Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 4 Lesson 2
We’re back in our Answers Bible Curriculum Sunday school this week with a look at Paul’s second missionary journey. Where did Paul and his companions travel this time? What specifically did the Lord accomplish at Philippi? And what can we learn about God, salvation, and suffering from the happenings in this city? Join us as we consider these questions and more!
Our main text is Acts 15:36-16:40, but you will benefit from reading in advance the full context of the Jerusalem Council and the second missionary journey in Acts 15:1-18:22.
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well we’ll begin welcome back to Sunday school hope you all had a wonderful celebration of our Lord’s resurrection last week it’s good to be back with you we’re continuing our study of the book of Acts we’re about in the middle of it this book is a a great illustration of many the other New Testament truths and commands we see basically gospel truth in action we see the Great Commission in action and it’s been a pleasure looking at this book together with you last time we met we look together at Paul’s first missionary journey do you remember Paul’s first missionary journey was primarily to two regions first the island of Cyprus and then Galatia or central Anatolia what did Paul do on his first missionary journey he preached the gospel he did some miracles but primarily it was preaching the gospel and what were the results of that first missionary journey well many believed the Paul and Barnabas his ministry partner they suffered persecution in nearly every city in which they preached in today’s lesson we’re going to look at Paul’s second missionary journey that’s our title Paul’s second journey our Jenna’s gonna be a little different from last time rather than examining the full biblical text that describes Paul’s missionary journey we’re going to overview the missionary journey and then zero in on just one stop in Paul’s missionary journey we’re gonna look in detail at Paul’s ministry in the city of Philippi that’s pretty poor we go on oh lord I pray that you’d help me to be able to explain this well that it is Oh a wonderful passage there’s so much that we could say but God I pray that you would help me to focus on what would be most profitable how would it be able to explain that part well and accurately and I pray that you would move the hearts of the people today to become more sanctified they would have they would see more of your heart God for the loss and they would have more of that heart I’m more of a heart that is so will to sacrifice the sake of others not merely because it’s some kind of duty but because that is your way that is your heart I pray that you’d be with your people now and build them up in Jesus name okay please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 15 Acts chapter 15 is where we’re jumping into the narrative one thing we’re not really gonna talk about but you should know about that happens at the beginning of Acts chapter 15 is the Jerusalem Council I alluded to it a little bit in my previous Sunday School classes but after the first missionary journey it’s not to long until we have the rise of the Judaizers you may have heard that term before but it refers to a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentiles needed to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved in particular they needed to be circumcised and this is something that had already been dealt with with Peters visit to Cornelius but somehow it stayed alive and it began to spread throughout the regions that Paul had even ministered to these Judaizers were going around even to Galatia and telling the Gentiles you can’t be saved unless you keep the Jewish law that’s actually why Paul writes his letter to the Galatians it’s right around the time of the Jerusalem Council that Paul writes his first letter that is recorded in our New Testament the letter to the Galatians but when those Judaizers came to Antioch they caused such a dissension that it was determined to form a council in Jerusalem to settle this question once and for all what is required of the Gentiles to be safe and he won’t be surprised at the answer because it’s the same thing that Jerusalem the leaders there acknowledged after Peters ministry to Cornelius that Gentiles are saved by faith just as the Jews are and therefore it makes no sense to require them to keep the Jewish ritual law including circumcision a council did say that Gentiles should be sensitive to should be considerate to Jewish sensibilities but there is no requirement to keep the Jewish law and Paul and Barnabus they returned with that decision from the council to Antioch and they would be keen to share that declaration with the minister the the cities that they had previously administered in so that all happens at the beginning of Acts chapter 15 we’re going to pick up right near the end of Acts chapter 15 where we see the impetus to go on a second missionary journey so look at acts 15 verses 36 to 40 this will be the first bit of text we look at just a small section here well along with me acts 15 verses 36 to 40 after some days Paul said to Barnabas let us return and visit the brethren in every city on which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are Barnabas wanted to take John called mark along with him also Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work and there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another and Barnabas took mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus but Paul chose Silas and left being committed by the Brethren to the grace of the Lord and nursed a few things about these verses briefly first we see the goal or at least the initial goal this second missionary journey all embodiments want to revisit the cities that they went to in their first journey but the trip immediately hits a snag over the issue of whether to take John Mark Barnabas wants to take mark all does not and this agreement gets so sharp that the two teachers actually decide to