Join us, your hosts Kyle Morris, Dakota Smith, and David Glavin, as we unveil the new visual dimension of the Be Disciples podcast. We're stepping into the world of video podcasting to bring the Word to you with greater impact, responding to the pulse of contemporary culture with the wisdom of the Scriptures.
Witness the delicate dance of upholding doctrine while gracefully navigating diverse cultural practices as we unpack the story of Timothy's circumcision. This narrative invites you to consider the art of compromise for the greater good of the Gospel, and how we too have learned to adjust our practices to connect more deeply with our congregations. Join us in exploring the nuances of leading with humility, the significance of local traditions, and the importance of being sensitive to the unique dynamics within each community we serve.
Finally, we delve into the stirring account of Paul's missionary excursions, a testament to the power of discerning and embracing God's will. Through personal anecdotes and shared wisdom, you'll glean insights on the challenges of shepherding a flock, the patience required to witness the fruition of one's ministry, and the joy of seeing God’s hand at work in places we never expected. Tune in for an episode that not only aims to guide you in spiritual growth but also celebrates the unexpected harvest that awaits when we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Join us, your hosts Kyle Morris, Dakota Smith, and David Glavin, as we unveil the new visual dimension of the Be Disciples podcast. We're stepping into the world of video podcasting to bring the Word to you with greater impact, responding to the pulse of contemporary culture with the wisdom of the Scriptures.
Witness the delicate dance of upholding doctrine while gracefully navigating diverse cultural practices as we unpack the story of Timothy's circumcision. This narrative invites you to consider the art of compromise for the greater good of the Gospel, and how we too have learned to adjust our practices to connect more deeply with our congregations. Join us in exploring the nuances of leading with humility, the significance of local traditions, and the importance of being sensitive to the unique dynamics within each community we serve.
Finally, we delve into the stirring account of Paul's missionary excursions, a testament to the power of discerning and embracing God's will. Through personal anecdotes and shared wisdom, you'll glean insights on the challenges of shepherding a flock, the patience required to witness the fruition of one's ministry, and the joy of seeing God’s hand at work in places we never expected. Tune in for an episode that not only aims to guide you in spiritual growth but also celebrates the unexpected harvest that awaits when we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Welcome to the Be Disciples podcast with your hosts Kyle Morris, Dakota Smith and David Glavin. For those of you listening to the audio only of the podcast, this is our second attempt now at the video podcast. So if you go to YouTube and you go to our channel right here, as you can see on the video, it's our Ottawa Bible Church channel, but the Be Disciples podcast will be under the videos there and you'll be able to find us. And so this is episode 106. Right now we're in our makeshift studio. Guys. We're actually building one downstairs in the basement to have at all times, but right now we're on the stage in our sanctuary. All the band stuff is set up around us. This is kind of David's domain most of the time, and so we're excited for the video podcast. We're excited to add that element for our community to see our faces, to get to know us a little bit more. So I'm excited. What do you guys think?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the first thing that I just want to say is, depending on how you view what we're attempting to do, it can give you a positive or a negative view.
Speaker 2:You know why do we need all those cameras and microphones and that kind of thing? But really, I think we're seeking to utilize things that God has given us so that we can reach our community in another way Providing content for the community, giving them biblical exposition, biblical doctrine, so that, hey, if we can't get them into the church building on a Sunday morning, then hopefully we can reach them in their home or on their way to work, and then from there they start to feel comfortable. Okay, I see what they're teaching, you know, and even giving healthy responses with hot topics in culture, whatever it might be, when things in our world happen right away, this platform, this avenue, allows us to give a prompt Christian response, something that's much needed for our world, and so we're grateful for your hard work setting this up. But we also think this will be a modality of evangelism. This will be a modality of Christian education. Thanks for Ottawa and Franklin County.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we found in this generation, I would say you know millennials and younger. When you look for a church, you tend to look online. You do, and you do things like Facebook, instagram, YouTube. You want to get to know, maybe the pastors, as with everything else.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So that's the feedback we've gotten, and so really to add the element to our podcast that we've never added before is just going to be able to help people get to know us a little bit more, and I think that's a good thing, because people want to know who they're going to go listen to and what their reputation is like, and so we just want to represent God's word as well as we can. It's our heart's desire to teach God's word, as is to exposit the word and center everything we do around God's word, and so that's our heart, that's our purpose, and we want you guys, the listeners, to take what we do here and apply it to discipleship relationships, and we've always been when it comes to this podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, david, a couple of thoughts from you. This is all of our first time doing this kind of thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it was my first time doing a podcast when I first joined you guys, and now we're adding video, so I'm having to be very intentional.
