July 8, 2018
Morning Service

Today we will begin to look at the letter Paul wrote to the church at Philippi.  Philippi was a Roman colony and a military outpost.  Since it was not a commercial center there was not enough Jews there to have a synagogue so they met along the river.  Paul came here on his second missionary journey and returned on his third.  He first went in response to his vision of a Macedonian man calling him to come and help them.  Philippi was first church Paul established in the region.  To help us better understand the background to this letter we are going to go to the Book of Acts and look at that first visit.  The church he established here is the only one that we know of that helped Paul financially on his journeys as he mentions it here in this letter.  He thanks them for their support and then also uses the letter to send along some spiritual instructions.  Let’s begin by looking at Acts chapter 16 for some background.

 Acts 16:13-15 And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was usually made. And we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.  (14)  And a certain woman named Lydia heard us, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God; whose heart the Lord opened, so that she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul.  (15)  And when she was baptized, she and her household, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she constrained us.

·        Paul sought out those who were spiritual and preached the good news of Jesus to them.  Notice it was not Paul who convinced her with his words, but it was the Lord who opened her heart.  As we set out to disciple others into the faith we can take comfort in knowing that it does not rely on you whether that person believes or not it is the Lord that calls them (Acts 2:47).

·        Have you ever tried to witness to someone like this?  It can be very scary, but all we have to do is be a tool and allow God to speak through us.  You will be surprised at how the Holy Spirit will guide your words in the conversation. There is a whole world out there that we rub shoulders with every day that are searching for what we have to offer them.  Lydia was certainly ready and her whole household.  It does not always end up like this so easily.

Acts 16:16-24  And as we went to prayer, it happened that a certain girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.  (17)  The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are announcing to us the way of salvation.”  (18)  And she did this many days. But being distressed, and turning to the demonic spirit, Paul said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out in that hour.  (19)  And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain went out, having seized Paul and Silas, they dragged them to the market before the rulers.  (20)  And bringing them near to the judges, they said, “These men, being Jews, are exceedingly troubling our city.  (21) And they teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive or to do, being Romans.”  (22)  And the crowd rose up against them. And tearing off their clothes, the judges ordered them to be flogged.  (23)  And after laying on them many stripes, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailor to keep them safely; (24) who, having received such a command thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

·        Fortune telling was a common practice in the Roman and Greek culture.  The girl was possessed by an evil spirit and that gave her the abilities that made her master rich.  Paul using the Name of Jesus rebuked the demon and ordered it to leave her and it did.  Anytime you face any form of demonic activity use the Name of Jesus to rebuke that spirit and they have no choice but to yield.

·        This act quickly turned into an arrest, flogging and imprisonment.  The mission trip to Philippi started out great with the conversion of Lydia, but here it seems to take a turn for the worst.  But God takes something terrible and makes it into something beautiful!  Notice how with Paul and Silas’ attitude is everything!

 

Acts 16:25-34  And toward midnight Paul and Silas prayed and praised God in a hymn. And the prisoners listened to them.  (26)  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and all the bonds were loosened.  (27)  And being awakened, and seeing the doors of the prison being open, drawing a sword, the jailer was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.  (28)  But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”  (29)  Then asking for a light he rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  (30)  And leading them outside, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  (31)  And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household.”  (32)  And they spoke the Word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his household.  (33)  And taking them in that hour of the night, he washed from their stripes. And he was baptized, he and all his, immediately.  (34)  And bringing them up to the house, he set a table before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his household.

·        This is so awesome to me!  They are beaten and imprisoned falsely and they chose to sing praise songs instead of cry “Woe is me!”  Which one would be you?  Our attitude is a choice we make.  God is so pleased by Paul and Silas that He changes this terrible, hopeless situation into a miraculous conversion of the guard and his whole family.  When the jailer asked “What must I do to be saved” it had to be music to Paul’s ears.  After hearing the Word of the Lord, the jailer did his works of repentance and tried to make things right.  He and his family were then all baptized immediately.  God can take any situation we find ourselves in and turn it into something glorious, but He needs us to be on board with Him.

 

Acts 16:35-40 And day coming, the judges sent the floggers, saying, Let those men go.  (36)  And the jailer spoke these words to Paul: “The judges have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”  (37)  But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us publicly, men who are Romans and uncondemned, they threw us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! But coming themselves let them bring us out.”  (38)  And the floggers reported these words to the judges. And hearing that they were Romans, they were afraid.  (39)  And coming they begged them. And bringing them out, they asked them to depart out of the city.  (40)  And going out from the prison, they entered into the house of Lydia. And seeing the brothers, they comforted them and departed.

·        When the judges found out they were Roman citizens, which changed things drastically.  It was against the law to whip a Roman citizen and they also had the right to a fair trial which wasn’t given to them.  This placed fear in their hearts that Paul would bring the governments’ wrath upon them.  In standing up to the officials Paul set some guidelines for the protection of the church he had just established with them.  Hopefully, they would not be so quick to persecute other believers in the city.

·        News in a small town travels fast and I am sure this story spread quickly.  These men who came to town spreading the good news of Christ and had been falsely accused and then were found not guilty.  This had to give power to the words that they spoke that they were indeed true.  It was the church here that learned to love Paul and supported him in his times of trouble which created gratitude in him and he then wrote this letter to thank and encourage them.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wisdom in our lives.  Please help us to trust You in times of persecution to make it beautiful.