Last week, as we continued our series of messages on Knowing and Doing the Will of God, we were reminded of the fact that God doesn't leave us in the dark as to what his will and purposes for us are. Instead, God speaks to us through the Bible and through our times of prayer to make known to us his will, his purposes, and his ways.

We saw that God speaks to us not simply so that we can know "about" God. Not simply to fill our minds with "facts" and "information", although "facts" and "information" are good things. Instead, God speaks to us so that as we hear his voice, and as we respond in faith to what God is saying to us, God speaks so that we might come to know God himself in all of his power and glory.

Of course, the Bible and prayer aren't the only ways that God makes himself, his will, and his ways known to us. We read in Hebrews 1:1 that:

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.

And so this morning I would like us to look at two other ways that God speaks to us. Two other ways that God makes himself, his will, purposes, and ways known to us, and what we will notice today as we look at Acts 16 is that:

God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Church and the circumstances of life.

We see both of these methods at work in our reading from Acts 16 as God worked in and through the life of Paul and others to accomplish his purposes and to make himself known to Paul, Silas, and many others. We read in Acts 16:1 that:

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra.

How did Paul come to be here? What had happened that had brought Paul back to Derbe and Lystra, towns he and Barnabas had visited on their first missionary journey a couple of years previously? We read in Acts 15:36:

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”

Remember, Paul had already written his letter to the Galatians, and in that letter we notice that many of them were being swayed into an acceptance of the need for circumcision and obedience to the law in order to be saved, and so what we see here in Acts 15 is that God worked in Paul's life, he guided Paul's life through Paul's concern for the spiritual welfare of these new believers in Galatia.

Paul's circumstances, his separation from the Galatian Christians, his pastoral care and concern for the Galatian Christians, is how the Spirit of God guided Paul to go back to Galatia in order to encourage, challenge, and build up the churches in Galatia. God speaks to us, he guides us, through those things that weigh on our minds. He speaks to us so that we can pray, and he speaks to us so that we can act.

We continue to read in Acts 15:37-40:

Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord.

Because of this fight, and that is what it was, because of this fight, Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways, with Paul taking with him Silas, one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.

Now on their first trip, Mark had come along as their "helper", although, after a while, he left them. But his task was to be their "helper", and the duties of a "helper" was to deal with all of the mundane issues of life so that Paul and Barnabas, and later on Paul and Silas, could commit themselves fully to the work of preaching and teaching.

The "helper" would be responsible for such things as sorting out accommodation. Purchasing food. Running errands and delivering messages. The "helper" would sort out their travel arrangements if, for instance, they were going to travel by boat. The "helper" may also have been responsible for going on to the next town to let the groups of believers know that Paul was going to be there in the next day or so. All of these things would be the task of the "helper".

But on this particular trip, as recorded in Acts 16, there was no "helper" to do these things. There was only Paul and Silas, and because there was only Paul and Silas, it meant that they had to do all this organising by themselves, which took time away from their task of evangelism, preaching, and teaching.

The "circumstances" they found themselves in were God's way of letting them know that something needed to be done for the sake of the ministry. That someone needed to come on board to assume this role, this responsibility, so that Paul and Silas might be free from this distraction. So that they might more feely do the task God had called them to.

We see the same thing in Acts 6:1-4:

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.”

The same thing is happening at the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey. Their mission was “this,” but they had no helper, so they also had to do “that,” which took away from their doing “this.

In Acts 6 the church had many people to choose from, so they chose seven to serve in this way. But for Paul and Silas, their question was, "who do we have to choose"? That is when God spoke through the church, for we go on to read in Acts 16:1-2:

Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium.

Now notice what has happened. Firstly, in his circumstances, Paul recognises a need. He sees a situation that requires something be done, that someone be found. We then read that he meets Timothy, and in Acts 16:2 we find that:

He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium.

By the way, when Luke says that "the believers spoke well of Timothy", that was a bit of an understatement, for we read in 1 Timothy 4:14 where Paul says to Timothy:

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

And in 1 Timothy 1:18:

I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight.

In other words, Timothy had received recognisable gifts from the Holy Spirit which he was using within the church. Timothy had received prophecies concerning his life and service from the Holy Spirit through the church elders. Timothy wasn't simply "spoken well of", he was recognised by the church as someone God had equipped. Someone whom God was using and God was going to keep on using for the service and glory of Christ.

What we see happening in Acts 16 is the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul through his circumstances about the need for an additional member of the team who could assist Paul and Silas in the work, and then the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul through the means and ministry of the church to make known to Paul and Silas that Timothy was the very man that the Holy Spirit had been telling Paul he needed.

