Jesus Still Directs His Church!

7th Sunday of Easter, 6/2/19
Acts 16:6-10


Jesus Still Directs His Church!
I. He directs when and where his work is done.
II. He directs how his work is blessed.


Leaders set direction for the people whom they’re leading.

The CEO of a company doesn’t take orders; he gives them. He sets the direction for the company. It’s his responsibility to lead the company in reaching its full financial capability. In doing so, he might follow this leadership advice: feed the tiger, ride the horse and shoot the dog.

In a smaller, but no less important way, the principal of a school sets the direction for her school. She creates and fosters an academic environment in which teachers and students thrive. In doing so, they are better positioned to attain their education goals and potential. She leads her school forward.

Fathers and mothers do the same thing for their children. They lead their family, making sure that their children are following them so that they become self-sufficient and productive members of society. They model love and respect to enable their children to do the same. Christian parents have the highest responsibility of leading their children to Christ and in being Christ-like as they live their lives.

But what about the Church? Who leads and sets the direction for the Church? Perhaps you would assign some of that leadership responsibility to me as your pastor, and, to a degree, you’re correct. But a pastor isn’t the CEO, at least he shouldn’t be. And every congregation is blessed to have leaders, and it has the God-given responsibility to develop more leaders, but no one person sets the direction of a congregation. At least, that shouldn’t be the case. It needs to be a collective, congregational effort.

But who is ultimately responsible for directing the Church on earth? Who makes the decisions about kingdom work? Who determines its course and determines the outcomes?

As Christians we know it’s none other than our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This past Thursday the Church celebrated the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It took place 40 days after his resurrection. He removed his visible presence from this earth, from his people. But that doesn’t mean that he handed in his resignation as the Church’s most central figure and authority. Just because he isn’t visibly present with us doesn’t mean he has no part in the direction of the Christian Church. In fact, the opposite is true.

Jesus still directs his Church! We see that happening here in the events recorded in Acts 16, which took place about 20 years after his ascension. And it’s still happening today.

We need that assurance, because we often wonder about the future of the Church in our world. May the Holy Spirit convince us of the power and direction of Jesus in our lives and in the Church through this portion of his word today.

Part I.
How many of you wish that Jesus would regularly speak to you? I’m guessing a fair percentage. It sure would be nice to hear from Jesus when we’re facing a crisis or when we have an important decision to make. Just a little direct input from Jesus, such as a voice from heaven or vivid dream, would help us a great deal. But he doesn’t. At least, he never has for me.

But he did for Paul more than once. And we have one of those incidents before us this morning.

Take a look at the map provided in your worship folder. Paul was on his second mission trip and he had just finished visiting the congregations in what is modern eastern Turkey, places named Lystra, Derbe, Iconium and Antioch. In fact, a young man named Timothy joined him on his journey.

Our text makes it clear that they wanted to extend God’s kingdom in this part of the world, but ran into resistance. It appears that they wanted to work north into what is modern Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia. But our text states that they were kept from doing so by the Holy Spirit. So, they turned due west, perhaps intending to make their way to Ephesus, but again, we read that “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” What happened? What did the Holy Spirit do to keep them from acting on their plans? Better yet, why would he do so? We don’t have any definitive answer. The best answer we can give is that God determined that it wasn’t the time and place for them to work. I’m sure Paul was more than a little bewildered. He wanted to work for the Lord, to bring more people into God’s kingdom, but he was hitting divine roadblocks.

And then this happened: “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Find Macedonia on the map. It’s modern Greece. The Lord was calling Paul to exit the continent of Asia in which the Church on earth up until this time existed, and to go to the continent of Europe. It was a small trip for Paul, but it was a huge journey for Christianity.

Thus began Paul’s work in places that are probably familiar to you: Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. Because Paul would later write letters to several of the churches in these cities, we know a good deal about his work there. We don’t know if these places had been on Paul’s missionary radar prior to this vision that he received, but they were now. The Lord Jesus made it crystal clear that now was the time and here were the places where he wanted his kingdom work done. And he did that, even though he had removed his visible presence from the earth about two decades earlier.

Jesus hasn’t handed in his resignation from doing kingdom work. He is still directing his Church. He directs when and where his work is done.

Imagine the unthinkable. Imagine that, after Paul received the vision of the Macedonian man, he said out loud, “Jesus, I’m not going. If you want work done there now, you’ll have to find someone else to do it.” Unthinkable! Who would so such a thing? I might. You might. I realize Jesus doesn’t speak to you and me in visions, telling us where and when to do his work, but he does speak to us through his word shared with us by our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. And when presented with such an opportunity, have we ever selfishly told Jesus, “No”? Please don’t misunderstand me. There are legitimate and God-pleasing reasons for declining some opportunities to serve Jesus. But it’s not OK to claim that kingdom work is not your responsibility; that it’s someone else’s. Jesus still determines when and where his work is done and he has decided to use us collectively in this place to do it now. What’s your part in it? What gifts has God given you to use? What can you say? What can you do? The same Jesus who forgives us for our resistance to his calling by his death and resurrection, also empowers and enables us to participate in that work. That’s because Jesus still directs his Church!

Part II.

Take another look at the map. We know the story. Paul went to Greece and preached the gospel for more than a year. Jesus richly blessed his work. Thriving congregations were established in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth. And then he made his way across the Aegean Sea and went to Ephesus where the Lord richly blessed his work again. Ephesus became the Christian hub around which other congregations were established. We know how Jesus blessed Paul’s work.

But Paul didn’t when he first made his way into Greece and then back to Asia Minor. Jesus didn’t reveal to Paul exactly how he was going to bless Paul’s kingdom work. He simply wanted Paul to trust that he would. And he did! In his own way. Recall that in Athens Paul’s work bore little fruit, while in Corinth and Ephesus, large congregations were established.

And that’s the way it was. That’s the way it still is. That’s because Jesus still directs his Church and he directs how his work is blessed. Keep in mind his will is for everyone to believe in him as the Savior. That faith comes to people as we share his word with others. But the results aren’t up to us. We don’t direct the work; Jesus does. And he determines how to bless it.

So, how will Jesus bless the Church today? That’s a good question, in light of what appears to be happening. The Church on earth at least in our corner of the world isn’t growing; it’s declining. And that’s true in our beloved church body as well. We’re at the beginning of some sobering downward trends and it’s not much comfort to know that nearly every Christian church body in America is experiencing the same thing. We’re not happy that we’re suffering less than others. So, what will happen? How will Jesus direct his Church in our world? In our country? Right here in the Miami Valley? We don’t know, for sure. We don’t know the numbers Jesus has in mind. But we do know this: Jesus still directs his Church and he determines how his work is blessed. The results are up to him, not us. Our part in it is to simply do the work and trust him for the results.

On the night before his death, Jesus prayed to his Father for the Church. We heard a portion of his prayer in today’s Gospel reading. He had you and me in mind on June 2, 2019 when he spoke these words, “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

We have the love of Jesus in us. That love empowers us to do his kingdom work. He directs it. He blesses it as he determines. That means we can’t possibly fail. So, find your part in that work and let’s get busy, sharing the saving love of Jesus with everyone. Amen.