Speaker 2:Notice David recently got a haircut.
Speaker 3:Got a haircut. Yes, sitting up straight. Yeah, mining the profile. But I think that the video also adds in the ability to see the relationship and I was. You know I could make a joke about. I usually glare at you while trying to sound happy on the non-video podcast.
Speaker 2:But you can't do that anymore.
Speaker 3:It was an opportunity to see the genuine relationships. Yeah, enjoy.
Speaker 2:We're excited to reach the community with Christian education. Let's just call it that Putting forth a healthy Christian worldview. The church typically is behind in matters like this, but now we're stepping into that realm and saying how can we lift high the Word of God so that it can infiltrate, immerse people's hearts and minds? That's the goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So let's go ahead and pray and we're going to get back into the book of Acts because that's what we've been studying. So if you want to catch up on the book of Acts and you've only been introduced to us on the video you can actually go to bdisciplespodcastcom or you can go to autoababachurchcom. Find our podcast and all of our episodes. We have over a hundred episodes. We've gone through the book of Mark. We have different interviews with people like Greg Koko, dr Gary Habermas, costi Hinn all kinds of different people, but you can check us out there, catch up on our podcast, but let's pray.
Speaker 1:Father, I thank you just again for the resources, for the means, for the opportunity, for the open doors to do this type of thing. We enjoy studying God's Word and we want to share it with as many people as we possibly can. This podcast is something that is under the umbrella of the church. We do this because we love you, lord, we love the church and we want people to hear God's Word. So be with us today as we study. Thank you for these men who have dedicated their lives and service to you, and just be with us today, lord. In Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Speaker 2:It's been a while since we've had an episode specifically out of the book of Acts. We last ended where Paul's second missionary journey began and that, unfortunately, is where we saw Paul and Barnabas part ways. The issue was over. John Mark, barnabas, being the encourager, said I want to stay with him and not give up on this young man. And Paul said listen, anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of heaven. And Paul said I'm going and I'm taking Silas with me. So sorry, barnabas, but you know, maybe two ministries will be started out of this, but I'm headed on my second missionary journey, and so we ended chapter 15 there. We also saw the ministry of, you could say, the Gentiles having great success, and there was an issue there Should the Gentiles be circumcised like we are? And then that led to the Jerusalem Council. So these are some things we've last spoken about. But today we enter into chapter 16, verse, one which the header or the title of this chapter is the Macedonian vision. So this is where Paul heads into Europe and this is where Paul essentially begins a second missionary journey. So there's a lot to talk about today.
Speaker 2:While I read the first 15 verses, and we continue. Here we go. Paul came also to Derby and to Lystra, and a disciple was there named Timothy. This is the first time we see Timothy in the Bible. Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Econium. Paul wanted this man to go with him and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Now, while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number daily. I think these first five verses, this is enough to chew on and talk about. Guys, what would you say? Some initial observations, david start us up.