God spoke to Paul and Silas by the Holy Spirit by means of their circumstances and the church in order to make known God's will and purposes, not only for Paul, but also for Timothy.

We then see God continuing to speak through the church in Acts 16:4:

As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

What is that all about? To understand this we need to go back to Acts 15:1-2:

Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.

Then, as they gathered in Jerusalem, and as they discussed, debated, and talked about this issue, they came to the realisation that circumcision and the law were not necessary for salvation, and that it was wrong to force non-Jews to be circumcised or keep the law. But notice how they put this in the letter they wrote to the churches, beginning in Acts 15:23:

The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings.

Then in verse 28:

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials.

In saying this they recognised that this wasn't a church decision. Instead, this was a Holy Spirit decision that the Spirit had communicated to the church leaders, and through the church leaders the Holy Spirit communicated this decision to the churches throughout the Empire. That is what Paul and Silas were doing in Acts 16:4. They were going around reporting to the churches this Holy Spirit direction which had been given through the church leaders. But in this issue, God spoke by the Holy Spirit through the church to reveal God, his purposes, and his ways.

Of course, it doesn't have to be "the entire" church that the Holy Spirit uses to give his message, for we see in the book of Acts that twice the Holy Spirit spoke through a single prophet named Agabus to give a message to the church about a famine, and then a message to Paul about his future arrest.[1]

The deacon Philip had daughters who prophesied.[2]

One of my favourite accounts of this is found in 2 Chronicles 20. At this time, the kingdom of Judah was under threat from a coalition from Ammon, Moab, and Edom, and in the face of this threat King Jehoshaphat and the people gathered in the temple to pray. We then read in 2 Chronicles 20:14-15, 17:

Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s. . .. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.”

This man wasn't a priest. He wasn't a recognised prophet. He wasn't a government official. All he was, was a professional singer. He sang in the temple. That was his job. But the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him to all the people. God revealed himself, his purposes, and his ways by his Holy Spirit to the people through Jahaziel, and through Jahaziel the people gained courage, hope, and strength.

As they trusted God, and as they obeyed God, they came to see the greatness of God as God delivered them from this threat. Then, as God miraculously delivered them, they came to know God better, and getting to know God better is the entire purpose of God's revelation. God speaks so that we might know him. God spoke through the church and through the assembly of his people so that his people could know him, trust him, and follow him.

As we have already seen in the case of Timothy, God also spoke by the Holy Spirit to Paul through his circumstances, through the normal circumstances of life.

We then read in Acts 16:6-7:

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

As we read this, one thing that we do know is that the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul and his companions in some form or other to reveal God's plan and purposes. What we do not know is how the Spirit spoke? Perhaps through a vision or a dream. Perhaps through a prophetic message.

Although it is unclear, I am of the opinion that the Spirit spoke through the circumstances they found themselves in. Maybe there was a flood and the roads were washed out. Maybe there was conflict, and the army wouldn't allow them through. Maybe there was disease or famine in the area, and it wasn't safe to continue.

Now, as I said, we don't know for sure, but by whatever means the Spirit spoke, it was the Spirit who was leading them into God's will and purposes so that as they followed God's will and purposes, they might know God better.

We can see as we read on in Acts 16 where we find that the circumstances that Paul, Silas, Timothy, and later on Luke, found themselves dictated what they did, what they said, and how they served God. In other words, God, by his Spirit, was working through the circumstances that they found themselves in to bring about his purposes and his will.

When they went to Philippi and Paul found a group of people meeting together at the river for prayer, Paul didn't say or think:

This group is too small. Why there aren't even enough people to form a synagogue. And besides, it is just a group of women. We can’t start talking to them because they might think that we are trying to chat them up, and that wouldn’t be right, so it can't be God's will for me to speak here. I am going to have to move on to another town where there will be a bigger audience.

No! Instead, Paul saw this group, this circumstance that God had brought him into as God revealing his purposes for Paul to share the Gospel with this very small group of people, and as Paul responded to God in obedience and faith he began to see the outworking of God's purposes, the realisation of God's power at work in these people as the Gospel took hold and spread, as a church was founded, and as this church was used by God to reach even further into the countryside.

Later on, when Paul and his companions were continually being pestered by a slave girl who suffered from demon possession, Paul eventually saw this situation not as the great annoyance he first thought, but as a circumstance that God brought his way so that Paul could free this slave girl from her possession. God revealed his will to Paul, God revealed what he wanted Paul to do through the circumstances he was in, and as Paul acted in obedience to the leading of God, not only did Paul and the girl came to know God better, but the entire town came to know the power and the greatness of God.

