Acts 16: Multiplying Churches Worship Jesus

Introduction

We are newi to Glasgow, so we need some help to know. Where’s the best place to hear some live music? Where’s the best place to see a sporting event? Where’s the best place to ride a rollercoaster? What is about these places that attract us? We experience things that amaze us, that evoke a strong reaction. Music that dazzles our senses with beauty and a beat. A football match with a team we shout so loud for that it shakes the stands. Thrill rides that take our breath away and make us feel alive. These things show that we are all seeking after places and opportunities to exult in something, to give our affections and attention to. We are all looking for something or someone to worship. And in Acts 16, we read how churches continued to multiply, and these churches worship Jesus. Let’s read starting in verse 11.

Delighting in his name (v. 11-15)

We are picking back up in the missionary journeys in the book of Acts. The Apostle Paul set off on his second journey with a new ministry partner named Silas but the same mission to preach the gospel, make disciples, and start churches. Let’s check out a map of the region. After visiting the churches they had previously planted in cities across Asia Minor, they set their sights on going further into Asia. But God prevented them from going further into the north of modern day Turkey. Instead, Paul had a vision one night of “a man of Macedonia…saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’” And immediately they concluded that God was calling them to go preach the Gospel message in Macedonia, which is part of Greece. This is how the Gospel came to Europe.

MAP of Journey And so in verse 11, we read how they made their way to the city of Philippi. If the previous cities and towns that Paul had visited were considered remote, Philippi was way out there. Philippi itself was an important Roman colony; its hills were rich with gold, and it was named after Phillip II of Macedon, the father of (I’m about to name drop) Alexander the Great. Verse 13 tells us that on the Sabbath day they went outside the city to find a place of prayer. They are so far out of the box that there doesn’t even appear to be a Jewish synagogue where they can start preaching, so they go to the riverside where they supposed there was a place of prayer. They begin speaking with some women at the riverside and one of them, Lydia, who is described in verse 14 as “a worshiper of God” listened to Paul and Silas. She heard them delighting in the name of Jesus as they preached the Gospel.

“The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Lydia was already showing reverence for God, honoring him in her own way, even coming to this place of prayer. And on this day, God opened her heart to understand the truth about Jesus. Paul and Silas delighted in Jesus’ name, speaking the message of the Gospel. But they were not alone in delighting in Jesus! Life is confusing, hard to understand, and the meaning of life is a deep well we can stare into, but God the Holy Spirit loves to help people hear and see and understand the truth about Jesus. He did for Lydia - He opened her heart to pay attention - He gave her an accurate diagnosis of life.

Perhaps you have been in a moment when you are awaiting a diagnosis for some health situation in your life. You see the symptoms, you have the fear, you have unfortunately Googled your symptoms and that’s why you have the fear. Doctors run some tests and you wait...for the diagnosis. The truth is sobering and shocking, but it is needed. Some people avoid seeing the doctor because the truth can be frightening. But the doctor give us the diagnosis so we can begin a course of treatment. It’s not just to say this is what’s wrong, have a good day. No, it’s about a proper diagnosis so you can be healed.

And here in this place of prayer, where Lydia had been coming to seek God for many things, he answers her with the truth about Jesus, the son of God who came from heaven to save his people from their sins, who lived a perfectly righteous life, who died an unjust death on the cross, making peace with God possible. No longer enemies with God, but adopted as God’s daughters and sons. Jesus has a name we can delight in.

Hebrews 13:15 ESV

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

How can we have “lips that acknowledge his name”?

Teach our kids to use Jesus’ name in prayer, in conversation, in testimony.

Delight in what Jesus does in others’ lives (biographies of missionaries, stories of persecuted Christians, people in your small group).

Read the Scriptures out loud with friends or family, on your own or in a small group. Share the scriptures, because they are living and active, and the word of His grace can save!

Delight in Jesus by following his command to be baptized.

Declaring his deliverance (v. 16-24)

In verse 16, Paul and Silas continue to tell people about Jesus, but they are met by “a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.” We might hear these terms with our modern ears and sanitize them, but imagine a young girl who has no basic human rights; she exists as someone’s business plan to make money. She is possessed by a python-demon that violently shakes her body and causes her to shout out with wild voices. People in the godless city of Philippi are captivated by spirits that can tell the future, thinking these demons as speaking on behalf of Apollo. Apollo was the son of Zeus, and a god who established power and authority over new colonies like Philippi; he was said to have defeated and enslaved a giant python, and now forced it to speak for him. So here is this helpless girl, possessed by a python-demon, kept in bondage as a human slave and a slave to spiritual oppression.

In verse 17, the girl is following them around and crying out. What does she say? “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” Why would she say this? The demon inside her speaks about who the men are, the God they serve, and the way of salvation. It’s almost as if the demon is mocking the message by speaking the truth, but declaring that this girl will never know that way of salvation.

James 2:19 ESV

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Verse 18 tells us that she continued shouting for several days, and Paul “turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’”

“In a moment, Jesus casts out the demon at work through the girl; Jesus masterfully crushes serpents.” - Tony Merida

We see Jesus’ power to deliver, and the kind of person he is willing to deliver. This slave girl had no value in the eyes of the world, she was abused and ignored except where she could be exploited for profit. Jesus’ name has real spiritual authority to bring freedom from slavery, deliverance from spiritual oppression. Imagine this demon who could know exactly what Jesus can do, but thought in great vanity and pride that it could keep this girl in bondage, and then boom! In Jesus’ name, that evil spirit came out of her that very hour. It is not enough to simply know facts about about God. We declare his power to deliver people from a spiritual domain where darkness rules, where they are kept blind from the truth of the way of salvation. We all need Someone to deliver us from that place - and that person is Jesus!