Speaker 3:I think it's interesting to note the consideration because of the conflict that in previous chapters over circumcision and the decision to not add to the expectations of new believers circumcision. But now there's an intentional decision to circumcise Timothy, considering the fact that his mother is Jewish, that he is faithful to the Lord, but that, his father not being Jewish, he wasn't circumcised. So it's not that it was an added sort of commitment, but it's just something that wasn't done because his father was Greek. So there's I don't think it takes away from the decision that was made not to force people, but that doesn't mean that circumcision cannot still be an important sign. Yeah and used.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think seeing Timothy here, where he comes from, I think Paul has a sees something in him. Both Paul and Timothy are kind of citizens of two different places, at least from a government standpoint, because Paul is a technically has citizenship in Rome. We have Timothy here. His father is Greek, you know. So we have the ability to move about, the ability to maybe connect with some other cultures, and I think Paul also sees his upbringing by his Jewish mother, and we know that even more because of other things Paul wrote about Timothy, about his mother and his grandmother that raised him up to know the Lord, and so Paul sees somebody who's willing, ready and able to go and to continue to learn.
Speaker 1:Timothy is young, we know that, but Paul sees an opportunity of somebody who's who's not going to back away, and we know that's big for Paul. We already saw that right. People who are unable to get through the fact that things are going to be hard and dangerous. Paul seems to struggle with those people, not that they aren't going to learn and grow, which they were, some of them will but he sees Timothy as an opportunity and we know that this, this relationship, is going to grow into a father son like relationship and he has him circumcised here again, not for salvation, but because of where they're going and what they're doing. It's going to be more of a reputation thing rather than a salvation thing, like David was talking about. So that's what I see right away. We see that they're going through the cities, people are being saved their, their faith is being strengthened, and so there seems to be positive things happening.
Speaker 2:In the first five verses, yeah, you'll notice, in the book of Acts, whenever a movement of the Holy Spirit has taken place, there seem to be these little appendages, or these little ligaments, or you could say like sewing two passages together, and those appendages, those connections, those bridges, always find themselves sounding like verse five. So the churches are being strengthened into faith, in the faith, and we're increasing in number daily. I mean, we've already seen that multiple times in Acts. Every time the Holy Spirit brings about something, the churches are strengthened, they're encouraged, they grow in number. I think, while there's much more to say about these first five verses, it's really important to see you know this, this bridge in verse five, because it means that we should be expecting other movements of the Holy Spirit. It also means that when the Holy Spirit moves in our churches or does something, we should expect encouragement, we should expect the increase in numbers, and so that's really encouraging to see. I'm also looking at just this little note that's made of Timothy in verse two. It says he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Deconium. To be well spoken about means, like you know, whenever your name comes up, somebody has something positive to say, they're impressed with you, and it's not just one location he was spoken well of within, it was two locations he was spoken of well, and so that just, I think, adds to the height of this young man.
Speaker 2:If you're reading the book of Acts, which Luke is writing for most excellent theophilus, the reader is now thinking my goodness, who is this young man in the faith? And I'm sure you guys all had moments in your younger years when you first caught on fire for the Lord and you were walking with him. What were people saying? People were taking note of it. Right, you were gaining a reputation, by a way of, of God's favor, and that's an exciting place to be in as a young man. Sometimes the call on somebody's life is just start listening. What are people saying of them from a young age. It's not a rubber stamp, but oftentimes we have to look at that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I think when the call to ministry came I was not living. My reputation was not good like that of Timothy's Sure Right. So I went to a church that watched me grow up, struggled. The reputation was he doesn't take anything seriously, why would I believe him? And so it took some time to build a new reputation, because I had to show them that I was serious. I had to show everybody that I was serious.
Speaker 1:And so here we don't see that with Timothy, we don't we. We see him being raised a certain way but also having a reputation in a certain way. Not that Timothy doesn't make mistakes, but I think we have to see that our reputation has to be rebuilt at times through Christ and not on our own doing. And if we have a true call to ministry and we're really following the Lord, our reputation will change and then our testimony will become that of the grace of God that has come on my life to change the direction of my life, to do the work of the Lord. And then we get to glorify God in it, because it wasn't I didn't do it, but God did it.