separate Barnum’s takes mark to Cyprus which was on Barnabas his home country and Paul takes on a new ministry partner man named Silas who came from Jerusalem he was one of the leaders there he actually came back with Paul from the Jerusalem Council and these two men are commended by the Brethren in Antioch and then they depart now where do Paul and Silas who is also called Sylvanas where do you polish I let’s go now this is where we overview the second missionary journey I’ll show you a map here and we’re gonna talk through it there’s our map this description description of this journey appears from Acts chapter 16 verse 1 all the way to Acts chapter 18 verse 22 Paul and Silas I’m gonna be starting over here you might see my little mouse here and we’re starting over here in Antioch in Syria by the way that’s ancient Syria Antioch is actually in modern Turkey today a little bit surprising but they start in Antioch in Syria and they go over land this time they go north from Antioch and they first strengthen the churches in Syria and Cilicia probably passing through Tarsus now this is not a section that Paul and Barnabas went through in their first missionary journey so these churches were either established by someone else or they were established by Paul when he was ministering in Damascus and Tarsus before Barnabas and he linked up in Antioch this is where they first go through pass through Syria and Cilicia and then make their way back into Galatia where indeed they had been in their first missionary journey so cities like Dara be Lystra Iconium and even Antioch in Pisidia a while in one of those cities in Lystra Paul picks up another ministry partner young Christian named Timothy he was half Jewish by his mother and half Gentile by his father Paul sees him as useful ministry he circumcised is Timothy and then they go together to the rest of the work the trio then passes through Galatian it’s this section here passes through Croatia but once they reach Antiochus idiot rather than going home having accomplished essentially their initial stated goal they decide to continue and Faure into new territory for Jesus sake but curiously as they begin to pass through this region here Asia so all the way on the west side of Anatolia the spirit specifically forbids them from entering the region to preach the gospel they’re not allowed to do so in Asia and when they try to go in both in iya this section here Bethenny and pontius they’re also forbidden by the spirit to go and preach there now why why would the Holy Spirit convent gospel ministry in these areas I mean shouldn’t all the earth know the gospel of Christ well we see something very important in verses 9 and 10 of Acts chapter 16 so look at those verses has something to do with why they’re forbidden acts 16 verses 9 and 10 it says a vision appeared to Paul in the night a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him and saying come over to Macedonia and help us when he had seen the vision immediately we sought to go into Macedonia concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them ah so there’s a reason there’s a reason they’ve been diverted from these other areas and it’s because there’s an urgent need in Macedonia seeing themselves called by God through or that area that is where they decide to go they had been skirting through Asia and before the border of Asia and Bithynia they had made their way all the way to Troas on the northwest coast of Anatolia and that’s where Paul has this vision maybe notice though in verse 10 there’s a switch in the pronoun says we we stop to go to Macedonia what does the we in the Cape ya doing I’m not hearing hearing you very well I’m not sure if there’s something going on with this sound actually I was wondering why I wasn’t hearing very much at all so maybe we can get that worked out but hopefully you said maybe you said that this we is a this is an inclusion of the narrator and our narrator is Luke the writer Luke Luke decides to our Luke joins the ministry team intro s you know what let me just double check that it’s not something on my computer that’s causing this real quick all right online okay well we’ll see if we can get that figured out but I will keep going so Luke joins the team we’ve got four ministers now all going together and they cross the Aegean Sea group conducts major ministry and across the Aegean Sea and end up in Macedonia that’s this orange section up here and their first ministry stop is gonna be the city of Philippi and they’re also going to spend major time in Thessalonica and Berea so all cities in Macedonia now many get come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as a result of this ministry bye bye Paul and his companions but guess what also appears has Paul and the others Minister in these cities persecution Philip I Paul’s beaten in jail in Thessalonica he’s forced to flee as he is in Berea and it’s due to the agitation of the Jews Silas and Timothy they end up staying in Berea for a while as Paul flees to another city and Luke seems to have stayed behind in Philippi while the rest of the team moved on but Paul ends up fleeing from Macedonia to Athens coming down to this green section here into a k’i the province of aquella ends up in athens speaking at the marketplace they’re also speaking at the areopagus which is a rocky outcropping where athens leading men would meet for conversation and perhaps some judicial business and Paul preaches to them if you remember in acts 17 with the reaction to Paul’s preaching there is I heard that some sound there heard somebody coughs so that’s a good sign so hopefully hopefully I can still hear you oh I couldn’t quite hear with that what someone just said okay there’s a cough though so that’s good so no it’s like I can hear but I can’t hear so Paul preaches in the Areopagus but it’s not it’s not a super great harvest there’s a there’s mocking as soon as he starts talking about the resurrection but some also believe Paul then leaves Athens and heads to Corinth so Corinth is right here in the on this land bridge this isthmus between