Then, as a result of healing the young girl, Paul and Silas were locked up in a jail cell, and after an earthquake the jailer rushed in, bowed at his feet and said, "what must I do to be saved?", Paul and Silas saw this circumstance as God invitation, God's will, God's purpose for them to share the Gospel of Jesus with this man and tell him:

Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.[3]

But in each case, the circumstances that they found themselves in at Philippi became the means through which the Holy Spirit spoke to them to reveal to them God's will, plan, and purpose. Through their circumstances they came to know the direction of God, and as they responded to the circumstances God brought their way, as they responded to the opportunities God made them aware of, people came to know God, the greatness of God, and the salvation of God.

This occurred as God spoke through their circumstances, and as they responded to what God said.

We find a similar thing when Joseph and Mary were heading back to Bethlehem after they had spent some time in Egypt after the birth of Jesus.

When Joseph heard that Archelaus the son of Herod was now the king, he was afraid. He looked at his circumstances and wondered, "is it safe to return to Bethlehem"? And it was in that situation, as he faced these circumstances, that the Spirit spoke to him in a dream and confirmed the direction that Joseph was to go. Not to Bethlehem, but back to Nazareth.[4]

We find the same thing in the life of Jesus. We read in the Gospels that the Spirit of God used the circumstances that Jesus was in in order to guide Jesus into God's purposes. Matthew 4:12 says:

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

In other words, here was a threatening situation, and the Spirit of God used that threatening situation to guide Jesus into leaving Judea and returning to Galilee.

Throughout his life and ministry, the circumstances that Jesus found himself in became the avenue for the Spirit of God to guide Jesus into God's plans and purposes. So:

• when Jairus came to Jesus about his sick daughter,

• or when the tax collector Zacchaeus ran and climbed up a tree,

• or when the crowds brought to Jesus a woman who was captured in the act of adultery,

• or when four friends lowered a paralysed man down through a hole in the ceiling,

• or when Jesus came upon a widow woman in Nain who was leaving the town with a procession which was taking her only child, a son, out for burial,

• or when Jesus looked out upon a crowd of over five thousand people who were hungry.

These were all "circumstances" that came Jesus' way, and in these circumstances, Jesus heard the Spirit speaking to him to get involved in the needs, fears, trials, and struggles of these people.

When circumstances brought these people Jesus' way, the Spirit spoke to Jesus through those circumstances:

• To heal Jairus' daughter.

• To invite himself to a tax collector's house so he could share the message of God.

• To forgive (and to protect) an adulteress.

• To proclaim forgiveness, and then healing to a paralysed man.

• To raise a dead son to life.

• To feed a crowd of over five thousand people.

God was at work in the normal day to day circumstances of Jesus' life, and in those circumstances God, by his Spirit, revealed to Jesus the actions that he was to take.

Sometimes we pray, "God, reveal to me what your will for my life is", but we don't realise that God is already revealing his will for our lives through the lives and situations of those people he brings our way, and in those circumstances, God is speaking to us and saying to us:

Hey! This is what I want you to do. I want you to get involved.

I once heard a man tell the story of how one day he was praying earnestly that God would use him. He was praying earnestly that God would reveal his will to him. He was praying and telling God that he would go anywhere and do anything that God wanted.

At that very moment his housemate comes in and says,

George is on the phone and wants to speak to you.

But the man responds,

I can't talk to George right now; I am busy trying to understand what God's will for my life is.

It was only later that he realised that at that particular point of time God's will was named "George", and God's will was waiting at the end of the telephone line.

God brings opportunities our way through the circumstances of life, and when he does so he is saying to us:

This is my will, my plan, my purpose in your life and for your life.

Most of us have no problem with the idea that God speaks to us through the Bible and through prayer. It is a bit harder for us to accept that God will also speak to us through the church because we like to be independent, or we are cautious because of the excesses of some. Or we just like to sort it out all by ourselves.

Maybe we just haven't thought about how God speaks to us through the circumstances of life, bringing people, situations, and opportunities our way, and by so doing God invites us to join him in his great work.

God does speak to us in a multitude of ways. The only questions we need to ask ourselves are:

Am I willing to listen to what God is saying. Am I willing to do what God is telling me.

Do I have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches?[5]

[1] Acts 11:28; 21:10

[2] Acts 21:8-9

[3] Acts 16:31

[4] Matthew 2:22-23

[5] Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22