Committed To Preach

This past summer my little sister Lydia married a man named Joseph. Joseph has quite a few brothers. Lydia also has several brothers. For the bachelor party Lydia’s brother’s determined that Joseph’s brothers needed to experience a waterfall jump (S).

One of the many somewhat crazy things the boys in my family do is jump off a waterfall into the pool at the base.

Now, all of my brothers have done this. Joseph’s brothers had not. So as we arrive at the falls we are explaining how to jump.

There are two very important things about jumping off a waterfall. 1 - You have to jump. 2 - You have to jump correctly.

What do I mean? When you get to the top, you can’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. The more you stand there and look at the drop, the less likely you will be to jump. You have to just jump.

To jump correctly you have to fully commit to the jump. A weak jump or hesitation can result in injury. You jump off and you pull everything in.

In the spiritual realm, faith is kind of like jumping off a water fall. The more time we pause to consider what God is asking, the less likely we are to do it. Count the cost, make a plan, but then jump! When we take that leap of faith we must fully commit to it. Hesitation or half-hearted attempts lead to spiritual injury!

When God calls us to take a leap of faith, we must commit to the jump.

It is that commitment we will learn about this morning.

It’s been awhile since we were in Acts, so let’s catch up. Paul has begun his second missionary journey bringing Silas along with him.

The Holy Spirit has led them through closed doors and a dream to where they are now. They know it is where they are supposed to be. However, Being in God’s will does not mean absence of difficulty.

Paul and Silas display incredible commitment in these verses.

That commitment is going to be tested.This morning we are going to see the testing of their commitment.

When we preach Christ we need to be committed.

Our commitment will also be tested. Will we pass the test?

Endurance to pass a test comes through confidence in God and His will.

If we are going to be committed to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are going to have the same commitment we see in Paul and Silas. We need to be confident in our God.

The passage we will consider this morning provides us with three areas in which we must have an unshakable confidence.

When we are confident in our God, we will be committed to His calling.

Area #1…

1. Be Confident In God’s Placement vv. 11-15

Christmas was 2 1/2 weeks ago. One of the traditions we have is decorating the Christmas tree.

This is something everyone gets excited about. However, it is often most exciting to the youngest. Once one of our children can walk and hang the ornaments on their own, something very interesting happens.

All the ornaments end up on about 3 branches. Right?

You can see what eye level is for our three oldest because that’s where most of the ornaments are!

We look at where there are putting them and we say “are you sure that’s where you want to place that?” They are usually very sure.

This year the kids did pretty much all the ornaments, Jess and I didn’t do very many. And we spent some time asking if they really wanted to put that there.

But when we back up and we see the whole picture, it had its own special beauty.

In life, God places us where He wants us. There are times we are tempted to ask if He is sure. But we can be confident that if we could see our lives from God’s perspective, they would have their own special beauty.

As we go through life, we must be confident in God’s placement.

In these verses we see two examples of God’s placement.

Example #1…

a. God places in physical locations vv. 11-12

READ vv. 11-12

Troas is where Paul got the vision of the man in Macedonia.

Ran a straight course. In Greek this is a technical sailing term. But I think it indicates the heart and attitude of Paul and Silas. God says to go, they go straight there without any deviation. The next day they continue their journey. There is no delay in their obedience.

They arrive in Philippi (S). Why there? Because it is the main city in that area. It had special rights and privileges.

This is where God placed them. He called them here.

God’s calling of them and placing them in Philippi couldn’t be any more clear.

What we are going to see in a minute is that horrible things happen here. But that doesn’t change God’s call.

There are many Biblical examples of this. However, the best example is Joseph in Genesis 39ff. Most of us know the story. Joseph is sold into slavery because of the jealousy of His brothers. He rises to favor with his master but ends up in prison through the lies of his master’s wife. Would it be hard to trust God’s placement when wrongfully imprisoned? Amen!

After 2 years in prison Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and ends up second in command.

Joseph’s testimony about everything he endured is found in (S).

Genesis 50:19–20 NKJV

Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Joseph understood that God had placed him where he needed to be.

We’ve got to understand this. If you are seeking God and His will, then you are where you are by His design, purpose, and plan. The house you live in, the job you have, the state, the county, the family. All of this is according to God’s placement. And beloved, God doesn’t make mistakes.

You are there for a purpose. God has placed you there.

I am not there. Your brothers and sisters are not there. You are.

Now, that doesn’t mean you cannot seek something else. God will lead, guide, and direct in that as well.

My point is simply this.