mainland Greece and the Peloponnesian Peninsula coins was an important trade city sitting on that is it’s miss Paul goes there next to minister and he meets up with two other people you might have heard of he meets priscilla and aquila and he becomes a tentmaker with them since they literally all shared that trade preaches when he has opportunity eventually timothy and silas meet up with Paul back in Corinth a pulse which is the full-time preaching and they stay there a while they’re given express protection from the Lord God appears to Paul and a vision tells them he’ll be protected in Corinth and they stay there for a year in six months and Paul continues to preach and teach along with his companions and they build up the church there it’s also in Corinth that Paul writes his next two letters first and second Thessalonians written while Paul is in Corinth Corinth is the last major ministry site in this second missionary journey after the year and six months Paul decides he wants to head back to Jerusalem he makes a pit stop priscilla and aquila the city of ephesus which is here on the coast of asia I never here he does go to the cine City synagogue there and preach but when they ask him to stay longer he says I can’t right now but I will come back later still in Aquila end up staying on in Ephesus and they later link up with the budding new preacher Apollo’s Paul you Paul meanwhile heads back to Judea he ends up at the port of Caesarea and he visits the church in Jerusalem but fills a vow there and then heads his way back to Antioch and that’s Paul second missionary journey covering about 3,000 miles over land and sea so even more than the first missionary journey and this this trip this ministry trip probably took about two to three years in terms of dating the Jerusalem Council probably takes place around eighty fifty and so this ministry journey that are taking place probably from 50 to 52 or 51 to 53 like the first missionary journey in a general pattern of Paul in the second is to start in the synagogue if there is one in each city preach to the Jews once the Jews clearly reject the message then focus and preach to the Gentiles and also like the first missionary journey Paul experiences incessant opposition and persecution and the cities he goes to and it’s mostly from the Jews but sometimes from the Gentiles too but despite that opposition Paul saw many men and women he saved confess belief in Jesus Christ and become baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so we have now a bird’s eye view of Paul’s second missionary journey kind of keep straight in your heads first missionary journey it’s focusing on Cyprus in Galatia second missionary journey focuses on Macedonia and Greece though there are visits to Seleucia and Galatia those cities of the first missionary journey as well so now we’ve overviewed where Paul goes in a second missionary journey let’s zero in on one of his mystery stops the city Philip I so look at acts 16 verses 11 to 40 that’s where we find the account of Paul’s ministry in Philippi we’re going to take this account in sections first reading verses 11 to 15 here’s the description of the team’s arrival into the syllabi so putting out to sea from troves we ran a straight course of Samothrace on the day following two Neapolis and from there to Philip I which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia a Roman colony but we were staying in the city for some days on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a Riverside where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled a woman named Lydia in the city of Thyatira a seller of purple fabrics a worshipper of God was listening and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul and when she and her household had been baptized she urged us saying if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord come into my house and stay and she prevailed upon us okay just a short section here but there’s there’s a lot to say that’s a first observe notice that philipot is a roman colony meaning that it is a highly privileged status in a Roman Empire it’s set up to be a Rome away from Rome and enjoyed extraordinary privileges such as exemption from taxation and the inhabitants the original inhabitants would have been actual Romans though other Greeks barbarians and travelers and merchants they would have been part of that city as well I notice Paul does not go to the synagogue on the Sabbath in Philippi but he instead goes to the Riverside I further notice when he goes there he doesn’t find men but women who have gathered there but notice what Paul does he sits now and he speaks to those assembled women and we hear about one of those particular women named lydia now Lydia is a Gentile name and she’s from the Gentile area the city is thigh retire which is actually in the middle of the province of Asia that area that Paul had been forbidden to go to by the spirit we’re here – she’s a seller of purple fabrics which means she’s involved in a very lucrative trade probably well-to-do herself and we hear that she is a worshipper of God that is she fears Yahweh she’s a Gentile who worship the God in the Jews but notice what it says happened to her as she listened to Paul it says the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul and notice what immediately follows she and her household are baptized well they are at the river after all and Paul and Silas see them to be fit to be baptized and it’s not just Lydia it’s her household as well so they must have come with her to the Riverside do you understand I’m not sure if I said this before a household in those days would have consisted both of children and slaves who were under the control of the head of the household so these however many they were we’re also baptized now she and her household are baptized but she also noticed she also requests that Paul and Silas and those with them that she might be allowed to give them lodging really request is an understatement she urges them she prevails upon them this is no mere courtesy offer she’s begging them