The Church in Philippi

Welcome

Well, good morning Lifepoint! It is SO good to be back here with you this morning. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Dan Osborn and I serve as the pastor here. So grateful that you’re able to join us.

Many of you know this, outside of my role as a teaching pastor here, I serve as a chaplain with the Air Force and have been away for July and August for that. But I am so ready to be back! So So ready to be with you all - missed you terribly.

Life Groups Update

Transition to Sermon

Alright, let go ahead and get started.

Today, we are started a new teaching series at Lifepoint through the New Testament letter of Philippians - a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church he started in the Roman city of Philippi somewhere around 50AD.

And the overarching theme of this letter is: joy. In fact, 16 times through this short letter, Paul will talk about joy or remind the Philippians to practice joy; a word we will spend a lot of time on in the coming weeks.

And what we will see through this series is that, as followers of Jesus, we are actually liberated from the endless pursuit of demanding joy from all of horizontal relationships - to people, career, possessions, opportunities - and can find an a truly unshakable joy in relationship with Jesus.

BUT

Before we get to any of that, all across Lifepoint, we wanted to start this series in a bit of a different way than we normally would. Instead of jumping right in at the beginning of the letter, we’re going to start with the very beginning of the church in Philippi. We’re going to look at the origin story of the church in Philippi.

So if you’ve got a bible with you, open up to Acts chapter 16. Acts 16 and we will be in vv. 16-24.

Acts is like a biography of the earliest followers of Jesus — the author is like the Ken Burns of the ancient world — he’s uses lots of first hand accounts to recreate the world and stories of the first followers of Jesus and so as we read these stories, it’s like we get transported, even for a moment back the the first century, Mediterranean world where all of this took place.

And chapter 16 is fascinating because on a broad level, the whole chapter shows us the different kinds of people that are become followers of Jesus in the city of Philippi…it’s makes it super clear that a Christian is not one specific type of person, but it’s really all over the board…men, women, slave, free, powerful, vulnerable, rich, poor, middle class, blue collar, white collar, it’s all over the place and these are the kinds of people who are coming together to form the kind of unique community that is the church.

Story - Enslaved

Philippi (Recreate the World)

Acts 16 takes place in a city called, “Philippi”.

It was a Roman colony so the whole city is really under Roman authority—that was the law of the land. People worshiping the Roman gods…and as long as you were fine with that, didn’t rock the boat, Rome was fine with you.

Interestingly enough, Roman society didn’t really know what to do followers of Jesus who didn’t worship the Roman gods…they actually called Christians atheists because they didn’t believe in the gods!

But that makes sense, right. A pluralistic culture is very tolerant of other pluralistic cultures! But as soon as someone comes along and says, no, there is one true God…that is who we worship…you got problems

So Jewish people did not do very well in Philippi. In fact, look back with me at v. 13 (Acts 16:13).

Acts 16:13 ESV

13 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.

This is different from what Paul normally does…he usually goes to the synagogue to speak with the Jewish people there first, but presumably, that wasn’t an option for him. So he goes to where the Jewish worshipers were relegated and that’s outside the city gates.

And so before we even get to our section of the story today, we already know that Paul is in a place that is hostile to his worldview.

And yet he’s still there, right?

I want sit there for a moment, because a lot of times it feels like that’s the very situation we’re in right now, right? Essentially, we live in pluralistic culture that is fine with just about any belief system as long as that belief system is cool with everything else. And yet Paul was sent here, by God, to this city, where he is not wanted, to call people to a life changing relationship with Jesus.

And what he finds in Philippi is amazing. He finds people who have grown up and are rooted in a culture hostile to his beliefs who hear the message of Jesus and believe. It’s people who are far from God—for whole bunch of different reasons—and they are the ones who will be transformed by Jesus—they will form a church and see more and more of their families, friends, and coworkers hear and believe Jesus.

It’s easy for us to forget that calls us to places where people are far from God…we tend not to think about our cities that way. But in so many ways…Worthington - Columbus…is exactly the same! And what I don’t want us loose sight of as we study the book of Philippians is that the whole thing is set in world that in very unexpected ways is a lot like our own! Paul was writing to spiritually needy people in spiritually needy city and when we read his letter, even 2000 years removed, we find we are still spiritually needy people living in a spiritually needy city!

Some People Need to be Freed to be Found

But when we get to v. 16, we get a very interesting picture, that shows us some people need to be freed to be found by Jesus and be transformed by him. That there is some kind of oppression over them that keeps them ensnared and enslaved and unable to hear the message of Jesus as good news.

This is what Paul means when he says to some people, the Gospel has the aroma of death…it does not sound like good new of great joy to everyone.

No, some people need to be freed first to be found by Jesus.

And the story is a quite vivid picture of this. Look with me at v. 16.

Acts 16:16–18 ESV

16 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. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 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.

Enslavement in the Story

And I want us to really work through the details of this. Why?

First of all, slavery was incredibly common in Philippi and most Roman cities. They would seen hundreds of slaves throughout the city; best estimates right now tell us that in general, about a third of the population of Roman cities would have been enslaved.