Speaker 1:And so a reputation is really important for a Christian. It doesn't matter if you're called to ministry or not, it is your testimony and so make sure that I think we just need to continue to follow the Lord and build that reputation so when those opportunities come to show the gospel, they believe you. I believe you because you live it. So I'm going to take your work for it. I'm going to look at the Bible and your life reflects it, and those, all those things match up and that's what the Lord wants for our lives. So Timothy is that guy and Paul knows it, and Paul has been a pretty good, I think, barometer of character up to this point.
Speaker 3:I think there is another side to that where you said early, early on, you had to build your reputation because you came out of a community that had seen you and knew your flaws. But I mean, I had a similar experience, except that I did have a good reputation. My father was a pastor and I did behave myself and was active in the church and was active in ministry and people did speak good of me and encouraged me and asked me if I was going into the ministry. But there's another side to that. I think we have to guard ourselves as young people against pride and the other things that come in when people are speaking good of you and encouraging you, and also guarding our hearts to know that we're still humbly accepting a call to ministry, that there is still much to learn, even though people are encouraging us.
Speaker 3:And I think that for Timothy here, just the Paul encouraging him or having him be circumcised, that's like well, people are talking good about me. Why am I not good the way I am? And learning that to minister to people Sometimes we do have to change things about ourselves, not necessarily to make people feel comfortable, but to pave the way and grease the tracks for the word, and those are humbling things for a young person to accept, because sometimes we do have a tendency to say, no, this is the way it is and I'm good. You've already said I'm good, so why do I have to do anything else? But we humbly follow leadership and accept discipleship.
Speaker 2:I think that's an incredible point to make, because Timothy, by this point, is obviously an adult. Many believe that he entered into the pastor by his late 20s to maybe 30 years old and somewhere around there. And maybe by the time Paul was writing to him in 2 Timothy, he was mid 30s or somewhere around there. You know, we don't know for sure, but he had to make some changes. But you don't see any tension in Timothy here. You don't see him raising a stink. He could have said hey, paul, the Jerusalem Council just took place. They said that we shouldn't even trouble the Gentiles, and if I haven't been circumcised, what's the big deal? Right? But he didn't even, I guess you could say, seek to hold on to his own rights for the sake of the ministry. What he did was he said you know, I know what the Jerusalem Council said, but because we're entering unreached places, I'm going to do this for the Lord.
Speaker 2:And a statement here that I think could be missed but is like just massive in all actuality is verse three. Look at what he says. Paul wanted this man to go with him. Can you imagine? Like the call on your life? And this is not just some other person, this is one of the 12 apostles. This is a man who is now paving the way for worldwide missions. He's the one that's gonna write half the New Testament, and Paul desires you to go with him. This is a big deal.
Speaker 1:Well, and Paul's the one who brought the issue to the Jerusalem Council.
Speaker 2:He did, and so.
Speaker 1:And he was willing to still circumcise them. Right. And so we know that whatever Paul's doing here, he argued for the fact that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised, and so we know that's not his position. And so even though he had Timothy get circumcised here, it wasn't salvation, because he just argued the fact that it wasn't Right. So we know that for sure, because it's in the text. We're not making assumptions about it.
Speaker 2:Let me ask you guys a question when do you find irony in verse four? I'm gonna read it. Tell me what you now think is ironic in light of what we've just been talking about Now. While they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem for them to observe. So this is Paul and Timothy delivering these decrees to other Gentiles. I mean, what do you think is ironic about it now?
Speaker 3:Well, he just had him be circumcised.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 3:Also connected to well.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:In looking at this the second time, in the middle of verse three, it highlights he says my version says indifference.
Speaker 2:Read verse three what do you?
Speaker 3:have. So Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In difference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised. So it's specifically saying to contrast the Jews of the area who are not becoming circumcised, he had Timothy circumcised Almost. I mean, as I read that, my first response is Paul was saying, yes, I advocated for this and, yes, the Jewish council decided it's not necessary, but it is still beneficial, it's still good and we want Timothy to contrast what's being done so we don't have to.
