2023 MVBC Conference (11/12/2023) # 3 ABF

When God is on the move Rumblings of Momentum

Act is an interesting book. It tells the account of a transitional time where we read about how and when the church is born and tells us of how it develops.

A lot was changing in the world. People where going from being followers of the Law of Moses to being followers of Christ. While the book of Acts tells of the transition into what is often called the “Church age”, Luke records another major transition within the church when you reach about half way through the book. In Chapters 1-7 the foundations were laid for the church in Jerusalem. Next, the ministry spreads to Judea, and Samaria (the area just beyond Jerusalem) in chapters 8-12. Then, beginning in chapter 13, the gospel is expanded (launch of the missionary era) to the entire Roman world. From Acts 1-12, the central hub of ministry is Jerusalem. Everyone goes out of and comes back to Jerusalem. Once we get to Chapter 13, there is a shift …

Instead of ministry being centered around Jerusalem, the main characters involved in ministry will be sent out by and return to a church in a city named Antioch.

Antioch was a major pagan metropolis, the third largest city in the Roman world. (Behind Rome & Alexandria). Antioch was also the first beachhead for the Church in the pagan world.

God was going to use this local church in Antioch to impact the whole world!

Chapters 13-14 outline Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. Some pretty crazy and cool stuff happened along the way (ex. Lystra). At the end of chapter 14, they return to Antioch to give an update.

Recap of Chapter 15:

Jerusalem Council:

Recognized that the gospel is being extended to the gentiles (affirming what God is already doing)

The news is shared with the believers in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas stay in Antioch to teach.

(How had God already been calling Gentiles to Himself throughout the Bible?) — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth… others?

Vs. 36: Paul and Barnabas decide to go separate ways.

Barnabas & Mark begin their journey by going to Cyprus.

Paul & Silas begin their journey by going to Syria… Cilicia…

As we begin chapter 16, Paul is getting ready to pick up a young disciple. Remember that Barnabas already has his and is ministering in another area…

Acts 16:1–40 ESV

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and 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. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 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 he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Main Idea/Intended Response:When God is on the move.... nothing can stop His momentum. — We have hope.... nothing can stop us.... (Ill. Aslan in Narnia)

(Romans 1:16 is a good key verse for this section in Acts…)

Timothy’s discipleship continues as he is recruited to travel with Paul (v.1-5)

Continuing Development (v. 1-5)

The last time Paul visited Lystra, he and Barnabas were mistaken for Zeus and Hermes.... given an opportunity to present the gospel.... dragged out of town… stoned… left for dead… returned to the city… made disciples.... appointed elders… and left. (wow!) (Acts 14:19023)

Now when Paul returns to Lystra, the first thing we read is that there is a disciple there named Timothy.

They were delivering to all the people the official decisions passed by the Apostle’s Council. Most likely orally, but they could have also been distributing a written account. The term “decisions” here indicates a formal statement concerning rules/ regulations that were to be observed”

Regarding Timothy:

Timothy may not have been allowed in the Temple because his father was a Greek.... This could be why he was not circumcised.... (culturally someone in Timothy’s situation was called a “Monzer”. Which may be why we are told in 1 Timothy that his mother and grandmother taught him the faith…(2 Tim. 1:5, 3:15)

Timothy may have come to Christ during Paul’s 1st missionary trip and had demonstrated a lot of spiritual growth.

Paul takes Timothy under his wing… circumcises him… and enlists him as part of his ministry team.

Discussion about Timothy’s circumcision in light of the decision of the Jerusalem Council:

Not a compromise.... but a matter of wisdom so that Timothy would not be a stumbling block to the Jews to whom they would minister.

Timothy was half Jew, half Gentile (Greek) — Why? Not to be a stumbling block to all the Jews to whom they would minister… and so that Timothy would be able to have access to each synagogue that they would enter on their journeys. Being both Jew and Gentile, Timothy had a unique opportunity to bridge both cultures.

Titus was a full gentile (Greek) - Paul advocates for him not being circumcised. (Galatians 2:3, 5) Why? The principle of Gentile liberty was at stake.

—> If Mark had been brought along.... if Paul and Barnabas had not split up..... then perhaps Timothy would not have been enlisted as a disciple of Paul..... A lot would be different.

Macedonian Call (v. 6-10)

2. A Call to Expand (v. 6-10)

When Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s time in Lystra was over, they tried to go south (in the area of Ephesus)… something stopped them. They tried to go north (Bithynia - prosperous cities around the Black Sea)… something stopped them. So.... this missionary team experienced several closed doors.... but then finally God provided them with an open door. You could say that this team was driven west.... by closed doors. (has that ever happened to any of you?) (Example of going to Togo… then Liberia. Wanting to go to new England and ending up in Alliance)

Forbidden by the Spirit (6) — What did this look like? == probably no different than it looks like today. Perhaps it was a giving or removing of a sense of peace. It could have been through difficult circumstances, transportation problems, illness.

Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go into Bithynia (7) — why?

—> It could have been illness (that may make the most sense). Luke (physician) joins them pretty close to this time. Notice in verse 10… as Luke writes he changes the pronouns he is using from they… to we.

As you read through the various journeys of Paul and his team, they went through some rough times. What kept them going?

— Their faith that God was in control. He was leading, guiding.... driving them. That is how Paul could later write what he does in Philippians 1:12 and 2 Corinthians 4:8.

Notice that we don’t see anywhere in the Bible (that I know of) where Paul focused on worrying about the ‘what if’s “ of life.

What if we had taken Mark?

What if we hadn’t gotten sick?

Paul’s (and their teams) confidence was firmly placed in Christ… Trusting Him… even when they didn’t understand.

Discussion about Middle Knowledge (ill: Exodus 13:17)

They arrive in Troas… (8) — Perhaps Luke met them there.

Sees vision and immediately knows to go to the gentiles in Macedonia (9)

Discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit they “concluded” (Greek word that means to bring together/ knit together)… that God was leading them to go into Europe… Macedonia.

Thoughts:

Waiting for the Lord’s confirmation of a decision (not easy.... especially when you have the zeal to move forward…)

Paul and Silas already had the desire… but had to wait for direction

Thankfully for us.... this decision to follow the Spirit’s leading and come to Europe.... has a domino effect throughout the centuries that leads to each of us. Acts 16, the gospel is launched into Europe and the Gentile world..... that’s where pretty much all of us come from…

To every nation..... to the ends of the earth…

Lessons to learn so far:

God can use hard times and perceived failures to direct our lives and bring even greater blessing.

Lydia and the Church at Philippi (v. 11-15)

From Troas they took a ship to an Island called Samothrace and then from there to Neapolis… then they would have traveled on foot (about 8 miles) to the city of Philippi.

Roman Colony:

Roman soldiers were encouraged to retire here.... and its citizens were exempt from paying taxes.

Very different place from anywhere Paul’s team had ever ministered.

no synagogue(13) — Needed at least 10 male head of households in the community in order to form a synagogue. If these requirements could not be met then the people were instructed to meet for prayer/ worship “under the open sky near a river or sea”.

Lydia of Thyatira

(Thyatira was located in the ancient region of Lydia.... so you can imagine how Lydia in Acts 16 got her name. Thyatira is a city that you might recognize from your reading in Rev. 2. Other than the false teacher/ prophet and followers who plagued the city.... God does not condemn those who remained faithful to Him....)

“… who was a worshipper of God”… (was she already a believer? Or is this more like Apollos.... who just needed more special revelation? (Acts 18:24-28)

Most likely she was a Gentile who saw truth in Judaism and wanted what she saw so she connected with the Jewish community.

(The Macedonian Man that Paul saw in his vision… ended up being a woman! )

The gospel had been brought to the Gentiles… and it was catching like wildfire. We are told that Lydia “persuaded” (15 b - prevailed upon us”) the mission team to stay at her house.

This word is the same word that the disciples used when they persuaded Jesus to stay with them after their encounter with him on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:29)

As the gospel advances.... the mission team experiences difficulties but it seems like nothing can stop their momentum. When God is on the move... nothing can stop His momentum.

No wonder Paul later writes Romans 1:16

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

As you come to verse 16.... we see something happen that is designed to slow down or even stop God’s momentum. Yes God is working… but Satan is also working. Let’s see what happens.

At some point later....

Philippian Prison Ministry

3. Disrupting Progress (v. 16-40)

As they were going back to the riverside…

Read verses 16-18

What this girl was saying was absolutely true. Wherever the mission team went, she was heralding their message.

Was this good or bad?

It says she “had a spirit”… that phrase literally would read that she “had a Phythian spirit”… or “the spirit of a Python”.

There is a myth that is connected with this statement.

According to myth, Python was a snake that guarded the Temple of Apollo and was eventually killed by Apollo. Later the word python came to mean a demon-possessed person through whom Python spoke.

Even though this girl was speaking truth… she was demonized.... these demons revealed the future to her so that she could make her owners money.

What is Satan’s strategy here?

To derail the gospel by infiltrating it. If the community saw that Paul and his team were in alignment with this demon possessed girl and her owners then they would also think that the Christ that Paul preached.... was in the same vein as well.

Satan’s attempt here is to distort the gospel just enough so that it is twisted into heresy. (not a new trick) — Easter./ Ishtar..... any other examples?

It would have been tempting to just let the girl herald the mission teams message. Paul and the others could have reasoned… “she’s telling the truth… why not let her speak?”..... “Maybe if we let her be near us for long enough… she will actually see the light.”

