World Wide Witness: God's Mission

of Figra and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

When they came to the border of Maida, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus

would not allow them to. So they passed by Maida and went down to Troas. During the night,

Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us.

After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

From Troas, we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrath and next on to Neapolis.

From there, we travelled to Philippi, a Roman colony and leading city of that district of Macedonia,

and we stayed there for several days. On the Sabbath, we went out to the city gate to the river,

where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Pyrotera,

who was a worshipper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to our home.

If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, come and stay at my house.

And she persuaded us.

Once we were going to the place of prayer,

we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.

She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting,

These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.

She kept this up for many days.

Finally, Paul became so troubled that he turned round and said to the spirit,

In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.

At that moment, the spirit left her.

When the owners of the slave girl realised that their hope of making money was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

They brought them before the magistrates and said,

These men are Jews and are throwing our city in an uproar

by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practise.

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas,

and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison,

and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly, there was a violent earthquake, and the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains became loose.

The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul shouted,

Don't harm yourself! We are all here!

The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

He then brought them out and asked,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

They replied,

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, and all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds.

Then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them.

He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole family.

When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order,

Release those men!

The jailer told Paul,

The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released.

Now you can leave. Go in peace.

But Paul said to the officers,

They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison.

And now, do they want us to get rid of us quietly?

No, let them come themselves and escort us out.

The officers reported this to the magistrates,

And when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.

They came to appease them and escorted them out from the prison,

Requesting them to leave the city.

After Paul and Silas came out of the prison,

They went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them.

Then they left.

Well, thanks Alex and Louise for reading.

Please have your Bibles open there.

Follow along.

Take notes.

And if you have questions afterwards, or anything you'd like to discuss or think through about this passage,

Or indeed anything else,

Please do that with me afterwards.

Well, we're going to ask for God's help,

As we try and see how these incredible stories,

True stories,

Shape our lives today.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father,

We ask that you would open our minds to understand your word.

Open up our hearts,

That we might receive from you all that you have to say.

And we pray for the help of your Holy Spirit,

That he would breathe life into these words.

So that they change us individually,

And change us together as a church family.

So we ask for your help in this.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, how great is God?

70% of the world's population,

That's 4.9 billion people,

Live in areas of the world,

Where their governments and their leaders,

Restrict and oppose,

The moving out of the gospel.

So for example,

If you lived in North Korea today,

And you were caught by the authorities,

With a Bible in your possession,

Or even within your home,

You and three generations of your family,

So that's you and possibly your children,

And your parents,

Would all be sent to a concentration camp.

It's estimated that there are 70,000 Christians,

In that country alone,

Living in such conditions.

Or if you lived in Pakistan,

Or in parts of India,

And you were to share,

Jesus with your neighbour,

You could be run out,

Or burnt out of your home,

And you would almost certainly lose your job.

But let's bring it a little bit closer to home.

Ireland,

Ireland,

Which doesn't restrict religious freedom,

We have liberty to talk about Jesus.

Well, Ireland still remains one of the most unreached countries in Europe.

So here is my question for us all this morning.

How great is God to break down these barriers and obstacles,

So that the good news of Christ reaches the 70% enclosed countries,

And the country of Ireland.

But let me make it more personal than that.

Who do you know,

And picture them now in your minds,

Who do you know within the circle of your friends and family,

That has not yet turned to Christ?

How great is God to open their hearts,

So that they come to faith in Christ?

Or maybe you're not yet a believer yourself,

And you're always wondering and questions,

Well, how great is God to open your hearts,

To come to faith?

You see, it's very easy for us to become cynical and discouraged.

We don't hear too much of people coming to faith in Christ,

Certainly not in big numbers.

And so we begin to question and we doubt God's ability to save.

Well, Acts 16 is a tonic of encouragement,

Because it reminds us that God is great,

And that God continues to open doors in amazing and incredible ways,

So that his mission and the name of Christ goes on.

So we're going to look at a few things here that shows us that.

First of all, God directs his mission.

Verse 6,

Chapter 16.

Paul and his companions,

At this stage it's a team,

Which includes Silas,

A young guy called Timothy,

Who they've picked up,

And Luke,

Who is the author of Acts.

So these four together in a team.

They've travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

Well, why did they decide to go to those places?

Well, we're told, read on.

They've been kept by the Holy Spirit

From preaching the word in the province of Asia.

Now a map will help us here.

There we are, on the screen.

Paul has been travelling from Antioch.

That's been his local church.

He's been sent out from there.

And in Phrygia and Galatia,

He's seen lots of new churches planted.

People have come to faith.

They've joined together and churches have started.

