well as God’s providence, God had placed many supporters in the city for him.
• Stop trying and start training.
• There is training for God.
• There is training for evil!
• Gossip is a training syllabus for Rebellion.
• A lack of study is a training course for poor choices.
• Flirting is a training scheme for adultery!
• What are you trying for, when instead you should be training for?
• Praying I will stick to the training program God has put me on.
• Praying today for Churches to train our people rather than just teach them.
• Today I will train for tomorrow my opportunity will come!

'tape'

'Tape' - an chapter from 'The Line and the Dot'


Third comes defense.

To equip us for this third stage of pioneering, we have to understand there is

something to defend…but what is it?

Third comes defense.

To equip us for this third stage of pioneering, we have to understand there is

something to defend…but what is it?

Some things can be compromised in order to grow. The key you will need is not

simply a defense against compromise, but instead an understanding of what

things you can make concessions on and what things you must not give up.

The thing you need to protect is the thing that made you unique!

All pioneers need to ask, “What was it that made us different in the first place?”

Once you have defined that, then make it distinctive, give it value, and then

defend it.

How do you defend the one thing that made you unique? It all comes down to

how you measure success.

Measuring success is like creating a tape measure, looping it at the end and

forming a leash. I know one church, for instance, whose stated vision is about

getting people out of the church into the community, but their only measurement

of success is the mathematics of counting the numbers who attend on a

Sunday morning. No matter how much the senior minister tries to push outward

and bring the church with him, this measuring leash jerks him back and forces

him to spend most of his time ensuring the Sunday morning program is attractive

enough to draw greater numbers.

What measurement has become your leash?

