Scripture Acts
16:16-40
They
went to Lydia’s house where they were in a small group – I imagine the jailer
and his family were there.
The point of the story (even as I have often preached it) has to do with the miracle earthquake that came as a result of Paul & Silas praising God even though they were in prison. It is a good sermon. However, that is not why this scripture exists. Using this text to get us to praise in all circumstances isn’t bad – it just isn’t the main point of the story. God would free Peter from jail, not while he was praising but while the church was scared and praying. This is not an exceptional miracle compared to others. In fact, if the miracle was the point of the story, then Paul, Silas and the other prisoners would have escaped to continue to preach elsewhere – just like Peter when he was miraculously released from jail by an angel.
The point of the story (even as I have often preached it) has to do with the miracle earthquake that came as a result of Paul & Silas praising God even though they were in prison. It is a good sermon. However, that is not why this scripture exists. Using this text to get us to praise in all circumstances isn’t bad – it just isn’t the main point of the story. God would free Peter from jail, not while he was praising but while the church was scared and praying. This is not an exceptional miracle compared to others. In fact, if the miracle was the point of the story, then Paul, Silas and the other prisoners would have escaped to continue to preach elsewhere – just like Peter when he was miraculously released from jail by an angel.
So
then what is the main point? What is the story? What is this story about? Why
is this story in scripture? As we know, most of the Bible is a window through
which we look to see who God is. This story does just that.
This story started when Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them on the next missionary journey. Paul refused to bring him as he had abandoned them before when things got tough. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance. Getting angry with one another, these Christian brothers, ministers, friends parted ways: Barnabas took Mark to revisit churches and Paul chose Silas to go with him (Silas had come from Jerusalem to oversee the work Paul was doing and likely bring a negative report back to church central in Jerusalem) But Silas saw that Paul’s work among non-Jews (outsiders) was quite effective and God honoring. So, Silas joined Saul.
The story continued when the Holy Spirit kept Paul & Silas from entering certain towns and areas until Paul was given a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come there to preach Jesus. Paul & Silas went at once and came to the town of Philippi.
That almost brings us up to our story for today. There is one more important fact that took place that is central to this story. We don’t know what day they arrived in this mostly heathen city, where very few Jews lived. So few that there was not even a synagogue. But on the Sabbath, they wanted to worship with God’s people and heard about a place of prayer that some gathered outdoors near a river. Arriving, they only found females – women who had been proselytized to Judaism, or who married Gentile men. In either case, these women were God fearing and chose to still meet on the Sabbath even without a synagogue and even if it was done outside. Sitting down, they shared with these women about Jesus. There was a woman there from Thyatira, who sold purple cloth – her name was Lydia. Thyatira was famous for its dyeing and was a center of the indigo trade (between blue & purple). Among the ancient ruins of the city, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in the city. Lydia was there to sell her cloth and could have skipped sabbath worship and kept selling as there was no formal synagogue, but honoring God was important to her even if it was inconvenient.
When she heard Paul preach about Jesus she believed in him. She instantly invited Paul and Silas to stay in her home.
Do you think God
works to see that we come to faith in Him? (My story – God put a group of
musicians together with a group of churches to bring them to Zanesville, and
spurred my new friend to invite me to go an hour away from home where my heart
was opened to Christ) Here is something you miss without Bible Study =
Thyatira, where Lydia was from stood on the border between Lydia and Mysia.
Remember I said the Holy Spirit kept Paul from going certain places and Paul
had a vision of a man from Macedonia to come there – hence ending up in
Philippi? Acts 16:7-8 When they came
to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia (close to Thyatira)
and went down to Troas.
If Lydia had been in her home town and not “out of town” selling her purple cloth, she would have never heard about Jesus because Paul & Silas were kept from going there. If she sold her cloth on the Sabbath or chose not to find the few Jewish women in Philippi who worshipped God, she would not have heard about Jesus. God appointed Paul to be with Silas; and also Lydia to be there on that day, at that moment, so she would come to know Jesus as her savior.
The opening of Lydia’s heart was her Lord’s doing. Whatever is done in Heaven’s great work with the soul of a person, is the Lord’s work. Only God’s hand can touch the heart; or more than that, open the heart, and, being opened, can cleanse it, fill it, satisfy it. He opens not only the receptive organ—the heart—but He opens even the perceptive organs—He opens the ear, He opens the eye, He enlightens the understanding, He changes the heart, He makes us willing, He gives us the power of faith to believe in Him.