constraining them let me show you hospitality and they consent it does remind me a little bit of what Jesus said in Matthew 25 Matthew 25 verses 35 to 40 it is parable the sheep and the goats he describes the behavior of the sheep who come and to get to enjoy the Lord forever and in verse 35 Matthew 25:35 Jesus says for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat I was thirsty and he gave me something to drink I was a stranger and you invited me in they know how he ends that section of verse 40 truly I say to you the extent that you did if you did it to one of these brothers of mine even the least of them you did it to me we see that’s what Lydia is doing now let’s step back and interpret I don’t have a separate interpretation cycle do a bunch of slides to go through today but some questions to consider based on observations why does Paul go to the Riverside and not the synagogue on the Sabbath yes it’s very likely there wasn’t a synagogue there’s a certain rule hey by the way I can hear you yeah that’s nice there’s certain rule on those times there had to be at least ten Jewish men to establish a synagogue and the fact that first of all there doesn’t seem to be a synagogue or he doesn’t go to a synagogue on the Sabbath but instead goes the river it doesn’t even find men there but women suggest that there weren’t enough Jews net city to establish the synagogue and so Jewish women and god-fearers they instead met by the riverside and so paul’s aware of that custom and he goes there to find jews to preach to now what is it that paul spoke about at the riverside it’s not mentioned explicitly in the text but we can refer to what was he talking about it’s a message of Christ mister gospel he had to be explaining that Jesus is the Messiah according to the Old Testament foretold in the Old Testament and it is that discussion that causes Lydia to respond what specifically does the phrase the Lord open her heart to respond to the truth spoken by Paul what is that affirm about salvation I heard some sounds but they got to speak of extra aloud today yeah God’s sovereignty and salvation he’s totally sovereign he’s the one that must open the heart he’s the one that must grant repentance just a second Timothy 2:25 says God is the one who must grant repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth now God uses means and we see those means Illustrated once again it’s God’s messenger bringing the message of the gospel of Christ and explaining it to the people now considered the sovereign orchestration of God to save this one Gentile God fear in Philip I she in her household God brings this Gentile woman from thyroid Tyra in Asia and a Jewish apostle from Tarsus in Silesia to the same Riverside outside a Roman colony in Macedonia all so that she could be saved we’re beginning to see why Paul and company could not go to Asia or bath Enya God’s Spirit was essentially saying to Paul you have an important appointment in Philippi that you cannot miss therefore do not tarry in these other regions now am I saying that God orchestrated all this just for the salvation of one woman well in a way yes God has that kind of intimate care for his elect for his children everything in the world everything in Lydia’s life was being orchestrated for her ultimate good and salvation in God because God by His grace by his loving heart chose to set his covenant love on her but the thing about God is that he’s able to do this same special kind of orchestration through all his elect he’s able to weave the various lives of each one of his children so that no single one of them gets anything less than the absolute best from him you yourself you can look at everything in the world and say this has all been orchestra from my good my specific good not just as one of the members of the church but me can’t we affirm this in our own lives we I think and look at forces that would seem rather large and impersonal things at the local level national level even international events that on closer examination a purge have been worked out with our own individual benefit in mind you ever experience that you ever noticed that this is why we can declare with confidence the same that what Paul declares in Romans 8:28 and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose God and His great wisdom and love is able to do that for every one of his children it’s not just do it for one and say sorry you guys get the leftovers people do it for each one it’s amazing we may not see how all of its working out right now but one day we will one day God will reveal all the good that he’s specially orchestrated in the world and in our lives when we see him face to face say look I was doing all of this for you I think we deserved it not at all because he’s that great there’s no one like our God hang on to your question I wanna make sure that we can get through oh that we need to talk about today but please don’t don’t forget what you had to say liddie and our household are not the only ones to be saved in Phillip I have another providential happening to investigate and it appears in the rest of our chapter let’s first look at our next section in verses 16 to 24 acts 16 x 16 verses 16 to 24 there’s a shift in the half sphere mystery and Phillip I verse 16 it happened as theirs it happened that as we were going to the place of Prayer so by the riverside a slave girl having a spirit of divination Methos who is bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling following after paul and us she kept crying out saying these men are bond servants of the Most High God who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation she continued doing this for many days Paul was greatly annoyed and turned and said to the spirit I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and it came out at that very moment but when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities when they had brought them to the chief master Stearns they said these men are throwing our city into confusion being Jews and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe being Romans the crowd rose up together against them and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods when they had struck them with many blows they threw them into prison commanding the jailer to guard them securely and he having received such command threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks all right let’s observe this next section it’s never step all in company our continuing to go and speak of this place of prayer in which they first encountered Libya but they gained this unwanted follower a demon-possessed slave girl she does declare a true message about Paul and his companions they are indeed the messengers of the Most High God declaring the way of salvation but Paul becomes very annoyed with her and with the spirit for many days she followed them and kept making this announcement to all who were passing by so Paul soon had enough and he commanded the demon to depart in the name of Christ it obeyed but this upset the girls masters we’ve been using this Dean possessed girl for fortune-telling profit now nevermind that they just beheld a man cast out and even with a word they cease Paul and Silas so interesting Li not Luke and Timothy they cease Paul and Silas and drag them before the local magistrates and they and notice the charges at a level against them before the magistrates these men are throwing the city into confusion which was not true and they’re proclaiming unlawful customs well kind of true Romans were bound to worship and sacrifice to state-sponsored deities which would be forbidden according to the way of Christ that’s kind of true but notice also the contrast presented in their charge these men being Jews are doing these evil things against us they’re trying to corrupt us being Romans we are the Romans they are the Jews these charges brought before the magistrates the crowd is moved to rage and the magistrates go right along with them there’s no investigation no trial but notice the outcome Paul and Silas are stripped and beaten with rods suffering many blows the jailer then puts them into prison and not just prison the inner prison the place for the worst and most dangerous criminals and their feet are put into stocks I recently had a picture of stocks up here but I think I switched my picture the last second what are stocks well you’ve probably seen something like them before it’s basically a bar of wood with two holes in it where you stick your legs through and your feet come out the other side and then that’s locked into place it’s a form of punishment that makes your legs mostly immobile not only limits your ability to move but it forces you probably to assume a sitting position that is quite uncomfortable they’re put in the stocks and that would have greatly limited their ability to escape that would have made them even more secure in the inner John in the inter inner dungeon not to mention it would been painful so what a change in the best these two messengers of Christ they just had this wonderful experience seeing Lydia and her household come to Christ now their bodies are aching from a beating they’re stuck in the inner prison and their feet are fastened in stocks definitely a low point let’s consider some interpretation questions again why did Paul want to cast out the demon in this slave girl I mean wasn’t a demon telling the truth and the repetition may have been with him but we never see the same thing in Jesus’s own ministry the demons are telling the truth and during his ministry – but he keeps casting them out and telling them to be silent and there’s a reason I think for both you don’t want a demon to be a witness of God because of what are demons and Satan they are liars they are murderers they desire no one’s good so if they’re proclaiming a true message it’s actually going to defame the truth by declaring the truth they actually discredit the truth or they attempt to and so this annoys Paul more than the mere repetition I believe and so he decides that he’s going to cast out the demon really Satan and his his minions are are very evil and purpose that we even try to take take a declaration of the truth and try and use it to undermine the gospel now another question how did the crowd know that Paul and Silas were Jews they must have been identified all in some way maybe they look like Jews and it would have stood out in the city maybe they dress differently but this perhaps may go some ways to explain why Luke and Timothy were not seized remember Luke’s a Gentile and Timothy’s half Gentile so maybe they didn’t stand out Paul and Silas these are Jews and they they could be easily brought before the magistrates and charged notice how easily the magistrates set aside justice to punish Paul and Silas answer mucker the question might be why well Roman pride was aroused anti-semitism was aroused and they were also being used these these Romans in the city they’re being used as pawns the evil one will discredit the truth one way by trying to have a demon proclaim it and now they’ll move people to persecute the messengers so just another manifestation of how the darkness hates the light the demons for sure and even those who are the slaves of Satan the sons of Satan yet still in bondage to sin well things sure turn sour for Paul and Silas how would how would you be feeling at this point of hearing their situation perhaps discouraged defeated just wanting to give up and leave if you know anything about the story this account that’s not the way it turns out let’s look at the next section verses 25 to 34 but about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God and the prisoners were listening to them and suddenly there came a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone’s chains were unfastened when the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors open he drew his sword and with the bats who kill himself supposing that the prisoners had escaped but call but Paul cried out with a loud voice saying do not harm yourself for we are all here he called for lights and rushed in and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas and after he brought them out he said sirs what must I do to be saved they said believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your whole household are you in your household and they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who are in his house and he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds and immediately he was baptized he and all his household he brought them into his house and set food before them and rejoiced greatly having believed in God with his whole household all right let’s observe this section notice what Paul and Silas are doing at midnight I’m not complaining they’re not weeping and not even just trying to get some sleep they’re praying and singing of praise to God not just ylim answer or prayers for help they’re praising God and says the other prisoners were listening certainly singing hymns is not a normal reaction to being beaten and thrown in prison this by the way is Paul’s first imprisonment recorded in the scriptures but it won’t be his last by the way was the jamming listening to the hymns and prayers made her part of it but notice to just say that he awoke from sleep after the earthquake so he had not heard them specifically at midnight but notice indeed God does send an earthquake a very special very quick that just so happens to unfasten every chain and open every door in the prison so much for securely locking away God’s messengers in the prison the jailer awakes from sleep he thinks all the prisoners have escaped and he prepares to kill himself but notice Paul he cries out with a loud voice to the jailer the jailer should not harm himself since the prisoners are all still there you can see that Paul harbors no resentment towards this jailer who stuck them in the stocks put them in the inner prison rather he shows great care for the jailers life and his soul the jailer soon falls in fear before Paul and Silas he then brings them out and asks them what he must do to be saved that’s a great question and Paul and Silas gave him a great answer believe in the Lord Jesus what’s the result you will be saved you might be saved now you probably will be saved but you will and not just you who else has the same opportunity to believe and be saved your household all those with you right after that Paul and Silas they speak the word of the Lord with those who are in the jailers house and the jailer believes as does his whole house told all his children and slaves and notice what the jailer does immediately afterwards he washes the wounds of Paul and Silas even in the middle of a night he he and his household immediately baptized it brings Paul and Silas into his house he sets food before them they’re probably pretty hungry and he rejoices greatly this is not too different from Lydia’s response right let’s interpret this section how is it that Paul and Silas were able to sing through their suffering is that a hand Roy yeah that’s got to be part of it right they knew that they were not suffering in vain but they were suffering for the one that they loved for their God their savior for Christ and he’s not gonna not notice that he’s going to be pleased through that he’s going to reward them for that they were pleased to suffer for Christ just as Peter and John were earlier and the other apostles earlier in the book of Acts menu there’s more reasons that they could have rejoiced they knew that Conell still with them he wouldn’t abandon them he would ultimately provide good for them they knew that no trouble could separate them from Christ and his love for them short they continued to have faith in God it’s like the hymn says God makes the local heart to sing and so they rejoice why was the jailer going to kill himself right so if you lose a prisoner in the Roman Empire it’s a capital offense you will be killed for your negligence now if you lose all your prisoners then that’s just you know even worse so he knows he’s done for if the prisoners have escaped he’s just gonna spare him whatever brutal torture and death might await him just kill himself but of course God intervened now how is it that the jailer knows what question asked Paul and Silas what must I do to be safe we don’t know exactly could be that he heard paul silas preaching in the city could be that he was paying some attention to their prayers and their singing at least before midnight it could be that he was simply aware of his own sin and his need for a deliverer from death whatever it was to be a combination of these things clearly God was preparing this jailor just like he was preparing Lydia for the message of the gospel and the message of hope in Christ you see this jailer too was part of the reason that Paul Silas could not tarry in Asia and Bithynia this man and his household needed to hear the message of Christ right now consider how close this man came to missing out on salvation and going into eternal torment the sword was literally in his hands to kill himself to depart into eternity and it would have been an eternity of hell for him but God intervened via the voice of Paul and essentially said to this jailer know your soul will not go into the fires of hell but I will save you eternally through my son hasn’t God done the same thing for you if you’re in Christ he’s intervened maybe you weren’t on the verge of suicide like this man but certainly you were on the path of self-destruction through your sin and self-righteousness you were marching steadily toward or perhaps even charging headlong into your just punishment of sin in hell but God reached now it would not let you follow your own way to destruction Jesus and instead declared to you I came that you may have life and have it abundantly that’s what God did what did you ever do to deserve God’s love to you in that way it’s nothing it’s just his own great love at work this is why salvation in Christ is such a great cost rejoicing even in the midst of suffering we see the same thing with this jailer now there’s one more section I want us to look at here this concludes the account of Paul’s ministry in Philippi and it’s verses 35 to 40 let’s