m4
I was very much in love with Sharon Church, the church in which I grew up, and I
had incredible respect for our pastor, Harry Letson. It was he who, through selfsacrifice
and a Kingdom mindset, gave me freedom to build a ministry which
went far beyond his church’s four walls. Nonetheless, there was a problem: we
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120
were quickly out-growing the building. Pais was running its finances under the
church’s accounts and charitable status, but our conferences could no longer fit
within the church’s facilities. We needed another building.
Another distinctive about Pais is our economic model. We have never, and
ideally will never, own a building of our own. Pais is built on partnership. We
provide churches that have established infrastructure and facilities with enthusiastic
individuals who possess great leadership skills. Because of my background,
I have never learned how to raise a lot of money, but I have learned how to
make a little money go a very long way. Here, however, we had a major problem.
Virtually every penny of Pais went into people and fuel. Because of our relationship
with Sharon Church, we had not needed to raise money for bricks and
mortar, but now it seemed we did. Then one day Harry brought to my attention
Evangel Church. He had been helping this group of loyal Christians every week
by bringing teaching and some pastoral support, but they were still struggling.
Their building had been bought when the church was flourishing and growing
with two to three hundred people, but was now far larger than the current
nineteen members needed. It had some basic structural issues including the
proverbial leaking church roof, and they were in the process of selling it to a
local restaurant chain.
We asked the church leadership how much they were selling the building for. If
my memory serves me right, it was around £180,000.67 And then they turned to
me and made a suggestion. Perhaps, they said, we could sell it to you for our
remaining mortgage payments. This, they informed me, was only £46,000.68
Some would say this was coincidence and some might say it was God, but
£46,000 was exactly to the penny how much money we did not have.
We had nothing. Nada.
The first time I shared the vision, a businessman stepped forward and offered to
give me the entire amount. For several reasons however, this did not feel like the
right thing to do. Pais owning a building would mean pouring money that could
be used for better things into a black hole called ‘real estate’.
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And then came a new twist. Since the church leaders also felt that selling the
building to Pais might not be the best way forward, we settled on a third option.
Pais would lead the church, and we would get the use of the building entirely
free.
The church was called Evangel, meaning good news, but it could only be good
news if people knew its meaning. As we began to re-purpose the church, it
started to grow in size. It was an opportunity to try out new ideas, and with this
regeneration came a new name. To us, it was far more important for the name
to resonate with those outside the building than to be understood inside. Our
vision was to impact the community.
We renamed the church ‘thefaithworks’.
Some of the people involved in thefaithworks were from the Pais Project. Well
over a thousand young people have given their lives for at least a year to serve
with Pais. At least 50% of those who originally signed on for one year, committed
longer term. Some have even stayed on Pais for a decade. There are, of
course, those shining stars that I’ll always remember and thank God for their
friendship.
Rachel Eden joined Pais when she was 18 years old. She was bright and bubbly,
and as she grew on Pais, it became evident that God had given her two
skills rarely seen together. Rachel was a drama queen, but in the best sense of
the word. She was creative, artsy, and communicated incredibly well through
performing arts. Alongside these attributes, Rachel was also very structured,
organized, and had a keen strategic mind.
Rachel developed through the ranks from team member to team leader, eventually
becoming a director. For several years she ran Street Level, our specialist
schools teams that were also mini theatre companies. Eventually Rachel moved
to our church in Failsworth and helped pioneer two projects, as she joined Lynn
and me in reaching the community. One was Create where, rather than a midweek
youth rally of our usual attendees, we put our emphasis on reaching local
young people, giving them opportunities to present the gospel through drama.
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122
Most of these young people weren’t Christians, but we began to disciple them
through the performing arts.
We coached these students to teach others. So, through Create, Pais developed
a philosophy that took the form of M4 academy. M4 stood for four ways to
make missionaries of the students with whom Pais apprentices connected. The
academy became the training ground where they learned to see the Kingdom of
God and affect their community positively.
As M4 developed, many academies were launched globally, each one based
around the specific skills, gifting, and vision of the apprentices who led them.
Through presentational tracks like performing arts, media skills, and public
speaking, young people learned how to share the truth of Jesus. Other tracks
taught sport skills and created discussion using those skills as spiritual illustrations.
My favorite tracks were the service ones. One group of young people
went to a local apartment, spoke to the management and posted flyers offering
prayer. Residents would write their requests down or visit the team on
Wednesday nights and get prayed for.
An Arabian proverb says, “To teach is to learn twice.”69
As students actively engaged in educating both themselves and others, a profound
change occurred.
For some, their education turned into an experience. What they were told was
true, they now knew to be true.
For others, their experience turned into an education. What they now knew to
be true, they asked to be explained.
Young people who did not initially believe in Christ were invited to be involved
in His work in their communities.
Whenever I speak at conferences, seminaries, or Bible colleges, I often pose the
question, “When did the disciples first become Christians?” I typically receive six
answers ranging from “When they first followed Him” to “The day of Pentecost”.
The answer of course is…
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…We don’t really know.
I then ask the question, “When did Jesus first start to disciple the disciples?”
I receive the unanimous answer, “When they first followed Him.”
Simple logic and rational thinking therefore teach us that Jesus discipled many
of His followers before they became Christians.70
Why then are so many of our church programs traditionally set up to do the
exact opposite?
The academy was just one quarter of M4. The motto of Pais, Missionaries making
Missionaries, is represented just as clearly in the other three parts. M4
Mentoring sees our apprentices regularly meet with individual young people
for the specific purpose of equipping them to be missionaries in their schools
and communities. Within M4 Conferences, students and apprentices receive
joint training in everything from setting up a Christian club to serving teachers
as Christ would. The last pillar of M4 is Missions. What happens on mission too
frequently stays on mission, so Pais does not do mission trips; we do tours. We
take young people on tour who are already serving or who want to serve. They
get a chance to go into another community and simply do there what they were
already doing in their own backyard.
Simply put, what does Pais do?
It sends teams of apprentices into churches. They go into the local schools as
missionaries and into the youth group to make missionaries. Full stop.
But it is not as simple as it sounds.
You may think that going into schools as missionaries creates the problems.
Rather, going into youth groups to make missionaries has provided 90% of the
issues that have tested me as a pioneer.

21st Oct 2010

Acts 17:16-34 – In Athens.

• “How Love Communicates; 5 examples”
• What would our communication look like if we were driven by love?
• To those we lead or to our loved ones?
• Paul gives us five examples in Athens;
• Firstly: Love does not wait for it to happen.
• Paul goes to the synagogues to speak to the Jews, he reaches out to the ‘God-fearers’ and then to the markets to reach anyone who will listen.
• He goes every day.
• He does not wait in the synagogue for people to come to him.
• Secondly: Love is ridiculed but responds in kindness.
• He is called a babbler. Quite a clever put-down.
• Babbler was a type of bird, it literally means ‘seed-picker’ – it was a bird known for gathering different things from different places. Paul was being ridiculed as someone who was snatching from one idea here and another there in order to put together his own made-up religion.
• He does not respond in anger but changes his tact out of compassion.
• Thirdly: Love is not one size fits all
• Paul preaches the Gospel without using scripture.
• Although that worked with the Jews and God-fearers, it would not work here. So what’s the point? Unless you are not driven by love but duty.
• Fourthly: Love does not write people off.
• Paul saw a place full of idols.
• If he had been driven by anything else except for love he would have simply challenged them about their idol worship and told them to repent.
• Fifthly: Love always produces creativity!
• True love will always find a creative way to communicate itself.
• In this case Paul uses their idol worship, something he had campaigned against, to help connect them to God, which is of most importance.
• Praying today that I might see love in my communication.