So far the main point of the story is that God wants Jews to believe in Jesus…but the story continues. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now God uses a Gentile slave girl to accomplish his purpose. She has a spirit that allows her to tell the future. Unlike most slaves to save money for their owners, this woman actually made them money – with some freedom to sit in the market place and tell people’s fortunes for a fee. When Paul & Silas walked through town to go preach – she would follow them shouting that they were going to tell you how to find salvation and know the one true God. (Sounds like good publicity but Paul got annoyed by it after several days) It did not benefit the woman to do this, but God would use it to His benefit. So Paul cast the Spirit from her. Her owners were furious because they no longer had a cash cow in this slave girl, and they had Paul & Silas to blame for it and got them thrown in jail for disturbing the peace.
The jailer was given specific instructions to guard the prisoners closely. For fear, he locked them in the inner prison and put them in the stocks. For Paul, he was thrilled – he had a literal captive audience to share Jesus with. He and Silas broke out some praise and worship at midnight and God offered them (and the other prisoners) freedom by causing an earthquake. Amazing things can happen when we give God praise.
The jailer ran in – saw that the prison doors were all open and all the prisoners could escape. He drew his sword to kill himself. WHY? The jail would have likely been a family business (even attached to his house) – his wife probably provided the meals and his kids probably served as janitors. The jailer, wanting to protect his family from any fall-out of having prisoners escape was willing to take his own life in hopes that his family would be left alone. Paul STOPPED him, saying “we are all here”. Paul could have escaped but knew he was part of a much bigger story.
The jailer called for lights (his kids lighting the torches). He ran and got on his knees before ul & Silas and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Obviously the jailer had been listening to Paul’s preaching and praise to even know what to ask. Paul responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household." That did not mean is he was saved his whole household would all be saved. They were all there listening, and Paul was telling his whole household how they could be saved.
The jailer brought them into the house to tend to their wounds and everyone in his household believed and were baptized and they set a meal before them to break bread together. There was great joy in the house that night.
We don’t know why – maybe because of the earthquake, the officials told the jailer to release the prisoners. Paul said – not so fast – we are Roman citizens and were not given due process – have the officials come and escort us out, and they did.
What is this story about? How much God wants ALL people to be saved. Lydia, the Jewish woman, the Gentile jailer and his household. We don’t even know about the other prisoners, the slave girl, or the officials. They may have also responded to Jesus.
Think about the intricate movements of God. A slave girl who could tell fortunes was the reason Paul & Silas ended up in jail (well the greed of her owners too). If that had not happened, then there would have been no midnight worship service, no earthquake and no jailer and his family finding faith in Jesus Christ. So not the Jews only, not the Gentiles only, 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Acts
16 as a window has shown God’s passion to see people find forgiveness of sins
and eternal life in Him. Let me slide the mirror of Acts 16 up for just a
second and see if you have the same heart as Paul & Silas, to allow your
continuing story to be caught up in God’s story of seeing others come to faith
in Jesus. It may not look as dramatic – it may be a simple invitation to church
or to begin believing, belonging, and becoming by inviting someone to join you
in a community group as together we read and learn “The Story”, therefore
HIStory.
“God’s got moves! So did Paul & Silas! Do you?”
This story started when Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them on the next missionary journey. Paul refused to bring him as he had abandoned them before when things got tough. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance. Getting angry with one another, these Christian brothers, ministers, friends parted ways: Barnabas took Mark to revisit churches and Paul chose Silas to go with him (Silas had come from Jerusalem to oversee the work Paul was doing and likely bring a negative report back to church central in Jerusalem) But Silas saw that Paul’s work among non-Jews (outsiders) was quite effective and God honoring. So, Silas joined Saul.
The story continued when the Holy Spirit kept Paul & Silas from entering certain towns and areas until Paul was given a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come there to preach Jesus. Paul & Silas went at once and came to the town of Philippi.
