Macedonians Calling

Last Sunday Evening, our study revolved around "The Cost of NOT." Relating the story from Jonah about the cost of NOT doing what God tells us to do. Further to the last post I made, we asked what was it that Jesus sought to build in His "church?" The answer was - a Spiritual place guided by heavenly standards and spiritual values!  The apostles were charged to go into all nations and teach them, make disciples of them (Mt.28:18-20).  This post will look at one of those incidents, where Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus), now carries the gospel into Macedonia.

The story begins in Acts 16:9, where Paul receives a vision of a man of Macedonia (we call it Greece) beckoning him to come and bring the gospel to them, to "help them."  Paul takes the journey, and from this journey ventures into Philippi (modern Fílippoi), Thessolonica (Modern Thessoloniki), Berea (modern Veria), Corinth (still bears same name), and Athens (still bears same name). The conversions of Lydia and her household, of the Philippian Jailer, the noble Bereans who searched the scriptures, Dionysius and of the church at Corinth all take place within the story of Paul's going to Macedonia. 

But -- what if Paul hadn't?  We sing in the song "Send the Light."  "we have heard the Macedonian call today - send the light!"   But what if Paul hadn't heeded that call?  The obvious answer is that God would have chosen and sent someone else - and that is true. Yet, there is just as likely a chance, that those we mentioned above, may never have heard the gospel if Paul hadn't gone.What a loss that would have been!

Let's now think a moment. We are spoiled. Like it or not - that is a truth!  We now have churches almost every 3 miles in some areas of our country, if not closer. We have every variety and facet flavor of "Christianity" that you wish to see or sample.  If we don't like one church, we just go to another one that fits our flavor.  Yet, there is not much difference in our own country than there was in ancient Greece of Paul's day.  There was still superstition, idolatry, immorality, and teaching of every flavor you could want.  Yet, God sent Paul a vision, of a man in Macedonia that was calling for help!

We sit in our pews on Sunday, and sing "we have heard the Macedonian call today - send the light" and then promptly close our Bibles and song books and go home. This isn't to say that there are not those involved in taking the gospel to other places. But, I am not speaking to them - I am speaking to the 90 percent of us that sing the words of a song and think we're doing the work of God.  We spend 90 per cent of our time going to church, tending to a building, fretting over politics or in some case even devouring one another (see the Corinthian letters) - and all the while there beckons a person out there that says "come help us."  Is this what "Jesus built?"  If it is, then no wonder that the majority of people that we talk to don't want any part of it.

Maybe its time we got back to what Jesus built, and hearing that Macedonian call and then getting off our spoiled backsides and doing the work Jesus has left for us to do -- "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." (Mt.28:18-20; 2 Tim.2:2).

Jim