Paul now gets a vision to enter into Greece for missional work, and this means he enters into what we today call Europe. While it is popular to make a big deal of this, it was all the Roman Empire at that time. Paul enters because of a vision about a man from Macedonia (pictured).16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. 16:7 When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, 16:8 so they passed through Mysia and went down to Troas. 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there urging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" 16:10 After Paul saw the vision, we attempted immediately to go over to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Missional work involves, at times and probably not for all, listening to the Spirit of God to guide and direct and to set the agenda. We don't know who this "man" is; we don't know that he was from Philippi; we do know that Paul sensed that God was calling him to Macedonia.
We also know that God leads by preventing plans and by blocking plans ... Paul tried to do missional work in Asia and Bithynia. (Eastern end of modern day Turkey and not far from Constantinople.)
One thing is very, very clear: missional work is done at the prompting of God and not at the plan of Paul.
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When we minister without set plans, we look irrsponsible. When we ditch set plans to follow the spirit, we look unstable. When we resist the spirit we are "good administrators."
"The wind listeth wherever it will. You hear the sound thereof, but ye know not whence it comes nor whither it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit..."
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