19th Oct 2010

Acts 17:1-9 – In Thessalonica.

• “Don’t mix with trouble makers… you might change the world!”
• Who is Jason?
• He suddenly appears on the scene from no-where.
• His mini-story and something that is said in verse 4 gives us an insight into the culture of the early church and why is was so successful in changing the world.
• In some translations of verse 4, it says that those who were persuaded
•  “..threw their lot in with Paul and Silas”.
• As one commentator says; in the early church new believers stayed very committed to those who had led them to Jesus. They did not jump from leader to leader.
• Then later in the passage we realize that Jason was seen as guilty by association.
• This I think ties in with my blog “the wrong questions” from a few days ago. People were usually led to people. When we pray where should we go? or what should we do?, we might be missing the better more strategic question.
• Changing the world often requires us to ask the ‘who’ question.
• It’s all about committed relationships to those who are doing what your gut tells you is God’s work… God’s way.
• Its about sticking with those who lead you to Jesus.
• Even though Paul could not be found at his house, Jason was still taken out and disciplined. These disciples stuck with their leaders even when trouble came.
• How often do we see that today?
• So my warning is this; even to those leaders out there… don’t mix with trouble makers… you might change the world!
• Praying the spirit of flakiness does not fall on me too much. 

18th Oct 2010

Acts 16:16-40 – Paul and Silas in Prison.

• “How to ask; what will get me in trouble?”
• What got Paul into prison?
• The answer is the incident with the women who was demon-[possessed [probably with a ‘python’ spirit which was the type of spirit worshipped at the Delphi temple].
• There is something odd and open ended about this story.
• Odd because Paul does not choose to immediately cast out the spirit and seems ok with what the woman is saying for a while.
• Open because we don’t know why he apparently changed his mind. We only know that he became troubled.
• Why? We did he become troubled?
• What the spirit was saying was true even if it was meant to distract and cause a fuss. Why was it ok at first but not ok later?
• On Pais we practice an ancient Jewish method of ‘drashing’ a passage. It helps us learn more about motivation, either that of God’s or ours. I’m not going to exp[lain it here but I think I will explain my drash.
• Simply; you rewrite the story, filling in the gaps but never changing the facts. You essentially suggest why Paul may have become troubled.
• Some might right a story which tells of Paul only realizing after a period of time that the woman was demon possessed. Some may have over spiritual reasons.
• Mine would go something like this;

• Paul heard the woman and realized that she was demon possessed. He realized it was trying to distract but also knew that the woman earnt a lot of money for her owners. Thinking ahead he knew that casting out the demon would create a major incident that could be used against him and so he held back the power to exorcise the demon. Eventually he could not bear the thing anymore, righteous anger raised up within him and he turned and cast the demon out. Immediately he regretted his actions.
• My drash may surprise you.
• Can I encourage you to write down your drash before you carry on reading this.

• I don’t think there was a particular ‘spiritual’ reason for his actions. I think he just got annoyed at the Spirit and finally gave in to his anger.
• I could be wrong. That’s not the point. The point of drashing is twofold.
• Firstly as different people drash it helps us see various facets to the story,
• But also:
• Whatever is written down is possibly a reason why Paul did what he did but probably the reason why you might have done it.
• It is this simple method of drashing that helps us understand something about ourselves.
• In this case it makes me aware that what might get me in trouble sometimes is righteous anger; wrongly timed. Sometimes I just need to be smarter!
• What does your drash teach you about what might get you in trouble?

15th Oct 2010

Acts 16:11-15 – Lydia's Conversion in Philippi

• “When Teaching Trumps Traditions”