God has you where you are for a reason.

Therefore, we need to serve Him faithfully where we are.

That is exactly what we find with Paul and Silas here.

God places in physical locations. Example #2…

Example #2…

b. God places in personal proximity vv. 13-15

When God places us in the physical location of His choosing, we have already discussed that He has a purpose for that.

God places us with access to people.

READ v. 13

They have a place of prayer by the river. Apparently it is the women who are doing the praying here.

This tells us two things. 1 - They had no Synagogue. 2 - The population of those who believed in God was small.

We know there was no Synagogue because Paul would have gone there if the city had one. This tells us that there were not many Jews there because 12 Jewish men were required before a Synagogue could be formed.

This is a break in tradition for Paul. With no Synagogue he can’t go preach there as he normally would. This could have made him question why God brought them there.

Why would God bring them to a place without access to a Synagogue?

Apparently, Paul doesn’t worry about that. “No synagogue? No problem, just direct me to where people gather.”

Paul and Silas speak to the women who met at the river.

Remember, God has placed them here. Now it is time to find out why.

READ v. 14

“Seller of purple” refers to an expensive clothing product, that was difficult to produce.

There are three important things this verse tells us about Lydia.

1 - She was a business woman.

“Seller of purple” refers to an expensive clothing product, that was difficult to produce.

Lydia sold this product. She is a business woman.

2 - She worshiped God.

This was the topic Bill Fox discussed at Bible study this last week.

When it talks about her worshiping God, it is not that she sang songs all the time.

This indicates that she had a reverence for God leading her to serve and obey Him.

3 - She had an open heart.

This is a verse where we need to be really careful that we don’t allow our theology to dictate our interpretation. This is not teaching that God gave Lydia the faith to believe, that’s not what it says here. What it says is that God opened her heart to heed Paul’s message.

Heed – προσέχω (prosechō) take care; pay attention to. To heed, to listen, hear, or pay close attention to.

Heed – προσέχω (prosechō)

What God does is open her heart so that she can hear Paul’s message.

v. 14 – The Lord opens her heart. This is how people are saved. No one seeks God, He seeks us and opens our hearts!

The Lord opens her heart. This is how people are saved. No one seeks God, He seeks us and opens our hearts!

This does not mean that she didn’t make a choice. It simply means what it says. God opened her heart, and she believed.

This is the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.

This is one of the reasons God brought Paul and Silas to Philippi. Lydia was there! She worshiped God and her heart was open.

God has placed you and I in proximity to people whose hearts are open. Are we preaching Christ to them?

READ v. 15

In ch's. 2 and 8 we saw that repentance and faith come before baptism. Baptism doesn’t save us, we are baptized because we are already saved.

This is important to remember whenever we see a household being baptized.

The idea is that all who believed were baptized. In this case, the indication is that everyone in her family trusted in Christ and so they were all baptized.

The rest of this verse demonstrates to us how generous Lydia was. She has them stay with her.

Purple = expensive product, difficult to produce.

v. 15 – The household is baptized. This could mean children, but I would take it to mean all who have believed in the household.

She begs and persuades to get them to come to her house.

v. 15 – The household is baptized. This could mean children, but I would take it to mean all who have believed in the household.

Why did God close so many doors and lead Paul and Silas into Philippi? Because Lydia was there.

God’s placement is about people.

Your placement, my placement, is not accidental.

God very clearly, and very intentionally led Paul and Silas to Philippi. He placed them in this physical location because there were people there who needed the gospel.

The same is true for us. God has placed us where we are to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. How are we doing?

Area #2…

This is the first area of confidence in our God. We must be confident in His placement. Area #2…

2. Be Confident In God’s Purpose vv. 16-19

Let me show you a picture (S). Now, some of you may know what this is, some of you may not.

But regardless of our ability to identify it, at the very least we can know 2 things about it.

1 - Somebody made it.

2 - It has a purpose.

Anybody know what it is?

A trumpet cleaner.

There are going to be times that we look at our lives and we do not understand God’s purpose. It will make no sense to us at all.

In those moments it is what we know to be true of God that is going to sustain us.

God sovereignly places us into difficult situations. However, in those situations, God has a purpose.

If we are going to be committed when the chips are down, when the going gets tough, we must be confident in God’s purpose.

Confidence in the purpose of God embraces two realities. Reality #1…

a. God’s purpose is intricate vv. 16-17

What I mean by this is that it can be difficult for us to grasp God’s purpose.

These verses clearly illustrate the point.

