The Rudder

"I shall come to you after my intended journey through Macedonia and I may stay with you awhile or even spend the winter with you. Then you can see me on my way — wherever it is that I go next..." 1 Corinthians 16:5-7

And I would remind you that that last is not some sort of throwaway line: "wherever it is that I go next." No. In fact, from his moment on the Damascus road, to the moment of this letter being written, take a look at some of the ways that Paul's next steps have been navigated:

ACTS 9: 
- After his conversion, he “stayed” in Damascus … but “without delay he proclaimed Jesus…”
-  Then, under almost immediate threat of assassination, he was “let down through an opening in the wall… in a basket”
-  After which, for three years, he communed with Jesus in the deserts of Arabia
-  Then to Jerusalem, where he “joined... in all their activities, preaching fearlessly”
-  Until, after “several attempts on his life,” the brothers “took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus”
 
ACTS 11: 
- Out of the blue, Barnabas arrives in Tarsus “to find Saul” - then, together, they go to Antioch where, “for a whole year they met together with the Church”
- Then, those in Antioch wanted to send famine relief to the fellowship in Jerusalem, and did so “through Barnabas and Saul”
 
ACTS 13: THE FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY IN THE HISTORY OF THE BODY: HOW DID IT BEGIN?
-  While everyone there was worshipping and fasting, “the Holy Spirit spoke… saying, ‘Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me for a task to which I have called them.’”
-  So, immediately, they sail off…
 
ACTS 16: LATER, on the THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY: 
-  While “making their way through Phrygia and Galatia… the Holy Spirit prevented them from speaking God’s message…” in that region. 
-  Then, when they “came to Mysia… the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them” to enter in there, either. 
-  After which, in a town called Troas, Paul “had a vision of a Macedonian man” saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 
-  And so, immediately, they set sail for the unknown…

Really, it's apropos how much of Paul's life and ministry happened because of ships, because, like a ship's, Paul's obedient ear acted like a rudder for the Early Church. WHOLE MASS MOVEMENTS are set off on their way because this ONE MAN was listening and obeying the Spirit of Jesus.

I will consistently maintain, until the day I'm dead, that nothing is different now: that individual lives in the Body can hear, respond and help direct the whole Body. Is that life your life? Are you "the one"? 

The only way for you to find out is by listening today... and obeying.