Some people where born into slave family…others were people who had been conquered by the Romans… often women and children would be taken as slaves…and some of were people who had become slaves as a way to settle a debt or something like that.

But what Luke focuses in on is the spiritual slavery of this girl.

And that’s not because he’s cool with the fact that she is actually a slave. Luke is not okay with that…the New Testament gospel ethic is not consistent with the practice of slavery. We spent a whole message on this in our last series in August which you can find online.

But in this story, Luke is focusing in on the spiritual slavery this girl is experiencing.

He says that she had a spirit of divination…and that her “owners” got money from her doing fortune telling.

She is spiritually enslaved by an evil spirit.

If you read through the Gospel accounts; the first four books of the New Testament, you will see regularly Jesus interact with people who have evil spirits in them.

Evil spirits enslaving them.

Where they are not in control of their own bodies or their own minds. Luke talks about this several times in his Gospel and Jesus will come across someone who has an evil spirit that gives them some kind of supernatural power. And that’s what’s going on here in Acts 16 with this young girl who is oppressed by an evil spirit and then on top of that being taken advantage of by evil men under an evil social institution that everyone else sees as completely normal.

And as Paul and his crew walk through the city, she is yelling behind them, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

And at first, that actually doesn’t sound that bad, right? It’s actually true what this spirit is saying through her. They are servants of the Most High God…proclaiming the way of salvation. That’s what they’re doing in Philippi…that’s why they came to the city in the first place.

But it’s one thing for us to read those words…and if you’re a Christian hearing those words…you know that actually means.

But what would the people along the streets have heard?

Remember…they are in a Roman colony…a pluralistic city with a pantheon of gods…and the expectation of the Romans, right, is that you’re free to worship whatever you want…as long as you’re cool with everyone else’s god. This spirit is blaring to everyone that these guys are not cool with what’s going on in this city. They are outsiders…they are bring problems…

This is actually dangerous now for Paul and his team in Philippi…because we already know that Philippi is not very welcoming to people like them…and they can’t really keep a low profile with all this going on.

So finally, Paul is so annoyed at this that he turns around and says to the spirit…notice, he doesn’t speak to this girl…he speaks to the demonic spirit inside of her…and commands that it leave her in the Name of Jesus.

And look at how it ends--

“And it, the demonic spirit, came out that very hour.”

She is freed from the demonic spirit, by power of Jesus, as Paul casts this demon from inside of her.

And we don’t really know anything else about her after that. We don’t know what happened to her. Luke doesn’t say she got cleaned up, joined the church, got in a small group, and jumped on serving team.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t know anything about what happened to this girl.

I think we’re meant to read the healing stories in Gospels and Acts optimistically—so that those who are healed by Jesus or in Jesus name go on to follow Jesus—which is what happens in most of the stories of the Gospels. In all likelihood, she became a follower of Jesus…but do you see that before just telling her that she needed to repent and believe, or giving her a gospel presentation, or anything like that, Paul looks at the girl who is absolutely trapped...spiritually enslaved and unable to free herself, and in the power of the name of Jesus, he gives her freedom. He recognizes that there is a barrier in place in her life that must be dealt with.

The point that Luke is trying to make is not that she went on to become a Christian…but that being freed from her spiritual oppression created a gospel opportunity! In this freedom she has her mind back…she has her body back…and in that she able to worship and receive the gift of Christ and transformation that is only found in Jesus! And that would go on to shape the way she lived in whatever circumstance she would find herself in for the rest of her life…which was probably to continue in the the lowest tiers of society as a domestic servant…but, in Christ, she would never be the same. In Christ, she would be found. In Christ, she would be whole, in Christ, she would find joy and life that could not be shaken.

The point is some people need to be freed to be found.

Enslavement Today

Now, we come across these kinds of stories a lot in the New Testament about demonic oppression or people having demons. And I think the question we generally have is, ‘did that stuff really happen…or was it just mental health issues that ancient people didn’t have a way to talk about?’ Or ‘do we really see that kind of thing today’? We talked about it a few weeks ago, but I think it’s really interesting that as a society we are at the same time generally skeptical about the demonic and believe it’s a topic reserved for religious weirdos and completely fascinated by the spiritual realm! Look at our movies, the exorcist, the conjuring, and a whole genre of horror having to do with spirits, Satan and demons!

And the reality is…we live in a world where this same kind of spiritual oppression is alive and well. It is all over the place. The only difference is we’ve gotten really good at explaining it away...

The truth is spiritual oppression does not always manifest itself like Acts 16…but it is strong…and often comes in the forms of addictions -to sex - relationships - money - drugs - power. Or even things that we don’t often think of as addictions - like addiction to our own comfort - an addiction to anger - to addiction to a job and our performance - all of things are examples spiritual oppression. There are powerful and tangible ways the Enemy seeks to keep humanity ensnared, oppressed, and trapped.

And it plays out in the peoples lives differently.

Some of you are here right now—and you see it in your own life already. You don’t need anyone to point out you are enslaved…by something.

Maybe you know that pull, all too well, of knowing you don’t want to keep getting sucked down the rabbit trail of another internet fantasy, but as soon as you’re alone with your phone, you’re back at it again. Or you’ve promised again and again that you will keep a lid on your rage, but then even something small happens at home or at work, and it’s like a volcano.