Listen to what Colossians 1 says:

Colossians 1:13–14 (ESV)

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Verse 19 continues the story. What happens when the slave girl’s owners see her deliverance? They confirm the wickedness of their hearts; when they see the best day of this girl’s life they are furious. Any hope of making money is gone now, and in a fit of rage they drag Paul and Silas “into the marketplace before the rulers.” Here they are accused of “disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” Here in the town square the slave owners, the magistrates, and the crowds show how their hearts are bound up in sin. They were happy to have the slave girl shouting out in demonic convulsions, but complain that Paul and Silas are throwing their city in confusion. They advocated customs and a way of life that involved demon possession and child slavery, and immediately rejected salvation and deliverance. Verse 22 says that the crowds joined in attacking them, and in a moment lacking in due process, they strip off their clothes, beat them with rods, and throw them into prison. Deliverance for the slave girl. Imprisonment for Paul and Silas. In Jesus’ name, Paul’s command brings deliverance and freedom. In anger and futile thinking, the magistrate’s command brings false-accusation, torture, and imprisonment.

As Christians, we can stand apart from the world that is obsessed with darkness. There is an obsession with violence, evil acts, sexual exploitation, brutality toward humans in movies, videos, social media posts. We are called to be people walk as children of light who declare Jesus’ deliverance in a world blinded by darkness. Where we see people who are enslaved, we are called to act for their good and God’s glory. I wonder if for some here today, God might convict you that you’ve lost hope in Jesus as a deliverer. You see only the darkness in the world. Where has that led you? Maybe you are even guilty of rejoicing in the dark ways of the world instead of the deliverance of Jesus. Today, is God calling you to repent and to begin declaring the deliverance found in Jesus Christ?

1 Thessalonians 2:2 (ESV)

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Dwelling in his dominion (v. 25-34)

That’s how Paul and Silas find themselves cast into an “inner prison” with “feet in the stocks” after the ruling authorities had “inflicted many blows” with rods. These authorities sent a message - if you mess with us and our way of life, we have the authority to silence you. Except Paul and Silas, so far from home in a strange land, are not silent. Verse 25 says that “about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” After worshiping Jesus at the riverside (delighting in Jesus’ name), after worshiping Jesus in the city (declaring his deliverance to the slave girl), they continue to worship Jesus while chained up inside an inner prison.

Paul and SIlas illustrate what it looks like to live a life of devotion to God in prayer and worship no matter the location or circumstances. One of the indications that you and I are mature enough to worship Jesus in the face of suffering and persecution is our willingness to gladly worship Jesus in our church. When we gather together for worship on Sunday morning, it’s easy to think in ways that are totally unbiblical. Does this church match my personal criteria? Does the worship scratch the itch of my own preferences? Is the sermon captivating? Paul and Silas show us an intimacy of life with Jesus where they are completely satisfied, filled up, built up, relying in, walking with Jesus so they can worship him ANYWHERE! Their lives challenge you and me to grow in our devotion to God so that when we come together for worship as his church, we are ready to delight in Jesus’ name, loudly declare his deliverance, because we dwell in his dominion.

About midnight. The crowds have dispersed, the magistrates are gone. But God is awake, his authority is unchanged, his power is undiminished, his grace is unfettered. Paul and Silas are dwelling in the dominion of Jesus Christ. Praying to the living God who led them to Macedonia. Singing hymns of praise to the living God that saved them, who saved Lydia, who delivered the slave girl. And verse 26 tells us that “suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” God’s authority and his power and his kingdom cannot be held back. Compared with the unrighteous and temporary authority of the magistrates, compared with the greedy and murderous intentions of the crowds, Jesus’ righteous rule and holy authority will never fail.

In verse 27, when the jailer wakes up and sees the earthquake has caused all the doors of the prison to be opened, he is ready to kill himself (after all, the magistrates were not just in their judgment). But Paul calls out to him in verse 28 and says, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” Then the jailer, perhaps still fearing for his life, asks an honest question that anyone facing death might ask: in verse 30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” In the face of wicked rulers, the jailer is seeking a greater kingdom. Verse 31: “And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.’” And in verse 34 we read that “he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”

What an amazing testimony. The Jailer Delighting in the name of Jesus because Paul and Silas were Declaring his deliverance and together they were Dwelling in his dominion.

Psalm 145:10–13 (ESV)

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Conclusion

One day Ibrox and Celtic Park and Hamden will shake with reverberations. One day the Hydro and King Tut’s Wah Wag Hut will rock and roll. One day we will hear Long Live the King like never before. It will be on the day of the Lord, as the whole earth is full of his glory and he thunders with true authority, everlasting victory, unrivaled beauty. His voice will shake the foundations of everything and his righteous rule will be forever and ever. That is the what it means to worship Jesus and dwell in his dominion. Every time we worship Jesus we loosen our grip on this life and this world and lift our hands in praise to the King who reigns forever. Do you need a reason to join in by lifting your hands, clapping and rejoicing like the jailer who was saved? You have it in Christ!