• This passage reminds me of a great proverb that I will mention at the end.
• It also fits into a discussion being had now on Facebook after yesterdays blog.
• Paul is a man of many traditions. But something in his life is messing that all up.
• His calling.
• In this passage the teaching of Jesus conflicts with some well established and sensible practices of his as we will see.
• What will he do?
• More importantly; what would you do?
• In Luke, Jesus passes onto His disciples a strategy for mission when he send them out.
• On Pais we call it “Spread, Spot, Stay, Send.”
• Paul, now a long way from his usual haunts adopts the same principles to a ‘T’.
• SPREAD: Jesus told His disciples to spread the word – that’s exactly what Paul is doing on this missionary trip. He is going in to towns, cities and villages.
• SPOT: Jesus told His disciples to spot ‘people of peace’; those leaning forward to the message. They do this by often going to the synagogues but Paul has a problem here. There is no synagogue. A synagogue could only be created by a ‘minyan’ a group of ten or more Jewish men. Plus the Jews had some previous trouble in this city. So Paul goes outside the city as he knew that whatever Jews there would be there would have to gather by some running water as it was needed to be a ceremonial place of prayer.
• STAY: This is where Paul would have issues!
1. In Luke Jesus told His disciples that when they found a ‘person of peace’, that they should stay with that person. Not move from house to house looking for a better option.
2. But the person of peace here was a woman. Not a Jew. And she offered for him to stay at her home.
3. … awkward…
4. He had this teaching however. The teaching was not directly from Jesus but passed down to him by the Messiah’s disciples.
5. In this case, the teaching trumps his traditions.
• SEND: Jesus then obviously taught His disciples to send out those they had stayed with and taught into the rest of their communities to make disciples.
1. Lydia becomes the first person in Europe to be a follower of Christ.
2. Without his teaching trumping his traditions this first European church would not have been planted.
• The proverb I am reminded of?
• Proverbs 18:15 - “Intelligent people are always open to ideas. In fact, they look for them”
• Praying for that kind of intelligence!

14th Oct 2010

Acts 16:6-10 – Paul's Vision of the Man of Macedonia.

• “The Wrong Questions”
• How might your life have been different had you not asked the wrong questions?
• Another thought on vision.
• There is a fascinating yet simple statement that Luke makes in this passage today that could change your understanding of life as you know it.
• Paul and his companions are being guided by the Holy Spirit as to where they should preach the gospel. Who knows how that it happening?
• Then suddenly after a few ‘no’s’ he gets a resounding ‘not there but over here’.
• Luke describes a vision that Paul gets, in which a man of Macedonia is standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." These things happen only rarely in comparison the way God often leads us – which follows next;
• Then Luke makes this interesting statement…

1. “…we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
2. How did they conclude that?
3. They did not get a vision only Paul did!
• As a Christian I thought that getting a vision from God in the form of a place I would be called to or a task I would be show to do.
• As I get older and look back however, I realize as Luke did that most of the time God gives us a vision by showing us who to follow and who's vision to first serve.
• Luke’s leading came by knowing he was called to follow Paul.
• Check it out in the Bible; rarely were people called to a place but much more often to serve a person's vision. After serving someone then God gave them others to serve them in their vision.
• So here is seems are some potentially wrong questions:
1. God where are you calling me to?
2. God what are you calling me to?
• And here is a potentially more successful one:

3.    God who are you calling me to?

• Could it be that for some people they are now in a wilderness experience because they put mistakenly put numbers 1 and 2 before number 3 when in reality number 3 comes first?
• And maybe numbers 1 & 2 happen only when He says so not us.
• Just a thought.
• Praying for people who's vision I can serve so I can know the next steps in my vision.

13th Oct 2010

Acts 16:1-5 – Timothy joins Paul and Silas..

• “A Snip in time, saves…”
• It is sometimes said that visionaries don’t see problems.
• That is untrue.
• A good visionary sees a problem before others do, and then deals with it in advance.
• Paul anticipates an issue with taking Timothy as a helper and disciple.
• If Timothy has been a god –fearing Jew the Jews would not have had a problem. But he was a Jew because Judaism is passed down through the mother.
• Paul understands the problem he is about to potentially face;
1. He is about to go to various communities and pass on Halakhic decisions about the way they should govern themselves. He is to convince them to obey these religious legal decisions in order for Jesus’ dream of a new Kingdom to be demonstrated.
2. He knows that when people are challenged they can become defensive and look for reasons to disregard or undermine the challenge.
3. So often the issue they present is not the real issue and Paul saw in advance that the issue they could present was Timothy’s non-circumcision.
• Even though Paul often argues that believers do not need to be circumcised for salvation, he nevertheless pro-actively gets a specialist in to do the job. It was probably done by a specialist because adult circumcision was a complicated procedure.
• I listened to George Barna the author speak on Master Leaders. He said that one of the signs of great leaders is that they go looking for obstacles to confront. Poor leaders shy away from the issues but good leaders [of others and ourselves] go looking for them, anticipate the fall-out and confront the problem straight on.
• This is why the Holy Spirit is given to us.
• He shows us in advance the things that could trip us up. To ignore Him is just to delay something that will hinder us going on the journey the Father wants us to go on.
• Praying today for awareness.

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