This is how one man’s good idea opened a door of opportunity, one that God used to change the world forever. The man was Paul, the apostle, and his idea came in the form of a simple suggestion. After Paul’s first missionary journey through what is now known as Turkey, he and his companion Barnabas reported back to the church at Antioch, from which they had been sent out (Acts 13:1-3; 14:26). One day, after they had spent time preaching and teaching, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go again and visit our brethren in every city where we preached the word of the Lord, and see how they’re doing.” (Acts 15:36) A good suggestion. But the division that followed was not.
A sharp division should never be allowed to stop a good idea. Barnabas determined to take John Mark with them, but Paul said “No way!” John had found the first mission too tough and had turned back. “And the contention between them was so sharp that they split from one another; and so Barnabas took John and sailed off to Cyprus.”
So much for the opinion of some that God does not bless ideas that cause leadership splits! Many years ago, I was approached by a professional woman who was in a business partnership with a man known for his great vision. “He wants to develop the business faster than I think he should” she confided.
Knowing the man’s business acumen, I suggested to her that she commit to his vision. She did, and I am glad to say that the partnership still flourishes many decades later. Barnabas was a good man, but he chose his nephew Mark rather than his leader’s vision. Can God bless an idea that splits people apart at the start? He can and he does! The apostles were not angels. God works through some very imperfect people!
Changing the world may involve being a blessing where you’ve already been. “And Paul chose Silas, and after being commended to God, they went northwest through Syria to Cilicia, encouraging the churches.” (Acts 16:40, 41) I’ve always encouraged my wife Lorraine to accompany me on my first visit to a nation, because the marvellous thing the Lord does open up a new work. Later visits are likely to be less miraculous. A sort of Law of Diminishing Returns seems to operate, in that the more often one ministers in a particular place the fewer miracles happen. This is probably because signs and wonders are preliminaries to the sound teaching thereafter required to build on the faith foundation (as the teaching ministry of Apollos did on the apostle Paul’s ministry. I loved seeing the miracles of healing that accompanied my first preaching trips to the Philippines but returned many times to teach students in bible colleges.
Don’t bother shouting through closed doors! While living in “chronos” (chronological) time we keep our eyes open for possible “kairos” moments of spiritual opportunity. The latter are less frequent; mostly we just do whatever we can until they appear. “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia [present-day Turkey] and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia [Minor], after they came to Mysia, they ventured to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit would not allow them.” (Acts 16:6, 7)
Question: Were these two apostles being led by the Lord, or were they just wandering around and coming up against closed doors? Well, they were led in a general sense, but they lacked specific direction. Today, they would be mocked on Twitter or sneered at on Facebook. “Told you nothing good would come of it!” (This posted by a nameless doubter in the church back home.) They might even find themselves on YouTube in a missing missionary version of “Where’s Wally?”
“And passing by Mysia, they came to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man from Macedonia, who begged him, ‘Come over to Macedonia, and help us.’ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:8-10) Don’t you just love that “after he saw the vision, we endeavored to go” statement — everyone loves a man with a divine plan! The big thing is that after the Spirit of God had closed all those doors, Paul had led his team to the shore of the Aegean Sea and then (as one does) had simply gone to sleep.
What would you have done? Called for a night of prayer and fasting? Slipped aggressively into Spiritual Warfare mode? Drafted a newsletter to your supporters, making known your need and asking them to give “as the Lord leads”? Not Paul. There being nowhere else to go, he went to bed. The vision appeared when all other options had disappeared. Immediate action followed the divine assurance. A direct course of action was determined. The largest city in Macedonia was targeted. And the gospel crossed over from the Middle East to Europe!
The problem is not getting through the right door — the problem is getting to the right door, the door of opportunity. Think of the changes the gospel brought to the European continent, the British Isles, and beyond! Paul later wrote: “When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel … a door was opened to me of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 2:12) It was a door of unparalleled opportunity! It was a door to world evangelism! It was a door through which what was seen as a sect of the Jewish religion would become a worldwide faith!
And to think that all this began with a good idea. If your idea is to bring people to faith in Jesus, and if you can relate to Paul’s apparent lack of direction, and if like him you have faced closed doors, if and you even now appear to be going nowhere — why not do what Paul did? Having come to the end of all that he knew to do, he slept on what had begun as a good idea. I suggest that you follow his example and do likewise. Who knows? A modern-day equivalent to the Macedonian Man could appear in a dream and a door of opportunity open.