And as he's moved on from there,

He's thinking, right, where to next?

And they try to go to Asia.

But they've been stopped from bringing the good news.

The Spirit won't allow them.

Now it would make sense if we read something like this,

That the local authorities wouldn't allow them to go through.

Or if the river had flooded and the road wasn't accessible.

We could kind of understand that.

But when it says so clearly that the Holy Spirit

Wouldn't allow them to go into Asia,

We're kind of boggled by that.

Verse 7.

So when they came to the border of Mycenae,

They tried to enter Bithynia,

Which was kind of up in the northeast.

But the Spirit of Jesus

Would not allow them to.

So they passed by Mycenae,

And they went on down to Troas.

It really is quite strange, isn't it?

Because at the beginning of Acts,

We read about Jesus who promised the Holy Spirit to come,

Who would enable them to bring the good news of people

To new people,

And to new places,

And he was going to open up doors to do that.

But now it seems he's blocking

And frustrating their every move.

So why is this happening?

Well we're told,

Verse 9.

During the night,

Paul had a vision

Of a man of Macedonia,

Which is,

As we know as Greece today,

Standing and begging him,

Come over to Macedonia

And help us.

After Paul had seen the vision,

We got ready at once

To leave for Macedonia,

Concluding,

Obviously they'd prayed about it

And talked about it,

But they concluded

That God had called us

To preach the gospel

To them.

Now for us to try and figure out

What did the Spirit say?

Or how did the Spirit lead them?

Or what was the vision like?

Is to miss the point.

That's not what the text is about.

It's simply to reassure us

That God,

By his Spirit,

Directs his mission

In all kinds of ways

All of the time.

It's God who closes one door,

But then he opens up another door.

And in this case,

It was a door into mainland Europe.

The promise that the good news

Would go into the ends of the earth

From Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria

To the ends of the earth

Is beginning to be worked out.

God has a plan,

He's sticking to it,

And it's happening.

Now later on,

In Acts chapter 19,

Acts 19 · chapter mention

We do read that Paul did get to Asia.

And in verse 10 of chapter 19,

We read,

So that all the Jews and Greeks

Who lived in the province of Asia

Heard the word of the Lord.

So God was not ignoring these people

In these other places.

It was simply

That it was not God's time.

And we might not always understand God's ways,

But we can always trust that God is at work.

God is in supreme control over my life,

Over your life,

Over every single event in your life,

And over his mission.

And he will order everything in such a way

That his will is done.

So we may long and we may pray

For the people of North Korea

And long that they are reached.

We may be praying for somebody in our family

Or a friend,

That they would become a Christian.

We've maybe sought opportunity

After opportunity

To witness to a colleague,

But it just seems the door is closed

And we're not getting anywhere.

Well, all of those desires are not wrong.

They're wonderfully healthy and good

And they're God-promoted.

But sometimes

Sometimes

It's just not God's timing.

Sometimes

It's just not God's priority.

The fact that things don't always work out

The way we want or imagine.

The reality that our efforts

Sometimes just seem to come to nothing.

We try something,

We do something,

And, well, it doesn't work.

It's not because we're doing something wrong.

It's not because our desires

Are not strong enough.

No, it's simply

That God is directing

His mission

According to His timing

And His plans.

But second,

He not only directs his mission,

He also opens people's hearts.

So Paul has gone down to Troas

And they make their way across

Eventually to a city called Philippi.

They're not given any further direction

About where to go

Or who they might meet.

They just simply go.

Look at verse 13.

On the Sabbath, he says,

We went outside the city gate

To the river

Where we expected to find a place of prayer.

There's no church in this city.

There's no gathering of believers.

Because the gospel hasn't yet reached there.

But God does have His plan

As we will see.

The rest of verse 13.

We sat down

And we began to speak

To the women

Who had gathered there.

One of those listening

Was a woman named Lydia.

A dealer in purple cloth

From the city of Thyatira.

Now here's a very wealthy

Business woman.

She sells very expensive

Designer labels.

That's what it is

To have purple cloth then

Is the equivalent of Armani

Or Gucci

Or whatever else they have today.

Designer labels

A busy, wealthy woman.

And what happens to this woman?

Well, she's a worshipper of God.

She's not a believer

But she's interested in God.

And the Lord opened her heart

To respond to Paul's message.

Now this has God's fingerprints

All over it.

A wealthy saleswoman

Happens to come down to Philippi.

And happens to meet Paul

Who happens to go outside the city

Down to this particular river.

You see

Not only is the meeting

Orchestrated by God

But the salvation of this woman

Is orchestrated by God too.

Look at what it says

At the end of verse 14

The Lord opened her heart

To respond to Paul's message.

