Three People – 4/18/10
Sermon Series: Acts – Faith Explosion
Title: Three People
Text: Acts 16:11-40
Introduction: Jesus and people – The woman at the well, the children in Perea, the widow at Nain, Nicodemus, the woman caught in adultery, the blind man of John chapter 9. One of the things that you notice if you spend very much time in the Gospel record is that Jesus was about people. So much of the time when we read and study through scripture we lose concentrate on principles and doctrine and behaviors and we simply lose the perspective out which most of the narrative is given, the people that are interacted with. Jesus never lost sight of the people. He felt compassion for those in need, he wept with those who hurt. He hugged children. Jesus looked a blind man in his lifeless eyes and gave him the gift of a lighted soul. He talked to a women at a well with a tortured spirit and gave her release from a guilt ridden existence. He lifted up lepers and hauled children into his lap.
Transition: So many times when we study and talk about the Bible we talk about principles, doctrines, admonitions or exhortations and we lose sight of the fact that more than anything else the Bible is a book which chronicles God’s work with people. Nearly all of the material that we glean and all of the principles which we put into practice are extrapolated from the interaction which God has with people. Today as we study God’s word together we are going to explore the work which God started in Philippi through Paul and his companions. But rather than just pull out themes and explore principles we are simply going to study the
I. Lydia
a. “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. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:13-15, ESV)
b. We do not get a lot of information here about this lady, but if we put on our cultural glasses we can read through the text and pick up quite a little bit about her.
i. She is from the city of Thyatira – This is a city that is back in Asia where Paul, Silas and Luke have just come from. As a matter of fact her name could be almost a title telling us that she is the Lady of Lydia, which is the name the ancient name for the district where Thyatira is located.
ii. The text tells us that she is a seller of purple clothe. That is not too surprising considering where she is from. The city of Thyatira was famous for the purple dyes that it produced in the old world. Purple clothe from Thyatira would be similar to us saying “Corinthian Leather.”
iii. The text tells us that she is “a worshipper of God.” This is almost a technical expression in the book of Acts for those who are considered proselytes of the gate in the Jewish faith. These were people who were worshipping with Jews; praying and participating in their lifestyle, but had not made a full conversion to Judaism.
iv. As we read between the lines here we see a little different situation in Philippi than has been the case in the rest of the cities which Paul has visited. Because he always went to the synagogue in each town and started his evangelism efforts there and instead here in Philippi he goes down to the river where there is a place of prayer, it is probable that there is not a functioning synagogue in Philippi. In order to have a synagogue it was necessary to have a quorum of ten Jewish men, which apparently Philippi did not have because the text mentions women who are gathered to participate in Sabbath prayers.
1. Philippi was quite a cosmopolitan city which was originally a Greek city named after Philip, the father of Alexander the great when he colonized the place in 356 BC. Later it was taken over by the Romans and a garrison of army veterans was settled there.
v. Paul shares the good news of Jesus with her and the Lord opens her heart to accept him. After God opens her heart, she opens her life and her home. The text
II. The Slave Girl
a. “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. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 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.” (Acts 16:16-18, ESV)
b. This is a pretty interesting incident that happens while the missionaries are in Philippi. To our modern ears this sounds like a very odd thing to happen but for that place and time it was not that unusual. There was a slave girl that had a spirit of divination. Literally in the Greek it tells us that she had a python spirit. This doesn’t make much sense to us but to the Greeks where this takes place this made a lot of sense. A python spirit referred to a mythological snake that guarded the temple of Apollo and the Delphic oracle. Apollo was thought to be embodied in the snake and gave pythonesses an ability to be clairvoyant. The text tells us that her owners, literally her lords were making money. Apparently she takes to following Paul around and pointing them out as servants of the most high. Paul gets annoyed with her and eventually exorcizes the demon which was controlling her out. This did not set well with her owners who lost out on the sales of her unique talent, which leads us into the last confrontation in Philippi.
c. Give background for next vignette.
III. The Philippian Jailer
a. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (Acts 16:25-34, ESV)
b. This roman jailer and his family came to belief and joy that night. A man who moved from suicidal despair to eternal joy because he understood a real saving message, a message of the grace of God.
IV. Conclusion
a. Three people, three totally different people, an Asian business woman, a Greek slave girl and a Roman jailer all met Jesus through Paul and his company in Philippi in those days.