Speaker 2:It's apples to oranges, because the previous argument was this is necessary in order for Gentiles to be saved. Paul's argument is this is necessary for Gentiles to be saved, but for a whole, nother reason it's not necessary for the Gentiles to receive circumcision. It's necessary that Timothy have a reputation, because I know where we're going, and so both deal with salvation, but from two totally different perspectives. No, circumcision is not necessary for salvation, but, on the other hand, sometimes you have to lay down your rights so that you're reputable in a ministry setting, and so that's what Paul's calling Timothy to do, which is really unique.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so do you guys? Can you guys think of anything today that's similar to what Timothy's doing, or what Paul's calling Timothy to do in a ministry setting, moving to a new place, a new culture? What are some things? If you guys experienced anything, we're like, I think I need to change something, not salvific, not anything like that, but just I need to adjust the way I'm doing something, something I've never done before, something I didn't grow up with.
Speaker 2:Not that it comes off the top of my head, David. What do you think?
Speaker 3:Well, there's one thing and Audrey can scold me later for mentioning this, but there's.
Speaker 2:Oh, Audrey's on the podcast. Hi, Audrey.
Speaker 3:Well, this is specific to women more than men, but we do have some women in our church who cover their heads in worship and they wear, I call it, a doily or whatever, but to cover their heads, because scripture does call women to cover their heads in worship and men are not supposed to cover their heads and in our contemporary church that's not a common practice.
Speaker 2:But it seems it's interpreted differently. It is yeah.
Speaker 3:And it's a sign of reverence. And Audrey and I did have a conversation. She's like I see that some women are doing this and I've been kind of thinking about that. Is that something that I should do as a sign of reverence and we talk through it? She hasn't done that. But there is something within practices in the church that we can become legalistic and do things because we feel we have to, but there are things that we could be shut off to Like I don't have to do that, why do it? I don't have to cover my head as a woman, but if it is a way that the Lord can show me humility and reverence before him and under my husband, then is that something I should consider. I think that that's one example of something that could be done and I commend the women who do that, because not all women do and they do it before the Lord and it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I don't think this one. My example is necessarily something I had to do, but the Lord had me do it, which was work on a farm.
Speaker 1:Sure when I moved here to Kansas. Now that has nothing to do, necessarily that's super spiritual but when I moved here, a family here in Ottawa the Sylvester family, you know hired me so I could work and then I could do part time at the church. What that allowed me to do is learn a culture that I didn't know about. I grew up in Arizona and I moved to the Midwest to where everyone farms, at least where we live, big farming community. It's a normal thing. Weather patterns matter, seasons matter. I know when a busy season is for them in ministry and when the down season is, and so connecting with farmers throughout the year is going to change. And so just the knowledge, to gain a knowledge of the culture, of the what, the rhythms of life of people. I think that helps. It helped me understand that.
Speaker 1:Hey, it's right, now it's February, we're in winter time.
Speaker 1:I know they planted wheat, but soon spring's coming up and they're going to get the fields prepped and they're going to get ready for planting and they're going to wait for the temperatures to get to a certain point and they're going to get their planters ready and they're going to fix the tractors that they need to get fixed.
Speaker 1:I mean they're going to be buying seed, they're going to be getting ready to buy chemicals if they need that, so just all that kind of stuff. Like I wouldn't have known any of that. But now when I talk to somebody who's a farmer, I have all that to connect with them, to ask them how things are going, and I actually understand it. I'm not just asking to ask. So I think any of those things though it isn't as serious as circumcision in scripture I think when we go into a new ministry context that may not be our hometown, we're going to need to learn some things and change maybe some things. They may do worship different than what you're used to. They may do prayer different than you're used to. Whatever that may be, it doesn't mean what they're doing is bad, so you may need to adjust to them rather than making a bunch of changes right away and causing some issues there, and so I think it's just good to be aware.
