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Christian
Education Pre-K-12
Richmond Academy
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Broken Dreams
Act 16:6-15 (KJV) “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the
region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in
Asia, (7) After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but
the Spirit suffered them not. (8) And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
(9) 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. (10) And after he
had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. (11)
Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and
the next [day] to Neapolis; (12) And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief
city of that part of Macedonia, [and] a colony: and we were in that city abiding
certain days. (13) And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side,
where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women
which resorted [thither]. (14) And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of
purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart
the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
(15) And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If
ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide
[there]. And she constrained us.”
“Age of Paradox” = inconsistency, absurdity, irony, contradiction, illogical
Today our lives are full of disappointments and broken dreams. It takes much
effort to bounce back after defeats, but it is a “must” in this life.
Paul had a broken dream. Vrs.7 it says “Assayed” = desire or tried; to strive
for intensely. Webster = signifies maximum exertion, to strain. In other words,
Paul would have given his life to go to Bithynia. Why? It was the hub of Asia.
It was where the rich, the popular, the educated, the greatest colleges of
learning were. It was where Constantine later moved to. Both religiously and
politically, Bithynia was the capital of the Eastern Empire…And Paul wanted to
be a part of it.
Paul could of thought like so many today, he would have the largest church in
the world. But it was a dream. Because the rest of the verse says, “But the
Spirit said, No!”
Where did he go? Vrs.8 – to Troas. Troas was located off the shore of the Aegean
Sea, separating Europe and Asia. Their economy was fishing. Everywhere in Troas
it smelled like decaying fish. The people were sickly and dirty.
We know Troas as the “Ancient Troy of Helen” – a goddess of love, daughter of
Zeus, Trojan War (jpg). Now 1300 years later, it was poverty-stricken, filled
with disease and filth. Historically while Paul was visiting here, he himself
contracted fever and nearly died. It was while he was with fever that Paul had
this vision (vrs.9) “A man of Macedonia begging him to come over and help…”
But Paul wanted to go to Bithynia!!!
Have you ever seen your dreams smashed right before your very eyes? [I was
supposed to be in Africa this month – No!]
How did Paul face his problem of a broken dream? First, he did not fall into
self-pity. It is being reported that this is now the plague of the church –
“self-pity”. Why? Because prior to the turn of the century, Christians thought
they were going to be raptured out of here. They were looking for their utopia,
the Golden age of glory. For the past 50 years America has been chanting “The
world is getting better and better” yet disease and plague and terrorism is
growing daily. But this is not the way Paul faced his broken dream. HE USED HIS
HEARTACHE TO GIVE HELP.
3-fold Determination:
1. He believed God had purpose for his life. Paul was lying on a death
bed. He could have pouted and said, “That vision must be of the devil. I must be
hallucinating.” Or he could have said Phi 1:6 “Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the
day of Jesus Christ:”
You see, this was the man who believed: Rom 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
Paul found purpose in COMMITMENT. He knew God had a reason for every situation
in his life and that Paul’s life was not over until its purpose was accomplished
2. He waited on God to fulfill that purpose. The people who do the least
outwardly are the ones who get criticized the most. From this story we find that
Paul’s life was tied up for several months because of this sickness. So Paul
spent his time tuning into the Spirit of God and finally God spoke through a
vision. How often through the stinking, nasty, sickly times of our life we
receive the greatest direction for our lives. [Remember the pigsty of the
prodigal son?]
What were the results? God did not leave him in indecisiveness, frustration, and
uselessness. Remember, it is never God’s will that we live out our lives this
way. God has a plan – we simply must find it.
Paul knew nothing about Macedonia except that it was the gateway to Europe.
Europe was at this time uncivilized – a land of barbarians and thieves. [‘Lord,
I know you are telling me to go to Bithynia – Macedonia must be the ‘outer
darkness’ you spoke about to your disciples.”]
3. He knew the voice of God. There were no more “Big church meetings, no
more popularity or prestige.” So the Bible says, (vrs.11-12) “…loosed from
Troas, we came to Philippi, the chief city of Macedonia.”
DO YOU WANT TO BE LOOSED FROM YOUR TROAS OF FRUSTRATION AND SICKNESS AND
CONFUSION? Then listen for the voice of God. Put everything else aside until you
hear his direction.
What did they find In Philippi? A few women! And uneducated at that! In all of
Macedonia there was no church. [“What have you sent me to, Lord?”] No, Paul
witnessed to one person, who heard and received and understood the gospel
message. And when he did, vrs.14 says, “the Lord opened her heart.” And
that person was the door that spread the gospel ultimately into the Western
world.
This is important because several centuries later the Eastern world became
Moslem, destroying Bithynia and turning it into a Moslem shrine. But because the
gospel was spread through Macedonia and into Europe, the Word of God has been
preserved and Christianity covers the whole earth.
Do you feel like you are failing today – not knowing which way to turn? Are your
dreams broken? DON’T DESPAIR. Jesus wants to take the shattered pieces and make
something beautiful out of your life. HIS PRESENCE IS HERE TO COMFORT YOU
TONIGHT!
-Pr. Steve
July Newsletter
2008 | Broken Dreams |
Pastor's Journal July 2007
The
Christian Call part 1 of 2 | You Are
Everything To Me | Thoughts To Ponder
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Biblical
Counseling for Leaders
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