The Fellowship of Ailbe

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1 ACTS PAUL S A RIOT F. Michael Slay A DEEP Study The Fellowship of Ailbe

2 Acts 16:11-17:9 Paul s a Riot Opposition to Paul has become so strong and so coordinated, that he starts a riot every time he opens his mouth. We re pleased to provide the DEEP studies in PDF format at no charge. We hope you will find them helpful and encouraging as you press on in your journey toward spiritual maturity in the Lord. The Fellowship of Ailbe offers many opportunities for training, prayer, personal growth, and ministry. Please visit our website at to discover the many other resources available to serve your needs. This includes many newsletters such as our worldview study ReVision, our devotional newsletter Crosfigell, and the DEEP. We are a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. Our goal is to promote revival, renewal, and awakening, following the teaching of Scripture and the example and heritage of our forebears in the faith. T. M. Moore, Principal tmmoore@ailbe.org Thank you. Acts 16:11-17:9 Paul s a Riot Copyright 2018 F. Michael Slay The Fellowship of Ailbe All scripture references are noted. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV stands for the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2

3 1 Acts 16:11-15 (ESV) So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 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. Luke s tone has changed. Starting in verse 10, he s now using the word we. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Luke has joined Paul, Silas and Timothy and is traveling with them. So we now get more details bits that Luke probably wouldn t have gotten second hand, but as an eyewitness he picks up on. When they sit down with the women who were praying by the river, Luke describes what he sees and he sees something important. Paul s doing all the talking, but Luke notices something happening to Lydia. He sees that, The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. This is one of the five points of Calvinism in action. Without divine intervention, Lydia wouldn t have even paid attention to what was said by Paul. This is what Calvinists call Total Inability. We are incapable of coming to Christ on our own. Only through the supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit can anyone become a Christian. Here we see a fascinating example of how this can work. It doesn t take hidebound resistance to the gospel to keep someone from Christ; a little distraction works just fine. The best preaching in the world doesn t matter to someone who isn t paying attention. Notice that Luke doesn t give any specifics about Paul s message. His preaching was undoubtedly good, but the point here is that God opened Lydia s heart. Remember this when you consider what works, and what doesn t, when trying to attract people to Christ. Prayer is our number one weapon in this battle. Sure, a well composed pitch is worth preparing, but if no one s listening, you re wasting your time. We pray for our evangelism and our missionaries a lot and should. But today let s pray for our own hearts. Just as people sometimes don t pay attention to the gospel, so we don t always pay attention to the messages we hear. Yes, God opened our hearts and we found Christ, but how well can you recall last Sunday s sermon? Ask God to give us better focus. We re too busy. 3

4 2 Acts 16:16-24 (ESV) 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. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice. The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Picture the scene. It starts as they were going to the place of prayer; that s where they met Lydia. This slave girl starts following them around crying out, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation. She has a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. That spirit of divination is a demon. Being possessed by a demon is the most unpleasant experience imaginable. Every moment is sheer terror right out of a horror movie. Yet her owners are perfectly happy to let this go on as long as they can make money off it. The scene is just dripping with evil. Yet Paul ignores her, for a while. But the slave girl s owners have her follow Paul s entourage around for many days. Not surprisingly, this gets under Paul s skin, so he decides to put an end to her torture. He 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. What happens next is pretty predictable; her owners lie about what Paul did. No surprise there, given their willingness to engage in this uniquely creepy form of human trafficking. If they had a shred of decency, they d have asked Paul to cure her. Instead, when Paul ends her nightmare, they seek revenge. And as usual, the crowds are easily riled up and the magistrates are easy to dupe. So Paul and Silas get beaten and tossed in the can. We aren t told why Luke, Timothy and the rest are left alone. Is it any surprise that Christians are persecuted around the world? Today let s pray, yet again, for them. Evil has shown its face rather clearly lately. The images in the news leave little room for doubt. Ask the Lord to protect the persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East and in Africa. May they feel the comfort of His hand. 4