Speaker 3:Also as a pastor in a particular community. Scripture calls us to be joyful with those who are joyful, and mourn with those who are mourn, and grieve with those who grieve. And as a pastor, we minister to folks in those circumstances and people grieve and mourn over different things differently in those places. And also, another element to the farming is that where I might be frustrated because it's been raining for eight days and I don't want to wear my umbrella or I'm getting wet, I can't take the kids out to play, they're getting crazy. You know, a farmer is maybe rejoicing over that, depending on the season, depending on whether or not it's been too much rain. The snow, you know, a first snowfall of the year is good for farmers, you know, because it lays the foundation of moisture through the winter. And there are things that we wouldn't understand, you know, in a different culture, as to why people are upset about something or praying for God to do a particular thing. So yeah, there's many layers to that.
Speaker 2:I think maybe to wrap a bow on verses one through five. Well, initially, upon reading it, we don't see that there's much there. I think it's actually appropriate to spend much time on Timothy, because we're going to be seeing him for the rest of Acts and we're going to see him throughout the New Testament in a number of epistles and letters, especially as Paul writes to him first and second Timothy. So from there we see, maybe you could say the exemplification of why Timothy is well spoken of. He can do whatever is necessary, even laying down his own rights for the sake of the gospel. That's why he's well spoken of. That's probably why Paul wanted to bring him with him. Right, this is a test of some sort. I want to bring him. Looking at verses six, all the way to 15, we continue.
Speaker 2:Then they pass through the Phrygian Engalation region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia that's modern day Turkey, asia Minor and after they came to Missia they were trying to go into Bethany and the spirit of Jesus did not permit them. So there's two hindrances from the Holy Spirit. Verse eight and passing by Missia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night, a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him and saying come over to Macedonia and help us.
Speaker 2:When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, putting out to sea, from Troas we ran a straight course to Samothrace and on the day following to Neapolis and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony, and we were staying in this city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. So, verses six through 13, I should actually say what are some major movements that you all are observing in the text. How can we begin part two of this discussion?
Speaker 3:the leading of the Spirit. These are ambitious men who are on a journey to spread the gospel and they could be set in their ways and saying, no, we have to get every single town. But they are sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. That gives them caution.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we see, don't come somewhere. And then we see Paul getting a vision to go somewhere. So we get both in the same middle section and so the Spirit is leading and not allowing them or allowing them to pass through certain areas, directing their path. So, whatever the reasons were, we don't know that's not explained here specifically why they went here, why they didn't go there. I'm assuming there's danger, trouble, something that just wasn't good. They weren't ready for the gospel, they weren't whatever that may be, I think. But they listened, paul listened and they went and they were listening to the Holy Spirit and being guided by the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:We talked about prayer this last Sunday and Paul speaks of this. Paul speaks of the understanding of God's will for their lives and I think that's what they're following. They're following God's will, even their steps, their travel. Each place they go, they're willing and ready to stop and to turn and to go wherever they need to. That the Holy Spirit says that they need to go. So it isn't just a call to ministry, we see, but a continual following in the steps of that ministry. It's not about where they want to go, it's about where the Spirit wants them to go.
Speaker 2:So often, I think what we do is you know, we test the will of the Lord and we say God, are you leading in this way? And because we are timid, we assume, maybe all too often, that the Spirit is saying no. In other words, I think our problem today is the reverse effect, where we're almost always assuming that the Lord is saying no when really he wants us to dive in, and here, I think, it's the opposite, whereas they're willing and ready to go anywhere, and so this is really an anomaly. This is not the norm, because we know the Great Commission calls them everywhere, but if the Spirit has to interrupt you from going, rather than thanking, the Spirit interrupts you in order to go. Those are two different things, right. And so twice they're permitted not permitted by the Holy Spirit, but then it's only because God, the Holy Spirit, has other things that he's been working on preparing hearts and minds for them to eventually reach a place of fruitfulness. They go to Troas, they go to Samothrae, to Neopolis, to Philippi, and we know just, we'll find this in the next episode, but this is where, ultimately, the Philippian Church is founded. You get the book of Philippians because of the Spirit's work, right here in this passage. Philippi is within the region of Macedonia, so Paul gets this vision from a Macedonian man saying come here. And Paul says man verse 10, immediately, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding, concluding what that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So now there's no longer a hindrance, now there's an open door. They're willing and they're ready to go.