go ahead and read this last section now when they came the chief magistrates but one day came the chief magistrate sent their policeman saying release those men and the jailer reported these words to Paul saying the chief magistrates have sent to release you therefore come out now and go in peace the Paul said to them they have beaten us in public without trial men who are Romans and have thrown us into prison and now are they sending us away secretly no indeed but let them come themselves and bring us out policemen reported these words the chief magistrates they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans and they came and appealed to that and when they had brought them out they kept begging them to leave this city they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia and when they saw the Brethren they encouraged them and departed that’s absurd this last bit of text notice the secret that Paul now reveals he and Silas are Roman citizens now this fax has not been mentioned anywhere before in the book of Acts it’s like our author Luke has kept this tell from us so that we might be just as surprised than the Roman magistrates of Philippi are at this revelation these magistrates in Philippi would have been shaking in their sandals for the transgression that they in the city had just committed being a Roman citizen gave you various legal protections including the right to a trial for any criminal accusation and freedom from torture Rome took violations of Roman citizenship very seriously punishment on Philip I could have been quite severe including the loss of colony status which would basically mean a loss of Independence and a whole bunch of taxes not to mention the magistrates responsible could be in huge trouble now Paul knows all of this but refuses to simply leave the prison he demands that the city magistrates come themselves to leave Paul and Silas out fearful magistrates comply they keep begging Paul and Silas to leave the city on Silas will leave when they’re ready thank you very much notice the Brethren are gathered at Lydia’s house which probably became the church’s first gathering place in Philippi and Paul and Silas go to Lydia’s house encourage the Brethren there and then depart the city now back to interpretation why didn’t Paul and Silas say before that they were Roman citizens and they could have avoided this whole beating and imprisonment and stocks thing why didn’t they mention it you might think well maybe they didn’t have time even the mob you know they’re just going so fast they they couldn’t get a word in it’s possible but I think that’s unlikely I mean they couldn’t have even told the jailer when they were put in prison and you couldn’t simply claim to be a Roman citizen and people be like oh no that’s not true that’s very serious claim if you were if you claim to be a Roman citizen and you weren’t you think it you can get in a whole bunch of trouble just for saying that so it’s something that people took very seriously I don’t think that Paul and Silas tried to and just weren’t it on weren’t able to this seems to have been a strategic choice why would they purposefully not reveal their citizenship until after they’ve been unjustly treated can you say that again say it a little bit more loud loudly please okay yeah it definitely is it is about the gospel and in a way it is setting the stage for the gospel it is it is going to help in advance and protect that gospel I think we can describe it in this way so what you’re saying is true by placing the city and its leadership in the depth of Christians Paul would likely be able to protect the Christians in Philippine in that area long term and as you say Rob give more opportunity for their preaching of the gospel not exactly a black male but he’s he’s making it so that the city would fear doing anything to oppress the Christians because they have this unjust act that they committed in the past hanging over their heads this was really about as you say Ron this is about the gospel this is about the Christian brethren so really we must acknowledge Paul and Silas could have avoided that jail time and beating and they’re experiencing the stalks but they didn’t and they did it for the good of others they laid aside their right in order that others might benefit and this is exactly what Paul says he does all the time first Corinthians 8 to 10 verse 29 19 he says for though I’m free from all men I’ve made myself a slave to all so I’m when more first corinthians 9 23 he says i do all things for the sake of the gospel that I may become a fellow partaker hobbit at first Corinthians 10:32 233 Paul says give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or the Church of God just as I also please all men and all things not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many that they may be saved now some you probably know that later on when Paul is apprehended he does mention his Roman citizenship so at that moment he didn’t see that the situation was quite the same he could use that right when he needed to but he didn’t hear because he knew that there was a greater benefit to be had for the gospel and for his brothers and sisters in Christ Paul was a man who did not cling to his own rights but he gave them up freely for the sake of others now who does that today who who still easily laid down his rights I’ll tell you a true disciple of Christ does that and you know why because someone else did it first Jesus himself you know what Paul writes to the Philippians in Philippians 2 verses 3 to 8 he tells the Philippians do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of her mind humility of mine regard one another is more important than yourselves do not merely look out for your own personal interest before but also for the interests of others have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus well though we existed in the floor God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped a thing to be clung to but emptied himself taking the form of a bondservant being made in the likeness of men