READ vv. 16-17

I do not believe that Paul looked at this demon-possessed fortune-telling slave girl who is following them around the city and said “I know exactly what God is doing here.”

Having a girl follow you around the city seems incomprehensible to us. Yet in this situation, God had a purpose.

They are on their way to the river for a time of prayer when they meet this girl.

I want to take just a minute and address a few important issues.

First, This girl is demon possessed. That is what we are looking at here.

Demon possession is when one of the angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God inhabits someone’s physical body and is able to exert limited control over them.

Christians cannot be demon possessed because we only have room for one spirit (). For the child of God, that is the Holy Spirit.

Unbelievers, because they do not have the Holy Spirit, can be possessed.

That is what we see here.

Second, This girl is not predicting the future.

Demons do not know the future. However, they can make very well educated guesses. They are also able to communicate with each other and can therefore learn an enormous amount about any individual. Because demons have been around since the beginning they have a great ability to predict certain events based on their knowledge of humankind and probability.

Christians cannot be possessed. However, Christians can be oppressed. We can open ourselves up to external attacks from demons. This takes place when we live with unconfessed sin in our lives.

Back to our text: This girl brings in a lot of money.

At this point deal with demon possession vs. oppression?

She starts following Paul, Silas, and Luke.

At first glance you might think that what she cries out would be beneficial. However, consider the source.

Everything she says is true. I think the problem is with her being the one to say it as wells as how she says it.

Either way, This is a situation where God’s purpose is very difficult to understand.However, that doesn’t mean we can ignore God's purpose.

Obedience to God does not require understanding of His purpose.

However, that doesn’t mean we can ignore God's purpose.

Why would He allow this demon-possessed slave to follow them and disrupt their preaching? Because of our second reality…

b. God’s purpose is individual vv. 18-19

READ v. 18

This girl follows them for many days making this statement continually.

NKJV says that Paul get’s “greatly annoyed”. The Greek word is διαπονέομαι (diaponeomai) be (greatly) disturbed. To be irked, to be or become greatly irritated or vexed.

Greatly annoyed – διαπονέομαι (diaponeomai)

It seems to me that in light of Paul’s actions, “disturbed” would be a much better translation.

Her behavior distresses Paul and so he does something about it.

Paul speaks directly to the demon that is indwelling her.

There are several points that conflict with what we sometimes see today. He doesn’t seek the demon’s name. He doesn’t bind it. He simply casts it out in Jesus name. The demon was in her.

The demon was male. As far as Scripture reveals, all angels and demons are male.

Male

The demon left immediately. There was no long drawn out process. Paul told it to leave in Jesus name, the demon left.

Here we encounter another purpose of God. God wanted them to bring Lydia to Himself, but He also wanted them to free this slave girl.

They are here by God’s command. They have been following God’s direction, but their commitment is about to be tested.

READ v. 19

Greatly annoyed – διαπονέομαι (diaponeomai) be (greatly) disturbed. To be irked v. — to be or become greatly irritated or vexed. Verb, aorist, passive, circumstantial participle, singular, nominative, masculine.

What is the motivation here? Money. Profit. Gain.

These men were using this demon possessed slave girl to to make money.

When they see that the demon has left her and that the ability was gone, they grab Paul and Silas.

It is very interesting to me that Luke is not taken. Is this because he was probably a Gentile? Was he too important to manhandle? We don’t know.

What we do know is that Paul has done a great thing, a Christ honoring thing, and in return he is dragged before the authorities.

It is these kinds of situations that make us question God’s purpose.

Joseph, in prison after rejecting the proposition of Potiphar’s wife, must have wondered what God was doing.

Somehow we have gotten the idea that walking with the Lord, walking in obedience, walking in the Spirit, should make everything easy.

Beloved, Scripture does not teach that. There are people today who say this but they are false teachers! They do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ!

Scripture tells the child of God to expect something very different. ; (S).

;

2 Timothy 3:12 NKJV

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

1 Peter 4:12 NKJV

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

If we want to live godly, we will suffer. Trials should not be thought of as strange, but as normal.

God’s purpose is not our comfort, it is our sanctification.

God’s purpose is not our popularity, it is the redemption of sinners.

Are we confident in God’s purpose?

Do we understand that while others may mean it for evil, God intends it for good?

Confidence in God’s purpose means that no matter our situation, we are looking for those who need Jesus.

If we are going to be committed to preaching Christ, we must be confident in His placement, we must be confident in His purpose.