Speaker 2:I think there's a lot of principle and a lot of application that can be retrieved out of this passage. I'll just speak candidly. I think one of the hardest things to do as a senior pastor is to see where I believe the Lord is leading, to discern and detect the voice of the Lord way in advance, because there's just as you're intimate with the Lord and you've seen his reputation by impressing one thing on your heart after the next, it's very hard for me that sometimes I have to wait for others to catch up with where I believe he's already leading. In. A couple of years ago I would be much more frustrated at the fact that people just couldn't see what I was seeing right off the bat.
Speaker 2:Where we are as a church today and how we're booming and growth and people are being saved and people are being discipled is exactly where I sense the Lord was taking us. And yet being a shepherd and a pastor doesn't just mean outrunning the sheep. It means going back, getting the sheep, shepherding them, walking with them, helping to see where we need to go. And over the last four years I've had to really slow down a little bit and to find a way to have all this zeal and passion, but also a prudence and a diligence and a patience, so that I'm not the only one running and that I'm bringing others in the body with me. That's been a hard lesson to learn and I'm still learning it, but I think I'm better today than where I was four years ago, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think it's hard, you know, in times of moves like moving to Kansas, both of us. You know it was the Lord's leading, not our own. I tell people all the time I never even plan to visit Kansas in my entire life, maybe for a chief's game, but that'd be even Missouri, so I still want to come to Kansas.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had no reason to come to Kansas, but the Lord led there. You know, if I got to pick, it probably wouldn't be Kansas, right, I'd probably pick somewhere that maybe I visited on vacation once or something Florida, florida, florida Keys, texas.
Speaker 1:I don't know Just somewhere that you know that would have been where I wanted to go, and so, but I think, and I know now, that going where the Lord is leading is going to one sanctify us. It's gonna teach us the things we need to learn. It's going. We're gonna be able to see the fruits because he led us there. We didn't do it on our own.
Speaker 1:There's so many things that we get to experience when we go where God wants us to go, even if it's undesirable and being in Kansas, I never felt like Kansas was undesirable. I just didn't know anything about Kansas, and now that I'm here, it is very desirable, especially living in a small town where we get to be a part of our community. We get to see the same people all the time. You get to build relationships. I think it's a great place to be and I'm seeing the benefits that I didn't see beforehand.
Speaker 1:That's right, and so whenever you go where God's leading, you get to see the fruit, because God has already prepped that place for you to go there, and God's doing the work beforehand and God does the work while you're there, and so that's why we can glorify His name and not our own, because we can't make these plans up. Only God can, because our plans usually fall short or they just don't produce what we imagined. But God's plans will produce so much more, and I think we're seeing that here with Paul Timothy, the guys traveling. They're seeing the fruit in the places that God has led them to go, and we get evidence in the rest of scripture for that. Amen.
Speaker 3:And even often God calls us. We know what God's calling us to and where God's calling us, but maybe God is calling us in the direction we didn't expect to go. I'm seeing a connection and a similarity here to where Jesus and His disciples are going to. They're going to Jericho and he says, well, we're gonna go, not where we would usually go to avoid Samaria, but we're going to go there. And he was intending to meet the woman at the well.
Speaker 3:That's right and there are lots of times that Jesus exemplified that for the disciples, where they would expect to go one way but Jesus went another because he had plans. We see the Holy Spirit leading them and so I see the similarity where they're going to pray on the Sabbath but then they meet these women to talk to, and the Spirit is leading them not to every village, not to every place, but is leading them where he wants them to go and meeting people along the way. I think you exemplify that in your discipleship of people. Often we go pray and I'm like why can't we just stay here at the church and do our meeting, but Dakota wants us to go to a coffee house 20 miles away. So we end up meeting, speaking to and encouraging you know five people, because Dakota exemplifies that, as a pastor, that we love people everywhere we go and we share the Lord boldly, and that's one way that you have encouraged me and taught me that.