—> This still happens today. Someone is part of the church… they outwardly verbalize the truth with their words… but in their heart they belong to Satan.... their lifestyle and core beliefs are not consistent with biblical truth.....

Often the attacks of Satan on the church are not from without.... but they begin from within.

Why didn’t Paul and his team fall for Satan’s bait?

Maybe they remembered that every time a demon confirmed that Christ was the Son of God, Jesus rebuked it!

Jesus always silenced them and ordered them to leave.

Verse 18 says that after several days Paul had enough and rebuked the demon spirit and commanded it, in the Name Christ, to be silent and come out of the girl.

finally… this girl was free. She was returned to her right mind.... maybe she even received Christ.

God’s on the move.... not even a demonic attack disguised as a ministry partner can stop God’s momentum!

The mission team’s actions were not without their consequences. — When Satan could not derail God’s momentum one way.... he immediately switched to another attempt.

Read 19-24

Obviously the slave girls owners were not happy that their main source of income had been stripped of its power.

False charges are brought up.... and Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown in jail.

It seems that Timothy and Luke escaped arrest.... possibly because they were Gentiles.

Isn’t it interesting how gospel ministry is tolerated by the world until it touches the economy. When your gospel ministry impacts someone’s paycheck..... opposition is sure to come.

When negative association didn’t work to derail the mission.... Satan turns to persecution..... perhaps a bit too quickly...

When it says that Paul and Silas were beaten.... don’t think bar room brawl beaten… think Jesus on the cross beating.

The people who punished Paul and Silas were called “lictors”. Ever hear the expression, “getting your licks”?

Their backs would have been completely mutilated by the beating.

Verse 25 doesn’t say that they wallowed in pitty.... plotted revenge.... or cursed their persecutors.... it says that they were bound in the center of the prison.... praying and singing..... (verbs express the idea of continuous action. — They were continuously praying and singing) to their captive audience.

What is the interesting thing about verse 25?

The other prisoners were listening to them!

At this point, what do you think Paul and Silas were expecting?

Peter had been miraculously delivered from prison

Stephen had been stoned to death

Paul and Silas didn’t know what was going to happen.... their odds were about 50/50... but they sang and praised the Lord anyway.

I think they believed, like the Hebrews who stood before Nebuchadnezzar, that God could deliver them from any situation. (Comments about being holy when times are horrible.... 1 Peter 2, 3)

An earthquake took place… all the prison doors opened.... then the jailer wakes up.

Read 27-32

Assuming the prisoners had all fled.... the jailer decides to end his own life.... because he knew it would be over anyway once his bosses found out.

Paul stops the jailer from killing himself… and shares that no one has left… they were all still there.

Why were all the prisoners still there? Because they were listening to Paul and Silas…

Then the jailer asks the famous question....

“what must I do to be saved?”

Why did the jailer ask this?

He had heard what happened with the slave girl

He had been part of locking up Paul and Silas

He had heard their songs in the night…

He received an answer that we still quote today.

Acts 16:31 ESV

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Notice that Paul does not share some system of organized religion… he doesn’t say to attend church or join the local synagogue,

What is required for salvation? Faith alone… in Christ alone

Other comments about verses 25-34?

Read 35-40

Why didn’t Paul and Silas just leave when they were released.

They didn’t want to be thought of as lawbreakers in the eyes of the community. They were falsely accused and condemned publicly. They wanted to be exonerated publicly as well. — If they weren’t then it would mean trouble for Lydia and the church.

Paul and Silas’ decision to force the local leaders to come and publicly own what had happened was not for personal / selfish reasons. It was so that the church would have the best opportunity to grow and flourish in Philippi.

Imagine what joy would have taken place in this little church in Philippi when Paul and Silas told about all that had happened… all that God had done. Picture what this local church plant looked like.

Lydia a profitable merchant (and her household)

The slave girl that had been freed from her demons

The Jailer and his household

Maybe a few of Paul and Silas’ fellow inmates from the jail.

This very well could have been the membership role of the first European Church.

Main Idea/Intended Response: When God is on the move.... nothing can stop His momentum. (Romans 1:16 is a good key verse for this section in Acts…)

(Aslan is on the move.... nothing can stop him....)

Response:

Stop seeing obstacles!

Start seeing opportunities!

Interpersonal conflict (Paul and Barnabas)

Personal zeal and desire (Paul and Silas waiting for the Holy Spirit’s direction)

Lack of church building

Demonic attack

Satan’s schemes

Imprisonment…

Governmental involvement/ interference.... (1 Peter 3:8-17?)

The gospel is amazing! We have no reason to be ashamed of it! It is the power of God for the salvation of every one who believes..... first for the Jew, then for the Gentile....... (Romans 1:16)