Acts 16-21: “The Lord Had Called Us for to Preach the Gospel” (July 24-30)

Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins (detail) by Giovanni Paolo Pannini

Paul traveled far during his first mission, but he went further during the second one. After returning to the cities of Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium in the Roman province of Galatia, he traveled on to Troas (Troy), on the west coast of what is now Turkey. There, he saw a vision of a Macedonian man, who pleaded, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:9). So he continued west, across the ocean to Macedonia and Achaia, both provinces in Greece. Then, he sailed back across to Turkey, where he preached in Ephesus briefly before returning to Jerusalem (Acts 18:19-21). (See the purple line on the map below.)

Shortly after, he visited many of the same places again: two years in Ephesus, followed by a trip through Greece, then down the coast of Turkey and back to Jerusalem again (green dotted line).

Most of Paul’s epistles were addressed to people he met during these journeys: Galatians and Ephesians in Turkey, Philippians and Thessalonians in Macedonia, and Corinthians in southern Greece, near Athens. He also wrote two letters to Timothy, whom he met in Galatia, and who accompanied him on part of both missions. (See Acts 16:1-3.)

Here are some lessons I’ve learned from Paul’s experiences during these missionary journeys:

1. God can help us know what we should and shouldn’t do.

After leaving several cities in Galatia which he had visited on his first mission, Paul seems to have had some ideas about where to go next. But the Spirit guided him differently:

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,

After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Acts 16:7-8

Instead of turning north, they continued traveling west, until Paul saw the Macedonian man in a vision and knew where they should go.

In the Book of Mormon, Ammon had a similar experience as he taught the gospel among the Lamanites. King Lamoni wanted Ammon to come with him to the land of Nephi, but the Lord said to him, “Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi,…but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison” (Alma 20:2). When the king asked Ammon how he knew his brothers were in prison, he replied, “No one hath told me, save it be God” (Alma 20:5).

Here’s a blog post about how God guides his servants: No One Hath Told Me, Save It Be God – Alma 20:2-5.

Moroni warned, “The same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again” (Mormon 8:19). Rash means “acting…without careful consideration of the possible consequences, impetuous” (Oxford English Dictionary).

In Ephesus, a man named Demetrius stirred up a mob, which carried two of Paul’s companions into the theater. For two hours, they shouted angrily, until the city clerk came forward and addressed them:

Citizens of Ephesus…you should stay calm and not do anything rash. If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against [these men], the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly. I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.

Acts 19:35-40, New Living Translation

The crowd dispersed, recognizing that their actions were not leading to a positive outcome. We can also benefit from stepping back, particularly in an emotionally charged situation, and thinking about the potential consequences of our words and actions.

Here’s a blog post on that topic: Rashly.

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