Paul had no doubt that what he saw was a vision from Christ, and not a
mere dream of the night, born of the reverberation of waking thoughts
and anxieties, that took the shape of the plaintive cry of the man of
Macedonia. But then the next step was to be quite sure of what the
vision meant. And so, wisely, he does not make up his mind himself, but
calls in the three men who were with him. And what a significant little
group it was! There were Timothy, Silas, and Luke--Silas, from
Jerusalem; Timothy, half a Gentile; Luke, altogether a Gentile; and
Paul himself--and these four shook the world. They come together, and
they talk the matter over. The word of my text rendered 'assuredly
gathering' is a picturesque one. It literally means 'laying things
together.' They set various facts side by side, or as we say in our
colloquial idiom, 'They put this and that together,' and so they came
to understand what the vision meant.
What had they to help them to understand it? Well, they had this fact,
that in all the former part of their journey they had been met by
hindrances; that their path had been hedged up here, there, and
everywhere. Paul set out from Antioch, meaning a quiet little tour of
visitation amongst the churches that had been already established.
Jesus Christ meant Philippi and Athens and Corinth and Ephesus, before
Paul got back again. So we read in an earlier portion of the chapter
that the Spirit of Jesus forbade them to speak the Word in one region,
and checked and hindered them when, baffled, they tried to go to
another. There then remained only one other road open to them, and that
led to the coast. Thus putting together their hindrances and their
stimuluses, they came to the conclusion that unitedly the two said
plainly, 'Go across the sea, and preach the word there.'
Now it is a very commonplace and homely piece of teaching to remind you
that time is not wasted in making quite sure of the meaning of
providences which seem to declare the will of God, before we begin to
act. But the commonest duties are very often neglected; and we
preachers, I think, would very often do more good by hammering at
commonplace themes than by bringing out original and fresh ones. And so
I venture to say a word about the immense importance to Christian life
and Christian service of this preliminary step--'assuredly gathering
that the Lord had called us.' What have we to do in order to be quite
sure of God's intention for us?
Well, the first thing seems to me to make quite sure that we want to
know it, and that we do not want to force our intentions upon Him, and
then to plume ourselves upon being obedient to His call, when we are
only doing what we like. There is a vast deal of unconscious
insincerity in us all; and especially in regard to Christian work there
is an enormous amount of it. People will say, 'Oh, I have such a strong
impulse in a given direction, to do certain kinds of Christian service,
that I am quite sure that it is God's will.' How are you sure? A strong
impulse may be a temptation from the devil as well as a call from God.
And men who simply act on untested impulses, even the most benevolent
which spring directly from large Christian principles, may be making
deplorable mistakes. It is not enough to have pure motives. It is
useless to say, 'Such and such a course of action is clearly the result
of the truths of the Gospel.' That may be all perfectly true, and yet
the course may not be the course for you. For there may be practical
considerations, which do not come into our view unless we carefully
think about them, which forbid us to take such a path. So remember that
strong impulses are not guiding lights; nor is it enough to vindicate
our pursuing some mode of Christian service that it is in accordance
with the principles of the Gospel. 'Circumstances alter cases' is a
very homely old saying; but if Christian people would only bring the
common sense to bear upon their religious life which they need to bring
to bear upon their business life, unless they are going into the
_Gazette_, there would be less waste work in the Christian Church than
there is to-day. I do not want less zeal; I want that the reins of the
fiery steed shall be kept well in hand. The difference between a
fanatic, who is a fool, and an enthusiast, who is a wise man, is that
the one brings calm reason to bear, and an open-eyed consideration of
circumstances all round; and the other sees but one thing at a time,
and shuts his eyes, like a bull in a field, and charges at that. So let
us be sure, to begin with, that we want to know what God wants us to
do; and that we are not palming our wishes upon Him, and calling them
His providences.
Then there is another plain, practical consideration that comes out of
this story, and that is, Do not be above being taught by failures and
hindrances. You know the old proverb, 'It is waste time to flog a dead
horse.' There is not a little well-meant work flung away, because it is
expended on obviously hopeless efforts to revivify, perhaps, some
moribund thing or to continue, perhaps, in some old, well-worn rut,
instead of striking out into a new path. Paul was full of enthusiasm
for the evangelisation of Asia Minor, and he might have said a great
deal about the importance of going to Ephesus. He tried to do it, but
Christ said 'No.' and Paul did not knock his head against the stone
wall that lay between him and the accomplishment of his purpose, but he
gave it up and tried another tack. He next wished to go up into
Bithynia, and he might have said a great deal about the needs of the
people by the Euxine; but again down came the barrier, and he had once
more to learn the lesson, 'Not as thou wilt, but as I will.' He was not
above being taught by his failures. Some of us are; and it is very
difficult, and needs a great deal of Christian wisdom and
unselfishness, to distinguish between hindrances in the way of work
which are meant to evoke larger efforts, and hindrances which are meant
to say, 'Try another path, and do not waste time here any longer.'
But if we wish supremely to know God's will, He will help us to
distinguish between these two kinds of difficulties. Some one has said,
'Difficulties are things to be overcome.' Yes, but not always. They
very often are, and we should thank God for them then; but they
sometimes are God's warnings to us to go by another road. So we need
discretion, and patience, and suspense of judgment to be brought to
bear upon all our purposes and plans.
Then, of course, I need not remind you that the way to get light is to
seek it in the Book and in communion with Him whom the Book reveals to
us as the true Word of God: 'He that followeth Me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.' So careful consideration
is a preliminary to all good Christian work. And, if you can, talk to
some Timothy and Silas and Luke about your course, and do not be above
taking a brother's advice.