“Prayers in Philippi”

Scripture: Acts 16:11-34

Paul had made plans to carry his mission to the east, into Asia, but we read that the Holy Spirit had other ideas, and kept him from striking out in his own direction. (Acts 16:6-8) So he had remained in the area we now know as east central Turkey, until a vision came to him of a man from Macedonia pleading for the apostle to come and help them. Paul quickly changed his plans, and set out for the southern area of Greece.

This is one more indication of the huge change that had come over him. Paul had always been his own man, letting nothing deter him from his self-determined missions against the Church. But now, he followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, and readily submitted to the plans of Almighty God, in all that he did. And this new allegiance to God’s way, in what is known as Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, would encounter some very interesting twists and turns. So let’s begin with his stay in Philippi.

Read Acts 16:11-15

Philippi, even though it was located in southern Greece, was not only a major metropolitan city, it was also a Roman colony. So Paul, as a Roman citizen, would understand the Roman culture. But we also notice that there is no mention of a synagogue. This wouldn’t necessarily mean that there were no Jews living here, for when there was no building for worship, there would be a “place of prayer”, usually just outside of the city.

Another thing we notice is that Paul begins to speak “to the women who had gathered there”. Not the men! Remembering the Jewish custom of worship, the women never gathered with the men – not in temple, not in synagogue, and not in places of prayer. But something called Paul to go to the women on this day, which in and of itself, is also strange for a Jew, but not quite as strange for Rome. Paul began his testimony with whoever happened to be near, and whoever would listen.

The next unusual twist, is that Lydia was a merchant dealing in purple cloth. She was a business woman who, we can assume, was wealthy in her own right. Purple dyes for coloring cloth was rare and very expensive, and therefore, so was the cloth. And this wealthy woman, living in a metropolitan city, under the influence of the Roman culture, was already a worshiper of Jehovah God. Paul then proceeded to tell her about the Son of God, who wished to become her God, too.

And she gives her life to Jesus Christ. As far as we know, this is Paul’s, or anyone else’s for that matter, first baptism and conversion to Christ in the European continent. She accepts the Lord, as does her entire household, which would include her entire family, servants, and any others who were there. She would be a woman of influence, and her invitation to Paul and his entourage to stay in her home would be the first of many invitations, and the first of many conversions by her witness. The Lord chose Lydia to be the first among many.

And there would be others in Philippi!

Read Acts 16:16-21

And there would be troubles, too. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ will always bring opposition. On this day, when the men were on their way to the place of prayer, they were met by a slave girl with a false spirit that allowed her to predict the future. Her owners used her to tell fortunes to others, and they made a lot of money from this ability. But on this day, the fortunes that she was sharing had nothing to do with her master! She was loudly proclaiming, to let everyone know, without cost, just who these men were, and why the people should listen to them!

Now think about this for a minute – how would you feel if you had an employee who was making lots of money for you, who suddenly started giving your products away for free? And then imagine if someone convinced the employee to stop working for you all together?

We might think that this was a great story about how a woman, enslaved by a demon, and being taken advantage of by greedy men, had been freed from her bondage. And think again, that she was acting as a herald, or even a prophet for the evangelists, following them wherever they went. Even the lowest of low can be used in the Lord’s mission to the people of earth!

First the wealthy, then the poorest; first the freed, then the enslaved. In Galatians 3:26-29, Paul writes “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So it isn’t only Jesus who never discriminates against anyone - anyone who will come to him by faith, and anyone who will proclaim his holy name to the world in obedient faith. We too must follow that example every moment of our lives.

But after several days, Paul commands the spirit to leave her, and while we may regret the fact that she has lost her ability to see into the lives of others, her freedom from that dark spirit is still the great gift that Paul had been called to offer to people throughout the world. She had been released to live freely in the love of Jesus Christ, and I think we can rest assured that she did.

But here’s the rub! Her masters weren’t so happy about her freedom! They had lost their business, their income, their control, and they haul Paul and Silas into Roman court. The two men are found guilty, and sentenced to be stripped and flogged, and imprisoned in the inner part of the prison – the equivalent of our solitary confinement – and to be held in stocks.

Not exactly an enviable position!

Read Acts 16:25-28

But Paul and Silas, the great evangelists that they were, simply saw this as a new venue to proclaim the greatness of their Lord Jesus. They began singing, and praying, and revealing the mighty name of Jesus to the other prisoners, and the foundation of the prison is literally shaken, the doors fly open, and the chains of every person held there fall away.

Can you imagine the fear that gripped the jailer – to wake up to the violence of the moment, believing that every man under his charge had run for the hills? And then to realize that no one had left, that his life was still safe? And it all came to be through the rejoicing that had filled the two men, and their God who freed every prisoner, then convinced them all to stay where they were. This is one mighty God.

How far will we go to celebrate our Savior? Will it be where we are safe and secure, or are we prepared to rejoice in our Christ, even in times of dire circumstances? If we are truly faithful to our Lord, it will be every moment of every day of the rest of our life!

Read Acts 16:32-34

The jailer would come to Paul, throw himself at the apostle’s feet, and ask “What must I do to be saved?” He would learn the truth of Jesus Christ that very night, and then would take the two men to his home, to his family, where they all would hear the message of Jesus Christ, and come to the Lord. We might have felt sorry for Paul and Silas earlier, but their arrest and beatings were the means for another family to give their lives to Jesus, and to discover the glory of his life and his eternity.

God doesn’t let us suffer the hatred of earth for no reason – if we will but continue to praise him, to believe in him, to trust in his word, to know that his grace will abound to us even in times of trouble, he will show us the most powerful example of his authority and call that we will ever know.

Do you believe and trust in the truth of God that we learn through the teaching of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to proclaim him to the world? Are you prepared for anything that they can throw at you because of your faith in Christ? Are you ready to receive the animosity and persecution and anger of your family and friends and world authority on behalf of Jesus? Will you accept your cross in honor of the life that Jesus has freed you to live in him?

If you can say “Yes” to this, then you are ready.
If not, then it’s time to get ready. Today.