That almost brings us up to our story for today. There is one more important fact that took place that is central to this story. We don’t know what day they arrived in this mostly heathen city, where very few Jews lived. So few that there was not even a synagogue. But on the Sabbath, they wanted to worship with God’s people and heard about a place of prayer that some gathered outdoors near a river. Arriving, they only found females – women who had been proselytized to Judaism, or who married Gentile men. In either case, these women were God fearing and chose to still meet on the Sabbath even without a synagogue and even if it was done outside. Sitting down, they shared with these women about Jesus. There was a woman there from Thyatira, who sold purple cloth – her name was Lydia. Thyatira was famous for its dyeing and was a center of the indigo trade (between blue & purple). Among the ancient ruins of the city, inscriptions have been found relating to the guild of dyers in the city. Lydia was there to sell her cloth and could have skipped sabbath worship and kept selling as there was no formal synagogue, but honoring God was important to her even if it was inconvenient.
When she heard Paul preach about Jesus she believed in him. She instantly invited Paul and Silas to stay in her home.
If Lydia had been in her home town and not “out of town” selling her purple cloth, she would have never heard about Jesus because Paul & Silas were kept from going there. If she sold her cloth on the Sabbath or chose not to find the few Jewish women in Philippi who worshipped God, she would not have heard about Jesus. God appointed Paul to be with Silas; and also Lydia to be there on that day, at that moment, so she would come to know Jesus as her savior.
The opening of Lydia’s heart was her Lord’s doing. Whatever is done in Heaven’s great work with the soul of a person, is the Lord’s work. Only God’s hand can touch the heart; or more than that, open the heart, and, being opened, can cleanse it, fill it, satisfy it. He opens not only the receptive organ—the heart—but He opens even the perceptive organs—He opens the ear, He opens the eye, He enlightens the understanding, He changes the heart, He makes us willing, He gives us the power of faith to believe in Him.
So far the main point of the story is that God wants Jews to believe in Jesus…but the story continues. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now God uses a Gentile slave girl to accomplish his purpose. She has a spirit that allows her to tell the future. Unlike most slaves to save money for their owners, this woman actually made them money – with some freedom to sit in the market place and tell people’s fortunes for a fee. When Paul & Silas walked through town to go preach – she would follow them shouting that they were going to tell you how to find salvation and know the one true God. (Sounds like good publicity but Paul got annoyed by it after several days) It did not benefit the woman to do this, but God would use it to His benefit. So Paul cast the Spirit from her. Her owners were furious because they no longer had a cash cow in this slave girl, and they had Paul & Silas to blame for it and got them thrown in jail for disturbing the peace.
The jailer was given specific instructions to guard the prisoners closely. For fear, he locked them in the inner prison and put them in the stocks. For Paul, he was thrilled – he had a literal captive audience to share Jesus with. He and Silas broke out some praise and worship at midnight and God offered them (and the other prisoners) freedom by causing an earthquake. Amazing things can happen when we give God praise.
The jailer ran in – saw that the prison doors were all open and all the prisoners could escape. He drew his sword to kill himself. WHY? The jail would have likely been a family business (even attached to his house) – his wife probably provided the meals and his kids probably served as janitors. The jailer, wanting to protect his family from any fall-out of having prisoners escape was willing to take his own life in hopes that his family would be left alone. Paul STOPPED him, saying “we are all here”. Paul could have escaped but knew he was part of a much bigger story.
The jailer called for lights (his kids lighting the torches). He ran and got on his knees before ul & Silas and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Obviously the jailer had been listening to Paul’s preaching and praise to even know what to ask. Paul responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household." That did not mean is he was saved his whole household would all be saved. They were all there listening, and Paul was telling his whole household how they could be saved.
The jailer brought them into the house to tend to their wounds and everyone in his household believed and were baptized and they set a meal before them to break bread together. There was great joy in the house that night.
We don’t know why – maybe because of the earthquake, the officials told the jailer to release the prisoners. Paul said – not so fast – we are Roman citizens and were not given due process – have the officials come and escort us out, and they did.
What is this story about? How much God wants ALL people to be saved. Lydia, the Jewish woman, the Gentile jailer and his household. We don’t even know about the other prisoners, the slave girl, or the officials. They may have also responded to Jesus.
Think about the intricate movements of God. A slave girl who could tell fortunes was the reason Paul & Silas ended up in jail (well the greed of her owners too). If that had not happened, then there would have been no midnight worship service, no earthquake and no jailer and his family finding faith in Jesus Christ. So not the Jews only, not the Gentiles only, 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
“God’s got moves! So did Paul & Silas! Do you?”
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