I read a remarkable story this week

About a woman living in Tunisia.

Tunisia is a country

That is closed to the gospel.

And she had an extraordinary encounter.

She was in her house

And she heard a knock on her door.

And as she went to open it

She asked, who is it?

The response was clear.

Open up the door

I want to come in and eat.

She opened the door

There was nobody there.

This happened a couple of times.

Open up the door

I want to come in and eat.

Nobody there.

Later

She was completely amazed

When she met a Tunisian Christian

She had never ever met before.

And she read these words

From the Bible

Quoting Jesus from Revelation.

Here I am

I stand at the door and knock

If anyone hears my voice

And opens the door

I will come in and eat with them

And they with me.

And this woman who had never met before

Explained to her

Who Jesus was

What that invitation is all about

And she became a follower of Jesus.

Extraordinary!

Now these things do happen

I am not saying they happen every single day

And God generally works

Through very ordinary means.

Let me tell you another story.

A Christian friend of mine

Told me

They were waiting to board a flight

And they started talking to this lady.

Friendly conversation

Chit chat as it happens.

They boarded the plane

And the lady specifically asked

Could they sit next to my friend?

The lady was open

Full of questions

And during the flight

They talked about Christ

And the gospel.

You see God not only ordains

The people that we meet

He is the one who opens people's hearts

To believe our message.

Look at verse 14

The Lord opened her heart

To respond to Paul's message.

We like Paul

May tell the gospel

But it is God

Who opens the way for salvation.

God in his plan

Will use our words

He'll use our conversations

He'll use our various personalities

And character

He'll hear our prayers

But it is God alone

Who causes a person to believe.

God is the one who opens closed hearts.

He's the one who opens up blind eyes.

He's the one who opens deaf ears

To respond to the good news of Jesus.

In fact the opening into Lydia's heart

Led to an opening to her whole family.

Look at verse 15

When she and the members of her

When she and the members of her household

Were baptized

She invited us to her home.

If you consider me a believer in the Lord

She said come and stay at my house.

Her whole family

Had become followers.

And that was the start

Of the opening of a church.

Look at the very end of chapter 16 verse 40.

It was as if Lydia's house

Became the meeting place

For this new church.

After Paul and Silas

Had come out of prison

They went to Lydia's house

Where they met with the brothers

And encouraged them.

And they left.

The spirit closed one door

He opened up another door

He opens up a heart

He opens up the way

For the gospel to come into a family

And he opens up the way

For a church to start.