But for others of us, it’s harder to pin point…because the spiritual bondage can be hidden…or it can resurface in your life after you’ve become a follower of Jesus.

Sometimes we think, ‘That was back then…I don’t deal with that stuff any more…I’m past it…I’ve dealt with it.’ But the truth is, as John Owen, a 17th century pastor and theologian, said, “Sin excels in playing dead.”

I see this in my life regularly. And I talk about it with you all regularly.

I often tell couple’s getting married or having their first baby, or any kind of significant life change...that they will each learn something about themselves through the process. Getting married, I learned I was I had some a pretty big selfishness issue…, like I never would have said it out loud, but I pretty much assumed that Courtney would just adopt my rhythms and ways of doing things…which I can assure you would have been a massive regression for her. Having a baby…I learned I had anger issues…and how messed up is it that a child reveals that in me? Becoming a pastor…I learned I have people pleasing issues…like I often make other people ‘god’ in my life and want to find their affirmation, their ‘blessing’

And I could add to this list—as I’m sure many of you could also add to the list of things wrong with me—but the point is, these are not just small issues in my life.

My selfishness is actually my enslavement to an idol of myself. When I treat myself in my own heart like I’m my own god. My anger is actually my enslavement to that idol when other people don’t essentially bow down to what I want. And people pleasing works out almost the same way, except it’s when, in my own heart, I turn someone else into a god whom I need to serve…

And all of these things come up on the regular in my life…even though I’m a christian.

Why?

Because, friends, spiritual oppression is real, it is at work, now.

And church, if you have an honest conversation with yourselves you will find evidence of the same kind of spiritual oppression that can pop up in your lives.

And this is just a short list, but the problem is that when we are enslaved to these things, they rob us of feeling any real joy in the Christian life. Following Jesus does not feel like the easy yoke of friendship and care with him, it feels like a burden, a standard that we cannot live up to. And you feel spiritually lost…

And it is devastating.

Some of us need to have an honest conversation this week…maybe even today. And it starts with talking to God—asking, what am I enslaved to? Maybe you see already and hardly even need to ask. But maybe it’s a slavery to something you have not ever really seen in your life—at least not clearly.

Friends, what I love about this passage is how much hope there is here…because the good news of Jesus is that no matter what the enslavement is…or how tight the bonds feel…freedom is possible…not matter where you’re at, you can be found by Jesus, for Jesus, and be transformed to be like Jesus!

Look at the passage again…there is no incantation…there is no ritual that Paul must go through, but he rests simply on the power of Jesus name…and speaking it over this girl in Acts 16 and she is wonderfully liberated from her spiritual bondage. She is restored to her right mind, she is made whole, and in a sense, her humanity is restored to her!

And yet, this freedom comes at a cost.

Because when the girls owners recognize that their hopes of an income from her fortune telling abilities are gone…they freak out. Look down at v. 19 (Acts 16:19). They drag Paul and Silas down into the market place to get everyone’s attention…and rightly point out that in freeing the girl from spiritual oppression and from being taken advantage of because of her oppression, they are turning the city upside-down....

And it’s worth much more time than I can give it now, but…this is what happens when Gospel transformation takes root in the city…it starts bankrupting evil systems…and it does not happen over night, but Jesus affirms and protects the humanity and dignity of people who are at the other end of unjust systems. And it is the beautifully subversive undermining of injustice in the Kingdom of God as followers of Jesus take seriously the command to care for and protect the oppressed, the poor, the orphan, the widow, the sojourner, the refugee…that’s why in the Old Testament, hundreds of times God commands protection for the oppressed, he warns the oppressor, or comforts the afflicted.

And no, Paul cannot take on the full evil of slavery in this moment…nor does he directly do it any of the letters he wrote in the New Testament...but he is willing to pay a heavy price for the sake of this young girl…because these Roman officials, in the city of Philippi, already hostile, resistant, and enraged by the claims of Christianity, take Paul and Silas, have them attacked, beaten, and thrown in jail until they can figure out what else to do with them…

See while this slave girl is freed, Paul ends up in chains. A prisoner. Likely awaiting his death.

But friends, you see, this is exactly how freedom from spiritual oppression works. It is possible, but it comes at a cost. Your chains may be broken, but there is one who takes your place.

Who, for our sin, was beaten, tried, jailed, and nailed to a cross. And yet this was done so that the spiritually enslaved could be free. That those who are lost could be found...And if that were the end of the story, we’d be free…until the next issue popped up in our lives…but Jesus rose again from the dead in victory over Sin…in victory over Satan and his schemes so that we could be truly free by faith in him.

Friends, some of you need to be informed of freedom…and that his found through faith in Jesus…in his work on the cross on your behalf. And on the other side of faith in Christ is not yet the perfect life…it’s not an easy life…but it the life that is truly life…life the way it’s meant to be lived…and joy.

Friends, some of us need to be reminded of our freedom today because you have again become ensnared...

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Communion

And as a reminder of that freedom, we have symbol we use as Christians.

1 Corinthians 11:23–28 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.