Speaker 2:Thanks, brother, appreciate those kind words. On the flip side of that, brownie points. On the flip side of that, I think we've also in ministry, experienced the decision to go forward with something that we didn't really feel the Lord was leading us to. Major things, minor things, whatever it might be. And then we come to discover there was really no fruit out of that and it's like, well dang, I should have learned, I should have known better, and that's why it's all the more important.
Speaker 2:Just am I feeling like led, prompted by the Lord? Has prayer been devoted to it? Has the Lord interrupted me to say no? Has the Lord continued to affirm, to say yes? Whatever that might be? And I think an example of the Lord having already been doing something is what are these ladies doing? You know, on the Sabbath they're assembling to prayer. So there's something spiritually taking root in an area where the gospel has not been reached yet. And so you know, you can tell the difference in ministry. Sometimes it's a matter of I may not see fruit from that for a while, but other times you kind of realize oh man, I think I just got off on the flesh and I tried to do my own thing.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think we're gonna probably in there today. Well, I do have one more story. You have one more?
Speaker 2:No, I got one more story. I'm just kidding, you can do it, that's all right. This passage is really close to my heart because the night before I was supposed to go to Mindanao Island in Zamboanga, the Philippines, the Lord gave me this passage to read. I was flipping through my Bible and I turned straight to Acts 16 and I read about Paul's vision come over here to Macedonia and help us. And this is a hard lesson I had to learn. But I read this passage back then, in 2013, 10 years ago.
Speaker 2:It was about midnight the night before I was supposed to catch my flight and I felt confirmed in my heart that I was supposed to go. But I woke up the next morning, fearful of the Lord's leading, and I didn't get on the plane. I was working with Bob Tebow, the Tebow family, at the time, and Bob got really upset at me and he said if you don't go when the Lord is calling you to go, you're never gonna have stories, you're never gonna come back and you're never gonna be able to share about the glory of the Lord. He just almost yelled at me and he said he looked at me and he said you're just like Peter. You're just like Peter and I'd like took such offense to that, you know, when I was in my early 20s and I remember that was a pivotal moment in my life because I did. I was really upset and offended at the time, but everything that rebuking.
Speaker 2:I think Bob knew I was supposed to go to this dangerous part of the Philippines. I think he knew I was gonna evangelize the area and I was gonna come back with stories and my life was gonna be changed. But I didn't know that yet. And so a week later he walks up to me and he says if I buy you a plane ticket again, will you go? And I looked him in the eyes and I said, yes, sir, I'll go. So a week later, got on the plane, went to Zambuonga with this passage hidden in my heart and I came back and my life has never been the same since as it pertains to ministry, and I think it's just important. We need to actively be open, ready and willing to hear when we feel like the Lord is speaking to us, and we need to do it in a way.
Speaker 1:And you wonder where Tim gets his intensity? That's right From his dad. That's right, yes, absolutely From his dad, for the Lord.
Speaker 1:So, thank you so much for listening to the Be Disciples podcast. We try our best to post once a week, maybe three times a month, so we invite you to come back every week and see what we're doing, what we're talking about. Follow us along in the book of Acts as we have these conversations. Again, you can see us on our own website, bedisciplespodcastcom, or again at autoabiblechurchcom. You can come visit us here in Ottawa, kansas, and you can find our podcast on our YouTube page, along with a plethora of sermons where you can listen to Pastor Dakota or myself, as in his David Leeds worship and see what we're doing here at Ottawa Bible. So I invite you to check things out, to continue to learn and grow in God's word. Have a blessed week. Can't wait for next time. See y'all In Jesus' name. Jesus Christ,