Area #3…

3. Be Confident In God’s Power vv. 20-24

One of my favorite OT stories is when God makes the sun stand still for an entire day ().

God divided the Red Sea and let Israel walk on dry ground ().

God made a day go backward 10 hours ().

God divinely empowered a man to tear off city gates, rip apart a lion, and knock down an entire building (Judges 13-16).

God spoke all things into existence (Genesis 1-2).

And yet, if we are honest, there are days we doubt His ability to meet our needs.

If we are going to commit to living the Christian life as Scripture tells us to live, we must be convinced of God’s power.

We must truly believe that He can do anything.

In Paul writes of his desire to know the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is active in you and me.

This passage reveals the power of God active in you and I in two ways. First we see that…

a. God gives power to engage vv. 20-21

Look at the reaction of these men.

READ vv. 20-21

You know what this tells us? It tells us that the ministry of Paul and Silas was incredibly effective.

Why do I say that?

The men claim that the ministry of Paul and Silas has already impacted the city. In fact they are saying that the teaching of Paul and Silas is already a big deal!

We know that the ministry of Paul and Silas was effective because of this reaction.

These men drag Paul and Silas before the magistrates. The highest legal authority in Philippi. This is how concerned they are.

Magistrates = highest legal authority in Philippi.

v. 21 indicates that these men already knew what Paul and Silas were preaching. They have had an effective ministry!

Through the power of Christ they engaged these people and the gospel is already spreading!

Sometimes the measure of our effectiveness is the strength of our opposition.

The stronger Satan and his demons fight against us, the more certain we can be that we are accomplishing the will of God.

But In these moments of opposition, our own strength is insufficient. We need the power of God.

Look with me at (S).

Jude 24–25 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Notice who keeps us from stumbling. God.

He presents us faultless. He gives us joy. He alone is wise! He alone has glory, majesty, dominion, and power for all eternity.

The power and ability to proclaim Christ come to us through Christ.

If we are going to be committed to Christ through all the storms of life. We must be confident in our God. We must depend on His power as we engage those in need of a Savior.

God gives the power to engage. Secondly we see that…

Secondly we see that…

b. God gives power to endure vv. 22-24

READ v. 22

What is missing here? No investigation or questioning. This becomes important towards the end of the chapter.

This is a mob action. Based on the testimony of men who were motivated by greed, Paul and Silas are mistreated.

This would have been a highly embarrassing event.

They are stripped and beaten before a crowd.

READ v. 23

Many stripes.

No trial, no justice, just abuse.

Is this really God’s plan? Could God really have brought us here for this?

How are they going to reach anyone in prison? Come back next time and find out.

It get’s worse.

READ v. 24

Naked, beaten, and now put in the stocks.

Is this really God’s plan? Could God really have brought us here for this?

When we are in the midst of pain, this is the question we ask! How can it be God’s will for me to suffer!

Fanny Crosby was a blind hymn writer. I believe she wrote over 300 hymns. By some estimations she suffered much. She was asked “If given the chance to regain your sight, would you take it?” “No!” She replied. “This way the first face I see will be that of my Savior.”

The trials God allows us to endure shape us into the perfect vessels for His use.

The pain, the suffering, the heartache. God can and will use them in our lives.

He uses the suffering of Paul and Silas.

Here they are, in prison, even separated from the other prisoners! How are they going to reach anyone in prison?

Come back next time and find out.

The point here is this; from our limited human perspective, God’s plan sometimes makes no sense.

In those moments we must be confident in Him! His power will help us endure.

And when we endure, we get to see Him accomplish incredible things.

In the will and power of God, trials can be endured.

Conclusion

God has called each of us to preach the gospel. Are we committed to proclaiming Jesus Christ?

This commitment means that we will be put places that make no sense. We will find ourselves in situations where God's purpose is incomprehensible. We will face trial and persecution that can only be endured through God’s power.

But when we are confident in our God, we are committed to His will.

Commitment Will Be Tested By Opposition vv. 16-19

Confidence in Gods’s placement enables us to serve.

Commitment Will Be Tested By Persecution vv. 20-24

Confidence in God’s purpose enables us to focus on others.

Confidence in God’s power enables us to stand firm in difficult circumstances.

God places us where He wants us to accomplish what He desires while giving us the power to do it.

That is a God we can be confident in.

May God use us for His purpose and His glory.

May we serve where He has placed us, do the work that He gives us, and rest in His power.

Be confident in our God and committed to preaching Christ.

Acts 16:11–24 NKJV

Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us. Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

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