But third

God rules

Over Satan's efforts

Look at verse 16

Once when we were going

To the place of prayer

Looking

I guess

For other interested people

To speak to

They say

We were met

By a slave girl

Who had a spirit

That's an evil spirit

By which she predicted

The future

Now the contrast

Could not be greater

Lydia

Who we just read about

Was the owner

Of a high street

Designer store

Independent

Very wealthy

This young girl

Is at the bottom

Of the pile

She's a slave

We might say today

She's a victim

Of human trafficking

She's got no money

Herself

But

We read in the rest

Of verse 16

She earned a great deal

Of money

For her owners

By fortune telling

But not only

Is this girl

Enslaved

By her owners

She is enslaved

By this spirit

Verse 17

This girl

Followed Paul

And the rest of us

Shouting

These men are servants

Of the most high God

Who are telling you

And it's literally

Our way

To be saved

She was disrupting

Their message

And let's be clear

On this

Behind this girl

Stands

I believe

The work of Satan

He will use

Who he can

And what he can

To disrupt

And frustrate

God's work

Not only

Is he out

To ruin

People's lives

He is out

To stop

The liberating

Mission

Of King Jesus

And how does

Paul respond

Well verse 18

She kept this up

For many days

Disrupting

Frustrating

Annoying

Finally

Paul became

So troubled

That he turned round

And he said

To the spirit

In the name of

Jesus Christ

I command you

To come out

Of her

At that moment

The spirit

Left

Satan's

Attempts

To hinder

God's mission

Are quickly

Diverted

And stopped

God's

But not only

That

The girl

He used

And enslaved

Has now been

Set free

From her

Owners

She's set

Free to

Return home

And she's been

Set free

To live

The life

That God

Has intended

Her to live

God's power

Is supreme

It was in the

Name of

Jesus Christ

That the spirit

Goes from her

Christ who

Had defeated

And disarmed

Satan at the

Cross

Rules over

His every

Sinister move

And of course

Satan continues

In his activity

Today

And let's be

Very clear

Those attempts

Can be very

Real

And sometimes

We are very

Aware of them

And we must

Never underestimate

His activity

But let's also

Be clear on

This

God is not

Second guessing

His every

Move

He has

Supreme authority

Over all

He does

And he

Rules over

His every

Effort

God opens

The door

To those

Who are

Enslaved

And he

Sets them

Free

He breaks

Those chains

And those

Padlocks

He unbolts

The door

And he

Sets

People

Free

Nothing

Can stand

In God's

Way

Or does

It

Because of

What's

Happened

Paul and

Silas

Find themselves

In terrible

Trouble with

The authorities

Verse 23

After they

Had been

Severely

Flogged

That's

Whipped

They were

Thrown

Into prison

And the

Jailer was

Commanded to

Guard them

Carefully

Upon receiving

Such orders

He put them

In the

Inner cell

And fastened

Their feet

In the

Stocks

It

Seems

Things

Are

Going

From

Bad

To

Worse

But in

This

Final

Account

Of

The

Story

We

See

For

That

God

Works

All

Things

For

His

Mission

We

Sang

Earlier

About

God

Working

All

Things

Together

For

Good

And

Here's

A

Classic

Example

Look

At

Verse

25

About

Midnight

Paul

And

Silas

Were

Praying

And

Singing

Hymns

To

God

You

See

You

Don't

Have

To

Be

Kind

Of

Excited

And

Everything

To

Be

Going

Well

To

Be

Singing

Hymns

To

God

They

Were

Singing

That

The

Other

Prisoners

Were

Listening

To

Them

Even

Though

They

Were

In

The

Prison

Stuck

Literally

Between

A

Rock

And

A

Hard

Place

Through

Their

Songs

They're

Exercising

Their

Trust

And

Their

Dependence

In

God

That

No

Matter

What

Situation

They

Are

In

They

Can

Trust

That

God

Is

In

Control

Of

His

Mission

He's

In

Charge

Verse

26

Suddenly

There

Was

Such

A

Violent

Earthquake

That

The

Foundations

Of

The

Prison

Were

Shaken

Now

When

We

Hear

News

Of

An

Earthquake

Things

Go

Wrong

Bad

Things

Happen

People

Die

You

Don't

Survive

An

Earthquake

Especially

If

You're

In

The

Inner

Cell

As

They

Were

With

Your

Feet

Chained

And

No

Way

Of

Getting

Out

And

Not

Much

Energy

Because

You've

Been

Beaten

And

Flogged

The

Night

Before

But

Look

Look

At

At

Once

All

The

Prison

Doors

Flew

Open

And

Everybody's

Chains

Came

Loose

The

Jailer

Woke

Up

And

When

He

Saw

The

Prison

Doors

Open

He

Drew

His

Sword

And

He

Was

About

To

Kill

Himself

Because

He

Thought

The

Prisoners

Had

Escaped

And

If

His

Boss

Knew

They

Had

Escaped

Well

He

Would

Be

Killed

Anyway

So

I

Might

Well

Kill

Myself

Now

But

Paul

Shouted

Don't

Harm

Yourself

We

Are

All

Here

Now

I

Think

This

Is

A

Supernatural

Event

We

Sang

Earlier

About

God

Sending

Every

Lightning

Bolt

Where

It

Should

Go

Don't

You

Think

He's

In

Control

Of

Every

Earthquake

As

Well

And

When

The

Earthquake

Happens

Doors

Open

Chains

Fall

Off

Their

Feet

And

Not