being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross so Paul and Silas from not being melodramatic not being vain not being vindictive when they demanded a personal escort from the magistrates from the jail you’re actually strategically demonstrating their love demonstrating the love of Christ I don’t think about this experience of the team in Philippi in total what we really see in Philip I is the love of Christ in action first the love of Christ drives Paul and his companions to Paul and his companions to go to a place where the souls are crying out for help to Macedonia then we see the love of Christ in the gospel declaration to Lydia to the Philippian jailer to their households we see the love of Christ also in the joyful responses of these two individuals to the message of Jesus resulting in a new desire to serve God’s people show hospitality to God’s messengers all of this being brought about by the great sovereign power and deep love of the one god who is now what difference should all of this make to our lives today there’s a couple questions for you to consider let’s application first do you know Christ the same message that delighted and saved Lydia and the jailer it’s the one that you need to believe God is the Creator deserves our worship and obedience you if you don’t know Christ are a sinner who has rebelled against God wanted to live according to your own way a way that is self loving evil is self-destructive penalty of your sin according to a good and holy and just God his eternal torment in hell but God provided a way of rescue through His Son Jesus the long way to Messiah the Jews who lived a perfect life died an innocent death to pay for all the sins that any of those who believed in him would ever do and ever did he pays for them once and for all for all those who believed in Jesus Christ with a whole heart they just like the just like Lydia in the Philippian jailer they well know that they are saved because they believed in Jesus this belief is not merely intellectual it permeates the heart it results in a change life as the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside that person and empowers that person to follow Jesus Christ so does that describe you do you believe in Jesus Christ do you have the Holy Spirit do you have eternal life if you were to die today do you know you go to be with the Lord could happen we keep seeing these stories about mass killings why should we be exempt to many of those things but we have a security a true security in the Lord if we have come to believe in him second what is your view toward your own rights Jesus laid aside his rights as God to save you he did it out of love Paul laid aside his rights and wonder that others might be saved what about you do you complain when people are not respecting your rights do you seek vengeance you get depressed are you filled with rage or do you gladly give up your rights for the sake of love do you throughly it lay aside your prerogatives because you know that Christ is enough free and will take care of you are you always nursing grievances against God and against others you’re not giving me what I deserve or do you praise God even in the hard times do you remain patient with people because you realize actually I’m getting way more good than I ever deserved and then finally we could say more but these are just the three I want to highlight what is your view toward the lost christ is moved to see the lost aid he has compassion on them genuine compassion he wants them to come he longs for them to come and Paul had this same compassion he wanted to see the lawsuit he supported everything in his life to see people come to know Jesus Christ what about you do you care to see the lost thing do you have compassion on them seeing them like sheep without a shepherd not so unlike you until Christ found you or have you become calloused to the lost not really caring whether their soul perish forever or not at the pleasures and the cares of this world so clogged your ears that you can no longer hear that soul cry that Paul heard from the man of Macedonia in his dream please please come over and help us can you hear that we know of course the task of spreading the gospel is impossible with man but not with Christ so do not be discouraged pray prepare talk with others about how you can speak the Lord on Christ’s behalf read the scriptures pray that the Lord provide opportunities look for those opportunities and preach preach the truth in love be bold see if even today the Lord might grant another lost soul repentance and eternal life in Christ that’s it for this week we looked at Paul’s first journey look at Paul’s second journey guess what we’re looking at next week Paul’s third journey I know there are some questions I didn’t get to in today’s past them if you still have questions or comments please email me that’s a closer train unloading on you you show your love on display in such great ways in the scriptures but we see it again and again in the book of Acts you do desire men to be saved and you moved Paul you arrange circumstances to bring Lydia and the jailer and their households and and others to to be saved from destruction and brought to eternal life with you forever you’ve done the same thing for us God we pray that you would do it for more people but we don’t deserve any of this you were exceedingly good for doing all this yeah god we know that there are so many lost persons that we know their friends and among their family and among the people we meet god I pray that you would use us to be witnesses to have compassion to lay down our rights for their sake and for the sake of our brethren you shown us the way already you’ve given us another great example in Paul and his companions look please do the work of sanctification necessary rip away the idols that are in our hearts that prevent us from laying down our rights and from loving others genuinely God fill us with your love fill us with your truth make us bold and bring a great harvest even through us we pray in Jesus name Amen all right thank you all I will see you next week