5 3 Acts 16:25-34 (ESV) 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. Notice that the other prisoners don t leave either. That s just one of the many miracles in this passage. Luke makes it clear that there are other prisoners with the words, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. He s also unambiguous when he says, all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. And all means all when Paul cried with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. The other prisoners have a golden opportunity to escape, yet they stay put. Why? Obviously, the jailer isn t the only one impressed with Paul and Silas. As they were praying and singing hymns to God, the other prisoners were listening to them. That s the first miracle. Just as God opened Lydia s heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul, so He opened the hearts of the prisoners. When someone starts singing in a jail, other prisoners are more likely to scream, Shut up! than to pay attention. Prisoners aren t exactly in their happy place. But these guys listen and are so impacted by what they hear that when the jail falls apart, they stick around. Luke doesn t follow up with them, but their future looks bright. They ve already shown more faith than many Christians display in a lifetime. Their sticking around is the third miracle (the earthquake was the second.) Add in the conversion of the jailer and we have four miracles in the span of a few hours. Paul s music ministry is off to a great start. This is God s doing, but Paul and Silas steadfast faith in the presence of outrageously trying circumstances is the catalyst for all these miracles. Great faith leads to great things. That s the kind of faith we seek, the kind God wants us to have. Ask the Lord to grow your faith. I believe; help my unbelief! Mark 9:24b (ESV) 5

6 4 Acts 16:35-40 (ESV) But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, Let those men go. And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace. But Paul said to them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out. The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed. Once again, Paul declines to leave the prison. This time it s about honor not Paul s honor, Christ s honor. Paul knows that people see him as a representative of the Lord. I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:20b (ESV) His arrest threatens to discredit Christianity and Christ. Rumors will fly. It is imperative that the record be set straight. So, when they offer to let Paul go, he said to them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out. Paul does some clever lawyering here. Roman citizens can t be punished without a trial; beating Paul and Silas was a crime. Paul has the power to get these guys into big trouble. He leverages this power to get the public exoneration he needs. The magistrates came and apologized to them. And they took them out. Now everyone knows he s not a troublemaker. Every Christian is a representative of Christ some more high profile than others. Paul knows that he s in the spotlight, and everyone s watching to see if he s legit. Folks will seize on any excuse to not believe. This still holds. Christian leaders can do a lot of harm. People look to them and judge the legitimacy of Christianity based on what they see. That s why Paul wrote such strict rules for elders. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. Titus 1:7a (ESV) Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV) Every one of us should aspire to be worthy of the title of Christian. It s impossible none of us is that good but it s still the goal. Today, let s work on increasing our awareness of this awesome responsibility and honor. Ask God to raise your consciousness. Pray that He will burden you with the sense of your role as an ambassador for the Lord. Ask Him to take you up a level as you grow in your ability to model Christ. 6

7 5 Acts 17:1-9 (ESV) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Paul is an apostle to the gentiles. He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Acts 9:15b (ESV) Still, Paul prefers preaching in a synagogue; it s his home turf. So he passes through Amphipolis and Apollonia and doesn t stop until he gets to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Now Paul can get with his homies. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And it starts to go well. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But note the rest of the Lord s explanation of Paul s calling. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Acts 9:16 (ESV) Paul s apologetic method is flawless. It should carry the day, but it doesn t. Welcome to evil 101. Paul s method should work but doesn t because mankind should be reasonable but isn t. Some of the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities. How can anyone be that stupid? Thank God the magistrates here aren t as dumb as the ones in Philippi. The world news is one stunning portrait of evil after another. It s hard to imagine how people could be that bad, but the truth is that we re no better. We re just not acting out as much. This is hard teaching. Even when we ve memorized the correct doctrine, do we truly believe it? Deep down, do you really think you re just as bad as they are? 7

8 Questions for reflection or discussion 1. What do you recall from last Sunday s sermon? 2. Research and discuss current cases of Christians being persecuted. As always, there are one or two everyone is familiar with. Try to focus on the less known ones those tend to be more brutal. 3. When in a middle of a tough situation, how do you steel yourself or try to cheer yourself up? 4. What do you do or not do specially to avoid embarrassing Christ? 5. When/how have you been horrified by your own evil? Items for prayer: 8