A

Brick

Falls

On

Anybody's

Head

Quite

Remarkable

Every

Single

Life

Is

Saved

Even

The

Jailer

But

There's

A

Greater

Salvation

Yet

To

Be

Experienced

Verse

29

The

Jailer

Called

For

Lights

Rushed

In

And

He

Fell

Trembling

Before

Paul

And

Silas

He

Then

Brought

Them

Out

And

He

As

Sir

What

Must

I

Do

To

Be

Saved

I'm

Not

Quite

Sure

If

He

Knew

What

He

Was

Asking

At

That

Point

What

Must

I

Do

To

Be

Saved

From

Kind

Of

Another

Earthquake

Or

There's

Going

To

Be

Aftershocks

Or

What's

Going

To

Happen

Well

Paul

Paul

Paul

Paul

Paul

Just

Takes

It

As

It

Is

And

Takes

The

Opportunity

Verse

31

He

Replied

Believe

In

The

Lord

Jesus

And

You

Will

Be

Saved

You

And

Your

Whole

Family

You

See

Paul

Not

Only

Saved

This

Man's

Life

From

Suicide

Not

Only

Saved

Him

Physically

But

God

Intervenes

Through

An

Earthquake

And

Through

Paul

And

He

Saved

This

Man's

Life

For

Eternity

You

See

When

Paul

And

Silas

Were

Thrown

Into

Prison

By

The

Authorities

It's

Almost

Like

The

Gospel

Has

Been

Locked

Up

With

Them

Because

They

Were

The

Messengers

They

Had

The

Gospel

With

Them

And

The

Door

Has

Been

Bolted

Shut

It

Can't

Get

Out

It's

Stuck

In

The

Inner

Cell

And

It's

Almost

Symbolic

Of

The

World's

Powers

And

The

Authorities

To

Restrict

And

To

Restrain

The

Gospel

And

To

Keep

It

In

And

Not

To

Let

It

Out

But

God

In

His

Power

Literally

Opens

Up

The

Door

Because

His

Gospel

Will

Never

Ever

Be

Chained

The

Gospel

Escapes

And

It

Begins

To

Do

Its

Work

Immediately

In

The

Life

Of

An

Unsuspecting

Jailer

Who

Just

Turned

Up

To

Do

His

Duty

As

Do

Every

Single

Day

And

Then

He

Meets

Christ

The

Imprisonment

The

Earthquake

The

Attempted

Suicide

They're

All

Under

God's

Controlling

Hand

To

Bring

This

Man

And

His

Family

To

Christ

Look

At

The

Results

It's

Really

Quite

Spectacular

Verse

34

The

Jailer

Brought

Them

Into

His

House

And

He

Set

A

Meal

Before

Them

And

He

Was

Filled

With

Joy

Filled

With

Joy

Because

He

Had

Come

To

Believe

In

God

Not

Just

Him

But

His

Whole

Family

Had

Come

To

Christ

So

To

Go

To

Go

Back to

Our

God

Is

God

Is

Great

God

Is

Great

He

Is

Sovereign

There

Isn't

A

Hurdle

That

Can't

Be

Overcome

And

There

Isn't

One

Door

That

Can't

Be

Opened

Let

Me

Ask

That

Question

That

I

Asked

At

The

Beginning

The

Person

That

You

Might

Have

In

Your

Own

Mind

Who

Is

Not

Yet

A

Believer

A

Friend

People

Within

Your

Family

A

Colleague

Do

We

Doubt

Do

We

Become

Cynical

Or

Do

We

Read

This

And

Be

Encouraged

Afresh

That

God

Is

In

Control

Of

Our

Lives

He's

In

Control

Of

The

People

That

We

Meet

There's

No

Chance

Meetings

The

Circumstances

That

We

Find

Ourselves

In

The

Family

That

He

Has

Placed

Us

In

All

Under

God's

Control

It's

His

Mission

Things

Will

Work

Out

In

His

Timing

And

According

To

His

Plan

He

Calls

Us

To

Be

Faithful

To

Keep

Doing

What

We

Can

Do

To

Bring

As

Paul

Simply

Did

Where

He

Arrived

And

Just

Brought

The

Message

He

Had

No

Idea

What

God

Was

Going

To

Do

But

God

Did

His

Work

And

God

Will

Do

His

Work

Through

You

And

Through

Me

And

Through

This

Church

Because

It's

His

Mission

And

He

Will

See

It

Through

To

The

End

Let's

Just

Pause

For

A

Moment

Let's

Just

Take

Time

Quietly

And

Privately

To

Pray

Right

Now

For

That

Person

For

The

Friend

Or

Somebody

In

Your

Family

That

God

Wherever

They

Are

God

Would

Organize

Events

In

Such

A

Way

That

He

Would

See

Them

Open

Up

Their

Lives

And

Come

To

Faith

And

Help

Us

To

Entrust

Those

People

Into

God's

Good

Hands

To

Do

It

Let's

Just

Take

A

Moment's

Quietness

To

Pray

For

That

Now

Day

Cons

Come

воды

far

One

Shadow

Lot

Cons

Light

End

N

Look

them

So, let's go.

If you are the only believer in your family, that's not a mistake.

God has placed you and he has you where he has you for his purposes.

If you are the only believer in your workplace or your college or your school,

the friends he has given you, that is not a mistake.

God has ordered things in such a way for his plan and his purpose.

Father, would you please open up people's hearts.

Jesus, would you please open up their eyes.

Open up their ears.

That they may hear you and respond to the wonderful liberating message of Jesus Christ.

For those we know who are enslaved in all kinds of different ways.

Would you free them through your gospel.

Bring them to Christ.

But not just them.

Would you save their whole families.

We thank you that this is your mission.

And help us to trust you to do your work.

As we follow you.

Amen.

We're going to sing.

We declare your majesty.

It's a short song.

But we want to declare that his name is exalted.

That he reigns magnificently.

He reigns magnificently.